The Regulars

To continue on the academic trend, I'm a lecturer in Political Science in Alberta, although my PhD is in Philosophy. My interest is in the philosophy of the social sciences, especially rational-choice theory and game theory.

My gaming interests came in phases. In the 80s I played a lot of wargames (Squad Leader and VG titles), AH games and AD&D. In college in the 90s I got into Magic, and Chess later on. I quit both of these hobbies because I couldn't stand the Geeks that made up the vast majority of players. In early 00s a friend of mine introduced me to Eurogames (with Puerto Rico if I recall), and I got hooked. Nowadays I don't play much face to face, because I don't have a game group here and I refuse to join a random group, I know too well that 4 out of 5 Geeks are total assholes.

In Euros I stick to older titles (Power Grid, Amun Re, Notre Dame, St-Pete, ...). I have very little interest in the newer stuff, it's all just more of the same. I'd like to get more into AT, but for some reason I never get the chance to bring these to the table. When I was living in Montreal we had an annual Advanced Civ game among good friends, that was the best gaming ever.

Funny fact: during the only year I totally lost interest in gaming, I vas living on the same block as the Valet D'Coeur, one of the most famous FLGS in Canada. I went there a few times, for some reason nothing interested me!

This year I'll try to get some of my university colleagues into gaming. I buy much less stuff than I used to, even though I'm making a lot more money than in my big gaming years! I'm mainly into ASL stuff, and I get my other games through Mathtrades and thrift stores. I found amazing titles at the thrift store next to my job: Fortress America, Polarity, Acquire, Risk LOTR, Subbuteo.

What I like most about F:AT is most people here are great writers that don't take themselves too seriously (well, except in the identity-crisis threads, but I don't have to read those). AT talk makes me nostalgic about my old AH days, I had so much fun back then...

I never noticed this thread but after a thousand plus posts I guess I should be in here too.

I'm a music teacher/hydrometalurgical researcher in Vancouver who loves games and has his whole life. I started with Risk, D&D, GURPS, Cross Bows and Catapults, Corkinole... that kind of thing and when I got back into hobby gaming in a big way it was with Avalon Hill (who I already knew about) and then FFG who's games looked similar. Doom was the first of their games I discovered. I love F:AT's posting sensibility and honesty and of course.. the style of games. These days I play pretty much anything that's put in front of me at least once and tend to like games from divergent styles to keep me interested. But multi-player conflict games are really my favorite (or dexterity).

I get called a pot smoking hippie around here a lot so feel free to throw names at me, I'm definitely not a hippie though and I only occasionally smoke the pots so it's totally unwaranted!!

PM me here at F:AT if your in Vancouver looking for a game and if you like experimental folk music check out my website at www.tishomingostringband.com we have a bit of an AT sensibility to our playing.

Keep on rockin in a free world, see ya round the fort.

Well, I thought for sure I posted here, but I guess I was wrong...

I currently work for my church's international headquarters in Lenexa, KS. I've been there almost five years, working in the Children's Ministry department.

I got into gaming in 2004, when a college buddy introduced me to The Settlers of Catan. I played it to death, then was introduced to other hobby games a few years later, after moving to the Kansas City area. My early favorites were games like Carcassonne, Puerto Rico, and Pillars of the Earth.

I had something of a sea change a couple years ago, when all the games I played felt kind of similar to each other. Around that time I purchased Cosmic Encounter, and I've never looked back. I've been a predominately Ameritrash gamer since then.

My favorite games usually have a straightforward ruleset that invites lots of interaction, conflict, and theme without bogging the game down. I also love games that tend to play with group dynamics a lot, and therefore, a good six-player game is just about my favorite type. As far as themes go, I like a little of everything, but Sci-fi tends to be my first choice. My favorite games of all are Cosmic Encounter, Battlestar Galactica, The Settlers of Catan, Mare Nostrum, and several others.

I usually game at Tabletop Game and Hobby in Overland Park. I'm there most Thursday nights. These days, I've really been into playing Yomi and the new Cosmic Encounter expansion. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by on Thursday night. I'm probably the big guy in the Ohio State hoodie.

Well I guess I'd better chime in.

I run the procurement efforts and marketing/business aspects of a huge tin/lead smelter now, but I worked in the electronics assembly industry as an engineer, then later as a salesperson, for the last 15 years or so. Terribly exciting.

I first learned Monopoly when I was 5 years old and at that point I realized that I loved boardgames. I played D&D, Palladium, Cyberpunk, Shadowrun and all sorts of other RPGS for some time, but I tired of playing out someone else's life so I gave up RPGs forever. Now I play all kinds of stuff, Ameritrash, Euros, Hybrids, Abstracts...I just love and am passionate about games.

While I love Ameritrash the most, and will hardly ever turn down any AT game if I get a shot, I do enjoy Euro games as well if they're not complete cube-pushing yawnfests like Fresco.

I review games from time to time (meaning mostly weekly) on my site, www.superflycircus.blogspot.com , and do quarterly game giveaways on any games I get as review copies or stuff that I bought and I just didn't like. Subscribe as a follower and my articles get put in your RSS inbox, and you qualify for the giveaways.

Good luck, and may you roll all skulls.

/really hopes Skelly will add an editors note at the end of this bio with additional information about me (from his perspective)

A brief description of myself and how I would characterize myself? Well, a picture is worth a 1,000 words so let me add one that sums up the general picture.



As you can see, I'm a new dad and ruggishly handsome. A fairly bohemian character in that I have this look yet work in high finance since 1997. Just got a new car too, like it?

Been gaming forever, started off with boardgames (playing Risk and Game of Life with my family before buying board games for myself (Dungeon, Buck Rogers (origin of my handle)) which I would play all 5-6 players by myself since no one in my family wanted to play with me.

Eventually moved to PC gaming (Pirates!) and prominent BBSing (pre-Internet internet) where I'd get my rocks off playing stuff like Trade Wars. Dabbled in D&D for a bit but prefered DMing and eventually liked be the 'rules' guy for board games which is almost like DM. So I'd frequently get invited to board game weekends, given the instructions for a brand new game (Brittania or whatever) and sequestered in another room while I read and memorized the rules so I could teach everyone to play. These were some of my fondest memories.

Then with the N64, multiplayer gaming became amazing and party-like with Mario Party, Super Smash Bros, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark and such.

Then as an adult, spending time with family became more and more laborious and difficult so I started trying to find non-AT games that sister, mother and step-father would like to play on vacation (so that I could bear the time easier). Puerto Rico came along and that was the perfect game for this. Through that, I found other Euros like the 'Gric and such that fit the bill.

Then I get into CCGs and dabble a bit in Magic (I hated it cuz of the players), SW:CCG (I hated it cuz I was so bad at it, but very much liked tournament play) and then became hard-core with LOTR:TCG. Winning North American continental championship and placing 2nd in World Cup in Germany. Became sponsored and travelling to Netherlands, Vegas x3 and all over the States playing in tournaments and writing for magazines and such. Met my wife during the last tournament or two and hung up the CCG hat since it's not conducive to a healthy relationship (from my experience).

Wife likes board games and that's how I found and fell in love with Twilight Struggle (probably my favourite game ever although Puerto Rico is a close 2nd).

With arrival of Baby in 2011, no more time for board games so video games on the 360 has taken over to scratch the gaming itch.

I like hanging out here to talk with cool people. In real life (non-internet), I've been characterized as creative, hard-working, fun, dedicated, conscientious and very easy to get along with.

That's me in a nutshell.

I'm Josh. I write comic book articles here on the Fort every month, but I still like to throw in a game review every once in awhile.

I grew up playing family board games and various other superhero licensed games as a kid. I got into Magic, D&D, and Warhammer in my middle school/high school days. It wasn't until my girlfriend (now wife) got me the LOTR edition of Risk for my 19th birthday that I got really into board gaming. That was during the "Golden Age of FFG." They'd just put out TI3, Arkham Horror, War of the Ring, etc. Those games really appealed to me, but I dabbled in pretty much every other type of game out there. Board gaming took center stage as my primary hobby once I got Battlestar Galactica. That game really had me look at which games I enjoy most and why I enjoy playing games at all. I'm pretty sure that's why I'm here at F:AT now.

A few other things:

- Ghosbusters is my favorite movie
- Will stand by the opinion that "Year One" is a smidgen better than "Dark Knight Returns"
- Owner of two rabbits, Gimli and Willow
- Tremendous fan of Conan the Barbarian
- Witness of Matt Loter's "Great Scolding of 2011"

I'm Mads. 31, live in Copenhagen, Demark and do stand-up comedy for a living. This also include the occasional stint in radio, some writing for tv, and stuff like that. Hey, I even design board games once in a while - most recently I helped making a co-op game about traffic management for school kids in Copenhgagen. I have a wife, a cat, a girl aged two, and a second kid on the way.

I played a lot of games with my folks as a kid. DungeonQuest, HeroQuest, Monopoly, Fighting Fantasy (not really a board game though), Scotland Yard and stuff like that. Even bought my younger brother the Platoon board game when he turned ten or eleven and I was 12 or so because he was very into the Vietnam War and I was very into board games. Also spend a lot of time making up games, but unfortunately none of them have survived. Played Risk, Man O War and Warhammer 40K later on, role played a lot (Warhammer and Call at first, later on more indie stuff), and then returned to board games when in my twenties and was introduced to Twilight Imperium 2nd by some RPG friends and haven't looked back since.

And just to shamelessly plug myself here's a short clip of me performing in English short clip here . I've been dabbling in it for about a year and a half, so in about 10 or 15 years I'm probably confident enough to try and do a real show in English at a festival or some such.

I'm still a dickhead who will likely be offended by something you said on the internet. Get a few bottles of cheap pink wine in me though, and I think I'm a pretty good time.

In my personal life, I did/do a whole lot of awesome stuff the likes of which you can only dream of.

I play a lot of games.

I'm unfortunate enough to have played games/hung out with most of the regulars here, and intend to knock off a big chunk of those missing from the list at Averyfest when people line up to punch me in the mouth.

I write stuff about games/movies/other nerdy stuff once in a while and wish I had the disposition to do more of it but alas, I seem not to.

I'm also a tremendous fan of Conan the Barkbarian.

MattLoter wrote:
I'm also a tremendous fan of Conan the Barkbarian.

Even when he eats a $100 bill?

Conan ate a c note? That's rough brother. Anyway, I'm Jay. I currently own and operate a rock n roll dive bar in Brooklyn called the Second Chance Saloon, but I've also been a bike messenger, an EMT, and an iron worker with local 361. I had a pet pig for 5 years, but now it's just the missus and I, our son, and our pooch.

I grew up playing games with my family and when I was a bit older got into stuff like D&D and Blood Bowl. When I was in my early teens I took a 15 or so year sabbatical from gaming aside from the odd game of Scrabble and the like. I got back into it when I found a copy of the Thieves World Sanctuary board game at a Salvation Army which got me digging around on the internet. I found Battlestations which brought me to BGG and I've been pretty obsessive about it ever since, although I don't get to game anywhere near as much as I'd like.

My gaming tastes are fairly similar to my taste in music; I like almost any music as long as it sounds good, but I always find my way back to the heavy stuff. Similarly, I can have a good time playing almost any game with friends, but I prefer heavy and/or more thematic fare. Some of my favorites are Fury of Dracula, Twilight Struggle, Arkham Horror, Tikal, Game of Thrones LCG, and War of the Ring to name just a few.

I also dig comics, cycling, binge drinking, long walks on the beach, karaoke, shooting pool, movies, cuddling, oysters, The Washington Redskins, and I read quite a bit. If any of y'all are in New York stop by the bar. I'll buy you a few drinks and maybe we can get a game going.


Here's the most recent pic I could find. I'm the guy with the beer at the bottom