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).
Showing posts with label Session Report. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Session Report. Show all posts
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Session Report September 4, 2007
Attendees(6): David, Mary Ellen, Sharon, Troy, Steve, and Michael
We met at David's after Memorial Day for Tuesday gaming.
Citadels
David has really enjoyed this game and everyone except Troy had played before. We added the Queen to the standard 8 characters and it added a neat twist. I was robbed early and it took me a while to get going but I also wasn't a prime target so I was able to build up over time. Steve built 4 different Merchant buildings which made anyone taking the Merchant a target for the Thief and Assassin. David ended up going out and with 5 colors for both bonuses and this put him out of reach while the rest of us were within 5 pts of each other. Final: David (30), Mary Ellen (24), Steve (22), Michael (20), Troy (20), and Sharon (19).
Vegas Showdown
This was an Avalon Hill game with a lot of Euro mechanics and a solid American theme. It works very well and I think everyone would be willing to play it again after one game. The only problem was that most of us underestimated the income generation and overbid for many early tiles. Once again David was in a good position as he kept his money and was able to position himself to get both the coveted Dragon Room and 5 Star Steak House. Troy made a good late run and finished second followed by the rest of us. Final: David(75), Troy(53), Michael (46), Sharon (45), and Mary Ellen (43).
We met at David's after Memorial Day for Tuesday gaming.
Citadels
David has really enjoyed this game and everyone except Troy had played before. We added the Queen to the standard 8 characters and it added a neat twist. I was robbed early and it took me a while to get going but I also wasn't a prime target so I was able to build up over time. Steve built 4 different Merchant buildings which made anyone taking the Merchant a target for the Thief and Assassin. David ended up going out and with 5 colors for both bonuses and this put him out of reach while the rest of us were within 5 pts of each other. Final: David (30), Mary Ellen (24), Steve (22), Michael (20), Troy (20), and Sharon (19).
Vegas Showdown
This was an Avalon Hill game with a lot of Euro mechanics and a solid American theme. It works very well and I think everyone would be willing to play it again after one game. The only problem was that most of us underestimated the income generation and overbid for many early tiles. Once again David was in a good position as he kept his money and was able to position himself to get both the coveted Dragon Room and 5 Star Steak House. Troy made a good late run and finished second followed by the rest of us. Final: David(75), Troy(53), Michael (46), Sharon (45), and Mary Ellen (43).
Friday, August 31, 2007
Session Report August 28, 2007
Attendees(10): Michael, Barbara, Warren, Sharon, David, Andy, Andrew, Steve, Troy, and Adam.
Transamerica
Adam must have dominated this quick game while they waited on others to join. Final: Adam(12), Steve (3), Sharon (Ocean).
Marvel Superheroes
I taught Andrew and Troy this game and David had only played once before. We had fun but I think that it suffers from some downtime (particularly with 4 players) and the game may play better as a 2 or 3 player game. It finished with Andrew and David tied for the win as they completed their headlines and bested their Mastermind Villains who were both attempting to complete their master plans. Final Scores: David(19), Andrew(19), Troy(17), and Michael(11).
Midieval Merchant
I don't know anything about this game except the final scores... Warren(54), Adam(45 w/8 city tiles), Sharon(45 w/6 city tiles), and Steve(24).
Wits and Wagers
Adam, Barbara, Warren, Andy, Sharon, and Steve played this quick party/trivia game. Barbara won on the final round with an "all in" wager.
Amun Re
We had a good late game of Amun Re. This is really a great game with 5 players. Barbara was able to complete 3 bonus cards on the final kingdom and this was critical in winning over Andrew who had played a solid game. Andy played it for the first time and did very well with all the auctions and decisions. Final Scores: Barbara(45), Andrew(38), Andy(30), Michael(28), and Sharon(26).
Transamerica
Adam must have dominated this quick game while they waited on others to join. Final: Adam(12), Steve (3), Sharon (Ocean).
Marvel Superheroes
I taught Andrew and Troy this game and David had only played once before. We had fun but I think that it suffers from some downtime (particularly with 4 players) and the game may play better as a 2 or 3 player game. It finished with Andrew and David tied for the win as they completed their headlines and bested their Mastermind Villains who were both attempting to complete their master plans. Final Scores: David(19), Andrew(19), Troy(17), and Michael(11).
Midieval Merchant
I don't know anything about this game except the final scores... Warren(54), Adam(45 w/8 city tiles), Sharon(45 w/6 city tiles), and Steve(24).
Wits and Wagers
Adam, Barbara, Warren, Andy, Sharon, and Steve played this quick party/trivia game. Barbara won on the final round with an "all in" wager.
Amun Re
We had a good late game of Amun Re. This is really a great game with 5 players. Barbara was able to complete 3 bonus cards on the final kingdom and this was critical in winning over Andrew who had played a solid game. Andy played it for the first time and did very well with all the auctions and decisions. Final Scores: Barbara(45), Andrew(38), Andy(30), Michael(28), and Sharon(26).
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Session Report August 21, 2007
Attendees (13): Michael, Warren, Sharon, Troy, Andrew, Chris, Jeremy, David, Adam, Eileen, Aaron, Danielle, and Joel.
Shadows Over Camelot
I have been wanting to play this one for some time and I finally read the rules and got it to the table this week. It is an interesting cooperative game where everyone works together to defeat the "game" but with a twist that one player "might" be a traitor. This element of doubt adds the tension to the game and keeps everyone guessing each other's ulterior motives.
The cast: King Arthur (Michael), Galahad, (Chris), Gawain (Jeremy), Tristan (Steve), Percival (David), and Palamedes (Warren) have gathered at the round table to decide how to fight the evil that is invading the land, and thus our epic tale begins...
The brave knights gathered their resources while evil began to act swiftly against the noble realm. No one ventured from Camelot and the fabled sword Excalibur was swiftly drifting away. King Arthur decided to use Clairvoyance to allow his knights time to respond to the evil tidings. Alas it was not enough, as before Tristan could react the fabled blade was lost forever and frozen in Oblivion. It was a sad day in Camelot as Evil began taking over and the Round table lost two swords to darkness. Percival was quick to blame Tristan for not taking a different response to the threat of evil and so the harmony of the knighthood was splintered.
Percival took action and ventured to search for the Holy Grail artifact. This was a daunting quest and he would need help from other knights to succeed. The Black Knight offered a challenge outside of Camelots gates and Sir Palamedes rode out to meet him and defend the realm. King Arthur remained in Camelot, but he supported Percival in his quest with information that led Percival ever closer to the Grail. Unfortunately, Despair began to fall upon Percival and the Quest appeared a daunting and futile effort.
Gawain also had left Camelot and he came upon Lancelot who had fled Camelot after his relationship with the Queen and his betrayal to the crown. Gawain was able to overcome Lancelot and secure his armor which would help the good knights thwart the daunting evil forces that were assaulting Camelot. Meanwhile, Tristan and Galahad teamed up to repel a Pict invasion. This was a heroic battle and Camelot gained much glory in this victory. Gawain's return and Palamedes victory over the Black Knight tilted the balance of Camelot's fate toward the forces of good (4 to 2).
Tristan went to support Percival in the Grail Quest while King Arthur went to repel the Saxon invasion. The Dark Forest delayed the search for the Grail even further and Devastating attacks from the shadows made the quest even more difficult. The siege around Camelot was gaining momentum and Gawain and Palamedes valiantly fought against the growing assault. The King repelled the Saxon invasion and this deed brought hope to the knights that indeed the Grail Quest was not in vain. However, the doubt regarding Tristan's loyalty to the realm had gnawed at Percival and he accused Tristan of disloyalty to the kingdom. Tristan defended his honor but the damage was done and the knights began to doubt each other (4 white to 3 black). To further complicate matters, the Black Knight was unchallenged and this dishonor drove more knights away from Camelot (4 to 4).
Tristan, Arthur, and Palamedes ventured to confront an evil dragon in the land while Galahad took up the Grail Quest with a renewed Percival. Gawain fought valiantly against the growing siege forces outside of Camelot. Galahad called on Merlin's assistance to further the Grail quest and the knights were hopeful that they would soon find the relic and redeem the kingdom. The Dragon was also slain by the 3 knights and they returned to Camelot to assist Gawain in it's defense (6 white to 4 black).
The fate of the kingdom was on a knife's edge. If there was a traitorous knight remaining then the kingdom may fall into shadow forever. The Grail quest was nearing completion, Camelot was about to be overcome by the relentless siege...and Galahad decided to come forward and accuse Percival of disloyalty. It all made sense that Percival had falesly accused Tristan and he had failed to complete the Grail quest. Percival was outraged and proved his loyalty to the kingdom but again the hopes of the kingdom were dwindling (5 black to 5 white).
Percival foresaw evil tidings coming and warned his fellow knights. Palamedes headed the warning and did not tempt fate. The King had a plan though...once again he looked into the future with Clairvoyance to give his comrades time to complete the Grail Quest. Galahad followed his King's lead but was shocked to find that Morgan le Fay had plotted the demise of the kingdom. Apparently, Morgana had desposed of her step-brother, King Arthur, and replaced him with a traitorous spy. Her magic enhanced the deception and this "King Arthur" had misled the chilvarous knights. He had appeared helpful throughout the game, but in the end his betrayal revealed a hidden army that reinforced the siege upon Camelot. The siege forces proved too much and they overwhelmed Camelot. The kingdom was lost to the shadow and swallowed by the Mists of Avalon...Now it is only a whispered legend of a noble sacrifice by the last of the Knights of the Round Table.
End
I really enjoyed playing this game and would definitely play it again. I think it is great with a large number of players as there is always something to do and it seems quite challenging with a Traitor.
Caylus
Final Scores: Andrew (98), Sharon (82), Joel (78), and Troy (75).
Puerto Rico
Warren pulled out the victory with a dominant shipping strategy. He had 4 quarries, 4 corn, the harbor, wharf, and customs house. His win was never really in doubt once he got the wharf.
Final Scores: Warren (68), Michael (54), Andrew (52), Sharon (42), and Steve (38).
Shadows Over Camelot
I have been wanting to play this one for some time and I finally read the rules and got it to the table this week. It is an interesting cooperative game where everyone works together to defeat the "game" but with a twist that one player "might" be a traitor. This element of doubt adds the tension to the game and keeps everyone guessing each other's ulterior motives.
The cast: King Arthur (Michael), Galahad, (Chris), Gawain (Jeremy), Tristan (Steve), Percival (David), and Palamedes (Warren) have gathered at the round table to decide how to fight the evil that is invading the land, and thus our epic tale begins...The brave knights gathered their resources while evil began to act swiftly against the noble realm. No one ventured from Camelot and the fabled sword Excalibur was swiftly drifting away. King Arthur decided to use Clairvoyance to allow his knights time to respond to the evil tidings. Alas it was not enough, as before Tristan could react the fabled blade was lost forever and frozen in Oblivion. It was a sad day in Camelot as Evil began taking over and the Round table lost two swords to darkness. Percival was quick to blame Tristan for not taking a different response to the threat of evil and so the harmony of the knighthood was splintered.
Percival took action and ventured to search for the Holy Grail artifact. This was a daunting quest and he would need help from other knights to succeed. The Black Knight offered a challenge outside of Camelots gates and Sir Palamedes rode out to meet him and defend the realm. King Arthur remained in Camelot, but he supported Percival in his quest with information that led Percival ever closer to the Grail. Unfortunately, Despair began to fall upon Percival and the Quest appeared a daunting and futile effort.
Gawain also had left Camelot and he came upon Lancelot who had fled Camelot after his relationship with the Queen and his betrayal to the crown. Gawain was able to overcome Lancelot and secure his armor which would help the good knights thwart the daunting evil forces that were assaulting Camelot. Meanwhile, Tristan and Galahad teamed up to repel a Pict invasion. This was a heroic battle and Camelot gained much glory in this victory. Gawain's return and Palamedes victory over the Black Knight tilted the balance of Camelot's fate toward the forces of good (4 to 2).Tristan went to support Percival in the Grail Quest while King Arthur went to repel the Saxon invasion. The Dark Forest delayed the search for the Grail even further and Devastating attacks from the shadows made the quest even more difficult. The siege around Camelot was gaining momentum and Gawain and Palamedes valiantly fought against the growing assault. The King repelled the Saxon invasion and this deed brought hope to the knights that indeed the Grail Quest was not in vain. However, the doubt regarding Tristan's loyalty to the realm had gnawed at Percival and he accused Tristan of disloyalty to the kingdom. Tristan defended his honor but the damage was done and the knights began to doubt each other (4 white to 3 black). To further complicate matters, the Black Knight was unchallenged and this dishonor drove more knights away from Camelot (4 to 4).
Tristan, Arthur, and Palamedes ventured to confront an evil dragon in the land while Galahad took up the Grail Quest with a renewed Percival. Gawain fought valiantly against the growing siege forces outside of Camelot. Galahad called on Merlin's assistance to further the Grail quest and the knights were hopeful that they would soon find the relic and redeem the kingdom. The Dragon was also slain by the 3 knights and they returned to Camelot to assist Gawain in it's defense (6 white to 4 black).
The fate of the kingdom was on a knife's edge. If there was a traitorous knight remaining then the kingdom may fall into shadow forever. The Grail quest was nearing completion, Camelot was about to be overcome by the relentless siege...and Galahad decided to come forward and accuse Percival of disloyalty. It all made sense that Percival had falesly accused Tristan and he had failed to complete the Grail quest. Percival was outraged and proved his loyalty to the kingdom but again the hopes of the kingdom were dwindling (5 black to 5 white).
Percival foresaw evil tidings coming and warned his fellow knights. Palamedes headed the warning and did not tempt fate. The King had a plan though...once again he looked into the future with Clairvoyance to give his comrades time to complete the Grail Quest. Galahad followed his King's lead but was shocked to find that Morgan le Fay had plotted the demise of the kingdom. Apparently, Morgana had desposed of her step-brother, King Arthur, and replaced him with a traitorous spy. Her magic enhanced the deception and this "King Arthur" had misled the chilvarous knights. He had appeared helpful throughout the game, but in the end his betrayal revealed a hidden army that reinforced the siege upon Camelot. The siege forces proved too much and they overwhelmed Camelot. The kingdom was lost to the shadow and swallowed by the Mists of Avalon...Now it is only a whispered legend of a noble sacrifice by the last of the Knights of the Round Table.
End
I really enjoyed playing this game and would definitely play it again. I think it is great with a large number of players as there is always something to do and it seems quite challenging with a Traitor.
CaylusFinal Scores: Andrew (98), Sharon (82), Joel (78), and Troy (75).
Puerto RicoWarren pulled out the victory with a dominant shipping strategy. He had 4 quarries, 4 corn, the harbor, wharf, and customs house. His win was never really in doubt once he got the wharf.
Final Scores: Warren (68), Michael (54), Andrew (52), Sharon (42), and Steve (38).
Shark
This looks like a very close finish between Adam and Danielle...
Final Scores: Adam ($464k), Danielle ($461k), Eileen ($395.2k), and Aaron ($277k).
That's Life
Final Scores: Eileen (19), Adam (12), Danielle (6), Troy (6), and Aaron (-15).
This looks like a very close finish between Adam and Danielle...
Final Scores: Adam ($464k), Danielle ($461k), Eileen ($395.2k), and Aaron ($277k).
That's Life
Final Scores: Eileen (19), Adam (12), Danielle (6), Troy (6), and Aaron (-15).
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Session Report August 15, 2007
Attendees (15): Sharon, Warren, Adam, Eileen, Tamara, Cindy, Marty, Troy, Cheryl, Andy, Michael, Andrew, Steve, Matt, and Jaimie
We gathered at Steve's house this week for gaming and fun. Cindy and Marty joined us again (they are out of town friends of Warren and Sharon) and we are always glad to welcome more gamers.
Coloretto
While waiting on everyone to arrive, I taught this light card game to Andrew and Steve. Adam arrived and joined in for a 4 player game. Zooloretto is the board game based on this card game that won the 2007 Spiel des Jahres. The card game is all about collecting sets of like colored cards to score points but only 3 colors score positive pts while the rest count against your score. Players can draw a card and add it to a set or they may take all the cards in a particular set. There are a number of sets equal to the number of players and each set can only hold 3 cards max. There are also some wild cards and +2 cards that score 2 extra points.
Final: Michael (37), Andrew (32), Steve (28), and Adam (24).
Nexus Ops
Andrew, Steve, and I played about 1 rd of Nexus Ops and taught Andrew how to play. Then Matt and Jaimie arrived and we decided to play Amun Re...
Amun Re
I have already given my review on this great Reiner Knizia game. We taught it to Matt and Jaimie and I think that they also enjoyed the game. I rarely get to play this with 5 and it was a very enjoyable game with a full compliment of players. I was able to generate a lot of income during the first kingdom but never scored any bonus power cards during the game. Andrew grabbed the early scoring lead and Steve was about 10pts behind after the first scoring. In the 2nd kingdom, I had 3 sets and was very close to majority on both sides but Steve and Andrew each managed to win a side. Matt and Andrew grabbed 2 temples each but Jaimie, Steve, and I all played -3 cards during the last sacrifice to keep the level at 2 in spite of a +6 shift from Matt and Andrew combined! Steve and Jaimie both scored several bonus power cards and when we were adding up money there was only a 5pt separation between first and last place. I finished with 33 gold and if it was enough for first then I might be able to pull out the win but Steve had 34 gold and coincidently so did Andrew. This moved Steve into 2nd place and only 1pt behind Andrew who won! Final: Andrew (44), Steve (43), Michael (37), Matt (34), and Jaimie (33).
For Sale
This is another light card game that I found amusing the one time I played it. Today it was Marty (74) proving the best real estate dealer followed by Adam (65), Andy (60), and Cheryl (57).
Notre Dame
This one hit the table again tonight. Troy won with 67 pts followed by Sharon (49), Eileen (40), Cindy (34), and Tamara (30).
Mykerinos
This is a clever game fro Ystari. Troy again finished with a win. Finals: Troy (50), Cheryl (36), Andy (35), and Marty (21).
Medici
This is a classic Knizia auction game (that I haven't played yet). They had a full compliment of 6 players for this one. Final: Sharon (94), Adam (85), Warren (80), Tamara (72), Eileen (65), and Cindy (57).
To Court the King
This is a fun dice game often referred to as "Yahtzee with special powers". Many of the people in our game group have not liked it very much but I have found it to be very entertaining. Of course I like games with dice and enjoy manipulating the outcome that is so common in this game. My 5yr old also really enjoys rolling all the dice and after a few plays he 'gets' the basic strategies and can play competitively with the family. I was the only player who had played it previously and we used the "Weakened General" variant from Boardgamegeek. I will later give a thorough review on this game along with my adding dice to control varaint. Jaimie ended up impressing the King first (with 7 2's) and she got the Queen for the end-game roll-off. This allowed her to roll last and win all ties. Matt started the final round and impressed the King with 8 5's which was more than Andrew, Steve, or I could muster with all of the courtiers we had acquired. However, Jaimie was able to quickly accumulate her own set of 5's and with both the Astronomer and Magician she was able to roll 8 5's of her own and win the game!
We gathered at Steve's house this week for gaming and fun. Cindy and Marty joined us again (they are out of town friends of Warren and Sharon) and we are always glad to welcome more gamers.
Coloretto
While waiting on everyone to arrive, I taught this light card game to Andrew and Steve. Adam arrived and joined in for a 4 player game. Zooloretto is the board game based on this card game that won the 2007 Spiel des Jahres. The card game is all about collecting sets of like colored cards to score points but only 3 colors score positive pts while the rest count against your score. Players can draw a card and add it to a set or they may take all the cards in a particular set. There are a number of sets equal to the number of players and each set can only hold 3 cards max. There are also some wild cards and +2 cards that score 2 extra points.
Final: Michael (37), Andrew (32), Steve (28), and Adam (24).
Nexus Ops
Andrew, Steve, and I played about 1 rd of Nexus Ops and taught Andrew how to play. Then Matt and Jaimie arrived and we decided to play Amun Re...
Amun Re
I have already given my review on this great Reiner Knizia game. We taught it to Matt and Jaimie and I think that they also enjoyed the game. I rarely get to play this with 5 and it was a very enjoyable game with a full compliment of players. I was able to generate a lot of income during the first kingdom but never scored any bonus power cards during the game. Andrew grabbed the early scoring lead and Steve was about 10pts behind after the first scoring. In the 2nd kingdom, I had 3 sets and was very close to majority on both sides but Steve and Andrew each managed to win a side. Matt and Andrew grabbed 2 temples each but Jaimie, Steve, and I all played -3 cards during the last sacrifice to keep the level at 2 in spite of a +6 shift from Matt and Andrew combined! Steve and Jaimie both scored several bonus power cards and when we were adding up money there was only a 5pt separation between first and last place. I finished with 33 gold and if it was enough for first then I might be able to pull out the win but Steve had 34 gold and coincidently so did Andrew. This moved Steve into 2nd place and only 1pt behind Andrew who won! Final: Andrew (44), Steve (43), Michael (37), Matt (34), and Jaimie (33).
For Sale
This is another light card game that I found amusing the one time I played it. Today it was Marty (74) proving the best real estate dealer followed by Adam (65), Andy (60), and Cheryl (57).
Notre Dame
This one hit the table again tonight. Troy won with 67 pts followed by Sharon (49), Eileen (40), Cindy (34), and Tamara (30).
Mykerinos
This is a clever game fro Ystari. Troy again finished with a win. Finals: Troy (50), Cheryl (36), Andy (35), and Marty (21).
Medici
This is a classic Knizia auction game (that I haven't played yet). They had a full compliment of 6 players for this one. Final: Sharon (94), Adam (85), Warren (80), Tamara (72), Eileen (65), and Cindy (57).
To Court the King
This is a fun dice game often referred to as "Yahtzee with special powers". Many of the people in our game group have not liked it very much but I have found it to be very entertaining. Of course I like games with dice and enjoy manipulating the outcome that is so common in this game. My 5yr old also really enjoys rolling all the dice and after a few plays he 'gets' the basic strategies and can play competitively with the family. I was the only player who had played it previously and we used the "Weakened General" variant from Boardgamegeek. I will later give a thorough review on this game along with my adding dice to control varaint. Jaimie ended up impressing the King first (with 7 2's) and she got the Queen for the end-game roll-off. This allowed her to roll last and win all ties. Matt started the final round and impressed the King with 8 5's which was more than Andrew, Steve, or I could muster with all of the courtiers we had acquired. However, Jaimie was able to quickly accumulate her own set of 5's and with both the Astronomer and Magician she was able to roll 8 5's of her own and win the game!
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Session Report August 7, 2007
We met at David's house this Tuesday night for gaming.
Attendees (6): Matt, David, Troy, Steve, Michael, Andrew and Mary Ellen
Clash of the GladiatorsWe started with this light dice game by Reiner Knizia. Everyone builds their gladiator teams and then try to wipe out everyone else. Gladiator teams consist of 4 gladiators. Dice are rolled for combat with a 1 in 6 chance of getting a full hit, 2 in 6 chance of getting a minor hit, and 3 in 6 chance of missing. Each team can roll 1 die + an extra die for each Sword gladiator on the team. Prong gladiators allow for re-rolls, shield gladiators block minor hits, spear gladiators allow teams to hit first, and net gladiators can cancel the effects of other gladiators that they are fighting. There are also animals that show up in the arena and players can control them when they are eliminated. One Point is awarded for each gladiator you defeat and two points for each animal.
Game 1: David (16), Troy (13), Matt (12), Mike (10), and Steve (10).
Game 2: Troy (19), Mike (18), Andrew (15), Steve (9), and David (9).
Andrew and Mary Ellen played a quick train game of this while we were playing our first game of Clash of the Gladiators.
Citadels
Andrew, David, Mary Ellen, and I played this interesting Bruno Faidutti game. Players select various roles each with their own special abilities. Roles chosen also determine turn order and there is a lot of guessing what roles other players select. No one has perfect information but everyone has limited amounts of information about what roles have or haven't been selected. Players are trying to build various districts within their cities to score victory points. Different characters allow players to earn more gold, destroy districts, assassinate other roles, and blow up other player's districts. It was a chaotic game with a lot of interesting decisions and I would definitely give this one another play.
Finals: Mary Ellen (28), Michael (25), Andrew (18), and David (16).
Friday, August 3, 2007
Session Report July 31, 2007
Attendees(7): Warren, Sharon, Michael, Barbara, Steve, Troy, David
This one has been played a few sessions in a row but I have yet to play it. This civilization game requires players to deliver 4 sacrifice tokens in order to win but there are lots of activities that you can do in order to build up the mana needed for the sacrifices. Sharon won (4) while Barbara (3), Troy (2), and Steve (2) finished behind her. 
This is a short game (exactly 30 min) with a clever mechanic where everyone plays the game in "real time" and your actions are limited by sand timers and the time it takes them to "run out" so you can complete your actions. It is an interesting game that probably doesn't have deep replay value but it is light and quick and fun to play every once in a while. We only played the basic game so I'm sure the advanced rules add more depth and strategy to the game. However, since I made an illegal move about 5 min into our game (using the basic rules), I'll just stick to the basic game first... Anyway, we restarted the game and this time I played correctly. The basic strategy is to build up your resources and deliver them to the other player's stations to fulfill demand and score victory points. You can also add more technology to your station which allows you to produce more goods, transform goods, or add cities with large demands. The advantage of having lots of demands is that you receive some victory points for having demands that other players fulfill during the game. I was not able to deliver many goods during the game but I had the most demand and was fortunate that Warren was able to make a delivery as time expired to give me a 1pt victory while Warren and David finished tied for 2nd.
This is our only copy of the Carcassone series and I am very happy with this game. It has a well balanced mix of tiles with an easier scoring mechanism than its predecessor. Heather joined the adults and played this one too. Final: Sharon (55), Barbara (53), Heather (47), Steve (27), and Troy (22).
We had a small group for gaming Tuesday night at our house.
This one has been played a few sessions in a row but I have yet to play it. This civilization game requires players to deliver 4 sacrifice tokens in order to win but there are lots of activities that you can do in order to build up the mana needed for the sacrifices. Sharon won (4) while Barbara (3), Troy (2), and Steve (2) finished behind her.
This is a short game (exactly 30 min) with a clever mechanic where everyone plays the game in "real time" and your actions are limited by sand timers and the time it takes them to "run out" so you can complete your actions. It is an interesting game that probably doesn't have deep replay value but it is light and quick and fun to play every once in a while. We only played the basic game so I'm sure the advanced rules add more depth and strategy to the game. However, since I made an illegal move about 5 min into our game (using the basic rules), I'll just stick to the basic game first... Anyway, we restarted the game and this time I played correctly. The basic strategy is to build up your resources and deliver them to the other player's stations to fulfill demand and score victory points. You can also add more technology to your station which allows you to produce more goods, transform goods, or add cities with large demands. The advantage of having lots of demands is that you receive some victory points for having demands that other players fulfill during the game. I was not able to deliver many goods during the game but I had the most demand and was fortunate that Warren was able to make a delivery as time expired to give me a 1pt victory while Warren and David finished tied for 2nd.After Space Dealer, I taught David Elasund. This is an interesting game, in the Settlers genre, with some good strategic options but the actions during a turn are not intuitive and take some time to learn. You use Gold and Influence to build various buildings within Elasund, the First City of Catan. City Walls, the Chapel, and many production and Victory Point buildings are avaliable and 2 dice determine resource allocation. In this game 5's were popular and Warren ran away with a fistful of cards and never really was challenged. David made a run at the end and I actually lost several late VP's as Warren built a large building and removed one of mine that also had valuable trade VP's attached to it. Warren won (10), David was 2nd (7) and I finished with only (2).
This is our only copy of the Carcassone series and I am very happy with this game. It has a well balanced mix of tiles with an easier scoring mechanism than its predecessor. Heather joined the adults and played this one too. Final: Sharon (55), Barbara (53), Heather (47), Steve (27), and Troy (22).Sharon (won) played this light dice game with Barbara (5) , Matthew (8), and Heather (16) to close out the evening.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Session Report July 24, 2007
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.
M
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).
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.
M
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).
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.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Session Report May 28,2006 (Memorial Day)
Attendees(15+3): Warren, Sharon, Joann, Steve, Andy, Dawn, Troy, Brenda, Chris, Michael, Barbara, Adam, Rob, Curt, Danielle, and 3 kids under 10.
We all gathered at the Madden's house for a full day of boardgames and food! It was a lot of fun for my family since both my kids got to play some games and Barbara and I got in several long games with friends. We got in 12 games (at least) and one of them took most of the day for 5 players!
Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers
This has become one of my 5 year old's favorite games (along with Pick Picknic, To Court the King, and Electronic Dungeons and Dragons). He is able to pickup a lot of subtle strategies (for a 5 yr old) and he has learned how to stop his dad from scoring lots of points! Danielle 89, Matthew 88, Troy 72, and Michael 66.
Power Grid
We played this one with the Central Europe map. It proved interesting since some large plants came out early but I was fortunate to get a slight lead on capacity late in the game. When step 3 was triggered, I was able to buy to 17 cities and win while only being able to power 15 of them. Michael, Troy, and Barbara connected to 17 cities but Michael was able to power 15 while Troy and Barbara could only power 13 each. Troy finished 2nd since he had $40 vs Barbara's $8. Curt finished with only 12 cities in his network but he could power them all.
Tikal
Curt 99, Barbara 94, Michael 92, and Troy 82.
Loopin' Louie
My kids (especially Matthew) enjoy this light dexterity game. It was a new game for Rob and he seemed to enjoy it too. It is actually quite fun for adults and kids and it is one of the 'traditional' adult tournaments held at the Gathering of Friends.
Michael (won), Rob, Matthew, and Heather.
Fairy Tale
This has been a surprise hit in our household. Heather (my 8 year old) has really taken to it and she is quite capable of scoring in the 60-70 range on a regular basis. It is a quick (30 min) card game involving "drafting" cards (ala Magic the Gathering) but the combinations and card play are quick and simplistic once you learn the deck. Tonight it was Rob who got the best card combinations and won the game (on his first playing of the game).
Rob 59, Michael 54, Heather 45, and Andy 24.
To Court the King
This is another one of Matthew's favorite games (he loves to roll the dice). He was able to win out against his mom and Curt. Matthew (1st), Barbara(2nd), and Curt(3rd).
Settlers of Catan (3D)
The Madden's own this impressive edition of the classic Klaus Teuber and Heather teamed up with her Mom to play it. Joann pulled out the victory but everyone was in the running.
Joann (10), Barbara/Heather(9), Sharon(7), and Brenda(6).
Empire Builder
Andy and Sharon tag-teamed this one so Sharon could get dinner ready (gotta keep your priorities and your stomach in check). They were able to hold off Brenda in a close game about building a railroad network across the US. Andy/Sharon (261), Brenda (249), Danielle (201), and Joann (178).
Can't Stop
Game 1: Dawn (won), Sharon
Game 2: Rob (won), Sharon -- apparently Sharon couldn't stop ;-)
That's Life
Adam(23), Sharon (10), Rob (6)
Manifest Destiny
Warren, Adam, Steve, Chris, and Andrew competed over who could dominate the US from the Colonial times to the Modern Era. Chris was declared the winner via tie-breaker (more money) over Warren. They were followed closely by Steve, Andrew, and Adam.
We all gathered at the Madden's house for a full day of boardgames and food! It was a lot of fun for my family since both my kids got to play some games and Barbara and I got in several long games with friends. We got in 12 games (at least) and one of them took most of the day for 5 players!
Carcassonne Hunters and GatherersThis has become one of my 5 year old's favorite games (along with Pick Picknic, To Court the King, and Electronic Dungeons and Dragons). He is able to pickup a lot of subtle strategies (for a 5 yr old) and he has learned how to stop his dad from scoring lots of points! Danielle 89, Matthew 88, Troy 72, and Michael 66.
Power Grid
We played this one with the Central Europe map. It proved interesting since some large plants came out early but I was fortunate to get a slight lead on capacity late in the game. When step 3 was triggered, I was able to buy to 17 cities and win while only being able to power 15 of them. Michael, Troy, and Barbara connected to 17 cities but Michael was able to power 15 while Troy and Barbara could only power 13 each. Troy finished 2nd since he had $40 vs Barbara's $8. Curt finished with only 12 cities in his network but he could power them all.
TikalCurt 99, Barbara 94, Michael 92, and Troy 82.
Loopin' Louie
My kids (especially Matthew) enjoy this light dexterity game. It was a new game for Rob and he seemed to enjoy it too. It is actually quite fun for adults and kids and it is one of the 'traditional' adult tournaments held at the Gathering of Friends.
Michael (won), Rob, Matthew, and Heather.
Fairy TaleThis has been a surprise hit in our household. Heather (my 8 year old) has really taken to it and she is quite capable of scoring in the 60-70 range on a regular basis. It is a quick (30 min) card game involving "drafting" cards (ala Magic the Gathering) but the combinations and card play are quick and simplistic once you learn the deck. Tonight it was Rob who got the best card combinations and won the game (on his first playing of the game).
Rob 59, Michael 54, Heather 45, and Andy 24.
To Court the King
This is another one of Matthew's favorite games (he loves to roll the dice). He was able to win out against his mom and Curt. Matthew (1st), Barbara(2nd), and Curt(3rd).
Settlers of Catan (3D)The Madden's own this impressive edition of the classic Klaus Teuber and Heather teamed up with her Mom to play it. Joann pulled out the victory but everyone was in the running.
Joann (10), Barbara/Heather(9), Sharon(7), and Brenda(6).
Empire Builder
Andy and Sharon tag-teamed this one so Sharon could get dinner ready (gotta keep your priorities and your stomach in check). They were able to hold off Brenda in a close game about building a railroad network across the US. Andy/Sharon (261), Brenda (249), Danielle (201), and Joann (178).
Can't Stop
Game 1: Dawn (won), Sharon
Game 2: Rob (won), Sharon -- apparently Sharon couldn't stop ;-)
That's Life
Adam(23), Sharon (10), Rob (6)
Manifest DestinyWarren, Adam, Steve, Chris, and Andrew competed over who could dominate the US from the Colonial times to the Modern Era. Chris was declared the winner via tie-breaker (more money) over Warren. They were followed closely by Steve, Andrew, and Adam.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Session Report May 22, 2007
Attendees (10): Warren, Sharon, Michael, Andy, Tamara, Joel, Adam, Eileen, Troy, and Cheryl.
We all gathered at the Madden's and played some of the same games we played the week before.
Shogun
I got in my 3rd game of Shogun. It was a close finish but Andrew (49) won, followed by Joel (47), Adam (44), and then me (32). I tried a strategy of spreading out and building lots of troops and very few buildings. Then attacking others to capture their locations at key times. This didn't work very well and I fell to several late game attacks that left me completely out of the running. The other players were all very close and the "kingmaker" element of this type of game was evident. Still, I enjoyed the experience and hope to continue to shorten the playing time.
Amun Re
Sharon was anxious to play this one again. Troy (44) won followed by Cheryl (39), Eileen (34), and Sharon (23).
Puerto Rico
Warren won the 3 player version with 45pts. Andy and Tamra tied for second with 28.
Hare and Tortoise
This is a clever game that requires careful planning and mathematical calculations to win (a little luck can go a long way too). Planning your moves based on your position can give you more $ (carrots) and you spend these to move forward.
Warren finished first with $8 left.
Sharon finished 2nd with $9 left.
Cheryl finished 3rd with $2 left.
Eileen finished 4th with $30 left.
Troy finished 5th.
We all gathered at the Madden's and played some of the same games we played the week before.
ShogunI got in my 3rd game of Shogun. It was a close finish but Andrew (49) won, followed by Joel (47), Adam (44), and then me (32). I tried a strategy of spreading out and building lots of troops and very few buildings. Then attacking others to capture their locations at key times. This didn't work very well and I fell to several late game attacks that left me completely out of the running. The other players were all very close and the "kingmaker" element of this type of game was evident. Still, I enjoyed the experience and hope to continue to shorten the playing time.
Amun ReSharon was anxious to play this one again. Troy (44) won followed by Cheryl (39), Eileen (34), and Sharon (23).
Puerto RicoWarren won the 3 player version with 45pts. Andy and Tamra tied for second with 28.
Hare and Tortoise
This is a clever game that requires careful planning and mathematical calculations to win (a little luck can go a long way too). Planning your moves based on your position can give you more $ (carrots) and you spend these to move forward.
Warren finished first with $8 left.
Sharon finished 2nd with $9 left.
Cheryl finished 3rd with $2 left.
Eileen finished 4th with $30 left.
Troy finished 5th.
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