We opened the year 2020 with a New Year shindig at my house where various orbiting moons of the GNN planet were seen - Celena for one, and a clutch of young children, including Andy's boy Finn. Come the night, many of them returned to various homes and the remaining party went 'full nerd'.
Wavelength arrived and was an immediate hit. Someone called Mark attended games night at my house and it's only now, five years later, that I realise this is the same Mark who runs the board game days in Bath. And even more oddly - or perhaps not - writing that gave me a sense of deja vu. Somewhere around now, Gwyneth Paltrow's vagina is first mentioned - by us - in Wavelength, as we discover it seems to fit in to a variety of spectrums.
Speaking of deja vu, the dark horse Matt Walker returned after a long absence, manifesting in Joe's studio and winning the now-forgotten Rurik. I unashamedly copy Andrew's Robinson Crusoe posts with an indulgent retelling of Nemo's War. And we played Hurly Burly.
Someone called Steve (not Dale) joined us for all of two weeks. Who was that guy??? Babylonia is getting played a whole lot, although it's usually Martin winning it. Andy Bate also returns from a good while away, but just a few short weeks later, we're all on an enforced hiatus as Covid 19 - it used to have a number - strikes around the world, and Boris Johnson proves that his perpetual air of ineffective fuckwit is not just an affectation. We go online!
I found online gaming hard at the time and would regularly drop out after an hour, and with apologies I could not bring myself to go through the weeks of reportage that took us from late February up to July, when there's a fleeting bit of socially-distanced gaming - two player only - and by August it looks like lockdown has gone to Adam's head.
December arrives and the main GNN takeaway of the year is that Andy Bate's home internet is terrible. 2020, bar a couple of months at start, feels best left in the past. Which fortunately is where it is.
2021
January kicks off the way December ended: with a confection of isolated screens. Some games - Marrakech, Codenames, Quantum - suit this more than others. Certainly without Covid I think the number-of-plays next to 7 Wonders would be significantly lower. But Martin spends some time discovering interesting trick-takers - American Bookshop, for example - and implementing them online.
As winter turned to spring turned to summer, the Tuesday nights continued unabated. Or occasionally abated, as Andy still hadn't gotten around to his wifi issues. I'm here all week.
After over a year there were a lot of new games waiting to be played, and one of them was The Secret Adventures of the Old Hellfire Club. Any game that turns Andrew into an official Fart Catcher really should make it to the table more often.
But when June arrived, so did another lockdown. At least this one was very brief, even if the uncertain opening and closing of doors has confused the spambots, who leave increasingly random commentary on our blogposts.
Katy hosted a games night where Joe got so drunk he invented some rules and thought I'd taught him them (the game was Durian) and only a week later he was on the champagne, in honour of his 25th wedding anniversary.
We also played Fae and discovered that the multicoloured plastic pieces are meant to be wizards.
Ian arrived back in the fold in July and we played a game of Wavelength where Joe insisted 'moisture is always water' - a statement that makes my mind reel to this day, because I'm still not sure if it's dramatically wrong or scientifically right. I also alienated Katy by moving her ants in Fast Sloths. Sorry!
We also asked Martin via text for a rules clarification and he responded with a screen grab of the relevant rule in seconds. Katy decided Martin is a robot, and Ian and I failed to correctly place a certain candle-baiting celebrity on the spectrum of looks like a person/doesn't look like a person.
As August looms, Joe throws open his door to the most palatial gaming space we've ever seen, taking in as it does his entire basement - if we include accoutrements such as fridge and tap - a view of Bristol, and a harrumphing dog. Dan O and Mikey P join us, but are never seen again (at time of writing) so maybe I'm not the only one who finds Team Play a bit vanilla. Adam (I think?) buys an anniversary edition of Ticket to Ride that's so big we can barely fit it on Joe's enormous table.
In September, Martin brings in furry newbie Gareth and Mel arrives just a few short weeks afterwards. Adam T finds parking near my house so difficult he gives up and goes home.
Matt is briefly glimpsed again, playing political-shenaniganeering game SHASN, and in answer to Martin's morally bankrupt Profiteers, Joe introduces us all to Sheepy Time. Although in fairness it should be added this cosy-sounding game includes being chased by a nightmare. Perhaps this looming menace inspires Joe to start using the all-new e-scooters from the council. Back to the future though, were Mel and Ben host for the first time on what proves a Dark and Stormy Night, in November.
The following week we plant seeds of nightmarish doubt in Andrew's mind by chanting "Bridge or Tram" at him for longer than necessary (he chose tram). Laura plays Quirky Circuits so well she is briefly named 'Maestro'. And then a covid-adjacent Novocon arrives with everyone testing before leaving home so we can isolate in a meeple-shaped bubble for two and a half days.
Louie indulged me in my lost gaming love, FlickFleet. I didn't even play, but I just loved watching the game happen before my eyes.
But I mainly remember this weekend for Katy playing Evolution Climate while mashed, and freaking out when she had to start eating me Adam and Steve. Great times. We return to Bristol and our usual smutty ways, spending the 80 minutes it takes to play Cryo saying "I'm pulling a guy off" over and over, like a bunch of schoolchildren. The Chippencon team do their mini-novocon too, although mini does not describe some of the beasts that hit the table, Dominant Species and Spheres of Influence amongst them.
Steve, Ian, Andrew and I play a couple of games of Vikings 878, which is a lot of fun but hard to get to the table as it's so specifically 4-player minded. And long. Suddenly - not immediately after the vikings - the dwarves arrived too, as we played an epic Siege of Runedar at Christmas. It took so long Laura left in the middle to do an errand and came back for the heroic yet tragic finale, which was when everything caved in on us. We also discovered a (real) mouse in the front room, which I managed to heroically catch. Some more games were played and then that was it for another year.
2022
It was seen in 2021 as well but early January plays of Brian Boru were notable for how much games now seemed to permeate every aspect of our lives. Or maybe it was just a particularly long session.
Speaking of long, we played the long-titled Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition and it was Unfortunately Shit, prioritising card synergies over any other potential metric of what makes games fun. At the other end of the spectrum was the banker Doppelkopf and its infinite variations, of which four of us played a few one wintry Saturday night. Sheepy Time was hitting the table a lot as well, as is Spicy.
unrelated
Xia returns as well. In fact, the early year sees several epics: Chris' Twilight Struggle fetish is picking up steam, 878 Vikings returns and Nemesis arrives: the very-obviously-inspired-by-Alien semi-co-op horrorfest with dollops of noir comedy. And Railways returns!
So does Tigris and Euphrates, which is obviously won by Martin, despite the big brains of Big T and Gareth at the same table (and me). Several years since her GNN baptism, Sybil still doesn't seem to have truly gotten on board:
Tin Goose was a minor hit - would like to play again - and Long Shot wasn't. Stinker returned!
Dominant Species: Marine gets played, and it's a bloodbath.
sorry, this is actually wine
As the first summer breeze sashays through Bristol, Charlotte introduces us to the concept of cake rubble and Mille Fiori makes its bow. Other games still get played though, including long-time slow-burn best-with-two word maker Letterpress, which I serially lose to Joe or Martin.
Hansa Teutonica returned, but although I think it's fabulous enough to keep bringing for weeks on end, it mostly stays nestled in my pannier bags, like a German version of Root. Autumn arrives, and with it Strike! which everyone seems to like. Perhaps more interestingly, we discover that Steve and Anja's games collection is divided into two specific groups.
Joe unveils the madness that is Schrille Stille and follows it with a little madness of his own by announcing - after a few glasses of wine - that he would take the Station Master in Thurn and Taxis (there is no station master). He Adam and Katy played Yokohama whilst the rest of us rattled through no less than 8 games and still had time to watch the finale. Ready Set Bet was played and banned on the same night. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed Oltre Mare, so naturally it's never been seen since. Except once, at Novoconl which not only has the biggest table yet (although disappointingly narrow) but also a hidden pit of death, right beneath where Ian has been sleeping.
Come December, come Christmas, come Hannah! After a long time in the desert she is happily amongst the throng again for the hurriedly-named Decocon. She comes last in Mille Fiori but doesn't mind because after all, it's not a five hour game of Root.
And this joyous epic day concludes 2022.
2023
One of the first big happenings of 2023 was Challengers, where the main challenge was figuring out which chair you should sit in. It's a big hit, although perhaps not as memorable as Joe's teenage dream about Clint Eastwood doing the hoovering.
Less hallucinatory, but still a bit, is the trip to the 1980's video arcade. It's 80's themed anyway - I don't think you actually go back in time. Or maybe you do, I can't keep up with technology these days.
In February, Andy B makes one of his mystery returns, perhaps intent on replicating his wifi form in person. After Laura's Quantum debut, it is renamed Yorkshire in Space. And after The Great Zimbabwe's debut, it is rarely seen again, being slightly opaque, dense and abstract, all qualities you could theoretically accuse of Quantum. And also Joe's musical references in our ongoing So Clover games, although hats off to him for clueing harvest for this combo:
unfortunately we got it wrong
Ian told his "sleeping in a ditch" (it wasn't a ditch) story that I thought was much longer ago than 2023. But whatever, we like to bring it up now and then as evidence of Ian sleeping in ditches, even though it wasn't actually a ditch (it was mulch, which is a funnier word but a less funny image). We have a debate about whether conking out drunk is the same as 'going to sleep' and come to no firm conclusion, despite the presence of a doctor and several drunks. The very same night, Joe confesses to kissing Kylie Minogue.
In April, Adam forgets there are games. And not for the first time. Block Party arrives, which is the only game where you can mistake poo for a volcano.
Although Not That Movie provides a linguistical approach to similar levels of silliness (Dead Poets in Venice). And So Clover is of course, hitting the high notes as well, especially when a perfect score is achieved.
Inside Job appears, the double-crossing trick-taker. One night at Martin's Adam laps Joe at Ticket to Ride, which I'm still so disgusted by I need another cheery photo to lift my mood.
Fun Facts arrives, and with it more interesting details about the smaller crevices of our lives.
...and learning that Joe can hold his breath for a long time. Big T, Ian, Andrew and I have a rather expensive games night at Chance n Counters. The couple on the next table are learning Root for their fun night out. We shake our heads at their crazy naivety and play Quantum.
In fairness, they do end up playing Root, and now we feel like idiotic snobs. Andrew Chris and I head to the Isle of Wight for weekend games with Paul Jefferies, and we manage to get every card wrong in So Clover. An unwanted first.
History is made not just with the all-female GNN game, but the scores: Mel absolutely obliterates the record books in Mille Fiori, scoring 323. Katy says they helped her too much.
Meantime the males were sticking to hallowed GNN conventions of alleged hilarity.
In November, Time of Crisis returned from an extended hiatus, and I finally got to be emperor. Didn't win though (that was Martin again). Bigger migratory drama was also happening in the real world too, as we lose Gareth to a far-flung destination.
We empty all the game components onto the table for a look, then spend ages working out how the all fit back in the box. Great training for Gareth's next career step. Elsewhere in November, Steve reveals he is allergic to dill but eats dill flavoured crisps anyway. Is it worth mentioning at this point that Lords of Vegas hits the table far more than I ever recalled? I guess because I was mostly playing something else at the time. This includes the semi-trad Novocon getaway (Weymouth, this year) where Mel shows up, Jon has a moustache, Joe and I share a room with a macerator toilet and Martin gets portobelloed. He also serenades Steve, singing Happy Birthday to You in Monroe style and everyone is so unnerved we go for a walk.
In December, the Christmascon is at Steve and Anja's (with Louie and Lennon) and an epic Ticket to Ride is won, naturally, by Adam. Or maybe unnaturally. At Christmas itself, Misfits arrives and is a big hit. Laura is devastatingly good at Hitster, as she can identify the approximate year of each song based on its production values.
Laura clues Joe for old/turnip, and even looking at all the words we don't get it. And the curtain closes on 2023 with Hitster detrmining that Pele eats more donuts than the queen.
2024
The curtains open again January with Maddie marking her GNN bow with a victory at Skyjo. Misfits getting a lot of plays amongst other faves and newbies.
Joe's clover
MLEM arrives. Steve requests a player aid for Auf Teufel Comm Raus. In March, the last ever Stepney Walk games night takes place and if Anja and Steve ever buy a copy of Gang of Dice, we know whose side of the collection it will go in.
Steve's high is immediately followed by an existential low, however, as we give him minimal Just One clues and he spends so long trying to figure them out that his own teammates - supposedly there for support - turn on him.
Things got even worse when his next word was crepe, and Katy clued him poó. If that was a bad night for Steve though, the very next week we all discovered that Beyonce's Crazy in Love was 21 years old. Twenty one! It's getting older too.
crazy right then
In April Anja and Steve and brethren invite us to their new home, complete with a clock so enormous it has wall between the numbers. Molly is already at home enough to walk around on the table, so it feels just like old times. Adam is 'peacocked out' of contention in Zoo Vadis and Ian, Chris and I dip our toes into GMT waters with Vijayanagara. It's a resounding hit, but the night itself is more notable for Ian's clover, which is solvable with a single card:
Cascadero arrives and Ian takes an (unrelated) brutal score in Lords of Vegas (six points).
Turbo Kidz was really funny, why haven't we played it since? Don't answer that.
Katy turns up at my house with a roll of toilet paper, asking to swap it for one of mine. On the same night. she invents the sausage (Anno 1800) and Andrew goes home having not seen a single game finish. Inevitably, Martin is not present for this particular night (the other game was Arcs) and on his return he brings a popular newbie: Agent Avenue (or a gent, a venue as Joe calls it). Impulse is seen again, and Andrew briefly thinks he might be able to beat Martin. But no.
We discover when Joe is asked to think of something with two ends, his mind comes up with the word dildo. We play Hitster and when the app refuses to work, sing the songs ourselves. Novocon takes place close enough to the sea that Joe and Katy go swimming. I mainly have a lot of conversations about prostates, and Ian walks into a door. Martin wins pretty much everything he plays, including the officially insane New Orleans version of Lords of Vegas.
As the end of the year comes into view, the game du jour is Rebirth, but others - So Clover among them, naturally - are still going strong. Or not strong, as the case may be.
Lucy and Laura host the now-traditional Christmas con, aided by Maddie, Ryker and Effie (plus grown-ups). We play a lot of games and it includes Midnight Party with nine people (although some were teams). Perhaps inspired by Jesus, Martin introduces us all to Bomb Busters, where we're all evaporated on mission four. And on that bombshell, 2024 evaporates too, bringing this chapter of GNN history to a close...
