Germantown 04/16/2007

Once again, 13 gamers gathered in the somewhat tight quarters of the Borders Cafe to play some games.

Attending were:

• Bob Jones
• Dave Fair
• Doug Hoylman
• Eric Reinhold
• Laura Reinhold
• Leslie Barkley
• David Raley
• David Briggs
• Martha Briggs
• Bill Trac
• Ruben Carbonell
• Melinda Carbonell
• Kevin Bealer

I arrived just before 7PM to find Dave Fair, Doug, David Raley and Bill just finishing a game of Taluva. Dave Fair won by a Huts & Towers instant win. I haven't played Taluva yet so I have no idea what that means but I'm sure it's impressive. :-) In any event, Dave has been playing the game A LOT so it must be pretty good.

Meanwhile, Melinda, Ruben and Leslie were engaged in a game of Thurn & Taxis with the Princess expansion. The expansion was helpful to Ruben who stayed in the game by having the messenger for the majority of the game, despite having to flush his route twice. In the end, though, Melinda had a dominating victory with 26 to Ruben's 15 and Leslie's 12.

At the third table, Eric and Laura were teaching Ticket to Ride with the 1910 expansion to David and Martha Briggs. Martha did especially well for her first game but was narrowly beaten by Eric. Final scores were Eric 120, Martha 112, Laura 83 and David 70.

After Taluva ended, I joined that group for the classic Hare & Tortoise. After a bunch of useless bets on position early on, I leaped into the lead and approached the finish line short of carrots, needing an extra turn or two to restock. This was all the break the rest of the field needed. In quick succession, Bill, Dave Fair, Doug, then I crossed the line in that order. Unfortunately, David was never able to recover after some bad beats and finished last.

As Kevin had arrived, he joined Melinda, Leslie and Ruben for a game of San Juan. Leslie was the only player new to the game. From my seat, it looked like a hard fought game and the results bear that out. Leslie won an impressive victory with 31 points to Ruben's 28, Melinda's 27 and Kevin's 22.

Following the tight race in Hare & Tortoise, Bill, Dave Fair, David Raley, Doug and I played the very good auction, canal-building, irrigation game, Santiago. The auctions were fairly punishing and placement of plantation plots typically wicked. Near the end of the game I was pretty much out of cash and counting strictly on the size of my plantations and workers for my score. Alas, it was not enough as Dave Fair scored all over the board, winning despite Doug's maxed-out potato plantation. Final scores were Dave Fair 102, Doug 94, Bob 92, Bill 92, and David 44.

After San Juan and Ticket to Ride ended, the two groups merged and Laura, Eric, Kevin, Martha and David Briggs played the very popular bean-collecting game, Bohnanza. Final scores were Laura and Kevin tied at 13, Martha 11, Eric 8, and David 7.

The final games of the night were two quick games of Geschenkt. Doug readily admits he doesn't do well at this game and despite some good breaks, he proved himself correct. Scores for the first game (low score wins) were Bill 32, Bob 49, Dave 74, Doug 93. The second game was a bit tighter with Bob at 27, Dave 31, Bill 35 and Doug 99.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on April 30.

Bob