Kiss and Tell

We lost Andrew but gained Andy M, had no Adam T but Adam H stepped in as a late responder. The venue floated around before settling at mine, but the first half hour or so was mainly chat. Ian told a story about sleeping in mulch - or 'a ditch' as Katy liked to interpret it - and then he told it again to late arrivals Joe and Andy. Martin was due about 9pm, but after a diversion into whether conking out drunk is the same as going to sleep and another diversion on Venn diagrams, we finally played a game. It was Viva Pamplona!

Katy suggested that the orange safe spaces should actually be safe, as one pays to be there, and we thought Why not. So you can't be pushed while in an orange space, but neither can you collect courage points if the bull attacks (nor lose them if you're behind him, which had ramifications later). Good thematic sense! I regretted not bunching my runners together in my opening turn as no less than three others immediately took advantage, shoving me all over the place, like a rank amateur bullied by seasoned pros. We all fell behind the bull - but some of us hid safely in the safe spaces. Then we realised that we could keep a runner in a safe space all the way to the end of the game and not lose any more courage points - which we did; Katy, Adam and I lingering way back on the course like cowardly custards.

But Adam's rolling didn't favour him and he found himself forced to run, way way back behind the bull, who only paid out 2 or 3 times the entire race! Very few of us made it to the arena, and Andy cleaned up on his debut, shrugging off everyone teasing him about cheating.

Andy 39
Katy 35

Sam 25
Joe 17
Adam 9
Ian 5

Joe and Katy then played Sea Salt and Paper while they waited for Martin, whilst I attempted to explain Terra Nova to Adam and Andy. I'm not sure what happened in SSaP, I missed the end. I also handed guidance duties over to Ian when I had to go away on bedtime patrol upstairs. 

For a reasonably simple game of build stuff to get in each other's way with a side order of tactical scoring, it does take a while to explain. Ian did a good job though, and we set off into the good hexagonal night, starting around the time Martin arrived and began setting up his latest Knizia offering, Aristocracy. I missed almost everything about this other the occasional expletive and Katy's happy air of satisfaction versus the boy's chagrin, but did manage to snap a photo:

At our end of the table Andy started well, but as we proceeded Ian's eye for scoring opportunities saw him streak ahead, establishing a solid lead. Terra Nova can be fruitful if you pay attention to the round-by-round bonuses, and try and time your actions on the board to them. Adam frustrated himself when he built a palace and a town earlier than was ideal, even though it catapulted him up the track: delaying would have been more productive in the long run. 

Despite building the largest network (12 point bonus!) after connecting two towns, I was struggling to stay anywhere near Ian. In fact I was struggling to keep up with Andy -(bonus points for towns!) and Adam (-being Adam). But it was Ian's day: he scored a shedload of points in round five as well and wrapped things up convincingly, seemingly unaffected - maybe even blessed - by his night in the mulch.

Ian 74
Adam and Sam 59 each
Andy 53 

Aristocracy finished as well, with Katy even more convincing:

Katy 66

Martin 48

Joe 47

And Martin telling Joe he should design his own version of the game. I've no idea what it's about, although the cover suggests a psychopaths-with-delusions-of-grandeur kind of vibe. Not something I would ever accuse the players of, of course.

EDIT: This morning Martin had to remind me that he Joe and Katy also played Spots around this point as we finished Terra Nova! Martin won. 

Ian took his leave triumphantly, whilst the rest of us debated what to finish with before settling on Wavelength. Memories are a little hazy now but I can vouch that at some point before/during the game, Joe revealed he had kissed Kylie Minogue "on the lips" (-because she's a kisser on greeting) having made some illustrations for her website back in the last century. "I've known you ten years, and this is the first time you mention this?" Martin cried. Joe confessed he'd been waiting for the right moment. There was also talk of foamy nipples and it was hard to tell what was the greatest emotion in the room - Joe's nostalgia, or his audience's astonishment. 

But we had business to attend to, and that was arguing about how much a grain of sand looks like a person (not at all? a little bit? a lot?) This was Joe's clue and he and Katy, post-reveal, debated what more looks like a person between a grain of sand and 'air'. "Air can look like a person!" Joe insisted, waving his heads around in what I supposed was meant to suggest that air can look like a person. I regretted my clue of snooker for mental activity/physical activity, and changed to to darts after they had set the dial. If nothing else this should prove to everyone that Andy is not the only one who can cheat. I waved away protests for not other reason than I wanted to. 

It didn't help much: we actually did rather badly overall, triggering no extra cards and only scoring ten points total. "You should have listened to me" Martin said, as the only person (other than me) who truly understands how physical darts can be. Lots of fun! Thanks everyone...