Well, that went rather well for a pilot edition. There were 20 or so players, some already waiting in the bar at the noon opening time, and the last departing after 11.00 in the evening. The function room at the Talbot worked every bit as well as hoped, the tables are an ideal size, and extra lighting is easily arranged - not all the bulbs were in place as it has hitherto been used for evening entertainment where subtle lighting was appropriate. With even my eyesight coping, it was just about OK anyway.
Tea and coffee were on tap on a self-service basis at 50p a cup, the coke was a decent price as promised and the Pedigree was excellent.
The opportunity was taken to try out several more of the recent boardgame releases; I tried and liked
The Palaces of Carrara, and renewed my acquaintance with
Glory to Rome. The new version has slightly less flavour than the original, but is easier to remember, which was a good thing under the circumstances.
After a break for pizzas, delivered by a reputable local emporium, we realised that there would not be time for the planned
Magnifico - now a definite for Boxing Day - at which point Gary reminded me that I had promised to teach him
Power Grid. He had just purchased both the main game and the brand new
Great Britain expansion, so the opportunity was taken to try that out. With all the action taking place in a relatively small area, it makes for a fierce game, quite a baptism of fire for the two newbies. One of them won, nevertheless, with Sally taking second.
I had taken along assorted scenery, which was put to good use as Sanjeev had taken his new
Flames of War models along and found a suitable mentor, thus leaving much better versed in the game than when he arrived, exhausted after a half-hour walk from the station. I must admit, Anglesey Road does seem to go on for ever. The Talbot is dead easy to find, though, and parking was not a problem. We also had a decent turnout of Magic players, with the return of Dan Swain who joined the Ravnica League at the bottom of the ladder but had clawed his way up two places by the end of the day. He needed many hours of play to recover from the horror of having to miss the last Friday Night Magic.
We are all set for a return to the Talbot on Sunday January 27th, which coincides with the next MtG pre-release so there will be plenty of Magic players as well as the return of contented board gamers. In-house food is being arranged too; all in all, it looks set to be a rather good regular venue
