One onesie, two humps

Monday. Shortly after sending out the invite for non-Tuesday gaming, I (Sam) conked out on the sofa in a fitful sleep. In my semi-lucid daze I did wonder whether drinking and playing was the best idea. Then I realised it was.

Come 7.45 Ian strode in to find me in my Everton onesie. I had elected not to get dressed again, thinking we were all friends. And sure enough Ian and - shortly after - Andrew shrugged off their surprise as we had more serious matters than my sartorial shortcomings at hand.

We started with A Castle For All Seasons. As I was setting it up Ian - possibly channelling Martin - said "this looked like one of those games where you get stuff to get other stuff" - and I had to admit it was. With the saving caveat that the main mechanic was card-play rather than worker placement. Even with Ian new to it, the game played fast - all the way through we kept saying how quickly the rounds were going. But we still managed to be surprised when the last round arrived. Andrew's end-game bonuses weren't quite enough to catch me; whilst Ian did respectably on a first play with a man in a romper suit:

Sam 53
Andrew 50
Ian 37

We moved on to Istanbul: the quick version. It wasn't as quick as all that, actually - all of us had our moments of staring at the board almost accusingly. Andrew was probably least guilty of this - but having played with admirable lassez faire, he was rewarded with a tanking. Mine and Ian's brow-furrowing was partly down to the fact we were playing a variant - each of us started with an extra neutral assistant. They could be dropped off at buildings and function normally - the only difference was anyone could pick them up. It was a game of surges - Ian burst into the lead but his method of accruing stuff to trade in at the Sultan's palace meant that he had moments of having nothing to do but collect more resources. I used one of these fallow moments - combined with a bonus card - to nab a sneaky win:

Sam 5 gems
Ian 4 gems
Andrew 2 gems

Next up was Camel Up. Andrew and Ian were keen and I was open to it, though having enjoyed the first few plays ever since I've found it a bit... faffy. I think for me it's just slightly too long and slightly too complicated for what it is. And I say that despite having pulled off the spawniest win ever - lagging in third, I catapulted myself to victory by virtue of being first to predict outright winner and outright loser. I'd love to say this was strategic genius, but I can't. I'm wearing a onesie.

We finished a rapid night of sparring with Love Letter. Ian proclaimed he liked this game because he "doesn't know" what he's doing; but whatever system he employs it serves him well. Andrew went into a 2-0-0 lead but Ian came back well enough to win. Although in the last round I was reluctant kingmaker - I knew I'd lost, but I was pretty sure that Andrew had the king. So I guessed correctly and knocked him out, by default handing the win to Ian! Sorry Andrew.

Ian 3 cubes
Andrew 2 cubes
Sam 1 cube

Last Train for Yuletide

With Christmas threatening to erase all our fun with festive cheer and public holidays, Sam, Chris and I managed to squeeze in one last night of board games before Santa takes over the world.

I got to Sam's house a little late, and found Chris and Sam nearing the end of a game of A Castle For All Seasons. This game of worker placement and bonus-building has been a semi-success in GNN towers. It would be an unqualified success if we could just work out what to do with one bonus building that always seems to be the decider in who wins. We really should check on Board Game Geek. Anyway, Sam won, beating Chris who scored a respectable 60ish points on his first go compared to Sam’s 80+.

After this, we discussed what to play. We decided it should be something that Chris had played before, but didn’t own. After a little debate, we went for Railways of the World again. To be honest, I was a little sore after my recent third place and I was desperate for a chance to put things right, so when it was suggested I tried to be nonchalantly keen on the idea in case my eagerness put people off.

We used the Mexico map, and I was in charge of distributing the cubes across the various cities. I didn’t do a great job. Most cities had cubes of the same colour, unable to move until the later stages of the game. We all sat and stared at the board, a little baffled as to where to go at first. But there were two New Industry cards in the first round, which Chris and I used to good advantage, creating two new coloured cities to deliver to.

It seems that Martin had an influence on Sam’s and my tactics (that's semi-regular GNNer Martin, not Martin Wallace). At the end of the last game of RotW, we counted up our number of bonds and he said “Wow, we usually finish with fifteen!” With this in mind, this time the two of us were less frightened by the looming debt, and went for broke. In fact, in the first round Sam had to take a bond to pay back the debt caused by his other two bonds, which I think is a first. Chris, meanwhile, kept a close hand on the purse-strings and completed the game with only one bond.

It was pretty tough out there. We all scored bonuses for routes or cards, we scrambled for engine upgrades and tunnel engineers, and we made awful puns on a train theme: “I’m getting up a head of steam now,” “I just need a platform to build from,” “I’m going loco!” But before too long we we’d run out of puns and were just saying anything related to trains: “High visibility jackets!” “Shrink wrapped sandwiches!”

I was totally invested in this game. I even turned down Sam’s offer of some Waggon Wheels because they weren’t thematic enough (and also because they’re quite nasty) and I took photos of the board every couple of rounds, so if I lost I could go back and pinpoint where I went wrong.

It remained close on the score track, but Sam’s eleven bonds dragged him back into third. In the end, the result was decided by a choice Chris made right at the very start of the game. When he got two baron cards, he discarded the one giving a bonus for most money and instead went for one that gave bonuses for owning hotels. As it happened, he ended the game with most money, and hardly any hotels came out at all. If Chris had got the bonus for the money baron, he would have ended level with me on points and, of course, won the money tie-breaker.

Andrew 63
Chris 57
Sam 53

What a game! Even with a starting position as miserable as the one we had, it still offered possibilities for fun and profit. I am in awe of Chris’ amazing powers of wealth-generation. If I ever want to start a company from scratch, I’ll be asking him for advice.

And it still wasn’t even ten o’clock. We decided on a new game for Chris: Love Letter. We told him the rules, and we were off. It is, like A Castle For All Seasons, one of those games that you need to play once before you can really understand it, but Chris did well.

Apart from the time when Sam read the rules according to Sausage & Mash rules (read some text but substitute any word stating with “s” with “sausage,” and any word beginning with “m” with “mash” remembering to keep plurals, verb and adjective endings intact, i.e. “-ing”, “-ed”, “-ly”) the highlight of the game was one short lived round when I, on a whim, used a Guard to accuse Sam of having the Princess.

At this point Sam hadn’t even looked at his card and he said “If I am the Princess, I’ll be very angry.”

He looked at his card.

“I’m very angry,” he said as he revealed the Princess.

Next was Chris, who then accused me of being a Baron. I sighed as all my good work was undermined: I was the Baron. Chris got a win on a freakish stroke of luck (or maybe he’s psychic? Actually, his final score would suggest not...)

Sam 3
Andrew 2
Chris 1

After this, I left, preferring to head down Gloucester Road before the pubs shut. Chris and Sam stayed for a couple of rounds of Biblios. Sam texted me the scores:

Chris 7
Sam 5

Sam 13
Chris 5

A lovely way to finish the GNN term before Xmas (unless any one else can squeeze something in?) and I was certainly buoyed up by my win on RotW. On my way home, I strode past the stragglers and pub bouncers with the confidence of a man who knows how to move wooden blocks over cardboard hexagons. Surely this is the level to which all people aspire.

Castles upon Castles

Today Sam sent out the call for a brief two-player of his new game Castle Dice. Already a huge hit with the youth of today, how would the elders of society take to it. At first, I wasn’t keen but Sam kept mentioning he had beer, so I was finally persuaded.

Castle Dice, a little bit Scripts and Scribes and a little bit Roll Through The Ages. Dice rolls give you resources, that you can spend to activate cards that get you more resources. Meanwhile, barbarians come along after every building round (since the sight of scaffolding sends them into a fury) to remove resources, unless you have guards.

After the dice are thrown, they are all put into the middle where players take turns in picking the dice/resources they want. Thus, if your luck with these little fate boxes is lacking, you can rely on others to roll what you want.

It’s fun and fast moving, plus it’s remarkably easy to learn. I’d love to play it with four, and with cards hidden. As it was, we played everything out in the open to help me learn the rules. And learn them, I did. I got busy with buildings and their victory points with barely a glance at the market.

Andrew 12
Sam 7

After this, we thought about a shortish game, a little under an hour. 7 Wonders was considered, but perhaps a little overplayed of late? Instead we went for A Castle For All Seasons. Last time we played, Adam pointed out that it was just a case of “whoever gets the unbuilt buildings bonus wins” and it was sort of true again here. Sam got two men in that bonus area, and got the win.

Sam 67
Andrew 49

A Castle For All Seasons is an odd game. When it works, it all seems to run smoothly, like a well-oiled bicycle. But one mistake, and it’s as if the chain slips off. The only way to get back on track is to stop completely, and by that time your opponent has sped past you.

But after that I was away. Sam made toast under the grill and I stepped out into the brisk November air. Until next time... which is a whole twenty hours away!

We could have played Wallenstein

But at the last minute, out of deference to the absent Anja, we decided not to.

But first, to set the scene: Anja and baby Luther were away, giving Steve free reign of the house. Sam and I arrived and promptly played two games of Cube Quest while Steve ate his supper. 1-1.

Then Adam arrived, minus a poorly Hannah. So, with the four of us assembled, the only question was what to play. At first, we veered towards Wallenstein, but without Anja it seemed a bit mean. Instead we went for A Castle For All Seasons: Sam and I were experienced in it, Steve knew about it and Adam was a total newbie. Perfect!

We set up, Sam went through the rules (oh, how we miss Joe!) and we got stuck in. This was the first time that the game was played with the maximum four players, and it becomes quite a different beast. Relying on other players became paramount, and knowing where you were in relation to the starting player was also worth bearing in mind.

In the end, I juggled those aspects better than the others. I played a Master Builder in a round when two players built, and I went for bonuses for unbuilt buildings and money. Sam found himself bereft of resources for most of the game, Steve was awash with resources but strangely reluctant to build anything with them. Adam’s gaming instinct homed in on the better bonuses on the board and he cruised to a comfortable second place.

Andrew 65
Adam 41
Steve 28
Sam 15

Afterwards, Adam said he felt the game was unbalanced, and he searched the rules for clarification on the “unbuilt buildings” bonus, believing it to be too powerful. It was an odd game, though, because very few people played the Trader (or is it Merchant? You know: the guy on the cart), meaning resources weren’t flowing as much as they normally would.

Phone calls to wives, mid game.

After this mind-melting experience, we went for something that we thought was a little lighter: Metro. The recent newcomer to the table is rife with opportunities to sabotage your opponent. Especially if they’ve just won at A Castle For All Seasons. I found myself at the end of some very short railroads, and I was frustrated by the rule that says you can’t send an opponent off the board in one move even if it meant the best possible fate for my stunted network.

Adam was unstoppable and maybe that’s the secret to the game: slip past when no one else notices. Make no enemies, don’t rock the boat and before you know it, you’ve won.

Adam 75
Sam 56
Steve 41
Andrew 36

After this, we fancied something a little lighter. 7 Wonders, perhaps. Or Biblios. No. We went for Condottiere. Perhaps we forgot that this pocket Risk is a heavy game in a light game’s clothing. It is not a late-night closer, and I found myself quite exhausted well before the end of the game. My main problem with it is that I just don’t care who wins. I find myself making half-considered decisions, and not being bothered when I lost. Which I did. Perhaps the best bit is when other people get caught up in battles, and I did enjoy seeing Sam and Steve face off with Steve on 32 points against Sam’s 2.

Adam 5 territories
Sam 3
Steve 2
Andrew 1

An evening of three quite heavy games (apart from Cube Quest at the start). This leaves Adam top of the pile, with Joe still in second after his three week holiday.

						Points
Adam	1	1	2	1	4	9
Joe	3	2	1	1	3	10
Sam	2	2	4	3	1	12
Steve	3	3	3	4	3	16
Hannah	3	4	1	4	5	17
Andrew	4	4	1	4	4	17
Anja	2	5	1	5	5	18
Miles	2	3	5	5	5	20
Lizzy	2	5	5	5	5	22

The Four Step Program

As usual when Monday rolls around my fingers start twitching. Andrew, post-life drawing, was amenable to getting a couple of games in early so I don't arrive at Adam and Hannah's house tonight panting like a dog with the DT's.

With little discussion we went for Cube Quest as an opener. And having seen it so effective in a previous game, I plumped for the Peppa Defence, where the king is surrounded by cubes packed so tightly they resemble a Roman phalanx. Peppa saw off her dad Mark with this as the King was rendered inaccessible.

the Peppa Defence

And the tactic proved successful twice in a row. Is Cube Quest broken??!

We moved on to a Castle For All Seasons. This hasn't really caught fire with GNN yet but I think it has potential. Maybe not enough people have played it, and with more than two players I guess it's a little longer that the action-packed 55 minutes we played it in. But still - trying to build the castle for victory points (or money) and second-guess the card your opponent will play in order to take advantage? Collect resources for a big payout or go for smaller buildings and get more workers on the board (who bring you end game bonuses)? Time your master-builder to cash in on other player's activities? It's a gem.

In this instance Andrew engineered a multiplier that saw him score lots of points for all his houses - only jumping in the the not-quite-as-good multiplier did I manage to see him off:

Sam 91
Andrew 85

Then we played 7 Wonders. Interestingly both of us played Dirk slightly differently - rather than a card dump for opponents wants or a customer for your own resources, Dirk was played quite aggressively, building armies and expanding both his sciences and a number of guilds. That's the great thing about 7 Wonders - it's always very different due to the make-up of the hands.

Sam 64
Andrew 52
Dirk 38

We'd blasted through four games in an hour and a half and, as I had to see my sponsor, it was time to leave.

Part and Castle

Sam came back from Cornwall, desperate to get back into the GNN swing, Even though the next games night is tomorrow, he sent out a text to meet for a little warm up.

Standing at the cupboard, Sam suggested Castles Of Burgundy. Since I was still to translate my solo-player success into something more multi-player, I agreed. And at first it seemed like the one-player version had taught me well. I was chaining buildings together early on, and a succession of rivers meant my position as starting player was never in doubt.

But don’t underestimate Sam, even as he panics at the growing disparity in scores. His board was full of small areas which he could complete swiftly for points. He kept track of me, and even pulled into the lead. A lead that, to our surprise, my bonuses couldn’t close.

Sam 208
Andrew 202

Then we considered another game, since Sam had just opened another beer. We pondered a few old favourites, but then we remembered A Castle For All Seasons. For a short while, it was the belle of the ball, surrounded by prospective suitors. But in the last few weeks, it was a little left on the shelf (literally) so it was good that we remembered it’s deep-but-quick charms.

We brought it down and set it up and, using Sam’s player guide, we sprang into action building castles and taverns and towers. Sam took the lead fro the start and didn’t let go. I closed the gap towards the end by scoring bonus points for money, but it was more to save pride than mount a serious challenge on his lead.

Sam 74
Andrew 60

And the day was done. Possibly enough to keep Sam going until tomorrow evening, but you never know. Maybe his animating assistants will be forced to play Biblios or Alhambra at lunch.

Under Prussia

Sam and I met up for a brain storming session for future writing projects and after a whole hour (including a meal), we decided to treat ourselves to a game or two. Or five.

We chose Maharaja: The Game of Palace Building in India. We had both prepared for this new game by watching an introduction to it on BGG where a silky voiced Australian promised us “delicious options”. How could we turn that down?

After we scratched our heads over another inadequate rule book, we brought up a player aid on BGG and used that to guide ourselves through the rules and we were off.

It’s an interesting take on the worker placement genre, whereby you only have one worker (the architect) and while you can build buildings anywhere, you need to have the architect present to build those all important palaces. Because what do palaces make? Prizes. Palaces in a city earn you money, and at the end of the game, money decides the winner (unless someone was smart enough to build a seventh palace before their opponent(s)).

Sam, after a shaky start, took the honours in its inaugural game.

Sam 10
Andrew 7

After this, we decided to break out good old A Castle For All Seasons. Since it’s already gaining favour for it’s depth in the two player options, this now needs no introduction. I hogged the market and then hoarded money like Ebenezer Scrooge after the Ghost Of Christmas Future told him about a stock market crash. Sam went for the unfinished buildings bonus and silvers. In the end, I just edged it.

Andrew 81
Sam 80

After this, I suggested Samurai. It’d been a long time since I’d played it, and it showed. I was comprehensively beaten, with Sam winning on two categories of items, and us drawing on a third. The only positive thing I can take is that Samurai isn’t leaderboard, since I can’t work out how to convert the final result into points. Phew.

Then we brought Campaign to the table. I have a dim memory of playing this in the 1970s with my brother. At the time, it seemed like a dazzling new variant on chess but now, with eurogames offering a new gaming experience (and with my own greater appreciation for chess) it just seems like a hollow strategy game. I also remember thinking that “Prussia” was a made-up name for a country, and I was surprised when I found out it wasn't. That was the first time I found out that a country could disappear off the map.

Each player has their pieces and they roll a dice to see how many movement points they get. In other words, the player who rolls highest, on average, will win. It looked nice and, I suppose, for 1973, it was a brave attempt at something new. It hasn’t aged well, though.

We abandoned the game in favour of something else.

And that something else was 7 Wonders. Quick, exciting, and we both knew it well. Dirk was up for it, too.

Sam went down the “no-resources” route, relying on Dirk and me to bail him out. And also relying on military might, along with a little bit of everything. I threw in my lot with blue buildings (including the palace) while I offloaded sciences onto Dirk, just so Sam couldn’t build them and exploit his wonder’s benefit.

It was an odd game. There seemed to be a lot less resources around for anyone, meaning I couldn’t build my wonder until late, and Dirk barely got started on his. In the final tally, the Palace came through again, just pushing me ahead of Sam who, at one point, had serious fears of being overtaken by Dirk.

Andrew 49
Sam 46
Dirk 33

Brand New Worlds

Due to Jon’s new job taking away his reason to visit Bristol, this games night was to be the last featuring our forest friend for a while. And it began in a slightly awkward manner, with everyone bringing four-player games for a five-player evening. In the end, we plumped for the only workable option: a three-player and a two-player game.

Anja, Jon and I went for Village. Steve and Sam chose A Castle For All Seasons, both designed by Inka and Markus Brand. Jon explained the rules to Anja in his rich, baritone voice that rang out across the room and caused Steve to complain, since he couldn’t hear Sam’s less theatrical explanation of their game.

Once we got started, I decided to go for the very option that Jon had highlighted as being a bad idea: travelling. It meant I was behind on the Town Hall and the Church, but I got all cities and I managed to get five meeples into the history books, for the maximum bonus, so I thought maybe I was in with a shout.

Anja and Jon went for very similar tactics, filling up the church and town hall and going to the market. Despite it being Anja’s first game, and having to deal with a baby, she seemed to take to it very quickly. Jon, the most experienced played of the three of us, played quickly and efficiently, complete with a gleeful running commentary whenever he killed someone off.

In the end, it was close. It could hardly have been closer. Anja thought she’d won by a single point, but Jon’s one gold coin was enough to force a draw. And my travelling tactic wasn’t far behind.

Anja 53
Jon 53
Andrew 51

An exciting game, and good to get it onto the table again.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the room, Sam and Steve played half of an aborted game of Castle For All Seasons, and then one which they saw through to the end.

Sam 95
Steve 86

Then, since Village was still in full flow, Steve organised some dessert for us all, consisting of fruits, jelly, ice cream and cream. A lovely touch. And then they played Biblios (not designed by Inka and Marcus Brand). Sam explained the rules to Steve, and then took him to the cleaners.

Sam 10
Steve 3

And all that’s left is to tot up the final scores. The Form Table isn’t much different from when we last saw it, which gives Joe the title for this season!

						Points
Joe	2	1	1	2	1	7
Steve	1	2	1	1	3	8
Anja	1	2	3	1	1	8
Jon	1	2	1	2	3	9
Andrew	2	3	3	2	1	11
Sam	1	2	3	3	3	12
Adam	2	2	1	5	3	13
Quentin	2	2	3	5	5	18
Hannah	3	4	4	5	2	18
Martha	1	5	5	5	5	21
Will	3	3	5	5	5	21
Bea	4	5	5	5	5	24

On the division, we see the honours shared around in a very open and friendly way. Sam takes most Points, Anja wins comfortably on Points Ratio, while Adam’s win on the Olympic style leaderboard is a commanding one. Meanwhile, Paul takes the Bracknell crown, just squeezing past Chris on points and Points Ratio. There is the small matter of the two-player leaderboard still to be calculated, but I’ll put that up later. I think Sam’s won it, though.

EDIT: And the scores from the two-player division are in! I said I thought Sam had won, and he did, but it was much closer than I'd expected. Thanks to Chris being good at Agricola, he boosted his Points Ratio and almost stole the Points title, too. I've also added Dirk to the table, just to celebrate his unlikely win and, anyway, he's practically part of the gang, isn't he?

And with that, we bring this season to a close. We wish Jon all the best in his new job, and hope he can find his way back soon. In the meantime, let’s all rejoice in our shared victory of a love of board games. God Bless The Queen! Huzzah!

Snow Exit

We had thought that Tuesday would be a wash-out, but at the last minute, Joe was able to attend. And Will said he thought he could make it, but in the end he had to cancel. That makes it official! Leaderboard, here we come!

We put current favourites, A Castle For All Seasons on the table, and talked Joe through the rules, even realising that we’d got a couple of rules wrong. When we started, Joe seemed to grasp the rules pretty quickly. Quicker than Sam, who suffered from Explainer’s Curse: the terrible affliction that means that the person who taught the rules always does badly.

I capitalised, putting my men in places that Sam was aiming for. He never got a chain of production going, and ended the game in a humble third.

Andrew 75
Joe 60
Sam 33

After this we tried another new game that Joe had brought along. Snow Tails looked like a fun card-based racing game where you guide your husky-powered sled along the unforgiving frozen track to the finish line. It was enjoyable, but the rule book was vague about “drifting” (the method used to go from one lane to the next). We muddled through in a way we thought was logical. And we couldn’t help but notice that the person who started first finished first, etc. We did wonder if that might be a flaw in the game: whoever starts, wins.

But it looks nice, and the modular nature of the tracks means that plenty of different routes are available. And at just £2.50 from a charity shop, I’d say Joe did well.

1st Joe
2nd Andrew
3rd Sam

By now, Sam was hurting from two last places in a row. He suggested a third game, San Juan. It was certainly not one of my strong suits, but Joe’s recent practice on his iPhone clearly paid off. While Sam dashed to the 12 building limit to cash in on his violet building multiplier, Joe had the Palace and a couple of monuments lying around, giving him another victory.

Joe 30
Sam 27
Andrew23

Sam thought we could squeeze in one more game, despite Joe’s better judgement. And so we played Biblios. Joe says he’s never won, and he managed to keep his spotless record intact. Meanwhile, my brief taste of glory at Biblios has not lasted. I got far too many dice cards early on, before I’d even begun picking up colours. Sam, meanwhile, was very much Mr Biblios. Seemingly having cards to spare during the auction round. How does he do it?

Sam 8
Joe 6
Andrew 0

Meanwhile, on the form table, Joe makes his bid for glory at just the right moment. Can he keep this up until the end of Thursday? The heat is on!

						Points
Joe	2	1	1	2	1	7
Steve	1	2	1	1	3	8
Anja	2	3	1	1	3	10
Andrew	3	3	2	1	2	11
Sam	1	2	3	3	3	12
Jon	2	1	2	3	5	13
Adam	2	2	1	5	3	13
Quentin	2	2	3	5	5	18
Hannah	3	4	4	5	2	18
Martha	1	5	5	5	5	21
Will	3	3	5	5	5	21
Bea	4	5	5	5	5	24

I thought the Germans liked rules

With it looking likely that the week’s dose of games will be put back to Thursday, Sam and I met up for a little two-player action over a new (for us) game from Germany, A Castle For All Seasons.

It’s like a cross between Citadels and a worker placement game. You all play cards simultaneously, but they are resolved in a strict order. These cards may allow you to place workers to get resources or claim essential end-of-game bonuses.

We began slowly, since the rulebook was not written with the newcomer in mind. We scratched our heads over examples that didn’t make sense (unless you’d already played the game) and, crucially, the rules never defined what “a round” was. Playing two cards, or exhausting all eight cards? At first we played it with the latter rule in mind until we realised that it’d never fit into the advertised 45-60 minute time limit, so we tried the former. Also, the illustrations, while very nice, were not very descriptive. The Tavern did not have any drunken people outside it, and the only animals near The Stables were pigs.

About halfway through, it started to make sense, and by the end Analysis Paralysis had kicked in, which at least meant we were on the right lines. Finally we decided we knew what we were doing as the final rounds played out. With an improbable score-chart busting 102-102 scoreline (since we'd effectively played six extra rounds. Sam won on a money tie-breaker) we decided to play again.

And we did, and it went a lot smoother. It still wasn’t the most user-friendly game ever designed. Part of the game relies on playing cards in order (like Citadels) but to find out the order, you have to refer to the rules. There is nothing on the cards to tell you. Similarly, the icons describing each card’s action are vague.

Nevertheless, with all this, it turned into a lovely game. Given the fact that it looks like a strategic beast when laid out on the table, it is very quick. Sort of deep, but light. This time, Sam won comfortably.

Sam 89
Andrew 72

For a game that is so quick, there’s plenty going on. Part of the game is to cash in on your opponents tactics, either by playing the Master Builder card (5 points for every building built by your opponent(s) on that round) or by claiming an end-of-game bonus that capitalises on their strategy. It’s quite cunning and simple. Far more so than the poor rule book indicated. We went from dismay and dismissal to interested and impressed before the evening was done.

And then we played Biblios. But not Extreme Biblios. Quiet, Contemplative Biblios with cheese on crackers with pickle and a bowl of grapes. Possibly, this is how Biblios is meant to be played. And it was close. I had a hand full of cards focusing on three dice, but ran out of money half way through the auction round. Would I have enough to see me through? I had no idea until the final reckoning.

Sam 10
Andrew 6

An evening to rekindle one’s interest in new games. Once you’re over that annoying hump of rule-learning, there are whole new vistas to explore! Maybe we can get Campaign to the table next? Or am I being too optimistic?