With Andrew off in the distant climes of Northern Italy, Anja and Steve readying the house for a wee bairn and Hannah pilateing herself into a noble posture, it was a struggle to get a GNN session going at all. Only by coaxing Adam with texts and chocolate did we finally assemble a trio - Joe and I started the evening chez Bergers as a pair, and tried out Thebes Tomb Raiders. We didn't like it a great deal, and abandoned it at the same time Adam abandoned his chips. Joe says it's where Martin Wallace got the 'time track' idea for Tinner's Trail, but the game that came with the time track here did not have TT's strengths or intuitive play.
For what it's worth Joe was ahead of me; 69 to 61 points.
With the nine o'clock looming we didn't want to start anything big and Joe suggested Kingdom Builder, the game of ever-changing boards and rules. Adam and I were amenable and so we started building our settlements across the vast tracks of grasslands, forests, canyons and, er, deserts. Citizens and Hermits scored big, and each separate settlement brought you victory points. However both Joe and I fundamentally misunderstood one of the scoring cards (they vary from game to game) and despite our discussion of how best to meet the card's requirements midway through the game, Adam was unable to enlighten us as to our misapprehension, as he was deep in thought, mulling over his turn.
Built by cowboys
So at the final count-up we both thought we'd done very handsomely indeed (I was pretty sure I'd won) only to discover that Adam had interpreted it both differently and correctly. As a result he ran away with a resounding victory, and I for one was slightly crestfallen. It was like thinking you were digging out a swimming pool only to discover it was your own grave.
(What Joe and I would have scored if our interpretation was correct is in parentheses!)
Adam 46
Sam 27 (78)
Joe 25 (61)
With that slightly underwhelming experience (for two of us) over, we settled on something a bit more lighthearted: Incan Gold. It's very much a game of push your luck, however on this occasion luck favoured the cowards (Joe and I) whereas Adam got caught and eaten by Zombie Ladies and Spiders. The round he survived on his own he discovered the next two cards after escaping the crypt were 17 crystals and a thingy that gives you ten points. I forget what they're called. After an abortive final round (Zombie Ladies again) I assumed Joe had won but it was a close thing:
Joe 56
Sam 55
Adam 40
Adam and I were in the mood for something like Poison to round off the night, but we discovered to our horror that Joe has put it in the attic, as part of some sort of Wildean pact with Charlotte no doubt. I suggested High Society but Adam pooh-poohed. Joe suggested Wizard, which I pooh-poohed. However my pooh-pooh was pooh-poohed and I found myself on the recieving end of a cajole for a change. It's not as bad as I thought - you feel wanted, even if only in a mathematical sense.
So Wizard it was, which as Andrew noted last time we played, is essentially contract whist. However it differs in three regards - you only score your tricks if you hit your target, the hands start low and go upward (rather than down as in CW) and there are wild cards - specifically Wizards and Fools, who can ignore the standard following-suit rule in order to automatically win or lose a hand respectively.
This game is wizard
I'm glad I was convinced because it was fun - better than contract whist I'd say. And obviously I like winning:
Sam 270
Adam 160
Joe 60
With three games under our belts we called it a night. Thanks Joe for hosting and pizza, and Adam for those last chips. On the form table it's still very embryonic, with most people still to shake those red fives...
| Points | ||||||
| Sam | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 11 |
| Adam | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| Joe | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 14 |
| Steve | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 18 |
| Anja | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 19 |
| Hannah | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 21 |
| Andrew | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 23 |
