I have always enjoyed games of all types. As a kid, ‘twas Atari and Nintendo that put me in a euphoric daze the most. But videro games are a little bit flashy and more useful as a quick dopamine fix than anything. Sports are always good for the vigorous thrills they provide and the superhuman feats you sometimes get to see or enact. And playground games are also still on my play list, so to speak; God has given me a gift for working with kids, and what brings kids more to life and more into their element than a game? Wild and rambunctious youth group games are the best! Our most recent successes were old-school arcade games translated into loud, live-action versions requiring at least a dozen people to play. I find a good game will not only create great memories to share with others about the experience, but it can also loosen up kids - and adults - to be more fully themselves.
Board games have been a part of my life as far back as I can remember. Growing up with 4 sisters was fun, as we had opponents on the ready for silly kid games like Guess Who? and Candyland. Plus, (and thankfully) my dad was always willing to challenge me in chess, Stratego, or other abstract games, which were much more appealing than the rest. I got my first Euro before I was 10, but it was a long, slow time before I really began to see what all was out there beyond popular American game boundaries. Not that I have anything against U.S. games or publishers. But it’s not as easy as looking in the toy section of your local everything-store to find board games with truly high-quality game design.
It’s the design that has always fascinated me. Or more definitively, it’s the way a game’s rules and confines cogwheel together to unleash such sprouting flourishes of dynamic strategy and interaction among players. My favorite games consistently deliver impressively fresh stories of who beat who, and how! And I love being a part of that.
I’m always interested in new games and new ways to expand or bend the rules, so feel free to contact me. You can find me on boardgamegeek.com with user name Barninator.
Adam currently does a segment on the show about board game variants.
