Tuesday, June 29, 2010

June 24, 2010 Session Report

Just four of us for this week's session: Mike, Greg, Patrick and myself. We played just two games: The World Cup Card game and Homesteaders.

Since the World Cup was in full swing, first up was the World Cup Card game, which had all 32 World Cup teams. We played through Groups G and H, then when with the pairings based on the results in the real-life World Cup. Greg, Mike and I picked four teams each, the remaining four starting as "bank" teams. Greg's teams did the best and we had to give one of his teams (Holland) to Patrick who arrived in time to contest the second round of elimination games. Turns out Holland was the team to win the tourney, so Greg and Patrick share the credit for the win.

Patrick had brought Homesteaders, which everyone had played before, and that game took up the rest of the session. Patrick was the winner, final scores were Patrick 61, John 53, Greg 48, Mike 41.

Attendance has been a bit sparse recently, hope to see more of you next week. It was good to see Patrick back at the club once again, and he proved he's still a tough hombre when it comes to Homesteaders.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

June 17, 2010 Session Report

Attendance this week (7): Ron, Mike, Paul, Don, Doug, Greg and myself. Games played: Power Grid (Italy map), Cleopatra, Forbidden Island (x3), San Juan. Some details follow.

Cleopatra was the first game to finish. Final scores: Don (59) was the winner, followed by Doug (49) and Paul (32). Ron was the one eliminated for being the most corrupt.

Power Grid was played, using the Italy map and the new power plant deck. Close finish, with John building to 17 even though he could only power 16. Final scores: John (16/74), Mike (16/46), Greg (15). Greg had plant capacity of 16 but overspent on the cool-looking Flux Capacitor and couldn't build to 16 on the final turn.

San Juan (three-player): Mike 30, Greg 22, John 20. Mike got the Library down very early and was able to use it effectively to take a fairly comfortable win.

Forbidden Island: The four players (Paul, Ron, Don and Doug) had a struggle on their hands, losing two in a row before finally pulling out the third game with just two land sections left that had not flooded. Fortunately, they included the final take-off spot to helicopter off the island and on to victory!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

June 10, 2010 Session Report

Attendance was up some this week, total of eight: Mike, Paul, Ron, Doug H, Don, Greg, Tim and myself. We played a total of six different games: Lost Cities, Cheeky Monkey, Forbidden Island (x3), Fresco, Top Race and "Speed" Settlers -- a Settlers of Catan variant.

First up was Lost Cities, Mike versus Paul. They got in one hand waiting for others to arrive, final score: Mike 78, Paul 28.

Next game was Cheeky Monkey, won by Greg (29) ahead of John (25), Doug (19), Mike (9).

Three games of Forbidden Island were played. This time we played with the correct rules which mean you flip six areas which go underwater at the start of the game. Much tougher, and tonight the players won once, the game won twice. Ron, Paul, Don and Tim were the participants.

Meanwhile, the four of us at the other table played Fresco, which Doug had brought. Much closer than the first playing, final scores were Mike (67), John (65), Doug (61) and Greg (59).

We reshuffled for the final two games of the evening: Top Race, played twice, one race won by Tim, another won by Greg. Don and Ron also participated. Doug, Paul, Mike and I played my "Speed Settlers" variant where you roll four die instead of two, pairing them together for two production numbers a la Can't Stop. Turns out we didn't quite finish, but conceded when Mike informed us he had the necessary cards to clinch the win.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

June 3, 2010 Session Report

First session of this year's summer session with the 9 PM close time. We had a total of six in attendance: Mike, Doug H, Paul, Ron, Don and myself. Played a total of four different games: San Juan, Forbidden Island (x4), Maori and Fresco. It was the first time for Forbidden Island and Fresco at the club, as both games are recent new releases.

First up was San Juan, a four-player. Scores were John 35, Doug H 30 Paul 25 and Mike 21. I got the Guild Hall, City Hall and a Chapel to run away with the game. Mike discarded an early Guild Hall and then had trouble getting a high bonus building.

Ron brought Forbidden Island, which wound up being played several times. It is a cooperative game where the players are trying to collect some treasures and exit the island before it sinks. First game, all six of us played although the rules suggest you limit the number of players to four. We found that with six the negative cards came up too quickly before players could react and prepare damage. For the remaining three games, Ron, Don and I played with three, losing the first one but winning the last two, including one where we started at a higher difficulty rule and played with a variant that the turned in treasure cards are removed from the game, making it more difficult as the negative cards came out sooner.

The other three (Mike, Doug H and Paul) played a couple of games that Doug had brought. Maori, an island-hopping game, proved to be a close one, won by Mike. Scores were Mike 50, Doug 47, Paul 34. Doug pulled away to win the Fresco game, scores were Doug 97 Paul 74 Mike 72.