The hundred pound games night

Honestly, I wasn't going to come this week. I was exhausted but no one could host and the venue ended up being a games café barely ten minutes walk from my house.

Chance and Counters was packed when I arrived at 8. I found Sam l, Adam T and Ian at the furthest end of the café.

They were playing Photograph while I went to the bar. I asked for the darkest beer they have and was offered a taste of a cloudy yellow liquid that tasted of pineapple. In the end I chose an Arbor beer since I know the brand. This beer was actually darker but still tasted a bit like pineapple.

As for Photograph, I still don't understand anything about it. 'I can't count to 3" said Adam at one point but clearly that wasn't necessary for the win.

Adam 23

Ian 17

Sam 17 

Next, we play Shamans. The couple on the table next to us begin to set up Root. I'm impressed at first but then feel sorry for them as they start to learn the rules. A loud games café is not the place to learn a thoughtful asymmetric strategy game.

Sam was the shadow for the first two rounds which he found annoying but he must have learnt to love the dark side as he won the game outright when he's the shadow again later on.

Sam 8

Adam 6

Ian 5

Andrew 3

While I bought another fruity beer, Quantum was set up and Adam got a rules refresher.

I cock blocked Ian by getting a cube on a planet that he was moving in on. So he researched instead. Adam then also cock blocked Ian who changed tactics. He attacked Sam but was repelled. With only two cubes down, he wa in a tricky situation. So he turned on Adam and won a battle at last.

Sam, however, had been in the lead almost from the start. He used his dominance to put down his penultimate cube! The excitement was too much and I had to go and relieve myself.

While I was in the toilet Sam raised his dominance to 4. Adam failed to defeat me in battle and I put down my fifth cube, hopeful that Sam wasn't't able to put down his last cube on his next turn.

But he could! He defeated Ian in battle (Ian's dice rolls had been terrible all game and, true to form, Ian rolled a 6) and then Sam used a special ability to push his dominance up by one thus place the final cube!

Sam 6

Andrew 5

Adam 3

Ian 2

Adam left and the three of us set up a game of Carooka. Despite the name it's not snooker - the rules are identical to Pool except the table is round and on a lazy Susan. The three of us played three games of 2 players v 1.

Me and Sam won game 1, and then I went solo in game 2. I dashed in a lead but was then easily snookered while they whittled away my lead. I won it with both of us going for the black.

Ian went to the toilet and I noticed that the couple playing Root were midway through the game. Impressive.

Then Sam took on Ian and me and he won, although we kept forgetting whose turn it was.

After I left, Ian and Sam played Kingdomino (after which Sam absent mindedly put it into his bag, remembering just in time that it didn't belong to him).

Sam 117

Ian 106

All that left was to settle up with Sam the next day. He sent the receipt on WhatsApp. £99.49! Living the life, baby!