July 5, 2007 Session Report

July 5 turned out to be one of our all-time best Thursday evening sessions attendance-wise, with 13 gamers present. We welcomed two first-time attendees, Paul J. and Crosby, along with Sarah, Neil, Gabe, Eric, Doug, Paul S., Beth, Nicole, Rodney, Clayton and myself. We played a total of 11 different games -- with that many people, it was often literally a three-ring circus with three games going on at once.

With 11 people there by the 6 PM start time, we split into two groups: Gabe, Crosby, Beth, Nicole and Eric played Ark; the two Pauls, Sarah, Doug, Neil and I played Hoity Toity which accommodates six. Then, Rodney and Clayton arrived and squared off in a game of Lost Cities. Next up was Incan Gold, don't know who all played, but I was informed and am pleased to report that our youngest attendee, Nicole, was the winner.

I had brought a prototype of a new game I have been working on and managed to cajole Neil, Eric, Nicole and Clayton into testing it. It uses timers a la Space Dealer for actions and has a figure skating theme -- you are developing and training a skater for a skating competition that takes place at the end of the game. Working title is Gold Medal Skating. In our game, Eric (who was the only one of the four familiar with the Space Dealer mechanic) managed to get a third timer in play and won fairly easily. Nicole took the Silver Medal while Neil and Clayton wound up tied for the bronze, and I think the tiebreaker favored Neil who did a bit better in the final program.

Meanwhile, there was plenty of action at the other tables: Alchemist, Blokus, Blink, and Beowulf were among the games played. Beth recorded her first ever win at Puerto Rico, besting Rodney and Doug, two experienced PR players, in a three-player game. The final game, Olympia 2000, did not quite get to the finish line as the witching hour (9 PM for the summer months) approached all too soon.

Thanks to everyone who attended and made this one of our best sessions yet!