MAY THE BEST ALCHEMIST... WIN!

THREE... TWO... ONE... BEGIN!

what do we want? GAMES. when do we want them? NOW!

that's right! we've moved on from digital art to none other than gaming! while i enjoy games, i never think of myself as a gamer. a lot of the games i play are what i consider "lowkey" - games like Animal Crossing, Civilization, Sims, Pokemon, and so on. they're all games i can play on my own time, and games that usually are less violent and help cultivate more in-game "personal" growth. maybe that sounds pretentious, i'm not too sure - i guess i can't explain my preference in gaming. i don't like battling bosses because it stresses me out (i know, i know - i love Pokemon, but i don't feel like that makes me a hypocrite. something about beating the bosses is way less stressful than, say, Zelda.) Animal Crossing is the exact opposite of all that - there's honestly nothing more therapeutic than standing by the beach in animal crossing at 2 a.m. with the sound on.

with that being said, i do love a lot of card & board games as well. i was introduced to cards at a pretty young age because my grandma loves playing cards, specifically Crazy 8s. to this day, we still play (last week i beat her 20-0 and she threw her cards down and called me a b*tch. it was awesome.) she also taught me Canasta, Hearts, and a bit of Bridge. i also love playing Euchre, and i recently relearned how to play Poker. cards are awesome, 'nuff said, but sometimes you can only do so much with them.

board games, on the other hand, sometimes are more involved. my favorites are Catan, Flux, Parcheesi, Sorry, Scrabble, One Night Ultimate Werewolf, and of course Cards Against Humanity (however, recently i was given What Do You Meme?, which is 100x better, believe it or not). i'm always open to learning new games - i love strategy and games that make me think. i'm excited to be introduced to even more games over the course of this month!

so, what does that make me? i honestly thought i would be a "casual gamer," but i got active gamer instead! but i guess that makes sense. i like playing games when nothing else is happening, or if my friends want to sit down and play a few rounds of something. but if something else is going on, i'm ready to do whatever! i like playing games with friends a lot, but sometimes it's nice to cancel plans with everyone and sit in bed all night playing Pokemon.

also, i like sports too. but not really watching them (except figure skating) - sports are fun when i'm actually doing them, specifically tennis and figure skating. i love the strategy and mind games of tennis, and i love the artistry and athleticism of skating, but i digress.

but, speaking of sports, i found Radiolab's Games podcast a topic of interesting discussion, particularly when they were talking about "play." we also touched on it in our studio visit today with Remi and Keegan, with the conflation and misinterpretation of games and playfulness going hand-in-hand. when we're younger, there's definitely that part of us that is free to be creative and "open-ended" in our play, where there's the liberty of interpretation. however, as we get older, rules start coming into "play," and ideas of right & wrong start curbing some imagination when it comes to the games kids play. there's rules to play freeze tag, as there's rules to many aspects of grown-up life. i guess it's just kids starting to slowly piece together concepts of growing up, or it's just the natural order of civilization. needless to say, incorporating both playfulness & gamification can be beneficial in different settings, like classrooms. it opens itself up to new ways of seeing & exploring the material, and is more encouraging to get students to interact and engage with the subject - the ability to "have fun" with learning, which sometimes get lost, especially as our age goes up. playfulness, as well as games, can lead to a whole new experience and more solid understanding of the material being learned.

also, i wanted to touch on Radiolab's conversation about the underdog v. the expert, and who we like to win. i agree with them when they say we always want the underdog to win - the team, person, even shape, that seems to have the disadvantage, is who we back up and cheer for. however, i also agree with the one person who said he felt the exact opposite - that it's criminal for the expert to not win, and for the underdog to take that title. however, i think it boils down to however deeply we are immersed in the culture of whatever game we are playing. if we know nothing about the game, we want the underdog storyline to happen; but, if you're a big fan of the game, it would be ghastly for some no-name to take a title that you know rightfully should go to the big name.

let me give a great drag race example.

recently, All Stars 3 finished filming, and the winner was crowned. a lot of the fanbase backed Trixie Mattel, a huge fan favorite and, for lack of better words, the underdog. let me add that a lot of the fanbase who supported Trixie winning were people who were new fans to drag & drag race, and like her because she has a funny youtube show - also, a lot of the fans are the people who go around twitter & facebook and post a lot of derogatory & ugly things to POC queens. but, that's another story!

the other queen who was in the running for the title was Shangela, a queen who appeared on season 2 and 3. she was the first one eliminated season 2, but RuPaul believed in her potential so much, she invited her back the next season. she made it pretty far season 3, but did not get top four. so, when she was invited back to All Stars 3, a lot of the dedicated fanbase who had been around since Shangela's debut were rooting for her and fully expected her to take the crown.

in a nutshell, shangela had the best track record and should have won this All Stars season. Trixie, at best, was mediocre, and i don't know how she cruised by.

but guess who won???

Not Shangela!

ok, well, that's enough of my AS3 rant. if i sounded bitter, well, i'll admit it - i am!

but at the end of the day, guess what? it's just a game. and games are supposed to be fun!

unless you're like me, and super competitive, and then things can get a bit... messy. especially if i'm not winning. but! i hope that doesn't deter us from maybe playing some Board Game Online. i think i can control my competitiveness for one evening... hopefully.