It has however been a mental couple of weeks! What with getting everything ready to start my new job, coupled with being seriously short-staffed in the role I was filling up until Friday past; I have been spread pretty thin. It's been exhausting to say the least and something had to give. So blogging unfortunately got put on the back-burner for the most part.
Don't get me wrong, I got a few posts up. Just nowhere near as many as I had expected to, and it also hasn't escaped my attention that I have fallen behind in a number of other blog related areas (10 x 10 Challenge, One Man And His Dice write ups, etc).
Things are calming down now though, and I am hoping that over the next few weeks I can get back on top of things and begin to clear this backlog.
I digress though. This post isn't about me or the many plates that I currently have spinning. It's about Experimental Playground; a great little blog that I wanted to share with you all and, that I highly recommend checking out.
What's so great about Experimental Playground?
Well, Experimental Playground has an excellent range of print and play games that are all free to download; the vast majority of which will require only a single piece of A4 card to print off their components, and look just fine in black & white.
The games are also really quick to assemble, typically taking only a few minutes to cut out all of the pieces you'll need to play. Couple this with learning the rules, and finding a couple of dice; and you'll often find that this means that you can be up and playing within the space of an hour of your download.
That's an impressive turnaround! Particularly when I compare that turnaround to the time it would take me to get into a typical game picked up from the store. With longer rulebooks, cards to sleeve or tokens to punch (sometimes both), it might take me days to get going.
Does this mean that these are lesser games in some way then? Not at all! They're just simpler, and more economical games than something you might typically pick up at the store. They have smaller footprints, require less components to play, and keep the rules short and sweet.
Basically, what we have here are mini games. A concept within gaming that has become very popular in the past couple of years, with notable titles such as Tiny Epic Galaxies, and Harbour by Scott Almes. So, if mini games are your thing, or you're a big box gamer just curious about them, then Experimental Playground could be just what you're looking for.
Last but certainly not least in the list of reasons why I like this blog, is that the bulk of their games are intended to be played solo. As a largely solitary gamer, this is a big plus; but as I see it, it really works for the group gamer too. The reason for this conclusion being that it makes their games far more accessible to any of you who are curious and decide to download a game or two to try.
That's the beauty of solitaire games. You don't have to wait for your gaming group to meet up or, for a friend to pop by to give them a go. They're just there. Ready to play when you are. So to combine that freedom with print and play games that are ready to go in next to no time, is a winning formula in my book.
If this post has piqued your interest at all (and lets face it, free games are generally worth a look to the avid gamer), the authors over at Experimental Playground have compiled a list of links to all of their games here for ease of use, including links to their roleplaying systems that you can also freely download.
I may have to check EP out, thanks for the heads up. :)
ReplyDeleteNot a problem. :0). I hope you find something that you enjoy on the site. I've downloaded most of their catalogue and certainly have no complaints.
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