July 10, 2004

Hey all! Here’s the summary of the July 10 game session.

We played Bang! near the end of the night and for the first time, everyone knew the rules and was familiar with all the cards. The game went very quickly and was a blast. There’s a weird learning curve with the game but once you get it, it's loads of fun.

You will note that at one point, Carol had won 6 games in a row!

Here’s what we played (winner listed in bold):
Omega Virus
Corwin, Andrew, Rachel J, Dave
Bob: Through a bit of cooperation, Corwin was able to defeat the Virus with less than 2 minutes to go!
Bohnanza
Dan and Eric (tied), Rachel S, Carol, Noreen

San Juan
Dan 31, Rachel J 28, Bob 21

Loco
Eric 34, Rachel S 33, Dan 29, Carol 24

Die Sieben Weisen
Bob 21, Eric 16, Carol 16, Dave 12
Bob: A new game to the group, very pretty, with shifting alliances attempting to play the highest value cards to take the crystals. Interesting.
Ticket to Ride
Rachel J 116, Dan 102, Rachel S. 59, Noreen 55

Lost Cities
Steph, Bill/Rachel R

Kahuna
Alex, Steph

Big City
Rachel S 64, Bob 60, Eric 56, Dan 55, Alex 52
Bob: A very close game that came down to the last building played.
Maharaja
Carol 7 palaces & 11 gold, Steph 7 palaces & 10 gold, Noreen, Dave, Bill
Bob: First time playing, they got a whole bunch of rules wrong. But all agreed it’s a good game worth playing again.
Web of Power
Carol 67, Dave 59, Eric 44, Rachel S 40

Queen’s Necklace
Alex, Dan, Bob

Samurai
Carol, Dave, Rachel S, Eric

Goa
Bob 49, Dave 39, Rachel J 36, Alex 32

Carcassonne
Carol 88, Bill 81, Dan 57, Steph 57, Eric 48

Guillotine
Carol 29, Dan 26, Eric 25

Bang!
Dan, Bob, Carol (Outlaws), Eric (Sheriff), Rachel J (Deputy), Alex (Deputy), Dave (Renegade)

High Society
Bob 13, Carol 12, Rachel J 9.5, Alex - Busted



Eric’s Notes
2:03 pm:
Eric arrived around 1:45. Dan Korn and the Fairs were already there. Dave, Andrew, Corwyn and, Rachel J started Omega Virus. Rachel S arrived a short time later.
2:43 pm:
Rachel S, Noreen, Carol, Dan, and Eric played Bohnanza. Dave, Rachel, and Bob played San Juan. Dan and Eric tied at 10 for the win in Bohnanza.
2:47 pm:
Rachel S, Carol, Dan, and Eric started Loco.
3:05 pm:
Dave won San Juan with 31, Rachel J had 28 and Bob had 21.
3:08 pm:
Eric won Loco with 34, Rachel S had 33, Dan had 29, and Carol had 24.
3:17 pm:
Corwyn won Omega Virus with two minutes to go. Dave, Bob, Carol, and Eric played Die Sieben Weisen. Rachel S, Noreen, Dan, and Rachel J played Ticket to Ride.
3:46 pm:
The Ruvinskys arrived. Rachel R and Steffie started Lost Cities.
4:03 pm:
Alex and Steffie played Kahuna.
4:41 pm:
Rachel J won Ticket to Ride with 116, Dan 102, Rachel S 59, Noreen 55.
4:44 pm:
Bob won Die Sieben Weisen with 21, Eric and Carol tied at 16, Dave had 12.
4:45 pm:
Alex won Kahuna.
4:58 pm:
Carol, Noreen, Dave, Steffie and Bill played Maharaja. It was the first time that any of them had played and, they got several of the rules wrong. Bob, Dan, Rachel S, Alex and Eric played Big City.
6:44 pm:
Rachel S won with Big City with 64, Bob had 60, Eric had 56, Dan had 55, and Alex had 52.
7:20 pm:
Carol won Maharaja with 7 palaces and 11 gold, Steffie had 7 palaces and 10 gold. We took a break for dinner.
8:56 pm:
Dave, Rachel S, Carol, and Eric played Web of Power. Bob, Dan, and Alex played Queen’s Necklace.
9:42 pm:
Carol won Web of Power with 67, Dave had 59, Eric had 44, Rachel S had 40.
10:04 pm:
Dave, Rachel S, Carol, and Eric played Samurai.
10:32 pm:
Alex won Queen’s Necklace. Carol won Samurai by having the most in two categories.
10:47 pm:
Bob, Alex, Rachel J, and Dave played Goa. Dan, Carol, Bill, Steffie, and Eric played Carcassonne.
12:43 am:
Carol won Carcassonne with 88, Bill had 81, Dan and Steffie tied at 57, Eric had 48.
12:57 am:
Dan, Carol, and Eric played Guillotine.
1:24 am:
Carol won Guillotine with 29, Dan had 26, Eric had 25.
1:36 am:
Dan, Carol, and Eric played Money.
1:46 am:
Bob won Goa with 49, Dave had 39, Rachel J had 36, Alex had 32. Carol won Money with 530, Eric had 500, Dan had 470.
1:54 am:
Bob, Alex, Dave, Dan, Rachel J, Carol and Eric played Bang! Eric was the Sheriff.
2:19 am:
Dave, the Renegade, was killed first. Carol and Bob revealed themselves to be Outlaws very early by attacking the Sheriff. Then Alex, a Deputy, was killed.
2:24 am:
Carol was killed.
2:31 am:
The Sheriff was killed and the Outlaws won.
2:45 am:
Eric left after Bang! Alex, Bob, Carol, and Rachel played High Society.
3:00 am:
Bob won.

Babycon XI

Photos from Babycon XI

For the first time ever, turnout was down from the previous year, but this was expected because of the spectacle that was Babycon X. Still, we had twenty gamers and a bunch of kids attending. First timers to Babycon were Dave, Noreen, Andrew and Corwin Fair.

On Friday night, a large group of us descended on a local Indian restaurant, India Palace, for a very good meal. Okay, so they gave Joe Bloch the wrong dinner, it was still very good. Afterwards, we returned to the house and began gaming in earnest.

As usual, everyone started out with fifteen Babycon bucks. One buck was anted each game and the winner took all.

How to summarize Babycon 11? It was the year of Alex Ruvinsky. After losing his first four games in a row, Alex started winning and kept winning the entire weekend. He won 12 out of 21 games played and finished with 46 Babycon bucks, an unparalleled achievement and a Babycon record that’s unlikely to be broken soon. Well done, Alex. Marvin Gersho also did very well with a score, 29, that most years would be the highest.

Also of note was the mysterious stranger who showed up at our backdoor at around 1AM Sunday. We were playing games (what else?) when a knocking at the back door in the basement startled us. Lo and behold, Paul Czarnota, who wasn’t going to be able to attend, had finished his commitments, hopped in his car and driven 10 hours to join us! It was definitely the coolest Babycon entrance ever.

Thanks to everyone who attended. We hope everyone can make it to Babycon 12.

• Streetcar Carol, Eric, Bob, Royal, Stephanie W
• Union Pacific Marvin, Joe, Dan K, Alex, Jason, Kimberly
• Web of Power Bob, Joe, Marvin, Alex
• Traumfabrik Carol, Eric, Kimberly, Stephanie W
• San Juan Stephanie W, Bob, Alex
• MarraCash Marvin, Eric, Carol, Kimberly
• Medici Eric, Marvin, Bob, Alex, Kimberly, Stephanie W
• Ticket to Ride Alex, Dave, Noreen, Bob, Stephanie W
• Puerto Rico Eric, Joe, Marvin, Carol, Kimberly
• Finstere Flure Alex, Dave, Noreen, Bob, Stephanie R, John, Stephanie W
• Crokinole Eric, Joe
• Crokinole Eric, Alex
• Top Secret Spies Marvin, Joe, Dave, Eric, Kimberly, John, Stephanie W
• Citadels Alex, Noreen, Bob, Carol, Bill, Stephanie R
• Africa Alex, Joe, Andrew, Bill, Rachel R
• Ra Kimberly, Dave, Marvin, Eric, Royal
• Mermaid Rain John, Bob, Rachel J, Stephanie R
• Crokinole Alex, Stephanie R
• LOTR: The Confrontation Rachel J, Alex
• Crokinole Bill, Stephanie R
• Kids of Catan Becca, Royal, Sammy
• Schrille Stille Joe, Marvin, Carol, Kimberly, John
• Mystery Rummy Stephanie R, Bill, Stephanie W
• La Città Dave, Noreen, Eric, Bob, Alex
• Cartagena Joe, Marvin, Rachel J, Bill, Rachel R
• Crokinole Joe, Marvin
• Power Grid John, Jason, Kimberly
• Mystery Rummy Carol, Stephanie W Game not completed.
• Bang! Joe, Carol, Stephanie W, Marvin, Eric, Bob, Rachel J
• Traumfabrik John, Paul, Marvin, Bob, Jason
• Evo Eric, Carol, Rachel J, Kimberly
• Finstere Flure Kimberly, Paul, Eric, Bob, Carol, Rachel J, Jason
• High Society Rachel J, Paul, Eric, Bob, Jason
• Crokinole Royal, Rachel J
• Wiz War Royal, Marvin, Eric, Bob, Rachel J, Stephanie W
• Feudal Paul, Bill, Stephanie R
• Crokinole Royal, Rachel J
• New England Jason, Carol, Kimberly, Stephanie W
• Santiago Marvin, Dave, Noreen, Eric, Bob
• Quinto Paul, Stepanie W
• Clue: The Card Game Rachel J, Paul, Stephanie R
• Cartegena Alex, Paul, Bill, Stephanie R, John
• Yahtzee Paul, Rachel J
• Hansa Bob, Dave, Eric, John
• Settlers of Catan Alex, Paul, Noreen, Bill, Jason
• Crokinole Stephanie R, Rachel J
• Ticket to Ride Marvin, Carol, Kimberly, Royal, Stephanie W
• Lost Cities Stephanie R, John
• Crokinole Eric, Dave
• Guillotine Noreen, Carol, Royal
• Modern Art Bill, Dave, Eric, Rachel J, Jason
• Octi Eric, Dave
• Octi Jason, Eric
• Octi Bill, Jason
• Octi Jason, Bill
• Lost Cities Noreen, Carol
• Attika Marvin, Bob, John
• Ticket to Ride Alex, Paul, Stephanie R, Kimberly, Stephanie W
• Elfenland Bob, Alex, Paul, Rachel J, Kimberly, Stephanie W
• Princes of Florence John, Marvin, Eric, Carol, Jason
• Guillotine Kimberly, Paul, Stephanie W
• Crokinole Alex, Rachel J
• Traumfabrik Paul, Carol, Stephanie W
• Show Manager Jason, Bob, Rachel J, Alex, John
• Medieval Merchant Marvin, Eric, Kimberly
• Lost Cities Alex, Rachel J
• Guillotine Paul, Stephanie W, Carol
• San Juan Carol, Marvin, Eric
• New England Bob, Rachel J, Alex, Stephanie W
• High Society Alex, Eric, Bill, Jason, Stephanie R
• Epic Duels Bob, Rachel J, Kimberly, Stephanie W, Paul, Eric, Carol, Royal
• Elixir Stephanie W, Bob, Carol, Rachel J, Kimberly, Royal

Rank	Name	Bucks won	Games played	Bucks per game	Games won	win ratio
1	Alex	46	21	1.476	12	57%
2	Marvin	29	19	0.737	7	37%
3	John	20	12	0.417	4	33%
4	Joe	19.3	10	0.430	4	40%
5	Royal	15	9	0.000	2	22%
5	Jason	15	15	0.000	5	33%
7	Andrew	14	1	-1.000	0	0%
7	Dan K	14	1	-1.000	0	0%
9	Kimberly	13	19	-0.105	4	21%
10	Noreen	12	8	-0.375	2	25%
10	Bill	12	12	-0.250	2	17%
10	Eric	12	26	-0.115	7	27%
10	Rachel R	12	3	-1.000	0	0%
14	Paul	11.5	15	-0.233	5	33%
15	Carol	10.3	20	-0.235	4	20%
16	Dave	10	10	-0.500	1	10%
16	Bob	10	22	-0.227	5	23%
18	Stephanie R	9	13	-0.462	3	23%
19	Stephanie W	8.8	22	-0.282	5	23%
20	Rachel J	7	20	-0.400	4	20%

May 8, 2004

Hey everyone! Gaming went very well on Saturday. Attending were Carol, Rachel and me, Eric, Cary Abend, Kimberly, Jason, Alex, Bill and Steffi. Unfortunately, Jo couldn’t make it. I have attached some pictures for your enjoyment. This was a somewhat unique gaming session due to the occasion of Jason Ruvinksy’s 18th birthday! Yes, Jason is now “cough” an adult. Congratulations Jason and Happy Birthday!

Here’s what we played and the results (winner listed in bold). As you can see, Eric and Jason had a good day.
Tote Board

• Hansa Eric 49, Rachel J 46, Carol 38, Bob 37 Bob: This is a very good game. Lots of strategy, nice bits and plays quickly.
• San Juan Eric 29, Bob 28, Cary 27, Carol 25 Bob: The card game of Puerto Rico. Certainly lighter and quicker playing, but quite enjoyable. Given it’s shorter play time, I anticipate playing a lot of this.
• Guillotine Jason, Bill, Alex
• Ticket to Ride Eric 130, Kimberly 101, Carol 98, Alex 69, Cary 55 Bob: Another great new game. Simple but strategic.
• Quo Vadis Jason, Bob, Alex, Bill
• Vino Alex 25, Bob 22, Eric 19, Carol 16, Kimberly 16
• Perudo Alex, Eric, Kimberly, Carol, Bob Bob: aka “Call My Bluff” or “Liar’s Dice”
• Modern Art Jason 627, Steffi 443, Eric 439, Bill 337 Bob: Jason’s $627 is a huge score.
• New England Bob 34, Carol 33, Kimberly 30, Alex 28 Bob: I love this game. It’s just fun.
• Royal Turf Bob 3150, Kimberly 2550, Jason 2350, Alex 1800, Carol 1100, Eric 1100
• Bang! Alex - Sheriff, Carol - Deputy, Jason - Renegade, Kimberly, Bob, Rachel - Outlaws Bob: The “good guys” won easily. Alex, the Sheriff, was practically unassailable for much of the game due to his innate ability and the cards he played in front of himself.
• Titan: the Arena Rachel J 14, Bob 9, Jason 5, Alex 5, Carol 4
• Titan: the Arena Rachel J 11, Alex 9, Carol 7, Bob 6, Jason 6

Eric’s Notes

• 1:54 pm: Eric arrived at the Jones’ house around 1:30. Bob, Carol, Rachel and, Eric played Hansa.
• 2:33 pm: Cary arrived around 2:30 as Hansa was finishing up.
• 2:41 pm: Scores at the end of Hansa were Eric 49, Rachel 46, Carol 38 and, Bob 37.
• 2:46 pm: Rachel left. Bob brought out San Juan.
• San Juan
• 3:12 pm: Kimberly arrived while we were playing San Juan.
• 4:01 pm: The Ruvinskys arrived around 4:00 and decided to play Guillotine.
• 4:13 pm: At the end of San Juan scores were: Eric 29, Bob 28, Cary 27 and, Carol 25.
• 4:21 pm: Carol, Cary, Kimberly, Steffie and, Eric started Ticket to Ride.
• Ticket to Ride
• 4:53 pm: Jason won Guillotine. Bob, Bill, Alex and, Jason started Quo Vadis.
• Quo Vadis
• 5:41 pm: Jason won Quo Vadis. Alex took over for Steffie in Ticket to Ride. Bill, Steffie and, Jason left.
• 6:11 pm: Scores at the end of Ticket to Ride were Eric 130, Kimberly 101, Carol 98, Alex 69 and, Cary 55.
• 6:22 pm: Cary left. Bob, Carol, Alex, Kimberly and, Eric started Vino.
• Vino
• 7:07 pm: The pizza arrived and we took a break for dinner.
• 7:43 pm: After dinner, we went back to the game.
• 8:55 pm: Alex won Vino with 25, Bob had 22, Eric had 19, Carol and Kimberly were tied at 16.
• 9:18 pm: We played Perudo.
• 9:44 pm: Alex won.
• 10:03 pm: Bill, Steffie and, Jason returned. We took a short break to celebrate Jason’s 18th birthday
• Jason's Birthday
• 10:25 pm: Steffie, Jason, Bill and Eric played Modern Art while Carol, Alex, Bob and, Kimberly played New England.
• 11:46 pm: Jason won Modern Art with 627. Steffie had 443, Eric had 439 and, Bill had 337.
• 11:53 pm: Bob won New England with 34, Carol had 33, Kimberly 30 and, Alex 28.
• 12:02 am: Bill and Stephanie left. The rest of us decided to play Royal Turf.
• 1:21 am: Bob won with 3150, Kim 2550, Jason 2350, Alex 1800, Carol 1100 and Eric 1100. Eric left after Royal Turf.

May 1, 2004

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting the Fairs, Dave and Noreen and their two sons, Andrew and Corwyn. Dave and Noreen host the Damascus chapter of the Games Club of Maryland, holding open gaming at their townhouse on most Friday nights. I met them at the GCOM Game Days a couple of weeks ago and invited them to come by last Saturday. They played a couple of games before they had to leave for a prior commitment. We had a great time with them and hope to see them again. :-) Also attending were Dan Korn and Rachel Silber, and Bill, Jason and Alex Ruvinsky. Here are the results of Saturday’s gaming.
Tote Board

• Ticket to Ride Carol 114, Noreen 103, Bob 95, Dan 68, Dave 57
• Pizarro & Co. Alex 51, Noreen 36, Bob 35, Dave 34
• Kahuna Bob and Alex tied
• Odin’s Ravens Bob 14, Alex 6
• Puerto Rico Dan 52, Rachel J. 47, Carol 37, Rachel S 32
• Bang! The Good Guys (Carol, Dan and Alex) vs the Bad Guys (Bob, Jason, Rachel S and Bill) Corporate Shuffle
• Dan 15, Bob 13, Jason 9, Carol 4, Rachel J 4, Alex 4
• Taj Mahal Bob 49, Alex 33, Jason 27, Rachel J. 26, Carol 21
• Hansa Rachel J 39, Bob 38, Jason 36, Alex 33
• Air Baron Jason, Alex, Carol, Bill (Rachel J), Dan, Bob Bob: A game that made it’s way to the table for the first time in a LONG time, Air Baron! Yes, we played Air Baron without any Bramers whatsoever. It was a sobering concept but we made it work. :-) After some initial jockeying, Jason went into Fare Wars and, due to some good bonuses and better dice rolling, walked leisurely to the required 290 market points. We had forgotten that the 290 victory level is reached by market points plus cash on hand, so Jason likely won a turn earlier when he stopped at 260 market points. Rachel took over for Bill when he had to leave. I suspect this will be hitting the table again soon.

March 20, 2004

Hey everyone!

We had a good session last Saturday. Attending were Bob, Carol and Rachel Jones, Dan K and Rachel S, Eric Haas, Bill, Jason, and Alex. As always, I had a great time and I hope everyone else did too. Courtesy of our new digital camera, I have attached a few pictures for your enjoyment. Looking forward to our next session. We should have at least one more session before Babycon.

Bob’s Tote Board (winner listed in bold) followed by Eric’s notes:
Tote Board

• Crokinole Eric, Bob
• Crokinole Eric, Rachel J
• Loco Carol 58, Bob 56, Eric 46
• High Society Dan 14, Bob 14, Eric 13, Rachel S 5, Carol Knizia gem similar in play to Raj but with a few more bells and whistles. Dan and Bob tied but Dan had the highest single luxury and so won. Carol had the least money and so automatically lost.
• Katzenjammer Blues Eric 6, Dan 5, Bob 5, Carol 3, Rachel S 0
• Katzenjammer Blues Carol 5, Rachel S 3, Eric 3, Dan 3, Bob -1
• Pirate’s Cove Alex 45, Carol 44, Rachel S 30, Jason 27 Hard fought game that came down to the very end.
• Verräter Bob 26, Dan 25, Eric 18, Bill 17 Also hard fought. Won by Bob on the last play of the game.
• Pit Carol, Jason, Alex, Bob, Dan, Eric, Bill, Rachel S
• Pit
• Jason, Carol, Alex, Bob, Dan, Eric, Bill, Rachel S
  
• Pit
• Alex, Jason, Carol, Bob, Dan, Eric, Bill, Rachel S
  
• Brawl
• Bob, Dan, Alex, Jason
• Bob, Dan, Alex and Jason played various hands of Brawl.
• Medieval Merchant Alex 51, Eric 43, Bill 41, Bob 37
• Wyatt Earp Dan 37, Jason 26, Carol 16
• Aquarius Dan, Carol, Jason
• Union Pacific Eric 98, Dan 89, Alex 89, Carol 86, Bob 84

Eric’s Notes

• 2:00 pm: Eric arrived at Bob’s around 1:15. Eric played Crokinole against Bob and won. Then Eric played against Rachel J and won.
• CrokinoleCrokinole
• 2:03 pm: Next Bob, Carol and, Eric played Loco.
• 2:23 pm: Carol won with 58, Bob had 56 and, Eric had 46.
• 2:33 pm: Rachel S arrived around 2:30.
• 3:04 pm: Bob and Rachel started a game of Crokinole while waiting for Dan K to arrive. Dan arrived around 3:00.
• 3:15 pm: Dan, Bob, Carol, Rachel S and Eric played High Society.
• 3:40 pm: Carol had the least money with $7 million. Dan and Bob each had 14 but, Dan had the highest luxury and won. Eric had 13 and, Rachel S had 5.
• 3:53 pm: Next we played Katzenjammer Blues.
• 4:18 pm: Eric won with 6. Dan and Bob each had 5. Carol had 3. Rachel S had 0 (she had 5 mice but lost 5 for having the most jokers). We decided to play again.
• 4:27 pm: The Ruvinskys arrived around 4:30.
• 4:37 pm: Carol won with 5. Rachel S and Eric had 3. Dan and Bob were tied for most jokers. Dan ended with 3 and Bob had -1.
• 5:12 pm: Carol, Rachel S, Alex and, Jason played Pirate’s Cove while Dan, Bob, Bill and, Eric played Verräter.
• Pirate’s CoveVerräter
• 6:48 pm: Bob won with 26, Dan had 25, Eric had 18 and, Bill had 17.
• 7:14 pm: Alex won Pirate’s Cove with 45, Carol won 44, Rachel S had 30 and, Jason had 27.
• 7:30 pm: We ordered dinner from Old Shanghai.
• 7:41 pm: We played Pit while waiting for dinner to arrive. Carol won the first round.
• PitPit
• 7:48 pm: Jason won round two.
• 7:52 pm: Alex won round three. Dinner arrived.
• 9:01 pm: After dinner, Bob and Dan played Brawl.
• 9:39 pm: Alex, Bob, Bill and, Eric played Medieval Merchant. Carol, Jason and, Dan played Wyatt Earp.
• Wyatt EarpMedieval Merchant
• 11:25 pm: Dan won Wyatt Earp with 37, Jason had 26 and, Carol had 16. They started a game of Aquarius.
• 11:51 pm: Alex won Medieval Merchant with 51, I had 43, Bill had 41 and, Bob had 37.
• 11:59 pm: Jason and Bill left. Alex took Jason’s place in Aquarius.
• Aquarius
• 12:12 am: Dan won Aquarius. The five of us decided to play Union Pacific.
• 2:17 am: Eric had 98, Bob 84, Dan 89, Carol 86, Alex 89.

February 28, 2004

As expected, we had a big group over for gaming last Saturday. In addition to Bob, Carol and Rachel Jones, attending were Eric, Dan K and Rachel S, Jo and Cary, and a boatload of Ruvinksys, Bill, Steffi, her brother Andrew, Jason, and Alex. The list does not include about a half dozen children. :-)

We’ll do another session in a few weeks. Hope to see everyone soon!

Bob

*************

Below is the tote board followed by Eric’s notes (winner is listed in bold).
Tote Board

• Loco Dan, Bob, Carol, Rachel S Bob: This is a version of Knizia’s classic filler, Flinke Pinke, which has been released in several different editions. It’s quick, fun, and has a decent amount of strategy.
• Goldland Rachel S/Carol 20, Eric 14, Bob 14, Dan 13, Cary 13 Bob: Goldland is a beautiful exploration game. This was a very tight game with a difficult finish. Carol took over for Rachel S who had to leave. (It is interesting to see that the photo on the back of the box, pictured at the link, shows all the tiles laid out initially with the unexplored tiles upside down. This is contrary to the rules and probably done to make it look better for the picture. However, it might be more in the spirit of exploration to start with all the tiles down, provided you could reorient the tile when you explore it.)
• Heave Ho Rachel J, Carol
• Web of Power Carol 53, Dan 48, Bob 45, Eric 40, Cary 38 Bob: Carol and Dan staved off a last minute come-from-behind surge by me with a very strong advisor play. Alas, it wasn’t enough.
• Taj Mahal Jason 50, Carol 40, Bill 38, Dan 36, Eric 31 Bob: I didn’t get to play. Wah.
• El Grande Alex 110, Bob 109, Jo 90, Andrew 71, Cary 62 Bob: A very close game. A 1 point difference is El Grande is about as tight as a game can get.
• Bang! Rachel J (Sheriff), Bob (Deputy), Cary (Deputy), Alex (Renegade), Carol (Outlaw), Dan (Outlaw), Eric (Outlaw) Bob: We learned two important things in this game. One, Alex is probably the best Bang! player we have. He convinced most of the people at the table that he was one of the Deputies and so didn’t get shot at by the good guys while encouraging the Sheriff and other Deputy
• to kill the third Deputy. And two, I have no right playing Bang! ever. I was the stupid Deputy who fell for Alex’s trick and I became convinced
• that Cary was one of the Outlaws. So, I shot him up and then Rachel killed him. Of course, the Outlaws didn’t do much better as Carol killed Eric. All in all, a blast of a game. See Eric’s notes for particulars.
• Bohnanza Bob 13, Carol 11, Rachel 11, Dan 9, Cary 9, Alex 7, Eric 4
• Verräter Alex, Cary, Rachel, Bob Bob: I’ve owned this for a long time but the only time our group has played it was at a Babycon long ago and I didn’t play it then. It’s a quick, cut-throat game of shifting allegiances. The main mechanism in the game was used by Bruno Faidutti in designing Citadels, a game we’ve played many times. I thought Verräter was very good even though I did poorly. I hope to play it more.

Eric’s Notes

• 2:19 pm: Eric arrived at the Jones’ house around 2:00. Dan K and Rachel S were already there. Cary arrived at the same time Eric did. Bob, Dan, Rachel S and, Carol were playing Loco. Dan won by one point over Bob.
• 2:28 pm: Carol sat out while we played Goldland.
• 3:25 pm: Carol and Rachel J started a game of Heave Ho!
• 3:58 pm: Rachel J won Heave Ho!
• 5:11 pm: Rachel S left and Carol took her place in Goldland. Carol won with 20, Eric had 14, Bob had 14, Dan had 13 and, Cary had 13.
• 5:18 pm: Next Bob brought out Web of Power.
• 5:57 pm: Carol had to leave and was replaced by Rachel J.
• 6:07 pm: Carol returned and took her place back from Rachel J.
• 6:12 pm: Carol won. Final scores were Bob 45, Dan 48, Carol 53, Cary 38, Eric 40.
• 6:18 pm: Cary left to pick up Jo.
• 6:41 pm: We took a break for dinner. The Ruvinskys arrived.
• 7:45 pm: We split into two groups. Carol, Dan, Bill, Jason and, Eric played Taj Mahal. Bob, Andrew, Alex, Cary and, Jo played El Grande.
• 10:17 pm: Jason won Taj Mahal with 50, Carol had 40, Bill had 38, Dan had 36 and, Eric had 31.
• 10:20 pm: Jason and Bill left after Taj Mahal.
• 10:34 pm: Alex won El Grande. Final scores were Bob 109, Andrew 71, Alex 110, Jo 90, Cary 62.
• 11:07 pm: Andrew and Jo left after El Grande.
• 11:12 pm: Rachel J joined us for Bang!
• 11:42 pm: Rachel J was the Sheriff. Dan, an outlaw, was the first killed.
• 12:01 am: Eric, another outlaw, was killed by Carol.
• 12:18 am: Bob, a deputy, was killed by dynamite. Cary, the other deputy, was killed by the Sheriff.
• 12:23 am: Alex, the Renegade, was killed by the Sheriff.
• 12:34 am: Carol, the last outlaw, was killed by the Sheriff. The good guys won.
• 12:46 am: Next we played Bohnanza.
• 2:37 am: Bob won with 13, Carol and Rachel had 11, Dan and Cary had 9, Alex had 7 and, Eric had 4.

February 8, 2004

• 3:00 pm: Eric arrived at Bob’s around 2:45. Royal, Stephanie and, Kimberly were already there. We decided to try Killer Bunnies.
• 4:35 pm: The game ended with Royal having four carrots, Eric had three, Stephanie and Bob had two each and, Kimberly had one. Stephanie won. Carol didn’t draw any money and only drew a bunny very near the end of the game; the game ended before she got to play it.
• 4:54 pm: Next we decided to play Medici.
• 6:14 pm: Stephanie won. Final scores were: Carol 61, Kimberly 73, Bob 112, Stephanie 114, Royal 81, Eric 99.
• 7:31 pm: After Medici, we took a break for dinner.
• 8:04 pm: Rachel joined us for Robo-Rally. We played with four flags on one board (Cannery Row). We decided the flags could be touched in any order. We also decided to play with unlimited lives and started with one option each. Royal started with the jump jet which enabled him to get his first two flags fairly quickly.
• 10:23 pm: Royal won. Carol, Stephanie and, Bob had two flags each. Rachel, Kimberly and, Eric had one flag each.
• 11:05 pm: Royal and Stephanie left and the rest of us decided to play High Society.
• 11:29 pm: Kimberly ended with the least money with $25 million and, was therefore out of the running. Eric won with 18 points.
• 12:02 am: Next we played Filthy Rich.
• 1:10 am: Bob won. We all agreed this would be a decent game except that taxes come up too often.

Bob: When playing Killer Bunnies, we made one mistake which probably made the game play better. Terrible Misfortune cards, which Carol drew in abundance, do not need a bunny to be played. If you do not have a bunny to be killed by the card, you may play it on another player! Since Carol drew somewhere between 4 and 6 of them during the game, it’s possible that none of us would have had a bunny at the end. It certainly might have changed the outcome because it’s likely that everyone who only had one bunny at the end would have had none and had to fork over their carrots. All said, it sounds like we may have been better off playing this incorrectly.

Eric: I’m not so sure about that. If Carol had been whomping our bunnies with misfortune cards, we would have gone through the deck faster, giving Carol more of a chance to draw bunnies. All of the take carrots cards are Aggressive so, we wouldn’t have been able to play as many of those.

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