Special Features 7 - Shut Up & Sit Down

SU&SD’s Top 25 Games Ever! #25 to #21

Quinns: Oh my GOODNESS GRAVY, this week we’re giving you something you’ve been asking for for 3 and a half years. A list of Shut Up & Sit Down’s top 25 games of all time, ordered from our least most favourite to most most favourite, and all just time for Christmas.

An awful lot of thought, time and love went into this list, so we very much hope you enjoy it. We’ll be posting one instalment a day, right the way through to the end of the week. A bit like an advent calendar, except too short and every day it’s just us again. You’re probably best off taking it back to the shop.

Without further ado, let’s KICK THIS BABY OFF A NOTCH.

Continuing what we started with Brendan’s Correct Way to Scratch and Leigh’s Month as an Assassin, we’ve got our third ever spoken article! Quinns wants to tell you why drinking games are important. In fact, he’s waiting for you in our podcast section right now.

Too nervous for a private performance? It’s understandable, of course. You’ll find a written transcript right after the jump.

Take your pick ladies, gentlemen, and teenagers who definitely shouldn’t be reading this. No. We wouldn’t condone that at all. Enjoy, everyone!

Quinns: Morning everybody! This week the entire board game industry is rammed into Essen’s convention centre, so the only news story we have is of a new collectible Magic: The Gathering board game! It looks an awful lot like Heroscape but less interesting. Mike said it best: “Monochromatic miniatures, poor terrain, and absolutely no chance that a dinosaur will eat a robot while an army man watches.”

If you’re interested in the details then Board Game Geek has already uploaded a comprehensive Essen preview video, but I’m unconvinced. I want to revisit Magic: The Gathering like I want to revisit puberty.

Speaking of which, as we don’t have any more news this week why don’t I share my sad story of playing Magic when I was a kid? Take a seat. Or if you’re at work, slide your wheely chair a little closer to your PC, creating a calming snugness between your thighs and your desk. It’s almost like being in bed.

Paul: Everybody should make things. When I was younger, I used to worry that I didn’t contribute enough things to the world. I watched TV programmes made by other people on a device invented by someone else in a house built by someone else. I was a consumer, forever digesting other people’s outputs. It made me very restless.

It wasn’t entirely true. I’d been making things since I was small. Most of those things had been entirely fictitious, but that didn’t stop me writing about them, embellishing them and trying to bring them to life. World-building is an underrated thing and I hope you all try it some time. Actually, I hope you’ve all already been trying it some time or other, because I can’t imagine anyone not. Surely we all enjoy flexing our creative muscles and going on flights of fantasy? I bet you’ve all got at least one weird and wild word inside your head.

Here’s one for you to enjoy, with its setting, its skills and its shiny dice.

Quinns: This weekend I did something a little scary (and a little sexy). I’ve been attending casual Netrunner meets for almost a year, but this month I finally took the plunge and organised my very own tournament. Forty strangers and a few of my friends were brought together under one roof for the noble pursuit of cyber-warfare.

I thought sharing how I did it (and what I learned) could be useful for a few of you guys, and maybe coax you into running something similar. Due to having all the fun in the world I’ll now be holding these monthly.

Paul posted this on his blog a few days back and we thought we’d share it here. It’s a personal thanks to everyone who made our GenCon such a blast, as well as our absolutely brilliant community, but it’s also something a little bit reflective.

We can’t thank you enough. Your support has been fantastic. We must have one of the kindest, smartest and funniest communities on the internet. We want you to know we appreciate that very much.

Paul: Thank you for Gen Con, everyone.

What I thought would happen when I got back from Indianapolis would be my sitting down at this desk to collect my thoughts together and then write some words of appreciation. What actually happened was that I slept for twelve hours, peered at the world for about four and then slept for another eight. My first Monday back is a day that I will never know anything about. After, I had the worst (still ongoing) case of writer’s block in a year and I found collecting my thoughts on everything that happened was actually a lot like trying to separate salt from sugar.

Paul: OK. That title isn’t accurate at all.

Quinns: Yes, but “Our Favourite 7 Games From Gen Con ’14 and One Game We Were Disappointed By” sounds silly and doesn’t fit.

Paul: Fair enough. Wait, which game were we disappointed by? I thought everything was pretty great.

Quinns: You’ll have to click through and FIND OUT!

Paul: But I work here

Yes, we’re still playing the Star Wars: Edge of Empire roleplaying game! No, our intrepid gang of sob stories and space-wastrels hasn’t been arrested yet, and they await you in our podcast section. Or you can go here for all the sessions so far in one place. Do disinfect yourself after you visit with them, won’t you?

In session #3 the gang stretch their luck to the very limits by attempting a heist at the height of a terrible electric storm. And… oh, no. Are they really pretending to be musicians as a cover story? With no knowledge of music, and no musical paraphernalia at all?

Paul: Hello! Welcome! I am so, so sorry to have kept you waiting. Come in! Take off your shoes! That’s it, though, don’t take anything else off.

My last RPG Design Diary was ages back now and, I have to admit, I completely underestimated the time it would take for me to put something functional together for you to look at, to even start to play around with. Nevertheless, I said that I would and I was determined that I would. I didn’t so much put my nose to the grindstone as headbutt that grindstone, but still, that’s how progress is made.

As you probably know, we took the advice that several readers gave us and we decided that, yes, actually, we would start playing some of the new Star Wars RPG, thanksverymuch. I spent a lot of time thinking about dice. I spent a lot of time thinking about stats. I might have something to show you all.

Now LIVE in our podcast section is part 2 of our entirely amazing Star Wars adventures! In this session our team of heroes arrive at a space station, kill an orc (kind of), succeed at crime (mostly) and (almost) begin working as a team. I’m calling it now. There is no way this ends well.

If you missed part 1, we should stress that we haven’t retreated into a child-like fantasy world and are in fact playing the new Star Wars RPG. Newcomers will definitely want to check out part 1 where our story begins.

The dramatic caper of the Crap Plastic Artifact will conclude next week!

SU&SD’s Top 25 Games Ever! #25 to #21

Quinns’ Favourite Drinking Games

The Magic Position

Paul’s Roleplay Design Diary! Part 4

Tips for running a Tournament

Paul’s Thank You for Gen Con

Our Favourite 8 Games From Gen Con 2014!

Amazing Star Wars Adventures! Pt. 3

Paul’s Roleplay Design Diary! Part 3

Amazing Star Wars Adventures! Pt. 2

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