Things To Do For Two

With visions of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory dancing through our heads, we visited our local comic book stores for the first time. Though we aren’t comic book collectors by any means, we did find plenty of things to enjoy at both Strange Adventures and Quantum Frontier. The question is, does going to a comic book store make for a fun afternoon for two?

HE SAID:

My first experience at a comic book store happened when we were in New York a few years ago. I had nightmares of large, bespectacled, balding men in black trench coats quietly flipping the pages of comic books as they judged me from afar for not belonging in their store. In fact, the only comic books I ever read growing up were of the Archie variety, so I didn’t have high hopes for that particular outing.

While my expectations were low, my actual experience was quite fun. Not only did they have the expected comic books, but their shelves were also lined with lots of different TV and movie related products. They had everything from miniature Lego-like figures of the cast of 24, to a “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” toy.

Also, there were no large, bespectacled, balding men in black trench coats judging me from afar. They were judging me from about a foot and a half away…. I kid, I kid!

So when Susan suggested we check out our local comic book store (yes, you read that right), I was actually pretty excited. We knew of two comic book stores in the Halifax area, Strange Adventures and Quantum Frontier, so we checked them both out.

First up was Strange Adventures. Though it feels somewhat cave-like, it is overflowing with geeky goodness. From action figures, to t-shirts, to graphic novels, you name it and they have it. I was especially excited by their board game selection. There were a few I had played before (like Carcassonne and Risk) but many that I had never heard of.

Next we went to Quantum Frontier. It has a completely different feel than Strange Adventures. It is much more open, and bright – a more typical business space. It felt like they had less product to browse than Strange Adventures, but that could have simply been a result of the layout of the room.

I really enjoyed looking through the display cases of action figures, the geeky t-shirts, and all the other products at both stores. It helped that Susan seemed genuinely interested in it all. I had fun telling her who the different super heroes were, what the symbols on the clothing stood for, etc.

Is going to a comic book store the best date idea ever? Maybe not. If you don’t know Star Wars from Star Trek, or Carcassonne from Settlers of Catan, it might not be up your alley. Then again, sometimes it’s fun to try something you wouldn’t normally do. We enjoyed ourselves, but it didn’t take long for us to go through both stores. So if you decide to check out your local comic book store you should probably include other plans in your day.

In conclusion, I have a quick piece of advice for the guys who are reading this blog post:

Do not, I repeat DO NOT surprise the special lady in your life with an afternoon at a comic book store. Make sure she is on board 100% before you step through that door. If you do not heed my advice your outing will surely go down in flames.

SHE SAID:

I’m not a die hard comic book collector and I probably couldn’t name more than 10 comic book series, but I do appreciate the art. I was only ever into Archie as a kid and would often beg my mother to buy me the Double Digests on display in the grocery line.

When I suggested going for a little outing to our local comic book stores, it was mostly because they do tend to have cool little figurines and unique gifts you can buy for your comic book loving friends. Since Brad’s birthday is coming up in April I thought I would go to get any possible birthday gift ideas.

Out of the two stores we went to in Halifax (Strange Adventures on Sackville Street and Quantum Frontier on Robie Street) Strange Adventures definitely had more selection, but I liked the layout of Quantum Frontier better because it seemed more organized and less cramped. Both places have good selections of t-shirts, figurines and, of course, comic books.

If you’re indifferent to comic books it might be worth it to plan to go somewhere afterwards that you enjoy to balance out the fun. On the other hand, if you’re both really into comics, you could create your own story using your own photos and one of the multiple comic creator software programs, such as Comic Life, and give it as a gift. Comic Life offers a 30 day free trial, can be used on a PC or a Mac and is super easy to use.

Finally, if you’re still leery of stepping foot inside a comic book store, if you wait until May 1st, you can take part in Free Comic Book Day. You check out all the fun products and maybe even get something for free.

What do you think, are we crazy for going to a comic book store as a thing to do for two? Or do you think it could be a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon? Let us know in the comments.

SHE SAID:

Sundays tend to be a pretty laid back day in our household. Unlike Brad, I’m not the type of person that can be happy to stay inside all day, day after day. After 4 hours, I need out, even for just a simple drive.

Now, I know Sunday afternoon drives are an activity you’re not suppose to do until you’re at least 50, but they’re a great way to get out of the house for a bit and have a conversation, away from the distractions at home.

When Brad and I were dating we used to go for drives and he would always ask me where I wanted to go. I would secretly rage inside when he asked because I felt like I was being burdened with the pressure of deciding on a perfect destination. I know now that Brad really does mean what he says and didn’t care where we went and would’ve been happy to drive to the city dump. Alas, my inner rage was unwarranted. However, had I known about the coin toss drive then, I could’ve avoided the panicked rage altogether.

The coin toss drive is perfect for the indecisive couple especially. Literally every turn is decided for you. The only decision you have to make is when to end the game and go home. You can end up seeing streets and buildings you never knew existed, even though they’re close to home.

For our first try we decided to start flipping the coin right out of the driveway. It could be because of the luck of the flip or my less than stellar flipping technique, but we ended up on a long road to Eastern Passage with very few intersections. After coming to a dead end road, we decided to make our new starting point in the middle of the city. I thought this was a lot more fun because we were able to get into the game more.

The coin toss drive didn’t exactly rock my world, but it was a nice departure from our typical Sunday drive.

HE SAID:

When I was growing up, my family owned an RV. During the summers we would travel to various campgrounds around Canada and it was a lot of fun. One of my favourite memories of those days is when we used to set out for a day of driving with no specific destination in mind. Dad would drive until he got tired and then we would grab a map and try to find a campground near by to stay the night.

That idea of setting out on the road without a particular destination has stuck with me over the years, even when it comes to going for an afternoon drive around town. The problem with having no destination in mind is that you still need to decide to go somewhere, even if it’s turn by turn decision making. That’s why the coin toss drive seemed brilliant to me.

Before we hit the road we laid down a few ground rules, and I would suggest you do the same if you attempt this activity. First, we decided how often we would flip the coin. Would it be every time we came across a potential road to turn down, or only at major intersections? We decided that if we came to a stop sign, or a set of lights, and there was the option of going left or right, we would flip the coin. Heads we turned right, tails we turned left. In the cases where we hit an intersection that only allowed turns in one direction, we continued straight down the road. Another rule was that if a turn brought us into a parking lot or anything other than a normal road, we kept going.

There were two factors that we didn’t take into account before we left that would have been good to think through.

1. Water. We live near water, and lots of it. Any time you start driving alongside water it eliminates the option to turn in that direction. Stay away from water for maximum fun.
2. Susan cannot flip a coin to save her life. Seriously, it’s sad. Add the fact that we were in a moving vehicle and sometimes the coin flip had to be done quickly, and the result was a lot of dropped coins and panic.

I like the idea behind the coin toss drive, though in practice I was underwhelmed. I got frustrated by constantly hitting water and not being able to turn one way. The other problem was that sometimes you end up driving in circles. The key is in the starting point. If you start in a part of town far from water, with lots of intersections, it can be a lot of fun.

I think this would be a lot of fun to try in a city I’m less familiar with. Sure I’d be lost in no time, but that’s what maps and GPS are for. If you’re looking for a way to get out of the house but you don’t want to have a destination in mind, try the coin toss drive. It’s only as fun as you make it. We probably got more laughs out of Susan’s lack of coin tossing abilities than anything else, but everyone is different and will enjoy different things. Though it’s not on the top of my list of things I want to try again, I’m sure I’d give it a go if the conditions were right.

Let us know if you’ve ever tried the coin toss drive or if it seems like something you’d like to try.

Cost – The basic game costs around $30 depending on where you buy it, and expansion packs average around $20 each.

SHE SAID:

When some friends from England came home for Christmas, they mentioned getting together to play an exciting new game called Carcassonne. I’m usually up for learning a new game, so I agreed without hesitation. I had no idea what I was in for. This is the game that keeps growing and growing until you realize you’ve unleashed a monster.

The game’s playing space is made up of tiles that you lay down with each turn. It starts with a happy little river and then explodes into a booming medieval metropolis. It’s not like you’re leisurely building your own cute little city, though. No, no. That would be too easy and stress free. No, there has to be fire-breathing dragons and forts and catapults that destroy everything you’ve worked so hard to build for the past 4 hours. Oh yeah, did I mention you need a solid 4 hours at your disposal to complete this torturous escapade?

I know it sounds like I hate the game and, in part, I do, but I don’t think I hate its core concept. I think I would quite enjoy the basic game of building castles and fields and roads with my meeples (wooden playing pieces). However, there are numerous different expansion packs you can buy, such as the dragon, that wipe out everything in their path and leave you feeling bitter and angry. I’m not a very competitive person, so these add-ons did nothing good for me.

Carcassonne is great at its core for couples to waste away a rainy afternoon with and can conjure up some healthy competition. If you really get into the game you can purchase your own wooden meeples online and custom paint them (meeplepeople.com). If you have a large table, a competitive spirit and some time to waste Carcassonne is the game you’ve been waiting for.

HE SAID:

Board games are sneaky little things. They can bring people together for a fun evening, or they can tear friendships apart and lead to tears and rage. I had a bad feeling about Carcassonne right from the first time I saw it. I thought there was no way that a game built on cartoonish tiles and little wooden pieces called meeples could possibly be good. Well, I can honestly say I was equally right and wrong.

We played Carcassonne twice over the holidays, with two different groups of people. It can be played by as few as two players, but in order to learn all the complexities of the game, we joined some friends. The first time we played I got completely overwhelmed by all the rules, but by the second time I started to get the hang of it.

I get frustrated when I feel like winning or losing a game is largely out of my hands, and that is exactly how Carcassonne made me feel. At it’s most basic form, Carcassonne is about placing tiles that make up the playing surface. These tiles can be either castle, farm, or road. When you place a tile you have the option of placing a meeple on that tile and only that tile. That part of the game is fun. I like trying to complete a castle or a road and get the points before someone else takes it over. Where things go bad is when certain expansion packs get added into the game. All of a sudden there is a huge element of luck involved, which I didn’t enjoy at all.

Though I wasn’t crazy about the game, I did find one great way to enjoy it. There is a version you can buy on XBox Live (800 points) which I love. It breaks the game down to the essentials which is especially great for newbies like me.

A mixture of being confused by the rules, and frustrated by the element of luck keeps me from loving this game. But people seem to love it or hate it, so I recommend at least trying it to see what you think. You can buy the game at places like Chapters, and if you want more you can buy expansion packs online, or if you live in Halifax check out Strange Adventures.

If you’ve ever played Carcassonne we would love to hear what you think of it.