We had a small but mighty band of six for this session, three days before Christmas: Greg, Ron, Mike, Doug H, Tim and myself. We played two games, all as one big group: Ticket to Ride - the new Asia map -- and then 7 Wonders. Ron went undefeated, winning both games although he had some help in the first one, and maybe a little bit of advice in the second one.
First up was the new Ticket to Ride - Asia expansion, which Mike had brought but Doug had played before. It goes up to six with the players playing as teams. We randomly selected teammates by pulling out the colored trains, you were the teammate of the person whose color you pulled. Mike was paired with Greg, Ron with Doug, and Tim and I were paired together. Each player gets 27 trains (the expansion comes with nine extras), and there's a common area where they can share train and destination cards. At the start, you share one destination card each and keep the others secret. When you draw train cards, one goes to the common area and one to your hand. Face-up Wilds (locos) go to the common area. You can forego a regular turn (laying track, taking train or ticket cards) to put some of your destination cards in the common area. This is what Ron and Doug did and it worked out well for them as they wound up winning the game, aided by some fortuitous ticket draws. Tim and I came in second after a rough start where it appeared we were getting blocked on a key West to East route that eventually opened up after we had to build through the Himalayas. I found the game to be a refreshing and challenging variant from the regular Ticket to Ride and am looking to try it again. The map is extremely tight with six players, and we didn't even get to the version that is played with the flip side of the map. Final scores: Doug/Ron 198, John/Tim 147, Greg/Mike 110.
The second (and final) game of the evening was 7 Wonders. Ron had to be talked into playing and needed a refresher on the rules. Then he proceeded to win the game, a close one, by two points with Tim second. Ron had a perfect 18 in Military and added a couple of Guilds worth 15. Final scores: Ron 59 Tim 57 Greg 47 John 46 Mike 45 Doug 43. Well done, Ron!
Hope to see everyone this coming Thursday. A reminder, if there is inclement weather, just remember to call the Community Center by around 5 that day to check and see if they are going to be open.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
December 15, 2011 Session Report
We had a group of six for tonight's session, as Mike, Tim, Neville, Greg, Doug H and myself were in attendance. We played the following games: Martian Dice, 7 Wonders, Power Grid - U. S., Tanto Cuore and King of Tokyo.
Martian Dice -- Tim got off to a great start, with a remarkable score of 12 his first roll. However, he could not sustain his lead as Neville passed him on the last of five die rolls -- we played to 20 instead of the usual of 25. Final scores: Neville 20, Tim 18, John 14, everyone else at 10.
Then we played 7 Wonders which used to be played every week but which we hadn't played for so long that some of us needed a refresher on some of the rules. Mike got 43 in Science which was enough to give him the overall win, just two points ahead of Doug. Scores: Mike 57, Doug 55, Neville 50, Greg 49, Tim 43, John 39.
Then we split into two groups to play a couple of longer games that really didn't last all that long. There was a three-player Power Grid, won by Mike with 15 (he had the most plant capacity and built out on the final turn) ahead of Greg and Tim who each had 14. The other game was Tanto Cuore, the Japanese-based Dominion knock-off featuring Maids and Chambermaids and Private Maids that drew lots of jokes from the other table. Anyway, it was a close finish with Doug and Neville each finishing with 38, while I trailed with 32. We looked up the tiebreaker -- which was most non-VP scoring maids, but unfortunately we couldn't figure that out since we had started to pick the game up.
Last game of the evening was, once again, King of Tokyo. Like last week, the game didn't last very long and it was a big free-for-all. Tim and I were first to be knocked out, then Mike won the game by delivering the final blow to the remaining players.
Martian Dice -- Tim got off to a great start, with a remarkable score of 12 his first roll. However, he could not sustain his lead as Neville passed him on the last of five die rolls -- we played to 20 instead of the usual of 25. Final scores: Neville 20, Tim 18, John 14, everyone else at 10.
Then we played 7 Wonders which used to be played every week but which we hadn't played for so long that some of us needed a refresher on some of the rules. Mike got 43 in Science which was enough to give him the overall win, just two points ahead of Doug. Scores: Mike 57, Doug 55, Neville 50, Greg 49, Tim 43, John 39.
Then we split into two groups to play a couple of longer games that really didn't last all that long. There was a three-player Power Grid, won by Mike with 15 (he had the most plant capacity and built out on the final turn) ahead of Greg and Tim who each had 14. The other game was Tanto Cuore, the Japanese-based Dominion knock-off featuring Maids and Chambermaids and Private Maids that drew lots of jokes from the other table. Anyway, it was a close finish with Doug and Neville each finishing with 38, while I trailed with 32. We looked up the tiebreaker -- which was most non-VP scoring maids, but unfortunately we couldn't figure that out since we had started to pick the game up.
Last game of the evening was, once again, King of Tokyo. Like last week, the game didn't last very long and it was a big free-for-all. Tim and I were first to be knocked out, then Mike won the game by delivering the final blow to the remaining players.
Monday, December 12, 2011
December 8, 2011 Session Report
Seven in attendance for tonight's session, as it was Doug, Patrick, Ron, Tim, Mike, Neville and myself. We played three games: Belfort, Panic Station and King of Tokyo.
Belfort was a three-player game, with Patrick, Tim and Mike participating. Patrick overcame and early deficit and was the successful come-from-behind winner in this one. Final scores: Patrick 47, Tim 39 Mike 38.
Panic Station, a quasi-cooperative game was a four-player, with Ron, Doug, Neville and myself. Ron and Neville had played a few times before and tried to help us "newbies." Turns out there was a great deal of mistrust as Ron shot Neville's human early in the game before we were sure who was infected. But it turned out Doug was the Host, and I also became infected so it was Doug and I (the bad guys) against Ron and Neville (the good guys). Neville and Ron had all the keys and managed to lock one of each of our guys in a room while the key room with the Hive was on another side. However, it all came down to Ron's human survivor (Billy) who recovered from some earlier rooms and eventually won after making a mad dash for the Hive with three gas cans. With some more experience with the game, it seemed Doug and I should have won, but it was really close and down to the wire.
Final game of the evening had players from both games, six of us (Mike, Neville, Patrick, Doug, Tim and myself) playing King of Tokyo. Doug, Tim and Mike were the first ones to be eliminated, and then, with the session time about to run out, I bought a card that let me deal some more hits to the remaining players (Neville and Patrick) to win the game as the sole surviving creature. Otherwise, Patrick had collected more VPs and was set up to possibly win.
Enjoyable session, learned a couple of new games. Hope to see everyone next week.
Belfort was a three-player game, with Patrick, Tim and Mike participating. Patrick overcame and early deficit and was the successful come-from-behind winner in this one. Final scores: Patrick 47, Tim 39 Mike 38.
Panic Station, a quasi-cooperative game was a four-player, with Ron, Doug, Neville and myself. Ron and Neville had played a few times before and tried to help us "newbies." Turns out there was a great deal of mistrust as Ron shot Neville's human early in the game before we were sure who was infected. But it turned out Doug was the Host, and I also became infected so it was Doug and I (the bad guys) against Ron and Neville (the good guys). Neville and Ron had all the keys and managed to lock one of each of our guys in a room while the key room with the Hive was on another side. However, it all came down to Ron's human survivor (Billy) who recovered from some earlier rooms and eventually won after making a mad dash for the Hive with three gas cans. With some more experience with the game, it seemed Doug and I should have won, but it was really close and down to the wire.
Final game of the evening had players from both games, six of us (Mike, Neville, Patrick, Doug, Tim and myself) playing King of Tokyo. Doug, Tim and Mike were the first ones to be eliminated, and then, with the session time about to run out, I bought a card that let me deal some more hits to the remaining players (Neville and Patrick) to win the game as the sole surviving creature. Otherwise, Patrick had collected more VPs and was set up to possibly win.
Enjoyable session, learned a couple of new games. Hope to see everyone next week.
Monday, December 5, 2011
December 1, 2011 Session Report
Into the final month of the year, had a total of seven for tonight's session: Mike, Patrick, Neville, Eugene, Ron (back in town), Rembert and myself. Eugene said he could only stay for a short while so we played For Sale, after which Rembert arrived. The For Sale game resulted in a win for Mike, scores were Mike 51K, John 45K, Eugene and Patrick 44K, Neville 41K, Ron 36K.
After the For Sale game, Eugene left and so we split into two groups. Patrick and Rembert played Eminent Domain, which turned out to be a win for Patrick, 41 to 24. It was Rembert's first game. The rest of us played Junta, Viva La Presidente, a recent Z-Man release which is a shorter, card game version of the original Junta. After going back and forth for a few turns, Mike turned out to be the winner -- first to six points although Neville would have made it the same turn. Ron and I each had four points at game-end. We then tried Panic Station, a game Ron had brought that Neville had played once before at EuroQuest. Mike and I were new to the game. It was kind of a cooperative game but there was a traitor among us who was hosting an infected virus. The game never reached completion, but it turned out the traitor was Neville who had done a good job of convincing one of us (me) he was really with the good guys. Would have liked to see how the game would have played out. Oh, well ... see everyone next week.
After the For Sale game, Eugene left and so we split into two groups. Patrick and Rembert played Eminent Domain, which turned out to be a win for Patrick, 41 to 24. It was Rembert's first game. The rest of us played Junta, Viva La Presidente, a recent Z-Man release which is a shorter, card game version of the original Junta. After going back and forth for a few turns, Mike turned out to be the winner -- first to six points although Neville would have made it the same turn. Ron and I each had four points at game-end. We then tried Panic Station, a game Ron had brought that Neville had played once before at EuroQuest. Mike and I were new to the game. It was kind of a cooperative game but there was a traitor among us who was hosting an infected virus. The game never reached completion, but it turned out the traitor was Neville who had done a good job of convincing one of us (me) he was really with the good guys. Would have liked to see how the game would have played out. Oh, well ... see everyone next week.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
November 17, 2011 Session Report
It was a smaller crowd than usual for our last session before the Thanksgiving holidays: Ben, Patrick, Neville and myself were on hand. We played a warmup game of Martian Dice, then Olympus which Patrick had brought, then wrapped up the evening with another quick game of Martian Dice. Ben managed to win all three times.
Scores: Martian Dice Game #1 -- Ben 29 Neville 18 John 17 Patrick 15. Played to 25, Ben did not fail to score on any turn. Game lasted six rounds.
Olympus: Ben 42 Neville 33 John 30 Patrick 28. Ben won by getting more things to the end which picked up most of the bonus cards.
Martian Dice Game #2 -- Didn't quite finish but played five complete rounds. Final scores: Ben 19 Neville 13 Patrick 12 John 9.
Ben and Neville finished 1-2 in all three games, while Patrick and I brought up the rear.
Hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving Holiday, next session will be Thursday December 1st.
Scores: Martian Dice Game #1 -- Ben 29 Neville 18 John 17 Patrick 15. Played to 25, Ben did not fail to score on any turn. Game lasted six rounds.
Olympus: Ben 42 Neville 33 John 30 Patrick 28. Ben won by getting more things to the end which picked up most of the bonus cards.
Martian Dice Game #2 -- Didn't quite finish but played five complete rounds. Final scores: Ben 19 Neville 13 Patrick 12 John 9.
Ben and Neville finished 1-2 in all three games, while Patrick and I brought up the rear.
Hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving Holiday, next session will be Thursday December 1st.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
November 10, 2011 Session Report
Missed last week's session because of EuroQuest, so no report from any club session. But here's a recap of games played at EQ this year:
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/74479/euroquest-2011-recap
This week there was a group of five -- Neville, Mike, Doug H, Tim and myself -- we were joined in mid-session by Michael who had come to EuroQuest last week but was new to our group. Played three games: Martian Dice, Potion-Making Practice and Belfort, but Belfort did not quite make it to the finish line.
Martian Dice, which we called after five turns apiece, went to Tim: Tim 18, John 13, Doug 9, Mike and Neville 7.
Potion-Making Practice, which was named as the best Russian-produced boardgame of the past five years in 2010, has recently been made available in an English edition through Right Games, LLC. Our game was won by Doug with 29 pts but Neville came from behind with a big 10-point play near the end to finish second with 26. Tim (22), John (19) and Mike (16) were also in the game, so to speak.
One more session before the Thanksgiving holidays.
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/74479/euroquest-2011-recap
This week there was a group of five -- Neville, Mike, Doug H, Tim and myself -- we were joined in mid-session by Michael who had come to EuroQuest last week but was new to our group. Played three games: Martian Dice, Potion-Making Practice and Belfort, but Belfort did not quite make it to the finish line.
Martian Dice, which we called after five turns apiece, went to Tim: Tim 18, John 13, Doug 9, Mike and Neville 7.
Potion-Making Practice, which was named as the best Russian-produced boardgame of the past five years in 2010, has recently been made available in an English edition through Right Games, LLC. Our game was won by Doug with 29 pts but Neville came from behind with a big 10-point play near the end to finish second with 26. Tim (22), John (19) and Mike (16) were also in the game, so to speak.
One more session before the Thanksgiving holidays.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
October 27, 2011 Session Report
Hate to admit it, but with all the EuroQuest prep stuff going on, I have managed to misplace the information from this week's session, so I will have to compile the report from memory. I know the group was Mike, Neville, Rembert and myself, plus Jonpatrick whom I knew from other gaming events -- conventions like EuroQuest and PrezCon -- but who was attending his first Laurel session. During the session, John Goon and Stan stopped in, with John picking up a Crokinole set that Stan and his brother Carl had put together.
The one game of the session was Ristorante Italia. It was one of eight new Essen games I had picked up the prior day (Wednesday) for this year's EuroQuest, courtesy of Alliance Game Distributors. Mike had borrowed the game and was scheduled to do a teaching demo at EQ next week, and he did an excellent job of explaining the rules. The game was about running a restaurant, securing ingredients and putting together starters, first courses, second courses, desserts and eventually complete meals served with wine. The best Italian restaurant won the game.
Can't recall exact scores, as I recall the game was between Mike and Jonpatrick, while Rembert and I were close for third, with Neville coming home a bit further back. It seemed very important to get a second chef's hat to do the more complex recipes, and unfortunately Neville was one spot short at the end of the game.
Anyway, while the club will remain open last week, expect attendance to be sparse. Mike and I, along with most of the club regulars will be at EuroQuest in Pikesville. Hope to see many of you there. Will return in two weeks.
The one game of the session was Ristorante Italia. It was one of eight new Essen games I had picked up the prior day (Wednesday) for this year's EuroQuest, courtesy of Alliance Game Distributors. Mike had borrowed the game and was scheduled to do a teaching demo at EQ next week, and he did an excellent job of explaining the rules. The game was about running a restaurant, securing ingredients and putting together starters, first courses, second courses, desserts and eventually complete meals served with wine. The best Italian restaurant won the game.
Can't recall exact scores, as I recall the game was between Mike and Jonpatrick, while Rembert and I were close for third, with Neville coming home a bit further back. It seemed very important to get a second chef's hat to do the more complex recipes, and unfortunately Neville was one spot short at the end of the game.
Anyway, while the club will remain open last week, expect attendance to be sparse. Mike and I, along with most of the club regulars will be at EuroQuest in Pikesville. Hope to see many of you there. Will return in two weeks.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
October 20, 2011 Session Report
Attendance of seven for this week's session: Mike, Eric, Neville, Doug, Greg, Rembert and myself. We played a total of four games: Jet Set, Eminent Domain, Fresco and Black Friday.
Jet Set was won by Greg. Final scores: Greg 30, Eric 25, Rembert 21, Neville 16.
Eminent Domain was a win for Mike. Final scores: Mike 31, John 20, Doug 18.
Next round of games, and Greg and Mike won again to go undefeated for the evening.
Fresco, no scores, it was Greg, Doug, Eric and Rembert.
Black Friday, scores were Mike 20 John 16 Neville 14. John bailed out of all his stocks too soon which enabled Mike to coast to a comfortable win.
A reminder that EuroQuest is now less than two weeks off, we will have a session next week and, while the club will be open the Thurs. of EuroQuest, it's possible there may not be that many in attendance that night, Thursday Nov. 3.
Jet Set was won by Greg. Final scores: Greg 30, Eric 25, Rembert 21, Neville 16.
Eminent Domain was a win for Mike. Final scores: Mike 31, John 20, Doug 18.
Next round of games, and Greg and Mike won again to go undefeated for the evening.
Fresco, no scores, it was Greg, Doug, Eric and Rembert.
Black Friday, scores were Mike 20 John 16 Neville 14. John bailed out of all his stocks too soon which enabled Mike to coast to a comfortable win.
A reminder that EuroQuest is now less than two weeks off, we will have a session next week and, while the club will be open the Thurs. of EuroQuest, it's possible there may not be that many in attendance that night, Thursday Nov. 3.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
October 13, 2011 Session Report
There were eight of us for this week's session: Doug H, Mike, Tim, Patrick, Greg, Eric S, Neville and myself. We played three different games: Pastiche, Princes of Florence and, for the first time at the club -- Belfort.
One group played the two "P" games: Patrick narrowly won Pastiche, 36 points to 35 for Doug and then 32 for Greg and Eric. Then the results were reversed in Princes of Florence, won by Eric with 71, followed by Greg (66), Patrick and Doug (55).
The other game was new release from Tasty Minstrel called Belfort, which I had brought. First play for everyone (although I had a solo play under my belt to get the rules down.) That one experience stood me in good stead as the game has a bit of a learning curve. Score count was John 43, Neville 36, Mike 30, Tim 29.
A reminder that the EuroQuest pre-reg deadline is less than one week away, on October 20th, next Thursday. Walk-in rates are $5 per day or $10 (for all four days) higher. Check out the website at:
http://euroquest.gamesclubofmd.org
One group played the two "P" games: Patrick narrowly won Pastiche, 36 points to 35 for Doug and then 32 for Greg and Eric. Then the results were reversed in Princes of Florence, won by Eric with 71, followed by Greg (66), Patrick and Doug (55).
The other game was new release from Tasty Minstrel called Belfort, which I had brought. First play for everyone (although I had a solo play under my belt to get the rules down.) That one experience stood me in good stead as the game has a bit of a learning curve. Score count was John 43, Neville 36, Mike 30, Tim 29.
A reminder that the EuroQuest pre-reg deadline is less than one week away, on October 20th, next Thursday. Walk-in rates are $5 per day or $10 (for all four days) higher. Check out the website at:
http://euroquest.gamesclubofmd.org
Friday, October 7, 2011
October 6, 2011 Session Report
We had seven regular attendees tonight -- Patrick, Doug H, John, Tim, Alex, Eric S, Neville and myself -- and we were briefly joined by two ladies (Alicia and Ant) who played a quick couple of games of Connect Four. Other games (which took much longer to complete) were: Alien Frontiers, Age of Empires III, Pastiche, and Tsuro. Actually, Tsuro didn't take all that long (it was a two-player) but Pastiche actually did not quite make it to the finish line.
First up was Alien Frontiers which Patrick had brought, back for a return appearance t the club. Four-player game, turned out to be very close, won by Neville. Final scores were Neville 8, Tim and Patrick 7, Doug 6.
Meanwhile, three of us tackled Age of Empires III which took up most of the session time. Another close finish, at least for two of us. Final scores: John 108, Eric 106, Alex 81. Alex got a little behind the curve on income generation, but he was the king of the exploration and discovery part of the game.
Neville, Tim, Patrick and Doug tackled Pastiche, which Doug had brought. Unfortunately, the game was unfinished when time ran out -- most people seemed to think Doug was close to winning. Eric and I stayed after the AoE III game and Eric won, getting some measure of revenge for the outcome of the earlier game.
Looking to see many of you tomorrow at the Congress of Gamers in Rockville.
First up was Alien Frontiers which Patrick had brought, back for a return appearance t the club. Four-player game, turned out to be very close, won by Neville. Final scores were Neville 8, Tim and Patrick 7, Doug 6.
Meanwhile, three of us tackled Age of Empires III which took up most of the session time. Another close finish, at least for two of us. Final scores: John 108, Eric 106, Alex 81. Alex got a little behind the curve on income generation, but he was the king of the exploration and discovery part of the game.
Neville, Tim, Patrick and Doug tackled Pastiche, which Doug had brought. Unfortunately, the game was unfinished when time ran out -- most people seemed to think Doug was close to winning. Eric and I stayed after the AoE III game and Eric won, getting some measure of revenge for the outcome of the earlier game.
Looking to see many of you tomorrow at the Congress of Gamers in Rockville.
Monday, October 3, 2011
September 29, 2011 Session Report
A nice jump in attendance to 10, doubling what we had last week. All of last week's attendees (Eric S, Mike, Neville, Tim and I) were back, along with Patrick, Alex P, Ben L, Greg and Doug M. Three games were played: Troyes (which took most of the session), Princes of Florence and Vegas Showdown.
Princes and Vegas turned out to be four-player games. Final scores were as follows. Princes: Doug M 66, Eric S 65, Greg 60, Tim 59, seems like a really close game. Vegas Showdown: Eric 80, Doug 65, Neville 54, Tim 48.
As much as I like the other two games, since I had brought Troyes and offered to teach it, I stuck with it and it turned out the two players who were totally new to the game wound up finishing 1-2. Final scores: Ben 47 Mike 39 Patrick 36 John (Alex played as my surrogate teammate) 35. I blame Alex for my low score; instead of listening to me, if he gone ahead and figured out his own moves, I am sure he would have done much better.
This Saturday is Congress of Gamers; for details and location, check out the website:
www.congressofgamers.org
Princes and Vegas turned out to be four-player games. Final scores were as follows. Princes: Doug M 66, Eric S 65, Greg 60, Tim 59, seems like a really close game. Vegas Showdown: Eric 80, Doug 65, Neville 54, Tim 48.
As much as I like the other two games, since I had brought Troyes and offered to teach it, I stuck with it and it turned out the two players who were totally new to the game wound up finishing 1-2. Final scores: Ben 47 Mike 39 Patrick 36 John (Alex played as my surrogate teammate) 35. I blame Alex for my low score; instead of listening to me, if he gone ahead and figured out his own moves, I am sure he would have done much better.
This Saturday is Congress of Gamers; for details and location, check out the website:
www.congressofgamers.org
Saturday, September 24, 2011
September 22, 2011 Session Report
It was kind of a down week weather-wise and also attendance-wise. Five (Tim, Mike, Neville, Eric S and I) so that meant only one game going for the entire session. We wound up playing two games: Power Grid (Brazil map) and 7 Wonders (without the Leaders expansion, since we were a bit pressed for time).
Both games were won by Mike, but both were fairly close. Power Grid was a three-way tie at 16 cities, with Mike taking it on the money tiebreak. Final scores were Mike (16/48), Eric (16/7), John (16/5), Neville (14) and Tim (12). Neville had tons of cash left over but lacked the plant capacity to contend. Mike started in a nice central location and effectively hemmed the rest of us in until Stage 2 was reached. Eric and Tim started along the Coast in the South, Neville and I up North, and at times we all had problems reaching new city locations. Interesting and well-played game.
7 Wonders actually had somewhat lower scores than we have seen recently, or maybe I have been spoiled by seeing the high scores possible with the Leaders variant. Mike won with a score of 56, which sometimes doesn't get you in the top three. The rest of the group was Eric 54, Neville 52, Tim 43 and I had a miserable game winding up with 38.
Hoping for a bigger turnout next week.
For those of you interested, Congress of Gamers is now just two short weeks away. Flyers can be downloaded directly from the website here:
http://www.congressofgamers.org/downloads/Cog2011.pdf
Both games were won by Mike, but both were fairly close. Power Grid was a three-way tie at 16 cities, with Mike taking it on the money tiebreak. Final scores were Mike (16/48), Eric (16/7), John (16/5), Neville (14) and Tim (12). Neville had tons of cash left over but lacked the plant capacity to contend. Mike started in a nice central location and effectively hemmed the rest of us in until Stage 2 was reached. Eric and Tim started along the Coast in the South, Neville and I up North, and at times we all had problems reaching new city locations. Interesting and well-played game.
7 Wonders actually had somewhat lower scores than we have seen recently, or maybe I have been spoiled by seeing the high scores possible with the Leaders variant. Mike won with a score of 56, which sometimes doesn't get you in the top three. The rest of the group was Eric 54, Neville 52, Tim 43 and I had a miserable game winding up with 38.
Hoping for a bigger turnout next week.
For those of you interested, Congress of Gamers is now just two short weeks away. Flyers can be downloaded directly from the website here:
http://www.congressofgamers.org/downloads/Cog2011.pdf
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
September 15, 2011 Session Report
Total of eight for this week's session. Tim, Doug H, Mike, Neville, Rembert, Alex, Patrick and myself were the attendees. We broke into two groups that wound up being on different time sequences for most of the evening.
Game 1: Mermaid Rain. Players were John, Doug, Neville, Tim and Mike. Tim thought the game had some clever mechanics. Mike was looking for a more "manly game" and seemed disappointed when Puerto Rico broke out at the other table. Final scores were really close, except for Mike who brought up the rear: John 56, Tim 55, Neville 53, Doug 51, Mike 47. I believe Neville and Tim were new to the game, playing it for the first time.
Game 2: Puerto Rico. Rembert was a spectator for awhile, but then Alex and Patrick showed and they got into a three-player PR. Alex, who is pretty good at the game, won with 42. Patrick (26) and Rembert (24) were left competing for a distant second.
Game 3: Vegas Showdown. Same five as for Mermaid Rain. First time for Neville. Mike got his revenge for the first game with a close, one-point margin of victory. Final scores: Mike 67, John 66, Doug 58, Neville 48, Tim 45. Mike's notes say "Neville gets [the] no whiner award." Not sure what that means, except maybe that the four us not named Neville were doing some whining during the game.
Hope to see everyone this coming week.
A reminder: the cheapest gaming convention in the area is now just 3 weeks off -- Congress of Gamers, Saturday October 8th at the Rockville Senior Center. On-line pre-registration is now available. For more information, go to the website at www.congressofgamers.org
and click on "Register"
Game 1: Mermaid Rain. Players were John, Doug, Neville, Tim and Mike. Tim thought the game had some clever mechanics. Mike was looking for a more "manly game" and seemed disappointed when Puerto Rico broke out at the other table. Final scores were really close, except for Mike who brought up the rear: John 56, Tim 55, Neville 53, Doug 51, Mike 47. I believe Neville and Tim were new to the game, playing it for the first time.
Game 2: Puerto Rico. Rembert was a spectator for awhile, but then Alex and Patrick showed and they got into a three-player PR. Alex, who is pretty good at the game, won with 42. Patrick (26) and Rembert (24) were left competing for a distant second.
Game 3: Vegas Showdown. Same five as for Mermaid Rain. First time for Neville. Mike got his revenge for the first game with a close, one-point margin of victory. Final scores: Mike 67, John 66, Doug 58, Neville 48, Tim 45. Mike's notes say "Neville gets [the] no whiner award." Not sure what that means, except maybe that the four us not named Neville were doing some whining during the game.
Hope to see everyone this coming week.
A reminder: the cheapest gaming convention in the area is now just 3 weeks off -- Congress of Gamers, Saturday October 8th at the Rockville Senior Center. On-line pre-registration is now available. For more information, go to the website at www.congressofgamers.org
and click on "Register"
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
September 8, 2011 Session Report
Only five for this week's session: Mike, Greg, Patrick, Neville and myself. Only had one table going, which means we got in just two games -- Quarriors and Founding Fathers. Since Quarriors only plays four, I sat out and kibitzed on the game. Mike got out to a quick lead but faded quickly. Neville, who has been teaching the game to some middle schoolers, was doing well while Patrick, who had also played before, had a longer term strategy. I believe Greg pulled out the win, having a huge seven-point turn as Neville failed to knock out his big creature. Interesting game, can see why it's popular -- kind of like Dominion with dice.
Next game (and final game of the night) was Founding Fathers. We barely finished. Final scores were John 16, Neville 12, Patrick 11, Greg and Mike 10. Enjoyed the game alot, I had the advantage of having played the game alot, but also getting George Washington and Ben Franklin in my starting hand did not hurt!
Hope to see a bump up in our flagging attendance next week.
Next game (and final game of the night) was Founding Fathers. We barely finished. Final scores were John 16, Neville 12, Patrick 11, Greg and Mike 10. Enjoyed the game alot, I had the advantage of having played the game alot, but also getting George Washington and Ben Franklin in my starting hand did not hurt!
Hope to see a bump up in our flagging attendance next week.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
September 1, 2011 Session Report
Good turnout, resulting in total attendance of 10. One new attendee, Philip, joined us for the first time. We also had Doug H, Neville, Jonathan, Paul, Mike, Patrick, Greg, Rembert and myself. Good to see Jonathan and Greg who had been away for awhile. Turns out it that this week may be Paul's last time at the club as he is moving out of the area soon.
We played a total of five games: 7 Wonders (basic version), A Few Acres of Snow, Union Pacific, Ascension and Black Friday. I wound up being occupied for just about the entire evening in an intense two-player game with Greg, Martin Wallace's latest release called A Few Acres of Snow, which is the British vs. the French in the pre-Revolutionary French and Indian War. The game takes the deck-building mechanic of Dominion to a new level, where you have a board and pieces, using the cards to improve one's position on the map. It was a really close game that we were worried would not quite finish by the 9 PM closing hour. With just time for a few turns left, we began counting points and I had a six-point lead (61 to 55). But then Greg extended the game by launching a couple of well-timed sieges that cut my margin to nothing. Then, on the final turn, he added a point to claim a hard-fought 58-57 victory. Both of us enjoyed the game alot, and expect to see it hit the table again.
Since I wasn't involved in the other games, will just report the scores from the scoresheets without any comments:
7 Wonders: Paul 56 Jonathan 49 Neville and Patrick 47 Mike 42 Doug 40 -- it was Jonathan's first play
Union Pacific: Patrick 127 Phillip 115 Doug 92 Paul 80
Ascension: Doug 40 Paul 36 Phillip 35 Patrick 32
Black Friday: Jonathan 20 Mike 16 Neville 16 Rembert 12
We played a total of five games: 7 Wonders (basic version), A Few Acres of Snow, Union Pacific, Ascension and Black Friday. I wound up being occupied for just about the entire evening in an intense two-player game with Greg, Martin Wallace's latest release called A Few Acres of Snow, which is the British vs. the French in the pre-Revolutionary French and Indian War. The game takes the deck-building mechanic of Dominion to a new level, where you have a board and pieces, using the cards to improve one's position on the map. It was a really close game that we were worried would not quite finish by the 9 PM closing hour. With just time for a few turns left, we began counting points and I had a six-point lead (61 to 55). But then Greg extended the game by launching a couple of well-timed sieges that cut my margin to nothing. Then, on the final turn, he added a point to claim a hard-fought 58-57 victory. Both of us enjoyed the game alot, and expect to see it hit the table again.
Since I wasn't involved in the other games, will just report the scores from the scoresheets without any comments:
7 Wonders: Paul 56 Jonathan 49 Neville and Patrick 47 Mike 42 Doug 40 -- it was Jonathan's first play
Union Pacific: Patrick 127 Phillip 115 Doug 92 Paul 80
Ascension: Doug 40 Paul 36 Phillip 35 Patrick 32
Black Friday: Jonathan 20 Mike 16 Neville 16 Rembert 12
Friday, August 26, 2011
August 25, 2011 Session Report
We had a total of seven for tonight's session: Tim, Paul, Mike, Neville, Rembert, Alex and myself. We played 7 Wonders (with Leaders), Ra, Puerto Rico and finished up with 7 Wonders (without the Leaders expansion).
I am pleased to report I managed to win both 7 Wonders games. For the first game, I got an excellent combination of leaders that went well with a Science-based strategy that resulted in a whopping 73 science points (including two bonuses worth points each from two science-related leaders). A few other points here and there and I wound up with 85, highest score seen thus far. My strategy was aided by the fact that none of the other three players scored any Science points. Final scores: John 85, Mike 69, Paul 53, Tim 52 in a really high-scoring game.
By then Neville and Rembert had arrived and we split into two groups. One group played Ra, which turned out to be a big win for Paul (63), with Mike (50) and Rembert (40) being the other players. The other group played Puerto Rico, and Neville (who claimed to have played PR just once before) took the game, 51 points to 46 for John and 41 for Tim. Tim finished last despite building and manning three large buildings by game-end.
Alex had joined us so it was a full table of 7 for the final game of the evening -- 7 Wonders. This time is was luck, not strategy, that won me the game as I had finished my wonder with one remaining play, and then Paul (seated to my right) passed me a Guild card I was able to build for free and score 1o points. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good! Final scores: John 56, Mike 52, Alex 49, Neville 47, Rembert 45, Paul 43, Tim 43.
Hope everyone stays safe during the anticipated storm this weekend, looking to see you at the club next week.
I am pleased to report I managed to win both 7 Wonders games. For the first game, I got an excellent combination of leaders that went well with a Science-based strategy that resulted in a whopping 73 science points (including two bonuses worth points each from two science-related leaders). A few other points here and there and I wound up with 85, highest score seen thus far. My strategy was aided by the fact that none of the other three players scored any Science points. Final scores: John 85, Mike 69, Paul 53, Tim 52 in a really high-scoring game.
By then Neville and Rembert had arrived and we split into two groups. One group played Ra, which turned out to be a big win for Paul (63), with Mike (50) and Rembert (40) being the other players. The other group played Puerto Rico, and Neville (who claimed to have played PR just once before) took the game, 51 points to 46 for John and 41 for Tim. Tim finished last despite building and manning three large buildings by game-end.
Alex had joined us so it was a full table of 7 for the final game of the evening -- 7 Wonders. This time is was luck, not strategy, that won me the game as I had finished my wonder with one remaining play, and then Paul (seated to my right) passed me a Guild card I was able to build for free and score 1o points. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good! Final scores: John 56, Mike 52, Alex 49, Neville 47, Rembert 45, Paul 43, Tim 43.
Hope everyone stays safe during the anticipated storm this weekend, looking to see you at the club next week.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
August 18, 2011 Session Report
Attendance of eight this week, and we had one first-time attendee (Tim's daughter, Cassandra) along with Tim, Mike, Paul, Patrick, Doug H, Neville and myself. Started with a game of 7 Wonders (without the Leaders expansion) before breaking into two groups for the rest of the evening. Other games played: Alien Frontiers, Puerto Rico, Quarriors and Settlers of Catan.
For the 7 Wonders game, Tim had a huge score (best I have ever seen in any game without the Leaders expansion) of 79, which included 55 point in Science. Second was Doug with 60, followed by Mike (57), Paul (50), Patrick (47), John (40) and Cassandra (28) -- it was Cassandra's first game.
We split into two groups of four each for the remaining games. One group played Alien Frontiers, which Patrick had brought, and Quarriors, which Neville had brought. Final scores for Alien Frontiers: Paul 9, Patrick 5, Cassandra and Neville 4. No scores for Quarriors, which did not finish, but Paul was leading when the game was picked up.
The other group played Puerto Rico and Settlers. Puerto Rico was a narrow one-point win for Mike, 43 to 42 for John, followed by Doug (33) and Tim (29). Settlers was also won by Mike, first to 10 points with Doug second at 8, I had 6 and Tim 5 when Mike ended the game.
For the 7 Wonders game, Tim had a huge score (best I have ever seen in any game without the Leaders expansion) of 79, which included 55 point in Science. Second was Doug with 60, followed by Mike (57), Paul (50), Patrick (47), John (40) and Cassandra (28) -- it was Cassandra's first game.
We split into two groups of four each for the remaining games. One group played Alien Frontiers, which Patrick had brought, and Quarriors, which Neville had brought. Final scores for Alien Frontiers: Paul 9, Patrick 5, Cassandra and Neville 4. No scores for Quarriors, which did not finish, but Paul was leading when the game was picked up.
The other group played Puerto Rico and Settlers. Puerto Rico was a narrow one-point win for Mike, 43 to 42 for John, followed by Doug (33) and Tim (29). Settlers was also won by Mike, first to 10 points with Doug second at 8, I had 6 and Tim 5 when Mike ended the game.
Monday, August 15, 2011
August 11, 2011 Session Report
Good turnout of 11 for tonight's session. Attendees were Paul, Mike, Tim, Eric, Ryan, Nathan, Doug H, Rembert, Neville, Patrick and myself. We played the following games during the session: Paris Connection, Lost Cities, Power Grid-Korea, Monopoly Deal, Too Many Cooks and Ra.
Tim proudly displayed his first place plaque for winning the Speed Circuit tournament at this year's WBC. Congratulations, Tim!
Paris Connection was the first game while waiting for everyone to show. It was won by Paul (107) who went first and had collected the maximum number of stocks. Mike and Eric followed at 83, then John (77), Neville (71) and Tim (64). We then split into two groups as more people arrived.
One group (Eric, Mike, Paul, Rembert and Tim) played Power Grid-Korea. Believe it or not, the game had to be picked up -- unfinished -- at 9 PM. But Eric did get in a game of Monopoly Deal with his son, Ryan. Ryan wanted to play the game badly, and the score reflected his desire to win, 3-1 over Eric.
The other table got in two games. Nathan joined Doug H, Neville, Patrick and I for Too Many Cooks. For awhile it looked like a runaway win for Doug, but Patrick came on strong in the end to take an eight-point win, 27 to 19 for Doug and John, followed by Nathan and Neville at 15.
Patrick departed and Nathan decided to look elsewhere for his fun, so it was just three of us for Ra, which was the closest game of the evening, score-wise: Neville 47, John 45, Doug 44. Congrats to Neville for the win.
I did confirm with CC staff what Mike had reported earlier -- the CC will be closing at 9 PM year-round, which means our sessions will be ending at 9 PM after Labor Day, not 10 as in the past.
Tim proudly displayed his first place plaque for winning the Speed Circuit tournament at this year's WBC. Congratulations, Tim!
Paris Connection was the first game while waiting for everyone to show. It was won by Paul (107) who went first and had collected the maximum number of stocks. Mike and Eric followed at 83, then John (77), Neville (71) and Tim (64). We then split into two groups as more people arrived.
One group (Eric, Mike, Paul, Rembert and Tim) played Power Grid-Korea. Believe it or not, the game had to be picked up -- unfinished -- at 9 PM. But Eric did get in a game of Monopoly Deal with his son, Ryan. Ryan wanted to play the game badly, and the score reflected his desire to win, 3-1 over Eric.
The other table got in two games. Nathan joined Doug H, Neville, Patrick and I for Too Many Cooks. For awhile it looked like a runaway win for Doug, but Patrick came on strong in the end to take an eight-point win, 27 to 19 for Doug and John, followed by Nathan and Neville at 15.
Patrick departed and Nathan decided to look elsewhere for his fun, so it was just three of us for Ra, which was the closest game of the evening, score-wise: Neville 47, John 45, Doug 44. Congrats to Neville for the win.
I did confirm with CC staff what Mike had reported earlier -- the CC will be closing at 9 PM year-round, which means our sessions will be ending at 9 PM after Labor Day, not 10 as in the past.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
WBC Information Posted
For anyone interested, here's a GeekList by me about my time at WBC this year.
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/70732/2011-wbc-week
If you search the Geek for WBC under Geek Lists and Forums, there are quite a few more that have been posted.
People from our club I saw at the WBC include Doug G, Doug M, Tim, Don T as well as some past attendees, such as Nick, Beth, Ben, Pete P and Nicole. A good time was had by all.
For you 7 Wonders fans out there, they had 170 or so show up for the tournament and there's even a video of a tournament game in progress. Here's the link:
http://www.nextlevelcardgames.com/2011/08/wbc-coverage-7-wonders-preliminary.html
Finally, WindUp Films was there making a movie about the WBC. Not sure when the full version will be released, but there's a trailer you can see here:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=146928142055615&oid=160429884011245&comments
Enjoy!
http://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/70732/2011-wbc-week
If you search the Geek for WBC under Geek Lists and Forums, there are quite a few more that have been posted.
People from our club I saw at the WBC include Doug G, Doug M, Tim, Don T as well as some past attendees, such as Nick, Beth, Ben, Pete P and Nicole. A good time was had by all.
For you 7 Wonders fans out there, they had 170 or so show up for the tournament and there's even a video of a tournament game in progress. Here's the link:
http://www.nextlevelcardgames.com/2011/08/wbc-coverage-7-wonders-preliminary.html
Finally, WindUp Films was there making a movie about the WBC. Not sure when the full version will be released, but there's a trailer you can see here:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=146928142055615&oid=160429884011245&comments
Enjoy!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
August 4, 2011 Session Report
I was at WBC and missed this week's session. However, Mike Brazinski was on hand and filed this report.
"Tonight, the attendance was pretty good with Patrick, Paul, Doug H., Eugene, Rembert, Neville and me at the club. Five of us (Neville and Rembert came a little later) started out with Queen's Paris Connection, a reissue of Winsome's SNCF. The game played quickly with Paul ending it abruptly by running to Marseille. It was a good move as he won the game. The scores were: Paul 80, Mike 71, Doug 67, Eugene 51 and Patrick 37.
After this we played two games of 7 Wonders, the first without the Leaders expansion, the second with. Neville, playing the Pyramids B, dominated the game with a score of 71. This included 20 points from the completed wonder and 16 points from military with only building 3 shields! The next best score was Eugene with 49, then Mike 45, Patrick & Rembert at 39, Paul at 37 and Doug with 33. The Leaders game wasn't nearly the blowout with Eugene winning with 70 followed by Paul & Doug at 61, Patrick at 60, Mike 57, Neville 42 and Rembert at 25.
At this point we split into two groups. Paul, Eugene, Rembert and I played Paris Connection a second time with Paul winning again with 154 points, Eugene at 140, yours truly at 138 and Rembert last with 112. Eugene then had to leave and the three of us played a quick For Sale game with me winning at 73 points, Paul with 60 and Rembert with 55.
The other group played Ascension. Patrick won the game with 50 points, Doug 47 and Nevile 39.
All in all, it was a good showing considering WBC. Paris Connection was well received and will probably get played again soon.
Now for the bad news. Due to PG county budget issues, we were informed that the community center will NOT extend its hours to 10pm after Labor Day. The 9pm closing will be maintained for the foreseeable future."
Sounds like a good session, sorry I missed it. Strong performance by Neville, smoking Eugene in that 7 Wonders game, a game where Eugene has done well in the past. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon, expect to file a WBC recap on BGG in a day or two.
"Tonight, the attendance was pretty good with Patrick, Paul, Doug H., Eugene, Rembert, Neville and me at the club. Five of us (Neville and Rembert came a little later) started out with Queen's Paris Connection, a reissue of Winsome's SNCF. The game played quickly with Paul ending it abruptly by running to Marseille. It was a good move as he won the game. The scores were: Paul 80, Mike 71, Doug 67, Eugene 51 and Patrick 37.
After this we played two games of 7 Wonders, the first without the Leaders expansion, the second with. Neville, playing the Pyramids B, dominated the game with a score of 71. This included 20 points from the completed wonder and 16 points from military with only building 3 shields! The next best score was Eugene with 49, then Mike 45, Patrick & Rembert at 39, Paul at 37 and Doug with 33. The Leaders game wasn't nearly the blowout with Eugene winning with 70 followed by Paul & Doug at 61, Patrick at 60, Mike 57, Neville 42 and Rembert at 25.
At this point we split into two groups. Paul, Eugene, Rembert and I played Paris Connection a second time with Paul winning again with 154 points, Eugene at 140, yours truly at 138 and Rembert last with 112. Eugene then had to leave and the three of us played a quick For Sale game with me winning at 73 points, Paul with 60 and Rembert with 55.
The other group played Ascension. Patrick won the game with 50 points, Doug 47 and Nevile 39.
All in all, it was a good showing considering WBC. Paris Connection was well received and will probably get played again soon.
Now for the bad news. Due to PG county budget issues, we were informed that the community center will NOT extend its hours to 10pm after Labor Day. The 9pm closing will be maintained for the foreseeable future."
Sounds like a good session, sorry I missed it. Strong performance by Neville, smoking Eugene in that 7 Wonders game, a game where Eugene has done well in the past. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon, expect to file a WBC recap on BGG in a day or two.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
July 28, 2011 Session Report
Attendance was down a bit this week. We had eight (Doug M, Mike, Paul, Rembert, Eric, Ryan, Nathan and myself.) We played four games: Rails of New England, Carcassone, Cheeky Monkey (twice).
Rails of New England was a four-player game that took the entire session, and we still didn't quite finish. We played with a quick start and a set of starting cards recommended by the game designer. Mike (Maine) was the runaway leader and, despite a last turn flood which wiped out a good portion of his income, held on to win (i.e. he had the most points when we had to pick up the game after 11 turns) with a score of 336. I was second with New Hampshire, had a score count of 307. Doug, who faced some adversity during the game and had to sell some businesses just to raise cash, rebounded to finish third with 262. He was the Connecticut player. Paul (Vermont) rounded out the field with 248. Despite its length, I think everyone enjoyed the game as it was a good mental challenge.
The other games played were supplied by Eric. First up was Carcassone. Scores were Eric 272, Ryan 224. Then Rembert joined in and played Cheeky Monkey with Eric and Nathan. Rembert was the winner in both games. Game one scores: Rembert 49, Eric 35, Nathan 5. Game two: Rembert 45, Eric 28, Nathan 27. Gee, maybe Nathan has lost his magic touch at this game, he seemed to win most of the time before, and congratulations to Rembert on winning both games.
Next week I will be away at the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA. However, the club will be open and there will be a session, someone please track games played and attendance if at all possible.
Rails of New England was a four-player game that took the entire session, and we still didn't quite finish. We played with a quick start and a set of starting cards recommended by the game designer. Mike (Maine) was the runaway leader and, despite a last turn flood which wiped out a good portion of his income, held on to win (i.e. he had the most points when we had to pick up the game after 11 turns) with a score of 336. I was second with New Hampshire, had a score count of 307. Doug, who faced some adversity during the game and had to sell some businesses just to raise cash, rebounded to finish third with 262. He was the Connecticut player. Paul (Vermont) rounded out the field with 248. Despite its length, I think everyone enjoyed the game as it was a good mental challenge.
The other games played were supplied by Eric. First up was Carcassone. Scores were Eric 272, Ryan 224. Then Rembert joined in and played Cheeky Monkey with Eric and Nathan. Rembert was the winner in both games. Game one scores: Rembert 49, Eric 35, Nathan 5. Game two: Rembert 45, Eric 28, Nathan 27. Gee, maybe Nathan has lost his magic touch at this game, he seemed to win most of the time before, and congratulations to Rembert on winning both games.
Next week I will be away at the World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA. However, the club will be open and there will be a session, someone please track games played and attendance if at all possible.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
July 21, 2011 Session Report
Thirteen gamers turned out for this week's session, one of our biggest turnouts of the year. Neville, who was new to our club, was here for the first time, as well as Alex, who was making his first appearance at our club since last fall. We also had three Dougs (Doug G, Doug H and Doug M) plus Mike, Patrick, Paul, Eric, Derik, Kyle, Rembert and myself to make up the Baker's Dozen for this week. Games played: 7 Wonders (with the new Leaders expansion), Egizia, Power Grid-Benelux, Glen More, Ra, For Sale.
First up was 7 Wonders with the new leaders expansion, and we had a full table of seven. The winner was Patrick, with 76 points, who won with very balanced scoring of at least 5 pts. in all seven categories. Other scores: Paul (67), Eric (66), Neville (65), Doug H (62), Mike and John (46) with Mike forcing me into last on the money tiebreaker.
A game of Egizia broke out as more and more people began to arrive. Derik kept his undefeated streak alive, in a fairly close game: Derik (96), Doug M (91), Doug G (85) and Kyle (78). This game finished fairly quickly and they proceeded to the next game, which was Ra. Derik won again, with 60 to 44 for one of the Dougs (scoresheet doesn't say which), 42 for the other Doug, 19 for Kyle. Then, one final game between these four, and finally Derik tasted defeat at the club for the first time, as Kyle was the winner in a game of For Sale: Kyle 72, Doug G 70, Derik 54, Doug M 51.
Rembert and Alex had arrived and joined in once the 7 Wonders game was concluded. Rembert joined Eric, Mike and Paul in a four-player game of Power Grid on the Benelux map that just beat the 9 o'clock witching hour. No need for tiebreaks, as the number of powered cities at game-end was Eric 18, Mike 17, Paul 15, Rembert 13.
Alex joined Patrick, Doug H, Neville and myself in a game of Glen More, which Neville had brought. The game was quite warm from sitting in the car on a hot day! Doug ended the game but suffered a 15-point penalty for having more tiles than anyone else. The winner wound up to be Alex, who had only 10 tiles in his village but made the most use of them. Final score counts: Alex 39, John 35, Patrick 32, Neville 27, Doug H 20. Lesson: more tiles in the city isn't always a good thing!
Thanks to everyone for coming, beat the summer heat and join us for our next session!
First up was 7 Wonders with the new leaders expansion, and we had a full table of seven. The winner was Patrick, with 76 points, who won with very balanced scoring of at least 5 pts. in all seven categories. Other scores: Paul (67), Eric (66), Neville (65), Doug H (62), Mike and John (46) with Mike forcing me into last on the money tiebreaker.
A game of Egizia broke out as more and more people began to arrive. Derik kept his undefeated streak alive, in a fairly close game: Derik (96), Doug M (91), Doug G (85) and Kyle (78). This game finished fairly quickly and they proceeded to the next game, which was Ra. Derik won again, with 60 to 44 for one of the Dougs (scoresheet doesn't say which), 42 for the other Doug, 19 for Kyle. Then, one final game between these four, and finally Derik tasted defeat at the club for the first time, as Kyle was the winner in a game of For Sale: Kyle 72, Doug G 70, Derik 54, Doug M 51.
Rembert and Alex had arrived and joined in once the 7 Wonders game was concluded. Rembert joined Eric, Mike and Paul in a four-player game of Power Grid on the Benelux map that just beat the 9 o'clock witching hour. No need for tiebreaks, as the number of powered cities at game-end was Eric 18, Mike 17, Paul 15, Rembert 13.
Alex joined Patrick, Doug H, Neville and myself in a game of Glen More, which Neville had brought. The game was quite warm from sitting in the car on a hot day! Doug ended the game but suffered a 15-point penalty for having more tiles than anyone else. The winner wound up to be Alex, who had only 10 tiles in his village but made the most use of them. Final score counts: Alex 39, John 35, Patrick 32, Neville 27, Doug H 20. Lesson: more tiles in the city isn't always a good thing!
Thanks to everyone for coming, beat the summer heat and join us for our next session!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
July 14, 2011 Session Report
Another good week, total attendance of 10, we actually set up a third game for part of the session. Two new attendees, Derik and Kyle, rumored to be relatives of Doug G, who was back for the second week in a row. Also, a rare appearance from Jonathan, whom we welcomed back after not having seen him for awhile. The rest of the group was Doug H, Paul, Mike, Patrick, Rembert and myself. Games played: For Sale, Automobile, Settlers, Galaxy Trucker, Ticket to Ride-Switzerland, Ascension.
Details followed. The For Sale game was underway when I arrived. Mike won with 70K, followed by Patrick (64), Doug H (48) and Paul (42). Then more people arrived and we split into groups. One group: Doug H, Paul and Rembert, played Settlers. This was a runaway win for Doug (10) to 6 for Paul and 3 for Rembert, completed in record time, it seemed. The three of them followed with Ticket to Ride-Swiss, recorded as a win for Paul (150) to 115 for Doug and 67 for Rembert. I believe it was Rembert's first time with this version although he has played the US game before.
Four of us played Automobile. Patrick stepped aside when more people arrived, so the game was Doug G, Jonathan, Mike and myself. The game was characterized by alot of overproducing and loss cubes, and Jonathan managed his auto company the best, winning with a score of 4030 compared to 3800 (John), 3560 (Mike) and 3250 (Doug).
Patrick set up Galaxy Trucker which he taught to Derik and Kyle. Derik picked up the game quickly, beating Patrick, 29 to 17. Kyle didn't fare as well, as his spaceship got destroyed before he could score any points.
The two tables combined to play Ascension while the Automobile game was winding down. Derik won this won as well, going undefeated his first time at the club. Scores: Derik 40, Doug H 34, Kyle 31, Paul 29, Patrick 28, Rembert 26.
Details followed. The For Sale game was underway when I arrived. Mike won with 70K, followed by Patrick (64), Doug H (48) and Paul (42). Then more people arrived and we split into groups. One group: Doug H, Paul and Rembert, played Settlers. This was a runaway win for Doug (10) to 6 for Paul and 3 for Rembert, completed in record time, it seemed. The three of them followed with Ticket to Ride-Swiss, recorded as a win for Paul (150) to 115 for Doug and 67 for Rembert. I believe it was Rembert's first time with this version although he has played the US game before.
Four of us played Automobile. Patrick stepped aside when more people arrived, so the game was Doug G, Jonathan, Mike and myself. The game was characterized by alot of overproducing and loss cubes, and Jonathan managed his auto company the best, winning with a score of 4030 compared to 3800 (John), 3560 (Mike) and 3250 (Doug).
Patrick set up Galaxy Trucker which he taught to Derik and Kyle. Derik picked up the game quickly, beating Patrick, 29 to 17. Kyle didn't fare as well, as his spaceship got destroyed before he could score any points.
The two tables combined to play Ascension while the Automobile game was winding down. Derik won this won as well, going undefeated his first time at the club. Scores: Derik 40, Doug H 34, Kyle 31, Paul 29, Patrick 28, Rembert 26.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
July 7, 2011 Session Report
Attendance of eight for this week, we welcomed one newcomer to the club (Doug G, who has moved into the area), along with regulars Tim, Patrick, Paul, Mike, Eric, Rembert and myself. We played four different games: 7 Wonders, 7 Wonders (with the Leaders expansion), Agricola and For Sale.
The first game of 7 Wonders was the closest game, scoring-wise, that I have seen yet. Each of us finished a point apart. Final scores were: John 51, Eric 50, Paul 49, Rembert 48, Mike 47. It was Rembert's first game although he had seen it played once or twice before.
The same group played 7 Wonders again, this time with the new Leaders expansion. The game was a romp for Eric, who had a good combination of leader cards plus the new Rome wonder which made it cheaper to play his leader cards, and also allowed him to get more of them into play. Final score count: Eric 82, Paul 65, John 63, Mike 60, Rembert 40.
The other group (Doug, Patrick and Tim) played a three-player Agricola game that filled most of the session time. Doug wound up the winner, 42 to 33 for Patrick and just 2 for Tim. Tim said he tried "something different," and whatever it was, it didn't work.
We wrapped up the evening with a game of For Sale. Final scores: Eric 59 K, John 54 K, Mike 51 K, Paul 45 K, Rembert 43 K.
The first game of 7 Wonders was the closest game, scoring-wise, that I have seen yet. Each of us finished a point apart. Final scores were: John 51, Eric 50, Paul 49, Rembert 48, Mike 47. It was Rembert's first game although he had seen it played once or twice before.
The same group played 7 Wonders again, this time with the new Leaders expansion. The game was a romp for Eric, who had a good combination of leader cards plus the new Rome wonder which made it cheaper to play his leader cards, and also allowed him to get more of them into play. Final score count: Eric 82, Paul 65, John 63, Mike 60, Rembert 40.
The other group (Doug, Patrick and Tim) played a three-player Agricola game that filled most of the session time. Doug wound up the winner, 42 to 33 for Patrick and just 2 for Tim. Tim said he tried "something different," and whatever it was, it didn't work.
We wrapped up the evening with a game of For Sale. Final scores: Eric 59 K, John 54 K, Mike 51 K, Paul 45 K, Rembert 43 K.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
June 30, 2011 Session Report
Eight for this week's session: Mike, Paul, Eric, Nathan, Tim, Patrick, Rembert and myself. Six games were played: Hey That's My Fish, Vegas Showdown, Cheeky Monkey, Sid Meier's Civilization, 7 Wonders and Ticket to Ride - 1910.
Results of those games for which scores were kept:
Hey That's My Fish; Mike 31 Eric 27 Paul 23 Nathan 14
Vegas Showdown: Eric 65 Mike 55 John 47 Paul 42
Cheeky Monkey: Nathan 44 Eric 23 John 21
Ticket to Ride 1910: Mike 151 John 116 Paul 115 Eric 108
7 Wonders: Paul 66 Eric 62 Mike 50 John 46
The Civ game lasted most of the session and was not completed, no word on who was winning. Players were Patrick, Tim and Rembert.
Results of those games for which scores were kept:
Hey That's My Fish; Mike 31 Eric 27 Paul 23 Nathan 14
Vegas Showdown: Eric 65 Mike 55 John 47 Paul 42
Cheeky Monkey: Nathan 44 Eric 23 John 21
Ticket to Ride 1910: Mike 151 John 116 Paul 115 Eric 108
7 Wonders: Paul 66 Eric 62 Mike 50 John 46
The Civ game lasted most of the session and was not completed, no word on who was winning. Players were Patrick, Tim and Rembert.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
June 23, 2011 Session Report
Attendance was down as we only had six for this week's session: Doug H, Paul, Patrick, Mike, Rembert and myself. We played a total of six games: Ascension, Lost Cities, Ticket to Ride - Switzerland (played twice), Black Friday and For Sale.
Ascension was a four-player, won by Mike. Scores were Mike 55, Doug 51, Paul 47, Patrick 39.
Lost Cities, Rembert and I played two hands. First one was low scoring, John 37 Rembert 23. Next hand, scores were quite a bit higher: John 106, Rembert 60.
Ticket to Ride-Switzerland: Game 1, Doug doubled the scores of each of his opponents. Doug had 154, Paul (76) nosed out Patrick (72) for second. Game 2, Doug 135 Paul 102.
Black Friday, another three-player game, won by John (17). Mike was a very close second (16), Rembert was third with 10.
Final game of the evening, For Sale. Scores: John 68K, Mike 50K, Doug 45K, Rembert 39K, Paul 36K.
Ascension was a four-player, won by Mike. Scores were Mike 55, Doug 51, Paul 47, Patrick 39.
Lost Cities, Rembert and I played two hands. First one was low scoring, John 37 Rembert 23. Next hand, scores were quite a bit higher: John 106, Rembert 60.
Ticket to Ride-Switzerland: Game 1, Doug doubled the scores of each of his opponents. Doug had 154, Paul (76) nosed out Patrick (72) for second. Game 2, Doug 135 Paul 102.
Black Friday, another three-player game, won by John (17). Mike was a very close second (16), Rembert was third with 10.
Final game of the evening, For Sale. Scores: John 68K, Mike 50K, Doug 45K, Rembert 39K, Paul 36K.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
June 16, 2011 Session Report
Hard to match last week's attendance, but we were still in double figures this week with a total of 10 attendees. Mike, Paul, Patrick, Doug H, Tim, Eric, Rembert, Doug M, Eugene and I were the group for this evening. We got a total of three games in: 7 Wonders, Airlines Europe and Black Friday.
First up, it was a full table of seven for 7 Wonders. Patrick emerged as the winner. Final scores: Patrick 62, Doug H 56, John 53, Paul 51, Tim 43, Eric 41, Mike 39. Patrick won with a fairly balanced set of scores, going negative in Military (-1) but garnering 22 points in blues, 10 in Science (green) and then a huge 18 for three Guilds in Epoch III to clinch the win.
By then, three others had arrived and we broke into two five-player games for the rest of the evening. One group played Airlines Europe, which Eric had brought. Eric was the winner with Tim a close second. The scores were reported as follows: Eric 98, Tim 87, Paul 80, Doug H 72 and Rembert 66. First play for Rembert and perhaps one or two of the others.
The other game was Black Friday, which I had brought. We barely finished before the 9 o'clock witching hour. Eugene won with 13 silver, others were John (12), Mike (10/76), Doug M (10/9) and Patrick 9. The second number is remaining cash which was the tiebreaker between Mike and Doug for third.
Hope to see everyone next week!
First up, it was a full table of seven for 7 Wonders. Patrick emerged as the winner. Final scores: Patrick 62, Doug H 56, John 53, Paul 51, Tim 43, Eric 41, Mike 39. Patrick won with a fairly balanced set of scores, going negative in Military (-1) but garnering 22 points in blues, 10 in Science (green) and then a huge 18 for three Guilds in Epoch III to clinch the win.
By then, three others had arrived and we broke into two five-player games for the rest of the evening. One group played Airlines Europe, which Eric had brought. Eric was the winner with Tim a close second. The scores were reported as follows: Eric 98, Tim 87, Paul 80, Doug H 72 and Rembert 66. First play for Rembert and perhaps one or two of the others.
The other game was Black Friday, which I had brought. We barely finished before the 9 o'clock witching hour. Eugene won with 13 silver, others were John (12), Mike (10/76), Doug M (10/9) and Patrick 9. The second number is remaining cash which was the tiebreaker between Mike and Doug for third.
Hope to see everyone next week!
Monday, June 13, 2011
June 9, 2011 Session Report
A big crowd for this most recent session, total attendance of 14 -- our highest in a long time -- credit goes mainly to Eric, who brought his family. We had one first-time attendee (Ryan) along with Rembert (back for his third week in a row, qualifying him for GCOM associate membership) and the rest of the group, which included Doug H, Doug M, Patrick, Greg, Mike, Paul, Eugene, Eric, Mary Jean, Nathan, Ryan S (Eric's son) and myself.
With such a large group, quite a few games were played. Here's my best effort at a recap. Surf's Up Dude, a Moon/Weissblum game depicting surfing, was a five-player that came down to the wire with Rembert taking a narrow win. Final scores: Rembert 59, Doug M 58, Doug H 57, John 47, Patrick 42. Patrick and I got off to a bad start, while Doug M collected five (!) beach babes. Doug H had the early lead but kind of got hammered on the later waves due to the big bulls eye on his back by that time.
Ryan S won a three-player game of Monopoly Deal. The others in the game were Mary Jean and Nathan. Meanwhile, Ryan's Dad, Eric, won a five-player game of Airlines Europe (another Alan Moon game), nosing out the other Ryan (86 to 80). Others in the game were Paul (77), Greg (64) and Mike (51).
For the next round of games, Eugene joined Rembert, Doug M and myself for a four-player Vegas Showdown and came away the winner. Final scores: Eugene 72, Doug M 64, John 63, Rembert 49. I believe it was Rembert's first game.
The other games were Puerto Rico and Cheeky Monkey. Cheeky Monkey was won by Nathan, with a nice score of 36 ahead of his Dad, Eric, in second with 33. Ryan S (9) and Mary Jean (6) brought up the rear.
The four-player Puerto Rico game saw Paul try an unusual tobacco denial strategy (taking tobacco plantations during the Settler phase just to deny them to other players). The strategy did not work, and the final scores were Mike 44, Doug H 39, Paul 36, Ryan D 25.
Thanks to everyone for the good turnout. Let's keep it up.
With such a large group, quite a few games were played. Here's my best effort at a recap. Surf's Up Dude, a Moon/Weissblum game depicting surfing, was a five-player that came down to the wire with Rembert taking a narrow win. Final scores: Rembert 59, Doug M 58, Doug H 57, John 47, Patrick 42. Patrick and I got off to a bad start, while Doug M collected five (!) beach babes. Doug H had the early lead but kind of got hammered on the later waves due to the big bulls eye on his back by that time.
Ryan S won a three-player game of Monopoly Deal. The others in the game were Mary Jean and Nathan. Meanwhile, Ryan's Dad, Eric, won a five-player game of Airlines Europe (another Alan Moon game), nosing out the other Ryan (86 to 80). Others in the game were Paul (77), Greg (64) and Mike (51).
For the next round of games, Eugene joined Rembert, Doug M and myself for a four-player Vegas Showdown and came away the winner. Final scores: Eugene 72, Doug M 64, John 63, Rembert 49. I believe it was Rembert's first game.
The other games were Puerto Rico and Cheeky Monkey. Cheeky Monkey was won by Nathan, with a nice score of 36 ahead of his Dad, Eric, in second with 33. Ryan S (9) and Mary Jean (6) brought up the rear.
The four-player Puerto Rico game saw Paul try an unusual tobacco denial strategy (taking tobacco plantations during the Settler phase just to deny them to other players). The strategy did not work, and the final scores were Mike 44, Doug H 39, Paul 36, Ryan D 25.
Thanks to everyone for the good turnout. Let's keep it up.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
June 2, 2011 Session Report
Attendance hit nine for our first session of 2011 with the summer hours. Attendees included Patrick, Mike, Paul, Doug H, Tim, Rembert, Brian, Doug M and myself. Games played: Cheeky Monkey, Thurn and Taxis, Settlers of Catan, Ra, Cloud Nine.
First up was Cheeky Monkey, a relatively short game while waiting for everyone to show up. Patrick, who was the last to join the game, was the winner, with 23 points. Paul tied for first with 23 but the tiebreaker -- highest bonus tile -- meant Patrick, who had the most money, was the winner.
We then split into two groups as more people arrived. One group played Settlers of Catan. It was a close game, filling most of the remaining time, won by Doug H who came from behind. Final scores: Doug (10), Patrick (9), Tim and Rembert (7).
The other group got in two games: first, Thurn and Taxis, which we haven't played at the Laurel club for a long time. Winner was Mike (26) ahead of John (22), Doug M (19) and Paul (5). By then Brian had arrived, and we played a five-player game of Ra. Mike scored an even more crushing win, with a total of 68 (!) points, almost double that of second place, who was Doug M (38). John (32), Paul (31) and Brian (16) also played.
Finally, we wrapped up the session with a quick game of Cloud Nine which featured two 25-point balloon trips. Brian took the win with 63 points, ahead of Paul (55), Mike (43), Doug H (39), John (35) and Rembert (32).
After the session I learned Brian is planning on moving out of the area, so we will miss him at future club sessions and wish him well. He did say he will try to stop in from time to time if his future travels in connection with work bring him close to Laurel on Thursday evenings.
First up was Cheeky Monkey, a relatively short game while waiting for everyone to show up. Patrick, who was the last to join the game, was the winner, with 23 points. Paul tied for first with 23 but the tiebreaker -- highest bonus tile -- meant Patrick, who had the most money, was the winner.
We then split into two groups as more people arrived. One group played Settlers of Catan. It was a close game, filling most of the remaining time, won by Doug H who came from behind. Final scores: Doug (10), Patrick (9), Tim and Rembert (7).
The other group got in two games: first, Thurn and Taxis, which we haven't played at the Laurel club for a long time. Winner was Mike (26) ahead of John (22), Doug M (19) and Paul (5). By then Brian had arrived, and we played a five-player game of Ra. Mike scored an even more crushing win, with a total of 68 (!) points, almost double that of second place, who was Doug M (38). John (32), Paul (31) and Brian (16) also played.
Finally, we wrapped up the session with a quick game of Cloud Nine which featured two 25-point balloon trips. Brian took the win with 63 points, ahead of Paul (55), Mike (43), Doug H (39), John (35) and Rembert (32).
After the session I learned Brian is planning on moving out of the area, so we will miss him at future club sessions and wish him well. He did say he will try to stop in from time to time if his future travels in connection with work bring him close to Laurel on Thursday evenings.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
May 26, 2011 Session Report
Very good turnout of 11 for our last session before the shortened hours (6 - 9 PM) for the summer season. We had one first-timer, Rembert, along with Greg (who we hadn't seen at the club for awhile), Ron, Paul, Mike, Tim, Eric S, Patrick, Doug M, Brian and myself. Games played: Settlers of Catan, Cheeky Monkey, Power Grid, Ascension, 7 Wonders, Vegas Showdown.
One group opted for Settlers (second week in a row). Tim was the winner, first to 10 points, ahead of Ron (9), Paul (8) and Patrick (5). The other group, waiting for others to show, played Cheeky Monkey. Mike came away the winner (44) over Greg (40) in a close one; Eric and I were the also-rans.
The four of us were joined by Rembert, whom I had met at the Beltsville Day gathering a couple of weeks before. We taught Rembert Power Grid, and he managed to finish in the middle of the pack in his first game, played with the US Map, new deck. I had what could have been a winning position spoiled on the last two turns by being unable to buy needed resources (in this case, Oil). This enabled Eric to take the win ahead of Mike on the money tiebreaker, with both being able to power and supply 15 cities. Rembert who got to 14 cities, all powered with nukes, took third. Greg had the capacity to power 15 but could only build to 13, having bought some extra resources to extend the game. Meanwhile, I could only power 10 and wound up last.
The other group welcomed Brian and played 7 Wonders. Paul won with a high Guilds score. Final scores were Paul 68, Patrick 59, Brian 54, Tim and Doug 53, Ron 49. Four of this group then played Ascension, a game Doug H had introduced to the club a few weeks back. Doug M emerged the winner, with 57 points compared to 53 for Patrick, 49 for Tim, 48 for Paul.
Brian joined four of us at the other table for a game of Vegas Showdown. Brian is still new at the game, but he has an impressive unbeaten streak that he managed to maintain -- barely. In an extremely close game, it was Brian once again the winner (47) to John (46), Eric (44), Mike (43) and Greg (42). Five points top to bottom, one of the closest games of Vegas I have ever seen.
So, six different games played, six different winners. A really good session headed into the summer season.
One group opted for Settlers (second week in a row). Tim was the winner, first to 10 points, ahead of Ron (9), Paul (8) and Patrick (5). The other group, waiting for others to show, played Cheeky Monkey. Mike came away the winner (44) over Greg (40) in a close one; Eric and I were the also-rans.
The four of us were joined by Rembert, whom I had met at the Beltsville Day gathering a couple of weeks before. We taught Rembert Power Grid, and he managed to finish in the middle of the pack in his first game, played with the US Map, new deck. I had what could have been a winning position spoiled on the last two turns by being unable to buy needed resources (in this case, Oil). This enabled Eric to take the win ahead of Mike on the money tiebreaker, with both being able to power and supply 15 cities. Rembert who got to 14 cities, all powered with nukes, took third. Greg had the capacity to power 15 but could only build to 13, having bought some extra resources to extend the game. Meanwhile, I could only power 10 and wound up last.
The other group welcomed Brian and played 7 Wonders. Paul won with a high Guilds score. Final scores were Paul 68, Patrick 59, Brian 54, Tim and Doug 53, Ron 49. Four of this group then played Ascension, a game Doug H had introduced to the club a few weeks back. Doug M emerged the winner, with 57 points compared to 53 for Patrick, 49 for Tim, 48 for Paul.
Brian joined four of us at the other table for a game of Vegas Showdown. Brian is still new at the game, but he has an impressive unbeaten streak that he managed to maintain -- barely. In an extremely close game, it was Brian once again the winner (47) to John (46), Eric (44), Mike (43) and Greg (42). Five points top to bottom, one of the closest games of Vegas I have ever seen.
So, six different games played, six different winners. A really good session headed into the summer season.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
May 19, 2011 Session Report
Nice turnout for this week's session, we had nine gamers: Paul, Mike, Ron, Rodney, Doug H, Tim, Don, Brian and myself. We had two games going throughout the session.
First up was a game of Roll through the Ages that was unfinished once more people showed up. We then split into two groups. One game was Ascension, won by Mike (56) Rodney (45) and Doug, who brought the game (43). This group was joined by Don for a game of Puerto Rico, which came down to the tiebreaker. Don won over Rodney (each with 50 points) on the basis of having one more coin/good. Mike (44) was third, followed by Doug (38).
The other group played Settlers. I scored a rare victory in this game after it looked like Tim had the upper hand. The players and scores were: John (10), Paul and Tim (6) and Ron (5). I believe it was Ron's first time playing this game.
Next games were Pastiche and Vegas Showdown. Pastiche was won by Rodney (39) followed by Paul (32), Doug (31) and Don (23). Another great job of teaching the game to new players by Doug. Vegas Showdown was another runaway win for Brian, who had won a game last week as well. Scores: Brian 59 John 37 Don 36 Tim 35 Mike 30
Last two games were 7 Wonders and the cooperative game, Forbidden Island. 7 Wonders was a triumph for Don (with a nice score of 63 points). Others: Rodney 58 Tim 54 Mike 45 Paul 44. Forbidden Island, the four of us (Brian, Doug, Ron and myself) tried real hard but the waters kept rising and rising, so we lost. Thus ended the session.
First up was a game of Roll through the Ages that was unfinished once more people showed up. We then split into two groups. One game was Ascension, won by Mike (56) Rodney (45) and Doug, who brought the game (43). This group was joined by Don for a game of Puerto Rico, which came down to the tiebreaker. Don won over Rodney (each with 50 points) on the basis of having one more coin/good. Mike (44) was third, followed by Doug (38).
The other group played Settlers. I scored a rare victory in this game after it looked like Tim had the upper hand. The players and scores were: John (10), Paul and Tim (6) and Ron (5). I believe it was Ron's first time playing this game.
Next games were Pastiche and Vegas Showdown. Pastiche was won by Rodney (39) followed by Paul (32), Doug (31) and Don (23). Another great job of teaching the game to new players by Doug. Vegas Showdown was another runaway win for Brian, who had won a game last week as well. Scores: Brian 59 John 37 Don 36 Tim 35 Mike 30
Last two games were 7 Wonders and the cooperative game, Forbidden Island. 7 Wonders was a triumph for Don (with a nice score of 63 points). Others: Rodney 58 Tim 54 Mike 45 Paul 44. Forbidden Island, the four of us (Brian, Doug, Ron and myself) tried real hard but the waters kept rising and rising, so we lost. Thus ended the session.
Monday, May 16, 2011
May 12, 2011 Session Report
We had a good post-Game Days attendance, with nine showing up: Paul S, Mike, Alan (whom we hadn't seen for some time), Doug H, Tim, Brian, Doug M, myself and (back for the second week in a row), Paul J. For the first time in awhile, no 7 Wonders games were played, and we had two games going for the entire session. Games played: Pastiche, Power Grid - Japan, Race for the Galaxy, Homesteaders, Vegas Showdown and For Sale.
Pastiche was a three-player, won by Alan (49) with Doug H a close second (48), and Paul S. was third (33).
Power Grid-Japan was a five-player, I managed to build to 15 for the win with one dollar to spare. Others: Tim (12) in second ahead of Doug M (also 12), while Mike and Brian, each with 11 cities, brought up the rear.
Race for the Galaxy used the Gathering Storm expansion. Winner was Paul J. (38) just in front of Paul S. (36). Doug H was third and last with 26 but the best of the non-Pauls in that one. This same group went on to play Homesteaders, another win for Paul J (66) to Doug's 49 and Paul S. (41) and wrapped up the evening with For Sale, with Paul J. going on to win three in a row (77 to 59 for Doug, 51 for the other Paul).
The other table finished up with Power Grid and moved on to Vegas Showdown. Scores: Brian 63 Doug M 54 Tim 48 John 45 Mike 40.
Pastiche was a three-player, won by Alan (49) with Doug H a close second (48), and Paul S. was third (33).
Power Grid-Japan was a five-player, I managed to build to 15 for the win with one dollar to spare. Others: Tim (12) in second ahead of Doug M (also 12), while Mike and Brian, each with 11 cities, brought up the rear.
Race for the Galaxy used the Gathering Storm expansion. Winner was Paul J. (38) just in front of Paul S. (36). Doug H was third and last with 26 but the best of the non-Pauls in that one. This same group went on to play Homesteaders, another win for Paul J (66) to Doug's 49 and Paul S. (41) and wrapped up the evening with For Sale, with Paul J. going on to win three in a row (77 to 59 for Doug, 51 for the other Paul).
The other table finished up with Power Grid and moved on to Vegas Showdown. Scores: Brian 63 Doug M 54 Tim 48 John 45 Mike 40.
May 5, 2011 Session Report
I was at Game Days, but there was a club session, and here's the report:
Six in attendance, including two first-time club attendees: Paul J. and Eric, who joined Paul S., Mike, Tim and Patrick. Two games of 7 Wonders were played, and also Carson City. Scores on those games were:
7 Wonders, game 1: Mike 55 Patrick 54 Tim 45 Paul S. 45
Carson City: Patrick 47 Mike 40 Paul S. 30 Tim 25
7 Wonders, game 2: Mike 63 Paul S. 58 Paul J. 56 Patrick 45 Tim 43 Ed 41
Footnote on this last game: Mike had the Mannekin (B side), and there was a question of how you interpret the wonder, so the win may have come with an asterisk because of this.
Six in attendance, including two first-time club attendees: Paul J. and Eric, who joined Paul S., Mike, Tim and Patrick. Two games of 7 Wonders were played, and also Carson City. Scores on those games were:
7 Wonders, game 1: Mike 55 Patrick 54 Tim 45 Paul S. 45
Carson City: Patrick 47 Mike 40 Paul S. 30 Tim 25
7 Wonders, game 2: Mike 63 Paul S. 58 Paul J. 56 Patrick 45 Tim 43 Ed 41
Footnote on this last game: Mike had the Mannekin (B side), and there was a question of how you interpret the wonder, so the win may have come with an asterisk because of this.
Monday, May 2, 2011
April 28, 2011 Session Report
Good attendance again this week, as Eric brought his two sons (Ryan and Nathan), joining Mike, Paul, Tim, Patrick, Doug M and myself for an evening of gaming. Games played: Monopoly Deal, Cheeky Monkey, Agricola, Too Many Cooks, Innovation and 7 Wonders.
Monopoly Deal is a quick-playing card game based on Monopoly. I managed to win by being the first to collect three sets of color-coded properties (aided by a Wild Card property or two). The others in this game were Eric, Ryan, Mike and Paul.
Next up was Cheeky Monkey. Eric won this one. Scores: Eric 23, Tim 17, Ryan 15, Paul 13, John 9, Mike a big zero.
After these two games, we split into two groups. One table engaged in an exciting game of Agricola. It took slightly over two hours (fairly quick for that game) and the scores were Doug M 37, Paul 27, Tim 24, Patrick (who brought the game) 15. I believe it was Tim's first time playing the game.
The other table played a game of Too Many Cooks. The winner was Nathan (21), followed by John (19), Mike (14), Eric (11) and Ryan (4). Nice job by Nathan, the youngest player in the game.
At this point and Eric and his kids (he also brought younger daughter Rebecca who deigned not to play with the rest of us) took their leave, which left two of us (Mike and I) waiting for the Agricola game to finish. We opted for a two-player Innovation. Mike won, 6 - 2, taking all the point-based achievements while I could manage just two of the Specials via short-cut Dogma effects.
That left six of us to wrap up the evening with a final game of 7 Wonders. It came down to the tiebreakers, as it was a tie for first, tie for third and a tie for fifth. Final scores of this very close game: Tim 55, Paul 55, Mike 54, John 54, Doug M 46, Patrick 46. Congratulations to Tim for winning this one with a well-balanced scoring consisting of Guilds, blue cards and Military.\
Next week is Games Days, so I suspect I will not make it back in time for the club session. Left some scoresheets and attendance forms, expecting a full report from those who do attend.
Monopoly Deal is a quick-playing card game based on Monopoly. I managed to win by being the first to collect three sets of color-coded properties (aided by a Wild Card property or two). The others in this game were Eric, Ryan, Mike and Paul.
Next up was Cheeky Monkey. Eric won this one. Scores: Eric 23, Tim 17, Ryan 15, Paul 13, John 9, Mike a big zero.
After these two games, we split into two groups. One table engaged in an exciting game of Agricola. It took slightly over two hours (fairly quick for that game) and the scores were Doug M 37, Paul 27, Tim 24, Patrick (who brought the game) 15. I believe it was Tim's first time playing the game.
The other table played a game of Too Many Cooks. The winner was Nathan (21), followed by John (19), Mike (14), Eric (11) and Ryan (4). Nice job by Nathan, the youngest player in the game.
At this point and Eric and his kids (he also brought younger daughter Rebecca who deigned not to play with the rest of us) took their leave, which left two of us (Mike and I) waiting for the Agricola game to finish. We opted for a two-player Innovation. Mike won, 6 - 2, taking all the point-based achievements while I could manage just two of the Specials via short-cut Dogma effects.
That left six of us to wrap up the evening with a final game of 7 Wonders. It came down to the tiebreakers, as it was a tie for first, tie for third and a tie for fifth. Final scores of this very close game: Tim 55, Paul 55, Mike 54, John 54, Doug M 46, Patrick 46. Congratulations to Tim for winning this one with a well-balanced scoring consisting of Guilds, blue cards and Military.\
Next week is Games Days, so I suspect I will not make it back in time for the club session. Left some scoresheets and attendance forms, expecting a full report from those who do attend.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
April 21, 2011 Session Report
We had good attendance of ten for this week's session. Mike, Tim, Eric, Doug M, Doug H, Ethan (making his first appearance at our club), Brian, Patrick, Erik and myself were the players. We had two games going on at once for most of the session, and it turned out there were just two winners tonight, Brian and Eric, with Brian going undefeated.
At one table, Ethan, Brian, Doug H and I played a new game from the Mensa convention called Pastiche which Doug had brought. It was about matching colors, had some trading involved, then completing works of art by various painters to see who could score the most points. Final score counts: Brian 39, John 37, Ethan 33, Doug H 30. Erik joined us for the next game, which was Hoity Toity. Brian won that one by one space with John second, followed by Ethan, Doug and Erik. Brian kept his winning streak going by taking a four-player Cloud Nine, passing Doug on the final turn. Scores: Brian 56, Doug H 51, Ethan 42, John 26.
Meanwhile, at the other table, there was a five-player game of Automobile. Eric, who had not played before, won with a very good score of 5330, followed by Patrick (4320), Doug M (4100), Tim (3960) and Mike (3710). I believe it was Tim's first game, while the others had played before. Next up, the group started but abandoned a game of Innovation, then went for 7 Wonders. Final scores: Eric 57 Doug M 53 Tim 52 Mike 33.
Not being one to rest on his laurels (ooh, bad pun, given where we were playing), Eric joined the four of us at the other table for one more game of Cloud Nine to wrap up the evening's festivities. It came down to Brian and Eric, the two players who had won all their preceding games, and Brian won by a narrow margin. Final count: Brian 52, Eric 49, Doug H 39, John 35, Ethan 24. A big 25-point balloon trip helped Brian win that game.
At one table, Ethan, Brian, Doug H and I played a new game from the Mensa convention called Pastiche which Doug had brought. It was about matching colors, had some trading involved, then completing works of art by various painters to see who could score the most points. Final score counts: Brian 39, John 37, Ethan 33, Doug H 30. Erik joined us for the next game, which was Hoity Toity. Brian won that one by one space with John second, followed by Ethan, Doug and Erik. Brian kept his winning streak going by taking a four-player Cloud Nine, passing Doug on the final turn. Scores: Brian 56, Doug H 51, Ethan 42, John 26.
Meanwhile, at the other table, there was a five-player game of Automobile. Eric, who had not played before, won with a very good score of 5330, followed by Patrick (4320), Doug M (4100), Tim (3960) and Mike (3710). I believe it was Tim's first game, while the others had played before. Next up, the group started but abandoned a game of Innovation, then went for 7 Wonders. Final scores: Eric 57 Doug M 53 Tim 52 Mike 33.
Not being one to rest on his laurels (ooh, bad pun, given where we were playing), Eric joined the four of us at the other table for one more game of Cloud Nine to wrap up the evening's festivities. It came down to Brian and Eric, the two players who had won all their preceding games, and Brian won by a narrow margin. Final count: Brian 52, Eric 49, Doug H 39, John 35, Ethan 24. A big 25-point balloon trip helped Brian win that game.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
April 14, 2011 Session Report
Six for this week's session: Patrick, Paul, Tim, Brian, Doug M and myself. Only had time for two games: Shogun (brought by Patrick) and then the obligatory 7 Wonders.
Shogun, we got through one of three scoring rounds and did not finish. Scores at that point: John 23, Patrick 20, Tim 14, Paul 9, Brian 8.
The 7 Wonders game wound up in a win for Doug. Scores were Doug 59, Tim 53, Paul 50, Patrick 49, Brian 47, John 43. Paul scored 32 points just from Guilds alone.
Shogun, we got through one of three scoring rounds and did not finish. Scores at that point: John 23, Patrick 20, Tim 14, Paul 9, Brian 8.
The 7 Wonders game wound up in a win for Doug. Scores were Doug 59, Tim 53, Paul 50, Patrick 49, Brian 47, John 43. Paul scored 32 points just from Guilds alone.
Monday, April 11, 2011
April 7, 2011 Session Report
Six showed for this week's session, and Mike, Paul, Doug H, Tim, Don and I played a total of four games: Ascension, Lost Cities, Power Grid - Spain and 7 Wonders.
Ascension, which Doug had brought, was a four-player game with an extremely close finish. Final scores: Doug 54, John 53, Paul 52, Mike 49.
Don and Tim arrived a few minutes late and played a couple of hands of Lost Cities. Word has it Don prevailed.
Then, all six of us played Power Grid with one of the newer maps, Spain, which had some interesting rules. It was a very close game, everyone finished with either 15 or 14 cities powered the final turn. The top three were: John 15/64, Paul 15/47, Don 15/25. However, Don had the capacity to power 16 but was a dollar short of making the connection that would have won him the game.
Wrapped up with another 7 Wonders game, won by Mike. Scores: Mike 55, John 51, Tim 50, Doug 45, Paul 40, Don 38.
Ascension, which Doug had brought, was a four-player game with an extremely close finish. Final scores: Doug 54, John 53, Paul 52, Mike 49.
Don and Tim arrived a few minutes late and played a couple of hands of Lost Cities. Word has it Don prevailed.
Then, all six of us played Power Grid with one of the newer maps, Spain, which had some interesting rules. It was a very close game, everyone finished with either 15 or 14 cities powered the final turn. The top three were: John 15/64, Paul 15/47, Don 15/25. However, Don had the capacity to power 16 but was a dollar short of making the connection that would have won him the game.
Wrapped up with another 7 Wonders game, won by Mike. Scores: Mike 55, John 51, Tim 50, Doug 45, Paul 40, Don 38.
Monday, April 4, 2011
March 31, 2011 Session Report
Six in attendance this week: Mike, Paul, Tim, Doug M, Patrick and myself. Games played: Speicherstadt, London, Puerto Rico, Ticket to Ride - Switzerland and the new second edition of 7 Wonders (which Mike had brought). Some details follow.
First up was The Speicherstadt, five-player game, very close scores (for four of us, at least): Mike 25 Paul 25 Doug 25 Tim 24 John 14. Mike won on the money tiebreaker, while Paul and Doug tied for second.
Patrick arrived, so we split into two groups for the next round of games. Three of us elected to play London. Final scores: Doug 89 John 55 Patrick 16. Not a real close one as Doug managed to build the most districts and ran away with the game.
The other group of three got in two games in the same time frame. Puerto Rico wound up a win for Mike: 60 to 45 (Paul) and 44 (Tim). Ticket to Ride-Swiss was a blowout win for Mike, with Tim second and Paul conceding after being blocked from several key runs.
The final game of the evening was a five-player 7 Wonders. Mike had brought the new edition, which included the eighth Wonder expansion as well as some new components but the rules were basically the same. Tim emerged the winner, preventing a four-game sweep for the evening by Mike. Final score count: Tim 65 Doug 60 Mike 55 John 53 Paul 39.
First up was The Speicherstadt, five-player game, very close scores (for four of us, at least): Mike 25 Paul 25 Doug 25 Tim 24 John 14. Mike won on the money tiebreaker, while Paul and Doug tied for second.
Patrick arrived, so we split into two groups for the next round of games. Three of us elected to play London. Final scores: Doug 89 John 55 Patrick 16. Not a real close one as Doug managed to build the most districts and ran away with the game.
The other group of three got in two games in the same time frame. Puerto Rico wound up a win for Mike: 60 to 45 (Paul) and 44 (Tim). Ticket to Ride-Swiss was a blowout win for Mike, with Tim second and Paul conceding after being blocked from several key runs.
The final game of the evening was a five-player 7 Wonders. Mike had brought the new edition, which included the eighth Wonder expansion as well as some new components but the rules were basically the same. Tim emerged the winner, preventing a four-game sweep for the evening by Mike. Final score count: Tim 65 Doug 60 Mike 55 John 53 Paul 39.
March 24, 2011 Session Report
Unfortunately, I missed this session and had to rely on the recollections of those who attended. Attendance was at five -- Eugene, Paul, Tim, Don and one other -- possibly Bryan, can't say for sure. Games played: Vegas Showdown, For Sale and Puerto Rico. No report on the scores or the winners.
CORRECTION: I believe from subsequent conversations that the fifth attendee at this session was Erik, not Bryan.
CORRECTION: I believe from subsequent conversations that the fifth attendee at this session was Erik, not Bryan.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
March 17, 2011 Session Report
Attendance hit double figures this week, as we had Paul, Doug H, Mike, Eric S, Patrick, Erik, Eugene, Don, Doug M and myself available to play games. One group played Railroad Tycoon on the new Western US Map, which Eric had brought. The five of us (Eric, Doug M, Patrick, Don and myself) took around three hours or so to complete the game, which was won by Eric who had jumped out to a large lead and only had two bonds (which he took out to finance his initial bid and track build). Final scores: Eric 72, Don 61, Doug M 60 and the rear was brought up by myself (43) and Patrick (35).
The other group played three shorter games. Ascension, won by Eugene. Scores: Eugene 59, Doug H 57, Mike 55, Paul 43. 7 Wonders, also won by Eugene. Scores: Eugene 58, Erik 55, Mike 52, Doug H 42, Paul 41. Then Eugene took his leave and the next game was Settlers, won by Mike who had the largest Army, with 10, followed by Doug H (longest road) 8, Erik 8, Paul 5.
There was time for a second game of 7 Wonders with those of us who stayed for the final hour. That won was a big win for Eric S, with a score of 70 -- tied for the highest I have seen, as he obviously benefited from starting to my left. Others were far behind, paced by Doug M 54, Erik 46, Don 44, Paul 40, John 37.
Good turnout, good night for Eugene and Eric who won all the games they played.
The other group played three shorter games. Ascension, won by Eugene. Scores: Eugene 59, Doug H 57, Mike 55, Paul 43. 7 Wonders, also won by Eugene. Scores: Eugene 58, Erik 55, Mike 52, Doug H 42, Paul 41. Then Eugene took his leave and the next game was Settlers, won by Mike who had the largest Army, with 10, followed by Doug H (longest road) 8, Erik 8, Paul 5.
There was time for a second game of 7 Wonders with those of us who stayed for the final hour. That won was a big win for Eric S, with a score of 70 -- tied for the highest I have seen, as he obviously benefited from starting to my left. Others were far behind, paced by Doug M 54, Erik 46, Don 44, Paul 40, John 37.
Good turnout, good night for Eugene and Eric who won all the games they played.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
March 10, 2011 Session Report
Attendance held firm at eight for tonight's session despite some rainy weather: Mike, Patrick, Paul, Doug, Eugene, Erik, Tim and myself were the attendees. Games played: 7 Wonders, Settlers of Catan, Imperial 2030, Pandemic and Ingenious.
First up was the obligatory 7 Wonders game, believe we had six players (Erik and Tim had not yet arrived), and the winner was Patrick. Then we split into two groups for the rest of the session. One group (Paul, Erik, Tim and Doug) opted for some shorter games, including Settlers (won by Doug), Pandemic (no report on how that one came out) and Ingenious (won by Tim).
The rest of us played the longer Imperial, using the newer map and 2030 version. It was the first play for Patrick, Mike and Eugene, and we didn't quite manage to finish the full game after the leading country (Russia) was brutally attacked and brought to its knees. The two best countries (ending up at x4) were Europe and China, hence the contest was between Mike and Patrick, with Mike emerging victorious by a point (a tie would have favored Patrick). I came in third with Eugene in fourth after Eugene's last bond buy left him a few bucks short of being able to squeeze in a final taxation with India, in which both he and I were heavily invested. A good time was had by all.
First up was the obligatory 7 Wonders game, believe we had six players (Erik and Tim had not yet arrived), and the winner was Patrick. Then we split into two groups for the rest of the session. One group (Paul, Erik, Tim and Doug) opted for some shorter games, including Settlers (won by Doug), Pandemic (no report on how that one came out) and Ingenious (won by Tim).
The rest of us played the longer Imperial, using the newer map and 2030 version. It was the first play for Patrick, Mike and Eugene, and we didn't quite manage to finish the full game after the leading country (Russia) was brutally attacked and brought to its knees. The two best countries (ending up at x4) were Europe and China, hence the contest was between Mike and Patrick, with Mike emerging victorious by a point (a tie would have favored Patrick). I came in third with Eugene in fourth after Eugene's last bond buy left him a few bucks short of being able to squeeze in a final taxation with India, in which both he and I were heavily invested. A good time was had by all.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
March 3, 2011 Session Report
Finally getting caught up with the two session reports prior to PrezCon, so the most recent session attracted eight attendees: Mike, Doug, Ron, Tim, Bryan, Don, Patrick and myself. Four different games were played and it turned out to be a very good night for Tim, who won all three games he played.
First up (once again) was 7 Wonders, and we had a full table of seven. Tim won the game with a very impressive score of 69, ahead of John (57), Mike (54), Doug (48), Ron (43), Bryan (37) and Don (36). We then split into two groups for the rest of the evening.
One group got in two games. First was Union Pacific, which turned out to be a close finish between Tim and Mike with Doug not far behind. Final scores: Tim 104 Mike 102 Doug 98 Ron 87. Then it was Speicherstadt, with Tim completing the trifecta with 29, Mike again second (26) followed by Doug (22) and Ron (18). These seem like fairly high scores based on my limited experience with the game.
The other group elected to play Automobile, which Patrick and I had played a few days earlier at PrezCon. We barely got the game in, as they were collecting tables and chairs while we were hastily calculating the final scores. What we came up with was Patrick 5450, John 4770, Don 4500, Bryan (for whom it was the first play) 3580. These scores, particularly Patrick's, seemed really high for a 4-player game, and afterwards Patrick thought he may have been paid twice for his cars sold in the final round. So, it will have to go down as a win with an asterisk for Patrick.
First up (once again) was 7 Wonders, and we had a full table of seven. Tim won the game with a very impressive score of 69, ahead of John (57), Mike (54), Doug (48), Ron (43), Bryan (37) and Don (36). We then split into two groups for the rest of the evening.
One group got in two games. First was Union Pacific, which turned out to be a close finish between Tim and Mike with Doug not far behind. Final scores: Tim 104 Mike 102 Doug 98 Ron 87. Then it was Speicherstadt, with Tim completing the trifecta with 29, Mike again second (26) followed by Doug (22) and Ron (18). These seem like fairly high scores based on my limited experience with the game.
The other group elected to play Automobile, which Patrick and I had played a few days earlier at PrezCon. We barely got the game in, as they were collecting tables and chairs while we were hastily calculating the final scores. What we came up with was Patrick 5450, John 4770, Don 4500, Bryan (for whom it was the first play) 3580. These scores, particularly Patrick's, seemed really high for a 4-player game, and afterwards Patrick thought he may have been paid twice for his cars sold in the final round. So, it will have to go down as a win with an asterisk for Patrick.
February 24, 2011 Session Report
While some of us were away at PrezCon, there was a group of four at this session. Don, Paul, Ron and Mike were present, and they played three different games: K2, Ticket to Ride (US Map) and Iliad. Iliad did not make it to the finish line, but the results for the other two games follow (courtesy of Mike for providing this information).
K2: Very close scores, well at least for three of the four players. It was Don 23, Paul 22 and Ron 20. Mike lost both climbers when he was blocked from advancing and wound up with just 2 points.
Ticket to Ride: Winner was Paul 123, followed by Don 106 (including the longest route bonus), Mike 104 (most tickets bonus), Ron 92.
K2: Very close scores, well at least for three of the four players. It was Don 23, Paul 22 and Ron 20. Mike lost both climbers when he was blocked from advancing and wound up with just 2 points.
Ticket to Ride: Winner was Paul 123, followed by Don 106 (including the longest route bonus), Mike 104 (most tickets bonus), Ron 92.
Monday, February 21, 2011
February 17, 2011 Session Report
I am afraid this will have to be a very incomplete session report as I had to leave early due to a conflict with another event later that evening. Attendance remained strong, with at least ten of us (Paul, Patrick, Ron, Eric, Erik, Doug H, Mike, Greg, Brian and myself) present. One game played was 7 Wonders, but don't have access to the final scores. Hope to supplement this report with more details after I return from PrezCon, which is going to cause my absence again on the 24th. Hope to catch up when I return.
March 5, 2011 Update: Here are the results from games played on February 17.
7 Wonders: Paul 66 Doug 64 Erik 56 Greg 48 Mike 47 Ron (with an assist from John) 34
Power Grid (New Deck, Japan map): Ron 14/112, Mike 12/232, Eric 12/221, Doug 12/10, Greg 11/95
Monopoly Deal: Ron 3 Doug, Eric and Mike 0
Wits and Wagers: Greg 38 Ron 23 Doug 18 Mike 0
Looks like I might be missing a game or two for Paul, Erik, Brian and Patrick, but that's all I have in the way of results from Feb. 17.
March 5, 2011 Update: Here are the results from games played on February 17.
7 Wonders: Paul 66 Doug 64 Erik 56 Greg 48 Mike 47 Ron (with an assist from John) 34
Power Grid (New Deck, Japan map): Ron 14/112, Mike 12/232, Eric 12/221, Doug 12/10, Greg 11/95
Monopoly Deal: Ron 3 Doug, Eric and Mike 0
Wits and Wagers: Greg 38 Ron 23 Doug 18 Mike 0
Looks like I might be missing a game or two for Paul, Erik, Brian and Patrick, but that's all I have in the way of results from Feb. 17.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
February 10, 2011 Session Report
We had attendance of 10 for this week's session, including one first-time attendee, Brian Burk. Also present were Ron, Paul, Mike, Doug H, Lee, Eric, Doug M, Patrick and myself. Games played: Glen More, Power Grid-Russia, 7 Wonders, Roll Through the Ages and Innovation. A brief report follows.
Paul, Ron, Patrick, Doug H and I played a new game that I had brought called Glen More. It was a tile-laying game a bit reminiscent of Alhambra where you placed some tiles, but here certain (usually the adjacent or touching tiles) were activated for production or movement. Anyway, the game seemed to go over fairly well. The winner was Ron with 54. Other scores were John 44, Patrick 42, Paul 38, Doug H 27.
The other game was Power Grid, using the Russia map. Turned out to be a close a competitive game, coming down to the money tiebreaker as three of the four players were able to power 17 cities on the final turn. Winner was Brian (17 cities/93 money), second Mike (17/73), then Eric (17/17) and finally Lee (16/92).
At this point there was alot of discussion as to what game to play next. There wound up being a couple of games of 7 Wonders, plus one Roll Through the Ages and then Innovation, which Doug M had brought. Roll Through the Ages was a 3-player, won by Doug on the most goods tiebreak with Ron in second and me in last.
7 Wonders Game #1: Paul 49 Patrick 47 Mike 46 Doug M 45 Brian 42 Eric 41 Lee 36.
7 Wonders Game #2: Eric 48 Lee 46 Paul 41 Doug H 34.
Finally, Doug M, Brian, Patrick and I fooled around with a game of Innovation but did not finish. I managed to get two achievements, Doug got one. The game was new to Brian and Patrick.
Paul, Ron, Patrick, Doug H and I played a new game that I had brought called Glen More. It was a tile-laying game a bit reminiscent of Alhambra where you placed some tiles, but here certain (usually the adjacent or touching tiles) were activated for production or movement. Anyway, the game seemed to go over fairly well. The winner was Ron with 54. Other scores were John 44, Patrick 42, Paul 38, Doug H 27.
The other game was Power Grid, using the Russia map. Turned out to be a close a competitive game, coming down to the money tiebreaker as three of the four players were able to power 17 cities on the final turn. Winner was Brian (17 cities/93 money), second Mike (17/73), then Eric (17/17) and finally Lee (16/92).
At this point there was alot of discussion as to what game to play next. There wound up being a couple of games of 7 Wonders, plus one Roll Through the Ages and then Innovation, which Doug M had brought. Roll Through the Ages was a 3-player, won by Doug on the most goods tiebreak with Ron in second and me in last.
7 Wonders Game #1: Paul 49 Patrick 47 Mike 46 Doug M 45 Brian 42 Eric 41 Lee 36.
7 Wonders Game #2: Eric 48 Lee 46 Paul 41 Doug H 34.
Finally, Doug M, Brian, Patrick and I fooled around with a game of Innovation but did not finish. I managed to get two achievements, Doug got one. The game was new to Brian and Patrick.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
February 3, 2011 Session Report
There were eight participants this week: Ron (whom we hadn't seen in awhile), Doug, Paul, Mike, John, Erik, Tim, Eugene and myself. Ron had brought K-2, a game about mountain-climbing, which was played twice, as was 7 Wonders. Also, a 5-player game of Puerto Rico broke out.
The first game of K-2 included Don, Ron and myself and it was brutal as the rough weather conditions and crowding as we tried to assault the summit led to some tragedy -- all three of us had to sacrifice one climber to try to maximize our potential. Ron was the first to get to the top, but he had trouble getting his climber back to the lower levels. Doug proved slow and steady was the wisest approach, getting both climbers in position before being forced to sacrifice one of them. Doug then got a man to the top, returned him safely for an additional three-point bonus. My climbers struggled, getting one group to level 7 before they perished. I finally got the second group to the end. Final scores: Doug 13, Ron and John 11, with Ron getting second on the tiebreak for reaching the top earlier.
Second game of K-2 saw things go a bit smoother, Ron and Erik both got 20 points, Ron winning on the tiebreak. Only Eugene, who came in third with 11 points, lost a climber. Erik got both his climbers to the top but none returned to the bottom. Ron got one to the top and safely returned and a second to level 7 to secure the win.
Two games of 7 Wonders finished thusly:
Game 1: Erik 59 Tim 54 Paul 53 Mike 40
Game 2: Tim 57 Erik 49 Mike and Eugene 44 Paul 36.
The Puerto Rico game finished as follows: John 50 Doug 47 Mike 43 Paul 37 Tim 33. It was Tim's first game of PR.
The first game of K-2 included Don, Ron and myself and it was brutal as the rough weather conditions and crowding as we tried to assault the summit led to some tragedy -- all three of us had to sacrifice one climber to try to maximize our potential. Ron was the first to get to the top, but he had trouble getting his climber back to the lower levels. Doug proved slow and steady was the wisest approach, getting both climbers in position before being forced to sacrifice one of them. Doug then got a man to the top, returned him safely for an additional three-point bonus. My climbers struggled, getting one group to level 7 before they perished. I finally got the second group to the end. Final scores: Doug 13, Ron and John 11, with Ron getting second on the tiebreak for reaching the top earlier.
Second game of K-2 saw things go a bit smoother, Ron and Erik both got 20 points, Ron winning on the tiebreak. Only Eugene, who came in third with 11 points, lost a climber. Erik got both his climbers to the top but none returned to the bottom. Ron got one to the top and safely returned and a second to level 7 to secure the win.
Two games of 7 Wonders finished thusly:
Game 1: Erik 59 Tim 54 Paul 53 Mike 40
Game 2: Tim 57 Erik 49 Mike and Eugene 44 Paul 36.
The Puerto Rico game finished as follows: John 50 Doug 47 Mike 43 Paul 37 Tim 33. It was Tim's first game of PR.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
January 27, 2011 Session Report
Some inclement weather kept some people away (perhaps also because the CC center had an erroneous message on their automated answering line suggesting that activities might be canceled), but four intrepid gamers made it to this week's session: Patrick, Eugene, Mike and myself.
Mike and I got there first and fooled around with a two-player game we had both bought, Railroad Barons, but we didn't really play it. Then I introduced the group to Era of Inventions, and we had fun inventing stuff for much of the evening -- Patrick invented the telephone and the camera, Mike invented the typewriter, Eugene the phonograph and eventually the airplane, I came up with the cash register, sewing machine and automobile. Eugene and Mike expanded their factories, while Patrick and I spent time recycling cubes and money by cashing in on bonuses for producing inventions. Final scores were John 34, Eugene 30, Patrick 24, Mike 20.
Then we wrapped up the evening with 7 Wonders, which wound up a runaway win for Eugene, who had 47 just in science. Final scores: Eugene 60, John 49, Mike 48, Patrick 41.
Mike and I got there first and fooled around with a two-player game we had both bought, Railroad Barons, but we didn't really play it. Then I introduced the group to Era of Inventions, and we had fun inventing stuff for much of the evening -- Patrick invented the telephone and the camera, Mike invented the typewriter, Eugene the phonograph and eventually the airplane, I came up with the cash register, sewing machine and automobile. Eugene and Mike expanded their factories, while Patrick and I spent time recycling cubes and money by cashing in on bonuses for producing inventions. Final scores were John 34, Eugene 30, Patrick 24, Mike 20.
Then we wrapped up the evening with 7 Wonders, which wound up a runaway win for Eugene, who had 47 just in science. Final scores: Eugene 60, John 49, Mike 48, Patrick 41.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
January 20, 2011 Session Report
For the third week in succession we had nine attendees, including (making his first appearance at our club) Karl Musser, the host at GCOM-Brunswick. Rounding out the attendees were Greg, Mike, Doug, Paul, Erik (back for his second week in a row), Patrick, Tim and myself. We played Word on the Street, De Vulgari Eloquentia, Tales of Arabian Nights and Ingenious (twice).
First up was a two-team tug-of-war of words, Word on the Street, which Greg had brought. It was a close contest, won 8-7 by the team of Greg, Doug and Paul over the team of myself, Mike and Patrick, after my word "fluff" which would have dramatically shifted the balance of power was rejected.
We then split into two groups after more people arrived. I had brought a fairly new game, De Vulgari Eloquentia, where players were scholars in Renaissance Italy going around collecting stuff, possibly becoming Cardinals and even Pope. Five of us started the game, but Karl had to leave around 9 and the game still had a bit to go. The game actually went the entire 16 turns and turned out to be a very close one, ending a tie: John 50 Paul 50 Patrick 49 Mike 44. I managed to eke out the win on the most knowledge tiebreak, but Paul ended the game as Pope. Just call him "Pope Paul" when he shows up next week.
The other group (consisting of Doug, Erik, Tim and Greg) played Tales of Arabian Nights which was won by Doug. They then had time for a couple of games of Ingenious, which were won both times by Erik.
First up was a two-team tug-of-war of words, Word on the Street, which Greg had brought. It was a close contest, won 8-7 by the team of Greg, Doug and Paul over the team of myself, Mike and Patrick, after my word "fluff" which would have dramatically shifted the balance of power was rejected.
We then split into two groups after more people arrived. I had brought a fairly new game, De Vulgari Eloquentia, where players were scholars in Renaissance Italy going around collecting stuff, possibly becoming Cardinals and even Pope. Five of us started the game, but Karl had to leave around 9 and the game still had a bit to go. The game actually went the entire 16 turns and turned out to be a very close one, ending a tie: John 50 Paul 50 Patrick 49 Mike 44. I managed to eke out the win on the most knowledge tiebreak, but Paul ended the game as Pope. Just call him "Pope Paul" when he shows up next week.
The other group (consisting of Doug, Erik, Tim and Greg) played Tales of Arabian Nights which was won by Doug. They then had time for a couple of games of Ingenious, which were won both times by Erik.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
January 13, 2011 Session Report
For the second week in a row, we had nine in attendance but not the same nine as the prior week. Erik (first time at our club) was there, along with Mike, Doug, Paul, Lee, Greg, Rodney, Patrick and myself. Games played: 7 Wonders (three times!), Princes of Florence, Power Grid - Japan, Navegador. Some details follow.
First game up was 7 Wonders. After some shuffling, we wound up with a five-player game and I recorded my first win after about 10 tries. Not a high score, however, final count was John 49, Rodney 46, Doug 45, Paul 40, Eric 33. The other group of four played Power Grid-Japan, which was won by Lee (15 cities powered) ahead of Mike and Patrick (12 cities each) after Greg, who came in last with just 9 cities powered, kingmakered the game for Lee. At least that's what I was told.
Erik, Doug, Rodney, Paul and I played Princes of Florence -- the newer version (which Greg had brought) but without the new rules. Erik was new to the game, but he managed to come in second. Final scores: John 62, Erik 53/200 florins, Doug 53/100 florins, Rodney 50, Paul 31. By then the Power Grid game was finished and we re-split into two groups.
One group played 7 Wonders two more times. Final scores: Erik 55, Mike 51, Rodney 44, Doug 43, Paul 40. Second game: Doug 65 (high score of the night and perhaps at the club thus far), followed by Mike 56 Rodney 53 Erik 51 Paul 29.
The other game was Navegador, Patrick and I introduced it to Lee and Greg. Greg seemed to catch on, Lee did not. We only managed to get into the third shipping age when time ran out. We scored anyway: Greg 52 Patrick 51 John 48 Lee 35
First game up was 7 Wonders. After some shuffling, we wound up with a five-player game and I recorded my first win after about 10 tries. Not a high score, however, final count was John 49, Rodney 46, Doug 45, Paul 40, Eric 33. The other group of four played Power Grid-Japan, which was won by Lee (15 cities powered) ahead of Mike and Patrick (12 cities each) after Greg, who came in last with just 9 cities powered, kingmakered the game for Lee. At least that's what I was told.
Erik, Doug, Rodney, Paul and I played Princes of Florence -- the newer version (which Greg had brought) but without the new rules. Erik was new to the game, but he managed to come in second. Final scores: John 62, Erik 53/200 florins, Doug 53/100 florins, Rodney 50, Paul 31. By then the Power Grid game was finished and we re-split into two groups.
One group played 7 Wonders two more times. Final scores: Erik 55, Mike 51, Rodney 44, Doug 43, Paul 40. Second game: Doug 65 (high score of the night and perhaps at the club thus far), followed by Mike 56 Rodney 53 Erik 51 Paul 29.
The other game was Navegador, Patrick and I introduced it to Lee and Greg. Greg seemed to catch on, Lee did not. We only managed to get into the third shipping age when time ran out. We scored anyway: Greg 52 Patrick 51 John 48 Lee 35
Sunday, January 9, 2011
January 6, 2011 Session Report
Started off the New Year with a nice jump in attendance -- a total of nine, and we had a literal three-ring circus with three games in progress for much of the evening. Joining me for this initial 2011 session were Mike, Greg, Doug, Patrick, Paul, Neil, Eric and Tim. Games played: 7 Wonders, Poseidon, Navegador, For Sale (played three times) and Railways of the World, using the Mexico map.
First up was 7 Wonders, which is rapidly becoming a new club favorite. Paul, who had won the prior week, continued his winning ways but this time it was much closer in the final scores: Paul 62, John 60, Doug 50, Patrick 49, Greg 49, Neil (assisted by Eric) 47, Mike 45. My game score was improved by 48 points in Science, good enough for second but not good enough to win, given my lack of Military points.
Tim arrived and, after a few minutes of discussion, we split into three three-player games. At one table, it was Greg, Mike and I playing Poseidon, an 18xx-style game based on shipping to ancient Greek islands that Mike had brought. Since I had pre-ordered the game, I was interested in seeing how it went. Pleasantly surprised, although it turned out we missed one rule and also were unable to reach the finish, getting to the start of the final set of operating rounds. We counted up and had a really close finish: John 2764, Greg 2538, Mike 2538 -- a virtual tie for second!
The Railways of the World game, which Eric had brought, also took up most of the rest of the session time. Final scores were reported as: Eric 87 Doug 77 Tim 67.
The other group, consisting of Paul, Patrick and Neil, played Navegador, and Paul continued his winning streak, but Patrick came much closer than the game from last week. Final scores were Paul 83 Neil 78 Patrick 67 -- heard Paul used the Explorer strategy which once again paid off. This threesome then played three games of For Sale to wrap up the evening, the first two of these were won by Paul, but then Partick succeeded to take the final game, thus preventing a clean sweep for Paul, who had won four games in a row to that point.
First up was 7 Wonders, which is rapidly becoming a new club favorite. Paul, who had won the prior week, continued his winning ways but this time it was much closer in the final scores: Paul 62, John 60, Doug 50, Patrick 49, Greg 49, Neil (assisted by Eric) 47, Mike 45. My game score was improved by 48 points in Science, good enough for second but not good enough to win, given my lack of Military points.
Tim arrived and, after a few minutes of discussion, we split into three three-player games. At one table, it was Greg, Mike and I playing Poseidon, an 18xx-style game based on shipping to ancient Greek islands that Mike had brought. Since I had pre-ordered the game, I was interested in seeing how it went. Pleasantly surprised, although it turned out we missed one rule and also were unable to reach the finish, getting to the start of the final set of operating rounds. We counted up and had a really close finish: John 2764, Greg 2538, Mike 2538 -- a virtual tie for second!
The Railways of the World game, which Eric had brought, also took up most of the rest of the session time. Final scores were reported as: Eric 87 Doug 77 Tim 67.
The other group, consisting of Paul, Patrick and Neil, played Navegador, and Paul continued his winning streak, but Patrick came much closer than the game from last week. Final scores were Paul 83 Neil 78 Patrick 67 -- heard Paul used the Explorer strategy which once again paid off. This threesome then played three games of For Sale to wrap up the evening, the first two of these were won by Paul, but then Partick succeeded to take the final game, thus preventing a clean sweep for Paul, who had won four games in a row to that point.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
December 30, 2010 Session Report
There were just three of us (Patrick, Paul and myself) for the final session of 2010. We played three different games: 7 Wonders, Navegador and finally Family Business.
First up was 7 Wonders, as we went for a short game in the hope that others might show up. Paul won, playing just for the second time. Scores were fairly close, Paul 48, John 44, Patrick 41. Paul had a perfect 18 pts in Military, completed his Wonder, added some blue points while ignoring Science and Guilds. I had 25 points in Science which wasn't enough to make up for weaknesses in other categories. Patrick did well in blue, green and purple but was the weakest in military points.
We then played Navegador, the fourth in the series of rondel games -- other games include Imperial and Hamburgum. This was a close game, Paul coming out on top again, scores: Paul 85 John 84 Patrick 69. Paul dominated in the Explorer category, collecting seven tokens with a multiplier of 7. I was strong in Factories and Churches but weak in exploring and shipyards. Enjoyed the game, think it will play better with four or five.
Final game was a Mafia game, Family Business, brought by Patrick. I got out to an early lead and was targeted by Paul, which made me the first one to have his gang eliminated. But Patrick had the last laugh, as he had the most gangsters remaining when the Mob Wars accelerated toward the end, thus preventing Paul from sweeping all three games.
Hope everyone has a Happy New Year and looking forward to seeing more of you at our sessions in 2011!
First up was 7 Wonders, as we went for a short game in the hope that others might show up. Paul won, playing just for the second time. Scores were fairly close, Paul 48, John 44, Patrick 41. Paul had a perfect 18 pts in Military, completed his Wonder, added some blue points while ignoring Science and Guilds. I had 25 points in Science which wasn't enough to make up for weaknesses in other categories. Patrick did well in blue, green and purple but was the weakest in military points.
We then played Navegador, the fourth in the series of rondel games -- other games include Imperial and Hamburgum. This was a close game, Paul coming out on top again, scores: Paul 85 John 84 Patrick 69. Paul dominated in the Explorer category, collecting seven tokens with a multiplier of 7. I was strong in Factories and Churches but weak in exploring and shipyards. Enjoyed the game, think it will play better with four or five.
Final game was a Mafia game, Family Business, brought by Patrick. I got out to an early lead and was targeted by Paul, which made me the first one to have his gang eliminated. But Patrick had the last laugh, as he had the most gangsters remaining when the Mob Wars accelerated toward the end, thus preventing Paul from sweeping all three games.
Hope everyone has a Happy New Year and looking forward to seeing more of you at our sessions in 2011!
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