March 26, 2005

We had a pretty good-sized group this Saturday. Thanks to Dave for keeping score. And thanks to Bill and Dan for staying past their allotted hour to play Robo-Rally.

The tote is below. Winner listed in bold. Looking forward to next time.

Bob


Tote Board

• Hera & Zeus Dan, Bob Bob: Taught the game to Dan, suggested strategy, and he whupped me.
• Das Amulett Rachel J (8 gems, 7 colors), Bob (6 gems, 7 colors), Carol (5 gems, 7 colors), Dan (4 gems, 6 colors), Dave (6 gems, 6 colors), Noreen (6 gems, 6 colors) Bob: Very close game. Going into the last turn, it looked like four players were in a position to win, with Rachel J far behind the pack. Due to some shrewd card-buying and resource hoarding, Rachel pulled out the victory ahead of everyone else.
• Web Of Power Dave 56, Bob 52, Dan 46, Carol 43, Noreen 39
• Easy Come, Easy Go Noreen, Bob, Dave, Carol, Dan Bob: I rolled four perfect rolls in a row. That is, on my first four turns, I won an award with a single throw each time. And yet, I lost. Once I had secured my third award, before the turn would come back around to me, someone would steal one of my awards. Noreen finally acquired her third award and held onto them for the entire round. Afterwards, Dave noticed that we were playing with one more person than the game takes. Oops.
• Pizarro & Co. Noreen 50, Bob 42, Carol 41, Dave 39, Dan 36, Rachel S 34
• eXXtra Bob 21, Dan 13, Alex 12, Rachel 7, Carol 3
• Robo Rally Team A: Bob, Dave, Bill, Alex; Team B: Carol, Jason, Dan, Rachel J Bob: Capture the flag, 2 boards. Team B started out strong, forcing the fight to Team A’s board and immediately threatening Team A's flag. Team A started out in disarray and had a hard time making progress towards B’s flag. Finally, some good defense with Dave and Bill slowed Team B and Carol’s mistaking left for right after she grabbed the flag killed her and ended the B team offensive. Meanwhile, Bob and Alex raced for Team B’s flag, Bob got it and pretty much sailed home for the victory.
• Primordial Soup Dave 42, Alex 41, Jason 37, Bob 32 Bob: Great game involving ameobas fighting it out in the primordial soup but I’m not convinced that the Frugality/Substitution strategy is beatable. Dave got those two genes and won. Jason came up with a nice movement combo of genes. Bob sucked most of the game but managed to get “Struggle for Survival” too late to win.

February 19, 2005

Hey everyone! Here's the after action report from last Saturday’s gaming. As usual, Eric’s notes are below. Thanks to everyone who attended! Looking forward to our next time.

Bob
Eric’s Notes
1:59 pm:
Eric arrived at Bob’s around 1:45. Dan K, Bob, Dave Fair, and Noreen were playing Wettstreit der Baumeister.
2:54 pm:
Dave Fair won with 38, Noreen had 21, Dan K had 24, Bob had 30.
3:31 pm:
Next, the five of us played Wongar.
4:54 pm:
Rachel S, Rachel J, Carol, and Andrew played Einfach Genial. Rachel S won.
5:13 pm:
Eric won Wongar with 61, Noreen had 59, Bob had 54, Dan K had 46, and Dave Fair had 38.
5:23 pm:
Dan K, Bob, Dave Fair, Rachel S, and Eric played Clash of the Gladiators.
6:30 pm:
Eric won with 19, Rachel S had 14, Dave Fair had 13, Dan K had 10, and Bob had 9.
7:02 pm:
We took a break for dinner, then Dan K, Bob, Dave Fair, and Eric played Ys.
7:15 pm:
Carol, Rachel S, Noreen, Rachel J played Ticket to Ride.
8:25 pm:
Noreen won Ticket to Ride with 128, Rachel J had 117, Carol had 100, Rachel S had 55.
9:11 pm:
Bob won Ys with 85 points + 25 gems, Dan K had 85 points + 23 gems, Eric had 82, and Dave Fair had 76. Bill, Jason, and Alex arrived.
9:46 pm:
Dan K, Bill, Eric, and Jason played Metro while Dave Fair, Bob, Carol, and Alex played Santiago.
10:42 pm:
At the end of Metro, Dan K had 73, Jason had 67, Bill had 41, and Eric had 33.
11:28 pm:
Bill and Jason left. Carol won Santiago with 119, Dave had 102, Alex had 100, and Bob had 84. Carol, Alex, Dave Fair, Dan K, Bob, Eric, and Rachel J played Democrazy.
12:02 am:
Eric and Alex tied at 8, Dave Fair, Dan K, and Rachel J had 7 each, Bob had 6, and Carol had 2.
12:43 am:
We played Democrazy again. This time, Rachel J won with 26, Bob, Dave Fair, and Eric had 25 each, Dan K and Alex had 24 each, and Carol had 23.
12:58 am:
Dan K left. Bob, Carol, Alex, Rachel J, Dave Fair, and Eric played Medici.
2:02 am:
Eric won with 121, Alex had 93, Bob had 81, Rachel J had 71, Dave Fair had 59, and Carol had 35.


Tote Board
Wettstreit der Baumeister
Dave 38, Bob 30, Dan K 24, Noreen 21
Bob: This is an overlooked gem that we played a few times when I first bought it and not since. With the Westbank Gamers variants, it becomes a very good, tense game.
Wongar
Eric 61, Noreen 59, Bob 54, Dan K 46, Dave 38
Bob: Another good game we need to play more often. This was pretty close as we all tried to master the many, many options available each turn. By the end, I think we were close to getting it.

Eric: We last played this on 8/31/2002. We did one thing incorrectly. When you choose a symbol card from one of the territories, only the first piece has to go in that territory. The other pieces may go in any territory.
Einfach Genial
Rachel S, Rachel J, Carol, Andrew

Clash of the Gladiators
Eric 19, Rachel S 14, Dave 13, Dan K 10, Bob 9
Bob: First play for this dice-fest from Reiner Knizia. I liked the theme and the setting up of gladitorial teams. Need to try it again to see if there’s more strategy than initially apparent.
Ys
Bob 85 points + 25 gems, Dan K 85 points + 23 gems, Eric 82, Dave 76
Bob: This half-blind bidding game has been compared to Aladdin’s
Dragons and rightly so. Although the theme is less fanciful, there is much
more meat.
Ticket to Ride
Noreen 128, Rachel J 117, Carol 100, Rachel S 55

Metro
Dan K 73, Jason 67, Bill 41, Eric 33

Santiago
Carol 119, Dave 102, Alex 100, Bob 84

Democrazy
Eric 8, Alex 8, Dave 7, Dan K 7, Rachel J 7, Bob 6, Carol 2
Bob: We haven’t played Democrazy in years. My memory was that it was confusing and complicated. We had no such difficulties this time as it seemed very simple (perhaps we’ve become more sophisticated as gamers). We had a lot of fun and I expect this game will hit the table again soon. (Sorry, Eric.)

Eric: Ugh. Coincidentally, we also last played this on 8/31/2002.
Democrazy
Rachel J 26, Bob 25, Dave 25, Eric 25, Dan K 24, Alex 24, Carol 23
Medici
Eric 121, Alex 93, Bob 81, Rachel J 71, Dave 59, Carol 35

January 8, 2005

Last Saturday, a huge group gathered in Germantown for our first gaming session of 2005. Attending were Bob, Carol and Rachel Jones, Dan Korn and Rachel Silber, Dave, Andrew and Noreen Fair, Gwen Alviani and first-timer Dave Fogel, Bill, Stephanie and Alex Ruvinsky, Kimberly Stern and Eric Haas. Whew. At times, we had three games going at once.

Thanks to everyone who came and those who contributed snacks and dessert.

The tote is below. Thanks to Eric for keeping track.
Eric’s Notes
2:01 pm:
Eric arrived at the Jones house a couple of minutes before 2:00. Dave Fair, Noreen, Gwen, Kimberly, and Dave Fogel were already there. Bob, Carol, Dave Fair, Noreen, Gwen, and Dave Fogel were playing Leapfrog. At the end of the game, Carol, Noreen, Gwen, and Dave Fogel had 11, Dave Fair had 10, and Bob had 5. Noreen won by the tie-breaking rule.
2:08 pm:
Carol, Kim, Noreen, and Eric played Einfach Genial, while Bob, Gwen, Dave Fair, and Dave Fogel played Goldbräu.
2:22 pm:
Dan K and Rachel S arrived.
2:34 pm:
Dan K and Rachel S started a game of Bohnanza.
3:03 pm:
Eric won Einfach Genial with 11, Kimberly had 10, Carol had 9, and Noreen had 8.
3:26 pm:
Dan K, Rachel S, and Noreen played Einfach Genial, while Kimberly, Carol, and Eric played MarraCash.
4:07 pm:
Dan K won Einfach Genial with 12, Rachel S had 9, and Noreen had 6. They started another game of Einfach Genial.
4:19 pm:
Dave Fair won Goldbräu with 126, Gwen had 85, Dave Fogel had 81, and Bob had 56.
4:22 pm:
Bill, Stephanie R and Alex arrived.
4:25 pm:
Carol won MarraCash with 6925, Kimberly had 4100, and Eric had 2200.
4:37 pm:
Dan K won the second game of Einfach Genial with 11, Rachel S had 9, and Noreen had 6.
5:05 pm:
We all played Werewolf. Dave Fair was the moderator. Rachel S was the Seer. Bob and Noreen won as the werewolves.
5:08 pm:
Bob, Stephanie R, Bill, and Alex played Vom Kap bis Kairo. Dan K, Kimberly, Dave Fair, Eric, and Noreen played El Grande. Rachel S, Gwen, Carol, Dave Fogel, and Rachel J played Big City.
6:05 pm:
Alex won Vom Kap bis Kairo.
6:09 pm:
Bill and Stephanie R left after Vom Kap bis Kairo.
6:13 pm:
Alex and Bob played Heave-Ho!
6:34 pm:
Carol won Big City, Dave Fogel came in second, Rachel J was 3rd, Rachel S was 4th, and Gwen was 5th.
6:54 pm:
Alex won Heave-Ho!
7:25 pm:
Noreen won El Grande with 96, Dave Fair had 88, Eric had 84, Kimberly had 83, and Dan K had 77. We took a break for dinner.
8:16 pm:
Dave Fair, Noreen, Bob, Kimberly, and Eric played Maharaja while Gwen, Dave Fogel, Carol, Alex, and Dan K played Taj Mahal.
9:59 pm:
Bob won Maharaja by playing all seven of his palaces. Dave Fair was second, Eric was third, Noreen was fourth, and Kimberly was last.
10:11 pm:
Dave Fair, Noreen, Bob, Kimberly, and Eric played Coloretto.
10:37 pm:
Eric won Coloretto with 25, Kimberly had 23, Bob and Noreen tied at 22, and Dave had 21.
10:41 pm:
Bill and Stephanie R returned.
10:46 pm:
Gwen won Taj Mahal with 62, Alex had 31, Dan K had 30, Carol had 29, and Dave Fogel had 26.
10:55 pm:
Dan K and Rachel S left.
11:21 pm:
Stephanie R, Carol, Bob, and Eric played Krieg und Frieden while Dave Fair, Rachel J, Noreen, Kimberly, Gwen, Dave Fogel, and Bill played Why Did the Chicken...?
12:16 am:
At the end of Why Did the Chicken...? Dave Fogel and Bill tied at 4 each, Noreen had 2, and Gwen, Rachel J, Kimberly, and Dave Fair had 1 each. Dave Fogel and Gwen left after Why Did the Chicken...?
12:28 am:
Dave Fair and Noreen left. Rachel J and Kimberly started a game of Lord of the Rings: the Confrontation. Rachel J played white while Kimberly played black.
12:41 am:
Eric won Krieg und Frieden with 14, Bob had 11, Stephanie R had 10, and Carol had 0.
12:52 am:
Bill, Stephanie R, and Alex left. Rachel J won LOTR. Eric left. Bob, Carol, Kimberly, and Rachel J started a game of Carcassonne.


Tote Board
Leapfrog
Noreen 11, Carol 11, Gwen 11, Dave Fogel 11, Dave Fair 10, Bob 5.
Bob: A good game with fun bits including some brightly colored frogs. Confusing at first, but worth figuring out. I had the most points but for landing in the frying pan on the last turn.
Einfach Genial
Eric 11, Kimberly 10, Carol 9, Noreen 8

Goldbräu
Dave Fair 126, Gwen 85, Dave Fogel 81, Bob 56
Bob: Good game very reminiscent of Löwenherz. The fun “Beer Garden” theme makes this a winner.
Bohnanza
Dan K, Rachel S

Einfach Genial
Dan K 12, Rachel S 9, Noreen 6

MarraCash
Carol 6925, Kimberly 4100, Eric 2200

Einfach Genial
Dan K 11, Rachel S 9, Noreen 6

Werewolf
Moderator: Dave Fair; Werewolves: Noreen, Bob; Seer: Rachel S; Villagers: Carol, Gwen, Dave Fogel, Kimberly, Bill, Stephanie R, Alex, Eric, Rachel J, Andrew
Bob: My first ever game of Werewolf not being the moderator. Dave does a great job. Noreen and I managed to kill all the villagers without being discovered. Hooray for the bad guys!
Vom Kap bis Kairo
Alex, Bob, Bill, Stephanie R
Bob: This is a neat little card game that’s easy to play but has some interesting choices. Could be played in very small spaces.
El Grande
Noreen 96, Dave Fair 88, Eric 84, Kimberly 83, Dan K 77

Big City
Carol, Dave Fogel, Rachel J, Rachel S, Gwen

Heave-Ho!
Alex, Bob

Maharaja
Bob, Dave Fair, Eric, Noreen, Kimberly
Bob: My first time playing this great game. Lots of different strategies with many roads to victory.
Taj Mahal
Gwen 62, Alex 31, Dan K 30, Carol 29, Dave Fogel 26

Coloretto
Eric 25, Kimberly 23, Bob 22, Noreen 22, Dave 21

Krieg und Frieden
Eric 14, Bob 11, Stephanie R 10, Carol 0

Why Did the Chicken...?
Dave Fogel 4, Bill 4, Noreen 2, Gwen 1, Rachel J 1, Kimberly 1, Dave Fair 1
Bob: A party game where the players try to come up with the best punch line.
Lord of the Rings: the Confrontation
White: Rachel J, Black: Kimberly

Carcassonne
Kimberly 115, Bob 102, Carol 98
Bob: Played with the “Carcassonne: The Count” expansion. Added some unusual dynamics.

November 20, 2004

Hey everyone!

We had a pretty big group and got to play a good number of games. Playing were Bob, Carol and Rachel J, Dave, Noreen and Andrew, Rachel S and Dan K, Bill, Stephanie R, Jason, Rachel R, and Alex, Eric, and for the first time, our good friend from Dave’s Damascus GCOM group (as well as a general GCOM gamer), Gwen.

I don’t think we’re going to be able to get in another Saturday session before January but I will keep everyone up to date.

Hope to see everyone soon!

Bob
Eric’s Notes
1:16 pm:
Eric arrived shortly after 1:00. Dave and Andrew were already there. Carol, Dave, Bob, and Eric played Einfach Genial. Noreen and Gwen arrived while we were playing.
1:57 pm:
Bob won with 14, Carol and Eric had 12 each, and Dave had 11.
2:21 pm:
The six of us played Metro. Dan K arrived while we were playing.
2:38 pm:
Noreen won with 57, Bob had 35, Dave had 33, Carol had 32, Gwen had 31, and Eric had 28.
2:42 pm:
Carol left to pick up Rachel. Dan, Gwen, Dave, Bob, and Eric played Attila.
4:03 pm:
Dan won with 74, Eric had 68, Dave had 57, Bob had 44, and Gwen had 40.
4:10 pm:
Rachel S arrived. We decided to play Boomtown, even though it is only recommended for 3 to 5 players.
5:08 pm:
Rachel S won with 59, Bob had 49, Gwen had 46, Noreen had 45, Dan had 36, and Dave and Eric tied at 30.
5:28 pm:
Rachel J and Carol returned. Dave, Gwen, Rachel S, and Rachel J played Einfach Genial. Carol, Noreen, Bob, Dan, and Eric played Modern Art.
6:15 pm:
At the end of Einfach Genial, Rachel J had 11, Dave had 10, Gwen had 9, and Rachel S had 8.
6:42 pm:
Bob won Modern Art with 440, Dan had 416, Noreen had 370, Eric had 366, Carol had 346.
7:07 pm:
Dave, Carol, Andrew, Rachel J, Gwen, Bob, Dan K, and Eric played Bang! Andrew was the Sheriff. Dave and Bob were the Deputies. Gwen and Dan K were the Renegades. Eric, Carol, and Rachel J were the Outlaws.
7:17 pm:
The Outlaws won in the second round. Andrew and Rachel J were the only two people to even get a second turn.
7:22 pm:
Bob and Dan played Brawl.
7:27 pm:
Bob won.
8:25 pm:
We took a break for dinner: pizza from Domino’s. Bill, Alex, and Stephanie R arrived. Dan K, Rachel S, Alex, Stephanie, and Noreen started Ticket to Ride, while Carol, Bob, Bill, Dave, and Eric played Santiago.
9:47 pm:
Stephanie won TtR with 114, Rachel S had 104, Dan K had 96, Alex had 86, and Noreen had 63.
9:51 pm:
At the end of Santiago, Bill had 77, Bob had 68, Dave had 62, Carol had 54, and Eric had 50.
10:29 pm:
Jason, Bill, Stephanie, Rachel R, Rachel J, and Eric played Metro while Dave, Bill, Alex, and Carol played Dschunke.
11:21 pm:
Rachel J won Metro with 49, Bill had 37, Stephanie had 34, Jason had 30, Eric had 24, and Rachel R had 22.
11:42 pm:
Alex won Dschunke with 78, Bob had 72, Carol had 48, and Dave had 42.
12:02 am:
Bill, Stephanie, and Alex left after Dschunke. Dave, Carol, Rachel, Jason, Bob, and Eric played Power Grid.
3:00 am:
Jason won with 15 cities and $154, Dave had 15 cities and $136, Eric had 14+$209, Bob had 14+$138, Rachel J 14+$140, Carol 12.


Tote Board
Einfach Genial
Bob 14, Carol 12, Eric 12, Dave 11
Bob: This is a great abstract by Reiner Knizia. Everyone who plays it seems to love it.
Metro
Noreen 57, Bob 35, Dave 33, Carol 32, Gwen 31, Eric 28
Bob: Noreen’s last route, finished as the last tile down, scored enough points to win the game for Noreen by itself. Yikes.
Attila
Dan K 74, Eric 68, Dave 57, Bob 44, Gwen 40

Boomtown
Rachel S 59, Bob 49, Gwen 46, Noreen 45, Dan K 36, Dave 30, Eric 30
Bob: We apparently played with more players than the game can handle. Good game, though.

Dan K: I definitely agree with the good game part--I think our objection wasn’t that you can’t play with 7 players, but that the strategy intended by the game designers is severely compromised with so many players. The game ended too quickly--you didn’t have enough turns to execute any real strategy in your gameplay. I would love to play this game again with only 4 or 5 players.
Einfach Genial
Rachel J 11, Dave 10, Gwen 9, Rachel S 8

Modern Art
Bob 440, Dan K 416, Noreen 370, Eric 366, Carol 346

Bang!
Outlaws: Eric, Carol, Rachel J; Sheriff: Andrew; Deputies: Dave, Bob; Renegades: Gwen, Dan K
Eric: We played with the Dodge City expansion and two Renegades. This was one of the shortest games of Bang! ever. Six of the eight players didn’t even get a second turn.
Brawl
Bob, Dan

Ticket to Ride
Stephanie R 114, Rachel S 104, Dan K 96, Alex 86, Noreen 63

Santiago
Bill 77, Bob 68, Dave 62, Carol 54, Eric 50

Metro
Rachel J 49, Bill 37, Stephanie R 34, Jason 30, Eric 24, Rachel R 22

Dschunke
Alex 78, Bob 72, Carol 48, Dave 42

Power Grid
Jason 15+$154, Dave 15+$136, Eric 14+$209, Bob 14+$138, Rachel J 14+$140, Carol 12

September 18, 2004

We had a smaller group than usual this time, but still played a lot of games and had a lot of fun. Congratulations to Alex who was celebrating his sixteenth birthday! Happy Birthday, Alex.

Eric’s summary is below. Check out what happened to him after he left our house. He certainly should have stayed for another game. :-) Bob

Here’s the tally (winner listed in bold):
Metro
Bob 59, Eric 46, Dan 39, Noreen 32, Carol 22, Dave 20
Bob: Metro is very similar to Streetcar but quicker and more chaotic. It plays up to six players. This was my first time playing and I think it’s a great game.
Das Amulett
Bob, Noreen, Dave, Dan, Eric, Carol
Bob: First playing as a group. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Some have commented that it goes long with 6 players but it didn’t. The number and variety of spell cards was not hard to follow. Beautiful bits.
Acquire
Eric 31700, Rachel J 29000, Carol 28500, Dave 26600, Noreen 22100, Bob 20900 Bob: Only a half dozen mergers the entire game. Frustrating.
Einfach Genial
Bob 16, Dave 11, Eric 7
Bob: I’m not big on abstracts, but this is a fantastic game! It’s quick to play, offers lots of choices, some tough decisions, and is quite beautiful. This is why Reiner Knizia is my favorite game designer. Wow.
Bohnanza
Rachel 15, Carol 15, Bob 14, Eric 12, Dave 10, Noreen 8

Piratenbilliard
Eric 16, Dave 14, Bob 10, Rachel 6
Bob: A very odd game of physical dexterity. Dave got this really cheap on-line and it turns out to be lots of fun. Check out the description at BoardGameGeek. Definitely unusual!
Piratenbilliard
Dave 18, Rachel 10, Eric 8, Carol 8
Piratenbilliard
Rachel 8, Eric 6, Bob 6, Carol 4
Quo Vadis
Jason 19, Dave 18, Bill 17, Bob 10
Quo Vadis
Bill 19, Bob 19, Jason 17, Dave 10 Bob: Bill won because of the tie breaker. The second game, we played with the variant tiles for the first time. It added even more intrigue and cut-throatedness (is that a word?). I like the purity of the basic game, but will play the variant again.
San Juan
Carol 28, Alex 27, Rachel 24, Eric 23
Corruption
Dave $2.8 million, Carol $2.2, Jason $2.2, Eric $1.9, Rachel $1.4, Alex $1.2, Bob $0.6 Bob: Fun, fun game! Alex pulled a clever move against me on the final turn to assure he would not finish in last place.
Piratenbilliard
Alex 18, Jason 12, Rachel 2
Amun-Re
Bob 44, Alex 40, Jason 37, Rachel 35, Dave 33 Bob: A good, hard fought game. Dave and I did very poorly in the first round of scoring. It cost Dave the game. I managed to acquire a large number of pyramids during the New Kingdom for the win.


Eric’s Notes
2:23 pm:
I arrived at Bob’s around 1:30. Dan was already there. The Fairs arrived shortly afterwards. We played Metro. Bob won with 59, I had 46, Dan had 39, Noreen had 32, Carol had 22, and Dave had 20.
2:27 pm:
Bob brought out Das Amulett.
4:56 pm:
Bob won with 8 gems. Dan left after Das Amulett.
5:15 pm:
Rachel J joined us for the next game. Dave suggested we play Acquire.
6:43 pm:
I won Acquire with 31700, Rachel had 29000, Carol had 28500, Dave had 26600, Noreen had 22100, and Bob had 20900.
7:18 pm:
We took a break for dinner. After dinner, Bob, Dave, and I played Einfach Genial.
7:51 pm:
Bob won maxing out 5 of his 6 colors, with 16 in his last color. Dave had 11, and I had 7.
Einfach Genial
8:02 pm:
The six of us decided to play Bohnanza.
9:03 pm:
Carol and Rachel tied at 15, Bob had 14, I had 12, Dave had 10, Noreen had 8.
PiratenbilliardPiratenbilliard

9:36 pm:
Noreen left. Dave, Bob, Rachel, and I played Piratenbilliard. I won with 16, Dave had 14, Bob had 10, and Rachel had 6. We played again, and Carol took Bob’s place.
9:53 pm:
Dave won with 18, Rachel had 10, Carol and I had 8.
10:05 pm:
For the third game, Bob replaced Dave. Bill, Alex, and Jason arrived.
10:06 pm:
Rachel won with 8, Eric and Bob had 6, and Carol had 4.
10:09 pm:
Bill, Jason, Dave, and Bob started a game of Quo Vadis.
Quo Vadis
10:13 pm:
Carol, Rachel, Alex, and I played San Juan.
San Juan
10:40 pm:
Quo Vadis ended with Jason the winner at 19, Dave had 18, Bill had 17, and Bob had 10. They decided to play a second game of Quo Vadis.
11:10 pm:
Carol won San Juan with 28, Alex had 27, Rachel had 24, and I had 23.
11:22 pm:
At the end of the second game of Quo Vadis, Bill and Bob had 19, Jason had 17, Dave had 10. Bill won because of the tie breaker.
11:36 pm:
Bill left. The rest of us decided to play Corruption.
12:57 am:
Dave won with $2.8 million, Carol and Jason had 2.2, I had 1.9, Rachel had 1.4, Alex had 1.2, and Bob had 0.6.
Piratenbilliard
3:43 am:
I left Bob’s around 1:00. On the way home, I got caught in a back-up about two miles south of White Marsh at about 2:15. Apparently a major accident. The tow trucks had trouble getting through because so many cars had pulled onto the shoulder. People were getting out of their cars, walking around and chatting. By 3:45, almost everyone had turned their engines off, and it got very dark and quiet.
4:51 am:
Around 4:25, the cars in front of me were starting up again. Within a few minutes, we were moving again. I got home around 4:40.

August 29, 2004

Eight of us gathered in Germantown to play Wooden Ships and Iron Men. I prepared the gameboard and environs and Glenn Bramer prepared the ship log sheets for the chosen scenario.

With eight players, we decided to do the Battle of the Chesapeake, a large encounter between the French and the British involving 42 ships of the line. The French have a numerical superiority (24 versus 19 ships) with large crews, while the smaller British crews are of better quality. We did not use the land mass which is normally an obstacle in this scenario; we played open seas.

Glenn and I each took command of one fleet. Glenn was given the choice and took the French. We then split up Eric Haas and Steve Bramer as the other two experienced players. Eric joined the British, while Steve went with the French. Finally, we randomly assigned Rachel Jones, Alex Ruvinsky, Dave Fair and Dan Korn. The former two went to the British, the latter to the French.

Teams having been assembled, we went through a quick explanation of the rules and set up the game.

The wind, blowing to the north, was favorable to both fleets as they entered along the east and west sides of the game map. The French came in two long lines very far apart, while the British formed up in four lines fairly close together. After several turns of sailing full ahead, the first British ship to hit the French line was the flagship, the Barfleur, commanded by Bob. Enduring several rakes from Glenn’s squadron, the Barfleur tied up the front of the French line while going toe to toe with the French flagship, the Ville de Paris and another of Glenn’s ships.

Because of this, and the general pile up of ships that followed, the Barfleur was the first ship to strike her colors with the Ville de Paris not far behind.

Not long after, Alex’s squadron met up with the French line while Rachel and Steve started some long-distance sparring to the north and Dave and Eric began pummeling each other to the south. A number of struck ships started clogging the sea and it became very difficult to break through the tangle. At one point at least a dozen ships were fouled together.

By the end of the game, nine ships had struck their colors (5 British, 4 French) with many more ships seriously wounded (note, one of Rachel’s ships struck her colors but has not been crossed off the tally).

Glenn’s squadron, in the midst of most of the British fleet, took the worst pounding, with only 15 hull points left between his three remaining ships. However, Glenn is responsible for nearly all of the damage to Bob and Alex’s squadrons while killing two ships and capturing one. Bob’s ship, America, visible all alone approaching Dan’s squadron in the next photo, had only one hull box left.

Sadly, Dan’s squadron went the whole game without firing a shot. Starting farther to the north, Steve and Dan were tacking against the wind all game. Steve was in the van and so able to engage around mid-game. Dan was finally in a position to get into the fight when we called the game. In restrospect, we should have mixed up the squadrons a little more (maybe given him half of Glenn’s ships and vice versa) to make sure everyone got involved. Putting Steve and Dan’s squadrons to the north pretty much guaranteed victory for the French, though. With at least two French squadrons untouched at the end of the game, the British fleet would have been hard pressed.

The point of the session was to teach the rules and get as much done as we could in the time allotted. With a smaller scenario, we could have easily finished. With 42 ships, however, combat took far too long. At 4:30 we decided to play until 6PM at which time we ended the game. Another five or six turns probably would have ended the game more decisively.

At the start of the game, the French had 24 ships comprising 347 hull points. The British had 19 ships with 234 hull points. At the end, the French had lost 31% of their hull points while the British had lost 43%.

Note on pictures: The “struck ship” counters were originally used to denote surrendered ships. However, so many ships fouled, we started using the struck counters to designate that. We ended up flipping over the struck ships (as you will see in some of the pictures.) The arrow in the following photo represents the ship Glenn captured from Alex.

I hope we can play again sometime soon. Glenn has a much smaller scenario already prepared. My crystal mega mat will have arrived by then and I’m going to put together some “fouled ship” counters. :-)

August 14, 2004

Thanks to everyone who came out last Saturday for a day of gaming. As always, I enjoyed myself as I hope everyone did. Of course, the impetus for getting together was Paul Czarnota who was in town for the day.

Thanks to Carol for cooking dinner for everyone.

Looking back, I realized we played four of the great Alea game series, Traders of Genoa, Ra, Taj Mahal, and Puerto Rico. That’s pretty impressive!

Our next game is going to be on Sunday, Aug. 29th, where we’ll be playing a huge Wooden Ships and Iron Men scenario. We may have up to ten players. If you haven’t signed up but are interested, let me know.

The results are below (winner listed in bold).
Titan: the Arena
Bob, Carol, Paul
Bob: T:TA has made quite a comeback over the past few months; we’ve been pulling it off the shelf more and more often. For those who don’t own this game, it’s being rereleased by Fantasy Flight Games as Colossal Arena and will be available this fall.
Titan: the Arena
Carol, Bob, Paul
Modern Art
Jason, Bill, Steph R, Paul, Carol

Ra
Dave 38, Bob 34, Eric 24, Katherina 17

Ticket to Ride
Rachel J 110, Carol 80, Eric 29, Noreen 68, Royal 55

Venture
Dave 193, Paul 180, Bob 152, Stephanie W 146
Bob: This is a classic Sid Sackson (creator of Acquire) game from the late ’60’s. Paul brought it so we could playtest it. We all enjoyed it, although I thought it went a bit long. Still, the mechanisms were way ahead of their time and the game has a great deal of depth for a simple card game. Very nice.
Titan: The Arena
Paul, Stephanie W, Dave

Robo-Rally
Rachel J, Andrew, Noreen, Royal, Carol, Eric

Traders of Genoa
Paul 1020, Bob 965, Stephanie W 840, Alex 705, Dave 580.
Bob: This was an epic game. Many, many deals were made and the negotiations were quite protracted and involved at times. However, I owe both Dave Fair and Alex Ruvinsky an apology. Normally, I’m pretty aware of how each player is doing. As the game went on, Dave Fair was doing an impressive job of fulfilling large order after large order. Since large orders give one of the biggest payoffs in the game, I assumed that Dave was rolling over the rest of us and harped on his lead at every opportunity. When Alex Ruvinsky gave Dave a sweetheart deal, I teased Alex about it more than I should have. As it turns out, Dave wasn’t doing nearly as well as I thought; rarely have I so misjudged a game. In the end, Paul got the well-deserved victory. My apologies to Dave for going on and on about his lead and to Alex for teasing him about a simple mistake.
Sequence
Rachel J, Carol, Eric

Puerto Rico
Carol 57, Rachel J 50, Bob 49, Paul 47, Eric 45
Bob: A great game with lots of different strategies employed. Carol’s effective use of the Wharf and the Harbor gave her a big victory. And congratulations to Rachel Jones who nearly extended her winning streak to four games.
Taj Mahal
Paul 75, Bob 46, Carol 45
Bob: This was no contest. Paul captured 6 or 7 of the Province tiles and crushed Carol and me. Taj Mahal with three players is definitely different than with more players.


Eric’s Notes
2:23 pm:
Eric arrived at Bob’s around 2:30. Bob, Carol and, Paul were playing Titan: the Arena. The Fairs arrived shortly after Eric.
2:34 pm:
The Ruvinskys arrived. Carol won Titan: the Arena.
2:42 pm:
Paul, Carol, Jason, Bill, and Steffie started Modern Art. Dave, Katherina, Bob, and Eric started Ra.
3:09 pm:
The Whites arrived.
3:54 pm:
Jason won Modern Art. Dave won Ra with 38, Bob had 34, Eric had 24, Katherina had 17.
4:03 pm:
The Ruvinskys had to leave.
4:11 pm:
Bob, Dave, Paul, and Stephanie played Venture while Noreen, Carol, Royal, Rachel J, and Eric played Ticket to Ride.
5:11 pm:
At the end of Ticket to Ride, Rachel had 110, Noreen had 68, Carol had 80, Royal had 55, and Eric had 79.
6:22 pm:
Dave won Venture with 193, Paul had 180, Bob had 152, and Stephanie had 146.
7:17 pm:
We took a break for dinner, and then Bob showed us the pictures he and Carol took on their recent vacation.
7:41 pm:
Bob and Rachel left to pick up Alex. Stephanie, Dave, and Paul played Titan: the Arena while they were waiting.
8:09 pm:
Paul won Titan: the Arena.
8:40 pm:
Paul, Dave, Bob, Stephanie, and Alex played Traders of Genoa while, Andrew, Noreen, Royal, Rachel, Carol, and Eric played Robo-Rally.
11:11 pm:
Rachel won Robo-Rally.
11:51 pm:
Rachel, Carol, and Eric started a game of Sequence.
12:07 am:
Rachel won Sequence.
12:39 am:
Paul won Traders of Genoa with 1020, Bob had 965, Stephanie had 840, Alex had 705, and Dave 580.
1:07 am:
Carol, Paul, Rachel, Bob, and Eric started a game of Puerto Rico.
3:18 am:
Carol won with 57, Rachel had 50, Bob had 49, Paul had 47, and Eric had 45. Eric left after Puerto Rico. Paul, Carol and Bob played Taj Mahal.
?:?? am:
Paul won Taj Mahal with 75, Bob had 46, and Carol had 45.