Back to the table: Pirate & Traveller, Zoo Run

We found some time today to sit at the table and play some actual board games.  While I did intend for this blog to focus on board games, it is not so easy to find the time, or someone who also has the time.  The million-or-so apps are so much more accessible.  Board games cost $20 or $50 each, where the apps are free to try.  So, I do branch into apps more than I would like, mostly testing new ones late at night when I can't sleep.

But today we sat down and played a few games of Pirate & Traveller (1960) and Zoo Run.  P&T is always fun, especially as a long time fan of maps and geography.  The way the game switches to pirate mode after the 10th mission is completed is a perfect twist, and then chasing and stealing from the other players is a fine way to breathe life back into it as the usual die-rolling starts to get a bit dull.  I covered P&T in more depth in this previous post.

Zoo Run was just as much fun this time around.  I have nothing to add to my previous post about it.  Only that the games for younger players are sometimes more fun that the ones for adults.  They are often meant for fun, not bogged down with rules or analysis like the more adult games.  Matching up the cards to make animals is a fun mechanic, and we fell back into the game rules within minutes.  Again, it has a whole second game on the flipside of the board, and they are equally fun and balanced.


The apps do feel like a shadow of what real gaming can be.  They lack the at-the-table camaraderie and silly social moments that board games give us.  App games are much easier to find and test, and we all have our favorites that we keep returning to.  On the other hand, board games don't have batteries that die, or pop-up ads, or keep trying to trick us into spending real money on imaginary things.  Pros and cons aside, we continue to enjoy both.


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