User:GManAvalon

Hi!

I'm Garret, or the Moss Tank. I've been playing games since I was old enough to put cherries in a bucket, but I was introduced to hobby games by a friend back when Dominion was new. Since then, sitting around a game table with friends has been my favorite way to spend time, and I've slowly grown to also enjoy playing games online with other awesome BGBers. I play a little bit of everything except 18XX (yet...), and I mostly like trying new strategies. Winning's great, but if I've won the same way two or three times, I'm moving on to test something else.

The hardest thing I've worked on was a graduate degree in communication studies, which gave me the opportunity to study the unique ways people communication in and through games. I still love studying the intersection of games and communication, and I always welcome discussion on... well, really anything at all, but especially social game philosophy.

I also love writing, and when I get bored I have been known to write anything from poorly-received game reviews to D&D blog posts to Twilight Imperium fiction. I've DM'ed a homebrew D&D campaign for an awesome group for almost 5 years now, which has allowed me to let out my artistic side in voice-acting, mini-painting, and map drawing. I'm a Texan, but I'm currently living in East Tennessee with my amazing wife and five pets.

Play games with me on...

• Tabletop Simulator as SplinterBlade
• Board Game Arena as GManAvalon
• Tabletopia as GManAvalon
• Yucata as GManAvalon
• Boiteajeux as GManAvalon676 (stupid site messed up my login)

You can also check out my brief thoughts on every game I've ever played under TheGrandioseGamer on BGG, check out my board game Instagram at noteintheattic, or step into the horrifying depths of my mind with this ranked list of every game I've ever played.

Top 10 Games:

1. Twilight Imperium 4th Edition
2. Gloomhaven (finished the campaign!)
3. Pandemic Legacy: Season 1
4. Castles of Burgundy
5. Shadows Over Camelot
6. Kemet
7. Lords of Vegas
8. Innovation
9. Race for the Galaxy
10. The Quest for El Dorado

Rapid Fire:

• Biggest board gaming bugbear: When I sleeve a game and it no longer fits in the box.
• Favorite board game component: The vagabond meeple from Root.
• Recent hot game: Unmatched.
• Recent hot not-a-game: Formula 1 racing.
• Books I'm enjoying: Stormlight Archives, Dresden Files, Dune.
• Itching to play: Dune, War of the Ring, King's Dilemma]