Penny Lane - The Beatles

Today is November 3rd, 2025. The song of the day is "Penny Lane" by The Beatles. (Go get a soda!!)

High Enough - K.Flay

Today is November 2nd, 2025. The song of the day is "High Enough" by K.Flay.

I Am... I Said - Neil Diamond

Today is November 1st, 2025. The song of the day is "I Am... I Said" by Neil Diamond.

2025 Games - October

 January's games

February's games

March's games

July's games 

August's games

September's games

73. Settlers of Catan (avg score: 5) - Remember how like a decade ago, this was the BIG game that everyone loved? We didn't get on that train. We got this gifted to us a while back, and we've only played it a handful of times. It's an OKAY game - definitely was overhyped back in the day - and I think a large percentage of the fun that it can provide is dependent on how things develop early on. If there are some bad rolls and you can't get your production going, it can be extremely difficult to catch up as everyone else is busy making roads and growing cities. That happened to me this time around. All I kept producing was freaking wood, and wool, which nobody wanted or needed. Anyway... Might give this another shot at some point, because I do remember one of the earlier times we played it having a lot more fun than I did this go around.

74. Seven Dragons (avg score: 5.5) - Card game where you attempt to create a chain of seven colored dragons.  An okay time waster, but not anything I'd immediately think of playing.

75. Shadows of the Forest (avg. score: 1) - a mildly decent concept, beyond frustrating in execution. The game is played in as dark a room as possible, where one player - the seeker - moves a tiny lantern around the board, trying to locate the tiny cute figurines that are moved by the other players. So, essentially, a game of hide and seek, but on a board, in near dark. And the tagged players can "uncapture" their friends, meaning that the game just goes on. and on. and on. WAY past the amount of fun that it might provide.

The little forest creatures are pretty cute, though. 

76. Sleeping Queens (avg score: 6) - card game where 12 queen cards, each worth between 5 and 20 points, are laid out on the board face down and you attempt to wake them up. Other cards people can play can either steal them, or put them back to sleep (and there are defenses against those as well). Pretty simple, but decent enough for a round or two. 

77. Smash Up (avg score: 6) - another card game, where everyone has two factions of "cool" ....things. (Robots, Zombies, Pirates, Wizards, Dinosaurs, Aliens... you know.) Each card is either a 'minion' or an 'action'. There are 4 base cards set up at a time, which give various points if you play enough minions on them to score them. This FEELS like it could be a decent card game, but also like they wanted to jam as much stuff in there as possible, and so it feels overbusy. And the rules for what effects what is many times annoyingly vague. There was also a sense that things weren't exactly balanced very well.  

78. Sorry! (avg. score: 7.5) - I unabashedly love this game. I know it's far from perfect, and it's ENTIRELY (well, like 98.4%) luck based, but, the amount of weird coincidences that happen in this just make me absolutely adore it. Over the years, we've tweaked things to make it even more interesting/weird - like changing it up to where you have to get a piece in EACH of the 4 homes, rather than all 4 in yours. Or, adding a 5th piece. Or everyone starts with 5 cards in their hand to strategically play during the game. All of those make me like it even more.   This time around, we did start playing with just the normal base rules, but along the way, Silas decided to add in a 5th token...because he was going to win "too early". 

So, we all added an extra piece. And.... Steph ended up winning. LOL.  

I really do wish there were Sorry! competitions, like they have with Monopoly and other board games. Maybe there are. 

79 & 80 - Spot It! and Spot It! Basic English (avg score: 5) - children's games where you have cards with lots of pictures (and in the case of Spot It! Basic English, pictures and words) and you have to match them before your opponent.   Grouping these together, because even though they're different games, they're basically the same thing. Anyway, these were just ....you know. There. Really only played them because we're doing all of the games. 

Road to Nowhere - Talking Heads

Today is October 31st, 2025. The song of the day is "Road to Nowhere" by the Talking Heads.

She - Green Day

Today is October 30th, 2025. The song of the day is "She" by Green Day.

Wordle Wednesday #37

 10.22.25 - Animal rights activists were livid and called him a freak and a chump and dangerous, but there’s no denying that his last stunt - attempting to joust against an octopus - was a memorable one.

(I do love throwing animals into these. Anyway, a jousting octopus sounds like a pretty cool thing to see. You know, like via a cartoon or cgi or something. Not in real life.)

10.23.25 - The cashier at Walmart didn’t bat an eye when I bought a quilt, a chain, a drill and a bible.

(This one feels somewhat like cheating, since I was essentially just listing the words, but, hey, it still works.)

10.24.25 - Tuber themed decor for your home is inexpensive, super nutritious, and will amaze any potential buyer.

(I suspect eventually we'll all be living inside potatoes.)

10.25.25 - I’d gauge that cough drop to be at least two thousand kilometers wide.

(That is one massive cough drop.)

10.26.25 - The chart indicated the bluff should wield tons of plump blueberries, but six hours of searching resulted in one lousy blueberry picked with it making a sad plunk in my bucket.

(Blueberries for Sal getting a grimdark reboot was not on my bingo list, but, here we are.)

10.27.25 - On the tenth anniversary of taking over humanity, as a gift to the few survivors, the cyborgs released a retro killing machine made of metal, and that was a sweet thought, however, the fetid odor it produced somewhat cancelled out any appreciation we may have felt.

(It's the thought that counts, but it's the smell that REALLY counts.)

10.28.25 - The precinct experienced the full wrath of the chief when someone put up holly, tinsel, and Christmas lights in October. 

(additional sentence - Stephen King invoked the wrath of his fans when he made Holly Gibney the chief protagonist repeatedly.)

(Yes, super mad police chiefs are tired and done to death at this point, but, I love the idea of one getting pissed at someone putting up decorations too soon. And, yes, October is WAY too soon, you greedy bastards. Also, Holly is fine, but, I just don't get King's obsession with her. [shrug])

Playground - Another Bad Creation

Today is October 29th, 2025. The song of the day is "Playground" by Another Bad Creation.

Closer - Lemaitre

Today is October 28th, 2025. The song of the day is "Closer" by Lemaitre.

Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet

Today is October 27th, 2025. The song of the day is "Girlfriend" by Matthew Sweet.

Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll - Foxy Shazam

Today is October 26th, 2025. The song of the day is "Welcome to the Church of Rock and Roll" by Foxy Shazam.

Wheels - Foo Fighters

And the bonus song of the day is "Wheels" by the Foo Fighters.

Bus to Beelzebub - Soul Coughing

Today is October 25th, 2025. The song of the day is "Bus to Beelzebub" by Soul Coughing.

A Day in the Life - The Beatles

Today is October 24th, 2025. The song of the day is "A Day in the Life" by The Beatles. Quite possibly my favorite Beatles song. What an absolute masterpiece.

Ball and Chain - Social Distortion

Today is October 23rd, 2025. The song of the day is "Ball and Chain" by Social Distortion.

The Future - Leonard Cohen

Today is October 22nd, 2025. The song of the day is "The Future" by Leonard Cohen.

Wordle Wednesday #36

Ehh. This week's batch ain't the best, but it's been a rough week.

10.15.25 - The apron was so plump, it was practically a spoof.

10.16.25 - My doctor’s advice was to avoid fatty pasta, but she said it in a catty way, and her clothes looked rather ratty, so I ate my ravioli happily.

10.17.25 - The group of vegan zombies started to growl that the soy brains were gross.

(Feel like there's a "plants vs. zombies" joke to be made here, but, eh.)

10.18.25 - The critic had labeled his haven of games as “fakey”, so the manager paced as he waited to see if his opinion held water.

10.19.25 - The girly drinks served at the bottom of the slide did belie that the park was perhaps not the ideal spot to drop off your kids.

(Unless you want them to be drunk.)

10.20.25 - If you claim to have no limit on how low you can go when playing limbo, you better have the skills to back it up.

10.21.25 - Every whale that went through detox had a tepid debut.

(Whales hate 12 step programs.)

Everybody's Changing - Keane

Today is October 21st, 2025. The song of the day is "Everybody's Changing" by Keane.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps - The Beatles

Today is October 20th, 2025. The song of the day is "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by The Beatles.

Girls and Boys - Blur

Today is October 19th, 2025. The song of the day is "Girls and Boys" by Blur.

Down by the Water - PJ Harvey

Today is October 18th, 2025. The song of the day is "Down by the Water" by PJ Harvey.

Ventura Highway - America

Today is October 17th, 2025. The song of the day is "Ventura Highway" by America.

Always on My Mind - Pet Shop Boys

Today is October 16th, 2025. The song of the day is "Always on My Mind" by the Pet Shop Boys.

Wordle Wednesday #35

 10.8.25 - The mosquito’s to-do list read simply: “today - annoy people”.

(brilliant, if I do say so myself.)

10.9.25 - In an attempt to show how hardy he was, Randy, the new mayor, passed a bylaw stating that if you are tardy, you don’t get to have any pizza for a week.

(Randy's a hardass.)

10.10.25 - The piggy wondered if the lever near the table could remove the flesh from the farmer.

(That'll do, pig.)

10.11.25 - The pancake stack was great but no match for the waffles.

(They ARE thicker.)

10.12.25 - I found that if you wound the gnome, it will panic and head north.

(Feels like video game or role-playing game lore. But, it's probably also just a fact.)

10.13.25 - The weary pirate meant for us to be unable to guess the location he hid the pearl, but it was obvious it was in his beard.

(Oh, Pearlbeard, you silly goose.)

10.14.25 - Everyone in the forum thought that the guy in the suit of armor extolling the deliciousness of a wormy smore was a moron, but nobody said anything.

(I thought about ending this sentence with "everyone" discovering that wormy smores were actually good, and that you shouldn't prejudge. But, went with the warnings of groupthink instead. Both lessons are pretty relevant.)

Pleasant Valley Sunday - The Monkees

Today is October 15th, 2025. The song of the day is "Pleasant Valley Sunday" by The Monkees.

Army of Me - Björk

Today is October 14th, 2025. The song of the day is "Army of Me" by Björk. (This video is awesome.)

Glad All Over - Dave Clark Five

Today is October 13th, 2025. The song of the day is "Glad All Over" by the Dave Clark Five.

Panic Station - Muse

Today is October 12th, 2025. The song of the day is "Panic Station" by Muse.

Give Me Just a Little More Time - Chairmen of the Board

Today is October 11th, 2025. The song of the day is "Give Me Just a Little More Time" by the Chairmen of the Board.

This Could All Be Yours - Guster

And the bonus song of the day is "This Could All Be Yours" by Guster.

Piggy - Nine Inch Nails

Today is October 10th, 2025. The song of the day is "Piggy" by Nine Inch Nails.

Poppin’ a Wheelie! - The Aquabats!

Today is October 9th, 2025. The song of the day is "Poppin' a Wheelie!" by The Aquabats!

Wordle Wednesday #34

 10.1.25 - I hate to spoil your day, but the dress is still gold.

(Those who say it's blue are just nuts.)

10.2.25 - The pilot thought he was witty by measuring the width of the cage for the tiger and standing just outside it.

(Forgot about the length, though.)

10.3.25 - If you smash through a glass door and have a back spasm at the same time, it’s fair to say you’re having a bad day.

(No argument here.)

10.4.25 - I have to relay some bleak news, but relax, it isn’t local.

("Nukes have been deployed." "Oh my god!!" "On Mars."  ".....")

10.5.25 - The venal gremlin had already eaten one of the engines of the plane, but stopped eating the second one when we offered him a free seat on the Hindenburg.

(I love this sentence so much.)

10.6.25 - The tale was told to amuse the dragon, and she put up a good front, but I knew the part regarding how the townspeople lived to abuse mythical creatures was upsetting her, so I had to pause  and segue to something lighter.

(When I get Wordle in six, it's sometimes tough to come up with a good sentence.)

10.7.25 - If you wreck her nylon stockings, run.

(And then, there are the times I get it in two, which brings its own set of problems. I had like four different options for this one before I settled on what I went with. All that being said, this is a pretty amazing sentence too, if I do say so myself.)

Hunger Strike - Temple of the Dog

Today is October 8th, 2025. The song of the day is "Hunger Strike" by Temple of the Dog.

Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys

Today is October 7th, 2025. The song of the day is "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by The Beach Boys.

Feels Like Summer - Weezer

Today is October 6th, 2025. The song of the day is "Feels Like Summer" by Weezer.

Eat the Rich - Aerosmith

Today is October 5th, 2025. The song of the day is "Eat the Rich" by Aerosmith.

Another February - Local H

Today is October 4th, 2025. The song of the day is "Another February" by Local H.

Glass Onion - The Beatles

Today is October 3rd, 2025. The song of the day is "Glass Onion" by The Beatles. (Going to go get myself a Pepsi, thanks, Universe.)

Stressed Out - Twenty One Pilots

Today is October 2nd, 2025. The song of the day is "Stressed Out" by Twenty One Pilots.

Wordle Wednesday #33

 9.24.25 - The surgeon, performing the procedure with just a blunt object, flung my liver into the garbage can and emitted a small cluck, because she was a professional, and a chicken.

(Animals doing human jobs is just a thing I like, I guess.)

9.25.25 - We had to break into the museum, look behind the golden drape, remove the frame made of platinum, and open the crate covered with barbed wire to find the newer grape soda.

(Ocean Spray Eleven)

9.26.25 - If we don't let the panda dally when ordering his daily Starbucks, he will freak out. 

(True. Pandas are notoriously high strung.)

9.27.25 - The sweet feeling of frith I felt from escaping the gator evaporated as my truck revealed it was on the fritz.

(Sigh. Stupid "Frith" being accepted.)

9.28.25 - Showing an extraordinary grasp of sarcasm, Stephen said with a goofy tone, “oh goody, another night of gooey gumbo.”

9.29.25 - Remain civil, even if your debate opponent continues to cling to the idea that a mouse will hatch out of an egg.

(I mean....they COULD be right.)

9.30.25 - The melee between the geese and the brine startled me, but when one of the fowl started to quote Churchill, I wondered if I was awake.

("If you're going through hell, keep HONK!")

Dr. Evil - They Might Be Giants

Today is October 1st, 2025. The song of the day is "Dr. Evil" by They Might Be Giants.

2025 games - September

 

January

February

March

July

August

67. Santa Cookie Elf Candy Snowman (avg score:1.5) - A glorified slapjack, where the players place cards down, having to recite the mantra, "Person, Woman, Man, Camera, TV"... or, um, "Santa. Cookie, Elf, Candy, Snowman", and if a card matching the word the player is saying happens to be placed, then you slap the deck to give the cards to the other player. Goal is to get rid of your cards first. There's no real strategy, and nobody in the family likes this game, so we half-heartedly played it for a bit, and will undoubtedly be donating it at the end of the year.

68. Santorini (avg score: 8) - Fun little strategy game where each player has two movers on a 5x5 board, attmepting to get to the top of the towers they build after moving. After we played, Silas mentioned that this is a lot like Connect Four, but more spatial, and I guess that's the case, but I still really like this game, and want to play it more in the future.

69. Scattergories (avg score: 6) - Everyone's got a list of categories. A letter is rolled on a giant letter die, the timer is set for like 2 minutes, and you have to write down answers that match the categories starting with the letter rolled for htat round. Then, everyonoe reveals their answers and if your answer is the same as anone elses (or is invalid somehow), it doesn't count.  Fine enough game, although I think it's probably more fun with more people.

70. Scrabble (avg score:6.5) - Uh. It's Scrabble, yo. You build words with your letter tiles, and certain spots on the board are worth extra points. 

71. Scrambled States of America (avg score: 5.5) - Simple little children's educational card game where each player gets five state cards in front of them. Each card has the state name, the capital, and the state nickname, as well as a cartoon drawing of the anthropomorphized state. You then have to be the first to match one of your states to a card that has something on it. Things like, "Capital starts with an A, B, or C" or "State does NOT touch the ocean" or "State not showing teeth in it smile". At the end of the deck, player with the most cards wins. (Ironically, we both ended up with 24. ...I'm not sure where the remaining two went.) Anyway. It's purely luck, and not a super deep game, but it was fun enough. 

72. Set (avg score: 6.5) - Card game where you have to find sets of 3 cards where each "thing" (color, shape, number of  shapes, and solid-ness) is different (or the same). I like this game, normally, but, just wasn't feeling it when we played yesterday, for whatever reason. One of those games I think you have to be in the right mindset (heh) for.

Amsterdam - Guster

Today is September 30th, 2025. The song of the day is "Amsterdam" by Guster.

Horn Intro - Modest Mouse

Today is September 29th, 2025. The song of the day is "Horn Intro" by Modest Mouse.

Steven's Last Night in Town - Ben Folds Five

Today is September 28th, 2025. The song of the day is "Steven's Last Night in Town" by Ben Folds Five.

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - The Eurythmics

Today is September 27th, 2025. The song of the day is "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by The Eurythmics.

Freewill - Rush

Today is September 26th, 2025. The song of the day is "Freewill" by Rush.

Press Pound - Rick Moranis

And the bonus song of the day is "Press Pound" by Rick Moranis. 

Nobody Cares - Superorganism

Today is September 25th, 2025. The song of the day is "Nobody Cares" by Superorganism.

Wordle Wednesday #32

 9.17.25 - The toucan sat on his perch and said with a heavy sigh, “I’ll need one tenth of your teeth.”

(Creepy. Love it.)

9.18.25 - Jack wanted to write his guide for how to survive a serial killer and include tips like, “smile” and “keep your voice calm” and “stay hidden”, but he couldn’t because he had a knife plunged into his head.

(Darkly comical. Love it.)

9.19.25 - Much later, the table became sentient and dealt its revenge on the card dealers.

(BWAHAHAHA!!)

9.20.25 - We want the robber to retry to swipe an ocean, but he will demur and instead defer to looting a lake.

(Ehhhh.)

9.21.25 - Before you join a coven, make sure they do a decent cover of Britney’s “Toxic”.

(Words to live by.)

9.22.25 - If you want to build to a fiery twist in your comic, use a quill ink pen, and be a porcupine on fire.

(Heh. I wonder what cooked porcupine meat is like...)

9.23.25 - Death told me wistfully, “The truth is, in my youth, I was able to fit an entire city in my mouth.”

(It would be cool to have a conversation with Death. I bet she's got all sorts of cool stories to tell.)

Livin' Thing - Electric Light Orchestra

Today is September 24th, 2025. The song of the day is "Livin' Thing" by Electric Light Orchestra.

Death of a Bachelor - Panic! At the Disco

Today is September 23rd, 2025. The song of the day is "Death of a Bachelor" by Panic! At the Disco.

Crayons Can Melt on Us for All I Care - Relient K

Today is September 22nd, 2025. The song of the day is "Crayons Can Melt on Us for All I Care" by Relient K.

Toxic - Britney Spears

Today is September 21st, 2025. The song of the day is "Toxic" by Britney Spears.

Is She Really Going Out with Him? - Joe Jackson

Today is September 20th, 2025. The song of the day is "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" by Joe Jackson.

Do You Feel Like We Do - Peter Frampton

Today is September 19th, 2025. The song of the day is "Do You Feel Like We Do" by Peter Frampton.

Now, Stand Back for Your Own Safety! - The Aquabats!

Today is September 18th, 2025. The song of the day is "Now, Stand Back for Your Own Safety!" by The Aquabats!

Wordle Wednesday #31

 9.10.25 - The doula got pouty when it turned out her honor was bogus simply because she was a mouse.

(I don't have any commentary on this sentence, other than, I love it.)

9.11.25 - I doubt you can find a shockingly good prize in an electric chair circa 1880.

(puns, man. Love 'em.)

9.12.25 - The magician’s top hat started to throb, and a thump emerged from inside, so I reached in and pulled out a white rabbit that said “thank you”.

(ta-da!!)

9.13.25 - The nadir of Bob Ross’s career was when he took jars of paint and jelly and instructed his audience to smash them together.

(happy little trees!)

9.14.25 - The crisp still made the noisy noise it made the last time I bit into it, a decade earlier, but the flavor was …different.

(mmmm....ancient....[/Homer])

9.15.25 - You can walk along the path among all the ants, and they won’t bother you, but if you touch the anthill, you’ll groan in agony.

(...yup.)

9.16.25 - The four archetypes of leader are: lefty, lucky, silly, and moldy. 

(The ideal leader is a combination of all four. You know, like Voltron.)

How You Like Me Now? - The Heavy

Today is September 17th, 2025. The song of the day is "How You Like Me Now?" by The Heavy.

I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band) - The Moody Blues

Today is September 16th, 2025. The song of the day is "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)" by The Moody Blues.

Touch of Grey - Grateful Dead

Today is September 15th, 2025. The song of the day is "Touch of Grey" by the Grateful Dead.

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes - Crosby, Stills & Nash

Today is September 14th, 2025. The song of the day is "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" by Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Jellybelly - The Smashing Pumpkins

Today is September 13th, 2025. The song of the day is "Jellybelly" by The Smashing Pumpkins.

Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves

Today is September 12th, 2025. The song of the day is "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves.

It's My Life - No Doubt

Today is September 11th, 2025. The song of the day is "It's My Life" by No Doubt.

Wordle Wednesday #30

 9.3.25 - We watch the  ginormous gorilla climb a parking garage and fetch a truck from the top like it was nothing. 

(I'm picturing King Kong  as a valet.)

9.4.25 - To make Christmas twice as merry, blend the holidays with Charlie Sheen.

(Ho ho ho?)

9.5.25 - I admit, making your house inside a snow drift is a cool idea.

(Hashtag dad jokes)

9.6.25 - I lunge, but the bulge will not yield from its place.

(Some days, I just don't want to put in a lot of effort with the sentence.)

9.7.25 - As soon as the wordy tenor showed up at my front door, I knew he’d be a thorn in my side.

(And other days, you get masterpieces...)

9.8.25 - I asked the geese if they wanted to try to chirp instead of honk, but they were not on board with that idea.

(Geese are stubborn, yo.)

9.9.25 - Attaching springs to your feet is a quick trick to jump higher, but the boing can be so loud that it’s reported hundreds of miles away.

(Sometimes the world that these sentences evoke in my mind sound SO MUCH COOLER than the world we actually live in. Sigh.)

How About That - Gisli

Today is September 10th, 2025. The song of the day is "How About That" by Gisli.

Last Train to Clarksville - The Monkees

And the bonus song of the day is "Last Train to Clarksville" by The Monkees.

2000 Miles - The Pretenders

Today is September 9th, 2025. The song of the day is "2000 Miles" by The Pretenders.

Godzilla - Blue Öyster Cult

Today is September 8th, 2025. The song of the day is "Godzilla" by Blue Öyster Cult. (GO, GO, Godzilla!!)

Word Forward - Foo Fighters

Today is September 7th, 2025. The song of the day is "Word Forward" by the Foo Fighters.

You Make Loving Fun - Fleetwood Mac

Today is September 6th, 2025. The song of the day is "You Make Loving Fun" by Fleetwood Mac.

Harlem Shuffle - The Rolling Stones

Today is September 5th, 2025. The song of the day is "Harlem Shuffle" by The Rolling Stones.

Merry Christmas, Darling - The Carpenters

Today is September 4th, 2025. The song of the day is "Merry Christmas, Darling" by The Carpenters.

Wordle Wednesday #29

 8.27.25 - The trick to finding your ka-tet is to attend a Dark Tower themed party.

(or nineteen, even!)

8.28.25 - Adding the mulch flavored blend to your banana split was a silly idea.

(mmmm....mulch....)

8.29.25 = As I watched the crane try to grasp the grail full of gravy, I decided to graft myself a better mechanical arm before Thanksgiving.

(Making the answer to any "can you pass the..." request an automatic "yes") 

8.30.25 - To elate my niece, I trimmed the hedge to resemble a Pikachu.

(Honestly, I'd be elated to see pokemon shaped shrubbery too.)

8.31.25 - The doctor claimed that a flower’s petal can heal a light wound, but the gardener disagreed.

(Doctors. Pfft. What do they know?)

9.1.25 - The least destructive blast was from the ninth head of the dragon.

(Aw, poor Jacob. Yeah. I don't know. I just imagine a dragon with (at least) nine heads, and the one that is least destructive is called Jacob [shrug]. )

9.2.25 - The kangaroo might shine her pouch before the fight, giving her an unfair advantage.

(That's not a pouch... This is a pouch.)

Souljacker Part I - eels

Today is September 3rd, 2025. The song of the day is "Souljacker Part I" by eels.

Supermassive Black Hole - Muse

Today is September 2nd, 2025. The song of the day is "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse.

9 to 5 - Dolly Parton

Today is September 1st, 2025. The song of the day is "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton.

2025 Games - August

 January

February

March

July

56. Othello - (avg score - 6.5) - One of those 'old games from humanities beginning' again... While not nearly as great as chess (what is, really?), this is still a very strategic...feeling game. But, I think that once it gets to a certain point, if you haven't played well, then it becomes....pretty much determined what your fate is going to be. If the edges get to be all controlled, there ain't no coming back from that. 

That was pretty much what happened with our game. I thought I was going to win, but got sloppy, and then Steph pretty much kicked my ass. 

oh ,yeah, and we're missing a piece, so we've subbed it out with a coin. Heh.

Anyway, fun enough game, but not something I feel the need to play repeatedly, I don't think.

57. Pandemic (avg score 6.75) - First, we won!!! That's the first time in the history of us owning and playing this cooperative game that we actually succeeded!! 

So, yeah. Cooperative game where various 'diseases' (represented by tiny cute, delicious looking cubes) break out and spread throughout the globe and you and your team have to travel around the world trying to prevent outbreaks and pandemics. As evidenced by my excitement on our win, this is a lot harder than it should be.  A LOT of this is luck based, but there's a whole degree of strategizing and communicating with your team about the best course of action, which is really the only way to win.

58. Photosynthesis (avg score  - 8) - I liked this one a lot more the other times we played. This time the pacing felt off, and the idea of there only being one way to truly win - claim the middle first - was annoying to me. Like 3/4ths of the way through, I started to think there might be another strategy - of growing and recycling your trees on the outer edges rapidly - but there wasn't enough time in the game to really put that to the test. Maybe next time.  

Anyway, in this, you all grow various sized trees, which cast shadows that can block sunlight from other nearby trees. Collecting sunlight gives you points to buy other trees and seeds... and the cycle just continues for 3 or 4 'years' - once the sun has gone around the board each time.  I do really like the board pieces in this. Although the sun marker is way too big. But the trees themselves are pretty cool.

59. Pictionary (avg score 5) - Probably a lot more fun with more people involved, but it was just me and Steph, so we took turns drawing and guessing for each other. My complete lack of artistic ability may have played a role in me losing, but I had fun nonetheless.

(millionaire) 

60. Pictureka! (avg score 6.5) - Silas LOVED this game as a kid, and was super good at it, because he'd pretty much memorized all of the locations of the weird pictures. He won this time around too, but it was pretty close, and it was cheesy fun. The board is made of 9 tiles with wacky drawings covering them. There are cards that have either a picture that is on the board, or a description of things that you have to find (wheels, head coverings, numbers, fruit... that sort of stuff) before time runs out. Simple, but entertaining.

61. Quirkle (avg score 7.5) - This is tactile-ly pleasing (those wooden blocks are just ...so cool! And the bag they're stored ain't too shabby either.) And I just really enjoyed this. We should play it more often.

Final score - 206 to 217. Close match!

 62. Munchkin Deluxe - (avg score 2.66) - We've played this several times before, but not for a while. I don't recall what we thought of it then, but THIS time around was not enjoyable. This is basically a mock/spoof game of D&D, with a board to keep track of your progress (you make your way up "levels" of the dungeon, first to 10 wins) and everything else being done with cards. The problem this time around was that if you start off with bad hands, it feels absolutely impossible to make any real progress. Add in the fact that there's an element to the game of backstabbing other players to sabotage them, which happened with Silas doing that to me, and it just amplified the un-fun factor. I think it really all does come down to getting dealt decent hands that allow you to get your groove on; if that happens, the game can proceed at a normal pace, and it (might) be an enjoyable (although far from perfect) game. This time around, we just lucked out to where we got to experience all of its flaws magnified. 

63. Ransom Notes - avg score 5.5 - Essentially a sort of "Cards Against Humanity" type game, but with magnetic poetry as your word base. You're supposed to play with 3 or more players, and that probably makes it more enjoyable. Steph and I just played with the two of us, and, it was ...okay. 

64. Race Across the USA  - avg score 3.5 - Very simple 'educational' game designed for children to help them learn geography and facts about the United States.  You roll, move your airplane across the map to various states, and answer trivia questions. It's fine for what it is, but it absolutely is something we don't need in our family's collection any more. 

65. Risk (avg score 3) - We actually didn't finish this. Steph HATED it, and didn't want to keep playing, and I wasn't going to force her to sit thru what could have been like 2 hours (or more!) of torture, so, after a few rounds we boxed it up. Risk is one of those games that you absolutely have to be in the mindset for. And, even if you DO enjoy it - there's ....not a lot to it. It's dice rolling. Yes, there's strategy, but it's absolutely got that luck factor built in, and if the dice aren't cooperating, it can be extremely demoralizing. And not being able to make progress or win at all simply isn't fun. 

(all that being said, I probably would have won. I already had all of Africa when we quit, and with my next turn I would have turned in my first set to get extra armies....so, yeah. It probably would have just been me slowly slaughtering her)

66. Rat a Tat Cat (avg score 6.5) - pretty simple card game - designed for kids, but still fun enough to be enjoyed by adults - that I don't think I've played enough. Each player gets dealt four cards face down. You can look at the outer two. Then take turns revealing cards from the draw deck and replacing them in your hand, until you think you've got the lowest total. When you do, you knock on the table saying "rat a tat cat" giving every other player one more turn, and then everyone reveals what they have. Like I said, simple. Largely luck based, but still seemed to hit that sweet spot of enjoyment for me. (Maybe it was just washing the bad taste of Risk out of my mouth.)