Wednesday 16 April 2014

Three is definitely not a crowd

Tonight’s games night, tucked away in a late Easter holiday, did not attract many gamers. Less than one month ago, we were replete with attendees, with Joe’s flat full to bursting. This time, there were just three of us in Sam’s kitchen: myself, Sam and Ian. Steve and Anja were a late cancellation, so we began our evening’s entertainment as a trio.

First, we went for something quick but not too luck-based. After a quick look over Sam’s games cupboard, Medici caught my eye. A game that was once fated, but is now under-rated, it was brought out as a nice little filler before the main course.


Since it was Ian’s first go, he wasn’t sure of what strategy to take. Sam’s tactics were bolstered by a bit of luck in round one as the Gold tile came out when his two opponents had full boats and couldn’t bid for it. This gave him an early lead that couldn’t be overtaken, and it ended

Sam 181
Andrew 138
Ian 120

After this we asked Ian if he wanted to play something that he already knew. The trouble with being new to gaming: there are so many games to learn just to become even half-knowledgeable. In the end, he chose a game that was new to him: Stone Age. This game of resource management with a gambling edge is definitely a gateway game.


As before, Ian didn’t have a real strategy, but what strategy he had was the same as mine as we both went for civilizations. Sam went for the twin multipliers of meeples and axes, and it served him well, despite having no fields and having to send most of his family to get food every couple of rounds. I also had hut and field multipliers, which got me into second.

Sam 157
Andrew 134
Ian 77

Finally, we decided on a light game to end the evening. If a game involving cruel fate and desperate agonising over the turn of a tile can be described as “light”. We tried to make it more palatable with bingo-style calling from all of us. I started badly, with a first round score of just 84 before two good round propelled me past the other two, who were no doubt too intent on thinking up couplets for each tile. Sam even managed to get a bit of Shakespeare in there.


Andrew 380
Sam 321
Ian 308

And with that, the evening ended, or gaming thirst quenched and our beers all drunk. It was time for that final visit to the toilet, and then home! On the form table, Sam remains in pole position while Ian creates a little bit of history with a score of all threes.







Points
Sam2 1 1 2 2 8
Martin1 1 4 1 2 9
Gonz 1 1 3 4 2 11
Andrew1 2 2 4 2 11
Joe 3 3 1 3 1 11
Ian3 3 3 3 3 15
Matt2 21 55 15
Will2 4 23 5 16

7 comments:

  1. Oldies but goodies.....The games are cool too.

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  2. Fortune smiled on me several times in Medici - in the last round I was the only one with space for three lots on my ship and I pulled out a trio of 5's. Nice to play it again.

    Stone Age is different class though. I think I overdosed on it a couple of years back but it was nice to come to it feeling a little fresher. And I forewent my usual tactic of fields+cards in favour of procreation. It meant I spent a lot of time looking for berries but just having ten workers for the last few rounds was great.

    Thanks chaps. Fun night.

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  3. Thanks guys, fun games last night.

    As a board game noob I still haven't gotten used to formulating end game strategies, but the games last night all seemed quite intuitive and pick-upable.

    Stone Age in particular was a highlight, even if I was left in prehistoric dust. Might even go so far as to say it's been my favourite game thus far.

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  4. Stone Age is a real favourite of mine too. I love those dice. And the stinky cup - did Ian experience the stinky cup?

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  5. My cup - not being metaphorical here - is not as stinky as yours Joe. We did mention the term but the cup didn't back us up.

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  6. My cup is stinky. Maybe you bought a defective set Sam?

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