1/12: Carcassonne - Base game with all regular expansion tiles & Count Expansion: With Shelley
Shelley humored me with a game in the evening, and I decided to pull out our standby, Carcassonne, adding in all of the base tiles and running through the rules to the Count Expansion that had arrived over the holidays. Unfortunately, this was just too many tiles. I think that Carc is starting to wear out its welcome. This game just seemed to drag, but I did dominate farms for a change, taking over almost all of the farmland (something Shelley usually does) and winning by 50 points, 205 to 155.
1/16: Category 5 with Beth, Peter, Shelley and Nick
We had planned an evening with Peter and Beth, but wound up having a wonderful time at Nick and Anne's house, tagging along with Peter and Beth for dinner and some games oncethe kids hit the hay. Thai food was cleared off the table and while Anne handled the kids, Peter pulled the new English version of 6 Nimmt! (now Category 5) out of his bag and we ran through the rules for Nick's benefit. Attempting to NOT score just wasn't in the cards for me this time, as I had consecutive rounds of 31 and 37 points - PATHETIC!!! Nick, however, was the big winner with only 10 points over the 3 rounds, followed by Beth at 24, Peter at 36, Shelley at 54 and me at a sad 79. Ratings of 4 (Shelley) to 8 (Nick) were the order of the day.
1/16: Leapfrog with Anne, Beth, Peter, Shelley, and Nick
I must say I enjoy this little frog fest, though it seemed that the others were a bit less enthused, having problems seeing any advantage to utter random play. OK, I admit that this one isn't rocket science, but it IS an enjoyable little diversion and works quite well with a full contingent of 6. Over the 3 races the scores were quite close as strategies (do I go for the win or the tadpole) manifested themselves. In the end I chose right on the final 2 plays, but still wound up 1 point short of Peter's 15 point total. I ended with 14, Shelley earned 13 with 2 tadpoles, Nick and Anne tied at 11, but Nick was soup (on the plate at the end) and Beth finished with 9.
1/16: Hase & Igel with Anne, Beth, Peter, Shelley, and Nick
OK, now either I didn't explain this one very well, or bad luck coupled with a lack of desire killed this game for Beth. After the first move (a rabbit card that told her to "go back one position," but since she was the first player that meant she was back in start) she declared the game a zero. Oh well....We played it out, jumping ahead or laying back, and Anne wound up getting the right number of carrots after eating her last lettuce to win. I came in a pathetic 5th, beaten by Nick, Shelley, and Peter.
1/16: Tanz der Hornochsen with Anne, Beth, Peter, Shelley, and Nick
To get the bad taste out of our mouths after the last game, we returned in a way to where we had started, pulling this boardgame version of 6 Nimmt out of the bag for a run through. Peter, Beth and Shelley had played before, and with Nick's earlier playing of Category 5, it just meant we needed a quick refresher for Anne, followed by a summary of the additional rules present in this game. I must say I enjoy this one, though it's chaotic. There were groans aplenty as the tiles were revealed, with many directly sequential plays. It's actually a coup to lose a smaller scoring row if there are some good numbers in it since you get to keep 1-2. I actually wound up winning this one with 28 points scored, followed by by Peter at 36, Anne at 38, Beth at 46, Nick and 50 and Shelley sitting right before the dung pile at 59 (where she stayed for at least 3 rounds surprisingly enough!).
Games Played in January: 5
Carcassonne: 1
Category 5/6Nimmt: 1
Leapfrog: 1
Hase & Igel: 1
Tanz der Hornochsen: 1
2/5: Carcassonne + The Count expansion (at BAP)
I went ot BAP to advertise Kublacon, but also get some games in (finally). Though everything was just getting set up when I arrived, I wound up in a Carcassonne game with two women whom I instructed in using The Count expansion. While this is not a big add on, it can affect play in interesting ways, and led to some sharing of points in the game. Rather than lay down a farmer early, I decided to just meander through the game, basically giving the game to the woman who laid down her farmer first. She won with 172 points to her mom's 128 and my 118. I think I'm getting totally burnt out on Carcassonne.
2/5: Ticket to Ride (at BAP)
After our Carcassonne diversion, we pulled a couple of other people over to the table for a 3 newbie, 2 experienced game of Ticket to Ride. I really think this one's become the newbie game fo choice, supplanting Settlers and Carcassonne given its easily taught rules, but nice strategies that one learns as one plays more games. Tickets, as usual, are the key, and PJ and I (the two experienced players) made sure to make our connections. One of the women didn't get the game, so basically played "let's make the fun connections, paying no attention to her tickets - it was weird and kind of like playing with one of my immature high school Game Club guys. In the end my tickets were almost all complete, but I missed one. Regardless, I would have come in second to PJ's 143. I earned 122.
2/5: Razzia! with Jeff & Kevin (at BAP)
Kevin showed up to pass out fliers after I gave him a ring, and after watching Jeff and Kevin play a game of Carabbean, I pulled this card version of RA out of my tub. Little did I know that Kevin's a shark when it comes to Razzia's older brother, so he mopped the floor with us. In the end he had more points than Jeff and my scores combined at 59 to my 24 and Jeff's 22.
2/9: Wheedle with Anne, Grace, Katie, Laura, and Jodi
With the High School Exit Exam keeping kids out of my room for much of the morning, I had some free and enjoyable days. But as the kids began filtering back when they finished, I decided to offer a game of Wheedle as a respite from study. Five of my students readily joined me and after a run through of the rules, we had a rousing good time! Katie and I were neck and neck throughout, while Grace couldn't seem to catch a break with deals. I loved the fast and furious trading, though sometimes we had to stop and figure out who had forgotten to discard the middle card. In the end Katie squeeked by me for the win at 66 points to my 59, Jodi and Anne's 36, Laura's 33, and Grace's 26. Fun stuff!
2/13: Weinhandler with Shelley and Greg
A last minute Game Night had to be called given my drought in game playing and "no school" status for the following week. So I called a couple people and games and fun were had! Greg arrived first, so we sat to the kitchen table and ran through a game of wine collecting. Using some of the same mechanics as Money, though with the twist of not getting to CHOOSE the bid you want if you bid highest, but instead receiving the cards dealt in the middle. Then, you have to stack your wine into your cellar, hoping for groupings that score the best. I like the game, and think it plays well with three, and both Shelley and Greg enjoyed it too. I won with 102 points to Greg's 91 and Shelley's 82. Greg and I rated the game a 7, while Shelley, even though she came in last, rated it an 8.5.
2/13: Fairytale (x2) with Shelley and Greg
A new acquisition, and I just had to try it out with Greg and Shelley. WOW! I must say that Patrick Horner was right - this one's really GREAT!. Each player is dealt a hand of 5 cards, chooses one, then passes the rest to the player to his/her left. This continues until the player again has 5 cards. Then 3 of the 5 are played to the table in 4 different rounds. The cool thing is how the cards interact. Different cards act as multipliers for others, or must have certain conditions met in order to obtain their points. In the first game I squeeked out a win with 45 points to Shelley's 44 and Greg's 41. We liked it so much, that we played it again immediately. In game 2 Shelley won with 60 points to my 46 and Greg's 44. Shelley rates this one a 9, Greg gave it an 8, and though I gave it a 7.5 at the time, I think I'd give it a 9 at this point.
2/13: Leapfrog with Peter, Shelley, Jodi, Alix, and Greg
WIth other players trickling in, and the possible addition of Chris and Kim (they showed up about 5 minutes later), I figured a quick 6-player fit the bill. I enjoy this little game, and its easy, somewhat luck-based rules. WIth each player attempting to make the most of the same chips in front of him/her, I need to pay closer attention to whether the initial starting positions can help/hinder someone too much. In this game I came in 2nd twice and 3rd once, but just missed the win at 14 to Greg's 15. Shelley and Alix were tied at 13, but Shelley wound up on the plate at the end. Peter scored 10 and Jodi wound up with 8.
2/13: YS with Shelley, Alix, and Greg
With 8 people now present, 2 groups of 4 formed. The other group pulled out a train game (1835, I think), while I suggested YS, a game I really wanted to get to the table, for our group. After plowing through the rules since we were all newbies to the game, we began.
YS's primary mechanism involves semi-blind bidding on 13 different places on the board. Over 4 rounds of bidding, players place one bid of 0-4 up and the other down. Gems, cards for influence, and VPs are earned through winning bids, but one can also influence the value of gems in the market.
Shelley took a "black market gems" strategy, earning the maximum number by the third turn. This focus, coupled with her socres in the other gems gave her the win at 87 points to Greg and my tie at 79 and Alix's 65. Ratings of 8 or higher were given by all, so I'm sure with one will find its way to the table again!
2/13: Hispaniola with Shelley, Alix, and Greg
Another Essen release that once again needed to find its way to the table, this one has to go down as "most expensive air of 2004." In a box about the size of the Puerto Rico box (a bit thinner) there is a deck of cards, a small board (Oceana size), and a number of tiny discs. In other words, fold the board in fourths and it could EASILY fit into one of the Kosmos 2-player boxes.
That complaint aside, how does the game play? Well, it's yet another variation on the trick-taking format, with the deck cut down to the right size depending upon the number of players, then trumps figured out by an initial bid (highest card in a particular color and that color is trump for the round). As tricks are won, the initial card in the trick determines the boat on the board onto which one's colored disk winds up. Subsequent wins in that color bumps previous winners to lower scoring parts of the boat, or even overboard and onto islands in the middle. When a round ends scores for the captain's position on each boat (the middle spot) each more points than the other spaces, and islands count negative 1-4 points. Also, the players with the largest and second largest pile of tricks in front of them lose points. In other words, this one can get really nasty quickly.
In our game we separated into those who couldn't seem to catch a break vs. those who could do little wrong. Alix took the worst of it, earning -8 points for her trouble. I barely hung onto a positive score, earning 12 points. Shelley and Greg were the ones competing for the win, and Greg steamrolled to the win at 42 points compared to Shelley's 32. It's an OK game, but next time I need to wait and play ones like this before I jump onto the "must buy" bandwagon.
2/13: King's Breakfast with Shelley and Alix
since it was Sunday and not Saturday, Greg needed to take off for his rather long drive home, so after seeing him off, Alix was interested in learning a new card game. Since the Domaine game at the next table was fairly close to finishing, I pulled King's Breakfast off the shelf (needed to refresh my memory since I wound up teaching Shelley's 3rd graders how to play it the next day). Set collection of food items is the ordeer of the day, and Shelley and I were neck and neck for much of the game. In the end I wound up with 3 points more than Shelley for the win at 88. Though Alix wound up in third at 61, she enjoyed the experience and rated the game an 8.
2/13: Fairytale with Shelley, Jodi, and Alix
At that point the Domaine game broke up and Chris, Kim, and Peter took off. We wrangled Jodi into staying for one more game, so she joined our table of 3 for a final game of Fairytale (one I'd attempted to start earlier until the second wave of players arrived). I quickly ran through the rules and showed some of the cards and their properites, then we began our card drafting. Jodi, it turns out, wasn't too fond of this one, though I'm thoroughly enamored with it now. Alix, the card shark, caught onto the intricacies fairly quickly and creamed us, earning 47 points to Shelley's 39, my 30 and Jodi's 25.
2/21: Coloretto with Nick and Tim
Attempting to establish a bi-weekly game night once again, this time we shot for Monday. Though a 5:00 start turned into a 6:00 arrival, Nick, followed closely by Tim, showed up and we headed to the game room after pizza was ordered. Figuring Peter would be joining us shortly, I pulled Coloretto off the shelf and ran throught he rules. Tim and Nick seemed dubious at first, but quickly caught onto the strategies that deepen an otherwise simle game. A bonehead maneuver on my part gave Nick an early lead, and he ran away with it, earning 42 points to my 30 and Tim's 16.
2/21: Coloretto with Nick, Tim, and Peter
With Peter's arrival, another game of Coloretto was in order. This time Peter and Tim did quite well, while I flailed a bit and Nick "just wanted to stay in positive scoring." In the end Tim snuck by Peter for a 1-point win. In fact, Peter took the last pile with 2 cards on it, not wanting to take the risk of a third card. If he had taken the risk, he would have pulled another brown card and won.
2/21: Fairytale (x4) with Peter, Tim, and Nick
Time to pull out a new game, and given the other guys' penchant for Magic, I knew they'd like this one. Boy was I right! Game 1 led to another, followed by two games of partnership play. In game 1 Tim hit on an excellent startegy that no one stopped of collecting starred cards, earning solid scores for all of them. I failed to complete a couple of my starred cards, hurting my score. Tim won with 50 points to Peter's 43, my 41 and Nick's 36. Game 2 led to s similar problem with regards to Tim - he once again set up some nice collections that people failed to prevent. He earned the win once again with a score of 52, while Nick earned "most improved" with a 14 point gain to 50 for second place. Peter earned 45 points, and I ended in last place, right behind at 44.
Now that we knew the cards a bit, we switched things up and played partnership, with Tim and I attempting to beat out Nick and Peter. Unfortunately, obth games ended with our defeat. In the first game we were creamed as I failed to fulfill a couple of my starred cards, while Nick and Peter cleaned up. 103 to 79 was a massacre. the next game we did a bit better, but still lost 112 to 102. Fun games both times, though!
2/24: Wheedle with Kim, Katie, and Cierra
A group of girsl showed up and were killing time, so I asked if they wanted to play a game. They were quick to say yes, so I taught them Wheedle which now sits out, ready to play at a moments notice. We had a good time attempting to get the best hand possible and Kim nearly cuaght up to my lead, earning herself 51 points to Katie's 37 and Cierra's 27. I won with 64 points.
2/26: Fairytale at BAP with Chris and Terence
Chris carpooled with me up to Foster City for the monthly BAP gathering and I twisted his arm and pulled Terence over for a quick game of this new favorite. Chris took a different tack than previous players have, using the black suit cards that are painful to everyone to hurt Terence and me. i wound up haveing 4 of my 12 cards turned over, along with 2 others that earned me no points whatsoever. My experience, therefore, paid little dividends because I wound up with 28 points to Terence's 29 and Chris' 39. I'll have to pay more attention to the use of black cards now, as I can see they are quite painful.
2/26: Villa Paletti with Ted, Terence, and Chris
Ted walked in and pulled us into this fun little dexterity game. Turns out there are a few more rules than I'd realized, and I must say I'll have to remember them in the future. Basically, everyone places their rods in turn, making the placement a bit more strategic. Then the person who has the highest score on the current level is the first place person. The fat, round rod is worth 3 points, the hex rod is worth 2, and the thin round rod is worth 1. The colored wooden block then goes to the first place person, with the color marking the 2nd place person in case Mr 1st place knocks the villa over. Turns out that we got all the way to the top level an I actually was able to get my piece placed, earn first place, then have Terence knock the tower over. Ted earned second place and Chris came in 3rd.
2/26: Mall World with Gilbert, Terence, and Chris
I've had this game for over 2 months now, but never had a chance to get it to the table. The fact that the rules are a bit incomprehensible given the way they're written didn't help. Thankfully, Chris has played the game a number of times and was willing to teach the rest of us. even after explanation, which isn't too complicated, I still had some troubles and missed a rule that eventually hurt my score considereably. Gilbert placed a customer on a particular store that menat it no longer counted toward a large scoring chance I thought I had. in the ned I was FAR off the pace and agree with Chris' assessment that luck certainly play a role in the final score, as the cards I needed just never came up, or I missed them due to inattentiveness. I want to play this one again, but don't see it becoming a favorite. Gilbert won handily with 92 points to Terence's 77, Chris' 70, and my 48.
2/26: Himalaya with Jodi, Misha, and Chris
After a quick lunch break, Jodi finished her game and I pulled this new acquisition out of my tub. Himalaya is the commercial version of Merchants of the Empire, a game I cobbled together after finding it online. It's a fun game with some luck and some interesting "route planning" aspects. Players race around the board attempting to collect goods, then fulfill contracts. When a contract is fulfilled the player can either place religious influence, political influence, and market influence. These three influences must be balanced as the person with the least in religious, then political, then market influence is eliminated at the end of the game.
In our game Jodi was the first eliminated for religion, then I lost out on political influence. Misha and Chris then compared their market influence and Chris dominated with a score of 43 to Misha's 29. Good game that I see playing often, especially in this new and nice version.
2/26: Keythedral with Jodi, Misha, and Chris
Chris brought the republished Pro Ludo version of Keythedral and pulled it out of the tub for a run through. I've always enjoyed this game, as the competition for resources and placement of initial board tiles always affects the way situations develop. The bidding for start player also makes for some nice angst. The new version has a thicker cathedral and craft board which are worth the price of admission.
In the game itself, I thought I was doing fairly well, obtaining a tile from each chair level, even the top slot. Unfortunately, I failed to pay attention to Jodi's slow and steady build up of resources and scoring tiles. In the end she won by 10 points with a score of 61 to Misha's 51, my 50 and Chris' 24.
Games Played in February: 24
Carcassonne: 1
Ticket to Ride: 1
Razzia!: 1
Wheedle: 2
Weinhandler: 1
Fairytale: 8
Leapfrog: 1
YS: 1
Hispaniola: 1
King's Breakfast: 1
Coloretto: 2
Villa Paletti: 1
Mall World: 1
Himalaya: 1
Keythedral: 1
3/1: Settlers of Catan with Dan, Shoshana, and Anne
Game Club restarted today with a bang. I seduced a couple of my current students to come, and we played through a game of Settlers while others enjoyed Piratebilliards and Blokus. In the Settlers game I wound up having very little in the way of brick and wood, so I took a "all Development Cards all the time" approach and actually wound up earning myself 8 points at the end. Unfortunately, Anne did an excellent job of placing her Cities on lucrative spots that gave her TONS of resources. It was just a matter time for Anne, and eventually she placed a final settlement on the board for her 10th point and the win. Dan ended with 5 and Shoshana had 4.
3/9: Coloretto Amazonas with Mark x3
My 5th period TA obliged my desire to play a game, and I taught him thi snew version of Michael Schacht's fun little card game. The beauty of this version is that it can be played with just 2 people, while the original is for 3-5.
Basically, there are 4 suits of animal cards and one attempts to collect 3, 4, 5, or 6 cards in a suit, depending on the suit. HOWEVER, each of the cards collected must be a different animal. Thus, in the desert (brown 3 cards to collect) you have to have a snake, frog, and iguana. The same type of animal CANNOT be played to the pile or you lose BOTH cards of that animal. The nice twist is that one can also give a card to his/her opponent and that player can either remove the double, or take a card from one of the piles adjacent to the suit. This makes for some nice (albeit moderate) tension and a fun, face-paced game. The first person to get a completed group in a suit gets a bonus as well, so that ramps up the competition too. The game ends when either a person creates 3 completed piles OR the draw pile runs out.
Game 1 was actually quite interesting as I was the person to 'go out', but actually wound up losing because the sets I created were 3-card sets and didn't score well. Mark won 59-55. Game 2 saw me capitalizing on some good cards and winning iwth 57 points to Mark's 41. Mark won the day, however, as Game 3 went to him with a 58-48 win.
3/10-11: Coloretto Amazonas with Dan (x3)
It's been "introduce the TAs to games week" and Dan was no exception as we vacated the room while the guidance counselor spoke and I ran through the rules of Coloretto with him. After a first, close game in which Dan won 49-41, I proceeded to dominate the next two (one on Thursday, the other while the students worked on a project on Friday), winning by a score of 20 points each time: 58-38 and 62-42.
3/15: Die Garten Der Alhambra with Chris and Ben
Game Club has returned and I'm getting a few kids in on Tuesday, so this game found its way into the tub now that a proper translation of the rules has come out. The major change is that ties go to the next person present at the square who isn't tied, AND can even go to the person with no colors around the square if only two people are at the square and they're both tied. Interesting twist! Well, having played before, my placings were a bit better than Chris and Ben, though Ben had played (and it turns out not liked) this game previously. In fact, Ben had pretty much given up in the end, looking to play kingmaker rather than work to win - a tactic that really annoys me, but something that I have to live with in dealing with somewhat immature boys. However, because of the way the game socres, Ben actually was only 1 point behind Chris at game end, with 83 points to Chris's 84. I won with 96.
3/15: Einfach Genial with Chris, Ben, and Chad
Ben and Chris' friend Chad showed up for a game, so I ran them through the rules of Einfach Genial, a game all of them seemed to enjoy. The abstract nature of the game, coupled with the fact that scoring keeps things fairly close, meant that we were all neck and neck for quite awhile. I, once again, won with a lowest score of 11, but Chris and Ben were right on my heels with 10 as their lowest. Ben actually placed 2nd with higher scores in his other colors. Chad, sadly, couldn't seem to buy a purple tile for the life fo him and wound up last at 6.
3/15: Coloretto Amazonas with Chris and Chad
Ben had to leave, but Chris and Chad were up for one more game, so I taught them this new acquisition. This was my first playing with more than 2 players and I'm happy to say that the "block" that menas one can't get picked on works quite well. Certainly luck of the draw is a major factor here, but I love that the game's quick to pick up, quick to play, and fairly enjoyable throughout. I was able to garner the most points, with Chad, then Chris bringing up the rear.
3/22: Balloon Cup with Dan
With a bunch of Freshmen joining the Game Club team, I let them enjoy a game on their own as I pulled out Balloon Cup for a quick face off against Dan. this happened to be one of the BEST games of Balloon Cup I've ever played as momentum swung back and forth. I began with everything going well on my end, earning the first trophy almost before Dan was able to grab a cube. However, a bad hand can change into a great one with the "swap up to four if you can't play" rule, and Dan benefitted quite nicely. As the game came down to the wire, I had earned 2 trophies (Green and Gray) and Dan made the comment that he could "win in two moves" before playing a card and obtaining the Red trophy to add to his Blue one. I had to win on my next play, so I pondered my moves....EUREKA! I play a card to complete the 4-cube flight, pulled in a yellow cube, making my total 4 in yellow, moved my 3 reds over to make a fifth yellow, then added the two blues from the flight to my one blue to make a total of 6 yellow for the Yellow trophy. YES!! VERY satisfying!
3/22: Coloretto Amazonas (x3) with John, Ashley, and Sam
John and Sam had just finished their game of Flix Mix (a GREAT filler game!), so I roped them into a game of this new, fairly fun Coloretto variant, then brought Ashley in as well. We actually played 3 games of this one as they all seemed to enjoy it. Game 1 found John edging Ashley for the win, while I ran away with game 2 and tied John for the win in game 3.
So some might ask (if they're reading to find out), "Does the game work well? Do you like it?" Well, I would answer with a qualified "yes" to each question. Though FILLED with luck because of the card draw mechanism, (someone can, as I did in game 2, run away with it if the right cards come up), I enjoy the fact that it's quick, easy to learn, and has some strategy as you figure out if you should keep a card or attempt to foil someone else's collection. The "can't receive a card" marker helps alleviate the potential "screw with one individual" problem that could have been present and also, given enough plays provides an added level of thought because you may want to avoid giving a card to someone so that another player can hurt them with a card you don't have. It's a good game for occasional or non-gamers, but from my experience probably works best with 2.
3/22: Coloretto Amazonas with Ashley
Ashley stuck around for another game after John and Sam left, and I was able to dominate with some lucky card draws. Though she tried to take my note about the score from me, commenting that she didn't want to be immortalized on my web page, I convinced her that it's a small price to pay for a fun time gaming. I won with a score of 61 to her 33. I really did get lucky card draws, Ash, I swear! :-)
3/22: Coloretto Amazonas with Dan and Erin
Erin, one of my chiefs from last year dropped by to see Dan, and I convinced the two of them that they needed to play a game with me. We played a quick one and had fun trying to thwart the scores of each other. Always competitive, the game ended with close scores, though Dan eked out a victory with 44 points to Erin's 36 and my 35.
3/25: Coloretto Amazonas (x3) with Katie
My 3rd period class was writing an in-class essay, one of the students brought a visitor, and rather than sit there bored for the period, I roped her into a game rather than correct another paper. I siad it above and I'm going to stick to my statement that this one's a good, quick game for non-gamers to pick up on the fly. After an introductory game where Katie caught onto the tricks of scoring (she was a 3-card set maker for the first game, but that didn't giver her very many points and she lost 25-45), Katie did quite well in game 2, winning with a score of 66 to my 50. In the last game I actually scored quite well, earning the all-important 6-point bonus and scoring 70 points to Katie's 50. Great way to kill some time!
3/26: Motley Fool's Buy Low, Sell High with Shelley and Candy
Fortuitously two copies of this new Uberplay release arrived Friday in the mail for Kublacon, so we needed to break both in, learning them for both the Kniziathon AND the Uberplay-a-thon. Quick to pick up, this one has some nice bits, scales well, and plays fairly quickly too. For each of the 'years' in the game players buy and sell stock and then MUST play a card that affects the stocks. Both positive and negative effects can occur, and you TRY to make things turn into your favor.
Shelley, the risk taker in the family, took greater risks and came out on top, winning with a score of 138 to my 114 and Candy's 96. Candy's attempt to corner the market on retail hurt her as Shelley and I both tended to stay in the tech and oil sectors.
3/26: El Grande with Zack, Peter, Greg, and Shelley
With more arrivals and a 5-player group, I figured the suggestion of El Grande would be a good one. I really do enjoy this one, but it can get bogged down with slow play. Unfortunately this happened, as the game dragged on for about 1/2 an hour longer than it should have. That coupled with some frustrating plays on my part left a sour tasste in my mouth at the end, though I still appreciate the game and its variety of mechanics. Peter and Greg wound up tying for the win at 116 points to Zack's 95, my 94, and Shelley's 87.
3/26: Himalaya with Zack, Greg, and Shelley
Turning to a new version of an old favorite, I pulled Tilsit's new release of the "build your own copy" game Merchants of the Empire that they've renamed Himalaya. This one's VERY good, with some "programming" aspects of attempting to maneuver your way around the board and gain resources, then fulfill contracts. Each fulfilled contract allows you to choose 2 different types of influence from three possibilities: religious, political, and economic. The scoring then eliminates the lowest player in those areas in that order. With the simultaneous programming of movement, the game moves quickly and in the end we were all very close. I tied for last in religious, so I stayed in the game for that, then lost out when it came to political influence, putting me in 4th place. that left the winner determined by the whims of economy. Shelley definitely triumphed in that area, pulling in 35 points to Greg's 14 and Zack's 12. Shelley commented that the game's a bit like Hansa and she likes that game a lot. Looks like I'll be able to get it to the table again!
3/26: Der Prestel Schlossgarten with Shelley, Greg, and Candy
After a dinner of pasta, sausages, and some ESCELLENT skewers of caprese salad and salami, we glanced over at the shelves and I decided to try this unusual game out on my unsuspecting friends. A puzzle-esque game where one uses pieces to get into position, then excavates the garden to place features, Schlossgarten was published by a German art book company and has a wonderful Impressionistic feel. The game's pretty good, but we worried about a 1st player advantage and as first player, I DID win. So we've proposed two possible fixes - rotate the start player each round, OR randomize start player, OR find a way to bid for the start player spot. Regardless, I won with 22 points to Candy's 20 (she sat in 4th position) followed by Greg at 17 and Shelley at 14.
3/26: Clocktowers with Shelley, Greg, and Candy
Another little card game that I picked up, and I'm not sure it's that great. Each player attempts to build clocktowers, playing cards from his/her hand and then drawing cards from one of three face-up piles. Of course, the quality of the cards that come up can effect the game considerably, and Shelley didn't grasp the need to get stories first, since that pile ran out and she was stuck with a hand of roofs and clocks. Greg and I tied with 10 points each, but Greg had the tiebreaker (I think it was a mouse at a higher level). OK, but nothing special.
3/26: Paris Paris with Shelley, Greg, and Candy
Wow! Hadn't played this one in awhile, and I'd forgotten what a nice, breezy little jaunt this was. Though I enjoy Schacht's Web of Power more, I love the favor of this one - light, but theme-rich, especially with the board and the various landmarks you need to find. We played with the little expansion of specific spots one needs to own, and I do enjoy that addition. I wound up making the best placements of my souvenier shops, earning 40 points, but Shelley and Greg were right behind, especially after Shelley added in her 'bumped to the bag' points. They tied at 36 and candy wound up with 24.
3/26: Tanz der Hornochsen with Candy, Greg L., Jodi, Zack, and Greg P.
With other departures and Shelley heading off to bed, it was time to try a game that everyone could join in on and I figured the boardgame version of 6 Nimmt would be a worthwhile choice. Most thought so, but Jodi turned out to be less than enthralled with this one - Oh well. Like 6 Nimmt each player plays 1-2 tiles with numbers on it and four rows of varying length are activated You're trying NOT to score points, and Greg L. did an excellent job of avoiding such a situation for a number of rounds. However, Candy was able to pull out the win in the end with a score of 21 to Greg P's 33, Zack and Greg L.'s 36, my 38 and Jodi's 51.
3/26: Attika with Zack, Greg, and Candy
More departures, so we were down to 4 and Attika, which had been suggested earlier but not played, found it's way to the table for the last game of the night. I started out strong and therefore was the first person to be picked on (along with Zack) as Greg blocked one of the temples that both of us were heading toward. Instead, that left Candy sitting pretty and in a couple of turns she was able to pull off a connection win. Fun game, but frustrating when you have no way of preventing such a quick win.
3/27: Carcassonne: the City with Greg, Shelley and Zack
After a nice Easter breakfast, we headed out to the game room for our traditional "day after Game Night" round of games. The first one off the shelf was this latest version of Carcassonne that I must say I enjoy quite a bit. With the addition of the walls there's a lot to consider as you place your tiles. Unfortunately, I clearly made two HUGE errors in the game that cost me the win. I failed to close off a market with my last wall placment on the last round, meaning it failed to score. Then I made one other boo boo (forgetting what it was now). In the end Greg squeeked by me for a 91 to 88 point win. Shelley was close behind at 82 and Zack earned 74.
3/27: Keythedral with Greg and Zack
Another game that I really enjoy, and since I'd purchased the expansion tiles (and a new Pro Ludo copy) I had to get it to the table. Shelley took a break from this one, so we played it 3-player and it worked well at this player level, though the green tiles were very precious and Greg had gained a nice corner on the market for a bit. I thought things were fairly close, as in the end I wound up with 69 points, but Greg had zoomed ahead with 81 total points (large harvests in the beginning in contrast to Zack and me helped). Zack ended with 46 points and worked valiantly for the final tile which required SIX green cubes.
3/27: YS with Shelley, Greg, and Zack
Man, I must say I like this game, and the deliberation as one attempts to figure out how to proceed gets the adrenaline flowing, but I was really surprised that I was able to win this one. Greg had done an excellent job of capturing the lead in at least two of the four gems and I figured that would carry him over the top. However, a tie for first, coupled with another tie for third (I think) hurt his final scoring. Coupled with only one of the black gems Greg wound up in 3rd. I tried to balance my gems a bit, scoring first in the last place gem, but scoring second in two of the others. Earning a number of the 3-point scores during play helped, and I finished with 84 points and the win. Shelley cam in second with 79 points and a 24-point boost for collecting as many black gems as possible, and Zack brought up the rear with a score of 69. Great game!
3/28: Einfach Genial (x2) with LaDonna, Steve, and Shelley
Shelley's parents had us over for a post-Easter dinner and afterward Shelley had me run out to the car and bring in a couple of the games I already tote along. Though they approached the game with a bit of trepidation at first, LaDonna and Steve really took to this one and did quite well. LaDonna won the first game, while Steve nearly hit the genius mark on every cube in the second game for the win.
3/29: Carcassonne (no expansions) with Anne and AJ
Game Club attendance continues to rise, and I had 10 students in for games at the peak yesterday afternoon. After getting the stalwart group of boys started on a new game (my homemade copy of Web of Power, the Card Game), I moved over to play a game of Carcassonne with Anne and AJ. Anne began teaching the game and I stepped in to finish as it turned out that Anne had been playing a few of the rules wrong! She thought that meeples could continue to be placed in areas that already contained them, provoking fights for territory that could become epic. I didn't point out to her then (because I didn't think of this problem), but the worry is that as an area would complete, basically the last person to play a piece to the area would automatically get the area if seach player had built up the spot. In the end I wound up winning because of my farmers with 95 points to AJ and Anne's tie at 77.
3/29: Wheedle with Shoshana, Ashley, Anne, and Drew/Jody
With 5 players ready for the next game, I figured Wheedle, a game many had already played and loved, would be appropriate. Ashley and I started out strong, with 1 piont separating us in the top spots for the first couple of rounds. However, with Drew's departure, Jody sat down to take his place and cleaned our clocks on her first hand, jumping into the lead. I, on the other hand, began to suffer horribly as I lost points on the next 2 rounds, calling a STOP at the wrong time once and ending with a score of 30. the Drew/Jody combo won with 69 points, followed by Ashley at 60, Anne at 59, and Shoshana brought up the rear with 9.
3/29: 6 Nimmt with Anne, Jody, and Ashley
After a teaching round of this quick card game in which (because of prior experience, I know) I earned a perfect zero, we then proceeded to play a round to end the club that would "count on the post-it" as Ashley says. Sadly, I couldn't seem to catch a break in that round and lost with 20 points in our single round, compared to Ashley's 19, Jody's 13, and Anne's winning score of 6.
3/29: Starship Catan with Shelley
I HATE when I miss a rule in a game that I haven't played in awhile! I love this 2-player, but we hadn't played it in forever. Sadly, we also forgot the rule that only ONE of your colonies gets a resource if more than one have the same die value. Thus, because I had 2 colonies with a #1 die value, I was mistakenly pulling in 2 resources whenever a 1 was rolled. OOPS! This meant that I scooted on ahead rather quickly, leaving Shelley fuming (understandably). We realized the mistake about 1/2 way through, kept playing the wrong way to finish the game (it went quickly, I must say) and I "won" with 10 points to Shelley's 5. We both promised that we'd play this one again soon in order to make sure we played it right and returned it to its rightful place as a fantastic 2-player game, removign the bad taste that this play caused.
Games Played in March: 36
Settlers of Catan: 1
Coloretto Amazonas: 15
Die Garten der Alhambra: 1
Einfach Genial: 3
Balloon Cup: 1
Motley Fool's Buy Low, Sell High: 1
El Grande: 1
Himalaya: 1
Der Prestel Schlossgarten: 1
Clocktowers: 1
Paris Paris: 1
Tanz der Hornochsen: 1
Carcassonne: The City: 1
Keythedral: 1
YS: 1
Carcassonne: 1
Wheedle: 1
6Nimmt: 1
Starship Catan: 1
1) Carcassonne: 3
2) Category 5/6Nimmt: 1
3) Leapfrog: 2
4) Hase & Igel: 1
5) Tanz der Hornochsen: 2
6) Ticket to Ride: 1
7) Razzia!: 1
8) Wheedle: 3
9) Weinhandler: 2
10) Fairytale: 8
11) YS: 2
12) Hispaniola: 1
13) King's Breakfast: 1
14) Coloretto: 2
15) Villa Paletti: 1
16) Mall World: 1
17) Himalaya: 2
18) Keythedral: 2
19) Settlers of Catan: 1`
20) Coloretto Amazonas: 15
21) Die Garten der Alhambra: 1
22) Einfach Genial: 3
23) Balloon Cup: 1
24) Motley Fool's Buy Low, Sell High: 1
25) El Grande: 1
26) Der Prestel Schlossgarten: 1
27) Clocktowers: 1
28) Paris Paris: 1
29) Attika: 1
30) Carcassonne: The City: 1
31) 6 Nimmt: 1
32) Starship Catan: 1