Sunday, November 25, 2007

Damascus 11/23/07

We had 26 people in attendance, for the Annual Day After Turkey Day Gaming Marathon:

  • David, Noreen, Corwin & Andrew Fair
  • Rachael & Luke Conte
  • Bryan Snyder
  • Jason Cheng
  • Michelle Zentis
  • Jeff Kahan
  • Marshall Miller
  • Tom McCorry
  • John Weber
  • Beth Raphael & Nicole Pysnack
  • David Fogel & Gwen Alviani
  • Bill Trac
  • Melinda & Ruben Carbonell
  • Judy Trent & Scott Fox
  • Sheila Nelson
  • Tim Rothenhoefer
  • John Stup
  • Raphael Lehrer
We played 17 different games a total of 23 times, and here is how it went...

First game finished was a 2-player game of Uptown, in which Rachael beat Luke on a tiebreaker.

Next game that ended was a 5-player game of R-Eco, which Luke won, followed by John W., Beth, Nicole, and Rachael.

Marshall, Corwin, and Andrew played a game of (deep breath) Order of the Stick Adventure Game: The Dungeon of Dorukan (whew). They said that fun was had by all, the quest was successful, but they weren't quite sure of the rules...

Jeff, Jason, and Bryan played Galaxy Trucker, one of my favorites from the new Essen crop. Bryan won by the slightest of margins over Jason, and Jeff (who wrote "I suck at this game") pulled up the rear.

Ca$h 'n Gun$ was the next game to end. Dave Fogel was dead by the end of round 3, and Nicole gathered most of the cash to claim victory. Beth was second, followed by John W., Gwen, and Luke.

Michelle, Tom and I had started a game of Antiquity as the say started, and it took until now for Michelle to beat us fairly throughly. It was a very interesting game, and my first play. I look forward to playing again.

Jeff, Jason and Bryan then tackled a game of Race for the Galaxy, and excellent card game with roots in San Juan. Jeff won, followed by Jason and Bryan, who described himself as confused, but liking the game.

Judy and Scott played a quick 2-player game of Caylus Magna Carta next, with Judy eeking out a narrow win in her first game.

Ruben, Bill, Melinda, and Marshall played Thebes. It was the first time playing for Bill & Melinda, and Ruben won, with Melinda next, then Bill, and Marshall. They played the by-the-book rules, rather than the variant that we have been using in most other games, where 1 dirt tile is removed from the bag after each dig.

Five-Player is the best way to play Power Grid, in my opinion, and it was played on the US map, with the new expansion deck. Dave Fogel won, followed by Gwen, John W., Beth, and Luke.

Ubongo Extrem is a new version that uses Gemblo-esque pieces instead of Blokus-esque pieces. Bill won this game, followed by Ruben and then Melinda.

Another game of Uptown, this time with Sheila winning, followed by Dave Fogel, John W., Beth, and Gwen.

Did someone say Tichu? Ruben & Bill triumphed over Melinda & Noreen, 1065 to 735.

Tom taught Brass to Michelle, Jason and Jeff, winning in a close contest, followed by the others in the order mentioned above. This is a really good economic game that players who like Power Grid shoul defintely take a look at...

Farming has never been more fun than in Agricola. It was a 5-player game with the E-Deck. David Fair won, followed by Bryan, Scott, Marshall, and Judy. My favorite new Essen game.

Another game of Race for the Galaxy (2nd of 5, in fact). This one saw Beth win over Sheila and John W. She used the Trade x2 card to great benefit, I am told...

John W. has made his own copy of Kingsburg since it is not available in the US yet, and he played a game with Beth and Sheila, finishing first.

A rousing success was Through the Ages, played by Jeff, Michelle, and Jason. They all rate the game a 10, so had a wonderful. This is a long, in-depth, and challenging game that meaty game fans need to play at least once.

John S. won a game of Settlers of Catan, playing with Andrew and Noreen, though they did not play the full game...

Game 3 of Race for the Galaxy... This one had Judy winning over Bryan, Tim, and Scott, in a very close game.

Another game of Agricola, this time 3-player with the E-Deck. David Fair won, followed by Tom and Marshall. This was my first game of 3-player Agricola, and I like it a lot. It played very quickly, and it was tight and tense throughout.

Game 4 of Race for the Galaxy... This one had Bryan victorious, followed by Tim and Marshall.

Raphael showed up, coming straight from his plane to play Wabash Cannonball with John W. and Beth, who bested the others in a game that saw her take stock in all 4 starting railroads, and B&O connect Chicago, Detroit, and Pittsburgh.

Tom showed Brass again, this time besting David Fair and Noreen in a 3-player version of the game. Excellent game, but it most assuredly takes one play to get a feel for...

And the final game of the night was Race for the Galaxy... This one had Jason victorious, followed by Marshall and Tom.

Thanks to everyone who came, who brought food, who brought games, who helped clean up (especially to you guys! Big Kudos To Tim, Marshall, Jason, Andrew, Corwin, and Tom), we all had a great time and appreciate the way you helped out.

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