Panickin' Skywalker

This week's regular gaming forum was held at Adam's place, minus Hannah who was away for work. But here for play were Katy, Sam , Joe, Ian, Martin, Andy and myself. There was apple crumble on offer once we had arrived and Adam looked quite relieved we he found out that we hadn't finished the lot before he'd got his son to bed.

But what to play? Andy had bought plenty of new options, including a still-shrinkwrapped Stefan Feld game. But Adam's eye was caught by Sam's copy of The Networks and Joe had bought the betting and racing game Down Force which got enough approval to be set up.

Sam, Adam and I played The Networks on the blue coffee table. It was new to me but the rules aren't complicated although it certainly looks baffling to the uninitiated. Before long, I was scheduling prime time entertainment for the masses along with the best of them.

I began the game, which meant Adam had last choice in the first round. This was considered a disadvantage when it was last played, so I thought it was a fair method of levelling the playing field against the might of Adam.

I was keeping pace with the other two quite happily throughout and made sure I was always cash-rich so I was never short of choices. Adam, though, made no money from his TV network until halfway through the game, and he was living hand to mouth until the end.

This lack of money almost blew up in his face in the last round when he forgot that he couldn't pay for his programming. He sheepishly changed a recent decision from Get Viewers to Get Money to avoid the hit on victory points he'd receive.

He might have still won, though, as he proved the last-player disadvantage to be an illusion.

Adam 142
Sam 125, plus money tie breaker
Andrew 125

I enjoyed it a lot and am keen to play again. With just three players, we'd shaved a full hour off the playing time of the previous four player game.

On the big table Down Force had ended. I paid it little attention, apart from the times when I took a photo, but Andy came out a clear winner, which makes sense since I remember him being good at Winners' Circle, too. No idea what happened to Joe.

Andy 24
Martin 19
Katy 15
Ian 11
Joe 7

So while we on the coffee table were still haggling over fading stars and dodgy TV formats, they played Hanabi (after Andy didn’t seemed hugely excited by the offer of Bemused, with the enticing slogan “we’re pretty sure you’ll hate it”). I felt a bit jealous when I saw this. I think it was Katy's first game, but I could be wrong about that.

They set about putting on a fireworks display and, although they didn't complete it and Katy often complained that she knew nothing about her cards, they got 20 points (out of 25) which, according to the German rules, was "Gut" and only one point off "Sehr Gut." Well done!

However, the two tables were completely out of sync. While they played Hana-bi, we started on Finca. Sam persuaded Adam to play it by suggesting it was exactly the kind of game that he was good at.

The last time Sam and I played it, we hid the bonus tile at the bottom of the pile of delivery tiles. This time, we didn't, instead preferring the official rules. We also didn't use the Special Ability tiles. As we're all still newbies, there doesn't seem much point. The game is already plenty complicated enough.

It was a tough game. I think both Sam and I split our tactics between trying to stop Adam and trying to not be last. Sam did that better than me, as his original prediction regarding Adam's suitability proved bang on the money.

Adam 53
Sam 39
Andrew 35

Another game I'm keen to play again. On reflection, I think three players might be the sweet spot: two players and it's too predictable; four players and it's too random. Just my impression, though.

While Finca was reminding us of Adam's immense AlphaGo-style ability at reading a game, The five on the other table were starting on a game of Kribbeln. In this game, Martin went very high on his Kribbeln right from the start, and came to regret it. Joe, though, stormed back with almost a clean sweep of round three after a poor opening. Ian, meanwhile, lived up to his reputation as Le Coq Blocquer when he consistently tied with Katy, taking points from her whenever he did.

Kribbeln: not a very photogenic game

Joe 27
Andy 25
Ian 22
Katy 22
Martin 18

Now we had all, finally, ended at the same time. There was a brief reshuffling of tables, with Joe, Sam, Martin and Katy deciding to save the Earth with Flipships. Andy, Adam, Ian and I went for the more prosiac option of real estate gaming with For Sale. It was an odd game for most of us who are used to the Italian edition, with it’s different number spread. Adam, though, had no difficulties in that respect.

Adam 65
Andy 55
Andrew 50
Ian 49

The invasion of Earth was still underway, but we ignored the possible extinction of the human race and chose No Thanks.

Three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and the suspicion that someone hasn’t shuffled the No Thanks deck properly. In today’s game, we began with a glut of cards in the twenties. I went for high twenties and got lucky. Adam and Ian fought over mid-to-low twenties and got in each others’ way. Andy went for mostly low cards, but got stung by a lone 30+ card.

Andrew 24
Andy 31
Ian 54
Adam 57

We had finished just as Flipships was entering its final round. By now Katy’s unerring accuracy had earned her the nickname Red Leader One. But despite the four of them wiping out the horde of alien fighters, the Mothership was still on four hit points, just down from six at the start of the game. So it was just a case of each player hitting the mothership once in the final round, and they’d win the game.

Martin went first. He hit it once, sticking to the plan. Sam was up next, but didn’t get a hit. Then Katy, who struck twice. Back on track!

All our hopes were with Joe. This genial guy, famous for his flicking issues with Ascending Empires, now had to save the planet. He felt the pressure acutely, all the more so since now we had to whisper since Adam was upstairs putting his son on the toilet. (It was now that Ian said the words which are now the blog article’s title.)

He flicked high and long. He flicked high and short. He veered far off course. He came so close. But not one ship found its target. The end of the world. A disaster.

We're all dead

The end of the evening, too. Luckily this evening was anything but a disaster. Thanks for hosting, Adam. And thanks for playing, everyone else.

Fun lovin' Kribbelners

This week saw the well-oiled machine of GNN execute a pin-point 180 degree turn as initial host, Adam, had to hand over the duties to Sam at the last minute. Well, at the last couple of hours or so, but you get the point.

This left Sam fretting as the change in venue sparked off a number of late cancellations. Did this mean he wasn't popular? But in the end the exodus wasn't as big as he'd first thought and eight of us were in attendance tonight.

We started as a four: me, Sam, Ian and Joe. We began with Animals On Board, joking that just setting the game up would set off the doorbell. It did, and it was Martin.

Animals was replaced by Abluxxen. Early on, Sam asked if a hand full of different numbers was bad. Martin confirmed that it was.

The game ebbed and flowed, with Ian surprising us all by putting down a trick with three jokers in it. That was quickly abluxxed by Martin, if I remember right, which might have been the key move.

Martin 21
Sam 11
Joe 11
Andrew 5
Ian 5

By now, Adam, Katy and (after his cameo last week) Steve had arrived. The eight of us split into two groups of four. I pointed out Ponzi Scheme in Joe's bag, and a triumvirate of eager players volunteered themselves. I'd been keen to try it, so I happily joined them.

The other four went for The Networks. The game of schedule planning for a cable TV station. Or something. I understood very little since, from where I sat it was a long way away and upside down.

Ponzi Scheme, though, was much nearer. And the right way up. Unfortunately, I didn't understand it either. The rules are simple but the gameplay can be very opaque. Trying to work out a value for industry tiles in the trade round is a bit like licking your finger and holding it in the air. Not much to go on.

Joe stated he just wanted to stay solvent until the end, since that had never happened before. Katy bought industry tiles with glee, insisting I take a photo when she had three of three types.

Martin had loads of tiles and then, the next time I looked, he only had a few. Possibly due to the large number of "bear markets" that were triggered, meaning we have to lose a tile.

But Katy couldn't sustain that level of tile ownership and I felt less than inclined to try and extend my game any longer than necessary, so we ended up failing simultaneously. Martin won, despite Katy buying a tile off him to try and get Joe to win, but Martin's had a huge reserve of cash which got him four points. It was enough to give Martin another win.

Martin 8
Joe 4
Katy and Andrew BUST!

I found it all a bit dull. It was as if I was playing a game of Mornington Crescent, were people ostensibly follow some rules, and then there's a big reaction at something, the joke being that nothing has actually happened. That's exactly how it felt. Can't see me playing again. Pity, but there you go.

The Networks was still underway, so we brought out Polterfass. Clearly not my night for bluffing, mind-reading type games.

Surprising final round, though, with Katy and Martin poised to win. Katy, the customer, had 72. Martin, the barkeep, had 70. Katy only had to bid three and hope for a return, and then she'd win. But she bid zero, expecting Martin to be a mean bartender and not roll again, hoping to take advantage of Joe or my greed. She was half right. Martin didn't roll again, leaving eight pints to share. But Joe and I bid only one! No one went bust and Katy rued her choice. It was enough to give Martin another win.

Martin 76
Katy 72
Joe 50
Andrew 18

The Networks was still being played. In fact, by now, they were all standing up and checking the rule book. Serious stuff.

We went for Kribbeln, the game where Martin cocks a snook at Lady Fate and gets away with it. We all said his second Krib of 34 was a mistake, but then he pulled at 35 out of the bag in the later stages while the rest of us struggled in the high twenties and low thirties. It was enough to give Martin another win. (I should probably just have that sentence assigned to one of the F-keys on my keyboard. It would save a lot of time.)

Martin 25
Katy 19
Joe 17
Andrew 17

Finally, The Networks ended and we could clear the table (leaving behind one purple cube that no one could identify the source of). The game ended:

Adam 253
Sam 251
Steve 247
Ian 227

The eight of us played a rousing game of Pairs. Well, not really. My game slump continued, even in victory. I was on 14 points when I managed to fluke a first place, getting me eight points and pushing me past the 21-point mark. A huge anti-climax: I hadn’t even realised I was close to winning. The other notable event was Adam deciding to stick after he'd only been dealt one card (got him five points, though).

Andrew 22
Katy 15
Joe 14
Martin 13
Ian 11
Sam 11
Adam 10
Steve 8

Then the Eastonites left en masse, leaving the rest of us for one last game. Since I’d had such a poor evening, they let me choose the final game and I went for Unearth. But even then, I failed to get very far.

Sam 28
Joe 21
Katy 17
Andrew 16

Not a great night for me but I’ll write this off as an aberration. There’s always the weekend!

Sho' Nuff

With last night's Shogun still tingling my brain, Stanley and I cranked out a game of The Networks this afternoon. The idea is we are running competing TV channels, and choose shows to fill three slots between 8pm and 11pm, raising both cash and - crucial for winning - a larger audience share than your opponents.

My channel was VCK

Abetting this shows are adverts or stars that will garner more audience or cash, and there are also Network cards that are essentially McGuffins - a little fillip here or end-game bonus there. 

I'm wary of games that pass themselves off as funny, but to be fair to The Networks it makes no claim of being 'hilarious' but did provide some comedy - at one stage my channel had An Hour of Shouting at 9 and Get To Know Your Lower Colon at 10.

Mmmmm

This goes on for five seasons as your older shows lose audiences and get consigned first to reruns, and then the archives. Twas ever thus...

I'm currently the undefeated Cube Quest king in our house with something like ten victories in a row, but I simply can't defeat Stan in anything heavier than that, it seems, and he trotted out with a debut win:

Stanley 140

Sam 136

It was a lot of fun. I would happily have played again, but Stan had been pushing for us to play Shogun, so after tea we sourced a 2-player variant from BGG: where some areas are uncontested and both players take two special cards, instead of one. Other than that though it was much the same deal (except we played the rice rule correctly this time) and with the rules fresh in my mind I explained them a little more clearly today!

Black cubed areas remain off-limits

Too clearly, perhaps. Competitive dad came out and I really wanted to win this one, but I was defeated by both tactical play on Stan's part and a couple of awful cube tower moments that had me cursing Dirk to the skies. At the end of the first year I led by a single point, but Stanley's blue armies were amassed and ready to attack.

Winter isn't coming

We broke for tea, and realised we were being watched through the window by a snail.

Then the second year commenced, and we went toe to toe. I thrice pulled out the attack-with-a-single-army manoeuvre but though it did thin Stan's forces out, it wasn't enough. And in the autumn of the second year I stupidly didn't bother picking up money, forgetting - somehow! - that I needed it to build buildings!

A couple of tactics worked well - while Stan was busy in the middle of the board I claimed majority in castles around him. But my forces kept being attacked and the game ended with a convincing debut win from the boy. 

Stanley 41

Sam 35

Another whupping

I think I may leave it another four years next time.