Print Page - Autumn B&P "Free Expansion"

Phil & Sally having found a new venue for playing games, that was Free, organised a "Free Expansion" to the Autumn B&P.

There was plenty of space, plenty of tables and the landlord provided Tea & Coffee for a modest 50p donation (On an Honour system)
The lighting was a bit on the poor side, this being a pub 'n all, some of which was due to lamps being out/missing which the landlord said he would replace for future events and also said he would consider putting in some additional lighting in the way of spots, if the event became regular.

The beer available was nice and the bonus was that the main bar was separate from the event hall so we pretty much had that entirely to ourselves with no interference and those that wanted a drink only had a short trip to make to the bar.

Turnout for this event was good with plenty of new & old games being played with the opportunity to mix with new people which is always good.

Started the day off with Tsuro (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16992/tsuro) which is a great little game which is always fun to play with a large group.

We then went on to play The Palaces of Carrara (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/single.php?menu=2&sub=4&game=7187) which is a new game from Essen. The designers advice players try the basic game for their first two plays then they can open a sealed envelop with extra pieces and rules for a more advanced version. I really enjoyed this, helped by the fact I won, but there was plenty of things to keep track off and different ways to score. After the first round or two it became clearer what you needed to do, players have only one action each turn out of a small choice of options but each option requires some thought to make best use of resources. There is plenty here even in the basic game but with the option to add in advanced rules I can see me wanting to play this a few more times.

Next we played a game of Glory to Rome: Black Box Edition (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/single.php?menu=2&sub=4&game=7001) not sure if I like this "update" on the design versus the original, certainly functional but maybe a bit bland. Enjoyed playing this again, especially as I cam close to scoring my first win but getting a close 2nd was pretty good effort for me. I managed to get a good set of early cards that help me produce a good engine for building up points but got pipped by Richard who had banked much better cards overall in his vault compared to me.

Carole arrived just after we finished Glory with some lunch so we stopped for a break, then broke out Kingdom Builder (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/single.php?menu=2&sub=4&game=5926) one of my favourite games of the year and plays really well with 2 people. After we completed that, with Carole scoring the win (saving the universe as it was my game)

We then went on to play Tikal (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/single.php?menu=2&sub=4&game=1185) which is a lovely game with plenty of things to consider. There are only a small number of scoring rounds with players vying for majorities on temple squares as well as trying to collect sets of artifacts. The final scores were still quite close and the game flows quite nicely, with some nicely done components.

Finally we played a game of Snowdonia (http://www.spiritgames.co.uk/single.php?menu=2&sub=4&game=7121) where players represent workers trying to complete the mountain railway. It is a worker placement style game with some interesting choices and tasks to complete in order to score points. The game is played until the track is completed and the unique point is that the game will start to play itself and move things along of the players fail to do it quickly enough. I really enjoyed this and look forward to giving this another try soon.

I really enjoyed the day and Phil was making noises about trying to make this a monthly event, which would certainly I would look forward to.

I will post any updates on this forum if any future events get planned.

Meanwhile below is a few pictures from the day:

Google+ Album of Event (https://plus.google.com/photos/107181235392958093201/albums/5815268600919625153)

Big Bang Burger Bar

General Community => Convention thoughts and Reports => Topic started by: Zarniwoop on 28 November 2012, 15:19:03