I, Conic

 On the first wintry night of the year, I approached Sam's place and saw a strange shadowy figure moving from house to house, peering at front doors. Was he a burglar staking out his next prey? The bottle of wine suggested otherwise. It was Pete, a newish member of the GNN group, and he and I entered Sam's house together. 

We found Martin at the kitchen table in front of an unfinished game of Conic, a new Knizia which Sam described as “Raj with a map.” They soon ended and, as Martin counted up the scores, Sam's insistence that the game was all luck and chance became ever louder. 

Martin 22

Sam 9

Ian and Joe followed shortly afterwards and, after brief spell where Joe tried to work out if he'd met Peter before, we all sat down to play games. Sam, Martin and Pete played Rebirth while Ian, Joe and I set up good old Mille Fiori.

I know little about Rebirth, except it’s played on a map of Scotland and one minute Martin seems to have two castles in the Outer Hebrides and seemingly the next minute, he’s expanded to six. In the end, it was pretty close.

Martin 180

Sam 177

Pete 169

As for Mille Fiori, in round one Ian found that his choices were invariably taken by other players first. Strangely, we all pile into the markets - usually the least popular area on the board. (Officially, these areas are of the board are called “Townspeople” - I checked on BGG)

Joe ignored the Warehouses in what was a demonstration of a Mille Fiori masterclass. He was first to chain several turns together and did so repeatedly throughout the game. In fact, my smugness at nabbing an “extra action” late on in the game was somewhat tempered by the fact there was only one card left to choose which earned me a single point.

Joe 216

Ian 203

Andrew 156

While we waited for Rebirth to end, the three of us played a quick Tsuro. Ian painted himself into a corner while Joe and I faced off. I got some unlucky cards and could only kill myself in the final reckoning, giving Joe another win. But then he keeps going, guiding himself around the board until the final tile sent him off the board. Another masterclass.

1. Joe

2. Ian

3. Andrew

Now we were all together, there was a reshuffling. Pete wanted to try Orbit and Martin and Joe joined him. My only notes for this game is Martin’s quote “Is there anything I can fuck up?”

Martin home first

Joe and Pete, 2 planets left to do

Ian, Sam and I brought out the much-scuffed and oft-played Quantum. Ian and I quickly get two cubes down, and then Sam manages to wipe Ian’s fleet off the board. With no green dice on the board, I forget that Ian’s still playing and I begin my cleverly thought out move when it was actually his turn. What a faux pas!

Later and with a full fleet back in play, Ian mused to himself that he could win by placing a cube, picking up a card that gave him 2 dominance and let him place a second cube.

He paused.

“In fact, that’s what I will do.”

Ian 0 cubes left

Andrew and Sam both 2 cubes left.

While Orbit ended, Ian Sam and I played a couple of rounds of Misfits, made all the more unpredictable by the occasional tremors, eventually discovered to be caused by Martin’s elbow on the table. 

There was another masterclass, this time from Ian, who placed a series of seemingly impossible pieces on our collective tower while (mostly) me and Sam suffered the consequences. Sam escaped one perilous situation, though, placing a piece, the tower moved notably. Without removing the piece, Sam slowly “walked” the piece to a position of safety.

We played twice. Ian won the first and I think Sam won the second.

While we played Misfits, Joe, Pete and Martin played Conic, which Pete seemed to be doing rather well at as I pulled my coat on and got ready to leave.

Pete 16

Martin 9

Joe 6

Without me, the five of them played Champions. 

Sam 24

Martin 20

Pete 18

Ian 15

Joe 15

I’d love to know who, out of Ron Sexsmith and Gary Lineker, buys books but never reads them.

Then they finish, of course, with So Clover.

26 out of 30

Thanks all, see you next week.