This past Saturday, I snuck away for a few hours to hit up the grand opening Limited Run Games’s brick-and-mortar store in Cary, NC. While I was there, I picked up a copy of Return of the Obra-Dinn, one of my “pandemic games” and one of the best gaming experiences I’ve had in recent years. You take on the role of an insurance claims adjuster (stay with me here) who has to investigate the fate of a missing ship that mysteriously shows back up in port, its crew members dead or lost.
The reason I bring it up is that the copy I bought also included the soundtrack, which is full of music that evokes images of maritime peril and adventure. When I put it on in the car this morning, Miles immediately protested. Then, after about a minute, he asked me, “Daddy…what this song about?”
And so I explained the game to him, recounting in pretty broad strokes the crew, the mysterious jewel they find, and the dangers they face on the open sea, from mermaids, to Lovecraftian beasts, to each other. I’m not sure he followed all of it, but he did ask for more details with every new track that came on, and later asked me to retell the story again.
The point is I was able to successfully avoid listening to PAW Patrol music this morning. Big win.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 