A Parcel Arrived For Me

I love it when a parcel arrives for me. And I especially love it when the parcel contains games. For those of you who didn't have a parcel containing games arrive today feel free to experience my joy vicariously through the following pictures.

I came home from work this evening to find a large Australia Post Postpak Mailing Box waiting for me in the hall. I love these boxes as they're very sturdy and I'm always confident that they'll protect their contents from the roughest of handling.

I didn't open it immediately (as much as I wanted to). You see, as soon as I arrive home 'Crazy Time' commences. This is the period of time when the kids need to be bathed, dried, dressed in their pyjamas, dinner needs to be made, the kids fed, teeth brushed, homework done, stories read, etc. 'Crazy Time' only finishes when there has been silence from the kid's bedrooms for a period of 10 or so minutes, enough time to fairly well guarantee our little darlings have gone off to the Land of Nod.

All evening that delicious yearning to open the box had been building within me. Finally, the time had come.

I was pleased to see that the games were internally protected by packing beads. Half hidden on top was The Downfall of Pompeii. The box was larger than I expected. I picked it up and was a little surprised at the weight. A box with a decent heft is always good in my books - it means lots of bits. In this case a thick sturdy board and nice thick cardboard tiles as well as lots of coloured wooden playing pieces.

Beneath it lay Lord of the Rings - The Confrontation: Deluxe Edition. Now I've played Lord of the Rings - The Confrontation before, four times to be exact (all against Friendless). I thoroughly enjoyed each and every game as they all felt very close, very tense and were dripping with theme. You can play the standard game with the Deluxe Edition but with even more characters the replay value of the Deluxe Edition should be much higher. I had to own it, to possess it. It is now...my precious.

Of course I opened up both boxes to view all the pretty bits and pieces. There's a certain pleasure to opening a brand new game; experiencing the pristine components, punching out the tiles, cracking open a packet of cards, sorting the pieces into zip-lock bags. And then there's the 'new game' smell. Mmmm...new game smell. And finally, the excitement of reading the rules for the first time and imagining the game play.