A Curate's Egg

Last night was my first Tuesday night games after a fortnight's absence - that's three nights in a single sentence! Ok, four.

Photos will be in short supply I'm afraid, as I didn't take any - maybe Sam can slot some in. But I'll add a cartoon called True Humility, by George Du Maurier, originally published in Punch in 1895.

Bishop: "I'm afraid you've got a bad egg, Mr Jones"; Curate: "Oh, no, my Lord, I assure you that parts of it are excellent!"

This cartoon was sooooo funny in 1895 that it gave rise to the expression 'A Curate's Egg' used to describe something that is both good and bad. What passes for hysterical may have substantially changed in the intervening century, but the euphemism is going strong.

Five of us were ranged around my kitchen table; I was joined by Sam, Ian, Martin and finally Andy B. On my request, Sam had brought Space Base, which I was keen to try - In an email earlier that day, Martin had ladled luke-warm praise on it by quoting mediocre comments from BGG, but I for one was unperturbed. While we waited for Andy, we decided to roll out a quick Knister...

This is the roll-and-write game of a 5 x 5 grid of squares which you fill in with numbers from a pair of dice, hoping to form decent poker hands. My first game, and I liked it. That agonising Take It Easy feeling of needing (and failing to achieve) just the right number to pull off a big score, but without the triple-figure addition and GNN standard bingo-calling. In fact Andy arrived just as we were about to start, so we all played, and Andy took us to the cleaners. Points are good.

Andy 65
Sam 47
Joe 41
Ian 39
Martin 34

We decided that Space Base with 5 players was worth a shot, and Sam began setting up. Almost at once my doorbell rang - the latest in a line of interruptions that included Sybil farting, Sybil scratching to be let out and Sybil scratching to be let in. By the time I rejoined the table I felt I'd missed some valuable part of the explanation - or perhaps it was the riot of primary colour on the table - either way I was discombobulated. Everyone reassured me that I'd missed nothing, we got underway and I gradually regained my composure.

It's been called Machi Koro in space, and I can see the similarities. Everyone starts with similar bases numbered 1 to 12, and on your turn you're rolling a pair of dice (the second game in a row we'd played where was the main mechanism, as Martin noted), and activating ships in those bases. Or adding the two dice together and activating that one base. Most starting ships give you money, or income, and you use this to buy better ships, from an offer a little like that in Splendor; three rows of increasingly expensive and powerful ships. There's even one, as Sam mentioned, that lets you instantly win the game once you've activated it a few times. As you replace ships on your bases, you gain abilities that can be activated on the other players' rolls. Unless you're Ian, who was dogged by rolls that he couldn't use.

taken earlier

There were a few instances of confusion with the iconography, and the rulebook stayed in play for most of the game - Martin was appalled by the size of it for such a simple game, and also by the typos. Meanwhile Andy had spotted and exploited an interesting strategy - chaining powers that let him activate the ship next highest up. With his 8 to 11 bays stocked with these, any roll from 7 upwards would allow him to activate his 12 bay. Now all he needed was a 12 ship worth all that effort. And right on queue, the ship Sam had mentioned that lets you instantly win the game popped up. And Andy duly bought it. This essentially put a three round timer on the game, and we all began scrabbling for as many points as possible. There was a slim chance that Andy wouldn't get the roll he needed, but he got it.

We all agreed that the sweet spot would be three players, and it was to long and overpowered with five. Sam and I both liked it, not sure about Ian and Andy. Martin said he enjoyed the company, so parts of it were excellent; like the Curate's Egg. Points are good.

Andy WIN
Martin 31
Sam 27
Joe 20
Ian 6

We packed Space Base off to Uranus, and decided on a game of Texas Showdown next - another that's been detailed elsewhere on the blog recently, but was new to me. I love card games, and this one had a similar feeling to Voodoo Prince - good with five, tricks are bad and all that jazz.
During the game I decided to make nuts. Walnuts dry-roasted in a pan, then doused with salt water and dusted with smoked paprika once they've dried. I'll make them again, but next time I'll pop them in a hot oven to crisp up again after the water, and I won't add as much salt - Ian found them too salty, having run out of beer. Like a trusty Saint Bernard Sam produced a bottle of San Miguel from his bag to quench Ian's thirst, and we got back to finishing Texas Showdown. Points are bad.

Martin 8
Sam/Andy 9
Joe 10
Ian 12

artist's impression of my nuts

Everyone graciously agreed to try out a recent acquisition of mine, a little card game by Wolfgang Kramer and friends called Fat Fish. No one had ever heard of it, and we felt afterwards there may be a reason for that. Players lay cards to a single row in the offer of three - following some faintly convoluted rules. If a row has five cards you have to take it, a la 6 Nimmt, and score one of each colour from it - any duplicate colours score you minus points. There's a fiasco card that nets -5 to the latest player to not be able to follow the rules regarding card placement - an addition which strikes me as an act of desperation on the part of the designers: "The game's too confusing. We could simplify it, or... we could add a card that penalises players for being confused!" Trouble was it wasn't quite confusing enough to make it funny, and by the time the fiasco card was with me, everyone had worked out how to play.

It was "Not an instant classic", as Martin pointed out. It would be better with three, but far too chaotic with five, and not enough agency for players to feel in control. I'd like to play again with three, but for now, we stopped after a single round. Points are good and bad. Like the Curate's Egg.

Andy 29
Joe 21
Sam 16
Martin 6
Ian 4

Sam decided to make that his last game of the evening, having a very early start to London the next day - we remaining four cast about for a final bit of fun, and settled on Krass Kariert.
It was Andy's inaugural play, and we all enjoyed it. Making pairs, runs and triples is satisfying, particularly with the puzzle of not being allowed to reorder your hand. Of Martin's recent card game acquisitions it's probably my favourite - though I didn't warm to it as instantly as Zero Down, it's got a bit more depth.
In this game there are no points, just lives. And Ian ran out of lives before the rest of us.

Ian 0
Martin 1
Andy/Joe 2

We called it a night, and it was a most enjoyable one. Not a Curate's Egg at all - wholly excellent.

Yellow River Blues

This week's games night occurred in a whirl of domestic activity as Sam's son, Stanley, was preparing for a camping trip the next day. As such we (Sam, Martin, Ian, me and Sam's other son, Joe) played a game of Fuji Flush, sharing the table with piles of carefully chosen clothes and a check list.

The game itself was unaffected. We started with the traditional "all play twos" opening, which was followed by the just as traditional spoiling move, as Sam swept them all aside with a nine. We got our revenge, though, as we proceeded to play four threes, to beat his nine.

In the end, it was between me and Joe, both on one card. I was lucky enough to piggy-back onto a couple of sixes for a win. I commented that Fuji Flush was one of the few games I am actually good at, and since Martin asked to see the division, here it is.

A bit closer than I had imagined, but in terms of wins, I'm in a clear lead. Hooray!

Then the four grown ups played another short game in anticipation of two more gamers. We chose Knister, the dicey Take It Easy. Last time, the dice kept almost exclusively to values between five and nine. This time we had twos and twelves, with proper agonized groaning over where to put things.

Sam's son, Joe, had been a spectator for most of the game until the last roll of the dice. Sam handed them to his son and asked for a six. Joe rolled them and it was a six! Good for me, but pretty much life-changing for Sam, as that one roll netted him twenty or so points.

Sam 73
Martin 50
Andrew 42
Ian 24

During this game, Andy and newcomer Laura arrived. With Joe otherwise occupied with getting ready for bed and finding his brother's hat, the six of us sat down for the next game.

We chose Texas Showdown, and after a rules explanation for the debutants, we were off. Laura found herself perhaps thrown by the idea of not winning tricks and by the time she'd got used to it, she found herself on the wrong end of five tricks in round one.

Suffering a similar fate in round two was Martin, who was dealt a hand with the highest cards in five of the eight suits. I, on the other hand, went through round one and two without picking up a single trick. Meanwhile, Ian went clear in round three. Andy hit a bad patch in round three to ruin his chances, and Sam was quietly efficient throughout.

Andrew 2
Sam 5
Ian 6
Andy 7
Laura 10
Martin 10

At this point, we split into two groups. Sam and Laura were going to play Azul while Martin and I favoured Yellow And Yangtze, the new Knizia, not even released yet. Ian and Andy both claimed to be fine with either choice but when Y&Y was described as a game similar to Tigris And Euphrates, a game Andy doesn't care for at all, Ian graciously chose the heavier option.

Since Martin's pre-release copy didn't come with its own bag for drawing tiles, he had to use the one from the copy of Azul Martin had brought with him. With a genuine Azul draw bag on the table as well, we had to make sure we didn't pick up the wrong one.

Since I was concentrating on Y&Y, I didn't really follow Azul, apart from noting Sam's apology mid-game for "congregating the blues".

Andy 79
Sam 50
Laura 36

Then they played Heck Meck/Pickomino as a light game to end Laura's evening.

I noticed Sam's remarkable pile of tiles had been whittled away by the end of the game, but not enough for either of his opponents to stop him from winning.

Sam 12
Andy 7
Laura 2

After Laura had left, Sam and Andy filled the time until the end of Yellow And Yangtze with two games. The first was Letter Tycoon. Sam cautiously asked Andy if he liked word games and got the reply that it depends what they're like. Judging by the scores, Andy liked it enough to push Sam to the end.

Sam 54
Andy 53

Then they set up a game of Santorini which, I believe (but I may be wrong), that Sam won.

As for us, Martin had talked us through the rules and even started the game so us two could see what an opening move looked like.

It is, mostly, Tigris And Euphrates on a hexagonal grid as opposed to squares, but I found my limited experience no advantage over the total newbie Ian. He complained he had no idea what he was doing at a time when he owned two pagodas to my none. And shortly after, he stumbled upon the tactic of placing tiles to force wars between the three of us, just to change things around a bit.

Martin seemed to struggle with trying to not think about it like Tigris And Euphrates. But I think the basic similarities helped him more than hindered him.

It was close in the end. Martin said he was about to make a move to swing things decisively in his favour when warmaker Ian messed things up.

Martin 14
Ian 13
Andrew 9

Finally we all got together for a game of Voodoo Prince. Initially, we said we'd only play three rounds but halfway through we all decided to play the full five.

In round one, Sam went out second from last with a flurry of trump cards, leaving Andy with just one point for that round.

In round two, we were all on two tricks at one point. The final two players in were Ian and Martin. Ian played a 13 purple and a relieved Martin out down a 14 purple to win the that all important third trick.

However, in the next round, Martin crashed out early when we let him win a trick with a seven card, netting him two tricks for the price of one. At the end of that round Sam had a commanding lead, which may be why he was out first in round four.

In round five, Sam, me and Martin had a chance of winning but Sam smartly cashed out late enough to consolidate his lead.

Sam 41
Andrew 40
Martin 38
Ian 28
Andy 22

And so, on the same evening when we'd assured the newcomer that we almost never stay up until half past eleven, we ended bang on 11.30. But it was all worth it. Thanks to everyone. It was a pleasure.

Ale's well that ends well

Tonight's games night was to have been a five-hander but the last minute apology from a potential debutant left us as a quartet. Sam was the host and myself, Ian and Martin were the eager gamers sodden by the rain.

But Ian was a late arrival, so we played a couple of quick games with Stanley. The first was a roll 'n' write game called Knister. This was Stanley's introduction to the genre and, by his own admission, he played pretty randomly.

The game is like a dicey Take It Easy, in that everyone writes the result of two dice into their 5x5 grid. The idea is to get pairs, three/four/five of a kinds, straights or full houses along the rows and columns and two diagonals. Sam had to explain to his son what a full house was.

The game itself was very odd, with the dice obeying the laws of probability to the letter, showing only results between five and nine. Martin even picked them up to check they did have ones on them. I suspect this meant we ended with some higher scores than average.

Martin 57
Andrew 54
Sam 52
Stanley 36

A fun game, but I'd like to play it again when the dice aren't so well behaved.

Next we needed a game to take us up to Ian's expected arrival and Stanley's bed time. Martin introduced us to Texas Showdown. It was Stanley's first trick taking game too. What an auspicious occasion. Two new game genres in one night.

This is a trick taker with a difference. Then again, aren't they all? In this game, the 60 card deck is split into eight suits. But the numbers are exclusive to each suit. For example, numbers 1-10 make up the black pistol suit. Then numbers 11-20 make up the orange cowboy boots suit (which look a bit like squid heads to me, but never mind). And each suit has fewer cards so that the highest grey buffalo skull suit runs from 70-74. Some numbers aren't included at all, which is why the highest is 74 in a 60 card pack.

So that's one twist. The other is that you have to follow lead but if you can't and you play another colour then that suit becomes another lead suit. For example, Martin plays blue but Ian has none so he plays green. Sam has the choice of blue or green to follow. If he can't and plays purple, then I have to follow blue, green or purple if I can. Ingenious.

And if that wasn't enough, the winner (and winning is bad in this game) is decided by the highest card on the suit which has most cards showing. Another example; in a round with three blacks and one grey, the highest black will win even though the grey will have the highest value. In the case of a tie, though, the highest value takes the trick.

The reason I'm going into such detail about the rules is that we kept commenting how amazing it was that new trick-taking games were still coming out with simple ideas no one had ever thought of before.

I loved it. It was so simple but so easy to screw over an opponent or, more likely, yourself that it had an appeal much greater than I'd expected during the rules explanation.

Sam looked like he'd sussed it immediately, going through the first round without picking up a single trick. But his clean sheet couldn't last and the game ended in a heart warming draw between father and son.

Stanley 9
Sam 9
Andrew 10
Martin 17

So after this Stanley climbed the wooden hill to Bedfordshire (with his sprained ankle and all) and Ian arrived shortly after.

We looked over Sam's games collection and Martin's suggestion of Heaven & Ale was quickly agreed upon. We set up, gave Martin a rule refresher and we were off.

Ian went entirely dark side early on, trying to build up some money making options. Sam began by picking up monks but then instead went for some low-value shed building instead. I forced myself to buy some monks, too, and after building a bit in the dark side, I focused on the lighter side of my game board. Martin focused on green, blue and yellow with a couple of monks thrown in there too.

As the game headed to a conclusion, we were all aware of the risk of a last round bun fight for the scoring tiles. Ian impressed us all with his monk's quarters and wide selection of barrels.

I got the two scoring tiles I needed and was especially pleased to learn I'd stopped Martin from making a mega move. I also managed to squeeze in a final shed right at the end. Sam sauntered on the final round, and did enough to fill his entire board. But Martin had a plan B. Unable to score his yellow tiles he picked up some barrels and this, along with his lofty biermeister, was the key in a victory every bit as convincing as the 5-2 score in the Liverpool-Roma game we kept checking on while we played.

Martin 49
Ian 28
Sam 24
Andrew 22

So there was time for one last game. Texas Showdown made another appearance and as we moved from a Michael Nyman soundtrack to a more suitable Johnny Cash backing, we delighted in the close escapes and cruel defeats of the game.

Martin 12
Ian 14
Sam 16
Andrew 18

And so we were done. The rain had stopped and, quite apart from the late hour, it seemed wise to leave while it was dry.