BGTG 113 - European Vacation
Part of what's kept me away from the microphone lately has been some overseas travel. First was our family T. O. A. L. (Trip of a Lifetime) to Germany & Italy. Then, surprisingly, a return visit to Europe shortly thereafter by just me because of a new assignment at work. Though neither of those trips were about games, I couldn't help getting in SOME shopping and playing while I was over there. This episode is kind of a rambling tale about that, the shops I visited, the games I bought & played, and the surprises of an American gamer visiting another part of the world.
-Mark
P.S. The name of my kind host at the Dutch game group was Eugene, not Phil. I'm sorry for the mistake!
posted by Mark Johnson at 10:12 PM
10 Comments:
A source I like for regional cards is Tarobearslair.com. You don't get the magical connection of a memento from a "Trip Of A Lifetime", but it's convenient. It's the cheapest source I've found for 78-card Tarot playing decks (as opposed to the index-less fortune telling variety). For what it's worth, I'm not affiliated with the company in any way.
Entertaining podcast. For what it's worth, I am embarrassed to say I have also performed an equally poor cost-base analysis for a road trip. Probably a lot more than once, actually. Most often the reward is like yours: minimal, but a nice story of my own foolishness.
On another note, the re-release of Loopin' Louie has a different feel than the original. The shorter arm (to fit in the smaller box) changes the dynamics. It's not a huge difference, but I'm sure you'll notice. You should try it before abandoning the old one. For an even more different experience, try Bobbin' Bumblebee, too!
Hey Mark,
I enjoyed your stories of your trips to Europe. I have gone to great lengths to visit a game club, so I know exactly where you were coming from.
Clay
Hi Mark,
A very enjoyable podcast. I was also in the Netherlands in February ( I live in London)and my wife bought a copy of Loopin' Louie... from a games shop in Amsterdam. The games shop had some games in English and some interesting games in Dutch and German but nothing that I had to have. My coup for the trip though was finding a copy of balloon cup (Balloon race) in the NOVA science museum, on sale for 10 Euros. I must admit I cannot resist finding the local FLGS when ever I travel to a new city. Mike
Great story Mark. I loved the "adventure" to Essen. Shame you didn't find that copy of Samarkand, it would have made it all feel worthwhile. You may not have saved much money but it's a great story to tell. Sounds like the Dutch group were very welcoming.
Hello Mark, thanks for the heads up on Fluster! Its a fun little game. For what its worth, I made an excel spreadhseet that will churn out new Fluster sheets for you whenever you press F9. I uploaded it it to Boardgame Geek.
http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/66781/fluster-excel-spreadsheet
Great episode again!
In one earlier episoded you metioned that you had approx 250 games. Have you manage to limit your collection at that level?
Regards
Peter
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I don't have an actual count. I do know my collection has grown over the past year, my stacks are now spilling out into stacks, and I haven't sold as many games as I'd like.
Now that's what I call the real trip of a lifetime! You have more than 250 games? That could be a record. I know how frustrating it can be to try to limit a collection. I can't help it, but I keep on buying collectibles during my travels.
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