Been a bit since i wrote one of these.
The new game, per week thing failed. Sigh. Like one of those New Years fad diets, where have an epiphany one day with a spoon wrist deep in a tub of chocolate ice cream....
That I do most of my gaming at work was complicating things. It's not just MY idea of what would be fun, we've had several game leagues float in and out, deadlines (Stop working and come play games!) only works so often, and random other crap.
I'm still trying to play new games, but it's often playing games with people who have not played them.
Today at lunch I decided to play a game I knew I disliked, because the people playing it were 2 that I like alot, and are generally fun. Without mentioning specifics *(I'm not allowed to review games!) it was worse than I recalled, fiddly and slow and something I am bad at. I was over the honeymoon of thinking, if I just tried, maybe I could see the overall 'shape' of things, and 'get it' and it would be fun.
I was consciously biting my lip and trying to avoid whining. Just because I am not having fun, no reason to ruin the game for the people who invited me to play. I tried a few times (3 or 4) in the past, and then have been steadily declining the last few weeks. At one point, they showed I had been miscalcing things the entire game (language less symbology failure) and said 'Oh, I'm sorry, I should have noticed that' and I couldn't resist 'No worries, I won't be playing this again'.
Next week is a 'Fun' Convention and I'm packing up my car's backseat, writing my name on the inside lids in pencil, and looking forward to getting games in with people I don't know, or only see yearly at this con. It's not known for it's games (they have a single room with a ton of titles, which due to proximity and staff involvement with the convention, leans heavily toward FFG games - about 6 tables, and almost no scheduled things. I know a couple other gamers that will be there. I hope to get some of the longer ones in, maybe, maybe even Diplomacy. It's sometimes a mixed bag - but hopefully will be good time. I'll take pictures :)
Also, as an edit - I have been doing a fair amount of gaming - just not new stuff. I'm in an every other week RPG for A Soon To Be Released title (it's not playtesting if it's off to the printers!), and played games 4 of 5 days at work this week (Take 6, 2 days of Red November, then Mystery Game today) . Even doing a bit of playtesting. Just... not new.