While the regular version of Seafarers is compatible with all the other Catan extensions, I found that most of the scenarios are not compatible with Cities and Knights (C&K). I’m sort of glad that they aren’t because it makes Seafarers feel like it’s own game compared to the regular version and the C&K. It also makes Catan very customizable with respect to the size of the board the tiles used and the game play. I’ve even thought up a few scenarios with friends and they actually worked out.

Overall Seafarers doesn’t just add to regular Catan or C&K, but it’s also its own game (of course you still need the regular to play it). I was really glad that I bought this extension and will probably use it whenever I play Catan from now on.

Here’s a video of a 3rd Edition game being played out in stop motion. It looks like maybe orange won? (There weren’t any videos of 4th edition…)

I wish there were more puzzle hunts around, but they are a lot of work to make, especially if you want it to be good. The puzzles are generally not your-run-of-the-mill types of puzzles. They combine every and any type of puzzle with ciphers, popular trivia and occasionally a riddle. Check out the college puzzle challenge for some great puzzles (2007′s meta-puzzle is really good). And google puzzle hunts for yourself.

Post Scriptum: I wish I worked for Microsoft, they have a company puzzle hunt each year.

Well almost $20. The deal is that adults pay kids price. So it’s $43.50 instead of $62.95. The deal lasts until Nov. 2, 2008, so you have 2 weeks left. I believe you have to order the tickets online. Check the website for details (the deal is at the bottom).

So if you have never gone or haven’t gone in awhile, I suggest you go. It’s a good show, you get lots of food and you get to eat with your hands.

Also if have gone, who was you final champion?

Toronto runs the subway all night for the event (except north of St. George on the University-Spadina line) and since it’s the weekend you can get a TTC day pass to use all night for two people for only $9. So if use it more than 3 times it is more than worth it.

I highly recommend you go see it next year if you’re in the Toronto Area. Now here are some pictures from this year’s night.

A waterfall made of Plastic Water Bottles

A landscape picture made out of books. Blur your eyes or take off your glasses to see it better.

I am a big fan of real life Adventure Games. I do not think this is an official genre yet, but I consider an adventure game to be any kind of game or competition where you have to complete a series of tasks. Classical examples are scavenger hunts and obstacle courses and newer examples are Geocaching, American Gladiators and Puzzle Hunts. It seems like a broad category, but so is sports.

Street Wars is a great adventure game. Assassins are cool and spy versus spy situations are very cool and water balloon “grenades” are genius. Streets Wars are awesome! I want Street Wars to come to Canadian Cities. We have a lot of people who love to dedicate their time to fun community and city-wide activities. We also have fairly low actual crime rates in our large cities. The only problem is our long winters where getting squirted on is not appreciated, not to mention that the guns might freeze. The solution to this is easy: snowballs. City-wide snowball fight!

Another area Street Wars can expand to is university campuses à la Gotcha. Universities love intramural competitions and a campus-wide snowball fight would be awesome. The rules would probably have to be adjusted, but it would still be great.

If you want to set up a Street Wars type competition in Toronto please leave a comment.

Canadians love the internet. Statistics from November 2007 show that 66% of Canadians use the internet. However, I have heard statistics from 2006 showing upwards of 80% of Canadians use the internet, while Solutions Research Group estimate 75% of Canada uses the internet in 2008. They also present that when users get cut off, they experience disconnect anxiety. In university I had internet everywhere I went and I sure felt anxious whenever I lost it, even for a day. Maybe the proper statement would be that Canadians are addicted to the internet. You have to admit it is pretty good though.

Since the 90s blogs have become an important part of the internet. They started as online journals and have developed into news publications, gossip columns, endless “how to” and “do it yourself” projects and our filters to the diamonds of the internet hidden in all the flashy garbage. It is no wonder Canadians have caught on. A 2005 study presented that about 42% of Canadians have read a blog at some point and half of them trusted the contents. Canadians also believe that blogs influence public opinion. So it is no wonder many Canadians write blogs.

So why are there so many Christian blogs? Well it is easy evangelism and Christianity is by far the largest religious groups at 77.1% of the population. The next largest group is people with no religious affiliation making up 16.5%. So why not blog about one of the most important parts of your life?

Religion is one of the top areas on WordPress and whether you like them or hate them I am sure Christian blogs will keep coming. Personally I am happy to see that many of them are objective and well informed compared to most religious arguments you find on the rest of the internet.

I have done my own “study” using WordPress’ blog surfing link in the top left corner. I always seem to end up on Canadian blogs or blogs about Christianity. WordPress might be selecting Canadian and Christian blogs for me, but I have not even made a post about Religion yet, so that seems unlikely. Try blog surfing for yourself and see if you get the same result.

Post Scriptum: Check out http://www.caslon.com.au/weblogprofile1.htm for some interesting statistics on blog demographics.

AARP gives numerous health benefits for walking. It will lower your risk of diabetes, heart attack and stroke.  It will also control your blood pressure and cholesterol. They suggest walking 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week. I have also heard that from other sources.

There has been a large argument if running and jogging are better than walking. Before starting any kind of jogging regimen I would suggest walking first and then increasing the difficulty gradually. Starting heavy is what causes heart attacks. I found a website that presents some reasonable arguments that running is more beneficial for burning calories. So if you can run, try it. I find running takes too much effort and planning while walking can be easily incorporated into your daily routine.

Finally I found a good website on How to Start Walking. Basically you should keep track of how long you walk. Try to go faster and farther each time. Then increase the amount of time when you feel comfortable. Remember to include walking at work or school. Even five minutes can make a difference if you are sitting the rest of the day.

Settlers of Catan is the best board game. It is intelligent, involving and competitive. Players start with two settlements each and then get “resources” based on the dice rolled each turn. They use the resources to build more settlements and cities for points. Ten points and you win.

The best part of the game is that the board is different each time you play. That is the result of you having to make the board each time, which is the worst part of the game. There is a bit of a learning curve to it, especially with strategies like where to build and how you should trade and also there are many rules.

There are two expansions: Cities and Knights and Seafarers of Catan. They add new interesting levels to the gameplay. I suggest getting Cities and Knights first since it adds much more than Seafarers and is definitely worth buying after you have a good grasp at the basic game.

Here are two unofficial ads for Settlers of Catan. The first one is kind of funny and the second one gives a better explanation of the game (Caution: The second video is not safe for kids. It has random alcohol and one guy says f***)

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