Table Top: Review

I have been rather tired and unwilling to write much lately, but I am back now and I want to discuss what I think is my favorite non-dramatic webseries: Table Top.  Table Top features Wil Wheaton playing all kinds of board games with his friends, game designers, and other celebrities. You may think watching people play games would be slow and boring, but I assure you the series is addictive and the episodes are put together to keep the game play moving while allowing the viewer to understand the gameplay and laugh along with the players!

I am a gamer. Somewhere along the way I became much more serious about game playing than most of my peers.  I have studied rulebooks, played more and more complex games, and looked far and wide for opponents to play with.  Mostly I just love playing.  I think the best games are fun whether you win or lose, and some of my best stories are about times I’ve lost. I still enjoy playing very simple games and party games, but I really enjoy something a little more deep, but not so complex the rules slow you down. That being said, my favorite board game is Magic Realm, a classic and extremely complicated fantasy board game that I’ve organized online tournaments for.  But enough about me.

Wil Wheaton is an actor best known for playing on Star Trek: the Next Generation.  His character wasn’t in many of the later seasons that I am most familiar with, so I can’t say much about his acting.  However, I can say he’s a great host for Table Top and does a wonderful job introducing the games and keeping things interesting and educational during the show!  He’s obviously very knowledgeable about games (maybe as much as me) and he’s very funny in victory or defeat!  The many players featured in different episodes range from experienced gamers to novices, yet all seem to enjoy themselves and do well at playing the games. 

I particularly like the extended episodes.  Partly because I can’t get enough of a good thing, and partly because it’s fun to see all the interactions between the players (and sometimes the crew).  I enjoy watching episodes about games I play (Takenoko, Small World, and Stone Age for example) but also games I’m not familiar with (yet) such as Castle Panic or Dragon Age. It’s great to see this series showcasing such a great hobby as board gaming! I would love to play a game with Wil some day!  Maybe Magic Realm?  Well…that’s probably too deep for table Top…