The card game is unsurprisingly reminiscent of the original Medici - players spend each of the three rounds filling their boats and scoring for boat value, plus the set collection. Unlike Medici there is no bidding - the push your luck comes from flipping cards, as you can take up to three from the communal area, but must always take the last card you flipped. There are also some rogue cards mixed in that help with either boat value or your sets, but take up no space in the boat.
It was a pleasant enough game - I kind of missed the bidding of Medici. But then I didn't miss Medici's terrible board. I'd play it again, and hopefully slightly better:
Martin 130
Hannah 120
Sam 105
Yokohama was still going strong...
...so we moved swiftly on to The Quest for Eldorado, Reiner Knizia's card-drafting game. This was new to Hannah but she took to it as one might expect - surging off into the lead - the caveat of course being a geographic lead can be overhauled with a couple of decent rounds with decent cards.
Early on I felt stranded next to a cave, taking three whole turns without being able to move even a single hex. But I twice dumped cards from my hand to finesse my deck a little, and this turned out to be my saving grace; in the latter part of the game I sped past both Hannah and Martin to claim the win. Though it must be said, if Martin had remembered to use one of his cave tiles at the optimum moment, it could have been very different...
Sam: wins!
Martin and Hannah - too close to call second
With Hannah tiring, and Yokohama still yet to finish, we blasted through a quick game of Eggs of Ostrich. I picked up the win thanks to a golden egg, and Martin's burst sack:
Sam 12
Hannah 10
Martin 7
Before Hannah said goodnight, with Yokohama still unfinished.
But much table-talk was breaking out over, among other things, Katy's insistence over scoring the whole game before she took her final turn. She pointed out that it might affect what she did with that turn. Joe and Adam got up and wandered around the house. Martin and I played two-player Azul, and I realised that the next time I play it, I really don't want to sit to Martin's left:
Martin 72
Sam 48
Which lasted long enough for Yokohama to finish! And what a finish it was, it literally could not have been any closer without resorting to tie-breakers.
Joe 107
Katy 106
Adam 105
I'm not sure what tie-breakers are in Yokohama. Last one up the stairs?
They also bashed out a rapid game of Eggs of Ostrich, ignoring Martin's cries of "It's finished! It's finished!" as he packed away Azul. There was still much debate over the relative value of Yokohama, with Katy swinging from declaring that she would never play it again to suggesting perhaps it was best with two. "Or none?" suggested Martin, before adding that Yokohama's relative value might be discovered in its combustive powers.
Our gaming nightcap was Avenue, which Adam didn't look massively enthused about playing. But it played five relatively quickly and would allow him to go to bed relatively quickly too, so he succumbed. He needn't have worried - while much teeth-gnashing was going on all around the table, Adam sailed to an absolute trouncing, racking up a score I think may stand as an Avenue record for a good while:
Adam 133
Sam 59
Martin 51
Katy 45
Joe 40
And with that, another GNN night drew to a close, with Martin weaving his way home happy with a Huddersfield victory and Katy and I treated to another lift from Joe. Amazing leg room in the back of that car.
Sounds like a great night. I'm glad I didn't go, though, since I would've definitely been suckered into a game of Yokohama which would've been a nailed-on last place for me. Especially if the other players were actually thinking about their moves.
ReplyDeleteNice write-up Sam - and very glad you appreciate the extra leg room.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same going in to Yokohama Andrew, and I was sure my fate was sealed as Katy raced up the score track with Adam in hot pursuit. But it was one of those games where my actions felt fairly synched up, and my last two turns panned out extremely well.
That said I finished the game with a knot in my shoulder from the tension, and had to lie on the floor for a bit. I think we can take Yokohama out of rotation for a bit - but it's not leaving the collection - it's a classic!
Pleasant is a good word - it felt less demanding than the original.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed all the games and was baffled to come third in Avenue after entering three zeros!
It was that last round Martin!
ReplyDeleteAnd because me and Joe were still obviously recovering from Yokohama (clearly Adam didn't try hard enough, which explains his excellent Avenue win)! Great night, I love Yokohama, but my goodness it was tense and my last turn almost had the better of me... sorry about that! See you all soon for more fun games please...
ReplyDeleteAlthough, in a sense, I did attent games night this week. Due to my cold, I had a fitful night's sleep on Monday/Tuesday and whenever I woke up I could remember being in a game of Tichu against Martin and Joe, with Ian as my partner. We weren't doing very well, and the only detail I remember is when Martin began a round with the Mah Jongg card.
ReplyDeleteIn the game, playing this allows you to ask for a "wish": naming a card of a certain value, meaning that the next hand played must contain that value if legal, no option to pass if you can.
In our game, Martin asked for "a known smile" which, in my dream state, I knew was the name for a run that goes round the clock (ie, Q, K, A, 2, 3). I don't think I had one.
So thanks, guys. See you all soon! In my dreams or not.
Haha, that's amazing!
DeleteThat's fantastic Andrew. I'd like to keep a list of those phrases that pop up in dreams - they often seem so apposite. The only one I can remember having, not games-related, is 'Danish chainmail' - which in my dream was a euphemism for being naked.
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