The PPG Team
Meet the Purple Phoenix Games Team!
Josh Hahn – I started playing games as a young kid, ya know…Ye Old’ Monopoly and a little Dungeons & Dragons. Years later, I recall an occasion where I was hanging out with some friends, this included my all time BFF Travis Lopez(see below). He said to me, “Hey, do you wanna check out my board game collection?” I said, “Collection?, aren’t there only like 5 adult aged board games in existence, lol? You know, Monopoly, Clue, Stratego, Risk! Those are what came to mind. Travis then proceeded to open up his office closet and revealed his then small board game collection. (in all actuality it was quite extensive to me). At that very moment I knew I was in trouble. If you know me, then you know I have a very creative and inquisitive mind.
I was intrigued by how this new board game trend could bring more time with friends, AND help me to spend better quality time with my family. It was something fun AND collectible for me to get into. Fast forward 5 years…403 board games later…..well, you know the rest.
I have found that I typically gravitate toward a solid 2-player game such as Onitama, Jaipur, or Star Realms if I am down for a quick game and am not thinking about it. As far as theme, total SPACE junky. I love travelling around discovering planets. I have yet to find a board game that REALLY gives the true feeling of exploration and discovery. Many games in the genre tend to focus more on the ship building side. I want to see a Legacy game that has an undiscovered planet and as you play through you reveal more and more of what the planet has to offer.
My favorite category is by far the worker placement genre. If I had just a few games in my collection, they would be Viticulture, Scoville, or Champions of Midgard. With that said though, T.I.M.E. Stories has to be one of my all time favorite games to play with a group. I think I have replayed the 1st scenario at least 10 times and I am still not bored nor feel like I have experienced the entire breadth of the scenario.
Travis Lopez – I have been board gaming all my life, but serious hobby gaming since Winter 2011. There was a game store that was temporarily in our mall and we just walked in once and spoke with the owner. I asked for suggestions and he threw three at me: Munchkin, Dominion, Colosseum. Of course, as a noob gamer I went for Munchkin. And so began my steady plummet into the hobby.
I am pretty sure I do not like War Games (prove me wrong), but I’m good with everything else. As for theme, I’m a sucker for superheroes. I also like a good fantasy theme, but I’m always on the lookout for new and fresh themes.
I love love love deck building. I’m not that great at it, but I love the idea of it. I also love exploration. Like, true exploration. I am very much looking forward to my plays of The 7th Continent for this very reason!
To check out my expanded profile, click this text and see my personal articles about opinions on all kinds of stuff from my Top 10 List, my NOT Top 10 List, Kickstarter, Hidden Gems, and lots more will be added in time.
I also review games, and admin an orb on SmashBomb.com so come check me out there!
Laura Rodriguez – I have played board games my entire life, but I really got serious into the hobby almost 5 years ago now! I was introduced to modern board gaming by Travis, and I distinctly remember that my first experience was playing Saboteur because I somehow ended up being the saboteur EVERY SINGLE TIME. Quite an introduction, eh? We went on to play several more games over the course of that afternoon, but Saboteur will always hold a special (?) place in my heart because of that experience.
I am always down for a game involving superheroes or any type of sci-fi/fantasy, but honestly, I am not too picky when it comes to themes. Some of my favorite mechanics are card drafting, deck building, or set collection. Dice rolling is most definitely not my forte, but I enjoy games with a decent dice-rolling element.
To check out my expanded profile and read more of my personal thoughts, click here!