French Leave

The French odyssey is over, and it was an awesome holiday.

Tornadoes, blackouts, underground troglodyte farms - and lots and lots of wine, food and swimming. With the odd game thrown in. Just to paint the complete picture, Charlotte and I and our three girls aged 14, 11 and 9 were on holiday with our friends Henry and Rachel, and their three girls who are of similar ages.

Henry and I played a total of 73 games over the course of the two weeks - spread across 20 different titles. The majority of these were two-player, but almost every evening brought with it willing participants of various ages and sizes.

The big hit across both families was The Resistance. The kids would have happily played it every night, though a couple of days into the holiday it's charms had worn thin amongst the grown-ups - in fact Charlotte and Rachel both professed a hatred of bluffing and declined to play at all. They did play a 6 player Panic on Wall Street with us and the two eldest girls, and whilst the girls loved it and were keen to play again, both the mums disliked the mathsy aspect.

So here's a rundown of the games we played, in no particular order. The number in brackets is the number of times we played . . .

Targi (2)

It's a solid, enjoyable game - it just runs a little too long given the amount of luck involved.

Taluva (6)

All our games were two-player, which I think is the best number for pure strategy. Taluva is a real winner - looks gorgeous, almost no set-up time, and plays in about 15 minutes.

Caylus (2)

This top and tailed the holiday for Henry and me. We played on the first day in Najac, having stopped in Caylus itself on our way down, a very pretty medieval village. I thought I might be able to get a Caylus (the place) t-shirt there, but to no avail - no-one had built the t-shirt shop.

Henry won both games - the first was pretty close, the second I was completely trounced - but in my defence I was tired and forgot that building buildings was an important part of winning.

Hammer of the Scots (2)

Henry won both of these, the first as the Scots, the second as the English. And both times by killing my king in battle! It's a brilliant game, one that could easily fit into a tuesday night if a two-player game was required.

Warriors of God (2)

This was my game of the holiday, and not just because I won both games. It's been sitting on the shelf for over a year, unplayed, since I got it in a trade. A huge, epic board, and an epic narrative - the Hundred Years War between the English and French. There are two scenarios, and we played both; the differences rules-wise are negligible, but they deal with different periods of history, so you get different leaders (Robin Hood comes in to play in the Lion in Winter scenario).

It's brilliantly thematic, and chaotic - each turn your leaders get a little older, and eventually die - sometimes leaving huge swathes of troops to be snapped up by an opposing leader. I think the main reason it's not played more is that it is very long for a game with so much chaos and chance; but I would say it's the most fun war game I've played.

Race for the Galaxy (21)

The numbers say it all - this turned out to be the go-to short game of the holiday, when we had a spare half-hour. We even played at the poolside, and on the ferry. All this despite an inauspicious start. Henry hadn't played before, and wasn't enamoured after a first go. The off-putting iconography and slightly obtuse strategy certainly deserve their reputation.

But to Henry's credit, he agreed to try it a couple more times, and perhaps warmed to it a little more. We then got hooked on St Malo, which is much more instantly graspable, and so for a few days that was our short game of choice. But after 7 games, we both felt we had plumbed it's depths, and Race for the Galaxy seemed to offer a more substantial challenge. There's a real pleasure in getting a little engine running in this game, more so I think than with San Juan, it's earth-bound spiritual brother. So each game is different, and once you begin to know what cards are out there, you can really start to strategise.

I won all but five of the games of Race, though they were mostly extremely close, and Henry had begun to take the odd game off me towards the end. Amazing that it really does hold up - 21 games with just the base set and I'd happily play many more. I regret trading away the first expansion, The Gathering Storm - I don't think it needs the added complication of war, but the extra start worlds and 6-point developments would be fun to play with.

Saint Malo (7)

As mentioned above, this is a brilliantly quick little two-player; it shares a lot with Roll Through the Ages, and I think ultimately suffers that game's same lack of strategic depth. None the less a delightful little charmer, and actually one with a directly competitive edge - should you notice that your opponent hasn't built up as many defences as you, you can actively choose to keep the pirates, handing your opponent -5 points.

Modern Art (1)

We played this once, the four adults with Matilda and Flo as a fifth player. They bid recklessly on everything, handing huge wedges of cash to all the other players, but at least they did so fairly evenly. It's a game that works best when everyone has a firm grasp of the internal economy, and one I'm always happy to play.

Magical Athlete (2)

Henry and I played this with Bea and Flo, and really enjoyed it. We gave it a second outing with Martha and Dot as well, and it was very stressful - the Philosopher/Demon creating an infinite loop with their powers, and sparking some interesting philosophical debate. It's interesting that everyone's first game of this seems to be delightful, and the second deeply harrowing, making a third very unlikely.

Twilight Struggle (2)

Two great games of Twilight, with the first ending in an early war victory for the Russians, the second a mid-war victory for the US (or was it the other way round?) Either way, I won both, mwahahahaha. A great great game, deserving of it's number one spot on the Geek. It's quite a serious game, I suppose, and one I have to be in the mood for, but such mind games, and so thematic. I've said it many times before, but this one doesn't need to be feared - it's not heavy and difficult to learn.

Vegas (4)

Vegas went down well with Rachel and Charlotte, and with the eldest girls too. Perfect for when everyone wanted to play but couldn't face a big game. Sooo much luck, and yet such fun - it really got me thinking about those two things.

Cartegena (1)

Staying in a little village,with nothing but a bar and a small local Epicerie, we didn't expect to find many opportunities for buying new games. But every wednesday evening in Najac there's a night market, and would you believe it - a stall selling games. Proper games! Quite a few titles I hadn't seen before, and a few we already had, and nestled amongst them, Cartegena. Henry bought a second-hand copy in Area 51 last time he was here, but forgot to take it with him to France, so I grabbed the copy on display. We played a three-hander, and it's a very neat little game (from what Sam says it may be one some of you have played, as Jon B may have a copy).

7 Wonders (5)

This was the four-player grown-up hit of the holiday, although it almost didn't happen, Charlotte and rachel both glazing over mid-way through the rules explanation. But they soldiered on, and as soon as we scored up the first game it clicked. I was really interested in Charlotte's take on it - she kept wanting advice on which card to play, professing not to know which was better. I was struck by this, because that 'difficult decision' thing is a key part of what we gamers actively enjoy, demand even, from our games. But for Cha it just produced stress.

Settlers of Catan (1)

For old times sake we played Settlers, and despite it's age and lopsidedness, Cha proclaimed it still her favourite game - the one where she know's exactly what she's doing. None of us really wanted to play a second time though, especially Henry, who suffered the way one person usually does in every game. And Rachel won, though Charlotte was right behind her, and I wasn't far off myself.

A few games of Incan Gold and Love Letter got played, and Henry picked up a nice copy of 6 Nimmt in a tin from a French toy shop. At the same shop I got Dobble, which was a huge hit with the kids, and is a brilliant matching/dexterity game. Everyone has a stack of cards with a variety of symbols on them to get rid of, and play cards on to a central discard by matching a symbol with one on the top card of the discards. But the real puzzle is the maths - each of the 55 cards contains 8 of an available 50 symbols, and shares one and only one symbol with every other card. How do they do that then? It's the sort of thing that you think might make a good game, only to decide that it's physically impossible and give up. But it seems it isn't. It's just very, very complicated.

And let's spare a thought for the few games that didn't get played: Tichu, Chronicle and Hanabi; Glory to Rome hit the table and got packed away seconds later. And Henry and I played 3 rounds of Through the Ages, before collapsing into lethargy at the fiddliness of it all. Actually I know that's a barrier to entry that can be hurdled with that game, but Henry had been so gracious in learning Race for the Galaxy against his better judgement that I felt I owed him a break. Oh and he had brought, from his attic, a very old game called Sorcerer's Cave, where you lay tiles and explore a dungeon. He'd never played it, and we gave it a shot. He got killed by a dragon after three moves, and we decided it hadn't stood the test of time.

JB

Hammer of the Peckhamites

Whilst a number of the other GNNers were cavorting down south on friday, my family and I headed east to London, to stay with our friends Henry and Rachel and their three girls in Peckham.
After catching up and eating and getting drunk no-one was in the mood to learn rules, so we opted for our four-player favourite, Lords of Vegas.

I sped in to the lead on account of my brown casinos paying out multiple times, but then found myself floundering as the others caught up and overtook me. It was a tense, taut game, and it ended as it so often does, with the feeling that one player had it sown up, but that a couple of extra rounds could have changed the landscape considerably. As it was Henry was the clear victor, and I think I was third or fourth.

On saturday, Henry was keen to sample the various new games I'd brought along, and we played three games of Battle for Hill 218 followed by Traders of Carthage. Hill 218 is a brilliantly clever and unique WW2 card game where you try and creep round the titular hill (titular hill?) to infiltrate your opponent's base whilst they do the same to you. There's no bluffing, just alternate playing of different types of troops, and Henry took to it in an instant, winning the first game. I can't remember who won after that, but then we tried out Traders, last played by Andrew and me at Stabcon in Jan. I like it a lot, though it feels slightly odd going from two-player direct confrontation to the more oblique passive-aggressive euro tactics, and as soon as we finished we broke out Hammer of the Scots.

This seminal block war game from Columbia Games sees Edward Longshanks attempting to quash the Scottish rebellion fronted by William Wallace - I was the english, Henry the scots.
We both needed a rules refresher, and it is brilliantly simple for a war game, though there were a fair few visits to the rule book throughout.
Despite a strong opening couple of rounds, by round four Wallace was dead, and Henry, unable to crown a scottish king or send in the french knights, was on the back foot. I had learned an important tactic since our first game last year, that the English infantry and knights raised each turn need to be brought up and used to soften the scots, since they return to England each winter. This realisation formed the backbone of my strategy, and the game was over within six or seven rounds, unlike the last game which went the distance. It is a real classic, this one, and I can't wait to play again.

Playing in the kitchen whilst overseeing cheese toasties for ten! Truly heroic.

It's all but over for the Scots now . . .

After a brief sojourn into the freezing rain, we set up Commands and Colours: Ancients. Henry and I played this once in Wales last year, but after that stuck to old favourite Manoeuvre. Having re-discovered its charms recently I was keen to have another go.
We played Tacinus River, the same scenario Adam and I played a fortnight or so ago, and this time it was a decided victory for me, winning both games 6-4 and 6-3. I think Henry enjoyed it, and suggested  he'd like to play a different scenario next time.
Matilda had been itching to play Coup all weekend, and so we then played four four-player games back to back - this is a real favourite with my girls, and Henry's eldest two really enjoyed it. Can't remember exactly who won, but I think it was a different person each time.

My sister and her partner joined us for a fabulous dinner, but despite Henry's best efforts, were too exhausted to play a game, so that was it for Saturday.

Sunday was fairly busy, but my two eldest had been introduced to Pandemic by Henry and Rachel's girls, and I think they played four times over the weekend. I'm thrilled about this, since I've been thinking it would be a good one to play with them myself, but selling the theme would be an uphill struggle. Now they know they like it I expect we will get to play soon!

Around lunch time, Henry and I managed to find time to play 7 player Incan Gold with the girls, followed by four games of The Resistance. The latter was a real hit - all four games went to the resistance, which I felt bucked the trend, though I might be wrong.

Henry and I then played a best of three return to Hill 218, and then, whilst dinner was cooking, tried out String Railways. Despite it's uniqueness this hasn't seen a lot of play, and this was only my second game. In the two player game each person takes two colours, the best single colour wins. It was fun, but the best bit remains the emergent 'artwork' you end up with . . .

I love the way you can discern each player's strategy from
the final 'board'.

A grand weekend, and lovely that our kids went off and played by themselves too, racking up the afore-mentioned Pandemic, plus Shadows in the Woods, Coup and (I think) Zombies, alongside the games they played with us. JB

Berger update part 2

Unbowed by our late-night Twilight Struggle, Henry and I continued our mini game-a-thon on Monday morning, while the rest of the household gradually woke and brunched. Henry wanted a TS rematched, but graciously agreed to test out Hammer of the Scots with me, a block war-game based on the Scottish rebellion of the 1290s.

I had bought it when we were in Scotland on holiday, and it's previous outing is detailed elsewhere in this blog (or perhaps in the comments). Having now played it, I can see it wasn't going to work for Charlotte, but it is an excellent game. Each sides pieces face the player in question, so whilst you might be able to see forces amassing, you can't be really sure of how strong they are until you engage in battle. We played the Braveheart scenario, which is 9 turns, Henry as the Scots and me as Edward I, trying to pin down Wallace and the rebelling nobles.
Despite our inexperience, it's a very smooth playing game, and the ebb and flow of fortune was fascinating - at one point it looked as though the Scots would overwhelm the English - a turn later and the tables were well and truly turned.

The winner is the one with the majority of nobles on his side at the end, and the English win a tie if Wallace is dead or off the board. Sure enough we tied, and I was convinced Henry had won. In fact it turned out Wallace, who I'd been desperately trying to root out all game, had been taken off the board during a wintering round, and was languishing face down in the pool (the pool of available pieces, but the analogy holds), giving me the win.Great game, would love to play again - I'll bring it along to Septcon in case anyone fancies a bit of 2 player kilt-waving.

We squeezed in a quick game of Mr Jack (Henry's first - he won as Jack!), and then laid down sour gaming tools in order to be sociable and cook some food. But once the meal was over and the kids happily ensconced in The Incredible Hulk, more games hit the table. The four of us played two games of 10 Days in Africa, which feels quite different to its European counterpart. Charlotte won one I think, and I won one.
During those games, Henry had begun discussing an unholy idea: a couples game of Twilight Struggle. And more incredibly, Charlotte had assented. If it all sounds a bit pampas grass/bowl of car keys, it did feel a little bit like we'd strayed into odd territory. Luckily I had enough remaining faculties to realise that it would be impossible to explain the game to our respective spouses whilst trying to play against each other, and that, more importantly, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun as Lords of Vegas.

So we played Lords of Vegas again. I had some early luck, and it looked as though I would run away with the game. Charlotte looked to be in particularly poor shape, still waiting for a single point when the rest of us had got to the 10 point mark. But the great thing about Vegas is the reversals of fortune, and as the game came to a close it was a three horse race between Charlotte, Henry and me. In the end, Charlotte raced ahead by 6 points, with Henry and I joint second again - this time Rachel trailing in las place.

By this time it was nearly 1am, but Henry was hardly going to let the game-a-thon end without a Twilight Struggle rematch, so we made cups of tea, took neurone to fight off the encroaching hangovers, and waded in. This time I was the US, and had learnt from Henry's experience of the night before. I knew I needed to hold of the USSR until well into the mid-war, and I managed to do it. By turn six it was clear we were in for the long haul, and called it a night.

This morning  we returned to the board, and embarked on round seven. I looked at my hand and saw that I had the Europe scoring card, which can win you the game if you control Europe when it is played. I only needed to shore up Poland and East Germany before playing the card and I would, for the first time, win the game as the US. But surely Henry would see my plans and stop me. Fortunately for me, he was holding the Asia scoring card, which not only took his mind off things closer to home, but crucially had to be played at some point rather than playing an ops card. This meant that even when he spotted my plan, I was able, with the help of a couple of lucky high value ops point cards, to keep the pressure on. Before the round was out, I had complete control of Europe and won the game.

We both regretted not pushing on last night, since it turned out we were so close to the end, though I was so exhausted I may well have misplayed my hand, allowing the game to drift on in to the later rounds. Twilight Struggle is epic, awesome and deceptively simple - very very deserving of it's sometime number one ranking on the Geek.

We just had time to play a quick game of Manouevre before Henry and Rachel returned to London - Henry's Prussians beating my Spanish by a whisker, just a card away from nightfall.

A lovely weekend of gaming, more than making up for missing out on saturday's Shogunnigans and regular GNN games night tonight - and a special commendation for Charlotte for being such a good sport, given her natural antipathy for the gentle art of cubes and cardboard. I couldn't ask for more! JB