Merry Christmouse

Christmas comes round earlier each year, they say, and this year it came round at two o’clock in the afternoon. I arrived only a little late and found Laura (masked, overcautious, due to being a contact of a contact of a covid case, but asymptomatic (something like that, anyway)), Katy and host Sam. The first game was the Lateral Flow Test Game which has some pretty harsh player elimination rules for those who fail, but both Sam and I won so that was okay.

Our first real game was Whirling Witchcraft, a game I’d watched last week but couldn’t quite work out. It’s pretty simple: you have to keep using ingredients in your cauldron to make more ingredients, but the stuff you make ends up in your neighbour’s cauldron. If they can’t fit it in, then it comes back to you as points. There’s more to it than that but that’s the jist. 

We were mid-way through the first turn when Adam H arrived so we paused the game while he was given a rules explanation from Sam. Katy took the opportunity to indulge in some snack demolition, cleverly combining two separate snacks into a soft cheese and Japanese cracker sandwich.

Once Adam was up to speed, the game commenced and we swapped cubes with cheese-feulled abandon. Katy was first to reach four points, just one off the game winning total, but then she stalled and, two rounds later she found herself very disappointed with the final result, complaining that “all that cheese has gone to my head.”

Adam 8

Andrew 7

Sam 6

Katy 4

Laura 4

Next we played a co-op game: Siege Runedar, in which four players (Katy and Laura teamed up) try to escape from a castle that is under constant attack from orcs.

Before long we remembered why we rarely play co-op games, as failed dice rolls were greeted with sarcastic comments regarding the rollers suitably at orc-repelling. Adam was first to kill, but after that his luck ran out. Given his lack of fondness for dice rolling and co-op games we should have cut him a little slack. But we didn’t.

Mid-game Laura had to go somewhere and while she was away Katy kept the orcs at bay by herself, stating “Laura would be proud” after a particularly successful roll. Then we thought the game had ended, killed by a catapult while Katy was answering the front door, but we checked the rules and found that we’d been far too hard on ourselves: a quick reset and we recommenced.

We lasted long enough for Laura to return (in a new mask) but were soon in a hopeless situation, as we were only one mistake away from triggering any one of four of the game’s criteria for losing. In the end, the monster deck was exhausted, which did us in. Still, lots of fun.

I had to dash off at this point, promising to be back later. In my absence, more games hit the table...

They played Wavelength and got a world record [citation needed] 23 points. Ian won Tsuro, beating (in order of bestness) Adam, Katy, Sam and Laura. Sam won Heck Meck: Sam 7, Laura 6, Adam 4, Ian 1, Katy 0. Finally, Adam won Avenue: Adam 66, Katy 44, Ian 26.

By the time I get back it was 7.30 and Laura had gone, replaced by Martin and the aforementioned Ian. The next game had already been decided for me: Tinners' Trail, and I was up against Ian and Adam. Martin, Katy and Sam played Brian Boru, the game of medieval Irish matchmaking, or something.

In Cornwall, it had been so long since we last played that we had to reference the rule book several times. I started in audacious fashion by selling a pastie. Not sure if that’s a good move. Anyway, Adam bossed round one while Ian was king of the hill in round two. I was in dead last, worried that I might not even hit 54 points – the score you’d get if you only sold pasties all game. But I did have four mines on the board, compared to Adam and Ian’s two each.

Brian Boru was ticking along nicely. “It really builds up,” commented Martin. “Yeah,” agreed Sam, “as the board fills up, those high numbers become really important.” And then Martin said he was referring to the spicy crisps. Sam clarified he was merely externalizing his internal monologue rather than replying but, still, that’s one for the sitcom.

Back in Tinners' Trail I made a comeback of sorts (even getting past the 100 point on the money track), and I scored more in round four but by then the gap was too big to bridge. In the closing stages, Adam was convinced Ian had nabbed the win and he was surprised at his comfortable margin.

I am the Elon Musk of Cornish tin mining

Adam 148

Ian 135

Andrew 120

But if he was surprised by his win, then that was nothing compared to the surprise when cries for help emanated from the front room. Sam leapt into action and Adam followed. The rest of us stayed seated, not wanting to intrude, and soon found out that Sally had seen a mouse. Charlie the house cat, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen so Sam had to catch it. Which, amazingly, he did and he took it, in a cereal box, outside to the end of the garden.

What an exciting episode. And after that, he sat down and finished of Brian Boru. By now, Martin had married twice (Niall and Connell) while Sam bagged himself Estrid, Princess of Denmark but it didn’t seem to help him.

Martin 45

Katy 41

Sam 28

Getting ready for the quiz

Finally, with mice ejected and everyone calmed down, it was time for the annual Christmas quiz. With five of us, it didn’t make sense to split into teams so we sort answered as a co-op team. Round one was “Spot the fake BGG comment” which we did well at, detecting 7 out of 8. Sam simply doesn’t have the sort self-righteous stupidity that the true internet hermit possesses. Then we did a GNN round, based on the post-online meetings. I was surprised how much I couldn’t remember but it was nice to be reminded that “cock-flavoured sand” was once used in Wavelength as the Worst Thing To Put In Your Mouth.

With the quiz done, we played a couple of six-player games. First was So Clover. We got 32 and we could’ve done better with a little more thinking. Ian’s clue of “Webber” made us think of Formula One, but we really should have noticed “cat” and “theatre” to make us think of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Adam’s clue of “Fishnet” for “String” and “screen” was well received.

Martin's

Finally we played Texas Showdown. For a long time it looked like either Ian or Katy would be the ones to go past the game-ending score of ten tricks as the game was swiftly rechristened Texas Bullshit. But they both had good fourth rounds and the game went on long enough for Martin’s form to collapse. Meanwhile, Adam and I vied for first place until I got stung in round four meaning the final round was a cakewalk for Adam.

"The sphincter of safety" (c) Sam 2021

Adam 2

Andrew 5

Sam 9

Ian 11

Katy 11

Martin 12

And with that, Katy and I were done. And, after I came back from the toilet, I discovered that so was everyone else. But what a great day. Sorry that so many weren’t able to attend but there’s always next year. Or did I say that last year...?

Thanks Sam for hosting and quizzing. See you all soon.

I think we're not in Canvas any more

I rolled into Sam's place a little before 8 just as the already-full kitchen of gamers were finishing up Cross Clues. Andy, Martin, Ian, Katy, Adam H and Laura had joined our host. Adding me and an en route Joe, we would number nine in total. 

As we packed away Cross Clues (the score was 17) Martin suggested Biss 20 as a reasonable filler until Joe arrived. Adam had never played but since this is a game where you literally explain the rules as you go along, that wasn't a problem.

The game involves repeatedly counting from one to twenty with numbers slowly being replaced by gestures. Two of those gestures were folding your arms and shaking your head and since Andy was usually doing those things anyway, he did quite well. The game was fun, but there was a genuine cheer of relief when Joe's arrival meant we could play something else.

Katy, Ian, Joe, Martin and Laura played 49. A very interesting looking game that everyone wanted to try but it only plays up to five. It's basically four-in-a-row but you bid on the square available for auction. Katy seemed to be enjoying it even before the lid was off the box. Then she bamboozled everyone by taking green as her colour, giving us the rare sight of watching Martin playing in yellow. Curiously, Katy insisted her counters weren't green at all, more blue. Or teal.

The game was pretty raucous. Everyone except Martin had chances to win, while Martin seemed to spend too many moves stopping other people from winning. Laura was first to reach match point but got locked into a bidding war with Martin until they eventually decided to see how much money Laura had and if Martin could beat it. He could. Finally Katy won by buying a square for 177. And to think the first square only cost 8. Mind you, at when I heard someone mention 177, I had assumed they meant decibels.

At the sophisticated end of the table we played Canvas. In this simple game, you buy half finished paintings and then layer them up in order to achieve certain criteria, such as one of each colour or two triangles. Just like real art appreciation. 

I thought I was doing well, while Adam professed that he wasn't sure what he was doing. A bad sign if ever there was one. The game was sweet (with tiny wooden easles) and had certain role playing opportunities as we revealed our works complete with pompous name. 

Adam 44

Andy 37

Andrew 34

Sam 25

The night was still young but by now we’d already demolished four big bags of crisps as well as a number of tiny cup cakes.

My glass of sake, tiny easel and mini cup cake all made me feel like a giant.

The four of us had a quick game of Spicy to tide us over until 49 ended. I won thanks to clearing my cards at the end of the game to pick up a 10 point bonus.

Andrew 20

Sam 18

Adam 11

Andy 10

Then we all reorganised. Martin, Andy, Joe and Sam played Die Crew. Not sure which version and I’m not sure how far they got. Great blogging.

Katy was in need of some relaxation, so Tsuro was brought out again. Can’t say it was too relaxing, watching Adam win twice.

Adam

Katy

Ian 

Laura

Andrew

Adam

Andrew & Ian

Katy

Laura

Then came a quick game of Avenue before I left. Sam had to be parachuted in from Die Crew for rules explaining purposes, but we were mostly okay after that. Apart from Ian who had cut himself off by the end of round three. I, meanwhile, came tantalizingly close to glory.

Adam 52

Andrew 44

Katy 41

Ian 23

And so I dashed off at this point, with Adam heading out too. The rest, I am told, played Colt Express which Sam won narrowly…

And then another game of Cross Clues, with a (new high?) score of 23 points.

Thanks all. See you next tuesday.

 

Pyramid Schemes

"Sam's at seven thirty" was the call heeded by six over-excitable board gamers this week. Apart from Sam, there were Joe, Martin, Ian, Andy M, and me. Andy hadn't arrived when we were all around the table, so we avoided any awkward silences (or even more awkward conversations) with one round of Texas Showdown. It couldn't have been closer.

Sam 2
Andrew 2
Joe 2
Ian 3
Martin 3

With Andy's arrival, we split into two groups of three. Joe, Sam and Ian chose a new game, Welcome To Centerville. It is by GMT, the same company that gave us Time Of Crisis but, Joe assured everybody, not nearly as complicated.

Martin, Andy and I chose Azul. It was new to Andy but he'd seen it being played before and was intrigued. And so the kitchen hummed to the sound of two simultaneous rules explanations. One was somewhat shorter than the other and before to long, we'd made a start on Azul.

I got off to a flier because, being the starting player, I picked up a set of four with my first turn. A nice way to begin and one that Andy referenced whenever he played a spoiling move against me, saying he couldn't really forgive me for it.

We ploughed on amiably, and reached round three just as the other half of the table were beginning their game. I found Welcome To Centerville impenetrable, and couldn't follow their talk of benches and rivers. I was, however, very appreciative of the pitta crisps that Ian had brought.

Azul ended in the fifth round, and you can imagine my delight at the final scores.

Andrew 62
Martin 61
Andy 54

And well done to Andy on his debut. Last, but a decent haul of points.

When asked about their progress, Joe stated that they were about a third of the way through. In that case we chose a medium game, with Ra being the preferred option.

Another new game for Andy and he admitted little experience with auction games. In round one, Andy went big on monuments, I went for rivers and Martin had a little bit of everything thanks to a very lucky final auction when he was the only one left.

If that weren't enough, he began round two with tiles of 2-11-12-13. A fortunate situation. I broke out the wasabi crisps that Sam kept eating, just for the experience. There was also a moment of discomfort when Ian's and my hands touched as we both reached for crisps. We reacted like grown ups, though: swiftly retracting and saying "urgh!"

Ra ended with a bit of a trouncing. Much as I want to put it all down to luck, it probably isn't.

Martin 68
Andrew 40
Andy 31

Since Welcome To Centerville was only just entering the end-game (or "just-screw-me-over time," according to Ian) , we filled the time with a game of The Mind. We reached round five and my only notes about the game read "a very fraught experience."

Centerville finished...

Sam 105
Joe 57
Ian 55

What was Sam's secret? Hopefully he'll tell all in the comments.

Next, as a six, we went for Decrypto. Martin, Joe and Sam (team name: Prasynki (approx)) versus Ian, Andy and I (Up Yer Bum). Sam failed to tell an anecdote about his son since it involved a complicated four way conversation that he couldn't remember properly.

Round one, all clear. In round two our guesses were of an entirely speculative nature. 'Just throwing maggots in the river, " I said.

But then we made a mistake. Ian and I thought Andy's clue of "BMX" referred to "joy" when in fact it was "Extra Terrestrial" the film. You see.

But then they made a mistake! But then they got an interception. It was very close and required some deep thinking. Clue-giver Martin assured Joe that he had enough time to poo before the clues would be ready.

In round six, Up Yer Bum were finally discovered thanks to another interception and so our trans Europe network of spies was ruined. To make things worse Prasynki pretty much got each of our words while we were largely clueless about theirs. A sound beating.

Joe, Ian and Martin left but I was persuaded to stay for one more: Bandu. A typically tense affair with lots of "Bandu Breathing" (turning your head up and away to exhale after placing a particularly difficult piece).

I was just out first and then it was a ding-dong battle between Sam and Andy, involving extensive use of coins. Finally, Andy's edifice was the first to crumble.

1. Sam
2. Andy
3. Andrew

Finally, at 11.45pm, I left, but Sam and Andy had one more game in them. It was Avenue. I got a text the next day from Sam with the scores and the news that it ended at half past midnight. Amazing scenes.

Andy 52
Sam 33

Thanks all for another night of adventure.

Crisis of Time

Thursday, and Little Joe insisted on foregoing his bedtime story for a game with Andrew, so no sooner had he arrived than we played The Mind.

The first game was fairly disastrous, as we lurched from flippant to studious play and couldn't find a rhythm. We busted out on something like Level 4, before concentrating our brains and pulling off some high-five-worthy placements on our second attempt. We still didn't win, but Joe went to bed suitably sated, as the game of the moment shows no immediate sign of getting old.

I introduced Andrew to Space Base, which is a dice-chucking, luck-pushing, theme-pasted-on game somewhat reminiscent of Machi Koro. Each player begins with a base populated by twelve ships in bays 1-12, and on your turn you chuck dice and activate bays equal either to both die rolls individually, or the sum of them.

Then you can buy more ships, and 'deploy' the old ship from the bay. Deployed ships get you nothing on your turn, but get you stuff when any opponent rolls their number - so as the game continues and everyone deploys more and more ships, your inactive turns get increasingly rewarding. You can also buy some colony ships that clog up your bays, but score you points - first to 40 wins.

It's extremely fast-moving and I enjoyed it a lot, despite the fact I made a crucial error in passing up the chance to win - Andrew took full advantage:

Andrew 40
Sam 36

We hemmed and hawed over what to play next before deciding to finish off T.I.M.E Stories...

SPOILER ALERT

Sent back in time to solve a mystery and prevent a rupture in the fabric of continuity, we take on the host bodies of some lunatics at a mental asylum. Having made the journey thrice before, we were familiar with the majority of locations, but weren't quite sure how to piece the puzzle together. Not wanting to having to go through this all again, we afforded ourselves twice as much time units as the game officially gives you, and blasted through the place at a rate of knots, discovering all manner of unworldly creatures and a dark, macabre plot, that we eventually foiled by virtue of cheating. 

As I said to Andrew, I've never known a game to be so gripping on a first play and then drop so rapidly to unengaging. I'm still surprised by it's high rating on BGG considering how the game is structured - you fail, and start again, going to the same locations and having the same experiences... then fail, and start again. And again, and again, until you finally complete the game without running out of time units. It's beautifully made, but God, four plays was enough.

Andrew and Sam save the world.

We finished off with Avenue, the roll-and-write game of grape gathering and gathering frustration. This outdoes NMBR9 and Take It Easy in terms of getting ones' hopes up only to torpedo them in spectacular style. I still can't get over the fact Joe created one single avenue on his very first play... I tried that again tonight, and failed miserably!

Andrew 41
Sam 36

Thanks Andrew! Looking forward to The Mind, Space Base and Avenue again. Looking forward to selling or trading TIME Stories...

Pie Faces

This week me and the boys spent a few days with Mark and Katie and their girls in Devon, with Sal joining us at the weekend. We arrived on Peppa's birthday!

eleven!

This meant that as well as the fresh sea air and salty breeze, there was also the occasional whiff of cardboard and margaritas, with Animals on Board hitting the table a few times, as well as Avenue, Heck Meck, Fuji Flush, and numerous plays of Insider, with Stan effortlessly deflecting attention when he was the insider. I was the insider twice and although I was collared in my first attempt, I successfully implicated a nearby infant in my second.

waves were great

Mark and I played Flamme Rouge with Peppa as well, which we both enjoy a lot - and Formula D also hit the table. Burgle Bros got played three times - a co-op where you attempt to pull off the heist of three safes on three floors of a building. Twice we failed, but on our third attempt Peppa, Stan and I made off with the loot - which happened to be a cat, if I recall. We had some gold bars too, but dropped them.

cheery burglars

At the end of the week everyone sat down to play Pie Face, the brilliantly-titled game of getting hit in the face with whipped cream. The cream goes onto a lever, you place your face in the target - there'c a chin rest - and then spin a wheel which denotes how many times you crank the lever.

pie....

At some point the lever will crank too far and spring up, depositing its load into your mush. But it's not a case of cranking too far, as sometimes it will spring up first time (as it did with me).

...face!

Katie actually wore swimming goggles to play, and I have photographic evidence. But I promised I wouldn't post it.

Lucky

I think everyone bar Joe and Lula took a hit. Joe, in fact, decided early on that Pie Face was an activity best observed rather than indulged. He might be right, but all the same - a lovely end to a lovely week. The view from the cabin was amazing.

complete with tiny man walking along balcony

Yokohama Tires

This weeks' Tuesday shenanigans were hit by late dropouts due to work and illness, with Andrew, Matt and Ian all belatedly unable to furnish us with their presence at Hannah and Adam's house. Nonetheless we were still a six, with Adam, Katy and Joe (who drove me there in his new car) setting up Yokohama on the big table, and Hannah, Martin and myself (Sam) set up Martin's new acquisition Medici the Card Game on the coffee table.

The card game is unsurprisingly reminiscent of the original Medici - players spend each of the three rounds filling their boats and scoring for boat value, plus the set collection. Unlike Medici there is no bidding - the push your luck comes from flipping cards, as you can take up to three from the communal area, but must always take the last card you flipped. There are also some rogue cards mixed in that help with either boat value or your sets, but take up no space in the boat.

It was a pleasant enough game - I kind of missed the bidding of Medici. But then I didn't miss Medici's terrible board. I'd play it again, and hopefully slightly better:

Martin 130
Hannah 120
Sam 105

Yokohama was still going strong...

...so we moved swiftly on to The Quest for Eldorado, Reiner Knizia's card-drafting game. This was new to Hannah but she took to it as one might expect - surging off into the lead - the caveat of course being a geographic lead can be overhauled with a couple of decent rounds with decent cards.

Early on I felt stranded next to a cave, taking three whole turns without being able to move even a single hex. But I twice dumped cards from my hand to finesse my deck a little, and this turned out to be my saving grace; in the latter part of the game I sped past both Hannah and Martin to claim the win. Though it must be said, if Martin had remembered to use one of his cave tiles at the optimum moment, it could have been very different...

Sam: wins!
Martin and Hannah - too close to call second

With Hannah tiring, and Yokohama still yet to finish, we blasted through a quick game of Eggs of Ostrich. I picked up the win thanks to a golden egg, and Martin's burst sack:

Sam 12
Hannah 10
Martin 7

Before Hannah said goodnight, with Yokohama still unfinished.

But much table-talk was breaking out over, among other things, Katy's insistence over scoring the whole game before she took her final turn. She pointed out that it might affect what she did with that turn. Joe and Adam got up and wandered around the house. Martin and I played two-player Azul, and I realised that the next time I play it, I really don't want to sit to Martin's left:

Martin 72
Sam 48

Which lasted long enough for Yokohama to finish! And what a finish it was, it literally could not have been any closer without resorting to tie-breakers.

Joe 107
Katy 106
Adam 105

I'm not sure what tie-breakers are in Yokohama. Last one up the stairs?

They also bashed out a rapid game of Eggs of Ostrich, ignoring Martin's cries of "It's finished! It's finished!" as he packed away Azul. There was still much debate over the relative value of Yokohama, with Katy swinging from declaring that she would never play it again to suggesting perhaps it was best with two. "Or none?" suggested Martin, before adding that Yokohama's relative value might be discovered in its combustive powers.

Our gaming nightcap was Avenue, which Adam didn't look massively enthused about playing. But it played five relatively quickly and would allow him to go to bed relatively quickly too, so he succumbed. He needn't have worried - while much teeth-gnashing was going on all around the table, Adam sailed to an absolute trouncing, racking up a score I think may stand as an Avenue record for a good while:

Adam 133
Sam 59
Martin 51
Katy 45
Joe 40

And with that, another GNN night drew to a close, with Martin weaving his way home happy with a Huddersfield victory and Katy and I treated to another lift from Joe. Amazing leg room in the back of that car.

From Mr Kepler to Mr Biblios

Andrew had been tempted enough by Kepler 3042 to wander over this evening and try it out. As explained in the previous post, it's a non-combative space exploration game where you're managing three resources - matter, anti-matter and energy - to facilitate the spread of your culture around the galaxy. The catch is no matter how widely spread you get, your resources are on rotation, and spending them on the juicy 'secondary' actions (cheaper than the main actions) removes them from the game.

space!

I went through the rules and by 8.15 we were settled in for the long haul. But by 9.15 we were done! There are 16 rounds, but you only take a maximum of two actions in every round - usually one - and by the time we were sailing across the firmament. terraforming and whatnot, the final rounds were closing in.

tech!

We'd played it with the kind of lassez faire I imagine one doesn't see too often at NASA, and it showed in our frankly dreadful scores:

Sam 17
Andrew 15

Which was abut half the points I managed playing with Dirk when I was feverish and hallucinatory. It's not a game where you're pull off any dazzling moves, however. The grinding of gears reminded me of distant times playing Year of the Dragon - Kepler isn't as fire-fighty as that, but you certainly get the sense of progress moving in tiny increments.

And the kindest conclusion is that the jury is still out. It did give the space flavour in a digestible bite-sized chunk, and has a clever mechanic at its heart. But it lacked the combative spice of Quantum, Ascending Empires or Eclipse. And it didn't even have the vaguely-anguished, occasionally funny luck-pushing of Cosmic Run.

We packed it away pleased the hour was early enough to play Rajas of the Ganges, mine and Andrew's current favourite - or one of them. Last time Andrew blitzed me and I was out for vengeance, inasmuch as one can seek vengeance via the medium of worker-placement.

Rajas!

He began strongly but realised a few rounds in he'd build no markets in his province. Conversely I was picking up 8 coins every round, and despite some late game jiggery-pokery, overhauled him on the fame track to claim the win!

Sam is best Raja.
Andrew is second-best Raja.

We blasted through two quick games to finish - firstly Avenue, which I won by 55 points to 14. Andrew, perversely, was keen his score be the worst ever, but checking through the completed scores we saw that I'd actually managed zero before. Sorry!

Then we played Biblios! And I ate shit no less than four times, once via my very own spoon.

shit!

I usually begin Biblios confident that I'm in with a shout at least, but halfway through the game I could feel it slipping away from me. I only had one die in the bag and Andrew had stopped even bidding on anything. It was a whitewash!

Andrew 14
Sam 5

burnt

And Mr Endersby walked away as Mr Biblios. A very enjoyable evening, despite the inscrutability of Kepler!