The Swamp

Johnnie wrote:I unloaded my Magic: The Gathering collection today and got $2,500. I haven't played in over 5 years and they've just moved from place to place. Well, they acquired some worth in that time.

If that amount looks high, just think that the collection was worth at least double. Unless you have the patience to sell everything yourself, the reality is that you'll never get more than half when you sell to a dealer.

With some of the money (plus the 20% bonus for it being converted to store credit), I bought some new board games. Betrayal at Baldur's Gate, Wasteland Express Delivery, and New Angeles plus a couple expansions for Legendary. Almost went in on Five Tribes (plus expansions) and Terraforming Mars, but it'll be cheaper to buy those at a later time.

Played Legendary with my daughter and grandaughter. Had a blast. A lot of fun

Saw it on Tabletop and really liked it. I haven't gotten it to the table yet, but being a cooperative game with recognizable attributes, it'll get there. In glad you enjoyed it!

Johnnie wrote:I unloaded my Magic: The Gathering collection today and got $2,500. I haven't played in over 5 years and they've just moved from place to place. Well, they acquired some worth in that time.

If that amount looks high, just think that the collection was worth at least double. Unless you have the patience to sell everything yourself, the reality is that you'll never get more than half when you sell to a dealer.

With some of the money (plus the 20% bonus for it being converted to store credit), I bought some new board games. Betrayal at Baldur's Gate, Wasteland Express Delivery, and New Angeles plus a couple expansions for Legendary. Almost went in on Five Tribes (plus expansions) and Terraforming Mars, but it'll be cheaper to buy those at a later time.

Did you have anything of note in there? I've got a ton of stuff from Odyssey - Onslaught block that I would love the cash for. I miss playing but like you, they haven't hit a table in 8 years.

Oh, definitely. I should have taken pics. The biggest returns of investment were Liliana of the Veil (x5) and Karn Liberated. Got them on the relative cheap and they're top dollar now. ($90 & $75, respectively.) Had multiple Swords of [blank] and [blank] and the "man lands" like Celestial Colonnade and Creeping Tar Pit. Then there were 4 x foil sets of Surgical Extraction and Birthing Pod. I had a lot of friggin cards. From a buck up to $40-$60 and more. My "money binder" I tallied to be over $3,600. After adding in the rest of the "bulk rares" and commons, it was in the $5k range.

Like with anything Magic, wait a few years and the cards will triple in price. If I tried to sell the collection a few years back I wouldn't have gotten nearly this much. Makes me think if I tried to sell it in a few years the cards might have been even more.

Check all your prices here for the high end return: http://www.starcitygames.com

BSF21 wrote:

Johnnie wrote:I unloaded my Magic: The Gathering collection today and got $2,500. I haven't played in over 5 years and they've just moved from place to place. Well, they acquired some worth in that time.

If that amount looks high, just think that the collection was worth at least double. Unless you have the patience to sell everything yourself, the reality is that you'll never get more than half when you sell to a dealer.

With some of the money (plus the 20% bonus for it being converted to store credit), I bought some new board games. Betrayal at Baldur's Gate, Wasteland Express Delivery, and New Angeles plus a couple expansions for Legendary. Almost went in on Five Tribes (plus expansions) and Terraforming Mars, but it'll be cheaper to buy those at a later time.

Did you have anything of note in there? I've got a ton of stuff from Odyssey - Onslaught block that I would love the cash for. I miss playing but like you, they haven't hit a table in 8 years.

BSF Fetchlands are the most valuable from that era. There is some other stuff from Onslaught that is weirdly rare for casual players. mtggoldfish under legacy make sure you select paper prices instead of online.

So, I never understood this with Magic. It sounds like if you spend more money on cards, you can get more powerful cards. Doesn't that just mean the player who spends the most wins? There must be more to it than that, right?

Shirley wrote:So, I never understood this with Magic. It sounds like if you spend more money on cards, you can get more powerful cards. Doesn't that just mean the player who spends the most wins? There must be more to it than that, right?

It really does sound like "freemium" apps.

And, Johnnie, did you really convert $2,500 into store credit? You really fucking like board games.

Shirley wrote:So, I never understood this with Magic. It sounds like if you spend more money on cards, you can get more powerful cards. Doesn't that just mean the player who spends the most wins? There must be more to it than that, right?

To understand the economy of Magic means you have to understand the formats. The game's been around since 1993 (and once upon a time was broadcast on ESPN2. Yes, really.) and is constantly being added to every few months with older sets "rotating out."

So, basically, this constant state of rotation means that you have to keep spending money to keep up with everyone else -- especially if you want to play in tournaments.

As a player you're relying on Wizards of the Coast to make sure the "metagame" is handled properly. The company has some of the best game designers in the world making sure that nothing is too overpowered. (But even they can still fuck up. Google "Combo Winter," "Affinity," and "Caw Blade.")

There is certainly an element of "spend the most money, make the best deck," but if you're not that good of a player you'll still lose regardless. I wasn't very good with the more complicated strategies. At some point I realized I was spending money to just prolong an addiction of sorts. The game is known as "cardboard crack" for a reason.

What finally forced me to quit playing was my move to Korea. The closest stores were hours away by train ride. My subsequent move to Germany permanently ended my play just because cards over there were more expensive. (Oddly enough there was a card store next door to my CrossFit gym.)

Sure, I could've picked it back up again with my return stateside, but the start up cost would be absurd. All the cards I had could've been trade bait, but that's not certain. Surprisingly there isn't a huge Magic footprint in ABQ.

A_B wrote:And, Johnnie, did you really convert $2,500 into store credit? You really fucking like board games.

Oh no no no. Just about $250 for $300 in store credit. The remaining was given to me in a check that I deposited ASAP. That would be fucking nuts. Especially considering the store is in Tucson and I'm 6.5 hours away.

This week at Target there's a "Buy 2, Get 1 free" sale on board games and video games.

And Target is supposed to price match Amazon, Wal-Mart, etc. on their website which would make this a super awesome deal, but Target seems to not really honor this because "you're getting a discount by getting a game for free" according to their call center people over the phone.

Literally just spent an hour plus on the phone between 4 different calls to be told just that. With the 4th attempt, the guy said "Yup. We can price match. Just place the order and I'll take care of it."

Thinking I've finally gotten through I do so only to come back off hold and be told "Oh, I've made a mistake. The system won't let me price match."

So when I ask to have the order cancelled outright and get a full refund, I'm met with "I apologize for messing up. I can give you a $10 credit."

"Well, why not just make it $20 credit? That was difference in the price match. Same difference," I ask.

"No, I'm sorry. I cannot price match."

GRRRRRR. It's not a "price match" at this point, but a credit. The guy on the phone didn't understand that. Whatever. I took the 10 bucks and got the fuck off the phone. That was ridiculous.

Johnnie wrote:This week at Target there's a "Buy 2, Get 1 free" sale on board games and video games.

And Target is supposed to price match Amazon, Wal-Mart, etc. on their website which would make this a super awesome deal, but Target seems to not really honor this because "you're getting a discount by getting a game for free" according to their call center people over the phone.

Literally just spent an hour plus on the phone between 4 different calls to be told just that. With the 4th attempt, the guy said "Yup. We can price match. Just place the order and I'll take care of it."

Thinking I've finally gotten through I do so only to come back off hold and be told "Oh, I've made a mistake. The system won't let me price match."

So when I ask to have the order cancelled outright and get a full refund, I'm met with "I apologize for messing up. I can give you a $10 credit."

"Well, why not just make it $20 credit? That was difference in the price match. Same difference," I ask.

"No, I'm sorry. I cannot price match."

GRRRRRR. It's not a "price match" at this point, but a credit. The guy on the phone didn't understand that. Whatever. I took the 10 bucks and got the fuck off the phone. That was ridiculous.

As a former retail manager (Borders Books RIP), I see both sides but it pisses me off when CSRs are improperly trained. This should have been a 2 minute call. Here's what happened in case you run into this with other corporations:
Issue #1: I'm sure it says in their legalese "may not be combined with any other offer". They should have just said 'since we can't combine offers, you're getting the better deal with B2G1'. I'm also sure they weren't lying to you saying they couldn't price match. When these sales go up, the software will only acknowledge that sale since it will just about always be the better deal. They were truly unable to do it.
Issue #2: You should have gotten a full refund. Full stop. This sucks but the way the conversation went likely prevented you from a larger credit. Phone CSRs are trained to react based on what the customer says. If a customer overtly tries to get a 'customer service credit' for the same amount as a disputed discount, they are instructed to shut it down. This is because all calls are recorded and upper management don't want CSRs circumventing their sales structure. As soon as you used the words "price match" when offered credit, you were done. In the future, try how much you are inconvenienced or how much lost time. No guarantee it will work but it may give your CSR the leeway to issue the credit. Shitty game but reality.

I feel that retail stores have it both ways in some regards. Though I guess it's their right. They'll price match to other businesses in order to get your money, but the moment a "sale" happens they're "giving you a deal" and thus "your math doesn't apply here." You have to be an adept, frugal buyer to spot the inaccuracies.

The fine print shouldn't be so fine, really. And all call centers and trained personnel should be completely aware across the board of living up to the legalese the retail stores so thoroughly bury. I shouldn't see screencaps of orders where the adjustment was made and the B2G1 was applied. It makes me think I can do it too.

Then it becomes absurd when we argue semantics. Whether you "price match" or "give credit" money is being saved at the benefit of the customer. The second he felt bad about making me purchase my order he offered $10 right now. He seriously could've offered $20 and the same monetary result would've happened despite the price match.

Shit like that is why I'll always hunt for a retail bargain and stick to "3rd party" retailers offering way better prices.

Thanks for your explanations though. It's good that I know the system is rigged and the people are trying to do their best. And pleas know I'm not trying to come across so salty. I'll just find somewhere later to save $10 to make up for it.

I thought I saw all of Key and Peele. Guess not.

https://youtu.be/-_A-I3bsXtI

https://twitter.com/TheOnion/status/928713856507109376

Spent the weekend with the gf at her family's place this past weekend in Idaho and played board games a lot of the time. I played Catan, which I haven't played previously. It's awesome. I see why that game became such a hit 20+ years ago.

Speed learner/chess novice challenges Magnus Carlsen.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chess-novi ... 1510866214

wlu_lax6 wrote:Speed learner/chess novice challenges Magnus Carlsen.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/chess-novi ... 1510866214

That article was interesting, but could have used a bit (lot) more skepticism about this guy's plan to learn chess like that. I mean, sure, he's obviously really smart and good at learning things, but there's a HUGE gulf between being very good at chess and beating Magnus Carlsen. The article also implied that he hung with Carlsen for an inordinately long time. Clicking through the game, I didn't see it that way. Yes, he played a solid, standard opening for the first 8-9 moves. Then, Carlsen attacked and immediately took control of the game. That it took 39 moves to mate was irrelevant. At no point was Max even close to putting any pressure on Carlsen.

Wow, read this shit:

Like with all of my past challenges, today I decided to tally up the total amount of time I spent on this final chess challenge.
Since this challenge was effectively 50% longer than previous challenges, it’s no surprise that I spent a bit longer on it. In particular, over the past six weeks, I committed 34 hours to the pursuit of defeating Magnus.
It turns out that 34 hours isn’t quite enough, but, knowing what I know now, I don’t think it’s too far off.
I’d estimate that it would take between 200–500 hours to become a human chess computer capable of defeating the world champion (assuming that an algorithmic approach at this level of gameplay is possible… the verdict is still out).
While this is considerably more time than the 34 hours I spent, it’s completely dwarfed by the tens of thousands of hours that Magnus has spent playing chess.

https://medium.com/@maxdeutsch/m2m-day- ... 2099da94b1

That is what delusion looks like. What an asshole.

My buddy was the literal Air Force chess champion and would be invited to Belgium every year to compete in a showdown amongst all services. He'd even be invited to stateside tournaments too.

He recently took 3rd in the Armed Forces Open. But...he barely cracks the top 42,000 in the world.

And this guy ate, slept, and breathed chess. He read books upon books about theory and strategy. Whenever there was a board, he'd be fixated.

This guy thinks he can beat the current best in the world and Grand Master with some trumped up Outliers shortcut? He is out of his fucking mind.

Oh, yea. Barnes and Noble has some deals, btw.

www.bn.com

Buy one, get one 50% off, plus 20% off your entire order online with code "givethanks."

I got Pandemic Season 2 and TTR: Rails and Sails (both $80 games at MSRP) for $103 after tax.

My bro-in-law challenged me to online chess the other day. I haven't really played much at all in recent years. He kicked my ass three times in a row. Then I saw that stupid WSJ chess article and now I'm kinda back into it.

And look what I found - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

Anyone interested in getting back on chess.com and firing this thing up again? (Yes, we'll sadly need to move some names off that list.)

[Update - whoa, I didn't expect it to embed that spreadsheet. I guess that's kinda cool.]

yeah im in for a few games

Johnnie wrote:My buddy was the literal Air Force chess champion and would be invited to Belgium every year to compete in a showdown amongst all services. He'd even be invited to stateside tournaments too.

He recently took 3rd in the Armed Forces Open. But...he barely cracks the top 42,000 in the world.

And this guy ate, slept, and breathed chess. He read books upon books about theory and strategy. Whenever there was a board, he'd be fixated.

This guy thinks he can beat the current best in the world and Grand Master with some trumped up Outliers shortcut? He is out of his fucking mind.

What a maroon.

That may be one of the most arrogant things I have ever heard.

Shirley wrote:My bro-in-law challenged me to online chess the other day. I haven't really played much at all in recent years. He kicked my ass three times in a row. Then I saw that stupid WSJ chess article and now I'm kinda back into it.

And look what I found - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

Anyone interested in getting back on chess.com and firing this thing up again? (Yes, we'll sadly need to move some names off that list.)

[Update - whoa, I didn't expect it to embed that spreadsheet. I guess that's kinda cool.]

Sign me up

Got my kids into Codenames (original and picture versions). It's simple, fun, and replayable

Could be fun - I'll play.

Poorly - I stink at chess.

Pruitt wrote:Could be fun - I'll play.

Poorly - I stink at chess.

That you, yoda is, hmm?

EnochRoot wrote:

Pruitt wrote:Could be fun - I'll play.

Poorly - I stink at chess.

That you, yoda is, hmm?

Unintentional it was.

i'm in. still suck.

I've been on chess.com regularly. My rating is at an all time low. Codename: boybleu. Hit me up.

I will play

This is a pretty damn good list:

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/12/ ... ide/?amp=1

I never saw the interest in games like Magic until I played Witcher 3 and played the in game card game Gwent. Found it really enjoyable.

Apparently, there is a subculture of NHL hockey players who play a lot of Risk on road trips.
Link

Looking for tips to help your chess game? UncleChessy is too!

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/genera ... hess-moves

Uncle Chessy still owns me. I'm 2-11 against the Horsemaster!

Square Rob wrote:I never saw the interest in games like Magic until I played Witcher 3 and played the in game card game Gwent. Found it really enjoyable.

Gwent rules.

I HAVe witcher 3 on my PS4 and it's been near impossible for me to get into. I've started over twice.

Vox getting in there with the Board Game articles!

The best board game of 2017 is a wildly entertaining romantic comedy generator

The Shut Up And Sit Down guys raved about Fog Of Love at PAX Unplugged last month. And Rodney Smith of Watch It Played just did a how to play video on it:

https://youtu.be/MUEmL4nzwdg

It's getting serious buzz. I may have to snag it.


Edit because I don't want to bump the thread:

Keith Law's Top 10 of 2017

wlu_lax6 wrote: I also really like 7 Wonders. The instructions for 7 wonder are worth just throwing in the garbage as they don't explain how to play at all. The 30 minute youtube explanation by some random nerds made the game understandable and really fun.

Broke out our copy of 7 Wonders yesterday. Could not agree more on the instructions. Found a video where a guy explained the game and then played it through with his kids. Ended up playing 4 games after the dinner with the wife and 9 year old. Very fun game.

phxgators wrote:

wlu_lax6 wrote: I also really like 7 Wonders. The instructions for 7 wonder are worth just throwing in the garbage as they don't explain how to play at all. The 30 minute youtube explanation by some random nerds made the game understandable and really fun.

Broke out our copy of 7 Wonders yesterday. Could not agree more on the instructions. Found a video where a guy explained the game and then played it through with his kids. Ended up playing 4 games after the dinner with the wife and 9 year old. Very fun game.

Pretty sure that was Rodney Smith. (The guy in the video I posted above.)

Also, 7 Wonders Duel (the two player version) is pretty fun too.

I think I am more excited to give my kids gifts this year for the holidays. Family gift is Camel Up. That is the 2014 game of the year from the German board game folks. found a copy of CarWars for my son. That is an old Steve Jackson game that is fun. But what I am most excited about.... Subbuteo. Think Euro version of electronic. Football but way less frustrating.