More Gaming!?!

The title demonstrates both what I want to do more of this summer but also the frustration of how. I love to play games. There are few things I would rather spend my time doing. I'll play board games, card games, war games, miniatures games, role-playing games, even computer and video games though I really enjoy social interaction and computer and video games are not very good for talking to people.

And there in lies the problem. How do you get people together to play games? I own a lot of games and spend hundreds of dollars a year expanding my collection. One look at my collection on Board Game Geek (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/viewcollection.php3?username=Kronus&own=1&startletter=ALL&galleryview=1) demonstrates I have a lot of options to share with people.

The hard part is getting people together. My friends are spread all over the valley from Surprise to East Mesa. That's 60 miles one way! And gas is almost $4 a gallon so it can be expansive to get people together to play games. I try to alleviate the pain in the pocket by providing lunch when I host but it is still expensive.

Time is the other challenge. Last fall I was able to get guys together for 3 monthly game sessions in October, November, and December. I think everyone enjoyed it and I had a great time. But then it fell apart through the spring because of Amy traveling so much for work. I was only able to go to Game Depot once for the monthly game night. Weekends became more valuable for family time. And the different friends have their time demands too from work to college to family. I understand it, I just wish sometimes there was a way to do it all.

Maybe that's the real point. You hear about people wanting it all, having it all. But can you? Even with planning and budgeting can you really find or make time to do everything you want to do with your life? And I don't have very high time demands. I just want to spend time with my family and friends. It's a worthy goal worth working towards. Here's to more gaming in June.