(Editor’s Note: A�There was supposed to be aA�weekly series this month in honor of Thanksgiving and to fight, just a bit, against what has been called Christmas creep. A�As with most things around here, that plan has been completely ignored in favor of no plan. A�Hey, it’s part of our charm.)

A couple of weeks ago, I posted an article about the things that made me thankful. A�A�The list was incomplete and not only because I refrained from most mention of the usual reasons to be thankful. A�If I truly listed everything for which I’m thankful, it would come in much longer than the usual 1000-1500 word articles that I usually write. A�With more and more pages pushing video content, and the slow death of the written word as most recently evidenced by ESPN killing Grantland, I should probably refrain from such marathon articles. A�Don’t worry, I won’t. A�Because YOLO. A�Are the kids still saying YOLO? A�I really need to research popular culture more.

Nevertheless, I did want to take a stand against “Christmas creep” this month and it has proven difficult to come up with topics for this particular holiday. A�Unlike Halloween or Christmas, there aren’t a ton of Thanksgiving movies. A�You decorate mostly in a generic Harvest theme like you would if you don’t want to go overboard for Halloween like we did this year. A�I’m not desperate enough yet to do a Food Channel style “Top 15 sides or deserts”…yet. A�Stay tuned. A�It might be coming over the next few days. A�There’s just not a lot that defines this holiday other than the “thankful” bit.

One of the things that I mentioned in the previous article that I’ve been thinking about is the bit about this being a good time to be a gamer. A�The article didn’t specifically talk about games, but I’m narrowing the focus for this article. A�My nerd cred isn’t as deep as it used to be. A�I don’t read comics monthly. A�I’ve all but given up on zombies. A�All I have left is games. A�In keeping with the spirit, I present some of the reasons that I’m thankful to be a gamer.

• I will start with the obvious. A�There are so many different types of games available and so many different games available of each of those types. A�Just this year, I’ve discovered Dicemasters and Heroclix on the tabletop, too many free to play games to mention via Steam and mbile (some that I haven’t even played yet), and Fallout 3 on the XBox 360.
• I know that some of you will disagree with this bullet point. A�Two of my closest gaming friendsA�do, but it is finally time. A�Given my near allergic reaction to the thought of facing Black Friday crowds, I’m not sure how to do it, but I really want one of the Wii U bundles. A�I know. A�Wii U sucks. A�It barely even gets mentioned in the fanboy console wars. A�Just another terrible Nintendo gimmick with no real games. A�Blah, blah, blah. A�Liam and I are unapologetic Nintenerds, though, and the Wii U is one gimmick that has us both excited.

• Times are especially great for cheap gamers. A�I already mentioned the F2P and Freemium movement. A�Again, you may have different attitudes about those games, but I love the idea. A�Putting our differences aside, I think that we can all agree that finally getting a PS3 because they are so cheap is a great idea.
• Fallout 4 and Star Wars Battlefront. A�I haven’t played either but I’m completely obsessed with both. A�The announcement of Fallout 4 had me more excited than any other game except for Portal 3 if it ever happens. A�Star Wars wasn’t even on my radar until I started hearing reports from people that it felt like playing the movies. A�Now, both of the games have me thinking that I need to find a way to get a PS4 instead of a 3.

• Gaming led me to create this web page and other accounts as a result. A�It hasn’t had the reach that I hoped it would, but I’m having fun. A�Similar to my other writing, hopefully people discover and enjoy it.
• Many of the games that I play have given me something else to share with my kids. A�Likewise, they discover and share games with me on a regular basis.
• Still other games have rekindled old friendships, opened up aspects of friendships never considered, and have the potential to open up entirely new friendships.
• Overall, as I mentioned, this is a great time to be a gamer. A�There are just so many games of all types that bring together family and friends.