Print Page - Spirit Games Wednesday Night

5th Jan 2011
Started the new year off with a new game Furstenfeld (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5435) this is another game from Friedemann Friese (Powergrid, Factory Manager etc). I really like the games this guy produces and this one is no exception, this is an economics game where you are selling products to the local breweries in order to make enough money to complete your palace. In order to help do this you have can build improved fields or additional buildings to aid you along the way. Eventually you start to build you Palace, but in order to do this you have to sacrifice a building or a field. This leads to a shortage of areas earning you money so planning how and when to start your Palace is crucial. There is an easy starting game but there are also advanced rules which mean you have to build the parts of your palace on specific squares. This is a very enjoyable game, is quite easy to learn and quick to play. In fact the first time we played this at Raiders we played a 2nd game straight away.

Please sit down...... I WON this game... Yes I won a game I own, this is a good start for me in 2011 ;) Frog had 5 Palace sections built (23 money) and Caz had 5 Palace sections built (22 Money).

We finished off the evening with a game of an old classic: San Juan (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=1873). In this game you aim to build 12 buildings, each worth varying amounts of VP's. Each turn you pick a role which allows you a bonus when taking the role's action. In order to build a building you have to pay its value in cards from your hand, some buildings produce goods when that action is taken, others have special functions which aid you during the game, others just have VP values. Once the first person has built the 12th building then everyone scores what they have built, the highest scorer winning the game. Paul:22, Caz:23, Phil:32 and Luke:43

12 Jan 2011

We had an unxepected but welcome visit from Neil tonight and we started the evenign off with a game of Asara (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/72991/asara) this is a beatiful little game, the components and artwork are of a high quality. The players compete to make the most elegeant towers, with bonuses for Gold adornments (and open windows with an expansion). You score more for having higher towers or more towers. On each turn the players have a hand of cards with coloured builders on, these are placed at one of the many areas on the board to denote what actions you want to take.

Player order here is important as each area is blank to start which gives the player a free choice from his hand but subsequent players need to place a builder of the same colour or two face down cards if they have none. You are then able to take that action, which is buying various tower parts or one of several special actions.

In order to build a tower you need to have enough peices to make a complete tower (Top & Bottom as min) but you can add to existing towers.

This game is not overly complicated to play but is immensley fun and involves a lot of careful planning of moves. I really enjoyed this and look forward to playing this again sometime. Sal: 58, Caz: 49, Neil: 48, Paul: 41

We finished off with a game of Eketorp (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=3750) a game with Vikings. This is a well made game with lovely components, as expected from Queen Games, players compete to build their Castles the winner is the first to build all 18 bricks or the highest scorer after 10 rounds. Each turn a material card is turned over and the resources placed onto the board, players then secretly place their viking on their boards selecting where on the main board they want them to go. After everyone has decided they reveal their choices simultaneously then place their vikings on their chosen areas. Where there are enough resurces for each viking those resources are allocated out, where there is not enough the vikings fight for the spoils which is done by selecting a numbered card from your hand highest card winds. After completing the fight the loser places his viking in a hopsital square equal to the difference between the two cards, the players then swap cards placing them next to their castle.

When a player runs out of cards they pick up all their exchanged cards from the board. Players can also lay siege to other players castles aiming to remove bricks from their walls. This is an important option to try and slow another players progress.

I liked this game but I have to confess having read the box and looked at the pictures I envisioned a more complicated game then I got, that said it is enjoyable and certainly a very good filler game that is easy to pick up and run with.

Final Scores, Caz: 26, Carl: 33, Paul: 34 and Neil: 38

19th January
Tonight we started with a game of Fresco (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5014) which is always fun to play. We had two people who had never played this before and two who had played before. In a typical Wed night state of affairs the new players took first and second place ;D. Scores were Caz:53, Paul:54, Andy:59 and Richard: 67.

Having managed to lose at Fresco (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5014) we went on to play Around the World in 80 Days (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=2287), a game that we have not played in a while. This is a great gateway game that appeals to both gamers and non-gamers alike, it plays up to 6 people and is always a favourite. The players follow the path of Phileas Fogg. Players have to use various modes of transport to move between the cities using cards with number of days on them. Each turn they pick up a new card that also allows then to take an additional action (use a Balloon, take money, move inspector etc). Caz won this, followed by Sal,Claire and no surprise I came last.

Finally we played a game of Fzzzt! (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4490) Players have a set of cards they use to bid for items on the conveyor belt, these cards also act as victory points for the end game and can also be allocated to production units which if completed will score additional points at the end of the game. This was quite a fun little card game which plays quickly which makes it an ideal little filler game. Sal:24, Caz:30, Andy:37 and Paul: 41

Wednesday 16th February

Tonight Frog, Neil, Julian and myself finally took the plunge and stepped into the dragon's castle in the Games Workshop edition of Dungeonquest.

Neil bowed out first after being crushed by falling masonry in his third room swiftly followed by me after my warrior tripped and fell into an endless chasm leaving Frog and Julian to battle it out. Frog did manage to raid the dragon's hoard but lost out to Julian's craven cowerdice and failed to make the exit in time. Julian won but "didn't feel good about it" since he'd spent the last couple of turns counting his gold at the dungeon entrance. Frankly it took too long and was far too random, Tomb or the new D&D games do this sort of thing much better these days.

Following that we had a quick game of Braggart. Braggart is a comedy storytelling game where cards are played to create a heroic (or often less than heroic) deed. Neil won this but Frog was mainly playing for comedy value. A good pub game.

We finished up with King of Siam an abstract game of area control. I won despite not really knowing what I was doing until at least half way through the game! Beginners luck maybe?

9 Feb 2011
We started the evening off playing Loot (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4689) a fun card game for upto 8 players.Players try can capture merchant ships for points at the end of the game. Merchant ships are captured by players placing pirate cards the player with the most won the ships at the start of his turn wins the ship. Caz:9, Neil:12, Paul:16, Phil:26, Simon:30

We then played Pallet Ranger's copy of Porto Carthago (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/73650/porto-carthago) this is a lovely little game with some superb components and artwork. Essentially a worker placement game where players take various actions (with different costs) with the aim to load/offload ships in the port or charter private ships all to make profit that can then be spent to gain favour in the palace which ultimately wins you the game. Nice mechanics and with an excellent run down of the rules from Pallet Ranger (who is very good at describing rules) we picked this up quite quickly and enjoyed it very much. Pallet Ranger: 1st, Paul:2nd, Chris:3rd, Sal:4th and Caz:5th

16th Feb 2011
Tonight we played Magnum Sal (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5465) with some lovely components and artwork. Players control a mining team trying o complete the Kings orders for profit. There are different types of Salt worth different amounts, there are several different buildings which can only be visited once per turn. The buildings have various functions such as purchase of tools (which give once per round abilities), removing water cubes, buying and selling cubes at the market, hiring more miners, and going to the palace to complete a contract.

Each round the players get to make 2 actions (only 1 during the first round of each phase) the choices are:

1) Placing or moving a miner
2) Extracting salt
3) Placing a miner as an assistant in a building
4) Visiting a building
5) Pass

The game is played over 3 phases with new contracts and tools placed each time. The tools provide extra actions (but once used are flipped over until the next phase) to aid the players, they also provide an income at the end of the game. The winner of the game is the player with the most money at the end of the 3rd phase. The Phase changed is determined by the number of contracts completed at the Palace, when the 4 or 5th contract is completed (Determing by the number of players) each following player back to the start player gets one more turn then the board is reset.

There is a lot going on here and a really fun game to play, this works very well as a 2-player games as it does a 4 player.

This is normally a 1-2 hour game barring Phil'isms, despite that though it was an enjoyable night and Simon even managed to stay awake despite the elongated play time.

23rd Feb 2011
Tonight we played a game of Furstenfeld (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5435) this is a great little game where you balance growing crops to trade with breweries for money with replacing your fields by building parts of you great Palace. The winner is he first to complete their palace.

This was an interesting game where some hoarded cash till the later turns to try and build their Palace in a late flurry, myself I lucked out by having the crane early on enab;ling me to build stuff cheaper. Now I have to report nearly breaking the universe again by actually winning this on the night....

We then played a few games of Callisto (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5235) this is an exciting and fun little game where players compete to place all their tiles on the board. Each piece you place has to be placed next to another one of your pieces, which are of various different shapes. The game is quite addictive as we ended up playing 4 games of it :). The game plays quite quickly with players having to plan their placements quite carefully. Chris won 2 games, with me and Phil winning 1 each.

9th March 2011
Arrived a bit later than normal tonight so missed out on getting a place on the Mansions of Madness (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5283) Game being run by Philsy, gutted as I also own a copy of this game and would have loved a chance to learn the game.

Still there was another stray Gamer, Simon, who was on need of a game so we found some table space and I introduced him to a game of Infinite City (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4873). This is a great tile laying game with very minimal rules but lots of gameplay and strategy to be had. This is pretty quick to play with up to 6 people and very easy to teach. As I own this game I did not have high hopes and I was proved right when Simon beat me 21 vs 18 but at least I can salvage some dignity with it being a close score.

After this to finish the evening off we played a game of Citadels (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=476) another favourite of the Wed night crowd. Players take a role each turn and try and build up their districts with high scoring buildings. A fairly close game really with the scores breaking down as follows: Me:28, Luke:26, Phil:25, Andy:21 and Simon: 17

23rd March 2011
Tonight We had a go at a recent purchase, Cargo Noir (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5565) which is a new release from Days of Wonder (http://www.daysofwonder.com/en/). As with all of Days of Wonder games the components are first class, colourful boards, beautiful pieces, excellent cards and a well written rulebook.

Each players represent a family of smugglers the aim is to amass the most Victory points (in the form of cards representing various assets - Dive Bars, Yachts, Night Clubs etc). To purchase the VP cards each player must place their ships in a port and bid for the goods available there, if they are successful they get all the goods. To win a bid you must be the only player left bidding in that port at the start of your turn otherwise you either have to increase your bid or withdraw. In order to purchase cards you trade in your goods, upto 9 of the same or upto 9 different, you earn differing amounts depending on which option.

The amount of cargo you can hold is limited at the start but you can buy VP cards that increase your storage, as well as VP cards that increase your fleet and a final one that allows you to gain coins when you withdraw from a bid.

Finally there is the port of Macao where there is a Casino where your ships earn $2 or the port where for each ship placed you can swap a trade good with any located face up or take one at random from the bag.

This is a quick game to learn, we read the rules on the night, and is quick to play whilst providing for a bit of strategic play. Really fun little game, not deep but a challenge none the less.

The scores for the game ended up very close, another plus point, Simon:70, Paul:60 and Caz:60

We then finished the evening off with a game of Metro (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=1383) a tile laying game where players are trying to join a station with their train using tracks to another station using as many tiles as possbile. The longer the track the higher the score, if the track meanders back over the same tile you score it twice, if you manage to get to the stations in the middle you double your track score.

You can also place tiles to shorten others players tracks, but you do this whilst not helping yourself so careful planning is required. Whilst the tiles are picked up at random there is room for strategy and devious play ;)

Simple to pick up and play and works really well with lots of players.

Scores: Sal:57, Paul:48, Simon:43 and Caz:40

Wednesday 30th March

Following on from Paul's last session report tonight it was time for me to try Cargo Noir. This is a straightforward bidding game wrapped up in the all the usual high production values that Days of Wonder are justly famous for.

The board and bits deserve special mention because they are so lovely. You’ll need a reasonably sized table for the modular board (it’s always that big no matter how many play, with fewer players parts of it are simply turned over to an illustration only side) and there is a real tactile joy to moving your little fleet around the map.

In a nutshell (and we’ll get to that later) players are attempting to make buy commodities to make money to buy VPs. So far so normal. There’s no messing about with variable prices in this game, the more you sell of whatever the more you get. If there is a criticism of this game it’s that the theme is a little thin; guns, rum and gold could easily be coffee, sugar and wheat or whatever.

The one aspect of the game I found slightly strange to begin with was that you can’t speculate to accumulate. Money is only used to buy the all important VP cards making the “get free money” action less of a choice of last resort as it is in many games and more an every turn necessity.

You win the commodities in a given territory simply by having more of your fleet on that space at the end of the round forcing the other players to either up the ante or withdraw. Easy. Except obviously everyone else is trying to do exactly the same thing.

As it turned out with only three of us the board never really got that crowded. That’s not to say that the occasional bidding war didn’t break out but it perhaps wasn’t as cutthroat as it might be with more players.
Carole steamed into an early lead by expanding both her warehouse and her fleet in the early turns meaning she could grab more stuff and sell it for higher prices. She also often chose to take a free random commodity which combined with her warehouse worked rather well for her.

In the end and after a last minute dash for VPs from me Carole won, but only by 10 points. Paul came second but only on the second tiebreak since we both scored a respectable 80 points. Once again a good close game.

We finished the evening with a game of Nuts! which was the usual knockabout fun. Seeing the Nuthenge 7 pointer go from person to person and eventually be destroyed is always a good way to end the evening.

13th April 2011

A little mention for Wednesday Night:

Four of us played Sutter's Mill (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4313) which I had been keen to play again since trying it at Christmas. As the only one to have played before I gave out suitable advice (honest) but experience still showed. Chris and Carl soon saw what was going on and were reigning me in as best they could, and are both keen to try again to beat me at my own game. That's in a tactical sense, it's not physically my own game, the owner has taken it back to Ossett with him. Mind you, I suspect that if three people take the same approach, the fourth will sneak a victory amidst the squabbling. The game is quite simple in essence, easy to explain and set up, but timing your reactions to other players' moves is critical, with lots of tension building up as crunch time approaches. Quite a little classic, which has been completely overlooked.

Chris got his revenge at Hey, that's my Fish (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4211) before we all headed for our beds.

Cheers, Phil

11th May 2011
We started the evening with a game of No Thanks (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=2739) a card game where the aim to to end up with the least points. 9 Cards are removed from the deck at the start, each card has a number on it, and each player is given 11 chips. The start player turns over the top card and either takes it or places a chip on it, if he takes the card he turns over another and repeats the same choice. If a chips is placed he next player either takes that card and the chip or places his own chip on. This continues until someone takes takes or is forced to take the card. Once the deck is exhausted players count their scores, any remaining chips count as a negative score. The trick is that if a player has a run of cards 15-16-17 for example, you only score the lowest card.

We played two games of this the scores as follows:
Paul:59, Neil:50, Caz:37 and the winner Sal:36
Paul:60, Sal:54, Caz:21 and the winner Neil:14

We then played a game of Speicherstadt (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5621) a deceptively simple game that is simple to learn to play but takes a while to master the unique bidding system. This was only my 2nd game, the first with only 3 players, tonight's game had the full 5 players and it was a lot more cutthroat making getting hold of the rights cards to win harder.

Final scores were: Neil:7, Sal:11, Paul:12, Caz:16 and the winner Eric:17

We finished the end of with a couple of games of Coloretto (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=1770). This is another simple little card game that is extremely fun to play and quick. All the cards are a different coloured Chameleon, some are just a +2 Point card and there is multicoloured Chameleon. The idea is to collect sets the more of one colour you can get the higher the score, You can only have 3 sets, any more and these count against you in the final scoring. A number of placeholder cards are placed centrally (1 for each player) then in turn each player either takes a card and placed under a placeholder or takes a set of cards. Each placeholder can have a Max number of cards under it, so players are either trying to add to a set to make it better for them or to scupper another player.

Scores were:
Neil:18, Caz:19, Eric:20 and the winner Paul:22
Sal:13, Neil:18, Paul:20, Eric:22 and the winner Caz:24

25th May 2011

Tonight we started with a game of Braggart (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5533) this is a fun little game where players try to build a story with a hand of cards. The cards come in different flavours Scene's, Deeds, Foe's, and Results with a minimum combination of Deed + Foe. Players arrange the cards to form a story, lower value cards provide hilarious but ridiculous stories and higher value cards produce more heroic exploits. Players can either accept someones tale or play various liar cards from their hand to replace cards with lower value equivalents from their hand. At the end of the round the player with the highest value tale keeps all of the cards for victory points and any other players with takes keep one card and discard the rest. On your turn you can draw cards, start your tale or play Ploy cards which allow you various special actions. Play continues until the deck of cards is exhausted and players total their scores. This is a quick but hilarious game which produces some fantastic combinations in the stories. Really good game worthy of more plays. Final Scores: Phil:59, Paul:37, Sal:35 and Martin:33

The next game was Carpe Astra (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4206) this is always a great game, Andy and myself had to brush the cobwebs from our memories for the rules but it was not difficult to get back into things. Players use network cards in conjunction with agents to influence various guilds to gain favour they can also use Slander cards to influence the guilds against other players. The aim is to collect sets of guilds tokens to score at the end of the game. The game lasts 10 rounds, each round aside from the first having bonus's for various actions. Final Scores: Paul:15, Andy: 13 and Martin:10

8th June 2011

Started the evening off with a new game - "Go With the Flow Pirate Edition" (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5671) where the players compete to collect treasure from the central island and be the pirates with the most at the end of the game. Players can also steal treasure from other pirates as they attempt to sail it back to their own island on the edge of the board.

On your turn you either train a new pirate onto your island, build a raft or set sail, you move orthogonally from your island turning one tile at a time. The tiles will reveal a tide or one of several special tiles, your choice is either to go with the flow and turn over the tile your are moved to or spend a coin to Steer which is to turn the tile 90° or weigh anchor if the flow is not where you want to go. On your next turn you can navigate away from your tile in the direction you choose.

Several tiles have whirlpools, sharks, Storms all of which have different effects on your boat and/or pirates. If you make it to the treasure island then you collect a treasure and on your next turn set off back to your island hoping to avoid fighting any other pirates on the way. You can also leave a pirate on treasure island which allows you to push an unmanned boat towards your island, hopefully, or construct a boat directly on treasure island.

I really enjoyed this, it is a fun little game that plays quite quickly as well as being quite tricky as you start with a small amount of money which does not get replaced so spending it needs to be done wisely.

We then went on to play yet another new game - "Zombie Close" a light Zombie game where each player controls 1 survivor and 3 zombies. The winner is the last man standing, survivors and zombies start in the middle of the board and then get moved around by the players. Survivors draw a card from a deck which provides an additional action or bonus on their turn, if the players get bitten after 5 turns or if they get bitten again, they become Zombies and draw from another deck of cards. Survivors or Zombie survivors get to move upto 6 squares, whereas the zombies get to move 1d6 squares (a single roll for all 3 zombies).

This was quite good fun, not very complicated and short enough to be intersting to try again. Zombie themed games are not really my bag but I did enjoy this.

15th June

One of the things I really like about Wednesday night at Spirit is that someone always has something new and interesting to play. Or at least it's either new, interesting or fun to play. One of them.

Tonight Paul and Carol came armed with a game that was all three of those things. They picked up Medieval Mastery at the UK Games Expo direct from the designer, I know because he'd signed the box.

The game is a lite hex based wargame. The fully made up board is quite small forcing the players to interact sooner rather than later and if our game was anything to go by there was quite a lot of interaction. And by interaction I mean fighting.

After the first couple of turns it was only Paul and myself who hadn't scrapped and that was only because our armies couldn't see each other.

Much use was made of the randomly distributed “special powers” which give bonuses to attack or defence or cancel out other powers for instance. I suspect these will also give the game its replay value.

I sat in the Arena the whole game pretty much but it didn't do me much good. The Arena is the always the centrepiece of the otherwise randomly generated board and is worth more than anything else on the board.

Around me the battles raged but Carol managed to slip in the winning point due to one of her special powers (I think). But as with lots of games of this type it was a well balanced game ending in a close result.

If you ever get to play Traders of Carthage my tip would be not to scupper your own ships. Like I did on my first go.

Carol and Neil played much more cautiously and managed to protect their cargos long enough for them to score ending the game with 70 points each with Neil winning on tokens.

22nd June 2011
Tonight we started off with 3 games of King of Tokyo (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5624) which is an extremely fun little game. The artwork and components are of good quality befitting the style of the game. Essentially a dice game with players trying to get to 20 points first whilst trying to damage the other players, there are various cards which can be purchased which provide one off or permanent effects to you or other players. Players roll the dice upto 3 times keeping or discarding dice, the dice symbols mean you either collect energy (used to buy cards), cause damage, heal or score points.

To score points if you have 3 of a number (1, 2 or 3) you score that many points, if you score more than 3 of a number then you gain an extra point for each one. To heal for every Heart token you heal 1 point of damage, unless you are in Tokyo. For every lightning bolt you gain an energy cube which can be spent on cards during your turn and finally Fists represent damaging other players, those outside Tokyo hurt the player inside whilst those inside Tokyo damage all other players. Players in Tokyo can not heal but do gain points for going into or staying in Tokyo, if they are damaged by a player they can elect to leave forcing the other player into Tokyo.

This games plays really quickly and is immense fun providing a good open or close to a games evening.

We then Played Dixit (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4555) a strange game where players have a hand of cards, with some superb artwork on them, and the active player says a word / phrase / tells a story / sings a song / makes a noise about one of his cards the other players then look through their hand and places a card they think matches this face down. The active player then takes all the cards, including his own, and shuffles them then places them face up in front of everyone stating which order the cards go in, players then vote for which card they think is the active players.

Scoring goes as follows:
If All or None guess correct the Active players card then 2 VP for All Other Players
If only Some guess correct 3 VP for Active Player and Correct Players
Each Incorrect Guess 1 VP for Card Owner

This is a quaint and quite funny game, especially in the right company but this did not really float my boat as this kind of creative on the spot type thing just makes me uncomfortable as I am just not that good at it. Good fun was had by all but this is not one I would leap at playing again given a choice.

Finally we played Tombouctou (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4861) The components and artwork on this game are of a very good quality, not unsurprising as it is a Queen Games production. The rules are quite simple, well laid out and well written.

Each player has a number of camels (each lettered), a number of lettered cards (matching the camels) and a set of cards showing where in the next oasis thieves will rob camels. At the start of the games players place their camels at random on the starting pitches, with the only restriction they have to have a camel in each line once all the camels are out play begins. Players are dealt a set pf 3 cards which show which pitches, on which lines will have 2 types of goods stolen from, On a piece of paper players mark, in secret, where they know the thieves will strike then select their first camel to move.

Each line of camels has a choice of two lines to move to in the next oasis for free, or by paying one good can move to any line. Players reveal which camel they want to move, and move them in turn order to the front most empty space of their chosen line, 2 spaces have card symbols which means players pass round to the left their thieve cards. At some point the players will know where thieves will strike at 3 out of the 5 lines so there is always an element of risk for everyone. Once all the camels have been moved the thieves attack camels on those pitches lose the goods indicated, if they have them. The thief cards are then collected back in, shuffled, and a new set dealt to each player for the next oasis.

Once the players reach Tombouctou and resolve the last theft players score their camels. Each good they have left is worth the number of that type stolen throughout the game, for example if you have 3 water left and 10 have been stolen you Score 30 for your water. You work out your score for each good and then total it all up, the player with the most wins! :)

This is incredibly good fun, produces some funny moments during play and very very enjoyable.

Final Scores: Paul:93, Caz:98, Phil:100 and Luke/Martin:141 (Last minute sub when Luke had to dash!)

29th June 2011

Tonight we got to play another game of Navegador (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5368) players represent traders exploring unknown regions and building up trade routes to build and expand the empire.

Players explore, trade, build, buy workers, gain privileges all to earn VP's. The board and pieces are extremely well made, look excellent and fits the theme nicely. This is by no means a short game to play as players have a lot of action choices made by moving their playing piece around a Rondel. There is plenty to think about with a fine balance being made between building up ships/buildings/churches or keeping cash reserves for later rounds. Every choice and action has significance so you have to plan your go carefully with a mind of what you need to do next time, hence why this game plays a little longer than it says on the box :). That said it is quite an enjoyable game and you rarely notice the time it takes to play as it is engaging throughout, even when it is not your turn. A good game, one that I will play again. I think we did manage to miss/get wrong several rules along the way as it had been a long time since we last played but that's only to be expected final scores were: Caz:103, Paul:121 ans Phil:129

6th July 2011
The shop was packed to the rafters with gamers tonight, so in order to get a table Myself, Carl and Caz were forced (terrible I know) to go over the road to play in the Roebuck pub, a huge sacrifice but someone had to make the gesture.

We took over some small games that would fit on the table and started the evening off with Sumeria (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4492) a really excellent little game from Reiver Games (http://www.reivergames.co.uk/index.php) sadly shut down but was an excellent independent games maker. Final Scores Paul:19, Carl:28 and Caz:50

Followed this with a game of Go with the Flo (Pirate Edition) (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5671) an excellent little game with some quality pieces and simple gameplay. Final Scores: Carl:1, Caz & Sal:3, Paul:4

Finally we closed the evening off with a classic favourite Guillotine (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=1737) set in the French revolution players attempt to collect the most valuable heads of the Aristocracy in order to get the most points and win. Really funny game with some excellent artwork and humorous action cards. Final Scores: Paul:12, Sal:15, Carl:17 and Caz:24

13th July 2011

Tonight we played another game of Medieval Mastery (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/86882/medieval-mastery) an excellent game where players need to gain territory and compete with other knights to win the crown.

Then we finished off with a game of NightFall (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5576) which is another in a long line of Deckbuilding games, the differences here are that each player gets 2 unique decks that only they (for the most part) can buy cards from, players can attack each other and players lay cards down form chains of cards around the table (each card dictates what can be played after it). I found this complicated to follow the choices you could make, the only scoring mechanism is who has the fewest wounds with another slightly hard to fathom way of tie breaking. This was not as quick to play as other games of its type and I found it way to complicated and random to build up a decent hand of cards. The scoring mechanism left me confused and so I did not easily fathom a decent way to play. I guess more games of this would make it easier to know what you need to do with your hand to maximise actions and scoring but this is not a game for me. Given a choice I would rather play Ascention (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5205) or Dominion (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4100) which are much easier to just pick up and play.

Wednesday 3rd August

I thought the game we were playing last week was called Olympus but a quick look on BGG reveals otherwise.

It was certainly set in mythical Greece and may or may not have included Crete but if definitely put Atlantis in the Med between Europe and Africa. It was also about collecting resources tied to particular territories to buy advances and wonders (it was very Civ like) and it was Andy’s game. I wonder what it was? Anyone know?

Whatever it was called it soon became a two horse race between Paul and Phillip. The game has a neat balancing mechanic in that everyone has the same amount of turns but can choose to spend them in chunks that are small, large or anything inbetween. It also allows canny players to “save” up extra time for a couple of free turns by buying certain advances or being between in combat. Using that tactic just about edged Phillip the win with a 51 to Paul’s 46.

It’s a quick but satisfying Civalike whatever it’s called.

20 July 2011
Tonight we broke out my shiny new copy of SmallWorld Underground (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5677) this is a standalone game with mostly the same mechanics as the original Smallworld (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4380). The rulebook highlights the changed rules to make it easier for existing players to pick out the additions/changes. There are new races, new terrains and new special object and places all adding to the rich fun atmosphere of this game.
I Like this better than the original there is enough different here to make the game as enjoyable, if not more so.

We had a 3 player game of this With Sally romping home with a Score of 113, closely followed by Caz with 110 and as usual for playing my own game I came last with 75.

To finish off the evening we played a couple of rounds of Buckets, a favourite of most of the wed night boardgamers and always a fun closer of the night. Sal and Caz ending up winning the games between them.

Another great evening of gaming with the usual excellent company.

11th Aug 2011

Tonight we had a rare visit from Frog and Carl wanted to have a go with Dungeoneer which he has been itching to play for a while. Each player gets a random character and a hand of 5 cards, on their turn players try to build/explore the dungeon by laying cards down. As you explore you gain Glory and Peril points, one used to pay for useful items for your character the other can be used by other players to do bad things to you on their turn. This is quite a neat mechanic, the cards are of good quality as it the artwork. I enjoyed the game, obviously helped by me winning :), I'd give it another try.

We finished the evening of with a game of Infinite City (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4873) always a favourite for wed night sessions. A really neat game with minimul rules, and you do what it says on the cards :). Final scores for this was: Neil: 18, Andy: 19 and me: 20. Shocking really but it does happen now and again.

24 Aug 2011
Tonight we had our grandson with us so we started off gently with a game of RoboRally (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=2441) this is one of the first games I ever owned and still good. Players race their robots around a number of boards trying to reach a number of flags in order. The first to complete this task wins. Robots shoot lasers at each other, there are laser turrets on some boards, you have conveyor belts/pits/cogs/water/oil etc to deal with all effecting your ability to control your robot. This is just FUN always full of funny moments when people get things wrong or are pushed out of position meaning their carefulky programmed robot suddenly falls into a pit :) Oskar won this game ;)

We then tried a new game The Impossible Machine (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5783) This is an excellent little card game where each player has a coloured deck of parts they can add to the growing machine. Each player has a hand of 6 cards and can place 3 cards on their turn into the machine. Placed cards can go anywhere as long as the symbols on the left and right hand edges (input and output) match the cards it is going to connect to.

Special cards, Catalysts, start the machine also after 15 cards are placed the machine starts. Players can still add cards but at the start of each turn 3 columns of cards are flipped over, once all the cards have been flipped the machine is complete and put aside for scoring. Once 3 machines have been completed the game ends.

The Final Scores: Caz:14, Paul: 15, Jordan & Sal: 17

We then went on to play King of Tokyo (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5624) An extremely fun little game and a popular choice for Wed Nights. The artwork and components are of good quality befitting the style of the game. Essentially a dice game with players trying to get to 20 points first whilst trying to damage the other players, there are various cards which can be purchased which provide one off or permanent effects to you or other players. Players roll the dice upto 3 times keeping or discarding dice, the dice symbols mean you either collect energy (used to buy cards), cause damage, heal or score points.

To score points if you have 3 of a number (1, 2 or 3) you score that many points, if you score more than 3 of a number then you gain an extra point for each one. To heal for every Heart token you heal 1 point of damage, unless you are in Tokyo. For every lightning bolt you gain an energy cube which can be spent on cards during your turn and finally Fists represent damaging other players, those outside Tokyo hurt the player inside whilst those inside Tokyo damage all other players. Players in Tokyo can not heal but do gain points for going into or staying in Tokyo, if they are damaged by a player they can elect to leave forcing the other player into Tokyo.

Sally Won our game of this :)

Finally we finished of the evening with a firm favourite Buckets, which you can never have just one game of ;) the two winners were Myself and Sally.

31 Aug 2011
For the first time in a long time I bought and played a game the same night. The game is question was Wiraqocha (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5787) and myself, Phil, Caz and Mike sat round to play this. I had not heard of this until I saw it in on Spirit Games new games list. I looked it up on Boardgamegeek (http://www.boardgamegeek.com) and was hooked :)

The theme is steampunk which is always good and the quality of the components is excellent, with the possible exception of some of the stickers where the artwork is a little dark making it hard to distinguish between some of the special pieces. Players represent different conglomerates competing to collect the spoils of this Lost Valley of riches. The board consists of a number of hexes with either a number 1-12 or a dice combo in order to place one of your pieces you need to get the exact number or the right dice combo. The hexes produce resources, gain extra dice to roll, allow a re-roll, gain extra mining points or contain one of the 4 relics that will let you discover Wiraqocha's treasure. There are 3 ways in which you can win, Collecting all 4 Relics, Mining a number of Somnium Crystals or acquiring a number of Buildings and Technologies to build the Leviathan. Players move or add their pieces to the board and mine crystals, collect resources spending these on the various cards which provide special actions or additional playing pieces to aid them. The game lasts more or less the hour specified and is huge fun to play, there is a lot of player interaction and in all the games I have played so far the competition is fierce and the final outcome close with more than one player a turn or two away from winning.

I really enjoy this game, it is easy to teach as the rules are not too complicated but there is depth here as well as plenty of replayabilty. The game comes with a variant which is swapping one of the tiles for another which adds a twist to the normal setup. Worthy addition to my collection which has already had a lot of plays.

Phil won this, keeping up my losing my own game record ;)

We then played a game of Dominion (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4100) which is another all time favourite of the Wed night club. The classic deck building game, which always goes down well. The final scores for this game: Mike:36, Paul:33, Phil:27 and Caz:21

7th Sep 2011
Tonight Caz started her evening off playing a game of Quarriors (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5762) a dice deck building game. Phil won this game apparently

We ended the evening with our first play of Guards! Guards! (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5793) this game has some excellent quality components combined with some really great diskworld artwork. There is a lot of discussion around the board for being abstract, well for my 2 cents the board looks great and suits the gameplay, some of the text could be easier to read but it is not a show stopper.

The players are newly recruited members of the City Watch, the eight great spells are missing from Unseen University and they have been tasked to collect a set of the spells and bring them back to the university. Each recruit selects a guild to infiltrate giving them which spells to collect and unique guild abilities to aid them in their tasks.

The winner is the first to bring their selection of 5 spells back to Unseen University which is achieved by working your way through the city collecting volunteers to help you run the spells past the gauntlet of saboteurs, Luggage, magic and other obstacles. You can collect magic and items to aid your volunteers in their tasks or to hinder your opposing players.

As you return each Great spell your selected team has to pass different Wizards challenges in order to safely return it. You selection of volunteers needs to have the right combination of attributes in order to stand the best chance of succeeding.

Throw into this mix a secret society trying top summon Dragons to the City which, if successful, block quarters of the city from being used for anything other than passing though and which the players have to battle to get rid of them. So there is a lot to this game and it just feels like you are there in Ankh-Moorpork.

The rules are not overly complicated but there are some gaps and the layout is not the best. These are things that can be overcome and the designers have been extremely quick to respond to questions on various BGG threads which is really good. Hopefully a formalised FAQ or revised pdf of the rules will be forthcoming.

This is a game that requires a few rounds / games to get the hang of it but the games we have played so far have been close and there is a lot of fun to be had here.

Well as this was my copy of the game, Phil won - there is a trend starting here there may have to be some get Phil strategies ;) (only kidding)

14th Sep 2011
Tonight Elder Sign (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5811) turned up in the shop, being an Arkham junkie there was not much arm twisting involved to get me to buy a copy which we then preceded to unbox to play.

As is to be expected the artwork is in keeping with the Arkham Games theme and the component quality is very good. In fact some of the tokens are better suited to the theme than the normal Arkham Horror (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=2415) game.

The characters are exploring a museum steeped in the usual Arkham Horror mythos meaning there are monsters, magic and mystical traps to overcome to try and prevent the ancient one from arising and devouring the world.

Players either stay at the entrance to heal, buy items from the shop using trophies gathered, rolling for random rewards or by tackling adventures in one of the various rooms in the museum.

A lot has been said that this game is easy and that the rules are broken. Well from my experience, which admittedly is still only a few games, the game drips the theme and the each game I have played could easily have ended badly given a different choice or a bad dice roll. For me though, whether I win or lose an Arkham game, its all about the theme and the atmosphere generated by the players. If you get the right people playing who buy into it all the game is a joy to play and you get cheers as people get the right symbols on the last roll or the collective sigh after a horrible fail or character loss.
As to the rules, I found them easy to pick up and teach to new players. Are they perfect, no there are places where examples or more clarification would help but they are far from broken.

I have to say this was an excellent purchase and I really enjoy playing this. It has all the look and feel of its big brother, all the same atmosphere and enjoyment but with simpler gameplay and can be played even with a large group in around 2 hours which is great.

I would recommend this game for fans and non-fans of Arkham Horror, but if you play with a larger group I would recommend thinking seriously about how you sit people around the game everyone needs to be close. The reason is that they need to be able to read the flavour text on the cards but also it helps everyone interact on each others turn helping to enhance the atmosphere of the game.

In our game we could have had nice gentle last round to win but Martin, after we had all decided we need do no more adventures and grab that win, decided to push his luck and go for one more room.

Well the ancient one was awoken, we had several adventurers devoured and on the final roll of the last survivor we banished the ancient one for a very narrow WIN.

We then went on to Play Quarriors (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5762) this is a dice game where players start of with a set of dice and on their turn roll some dice then use these to acquire other special dice from the available pool, all with different functions. The aim is to build your "Deck" of dice in order to score points which win you the game achieved by placing creatures in front of you, if they are still there on your next turn you score them before discarding. This was actually quite fun but unlike the card deck-builders, there is a lot more luck involved in this game. Scores were: Paul:14, Richard:10, Martin:10, Ben:8

Finally, whilst I was waiting for Caz to finish her game of Wiraqocha (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5787) we played a round of Nuts! (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5568) always a funny game. Ben won this one!

Catacombs - Wednesday 21st September.

I’d seen Chris with this odd shaped game at Raiders on Sunday and when I found out it was essentially a cross between Pitch Car and a dungeon crawl I was sold. When I found it was nearly fifty quid I was less so. But begged him to bring it on Wednesday which he did.

Since none else had played the game Chris gamely volunteered to be the Dungeonlord and myself, Andy and Neil became the heroes.

The game itself is simple and neat; pretty much all the action in the game is simulated by flicking wooden discs at other wooden discs. So a barbarian charging across a torchlit hall to attack a goblin horde in a frenzy is actually a wooden disc being flicked into another disc, an elf unleashing a deadly flurry of arrows against a dragon is, in reality, several smaller discs being flicked at a big one.

Weirdly though it really did feel as if we were adventurers delving into monster infested catacombs and we even started talking and planning in those terms.

Neil took the barbarian and later the lion share of the spare elf, Andy was the thief/rogue and I was the wizard, the one with lots of other discs large and small to represent his spells.

We managed to dispatch the nasties in the first few rooms without too many problems although we all noted Chris’s deft flicks. We missed a trick early on by not using my teleport spell to rescue a character left exposed by an over zealous flick but we were doing pretty well.
Andy was racking up gold with his thief and half way through we had him equipped with a very handy cloak of invisibility which allowed him to pop up behind the monsters and hit him where it hurt. Neil was merrily picking off stragglers with his elven archer and piling into them with his barbarian tank and I was having fun summoning skeletons and flinging fireballs at nasties.

We entered the last boss room one character down (RIP the elf) and with depleted health but with high hopes.

At one point our whole plan hinged on a moderately difficult shot with a fireball. All eyes were on me and of course, I missed. From there on in the dragon picked us off one by one until it was just my wizard left cowering behind pillars…I mean until it was just my wizard left standing.

I’m glad to report that the wizard went down fighting just after firing off his last spell. Screaming for his mum probably but fighting. The dragon was severely wounded but we were beaten. Both Neil and me loved this game. Chris said he’d like to play as one of the heroes and Andy gave it a go but knew pretty well soon that it wasn't his sort of thing.

With a bit of luck Chris will bring this again and if he does I’ve promised to be the Dungeonlord (or whatever they call the DM) but I’m making him choose one of the hard quests because I’ve seen he’s quite handy with a wooden disc.

28th Sept 2011

Started off with another game of Elder Sign (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5811) which I have to confess I really enjoy and would play this in favour of the original game just becuase of its quicker play time. Each game is different and there is always a palpable atmosphre at the game table with everyone routing together for the active player on each die roll. Excellent stuff, we managed another close win, despsite a large part of the game being one step away from disaster.

We then finished off the evening with another classic Around the World in 80 Days (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=2287) this is a delightful game which is always great fun to play and has a good mix - light enough for anyone in the family to play but with enough extra to keep the gamers interested. Somehow I managed to win this (I think the universe survived?!!?). Paul:71 Days, Sal: 88 Days, Martin: 93 Days, Caz: 95 Days.

12th Oct 2011

Tonight we had a go at my latest purchase Deadwood (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5835), Rival gangs are vying for control of Deadwood (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5835) and the new railway coming into town the gang with the most money will win. The components of this game are excellent, although the numbers are hard to read on the Cowboys face up side.

Each turn players can either place one cowboy from their Ranch onto a building in the town and "Annex" it which means they get to use its action/control function or they can remove any number of their cowboys from buildings in town or the abandoned mine back to their Ranch. All of the buildings provide different abilities to earn the gangs money or aid themselves and some provide means to scupper other gangs.

If you decide to place one of your gang into an occupied building there is a shoot-out determined by rolling dice and if one or both of the cowboys are killed they end up in boot hill and out of the game. There are 3 ways in which the game ends:

The railroad is completed by placing the Train Station
The last Wanted Poster is taken
One Gang has all of its Cowboys eliminated

The game is really easy to learn to play but the strategies as always are a little harder to master. The game flows really quickly, and will speed up once players get to know which buildings do what.
I really enjoyed playing this and will almost certainly get loads more plays of this, it seems to work really well with 5 players and not too bad with less, though I feel you need players more familiar with the game to make fewer players work at its best.

The mechanics of the game, the buildings, the artwork and really every aspect of this game really suits the theme and the length of the game is just right.
The rules are pretty clear, easy to follow the only gripe I have is the layout of the building descriptions a uniform layout would have been easier to follow (ie picture then text to the right) also having then listed alphabetically making it an easier reference to quickly scan when a new building comes out.

Overall a really enjoyable game that will see a lot of table time.

Well this was my 2nd game of this and I up to my usual standards: Paul:$15, Caz:$24, Mike $37

We then moved onto another recent purchase of mine Discworld: Ankh-Morpork (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5799) another Discworld themed game where players are vying to take control of the city in the absence of Lord Vetinari. Each player is given a different personality at the start of the game, all of whom have different objectives to win the game by.

Players have a hand of cards which they use to take various actions denoted by icons on the cards, the components and artwork are superb. The game plays really well and there is a lot of player interaction as you try to hide your objective with your actions, hoping to distract your opponents long enough to complete your win condition. The various areas of the city provide different abilities to the players who manage to control them. There is a card for each city area outlining their functions, which the controlling players takes to show the areas they control. The cards can be used to aid your cause, but sometimes can be used to scupper your opponents, but use with caution as they will almost certainly be returning the favour.

The game plays quite quickly and with experience you will be able to hide your objective better from other players.

This is good fun, provides much amusement during the turns and suits its theme quite well. I do not feel you need to be a fan of Discworld to play or enjoy this game but it will certainly help you get more from the humour and atmosphere of the game.

Caz:67, Sal:71, Paul:76, Mike: 79

19th Oct 2011
We started the evening off with an old classic race game - Hare and Tortoise (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=2212) this is a really great game which is a lot of fun to play but the unique movement mechanism does require a little maths. You have to balance spending carrots to move forward vs going backwards to collect more as you have to eat a number of cabbages before you can cross the finish line, with only a few spaces where this can be done. Also you can not cross the line with too many carrots left so you are constantly weighing up your options on how far and fast you want to move, there is a lot of strategy here and a lot of fun, especially with a good group of players.

Sally:1st, Pete:2nd, Paul:3rd, Caz:4th, Phil:5th and Andre:6th

Then moved on to a game of Fresco (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5014) I really like this game, it is fairly unique in how it plays and looks. I always enjoy a game of this and it easy to pick up and play. I have yet to try this with any of the expansions (it comes with three in the main game!) but the base game is still good.

Caz:91, Sally:83 and Paul:70

Keeping up my not winning my own games count!

2nd Nov 2011
Started the evening off with one of my Essen (http://www.merz-verlag.com/spiel/e000.php4) games - Lost Temple (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5879) this is a race game with each player trying to find the Lost Temple first. Each turn 9 characters cards are shuffled and a number set aside, then starting with the first player everyone chooses a one or more (depending on players) any left are put aside at the end. Each character has a s special ability and/or some means of moving you piece nearer the Lost Temple, along the way you can pick up chance tokens, some are good some are bad. You also collect a gem each turn, which are spent with some characters to move your piece. This game is great, with plenty of player interaction as some of the characters can be used to hinder your opponents process.

Paul, Caz, Steve, Jason, Chris and Mike played this with Mike leaping ahead to the Temple first.

I finished the evening off with a game of Utopia (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=3781) this is a beautiful looking game with some great artwork and fantastic pieces. Essentially an area control game where you are competeting with the other playres to build monuments for various civilisations or one of the 4 wonders. Monuments score for you at the end of each round but there value can be influenced each round by the players, Wonders score when you build them and also whenever you or anyone else builds a monument on that island. The aim is gain prestige as you invite princes from the various civilisations and encourage them to build their monuments and wonders. This games looks great, plays well and only lasts about an hour but there is a lot to do here with plenty of options. I really like this and it seems to play will with 2 as well as with more players. I will be playing more of this game. Chris:55, Paul:54 and Stew:40.

9th Nov 2011
Tonight Philsy made a rare appearance and we tried out his recent purchase: Ninjato (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5867) released by Z-Man Games (http://www.zmangames.com/) this is a beautiful looking game with some great artwork and components. The shurikens used as action markers are quite tactile being made of wood, although maybe a tad on the large side. Each player has three actions (Shurikens) which they can place on various areas of the board:

Go to the Dojo - Draw cards a visible stack of three

Attack a House - Attack a house using Dojo cards from your hand using stealth (Lower value card then the Guard) or strength (Higher Value card than the Guard). If defeated you take the lowest value treasure placing it on your shuriken. Now you can push on and try against the next guard in an attempt to steal more treasure. There are 3 treasures per house, and getting all 3 will let you clear out the house but if you fail you only get to choose 1 treasures on your Shuriken and have to discard the rest.

Guards with a red symbol mean the house is alerted, another treasure added, and to steal the last treasure you need to defeat an Elite guard (tougher but worth victory points at game end)

There are 3 factions in the game, and after clearing a house, you must change the house alignment to one of the other 2 factions in the game. House alignment becomes important during scoring rounds, so you'll want to pick a faction that you are in good with.

Visit the Sensei - Where you can learn new skills, in order to pick skill, you use your action to discard a card equal to the number listed on the skill card. Once you have one of the 3 Types (Crane/Snake/Tiger) future skills of the same type are free. Each of the skills represent rule breaking abilities to aid you.

Appeal to Envoys in the Palace - These are allies that you gain you gain favour with. You discard treasure matching those on an Envoy cards face up in the Palace area. You gain honor (victory points), and
keep that Envoy for the rest of the game.

When you score, end of rounds 3/5/7, the player with the most envoys of a certain house can choose between influence points or a rumor card. The runner up gets whats left over

Visit the Pavilion - You collect rumor cards. These are scoring bonuses giving you multipliers for scoring at the End of the game.

We did not get to complete this game but it was great fun and I can see this getting played more often, it should play quite quickly once you get to know what all the of actions do. Really good fun.

16 Nov 2011
Started the evening with a game of High Noon Saloon (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5900) similar to En Guard! and Kung Fu Fighting but has more to it than it's siblings. This game fits its theme well and the addition of the board just makes the whole game more interesting and fun. We tried a 3-player of this (Me, caz and Neil), this was eventually won by Caz.

We then played a really silly but extremely fun game of Cash `n` Guns (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=3355) where players have a hand of identical cards: five “click”, two “bangs”, and one “triple bang”. Each round players select one of their bullet cards, then on a count of three point there foam gun at one of the other players, then on another 3 count players get the chance to drop out, but doing so means taking a shame token (- $5000 at the end of the game). The bullet cards are then revealed, bangs cards cause wounds (3means you are out) eliminating the player from a share of the cash, surviving players share the loot evenly, any remainder left for the next round. This continues for 8 rounds or until only one player remains. The person with the most money wins.

Great fun, lots of luck but you can't help but laugh your way through this, though be warned this can lead to nasty looks as you point your foam gun for a 2 or 3rd time at one of your friends :)

Sally:$24000, Andy:$27000, Paul:$28000, Neil:$28000, and Carole:$50000

Finally, we broke out Undermining (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5911) this is a really quick, fun little game where players compete to collect ore to spend completing contracts and/or upgrading their UMV to help them mine the ore better. The artwork is superb and the game simple yet quite strategic with plenty of opportunity to scupper your opponents. Sally:19, Paul:22, Caz:30 and Andi:44

23rd Nov 2011
Started of the evening with a game of Deadwood (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5835) Rival gangs are vying for control of Deadwood and the new railway coming into town, the gang with the most money will win. This is a quick, fun, game with a wild west theme a perfect start/end of a session of gaming. This plays quite quickly with the bonus of being easy to explain. Paul:$11, Caz:$14, June:$14, Emma:$15 and Phillip: $17

We then had another game of High Noon Saloon (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5900) (I really quite like this game :) ) I managed to win this one, a rare one-off I'm sure.

Finally finishing off the evening with a game of Martian Dice (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5845)
Swoop

1. Roll great big handfuls of Martian Dice. Every roll will be some combination of pesky Tanks, sizzling Death Rays, and terrified fleeing Humans, Cows, and Chickens.
Scoop

2. Set aside the Tanks, then decide whether you want to keep the Death Rays (for zapping Tanks), or abduct a type of earthling (for points).
Score

3. Keep Swooping & Scooping until you are happy with your haul or you run out of Martian Dice. Earn points for your abducted earthlings, but ONLY if you've got enough Death Rays to fight off the Tanks.

FUN!!!! FUN!!!! FUN!!!! similar to the hilarious Zombie dice but just soooo much better.. Really great fun and really quick to play. Sally:16, Paul:22 and Roy:25

30th Nov 2011
Started off the evening by what started out as a 2-player High Noon Saloon (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5900) then 3 and finally spiralled out to a 5 player as various people drifted into the shop. This turned out to be an epic game, as we all seemed to independently decide to pick on the cowboy with the most Grit left, except for the odd revenge attack. Play continued until we were all down to our last bits of grit and speculating that all someone needed was the "Swinging from the Chandelier" attack card to just wipe the lot of us out. This did appear but with an unfortunate set of cards meant the Chris could not quite take everyone out, leaving a final showdown with Barry who eventually won out.

Finished off by playing a game of Utopia (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=3781) a great little game with some fantastic pieces. Players are ministers of Utopia encouraging princes of various cultures to the various islands to build monuments and Wonders. The player who earns the most prestige wins the game. This game is simple to learn but has a lot of strategy to it, with every game having differing outcomes. This plays really quickly and scales well with different numbers of players. Paul:43, Neil:48, Chris:51 and Barry: 59

7th Dec 2011
Started off with a game of Santiago de Cuba (http://) is a like a little version of Cuba (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=3605) that plays in about an hour. The aim is to collect Victory points achieved by loading goods on ships (the demand determined by rolling dice) and/or by using the abilities on various buildings. Each turn the players can move a car along a track to the next Charactor on the board or pay money to skip ahead 1 or 2. Each character provides a reward of some sort and allows the player to place a meeple one of a set of buildings marked with a coloured flower. These buildings, and the characters are laid out randomly at the start of the game. Each building allows the player the option of taking its action, of which there are many. All these help you on your way to victory. One of the Characters allows you to place one (of 3) control markers you have on a building, these mean you get a reward when another player uses that building. Only one player can occupy a building at any time. The value for goods loaded onto the boats can be changed by various means, and normally the boat can only be loaded by the car being moved to the dock, though there is a means to load a good early.

This continues until the 7th ship has sailed then scores are totalled. This is a fun little game with plenty of variability and certainly is fun to play. Its quicker and easier to play than its larger cousin and would certainly get more play I think. Really enjoyed this. Chris:37, Richard:40 and Paul: 42

Ended the evening with a game of Thurn and Taxis (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=2899) an old favourite this one, always love to play this game as it is both simple and devious at the same time. Players compete to build postal routs across Germany gaining points for length of routes, having post boxes in all of one district, having a post box in every district etc Once someone has completed a route to earn them the 7 Coach or has played their last post box that round is completed and the scores calculated. Caz:25, Paul:32 and Andy:58

Games we have been playing - November 2011 up-date.

Christmas approaches once more, and it is high time I brought you up to date with my choices from the deluge of games we have had this year.

First off, what did I allowed myself as early birthday presents this summer? The answer: King of Tokyo (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5624) - now awaiting a reprint - and Conquest of Planet Earth (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5567). By the time of my birthday I had allowed myself a Wiraqocha (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5787) as a very early Christmas present and that gets played constantly. Recently I have been getting the hang of Eminent Domain (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5873), a more user-friendly Race for the Galaxy (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=3594) with a touch of Dominion (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4100), which puts it right up my street. The long-awaited reprint of Alien Frontiers (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5623) arrived last month and has been avidly played. Most recently of all, the last game I played on Sunday at Midcon was Urban Sprawl (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5786) - a 3 hour game, but which we got the hang of as we went along and thoroughly enjoyed. I would put this alongside Agricola (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=3964) as a game that sounds and, at first glance looks uninspiring, but turns out to be good fun.

I have borrowed back the copy of Sutter's Mill (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4313) which I gave a friend for his birthday and have been interesting several of our regulars, this is one that seemed to pass people by initially but is a bit different without being too complicated and has always been fun. Two similarly overlooked games that we pull out of our games library from time to time are Abandon Ship (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4809) and Montego Bay (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4436). While on the subject of simpler games, Braggart (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5533) has largely taken over from Nuts! (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5568) as the default quick fun card game, and Marrakech (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4021) continues to come out regularly as does It's Alive (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4041).

At the last Raiders of the Games Cupboard (http://www.raidersofthegamecupboard.co.uk) (next one is on 29th December, by the way) I took the opportunity of a game of Ad Astra (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4647), as I usually do, and also played Ankh-Morpork (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5799), the new family/light gamer Discworld game, and Fortune & Glory (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5802), an impressively large box of bits which also proved possible and enjoyable to play straight away after punching out the counters using the Quick Start rules.

Most recently Sally and I have been trying three very different card games: Food Fight (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5851) is clearly designed to appeal to those wanting a bit of silliness but in fact plays rather well and has now had several outings with different groups. Conflicting Kingdoms (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/results.php?search=conflicting%20kingdoms) is a semi-customisable card game a bit like Magic the Gathering (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/results.php?search=magic%3A%20the%20gathering) (oh yes, I've been playing a fair bit of that too), but with a strong tactical/positional element too. I'm getting more drawn into it the more I demo it to people. And Revolver (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5877) is a two-player game with an unusual mechanism which will take a couple more games to get the hang of . I'll have to put up a review once I know what I'm doing - maybe by the time you read this...

Phil.

14th Dec 2011
We started the evening off with a 5 player game of Lifeboat (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4460), players are hand a random character card depicting one of the survivors, each with their own unique ability. They are also handed two other cards - A character they Love and a character they hate.

At the end of the game, if you survive, you score points if your love is still alive and if the person you hate has died. The characters are placed in the lifeboat (represented by cards in a line on the table), the first in line picks up a number of cards from the supplies deck equal to the players, looks at them then takes one and passes the rest onto the next player in the line. These items can be weapons, water, money, jewels etc that either aid you during the game or represent additional potential points for the end game. On their turn players can: Do nothing, Swap Places with someone (who can refuse so a fight breaks out!), mug someone (Steal some supplies, again this can lead to a fight!), play cards with special actions or Row. When players fight they can get wounded placing a token on their card, each character can take a differerring amount of wounds, also the other players can take sides in the fight each adding their strength total to the attacker/defender. When players row they take 2 navigation cards and select one, each of these cards depicts who has gone overboard and who is thirsty. The last person in the row picks up all the cards placed by rowing and selects one to use, if no one has rowed then a card is taken from the deck instead.

This was quite fun and did produce some funny accents and cruel / funny player interactions. The game ended with "the kid" being thrown overboard and to add insult to injury someone chucked in some "Chum" meaning the sharks attacked the kid taking him out of the game.

Play continues until the fourth seagull is sighted meaning land has been found.

Phil: (Sir Stephen) 28, Chris: (Lady Lauren) 17, Barry: (Frenchy) 16, Sal: (the Kid) Dead and Paul: (The Captain) Dead

We ended the evening playing Mundus Novus (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5938)

Quote from: The Box

It is the 16th century. The riches of the New World enflame the greed of the great European merchants. To bring back the gold and precious commodities (cocoa, corn, tobacco, vanilla...) they will charter fleets of caravels, build warehouses and seek the help of famous conquistadors.

Mundus Novus is an immersive, tactical game of trading to acquire the wealth of a new continent.

An interesting card game with an unusual trading mechanic which claims 45min but took way longer than advertised, due in some part to it being the first play for some of us. It took me some time to really get the hang of how the trading worked, as ultimately you are trying to build sets of cards each turn in order to gain money or buy ships/warehouses/seek help from the conquistadors. There is more than one way to win the game, Sally nearly won by getting 75 money but sadly this was a turn too late as the other 2 had both gotten the magic combination of every commodity plus incan gold. The tie being resolved by most money.

I enjoyed playing this, I might be tempted to try again but not one I think I will add to my collection. Barry: 1st, Philsy: 2nd, Sally:3rd and me last!

The other table played a game of City Tycoon (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5891) Phil Says :- City Tycoon (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5891) a cross between Urban Sprawl (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5786) and Infinite City (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=4873) - but what would I know I came last.

Andy:38, Chris:31, Martin:27 and Phil:22

21st Dec 2011
Well we started the evening off with a game of Wiraqocha (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5787) which is proving a popular game with at least some of the Wed night gamers :). This is an excellent little game with 3 ways to win providing for plenty of interaction as players both try and complete one of them whilst trying to stop someone else. The game involves rolling dice, which does mean an element of luck, but there are ways you can effect the outcome of dice which mitigates some of the randomness. I like this game and will always be willing to play in a game of it. Phil won this, I was merely providing a means of slowing down Martins/Phils battle for the win.

Finished the evening with a first play of Space Maze (http://spiritgames.co.uk/gamesin.php?UniqueNo=5924) a quirky but fun little game where players race to collect the Artefact at the centre of the maze to return it to their mothership. In order to move through the maze you need to get the doors to match the primary colours that make up the colour of the alien you are trying to move, various cards allow you to manipulate the maze. You roll dice (one of each colour per player plus a movement dice) each player taking one dice on their turn until they have used 3 dice. On your board you can play 2 action cards and one movement dice, but only one per turn. To play a card you needs to place a dice on it with at least the value shown on it or higher and the colour of the dice determines which of your aliens can use the action it provides. The movement dice have a number of coloured feet on them showing how many moves each of you aliens can make. This plays reasonably quickly and is quite fun.
Andy was our runaway winner on this first game, helped by the fact I got the rule about playing the cards wrong (I thought you had to get the exact number only)

Big Bang Burger Bar

Gaming Groups => Spirit Games - Gaming Groups => Topic started by: Zarniwoop on 06 January 2011, 20:45:35