Game Store Prophets

It’s our 2nd annual InnRoads award show for the year 2014. Luke and I picked some of our favorites from the following – after the usual witty banter that is:

Favorite Game Played (does not have to be new this year):

Favorite Game Added to Your Collection: 

Favorite Game Publisher:

Favorite Video Game:

Favorite Franchise game:

Favorite Game of the Year:

This is 2014’s penultimate episode. Since this the first episode to drop in December, giving you plenty of time to secure gifts for the gamer in your life – we decided we wanted to share with you folks our top 10 (5 from each of the hosts) gaming related gifts we’d love to see under our trees on the 25th.

If you hear us talk about our lists and want to know more – you can check the following (top 5s start at 17:50):

                      Mike’s top 5                                                                    Luke’s top 5

In this episode we talk about two issues that have popped up when games aren’t fun – one of them negative – the other positive.

In the negative sense, we spend some time talking about the disqualification of the Ticket to Ride world champion because of cheating. Can our competitive nature bring us to the point that we stop enjoying games when we aren’t winning?

In the positive- we talk about the depth of gaming in board games, RPGs, and video games coming out lately. When titles like Freedom: The Underground Railroad, Dog Eat Dog, and This War of Mine challenge what some folks think about gaming – we realize that games don’t always have to be fun, as long as they’re compelling.

We didn’t do a Halloween episode this year because, well, we were busy recording this one Halloween night. Neither of us had many trick-or-treaters come to our doors, but we came to the campfire with a ton of great stories to tell. This episode is jam packed full of our gaming experiences. From talking about the “older” games coming off the shelf for Extra Life up to the newest of the new with games like Lords of Xidit, Loot Letter, and Machi Koro.

We also take a moment in this episode to remember that the games we play are just games. As much as we love them, and as much as we consider them powerful influences for good in the lives of individuals and the community – they cannot, and should not ever, be placed with higher value than the people that are at the table playing them.

Pssst … Hey guys. Future Mike here. I told you I’d post a link up for the InnRoadsministries.com one year anniversary contest. So HERE YOU GO. Just follow that link, subscribe to the newsletter, and you’re entered to win $25 gift certificate for Cool Stuff Inc!

This post starts out with Luke and myself bantering about Star Realms and Five Tribes, but before long you get to have a listen into what happened during our fund raiser for Extra Life on October the 25th. As of this posting, we have raised just shy of $1000 for the event, but donations are STILL BEING ACCEPTED! Please consider following THIS LINK to our team’s donation page and giving to help Children’s Specialized Hospital here in New Jersey.

If you are a part of the Tavern or Game Church City, you saw a post from me sharing that my wife went into the hospital due to an intense bipolar episode. This is a rare but painful reality among those struggling with this diagnosis, and it was hard – but it could have been much worse. Suze was actually out of the hospital and on the road to full recovery enough that she was in attendance at the event (though in another part of the building). We would both like to thank everyone who made the event happen and hope that you will donate to help these kids.

Whether you donate or not, I hope that you’ll enjoy the recordings of this event as they start off filled with excitement and possibility before ending with exhaustion and slurred speech.