Japan through my eyes

2011 was a big year for the world.  We saw huge earthquakes in New Zealand, and the one in Japan was devastating because it was 3 major disasters in 1 day.  Japan was still in a bad recession - I knew a lot of friends who had lost jobs.  I was also worried I wouldn't be able to come back to Japan after the Earthquake, and would have to leave my friends behind.  I remember I was crying on the train to say goodbye to coworkers.  It was a really sad time. I lost my voice and discovered I had Vocal Cord Polyps which is really painful when I speak and sometimes breathing hurts. The conversation went like this "Don't speak or it could damage your voice" "But I'm a teacher" "Don't speak for 2 weeks, oh and the polyps come back, it's permanent. " I really Love to sing :( just have to sing in my mind these days because some days I can't even speak when I wake up.   But Japan moved on.  Everyone has been trying to be really positive...

Recently, I received this great game called Coerceo .   It looks quite interesting.  I love abstract games, but haven't been able to find someone to play them with in Japan.  I used to play a lot of Chess in high school, but after the losing a gazillion times, it was time to throw in the towel/Chess board. I read the rules and watched some videos on this game, and it looks like a lot of fun.  I think this one is simple enough to teach even new gamers.  That's definitely a bonus in my eyes.   I like the modular board, and the great pyramid shaped pieces. Here's what the game looks like.  After I play it a few times, I'll post up a review right here, on what I thought of the game. Watch this space....To be continued The game components The board shrinks as you play it

After seeing "Kakerlaken Poker" or in Japanese "ゴキブリポカー" (Gokiburi Poker) appear as a top 10 on a lot of Japanese board gaming catalogs, I decided to check out what the hype was all about.  So I picked up a copy of the Japanese version (luckily the cards had no language specific text)  and once I opened the box, I was immediately hooked by the colourful and amazingly cute artwork.  This cute little Take That style game by Jacques Zeimet has been my go to game for the month.  You can print out a Tuckbox from BGG which allows you to fit this game into your pocket, literally. There's a different image on each of the 64 cards, no 2 cockroaches are exactly alike, which makes the game higher on my Gaming list.  The artist who designed the FANTASTIC art is Rolf Vogt (yes, I was so interested in who did the art, I looked it up on BGG).  If you hated creepy crawlies before, this game might make you rethink those pre-conceptions.   "Awh, isn't that co...

Mastar & JBC were scrooges this year.  They gave me nothing.  Maybe it's because I give them nothing each year.  I sent this clue to my Secret Santa recipient But I did have a Master rival give a huge box of goodies for Christmas.  Technically they arrived on New Years Eve, so I guess the song title needs to change/blog title above needs to change. Then the wonderful Santa elf by the name of Awesome Joe Yamasaki, carefully wrapped up all the goodies, and bagged then, then boxed them into a huge box of exciting awesomeness.  I'm SO glad I met him at the Tokyo Game Show 2011.  He's such a great guy! After unwrapping all my goodies, the long wait began.  When would the next game day be...?  Luckily it was only a few days away.  Unlucky for me, I had all these rules I had to read up on before we played the games.  So until next time Batman   I've had a chance to play the games a few times, I'll leave you with this eye can...