Isle of Games

 Isle of games? We all love games!

Sam picked me up at 7.30 on a clear Friday morning. We set off to distant shores for a couple of day’s board gaming with the old London crew. We picked up Chris along the way, noting with disappointment that he wasn't waiting for us at the window like an expectant puppy, and we sped off across the south of England to Portsmouth and, from there: the Isle of Wight!

Paul had moved there a couple of years ago and now we had the rare chance of taking eight bags of board games across the seas to a whole new island! GNN’s plan of world dominance is working perfectly!

We took the opportunity at Portsmouth to peruse the souvenir stand in the coffee shop and decided to buy Paul and Isle of Wight pencil. A shocking pink one. After all, we couldn’t come empty-handed.

Once over the Solent, which was so calm that you could’ve played Bandu on it, we weaved our way through some country roads to Paul’s home in Shanklin. The only downside of living here is that the name suggested the Smiths song “Frankly Mr Shankly” which, in turn, led Sam to periodically sing “and I’ll meet you at the cemetery gates” throughout the weekend.

As for games, our first (at 2.20pm) was a historical one. Not just because 7 Wonders is set in the Ancient world, but because we were using the last page of the book of scoresheets. Chris said that you couldn’t buy replacements any more since the iconography had changed, so he’d buy a new one and leave this copy on a high shelf somewhere to see out it’s old age in peace. We used our new pencil to mark down the final scores and Sam’s sciences (34 pts) won.

Sam 59

Paul 54

Chris 50

Andrew 47

Paul then tried to choose a game at random by giving Chris directions (“Light green bag, third game from the back”) but that didn’t really work. Instead, I suggested Railways of the World and so we got out the old eastern US map and got to work. Paul chose his baron based solely on the man’s beard. Sam leapt into an early lead as he picked up bonuses and kept his bond count low. I went the other way, being bond-heavy and even having to pay money back once at the end of a round instead of taking income like everyone else. It kind of kept me in the game, as Chris and I fought over second until my seven bonds dragged me back. Chris ended on two bonds and $74,000. 

Sam 64

Chris 56

Andrew 50

Paul 34

Then we played a quick couple of rounds of Cross Clues (20 points and then 24) before I went for a half hour nap and the other three played Planet Unknown. I came in for the final third of the game and became fascinated at how people moved their cubes up the bonus tracks. Sam and Chris rolled them upwards, Sam with his index finger and Chris sometimes using his thumb, while Paul picked his cubes up and moved them square by square. In the end, Sam was one square tile away from completing the planet, hence his comprehensive win.

Sam 75

Chris 58

Paul 50

Then Sam cooked our first lovely meal of the weekend while us three played Cascadia. According to my notes, we indulged in a lot of bad animal puns while playing but thankfully I didn’t write any down.

Chris 98

Paul 89

Andrew 77

Then we ate Sam’s chicken fajitas which were delicious but Sam berated himself over the lack of chilli.

For the evening’s main event, we chose Keyflower. As is usual, Sam and I were taken by the artwork on the little cottages with individual interiors that allowed you to almost make up a story about the occupants.

After a rules refresher from Chris, we got playing. The only setback was caused by the meeple bag and tiles bag both being black such that when Chris went to draw some tiles mid game, he found it half-full of meeples. Paul won, despite having the smallest village. Or maybe because of. I’m not sure.

Paul 48

Andrew 44

Sam 38

Chris 34

Then we played Push It to clear the eurogaming fog in the air. We played twice as teams and Chris and Sam beat Paul and I twice, 11-2 and 12-3.

Paul got the nickname “the hammer” as his forceful play would usually send either the jack or his puck whizzing down the end of the table, occasionally bouncing off my tin of beer with a comedy “boinggg.”

Sam started to make moves for bed until he heard that we were going to play So Clover and he quickly retook his seat at the table.

We did well, 22/24, but were stymied by a cruel decoy on Chris’ clover that had words that would fit perfectly with three possible clues.

Then, with Sam definitely going to bed, we played King Domino. In fact, we played it so quietly that Sam popped back in to make sure we were actually playing.

I got a mine-monopoly for a win.

Andrew 56

Chris 52

Paul 30

And so to sleep.

Saturday morning was clear and limpid. We were all up by 9am and Chris made a fried breakfast before we went for a walk towards the sea, popping into a few shops as we did. 

Finally, at about noon, we played our first game. After a little discussion I said I was leaning towards Imhotep and so it was brought to the table. Paul played a cagey game, relying on the Burial Chamber and picking up cards such that he didn’t score at all until round 5. Chris won the obelisk, I tried to boss the pyramid and Sam relied on end-of-game scoring cards.

Chris 42

Paul 41

Andrew 35

Sam 34

Chris was delighted at his win at this game - his bette noir of board games. A then, after that, they went for a quick walk while I made pizza. On their return, Paul suggested playing Push It, but this time using an old magnetic football pitch that once belonged to Sam but Paul found it while moving house. The fact that it had borders seemed to dissuade Paul from his hammerish ways and he played a more measured game, posting a last minute comeback that was just a little too late.

Sam 12

Chris 9

Paul 8

Then, while the pizza was cooking, we played Cross Clues but did really badly: monkey and cow were both in play, as were plate, tomato and orange.

After pizza the table was slowly moved away from the wall to allow us enough space for a game of Xia: Legends of a Drift System. Sam set up the table and side table, requesting that no one ask him any questions while he did, so Paul and Chris did the washing up.

Paul (and I) got a rules explanation. Then, in the game Sam went exploration crazy while I just traded. I played a very chilled game, so that when I got a mission to kill an outlaw I rejected it for being out of character.

Chris was an early leader and the first to get a tier 2 ship. But Sam was close behind him, especially after he rolled a 20 and got another fame point. 

Paul turned rogue, after he was caught trying to transport prisoners across a planet border. Sam was out exploring when he was caught in a gravitational anomaly that dragged him into a star. 

While Paul chased after a non-player ship, Chris became an archaeologist, rolled a 20 and then reached 12 points, our target for this game. Sam needed to get two fame points to match Chris so he went on a crowd pleasing journey across as many borders as possible hoping to roll a 20. Which he did! But he picked up so much damage that the next scratch on his ship killed him. 

Paul went crazy with his last turn. Attacking me (but my shield, useless until then, repelled him) and then attacked Sam too. Finally he also tried a border crossing technique in search of the elusive 20, which he got but only slightly before his ship disintegrated.

Chris 12

Sam 10

Paul 8

Andrew 5

We ended at 5.15, a little under 3 hours of play. It's always a satisfying feeling after finishing a big game even if, as in this case, we lowered the winning score from 20 down to 15 and then 12. Still, a lot of fun.

Paul started prepping his chicken for the evening meal so Sam, Chris and I played Bandu. I thought I was being mean with my choices for Chris but clearly not being mean enough.

Chris

Sam and Andrew out in the same round

Then while Paul's curry was cooking, we played Fun Facts. We learned that we all have similar ideas about how grown up we feel (between 60-75) and that Sam and Chris hardly ever carry cash.

As Paul cooked, I took a shower and after a quick chat about politics, we sat down to eat. It was lovely although Chris bit on the only chilli in the mix and needed a moment to recover.

Next up was another epic: Northgard. Chris insisted on using the miniatures, not the cubes. "It needs the plastic vikings," he asserted. Paul quickly made three enclosed spaces and ran off into an early lead. It actually started very peacefully until Sam got his third big building and I was able to defeat him with the last card in my hand.

After that it was a ding-dong battle between me and Sam with Chris lurking nearby, hoping we'd weaken ourselves enough that he could pounce.

We made it all the way to round seven. REM on the stereo sang "The time to rise has been engaged," which seemed appropriate. Paul passed first, clearly the points leader. 

I get my third building off Chris but in the end only Sam has cards left in his hand. He attacks Chris first, but fails. Then me, but again fails. Finally, in an audacious tactic that even Napoleon would have loved, he took one solitary viking and sent it against my least defended building (only two vikings) needing some luck with the dice.

He didn't get it and I hung on for a win. Phew, another epic.

But, for the record the points were

Paul 84

Chris 64

Andrew 47

Sam 37

Finally we thought we'd wind down with Decrypto. Surely after two epics, this would last a more manageable length of time.

How wrong we were as it went all the way into round eight. Chris and I definitely got one of their words and were good at selecting another, but two of theirs eluded us. They, too, struggled to pin down our words. 

At one point Chris scared me by reading the wrong numbers when he announced his guess but he quickly corrected himself.

Finally in round eight, Sam and Paul had their second miscommunication and Chris and I were weary winners.

Chris and Andrew, tapping your phone line

Sam and Paul, tapping their feet

Another post midnight finish for the four of us.

Sunday began for most at about 9am although Chris had been up with a stomach ache for some time. Too much rich food and port, he said.

With an eye on our 11.30 departure time, we played only a couple of games. First was Alhambra. Among the money dealt to Paul at the start of the game were several '1's, giving him flexibility when buying tiles. Chris seemed to poo-pooh flexibility as he quickly built a wall around his small Alhambra, giving him a lot of early points for a long wall but few options for expansion.

Paul 120

Andrew 101

Sam 95

Chris 83

We packed up the car and had 40 minutes left so we ended with a game of So Clover. And what an amazing experience it was. All I can say is that So Clover is not a morning game. We all did badly, and we even managed to get every single guess wrong on Paul's clover and then only one right on our second guess. 

Everything is wrong

9/24

Shocking. We could blame the looming deadline but I don't think we'd have done much better with more time.

And with that we set off into the storm and back to home. Thanks for the weekend, Paul, and thanks to everyone for the memories. It was special.