April Wrap-Up

Between my birthday (which is never really a great time) and being sick for nearly a week, April had some real downs. However, I have a little more content than last month.

Blah Blog Log

• March 2024 Wrap-Up - Gaming, a trip to Bingham's, and continuing to watch the dead walk.
• Turning 39 - A reflection as I enter the final year of my 30s

Bored Board Games

April saw a slow down in overall plays and number of unique games when compared to the first three months of the year. I logged 26 plays across 16 games, 11 of those being new for the year. That brought me to 39% of the way to part one of my goal (600 plays) and 58% of the way to part two of my goal (150 unique games). I'd like to highlight one game that I really enjoyed and so did others in my game group:

Scout - I've always loved games that feature "cards with numbers". The theme in these games is normally fairly thin and only really for aesthetics. These types of games can be equated to those played with a traditional deck of cards, think games like Go Fish, Hearts, and Poker. Scout was nominated for the 2022 Spiel des Jahres, Germany's game of the year and the award that is most coveted in the board game space.

Scout is a ladder climbing/hand shedding game where the players try to either empty their hand or play a combination that no other player can beat on their turn. When either of those scenarios happen, the round ends and players get 1 point for each card they claimed throughout the round and then lose one point for each card still remaining in their hand, if applicable. The hook of the game is that all cards have two values and when the cards are dealt, players aren't allowed to change the order. They do have the option at the beginning of the round to flip their hand and use the other set of numbers in the order they are in.

During a players turn they can play a combination that beats the previous cards played and then claim those cards for points. If they can't beat that combination or choose not to, they can scout a card by taking the first or last card from the current cards to beat. This is the only time a player can adjust the order of their cards. The taken card can be flipped either way and added anywhere into the player's hand. Once per round a player can first scout and then play a combination. It's a fairly simple game but there are so many interesting decisions and strategies one can take from round to round. I can see why it was nominated and plan on keeping it in my bag each week for the foreseeable future.

Enjoyable Eats

I didn't get a picture but the wings at The Celtic Pub in Smyrna, Delaware remain my favorite in the state. Specifically, I love their Celtic House sauce which is a combo of honey BBQ with a spicy BBQ drizzled over the top. What I like about their wings even more than the tasty sauce is how they are always crispy without having to ask for them to be cooked well done. Most places serve them on the squishy side which I really don't care for. They also use jumbo wings so you get quite a bit of meat on each one. 

Aside from great wings, they have a menu that has a nice selection of typical American pub fare and traditional Irish dishes. Their burgers are regarded by people in the area as some of the best in the area. For a restaurant in an unassuming mini strip plaza, they've been around for longer than we've been in Delaware and don't show any signs of going anywhere anytime soon.

I'm Watching 👀

It's April which means the NHL playoffs have begun and my favorite team, the Colorado Avalanche, look to win their second Stanley Cup in three years. After a disappointing first round exit last year, they were able to win their first round matchup against the Winnipeg Jets after closing our the series 4-1 last night. They certainly have the scoring ability to go all the way, it's just going to come down to goaltending. The winningest goalie in the regular season, Alexandar Georgiev, was shaky in game one but bounced back in the next four games. If he can keep it up, Colorado has a great shot to win it all.

Resolutions Update

Another rollercoaster month in terms of success.

• Goal #1: Cook More Italian Food - Made a big pot of My Mother's Tomato Sauce to replace our freezer stock. Need to try some more non-pasta dishes.
• Goal #2: Log 600 Plays of At Least 150 Games - As of April 30th, I've played 87 unique games 235 times total.
• Goal #3: Write at Least 3 Blog Posts Each Month - I got two posts in but didn't find time for a third. I flirted with just throwing up a quick third post to hit my goal, but I didn't see the value in that. If I'm not interested in writing, I'm just not going to do it.

Whatcha Snackin?

A couple of big hits in our house have been a duo of Dill Pickle flavored snacks. We like most dill pickled flavored things and Aldi has been putting a lot of different products out with that flavor profile. Christine has been enjoying a Dill Pickle hummus that they have for summer. These twos are part of the summer line of Clancy's brand snacks, Aldi's brand for most of their chips and salty snacks. 

Both have a good amount of dill flavor with the popcorn being more dill forward. The creamy ranch flavor in the chips dulls the dill a bit, but they still taste very good. There is also a Spicy Dill Pickle potato chip in the same line, but we haven't tried those yet. I'll probably pick up a bag of those to try this weekend. If they're as good as these two, you might see them in this space next month.

Wrap It Up

Please comment below with any thoughts or comments on anything I've covered. Thanks for reading!