Can't Stop/Can Stop

I (Sam) was late to GNN last night, and had the unique experience of listening to the end of a game of Can't Stop where the only available numbers left were 2,3,4 and 5. Ian, Katy, Martin and Adam H were all going repeatedly bust and the swear-meter was up at eleven. Eventually Katy won - not sure what the other positions were.

Katy - can stop!

8pm was nearly upon us and duly Adam T, Anja and Steve appeared. Joe remained, for now, mysteriously absent. We embarked on a game of Codenames with Ian clueing for Steve, Anja and Adam T. I was spymaster for Martin, Katy, and the enigmatic Adam H. Both teams began with a solid 2 correct guesses each, then we (Blue) pulled slightly into the lead when Ian's clue of Mount Rushmore led to an incorrect guess of Washington.

Both Ian and I were slightly bamboozled by the amount of water-related words on the grid with me trying to clue sink/pirate/stream and Ian well. Fortunately we ticked off horn and swing thanks to jazz - it's not often I say thanks to jazz - and then Ian's clue of shaft gave us a single word to finish the game off:

Martin/Katy/Adam H/Sam - Masters of Cold War

Around this point Joe materialised, but barely had time to say hello before he was led off for a game of Tichu with Ian, Katy and Martin. No idea what happened there - the rest of us, after another bout of elusiveness from Adam H, went off to play Taluva. This hasn't been seen on a GNN Tuesday night since the olden days, before so many things that happened, that I needed a refresher that amounted to a first-teach.

Fortunately Adam T, Steve and Anja had all played recently, and the only person who'd never played before was Adam H, who - inevitably? - won anyway. I'm blaming distractions of two roaming children, and the moon out the window.

I have to apologise because I struggled to get what any kind of strategy was and halfway through the game began to fall asleep, to the point where I asked if it was feasible to bail, and put enough social pressure on Steve as a result that he rushed his final few turns. Who knows what might have been had I kept my mouth shut? Sorry Steve. I remembered Taluva as a fairly dainty game but I now suspect I only ever played it 2-player with Joe. Five was a different beast.

Adam H - wins
Everyone else - loses, thanks to Sam

At this point I fell into bed and therefore missed whatever drama was about to unfold... I hope the comments will tell a better story than mine, which was Sally waking me at 3am because I was snoring so loudly.

Its name is Taluva. Its first rule of fun...

... is to start with a Bugsy Malone reference.

Today the talk of Bristol was only about one thing. Would Adam be able to win two games tonight and thus acquire the mythical “perfect five” of five ones in a row on the form table.

The core four arrived at Joe’s on a cold rainy Spring evening. I arrived a little late and found the three of them with a game already set up on the table between them. Taluva is a game of placing huts and building up layers so you can place more huts on higher levels and and maybe some towers and temples, too. The idea is to rid yourself of two types of buildings out of the three in your stock: Towers, temples and huts. Lots of huts.

Sam and Joe had played several two-player games against each other, so it was new to me and Adam. Adam adapted quicker than most, and was even correcting Sam about the rules on his first go! I couldn’t work out a tactic or strategy and was placing stuff almost at random. This does not reflect well on Sam, who came joint third with me.

Joe was poised to win, when Adam unleashed an awesome move that allowed him to place many huts. After that, he only needed one more turn to win. Joe couldn’t stop him nor finish the game himself. Oh, the heartbreak.

1. Adam
2. Joe
3= Andrew
3= Sam

So the next game. Adam was one step away from immortality. What would it be? We had to chose well. Joe seemed up for a game of Lords of Vegas and, since no one came up with anything better, we agreed.

Lords of Vegas is practically a role-playing game. At least, it is when we play it. Mafioso accents and over-the-top reactions, coupled with absurd goomba-speak catchphrases (“Hey, you don’t touch the custard!” meaning: you can’t compete with Adam) meant the first half of the game sped by. We trash-talked each other, bitched about the casino business, and decided that smelling another man’s burp is the same as kissing him.

But before long, I realised I was in last, despite some decent luck on my side (winning a $10m bet at Joe’s casino, accompanied with an Andrew Dice Clay-style “BOOM!” when I won) I struggled. And Lords of Vegas is a game where you don’t want to fall behind. The frequency of comedy Italian accents started to tail away.

As the game entered its closing stages, Joe was already far ahead. Sam managed to steal second place from Adam while I remained last. A close last, but still last. I just needed my casinos to pay out one more time, and I’d have been on Easy Street. But how many bums on Sunset Boulevard have the same story?

Lords of Vegas. Just beautiful, man.

Joe 44
Sam 32
Adam 26
Andrew 23

Despite falling short of perfection, Adam is still top of the table, with Joe rising to third after a good evening.

						Points
Adam	3	1	1	1	1	7
Sam	2	3	2	3	2	12
Joe	1	2	3	4	4	14
Hannah	2	1	4	2	5	14
Anja	1	1	3	5	5	15
Steve	4	4	4	2	1	15
Andrew	4	3	4	2	5	18
Jon	2	3	5	5	5	20
Will	5	5	3	5	5	23

No news from Bracknell so far this week. In the meantime, here's the Lords Of Vegas table...