Stay Home Stay Happy

Today I leave you with something a little different. Many are now drawn to their screens like never before. Bandwidth is being tested all over the world, our eyes and ears are full of media 24/7. 

Even in the pandemic we still have plenty of entertainment.
The Last of Us shot by me

Maybe some of you are better and have other distractions, but for me it has been rough on the eyes.

Along with the Covid-19 Stay at Home initiative many board games companies have started releasing Print and Play versions of their games.  If you are not a board gamer do not fear as the first two I am going to list are very easy and fun to play.

Also keep in mind that there is a lot more fun to be had in gaming than Monopoly and Uno...

Hopefully you have a printer, if not you could easily make Love Letter: Sender out of regular cards or even drawn on the back of a cereal box. 

Z-Man Games is giving away a re-skin of their classic game Love Letter. Simple and fun for all the family, it'll only take up 3 pages of paper, if only the front sides of the cards are printed. I must have played this game at least fifty times and it is great fun.

Click Here to download the Love Letter's rules and cards

Not into the ideas of Love or maybe you have no one to play with, or just need some quality time to yourself away from your household. Never fear, the next games can be played with others or solo.

Corinth is a delightful dice game which requires 12 dice and the gaming sheet (1 per player) If you do not have a printer you could simply edit the picture on a tablet and roll dice on an app (not avoiding screens I know) but it may make for a nice change of pace from video games.  It is simple fun and addictive like many others of its genre. 

Click Here to download the Corinth's rules and player sheet

I haven't played the next games myself but

Rolling Realms is an infinitely scaling roll-and-write game inspired by all other Stonemaier games. Rolling Realms features 9 minigames, each inspired by a different Stonemaier Game. You use 3 of these realms per round over 3 rounds. The games designer teaches you how to play the game and you can even play against his previous recorded self or new uploads daily. 

Click Here to check out Rolling Realms.

Button Shy games are well known for their wallet-sized games. Over on their website they have reduced the price of a lot of their games to $0.00!

Click here to see what they have in store for you.

Wizkids have also released one pinball table of their print and play game Super Skill Pinball.

Click here to download the game.

If you do not mind something a little print heavy, Penny Assassin may be for you. 

In Penny Assassin, you start as a lowly member of a gang. As you travel about the town of Rorcester, you get stronger and more powerful. Missions that took multiple turns in the beginning can be accomplished in a flash, at the end. This leads to a mad dash to the finish. Only one can become The Most Epic Assassin.
Click Here to download the Penny Assassin's rules and player sheet

To avid boardgamers out there Portal Games are giving away a ton of add ons to their games and a solo scenario for Detective: Suburbia that can be downloaded and played independently from the main game.

Click Here to check out all that Portal Games has to offer

For something a little different Osprey Publishing are also giving away 5 free ebooks per week of their much loved war games miniatures rules sets.

Click here to check out Osprey's freebies

Enjoy!

Truck at Home!

My favourite sim game publishers SCS Software have released an event to help people have a focus during this Covid-19 pandemic. 

American Truck Simulator shot by me.

#TruckAtHome calls players to do just that, truck and clock up as many kilometres/miles as possible doing any deliveries you like. Easy and it gives you a reason to focus your energies into something relaxing. 

American Truck Simulator shot by me.

SCS Software's press release can be read below:

"Heroic drivers and support crew around the world are currently delivering much-needed supplies and providing life-saving services. Their work keeps the world moving and is incredibly challenging and dangerous.

When reflecting on this we might ask the question, what can we do. The scientific advice is clear, the best thing we can do is to stay at home and keep physical interaction to a minimum. So, we are calling on you, our #BestCommunityEver, as a salute to these heroes, to unite and to #TruckAtHome. Let's stand alone together, keep the world safe, and let's participate in a World of Trucks community event!

Our slogan for this event is #TruckAtHome and our goal is simple, to get as many people involved, in any way they can, while remaining at home. Complete as many jobs as you can, there is no special cargo and no minimum distance. Choose the longest jobs possible or do many short jobs, it's up to you because we are going to track the delivery distance required for all jobs completed, then add them up. You can even use your own trailers in the External Market!

We are in the middle of beta testing upcoming updates to our games, and injecting new content into the games is just not possible unless we restart the betas. So, instead of going the usual Steam Inventory route, we have had to improvise. As an incentive to get more players involved, we are providing a free Steam Workshop #TruckAtHome paint job mod for the event. We'll be handing out free Steam keys to get even more people playing. And, we also pledge to undertake positive actions to help those who are combating COVID-19, more details in the rules. The more distance covered during the event, the more keys we will give away and the more pledges we will make. Every kilometre, every mile counts! We feel that it is crucial to send the message now, when it matters most."

American Truck Simulator shot by me.

Gaming is Wonderful: Online Gaming Saved Me

Many of us in the modern day world struggle to find a purpose in life. With social media and news streams in our face most of our waking moments, it is hard to switch off. Many of us get lost and feel displaced in a society as we gradually feel less and less connected to the world around us. For some this is just an annoyance, perhaps a frequent disappointment and mild pain. For others it can lead to much darker roads, end in perpetual torment and even death.

The media is full of such stories, but as always it lacks the positive. Now, especially with all the social distancing measures going into place, it is important to reflect on the positive. Here is a gamer's story on how online gaming allowed them to cope in their times of hardship.

May it enlighten you and hopefully inspire you to focus on the good that you have going on in your own life, no matter how small it may seem.

Throughout the article the writer chose Luna.vp as their inspiration within the virtual photographer community. 

Most of my social life at school went from good to downhill as time went on. Too many turned away from me and only thought that my presence was never worth their time and effort. I figured that I needed to find something to make me happy at least just a little bit. I then discovered Video Games. All the homework, assignments and projects that needed to be worked on were always thoroughly done and completed at my earliest convenience, just so I could get to gaming. The good grades were a good thing, but when I was relaxed and gaming, that was truly me feeling okay emotionally. This was true even during my school days that always deterred me from wanting anymore social contact. The digital world behind the screen was there for me, always.

Horizon Zero Dawn by Luna.vp

Eventually, I randomly ventured into Instagram after graduating in 2016. An Xbox One was gifted to me by my Mother. I didn't expect much, I assumed I'd be doomed with no friends, but I did find a player as I played Call Of Duty: Black Ops 3 and we have remained in touch to this day. Some time after there was a new announcement for a game. It was a game changer in the online world. This caught my attention greatly. I can't remember how I stumbled upon the community following the game, but I ended up making more and more friends throughout my time in that community. I was finally experiencing what I missed out on for many years: friendships

Horizon Zero Dawn by Luna.vp

To be honest, video games saved my life. Even though I've still lost many online friends since 2017, I don't feel lonely. I'll never drop gaming, ever. Like I said... it saved me from what I could have gotten myself into and eased my depression and loneliness, which could have led me down a very dark path. Video games are indeed magical. The adventures you can embark on, the visuals you can enjoy. The friends you can meet through it all.

Red Dead Redemption 2 by Luna.vp

Feelings of happiness and contentment is what these digital worlds have given me and I am grateful for that.

Horizon Zero Dawn by Luna.vp

COVID-19 aka Corona Virus an Update

Right now we are living in unprecedented times, as a Global Pandemic sweeps the nations we all sit in uncertainty and worry about what the future holds. As of the moment I write this I am also going into self isolation. My partners work colleague who she spends most of her days with has been diagnosed with COVID-19 along with his wife and child.

The UK so far has not put measures in place quite like Germany, Italy and Paris, but we are getting there. I have had cold symptoms and a temperature for a couple of days but today it has developed into a sore throat, muscle and ear pain. Maybe it isn't COVID-19 but obeying government guidelines I have decided to stay away from the population for two weeks. 

However, I do not write this in despair. For the majority of the population the illness is no more than a mild cold or nasty fever, some people seem to show no symptoms at all. Regardless, we will be going out less and having to be inside more. We need to be responsible and think of others, as nothing could be worse than infecting the sick, elderly or infirm. 

While some companies and people are profiting from our misfortune and misery, it is nice to know others care. Today both Rockstar Games and CD Projekt Red posted announcements onto their social media.

Rockstar Games in their announcement says that it will continue to roll out their usual schedule as planned but also is hoping to have an extra few surprises in store for gamers due to the self isolation a lot of us will experience. 

CD Projekt Red promises to not shift their release date of Cyberpunk 2077. Their team are working remotely to make sure the work still gets done. Despite prior delays the team know how to work the media and appease their fans. I was won over by the reversible cover featuring V, the female poster girl of the series, leaked on International Woman's Day. 

Also with cinemas closing, concerts cancelled and all other public meeting places being avoided, we are seeing many streaming services bringing forward their releases. Frozen 2 is being pulled forward by 3 months and hosted on Disney+, while Universal is to make Trolls World Tour, The Hunt and the Invisible Man available early on home entertainment.

With everyone so worried it would make a nice change for the media to present us with hope and joy instead of increasing our worry and causing our wallets to empty. Panic buying all over has led to shortages of many essential products and some people going without. 

Take care of those around you, stay inside if you are unwell and most of all spread the positive, as we all could do with a dose of it right now.