Thanksgaming

For those readers outside the United States, today is the day we in this country celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.  It's a time for Americans to overeat to the point of discomfort, squabble with relatives, drink heavily while watching televised sports events, and get up extremely early the next morning to engage in full-tilt consumerism while sliding deeper into debt.

But it's also a time for us to reflect on the things for which we're grateful.  In addition to the usual--food, shelter, family, no one shooting at me or any of my loved ones--I'm thankful for the many gaming opportunities I've had in recent years.

My teen years were the golden age of my gaming; time grew scarce as I got older, and my playing time slowly dwindled as I went to college and then out into the real world.  Although I kept all my game materials (and occasionally found new items in secondhand bookstores and game shops), I stopped playing in the 1990s, dabbling in computer versions of AD&D to feed my habit.  It wasn't till a decade later, thanks to the internet, that I returned to the gaming world.  Since then, I've had a chance to play RPGs and minis games, attend cons, and made new friends through my gaming.

While living in San Antonio, I started wargaming on a regular basis with the Lone Star Historical Miniatures gang.  I also started playing in the Hill Cantons campaign--and I even got my wife to come along with me.  I've run games at conventions and even helped organize a small con myself.  Not only that, but I've had a chance to give back a little to the community with this blog.  So this Thanksgiving, I wanted to share my gratitude for all the gaming opportunities I currently have.  It may be a frivolous pastime, but I enjoy it.

On a related note, when I was younger we'd all go to my aunt's or my cousins' house for dinner, and one of the post-meal traditions we had was playing the boardgame Risk.  Nothing like grinding your relatives' armies into the ground while conquering the world!  Does anyone else have a similar holiday gaming tradition?

Happy Turkey Day everyone!