The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

9 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,January 24,2019 w aterloochronicle.ca Spooky and beautiful, Betrayal at House on the Hill is my family's favou- rite new board game. Playing it is not an easy experience to describe, but Marc Quaglia of J&J Cards & Collectibles explained it to me like this: "If you can imagine it as a horror film in a board game format, you're pretty close," he said. It was Quaglia who rec- ommended Betrayal at House on the Hill, when I recently told him how much my family enjoys dice and card-based strate- gy games with exquisite artwork and riveting sto- ries. "Betrayal at House on the Hill has a fantastic, cin- ematic, fascinating narra- tive," he said. "It is phenom- enal, and you're going to have one of the greatest times ever." The back of the box reads: "Your fear will grow with each tile you place as you investigate a house filled with dreadful mon- sters and deadly secrets. As you brave your way through each unique room, you and the other explor- ers must rely on each other to survive the horrors that await. But beware: The house will turn one of you against the rest. It will take all of your strengths and skills to defeat the traitor and escape the Betrayal at House on the Hill." Creaky hallways, a bloody room and mysteri- ous mists that pour out from the walls are just some of the horrors that my family has encountered while playing the game. It's thrilling and suspenseful, and we've never faced the same game twice as the plot and objective are al- ways different. "For the first half of the game you're exploring and you're trying to discover new items while discussing with the other players things like, 'Do you really need that second shotgun?' Yes, of course I need it," Quaglia said with a laugh. "And at the halfway point there's the haunt. The haunt is the moment where both the good guys and the traitor realize what they have to do to win the game, but up until that point you're not really sure what you're doing in this haunted house. " You're just working your way through it and re- vealing the house tile by tile, when all of a sudden something bizarre and spectacular happens." After playing Betrayal at House on the Hill, I can't wait to return to the dread- ed house again and again, as I'm hooked on its eerie stories of ghosts, carnivo- rous ivy, and vicious swarms of firebats that feast on human blood. "It is unquestionably one of the prettiest, most el- egant, and easiest games to get into, with really cool stories," said Quaglia. "And I find with Betrayal at House on the Hill, you'll be talking about that one game - like the vampires lighting the house on fire - for years to come, which is a testament to the design." I recommend Betrayal at House on the Hill to any- one who loves co-operative games and spine-tingling tales of terror. Take a deep breath be- fore you enter, though, as it might be your last. Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and artist. Email is welcome at mar- shall_ward@hotmail.com. A GAME OF BETRAYAL SUSPENSEFUL AND THRILLING STRATEGY GAME IS HAUNTINGLY FUN, SAYS MARSHALL WARD MARSHALL WARD Column Games specialist Marc Quaglia of J&J Cards & Collectibles in Waterloo. Marshall Ward/Photo Every new year has the opportunity for a fresh start - I like to think that each day is a blank page of a 365-page book. With the holidays be- hind us, the businesses, residents and organiza- tions of uptown Waterloo have a chance to reflect on the great successes of 2018, and also the opportunities to make changes and im- provements. This past year saw a lot of transformation for uptown - some of it good, some of it difficult, all of it part of our evolution. From the business side of things, it is important to remember that, due to vari- ous different reasons, we said goodbye to nine busi- nesses in 2018 - and there are others who are still struggling after the last few years of construction. We also had reason to cele- brate, as we welcomed 28 new businesses to our up- town Waterloo family last year - with more on the way. Keeping an eye to the fu- ture: uptown Waterloo's up- dated streetscape, broad range of housing and diver- sity of businesses is gradu- ally - yet purposely - bring- ing more people to visit, live, work and play in up- town. Empty-nesters and families already living here are enjoying the unique lifestyle that uptown Water- loo offers, including excel- lent restaurants, walking trails, clothing stores, sa- lons and spas. Young pro- fessionals are continuing to visit and move here for our cool vibe, bike trails, trans- portation choices, nightlife and new condo develop- ments. Collectively, those of us who love uptown are grow- ing an important commu- nity legacy; this next year will see more changes for us as we further establish ourselves as a place to "be" in Waterloo Region. Like the trailblazers we are, we will meet them with an open, can-do attitude, mak- ing sure we stay true to what's important - caring neighbourhoods, thriving businesses and economy, healthy lifestyle options, beautiful and useful out- door spaces, innovative learning opportunities, im- pactful arts and civic en- gagement, sustainable de- velopment - among a few others. It's time to rediscover all that uptown Waterloo has to offer. There are still 352 pages left in our 2019 up- town Waterloo book - let's write a good one together! Uptown Myth Buster #1 We often hear from peo- ple that finding parking in uptown Waterloo is a chal- lenge: this is simply a mis- understanding. With our new streetscape, uptown Waterloo encourages more use of multi modes of trans- portation - no longer is the car "king" here. As a result, parking has changed in up- town. Many people think that they can only park at Waterloo Public Square or on King St.; however, there is still lots of free, two-hour parking at six different lots in uptown, especially along Regina St. at City Hall, Paul Puncher and on the corner of Bridgeport Rd. - all just minutes from store doors - just like if you were at a large mall. Check out this parking map for more info: https://uptownwater- loobia.com/uptown-park- ing. Tracy Van Kalsbeek is the executive director of the Uptown Waterloo Business Improvement Area (BIA) -- a committee of the City of Waterloo's council re- sponsible for the organiza- tion, physical improvement and economic development of the uptown business area. UPTOWN WILL BE THE PLACE TO 'BE' IN 2019 OPINION THE NEW YEAR BRINGS OPTIMISM FOR THE FUTURE OF UPTOWN WATERLOO, WRITES TRACY VAN KALSBEEK With the completion and function of the LED lighting structures in the uptown core, the first stage of the streetscape project is officially complete. The lights can be customized for different events. 1PUTTZ/Reddit TRACY VAN KALSBEEK Column WE CAN'T LET THE EZRA STREET PARTIES CONTINUE It's been several months since the last two parties on Ezra Avenue. The local tax payers have not forgot- ten about the ridiculous waste of our money, but I'm afraid the people in charge of our city couldn't care less about this situation. I would like to suggest some ways to remove the cost of all this nonsense from the local taxpayers. 1. City of Waterloo may- or and councillors pass a bylaw banning all street parties (if such a bylaw does not exist presently). 2. Presidents of both universities (Laurier and Waterloo) and Conestoga College find a place at one or more of these higher in- stitutions to hold such par- ties (University Stadium, Columbia Field or other suitable sites for example. Let the university police control the crowds, provide food and rink and event tents in case of nasty weather. 3. Waterloo Regional Po- lice - block Ezra Avenue with temporary fencing provided by the City of Wa- terloo on these dates. Fine anyone who steps onto the street and take them to jail for a little while (until their parents bail them out). 4. We also know our EMS and hospitals have to take care of the increase of drunks showing up at the emergency rooms. We can't let them die on the streets! We also know that all the parties are not local people, by the loads of folks bussed into town. The tax payers are fed up with providing a venue for uncontrolled students plus others. It's time our community leaders get off their butts and put an end to these free parties and protect the interests of the citizens of Waterloo. ROSS WAGNER, WATERLOO LETTER TO THE EDITOR