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Messages - Bixby

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1
Other Games / Re: So I did a thing ... need advice ...
« on: April 21, 2023, 11:30:57 AM »
Congrats on following a dream. It sounds like a very exciting time for you. So, first of all, I would like to say "Good Luck" with the project(s), and may they remain fun and rewarding through the entire journey.

Regarding communities, I have a few opinions and a bit of experience. Communities are a tricky thing and they come and go as interests wax and wane. I tend to be a fan of larger / broader communities smaller ones. There are a few reasons for this.

(1) Board games are a niche hobby. Even as mainstream as they feel these days, it is a generally small portion of the population that is involved in the hobby.
(2) As communities form around the hobby of board games, you start to see sub groups form. Niches within a niche. At some point sub-communities get so small that they may have a razor sharp focus on a particular topic, but they lack a lot of members / conversation.
(3) Establishing critical mass in a community is key and becomes harder the more specialized the "niche within a niche" is.

For these reasons, I tend to advocate for larger / broader communities to make sure there is always ample exposure / participation. I wrote about this a bit in an article I wrote for SaskGames back when I was involved in that community. It can be found here: https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/53788/community-musing-part-iv

I think the best / strongest / longest-lived communities tend to be those with a broad members base. These tend to be more generalized from a hobby perspective, a site devoted to a particular game / sub-genre of games, or a group that shares a geographic region.
www.BoardGameGeek.com - Generalized site
https://opinionatedgamers.com/ - Generalized site
www.carcassonnecentral.com - Devoted to a specific game.
www.wingsofwar.org - Devoted to a specific game.
https://www.torontoboardgamers.ca/ - Devoted to a geographic region.
https://www.meetup.com/seattle-board-games/ - Devoted to a geographic region.

I think for a game company, it is even more challenging. I believe you need to tap into existing communities and build a base of interest to create inertia to move forward. Probably lots of outreach on existing sites, social media, etc.

I have used Discord and belong to a number of communities. Those communities tend to be more "underground" and do not readily show up on goggle searches for people looking for games and related items. For that reason, I generally avoid using Discord, Slack, and tools like that to "build" a community. I think you need a more open / searchable / web format for that.

Anyways, that was a lot of rambling on my part. Very best to you in your efforts, I will certainly follow along and hope things take off.
Very best,
a voice from your past.
Matt "Bixby"

2
News and Events / Re: Carcassonne Central is back!
« on: July 20, 2021, 08:19:19 AM »
Good work to the team that got this back up and running!!!  :yellow-meeple:

3
The Marketplace / Re: Giant Carcassonne Tiles!
« on: October 10, 2018, 07:35:05 AM »
Thanks for the info. That would get pricey and over $7/meeple.

My woodwork skills are complete **** but I guess I need to work on them to make this happen.

4
The Marketplace / Re: Giant Carcassonne Tiles!
« on: October 09, 2018, 02:33:55 PM »
So I bought a couple sets of these as well and I would like to buy some super size meeples for these. Does anyone have an idea where to buy super sized meeple sets that would work well with these tiles. I am thinking four player version only: Blue, Green, Red, Yellow.

Thanks in advance.
Bix

5
Other Games / Re: What's on your Shelf of Shame?
« on: April 05, 2018, 07:09:49 AM »
Haha. Now you see why I thought you had half a game.

Thanks for catching that. ;)

6
Other Games / Re: What's on your Shelf of Shame?
« on: April 04, 2018, 10:10:47 PM »
Found out that I forgot to include "Rising Sun". I edited my list on previous page to include it. :)

7
Other Games / Re: What's on your Shelf of Shame?
« on: April 04, 2018, 07:54:59 AM »
Wow! Do you have 274.5 games in total? :o
283 actually. Down from the high water mark a few years ago of 450

I believe you only listed 32 out of the 33 unplayed games. :P

Ha. I will check my list :)

8
I am late to the party here, but the titles I am really looking forward to are:

Re-implementation of Brass
CO2: Second Chance
Expansion... XIA: Missions and Powers

Any future expansions for the following games:
...Carcassonne
...Terraforming Mars
...Orleans
...Sid Meier's Civilization: A New Dawn
...Twilight Imperium IV
...The Colonists

9
Other Games / Re: What's on your Shelf of Shame?
« on: April 02, 2018, 05:21:42 PM »
That's a great ratio. Your shelf is smaller than mine and with a much much better percentage!

You've got Lyngk to look forward to!  I'm a big fan of it, Gipf and Yinsh too!

The whole GIPF Series is great; I wish more locals people were into abstract games.

10
Other Games / Re: What's on your Shelf of Shame?
« on: April 02, 2018, 04:43:37 PM »
Wow! Do you have 274.5 games in total? :o

283 actually. Down from the high water mark a few years ago of 450

11
Other Games / Re: What's on your Shelf of Shame?
« on: April 02, 2018, 12:45:59 PM »
My Shelf of Shame

Antike
Antiquity
AssassinCon
Assault of the Giants
Big City
Container
Cosmic Wimpout
Crash Cup Karambolage
Dawn: Rise of the Occulites
Dice Brewing
Duck Dealer
Gloomhaven
High Frontier (3rd edition)
Icehouse
LYNGK
March of the Ants
Masters of Venice
Modern Naval Battles: Global Warfare
MotorChamp
Onward to Venus
Pingo Pingo
Pirate Dice: Voyage on the Rolling Seas
Polis: Fight for the Hegemony
Ranger
Regatta
Rising Sun
Sails of Glory
Serenissima (first edition)
Subdivision
Tiddlycroquet
Tournay
Viktory II
Wings of Glory: WW2 Starter Set


I have played 88.34% of my Collection. 11.66% remains unplayed.

12
Anything Else / Re: Other Hobbies than board games
« on: December 02, 2016, 03:01:56 PM »
Bixby,

I added you in Untapped.  You definitely have me beat in beers.

Added you too. Cheers. :)

A merit to Bixby for sharing his many passions with us. It looks like you've had some very fun times. I'm learning to play darts at the moment...I'm not very good and it takes me a good 5-10 minutes to warm up.  Good luck with your convention next year. Please share some photos with us :)

Thanks Decar. I certainly will share some photos.

13
Anything Else / Re: Other Hobbies than board games
« on: December 02, 2016, 07:08:48 AM »
I may not be on the site much these days, but I sure enjoying reading this thread.

Very festive indeed kettlefish, looks like you are in full swing for the season. I wish I had artistic talents. I have to be satisfied admiring what other people create. :)

stalcupojoy that is amazing. Music is such a large part of my life; alas I gave up trying to make music, but I sure enjoy listening to it. You must find that to be a very rewarding pursuit. Music can sooth the soul.



You all have inspired me to post about my hobby pursuits, so here is a rambling list...

(1) I love Premium Craft Beer. I have tried many styles and types of beer. I log all of my beer exploits using the UNTAPPD app:
https://untappd.com/user/Bixby

(2) Boardgames are still the #1 hobby of course. I assist SaskGames.com with social media and hobby outreach by posting pictures on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/bixbycanada/

(3) I have been running a Texas Hold'em Poker League for about 12 years. I won the league in 2014 and again this year so that helps to keep me motivated. :)



(4) We go on an annual canoe trip to Northern Saskatchewan. It is a soul charging adventure and a wonderful trip with friends:




(5) I like to build Inuksuks on my travels. Something very zen like when you are stacking rocks on the shore:




(6) Fundraising to help the Homeless.
My wife and I host a lot of gatherings at our house. Many of them our boardgame functions, some are focused on other things. We try to have a lot of fun and use these as opportunities to raise money for the homeless. This is done with under our Play with Your Food team - "Game for a Change". Here is some information about that pursuit here:
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1655280/local-boardgame-charity-event-raises-over-42000

Here are some pictures of the functions we have held:

BixCON Summer Sizzle Lobster Boil:



Scotchy Scotch Scotch - Scotch Tasting:



Annual Darts Tournament:


(7) We occasionally go on a backpacking trip. Great to get away from it all:



( 8 ) I used to do some trail riding on my Mountain Bike. Need to do more of this:



(9) We try to get out snowshoeing a few times each winter when there is enough snow:



(10) And finally, I am trying to plan my first large event next year. I love planning events so it only makes sense that I try my hands at something bigger than gatherings at our house.


Okay, that list turned out longer than I thought it would. That is what happens when I ramble.

I hope everyone is fine and is prepared for a peaceful Christmas season of games with family and friends.
Cheers,
Matt

14
Other Games / Re: Top ten games!
« on: October 24, 2016, 10:29:06 PM »
My Top Ten List:
Merchant of Venus
XIA: Legends of a Drift System
Railways of the World
Poker
Carcassonne (Actually Mega-Carcassonne with many expansions)
Roads & Boats
Castle of Burgundy
Crokinole
Himalaya
HeroScape

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEO3hGfLXNm

15
Anything Else / Re: Other Hobbies than board games
« on: May 17, 2016, 10:56:34 AM »
Great thread and a thoroughly enjoyable read.  :(y)

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