August/September 2024 - Losing It Like a Winner

Games played this month

• A Little to the Left
  

  12 hours playtime

  65 of 65 achievements

• THE GAME OF LIFE 2
  

  4 hours playtime

  3 of 10 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack 2
  

  3 hours playtime

  6 of 20 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack 3
  

  2 hours playtime

  5 of 20 achievements

• I Am Fish
  

  7 hours playtime

  no achievements

• Bloons TD 6
  

  22 hours playtime

  25 of 150 achievements

Gameplay Summary

Apparently I blew past my August update without realizing I had missed it until close to the end of September. Between massive changes at work and a depressive episode (all better now, don’t worry), I completely missed the ball on my post and played even less than the normal amount in September due to lack of motivation. Now that things have settled, and I have multiple extended periods of time off during the end-of-year holiday season, I will be able to get some extra time on games, hopefully being able to clear some longer titles on my backlog.

Completed: A Little to the Left

Once again, I completed the game after a new DLC was dropped (Seeing Stars), and boy, it was a tougher challenge. Thankfully, I worked through some of the puzzles with my mom prior to playing, but it was still a bit trickier than the previous puzzles in the game. I thought it was a lot of fun, and it was very unique with some of the new interactions with items. I still highly recommend the game to anyone who loves puzzle games.

In Progress Completion: THE GAME OF LIFE 2

My mom and I spent some more time working through achievements on Game of Life. It’s a fun title, and it was nice to be able to spend some time with her. She is a lot luckier though, and she was able to get further ahead than I have so far despite playing for the same amount of time. That’s ok though, since it was time well spent.

Beaten: The Jackbox Party Pack 2

As usual, I made a lot of progress on achievements in August via two work events where I hosted. We played Earwax during the first event. It was funny because the first round, the winner won unanimously, but the second round took a very long time to reach a winner. It’s a fun title, especially if you like “complete the prompt” type games like Cards Against Humanity or Apples to Apples. During the second event, we played Fibbage 2, which was familiar territory since we have previously played Fibbage 3. We had enough players to earn a rare achievement, which was an added bonus.

In Progress Completion: The Jackbox Party Pack 3

Unlike Party Pack 2, I did not make any achievement progress, and I did not play at work. This time, a friend, my mom, my brother, and I all played in the living room on our big TV. It was a fun time playing Trivia Murder Party. Not too much to update from a progress standpoint, but it was a lot of fun. I do need to practice quick math tough, since there is an achievement for getting 25 math problems done, and I only got 19.

Beaten: I Am Fish

Starting in August and finishing in September, I beat another win, which I also submitted for PAGYWOSG and PoP. This is a great title, though I doubt I will put myself through the torment of the harder mode and controls any time soon. I was pleased that I was able to get several rare achievements on my first playthrough, which is nice since I don’t have to attempt them in the harder modes. I do recommend the game, but only if you are willing to put up with frustrating (in a good way) physics and a lot of respawns.

In Progress: Bloons TD 6

This was another title where I did not earn any new achievements. My playtime consisted of Boss Battles during September while playing with a friend online. I am sure I made some progress toward some of the more grindy achievements, but no new achievements were earned as of yet.

July 2024 - Playing the Rest Through Relaxation

Games played this month

• Thomas Was Alone
  

  4 hours playtime

  35 of 35 achievements

• RISK: Global Domination
  

  6 hours playtime

  16 of 55 achievements

• THE GAME OF LIFE 2
  

  3 hours playtime

  2 of 10 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack 3
  

  83 minutes playtime

  5 of 20 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack 4
  

  15 hours playtime

  11 of 20 achievements

• Halo: The Master Chief Collection
  

  5 hours playtime

  10 of 700 achievements

• Yooka-Laylee
  

  45 minutes playtime

  4 of 35 achievements

Gameplay Summary

Though my total game time was average (about 10 hours for the month), I was able to make some great progress on my backlog. Between beating and completing multiple games and starting some new titles, I was able to play a variety of games while making actually beating progress. This luckily coincided with our first family vacation, so I had some time to play in our AirBnB while the family slept in. I had a blast with my gaming time this month.

Completed: Thomas Was Alone

This was a fun puzzle platformer I played but didn’t beat back when it was a Flash game. It was reasonably easy to complete, and I only missed a few achievements during my first playthrough. Thank God for level select. The narration was amazing, the platforming was occasionally challenging but forgiving, and the art was great even with the minimalist design. I have not yet beaten the bonus levels, but since I have all achievements, I am still going to consider this completed. Since this was almost completed during our vacation, I would say the vacation was well spent.

In Progress Completion: RISK: Global Domination

My friend, my brother, and I all played a round of this title while I was on vacation. I earned a couple new achievements, and we had a good time. This was one of the many games we played as a group during our visit on vacation.

Beaten: THE GAME OF LIFE 2

My mom and I played several rounds of Game of Life in the evenings over the past week. I feel a little weird marking it as beaten since I only have two achievements, but since one of the achievements is for getting first place, that falls in line with other games such as Civilization V which are considered beaten after getting first on one round. I still plan to play a lot more of this with her, so I hope to complete it by the end of the year. Review wise, the game is very well put together, and it gives a lot more choices for life than the original board game’s limited idea of what life looks like.

Beaten: The Jackbox Party Pack 3

This entry in the Jackbox series was a fun game to play, and I actually played it multiple times this month. The first time was when we were visiting my sister’s apartment during our vacation. We played Trivia Murder Party, which was definitely one of my favorite entries in the series. I still have a few achievements to get for that game, so hopefully I can earn those later, especially when we play for our October Virtual Happy Hour at work. The other game I played in this entry was Tee KO during our August Virtual Happy Hour at work. This one was also a fun entry. Some of the T-shirt designs were so good, I would be willing to buy them.

In Progress Completion: The Jackbox Party Pack 4

We briefly revisted this Jackbox title during my visit to my sister’s on vacation. My youngest sister wanted to play Fibbage: Enough About You, so we played a round of that title. There were some funny moments. No achievements were earned this time around, but it was still fun to revisit a nice title and get to know each other more.

In Progress: Halo: The Master Chief Collection

I literally only spent 15 minutes on Halo when I accidentally joined a random match while trying to see if we could do split screen multiplayer on a laptop. Apparently the PC version of Halo: TMCC does not support split screen, which was a let down. Surprisingly, I earned two new achievements in that short time, so I was happy about that. Eventually I will work through the campaigns, but that is for another time.

In Progress: Yooka-Laylee

I was very happy to start this title, which was selected for me as a Play or Pay (PoP) Long game. My brother bought it for me, and I put off playing it for a long time, but I’m glad I at least got started. The game absolutely reminds me of Banjo-Kazooie, which was a blast to play through during my childhood. It is similar, but it has some unique aspects that set it apart, like new game mechanics and modern references in the humor. Expect to hear more from me as I continue working on it in August.

June 2024 - Fun With Failure

Games played this month

• SUPERHOT
  

  11 hours playtime

  22 of 26 achievements

• Tabletop Simulator
  

  17 hours playtime

  11 of 27 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack 2
  

  51 minutes playtime

  2 of 20 achievements

Gameplay Summary

I was close. I was very close. I almost beat my first long game for Play or Pay. However, COVID knocked me on my rear, and I fell short of the hours requirement to complete my long game. In fact, I did not pass the event at all this cycle, which was incredibly disappointing. I’m even late on this BLAEO post because everything went haywire from not feeling well, followed by a Fourth of July vacation. Despite this, I had a lot of fun during the first half of the month while I was feeling well. I made some great progress on multiple games, and I expect to revisit the titles I played at a later date.

In Progress Completion: SUPERHOT

Achievement hunting on this title was fun. This was the title I was playing for PoP as a long pick since I was going for as many achievements as possible, but I definitely miscategorized it. By the time I got COVID, it was becoming a bit of a chore to try getting enough hours, and after I got COVID, I couldn’t find the motivation to continue trudging through it. I will revisit this later, but for now, the last few achievements need to sit on the shelf.

In Progress Completion: Tabletop Simulator

I haven’t earned any new achievements yet, but I played TTS with my friend for a couple hours. We played cards and Parcheesi. Not much of an update, but I guess you can consider it progress toward the many hours achievements.

In Progress: The Jackbox Party Pack 2

As discussed in my prior update, we played this for one of our work events. This session, we played Quiplash XL with a larger group, and it was a lot of fun. Two achievements were earned, which was an added bonus. I’ll revisit some of the other games at a later date.

May 2024 - Hottest Party in Town

Games played this month

• Drawful 2
  

  3 hours playtime

  5 of 10 achievements

• SUPERHOT
  

  7 hours playtime

  17 of 26 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack 2
  

  11 minutes playtime

  0 of 20 achievements

Gameplay Summary

This month I had one mission: Beat one of my long games for Play or Pay (PoP). Though I didn’t complete my goal yet, I was laser focused on making progress during the few hours I was able to play. I also snuck in a bit of Jackbox games for work-related events, so that added a little to the time I spent gaming. Overall, this month had fewer games played, but I was able to add another beat to the tally.

In Progress Completion: Drawful 2

At the beginning of this month, I had an event with some coworkers, where we played some more Drawful 2. It was a blast, and thank goodness this time it had family-friendly mode. I even earned one extra achievement that I did not have yet, which is a nice bonus given I only played the game an hour this month. This is a title I will come back to later when we need a good Pictionary-style game.

Beaten: SUPERHOT

After completing a good portion of the story last month, I was quickly able to beat the main story for this game. The real challenge began after I unlocked the endless and challenge modes. While some of the challenges are fun, and endless can be a good time sink when I need something to play, the endless mode started to drone on a bit given the escalating unlock requirements to work toward unlocking all the endless maps. I was able to make some good progress toward my goal of 15 hours (the minimum time played to mark the game beaten under the Long category for PoP), but I still have a ways to go. This coming month, I will be finalizing the 15 hour mark so avoid having to pay. At least the challenges are a load of fun (especially the katana-only challenge, which I beat).

In Progress: The Jackbox Party Pack 2

To round out the month, I added another Jackbox title to my played games: Party Pack 2. I only played a few minutes since we were just testing Quiplash XL for an upcoming work event at the beginning of the next month, but it was a fun test run. I will update how it goes with more people after we play next week.

April 2024 - Making History

Games played this month

• Drawful 2
  

  86 minutes playtime

  4 of 10 achievements

• The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
  

  37 minutes playtime

  8 of 11 achievements

• Iron Fisticle
  

  2 hours playtime

  19 of 31 achievements

• SUPERHOT
  

  2 hours playtime

  4 of 26 achievements

• Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
  

  9 hours playtime

  15 of 64 achievements

• Victoria 3
  

  5 hours playtime

  no achievements

Gameplay Summary

This month was marked by strong progress in a variety of metrics. I played a larger variety of games than I have recently, I beat two more titles, and I earned several achievements on the games I did not beat yet. I would consider this a productive gaming month even with typically low hours played. The progress made in this month will lead to good results in the future.

Beaten: Drawful 2

Another Jackbox title is ready to be marked as beaten. This standalone title is an absolute blast, basically being digital Pictionary. I played this with some family and friends for a game day, and we had a great time. I will be playing it again in May for a work event because it was a lot of fun.

Beaten: The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe

After reaching 100% on the original, I was happy to work on the Ultra Deluxe version. Though the bar was fairly low to “beat” the game (can be done in a few minutes), I was able to get most of the achievements legitimately. I only have a few more achievements to earn, and then I have to wait 10 years to earn the last achievement without cheating. I highly recommend this title.

In Progress: Iron Fisticle

Iron Fisticle is a fun little roguelike. This was a win recommended by my Play or Pay (PoP) picker, and so far, it has not disappointed me. A play session can be completed in about 30 minutes, and I am starting to get the hang of how to progress. Most recently, I am able to complete the first two floors consistently, but I have had trouble completing the third. I came very close though, and I do plan to beat this before the end of the PoP cycle in June. I did take a break though since I wanted to try something else.

In Progress: SUPERHOT

This title lives up to the hype. As someone who is very bad at aiming in FPS games, I was glad for the time freezing mechanics, where I was able to take my time and strategize vs running and spraying. The story is interesting so far. I am noticing the story may be shorter than I thought, so it will be interesting when I get to the point of beating challenges. This will be needed since I categorized it in my Long PoP list (15-25 hours). It is very fun though, so I think I can put up with it long enough to meet the minimum Long criteria.

In Progress: Totally Accurate Battle Simulator

Not too much was done for TABS this month. All I did was complete the Pirate campaign. It’s still progress though, so I’m not complaining.

In Progress: Victoria 3

This month, I had time to play some Victoria 3 with a friend of mine. We each picked a random country to play as, and we just played for fun. Achievements do not unlock in multiplayer, so unfortunately there is no trackable progress for this month. Nonetheless, it was nice to unwind and have fun with a new yet familiar title.

March 2024 - Complete Focus

Games played this month

• A Little to the Left
  

  8 hours playtime

  55 of 55 achievements

• The Stanley Parable
  

  55 hours playtime

  10 of 10 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack
  

  47 minutes playtime

  1 of 20 achievements

• Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
  

  8 hours playtime

  14 of 64 achievements

Gameplay Summary

This month was a solid month for progress where I saw two games reach 100% and tracked progress on a couple other games. While I did not have a significant amount of active playtime, I am content knowing that two more games are completely out of my backlog unless I choose to revisit them. Next month I plan to continue some of that progress while adding new titles to the list of beaten games, so stay tuned.

Completed: A Little to the Left

At last, I have completed the requisite number of daily challenges to achieve 100%, right at the end of the month. I had very little wiggle room, but perseverance paid off. I also completed the Cupboards and Drawers DLC. This will be a game that I will have on my play time in future months since my mom and I compete for speed on the daily challenges, so expect a new category for these types of games which are completed but revisited.

Completed: The Stanley Parable

Oh boy, this game was fun to get the last few achievements on. I am pleased to announce that all achievements were earned legitimately (except the one where you have to modify the game files of course). The Commitment achievement was a pain though. Originally I had it running on my desktop, but because my computer is too powerful, it ended up crashing midway through. The following Tuesday I tried again with my laptop, which thankfully worked. Next I need to get the achievements on the Ultra Deluxe version. Yes, I plan to get the achievements legitimately, so I will be waiting 10 years to 100%.

In Progress: The Jackbox Party Pack

After the success of playing Jackbox for work events in previous months, I was given funds to pick up a few more titles for us to try out. This month, we played the first pack in the series and played Lie Swatter. Unfortunately, some of the trivia questions were unsafe for work, but everyone was a good sport, with comments such as “We are all adults.” This does not mean I will play this title again for work.

In Progress: Totally Accurate Battle Simulator

Though I did not make too much progress this month, I did complete the Renaissance campaign, with some initial progress on the Pirate campaign. I will continue working through the various campaigns and secret hunting in future months.

February 2024 - Small Steps, Giant Leaps

Games played this month

• A Little to the Left
  

  6 hours playtime

  50 of 55 achievements

• Lovely Planet 2: April Skies
  

  3 hours playtime

  3 of 28 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack 4
  

  14 hours playtime

  11 of 20 achievements

Gameplay Summary

This month was fairly sparse for game time, clocking in around 5 hours for the whole month. I was tremendously busy with work, family time, and general lack of motivation for games. I also got sick toward the end of the month, and it’s hard for me to play games while sick. Despite this, I beat a game and set myself up to clear a couple games for events next month. Hopefully March will be much more productive than February.

In Progress Completion: A Little to the Left

There’s not too much to update on this title. My whole month was dedicated to knocking out daily challenges, which only took one to two minutes per challenge. Despite the slow progress, I completed enough challenges to be able to 100% the game in March. March will include completing the Cupboards and Drawers DLC and achieving all the daily tidy achievements (capping at 100 dailies completed).

Beaten: Lovely Planet 2: April Skies

I had a lot of fun beating the main levels for Lovely Planet 2. I have previously played (though not beaten) the first game, and I agree with the assessment that the main levels in this game are more forgiving than the first game. Though frustrating at times, it is challenging yet relaxing given the cute graphics and lighthearted music. If you have never played the Lovely Planet series before, this is a good place to start since there is no narrative link between the previous game and this one. I still plan to play this game some more in March since I have to play at least another 5 hours to mark it as beaten for Play or Pay.

In Progress Completion: The Jackbox Party Pack 4

Once again, I hosted Jackbox for our team virtual happy hour at work. This time we played Survive the Internet, which unfortunately did not end up being as safe for work as I would prefer. Thankfully everyone are adults, and there wasn’t anything so bad that it could be an HR issue. I was able to unlock one more achievement this month, which is always a welcome surprise when I am not actively hunting for them.

January 2024 - Opening With Closing

Games played this month

• Pony Island
  

  5 hours playtime

  20 of 20 achievements

• Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion
  

  4 hours playtime

  37 of 37 achievements

• A Little to the Left
  

  5 hours playtime

  43 of 55 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack 4
  

  12 hours playtime

  10 of 20 achievements

• Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
  

  7 hours playtime

  13 of 64 achievements

Gameplay Summary

Both in game and in real life, I have had a productive and wonderful start to the new year. Life has been filled with many pieces of work and finances falling into place to prepare me for a tremendous year ahead. My gaming, though not much more time-wise, has been focused and led to significant progress in percentage beaten and completed. I hope to continue the momentum in both areas of life as I continue throughout this year.

Completed: Pony Island

Oh boy, this one was both awesome to complete and frustratingly annoying at the same time. On the one hand, the game has some nice secrets which did not feel like a chore to complete. I was able to get all but one achievement fairly quickly and without hassle. On the other hand, the last achievement was seemingly random, and I had to look up and cross-reference multiple guides to be able to figure out the nuances for the unlock conditions of the achievement. Thankfully, the game is not overly difficult to complete, and the ability to jump between levels was unlocked after beating the game the first time, saving some headache. Overall, this was a great game to start my productivity streak.

Completed: Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion

I can honestly say this game is to my 2024 what Manifold Garden was to my 2023, but for different reasons. Unless something amazing replaces its top slot in my heart this year (Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, perhaps?), this will likely be my GOTY 2024. Between the story telling, the secrets, and the gameplay, this game is incredibly well put together. I have been recommending it to coworkers, one of which bought the game for his wife, who then proceeded to play it all night. Let’s see what the rest of the year holds.

In Progress Completion: A Little to the Left

Not much to update on this title. My gameplay this month solely consisted of doing the daily challenges to make progress toward 100%. I should be able to reach 100% in March, and then I will get the last daily challenge achievement and knock out the DLC quickly. Expect a similarly sparse update for February.

In Progress Completion: The Jackbox Party Pack 4

This month I played Jackbox with family and friends during one of our game days. We played multiple rounds of most of the games, and we earned the achievement in Civic Doodle for having each part of the final picture drawn by a different person. This title is not one I am necessarily achievement hunting in, but it’s nice to earn an extra achievement as a surprise while playing.

In Progress: Totally Accurate Battle Simulator

TABS is a fun tactical battle game where you send an army of troops, sometimes themed and sometimes random, against another army of troops to win the battle. You can optionally possess one troop at a time to be more tactical, or you can just let both sides’ troops have at it. There are many campaigns in the game, and I am halfway through completing the main campaigns, i.e. not the secret ones you can unlock as you play. There are also lots of secret troops you can find by exploring the levels while the fighting ensues.

2023 Year End Summary

Games Played This Year

• Broken Sword 1 - Shadow of the Templars: Director's Cut
  

  11 hours playtime

  no achievements

• Cube Destroyer
  

  2 hours playtime

  no achievements

• It Takes Two
  

  14 hours playtime

  20 of 20 achievements

• Manifold Garden
  

  10 hours playtime

  25 of 25 achievements

• Placid Plastic Duck Simulator
  

  45 hours playtime

  36 of 36 achievements

• Super Hexagon
  

  7 hours playtime

  6 of 6 achievements

• The Beginner's Guide
  

  84 minutes playtime

  no achievements

• The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog
  

  3 hours playtime

  no achievements

• Two Digits
  

  7 hours playtime

  13 of 13 achievements

• A Little to the Left
  

  4 hours playtime

  41 of 55 achievements

• Antichamber
  

  6 hours playtime

  no achievements

• Ballpoint Universe: Infinite
  

  3 hours playtime

  9 of 27 achievements

• Beat Saber
  

  17 hours playtime

  17 of 26 achievements

• Caster
  

  2 hours playtime

  no achievements

• Gunfire Reborn
  

  13 hours playtime

  32 of 122 achievements

• Pony Island
  

  2 hours playtime

  12 of 20 achievements

• Retro City Rampage™ DX
  

  6 hours playtime

  5 of 20 achievements

• RISK: Global Domination
  

  5 hours playtime

  14 of 55 achievements

• Size Matters
  

  81 minutes playtime

  22 of 57 achievements

• STAR WARS™ Episode I Racer
  

  4 hours playtime

  no achievements

• Tabletop Simulator
  

  16 hours playtime

  11 of 27 achievements

• Tacoma
  

  3 hours playtime

  6 of 12 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack 4
  

  9 hours playtime

  9 of 20 achievements

• 5D Chess With Multiverse Time Travel
  

  83 minutes playtime

  no achievements

• Among Us
  

  8 hours playtime

  5 of 33 achievements

• Bloons TD 6
  

  19 hours playtime

  25 of 150 achievements

• Dino Run DX
  

  77 minutes playtime

  8 of 49 achievements

• Factorio
  

  2 hours playtime

  0 of 38 achievements

• Gun Rocket
  

  63 minutes playtime

  no achievements

• Kingdom: Classic
  

  33 minutes playtime

  1 of 34 achievements

• Left 4 Dead 2
  

  15 hours playtime

  38 of 101 achievements

• LEGO® Batman™: The Videogame
  

  3 hours playtime

  no achievements

• Stardew Valley
  

  70 hours playtime

  17 of 40 achievements

• THE GAME OF LIFE
  

  42 minutes playtime

  0 of 10 achievements

• Victoria 3
  

  80 minutes playtime

  no achievements

• World of Warships
  

  350 hours playtime

  21 of 45 achievements

Stats

December 2023 - The Gift of Games

Games played this month

• Manifold Garden
  

  10 hours playtime

  25 of 25 achievements

• Two Digits
  

  7 hours playtime

  13 of 13 achievements

• A Little to the Left
  

  4 hours playtime

  41 of 55 achievements

• Beat Saber
  

  17 hours playtime

  17 of 26 achievements

• Pony Island
  

  2 hours playtime

  12 of 20 achievements

• RISK: Global Domination
  

  5 hours playtime

  14 of 55 achievements

• Tabletop Simulator
  

  16 hours playtime

  11 of 27 achievements

• The Jackbox Party Pack 4
  

  9 hours playtime

  9 of 20 achievements

• Bloons TD 6
  

  19 hours playtime

  25 of 150 achievements

• Gun Rocket
  

  63 minutes playtime

  no achievements

• Stardew Valley
  

  70 hours playtime

  17 of 40 achievements

Gameplay Summary

This month has been a lot of fun. It has has the most variety, the most achievements, and the second-most gameplay time of the year. I am incredibly thankful that I got to spend a good portion of my down time from work being able to knock out some backlog entries and make progress on longer games, and I hope that I will be able to continue the progress going into the new year. I will be providing a year-end summary of my 2023 game progress, so stay tuned.

Completed: Manifold Garden

After beating the game last month, it was an absolute treat to complete the last couple achievements for this game. I can honestly say it is one of my favorite games of all time, and I highly recommend it. Though I did use a hint-based guide for the no god cube playthrough, it was a challenge and fun nonetheless.

Completed: Two Digits

To round out the year completing an SG win, I gave this puzzle game a go. Technically, I could have written a script to auto-solve the levels for me, but I decided to try it without cheating. I was successful. It is a nice little game with a simple concept, and it’s only a few dollars. It’s worth a try if you like math-based puzzles.

Beaten: A Little to the Left

My mom convinced me to purchase this puzzle game which we have nicknamed “OCD Simulator,” and I have had some great fun speedrunning it after both of us working through it (mostly me watching her play). The concept is simple, but the puzzles give a fair challenge at times. So far, I have beaten the main campaign and began completing the daily challenges. I will continue working through the daily challenges over the next few months (there is an achievement for 100 daily challenges) and later complete the Cupboards and Drawers DLC. This is another game I recommend if you enjoy puzzles.

In Progress Completion: Beat Saber

I spent a little bit of time on this to get some cardio in, but not much to report. I mostly played a few of my favorites before stopping from working up a sweat and reaching a heart rate of 200+. You can expect to see this pop up in later months, especially when I try the OST 6 next month.

Beaten: Pony Island

My friend purchased me this long wishlisted title, and boy is it an interesting game. I have done a first playthrough, but I need to do another pass to get the remaining achievements, which I intend to do as part of January’s gaming. It is a great game, and I recommend it.

Beaten: RISK: Global Domination

My brother convinced me to get this free to play title to play with him, and it is actually a lot of fun. It’s the Risk game from Hasbro that we know and love, but it also includes dozens of unique maps, and premium is inexpensive if you want to play regularly without ads or limited play. My only gripe is that if you play with cross-platform progression, achievements do not sync. If you want achievements on Steam, you need to play on Steam.

In Progress Completion: Tabletop Simulator

This month didn’t see too much activity for TTS, except for an almost 1.5 hour session of chess to earn one of the achievements, with a bonus for not being able to flip the table. I’ll revisit this later during achievement hunting.

In Progress Completion: The Jackbox Party Pack 4

Once again, I had a session of Jackbox with my coworkers for our final virtual happy hour of the year. We played Fibbage 3 Enough About You, where we learned some interesting facts about each other. It’s a fun little getting to know you version of Fibbage, and I earned another achievement out of it.

In Progress: Bloons TD 6

Another month of playing with my friend in co-op matches. I was able to make some progress, though no achievements were earned this month. We tried battling a boss bloon again, and after that I worked on earning badges in easy maps to get an achievement, though that is still in progress.

In Progress: Gun Rocket

This was a win that I thought I could try to knock out this month, though it is proving much more difficult than I anticipated, and I expect it will take some time to complete. It is a 2D game styled and played like old Flash games, but it is incredibly difficult. Unfortunately, I only made it through most of the second set of levels out of 10, so this one may take me some time and patience to complete. We shall see how this goes in a later month, but I am leaving it unfinished for the time being.

In Progress: Stardew Valley

I only played this for a short time with my sister, and since we were starting a brand new world, I didn’t make progress toward any unearned achievements. Not much to report on this front.