All's well that Gravwell

 It was almost like old times as I arrived at Sam’s at an almost-on-time 7.40. It was already full, and we had two more to arrive so we (Sam, Joe, Ian, Adam T, Gareth, Martin and me) played Cross Clues. Across the top we had Disgust which caused some interesting clues, such as “jizz” for Digust/Helmet. We ended with 22 out of 25, with all three mistakes linked to the word “Monkey” for some reason.

Adam H arrived with chips and Laura was expected at “around 8” so we split into two groups. The quartet (Joe, Martin, Gareth, Adam T) played Mille Fiori, a game so generous with its scoring that “points salad” seems inadequate (despite Martin clearly saying “broccoli for two points”) and is better described as a “point smorgasbord”. Despite the myriad of scoring opportunities, it ended very close. Joe maintained his 100% record in the game.

We played Gravwell, a game in which you don’t go backwards or forwards, you go towards or away from the nearest mass. Laura texted that she’d be there at 8.15 so we began without her: initially choosing her cards at random before Sam started playing for her. As such when she arrived she was already in the lead. The game was frustrating, but some of that could be down to lack of familiarity. For example, blue cards are useful at first but if all the ships are behind you, you need red cards to push yourselves away from them.

 

I found myself becalmed in a section of space as evidenced by two photos taken half an hour apart in which I clearly have barely moved. Adam H had similar problems, dawdling aimlessly at the far side of the board before he suddenly leapt into action, moving past all of us until he was so close to the finish that when Laura played her card (repel all objects three spaces) it pushed him onto the final square.

Adam

Laura

Ian

Andrew

Sam

 

Then we split into three groups of three. Martin, Gareth and Laura played Keltis at one end of the table. Ian, Adam H and I set up Flamme Rouge at the other end and Joe, Sam and Adam T squeezed a game of Ninety-nine into the gap in the middle.

It was lovely to play Flamme Rouge again, although we needed a rule refresher. It wasn't long before we were enjoying the thrill of the chase. Adam broke away first, causing Ian and I to send our sprinters after him.

It was very close at the end. Adam was approaching the final corner with Ian and I right on his tail. It all depended on who had the better cards in their hand.

I did. Although we all crossed the line, I went furthest. Adam claimed a victory of sorts, because he got two riders across the line. For the sake of completeness, these were the standings…

1 Andrew

2 Ian

3 Adam H 

4 Adam H

5 Ian

6 Andrew

As for Keltis, Martin won with Laura and Gareth both tying for second/last about twenty points behind.

Ninety nine ended with Adam T securing the win, despite him declaring at the start that he was terrible at the game. Sam finished one card away from completing his bid, but ninety-nine is a cruel game and he finished a distant last.

Then Laura, Adam T and Gareth left and the remaining six of us finished on So Clover. Let’s just say that the pressure to all be perfect was off fairly quickly after Sam’s success (Travolta=Grease+Fool) Martin was undone by a number of possible combinations and we failed to choose the right one at all. Joe also came a cropper as we failed to note that Couch links to Observer in that someone on a couch is probably observing something.

After that, I set off. My clover had already been dealt out but I was determined not to give in to temptation. So Sam did mine for me. And, just like when he was playing for Laura at the start of the evening, he did pretty well, getting a perfect score on mine.

Thanks all, see you next Tuesday.