Mr. Smart Returns

Many of you know that our family is moving to Russia but very few lucky friends have met our comrade Mr. Smart. We first met Mr. Smart in 2017 when Simon’s aunt Asya gave him to the kids. He was born in Belarus (just like Simon) and immigrated first to Chicago and then to Portland (also just like Simon). When we told the kids that we would be living abroad, they were insistent that he accompany us on our adventures.

Mr. Smart travels lightly with just his spoon, basket hat, straw shoes (lapti), ladybug nose, and a duty-free bottle of horsey. We on the other hand, have loaded up 6 giant duffles, 2 suitcases, and a variety of carry-on bags, as well as two big boxes that will be shipped separately. Since our apartment is fully furnished, we are lugging mostly clothes, shoes, winter gear, books, toys, and other necessities, like 60+ pounds of tabletop board games. Simon would like me to note that he tetrissed the 35 games into 18 boxes, matryoshka-style. I am sure all our meeples, dice, hexes, and chits may raise some curious eyebrows as our luggage passes through customs.

Tonight we are off on our red-eye to JFK followed by a 9+ hour flight to Moscow and then a quick flight to Kazan. At least that’s the plan…our first flight is delayed, so we are hanging at the Portland Airport for now.

до свидания портланд!

16 thoughts on “Mr. Smart Returns”

  3. Have a great trip! Excited to read about all of Mr. Smart’s adventures. I’m dying to know which board games made the trip!

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    1. Here’s the list. Preference (in some cases) was given to the size of the box and 2 player friendly games, as well as covering a variety of game mechanisms.

      Great Western Trail (with rails to the north)
      Targi
      Fairy Tale
      Honshu
      Fox in the forest
      Star realms
      Oh my goods
      Castles of burgundy
      Jaipur
      The mind
      7 wonders duel
      Morels
      Gan schon clever
      Happy salmon
      Roll player (with expansion)
      Herbaceous
      Hanamikoji
      Clans of Caledonia
      Carpe diem
      Codenames
      Coloretto
      Bora Bora
      Santa Maria
      El Dorado (with expansion)
      Bruges
      Lorenzo il Magnifico
      Isle of Skye
      Songbirds
      Decrypto
      Azul
      Incan Gold
      Mice and Mystics
      Rajas of the Ganges
      Voyages of Marco Polo
      Altiplano

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  12. I would love to travel with Mr. Smart. Really sorry you had to jettison/store so many games. This will be your opportunity to discover which games are truly essential. You can play a lot of games with just a deck of cards… I hope you guys have a fabulous time in Russia. Safe travels!

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