February 12, 2009 Session Report

Total attendance of ten this week: Doug, Clayton, Paul, Ron, Mike, Don, Jonathan, Gabe, Chris and myself played a total of seven different games: Princes of Macchu Picchu, Through the Ages, Lost Cities, Roll Through the Ages, Formula De, Hoity Toity and Cloud Nine. Some details on the games follow.

Princes of Macchu Picchu: This game was a new one that I had purchased, and I wasn't sure how well it would be received. Ron, Paul, Mike and Doug and I started a five-player game, later joined by Clayton who kind of partnered with Mike. The game ran alot longer than I thought it would, and in the end I wasn't sure it was worth the time and effort to try again. The game ended in a Spanish Conquest, which meant Mike (who had the most gold) won with me in second. Had the game ended differently, Ron who had the most points, would have won. Final scores (points, gold, multipliers) were Mike (18 points, 27 gold, x3 multiplier); John (20 points, 26 gold, x2 multiplier); Ron (23 points, 21 gold); Paul (21 points, 16 gold) and Doug (18 points, 23 gold).

Through the Ages: This long game was played for the second week in a row, this week it was a three-player game, with Gabe edging Jonathan for the win, with Don once again claiming he would do better if the game went the full three ages. I have played this game on several occasions, but getting through the three ages in less than four hours is lasting alot. Looks like the three-player game clocked in at just about three hours, which is fairly close to my rule of thumb for the game, which is one-half hour per player per age.

Lost Cities: Chris arrived for his third session, and while the longer games were finishing, he and Clayton played a couple of two-player games. They played three hands of Lost Cities, Chris taking an early lead and holding on to win, 61-56, for his first recorded win at the club.

Roll Through the Ages: Chris and Clayton then hooked up in this still relatively new game, which I introduced to the club in the prior week. This time Clayton, who had learned the game the prior week, had the edge, building up his cities early on to get more dice and win handily, 21 points to 9 for Chris. Nice job, Clayton!

Hoity Toity: Paul, Clayton, Doug and I hooked up for a four-player Hoity Toity game which started a few minutes after nine. Turned out to be the shortest game of this I have ever played, lasting only about 20 minutes. I waltzed away to an easy win with repeated success at the castle.

Cloud Nine: Doug, Clayton, Paul and I wrapped up the evening with this push-your-luck filler game of balloon piloting, and Doug wound up the winner. Final scores: Doug 53, Paul and John tied at 41, Clayton at 36.

Formula De: Jonathan, Gabe, Don, Ron and Mike participated. Believe they may have engaged in more than one race, but the race I remember was trying to finish the lap of the treacherous Hockenheim circuit right before the 10 PM session close. Jonathan swept past Ron and Gabe on the final two turns to claim the victory.