Erik Arneson's Blog, page 6

Rank These Games by the Number of Dice

In honor of the upcoming (two weeks from today — it comes out Oct. 27!) release of my book HOW TO HOST A GAME NIGHT, here’s a trivia game that will probably appeal most to people who play a lot (a lot) of board games — but anyone can give it a shot.

All you have to do is take the 10 games in the image above (click on the image, or here, for a larger version) and rank them in order of the game with the most dice (#1) down to the game with the least dice (#10).

Each game you put in the right posi...

Half Truth Trivia Game #1

This week’s trivia game is inspired by the board game Half Truth, designed by Richard Garfield and Ken Jennings and published by Studio71 Games.

In each of the two groups in the image above, 3 answers are correct.

You guess 1, 2 or 3 answers. Guessing 3 can score more points, but it’s risky!

If you get 1 right, you earn 1 point. Getting 2 right earns you 3 points, and getting 3 right earns you 6 points.

BUT — and this is very important! — if you get ANY wrong, you earn ZERO points.

Each group i...

This, That, or the Other? #2

As with last week’s trivia game, this week’s is inspired by the great NPR show and podcast Ask Me Another, hosted by Ophira Eisenberg.

In “This, That, or the Other,” you have to guess which of three categories a thing falls into. So — in the image above — each of the things listed is:

A crime fiction novel;
A punk rock band; or
A professional wrestling tag team

For each thing listed, guess one of those three categories. Each one you get right is worth 1 point.

(If you’re reading this on th...

Nine Tournaments at BoardGameArena

I’m a big fan of BoardGameArena, a website where you can play hundreds of different board games and card games for free. (And if you really like BGA, a premium membership is not expensive and has some benefits.)

To help celebrate the upcoming (later this month!) release of my book HOW TO HOST A GAME NIGHT, I’ve set up nine tournaments over at BGA. And you’re invited!

All of the tournaments start on Monday, Oct. 12, at 7:00 a.m. — but they’re all turn-based, which means you don’t have to worry ab...

#11,906 on the Packers Season Ticket Waiting List

My father was a lifelong fan of the Green Bay Packers, and I’m grateful that he passed his love of the greatest franchise in the history of professional sports on to me.

I’ve been fortunate to see a number of games in person, and every year as football season starts I watch the mail for a postcard from the Packers to see where I stand on their season ticket waiting list.

I joined the Packers’ season ticket waiting list in 1999 at number 27,611. As of 2020, I’ve climbed nearly 16,000 spots up to ...

This, That, or the Other? #1

This week’s trivia game is inspired by the great NPR show and podcast Ask Me Another, hosted by Ophira Eisenberg. It’s a fantastic show filled with wonderful games.

One of the best is “This, That, Or the Other,” in which players have to guess which of three categories a thing falls into. So — in the image above — each of the things listed is:

A roleplaying game;
A “non-fiction” conspiracy theory book; or
A professional wrestling finishing move

For each thing listed, guess one of those thre...

Win a Copy of How to Host a Game Night!

You can win a free early copy of my upcoming book HOW TO HOST A GAME NIGHT over at Goodreads!

To enter the contest (Tiller Press is giving away 15 early copies!), just go to this page and click the “Enter Giveaway” button at the top. (You have to be logged in to Goodreads and have an address in the U.S. to enter.) The contest ends on Sept. 30.

I’m a huge fan of tabletop games, and HOW TO HOST A GAME NIGHT — which will be available to everyone on Oct. 27 (it’s available for pre-order here) — is m...

TriBond Twelve Trivia #10

This trivia game is inspired by Tim Walsh’s classic game TriBond (Tim’s also an author; he wrote, among others, the great book Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them — and don’t miss his terrific YouTube channel), and my friend James Torr, who knows how to put together a killer trivia night.

Each set of three in the image above has something in common. What is it?

(If you’re reading this on the front page of my website, click through for hints and answers. Otherwise, sc...

TriBond Twelve Trivia #9

This trivia game is inspired by Tim Walsh’s classic game TriBond (Tim’s also an author; he wrote, among others, the great book Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them — and don’t miss his terrific YouTube channel), and my friend James Torr, who knows how to put together a killer trivia night.

Each set of three in the image above has something in common. What is it?

(If you’re reading this on the front page of my website, click through for hints and answers. Otherwise, sc...

1980s Visual Trivia Game

Think you know the 1980s? This game is a small test of your knowledge. The collage above features singers and actresses who were very well known in the 1980s. (Many, of course, are still very well known today!)

The rules:

For numbers 1 through 5, you earn 1 point for giving the name of the singer and 1 point for the name of the band (if they’re in a band).

For numbers 6 through 22, you earn 1 point for giving the full name of the actress, 1 point for giving the television show, and 1 point for ...