Page 58 - spielbox 03/21 - English

And Finally. Hoffmann‘s Home Game
Chocolate Fondue with Stone Golem
Oh. I thought we would have a real game night.“ as well; but we do that only to make the guests believe that
“bowls made of olive wood, hand-painted miniatures with metal applications, sorted piles of cards, and a glass of water for each of us on a decorative as well as absorbent coaster.
“Why – what‘s missing?“, I asked, deliberately playing dumb. Our daughter opened her eyes wide and gave a cute look. This is how she got me. So I went into the kitchen and brought along all the things that, as we both knew, would make this game night a real game night: a bowl of potato chips, with peanut flips conveniently mixed in. A box of chocolates. A 300-gram bar of nut chocolate. Gummy bears. Pretzel sticks. Coke. Cookies. In my heart, that‘s what I wanted, too.
Some players keep food away from the game table as
a matter of principle, in order to prevent any possible damage – these are people who also principally put all cards in sleeves and laminate player aids and would probably even buy pawn covers if they existed. And
then there are people like us, whose caloric intake is in inverse proportion to the game-immanent food supply – especially in games such as Robinson Crusoe or Paleo, where you are dead if you don‘t have enough to eat at the end of a round, each of us keeps eating like a horse. When we have company, we often put a few little token bowls with veggie snacks on the table
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Our daughter‘s eyes, showing disappointment, gazed over at our bed-sized table that provided an impressive set-up: neatly assembled modular game boards, damage markers in small lathed
we also eat vegetables once in a while. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization considers board games as a serious risk factor for cardiovascular disease – well, that‘s a lie. But you get the point, don‘t you?
But of course, we still pay some attention: not to our nutrition, obviously – that ship has sailed – but to our precious games. The other night, we were roaming Gloomhaven again, with many enemies around us – and what did our friend Martin do? He went straight into the kitchen and came back with (I‘m not making this up!) a small bowl with melted chocolate that was left over from cake-baking, and began to set up a little chocolate fondue in dangerous proximity to the edge of the battlefield. You know that kind of guy, who would also imprudently hold his glass right above the gameboard for a refill of a sweet, sticky soft drink, and then say “Oops!“ if, totally unsurprisingly, some of it is spilled. That‘s the kind of guy for whom you should not only sleeve the cards but even feel inclined to cover the whole game table with saran wrap before the game begins.
“Do you also want some? They‘re yummy,“ Martin munched, and casually wiped a chocolate dash off an elite stone golem. “Ah, thanks, no,“ I feigned, demonstratively biting into a carrot stick. After a few seconds of tense silence, Martin gave up: “I‘d better carry that back into the kitchen – not that anything would happen here.“ I sighed with relief and poured myself another glass of a softdrink. Unfortunately, my hero mat also got a sip of it. (sbw)
Text: Maren Hoffmann •Illustration: Anna Breitling-Stenner