What is DowntimeTown?
June 7, 2009 by Robert
Filed under Board Game Articles
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved board games.
In my teenage years, I was all about Space Hulk and HeroQuest. Before video games stole me away for over a decade, I spent schoolnight after schoolnight rolling dice and establishing Line of Sight. At that age, I spent a lot of time in my bedroom. I wasn’t the type of young guy who would hang around on the streets. I’d be indoors, rolling up characters, gamesmastering adventures for my friends. I could create an entire world inside my own little room.
I could create an entire world inside one room.
When I finished up with the online video game show I co-presented (Consolevania) I felt I needed a break from video games. I was 31 years old. I’d recently been drawn back into the world of board games by way of a renewed interest in Games Workshop. I found my way to BoardGameGeek as all boardgamers eventually do, and I was sucked back into the hobby.
I’m someone who likes to talk. So I decided I’d talk about board games. I planned a new show. Not a review show, exactly. I’d had quite enough of occasionally having to be scathingly negative about people’s work on Consolevania. I wanted to do something positive. I wanted to talk to people about games I enjoyed. I wanted to try to promote the joy of this wonderfully social pastime.
At that time, I also had an idea for a board game of my own. A quirky and cut-throat thing called Supply & Die! I thought I could maybe incorporate the design of that game into the “storyline” of the new online show. And the show itself would be called “DowntimeTown.”
What is DowntimeTown? It’s me creating an entire world inside one room. Just like the old days.
As is often the case with me, I decided to run, and just skip the walking part. I planned a website. News, Reviews, Articles. Guest writers. And positive. All positive. The key thing is this: You will never see a purely negative review anywhere near anything called DowntimeTown. You may see a positive review with some caveats. You may see a review that’s only a mild recommendation. But you’ll never see this website, or this show, malign the work of a designer whose intentions were pure.
If I hate a game, I just won’t feature it. As my mother would tell me – “If you’ve nothing nice to say, don’t say anything.”
I can’t promise that this will be the best board game website out there. Because the Geek exists. But I can promise that DowntimeTown, in all its forms, will be the strangest, most unpredictable and most sincere love letter to tabletop gaming that anyone involved can manage.
I’d like to welcome you all on board. Watch the shows, read the writings, comment away. Share your passion.
Zaa Ooo Zaa!
Positivity breeds positivity. It’s a great mission statement, and I’m really enjoying the show. I don’t often play boardgames, but I love DowntimeTown. I don’t have anything negative to say about it. Glad to see you’re dedicated enough to the show to make this expansive site, Robert.
This board game thing is out of control now. Love the wee gingerbread man with the hat.
I loved board games as a kid, even though we only played 3 on a regular basis (monopoly, go for broke, compatibility) because the others we had were too complicated to learn or needed 20 people for it to be any fun. Yeah, im talking about YOU, pictionary.
As a result we have a pile of mainly quiz based games here that have been played once, if ever, and a still shrinkwrapped ‘CSI: the board game’ we got my dad for xmas one year. They will probably never be played, not until theyre flogged off on ebay.
So it stands that the only board gaming im exposed to nowadays is via video games and facebook apps. I’ve wasted many hours on the xbox versions of catan, carcassonne and ticket to ride, possibly more in total than i gave to GTA 4 or resi 5, because ‘just one more game, i need to get that bloody ‘150 points’ achievement!’ in my mind is somehow less of a procrastination than the same amount of time shooting guys heads off.
Sitting alone..playing board games..against a computer. I dont think i could have fathomed this as a kid ;_;.
So i ask- will downtimetown have room to pass along recommendations for games for lonely sadacts..uh i mean, busy ‘casuals’ like myself, or will it be all the good ol dice and cards face to face stuff?
ALH, DowntimeTown will be passing along recommendations for all types of board gamers. We’ll certainly be looking at videogame versions of board games.
Iain. It’s a meeple. It’s a meeple.
You know the last board game I played? Loopin’ Louie. This website better still be up when my boy hits 8+ so I have a list of games to buy to play with him. No one else round here wants to play these kind of games other than me so I’ll force him to like them.
I will never forget that game of “DC Heroes”, where I was Batman.
After thwarting an assasination attempt of Commisioner Gordon, Batman chases Deadshot down the stairs of a huge tower block. Deadshot changes tact and slips into the liftshaft. A pair of cleaners looked on in confusion as Batman rolls miserable numbers for about ten minutes, repeatedly smashing a soft drinks machine off the elevator doors to no avail…I haven’t laughed so hard during an rpg in my life before or since…
Amazing scenes in the old DC Heroes game, johnny, sure enough. To the old days!
Nice to see this one complete a lift off Big Rab.
Are you going to take some time on the ends of future episodes to look at simple games, like card games and what, Uno, Ratt-a-tatt Cat etc?
Good luck to it, looking forward to Ep 4.
Dude! Play “Lose Your Shirt”! (Also known as First Past The Post by Waddingtons.) It’s the finest, simplest, yet most utterly evil boardgame there is. It’s the poker of boardgames. There’s one on eBay right now for £8 Buy It Now with free shipping.
Also keep an eye out for Interplay, the best ‘Connect X’ game ever. Chad Valley made a nice plastic travel version in the UK, but there’s a wooden one on eBay atm too.
Lose Your Shirt! is a belter. If you play it for real money, it can be a sweaty experience, no doubt.
I had First Past The Post, years back. Was really disappointed that it was gone when I was getting ready to SWAP MEAT. I think I broke half the horses when I was a kid, anyway. Probably explains why it’s no more.
Found a link to your review of “Hour of Glory” and then laughed for an hour as I poked around the site.
Great stuff.
Not a certified board gamer. Miniature war games, but I think we’re like cousins.
Looking forward to more.
When I was in primary school, I loved playing Careers. I wanted to get it and saw one for sale for SG$11! Score I thought! Bought it home and it turned out to be the French edition. That was why is was so cheap.