Ashley

Operation game collab with Figs: $64

Operation game at Target: $13

There was an artist doing pet portrait commissions at Gen Con this year and I thought it would be a great gift for my parents and brother. They finally arrived months late and the one for my brother has a Boston Red Sox B on the bandana instead of a Cincinnati Reds C. 😕

A giant Lego Santa holding a Lego Santa minifigure.

Just finished the upscaled Santa minifigure. He's holding the normal minifigure for scale. I don't know where I'm going to put him. Lego doesn't really fit in with the rest of my Santa collection or other Christmas decor.

Just filled the last spot in my second large Age of Steam portfolio. Going to need another one before the latest Alban set delivers.

Skyline Chili is killing it this year. First Graeters release a Skyline Chili spice ice cream collab and this weekend Kroger has a frozen Skyline Chili cheese coney pizza and Braxton Brewing has a Skyline Chili spice imperial stout.

A wooden ornament from Sequoia National Park showing 5 sequoia trees engraved.

A round wooden ornament from Railtown 1897 in Toulumne County celebrating the 175th year of the railroad. A locomotive is surrounded by trees and a river with mountains in the background.

A nēnē, the state bird of Hawai'i dressed in a Santa suit.

3 more from our travels. The last one is a bonus from our Maui.

A wooden ornament of a banyan tree with Christmas lights on the trunk and branches behind a sign that says Lahaina, Maui

A round wooden ornament of a moose in front of some snowy mountains from Breckenridge

A metal ornament from Yosemite National Park showing half dome behind trees with a stone bridge in front.

A metal ornament from Kings Canyon National Parks showing trees in front of a mountain

This year's new Christmas ornaments from various trips.

I don't know if my heart was racing because of the Newmill drop or the demogorgon attack that was taking place on my TV. Either was I was able to checkout without issues this time and got the games I wanted.

Egg not in a moose glass sitting on a coffee table with the title screen of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on a TV screen in the background.

Time for our annual post tree decorating egg nog and Christmas Vacation viewing.

I made it until 2:58pm on December 1st before hearing Mariah Carey.

A grid titled November 2025 with board game covers, their name, and the number of times played. Summoner Wars (6 plays, 178 all time), Magical Athlete (3 plays, 6 all time), Hot Streak (2 plays, 15 all time), Point Galaxy (1 play, 1 all time), Challengers (1 play, 1 all time), Waddle (1 play, 1 all time), Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Trick-Taking Game (3,plays, 5 all time), Heat (1 play, 2 all time), Age of Steam (8 plays, 188 all time), Ghost Lift (1 play, 1 all time), Volldampf (1 play, 1 all time)

November was another good month with Age of Steam UK, a local meetup, and an in person game night. Point Galaxy and Ghost Lift were both misses for me. I think both suffered from too many players. I was hoping to hit my 200th Age of Steam play this year, but there's no way it will happen.

You choose which 2 to race and their order each turn so you can create some fun combos. I think it would be fun to try a 3 player game with 6 racers using the variant. HS definitely gets more looks & interest from passersby. It's also an easier pitch. MA has a ton of racers so each game is different

a betting game. Once the race starts you're still just watching funny things happen, but the people that bounce off MA like it more because you have more decisions before the game with adding a card and choosing bets. The 2 player variant of controlling 2 racers in MA does seem a bit more strategic

They're both very silly party games with a great presentation. I love and own them both. I've had a couple people bounce of of MA because it's roll & move and you don't really have much choice in the game. It's mostly about the funny things that happen along. HS is a race, but I see it as more of

A card from Magical Athlete showing M.O.U.T.H. (a large open red lipped toothy mouth) and the meeples of its victims [hecker (a pink hyena pointing and laughing), dicemonger (a purple man in a red hat and coat holding a die), and copycat (a blue cat wearing a purple hat stands on the shoulders of its twin which is also wearing a striped tie)]

Husband went to the 49ers/Browns game today so I went to a meetup at a local restaurant. I played Challengers for the first time, taught Hot Streak which we played twice, then someone brought out Magical Athlete where M.o.u.t.h took out half the field.

We're an hour from home and I'm already over the amount of snow that's waiting for us. I think it's going to be a long winter.

Thanks. I can only take credit for the layout and rules. Kevin McCurdy and gringohairpiece did the art. I couldn't be happier with how they turned out though.

A curly black goldendoodle wearing a red bandana covered with slices of pie. His mouth is slightly open.

Arthur is just here for the pie.

This place is insane today. They're also forcasting 4-12 inches of snow tomorrow depending on which side of the lake you look at so it's just making it worse. I think the pharmacy will die down in about 30 minutes or so though.

I hate to break it to these people, but if you're buying a frozen turkey or getting a flu/covid shot today then you're too late to be ready for tomorrow.

Got final Jeopardy just in the nick of time tonight.

Two framed Age of Steam maps. On the left is Chicago Speakeasy and and on the right is Aiaia.

Finally got around to framing these. Now I just need to find a place to hang them.

Found a flosser in the pocket of a backpack I bought from someone on Facebook. It didn't appear to be used, but it still grossed me out. 😬

I think UPS lost my Christmas cards. ☹️

Earlier this year I accidentally delayed my geeklist of Age of Steam plays. I just finished recreating it as a page in my Age of Steam map spreadsheet. It doesn't have photos of the plays, but it's easier to keep updated and recoverable if I accidentally delete it.

Pretty bummed to be at work this weekend instead of at PaxU. I hope everyone has a great time. Visit the Christmas market if you want a break from the con. I highly suggest the fresh stroopwafels and raclette sandwiches.

Age of Steam UK 2025 Con Recap Age of Steam is by far my favorite and most played game. I started attending Age of Steam Con in Kansas City, USA in 2020 and it has become the one gaming event I can't miss. When I heard there might ...

I just finished my Age of Steam UK recap geeklist. It was areally fun time even though my jet leg meant fewer plays than I get at the US con.

boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/364...

Made it to Cleveland and I'm stuck in the parking lot. No one can pay to leave.

Can't wait to get home in a few hours and see my dog.

I'm guessing it's AI. I can't see an actual artist doing this. Also her other hand is on top of the dog instead of under it. The dog is just weirdly floating there with no support.