While the cats are away...

With our respective other halves both out at the Immediate Christmas do, Joe popped round to mine for a rare 2-player games night. To the accompaniment of Effie singing herself to sleep (piped in by the baby monitor), we started puzzling out Joe's recently acquired Bridgette.

As the name implies, it's a scaled-down version of Bridge, specifically for two players. There are three special cards called 'colons', leading to an amusing section in the rulebook headed 'Colon Irregularities'. Fortunately we didn't suffer from these.

Joe made a tentative 2 No Trump bid in the first round but my terrible cards meant he comfortably made it. In the second hand, I benefited from an odd rule whereby if an Ace is the turn-up card, the dealer can draw 9 extra cards and then choose the best 13 from 22. My hand of 11 clubs and two other Aces pretty much played itself...

We decided to move on to another one by the same designer - mad genius Joli Quentin Kansil (also responsible for Montage). This one is called Krakatoa and it's a part-dexterity dice game: you're trying to roll particular combinations of colours on the three sets of d12s, but each successive roll must knock into and move one of the dice lying on the table. The rules also stipulate that it be played on a soft surface such as a tablecloth, encouraging the dice to turn over when hit rather than just skidding.

Joe seemed to have an innate talent for rolling matching sets of three ('volcanoes'), raced into the lead and never looked back. I had a brief moment of hope when I achieved the best combo in the game - a 'Big Eruption' with all 9 dice showing the same colour (pictured). This quadruples your scoring for the next two throws, but sadly four times nothing is still nothing.

It was already 9.30 and we were yet to start the main event! Joe has recently acquired the long-awaited 'Distant Lands' expansion for our old favourite Manoeuvre, offering four new armies with interesting new powers. I went for the Indians while Joe was keen to try the Japanese. Unfortunately, after several minutes of meticulously shuffling the freshly-unshrinked cards, he realised he'd picked up the Swedes instead so an unlikely battle ensued.

The new armies seem to have lower basic strength than the original ones but with a few tricks up their sleeves - my Indians could launch rocket attacks! I made a couple of positional blunders and Joe seemed to have the advantage in the midgame. We settled into an attritional battle, mostly managing to heal wounded units before they could be eliminated, and proceeding through our decks quite slowly.

The tide started to turn when I drew a handful of cards for an infantry unit which had spent the game so far hanging around lazily far from the front line. Now they charged forward and delivered an instant kill to one of Joe's units. We'd now made 4 kills each (5 is needed for an instant win) but our decks were also close to depleted, which brings the game to an end with victor decided by territory occupied. Neither of us could quite manage another kill and my slightly more advanced units gave me a tight 9-7 win.

The ladies still seemed to be happily partying so we finished off with Joe's Secret Santa gift Qwinto. It's another roll-and-write game and most similar to Qwixx. However, while the decisions in Qwixx often seem quite obvious, Qwinto offers a lot more freedom. You can start a row anywhere - not just at the ends, but it's still quite easy to box yourself into a corner later in the round.

Joe easily won the first as I ended it with a sequence of 'fehlwurfes'. The second seemed to go much better than me and we calculated a 79-79 tie until I realised that I'd added 12 points I hadn't earned.

Midnight was striking and it was time to call it a night - and Sarah reported they were just having the last dance too!

Sticks and Stones . . .

Thursday... the poor man's Tuesday. Or maybe it's the millionaire's Tuesday... I don't know. In any case, Sam and I met at his for a little bit of head-to-head gaming, and I came armed with some favourite two-player stuff, new and old.

Despite Sam's plan to inculcate me in the ways of Feast for Odin, he graciously agreed to have a crack at Paperback - the marvellous game of words and deck-building.

Paperback's roots are very obviously in Dominion, from the starting hand, the points cards (in this case not entirely useless, as they function as wild letters, but offer no cash for purchases) and market of more powerful cards available for purchase. But to these it adds the endlessly engaging challenge of creating a word, and in doing so soars far and away above its inspiration, in my opinion.

Sam here: I managed one photo of the game half-set up

An optional rule is that if your opponent is stuck for a word, you can offer help for a small reward, though the benefit to your rival is probably much greater. The fact that this is almost impossible to resist is testament to the huge attraction of word games to those who like them. You get to play the game on your opponent's turn too! Sam offered to help me with my N Y P D (ha!), plus four wilds - and did so with spectacular ease. It might just have won me the game. (I'll put the word in the comments later, so you can all have a chew on it in the meantime).

We moved on... to Manoeuvre! An all-time favourite of mine, and a game that never fails to impress me with how easy it is to remember the rules, even when you haven't played for over a year. We chose the classic armies of France vs GB, and were off and running in no time.

The early stages of the game are cagey, with very quick turns as both players manoeuvre their troops into good spots, whilst trying to form a coherent hand of five cards. I was trying for a powerful assault from the start, while Sam pecked away with a few bombardments and skirmish assaults. Both strategies are viable, because although the latter won't necessarily do lasting damage to your opponent, it does ensure you to get a stream of fresh cards, until hopefully you've assembled something nearing a plan.

Running for the hills is a good idea

I love the elegant combat system, and the choice of whether to retreat (or force a retreat) rather than take damage. A well-timed retreat might force the attacker to advance in your wake, leaving them surrounded just in time for your turn - though if you try this against cavalry they might just do for you with a lucky pursuit roll or two.

It was a pretty even-handed game, and the sunset was nearly upon us with four kills each. In what would have been my last turn before a nightfall victory was assessed, I got very lucky and drew two cards for my 1st Foot Guards from a freshly shuffled deck, allowing me to lay waste to Sam's hobbled Guard Cavalry. Oh what a lovely game! And evening. Thanks Sam!

Don’t take it Persiannaly

This Saturday marked, quite by chance, the fifth anniversary of the first post on GNN. Joe hosted Sam and I for a little light refreshments and tactical exercise. Except that tonight, we put aside our wooden cubes and dreams of end-of-game bonuses and instead went for the story-telling giant that is Tales of the Arabian Nights.

A map with no cubes or railways on it? How can this be?

Joe’s tale most involved meeting ‘efreets. He met five in total during his travels. An evil ‘efreet cursed him, a vengeful ‘efreet stole his money and left him in a dirty alley somewhere. On the plus side, another ‘efreet gave him a magic ring and when he saved a fourth one from a house fire, it gave him access to anywhere on the board. Finally, he charmed the fifth ‘efreet with his stories and was made Sultan in reward.

My tale was all about social climbing.I found the lair of horrible creatures and became Respected. I helped a Noble Wizard kill an elusive beast and got a Robe Of Honour and became rich. I got two treasures, a Celestial Planisphere and a magic bead. Finally, I prayed for a maiden to save her from a dark serpent. She was so grateful that she became my wife.

Sam’s tale is about strength through adversity. He began the game lost in Pan Pan. Then a Mad Captain chased him, thinking he’d slept with one of his family, finally catching him and cutting his throat. Sam survived but was now Lost and Crippled and so unable to move. His social skills were lacking, as he tried to honour a beautiful princess who rebuffed him, and he spoke to an imprisoned prince but just made him angry. He also had to endure a week-long haircut.

In the end, Sam won. Despite his lowly beginnings, he completed his quest and then gained access to the Underwater Kingdom where he became friends with the king who let Sam sit in for him as king while he went on holiday. Sam returned to Baghdad as a Sultan and fabulously wealthy. He met a love sick maid and tried to woo her but, still in mourning for her loved one, she rebuffed him. Oh well.

Then Sam went home (I mean he really went home. This isn’t still part of the Arabian Nights) so Joe and I played a game of Manoeuvre, the war game of almost infinite possibilities. And an excellent chance to use Joe's hand-made dice tower.

Joe was the British and I was the French. It was pretty even at first, and then Joe found two of his units isolated far from the main skirmish so although he had more units on the board, mine were better placed.

But then my plan to attack the Dutch Belgians went awry. They survived, re-grouped and my Guard Cavalry found itself surrounded. After that, the battle was lost. Joe was able to march into my half of the board and pick up points.

Joe 7
Andrew 1

My final hand. Hmm, I suppose I'd better attack with the 8th Light Regiment.

And so, with the clock nearing midnight, we called it an evening, and I set off into the night. I saw no disguised beggars or enchantresses on my way home, but quite a lot of parked cars with the headlights and hazards lights on. Oh, Bristol.

Settler's Tums

There's been a slight drop-off in organised gaming in the last few weeks - probably due to Easter hols and all that jazz - but I have managed a fair amount of extra-curricular fun. Martin and I have had a spate of lunchtime Manoeuvre-ing; so glad to revisit this game, it's one of my all-time favourite two-player short 'war-games'. And this last weekend we Bergers went off to walk a bit of the South Downs Way from Eastbourne to Lewes, with our friends Henry and Rachel and their three girls.

Conscious of needing to pack lightly, but wanting to have games on hand should they be needed, I distilled a few games into a small box;

Manoeuvre, including all the terrain and the four best armies; Sticheln for up to 6; Race for the Galaxy inc. Alien Artifacts expansion; and Verrater. Another small box held Vegas, Incan Gold and Werewolves. In the event, Sticheln and Werewolves were the only games that didn't get played.

Henry and I managed a few late night games of Manoeuvre, all nail-biters, and trotted out Race at every available opportunity. My training from Martin gave me the edge in the latter, though Henry trounced me four-nil at Splendor back at their house after the weekend. We also managed one-and-a-half three player games of Verrater; I was really pleased to finally get to grips with this, and it proved a nigh-perfect portable big (ish) game experience. I expect four players is the sweet spot, and had we had more time I think we could have persuaded Charlotte to play, but even with three it was really interesting.

Like it's sibling Meuterer, the fun hinges on whether anyone has picked the traitor card in a Citadels-style character draw, and what that will entail for the ensuing showdown. It seemed obvious to me that one should always take the traitor if it's available, and I did win but it was close, and a couple of times what felt like a sure-fire win as the traitor disintegrated. I can see real potential for mind-games, convincing your opponents that you're the traitor, getting them to pile their precious supply cards in, and then revealing that you weren't at all and winning anyway. Could be a bit too vicious if played like that, but in any case very interesting.

We got back to Bristol on Tuesday, and last night (Wed) a couple of friends were coming round for food. They've played the odd game with us before, Pickomino, and I think Skull and Roses; last night  felt like the perfect opportunity to try something a little more involved. But what? I found myself weighing up the options during the day; perhaps Splendor? If I wanted to demonstrate how sleek and refined a game could be, maybe. But it's not that 'fun'. Lords of Vegas? That can drag a little, and you can get hosed if you're new to it.

You know that feeling, that there's the perfect game somewhere in your collection to introduce new gamers to, if only you could remember what it is? I went through a mental list of all the games I've recently acquired, that at some point or other I've been desperate to get to the table. None of them were right, but there was something at the back of my mind, I knew - a little voice saying "I'm the game you're looking for!". And then it hit me - and the answer was so obvious it was laughable - Settlers of Catan!

The venerable, the grand-daddy of eurogaming, the game we wouldn't dream of playing on a tuesday night; but it remains the perfect game to introduce new players to the hobby, as far as I'm concerned. So much of the fun is off the board, cajoling your opponents into trading with you, and if they won't, stealing it anyway. There is something unique and mysterious about the way it appeals to non-gamers. Oh and it's the only game Charlotte likes! It was the perfect choice.

I won, which is a rare thing for me, and it took nearly three hours. But it was super fun.
Ah, Settlers.

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

Sam, the man-who-ver y nearly beat me at Manoeuvre

Whilst other GNN gamers Andrew and Adam were busy pogo-ing to Bucky at Cafe Kino (how was it chaps?), Sam and I convened for a spot of two-player cardboard, erm 'mayhem'. If that sounds tame, I can tell you there was also some plastic involved. You could have an eye out with those Ingenious tile racks!

I finally got a chance to introduce Manoeuvre, my favourite short two-player direct conflict game, to Sam. Sam, Manoeuvre; Manoeuvre, Sam. Cautious handshakes, muttered pleasantries.

After Andrew's problems galvanising the Dutch-Belgian English regiment last time we played, I offered Sam the French, as a slightly more reliable starting army.
The game usually starts gently, with lots of quick turns as both player's units head for prime positions on the middle of the board, ready for the mid-game stand-off. Except that as soon as my Cavalry arrived Sam punched them in the face. A rookie error, I thought - not waiting to build up a co-ordinated attack.
But it set the tone for the whole game; lots of opportunistic attacks, whittling down and battling back units, though Sam definitely had the edge, having taken one of my cavalry units and two infantry against my prize of a single French infantry unit. It became clear that neither of us was likely to win by attrition, so we both did a last minute dance to get the best position on each others side of the board and claim the nightfall victory. In the end it was so close we thought it was a draw, but I pipped a win by a single VP.

It wasn't the best iteration of this lovely game with which to woo Sam - a little more bitty and indecisive than usual, but I think he quite enjoyed it - no doubt he shall tell us in the comments. Still, he grasped the fundamentals (ouch) with ease, and dominated my side of the battlefield well into the second half.

It was only nine, so we cast about for a shorter two-player game, settling on perennial fave Ingenious, a Knizia classic. We played two games, Sam winning both - several times I had to refresh my hand, and in both games I realised my opportunities for scoring a particular colour were dwindling fast. There's a very steep drop-off once the board starts filling up, and in the second game we were both being far more circumspect in placing each tile, looking for ways to keep colours open and close others down.
It's a deserving classic - but I do wish the tiles and board were prettier. God I'm shallow.

A good combo of games for a thursday night, and nice to get a chance to play Manoeuvre again.
If we can get the other GNN-ers to learn the rules, perhaps we could have a Euro-style competition - all eight armies playing each other over several rounds, quarter and semi-finals, and then we could all stand around watching two people play the grand final. Hmm, maybe not.

Man oeuvreboard!

photo by James Smith on BGG

Having managed to get Maria, Mammut and Manila to the table this year, it only remained for me to tempt a single player to join me in a game of Manoeuvre, and my 'M's would be complete. And although the plan was to play Railways of the World last night, in the end Andrew alone was able to brave the treacherous weather, so we seized the opportunity to do some WAR.

Technically speaking, Manoeuvre is game of battle rather than war. Played on a chessboard like grid of 8 x 8 squares, each player has 8 units from one of 8 napoleonic armies, with a strength ranging from 5 to, you guessed it, 8.

Six infantry units, and two cavalry. The mechanics are simple enough, move a unit, attack a unit by playing cards from your deck. Each unit has two states, full strength and half strength when flipped; and after that it's bye bye.
Within the simple rules there is enough room for lots of variety, from the units as well as the cards - some armies have more cavalry units but weaker; the Russians are hardy, in that their half-strength side is only marginally less than full strength, etc.

In practice the 'manoeuvring' of the title is two-fold; getting your units in to the right positions, and also trying to get your hand of 5 cards in good enough shape to launch an attack. There's some nice cautious postioning at the start, with perhaps a tentative artillery volley to free up a card slot, but it's not long before the air is filled with the smell of gunpowder and garlic.

I played the French, and Andrew the English. Of the eight armies, these two are probably the most powerful and evenly balanced, good starting armies. That said I've played the French a fair bit, and it might have been a more even fight if I'd chosen a less familiar army.

Andrew assimilated the rules valiantly, but I had lots of lucky dice rolls, and my prior knowledge of the tactics involved saw an attrition victory for the French just as the day was ending (after which the winner would have been decided on control of the board).

I'm not sure Napoleon would have been proud, though. We both laughed at the pathetic sight of my weakened infantry hobbling after Andrew's injured Dutch Belgians,  somehow managing on a roll of snake-eyes to topple them in to a ditch. I basically threw a clod of earth at them and they fell over.

I love this game - it's very playable, a lot of fun and once you know what you're doing you can get a couple of games in in an evening. Andrew will have to share his thoughts in the comments . . .

Adieu!

Welsh Rare Bits

For the first week of the Easter holidays, Charlotte, the girls and I went to Wales with old friends Rachel and Henry and their three daughters. Both R and H are keen gamers, and Charlotte will happily play a game in the evening, so while I was sure that Henry and I would find lots to get stuck into between days on the beach, long walks and cooking, I was interested to see which games would be hits and misses for the four of us.

We took a bevvy of two-player games, including Hansa, Manoeuvre, Commands and Colours: Ancients, and the big daddy, Twilight Struggle. The first game Henry and I broke out on arriving at the cottage near Pembroke was Manoeuvre. It's a game of Napoleonic-era battles, players assuming control of one of eight available armies, ranging from French, English, Ottoman all the way to the United States. Each army has eight units to go on the board, typically 6 infantry and 2 cavalry units, and a dedicated deck of small cards with which to battle and issue orders. The gameplay is simple; discard and draw cards, move one unit, attack with one unit.

A total rout by the French. Marvellous.

The typical attack by a single unit is very unlikely to eliminate its target, merely flip it to its weaker side, and next turn your opponent may well be able to restore it. So you really need to try and plan attacks so that you can add cards from your hand to strengthen the attack, possibly bringing in more units, leaders etc. The game plays in about 40 minutes once you know what you're doing, and is great fun. We tried out a few of the different arrmies - and each has it's innate strengths and weaknesses.

D6s, D8s and cartoon beer. Mmmm . . .

In the evenings, Charlotte and Rachel joined us. For the first couple of nights, the main event was a few rounds of Pickomino, which works brilliantly as a casual game with four - the perfect combination of push-your-luck, nicking each others tiles and not quite knowing who's winning until the final tally. It also allows for a lot of chatting in-between goes, which is certainly a plus as far as Charlotte is concerned.

Grubby dice. Unacceptable.

The first big game we all tried was Manila, which I got in the Euro Maths Trade the week before we went away. Though some of the mechanics (auction, worker-placement, a smattering of share-manipulation) are very familiar, it's nicely different from lots of the other games we play, definitely has its own niche, and plays in under an hour. It's essentially a game where you're playing the odds and betting on which boats will make it ashore and which will end up in the shipyard. It didn't quite catch fire for the four of us - though I can imagine it going down well with the GNN-ers.

We also played London, which is a favourite of Rachel and Henry's - it doesn't quite do it for me, and had a suspicion that it wouldn't be Charlotte's kind of game either, which turned out to be right. It's a game you really need to play a few times to get your head around and develop a strategy - there's simply no way a new player can hope to keep up, which can be dispiriting enough to put you off for good. I had played a couple of times with R & H before, and with Sam, enough to have a grasp of what to do, though that still put me in a distant third place. I can't quite put my finger on why it doesn't grab me; it's something to do with the complexity of the way city-size/boroughs/poverty/money formulae interact - it remains just a little too opaque for me to be enjoyable, though I can imagine getting into it as a 2 player over a few successive nights and finding it satisfying. I think it lacks the elusive 'fun' factor for me.

Another of our 2-player daytime staples was Hansa - a very stripped down Euro about trading in the Hanseatic League (not to be confused with recent GNN newbie Hansa Teutonica). In a way, it's similar to London in that the various components are symbiotically linked: money allows movement and buying of goods; goods allow placement of markets; markets allow conversion of goods into VPs, and get you more money. It's all wrapped up in a very pretty, refined package, and plays in about 20/30 mins. It can be played with four, but loses a lot of the strategy, I've heard.

Hansa by firelight.

As well as London, Henry had brought Ora et Labora with him, the latest big game by Uwe Rosenberg. Having bought it during last half-term, he and Rachel had not got round to playing it, despite a couple of attempts - on opening the box I could see why. If the number and variety of resources and playing boards weren't terrifying enough, the combined rulebooks, covering set-up, general rules, specifics and a multi-page glossary of buildings are positively fearsome. We decided not to attempt this with the women, at least not without a thorough playthrough between the two of us, and so we tackled it on a grey afternoon.
As it turns out, there was little to fear, and lots to enjoy. The rulebooks, if taken in the correct order, have you set up and playing within 20 minutes, and we found we could happily ignore at least half of them.
It is very much in the vein of Agricola, with players building up their monastery in either Ireland or France, felling forests, clearing peat bogs, brewing beer/making wine and gradually amassing victory points. It is apparently closer to Le Havre than Agricola, though graphically it definitely takes its cue from the earlier Rosenberg game. It took us a couple of hours to play, and at the end I was a little bit underwhelmed - it's very wide-open compared to Agricola, and consequently felt a bit flabby. In Agricola, you're operating at the bleeding-edge of subsistence, and every action counts. The world of O & L feels altogether more of a cornucopia, and whilst there are clearly strategic paths aplenty to amassing VPs in bulk, the fact that they are floating around from the very beginning and relatively easy to come by makes it feel less focussed. However, though we didn't manage to get it to the table again during the week, something about it has stayed with me; building your little cloister into a vast, all-encompassing monastery; brewing fine beer and distilling barrels of Irish Whisky, all wrapped-up in the cosy, inviting Agricola-esque hues. I want another go, and if any GNNers have their eye on a new game, I'll happily play it (not buying any more games, see?)

On wednesday evening, the four of us got to Lords of Vegas. I had my concerns, especially since the 'gambling' aspects of Manila had been a bit of a damp squib, and I couldn't remember quite how straightforward the mechanics of LoV were. As it turned out, it was a perfect fit - tense, exciting reversals-of-fortune, enthusiastic dice-rolling and a close finish with Rachel (I think) eeking a win against Henry. Henry particularly took to the risk-reward spirit of it, at one point betting $25 million on a single roll in Rachel's casino in a bid to scupper her plans. He lost.

Lords of Vegas: busy board, busy tablecloth.

We played again on thursday night, and it was even better, and closer, me edging in to first place on the final strip pay-out by virtue of my newly-acquired four tile casino. It was more coherent than when we played it at GNN, and I think we should give it another go. There are subtle strategies for staying in the game in the face of what seems like a runaway leader, which may have eluded us on the two outings we've given it.
On Friday night, we played Catan for old times sake, and R & H cleaned up, Rachel eventually squeaking the win from Henry, Charlotte and I languishing 3rd and fourth.

Ah, the familiar coastline of Catan. With an off-shore stockpile of cities.

Back on the two-player front, Henry and I had dabbled in a bit of Commands and Colours: Ancients, which felt a wee bit fiddly compared with the ultra-streamlined Manoeuvre, though with a more epic, majestic sweep, and probably a bit more depth. We'd also played a few games of Igloo Pop with the older daughters, and they played a few games of Alhambra and Mr Jack amongst themselves. We also played 6 player Shadow Hunters, though that was a bit unsatisfying - four of the six players won . . .

And in amongst it all, Henry and I found time to take on not one, not two, but three games of Twilight Struggle. We got to it a couple of days in to the holiday; Henry had hankering for a game since their last visit to us in September 2011, when I had just received it in a Maths Trade (we took one look at the rules back then and put it away). Since then I've only played it twice, so we were both eager to explore its intricacies.

In actual fact, we found it to be nowhere near as daunting as its reputation might suggest, especially since, on advice gleaned from Ryan Sturm's most recent How to Play, we all but ignored realignment rolls, further streamlining the learning curve. It is an awesome game, and we found that the game lasted longer, getting to later rounds without an outright winner, the more familiar we got with the cards and strategies. That said, Russia won all three games, though Henry, determined to break the Soviet stranglehold, put up a valiant fight in the last game (and enjoyed getting to prod me in the chest as he played the Kitchen Debates). And it's not stupidly long - all three of our games lasted between two and a half and three hours; though none lasted beyond turn six - an epic struggle that went the full ten rounds could last four, even five hours. In that sense it bucks the general trend, in that the better both players know the game, the longer it will take.

All in all an awesome week of gaming, perfectly intertwined with a very lovely week away, thanks to Henry and Rachel and their delightful girls. Roll on the new season of GNN, my loins are girded!
JB