I'll be offline for a day or two while I make my annual Christmas visit to my 1960s-tech-level family in Fairfield, Maine. They are like unto a museum exhibit, a living piece of history. This is why I tolerate their ceaseless yet period-appropriate racist and panaphobic speech, which would make any of my bleeding-heart friends' hair turn white upon exposure.
I will attempt to lighten my visit by bringing games. Ricky enjoys playing Memoir 44, but last year's attempt to play it with him ended prematurely and poorly, as he used its theme (WWII) to start ranting about the WoT. So I am steering clear of militaristic subjects this time, and opting to bring Bohnanza, which I haven't played in ages and my family might actually both understand and like. Ricky, if he plays, will play according to however the UFOs tell him to, but the game supports this strategy.
All that said, my Zipcar reservation lasts only 48 hours, so I am guaranteed an out before things get too twitchy. I also made a late-night run to the Harvard Bookstore to pick up the second collection of the Brust saga, so I won't go insane from boredom from lack of internets.
I wish a most Merry Christmas to those who desire one!
Re: Ricky and Memoir '44.
I actually had the reverse problem this year. I gave my brother Battlelore for Christmas. When I suggested that we give it a try yesterday afternoon, my father started angrily ranting about how he couldn't believe that anyone would ever want to play a wargame. While there were several responses that came to mind, none of them would have been helpful.
We decided that perhaps it would be better to do something else. Now that I have some distance and my sense of humor has kicked in, I'm wishing we had decided to play chess. Instead, we ended up playing bridge, which I can't turn into an abstract wargame no matter how much I would like to.