November 8, 1998

Glenn and Dan arrived around 1:00. First played was a card game called “It’s Mine”. Rachel won.

Eric arrived around 1:30. The next game up was Medici. Carol took the lead early and pretty much held it throughout the game. Glenn came in second, Bob in third, Eric in fourth, Dan was last. In all fairness, this was the first time Dan had played Medici.

Then came a game of Formula Dé on the San Marino track that Eric had just bought. Dan got the pole position, followed by Glenn, Carol, Bob and then Eric. Eric blew the start. Glenn quickly fell into fourth place. Carol took the lead from Dan going into turn 2. Eric took fourth from Glenn. Carol’s lead continued to increase. Eric caught up to Bob and Dan in turn 3. Bob and Eric pulled ahead of Dan going into turn 4 but, Eric just missed the turn and had to downshift. Glenn managed to pass Dan and Eric. At turn 7, Bob just about caught up to Carol. Dan passed Eric. Bob shifted into 6th gear and passed Carol but, ended up at the end of a 2-stop turn having made only one stop. Glenn crashed in turn 6. Bob downshifted to 3rd gear and barely survived. Carol wiped out in turn 7 trying to catch Bob. Bob cruised to an easy victory. Three die rolls later, Dan crossed the finish line second. Two die rolls after that, Eric crossed the line third.

Then came Air Baron. We discovered an error in our interpretation of the rules that made this a much more competitive game than the one we played on 9/27/98. We previously had been playing such that, if a hub was drawn, only the player who dominated or controlled that hub got any money. The correct way is, players on the hub who do not dominate or control get $3. Bob took an early lead, controlling most of the central US and, came within $4 of winning. However, now out of cash, he couldn’t continue the attack and his position began to erode. His position was made worse by a fuel hike that hit while he still had a large market share and little cash. The other players quickly took advantage of Bob’s weakened position with Dan and Glenn being the main beneficiaries. Dan came within $8 of winning. Bob was completely wiped off the board. Glenn finally won the game.

One more game of It’s Mine. Once again, Rachel joined in. This time, Bob won with 28. Rachel was right behind with 27. Eric finished in last with 1.

At this point, it was about 7:30 and Dan and Glenn had to leave. Another new card game was brought out: Kwa-Do. Eric won by a large margin.