All I wanted to do was play some cards…

Over the weekend, I really wanted to play poker. That sounded like a great way to spend time and unwind. There used to be great poker games for the iPad, so I started there. When that failed, I tried for the desktop. Surely, poker games for the desktop are popular? Sadly not. It seems card games, word games, and “casual games” in general are now browser games. That’s not horrible, except they’re riddled with ads. I found a few sites with stand alone games, but AdGuard counted up like a video game with all their ads and trackers. I miss the days of single player games. Everything has turned into a “With Friends” variant. You don’t play, you “compete” against real players. It may sound silly, but I want to play the game of poker, not “gamble.” I don’t want to play against other people, or spend real money. Nor am I interested in being competitive. I want to enjoy […]

Offering up some kind words in Kind Words

When Kind Words showed up as a Steam recommendation, I thought it was a variant on Scrabble or Boggle. It’s not a word game, maybe not even a “game,” but a platform to share thoughts, feelings, and fears and say something nice and supportive to people you’ve never met. Kind Words is about saying kind words and hopefully make a small difference in someone’s life. Here’s the premise: Kind Words is a “game” where you anonymously “Write a Request.” You write down what you’re thinking, feeling, or experiencing in that moment, whether it’s positive or negative. You then put that message into a digital bottle and throw it out into the world. A kind, but equally anonymous stranger will reply back with some words of encouragement, a piece of advice, or simply an acknowledgment of what you’re going through. And maybe that’s all you need, to be heard and acknowledged. On the other side, you can “Read Requests.” For that, […]

🎮 The Future of Legacy Mac Gaming

It wasn’t my original intent, but I installed Steam on the 2013 Mac Pro just so it could have some fun and play a few games. Don’t mock me, the Mac can play games… For recent games it works like a charm, not that I’ve got anything that really taxes it, although a mega-city in City Skylines could be a fun test. However, I’ve come across the “Not compatible with 10.15 Catalina or above” message when browsing through my Steam library. And I’m a bit surprised. I figured that devs coding for Mac would just go straight 64-bit. Poor Windows, still living in its 32-bit world. Interestingly, Sid Meier’s Railroads plays just fine on Monterey. But the original Hand of Fate isn’t compatible. When new games come out, there won’t be an issue, you kind of sort of have to make them 64-bit if you make them for the Mac. But what about the legacy games I’d like to keep […]

🏌️‍♂️ Back to playing Let’s Golf on iPad

In wanting to get back and play some decent games on the iPad, I broke out the original and what should I find? Let’s Golf. Ironically, I’m not a fan of golf. I don’t play golf, nor do I watch golf. Yet, for some reason, I think video golf is quite entertaining. Let’s Golf was one of my first big game titles for the iPad when it came out. It seemed like the perfect kind of game for a tablet. And it was. It was a solid game with a couple of characters to choose from, four different courses with 18 holes each, and 3 difficulties. You would “score” against other players to see how you rank on the different difficulties. For a tablet game, it had all the features. It was more arcade style, meaning it wasn’t all hung up on club selection, or how well/accurately you hit the ball. It was a really good game, but the sequels […]

🏙 Having fun with my return to Pocket City 🏦

I had a real want to play a city builder, but I didn’t want to get into the labors of micromanagement. I want to build stuff! There are dozens of choices, but there is an old game that jumped out at me. Why not get back into Pocket City? It’s been a hot minute since the game came out, and since I last played, but within 5 minutes I was off and having a great time. Yes, I was playing on Easy, so it’s almost impossible to lose, but it was exactly what I was looking for. I love the art style, the quests, the upgrades to the fire and police station that send helicopters over the city. I was looking for something to jump into, and after 3 hours, I was knee deep in the quests, the money was flowing in, and I was building and upgrading with total satisfaction. For the next couple of nights, I jumped back […]