Attendees (12): Warren, Sharon, Steve, Eileen, Adam, Joel, Andy, Troy, Tamara, Sarah (Tamara's daughter), Frederick, and Matt.
We gathered at Warren and Sharon's house for our weekly gaming fix.
Caylus Magna Carta
This was Caylus "the card game" and I was interested in trying it out. Matt, Sharon, and Troy had all played Caylus last week and we were all ready to give this version a go. It has most of the standard elements of Caylus but with some variations that make it a different game. One big advantage of the card game version is that it takes less time to play. We probably took longer since we all had to learn it from scratch but if you have played Caylus then most of this game will be easy to digest.
Since VP's are only calculated at the end the effect of placing workers on another player's building allows that player a small benefit. Another interesting twist is that the passing order determines both the order for moving the provost and the order for building in the Castle. In our game Deniers (money) were at a premium so Matt and I leveraged Sharon and Troy's Lawyer buildings to transform our buildings into Residences and earn additional income each round. Matt focused on grabbing VPs in the castle while I got a lot of Gold to use in Prestige buidlings. It was a close game but Matt held off Troy for the victory.
Final: Matt (36), Troy (32), Michael (29), and Sharon (26).
I enjoyed the game and would play it again but I still prefer the original. The advantages of a shorter game with different strategies make Caylus Magna Carta a game that I would enjoy playing when I'm in the mood for Caylus but don't have the time for the full game.
Around the World in 80 Days
They had a large 6 player race around the world and everyone finished in over 80 days! Tamara was the winner and Joel, Andy, Steve, Warren, and Sarah finished behind her.
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Adam won against Eileen in this abstract tile placement game.
Transamerica
Adam won against Eileen and Frederick in this fun filler where players race to connect 5 cities the fastest. We have started teaching my 5 yr old this game and he is doing well at recognizing the cities based on the first few letters. In my opinion, this is still a great gateway game since there is no way to "mess up" an opponent and everyone has a decent chance at winning. It is still light but it can be very fun with kids (and it teaches them US geography).
Niagara
Tamara, Warren, Matt, and Sarah played. Sarah finished in 2nd place while everyone else finished in a 3 way tie for first. This is another game that I enjoy playing with the kids. We use the Diamond Joe expansion to give the kids a slight benefit (handicap for us) so that games stay pretty close.
Shark
This was an interesting stock market game that Adam wanted to play. Dice rolls help determine which companies are doing well but players also get to place markers that can allow companies to grow and increase their stock values. Players can also place markers so that larger corporations can destroy smaller ones and reduce the value of the smaller company's stocks. This makes for an added twist where you want to invest in companies that are doing well but so does everyone else so there isn't much net benefit and the cost of getting in late is high. I think that Shark is an interesting game and I would be willing to try it again especially after we ironed out some of the rule questions thanks to Joel.
Final: Adam won with $676k, followed by Joel ($515k), Michael ($425k), and Eileen ($395k).
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Session Report July 17, 2007
Attendees (10): Matt, Jaimie, Warren, Sharon, Steve, David, Danielle, Troy, Barbara, and Michael
I asked Sharon to bring it over so we could play this one again. Troy and Steve joined us for a 4 player game. I haven't really figured out which people to plan on hiring during the various days or how to incorporate them into a strategy but I've certainly got a grasp on the basic tactics. It seems that early plays on the bank and the one that gives you cubes can give you some early advantages and these cubes can be transfered to the Hospital or the Park later to control rats or provide more victory points. I'm not convinced that Notre Dame is worth the effort but if everyone passes it then one player stands to gain a lot. The region that accumulates victory points and the one that has the most options seem to be the least useful. The Park is very strong provided that you can maintain enough cubes, money, and rat control to reap its VP benefits.
Warren taught this one to Danielle and Steve, David, and Barbara joined them. They played it on the US board. This is one of my favorite games but I've played it quite a bit this year already. I am excited about the new deck of Power Plants that is coming out this fall as I have been very pleased with all the expansion boards and variants. This game was close and Warren pushed it to the end game a turn early in hopes of pulling out the victory, unfortunately for him Danielle had the cash to connect to more cities. Final: Daniell 14, Steve 13 ($16), Warren 13 ($14), Barbara 13 ($7), and David 9 with a lot of cash.
Troy had never played Caylus and so we played a 5 player game while the others played Power Grid. I went down the Money and VP track this time and built a lot in the Castle to earn even more favors. This was the only game I have played where every single space in the Castle was occupied at the end of the game. Also, Troy built 6 times in the castle on the final turn. Final Scores: Michael 75, Sharon 56, Troy 50, Jaimie 50, and Matt 47.
We gathered at our house for Tuesday night gaming.
Barbara, Jaimie, Matt, and David played a very fast game of Settlers. Apparently, 5 was a popular number on the dice and Matt had some good settlements on 5's...
Final: Matt 10, Barbara 7, David 4, and Jaimie 2.
I asked Sharon to bring it over so we could play this one again. Troy and Steve joined us for a 4 player game. I haven't really figured out which people to plan on hiring during the various days or how to incorporate them into a strategy but I've certainly got a grasp on the basic tactics. It seems that early plays on the bank and the one that gives you cubes can give you some early advantages and these cubes can be transfered to the Hospital or the Park later to control rats or provide more victory points. I'm not convinced that Notre Dame is worth the effort but if everyone passes it then one player stands to gain a lot. The region that accumulates victory points and the one that has the most options seem to be the least useful. The Park is very strong provided that you can maintain enough cubes, money, and rat control to reap its VP benefits.This was Troy's first time playing it and he did very well. Troy got two influence markers in the Park on the first round and kept them there for the game. I was fortunate to rack up a bunch of late VPs with the VP region + Park and was able to squeek out the victory. Final: Michael 58, Troy 54, Steve 41, and Sharon 27.
Warren taught Daneille this game while they waited on Settlers and Notre Dame to finish.
Warren pulled out a victory in this amusing and clever card game. Final: Warren 85, Barbara 76, and Danielle 74.
David taught Matt and Jamie this game while they had a few minutes after their quick Settlers game. Scores: Matt 8, Jaimie 7, and David 5 (they didn't play a complete game just a few rounds).
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Warren taught this one to Danielle and Steve, David, and Barbara joined them. They played it on the US board. This is one of my favorite games but I've played it quite a bit this year already. I am excited about the new deck of Power Plants that is coming out this fall as I have been very pleased with all the expansion boards and variants. This game was close and Warren pushed it to the end game a turn early in hopes of pulling out the victory, unfortunately for him Danielle had the cash to connect to more cities. Final: Daniell 14, Steve 13 ($16), Warren 13 ($14), Barbara 13 ($7), and David 9 with a lot of cash.
Troy had never played Caylus and so we played a 5 player game while the others played Power Grid. I went down the Money and VP track this time and built a lot in the Castle to earn even more favors. This was the only game I have played where every single space in the Castle was occupied at the end of the game. Also, Troy built 6 times in the castle on the final turn. Final Scores: Michael 75, Sharon 56, Troy 50, Jaimie 50, and Matt 47.Friday, July 13, 2007
Session Report July 10, 2007
Attendees (15+4): Adam, Eileen, Warren, Sharon, Troy, Michael, Barbara, Steve, Andy, Tamara, David (Tamara's son), Aaron, Danielle, Chris, and Elaine (+4 children).
Tempus is an interesting civilization themed game. It is not extremely complicated but it has a very incremental feel to the turns. The game has a variable map so each game will have a different feel. Each round you have a certain number of actions you can perform and your 5 choices for each action are: Move, Have Babies, Have Ideas, Build Cities, and Have a Fight. Each of these choices can be impacted by your position on the progress chart. For example, at the start of the game moving allows you to move 1 piece-1 space, but by the end of the game you can move 3 pieces-up to 5 spaces each. A brief look at the actions:
Have a Fight: This is an attack from one space into another space. Combat is resolved by the defender playing a number of cards face down and then the attacker playing some cards face up. Each unit in the battle counts as a point. Each card played by either player that matches the terrain of the defender counts as a point for that player. Each weapons card played adds 1 point and each fortification card played by the defender counts as 2 points. Highest total wins with the defender winning ties. The defender of a city gets the city number + his cards played AND he gets to determine the terrain before anyone plays cards which is a huge advantage. If the attacker wins then the defender loses all units there but if the defender wins then the attacker only loses 1 unit.
Chris and Aaron won this one with 56 pts while Danielle and Elaine tied for second with Sharon and Barbara at 35 pts.
Danielle won this tile collection game with 14 pts followed by Sharon (11), Aaron (8), Elaine (8), Chris (7), and Barbara (5).
We had a full group over at the Madden's for Tuesday gaming. They had friends who are visiting from Michigan and came down for Gulf Games who decided to join us -- Chris and Elaine Lohroff and their two children. Tamara also brought her son David over so we had several new faces which is always great.
I arrived early and saw that Warren and Sharon had recently acquired a copy of Tempus and I was anxious to try it out. So I brought it down and began learning the rules in anticipation of playing it. I recruited Steve and Andy and after learning the basics we got Adam and Eileen to join us.
Tempus is an interesting civilization themed game. It is not extremely complicated but it has a very incremental feel to the turns. The game has a variable map so each game will have a different feel. Each round you have a certain number of actions you can perform and your 5 choices for each action are: Move, Have Babies, Have Ideas, Build Cities, and Have a Fight. Each of these choices can be impacted by your position on the progress chart. For example, at the start of the game moving allows you to move 1 piece-1 space, but by the end of the game you can move 3 pieces-up to 5 spaces each. A brief look at the actions:Move: you can move x number of people, y spaces based on your progress level. Also, you can move from one space that is next to a lake to another space also next to a lake. Later in the game when you have shipbuilding you can move from a space adjacent to the sea to another space adjacent to the sea. This water movement counts for that pieces entire move for the action.
Have Babies: the phrasing of this action is humorous on its own. It allows you to place 1 or 2 (depending on progress level) new units in Grassland spaces where you have existing units so long as they don't exceed the stacking limit. Stacking limit starts at 2 and progresses up to 4.
Have Ideas: Draw 1 or 2 cards (depending on progress level). Your hand limit is initially 5 but eventually it will increase to 7 (again based on progress level). Cards can be played using their text during a player's turn or using the terrain on the card for combat and advancing progress so they are important.
Build cities: you can convert a pile of units into a city with a rating of 2-4 depending on the number of units in the stack being converted. Cities cannot be place in Mountain spaces and must not be built adjacent to another city. Cities are more defensible and allow for benefits on progress and VP's at the end of the game.
Have a Fight: This is an attack from one space into another space. Combat is resolved by the defender playing a number of cards face down and then the attacker playing some cards face up. Each unit in the battle counts as a point. Each card played by either player that matches the terrain of the defender counts as a point for that player. Each weapons card played adds 1 point and each fortification card played by the defender counts as 2 points. Highest total wins with the defender winning ties. The defender of a city gets the city number + his cards played AND he gets to determine the terrain before anyone plays cards which is a huge advantage. If the attacker wins then the defender loses all units there but if the defender wins then the attacker only loses 1 unit.After everyone takes their turns then their is an opportunity for players to advance on the progress chart. The first thing done during this step is to move all players up to the lead player's position on the chart (so they "catch up" to the current technology). Then, starting with the start player, each player plays a number of cards face down. These are revealed simultaneously and each player totals their progress points with the highest player(s) advancing to the next level. Progress points are: 1 pt for each unit on a space that matches the terrain of the next level on the progress chart, 1 pt for each city (regardless of the number on it), 1 pt for each Education card played, and 1 pt for each card played that matches the terrain of the next progress level.
The progress level determines: how many units you can move, how far they can move, how many babies you can have, how many units you can stack in a space, how many idea cards you can draw, how many cards you can hold in your hand, whether you have sea movement or not, and how many actions you can take during your turn. Each step offers slight benefits in one or more areas so that leading players have a slight advantage for that round. It's nice to have the advantage but I don't think that they are all crucial to winning the game.
Play continues until someone advances to flight. At that point victory points are determined by adding up: 1 pt for all non-mountain spaces occupied by units, pts equal to the value for each city, and 3 pts for any player who achieved flight.
I am surprised that progress levels do not improve your ability to win battles (except indirectly by increasing your hand size or allowing you to draw more cards). Also, there is a rule that disallows attacking a player with units in only 3 spaces (not counting cities). I understand the logic in not allowing a player to be eliminated but this seems like an arbitrary way to do that. I would recommend a house rule that allows you to ALWAYS attack a player's cities and only attack their units if they occupy more than 3 spaces. This should limit the Turtling strategies.
The game ran a little long since we were all learning it (and I think we could reduce the time significantly if everyone knew the game). Adam proved the winner by holding onto his "peninsula" and racking up the victory points. Final: Adam (24), Andy (18), Michael (18), Steve (17), and Eileen (12). Overall, I enjoyed the game but I think it needs to last about 90 min instead of 180 min (hopefully it will be closer to the 90 min mark next time). I would like to try it again but it didn't hit the mark as much as I was hoping.
Qwirkle
Chris won this one with 175, Elaine finished next with 173, followed by Sharon with 133.
Chris won this one with 175, Elaine finished next with 173, followed by Sharon with 133.
Chris and Aaron won this one with 56 pts while Danielle and Elaine tied for second with Sharon and Barbara at 35 pts.
Troy proved the most successful explorer tonight. Final scores: Troy (108), Warren (93), Tamara (90), and David (87).
Danielle won this tile collection game with 14 pts followed by Sharon (11), Aaron (8), Elaine (8), Chris (7), and Barbara (5).(the picture looks like a fight for the +7 tile! but it also shows too many pieces for a 5 player game -- I'm guessing this one lasted a while ;-)
Jambo
Troy (69) proved the astute trader in Jambo against Warren (52)
Troy (69) proved the astute trader in Jambo against Warren (52)
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Session Report July 3, 2007
We gathered at our house for pre-4th of July gaming. It was nice to welcome David and Mary Ellen Kennemer back since we hadn't seen them for some time. Attendees (8): Michael, Barbara, Sharon, Warren, Andrew, Steve, David, and Mary Ellen.
Sharon taught us this game. It is an interesting game but not very interactive during most of the plays. However, the key element of 'drafting' your actions is very interactive and really drives the decisions in the game. I was fortunate to build up a strong early income and then transfer all of these cubes to the Hospital to control the rat population. This proved key as I always had money to bribe special characters and put cubes in Notre Dame. A fun game but I would like to play several more games and see how it holds up. Final Scores: Michael (73), Mary Ellen (48), Sharon (40), Steve (36), and David (32).
Heather got a chance to play this game with the game group. This is an easy to learn abstract game with some clever strategies. Each player places one of his colored tiles (they are various Tetris like shapes) on the board. Each tile must connect to another of the same color by touching at the corners. The object is to get rid of as many tiles as possible and your final score is the number of remaining tile sections that you cannot play.
This is a game that I considered for my in-laws since they like Blokus. It is another abstract game and plays very easily but the scoring element is taken from Tigris % Euphrates. Your final score is equal to your lowest total in any color and whoever has the highest final score wins. This requires you to score in all the colors and so you must try to score in your weakest color.
I finally got a chance to play this game with the game group. It is a more involved deduction (a la Clue) game that has a great thematic element. The players are at a monestary and trying to uncover the murderer that killed Brother Adelmo. The game allows you to move to various spaces and take special actions as well as encountering other players and asking them questions. If you ask a question then the other player may take a vow of silence or answer the question. If they choose to answer then they get to ask a question back and you must answer it (no vow of silence!). At the end of each round players go to mass and pass cards around the table. This keeps players hands changing and makes it difficult to deduce anything conclusively. This plus the scoring rules encourage guessing and this game was no exception as Andrew made an incorrect accusation (-2 pts) before he correctly accused Father Michael of the crime (4 pts). Mary Ellen made a correct Revelation so she also scored 2 pts but since Andrew correctly accused Father Michael he was the winner.
Andrew and Sharon stayed a little later for a quick game of Ra. I was fortunate to get a collection of all the monuments and win majority in Pharaohs for most of the game to pull out the victory. Michael (63), Sharon (47), Andrew (39), and Barbara (29).
Sharon taught us this game. It is an interesting game but not very interactive during most of the plays. However, the key element of 'drafting' your actions is very interactive and really drives the decisions in the game. I was fortunate to build up a strong early income and then transfer all of these cubes to the Hospital to control the rat population. This proved key as I always had money to bribe special characters and put cubes in Notre Dame. A fun game but I would like to play several more games and see how it holds up. Final Scores: Michael (73), Mary Ellen (48), Sharon (40), Steve (36), and David (32).Barbara (0), Warren (15), Heather (21), and Andrew (21).
This is a game that I considered for my in-laws since they like Blokus. It is another abstract game and plays very easily but the scoring element is taken from Tigris % Euphrates. Your final score is equal to your lowest total in any color and whoever has the highest final score wins. This requires you to score in all the colors and so you must try to score in your weakest color.
Warren (11), Andrew (10), and Barbara (9).
I finally got a chance to play this game with the game group. It is a more involved deduction (a la Clue) game that has a great thematic element. The players are at a monestary and trying to uncover the murderer that killed Brother Adelmo. The game allows you to move to various spaces and take special actions as well as encountering other players and asking them questions. If you ask a question then the other player may take a vow of silence or answer the question. If they choose to answer then they get to ask a question back and you must answer it (no vow of silence!). At the end of each round players go to mass and pass cards around the table. This keeps players hands changing and makes it difficult to deduce anything conclusively. This plus the scoring rules encourage guessing and this game was no exception as Andrew made an incorrect accusation (-2 pts) before he correctly accused Father Michael of the crime (4 pts). Mary Ellen made a correct Revelation so she also scored 2 pts but since Andrew correctly accused Father Michael he was the winner.
Andrew (2), Mary Ellen (2), Michael and Sharon (0).
They played this one with the expansion buildings which is definitely my favorite way to play it now. I like randomly choosing the buildings since it allows for different strategies to be viable.
Warren (40), Steve (38), Barbara (35), and David (34).
Andrew and Sharon stayed a little later for a quick game of Ra. I was fortunate to get a collection of all the monuments and win majority in Pharaohs for most of the game to pull out the victory. Michael (63), Sharon (47), Andrew (39), and Barbara (29).
Session Report June 19, 2007
We gathered at the Maddens for Tuesday gaming. Attendees (9): Warren, Sharon, Michael, Troy, Andrew, Andy, Adam, Eileen, and Joel.
Taj Mahal
We got in another game of Taj Mahal. This time Sharon got the early lead and never looked back. She was able to win some early auctions for commodity tiles and got some more commodities off of early fortress plays. Final Score: Sharon (49), Andrew (34), Troy (32), Michael (26), and Andy (23).
Notre Dame
Warren taught this new game to the rest of the group. No scores but final rankings were Warren, Joel, Adam, and Eileen.
San Juan
After Notre Dame Warren, Eileen, and Adam played a game of San Juan. Final Score: Adam (29), Warren (26), and Eileen (20).
Power Grid
We played on the Central Europe board. Andrew and Sharon ended up tied for the lead with 13 cities powered but Andrew won on cash 32 to 9. I finished 3rd with 11 cities, followed by Andy with 9, and Troy with 6.
Taj MahalWe got in another game of Taj Mahal. This time Sharon got the early lead and never looked back. She was able to win some early auctions for commodity tiles and got some more commodities off of early fortress plays. Final Score: Sharon (49), Andrew (34), Troy (32), Michael (26), and Andy (23).
Notre DameWarren taught this new game to the rest of the group. No scores but final rankings were Warren, Joel, Adam, and Eileen.
San JuanAfter Notre Dame Warren, Eileen, and Adam played a game of San Juan. Final Score: Adam (29), Warren (26), and Eileen (20).
Power GridWe played on the Central Europe board. Andrew and Sharon ended up tied for the lead with 13 cities powered but Andrew won on cash 32 to 9. I finished 3rd with 11 cities, followed by Andy with 9, and Troy with 6.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Session Report June 5, 2007
Attendees (7+1): Michael, Barbara, Danielle, Troy, Andrew, Sharon, Andy and Matthew
We had everyone over to our house for some gaming this week.
Pick Picknic
Matthew (my 5 yr old son) was excited to get to play with some adults. Daneille and Troy joined my wife Barbara and played a quick game with him.
He and Heather both enjoy Pick Picknic and I would recommend it for a game to play with your children. The game consists of a deck of cards, 6 different colored tiles, cubes for feeding the birds in 3 colors, and 1 die for resolving some conflicts. Each player is dealt 4 cards during setup and then 1 or 2 each turn depending on the number of players. The feed cubes are drawn and placed randomly on the 6 tiles (one cube on each). Green cubes are worth 1 pt, Blue cubes 2pts, and Yellow cubes 3 pts. Everyone selects one card (or 2 with smaller # of players) to play face down in front of them and then they are revealed simultaneously.
Some cards will have colored birds on them along with a number, some will have colored foxes with a number, and some will have a colored bird that flew away with a -2 number. If anyone plays a fox card that matches the color of any of the bird cards played then the fox will eat those birds and the player who played the fox card will take the bird cards and get points worth the # on the bird cards. If a player plays a bird card of a color that no one else players then that player will get ALL of the feed cubes on that colored tile (this includes feed cubes that were left from previous turns). If more than one player plays a bird card of the same color then a conflict may occur. The players involved must either agree on a way to split up the feed cubes between them or they will have to resolve it by fighting over the feed cubes. A fight is resolved by each player rolling a die and adding the # of the bird card -- highest number wins all the feed cubes. Ties are resolved with roll-offs until someone wins. If multiple foxes are played then they will always fight over the birds (no negotiating allowed) with the winner getting all the birds in that color available. The -2 cards allow a player to take one green cube (1pt) before any other birds and in addition they count as -2 pts for any foxes that match that color and would normally eat a bird. The game continues in this manner for many rounds with more feed being drawn and placed and cards drawn and played until there is no more feed to be drawn. Then the player with the most points wins!
The game is great for teaching kids counting and recognizing different values for similar objects (ie 1 Yellow cube is better than 2 Green cubes). They learn that negotiating can get you to share points and that this can sometimes be a better strategy than just fighting and hoping on the die roll. Also, the game has enough luck that everyone has a chance of winning yet you get to make interesting decisions along the way.
Danielle (42) won followed closely by Troy (38) then Barbara (30) and Matthew (28).
Taj Mahal
I have been wanting to play this Knizia game again for some time and Sharon brought it so we got it to the table. Andrew and Andy joined us in visiting India and claiming palaces and influence. The game is played with cards as resources with an interesting auction/bid process. There are 12 different visits/turns during the game. Each turn there are 6 different "prizes" that players can win. These rewards have different types of benefits that help players score points or win future auctions. Players start with 6 cards in hand and n-1 cards face up on the table (where n is number of players).
The auction process involves playing a colored card (there are 4 different colors) with the option of adding one white card also. Play continues with players either playing or dropping out. To continue playing, you must play a card that matches the color that you originally played (it doesn't need to match opponent's colors) and again you may also add a white card (although you may not play a white card alone). When a player drops out they get to choose two of the face up cards to add to their hand (the last remaining player only gets one card). In addition, when a player drops out she gets to take any rewards for which she has a majority among all players still in the auction. So dropping out early when you have a majority in a few categories can be very strong since it saves your resources (ie cards) and gets you benefits. Finally, if a player skips the auction entirely (drops out without bidding) then they get an additional card from the draw deck along with 2 cards from the face up display.
The rewards consist of majorities in different icons: Elephant, Vizier(Green), General(Purple), Monk(Orange), Princess(Yellow), and Grand Mogul (Crowns). Elephants win commodity tiles which will generally have 2 different commodities on them. The others allow a player to take a token (ex Vizier token) and place a palace on the current province. Two matching tokens will allow players to claim special white cards that can be used each round until someone else claims them (with two matching tokens). These cards help with additional icons (General - Elephants, Vizier - Crowns), additional victory pts (Princess- 2 VPs), and the Monk allows a player to play one card that doesn't match his original color. Players place palaces when they claim a reward other than an elephant and must place their palace on a space not occupied by another palace, so players dropping early get more selection. There are some special tokens placed on fortress spaces that can be claimed by placing a palace on that space but these are usually not adjacent to other provinces so players must make strategic choices. Finally, the winner of the Grand Mogul reward gets to place a palace in ANY space in the region even if occupied by another palace, however he cannot take any tokens from fortress spaces with this palace.
Scoring in the game consists of commodities and palaces plus special tokens placed on fortress locations and the princess card. Commodities scoring is cumulative so if I have 2 tea and 1 rice and win an auction with 1 tea and 1 rice then I will score 3 pts for the tea and 2 pts for the rice or 5 pts total. If I also claimed a rice token through palace placement then I would get 3 pts for it. Fortresses score 1 pt for each region (not for each palace) but they also score 1 pt for each region that is connected by a chain of palaces to the current scoring region. At the end of the game players score 1 pt for each white or bonus card in hand plus a pt for each card in their longest color.
I was fortunate to get a bunch of bonus cards and hold onto them through the middle rounds of the game and this let me build a substantial lead. This scoring showed that an unchecked commodity or palace strategy can result in too many VPs and players must defend against these strategies (if possible). Michael (80), Sharon (44), Andrew (30), and Andy (22).
Elasund
Troy, Barbara, and Danielle tried building up the city of Elasund. I enjoy this game and can't get Barbara to play it with me so I was surprised to see that she played it. I like the changing tactics and interesting decisions that influence and building permits allow players to do in this game. I don't think she likes the aspect of building over other players and knocking them down in VPs but I think of it as a struggle (like the largest army or longest road) in Settlers. The game does have an awkward flow to the turn order but the reference sheet is excellent for this and once you "get it" the game moves along quicker. I do feel that the game tends to run a little long with four players and I would like to get it to the table more often. Scores: Troy (10), Barbara (8), and Danielle (7).
Caylus
We taught Andy Caylus after Taj Mahal. It ran a little late and Barbara took over for Andy late in the game. I was able to leverage the building favor track while everyone else went for the victory point track. Final: Michael (97), Sharon (82), Andrew (71), and Andy/Barbara (69).
We had everyone over to our house for some gaming this week.
Pick Picknic
Matthew (my 5 yr old son) was excited to get to play with some adults. Daneille and Troy joined my wife Barbara and played a quick game with him.
He and Heather both enjoy Pick Picknic and I would recommend it for a game to play with your children. The game consists of a deck of cards, 6 different colored tiles, cubes for feeding the birds in 3 colors, and 1 die for resolving some conflicts. Each player is dealt 4 cards during setup and then 1 or 2 each turn depending on the number of players. The feed cubes are drawn and placed randomly on the 6 tiles (one cube on each). Green cubes are worth 1 pt, Blue cubes 2pts, and Yellow cubes 3 pts. Everyone selects one card (or 2 with smaller # of players) to play face down in front of them and then they are revealed simultaneously.
Some cards will have colored birds on them along with a number, some will have colored foxes with a number, and some will have a colored bird that flew away with a -2 number. If anyone plays a fox card that matches the color of any of the bird cards played then the fox will eat those birds and the player who played the fox card will take the bird cards and get points worth the # on the bird cards. If a player plays a bird card of a color that no one else players then that player will get ALL of the feed cubes on that colored tile (this includes feed cubes that were left from previous turns). If more than one player plays a bird card of the same color then a conflict may occur. The players involved must either agree on a way to split up the feed cubes between them or they will have to resolve it by fighting over the feed cubes. A fight is resolved by each player rolling a die and adding the # of the bird card -- highest number wins all the feed cubes. Ties are resolved with roll-offs until someone wins. If multiple foxes are played then they will always fight over the birds (no negotiating allowed) with the winner getting all the birds in that color available. The -2 cards allow a player to take one green cube (1pt) before any other birds and in addition they count as -2 pts for any foxes that match that color and would normally eat a bird. The game continues in this manner for many rounds with more feed being drawn and placed and cards drawn and played until there is no more feed to be drawn. Then the player with the most points wins!
The game is great for teaching kids counting and recognizing different values for similar objects (ie 1 Yellow cube is better than 2 Green cubes). They learn that negotiating can get you to share points and that this can sometimes be a better strategy than just fighting and hoping on the die roll. Also, the game has enough luck that everyone has a chance of winning yet you get to make interesting decisions along the way.
Danielle (42) won followed closely by Troy (38) then Barbara (30) and Matthew (28).
Taj Mahal
I have been wanting to play this Knizia game again for some time and Sharon brought it so we got it to the table. Andrew and Andy joined us in visiting India and claiming palaces and influence. The game is played with cards as resources with an interesting auction/bid process. There are 12 different visits/turns during the game. Each turn there are 6 different "prizes" that players can win. These rewards have different types of benefits that help players score points or win future auctions. Players start with 6 cards in hand and n-1 cards face up on the table (where n is number of players).
The auction process involves playing a colored card (there are 4 different colors) with the option of adding one white card also. Play continues with players either playing or dropping out. To continue playing, you must play a card that matches the color that you originally played (it doesn't need to match opponent's colors) and again you may also add a white card (although you may not play a white card alone). When a player drops out they get to choose two of the face up cards to add to their hand (the last remaining player only gets one card). In addition, when a player drops out she gets to take any rewards for which she has a majority among all players still in the auction. So dropping out early when you have a majority in a few categories can be very strong since it saves your resources (ie cards) and gets you benefits. Finally, if a player skips the auction entirely (drops out without bidding) then they get an additional card from the draw deck along with 2 cards from the face up display.
The rewards consist of majorities in different icons: Elephant, Vizier(Green), General(Purple), Monk(Orange), Princess(Yellow), and Grand Mogul (Crowns). Elephants win commodity tiles which will generally have 2 different commodities on them. The others allow a player to take a token (ex Vizier token) and place a palace on the current province. Two matching tokens will allow players to claim special white cards that can be used each round until someone else claims them (with two matching tokens). These cards help with additional icons (General - Elephants, Vizier - Crowns), additional victory pts (Princess- 2 VPs), and the Monk allows a player to play one card that doesn't match his original color. Players place palaces when they claim a reward other than an elephant and must place their palace on a space not occupied by another palace, so players dropping early get more selection. There are some special tokens placed on fortress spaces that can be claimed by placing a palace on that space but these are usually not adjacent to other provinces so players must make strategic choices. Finally, the winner of the Grand Mogul reward gets to place a palace in ANY space in the region even if occupied by another palace, however he cannot take any tokens from fortress spaces with this palace.
Scoring in the game consists of commodities and palaces plus special tokens placed on fortress locations and the princess card. Commodities scoring is cumulative so if I have 2 tea and 1 rice and win an auction with 1 tea and 1 rice then I will score 3 pts for the tea and 2 pts for the rice or 5 pts total. If I also claimed a rice token through palace placement then I would get 3 pts for it. Fortresses score 1 pt for each region (not for each palace) but they also score 1 pt for each region that is connected by a chain of palaces to the current scoring region. At the end of the game players score 1 pt for each white or bonus card in hand plus a pt for each card in their longest color.
I was fortunate to get a bunch of bonus cards and hold onto them through the middle rounds of the game and this let me build a substantial lead. This scoring showed that an unchecked commodity or palace strategy can result in too many VPs and players must defend against these strategies (if possible). Michael (80), Sharon (44), Andrew (30), and Andy (22).
Elasund
Troy, Barbara, and Danielle tried building up the city of Elasund. I enjoy this game and can't get Barbara to play it with me so I was surprised to see that she played it. I like the changing tactics and interesting decisions that influence and building permits allow players to do in this game. I don't think she likes the aspect of building over other players and knocking them down in VPs but I think of it as a struggle (like the largest army or longest road) in Settlers. The game does have an awkward flow to the turn order but the reference sheet is excellent for this and once you "get it" the game moves along quicker. I do feel that the game tends to run a little long with four players and I would like to get it to the table more often. Scores: Troy (10), Barbara (8), and Danielle (7).
Caylus
We taught Andy Caylus after Taj Mahal. It ran a little late and Barbara took over for Andy late in the game. I was able to leverage the building favor track while everyone else went for the victory point track. Final: Michael (97), Sharon (82), Andrew (71), and Andy/Barbara (69).
Session Report May 29, 2007
**Thanks to Sharon for another great session report!**
Attendees (6): Warren Madden, Sharon Madden, Steve Walker, Adam Whitney, Eileen Tooke, Matt Asher
We played games at Steve's house this week. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera along, so you'll just have to use your imagination for this report.
THURN UND TAXIS -- POWER AND GLORY
Power and Glory is the first expansion to Thurn und Taxis, and the changes are very subtle. In P&G, players build routes throughout Northern Germany, as opposed to Southern Germany in T&T, and there are "free cities", which give one point to the first player to build a post office in that city. The carriage cards are not used in P&G, but rather, players must build their carriages from the cards they draw.
And since carriages aren't used, the Cartwright officer doesn't have a purpose; however, all other officers are available.
The city cards have two functions -- (1) building postal routes, as in T&T, and (2) building carriages. Each city card has between 1 and 3 horseshoes on the back. On their turn, players have a choice of either expanding their routes or building up their carriages, so they are not limited to only expanding their routes, as in T&T. Each player starts with a carriage card showing 2 horseshoes and they build them up from there. When a player is ready to score a route, the number of horseshoes in his play area has to be equal to or greater than the number of cards in his route. After scoring, the route cards and the carriage cards are discarded.
I had seen this played at the Gathering several times, but I never got an opportunity to try it. Most of the buzz I heard at the Gathering and read on-line was rather negative -- mainly that there wasn't enough variations from T&T. But, I enjoy playing T&T, and despite the negative comments, I still wanted to give it a shot. And I was wonderfully surprised. I think it should be marketed as a sequel, rather than an expansion. Also, P&G comes with all the playing components except for the wooden post offices, and I think they should be included. I guess the publishers assumed that most people purchasing P&G would already have T&T and they could keep costs down that way. But, I compare T&T/P&G to the Ticket To Ride series -- each TTR game comes all components needed to play the game -- including the train pieces. So for example, if someone purchases Ticket To Ride Europe before purchasing the original Ticket To Ride, they will have all the components they need to play Ticket To Ride Europe.
Steve established the most effective postal route system in Northern Germany with 24 points, followed closely by Matt with 22, and because I still had quite a few houses left over at the end (I see now those free cities can make a difference), I came in with only 6 points. I definitely want to try this one again.
ST. PETERSBURG
St. Petersburg is played over several rounds, and there are 4 decks of cards representing each phase of the round -- worker phase, building phase, aristocrat phase, and trading phase. Workers earn income at the beginning of the worker phase, buildings earn victory points, and aristocrats earn either victory points and/or money. The trading phase is the only phase when players do not earn money or victory points, since the cards they are purchasing are used to upgrade the workers, buildings or aristocrats that they already own. On the board, there are
2 rows with spaces for 8 cards. At the beginning of the round (worker phase), the start player turns up the appropriate number of worker cards (depending on number of players), and he has first opportunity to purchase a worker. Other players in clockwise order may purchase the remaining workers, and purchasing lasts until all players have passed.
Then during the building phase, the number of building cards available will be the appropriate number of cards minus the number of worker cards left over from the worker phase, and the same with the remaining 2 phases. Once the trading phase is complete, remaining cards slide down to the second row, and they are available for purchase during the next round at cost less 1 Ruble. If they are not purchased in the next round, they are out of the game.
On most occasions when players purchase a card, they lay it in their play area so that they can reap the rewards. However, there will be instances when a card is available for purchase, but not playable at that moment. In that case, a player may take cards into his hand, but the hand limit is only 3. Each card in hand at game end count -5 points. Speaking of game end, it is triggered when the last card of a pile is played. Once this happens, players complete all phases of the round and the player with the most victory points at the end of the game is the winner.
It seems our group has fallen into a bit of a rut playing the same games week after week, i.e. Power Grid, Caylus, and Puerto Rico. Don't get me wrong -- all of these are fantastic games, and I really enjoy playing them, but we have so many games just sitting on the shelves -- some even in shrink wrap -- that don't come to the table very often. So, my goal is to get those games more play time and introduce them to some of our newer members. This week, I thought it was high time we gave St. Pete a
whirl.
This is a rather light game, and having the cards and money available at the same time is the key to winning. Money can be very, very tight and managing it wisely is important. One mistake I tend to make is not buying enough workers during the first round, because I know there are 3 other phases coming up with opportunities to purchase. But, it seems if you don't buy at least 2 workers in the first round, you tend to come up short for the entire game. Take advantage of the workers, buildings or aristocrats on the second row, if they will help you. Also, if you purchase workers, buildings or aristocrats that you already have in your play area, those count 1 Ruble for each similar card toward the full purchase price, so that can save Rubles too. And if you decide to take cards into your hand, definitely have a plan for placing them into your play area before game end. Minus 5 can be painful.
It was a close race to build a new administration for St. Petersburg, but Warren was named St. Petersburg's new administrator with 89 points, followed by Matt with 86 and Sharon with 84.
SAN JUAN
Warren was tonight's most successful explorer of San Juan with 37 points, followed by Matt with 34 and Sharon with 27.
MEDICI VS. STROZZI
In this two-player game, two families, Medici and Strozzi, are competing to purchase goods, load them on their ships, and sail them to ports to earn money. The start player chooses 1, 2 or 3 goods to put up for auction -- but no more than 3. He sets a price and his opponent decides whether or not to purchase them. If the opponent buys the goods, he pays the cost to the bank and puts them on the ship of his choice.
Ships have 3, 4 or 5 holds, and once a ship is full, it sails to an open port. If not, it sits in the player's harbor until it is full If the opponent chooses not to purchase the goods, the start player must purchase them, paying the money to the bank and placing them on one of his ships. In choosing which port to sail to, players try to get to the port offering the commodities that match those on their ship. The game is played over 3 rounds, and after the third round, the winner is the player with the most money.
This was a cute, light 2-player game, and I'd be willing to give it another go. One thing neither Matt nor I were sure of is how high to value the goods. As the game went on, we were offering them up for higher costs, and I think we may have overpaid in some instances. But as the auctioneer, that's the chance you take. On one hand, you hope your opponent will be willing to pay the higher price, but if he's not, you're stuck with it -- like it or not. If you run out of money, you can take a loan from the bank, which saved me once. Luckily, I was able to pay it back before the end of the game.
Medici (Matt) was the more profitable family with $113 and Strozzi
(Sharon) has to suffer the shame and disappointment of her family, coming in with $63.
SANTA FE RAILS
In Sante Fe Rails, players expand rail lines in the Western US, while staking claims in the different cities the lines pass through. There are 5 major railroads available at the beginning of the game and 4 short line railroads that are come out randomly a bit later. As players expand the lines, they also lay down city cards on their turn to claim their entitlement at game end. All cities are assigned a value from 2-7, and the value is multiplied by the number of different lines that connect to it. Thus, the more lines that run through a city, the greater the payout will be. Game end is triggered by 2 conditions -- either all track pieces for the 5 majors are placed or all 5 majors are dead-ended. Players receive victory points for the cities they have claimed and money is also worth $1 per point.
It was full-steam ahead for Adam with this one, coming in with 275 points. Steve and Eileen were chugging behind with 162 and 142, respectively.
Attendees (6): Warren Madden, Sharon Madden, Steve Walker, Adam Whitney, Eileen Tooke, Matt Asher
We played games at Steve's house this week. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera along, so you'll just have to use your imagination for this report.
THURN UND TAXIS -- POWER AND GLORY
Power and Glory is the first expansion to Thurn und Taxis, and the changes are very subtle. In P&G, players build routes throughout Northern Germany, as opposed to Southern Germany in T&T, and there are "free cities", which give one point to the first player to build a post office in that city. The carriage cards are not used in P&G, but rather, players must build their carriages from the cards they draw.
And since carriages aren't used, the Cartwright officer doesn't have a purpose; however, all other officers are available.
The city cards have two functions -- (1) building postal routes, as in T&T, and (2) building carriages. Each city card has between 1 and 3 horseshoes on the back. On their turn, players have a choice of either expanding their routes or building up their carriages, so they are not limited to only expanding their routes, as in T&T. Each player starts with a carriage card showing 2 horseshoes and they build them up from there. When a player is ready to score a route, the number of horseshoes in his play area has to be equal to or greater than the number of cards in his route. After scoring, the route cards and the carriage cards are discarded.
I had seen this played at the Gathering several times, but I never got an opportunity to try it. Most of the buzz I heard at the Gathering and read on-line was rather negative -- mainly that there wasn't enough variations from T&T. But, I enjoy playing T&T, and despite the negative comments, I still wanted to give it a shot. And I was wonderfully surprised. I think it should be marketed as a sequel, rather than an expansion. Also, P&G comes with all the playing components except for the wooden post offices, and I think they should be included. I guess the publishers assumed that most people purchasing P&G would already have T&T and they could keep costs down that way. But, I compare T&T/P&G to the Ticket To Ride series -- each TTR game comes all components needed to play the game -- including the train pieces. So for example, if someone purchases Ticket To Ride Europe before purchasing the original Ticket To Ride, they will have all the components they need to play Ticket To Ride Europe.
Steve established the most effective postal route system in Northern Germany with 24 points, followed closely by Matt with 22, and because I still had quite a few houses left over at the end (I see now those free cities can make a difference), I came in with only 6 points. I definitely want to try this one again.
ST. PETERSBURG
St. Petersburg is played over several rounds, and there are 4 decks of cards representing each phase of the round -- worker phase, building phase, aristocrat phase, and trading phase. Workers earn income at the beginning of the worker phase, buildings earn victory points, and aristocrats earn either victory points and/or money. The trading phase is the only phase when players do not earn money or victory points, since the cards they are purchasing are used to upgrade the workers, buildings or aristocrats that they already own. On the board, there are
2 rows with spaces for 8 cards. At the beginning of the round (worker phase), the start player turns up the appropriate number of worker cards (depending on number of players), and he has first opportunity to purchase a worker. Other players in clockwise order may purchase the remaining workers, and purchasing lasts until all players have passed.
Then during the building phase, the number of building cards available will be the appropriate number of cards minus the number of worker cards left over from the worker phase, and the same with the remaining 2 phases. Once the trading phase is complete, remaining cards slide down to the second row, and they are available for purchase during the next round at cost less 1 Ruble. If they are not purchased in the next round, they are out of the game.
On most occasions when players purchase a card, they lay it in their play area so that they can reap the rewards. However, there will be instances when a card is available for purchase, but not playable at that moment. In that case, a player may take cards into his hand, but the hand limit is only 3. Each card in hand at game end count -5 points. Speaking of game end, it is triggered when the last card of a pile is played. Once this happens, players complete all phases of the round and the player with the most victory points at the end of the game is the winner.
It seems our group has fallen into a bit of a rut playing the same games week after week, i.e. Power Grid, Caylus, and Puerto Rico. Don't get me wrong -- all of these are fantastic games, and I really enjoy playing them, but we have so many games just sitting on the shelves -- some even in shrink wrap -- that don't come to the table very often. So, my goal is to get those games more play time and introduce them to some of our newer members. This week, I thought it was high time we gave St. Pete a
whirl.
This is a rather light game, and having the cards and money available at the same time is the key to winning. Money can be very, very tight and managing it wisely is important. One mistake I tend to make is not buying enough workers during the first round, because I know there are 3 other phases coming up with opportunities to purchase. But, it seems if you don't buy at least 2 workers in the first round, you tend to come up short for the entire game. Take advantage of the workers, buildings or aristocrats on the second row, if they will help you. Also, if you purchase workers, buildings or aristocrats that you already have in your play area, those count 1 Ruble for each similar card toward the full purchase price, so that can save Rubles too. And if you decide to take cards into your hand, definitely have a plan for placing them into your play area before game end. Minus 5 can be painful.
It was a close race to build a new administration for St. Petersburg, but Warren was named St. Petersburg's new administrator with 89 points, followed by Matt with 86 and Sharon with 84.
SAN JUAN
Warren was tonight's most successful explorer of San Juan with 37 points, followed by Matt with 34 and Sharon with 27.
MEDICI VS. STROZZI
In this two-player game, two families, Medici and Strozzi, are competing to purchase goods, load them on their ships, and sail them to ports to earn money. The start player chooses 1, 2 or 3 goods to put up for auction -- but no more than 3. He sets a price and his opponent decides whether or not to purchase them. If the opponent buys the goods, he pays the cost to the bank and puts them on the ship of his choice.
Ships have 3, 4 or 5 holds, and once a ship is full, it sails to an open port. If not, it sits in the player's harbor until it is full If the opponent chooses not to purchase the goods, the start player must purchase them, paying the money to the bank and placing them on one of his ships. In choosing which port to sail to, players try to get to the port offering the commodities that match those on their ship. The game is played over 3 rounds, and after the third round, the winner is the player with the most money.
This was a cute, light 2-player game, and I'd be willing to give it another go. One thing neither Matt nor I were sure of is how high to value the goods. As the game went on, we were offering them up for higher costs, and I think we may have overpaid in some instances. But as the auctioneer, that's the chance you take. On one hand, you hope your opponent will be willing to pay the higher price, but if he's not, you're stuck with it -- like it or not. If you run out of money, you can take a loan from the bank, which saved me once. Luckily, I was able to pay it back before the end of the game.
Medici (Matt) was the more profitable family with $113 and Strozzi
(Sharon) has to suffer the shame and disappointment of her family, coming in with $63.
SANTA FE RAILS
In Sante Fe Rails, players expand rail lines in the Western US, while staking claims in the different cities the lines pass through. There are 5 major railroads available at the beginning of the game and 4 short line railroads that are come out randomly a bit later. As players expand the lines, they also lay down city cards on their turn to claim their entitlement at game end. All cities are assigned a value from 2-7, and the value is multiplied by the number of different lines that connect to it. Thus, the more lines that run through a city, the greater the payout will be. Game end is triggered by 2 conditions -- either all track pieces for the 5 majors are placed or all 5 majors are dead-ended. Players receive victory points for the cities they have claimed and money is also worth $1 per point.
It was full-steam ahead for Adam with this one, coming in with 275 points. Steve and Eileen were chugging behind with 162 and 142, respectively.
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