Three Games for Country Living
Some might say I am a city boy. I grew up in the suburbs of Boston, sojourned in the middle of nowhere for college, and have spent the past thirteen years in the heart of NYC. Over the past few weeks, I’ve driven through, stopped over, and am now settling into a bit of rural living.
This week I am working remotely from a friend’s house in upstate New York. It’s twisty roads, farmland, forest, and deer. There are hikes with little waterfalls, the closest grocery store is 40 minutes away, and I get to load up on some of the best hot sauce I’ve ever had.
Actual view as I write this - the guinea hens live out of frame to the left
It’s nice living up here, and it reminds me that different games thrive in different environments, and fit different moods. I’m in a bit of a slow mood this morning, so here are a few games that I think are perfect for country living.
A brief aside: The Brothers Murph are in the final days of their Season 5 Kickstarter. I encourage checking them out. One of their series is of playing games in thematic settings, which was a partial inspiration for this blog post.
I. Thousand Year Old Vampire
Sometimes you need to go at your own pace, and Thousand Year Old Vampire is the perfect way to ruminate, write, forget, and ruminate some more. The game is a Solo RPG. That is, you play the part of a vampire encountering and resolving prompts (a bit of a creative writing adventure).
But, while you may be nearly immortal, a thousand years is a long time to live. So, you begin to forget.
Opening text of the prompt book - sets the tone nicely
What elevates Thousand Year Old Vampire from a nice creative exercise, to a deep and meaningful experience is its exploration of memory, morality, and mortality. The game explores what it means to be human, what it means to survive and what it means to lose ourselves as time marches forward.
If you are interested in purchasing the game, you can check out the publisher’s site here, but their webpage is pretty sparse, so to learn more about it I would check out SUSD’s review here.
II. The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow
The nights are darker and longer in these parts. What better way to enjoy them, than with some good natured murder?
The Werewolves of Miller’s Hollow is a modified version of the classic summer camp game: Werewolf (or Mafia depending on your summer camp). In the course of rounds players close their eyes, the werewolves do some murdering and the village folk try and figure out who dunnit. This version of the game introduces special characters, the little girl, the witch, and the mayor.
Werewolves probably got the kid
We played the game (up here) a few weeks ago at a birthday party, and it is just as much fun as it’s always been. There is a reason that the game is a summer camp classic – it’s great as an icebreaker and gets only better the longer you’re cooped up in a cabin together.
III. Dune Imperium
As I write this, I am realizing that Dune Imperium was in one of my lists a few weeks ago. What can I say, it’s a great game and has been in my rotation (I am battling it again this weekend… I’ll get you this time, Sean).
Awesome game regardless of if you’ve read the books… but that first Dune book is a classic for a reason
Dune Imperium is a combination deck building and worker placement game set on the epic world of Arrakis (the planet Dune). It’s full of intrigue, a crunchy struggle for resources, and a healthy bit of battle.
I can’t imagine a better rainy-day game in the country. It’s the kind of game that you can sink into, that makes you think, but not too hard. It takes about two hours, so you can play it once, have some tea, and play it again. Or just play the once and then spend all afternoon on what ifs and could have beens, and I would have won if onlys.
When I sat down to write this list, I thought I would come up with a bunch of nature games, but I realize that since I am in nature, I am drawn to other sorts of games. Gaming as escapism, gaming as an exploration of another world. What games have inspired you this summer?
