February 21, 2013 Session Report

I was away at PrezCon and missed this week's session.  Co-Host Mike filed this report:

"We had a good night Thursday. Most of the regulars (Ben, Doug, Patrick, "Biker" John, Helen, Rembert, Tim and me) and we got 5 games in.

The night started with a warmup game of For Sale by the early arrivals (Doug, Patrick, Ben and me). During the phase where properties are purchased we had the unlikely flop for the 2,3,4 and 5 properties together. Not surprisingly, no one bid. Bidding wrapped up with everyone practically broke except Doug who had 9 coins left. But it didn't help him in the end as Ben won the game with 63 points. Patrick came in second with 59, I had 55 and Doug brought up the rear with 49.

While this game was being played, Tim and "Biker" John arrived. When we finished with For Sale, Patrick joined them in a game of Agricola that took them the rest of the night. Towards the end, Tim reminded John that he has the thrasher in front of him and the points gained with it pushed John to the win with 41 points. Tim came in second with a respectable 35 points and Patrick ended with 23.

Doug, Ben and I played a round of Puerto Rico. Doug gained a lot of points shipping while Ben and I played mixed strategies. I think an early harbor and coffee production helped me because at the end Doug and I each had 55 points but I won the tie breaker with 9 coins and no barrels and Doug just had one barrel. Ben wrapped up the game with 46 points.

While we were all playing, Rembert and Helen showed up and played a half game of Loot. They weren't really worried about score since they stopped before they finished.

Doug, Ben, Helen, Rembert and I wrapped up with a game of Lords of Waterdeep. Helen's Lord was the one that wanted buildings and with the Plot Quest card that allowed her to place an agent were another player had won, she broke away from the pack and won. The final scores were Helen 114, Mike 96, Doug 95, Rembert 90 and Ben 84. We wrapped up just before 9."

February 14, 2013 Session Report

Seven in attendance for this week's session:  Patrick, Mike, Doug, John B, Rembert, Peng and myself.  We played a total of three games:  Timeline, Clash of Cultures and Tzolk'in.

Timeline was first up while waiting for people to show up.  Doug and Mike tied for first, getting all five events completed on the same turn.  John W, John B and Patrick were the remaining participants.

We then split into two groups for the rest of the session.  Clash of Cultures was a three-player, won this time by Doug.  Very close game, though.  Final scores were Doug 19, Patrick 17, John B 16 but I believe it was John B's first play while Patrick and Doug had played each other the week before.

The rest of us played Tzolk'in, the Mayan calendar game with the moving gears.  Having some prior experience with the game helped alot, and I managed to score a runaway victory by focusing primarily on the temples plus a monument that let me score temple bonuses at the end.  Final scores were John W 84, Peng 41, Rembert 36, Mike 28, so Peng was the best of the three first-time players.  (Mike claimed to have watched the video but I guess it didn't include strategy tips.)

Anyway, next Thursday I plan to be in Charlottesville for the PrezCon convention so Co-Host Mike will be in charge.

February 7, 2013 Session Report

Six for this week's session.  Attendees:  Tim, Mike, Doug, Patrick, Rembert and myself.  Games played:  For Sale, Power Grid:  Northern Europe and Clash of Cultures.

First up was For Sale.  Four-player game, won by Tim (61).  John (58), Doug (55) and Mike (48) also participated.

We then split into two groups for the remainder of the session.  The Power Grid game used the new Northern Europe map, and was won by Tim, who was the only player to build to 18.  Rembert and Mike tied for second at 17, but Rembert had more money, so he was second and Mike was last.

Clash of Cultures, which Patrick had brought, is a new civ-building game.  Patrick chose a military route and captured one or two cities, but in the end he only finished third out of three.  Final scores:  John 27, Doug 22, Patrick 21.

January 31, 2013 Session Report

Seven for this week's session:  Mike, John B, Eric, Alex, Rembert, Tim and myself.  Games played were Keyflower, Copycat and Suburbia, all new releases from Essen 2012.

Keyflower (which Eric brought and taught) was new to Alex and myself, Tim had tried it at EuroQuest.  Nonetheless, Alex and I finished 1-2 with Alex earning 42 points from one bonus multiplier tile alone.  The final scores were Alex 76, John W 70, Eric 59, Tim 50.

Back for the second week in a row, Copycat provided another close game.  Final scores were Mike 97, John B 86, Rembert 83.  First play for John B and Rembert.

Mike, John B and Rembert started up Suburbia but did not have time to finish.