One of the (few) things I love about the transition from warm sunny summer days to cool rainy fall days is the opportunity to play my favorite board games, and find new favorites. As I’ve gotten more into the hobby, I’ve continued to scour Board Game Geek for new games to try.  As I play more and more games, I’ve considered trying my own hand at making a compelling board game.  (Conveniently, a new avenue to get your game published has appeared: Kickstarter, which lets you market your idea and allow folks to commit to buying your product so long as you achieve the minimum dollar amount in investments.)

To aid in this process, I’ve started to look at the games I play with new eyes: trying to identify what makes each game fun.  (I’ve found that even games which I don’t prefer overall can have a design touch, or an interesting game mechanic that I find particularly fun.)

Settlers of Catan – the chance to win from behind…
As this was the first  Euro-style Board game I ever played, it seems fitting to look at it first.  While it may be an imperfect game which relies too heavily on the luck of the dice, it is definitely one of the few games I’ve played a lot where you can come back from pretty far behind and win.  This is achieved by recognizing that several elements of the gameplay are built on luck, and you can bet against the odds for a chance to win.

• Building settlements on a couple unlikely numbers.  (If you are losing, why not bet on 4′s… If they are rolled more often than usual, you can grow when your opponents get nothing.)
• Development cards.  They are rarely bad, and the chance of a Victory point card for just three resources is the best exchange rate in the game.

Not so great: Of the games I play somewhat regularly, Settlers is the least fun game to lose.  It’s too easy to blame “bad luck” for a loss, and it is possible to get cut off early in the game such that you know you are going to lose an hour before the game ends.

Carcassonne – simple core mechanics leading to an ever expanding game…

Carcassonne is ever expanding for two reasons: 1) outward growth, as each player adds tiles to the game board is the core game mechanic. 2) The simple core mechanics have led to nearly 20 expansions which add tiles and rules to the game, as well as numerous standalone games based on the same basic game mechanics.

I find an elegance in those games which can be easily expanded upon without breaking their essence – usually the core game mechanic that propels the game.

• Carcassonne is easily expanded since you just add more tiles to the deck with new abilities and shuffle them all together.
• Deckbuilding games (like Dominion) are similarly expandable, as the draw/discard pattern can be preserved while adding new cards to the mix.
• Ticket to Ride can be expanded by providing new maps/routes while preserving the balance of collecting cards, claim routes to complete tickets and drawing more tickets.

Many of the other games I enjoy are less obvious to expand upon because the game is built on the ability to take multiple actions which have been carefully balanced against one another.  This is particularly true of popular “worker placement” games such as Agricola or Puerto Rico.  A rich expansion to either game is difficult to achieve without changing the game’s essence.  (Puerto Rico’s expansion have simply added building types and has little appeal, and “Farmers of the Moor” the only major expansion to Agricola added an awkward new type of action to make up for the new burden of heating your home.)

Race for the Galaxy – One game, many roads to victory…
Race is unique in many ways, notably the manner in which cards in hand are valuable both in the abilities they provide and their use as currency to buy other cards.  Race is also rather unique in that there are so many ways to win the game.  There are strategies that involve producing and consuming goods to get victory points, developing many of one type of card to maximize bonus points from the various 6-cost development cards, strategies to end the game quickly to prevent opponent from accruing too many points, all while using some combination of military, exploring or trading to fund your growth.

I’ve played more games of Race for the Galaxy than any other game we own.  This is due to the many ways to win, it’s strength as a two-player game, and the compact game size with no fixed board (which makes it easy to travel with).

Not so great: Race for the Galaxy also happens to have one of the most complex and cryptic set of icons of any game I’ve ever played.  This is why we have rarely played with more than two players – the game is incredibly difficult to teach and the first couple games aren’t much fun.  (The game would be a lot easier to teach if it had better icons and/or relied less on icons in favor of text.)

A few more noteworthy games:

• Dixit – I’m having fun even when I’m losing…
  This is a game we just got, but so far I enjoy the beautiful artwork and the creative gameplay which rewards a clever player.  That said, it is nearly as much to see who scored points during each round as it is to win.
• Dominion – Tipping point…
  I already mentioned Dominion as one of the great games when it comes to expandability, but my favorite element of the game is an invisible one…  In this game, there are two phases of play, but no clear distinction between them: building your deck, and acquiring Victory Points. The player who prepares the best deck and is able to shift focus to acquiring victory points at the right time wins.  If you switch focus too early, your deck will get diluted with victory points and lose effectiveness while others get more points overall.  If you switch too late, you won’t have enough time to get a winning score.
• Galactic Emperor –  Political influence…
  This is the only “4x” (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) game I’ve played, but it had a noteworthy game mechanic that I really enjoyed.  When the “influence” action is selected, each player can place two tokens (and may buy a third) to conquer planets with political influence, or defend against the influence of other players.  The advantage of going last is significant, since you can defend against the political attacks others made, and take over other planets without contest.  You must exert your power with care, since everyone has roughly the same amount of influence. (2 or 3 tokens)

What’s your favorite game, and why?  Or, is there something about a game which you really like, even if the game isn’t that great overall?

I’ve been riding my bike to work a lot this year, initially on my trusty old mountain bike, later on my new (and much more efficient) road bike.  Riding to work on a sunny day is a great feeling, plus you can turn a 15-20 minute commute in traffic into a 30 minute workout.

Getting Ice Cream (Molly Moons Truck, no less!) at the end of my first long ride. - This is the opposite of Bike Commuting.

I’ve also taken a number of long rides this fall, all on my new bike: The first one with Brendan around Mercer Island, across i90 down to Seward Park and back.  A second long ride was also with Brendan, from REI in Downtown Seattle to my house in Kirkland, mostly on the Burke Gilman / Sammamish river trails.  (and yes, the Lake City reroute sucks.)  The last one was by myself – from the house to Safeco Field for the Microsoft company meeting, also north around the lake.  Amy and I also enjoy riding bikes from Redmond to Redhook on the Sammamish river trail, a pleasant 10 mile round trip. (Admittedly, this is just a thin excuse to eat out and have beer for lunch on a day which isn’t going to be sunny in the mountains.)

Bike Commuting:

Riding to work on a sunny day and taking fun rides on the weekend are a lot of fun and a nice way to get some exercise, but they hardly count as bike commuting.  Bike commuting is something altogether different.  Bike commuting is riding to work when it is cold, raining and dark outside.  Needless to say, Seattle has an abundance of these days, and an abundance of Bike Commuters.  Let’s explore what bike commuting is all about.

Today was my first day as a Bike commuter.  

I got up, put my climbing gear and bike lock in one pannier, a change of clothes for work, shoes and lunch in the other.  After the extra few minutes it takes me to put on bike shoes, open the garage, get out the bike and close and lock the garage, I’m on my way riding up the hill.  The road was wet, but no rain, yet.  At about mile 2, I pass Google’s Kirkland campus.  (An enviable commute, yes, but why bother ride my bike at all for 2 miles of exercise.)  The Internet’s masters of primary colors torment me by turning the rain back on just in time for my hill climb up 68th/70th street.  Now I’m glad I have my gloves on, but I’m staying pretty warm with the workout.  I’m also noticing those wet leaves don’t have the traction I’d like.  Caution sets in.

Once across i405, the ride gets less steep, and after passing the Red Apple, it’s almost all downhill from here.  At the next intersection, by the Sixty 01 condo community, I have to decide: muddy and fast, or paved, annoying and steeper.  I choose muddy, turning right and taking the Bridle Crest Trail along the side of the Bellevue golf course.  Without fenders, the amount of mud thrown up by my wheels on this mostly gravel trail was impressive.  Now I’m really wet, even my toes are wet, but i’m just a couple blocks from work.  P.S. Thank you Redmond for installing metal access panels on the sidewalk.  They are insanely slippery when wet.

After my day of work, I needed to go to REI and buy a headlight for the bike.  I saw one there on sale I wanted to try, 150 lumens, charges on a USB port and on sale for around 50$ (from 100$ retail.)  Thankfully no rain on my way there or on my way to the climbing gym.  Thank you Redmond for generally good bike lanes.  (They should be! Their nickname is “Bicycle capital of the northwest”.)  After climbing with JK, we agree to get teriyaki at Yummy Teriyaki.  As I hop on the bike again, no rain, but it picks up a bit on my way there.  I was only a couple minutes slower than he was in his car – win!

Unfortunately, the ride home from Teriyaki was the worst stretch of my day.  1) I ate too much teriyaki – I was hungry from all the climbing and biking.  2) The rain intensified a bit, and it got quite a bit colder. 3) Worst of all, the ride from Redmond to Kirkland is horrible.  I could have gone way out of my way, but I really just wanted to get home – so I took the direct route.

Getting through Redmond on Redmond Way was easy.  On a flat, I can easily keep up with city traffic, and my front and rear lights made me easy to see. Going up the first section of hill was OK too, since I decided to use the sidewalk. (Probably a no-no for a “Real” bike commuter, but really, who wants to be squished on blind turns by cars going 45 mph.)  Next, there is a 1/4 mile section where there is no shoulder and no sidewalk.  There is a guardrail, and on the other side a mud and gravel “path” which is 6 inches wide with a significant side slope.  Failure isn’t an option, since you would fall down a big muddy hill into a drainage.  Thankfully, my bike has fatter tires than a normal road bike since it was built as a cyclocross bike.  After that, there is a nice section of generous sidewalk, followed by a motley arrangement of sidewalks, asphault chunks parking lots and gravel to get through Rose Hill.  After crossing under 405, iI was back on familiar turf, and had no problem getting home.  All said, it wasn’t that cold or miserable, and I did get a good workout in today.

In summary, based on one day of experience, Bike Commuting is all about:

• Cold + Wet – If you aren’t suffering, it isn’t bike commuting.
• Expensive – All the gear to make it reasonably safe adds up.  Rear Light – 25$, Front Light – 100+$, Bright Clothing, Fenders, Panniers, Rack, etc…
• Saves Money – Yes, it is expensive, but if I ever pay off the costs of all this extra gear in saved gasoline and maintenance on my car, the savings are not insignificant. (~5$ day saved.)
• Dirty – Water and mud flying every which way.
• Smelly - By the time you get to work, you are dirty and wet, by the time you need to go home, your wet, dirty biking clothes stink.  (Showers at work are a reasonable mitigation.)
• Slow – When you are tired and keep hitting snooze, bike commuting isn’t going to help you make that 9am meeting.
• Free Exercise + Saves time – No gym membership required, plus you can fit a 30 minute exercise in the 15 extra minutes it takes to ride the bike instead of drive.
• Eat more food – I love food, and I can eat whatever I want for lunch on the days I ride my bike.  (I feel like my metabolism is raised all day with just two 30 minute rides.)
• Self-righteousness – When it comes down to it, after riding your bike to work on a crappy day, you just feel better than everyone else. (Look at all those lazy slobs in their cars!)  I’m pretty sure this is the primary motivation for most Bike Commuters, since the rest of the rest of the strengths and weaknesses barely balance out.

Disclaimer: While it would no doubt be useful to my (limited number of) readers to post a follow-up in a few months with tips and tricks, favorite commuting gear and an update on my progress, this is unlikely.  As evidenced by my sporadic blog postings, there is no guarantee that I will ever post a follow-up to today’s post on Bike Commuting.  I can’t tell you what my next post will be about, but it will most certainly not be about the ancient art of Bonsai Kittens.

We have needed a new water heater for a few months, since discovering that our hot water was slightly discolored with rust. (Harmless, but kinda gross and indicative of bigger problems with our nearly 20yr old water heater.)  That need increased this week, when I discovered that it had begun to leak.

Thus, research ensued.  I was already familiar with the Federal incentive for high-efficiency home improvements. (30% of cost, labor included. Learn more at the energystar.gov website.)    I also learned that our power company, PSE offers a 150$ or 200$ rebate (for units with an efficiency rating of .82 or higher, or .90 or higher accordingly. link), depending on the efficiency of the model.  For water heaters, the only options on the market that meet the efficiency requirements set by the government program and PSE are what are called ”tankless water heaters”.

This was enough info to start calling contractors… I used highly rated listings on the convenient Angie’s list website to find the best price, and the best product offerings.  Most tank based systems sounded like a ~1500 replacement, which would have been even less if our old unit wasn’t a more costly direct vent model.  The premium is required of a water heater that can vent out a side wall instead of the roof.  (Traditional tank-based systems are closer to 1000$ installed.)

This put tankless systems in a competitive price point, with the combination of PSE and Federal rebates.  I found that the Fast Water Heater company had particularly good prices, and they offered a extremely interesting product for a great price.  They had a traditional tankless system by Noritz with an efficiency rating of .82 for 2229$ installed, which seemed like a good price.  They also had a “hybrid water heater” by Eternal for 2569$.  (eternalwaterheater.com)

The hybrid offered a couple benefits over the traditional tankless unit:

• Even higher .96 efficiency rating. (eligible for additional 50$ rebate from PSE.)
• It is designed around a small 2 gallon “tank” which means that you get hot water more quicky, since it doesn’t need to start up the gas to get hot water flowing.
• It is self cleaning, meaning that there is less need for regular cleaning of the heating element, which is required for tankless systems.

My enthusiasm for the feature list was slightly moderated by some real concerns too: The Eternal product has a great 10 year warranty, but it is hard to know how reliable it is since it is based on 3 year old technology.  The hybrid units are also larger than the true tankless units;  It would save space compared to the old 50 gallon tank, but not as much.

I decided to go for the hybrid for the reasons identified above.  I felt like the point of the Federal incentive is to drive the adoption of new technology, and in a way, the government is paying us to take a gamble on new technology, which will over time result in greater adoption and better quality products.  I sure hope that I bet on the right product, but only time will tell.  What I can say now is that it is pretty nice to be able to clean out the hot tub, and fill it right back up with hot water; no need to wait a day for the water to heat up.

Note: There is one important detail that is not entirely clear when comparing tankless units.  They all come with a GPM rating, which is used to determine which model is big enough to meet your home’s needs, but this rating is misleading.  You might calculate that your home needs 5gpm of hot water for peak usage. (ex: washer, dishwasher and a shower)  This does not mean that a unit rated for 5gpm unit will meet your needs in a location like Washington.  The rating on the unit is based on the assumption that the water heater only needs to increase the water temperature by a certain amount, maybe 30 degrees.  In Washington State, the water temperature coming into the house is quite cold, so it will take more energy, and a higher powered unit to raise the water temperature by a greater amount.  The eternal unit we purchased is rated for up to 14.5gpm, which will probably be closer to 7gpm maximum here in WA.

In learning about growing potatoes (since our potatoes should arrive in the next couple days),  I stumbled into an article about the dollar  value of produce a small home garden can produce.  Link: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/Square-Foot-Gardening-Food.aspx

That article was based on an assumption of 100 square feet of growing space.  We have almost 160 square feet, all with a perfect southern exposure.  Their analysis led to a figure of 700$ in produce from just a small garden.  There are several techniques one can employ to increase the value from their garden: grow small, high value crops. start plants indoors and plant several crops in the same location every season.  Radishes and greens can come out in time to make room for Tomatoes.  As always, grow what you like to eat to minimize waste.

I doubt we will weigh and log our food production to know for sure, but a 700$ figure gives me a little more wiggle room to justify the myriad 0f costs this year in Seeds, Seed propagation equipment, Wire Shelving,  Lighting,  Compost, Wood, Water and Electricity.  Thankfully, this year’s purchases were largely one-time investments which we will enjoy for years to come.  Next year we should be able to get by with some compost, a couple fun new seed varieties and the usual mix of water/electricity/my time.

I didn’t really know this until recently, but it turns out Tomatoes come in one of three “Habits”. Those three habits are: determinate, indeterminate, and semi-determinate (less common.) 

Determinate plants produce all of their fruit pretty much at once, and are generally shorter and bushier than their indeterminate relatives.

Indeterminate plants grow as long as the season will allow, and can reach many feet high with the right conditions. They can be grown in cages, but will overwhelm the cage when they get a particulary good growing season. They can also be grown vertically on a trellis, which will allow them to reach for the sky and receive plenty of light.

I did some research to better understand the habits of my young plants. It turns out all the plants I worked with last year except the Roma Tomatoes are of the Indeterminate variety. This certainly explains why my Roma plants were relatively small and many of the other varieties outgrew their cages.  One new variety for this year, Siberian, is also of the determinate variety.

This year, I plan to build trellises for the four new fully raised beds that aren’t already earmarked for Potato Production. I will probably use one of these to grow additional beans, and the others to grow tomatoes. This is also a good way to begin a crop rotation to minimize pests. I can train some of my indeterminate tomatoes to grow vertically in the back rows of my beds one year, and plant beans in the same location the next year.  Much of this learning and the idea to grow tomatoes on trellises instead of in cages come from a couple great articles on Judy’s Square foot garden blog. 

Ofcourse, we may also have to try a Topsy Turvy which grows tomatoes upside down this year.  They are all the rage, and Amy would like to try one for fun.  I’m not one to say no to garening projects and products.  (JK and Ingunn had good luck with their’s last year using extra tomato starts which I grew.)

Just as the east coast has gotten pummeled with 30 inches of snow, a false spring has struck Seattle.  On our walk today I saw many signs of  spring including small tuliplike flowers, greener grasses and the smell of sweet jasmine flowers even though we couldn’t find the source.   

The warmer weather has confused the garden as well.  Today, I discovered that the hop plants had set new runners, just breaking the surface in the last day or two.   The winter garden has picked up a good deal too.   The reasonably tough Speckled Lettuce has set new leaves after losing some of it’s larger leaves to the colder weather in December and January.  The Onions and Garlic are still doing very well; if this keeps up we will see an early harvest.  The snow peas which I planted two weeks ago on a whim actually sprouted in the last few days.  (I am using shredded newspaper as a free, no-impact mulch to insulate and warm the soil.  It is a great way to extend the season.)

Snow Peas breaking ground level (left), Miner’s Lettuce (right) is doing very well as an unprotected winter crop.

Miners Lettuce is a new crop for us.  It is similar to lettuce, but grows in much colder weather.  It has flourished this winter with no protection, giving us small leafy greens to supplement our winter diet.  I have added it to store bought salads, added it to stirfry and pasta for a splash of green and used in place of lettuce when making a sandwich.  A northwest native plant, it was named Miners Lettuce as it was eaten by prospectors in this region to fend off scurvy.  The flavor is similar to lettuce, mild, if slightly nutty, and a little crisper.

Hops trying to grow a little too early.

 Shallots are a multiplier onion.  You plant one shallot in the ground, and up to 8 plants grow from a single bulb.

The indoor starts are also doing very well.  I had to put one light fixture on each schelf as it slightly increases the number of plants getting supplementary light.  I may have to get one more fixture when all the young tomato plants move into the 3″ squares.  I will have to give an update on the starts soon!

I created a short post a few weeks ago with directions for building a Raised Bed.  I wanted to expand on that article by showing the three raised bed modules which I have designed and built, and show how they work together in our garden.   

Overview of the three module types.

The first 5 beds in the garden which I built several years ago were Partially Raised Beds.  To establish them, I dug down 12-20 inches to break up and enrich the existing soil.  To increase planting depth, I built a 3.5″ riser of inexpensive Cedar Decking.  This year, I have rebuilt / replaced them with 7″ risers made with two planks of the same Cedar Decking.  They now match the height and exact dimensions of my fully raised beds.  When all of the beds have the same dimensions, you can build accessories that work for all of your beds such as the 7″ riser described below. 

 Materials for one partially raised bed: 

• 4- 2″x2″x16″ vertical posts.  Cedar. (5$)
• 4 – 3’10″ sections Cedar decking. 
• 4 – 4′ sections Cedar decking. (Decking is a nominal 4″ wide, actual dimension is 3.5″x1″) (4 boards @ 3.50 = 14$)
• 32 – 2″ Wood Screws rated for outdoor use.  (1/4 of 8$ box)

Three Assembled "Partially Raised Beds" before installation.

I already detailed the Fully Raised Bed design, so you should refer to that article for more details about it’s design. 

Because both types of garden bed have the same dimensions and the same notched corners, I can create modules that sit on top of the standardized dimensions. The first modular component I built was a 7″ Riser which sits on top of a bed to increase it’s depth.  So far I have built only one, and I made it as an aid to preparing a bed for the new year.  By temporarily adding 7″ to the sides of the bed, it is buch easier to work the soil without spilling soil into the road.  This is especially useful when significantly rejuvinating a bed or estabilishing it for the first time since you can rake the soil vigorously without worrying about making a mess.  It has an obvious second use to raise the depth of a planter for a root crop.  We plan to use at least one riser to plant potatoes in one of our raised beds this summer. 

 A riser is easy to build with the following materials, or you can build it with scraps based on this design: 

• 4- 2″x2″x6.5″ vertical posts.  Cedar. (Use scraps if you can… 5$)
• 4 – 3’10″ sections Cedar decking. 
• 4 – 4′ sections Cedar decking. (Decking is a nominal 4″ wide, actual dimension is 3.5″x1″) (4 boards @ 3.50 = 14$)
• 32 – 2″ Wood Screws rated for outdoor use.  (1/4 of 8$ box)

Some tips in assembling raised beds:This year, I built two fully raised beds, rebuilt 2 partially raised beds and built 3 partially raised beds from scratch.  Along the way I picked up a few tips to assemble them quickly and efficently: 

• The easiest way to assemble the raised bed is to assemble the short sides first by screwing the 3’10″ boards onto the 2″x2″ cedar vertical board.  When assembling, make sure you leave space for the riser fit in the corners.
• It is useful to not only screw the boards onto the cedar 2″2″ but also use one screw on each corner connecting the edges.  This seems to make the whole bed more stable.
• If you are committed to building many raised beds or other outdoor projects, just go ahead and buy the 5# box of screws.  8$ for a one pound box of screws is ridiculous.  I learned the hard way.
• To slow deterioration, I applied a clear stain on the exterior facing sides of the box, and allowed several days for it to dry before installation.  I would have stained all surfaces, but I do not have a non-toxic stain and I do not want chemicals leaching into the garden.  (This soy-based stain claims to be non-toxic and is reasonably priced.  If it extends the usable life of your raised bed by a couple of years it would be worth the cost.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a local distributor easily.)

I hope these directions inspire you to create a first garden, or make your existing garden more efficient.  If you have a better or alternate design, or suggestions to make this design better, let me know.  If you find these instructions interesting or helpful, send me an e-mail or leave a comment!  (email: Tom (at) tomalphin (dot) com)  Thanks!