Oct 2
Steve's House.
Attendees (6): Steve, Warren, Sharon, Michael, Adam, and Troy
Discretion
Discretion was an interesting game that was designed back in the late 70's. It has some clever mechanics involving how players place their developments but the game also has a ton of randomness. Players can try to prepare for it but sometimes a "death spiral" becomes inevitable and bankruptcy ensues.
We had a long game of discretion where only Sharon, Troy, and I remained until the end. Steve, Warren, and Adam went bankrupt through various means during the game. Sharon pulled away at the end and I was lucky to finish with any cash and avoid bankruptcy. Final scores: Sharon $5,850k; Troy $2,870k, and Michael $1,360k.
Oct 16
Our House.
Attendees (11): Sharon, Warren, Andy, David, Heather, Barbara, Chris, Michael, Troy, Matt, and Steve.
Pirate's Cove
Final: Sharon (44), Andy (36), David (23), and Warren (19).
Amun Re
Heather (49), Barbara (45), and Andrew (43)
Age of Empires III
This was my first time to play this highly rated game. It has worker placement like Caylus and area control plus some other elements that I had played before in various games all combined into one well-themed colonization game. I particularly likes the multiple strategies that the game offers allowing players to go for different VP elements. The game was a little lengthy but it was also was our first game and it kept me engaged throughout. I ended up following a heavy money strategy and leveraged my Sugar trade tiles to good effect, but ultimately it was Chris's exploration strategy that pulled out the victory.
Final Score: Chris (90), Michael (86), Matt (67), Troy(59), and Steve (44).
Caylus
A close 5 player game of Caylus.
Final Scores: Andrew (68), Warren (59), Sharon (57), David (55), and Andy (49).
Oct 20
David's House.
David hosted a Saturday game day (with Halloween theme) that I was able to make and I brought my 6 yr old Matthew to attend. (He got to play boardgames and video games)
Attendees (9): Mary Ellen, David, Sharon, Troy, Michael, Cheryl, Warren, Andy, and Matthew
Cowboys: The Way of the Gun
This was a game that David wanted to try out. We played the OK Coral scenario. The game is interesting thematically and other scenarios probably flesh it out more. It attempts to re-create gun fight situations but ultimately is a dice rolling game with only a little strategy. On the other hand, it didn't take long and once familiar with the rules it might be a fun filler
Give Me the Brain
This is a light card game about Zombies running a fast food franchise and they only have one brain to use... humorous but only a filler. I was lucky to be sitting next to Mary Ellen when we switched hands and I was able to go out for the win.
Fearsome Floors
This is a humorous game where players try to get across the dungeon without getting eaten by the Monster. It requires luck and timing along with some logic skills to succeed. When Andy arrived he took over for Cheryl and together they were able to pull out the victory.
Last Night on Earth
This was another game that David wanted to get to the table and it fit in perfectly to close out the night of monster themed games. This one has a ton of theme and really plays like a "B" zombie flick. Players play various characters and pickup equipment and weapons to fight off a bunch of brain-eating zombies. We played the intro-scenario Kill the Zombies! and it was okay but the other scenarios looked to add a lot more to the game. It turned out that the heroes were able to kill 15 Zombies in time...
Oct 23
David's House
Attendees(6): Matt, Andy, Mary Ellen, David, Andrew, and Michael
Last Night on Earth x2
We played two more games of Last Night on Earth.
The first game was the Defend the Manor House scenario where the heroes tried to defend the house in the middle of the board from the invading zombies. Jake (played by Matt) tried to lure many of the zombies to him so he could blow them up with dynamite but he was able to kill many of them without blowing himself up, Sheriff Anderson (played by Andy) shot several zombies too, but ultimately the female characters (Becky, Jenny, and Sally) were zombie food and this was too much for the heroes.
The 2nd game was closer as the heroes tried to find the keys and gasoline to start an old pick-up truck and escape from the zombies. Johnny (Andy) and Father Joseph (me) killed 9 zombies combined but once again Becky, Sally, and Jenny got eaten by Zombies and Sheriff Anderson too. Even though Father Joseph, Jake, and Johnny were going to get away once 4 heroes fall to the zombies then it is a zombie victory.
The game was much more enjoyable with the scenarios since they added the "plot" to the game and made decisions seem more meaningful. All in all, a fun game with a great theme.
Oct 26
David's House
Attendees(2): David and Michael
Twilight Struggle
I went over to David's to play Twilight Struggle. Twilight Struggle is a card-driven game about the Cold War between the USA and Soviet Russia.
We got in most of one game and then completed most of a 2nd game. In both games one side got ahead and seemed to be in control of most of the board. We missed up several rules in the first game but it was a lot of fun. This game really forces players to make hard decisions to try an minimize the damage that their opponent will do to them. The theme is well crafted and the tactical decisions abound without feeling "stale" and without being simply a move/counter type of game. I would definitely play it again even though the game took us a lot of time to play (about 3+ hrs). In both games I played the US and David won game one while I won game two.
Oct 30
David's House
Attendees (7): David, Cheryl, Troy, Sharon, Adam, Warren, and Michael
Fury of Dracula
This was a game that I have wanted to play for some time. Andrew was unable to make it but he had just bought this game and loaned it to me so we could play it on Halloween Eve (thanks Andrew!). It is a great deduction/hunt game that oozes with theme. I played Dracula while Cheryl, Sharon, David, and Troy played the 4 hunters. Once they got on my trail, they were impossible to shake. I tried turning into a Wolf and was attacked by David (Van Helsing). He wounded me badly but I escaped out to Sea. Then I was hounded after arriving back on land but I got lucky with a trap. Nina (Troy) came after me but I had an event card that allowed my new vampire to automatically "bite" Nina and this gave me 2 pts toward victory! I had to only hold out for a few turns before my army of vampires became too strong for the humans to stop...bwha ha ha! Anyway, it was a fun game and I was very lucky to pull out the victory as the heroes seemed to have me cornered at every move. It seemed very difficult to get any hidden cards into the catacombs and I wasn't able to get even one during our first game.
Nov 6
Troy's House
Attendees (5): Troy, Michael, Steve, Andrew, and Adam
Escalation!
A humorous and light card game from Reiner Knizia. This game was okay but there are a lot of other card games that I would prefer. It is a light filler and it does this job well.
Scores (low is better): Troy (28), Michael (34), Adam (48), Andrew (74), and Steve (83).
Princes of Florence
I really want to get this one to the table more often. It has so many interesting elements and I haven't figured out the optimum strategy yet. In this one, I ended up with 3 builders and actually filled almost my whole board with tiles (something I hadn't done previously), however Andrew and Adam had superior strategies and they racked up bonus Prestige at the end.
Final Scores: Troy (42), Steve (44), Michael (53), Andrew (62), and Adam (63).
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