December 06
November 06

October 06
September 06
August 06
July 06
June 06
May 06
April 06
March 06
February 06
January 06


December 05
November 05
October 05
September 05
August 05
July 05
June 05
May 05
April 05
March 05
February 05
January 05

December 04
November 04
October 04
September 04
August 04
July 04
June 04
May 04
April 04
March 04

Rosliston 06
B&P 06
Midcon 05
Midcon 04

Talislanta

 

6th September 06....................................................15 Players

There was a committee meeting in our usual room so we were downstairs in the bar. Karen braved a return visit after a long absence. No concession was made to the fact we had a lady present with the guys choosing to play a football game and Poker. I am sure Karen would not expect it to be any other way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Power Grid – 170 min

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Mike* black

++18

850

Steve H red

+18

340

Gordon blue

18

170

Dave D green

16

0

 

This was the most grinding boardgame I think I have ever sat down to. This was intense to the extreme with every decision calculated. I loved it.

 

The Italian map changes the rules by removing some of the starting coal and oil. The regions that were randomly selected for removal were the cheap northern areas. This made a long thin territory to play on. Only Mike started in the south, the rest of us were crammed into the north.

 

Dave D fought with me over coal from the start. He also fought with me for territory with his opening move he leaped across me blocking my expansion south. Our board positions were completely entwined early on. Dave was a whisker off winning on what turned out to be the penultimate round.

 

Gordon. I made a massive jump from the centre of the board to the South West to break us into the second phase. It was a bold move which I feared would have been carried out by Dave if I had not done it. Dave could have made the jump slightly more efficiently than me. In fact just about every decision I made in the game was done as much with a view to hitting Dave as it was in benefiting me.

 

Steve H. Worked his way through the plants starting with a number of small wind powered plants. In a normal game this slow build up usually looses out to a player who buys fewer but bigger plants.

 

Mike playing in his first game for ages had to be told the rules over again and was thus awarded the learning game bonus. Like Steve he worked his way through a variety of plants before getting ones that powered many cities.

 

Dave and I lost this game by fighting over coal and board position. Steve and Mike made a better job of adapted their play to the map. I like it that board play was more significant on this map and I liked it that the poor coal and oil availability made trash, nuclear and green plants more viable. Dave and I were paying around 25 Euros a turn for our fuel around twice what Steve and Mike were paying, in a shorter game the larger quantity of cities Dave and I could power would have given one of us the victory but the high fuel cost and connections cost prolonged the game allowing Steve and Mike to catch up on their plant capacities. 

Mike’s comment’s:

While I was highly chuffed to win what turned out to be a fascinating and hard-fought game, sadly the victory ought to be filed under 'outrageous' rather than 'convincing'.  I think I won solely by a mixture of good fortune and others making bigger mistakes than I did.

 

The person I felt most sorry for was Gordon, sins of omission rather than action - I thought at the time that Dave's purchase of the big coal-guzzler was going to cause grief as it would push coal demand way beyond the parlous state it was already in, but he just didn't pipe up to try and talk Dave out of it, which I would have.

 

The guy who then should have won after the coal-barons crashed and burned so close to the winning line was Steve.  After all, at the start of what was the penultimate turn, my stations were a miserable 4-4-3, with 18 probably a minimum need to win I had to buy two 7's to get 7-7-4.  There were only 3 of those available and one was a coal-burner and hence worthless, all he had to do was buy one of those other 7's and I couldn't possibly win, but I'm guessing he didn't spot it, went straight for the fusion #50 and I then had a chance.

 

The only thing I think I got consistently right was the route building, the first squeeze across central Italy during Phase #1 was useful, but I also used Gordon's cities down the Rome side of the map to get another little squeeze at end of Phase #2 into #3, it was the easy unopposed cruise from 15 to 18 cities behind this expensive blockade that kept my cash just high enough to win.  This playing has greatly increased my enthusiasm for Power Grid, but it is a very intense game that I wouldn't want to play every week!

 

Gordon’s response to Mike:

The coal drops off from a refresh of 6 to a refresh of 4 in the 3rd phase of the game. I think if this phase had been delayed a turn then the coal would have lasted long enough for either Dave or I to take the win. This is just one example of a minor change in events which could have led to a very different result. Dave and my game long fight over coal need not have lost us the game.

 

Steve, Dave and I can all claim to have nearly won. I think we could consider ourselves misfortunate not to have won but you maintained your shape to pick up the ball when the wheels fell off our carts .... so to speak!

 

Dave D:

I'm not sure I agree entirely with Mike's analysis. I agree that it was my purchase of that coal plant that lost me the game, but not the fact of having bought it, rather the price I paid for it.

 

At the stage of the game that I purchased it seemed to me that Gordon was the major threat, he already had a good lead in plant capacity and (as I saw it) if he had been allowed to buy the plant he would have been in a game winning position because the other plants available would not have allowed competition. It is now my belief (in retrospect) that he had actually too seriously damaged himself in triggering step 2 by spending far too much in connection costs and by putting himself at the rear in the following turns building meaning he could be blocked out of most of the cheap connections in the north for a second time. Gordon it seems also saw me as his major threat. As a result of this we engaged in bidding war which pushed the plant up to 20 above face value. Mike suggests that Gordon should have tried to talk me out of purchasing the plant to avoid the trouble, but that would have been the wrong thing to do. I don't remember the exact figures but if I could have bought that plant for something like 8 less I would have had enough money to finish the game on the previous turn and so won it. If Gordon had said to me before bids were placed "Don't do it Dave you're asking for trouble", I wouldn't have accepted that and been right not to. Once the bidding started of course the plant was going to be bought by someone and the coal supply problem was inevitable. If Gordon had bought the plant he would have found himself in the same position as I was, but may have got away with it because after my purchase he bought a 4 power plant to stay ahead of me (I'm sure that was a mistake because it was essentially wasted cash as he had to replace the plant before the end), which he wouldn't have otherwise.

 

I echo Gordon's last paragraph. (Before the pasted comments)

 

As regards the Italian board, I wonder if it might in future be a good idea (at least with 4+) players to arrange to have at least 2 of the top areas available. The rules actually say to choose the areas for play and while the other 3 maps are probably usually OK with a random selection, perhaps Italy, because of its shape needs a more studied choice.

 

As I think I mentioned at the club a few weeks ago, I'm now at the stage where I would happily play Power Grid every week alternating the boards (I plan to get hold of the new ones as soon as available). As a game it seems to me to be leaps and bounds ahead of virtually anything else we have available. It is intense, but it's a "nice" sort of intensity.

 

Steve H:

I think what's refreshing about this discussion (as opposed to, say, Antike) is that it's focussing on what we did and didn't do as players, rather than any design flaws. Dave's minor point about choosing an area is a sensible house rule, in fact you could apply it to all the maps.

 

I don't mind playing it a lot although my success rate isn't too clever. It is an excellent game.

 

I think Mike had it right about me. On the final turn I opened the door to him, but it was a calculated risk based on my cash in hand and not wanting to pay over the odds for a plant, and also saving money on raw materials with the Magic Plant. As it was, I only missed out by 3 electra, not bad considered the hundreds spent in the game.

 

I hope they do a UK map one day.

Elasand – 120 min  bgg

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Keith*

10

480

Steve P

8

180

Matt*

6

120

 

There is more interaction in this Settlers variant than in any of the others I have played.

 

San Juan – 50 min

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Matt

46

150

Steve P

41

75

Keith

27

0

 

I believe Matt only had 1 production building throughout the game. As has been noted previously the attraction of shipping in the 3 player game is less than in the 4 player game.

 

World Cup Game – 80 min  bgg

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Richard B*

1st

720

Duncan*

2nd

400

Luke

3rd

160

Simon*

 

110

Toby*

 

110

Chris*

 

110

Karen*

 

110

Steve G*

 

110

 

I think this is the most players we have ever had playing a single game.

 

Poker – 70 min

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Luke

1st

420

Richard B

2nd

210

Chris

3rd

105

Duncan*

4th

122

Karen*

5th

96

Steve G

6th

0

 

13th September 06....................................................12 Players

We have been talking about getting some new tee-shirts. We have to use our club funds for something! I wonder if giving Barry some money for a decent sets of blinds might be a better idea.

Dave C:

I wouldn't pay Barry any money for the blinds, he doesn't work there anymore :)

 

Steve H:

If you want an interior design suggestion for the room, forget the blinds, let's have a large mural of a dragon. Or a unicorn...

 

Matt:

Great idea BTW Steve. To back the theme up I think we should also invest in a 20 year old stereo system and Clannad's back catalogue on cassette. New members will soon be queuing at the door.

 

Dave D:

I would heartily support the introduction of Clannad as suggested by Matt, but I fear the Conservative club may have issues with Steve’s suggested mural.

 

Dave C:

The mural should be something from Talislanta, a Skalanx or an Urthrax or possibly even a Vasp

 

Luke:

.....which is way way beyond my sphere of fantasy interests. Hell, anything more fantasy than Lord Of The Rings and I'm outta there (wherever there may be).

 

Antike –  90 minutes

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Luke

9

360

Keith

=6

90

Mark S

=6

90

Gordon

=6

90

 

Do you ever wish you could re-play a few turns of a game? Normally it is the last turn of a game I most want to re-take with the benefit of hindsight but this time it was my opening. I felt I messed thinks up during the first couple of minutes and I never settled into my play from the off. I started in the centre of the board, uncomfortably close to Mr Stretch and I opened with a marble temple (gold and iron openings had been taken). Quiet rightly Mark took it out within a couple of rounds, quiet rightly I countered taking a territory or two and quiet predictably we were both taken out of contention for the win from then on. All this within the opening minutes of the game.

 

On reflection I could have better defended the temple but it would never have been left alone by Mark because it was a dangerous launching point for me to attack into him. There would have been a draining arms race and in Antike arms races always go in favour of the attacker because attackers can draw men from several spaces where the defender can’t. No, the mistake was building the temple in the first place. Starting in the centre of the board in Antike is tough when you have a neighbour who is not afraid to kick out, especially when that neighbour gets to start before you. Maybe I should have gone for a diplomatic negotiation of boarders before the game even began.

 

Keith built up in a very solid logical manor and was perceived as the threat throughout the game. Following our early tussle, Mark and I left each other alone allowing us to threaten Keith at least to the extent that he needed to waste actions defending. Luke was left alone. It was largely my job to keep him in check. I mixed it up a bit with him but I wanted Luke’s aggression when it came to go Keith’s way so I didn’t annoy him too much.

 

When Luke did unleash it was an effective strike that tumbled two of Keith’s temples giving Luke the points he needed for the win.

 

We played at a blistering pace. This is one of my favourite games at the moment to play on a Wednesday night and then we went on to play two of my favourite fillers so it was a good night for me.

Mark Stretch says:

Yes an entertaining game of Antike. I still don't understand how it normally takes you lot 3 1/2 hours for a game.

 

Gordon may have been out of it after the initial skirmish, but I didn't think that I was. In the mid game I did after all have more VPs than everyone else (I was the 1st to 6), but I blundered badly (and got no further). I should have built up to 6 temples and boosted my production. If I was going to build as many men as I did I should have got the advance that made them fast as they were worse than useless at slow speed. As a result of the blunders I put myself out of the running.

 

Guess I need more practice at this game.

10 Days in the USA – 15 minutes

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Keith*

Won

60

Gordon

Lost

11

Luke

Lost

11

 

Dave Dudley has recently put together lists of the games we have been playing this year and it is notable that we have not latched onto any one filler in 2006. I suppose Poker is the exception to this. 10 Days in the USA seems to fill 15 minutes without upsetting anyone. This game feels like a low key classic to me. I think in some shape or form it will be played for decades to come.

 

Poker – 50 min

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Matt

Won

300

Luke

2nd

150

Steve P

3rd

75

Gordon

4th

38

Steve H

5th

19

Keith

last

0

 

When 2 or more players both go out in the same hand I believe the eliminated player who put in the fewest chips is considered first out. This would make me 4th and Steve H 5th. If anyone wants to speak up against this please do. Two or more players going out in the same hand occurs quiet often so we need to establish a rule.

Dave D comments:

My problem is that Poker does not seem to be being used as a filler. As of this week, the average length of game was 47 minutes, which to me takes it out of that category. Also when you consider that 5 of the games were played in 2 continuous blocks, this means that they should be considered 2 games making the average 70 minutes ahead of (for example) Settlers, Torres and Ra, which are certainly not fillers but 1 half of a 2 game session. Poker does not seem to me to fit in any way what the club should be about (to use Gordon's own expression). This is my personal opinion.

 

Gordon retorts:

Poker is a lifestyle game and I think you are right to flag up a warning about it possibly dominating club nights (I am reading between the lines). Other lifestyle games are; Magic, Diplomacy, Warhammer, Chess, Go, Settlers, PR... These are games that have the potential to become all consuming and we certainly don't want the club night to become a single game event.

 

We are currently way off having Poker or any other single game stifling the clubs varied appeal. Let us know Dave if you think otherwise.

 

Steve H:

Dave's dead right about poker. I am crap at it, but c'mon it's not really appropriate is it? If we were doing an open day, would we showcase this? This is a different hobby altogether. If it's going to be a free-for-all, I'll start bringing my wargames stuff. Anyone for Korean War?

 

Duncan:

I’ll do Korean War Steve !

Also, we have an option of NOT playing Poker don’t we?

 

Matt:

Absolutely. The options are:

 

1) Being the dealer.

2) Playing San Juan against me.

3) Painting the HBG fantasy mural wall.

 

Gordon concedes:

I accept that Poker is taking us away from our core activity. I think the "If we were doing an open day would we showcase this" test is a good one and yes Poker fails that test. It is a shame because it has become a favourite of mine and I know Luke, Steve G and Chris are all well into it. We should probably use other outlets to play the game other than club nights.

 

I will go a month without bringing Poker just to peg back the plays. There are other card game fillers out there that we could latch onto such as "Poison", “6-Nimmt”, "Coloretto" and "Great Dalmuti"

 

Mike:

I don't personally have any problem with Poker as a Club game with the amount of play it currently gets, as long as it's for points not money, any more than I have a problem with anybody playing DC's FRP stuff with the kids in the hols.  If the FRP became a regular, taking up a table every week, then perhaps we'd have to reconsider, but as it currently stands I think what Dave does is great.

 

Luke:

Agreed. If such things (including poker - which of course as games guru I have to stand up for) continue to be played casually, from time to time, then surely it's not a problem as long as there are plenty of other options. The second we get there on a Wednesday and all there is to play is poker, then something's gone wrong...

 

Dave D:

I seem to have started something here don’t I? To clarify, I took issue with Gordon’s suggestion that Poker was being used as a filler, when it clearly is not. I also suggested that I didn’t think that it wasn’t really a game that fitted in with the club, which I stated was a personal opinion. Steve agreed and others did not. I did not mean to say this should never be played, but I do think it a bit unfortunate that since May when the game was introduced only 3 games (excluding Talislanta*) have had more table time and in terms of games played there are no games ahead.

 

*I exclude Talislanta because it is a seasonal thing for the younger members and I echo Mike’s comments regarding the great job Dave has done in this regard.

Tempus – 120 min

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Steve P

22

480

Steve H*

20

360

Duncan*

17

240

Matt*

14

120

 

Steve is doing a good job pushing this game. Most of us have now played it once. Now the learning games are done it will be interesting to see how it stands up to more testing play. I think it is an elegant game but I can see how it might fall the wrong side of the elegant / sterile line for some.

Duncan says:

Having played Antike, Tempus and Vinci I want to play them all again. I enjoyed them all (in different ways). An Advanced Civ-lite athon ?

 

Steve H’s comments:

While we're on comments on first tries at games, I really enjoyed Tempus. Martin Wallis is right up there with Knizia as far as I'm concerned. This takes the ever popular theme of Civilisation development, but importantly has a turn limit and therefore removes the stalemate difficulties I've experienced with Antike. You influence your development and to add a spark you can duff up your neighbours when the conditions demand it, or when you feel like it. Matt will tell you there's a "going last" problem, but I think that's only a minor difficulty exacerbated by first-playing. I look forward to playing Tempus a few times.

 

Matt’s comments:

hmm. I think with a slight rules modification it can be mitigated a bit:

 

The problem:

You all build a board of hexes (10 in a 4 player game) Different hexes have different terrain. Advancement during the game depends upon control of different types of terrain. Once the board is built the randomly determined first player gets to place his/her pieces first. This is an advantage, as the last player gets the worst position as long no one picks poorly. In other placement games there are mitigating factors (eg: Settlers, where the first player also places last).

 

A solution?:

Each player places 2 tiles. Determine who goes first. The last two players have a tile each they can look at and place before they position their pieces.

 

Hows about that then?

 

Dave D retorts:

Admittedly I've only played once (like Matt) but I didn't see this problem. When I played I went last and with everyone trying to grab areas for the first advance, I ended up with a lousy position, I then compounded this by screwing up the first turn. In retrospect I should have picked another area and there was a much better one available even after everyone else had placed, this was my fault and not the game's. Despite this I was able to recover to second (and I wonder if I might have won had I been a little less conservative on the last turn). I think Matt's key phrase is that advancement during the game depends on DIFFERENT types of terrain. You cannot hope to be first to every advancement, but this is not vital as everyone catches up after one turn (this is, I think, a wonderful mechanism), so the key is to plan in advance at what points to make your move, rather than competing for everything.

 

Back to Matt: 

Right. If that sorts out the board position problem that only leaves the 'random draw deck problem' and the 'pieces that move too slowly to stop an unchallenged player on the other side of the board problem'. Further constructive comments as I think of them. It reminded me of Settlers crossed with Railroad Tycoon.

 

Dave D Retorts:

“Board position”

 

Again I didn't see this as a problem, the key seemed to be that it was vital to have cards as not having them was to paint a target on your back. If you did have them, then I didn't see any as vastly overpowered so you adapt your strategy to what you've got.

 

“Pieces that move too slowly to stop an unchallenged player on the other side of the board problem”

 

I think all area control games have this problem, in Tempus it is at least mitigated by the early game lake movement and the later game sea movement, which essentially makes all areas accessible.

 

I will play Tempus again sometime, it is worth another go and I do like the advancement mechanic, although it is an area control game, which is a type that I tend to dislike.

 

My advice to Matt is don't play again, consign Tempus to the compartment containing St. Petersburg, McMulti and Fury of Dracula. We all have games we don't like, but the reason we don't like them is probably the reason other people do, so unless the "fix" is just a very minor tweek don't do it. The 3 games above which Matt quotes as his 3 least favourite games are all ones that I like to a lesser or greater extent and it may be that Matt (if he were so inclined, which I suspect he would not be) could find fixes to what he sees as the problems with them, but if he did, I suspect that this would destroy the very things that I like about them.

 

To sum up "If it ain't broke don't fix it, if it is don't play it"

 

A slightly Peeved Matt says to Dave:

I'm sorry you think that. I was trying to be constructive rather than 'just not playing it'-  that's the easy option isn't it? I the same way I posted my favourite 10 games rather than my worst 3 I don't want to come across as totally negative, despite probably being more vocal about the games I dislike than those I enjoy. At least I can say WHY I don't like a given game rather than just 'it's rubbish' and not playing any more.

 

I didn't mean to offend anyone. I'll shut up.

 

And finally back to Steve Hilton:

Yet again I am very entertained by the banter on a Monday morning. Matt, don't shut up, I like your stuff.

 

Dave's email as usual was very interesting. Observations: no offence intended, but the man with the longest veto list in England is suggesting tolerance for giving certain games a second chance. Hmmm...

Also, I think house rules can work particularly if you smell that a certain game hasn't been playtested properly. But you generally need several plays to find that out I suppose.

Canal Mania – 130 min

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Dave D

69

520

Mike*

66

390

Paul*

65

260

Richard B*

61

130

 

There are not many UK boardgame club web sites (there are not many UK boardgame clubs). One site I like to visit is run by the Piddinghoe Gamers. The games they play are a close match to the games we enjoy. They recently played Canal Mania for the first time. See here.

Mike’s comments:

Quick thoughts on Canal Mania : it takes an embarrassingly Thurn und Taxis-like route building mechanism and bolts on to it an Age Of Steam-like goods transport mechanism.  Now if the result had been a game with the skill quotient of AoS but the brevity of TuT then we're talking of a potential classic, unfortunately we get a dull game with the luck quotient of TuT and the length of AoS, with no other mitigating factors.

 

I gained an early lead by a lucky streak of Surveyor cards, lost it due to an unlucky streak of Stretch cards (even the 'refresh available cards for selection' special option - sound familiar? - couldn't save me), and lost the game on the last turn due to an unlucky blind card draw, but frankly after over two hours I was past caring.  Perhaps if TuT hadn't appeared I'd have been more willing to see this as 'Age of Steam lite', but as it is I found it very disappointing considering it's a Ragnar game (any chance that Backpacks and Blisters may turn up at a Club night again?).

 

Dave D retorts:

For a less jaundiced view please see the Piddinghoe gamer’s comments. I find it interesting that Mike is so keen to compare this game to Thurn & Taxis, because the only similarity I see is in the ability to discard all the build cards on display. The route building mechanism is basically an AoS/TtR hybrid using hexes instead of fixed routes (AoS) and cards instead of money (TtR). It is certainly true that the use of cards does introduce a luck element, but as is evident from Mike's comments in this case it balanced out over the game. We were close at the end, unlike Mike I didn't see a surveyor card all game, but maybe benefited at the end due to being able to position goods in the right places. The stretch cards affected everyone and if you're relying on a blind card draw then you must expect to be unlucky some of the time (I was on the last turn as well so again things balance out).

 

My attraction to the game was as a sort of AoS lite that would not present the problems of RRT's size (I can't see this being played too much because it needs 2 tables to set up). I can see the game length reducing with familiarity and I believe that it is the best Ragnar game I have played. I also find it refreshing to be able to play an English game set in England for a change.

20th September 06....................................................10 Players

Dave D’s Report:

We had 10 tonight with Steve P and Luke managing to make it in Gordon’s absence.

 

Tempus – 90 minutes

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Steve P

23

450

Dave D

22

225

Luke

21

113

Dave C*

+16

147

Paul

16

0

 

I thought I was doing pretty well being ahead in cities but I had only a small number of occupied hexes, where Steve had spread over the map. After 2 games played and 2 second places, both from being the last to select. I’ll say I quite like the game and would certainly be willing to play in future, that being said there are a number of games I’d always tend to go for in preference to this.

Dave C’s Comments:

My first playing of Tempus and I enjoyed it, despite making a few basic errors (first game nerves). I thought Paul was ahead of me, apparently he threw it on the very last turn trying to get to the Air age.

Amun-Re – 100 minutes

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Matt

47

500

Steve H

40

250

Julian

37

125

Mike

32

63

Richard B

30

0

 

Great Wall of China – 45 minutes  bgg

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Matt*

26

270

Luke*

24

158

Dave D

19

57

Steve P*

15

74

Paul*

12

45

 

I bought this because, having looked at the rules on line, it looked like an interesting filler. Many of Reiner Knizia’s card games seem very light to me, but this has managed to pack a great deal into a small package and it seemed to go down well (other than with Paul) despite some initial confusion and head scratching regards strategy. The game took longer than the suggested 30 minutes, but I would think that our 45 was probably artificially extended due to being a first play.

 

Cartagena – 30 minutes  bgg

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Mike*

Won

180

Steve H

2nd

75

Julian*

3rd

68

Richard B*

4th

49

Dave C*

5th

30

 

This looked very interesting over on the other table

Dave C’s Comments:

Interesting game, sort of 'Hare and Tortoise' lite. A good filler, seems to go slowly then suddenly finish within a turn or so (which caught me by surprise).

 

27th September 06....................................................12 Players

We had a first time visit from Edward who came over from Stourbridge to see us. Edward is ostensibly a war gamer though he did not seem too adverse to a bit of peaceful canal building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canal Mania – 70 minutes

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Dave D

68

280

Edward*

52

210

Simon*

+41

140

Gordon*

41

70

 

Dave built a neat route between two “capital” cities which he was actually unlucky not to get more points from. To me this game was a straightforward Age of Steam lite and I see nothing wrong with that.

 

San Juan – 40 minutes

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Gordon

35

120

Dave D

28

60

Edward*

15

40

 

I built an early poor house which seemed to push me down a route of building lots of small value buildings to run me low on cards to get the poor house bonus. I later managed to build a guild hall which was conducive to me finishing off with a run of low value production buildings. The selecting of the builder every round made for a short game with Dave unable to build up the cards he needed to round off his end game building strategies.

 

10 Days in the USA – 15 minutes

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Edward*

Won

60

Dave D

Lost

12

Gordon

Lost

12

 

Dave and I were a whisker off winning when Edward called house. I think this is a good 3 player filler especially when played with new players, it is so easy to teach.

 

Elasund – 105 minutes  bgg

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Mike*

10

525

Luke*

8

315

Chris*

7

210

Steve P

4

0

 

I would be interested in everyone’s views on this game. I got to play it once and that was at the Mayfair booth at Essen last year. I have also only played Candamir once. Both games are beautifully produced and I enjoyed them the one time I played. Normally I get stressed over first plays of all but the simplest games and then with repeat plays I get comfortable and enjoy myself more. In the case of the Settlers variants I tend to get a ton of enjoyment from the first playing with my pleasure fading after several games. Neither Cities & Knights or Settlers of the Stone Age really do it for me these days.

Mike’s comments:

I liked it.  I was initially dismayed about losing the trading element of Settlers, but replacing it with a demolish-your-neighbours mechanism gave this a real edge, and there was some quite fiendish gameplay and brinksmanship at the end.  I would need repeated plays to see if the nasty feeling that stragglers would find it very difficult to catch the early leaders is mistaken.  Perhaps I was wrong but I never felt like Chris and Steve P were going to catch me after about an hour of the game, and Luke was going to be the only real threat for the win until the end (though they could still hurt my position, as Chris did right at the death).  The decisions on placement of permits and buildings adds real strategic depth, some of which I think we were only just starting to cotton on to as the game closed out, this really is Settlers-on-steroids!

Guillotine – 25 minutes

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Mike

26

100

Luke

21

50

Chris*

20

50

Steve P*

19

25

 

High Society – 20 minutes  bgg

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Steve P

+14

80

Luke*

14

60

Chris*

4

40

Mike*

Bust

20

 

This is the first time this game has been played at the club and I gather it was well received.

Mike’s comments:

We have played High Society at the Club before, but it was years ago.

Struggle of Empires – 140 minutes

 

 

Score

Trophy Points

Matt*

36

700

Julian*

33

420

Steve H

32

140

Dave C

24

0

 

Another game of “Struggle to Finish” was called before the final turn. I understand Dave is going to give it a go next week with all experienced players in the hope that they complete all the turns.

Dave’s comments:

Yes, Struggle is going to hit the table again next week and by hook or by crook we are going to finish it! I was really sorry this one didn't; we've played several games now and this was by far the best one. There was the final War (6 rounds) to go; the points and positions were fairly close and those last few rounds would have been really something. It goes to show that this is not a wargame as such; Julian was doing well (better than I think he thought) and yet was the weakest in terms of military strength overall. This game is definitely in my Top Ten games.

Matt takes the trophy this month with notable wins at Amun-Re, Struggle of Empires, Great Wall of China, Poker and San Juan. Honourable mention must go to Mike who led the month right up till tonight’s little game of High Society which he needed to win to hold his number one slot but it was not to be.

Trophy point table
Games played this month

Average attendance this month 12.25

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