Nathan has been in the US of A on a family holiday with his biological family the last couple of weeks.

Before he left I had asked if he ended up in a Target, if by some fluke they had one in stock, could he get me a copy of the new D&D Starter Set Dragons of Stormwreck Isle.

Until I think October, this has been a Target exclusive.

Nath got home early last week, and when we finally managed to speak yesterday he said he’d managed to get it. He’d got the stores last copy. Which was a miracle really. I’d seen elsewhere that people were going to Target only to find it had sold out.

Yeah I know not much of a getting it early. Especially by the time I get to visit him. But still.

Nath and Josh (one of his older brothers) did buy some Pokémon cards over there. Much to the chagrin of other biological members of the family. I don’t get that attitude. But I’m glad they didn’t let it put them off buying something that brings them joy. There was a bit of education for Nath from his brother as he discovered how much some Pokémon cards can be worth. Do they play the game? No. I think they just enjoy the collecting side! Which is cool.

Nath nearly bought Alien Fate of the Nostromo from Target that also came with an Ash mini. When he finds out that in the base game Ash is just a standee not a mini he’s going to regret being talked out of it.

But at least I know what to get him for his birthday now. And I look forward to playing this with him.

Whilst we were chatting on the phone I was telling him about new games that I’d got. Sadly we won’t be playing Twilight Inscription together unless I take a folding table with me. His circular table just isn’t large enough. So it joins a growing list of games we can’t play on our visits.

However I do have new arrivals that we can play like Brazil Imperium. With its modular board the two player setup will fit easily.

Nath did request I bring Wingspan with me on my next visit as he really likes the game. That really does make me happy.

I love that we can share a love of board games.

Obviously we have more than that in common. We are both geeks. We like the same sort of movies and tv shows. We love video games. You get the idea.

However it’s when we play board games together that I feel we are getting some deeper more meaningful quality time together.

It’s just a shame his biological family don’t want to share in that sort of time with him. I think they’d all benefit from it. I know Kate sometimes tries. She even owns Wingspan (but hasn’t got to grips with it yet).

Anyway I’m hoping to get to see Nathan real soon. Assuming my rota for next couple of weeks doesn’t change.

I just wish we lived closer together.

But between visits I’ll take our phone calls.