These clan meets always seem to be over too quickly. As you are packing up to head home, you are left thinking to yourself that it felt like you’d just arrived. But still, they are fun events to attend, even if they do seem short.

There were many events during the meet that made it enjoyable.

Slitt Vicious presides over the offical Tattoo shots

Tattoo Shots are an official requirement at any clan meet for it to be deemed an clan meet. After much drinking previous in the day, the Tattoo bottle is opened and shots are poured. This resulted in some laughing and the introduction of fingerstaches and fingerbrows.

NJ shows off his curly fingerstache

NJ shows off his custom curly mustache to the camera. He would look more sinister if he had a top hat on and laughed with a evil snicker. His mustache is almost calling out for tying a damsel to a train track so that Dudley Dooright can come and save her.

Brikenjon and H I McDunnough play a game of chess while Mrs. Brik watches

For a video game clan, there was much analog gaming taking place. From chess to off-the-wall card games and board games. There was something sure to entertain everyone and pass the time.

NJ shows off his guitar stance while UncleGramps drums away.

Rockband, though, was the most popular activity during the meet. Many people would jump on an instrument and play through a good number of songs. The volume was loud and the room felt like a rock venue. There were even groupies at various times cheering for the band during a set. During the meet, we all discovered that there was truly some talent in our midst as Spiderbite, aka the golden throat, belted out tune after tune. Duster gave everyone some heartfelt renditions of songs showcasing his vocal powers.

It was a great weekend spent with friends that I had met previously at other meets and new faces that had not been able to attend a meet before. I really do think that we have a great group of people and getting to hang out with them occasionally is the best part of our group. It would be nice if we all live within a few hours of each other to accommodate more regular get-togethers. But, still, I would not trade this group for anything. I have truly made some great friendships that I know will last.

You will usually encounter much chatting, a lot more drinking and since the release of Rock Band for the XBox 360, many wild performances from virtual bands.

Other games are sometimes thrown into the mix be they other 360 titles or analog games such as Munchkin.

It is always a fun way to spend a day or weekend with great friends. The news that makes this clan meet such a big event is that several members from outside of the northern midwest(Michigan, Illinois, Indiana) will be arriving. Several clan members from southern states will be arriving. Other further states will also be represented such as South Carolina. The biggest news is that our sole UK clan member will be arriving through customs, hopefully without a full body cavity search, to give this clan meet an international vibe to it. It should be a hectic weekend and one fully enjoyed by all and saddened when it comes to a close. I have a feeling that many pictures will be taken and I know that I will be doing my own share of photo capturing to make a picture book online.

When I happened upon this game, I picked up the box and turned it over to read the description. “Head down the tracks of luck and strategy in this fast-moving sequencing card game. Be the first to get rid of your cards with the most train fares left and you win. Wherever your cards take you, this journey is sure to be an adventure in fun!” It sounded fun enough to me and at a price tag of $5.99 I decided to give it a shot.

After playing two full games this past weekend, I have to say I am glad I made this purchase. The game is fairly fast paced and moves along fine. The instructions are straight forward and once I read through them, I had a good grasp of the game. The object of the game is to play all of your cards to end the game. At the end of the game, the player with the most tokens wins. Where a slight twist comes in is that even if you play all your cards, you might not win the game if you don’t have the highest number of tokens. At the start of the game, the tokens are divided up and cards are dealt. For each turn you can’t play a card, you must draw from the pile and pay a token. At the end of the game, when someone plays all their cards, any cards remaining in your hand cause you to pay one token per card. The object of the game is to build number sequences by color from 1-12. Each color has a station that must be played before any numbered cards of that color can be played. There are a few special cards that change the game mechanics and add a twist of their own.

The game is simple enough to play and fun enough to add a bit of variety into your gaming collection. For the lower price and ease of finding it at more common stores, you cannot go wrong.

If you are interested to see what other types of games I have, I started tracking my collection on BoardGameGeek.com.

R6:V also spawned many legendary moments that have been the source of much laughter in our forum and nightly gaming sessions. Some of these highlights include Monkeyspit and his unproportionally large cranium, Czar and his “did they just say necissito burrito?” comment, and who can forget NJ and his love of the flashbang grenade that blinds not only the enemy but his own team?

Since this game was announced some time back, I have been anxiously waiting for its release. Now, this week, my precious will be in my little gaming hands and no other disc will see the light of day. Well, at least until we decide we need a break and toss in the old standby game, Halo 3.

Over time, I hope to post many interesting things that I am sure will captivate you.

I do hope you enjoy your stay.