What's your favourite thematic/narrative game?

I get that! I felt the same hesitation with "you can only play it 12-24 times and then never again, what?!" but honestly I'm so happy we took the plunge anyway. I don't know about you, but many if not most games in my collection I haven't even played that many times...

I haven’t played that much Pandemic, really, so the mechanics have yet to get old for us 😅

That's great! I mean, they're good mechanics, so I'm glad you're enjoying them. They just get recycled in all the other games lol.

I really feel you with respect to competitive games. We occasionally play some with a group of friends, but at home it's basically always cooperative games.

I don't know this Star Wars Pandemic game, but in general the Pandemic games are really solid. The mechanisms get a bit stale after playing a lot in my opinion, so the only game by the same creator we still get to the table is Thunderbirds.

If you're at all interested in legacy games, I can highly recommend Pandemic Legacy: Season 1. It was the first legacy game I played and it was an amazing experience.

I think you've already had plenty of replies here, but yeah here in western Europe, straight from the tap. I'm also fortunate not to have any chlorine in my water. It's delicious.

One thing about the chlorine, it also just evaporates over time without boiling. Filling a jug of water and leaving it standing around for a while will also get rid of that chlorine smell/taste!

Not OP, but Spirit Island is one of my favourite games too. I think it's great at most player counts, but I like it the most at 2p. You can help each other out, fill in each other's weak spots, but it doesn't get as overwhelming as at larger player counts. And yes indeed, the decision space in Spirit Island is so big that alpha gaming is not easy (once you've played it a lot that gets easier, though), which makes it a great actual co-op game.

I'm excited. I don't think I'll ever play the RPG (I just don't know who I'd ever play it with), I don't need all those minis (except maybe the summons would be nice to have), but I'm really really looking forward to playing through Gloomhaven 2.

It um, kind of can! It took a bit of effort, but I got it to come up with a character and roleplay it, and then Lyra Moonshadow and I went on an adventure together!

Awesome that you made your way over here, I've always found your posts super useful. I hope you stick around.

Thanks for the suggestion! I've heard of this before but never tried it. Some questions: would I close the lid airtight? How long do you have to leave it? And then just pour the smelly water into my garden because it contains nutrients?

I see a few of my favorites have been mentioned already (Aeon's End, Spirit Island, The Crew, Pandemic Legacy) but here's a few more:

• Gloomhaven: There's a reason this game was at the Boardgamegeek #1 spot for years. Absolutely an epic game, with so much strategy and variety involved. For those who are intimidated by the complexity, size or price of the game, there is also Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, which is essentially a light version of the game. An excellent starting point, and not any less fun than it's big sibling.

• Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood: Another big campaign game with very interesting mechanics. The game is quite hard and punishing, but you have lots of difficulty levels you can play on. The story is set in a land overrun by the Deepwood, a forest filled with huge monsters. You play a band of mercenaries who defend people from those monsters.

• Sprawlopolis: A game consisting of 18 cards, that contain city blocks and roads, and each player places a card down to add to the city. Each card has a different scoring system on its back, and you draw a few for each game, so every game feels entirely different. Quick to play, and fits in your pocket so you can bring it anywhere.

Aw, so cute. And love the names ❤️

So nice that you have local park composting. How does it work, is it just used for park maintenance, or can local people put their yard waste in it too? How's the compost used?

Hahaha yeah I can see that! And in a way, sometimes it does feel a bit condescending, depending on how condescending the other person is about it all. But mostly what I aim for is being genuinely pleased for them!

(and just to be clear, all of these thoughts happens only in my head, I don't want to be condescending to anyone!)

I feel this.

Over the past couple of years I've made a conscious effort, when someone just doesn't get it, instead of being annoyed, to feel happy for them. Why? Because apparently they have no experience with their body or brain limiting them. With experiencing something that they can't just change or push through. With struggling to do something that comes easy to others. So, they're lucky, and I try to think "good for you".

Of course that isn't fool proof, I do still get frustrated at times, but it really surprised me how trying to create this perception shift in myself actually helped me.

What a beauty!

I see you've already gotten great advice, including the overwhelming flow chart (it is good, though!)

My 2 cents: read in whatever order you want, chronological is a great idea. And if you finish a book and think "I want to know what happens to these specific characters next!" then grab the flow chart to see which one's next in that storyline.

Other than that, ENJOY! I've started a Discworld reread a couple of days ago, and these books are just so precious.

(GNU Terry Pratchett)

I'm sorry that happened to you. Although it sounds like you really are using your experiences in a positive way, to evaluate and get to know yourself better. Would you like to share a bit about what the brain damage means for you?

Completely agree! I really love how you can learn the rules in a few minutes, but spend a long time really learning how to play the game. And all the difficulty levels mean you can play it with pretty much everyone. It's become such a staple for me.

I'm not sure why you call this gatekeeping. What I was talking about is whether people will get it. It's like, if you're talking to an arbitrary person and you're referring to e-sports as sports, most people will be confused. Without any kind of judgment or gatekeeping intended, simply, most people's concept of "sports" does not include e-sports. And simply observing that this difference in perception exists is not gatekeeping.

So that's what I was curious about. If I say I'm neurodivergent as a way to quickly explain my situation, will people in general understand or be confused?

Interesting question. I actually had a conversation about this with friends recently, one of the group had just gotten an ASD diagnosis and we realised we were all neurodivergent--except, did I count? We quickly concluded that that didn't really matter, but now I'm curious what y'all think.

Due to a medical event years ago, I suffered brain damage. It didn't really "break" functions, but since then I've had trouble with concentration, energy, mental planning, and perhaps most importantly I get overstimulated really easily. I can't handle a conversation while the radio is on, I wear ear plugs when I need to go into a shop, I can't watch busy/flashy tv shows, if someone is fiddling with something in their hands I get an urge to run away, etc. It might not sound like much to some, but it's left me unable to work (there's more than I described).

I realise that neurodivergence is mostly used for differently developed brains. But mine also don't function "typically". What do you think?

(And just to reiterate, it really doesn't matter, I know how I am and how my brain works now and a label isn't important to me, I'm just wondering if the general public would find it strange if I said I'm neurodivergent).