ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

Commencing operation . . .

Overview

As I am planning to write a lot more about gaming in the future, it makes sense to run through my life growing up as a gamer of sorts. While it was in later years that I became more committed to my martial arts and music, from the early days gaming, took up much of my time.

Past History

It began at the tender age of six years when my father purchased a PlayStation One and Game boy. I soon became subjected to amazing games such as Spyro, Medievil, Crash Bandicoot, Pokemon, Tekken, and a whole bunch of others. Actually, even before I was introduced to video games, I would enjoy playing with Lego and made up my own games using the Lego blocks and other toys I had.

As I entered and progressed through my teen years, my passion for gaming grew with me. I started branching out into Trading Card Games, such as Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! to the point where I started entering tournaments in these games. I travelled throughout the United Kingdom and even journeyed to Europe a couple of times to compete. Always the inventor, I created a unique flagship deck in Yu-Gi-Oh! known at the time as Overdark Dragon. I was the only one in the country and perhaps even the entire world to use the deck for a period of time. Truthfully though, my victories were far and few between, however, I did manage to win a regional tournament, only losing one match throughout the entire day on that particular occasion.

After graduating, on one of my many visits to catch up with my old university friends, I learned that one of them possessed a whole arsenal of board games. She must have had thirty-plus games, and it was mainly thanks to her that I discovered the joy of board games! Now I am not referring to Monopoly or Snakes and Ladders! I am talking games that are so detailed you can fully immerse yourself in the experience and environments that the games portray. From waging wars across the galaxy to claim the throne and become emperor (area control), to strategically gathering resources to build the largest settlement (worker placement games), to c-op games and everything in between! Board games with good friends make for a truly great experience.

Present Day

I eventually stepped away from Trading Card Games and in the present day, stick to playing board games with friends and video games mostly on my own but do dabble in local multiplayer. I am not a fan of online multiplayer, and I will get around to writing an article on that topic in due course. I usually meet up with friends on most weekends to play board games. At the time of writing, one of my group favourites is a Galactic Conquest game known as Twilight Imperium. The game is an incredible experience and comes highly recommended. I am pleased to say that on the past weekend, I finally won my first game with the Muaat, one of the worst races to play as. 

Future Aspirations

Will I go back into competitive gaming? Possibly in the distant future, but not anytime soon as my main sense of competition is through my Karate and Kickboxing. You know, though, as I get older, there will come a time where I will have to retire from competing in martial arts, probably by the age of forty, I suspect. Towards that time, I will be looking for a new outlet to compete in, and it may very well be that I take up a game to do so. If it were to be a board game, Star Wars Rebellion or Lords of Waterdeep would be good picks for me. Both are fantastic gaming experiences. Tekken or Crash Team Racing for a video game, perhaps. Thinking about it, Tekken would be quite funny, actually. Once I am too old to fight in the real world, I then move on to the virtual one! I am doubtful at this time that I would ever return to any Trading Card Games, though. I have found board games to be tonnes more fun when playing a game face to face with others.

Conclusion

If you found this post interesting, keep an eye out for future Chronicles of the Overlord posts to stay updated with my journey.

Mission complete – Overlord Drakow signing out.