Gladrags and travel bags

Tonight witnessed an old hand to board games return to the fold. Indeed, it was this man’s curiosity about board games that got both myself and Sam involved in the first place. So, by a happy coincidence of work locations, Chris was able to join us for an evening.

But Chris has been away from the scene for a while, so he was keen to be introduced to something new. Colosseum was chosen since Chris had heard good things about it. Joe and Sam talked him through the rules, and before you knew it, it was like a pop musical from the 1960s as we were all thinking “hey, why don’t we do the show right here?” and the game of ancient theatre began.

It started well, with everyone putting on a small show, but before long Sam had amassed a healthy spread of tiles thanks to being last in the first two rounds. Chris got the Best Gladiator award in round one and kept it for the rest of the game, giving him 24 points over the course of the five rounds. I played a cautious game, preferring to stage the same two small shows over and over while I prepared for my triumphant finale.

In round three, however, Sam made a shocking miscalculation. He said he would buy Caeser’s Triumphant March, but then admitted he didn’t have enough money for it. His long term plan was now public knowledge, and we all realised he had the resources to do it and no one else was close. We also noticed a huge pile of medals that he had amassed without anyone realising. From this moment on, it was a battle for second.

Joe’s show about revealed secrets was just beaten by Chris’ show. I can’t remember what it was, but it must’ve been fabulous. Something to do with gladiators, I expect. My show was nice, but it lay at the low end of the big shows, so my caution was not rewarded.

Sam 96
Chris 84
Joe 82
Andrew 69

After this, a swift game of Trans Europa was suggested. It plays like a fast moving Ticket to Ride. You have five cities across Europe to connect, but the trick is to use your opponents’ tracks too. If you fail, then you have to collect points based on the distance(s) from your incomplete destination(s). The game was quick and exciting, as everybody’s go effected your own strategy. Chris did well, picking up all five cities in the first two rounds, meaning the other three players got points for their tardiness. This was enough to get him first place, because in the third round Joe closed out the game with Sam nowhere near his target. His points suddenly shot up, exceeding the number needed to trigger the end the game.

1st Chris
2nd Joe
3rd Andrew
4th Sam

Chris makes a respectable appearance on the board: last in terms of points scored, but second regarding points ratio. And while my performance may have been below par, at least my dedication to the cause has been rewarded, because by simple brute force I have pushed past Adam into second place! I may have played eight games more than him, but that’s not the point! At least that makes up for him beating me on the online You Know The Score game after nine months of struggle by a measly ten points. Bah. (thankfully it's not leaderboard, though)

The leaderboard...

	Played	Points	Ratio
Sam	21	92	4.38
Andrew	23	84	3.65
Adam	15	78	5.2
Joe	18	74	4.11
Hannah	7	34.5	4.9
Quentin	7	28.5	4.07
Steve	4	16	4
Chris	2	10	5