Mad Scientist University

Game nights.  Let's talk about them.  Here are a few facts that you may or may not know about game nights:

• They are awesome
• I love them
• They are cheap and affordable
• When it's winter in Wisconsin, going out in the cold sucks
• They become exponentially more awesome with friends
• The right game can be played a million times and never be the same
• I really just wanted a prime number of bullets

With those indisputable facts now established, I figured I'd offer some advice on bullet number 6, the right game.  There are certain games we have all heard of before: Monopoly, Scrabble, Uno.  While all those games are fun, they are classics, they aren't something new.  Another very popular game is Apples to Apples.  Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good game of Apples to Apples every now and then.  However, everyone knows Apples to Apples and you can find the game anywhere.  I'm pretty sure the crazy homeless guy on the corner knows about Apples to Apples.  He has a copy.  Of course it's his poop box, but that's neither here nor there.

That's why I want to present you with Mad Scientist University!  It's Apples to Apples meets Albert Eintstein after a few too many drinks.  The game is simple: Each turn a different player is the Teaching Assistant TA at Mad Scientist University.  They hand out materials (not literally, just a card with an "unstable ingredient") for the other players to use, then gives them an assignment and tells them to complete the assignment with the materials they were given.  After being given a short amount of time, they present their ideas to the TA and the TA then chooses who's idea was best.  Here's the thing, "best" can be whatever the TA decides.  Most plausible, whatever makes the TA laugh, whichever player offers the best bribe.  (Seriously, it's on the box that the TA can do this.)  The player who earns a predetermined number of assignment cards first, wins.  So here's an example of a round:

Assignment: Fly to the Moon
Alex's Material: Lawyers "I would create a machine that uses the bullshit Lawyers are full of to fly to the moon"
Kate's Material: Squirrels "In Rocky and Bullwinkle, Rocky was a flying squirrel.  I'd take him hostage and make him fly me to the moon"
Melissa's Material: Pirates "Umm...I have pirates.  Specifically Jack Sparrow.  As he is the best captain ever and captains the Black Pearl, he would be able to captain us to the moon"
Carl's Material: Rubber Chicken "Seriously? Rubber chicken?  Umm, I guess I would string multiple rubber chickens together and create a giant rubber chicken band and launch myself to the moon that way"
TA decides that Carl gets the assignment card because he used the word chicken three times in his plan.  (If I was TA I would honestly decide like this)

As you get the hang of the game more and more, the TA can hand out multiple materials to each player, and give random criteria the player must follow when trying to complete the assignment.  I have made people try to fly to the moon with seven ingredients, all the while describing it to me in a Boston Accent.  By the end of the night, the ideas are more and more ridiculous and the laughter grows exponentially louder (especially if an adult beverage is partaken in while playing) as people try harder and harder to get the TA's approval and ultimately win Mad Scientist University.  So what are you doing still reading this?  Get off your butt and go get the game!  

Introducing Alex & Kate

Hi!  We just wanted to use our first posting to introduce ourselves a little so you could get to know the authors.  We are a couple in their 20's living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  We are both recent college graduates from Cardinal Stritch University.  That being the case, we are poor (thanks Cardinal Stritch!), but we still enjoy life.  We do that through a variety of avenues, whether it be hosting game nights, taking advantage of outings in Milwaukee, partaking in a delicious meal (or 20), or however we can find ways to have a good time within our budget. Now, we don't mean to brag, but we've become pretty damn good at doing this.  Seriously, we are probably number 1 in the country at doing this.  It is a gift of ours.  And, we have decided it is a gift of ours we want to share with the world.  Well, what better way to share our gift with the world then the internet?  That magical collection of tubes that connects us all via facebook, twitter, google +, or if you real old school, friendster!

So, now you know we want to share our gift of enjoying life via a blog.  How do we plan on doing that you ask?  (If you haven't asked yourselves that yet, please take a moment to do so now.  Done it yet?  How 'bout now?  Good!)  We're glad you asked!  We want to use our blog to talk about games that we enjoy and that are good for game nights.  Also, as a young couple in Milwaukee, we want to share great ideas for couples so you the reader, can go out on legendary dates in Milwaukee without breaking the bank.  Different people have different interests, but everyone has to eat.  Accordingly, we thought this blog might also be a useful place to share our journey into the world of learning to cook and where the good places are to go out to eat.  (mmmm...food *drool*)  In addition, we wanted to offer our opinions and suggestions on activities around Milwaukee, whether it be a play, the museum, maybe the art museum has a cool exhibit, or maybe there is just something really cool going on.  Whatever it is, we wanted to have a central place for you to go to learn about it!  Another thing we noticed is we are coming to our point in our lives where our friends and families our pushing out babies left and right.  When shopping for gifts, we noticed there are lots of gift ideas for babies from mom, dad, grandma and grandpa.  Even aunties have gift ideas out there.  What there aren't a lot of are gift ideas for uncles.  That being the case, we wanted to help you become the most awesome uncle you can be! Alex has 7 nephews and nieces now and so he has had some practice at being an awesome uncle.  Finally, we wanted to just share miscellaneous things that may not fit anywhere else.  Maybe there is interesting news about our area or maybe we just thought of something you, our loyal readers, might find interesting.  Whatever it is, we can share it here.

Now, we just shared a lot with you.  You are probably stunned.  No, it was not Harry Potter stunning you with a stupefy spell.  That stunned feeling you have is because of the awesomeness that you are going to experience while reading our blog.  And it's okay, it's to be expected.  So shake off that stunned feeling and prepare yourself to read and learn about a ton of really cool things, right here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.