The Dirty Pipe Slapstick Squadron

 I arrived at Sam’s at 7.40 and, once I’d recovered from the surprise of seeing Andy B for the first time in a year (?) we all sat down (me, Andy, Sam, Martin, and Joe) for a quick game of Rapido. It’s such a simple game that Martin explained the rules to Andy while we were playing so that when it came to his turn, he would have no excuse for doing badly. Except for bad luck, of course.

At first, the main recipient of bad luck was Martin who was the last one to score any points at all. Then, mid-game, a run of misfortune meant we all started moving backwards. But eventually it was between me and Sam for the win. Sam edged forward onto space 18 and then rolled a double three to take the win.

Sam, then Andrew, Joe, Martin, Andy

During this game, Katy and Laura arrived. We checked if Laura and Andy had actually met, and they had. We still think of Laura as a newbie even though, as she pointed out: she’s been coming to games nights for years – some of us found this hard to believe.

Andy had to leave in about fifty minutes, so we began to think about what to play. Time pressures didn’t make things easier and before long, Andy had to leave in forty-five minutes and we still hadn’t chosen. Finally, we decided on Diamant. Laura hadn’t played so she got a rules explanation and we set off into five temples.

Since there were seven of us, a lot of jewels got left behind on cards such that Martin, Sam and Laura all left early and got three jewels each. That seemed like a good move until an artefact came out. Katy nabbed that one which also looked like a good move until Andy stayed in til the end and got a 17-jewel card all to himself.

The rest of the game followed suit: paying out generously. Sam went out early saying "I've got a feeling" and then the rest of us died in a fire. Laura picked up 17 jewels in artefacts and then Katy got 20 jewels. Martin, however, had to keep pushing his luck as he fell further behind. We had to explain to Laura that it wasn’t usually like this. There was one temple that behaved as expected: giving us three traps and then a single jewel.

We finished in good time so that Andy wasn’t late for his appointment although I suspect he could’ve left halfway through the game and still won.

Andy 44

Katy 40

Laura 28

Andrew 24

Joe 21

Sam 20

Martin 3

Then we split into two groups of three. Sam, Laura and I played Quantum. I asked Laura if she was okay with something a bit fighty and she said it was fine since she was from Yorkshire. Andy stuck around to watch Martin, Joe and Katy play the first few rounds of Mille Fiori to see if he could work out the rules. Katy must’ve felt nervous as they set up because she seemed unable to finish her sentences (“I think I might need a quick…”)

As for Quantum (or Yorkshire In Space, as it will now be called) Sam explained the rules to Laura and then, sheepishly, made her first move for her. Then it was gloves off. Sam and I were both down to one die at one point or another and Laura managed to win the game when she won two battles to put her aggression up to six and place her last cube.

Laura 0 cubes left

Sam 1

Andrew 2

As for Mille Fiori, it ended

Joe 215

Martin 180

Katy 166

Laura left after this (high on victory, no doubt) and the rest of us played High Society. I bought two cards early on but then I lost track of what other people had paid. I put to 20,000 francs for a late x2 card thinking that my 31,000 in my hand would be enough to avoid elimination. It wasn’t and I was out, finishing behind Katy and Martin who both had a x2 each and nothing to multiply with it.

My multiplier had a picture of a woman laughing at her drink

Sam 9

Joe 8

Martin 0

Katy 0

Andrew OUT!

We finished with So Clover. Katy was first to complete while Joe fretted long enough for their to be a toilet break. Alas, Katy’s intuitive approach to clue-giving came undone as we struggled him “humbug”. Thinking it might be a reference to A Christmas Carol we went with “Candy/grave” when it should’ve been “candy/mud”. The other clovers were all cleared, I think, with some great clues. Martin's four clues were Dirty, Pipe, Slapstick and Squadron which at least saved me the bother of thinking of a blog title. I loved Sam’s clue of “candle” for the words “cake/dynamite” and Joe’s “sideboards” for “moustache/travel” because if a moustache could travel, it would become… 

Joe seemed touched that we got his clover correct on our first attempt. As if he’d finally found people who understood him. 

27 out of 30

Crazy times. Thanks all. See you next week.