Game Lab #1: Board Games!

Board game lab, yay! I never thought I would say that. Before our game lab, I had usually only referred to physical, tangible games, as "Bored games" because unless your power is out or you're at your mom's house, pretty much anything is better than playing one. I would have to be pretty fricken bored to be coerced into it; unless it was Settlers of Catan of course. Settlers of Catan is so complex and thought provoking, I never turn down the chance to play it. But my opinion has changed a lot since starting my game studies class (thanks James :D ). Board games and video games are essentially the same thing! The message doesn't change, only the vehicle. So I looked at our game lab a lot differently than I would have had I been playing Pit with my mom and sister, and actually had a lot of fun!

White card from Cards Against Humanirty.

What game did we play? The redheaded stepchild of Apples to Apples--CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY!
This game is offensive. Now, Apples to Apples can be offensive, but only if you intentionally go out of your way to play rude combinations. Cards Against Humanity on the other hand, gives you mostly obnoxious, sexual, profane, and generally rude cards to play with. You can view the rules HERE. For those of you who don't know the rules and are too lazy to click that link, Cards Against Humanity is a game in which all players are dealt a set amount of white cards, in my case 7, and players take turns drawing a black card. Essentially, everyone wants to play a card from their hand that they feel best fits the subject of the black card and/or the tastes of the person who drew said black card. During any given round you could encounter penis jokes, gay jokes, racism... this is pretty much a game you would never play with your grandparents.
Why play it? What the hell did this game teach me besides how dirty my classmates minds can be? Well, I would definitely say I practiced the art of prediction. The whole point of the game is to predict what your opponent would find the most amusing or the best match to ensure they will pick your card and award you the winner of the round. Conversely, as the player who drew the black card, you want to avoid picking the card of your biggest rival; you also accomplish this through prediction as well. You wouldn't want to pick John's card if he is only one round away from winning, would you? Prediction is crucial--predict wrong and you might have just lost yourself the game!

During game lab #1 with my classmates. Daw look at me socialize.

What I really like about this game is the rigidity. Yea sure, you have an infinite number of offensive responses at your finger tips, but the game has a clearly defined end. You play till someone reaches an X number of wins, and its over, you're done, you can now exit the magic circle and go do something more productive (like leveling you sneak and lockpicking). Who really feels comfortable being sexually explicit and racially inappropriate for longer than 10 rounds anyways?