Ebay is frustrating. You finally find that item you had been looking for, in just the perfect condition and...

1) Some auction squatter had been waiting for just the right time to outbid you with literally seconds left
2) Some idiot comes along and pays the preposterous "But it Now" price
3) Some idiot comes along and puts in a max bid way over what you'd spend, so you are fractically rebidding trying to find a reasonable compromise, only to learn that you still won't win in time, nor for a reasonable price. You'd have to set a max bid way over what you'd really spend..
4) You realize that you still haven't met the reserve price, so it doesn't matter anyhow, because the jerk collector/seller wants top price for his phat lewtz
5) The same idiot comes along and does the same top 3 annoyances to ALL the items you've bid on.

I'm a pretty avid gamer in many ways. It doesn't just stop at computer and console games, we play a lot of board, card and dice games as well. My kids are really into games that make you think a little more, but the occasional Sorry or Yahtzee isn't bad either. Lately, I've been having some cravings for old, old school gaming. Games that I may have played in my childhood.. You know, like the Wonder Woman game that was probably only in print for 2 years, but was actually a good game (just for example, of course!). One of these games is Talisman, the Magical Quest Game. It's a tabletop board game that allows you to play avatars of different character classes, like warriors, priests, etc. The premise is simple: become the strongest and make it to the center of the main board, and conquer all. The game itself can take a few hours even wtih 2 people. The beauty of the game is that many expansions were released to add to the original game, including new boards like a dungeon, a city and many new adventure and event cards. The only way to obtain Talisman anymore is via online auction or game conference. I haven't been paying attention to local game shows and conventions, so I end up spending time on Ebay. So far, I only have the core game. There are about 5 expansions, one of which is very rare, a collector's edition. I've seen that one sell for $350 or more. Most of them are $50 a piece, which isn't horrible. You'd spend that much on one game today. Most game expansions are about $30 anyhow, so $50 for a long-OOP game isn't too bad.

Anyhow.. if anyone is interested in playing something beyond the usual Bonkers and Chutes and Ladders (I'm a game snob, these games bore me, even my kids agree), stay tuned and I'll post some links to decent board game review sites. Here is a list of games we love:

Settlers / Seafarers / Starfarers of Catan (the original was Settlers, a CLASSIC among board games now)
Lord of the Rings + expansions (Friends and Foes, Sauron) - The original LotR game is cooperative and F&F makes it tougher. The Sauron expansion allows one player to play against the Fellowship. A very well-designed game. It was released before the movies and not based on them, like some of the recent ones have been.
Acquire - The guys at work love this one. Stock trading and company selling.. it's cutthroat.
Hacker and Illuminati - Two card games by Steve Jackson that are just too unique to explain. Very well designed and lots of fun. Play any way you like, cooperatively, aggressively.. anything.
Aladdin's Dragons - Great game that's not too hard for kids to pick up. Bid for gems and spend them later to gain artifacts and spells to win.
Tigris and Euphrates - Another hardcore strategy game. Tough to master and relies a little on luck so even playing against the toughest strategist won't stop you from playing again. It's tough to learn, but the conflicts when 3+ people play are just awesome.

That's a short list.. We have probably upwards 70 board, card and dice games. Enjoy.