Swing Camps Aren't Just For Dancing !!
For those of you who have been wondering:
* Where have Ben and Sheri been?
* Where are the new One2Swing Daily articles?
* Just how many advil can you take in a 24 hour period despite what the box says?
  
Well, we just got back from Beantown 2004 .. and man was it AWESOME!!!!   Thanks to everyone for making our first Beantown just a totally fantastic experience.  It was great meeting new people.  It was great hanging out with old friends and new friends and former acquaintances turned friends.  We're definitely looking forward to coming for the next one!  (sans the cold this time!)
 
Anyhow, a more detailed journal of our experiences at Beantown will hopefully come soon.  In the meantime, I wanted to comment on something that has had an interesting cultural influence on us.  And that's .. GAMES (of the board and card variety!!) !!
 
I think we may have ended up spending more time at night playing board games/card games then dancing out at Beantown.
 
I think most people used to think of board games as geeky, nerdy, and very much along the lines of "Dungeons and Dragons".  Then Milton Bradley came along with campaigns showing that it actually is cool and nice and neat to not always go out clubbing and instead stay home and relax with friends, family, or just yourself.  (referencing the "Get-Together Games" campaign by MB was INGENIUS, very similar to the very smart "Make it a Blockbuster Night" campaign by Blockbuster)
 
I've always been a big fan of board games.  I am a competitive person and love the quick fixes board games provide. 
 
Not only that but it can take a group of strangers/acquaintances and have them interacting (although occasionally there is that awkward silence at the end of a board game when people realize they don't have anything much to talk about except maybe how fun the game is) ... (hmm.. that almost sounds like swing dancing doesn't it?)
 
Anyhow, here are my favorite board games/card games in no particular order:
 
1. Jungle Speed
Introduced to us at Beantown, this is an amazing game which can be intense, relaxing, speedy, funny, physical, and just outright down and dirty.  It takes good hand-eye coordination, reflexes, and a sense of humor to play this one.  We'll see if it has the lasting power but right now with its great mix of traditional card games like "Speed", "Spoons", and "Slapjack", all I can think about is "More Jungle Speed!  More Jungle Speed!"  
 
"Each player is dealt a hand of cards. In order to win you must be the first player to get rid of all of your cards. Each turn, all of the players reveal one of their cards. If two cards are identical, those players must make a grab for the Totem. The faster player then gives their cards to their unfortunate adversary.  To add to the difficulty, certain cards are almost identical, which can trick a hapless player into grabbing the Totem by mistake -- a grave error (where the hapless player then gets ALL the revealed cards)." 
 
"In Jungle Speed, you must rely on your keen sense of observation and quick reflexes. It requires a steady hand -- which can be hard to maintain during the many fits of maniacal laughter!"
 
Though you don't have to necessarily be wild and rabid to win.  (Just ask Eric Fenn ).

2. Taboo
A very fast-paced game, with a very ANNOYING buzzer... (which is fun to use if you're the buzzer, annoying when you're the buzzee). I really enjoy this game because it mixes the fast-paced hectic game environment with a very creative and lateral-thinking strategy. The object of the game is to get your team to say a secret word by describing that word (no gestures). However, you cannot say any of the "taboo" words while describing that word. And that's where the creative and lateral thinking part come in. There's almost nothing that feels quite so good as coming up with a creative way to get your team to say the secret word.. (where, there are a few things, but this is a family website). Also, when you're able to get above-average results (6, 7, even 9 successful cards) in one turn, the "ooh-ing" and "ahh-ing" and newfound respect your peers give you is just awesome!

3. Pictionary
"The classic game of quick draw." Draw clues to get your teammates to guess the secret word before time runs out! This was my favorite game for a long time (until "Taboo" which is kind of the verbal version of Pictionary). It definitely is still a favorite. It's just a tad more high maintenance then "Taboo" with the requirement of pencils, paper, dice, and a gameboard. But definitely a good one to get the heart pumping!  Sheri's family is notoriously competitive at this game ... I believe a timer or two may have been thrown at some of the more heated Pictionary games!

4. UNO (French Rules)
FRENCH RULES!!  That's the most important part ... otherwise it's just the regular classic relaxing strategic lucky card game.  Everyone pretty much has played UNO at one time or another (even if they've forgotten how).  Now add in the FRENCH RULES (taught to us by Jason Christodolooodoloo and Peter Strom) and you combine the awesome game of UNO with the heart-pounding shakes of SPEED (a frantic card game played with a regular deck) . This one definitely had us on the edge of our seats and the stink in our pits.   Though you don't have to be absolutely frenzied to win (just ask Eric Fenn ).
 
5. Chess
Not all my favorite games are frantic.  On some online chess boards I'm ranked between 1300 and 1500 ... which I like.  It's about where you become a great strategist but before you become a tactician and into the pattern memorization.    For that reason, I love playing variants such as randomly choosing the placing of pieces, siamese chess, and though I have never played it before I know I'd be a big fan of ChessFour (shown to the right)
 
6. Backgammon
Part luck, Part Strategy ... a great blend of both to give you a chance to beat anyone no matter how good they are.
 
7. Charades!!
The best game!!  No supplies required!  Just people.  Unfortunately, for this game, it's usually only played with those with small amounts of inhibition.  Many people usually feel too shy, especially among strangers, to go all-out-wacky with charades (which is understandable). But Charades is the definitive granddaddy game with the theme of "I got to get you to guess something by acting it out" which later spawned game such as Pictionary ("I got to get you to guess something by drawing it out") and Taboo ("I got to get you to guess something by describing it without saying certain words explicitly"). And that's why those two games are higher on the list .. they're Charades for the more inhibited and you can get more people to join in on a game without limiting the madcap fun!

8. SlapJack
You got to pay homage to some of the great cardgames which have inspired more coordinated board games as of late. And Slapjack is one of them. Simple, effective, and painful, this is definitely some great mindless fun! Basically, a deck of 52 cards is divided up amongst all the players and players put cards down in turn while counting numbers... i.e. Player 1 puts a card down and says "Ace", Player 2 puts a card down and says "2", next player puts a card down and says "3" ..etc... whenever the card put down matches the number said OR a Jack comes up, all players slap the deck. The fastest slapper gets all the cards .. object is to be last to lose your cards! (Of course the fastest slapper also gets the reddest hands ... ingenius to punish the winner in this way!)

9. Poker
With so many variations on one game, Poker has got to be on the list. With such colorful names for variations such as "Guts", "Anaconda", "English Stud", and my personal favorite (as we made it up at our last Poker night) "Ocean's Eleven", Poker is a great game for setting a variety of moods from relaxing, socializing, talking, laughing, to mucho macho machismoness! Be wary .. Poker has got to be played right to keep the balance between the game, the betting, the snacking, and the social atmosphere ... and when that balance is achieved, it's quite heavenly. AND it has to be played with real chips, no penny/nickel change. The chips create the feel for the game. Not many things feels so good as to throw some nice heavy clay chips on a pot, hear the chips rattle, and say "I call... what ya got?" (and then actually win). (Well, some things feel so good, but this is a family website .. I think I mentioned that already..)

10. Oh What A Mountain!
Not really a popular game... I've only seen one myself and that is the one I had growing up. This was a neat one though (to me!). It's a 3d boardgame where you have climbers climb the mountain. There are great physical hazards too like avalanches and battering rams. If you read the "About Ben" page you'll find that I didn't have many friends growing up, and often had to rely on my own imagination for entertainment. Well, this game is one of those that could easily be played by yourself as all four climbers and lends well to the imagination (of evil plots of climbers on a race to the top and setting hazards for each other and what-not). Not to mention all the great sound effects I used to make for all the hazards and for all the climbers whenever they fell off the mountain.

*sigh*

Good times ... so this game has a special place in my heart ... and who knows maybe someday I'll see if I can find a version of it and get Sheri to play it with me.

That's all for now! Any game recommendations you have send 'em my way!

Cheers!