After the lengthy Genoa, our tastes were drawn towards games at the shorter and simpler end of the spectrum, and so we began with Animal Upon Animal. A kids game which involves stacking up animal shaped blocks of wood according to the roll of a dice. The first to stack all their animals wins. Joe took first place easily, having previously honed his skills against his young children.
Then came the main game of the evening – Stone Age. Although it was new to both Sam and I, the rules were simple enough that they could be picked up after just a few minutes of discussion. And so it was that the three players set off into prehistoric times, commanding their tribes to build huts, collect food and somehow get gold from a river using axes.
With a similar worker-placing mechanism to Agricola or Caylus, but with fewer convoluted options, the pace was brisk. This was the first game I’d played in a long time that used a set of dice as an integral part of the game (apart from Perudo) and it seemed quite fresh and exciting to have your decisions rely on chance, instead of it relying on the deliberate choices of your opponents who are all out to get you. As the last round arrived, we found ourselves weighing up probabilities of one option succeeding over another.
During the game, Sam made the early running but as it turned out, Sam’s collection of single multipliers didn’t help his cause, despite plenty of huts. Joe had a large family that totted up some points, but it was my canny combination of an axe x4 multiplier with a range of civilisations that put me in first place.
Andrew: 125
Sam: 118
Joe: 112
The general consensus was Stone Age is a fun strategy game and what a relief it was to play a game that offered enough options to allow a range of tactics, but not so many that you’re confused by the sheer number of choices.
Then, just to wind down while me and Joe finished our drinks, a game of For Sale was brought out. Short and sweet, the bids flew back and forth. As the dust settled, the money was counted and the results (in thousands) were: Andrew: 68, Joe: 62, Sam: 52
A rare double-header for me. Pity that only one counted on the board, but hey ho.
The leaderboard...
| Played | Points | Ratio | |
| Adam | 11 | 55 | 5 |
| Joe | 13 | 52 | 4 |
| Andrew | 14 | 45.5 | 3.25 |
| Sam | 9 | 39.5 | 4.38 |
| Quentin | 7 | 30 | 4.28 |
| Hannah | 3 | 11.5 | 3.8 |
| Jonny | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Ye I really enjoyed this first proper outing for Stone Age, despite coming last. I'd played several aborted games with the kids, and one two player with my sis, and was slightly concerned that it may have been overtaken by games that have come out since, as it seemed a bit dry and un-interactive. Last night proved otherwise though — it was lots of fun, and I agree about the dice; just enough randomness to add to the game rather than detract.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I don't think I mentioned last night is that it is legitimate to take a space and then not action it, ie take it just to stop another player going there. So for instance, you could go to the love hut and just, erm, snuggle.
I really liked it - as Joe and Andrew said the dice felt like a novelty and not a pain. Still enough strategy that one didn't feel enslaved to the whims of fate... and quick moving, too.
ReplyDelete