10 Things We're Thankful for in Gaming!

[@MarkMushakian]

Great list - really gets to the heart of this hobby :) Some of your points I really connected with... - Ease of Play - Games that come with custom inserts to store everything neatly or that have individual player pieces self-contained (7 Wonders Architects does this great) are just really satisfying. It's that joy of being able to experience something that had just THAT much more effort and thought put into it, it makes for such a pleasing experience. - Living the Theme - I enjoy abstract games, but there's nothing like a wonderful theme to draw me in. Ultimately, it's like getting to play pretend or like escaping into a great movie/book world. When the ship in Nemesis is on fire and the aliens are hunting us down, it's fun to play into that drama. When we're chasing and smashing into each other in Thunder Road Vendetta, I can all but hear the metal crunches and see cars exploding into cliffsides. - Beauty - Honestly, besides fun, this one is my favorite of your list. Beautiful artwork on cards, lovely wood pieces, boards that are visually interesting AND functional, plastic tokens, miniatures... all of it is wonderful. I will definitely be drawn to a game because of how great it looks, to the point that if the gameplay then looks not-fun I'm really disappointed - even without having bought it, I'm just sad for that potential. One of my favorite things about Unmatched is that we never preview a character's deck before the first time we play them, instead getting to see all of that great art as cards are drawn and played throughout the game. - Surviving the Winter - We live in sunny southern CA, so our idea of bundling in for winter weather gaming means it's not even hitting freezing outside, but instead on very hot days when it'd be way too warm to have a TV on or do other things in our one-bedroom apartment, being able to just unplug and play games has been great! And I think my number one thing I'm thankful for about gaming is part of your fun category, but very specifically: the shared stories that get told. As an example, when we were playing through a scenario in Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion that had been kicking our butt, we finally got to a point where the final boss was just about dead. We could have drawn some bad luck to take us out, but he only needed one more hit for us to win. The air was electric, my adrenaline was going, and we kept repeating "he only needs one" - and then we pulled it off and won. It was a great, hilarious, bonding moment, in which we victoriously yelled "He only needs one!"... and still say it today. There are fun experiences in games that create these special shared moments, the memories of an amazing victory, playing a rule so wrong that we accidentally put ourselves into Super Hard mode and STILL won, losing a game by just one point, pulling off an amazing combo... and all from just playing with toys :)

[@NachoAverageTableTop]

He only needs one! :D I love this! Amazing explanation of each of these! :D I agree that the best part is the stories and moments that we carry with us and continue to reference even years later! That Jaws of the Lion play sounds so fun!! I have a few of those for JotL as well, and i only played it solo. I can only imagine what it'd be like with a group! :D Cooperative games seem to provide so many of those moments. Your group is united to take down the game itself, and when it all comes down to one big moment...it can be legendary! And equally legendary when we get obliterated immediately! XD Hah! I'm glad we're not the only ones who have nerfed ourselves by playing a rule wrong! :D