Today some jerk turns thirty-one. Congratulations. You jerk.
(I’m the jerk.)
Also, if you do not normally read the Director Commentary, check out today’s. It’s a bit of a long spiel about the Haunted House game Selkie and George are setting up. If you’re curious.
Sounds like a fun game.
Their expressions in the centre panel are amazing. Such a cheeky look.
I normally don’t comment on comics but…
a) I really enjoy reading yours. I must say that I think it is amazing how much your style of drawing has progressed in a relatively short amount of time
and
b) Yes! Betrayal! It is one of my favorite board games. Sadly it is almost completely unknown where I live, which really is a shame. It never gets enough credit around here.
I LOVE BETRAYAL AT HOUSE ON THE HILL. YES, THAT NEEDED ALL-CAPS.
George and Selkie are adorable when they click together like in those center panels.
31 still makes you a young punk from here. Congratulations!
Happy Birthday! May it be filled with fishes ands many good things!
The game sounds nifty!
Many happy returns of the day!
Happy birthdays, Daves.
It’d actually be really cool if you developed the game for RL.
¿Where is the director commentary? this game seems interesting
It’s in the Transcript link
Remember what Jack Weinberg said: “Never trust anybody over 30.”
OTOH I’ve been ‘untrustworthy’ for a couple decades now so who am I to talk.
Happy Birthday, David…. Love Ya
Heh, at first I thought they were playing Mansions of Madness, though I now realize that eh, could be any Cthulhu ripoff, lol.
Also, hey! You’re only like a year and a half older than me! Not a lot of webcartoonists my own age… Happy birfday!
Oh yeah? Well I turned 47 a week ago.
Lady needs to lighten up about the “Last Man Standing” rule. All forms of games are a competition, if you can’t separate life from reality, then you shouldn’t be playing games like that anyways. Almost all forms of video games involves killing things too, unless they are strictly educational video games; even if they don’t directly refer to it as such.
That black chick is one of the most annoying characters I’ve seen in the comic.
Actually, I think you’re the one who needs to lighten up. Presumably she has experience with them playing this game, and knows what happens when they use the “Last Man Standing” rule. Furthermore, doing stuff like this to newbs is kind of mean anyways. Last, she said nothing about Judas.
I’m betting the problem with “Last Man Standing” isn’t because it involves killing the other players, it’s because the last time they played it ended in blood and chaos or the like. Games where the players can kill each other can be VERY serious business. Especially for eight-year-olds.
Mm, yes, how dare she watch out for her charges.
Telling kids they can’t play “last man standing” is more likely there to prevent arguments and meltdowns over who-killed-who than anything else. It’s why my nephews are occasionally banned from competetive games on the wii – they fight too much over it.
Almost every game is a competition, you should encourage healthy competition, not discourage it. These kids are old enough to play Monopoly, Sorry! and other games, because it might foster hurt or angry feelings from competitive play does that mean you shouldn’t take money from one another or “bump” other players?
Fuck off.
I’m all for debate and dissenting opinions. Spectating people’s different interpretations is fascinating to watch, for me. But I’d like to ask the Fuck Off’s be avoided, please.
Games like Monopoly and Sorry! aren’t like the “Last Man Standing scenario… it isn’t about competition, it’s that the player who gets killed off in the game is out of the game entirely. With your other examples, there is a set back, but there is also a chance for turnabout. With “Last Man Standing” there is no chance for recovery. That’s not a ‘lesson’ kids really need to learn at 8, is it? That it’s okay to be cut-throat and ‘mean’ just to win a game? At age 40, I still have friends who don’t take that sort of thing very well, and they should be old enough to know it’s ‘just a game’ and move on. Besides, do we really need to give bullies another way to torment their prey under the guise of, “it’s just a game?” Can you imagine what Amanda would do with that sort of power? The rules against “Last Man Standing” have to be consistent, too. “Amanda can’t play that way, but Selkie can” won’t work. Any parent (or guardian) who can’t figure all of that out (or understand the reasoning involved) is going to have an innocuous ‘game’ turn into a churning sea of bad feelings, fights, and recriminations. It’s not worth it.
Are you even reading the comic? You do realize they’re allowed to play Cabbage Patch Warriors at the daycare, right?
There’s a difference between competition in an already inherently competitive game, and competition in a game that’s meant to be mostly cooperative. Now, in Betrayal, which this is based on, it is kind of different, since it is accepted that one person will become a traitor, and thus there are hardly hurt feelings when it happens. However, in Arkham Horror, another cooperative board game, “Joining the Winning Team,” which allows you to win at the cost of everyone else, is often discredited and considered a poor design choice.
I have no idea what Cabbage Patch Warriors is, but I’ve played most of the other games mentioned, and I am not objecting to competition, just to the last man standing scenario. I’m a teacher and a mother, and I can say from bitter experience that that sort of game always sounds like a great idea until you’re consoling the kid whose character just got killed. No matter how much they were into the idea beforehand, suddenly they feel like so-and-so was out to get them and isn’t their friend anymore. For whatever reason, this attitude seems more prevalent in board/card games than in active games; perhaps because you are more invested when you are role playing a character than when you are playing an archetype (like in ‘cops & robbers’, or ‘army’ games). I’m just saying that there is probably a very good reason for the rule against ‘last man standing’, and it isn’t because the orphanage personnel are against a bit of healthy competition…
Cabbage Patch Commandos isn’t a real game, that I know of. It’s an in-comic-canon kid-friendly shooter game where badgers and mice and squirrels and rabbits shoot carrots and blueberry ammunition at each other.
And yeah, basically, you’re spot on about the Last Man Standing restriction. I’ve had some board game sessions that ended in flipped tables when someone loses. XD
Um…you do realize I’m on your side, right? I’m pointing out that Jarman is wrong about their guardians restricting every single “competitive” game.
My bad! : ) I guess I just got stuck in soapbox mode…
Aah, with little kids it’s not surprising that Last Man Standing is off the table. It can send the wrong message. It’s not that “last person alive wins” is a bad thing– it’s the “I must kill everyone to win” that is off the table typically.
I *really* like the idea that the neighbors are willing to join in to an impromptu kid’s game. Good environment to grow up in.
Can’t imagine anyone born on this day being a jerk, but I might be a tad biased since I seem to share a birthday with you. Hope it has been a good one for you.
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday!
Hehe, I like that there’s a rule in place about Last Man Standing. I can just see the battle that could cause in the orphanage. The evil grins are hilarious, too. Georgie’s certainly perked up…
Happy birthday, Dave:)
happy birthday and stuff.
Happy Birthday! I wanna play that game!
Happy birthday Dave! And I soooo want to play that game haha
Happy Belated Birthday!! It was my birthday yesterday too
!
Happy belated Birthday!