Toad in the crokinole

On those rare occasions when GNN allows itself outside the confines of a single evening, it’s usually a cornucopia of different games. But this time, despite starting at eleven in the morning and ending after midnight, only six games were played in total.

I arrived at Sam’s in the morning, while he was strapping a bike to the roof of his car, sending his family off to a skate park while, inside, Coimbra was already set up on the kitchen table. This is a recent acquisition and seemed interesting enough that I asked to try it when Sam texted me at 10.10am to ask what I fancied playing.

Despite the board being the usual Euro smorgasbord of tracks, maps and icons, it’s pretty simple fare once you get into it. The storyline apparently concerns us being powerful families in the Portuguese town of Coimbra. Sam, determined to make the Pilgrim tactic work for once, sent his meeple off around various cities picking up bonuses while I dabbled in end-of-game scoring cards.

It was fun. The two-player version has spoiler dice placed in various sections, recreating the feeling of another player taking stuff you want, which makes for a tenser experience. I didn’t stand much of a chance but found it very enjoyable and suggested that it be put in Sam’s bag of games to take to Joe’s studio.

Clearly, this guy has just thought of a funny but entirely inappropriate joke

Sam 130
Andrew 101

Then, after poached eggs on toast, we had enough time for a game of NMBR9 before leaving the house. Sam shocked the gaming world by going up on only the third tile so I, foolishly, followed suit with the fourth.

He then had issues with keeping his tiles flat on the table. With all these distractions, it was a low scoring game.

3D NMBR9, anyone?

Sam 67
Andrew 32

Then we had a walk into town to Joe’s spacious studio, complete with shelf of daunting two-player strategy games at one end. One of the boxes wasn’t even a game – it was the rule book to a game you had to buy separately.

The three of us had a little time before Adam, the fourth and final gamer for today, arrived so we played a game of Ticket To Ride: Switzerland. This three-player version of the old familiar has a smaller map and much greater emphasis on getting tickets to score bonus points. In the end, I only had six tickets while Sam had fourteen tickets and managed to complete each one. But even this wasn’t enough to beat Joe.

Joe 145
Sam 131
Andrew 105

Then Adam arrived and here we all were: the core four, as we used to be. I couldn’t tell you how long it had been since the four of us crossed swords, but it seemed like a historical moment. So why not reflect that in our game choice: Time Of Crisis since now seemed like the only chance to introduce Adam to the joys of Roman upheaval.

Complete with dice terminus at the end of the table

I was the only one to not begin in Europe and from the start tried to defend myself with support rather than armies. This was mostly fine against the other players (apart from Egypt which Sam and I ruled on some kind of time-share basis) but the Nomads, Sassanids and even Goths didn’t seem impressed. In fact, it was a very barbarian-y game, with at least three of all types massed on our boards at one point.

Adam started well and was first Emperor after Joe couldn’t take advantage of the neutral emperor’s low support: he had five blue points, but no spare governor.

We paused for Sam, Adam and I to go out to get pizza and pop into Tesco (where I found someone at the back asking people if there was still a group of boys hanging around outside) to get more crisps. By the time we got back, Joe must have been studying the map since he soon pulled off an impressive move where he knocked Adam out of Thracia, beat Sam’s army in Italia and became Emperor despite forgetting that he had two basilicas.

Sam became emperor for the first time ever, when he unseated Joe using a Pretorian Guard, getting eight votes with nine dice. I pootled about in North Africa and the Middle East, far from any real action, constantly worried by the ever-increasing sassanid horde on my border. When the game ended there were five of them and a barbarian leader.

Joe was reinstated as emperor on the turn he passed sixty points and, at 8.00pm the game ended. I think it might have been a bit too long for Adam but I found that those four and a half hours flew past.

Joe 78
Sam 62
Adam 58
Andrew 45

Next up was Team Crokinole, Joe & Sam versus Adam & Andrew. J&S won the first round and A&A won the second, perhaps because Sam was distracted by trying to find evidence online of his belief that the hole in the centre was called the toad. He found it.

It looked like A&A were going to win the whole thing when we sped to 80 points in round three, but J&S are nothing if not persistent and they whittled our lead away. The score went from 95-55 at one point to 95-65, 95-85, 95-100. They’d stolen the win right at the end!

Joe and Sam 2 rounds
Adam and Andrew 1 round

At this point it was half past nine and Sam left for home, mindful of a drive to Devon tomorrow morning. The remaining three broke out Railways of the World: Mexico.

An early delivery bonus to Culican pushes up the opening player bid, and Joe finally got it for $9,000. He then built somewhere else, allowing Adam to take the delivery bonus and get an early lead. I went bond heavy which had the unintended effect of convincing Joe it was okay for him to take bonds too. I think my income only very briefly got into double figures.

But a railway executive and a delivery bounty to a city I was already connected to saved my bacon, and mid-game, I was the one to beat. Joe and Adam upgraded their engines in an unseemly display of funnel flaunting. My end of game strategy was to get the last route and complete my baron bonus, but Adam kept getting in my way. I spent a little more money than I’d anticipated but it turned out to be worth it.

Adam in my way part one

Adam in my way part two

Andrew 50
Adam 49
Joe 42

Although I think my best move was an early depot card, meaning I shared in the points from Joe’s network. That move must have got me ten points by itself.

And now it was almost midnight, it was time to pack up and go home. Thanks for a lovely day, and thanks to all for a lovely year!