I am a gamer. My path through gaming has spanned more than 20 years and over a variety of areas. 

The earliest memories I have are of video gaming. This has taken a backseat recently, but it does come out every once in a while with my son. I remember the Atari and playing learning games on PC. This was the days of DOS commands to run games off of floppy disks and swapping them out mid-game to continue. We were lucky enough to have an NES and a Sega Genesis shortly after. Flash forward a handful of systems and I am teaching my son Marvel vs. Capcom 3 on the XBox 360 and the updates classics such as Mario Kart and Smash Bros. on the Wii U. My fondness for PC games still is very prevalent as well.

I picked up card games before I could drive. My brother and I use to travel to a friend’s house to play Magic: The Gathering. They had gotten a box of cards from a family friend and it was only the beginning for us. This led to collecting cards from the Star Wars CCG, playing Pokemon pretty seriously, moving into MageKnight and back to Magic. I am skipping over a lot of card and miniature games that we collected as the list is extensive. To this day, I still play both paper Magic as well as am on Magic: Arena.

My first experience with board games was Dominion. It was a self-contained game, no boosters, no add-ons at the time. It is still one of my favorite games and has stood the test of time for me. I have a circle of friends who gather at times and try new games. I will introduce new players and have quick rounds of Love Letter. The mechanics of Bunny Kingdom and Kingdomino excite me and make me want to create something along those lines. My son makes up rules and learns valuable skills when we break out Super Dungeon Explore or King of Toyko.

Fantasy has always been a big part of my life. This has been true even in gaming. I have explored and created fantasy worlds in tabletop roleplaying games since my friend picked up the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Player’s guide. I have delved into systems and worlds ever since. Groups have come and went and there are always more places to explore.

All of the experiences, friendships, and inspiration that has occurred in these times have shaped the person I am. The father, the husband, the friend, and the writer am have been shaped by what I have been introduced to. I hope you enjoy the journey I bring you on with my gaming history and would love to hear about yours. Cheers.

-Vincent Hennings