Four gazebos in one day

 “You're early,” said Sam as he opened his front door. Technically, I was late but I had been too pessimistic in my ETA and had arrived a full six minutes before I said I would.

Inside, Martin, Ian, Adam H and Joe were just starting a game of Pairs. Continuous Pairs to be exact. Ian ended the game as he collected more than 15 points and Adam, who’d been doing very well, was disappointed that there was no winner, only one loser.

Since there were six of us, we split into two groups of three. At the far end of the table, Sam, Ian and Martin played Gazebo. This was a “new” Knizia game - a reskin of Qin, but I guess someone decided that it was less like a territorial battle for China and was more like making the biggest gardens.

The game requires that people put down tiles, trying to make areas of the same colour into which they can place gazebos. A single gazebo is in danger of being overtaken from neighbouring gazebos with a larger area, but a double gazebo is safe. The idea of the game is to be the first to get rid of your gazebos. 

They played twice:

Sam 0 gazebos left

Ian 4

Martin 5

And then 

Martin 0

Sam 4

Ian 5

Meanwhile, Joe, Adam and I played Ponzi Scheme. This game involves picking up money with impossible terms of repayment. I was bemused by the player aid, with its grey text on a grey background, but the game is simple enough that I didn’t need it. 

Adam was cautious throughout,  whereas I was the first to pick up a big card in round 3. Adam also excelled at trading, and he soon had a column of yellow buildings in front of him. Buildings are how you score points in this game but I was mostly selling them for money to pay off my debts. 

This explains the gulf in scores - the game suddenly ended when Joe admitted that he'd miscalculated a transaction and now couldn’t afford to service his debts. 

Adam 24

Andrew 4

Joe 0

At this point,  we rearranged our seats and games. Sam brought out some chocolates: only slightly sqaushed and discoloured with age. We still ate them. 

Meanwhile, regarding games: Sam, Adam and Ian played Cascadero while Martin introduced Joe and I to Gazebo.

Cascadero ended with a win to Sam, "and after all that complaining," he admitted.

I start badly, focusing on blocking Martin and Joe without having a plan of my own. Despite a good move in round three that removed two enemy gazebos (not a term you get to use very often in everyday life) and placed three of my own. But it was too little too late and Martin marched to a win. 

Martin 0

Joe 5

Andrew 10

We set up again. I was determined to erase the ignominy of the worst score of the day, a played super cautious. As indeed did Joe and Martin. We were so focused on not opening opportunities for our opponents that a third of the board lay untouched for most of the game. 

It ended with Martin stealing a territory from Joe, allowing him to place his last gazebo. 

Martin 0

Joe 2

Andrew 3

By now, Adam had left. Sam and Ian played Toy Battle and Sam won. They'd set up to play again but I left before any victor could be decided. 

Sam informed me late of two games of So Clover with scores of 22 and then 21 out of 24. Oh, and before I'd arrived, Martin had beaten Sam at Bombastic and then they'd all played a 1-round game of Jungo that Sam won.

Thanks all, another special evening.