Murder most hurried

Tuesday night games was thrown into upheaval when a late cancellation due to illness was announced by potential hosts Adam and Hannah. Suddenly the full force of modern communications technology shifted into hyperdrive as a new venue was arranged. Or rather, Joe said he could host and everyone else seemed okay with that. We were six in total: Joe, Sam, Ian, Matt, Martin and myself.

We began with Kobayakawa and, while we all enjoy this slimmed down betting game, the last round does seem overly powerful. Once again, the player who won the final round won the whole game.

Joe 15
Andrew 5
Sam 4
Ian 4
Martin 4
Matt 0

Next we split, not into the more usual 3 and 3, but into 4 and 2. Martin was keen to play Witness, a game for four players only in which each game has a new brief scenario and each player is given a piece of evidence. We then whisper this evidence to the person beside us, who then has to whisper what you said AND their own piece of evidence to the person next to them. Very simple and very confusing as we try to remember what everyone said.

As me, Martin, Joe and Matt were setting this up, Ian and Sam went for a game of Letters from Whitechapel. Ian managed the best performance yet as Jack, lasting into the third round before being caught, leaving four dead bodies in his wake. Well done, Ian! But, technically, it’s a victory to Sam.

Board games! Such fun!

As for Witness, each case is solved by each player successfully answering three questions. The team needs to get 9 out of 12 or more to succeed. We played three times, solving a murder (9 out of 12) despite one piece of information getting lost somewhere, then we failed in our attempt at helping some people out of a maze of tunnels (6 out of 12, but Joe got all three of his right) and finally we opened up a combination lock with a five-letter word. 12 out of 12! Excellent. Although Joe took a surprisingly long time to work out the word from the letters C, E, H, I, N. (answer below the Division, if you want to work it out yourself)

Mortimer seems appalled at our deduction skills

After Witness, Jack the Ripper was still at large on the other table, so we played Potato Man. This superb trick taking game starring Evil Potato Man, Super Potato Man and Sexy Potato Lady is always a favourite. Especially with Martin. I can’t imagine why.

Martin 17
Andrew 15
Joe 13
Matt 10

By now Letters from Whitehall was over and Ian and Sam had begun on another two-player game, Lost Cities. I kind of recognised it, but didn’t pay much attention to it, I’m afraid.

Ian 71
Sam 56

Then just to fill in the time for Sam and Ian to finish off Lost Cities, we played Rattlesnake, the clever game of placing powerful magnets on a board on a rickety table. More challenging than usual. Martin was first to put down all of his egg magnets.

Martin first to have 0 eggs left
Matt second to have 0 eggs left
Andrew 1 egg left
Joe had lots left

Finally, we were all as one again, so we chose a couple of six-player games to round off the evening. First was Skull and Roses, the simple bluffing game that I’m really quite bad at. Boldest move was Joe who correctly guessed that there were 8 roses out of a possible 9 cards placed face down. Equally impressive, especially since it was for the win, was Sam’s guess of five roses out of six. It was correct, got him first place, and Joe revealed that his card (the one Sam hadn’t chosen) was a skull. It’s a game of fine margins, is Skull and Roses.

Sam 2 correct
Joe 1 correct
Matt 1 wrong
Martin 1 wrong
Ian 1 wrong
Andrew 2 wrong

Finally, Pairs was put to the table as a nightcap. On my way to the toilet, I heard someone suggest Timeline, but Martin firmly demanded Pairs. A decision he may regret. By the way, I recently picked up a handylittle cheat sheet for Timeline.

Pairs remains full of queer coincidence and strange self-defeating predictions as each player tries to avoid picking up a pair of any fruit/vegetable. Martin is an expert at this: his first was expertly aimed at Sam. Martin boldly said “There’s no way a lemon can kill anyone in this round” seconds before Sam was dealt a lemon to go with his other lemon, sending him out of the round.

But Martin didn’t learn his lesson, and his powers flew back in his face in the next round. Buoyed up by a first place in the last round, he optimistically said “I could get back in this!” just before being dealt his second cherry. Poor old Martin went bust four times out of five. I, on the other hand, didn’t go bust at all.

Andrew 21
Sam 20
Joe 17
Matt 9
Ian 8
Martin 6

And with that, the emergency games evening was over. It was just left for me to negotiate a tricky hill start crossed with a three point turn to take Sam home, and the tension and excitement was done for another week.

The five letter word was niche.

The Unforgettable Fire

First five, then six and finally seven eager gamers congregated at Joe’s house for this week’s leaderboard shenanigans.

We began as a five (me, Joe, Ian, Sam and Andy) with Kobayakawa. This betting game is simple but complex. I remained true to my strategy of (mostly) doing nothing, thus starving the other players of vital information. And it worked. Or, at least, I won the last round, which was enough to push me into first.

Andrew 13
Andy 8
Sam 7
Joe 0
Ian 0

During this game, Joe’s friend Andy arrived for his first experience of the GNN lifestyle. No doubt he was impressed by our skill at guessing what cards other people had, and was keen to get started himself, but first we had to wait for one more: Matt. Until he arrived, we chose two games and then Matt could decide which he wanted to join.

Joe, Ian and new Andy went for the Downfall of Pompeii while me, Sam and old Andy chose Pergamon. Both thematically linked in the sense that the events of one game may well have been what was being dug up in the other game.

Sam hadn’t played in a while, so he got a quick rule refresher, and he was out of the blocks very quickly, posting a long exhibition made up of stuff from the upper levels which, nevertheless scored highly and kept scoring points until the end of the game. I was cash-rich halfway through the game, but not at a time when there was much to dig up.

In the final round, both Sam and Andy had plenty of money for some frantic last minute buffing to get their exhibits as far up the score track as possible. At the final scores were totted up, Sam had done just enough to win, beating Andy by a single point.

Sam 36
Andy 35
Andrew 26

Meanwhile, in Ancient Rome, the final resting place that we archaeologists were desecrating ended:

Joe 9 (wins on tie-breaker)
Andy 9 (2nd on tie breaker)
Ian 9 (3rd on tie breaker)
Matt 7

Happily, the two games ended almost at the same time so we were able to join together for a rousing game of Incan Gold. Joe quickly explained the rules to Andy and we began in high spirits, only to be burnt badly by fire in the first temple.

Well, not everyone. Sam decided on a tactic of getting out the moment there was some treasure worth getting in the temple. Not so much Tomb Raider as Foyer Raider. It did well for him, though.

Meanwhile, in the second temple, for the second time fire was the disaster that ended the expedition. At least now, with two fire cards gone, we were all immune to fire! That was nice.

As for the game, Regular Andy only did well in one temple, but he did very well indeed, going it alone through corridors or treasure and artefacts. Matt managed to pick up a couple of artefacts, too. New Andy, though, just seemed to be jinxed, and ended the game empty handed.

Andy 30
Andrew 27
Sam 22
Matt 15
Ian 15
Joe 6
Andy 0

Joe was keen for one more game: 6nimmt. Sam decided his evening was at an end and, just like in Incan Gold, he was the first to bow out and go home. Us remaining six diced with lady fate in an hilarious game of 6nimmt.

It was new Andy’s first, and with six players it can be especially cruel as it seems very easy get get stuck in a spiral of doom, picking up cards every round. It happened at least once to everyone called Andrew who played, but it happened most often to the least experienced one and it ended with him being the first player to hit triple figures. He made history in his first evening at GNN! Ian, meanwhile, got two clear rounds on his way to an impressively easy win.

Ian 20
Andy 39
Joe 44
Andrew 62
Matt 70
New Andy 106

On the Division, Ian clings on to top spot and Andy takes the medal table.

Happy Talk

For the third week on a row, Joe hosted Games Night. There were six in attendance, which made me worry we might end up playing Quartermaster General again. But we didn't. We began with Kobayakawa, the simple betting game. I played a cunning game. At least I thought it was. Everyone else seemed to find it funny. I wouldn't look at a new card, because I didn't want to give other players information as to what cards had been discarded. As it was, it didn't work at all, as I lost every bet until the last round when I won! The winnings from that were enough to send me from last into first!

Andrew 9
Ian 5
Martin 5
Joe 5
Matt 4
Katy 4

So what next? Interestingly, I don't remember much talk about us splitting into two groups of three. Instead we (Joe, Martin, Matt, Ian, Katy and myself) decided that six players without Sam meant only one thing: I'm The Boss.

This game of luck-based negotiation is a rare sight at GNN due to Sam's lack of love for the game. It was new to Katy, Matt and Ian so they were easily swayed by us three experienced hands.

I hadn't played in a while, and I'd forgotten how emotionally exhausting it was. After successfully closing a deal, I couldn't bring myself to join in with the next, not because I had fewer cards, but because I needed a rest. In fact, at the end of the game Ian remarked that if that's what businessmen do all day, then fair play to them, they deserve their inflated wages and stupid bonuses.

Martin went through the whole game insisting he always comes last in I'm The Boss. He was right again! Katy won it by closing out a deal that got her $21m. This was enough to send her from last place into first! Another last minute dash for victory that paid off! (the scores below are in millions of dollars)

Katy 34
Ian 30
Matt 26
Joe 23
Andrew 22
Martin 19

After this, we all wanted something relaxing. Igloo Pop was suggested but even that was considered to fraught for our nerves. Joe suggested Mysterium, the co-op game of crime solving. Described by Joe as a cross between Dixit and Cluedo, it involved a ghost (Joe) giving out clues in the form of seven Dixit-esque cards. From these, we had to identify five suspects out of an initial eight, and five potential location and murder weapons. Once we'd done that, we then had to deduce the actual killer from three more cards. And we only had seven rounds in which to do it.

Some of the clues were hard to get. Joe kept giving Katy cards that had little in common, except for having a woman in them. But none of the locations had women in them. We got it eventually, and after the game ended and Joe could speak again, he pointed out a tiny painting in one room that had a woman in it.

Anyway, despite all that, we managed it. Victory for us all! It was the teacher in the cellar with a clock. A heinous crime. You have to really hate someone to kill them with a clock!

We followed this up with some more non-leaderboard shenanigans: Spyfall! Martin was initially skeptical, but we convinced him. Or rather we set up the game in front of him while we assured him of the lack of shouty arguing that he was expecting.

Instead it was all about cleverly worded questions, trying to disguise the nature of the location enough to confuse the spy. We played four rounds. Ian and I both won as spies, Joe was outed as a spy, and Ian failed to identify our secret location (a circus tent). Martin did enjoy it. We knew his conversion was complete when he began the game grumbling that he was bound to be the spy because he always is, and he ended the game saying that he’d wished he’d been a spy.

We ended the evening with Martin remarking on what a conversational bunch of games we'd played. A very convivial evening. On the division, I think Katy has this all wrapped up with one week until the end of the season.

Forget it, Kate.

Chinatown was the main event for GNN's regular Tuesday meet, a very sparse affair this week. Martin, Andy and Matt couldn't make it. Ian was a late withdrawal. Even Andrew was absent, perhaps still a little gamed out from the weekend. Steve and Anja were busy building a garden deck.

However such is the population of GNN that still left 5 of us: Hannah, Adam, Joe, Katy and myself (Sam). Whilst we waited unknowingly for an Ian who would never arrive, we played Joe's new card game Kobayakawa. I missed its debut last week but it's very simple, if a little counter-intuitive. The main question at hand is whether to go for a high card or a low one, as the lowest card adds the common Kobayakawa card to their score before cards are compared.

Joe streaked off into a healthy lead, winning the first few rounds as the rest of us puzzled over our best move. In the fifth and sixth round I surged back into contention with two straight wins as I claimed the Kobayakawa. However in the last round I had to drop out and consolidate, hoping Katy would beat Joe. She didn't:

Joe 17
Sam 10
Katy 1
Adam 0
Hannah 0

We moved onto the main event. I was pushing for Rialto, but Joe had his heart set on Chinatown. He pulled the old get-the-board-out manoeuvre, and sure enough we were soon embarking on a seemingly never-ending negotiation spree.

For negotiation is Chinatown's main mechanic. Every player gets plots in the city (a lá Lords of Vegas) and businesses to establish there. However businesses are more rewarding when fully established over several plots rather than just one, and that's where the swapping of plots, businesses and money comes in. Unlike Lords of Vegas, the gambling is fairly minimal and only really applies if you negotiate for a plot whilst still needing a second (or third) plot to join it with your existing business. For the most part it's easy to work out what plots are worth, just by calculating what businesses will earn once established there.

I say it's easy. After a single beer and some Bombay mix I really struggled with the simple maths, and stared down at the player aid with a kind of number phobia, the same sensation I get when my accountant explains corporation tax to me. This bewilderment was misinterpreted as Machiavellian scheming, and I was accused of "winning", but I was just being thick.

If I had a strategy it fell together by accident - establishing two businesses as fast as possible then selling all my other plots to generate extra cash. It gave me a healthy position mid-game, but by the end the other businesses were much more profitable, and Hannah swept to a convincing win:

Hannah $1,200,000
Adam $940,000
Sam $890,000
Katy $850,000
Joe $840,000

I blame the Bombay mix, which was rather hot.

I'm not sure how I feel about Chinatown personally. I find the fact that plots worth is calculable (by those of us who are numerate, anyway) mean it feels like the game mainly consists of haggling. That's a fun mechanic for a filler but I found 2 hours of it quite tiring. I'd be interested to hear the other's thoughts.

Hannah was tired anyway, but that might not be the game. Whilst she retired to bed we finished with No Thanks. It was to be Katy's revenge: I missed out on a linking card for my two chains, Adam ran out of coins and Joe went for high cards that didn't exist:

Katy -8
Sam 47
Adam 51
Joe 80

Suitably sated, we called it an evening and Joe escorted me home in his new shiny gold Audi. We had to stop and work out how to fill it up with petrol on the way, which gave me an idea for a game...

Don't go Dirk!

Tuesday. Games. Joe's. Seven gamers attended: Joe, Martin, Andy, Matt, Ian, Katy, and myself. When I arrived, people were discussing a new game, Kobayakawa. This is a painfully simple betting game, whereby players bet on whether they have the highest card. The twist being that in the middle of the table whose total is added to the score of the lowest card. On your turn you can do nothing, change your card or change the card in the middle of the table. Very interesting. It plays up to six, but we couldn't think of a reason why seven couldn't play. Until we tried it. If seven play, then there's a good chance that all the cards are used. As such, whoever has the winning hand knows if they've won, and those that don't know that they've lost. We decided to stop playing and split into two groups.

Joe, Martin, Katy and Ian chose Members Only, a game making its GNN debut. It was all about recreating the refined atmosphere of a gentleman's club and their propensity for betting on various things, like hats and cups of tea.

Matt, Andy and I also played a new game: Empire Engine, a small game of few options, but a clever way of choosing those options. To choose an option you have to rotate your cards. It's simple to understand, but hard to explain succinctly.

Matt 15
Andy 13
Andrew 11

Then we played Port Royal, and Matt gave us a real lesson in how to play successfully. He doubled up on cash bonuses for 5+ cards, and it paid off handsomely.

Matt 13
Andy 6
Andrew 5

Since the gentlemans' club across the table were still knee deep in wagers about Big Ben, we continued our little run of short games, deciding to give Kobayakawa a try with three players. I enjoyed it. There's room for bluffing and a bit of manipulation, but mot so much that it gets bogged down in AP. I was in first until the last round, when both Andy and Matt were close enough behind me that I had to bet or I wouldn't win. I bet. I didn't win.

Matt 10
Andrew 6
Andy 3

Finally, the league of extraordinary (the swearing, that is) gentlemen finished. And as you would expect from a modern progressive society, this game of masculine conceits was won by a lady.

Katy 31
Joe 21
Martin 20
Ian 14

Now we were all together as a band of seven. After a little discussion, Igloo Pop was chosen, while Joe and Martin decided to try Patchwork, the rough and tough game of quilting.

I described the rules, while Andy said it seemed a lot like a game he'd sold once. We shook our igloos, we guffawed at our guesses and then were amazed by the result: Andy's first win of the season. Obviously, he'd sold that other game, not because he didn't like it, but because he'd become too expert in it.

Andy 22
Katy 19
Ian 13
Andrew 13
Matt 12

Meanwhile, Patchwork ended:

Martin 11
Joe 6

No idea what kind of game it is, but Katy did note that there wasn't much swearing.

Finally, the seven of us got together for a big old game of Incan Gold. And what a game it was. The first temple ended immediately after two rock falls. And with the laughs of incredulity still audible, the second temple was stuffed full of Zombie Ladies. Surely we'd be able to at least get through the door in the third temple.

And so we did, and the game played out as it should do. Matt demonstrated his expertise in getting out alone when there was an artifact to be had. At one point Martin, baffled as to what to do, decided to Go Dirk and chose randomly. This caused an outcry, as everyone beseeched him “Don't go Dirk!” It then caused a series of copycat threats as Joe and Ian also threatened to chose randomly. This caused Martin to reconsider. And then so did Joe. Only Ian was true to his word and, as it turned out, he left by himself, taking all the loot with him.

Additionally, Joe dazzled us all with his steely nerve in refusing to back out of a temple until he's hit the jackpot. What a shame his plans never panned out. Andy, though, took advantage of all the excitement on the other side of the table to sneak unnoticed to his second win of the evening/season.

Andy 26
Matt 22
Ian 22
Andrew 21
Martin 21
Katy 8
Joe 2

It was now 10.30. Andy and I called it a night, but the remaining five ploughed on, giving Kobayakawa another turn on the table. The results were:

Ian 11
Martin 8
Matt 6
Katie 3
Joe 0

On the division, Katy rebuilds her lead to over ten points again and, just to rub our noses in it, she takes the medal table too. Joe hangs on to Hannah steals Points Ratio from Joe.