June 12, 2008 Session Report

A smaller group tonight, such that we only had one game in progress at any one time. Doug, Paul and I were joined by Ben and Nick; later on Sarah stopped in but didn't have the chance to get in any games with us. We played just four games: Ticket to Ride-Switzerland, Carcassone-Discovery, Hoity Toity and Igel Argern (the Hedgehog Racing game).

First game was another brutal Ticket to Ride-Switzerland, played with the newer 1910 cards. I got blocked on one of my routes by a one-train tunnel placement by Paul, but turned out not to matter as I managed to pull out the win in a very close contest, 115 to 108 for Doug, in which the 10-point bonus for longest train proved crucial after Paul and Doug each garnered the 15-point bonus for most tickets.

Then we broke out the new club game, Carcassone-Discovery, where you only get four meeples and can place or pick up (and score) but not do both in the same turn. Ben and Paul shared the win in this one, I was two points back in third, followed by Doug and then Nick in last.

We then played Hoity Toity, and this time Nick emerged as the winner with a strong front running strategy, ignoring the thieves on the last show. I came in second with a good final show, but was too far back to catch Nick. Paul was third, followed by Ben and Doug.

Final game was Igel Argern, which we barely got in. Somehow things worked out for me as Ben and Doug, the two perceived early leaders, faded in the end. Or maybe I just got the right die rolls at the right times.