Entering the Golden Age

 My twin sons, Wilmick and Terrjo, are 12 and will be 13 in March. Although I'm not looking forward to the attitude and growing pains that come from raising teenagers, I have to admit I'm entering a kind of Golden Age because the twins like board games. Not just any board games, but complex board games like I like!

Last year we started playing and enjoying Terraforming Mars, and this Christmas I got Tapestry for a present and turns out the twins like that game too.

Tapestry Learning Game

Only one of the twins has a lot of interest in Twilight Imperium, but the other twin *loves* Axis & Allies and owns three of the games now (World 1941, Europe 1940 and Pacific 1940) and we played his new one, Pacific 1940) twice over the Christmas.

Twilight Imperium

Terrjo also got Carcassonne as a smaller board game pickup and its a hit with all the family, something that can be in and done in a hour and lots of fun.

Ah, all those years of missing board game nights and giving up Warhammer are finally paying off....

Board Games With the Spawns

I haven't talked about The Boys much but they are a very large part of my life, both regularly and especially in gaming. The twins are turning 12 this coming April, and the younger brother is 10 next week, so they are getting to the age where more complicated games are not only intriguing for them but also possible.

This past week I started to introduce them to one of the big influences of my childhood love of board games, Axis and Allies. After doing some small scenarios and rules introduction, we broke out the latest version I purchased, Axis and Allies 1941.

It includes Destroyers but not Artillery pieces, comes with fewer bits overall, and the setup has fewer pieces per player and the economy is such that you buy fewer pieces every turn. But the general idea is the same: Japan and Germany have bigger starting forces and must win before the larger buying power of the Allies overwhelm them.

Since this is a shorter and simpler game then other versions its perfect intro for The Boys. And it went well!

Wilmick and Terjoe were the Axis, while Aarjay and I were the Allies. I went easy on them, helping them with strategy and ideas, and in the end I left a path open for victory before lunch.

Another evening Wilmick and I had a skirmish in Mothership.

Next up, Axis and Allies Pacific!

Aspiring Youtube Stars

My children, aka The Boys, are growing in an era where a person making Let's Play videos and posting them on Youtube can become a world wide celebrity and make a decent living doing so. A big example of this is DanTDM who started his rise to fame doing Minecraft vids (The TDM stands for The Diamond Minecart) and moved on to other games with his following and now has over 14 MILLION subscribers to his channel.

Since the boys watch Youtube for DanTDM and other gamers, not only do they want to try the games they see (smart marketing and the source of Dan's income) they have become enamoured with the idea of making their own Youtube videos and getting millions of subscribers. Being the modern dad I agreed to help them create their videos and host them on my inactive Youtube channel so I can try to protect them from trolls or unfriendly persons.

Here are the first attempts. I realize the sound levels are way off in spots, this is a learning experience for me too, but if you can spare a few minutes here and there and a like (or not like), they love seeing the feedback. The twins play some Roblox games, while their younger brother sticks to World of Tanks

Terjoe Ep1 - I Believe I Can Fly:

Wilmick Ep1 - Cake Equals Illuminati

Aaryjay Ep1 - Let's Play World of Tanks

They've already recorded second episodes, I just need to review them and edit as needed.