I appreciate games as works of audiovisual art. They are an amazing way to challenge your thinking and how you approach problem-solving. I often think games influence the playful nature of my cooking.
It’s no wonder (haha), that I surround myself with game culture by making the menu at Wonderville, a Brooklyn indie arcade bar.
Here’s my 2024 in video games, tabletop RPGS, board games, and card games:
Highly recommended video games…
Inscryption - Do not Google anything about it! You pick up a card game in the middle of an already in-progress game save. It blew my mind when the host told me I could stand up from the table. Inscryption also had a cult-following ARG that I wish I had caught when it first came out.
What Became of Edith Finch - A rich, mysterious narrative point-and-click adventure through a weird old house. If you love looking through people’s stuff (heyyy, remember Gone Home?) and hearing family stories, this is a delight.
Fallout: New Vegas - Finally got around to playing this! The hype around the story is real. My only gripe is the clunky VATs system, which is much improved in Fallout 4. It was truly strange to traipse around the Mojave Desert in a game because my family lives there and I recognized bits of it.
Hoverburger - Developed by Nick Santaniello, Hoverburger has a unique spin-dial control and weekly updating maps. You play as a pilot in a burger-shaped ship trying to outrun the devourer of worlds, the space ram.
Speglar - A really fun 4-way battle where you use mirror reflectors to ricochet and hit your opponents. I can’t help but scream while playing this game.
Nice video games…
Samorost 3 - Gorgeous style and I love the soundtrack. However, the puzzles are not intuitive to solve.
ART SQOOL - An indie game designed by 3-D artist Julian Glander, creator of the film Boys Go to Jupiter. I kept falling down into the ether.
Baldur’s Gate 3 - I’m still attempting to play couch co-op, which is very slow-moving. I’m playing as a Drow druid named Ivi.
Tabletop RPGs I played…
Something is Wrong with the Chickens - I picked up a simple pamphlet at the Many Sided Media booth at PaxU. You play as Eldritch chickens who want to overthrow a corporation.
Blister Critters - The setting is a Saturday morning cartoon show where you play as critters who survive the poof, where humans disappear from Earth; leaving behind all of their stuff. I played a game on the podcast Why We Roll.
DIE RPG - For my second DIE mini-series, I took on the role of the emotion knight for the Twice Rolled Tales actual play show DIECHOTOMY. If you missed the first game, I recorded a podcast series with Dead Ghost Productions called REPLAY.
The 7-Part Pact - The 7 most powerful wizards try to hold the world together. I was fortunate to play a multi-day playtest of this elaborate game! I took on the role of the Mariner, which felt overwhelming at first, but my logistical skills as a caterer kicked in.
Danse Macabre - My partner’s debut game! You are supplicants during a time when death stops happening. You return hours later each time you die with a new trait or “malaficia.”
Succulent Sorcerers - The houseplants are alive! And they are wizards!
Board Games & Card Games I Enjoyed…
Hoddog - A card game where you race to build the longest hot dog.
Sosig - The fun sister-game to Hoddog, where you build sausages, or sosigs in this game, to order.
Pickleball Blast! - When I looked at the box, I thought it was a pickleball set. But when I opened it, it’s a surprisingly fun physical board game. You set up a pickleball net and your ping pong a spinning pickle attached with a wire. It’s so silly, but so enjoyable.
You can follow me on Itch and Twitch to see what games I play throughout the year.