June 25, 2009 Session Report

Well, attendance was down this week. There were just four of us (Mike, Paul, Clayton and myself); although others were expected (including a game designer), we were the only ones to show. We played a total of four games (San Juan, Dominion, Vegas Showdown and finally R-Eco). Mike was the big winner for the evening, taking first or a share of first in all four games.

First up was San Juan; three-player game which we finished in about 30 minutes. Very close game, final scores of 29 for Mike and myself, 27 for Paul. Mike and I also tied on the tiebreaker, with no cards in hand or goods. I had the Guild Hall and needed a couple of more bonus points; Paul had the Palace and Mike, amazingly, tied for the win without the benefit of any bonus buildings.

For the next game, Clayton joined in and we played Dominion selecting 10 Kingdom cards randomly but tossing the 6-cost adventurer for the 2-Cost Chapel. There were Spies, Thieves, Bureaucrats but no Moats. Clayton said, "You can't have enough thieves" in this game. Turns out, Clayton's thieves did not win out in the end, as Mike won with a huge score of 64 (getting a fifty card deck with like eight Gardens), followed by Paul 44, John 42, Clayton trailing at 20.

We then played an old favorite, Vegas Showdown. Mike claimed it was only his second play, but he played a strong game, building up a strong income stream and benefiting from some nice in-game and endgame bonus scores. I got the early Nightclub but kind of stalled out around mid-game. Clayton got his standard five Lounges, but he only had two of them in play when the Lounge Lizard card came out. Paul did lots of renovating but I don't believe he even got a connection bonus or any diamond points for his efforts. Final scores were Mike 69, John 49, Paul 40, Clayton 38.

Final game of the evening, with about half-hour left, was R-Eco. All four of us dumped over the course of the game, so noone earned the ecology bonus. Paul and Mike collected the most chits, and Mike kept his winning streak going, winning with 8 points to just 2 for Paul and myself; Clayton brought up the rear with a -2 count which isn't as bad as it sounds in this game, where high positive scores are difficult to achieve.

Hope to see more people next week. The Community Center will be open Thursday July 2 for its regular hours and we will be gaming again next week.