Ben showed up with a box of magic and a handful of links, and we spiraled from there.
We started off with Piecepack, the infinitely expandable system of tile-based board games. If you haven't seen it, The Infinite Board Game is a great intro — it comes with a full Piecepack set and over 50 games:
👉 The Infinite Board Game
Two standouts we tried:
Whirlpool Pond (Tube Wars) — hilariously chaotic and surprisingly strategic. Steven said it reminded him of playing little games at a picnic table on camping trips.
🎯 Whirlpool Pond
Moto-X — a racing game with dexterity and movement rules that feel like they're half-imagined and half-remembered, which is kind of perfect.
🏍️ Moto-X
Also, apparently 9-ball billiards now counts as a dexterity game when you're a parent trying to entertain your kid for 20 minutes.
Then we switched gears into silly, cooperative (ish), multiplayer chaos on PC:
Boomerang Fu – you're food. You throw boomerangs. You die. You laugh.
boomerangfu.com
Regular Human Basketball – pure absurdity, controlling giant robots one switch at a time.
Regular Human Basketball
Heave Ho – teamwork, trust, betrayal, and flailing limbs.
heavehogame.com
We also checked out the very weird, very poetic, and very compelling little book Adieu Plane Snake:
✈️ Adieu Plane Snake on Amazon
Then it was time for ruffled shirts and tankards: The Central Coast Renaissance Faire is back!
ccrenfaire.com
We are under strict orders not to talk about Greg, which means we definitely spent time discussing:
Greg's guild: The Free Men of the Brass Ring
The benefits of being in a guild (tents, snacks, shade, and — let's be honest — drinks)
Greg's infamous "gutpuncher" tale, which should be written down for legal reasons
How to put together your own costume (hint: check this guide)
Steven's costume is about 80% "rogue" and 20% "man lost in an upholstery store." It works.
And finally, we played two rounds of Arcs — a stunning galactic strategy game from Leder Games:
🌌 Arcs
Ben crushed the first game with pure focused ambition
Devon quietly outmaneuvered us in the second game
Steven tried a blitzkrieg strategy and was immediately and thoroughly punished
Quiet week on the horizon-gazing front. No robot uprisings or biotech breakthroughs... yet.
There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury
The house that keeps going after the people are gone. One of Bradbury's best — eerie, poetic, and haunting.
The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury
Another quiet apocalypse — a world where going for a walk makes you suspicious.
