Hip Hip Hoo Raj

At first, today’s attendance at games night threatened to peak at nine. In the end, two people bowed out at the last minute and so we were seven: Sam (the host), Joe, Martin, Gonz, Matt, Steve and me. While we were waiting for Steve (minus a poorly Anja), the six of us played Tsuro. This game gets very difficult very quickly with six players, and I was first to find myself boxed in with no hope of escape. Sam had the chance to get both Gonz and Martin out in one go, but though the will was there, the tiles were not. He bumped of Martin, but Gonz escaped to safer parts of the board and, eventually, to victory.

1. Gonz
2. Joe
3. Sam
4. Martin
5. Matt
6. Andrew

The oft-discussed Game Of The Month did not happen this week, mostly due to a freakish occurance: while debating what we all wanted to play, we happened upon an agreement after only a few minutes! Amazing. Before anyone could change their minds, we split into two groups.

At one end of the table was myself, Gonz and Steve. We didn’t have the nerve to learn anything new so we chose Village as our evening’s entertainment. The others went for Municipium, the Reiner Knizia game set in Rome. I know nothing about it, except that the meeples can gain tiny green circles that sit on top of their heads, like laurel wreaths. Martin likes this and he proudly demonstrated it for everyone.

In our Village, we needed a little refresher of the rules before we set off. My initial plan was to try and maximise Politics, but it wasn’t quite the advantage that I remember it. I did a bit of everything, and this is not a game that rewards diversification.

Steve played his game, as usual, with all the bemused confusion of a man who’s just wandered into a room full of optical illusions and disembodied voices. But I wasn’t fooled. Behind every tentative move was a sharp and cunning mind.

Gonz, meanwhile, seemed to know what he was doing. He barely killed anyone at all, and by the end hadn’t used a single third generation meeple. The game was a long and thoughtful one. I looked across the table, a little jealous at Municipium and how relatively quickly it passed by. Although I wasn’t sure what to make of the rule where you get bonus points for being second in the bath when the prefect arrives. Kind of hard to visualise that, thematically. We were still mid game when they ended.

Sam: 5 coins
Martin: 4 coins, 4 workers
Joe: 4 coins, 1 worker
Matt: 3 coins, 3 workers

They then chose a Tournament game of Raj, the excellent game of bluffing and luck. We ploughed on with our game, made all the more difficult by the fact that, after two hours of play, the score was Gonz 10, me 7, Steve 4. I know that there are big end-of-game bonuses, but after all that time, it felt like a very small return fro all that effort.

Before long, they had finished their four-round game of Raj. It was noted that, despite everyone starting with the same cards, the results were so different. Sam played an excellent third round to put himself in pole position but Martin still had enough gas in the tank to push him into first. Joe and Matt finished some distance behind them.

Martin 69
Sam 61
Joe 23
Matt 17

We were still knee deep, wading through Village. We began one round, quietly convinced it would be the last, but then we couldn’t kill off enough villagers and so we had to begin another round. Then the game ended and the points were added up. Steve’s presence in the market saw him past the well-travelled Gonz.

Steve 62
Gonz 57
Andrew30

Even at this late stage, the other four had squeezed in another game. This time, it was Love Letter.

Martin 3
Matt 2
Sam 1
Joe 0

After this, my brain was completely fried, so I got lift back while the remaining five played Take It Easy. I got a text later telling me the scores.

Sam 473
Martin 473
Matt 444
Joe 381
Gonz 358

On the form table, several players hit the reset button, being able to play five games in one evening. This means Joe’s table-topping form has now vanished. Also, Adam is getting perilously close to being in last place. Is the world coming to an end?

						Points
Martin	1	1	1	2	4	9
Sam	1	3	2	1	3	10
Steve	1	4	1	3	3	12
Hannah	2	2	1	3	4	12
Gonz	4	2	1	1	4	12
Joe	3	4	3	3	2	15
Anja	2	3	2	4	5	16
Andrew	3	6	3	3	1	16
Matt	2	2	4	4	5	17
Adam	3	3	3	3	5	17
Will	3	2	5	5	5	20

Brand New Worlds

Due to Jon’s new job taking away his reason to visit Bristol, this games night was to be the last featuring our forest friend for a while. And it began in a slightly awkward manner, with everyone bringing four-player games for a five-player evening. In the end, we plumped for the only workable option: a three-player and a two-player game.

Anja, Jon and I went for Village. Steve and Sam chose A Castle For All Seasons, both designed by Inka and Markus Brand. Jon explained the rules to Anja in his rich, baritone voice that rang out across the room and caused Steve to complain, since he couldn’t hear Sam’s less theatrical explanation of their game.

Once we got started, I decided to go for the very option that Jon had highlighted as being a bad idea: travelling. It meant I was behind on the Town Hall and the Church, but I got all cities and I managed to get five meeples into the history books, for the maximum bonus, so I thought maybe I was in with a shout.

Anja and Jon went for very similar tactics, filling up the church and town hall and going to the market. Despite it being Anja’s first game, and having to deal with a baby, she seemed to take to it very quickly. Jon, the most experienced played of the three of us, played quickly and efficiently, complete with a gleeful running commentary whenever he killed someone off.

In the end, it was close. It could hardly have been closer. Anja thought she’d won by a single point, but Jon’s one gold coin was enough to force a draw. And my travelling tactic wasn’t far behind.

Anja 53
Jon 53
Andrew 51

An exciting game, and good to get it onto the table again.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the room, Sam and Steve played half of an aborted game of Castle For All Seasons, and then one which they saw through to the end.

Sam 95
Steve 86

Then, since Village was still in full flow, Steve organised some dessert for us all, consisting of fruits, jelly, ice cream and cream. A lovely touch. And then they played Biblios (not designed by Inka and Marcus Brand). Sam explained the rules to Steve, and then took him to the cleaners.

Sam 10
Steve 3

And all that’s left is to tot up the final scores. The Form Table isn’t much different from when we last saw it, which gives Joe the title for this season!

						Points
Joe	2	1	1	2	1	7
Steve	1	2	1	1	3	8
Anja	1	2	3	1	1	8
Jon	1	2	1	2	3	9
Andrew	2	3	3	2	1	11
Sam	1	2	3	3	3	12
Adam	2	2	1	5	3	13
Quentin	2	2	3	5	5	18
Hannah	3	4	4	5	2	18
Martha	1	5	5	5	5	21
Will	3	3	5	5	5	21
Bea	4	5	5	5	5	24

On the division, we see the honours shared around in a very open and friendly way. Sam takes most Points, Anja wins comfortably on Points Ratio, while Adam’s win on the Olympic style leaderboard is a commanding one. Meanwhile, Paul takes the Bracknell crown, just squeezing past Chris on points and Points Ratio. There is the small matter of the two-player leaderboard still to be calculated, but I’ll put that up later. I think Sam’s won it, though.

EDIT: And the scores from the two-player division are in! I said I thought Sam had won, and he did, but it was much closer than I'd expected. Thanks to Chris being good at Agricola, he boosted his Points Ratio and almost stole the Points title, too. I've also added Dirk to the table, just to celebrate his unlikely win and, anyway, he's practically part of the gang, isn't he?

And with that, we bring this season to a close. We wish Jon all the best in his new job, and hope he can find his way back soon. In the meantime, let’s all rejoice in our shared victory of a love of board games. God Bless The Queen! Huzzah!

The Accidental Spy

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday, so much more than just a day.

This week, games night was at Adam's house, and five of us (me, Adam, Hannah, Sam and Joe) convened in the early evening. With Anja expected later, we started on a quick (?) non-leaderboard game of The Resistance.

This game of bluff and double bluff (most of which goes on in Joe's head) is a lot of fun, but this game had a twist in the tail that John le Carré couldn't come up with, even if Frederick Forsyth and Ian Fleming had double dared him to come up with a really surprising ending that no one would believe.

Sam (easily detected) and Adam (remained covert) unveiled themselves as spies after Adam had ruined my mission. Adam then admitted at one point he had mistakenly played a Success card instead of a Fail card. This error, which Sam admitted he thought was a stroke of genius, was enough to confuse me so I took him on our last mission, much to Joe's dismay.

1= Sam
1= Adam
2= Hannah
2= Joe
2= Andrew

Anja arrived during this game and patiently sat through our bickering, and at the end we split into two. The Easton contingent (Adam, Hannah and Anja) chose Ys while me, Sam and Joe went for Village. We were keen to try this again after struggling through our first encounter.

It went a lot smoother, as you might expect, but it was clear that only one of us learnt from our experience. I more or less did the same as before – focusing on the market – but this time I ignored the chronicle. I was very sparing with my men and managed to make them last.

Joe, meanwhile, was like the Grim Reaper on a bonus scheme as his meeples died out quickly, getting their names in the history books before anyone else. Sam's meeples also died out quickly, but not fast enough and they usually ended up in a pauper's grave, forgotten to future generations.

As it was, Joe's strategy was a masterful display and left Sam and I fighting over scraps.

Joe 61
Sam 34
Andrew 33

Since Ys still hadn't finished, the three of us indulged our dice-rolling needs with King Of Tokyo. This game gives you three rolls, allowing you to keep any number of dice, as you try and build up hands of six dice to score points, earn cubes or deal damage to your opponents. It's not a game of luck, insisted Joe: it's a resource management game. The resource in question being luck.

Joe pushed his luck too far, and when the dice turned against him, it gave Sam a chance to steal first place.

Sam 20
Joe 18
Andrew 13

I'll leave it to the others to describe the ups and downs of Ys, though I wonder if Adam will want to relive that game, as he ended in a distant last.

Hannah 112
Anja 96
Adam 75

After this, Hannah and Anja called it a night so it was left to us brave boys to fight it out in one more game: Biblios. Sam now has something of a reputation for doing well in this game, and so it was once again.

Sam 5
Adam 3 (wins on colour)
Joe 3
Andrew 2

						Points
Steve	1	1	1	2	4	9
Sam	1	1	2	3	2	9
Anja	2	3	3	1	1	10
Adam	2	3	1	2	3	11
Joe	3	2	1	2	3	11
Hannah	1	1	5	5	5	17
Andrew	4	3	3	4	4	18
Jon	3	5	5	5	5	23

I'm ready for my close up, Mr DeMille

Tonight was a slightly strange games night as two of Joe's friends, Chris and Alex, joined us. Not as eager participants (although they do both enjoy board games) but as potential directors of a feature film documentary about us board games and they were doing a bit of talent spotting research.

We began with the six of us (me, Alex and Chris, Joe, Sam and Adam) playing The Resistance. Since Chris had come down the M4 in driving rain after a long day at work, we decided something with simple rules would suit him best. However, this didn't stop Joe from first describing the rules to a similar but different game first. He sheepishly had to ask him to forget all that, because the rules to The Resistance aren't the same.

But once we'd got started, it all became clear. After the first round, in which Alex and Chris were the successful spies, they had a better idea of the bluff, double-bluff and counter-double-bluff that goes on during this game.

So we started a second game, and this time Sam and I were the spies. I thought I blew it when I referred to the spies as “us”, but no one was listening to me. Sam retained his air of bemusement well enough to deflect any suspicion and we were victorious in our triumph. I enjoy The Resistance, and found it quite difficult to be a spy and not ruin everything (which I almost did).

After this, Alex and Chris decided to become observers, and had the dubious pleasure of us working our way through the rules to a brand new game, Village. After about half an hour, they made their excuses and left. This turned out to be the best move anyone made all evening. We ploughed on, and begun the complicated game of worker placement. It's not unlike Caylus, if you can imagine that game being played with pieces that suddenly drop dead after a while.

The longer your players stay on the board, the more powerful they become, but each meeple has an expiration date and before long will die, and need to be replaced. It's a delicate balancing act of trying to keep them alive as long as they're useful, and letting nature take its course.

There are many ways to score. The council house, the church, travelling, money and market tiles. Sam, Adam and Joe crowded into the church, and went travelling too. I didn't score at all during the game, but I launched myself up the score track with all the tiles I'd bought from the market. In fact, I was one mistake away from being first, since I could've bought a tile before Adam did, and thus make him lose four points while giving me an extra four. Just call me Kingmaker.

Adam 56
Joe 54
Sam 52
Andrew 51

Remarkably close. Either this game is cleverly balanced or we were all equally bad at it.

On the leaderboard, Adam puts more pressure on the leader.

						Points
Steve	1	1	1	2	4	9
Adam	1	2	3	2	1	9
Anja	3	3	1	1	2	10
Sam	3	2	2	3	3	13
Joe	2	3	1	5	3	14
Andrew	4	4	3	3	4	18
Hannah	1	5	5	5	5	21
Jon	3	5	5	5	5	23