![Links: Leacock on Pandemic in Today's World, Tales of Tricks Taken, and Nominees for the 2020 Origins Awards](https://cf.geekdo-images.com/o6g1nQGximzYOD-I5Y9mjQ__medium/img/LiwcLDzirWcAoZ7n8qfgNi-TnHE=/fit-in/500x500/filters:no_upscale():strip_icc()/pic3610628.jpg)
We need to cooperate, look after our older neighbors and find ways to work from home wherever possible. And we need to coordinate and share ideas for keeping the kids entertained, for helping others obtain hard-to-get supplies and for supporting health care workers on the front lines. It's going to take serious collective action and sacrifice to slow the spread of the virus. It's heartening to see organizations, individuals and some government leaders step up.
• Due to all the hubbub that's followed GAMA Expo 2020, I've only just now realized that I never posted the nominees for the 2020 Origins Awards, nominees that were revealed during that show. Titles released between Nov. 15, 2018 and Nov. 14, 2019 were eligible for consideration, with a jury of forty industry professionals determining the nominees, which are:
Board Game Category
—Cloudspire, Chip Theory Games
—Colors of Paris, Super Meeple
—Guardian's Call, Druid City Games / Skybound Games
—PARKS, Keymaster Games
—Prêt-à-Porter, Portal Games
—Red Alert: Space Fleet Warfare, PSC Games
—Tonari, IDW Games
—Tricky Tides, Gold Seal Games / Zafty Games
Card Game Category
—Cogs and Comissars, Atlas Games
—DC Deck-Building Game: Rebirth, Cryptozoic Entertainment
—Embers of Memory: A Throne of Glass Game, Osprey Games
—Kamigami Battles: River of Souls, Japanime Games
—Lockup: A Roll Player Tale, Thunderworks Games
—Shuffle Grand Prix, Bicycle
—UNDO: Cherry Blossom Festival, Pegasus Spiele
Family Games Category
—ClipCut Parks, Renegade Game Studios
—Code Stack! , AMIGO Games
—Dirty Pig, North Star Games
—Draftosaurus, Ankama Boardgames
—Finger Guns at High Noon, Indie Boards and Cards
Historical Game Category
—Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel (3rd edition), Academy Games
—Pandemic: Fall of Rome, Z-Man Games
—U-BOOT: The Board Game, Ares Games
—Watergate, Capstone Games
Miniatures Game Category
—Gaslands: Refuelled, Osprey Games
—Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid, Renegade Game Studios
—Reality's Edge: Cyberpunk Skirmish Rules, Osprey Games
—Riot Quest, Privateer Press
—Warcry, Games Workshop
These nominees can be viewed and demoed during Origins Game Fair 2020 — assuming that the show takes place, of course — with the winner of each category being determined by The Academy of Adventure Gaming and Arts and announced on June 20, 2020. Origins attendees can vote for their "fan favorite" in each category through the Origins Game Fair app during the show, and GAMA members will vote upon the "Game of the Year" via a digital survey.
• In January 2020 on Opinionated Gamers, James Nathan recounted the events (from his perspective) of T6, a.k.a. "That Terrific Trick-Taking Thing Two", during which he played dozens of trick-taking games, including many Japanese releases and older titles that few people will have on their "must play" lists. An excerpt:
That's how I knew I wanted to try Stichling. The game is played over 3 rounds, and in each round the players get 3 cards each that will grant points based on the modulus of how many tricks they win. That is, you arrange the cards in a certain order, and when you win one trick, you flip over the first card. If you win a second, you flip over the second card, and the first goes face down. The same process happens with the third trick, but for the fourth, you'll flip the third card face down, and the first will be face up again.
The game can have up to 4 simultaneous tricks, and for much of the game, you cannot not follow suit. That is, if you don't have a purple card, you can't play a green card to a purple trick if there is another trick available to play it to, or you have room to start a new one. Players use a wooden disc in their color to mark tricks they're winning, but otherwise don't track who played which card. Tricks resolve when 4 cards have been played, and as there's no bookkeeping of who played which card, it may be that one player contributed more than one or even all of the cards to a single trick.