Geek Node News: Introducing PartyPanda5 to the Geek Node Family!

Published April 1, 2016

Hi! My name is PartyPanda5, also known as “Andrea” or “Andi” in the physical realm. I’m 22 years old and I’m currently studying Game Design at the University of the Witwatersrand. I’m in my 4th year of studying now, so I might know a thing or two about games. I’m also a Game Guide for BoardGamesSA and I have been teaching all kinds of people how to play games for about 2 years now. If you’d like to see some of my writing, as well as some of the games I’ve made, click here .

Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always enjoyed playing games – with my teddy bear in my lap and a controller in my hands, I’d love to kick my brother’s butt. It was the Sega Saturn that lured me into the world of gaming and ever since then, I’ve explored many dark and dangerous dungeons, rescued countless of dames in distress and fought off the feistiest fiends that games have to offer. Throughout my life, games have always been one of the most important things to me.

As I have grown up, so has the game industry and the quality of games that are being produced. The variety of games that are available today is almost overwhelming and each one comes with its own positives and negatives. Of course, there are a few games that stand out for me – particularly narrative-based ones. The Telltale Games, Bethesda and Lionhead Studios are just a few fantastic game developing companies that have made some of the best storytelling games so far. These include The Walking Dead series, the Elder Scrolls series and, of course, Fable – The Lost Chapters respectively. All these games tell stories that transport us from this world into a new and enchanted land where we can be the hero of the story. That’s why writing for games is a dream of mine. I have always loved to tell stories. I write about anything that comes to mind – whether it’s a short story, a hero’s journey, an academic essay or just something that is close to me.

However, I’ve not just delved into the digital side of games – I love analogue games too. There is something about the way that board games bring people together, as well as the tangibility of the different pieces, that make playing a board game so unique and different to digital games. Again, there are a few board games that really stand out to me: Dungeon Fighter, Gravwell, Steam Park, Munchkin and Ultimate Werewolf are just a few of my favourite board games that bring friends and families together. Whether it’s a board game, a card game or a physical game, there’s always something to say about them and that’s where I come in.

On Geek Node’s lovely website, I will be writing reviews and telling you about all different kinds of board games – the good, the bad and the vast amount of tactile pieces that come with it. I’ll tell you what I think of the game and how to play it – from there, you can write back to me and tell me what your thoughts are.

I am so excited to start writing reviews about board games and interacting with my fellow passionate board gamers. I’m sure there will be plenty of fantastic discussions to follow and a copious amount of geeking out.

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PartyPanda5

Tabletop Author at Geek Node

Andrea is a game designer with a passion for creative writing as well as cats. She is in her 4th year of study at Wits and is all about that academic life. Andrea spends the majority of her time trying to balance out playing really cool games and trying to make really cool games.