You Are The Gaming Queen, Clicking Screens, Buying Sight Unseen

I recently wrote about the idea I had to celebrate a birthday by checking out games from one's birth year. Like most of what I write, I did the required research to make sure it makes sense. In a post like that I don't want to (say) accidentally recommend Lands of Dr. Doom as a classic game to play in 1992, when that item is actually a supplement for TSR's classic Marvel Super Heroes RPG from 1984.

To that end, I researched if 1986's Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine Game was, in fact, a game that came out and was worthy of consideration. I confirmed that it was, indeed! So much so that I discovered I could pick up the entire set of the game – the core box and two supplements (still in shrinkwrap!) – for pretty darn cheap from eBay.

So I did.

I'm deeply curious about it, because it looks pretty cool, and seems to be the sort of game that's more-common nowadays: You have a limited number of cases, so there isn't much in the way of replayability. But that fits in perfectly to my personal modern sensibility; I love games that I can enjoy, have fun with, and then put on the shelf and not think about again because I'm done with them.

It's kind of risky working in the game biz and loving games as much as I do . . . perhaps to the point where, some days, I lose money thanks to All the Cool Stuff I get to think about and surround myself with.

But I wouldn't change it for the world.

-- Steven Marsh