Boardgaming in the Time of Covid

If you've been reading my blog over the years, you'd know that I am an avid fan of board games and tabletop games. I would normally play at least once a month and sometimes, I would get to play multiple times a month. Unfortunately, the pandemic prevented my for enjoying this hobby for most of last year. To give me some semblance of normalcy, I decided in late 2020 to purchase Herbaceous Sprouts online from Gaming Library. This game looks visually appealing and it has a solo variant, meaning I can play it by myself. It's a quick game and the instructions are easy to understand. I found it to be quite enjoyable to play. I'm the only one in all my board game groups who has played this game so I look forward to the day that I can introduce it to my other friends.

Herbaceous Sprouts

I would have played Herbaceous Sprouts more frequently if not for the fact that some of my friends gave me online games on Steam. We decided that for our online Christmas get-together, we would play online games so I set up a Steam account and I got Lords of Waterdeep, Wingspan, Agricola All Creatures Big and Small, and Viticulture as presents.  (Thanks friends!) I also downloaded Tokaido on my phone because it's free on the Android Play Store. We got to play a couple of rounds of Lords of Waterdeep, Wingspan, and Tokaido that night. It wasn't quite the same as getting to play with my friends face-to-face, but given the situation, it was the next best thing.

The cool thing about these games is that you can play against AI players. As such, I ended up playing Tokaido quite a bit on my phone. This is such a relaxing game, although while there is still some strategy involved, I do find it is quite luck-based and the start-player sequence does play a part in how the final results are determined. I did manage to win my fair share of games against the AI.

One of my winning games in Tokaido

Lords of Waterdeep is the game I have played the most. I think this is one of my top 5 favorite board games because, while there is some luck involved, it requires a lot of strategy while having relatively simple and straightforward game mechanics. This makes it perfect for both newbies and experienced board gamers. I've played a few times with my friends online but most of the time, I play against the AI and I think I've become quite good at it haha. I've had more than my fair share of wins but the best one came earlier today, when I got what I think is the highest score I've ever achieved in Lords of Waterdeep - 191 points! - as well as my largest lead (I was 71 points ahead of the second placer). Amazing!

I'm Player, with a score of 191!

I'm really happy that I have these games now and maybe I will try purchasing a few other games on Steam, such as Scythe and Terraforming Mars. Until then, I will enjoy the ones I have now.

Welcome 2021

So it's taken a while for me to write my first post of 2021. In the past, I would normally post something within the first week of the New Year but I've really slowed down in my blogging in 2020. This is mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic which still rages all over the world. To ensure safety of all employees in the place I work, our management implemented work-from-home for all employees. You would think that because I work from home all the time now, I'd have more time to write. However, the opposite has happened. I think this is because I would normally sit in front of my computer at home for several hours each day so once work is done, I don't feel like looking at my computer anymore, even if it just is to update my blog. Of course, I'm thankful that I can work from home because it allows me to practice social distancing and it minimizes my exposure to other people, thus reducing my chances of contracting Covid. However, this means that until I get vaccinated and it feels safe enough again to go out, I won't be writing as much.

Thinking about it now, maybe it's also because there hasn't been much to write about. While I am grateful that my family, my friends, and I have remained safe and healthy throughout this ordeal, the events of last year have meant that there hasn't really been a lot of interesting things going on. Being stuck at home has left me being a lot more unproductive than usual. I've barely seen anyone outside my family. I haven't hung out with any of my friends, I haven't gone out for meals, I haven't traveled, and I haven't played board games. I also find that I am spending more money: what I save in gas because I don't travel, I spend more on food. There is a cheap cafeteria in my office where I could get meals with protein, vegetables, and rice for under P100; I can't get that at home unless I just cook canned goods which I don't want to consume too much of. I also tend to buy a lot of junk food and sweets; the weight I lost in 2019, I have gained back in 2020.

That said, there were still things that happened last year that I'm thankful for. I got to be a ninong for my new nephew. I read four books - the most I read in a year in maybe the last few decades - and I completed the John Wayne Cleaver series (which I very highly recommend). I learned how to cook and while I had more than my fair share of kitchen failures, I also did manage to put together a couple of dishes that were pretty successful. I discovered and got to try a lot of different food items and online food sellers. I purchased an online work-out app (although I barely exercised in the second half of 2020 because of my very heavy workload). I put some of my savings in PRU Life UK and SunLife investments. I also downloaded the Lazada app and learned how to look for and free shipping vouchers. 

Covid is still infecting thousands of people each day in the Philippines. The UK coronavirus variant, which is more easily transmissible, has also made its way to our shores, which means it is still not that safe to go out. There are efforts to make vaccine available and accessible to Filipinos. I hope that my family and I can get access to a working vaccine soon. I can't wait for the day when I can go out without a face mask and a face shield, travel both locally and internationally, and hang out with my friends and family again.