A series of unconnected events

Gamers gathered in Fishponds on a balmy April evening. Joe, Martin and I (Adam) arrived to find Steve and Anja engaged in emergency plumbing, so we introduced the kids to gambling with a quick game of Hot Streak. 

In Hot Streak players make two bets on which of four mascots will win each race or on a weird side bet (two mascots will be sprawled on the ground at the same time, one will fall off the track, etc). We got to see some of the cards to be used at the start of the game which seemed pretty good for Hurley (the hot dog). Then over each of three races we added one card of our own to spice up the race deck and the comedy began. 

In amongst the swerving and tumbling Hurley won every race, which left me confident as I'd backed him every time, but Joe's smart side-bets nudged him into second and Martin's risky play (you get extra reward for first place if you flip the betting slip to the "risky" side) galloped him to victory. 

Martin 62
Joe 59
Adam 57
Lennon 33
Louie 22

Steve and Anja (having defeated the toilet) arrived in time for a 7-player game of Just One. The game was a hive of cheating and treachery, notable for Louie and Lennon conspiring to put complimentary words into the mix. We only played 7 rounds, but somehow got a perfect score.

Anja took Lennon off to bed now and the rest of us turned to No Thanks. In spite of never knowing when it was his turn Steve put together a nice run and trounced us, not far from a positive score!

Steve -15
Adam -39
Louie -43
Martin -55
Joe -57

Anja returned and Louie reluctantly bade us goodnight as Whale Riders was set up. Molly the cat sulked on one end of the table (disappointed at the lack of real fish?) as the rest of us were distracted by Steve's choices of background music. Whale song gave way to Inuit throat singing and then on to whaling sea shanties - not really the vibe of the game at all. 

Joe was least distracted, managing to fulfill three contracts in one go and never really looking back. 

Joe 21
Adam 19 + more money
Martin 19
Steve 15
Anja 13

As we tried to decide on the next game Steve showed off his new glasses.

 

Bluffit was selected as a quickie which everyone had played before, but the rules seemed baffling to everyone, even Martin as he attempted to explain them. Everyone started with an identical hand from 1-10, then hidden bids and theft ensued as we competed for the previous hand's cards throughout the game.

Joe and Anja's bitter feud didn't work out for them. My strategy of only bluffing occasionally did.

Adam 65
Steve 50
Martin 49
Anja 42
Joe 35

We finished as ever with So Clover, notable for Anja's "Cruise" for Cocktail Demon and Joe's "78" for Attic Record. I was Portabelloed when Chameleon snuck into my "Camouflage" for Landscape Uniform and we only got 24/30. But we didn't mind because we'd all had a lovely evening.

Plank's Wobbly

There was a flurry of late drop-outs and one happy addition of Adam H as even the venue changed and finally Ian, the Adams and myself (Sam) arranged ourselves around Martin's table, ready to clash swords. And that we did, firstly in the form of Martin's latest trick-taker, Skull Queen. No relation to Skull King, other than that both are trick-takers with a pirate veneer, and both feature cries of dismay. 

Skull Queen follows standard trick-taking rules in that it's a must-follow and highest card wins the trick. There's no trump suit. However, the trick winner will push their pirate up the plank, and the trick loser (lowest card of the led suit) will push their pirate down. Before play starts, you can place each of your pirates wherever you like on the plank though, so it's 'simply' a matter of looking at your cards and working out where you think you can get your pirates to: at the end of the round they'll score for their position on the plank - if they haven't fallen off entirely. 

The extra twists are that this highest/lowest dynamic doesn't just apply to the led suit, but any non-matching suits as well (as long as there is at least two of them - if not, they stay out on the table for the next trick). There's also a wild 13 and a wild zero, and 5s and 8s will cause trick losers/winners to move two spaces instead of one. Adam H was a perpetual victim of this as almost everyone took a turn dumping his pirates into the sea (in a flagrant disregard for how ships work, they can fall off either end). 

Martin led from the moment we left the harbour and never let up his iron grip. We tried to target him but couldn't work out how to manufacture his demise: Ian was on his coattails at first but faded in the last couple of rounds, as the rest of us were just grateful to have pirates left at all.

Martin 109
Sam 92
Adam T 89
Adam H 85
Ian 79

Next up was Bites. This is a kind of commodities game where we move ants along a track - any ant you like, players don't have a specific colour - taking them to their next matching-coloured food spot and picking up either the food token ahead or behind it. When there are no more matching spots ahead, the ant will move onto the anthill, which will define the value of all it's matching food pieces.

The catch is that if you want to up the value of apple, say, then you want to get the red ant to the anthill as quickly as possible - but moving the red ant generally doesn't let you pick up apples, as it lands on them. Mix in a couple of wrinkles - wine for set-collection, chocolate that allows you to grab two pieces instead of one - and you have Bites. 

It was interesting, but felt like a puzzle that never totally swam into focus, probably because although it officially plays 2-5 with the full complement turns were in short supply and decisions verged on the arbitrary-feeling, so much so that Adam T was mildly underwhelmed by his triumphant anting. We did manage to prevent Martin winning again though. 

Adam T 17
Ian 16
Adam H / Sam 15 each
Martin 14

We moved on to Whale Riders. Recalling Louie's push-the-pace strategy, I decided to race to the end, cash in a couple of contracts and buy my way to victory. This plan was harpooned when Ian picked up the free tile I needed and I decided there and then that Whale Riding is a silly occupation. 

Behind me there were plenty of busier whales going about their business in a more ambulatory fashion, and it served them well - mostly. Adam H made a rare miscalculation and the game ended literally one turn before he could rectify it. 

Martin 19

Adam T/Ian 17 each

Sam 16

Adam H 14

The Adams then left us for home, so our traditional closer of So Clover featured just three players. We played twice, and our opening game was so profoundly average I didn't take a picture: we scored 4 each. Ian still had beer in his glass so we set up for a second, and this time did much better: seeing off a couple of plausible red herrings to nail an 18/18 to finish! Ian's Gentrified for tame/region was nice. 

Hope to see more of you next week...

Love Shark, Baby

Anja and Louie were our hosts last night as GNN headed east to the land of the Time Clock. Steve was away so it was Louie who let us in, after Joe and I arrived early enough that we sat in the car for five minutes pretending we were on a stake-out. Then Martin, and Adam arrived and we kicked off things as a ludological sextet, setting sail in Whale Riders. 

Louie treated the game like a straightforward race, sending his whale careening down the coast before finally consenting to get some stuff for contracts. Although this made him an unlikely candidate for victor, it forced the pace of the game. injecting the laggards with a slight sense of panic. As blubber/watermelon got hoovered up, large amounts of storms appeared, making the perviously-bounteous offerings of wherever it is look suddenly rather barren, like aquatic Lidls raided for toilet paper and comestibles. 

Louie made it back first with one contract realised and began buying pearls (points). I sailed in behind him just in time to snag the most rewarding pearl tiles, and this was enough for a win. 

Sam 16

Martin/Joe 11 each

Adam 10

Louie 7

Anja 5

Anja revealed her starting contracts, which seemed to focus solely on huge amounts of blubber/watermelon. A not-ideal start for a newbie, but it sounded like Whale Riders wouldn't feature again soon anyway, with Louie pronouncing it 'boring'. Again I kicked myself for not bringing Robot Quest Arena! Sorry Louie.

Mel was about to arrive so we did some executive decision-making on her behalf, with Joe and Anja setting up Joe's new game Expeditions (Trans America crossed with... something else)  and Adam, Martin and I trying our hands, yet again, at Cascadero. 

I missed the rules explanation to Expeditions as by that time we were envoy-deep in Cascadero's Farmer side of the map. This side is pretty much identical to the basic side - visit cities, make connections - but has Babylonia-esque farms you can jump in when you're adjacent, triggering bonuses or points. I'd had an absolute pasting at the hands of Martin recently (twice) so just wanted to remain semi-competitive, and I think three is perhaps the ideal number for this game: not as long, slow or thinky as four but less tete-a-tete than a head to head. We sprawled, we bonused, we got in each other's way, we called each other dicks. It was fun. 

Meanwhile Expeditions got expedited and, other than the final score, I'm afraid that's all I can say about the other end of the table. Cascadero does take a lot of brain space. We finished before they did with an incredibly tight set of scores:

Martin 36

Adam 35 (second on tie-breaker)

Sam 35

Martin had been concerned about my imminent point-scoring for networks, but as I had to spend all my late-game turns trundling up the orange track, imminent was all they remained. I triggered the end of the game with a slender lead: with their last turns both Adam and Martin overtook me!

We watched the finale of Expeditions/checked our phones. 

This turned out to be a tight finish as well, with the tiebreaker unable to separate Joe and Anja:

Anja/Joe 20

Mel 16

Whilst I'm still no clearer on what exactly one does in expeditions bar a vague idea of getting those plastic arrows to certain destinations, everyone seemed happy with it. But at least three of us were starting to yawn heavily now, so we decided on one last game to finish the night, and Cabanga got bounced in favour of So Clover. 

We were stunned - not sure why, really - to find that Anja and Mel had only played once or twice, but I guess on the other hand they lead more varied and interesting Tuesday night lives than the rest of us. Although having said that, when Martin asked Mel how she was she replied "I hate work and my appliances are driving me mad", so possibly not. 

My clover was first up and unfortunately we had an imperfect start with a 4. Mel had spotted the connection I was going for but her softly spoken ways were drowned out by rowdy GNN regulars. But after that initial stumble we gave So Clover a more than decent shake of the stick, harvesting a few sixes from some nice clues (Joe gave us B52s for Love/Shark) and bookending them with another stumble on Anja's clover when some tricky combos (eg degree/ballroom) gave us a few self-generated red herrings. But overall a more than respectable 30/36 to round off the night. 

And that was that! Thanks all, a fun night's work. 

A la Karten

 It's been a while for me since I was in Martin's kitchen, but this was a welcome return as Martin was keen to offload some old books that he'd left on the pavement outside. I didn't see anything I wanted, but once inside, Martin obviously had one already in mind for me. "There's a Japanese one," he said, and went to get it for me. I think everyone picked up something.

And by "everyone" I mean Joe, Steve (arriving later), Adam H, Adam T, Ian as well as myself and the host.

We began as a sextet with Heckmeck am Kartenmeck, which is a bit like For Sale and Raj and, of course, Heckmeck. The first chance we got there was stealing a-plenty with everyone involved, either as theif or victim.

Then in round three, three zero tiles came out. A tricky situation, except for card-poor Joe who passed instantly and used a zero to cover his 34 tile.

At the end, I only had three tiles. Meanwhile, Adam H only had five and he showed us all how the game should be played.

Adam H 30

Adam T 27

Joe 21

Martin 21

Ian 20

Andrew 16

By now it was getting quite warm and the seven of us moved outside to admire Martin's dusty garden furniture and rubber chips on the ground.

We split into two groups. Joe, Steve and Adam H played La Corsa. The rest of us were introduced to American Bookshop. Martin explained the rules and that we should never play against Katy whose supernatural ability at this game defies explanation.

It's an interesting game. Very swingy, with each round offering up differing amounts for the winner. I came a distant last despite winning one round and coming second in another.

As we entered the final round, Martin was on 11, Adam T 1, and Ian 6. A small margin for this game, although I, back in last with -14, was only playing for pride.

It was a photo finish, with Martin foiled by the last card as Adam T nabbed 11 to take the win.

Adam T 12

Martin 10

Ian 5

Andrew -7

By now it was quite dark. La Corsa was in its final stages too as Steve put down his cards and said "read 'em and weep" and Adam H remarked "I can't read 'em."

I asked afterwards what the score was and Adam and Steve gave two different answers. Both agreed he came last, though.

Joe 20

Adam H 18

Steve 15 or 12, depends on who you ask

Back inside and Adam T, Joe and Martin played Sumatra, and Steve, Adam H, Ian and I played Whale Riders. It began in controversial style as I picked a dolphin as my piece, not realising it was yellow and I had to swap with Adam.

I sped off, zipping past lots of cheap pots in order to get first dibs further along the track. Adam, meanwhile, hung back, picking up what he wanted at his leisure while he completed contract after contract. He even ignored a free pearl in order to more efficiently finish another card. He did six in the end, compared to my three. But it was Ian and his middle way who took first prize, leaving Adam to rue his earlier choice: if he’d taken that pearl, he’d have won on a tie-breaker.

Ian 21

Adam H

Andrew 19

Steve 18

I left after Whale Riders, with Sumatra still in full swing. According to a text, Sumatra ended…

Joe 65

Martin 64

Adam T 62

Ian, Adam H and Steve were sill perusing the games closet when I left and it seems they chose Marrakech. Adam messaged me the results and it looks like Ian pipped Adam to first place again.

Ian 58

Adam H 56

Steve bankrupt, owing Adam two coins that would have won him the game

Then I think Steve must’ve gone since they played a five player So Clover, scoring 28/30 after a mix up with Forcefield and Magic/Sheild/Bubble. I saw some nice clue/couplets in the photo. Good work, chaps.

Finally, Joe and Martin ended the night with a game of Cinderella's Dance, which sounds delightful but I really have no idea.

Joe 3

Martin 2

Garden of Delights

Last night's GNN coincided with Adam H's birthday, and what better way to celebrate than by playing some games and swearing gaily at each other? As the insane heat of the last two days slowly subsided, we gathered in Mel and Ben's back garden: as well as the hosts there was the birthday boy, Ian, Katy and Martin. I (Sam) was last to arrive, coming from a school gala (Stan played bass on Ain't No Mountain High Enough!) drenched in sweat and trying not to sit too close to anyone as a result. In fact my first ten minutes were pretty much recovering from getting there, as we kicked things off with Just One.

As there were seven of us we abandoned the game's suggested 13-card structure (and the scoring, in fact) to deduct - or attempt to - two cards each. There were duplications ahoy, with sine appearing twice for wave, waffles for potato and so on. Katy and Martin both seemed to feel we should be able to read each other's minds and avoid these situations, showering the culprits with disdain when it occurred. Just One remains as fun as it's always been.

Then we split into two groups with Martin leading Adam and Ian on a sortie to Babylonia whilst Katy and I introduced Ben and Mel to Llamaland. But first we sang Adam happy birthday and were all treated to cookies and ice cream!

Katy ambitiously thought we'd get Llamaland and Whale Riders both played whilst Babylonia ran its course, but the former, even without objective cards, proved to be something of an epic. Mid-game Ben appeared to have manoeuvred himself into a strong position, with more llamas than anyone and a heap of coins to go with them. Katy took the tile I needed and I called her a dick.

"A dick, but not a cunt? Smash the patriarchy!" she cried.

I reassured her I was happy to insult her in whatever way felt appropriate.

The llama-ing, meantime, had passed peak-Ben as we hit the the last couple of rounds: he ran out of land and we caught him up in llamas. It was close, but on this occasion I was Llamafarmer Supremo:

Sam 71

Katy 70

Mel 68

Ben 64

At the other end of the table they'd completed Babylonia, with Adam threatening Martin's now-alarming run of consecutive victories without quite pulling it off.

Martin 162

Adam 151

Ian 122

And they'd also bashed through a three-player game of Overstocked. 

Locking furry swords with Katy at this point, I missed the ins and outs. Adam's first play of this had seen him finish with minus points. He did better this time, but has yet to properly channel his inner toy investor:

Martin 28

Ian 22

Adam 2

Not only that, they'd played Eggs of Ostrich so quickly I didn't even get a photo (Martin won that too, edging out Adam 12-11, with Ian back on 8points). I did manage to snap a picture of Mel and Ben's frog though, who was rustling about in the bushes, probably wondering what all the noise was about. 

It was suddenly dark, so we heaved the table inside, got confused counting chairs and then shook up the groups a bit. I was keen to play Kiitos, and Martin and Ben joined me. Katy cajoled the others into the Knizian delights of Whale Riding. 

Kiitos is a word game where you're trying to get your own word spelled. Whomever starts a round lays announces the word they'd like to spell and lays down the opening letter from their hand. If the next player can play the next letter, they must do so, and we keep spelling the word. If they can't, they can announce a new word as they lay the next letter (with the caveat that you can't announce a word and finish it on the same turn). 

If you can't see an option on how to proceed (eg in the above, you don't have an n for locating or an o for location, and you don't see a way to make a new word) you get the cards as minus points. If anyone's word gets completed, the cards are taken as plus points by the player who announced it. The game gets more interesting when you mix in the Super Kiitos (add a letter at either end of the word) and Squeeze (add a letter anywhere!) rules. We agreed it would be best with two, but I love the scoring system and how it suggests you can play defence: Ben won despite never getting a single positive point!

Ben -11

Sam -12

Martin 16

There was more talk at that end of the table, but I missed most of it, as I was cursing letters, or sometimes Ben, who was sat to my right. But whilst we were ruminating, Adam was getting a birthday victory under his belt in Whale Riders. It was tight, though:

Adam 22

Katy 21

Ian 19

Mel 18

Ian then bowed out, feeling the fatigue of an early morning catch up with him. Could the rest of us do one last game? We felt we could, and cracked into So Clover. Instantly cries of dismay echoed around the room as everyone felt they'd been dealt impossible word combos. I was looking at crap like quilt / Switzerland and soap / ray. It sounded like others had similar issues. "I used the write the first word that came into my head" Katy explained to Mel, "But now I write the second. Or sometimes even the third!" 

We took a long time to figure our linking words - so long, in fact, that Ben migrated from the room. In the circumstances, though, we did pretty well, getting everyone's clues with just a few initial missteps. Martin was apoplectic that we didn't get assassination / region from his clue of Dallas first time, however, going into a sweary rant about Kennedy like a history teacher berating a bunch of talented but stubbornly unapplied pupils. I was more disappointed we didn't see the pet / cemetary link sooner.

So Clover: 22/30 - not bad considering our initial chagrin. And with that, another delightful, if foul-mouthed, chapter in GNN history felt the whispered breath of the curtains falling. The visitors stepped out into the night to feel the blessed relief of an air that didn't feel like hot cardboard on your skin, and we made our various ways home. Until next time!

King of Vegas

 I arrived at 8, interrupting a little game of Mhing between Adam H, Katy, Martin and Joe. Since we were just a fivesome today, Lords of Vegas with its expansion was suggested. It received general agreement, so before too long we were dazzled by the bright street lights along The Strip and also dazzled by Joe’s plan for a green-baize version of the board, complete with recessed area along The Strip to be used as a dice arena.

The game started quite amicably, with players happily swapping lots in order to concentrate their resources in a particular block. Before long, two things were apparent. It was me versus Martin in one area, Joe versus Katy in another and Adam had a corner of the board all to himself.

Purples where the early winners, much to Katy’s delight. Martin went big on brown casinos since there were fewest revealed and, when they refused to pay out, he said “Joe, you’ve done it again,” referring to the last game when browns where mostly clustered after the Game Over card in the deck. I had two casinos on The Strip but they rarely paid out, while Joe was last to score at all.

Then things got feisty. Adam sprawled and made a 5-tile casino and then Joe got a 4-tile and a 3-tile casino in one turn. Martin took over Joe’s 3-tile casino and I took over Adam’s 5-tile casino which Adam took over again but only after it paid out. Then, towards the end (which comes quickly in a five-player game) I join my casinos to Martin’s to form a 7-tile casino which I then re-roll. Amazingly, Joe’s lone die beat everything and he was suddenly sitting pretty.

The then-leader Katy with her high-rise casinos got a little nervous and, after saying earlier that she didn’t want to lose to Adam or Martin but was fine with losing to Joe, suddenly found her words coming back to haunt her. Neither Martin nor I got the chance to re-roll Joe’s (by now) 8-tiler since Martin pulled the Game Over card from the deck.

Joe 36

Katy 29

Martin 23

Adam 20

Andrew 10

That was a new record low score for me but, in my defence, I don’t feel like I had many turns at all. And if something goes wrong in a five player game then you have a hell of a wait before you can do anything about it. Still, it was fun to watch.

After winning on Lords of Vegas, Joe put on his cowboy hat in celebration.

Then we player Verflixxt. I picked up an early +6 but then got nothing but negatives, with a last-minute clover saving my blushes. Katy picked up two clovers and was never seemed like being caught.

Katy 21

Adam 16

Joe 11

Andrew -8

Martin -9

My last game of the evening was Whale Riders, not the card game. I dawdled at the back and was only just at the turning point when Martin started buying pearls at the finish line. Katy discarded three contracts, saying they were bullshit, and then somehow picked up three more she couldn’t do and spent another turn discarding them too.

Martin 22

Adam 17

Joe 16

Andrew 15

Katy 9

With that, Katy and I left. I don’t know what the remaining players played. But thanks for the evening, chaps. See you next week.

The Wife of Brian

As I approached Joe’s house at 8.00, I heard a voice calling my name. It was Katy, cycling along, just arriving for the second time that evening, having just gone to search for a cable she’d left behind at Adam’s house. Another eight o’clock arrival was Steve. The three of us joined Martin, Sam, Ian, Laura and Joe who’d played one game: Fly. Martin hated it and Ian won. This brought up the issue of Joe’s perfect five – he’d been on the brink of winning his fifth game in a row since the middle of December and appeared to have lost his chance. But because the game is meant for four players, max, and they played it as a quintet, it was declared void. Joe had one more shot at immortality.

The eight of us split into two groups. Joe, Martin, Laura and Sam chose Brian Boru, the ancient Celtic game of area control and flirting. Steve, Ian, Katy and I chose (after some deliberation and Katy’s observation that we were the worst people at deciding what to plat) Whale Riders. This was my first game, despite it being a regular at GNN for some months now. I got a rules explanation from Ian and Katy and was soon foraging for treasures in the waves like an expert. Sort of. I soon spent all my money and had to spend one action completing a single contract just for the cash. Katy kept picking up whatever was free and was still able to complete a couple of contracts. I dawdled at the back, picking up leftovers while Steve was first to dash home, sparking debate about which end of the row of pearls he should buy from. Katy said it was obvious – the cheap end – but Steve was unhappy about making the better tiles cheaper for other people. Doesn’t matter, said Katy definitively. Argument done.

Katy 16 + cash

Steve 16

Andrew 15

Ian 13

Brian Boru was still in its early stages, so the four of us played Team Play. Steve got a rules explanation from his team mate Ian. I was paired up with Katy who shocked me by putting discarded cards straight at the bottom of the draw pile instead of making a discard pile. As for the game, Ian and Steve started strong, but then Katy and I drew level before S&I hit eight tricks and triggered the end of the game.

Steve and Ian 25

Katy and Andrew 25

We looked for a tie breaker and I said it might be fewest completed cards wins. This would have given Katy and me the win, but no matter how often Katy read the rules, she couldn’t find it.

With Brian still midgame, we played Spicy. I was all excited when I played my last card and Steve didn’t challenge me, but that was because he was putting down his own last card. Katy challenged and was wrong, handing Steve three points on top of the ten point bonus for clearing your hand. Three points that she came to regret. If she’d just let him put the card down, she would’ve won! Fine margins, and all that.

Steve 23

Katy 22

Andrew 15

Ian 0

Brian Boru finally came to a close with everyone married and Laura sighing as the final round began. Nothing to do with the game but it was, she explained, after her bedtime. It ended with a win for Martin and the end of the road for Joe's perfect five.

Martin 36

San 31

Joe 29

Laura 21

After this we split up again. Laura set off home and Joe, Ian and Martin played Ra and Katy, Steve, Sam and I played Full Throttle. This is a very basic betting game in which a player lays out seven cards from a deck and moves the motor bikes on the circuit accordingly. Then, they take a card from the deck that corresponds to the colour they think will win. Or at least top three. It's like a very pared down Downforce. Despite the simple game mechanic, Steve always overthought his choice of cards, weighing up what was available with what was already in his hand.

It was kind of boring at first. Yellow sped off into an early lead. Then orange caught up. But as the race continued and we reached the end of the penultimate lap, the pack had become much more tightly packed. "Almost as if it were all random," I pondered out loud. In the end blue became a surprise winner. A surprise to everyone except Katy who had four blue cards in her hand.

Katy 26

Steve 18

Andrew 16

Sam 9

Ra, meanwhile, ended on a knife edge with the final tiles to be played being 10, 11, 12 and 13 and everyone on equal pharoahs. At the end Martin pushed his luck. As the last player he wanted to load up the auction track before the final Ra tile came out. He daren’t go too far but in the end his margin of win was greater than he’d expected.

Martin 56

Joe 48

Ian 30

At this point I left, despite Sam trying to persuade me with the promise of So Clover. But I was a little tired so I passed and bade them all farewell. Sam later texted me that they scored 29 points. He also told me they finished Art Robbery.

Joe 23

Sam 21

Katy 14

Martin 9

Ian BUST

Thanks for another special evening. See you all soon.