Board Game Horror!

Jynx · Post by **Jynx** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:04 pm

So..... last night we were playing some games and.....

My girlfriend spilled her drink on my game! Her cards were soaked.

1 - Thank god it was only water

2 - Thank Pat he had some heavy books to flatten the cards

From now on I'm going to institute a LAW that requries the use of a childs non-spill sippy cup. I DON'T CARE THAT YOUR SIPPING FROM A 50$ BOTTLE SCOTCH!
I've been thinking of putting all my cards in plastic, but it would have to be sealed and not the type that you can slip the card in and out all the time. The problem is I'VE GOT LOTS OF CARDS and it's going to be expensive. So... any ideas? Has anyone ever done this?

BTW - The game is SHADOWS OVER CAMELOT and I highly recomment it for anyone who likes non confrontational games such as us guys with Girlfriends/Wives who hate 'RISK' TYPE games. It's a co-operative game and lots of fun. However, we lost.... AGAIN!

Relaxo · Post by **Relaxo** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:49 pm

good grief!

No recos other than plastic sleeves, but I don't really play card games.

would you consider laminating them? good ideed only water, that's a stroke of luck.

moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 2:54 pm

Hehehe... to be clear, the cards were part of a larger board game. The boards to the game were fine as it was the cards that took the brunt of it. However, I must object to drinking a $60 scotch from a plastic sippy cup.
Then again, if I spilled my scotch over a game... well, let's just say that if I can somehow budget an expensive bottle of scotch, I would certainly replace the game. I can guarantee that will never happen though... scotch is too precious to spill wastefully.

However, in all seriousness, the sleeves may not be a bad idea as opposed to actual lamination of the cards. Those would actually do a great job of protecting the cards against such unthinkable disasters better than one might think. You would still have to act quickly but had they been in those inexpensive sleeves, the cardstock would not have been in direct contact with the liquid and not soak it up like a sponge. In my days of MtG, I can attest that these cheep sleeves do wonders at protecting against little accidents.

On the other hand, if you are serious about laminating your cards, my best advice is to budget your own laminating machine. This is not as expensive as you would think and in the long run... a great investment to have. In fact, considering you know a few other gamers -- like our mutual acquaintance with the little dog, something like this might be of interest to the group of us. I'd be willing to pitch in and I'm sure others would be too.

M
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Relaxo · Post by **Relaxo** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 3:36 pm

moriarty777 wrote:
However, I must object to drinking a $60 scotch from a plastic sippy cup.
M

I must concur.

a funnel is more appropriate.

serleran · Post by **serleran** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 3:49 pm

Get your wisdom teeth removed and you will not object to sipping anything. At least for a few days.
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Jynx · Post by **Jynx** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 4:13 pm

serleran wrote:
Get your wisdom teeth removed and you will not object to sipping anything. At least for a few days.

I sense you speak from experience!

moriarty777 wrote:
Hehehe... to be clear, the cards were part of a larger board game. The boards to the game were fine as it was the cards that took the brunt of it. However, I must object to drinking a $60 scotch from a plastic sippy cup.

She did get part of the board, but luckily I got to it on time.

That was good scotch however! Good thing we didn't spill that stuff. I've got an image in my head of you with your face planted on my game board soaking it all up. LOL!
I'm looking at getting something like this...
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_s ... xedcode=WW

but at that price + the price of the platic sleeves, I can almost buy a new game. There has got to be a better option. I don't like the slip sleeves too much as the cards tend to slip out and it's more difficult to handle a hand full with slip sleeves.

If I do get that machine or something similar, I may end up only laminating the purely card games such as Citadels, but again.. the price may be too steep. Check these out...
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_s ... xedcode=WW

Buttmonkey · Post by **Buttmonkey** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 4:16 pm

Nah. Scotch is nasty. You should just ban it, period.

moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 4:39 pm

Jynx wrote:
... at that price + the price of the platic sleeves, I can almost buy a new game. There has got to be a better option. I don't like the slip sleeves too much as the cards tend to slip out and it's more difficult to handle a hand full with slip sleeves.

If I do get that machine or something similar, I may end up only laminating the purely card games such as Citadels, but again.. the price may be too steep.

True... it would easily be the cost of a new game. Then again, if disaster were to strike, you'd have to replace the game anyway. In that sense, some may see it as an investment. But think of it this way, if the machine costs $80, find three other people and you end up splitting that 4 ways. At $20 each, it becomes immensely more practical. The only thing you'd have to worry about at that point is the laminating material.

Of course, that stuff may not be cheap either and prove additional difficulties in terms of storage and shuffling. No easy solutions I'm afraid. The only thing to consider is weighing the frequency of these accidents compared to the costs. If you think it might happen again... considering you also have kids and we all have pets... one stray arm can knock a glass. However laminating the costs of a game pretty much will double the investment. If you go ahead and were to laminate a game like Citadels... your game of Citadels now cost you $40 (not including the investment of the machine). On the flip side, you'll probably never have to replace the game. However, how many times would you possibly end up in a situation where you might actually have to replace it? Once if you are unlucky or the cards go through a LOT of wear. It'll cost you the same.

So... what can one do?

Well, after last night, and given the costs of these games, I plan on doing a couple of things.

- Invest in a couple of TV tray tables to use for the drinks and munchies to have around the game table. If the drink or food is knocked over, it makes a mess on the floor and doesn't spill on the game. These are pretty inexpensive.

- Although I have a plastic mat that I pull out for general gaming to protect the table itself, I was thinking of getting a larger (but thin) sheet of plexiglass to fit on top of the table which would go on top of the actual game board. We've talked about this in the past, and it's a good idea which would also provide additional protection to the actual game board.

M
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moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 4:44 pm

Buttmonkey wrote:
Nah. Scotch is nasty. You should just ban it, period.

No matter what you are drinking, you can find nasty examples of them. Naturally taste is one of those very subjective things.
M
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serleran · Post by **serleran** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 4:47 pm

By the way, have you ever beaten Shadows Over Camelot? I have played, along with my wife and 3-4 others about 6 times and have gotten close, but never actually won... we haven't even tried using the Traitor yet. Fun game, but difficult as hell.

Oh, and if I were you, I would not bother with the so-called "expansion." Its a money-grubbing lie.
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Jynx · Post by **Jynx** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:05 pm

serleran wrote:
By the way, have you ever beaten Shadows Over Camelot? I have played, along with my wife and 3-4 others about 6 times and have gotten close, but never actually won... we haven't even tried using the Traitor yet. Fun game, but difficult as hell.

Oh, and if I were you, I would not bother with the so-called "expansion." Its a money-grubbing lie.

Actually, I did the first time I played with my brother and his friend, but we did mess up on two rules that may have had a negative impact on our victiry had we known better. Other than that, I've lost about 8 times. Two Nights ago we finally used the traitor and he obvioiusly won since the rest of us lost.

It's a really fun game, difficult to win, but easy to learn to play. I've also got the Merlin Expansion which adds a bit more difficulty but also some help in the way of Merlin himself being in the game. I haven't played with it yet since each time I've played, there has been at least one new player so we start with the basic game instead.

The idea for a plexi glass is something that I will consider once I've got a game room again with a proper game table.

Don't go to extremes on my account. It was an accident but I suppose even with your games it would be nice to have that extra level of comfort in knowing the drinks are safely out of the way. Imagine your AXIS & ALLIES special edition got soaked!

moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:27 pm

Jynx wrote:
The idea for a plexi glass is something that I will consider once I've got a game room again with a proper game table.

Don't go to extremes on my account. It was an accident but I suppose even with your games it would be nice to have that extra level of comfort in knowing the drinks are safely out of the way. Imagine your AXIS & ALLIES special edition got soaked!

I've thought about it before... and in this case, it's not a question of extremes. Playing C&C with just 3-4 other players I've seen some spills. At worse, only a couple character sheets got a bit wet and the chessex mat got wet and lines had to be redrawn but nothing drastic. However, the more things there are at the table... glasses and stuff just take up extra and sometimes valuable space.

Besides, a large chip bowl on one of these would keep the cats at bay compared to the coffee table.
M
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serleran · Post by **serleran** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:35 pm

Hey, thanks! I didn't know they had made a Merlin expansion. I had the "Company of Knights" which adds nothing... but, the new(er) one sounds like it does much more, and at $25 its not a bad deal. My wife loves the game, so I'll surprise her when the box shows up.
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Jynx · Post by **Jynx** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:44 pm

serleran wrote:
Hey, thanks! I didn't know they had made a Merlin expansion. I had the "Company of Knights" which adds nothing... but, the new(er) one sounds like it does much more, and at $25 its not a bad deal. My wife loves the game, so I'll surprise her when the box shows up.

UGH! Poor you. I saw the Company of Knights box at the store and asked the clerk who told me it was a GREAT EXPANSION and such. I didn't believe him so I opted not to purchase it. If I wanted to have painted minis (which I do) I would have painted them myelf (which I am currently doing) so I saved the 25$ and got the other expansion instead. Mind you... it's not much more than a few more black and white cards, a new set of traitor cards, a Merlin and Sir Bevedere mini and his card, plus a handfull of red merlin cards. So for what you pay you aint gettin much! However, I couldn't resist since it does add an extra element of play. Look at the rules on their website to see if it interests you before you buy. There isn't much to it, just an extra bit each time a knight moves to a new quest. Once I play it, I'll let you know how it went.

Jynx · Post by **Jynx** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:45 pm

moriarty777 wrote:
Besides, a large chip bowl on one of these would keep the cats at bay compared to the coffee table.
M

Stupid cats!

That's directed not only at your cats, so don't take it personally, but all cats, most especially MINE!

Relaxo · Post by **Relaxo** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 6:47 pm

What's really simple, cheap and obvious is to ban drinking AT the table. Keep cups below the table on a different table or on a credenza or somesuch.

moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 6:54 pm

Relaxo wrote:
What's really simple, cheap and obvious is to ban drinking AT the table. Keep cups below the table on a different table or on a credenza or somesuch.

BAH!

M
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http://www.arcanacreations.com

serleran · Post by **serleran** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:19 pm

You could hire some circus performing little guys and have them walk around with beers on their head... that's what we used to do, before the uprising and we had to put down those bastards.
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Jynx · Post by **Jynx** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:35 pm

serleran wrote:
You could hire some circus performing little guys and have them walk around with beers on their head... that's what we used to do, before the uprising and we had to put down those bastards.

I'm not going to touch that one with any sized pole!

I say CHILD SIPPY CUPS...
http://www.diapers.com/Product/ProductD ... uctId=6755

And it's not as expensive as circus performers!

Sir Ironside · Post by **Sir Ironside** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:48 pm

Jynx wrote:
Stupid cats!

That's directed not only at your cats, so don't take it personally, but all cats, most especially MINE!

Sounds as though, someone, has been out-witted- by cats- more than once.
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Julian Grimm · Post by **Julian Grimm** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:33 pm

Back in my AD&D days we ran the Realms exclusively. There was a bad habit of tea being spilled on the maps and after the third instance we moved all drinks to coffee tables set next to the play table. It worked well and we also used them for the character sheets and other things so we had more room at the table. There was one cool thing from the spills though. The tea stains 'aged' the maps and made them look antiquated. It was a cool look but not one I want to repeat.
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