Games night of the living dead

 I arrived at 8, just in time to see the final stages of La Fiesta de los Muertos, the game of guessing identities according to clues based on clues based on clues. I was handed a card and asked to pair clue to personality as best I could. The scores (and this may as well be how I introduce everyone) were

Adam (H), Sam, Laura (hosting) 5

Joe, Ian, Katy 4

Me 3

Then we played 6nimmt (the zombie version). Once this would have been the big end-of-evening crescendo but, with so many of us leaving early these days, the only chance to play a large scale version is at the start of the evening.

It was a disaster. Maybe we weren’t drunk enough or maybe we've relied on Martin too much as an arranger/adjudicator but there were a few confusing moments when cards were played to the wrong row or in the wrong order. Katy told everyone that “it’s not so bad” when they picked up a row of five or ten points but then was appalled when she ended round one with 16 points. Joe spent most of round three trying to skim his cards across the table into the correct place, which never worked but he did go clear in that round so perhaps, in a way, it did.  He also tried to Faro Shuffle the entire deck in one go, threatening to give him hand cramps.

Finally, we stumbled to the end. Laura’s first ever game of 6nimmt was a brutal introduction.

Joe 11

Katy 27

Ian 32

Andrew 38

Adam 49

Sam 49

Laura 85

So we put that away with a firm resolve to not play it unless Martin was here, and decided on our next adventure. Katy was keen to continue the zombies theme with Hit Z Road, and she persuaded Laura, Joe and Ian into a jaunt across America. Sam, Adam and I revisited Gold West. This game hasn’t been seen since 2017 and, amazingly, the last time I played it, the other half of the table was hosting Hit Z Road as well!

Sam explained while Adam and I listened, but Adam clearly listened better as he sped off into an early lead. It was close, though, and at the end of round eight (out of twelve) I was in the lead by a single point. Adam went big on metal for cards, while Sam did a lot of looting, which is what you have to do if you don’t have the resources to build a settlement. I hoped for those end-of-game bonuses on having the most discs of each colour.

Adam 103

Andrew 94

Sam 80

But Hit Z Road was still in it’s final stages. Katy had long since died, like a character in a TV series who has to die early on otherwise the zombies just won’t seem threatening. Pity. She’d even lined up her meeples in single file, with her at the back.

I left before they reached the ocean but apparently it ended

Ian

Laura

Joe… all made it

Katy… will be remembered fondly

Then they played Skylo twice

Adam 4

Ian 16

Sam 22

Katy 23

Joe 24

Laura 35

And

Joe 13

Ian 14

Adam 15

Sam 18

Katy 27

Laura 31

Thanks all. See you next week.

Bremen over with enthusiasm

 I arrived at 8, during a four player (Sam the host, Ian, Joe and Gareth)game of Kiitos. They cut it short for my benefit so I only got to see one word completed: "Codger" whose points went to Gareth.

Gareth 6

Sam 0

Ian -5

Joe -5

Since we were a fivesome we chose Hansa Teutonica as our main event. It’s a recent returnee to GNN and, after ten years, I needed a rules explanation and so did Ian and Gareth who were both new to the game.

We began in feisty mood, getting in each other’s way, hoping to have our counters bumped off routes so we’d be able to place two counters in adjacent routes. Gareth seemed to be a quick learner and made some shrewd moves but then, a few rounds later, he was still in last, with Joe a distant leader and Sam, Ian and I clustered around the mid-point between them.

We listened to Nick Lowe, who sounded like a number of different artists, and who Spotify believed only has a few songs. We were slowly getting to grips with Hansa Teutonica when Gareth completed the east-west route, pretty much in a straight line. We really should have stopped him earlier. This nabbed him a whole bunch of points and pushed him into joint first. Then my twin towns around a privilege action started scoring me pairs of points and I edged into the lead. In fact, the game ended when I reached 20 points, thanks to Joe completing a route with a town of mine on it.

But my lead was short-lived. Gareth’s bonuses pushed him further and further ahead, leaving us all with a sense of having been thoroughly schooled.

Gareth 51

Joe 37

Andrew 32

Sam 27

Ian 27

Next up was So Clover. Alas, we fell well short of perfection thanks to some unfortunate decoy cards. My clue for “feed/poison” was “Assassinate” but I was distraught when the decoy had “witness” on it, especially since it had a second word that kind of fitted another clue too.

Ian was also tripped up. His clue was “wattle” and we paired it with “rooster/mud” and just as we were congratulating him on such a clever clue, he reached over and removed the “mud” card. We got the right answer next go, but that was a cruel stroke of luck. Only Gareth and Sam got 6 out of 6, with Joe struggling with the pair “cream/needle” and finally he went for “vinyl”. Because of Cream, the band, see?

30 out of 36

Then Ian and I set off home while Gareth, Joe and Sam polished off a quick game of NMBR9

Sam 76

Joe 68

Gareth 38

And then finally, after Gareth had also departed, Sam and Joe played Kiitos again.

Sam 29

Joe -16

Thanks all. See you next Tuesday.

The only way is F6

 By the time I'd arrived at 8 o'clock I'd already received a picture of the evening in full swing, as Ian, Martin, Katy, Sam and host Joe began with Cross Clues, scoring 24/25.

By the time I'd arrived (seconds after I received a second photo of them having finished another game 22/25) Martin, Joe and Sam had settled on Hansa Teutonica while Ian, Katy and I pondered our options. Quite limited options, as it happened, and Katy rued not bringing Isle of Skye. In the end we chose something we all knew: Lords of Vegas. 

My initial plan was to sprawl early, nabbing F6 and F5 to make a lovely six-tile casino up on Harmon Avenue and Strip. Ian started well while Katy tried to boost her meagre cash reserves by gambling, failing three times in a row. But then the strip paid out and then her three tile gold casino paid out twice in a row. This meant she was able to exploit all those empty lots near Ian's casinos and before long she was in an unstoppable position. 

Ian and I jostled for second. Ian completed an audacious reroll of my five tile casino with only one of his dice in it. But I got it straight back. Katy ended the game building more casinos than she had dice. Finally the game over card appeared just as I was about to unleash my winning strategy (which would've still only got me a closer second place).

Ian's amazing reroll

Katy 49

Andrew 36

Ian 32

As for Hansa Teutonica, I remember little except remarks about how boring the food was on the little plate tokens and Sam remarking that the person complaining most was the one in the lead, before clarifying that they were all complaining.

Martin 54

Sam 52

Joe 38

Martin remarked it'd probably be a really good game once you knew what you were doing.

They'd finished before us and they filled the time with a quick game of Don Carlo. A game so apparently simple that you may be able to work out the rules just by looking at the photo.

Joe 76

Sam 51

Martin 50

My departure was growing near so I was pleased to hear So Clover as a suggestion. We played with the usual amount sighing, especially from Joe who took so long that Katy suggested he just pass. But everyone struggled and I took the chance to be the first one to complete all four clues.

Ian and I - a solid start

Meanwhile, Sam had to resort to googling something to help him out. My clues and Ian's were successfully deduced. Then Katy, too, scored six out of six, but I'm not sure how since one of her clues relied on a film titled "the silence of killing" only to later be told it was actually called "the act of killing."

Sam's googled clue was a success but he was undone by trying to clue "beer/detergent" with "toilets". Finally, after Martin went clear, we came to Joe's Clover that almost defeated him. And we cleared it! The tricky couple in question was "royal/flour" which he eventually decided on "chapati" because… Indian food is sort of regal. Something like that. It worked, though.

34 out of 36

With that, I set off home. They finished with American Bookshop which Sam won. Joe second and Martin last, with Ian and Katy somewhere in the middle. Results to follow, maybe.

A la Karten

 It's been a while for me since I was in Martin's kitchen, but this was a welcome return as Martin was keen to offload some old books that he'd left on the pavement outside. I didn't see anything I wanted, but once inside, Martin obviously had one already in mind for me. "There's a Japanese one," he said, and went to get it for me. I think everyone picked up something.

And by "everyone" I mean Joe, Steve (arriving later), Adam H, Adam T, Ian as well as myself and the host.

We began as a sextet with Heckmeck am Kartenmeck, which is a bit like For Sale and Raj and, of course, Heckmeck. The first chance we got there was stealing a-plenty with everyone involved, either as theif or victim.

Then in round three, three zero tiles came out. A tricky situation, except for card-poor Joe who passed instantly and used a zero to cover his 34 tile.

At the end, I only had three tiles. Meanwhile, Adam H only had five and he showed us all how the game should be played.

Adam H 30

Adam T 27

Joe 21

Martin 21

Ian 20

Andrew 16

By now it was getting quite warm and the seven of us moved outside to admire Martin's dusty garden furniture and rubber chips on the ground.

We split into two groups. Joe, Steve and Adam H played La Corsa. The rest of us were introduced to American Bookshop. Martin explained the rules and that we should never play against Katy whose supernatural ability at this game defies explanation.

It's an interesting game. Very swingy, with each round offering up differing amounts for the winner. I came a distant last despite winning one round and coming second in another.

As we entered the final round, Martin was on 11, Adam T 1, and Ian 6. A small margin for this game, although I, back in last with -14, was only playing for pride.

It was a photo finish, with Martin foiled by the last card as Adam T nabbed 11 to take the win.

Adam T 12

Martin 10

Ian 5

Andrew -7

By now it was quite dark. La Corsa was in its final stages too as Steve put down his cards and said "read 'em and weep" and Adam H remarked "I can't read 'em."

I asked afterwards what the score was and Adam and Steve gave two different answers. Both agreed he came last, though.

Joe 20

Adam H 18

Steve 15 or 12, depends on who you ask

Back inside and Adam T, Joe and Martin played Sumatra, and Steve, Adam H, Ian and I played Whale Riders. It began in controversial style as I picked a dolphin as my piece, not realising it was yellow and I had to swap with Adam.

I sped off, zipping past lots of cheap pots in order to get first dibs further along the track. Adam, meanwhile, hung back, picking up what he wanted at his leisure while he completed contract after contract. He even ignored a free pearl in order to more efficiently finish another card. He did six in the end, compared to my three. But it was Ian and his middle way who took first prize, leaving Adam to rue his earlier choice: if he’d taken that pearl, he’d have won on a tie-breaker.

Ian 21

Adam H

Andrew 19

Steve 18

I left after Whale Riders, with Sumatra still in full swing. According to a text, Sumatra ended…

Joe 65

Martin 64

Adam T 62

Ian, Adam H and Steve were sill perusing the games closet when I left and it seems they chose Marrakech. Adam messaged me the results and it looks like Ian pipped Adam to first place again.

Ian 58

Adam H 56

Steve bankrupt, owing Adam two coins that would have won him the game

Then I think Steve must’ve gone since they played a five player So Clover, scoring 28/30 after a mix up with Forcefield and Magic/Sheild/Bubble. I saw some nice clue/couplets in the photo. Good work, chaps.

Finally, Joe and Martin ended the night with a game of Cinderella's Dance, which sounds delightful but I really have no idea.

Joe 3

Martin 2

10cc on a plane ordering snacks

 This week’s GNN started unusually early for two lucky gamers, with Ian joining Sam at around half six for a two player game of Quantum before Joe and Katy arrived and enjoyed a rousing game of Perudo.

When I finally did get there, the table was set up for a five player game of Free Ride, with Joe, Katy and Ian the newcomers on board.

Compared to the only other time I played it, we started much more centrally, which meant a lot more blocking and nationalising of routes. Ian barely moved at all, preferring to stay in Napoli and make lots of money with his sensibly placed routes.

Katy went through a smorgasbord of emotions, at one point saying she was pleased and angry at the same time. She also said she enjoyed it. Joe was the other moneybags, as he almost monopolised East Europe and the Urals. My track in the UK was totally ignored for the entire game.

Sam zipped around the map, only briefly distracted by a wine spillage which dampened an Oslo card and some coins but not his enthusiasm for the game. At the end, as we counted up our scores, he revealed he had no duplicate cities in his stack of cards. Professional level gaming.

Sam 100

Joe 92

Ian 86

Katy 82

Andrew 81

After this the next (and my last) game was a co-op game of Wavelength. In this variant you score points for being in the Segment of Correctitude (possibly not it's official name) but only a perfect hit will get you another card and the chance to increase the score further.

It was fun as always. Katy wanted to know how long a clue could be; could it be a sentence? And that's when Sam uttered the blog title by means of an example of how long a clue could reasonably be. Trying to ignore the image of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme arguing over peanuts or olives, we began.

There were a few duds. I can't remember if we thought Katy's example of "buying your mother imported flowers" was more or less ethical than she did, but we were definitely wide of the mark.

Sam's clue of "day old bread" for "smelly in a good way/smelly in a bad way" seemed very specific but a bullseye eluded us. My clue "beer" for "guilty pleasure/openly love" was the shortest of the evening and was close but still no cigar.

Ian's clue for "normal greeting/weird greeting" was to say "helloooo" in a high pitched slightly Irish accent. Our mistake was misjudging the frame of reference, thinking it only slightly weird especially compared to a punch in the face as a greeting, and we put the Indicator of Opinion in the normal half. But Ian thought that slightly weird meant it should go in the weird half. 

I think we scored 11. And Katy discovered that you could run on custard.

By now it was 10.00 and my choice was a sensible early night or risk a late one, so I took the easy option and went home. Sam messaged me the late results.

The rest of them played For Sale twice.

Joe 62

Sam 61

Ian 51

Katy 40

And...

Sam 79

Ian 59

Katy 49

Joe 37

Then they ended with good old Tsuro.

Joe and Ian die in first 

2 Sam

3 Katy

Thanks all. Special as always.