Was reading Penny Arcade today as I’m apt to do on M/W/F and noticed in their musings of random blurbiness wordsmithing that they boardgame fans too – and several of which a group of us play as well. However, I was surprised to notice that a few of my favourites might be coming to Xbox Live to play online with friends. Now I’ve tried a PC version of Settlers and it left much to be desired, but being able to chide and laugh at people online via the headset is spiffy. But there would have to a ‘wrong’ sound to be played in Carcassonne when people keep trying to place the piece in the wrong spot. Now more of a reason to get a Xbox 360…

In any case, still high from this recent exposure, I returned home to discover media whose contents were so titillating they skirted the frilled edge of erotica. I was aware that boardgames were coming to Live Arcade – Carcassonne and others – but I wasn’t aware they were pulling in the company that made Rise of Nations to manage The Settlers of Catan. To be perfectly honest, I was expecting to choke down a half-assed port of their Windows version. I was wrong in absolute terms.

(editor: I’m guessing what this post said before I edited it. – 24601)