April 8, 2010 Session Report

Attendance of seven this week: Paul, Mike, Doug H, Clayton, Tim, Ben and myself. Games Played: Lost Cities (x2), Tulipmania 1637, Anno 1701, Ticket to Ride-Swiss, Cloud Nine, San Juan.

Some details. Mike had brought the Tulipmania, played with Doug H and Paul. Winner was Doug with Mike second, Paul third. It's kind of a stock market game with a tulip selling theme. (The tulip futures market, perhaps?) Anyway, in the meantime, Clayton and I got in three hands of Lost Cities, final count John 248, Clayton 169.

For the next round of games, we were joined by Tim and Ben. One game was Anno 1701, which I had brought, which Doug was keen on trying for a second time. The game was new to Paul and also Ben, who joined us a bit late. Fairly close game, the objective is to get 5 "favors" placed. Ben and Doug were in Riot early on, but a late surge gave Ben the game. Paul and Doug were not far behind. I was doing OK until Ben took over my Trade VP, then Ben and Paul beat me out to the 7 colonies bonus.

Meanwhile, Tim, Clayton and Mike played Ticket to Ride with the three-player Switzerland map. Mike won that one, as I recall with something like 15 completed tickets! Scores were Mike 170, Clayton 107, Tim 96.

Tim and Mike played Lost Cities, this one was a win for Tim (his first game won at the club, perhaps) by a narrow score of 35 to 27. Perhaps all the coaching from yours truly the week before was beginning to rub off.

Two more games to wrap up the evening: Cloud Nine, a 5-player which ended in a flat-footed tie between Ben and Doug; we checked the rules, and it was a tie for the tiebreaker as well (most cards in hand), so a shared victory.

Finally, a close San Juan game, final scores Doug 33, John 30, Paul 27, Clayton 15. Paul did well to get that many points without any "6" buildings. I got bonuses for the Guild Hall and the Palace, but Doug built out the Triumphal Arch for the win.

Hope to see everyone next week, as I am expecting a group of out-of-town gamers who have expressed interest in visiting our club.