Damascus 02/01/08

Sixteen gamers in attendance...

• David, Noreen, Corwin, and Andrew Fair
• Marshall Miller
  
• Rose Byington
• Rick & Linda Pasquale
• John Stup
• David & Martha Briggs
• Bob, Carol, & Ben Jones
• Luke Conte
• Helen Powell

Race for the Galaxy was first, and it was Rick and Rose's first time to play. Rick and Marshall both scored 27 points, rick doing it almost all with shipping and 6-point developments (4+18+5), while Marshall went the opposite way (19+6+2). Rose had 20 points for cards on the table, and 10 for shipping, which is phenomenal for her first game. I emerged victorious with 12 points for cards, 17 for shipping, and 10 for my 2 6-point developments.

Zooloretto was next, with John (22) at the back of the pack, followed by David B. and Linda (both with 25), but Martha came out way ahead (33) for the victory. No word on any expansions used...

Helen and Luke played a quick game of San Juan, which Helen won 37-21.

Bob taught Noreen and Carol to play the wonderful 3-player game, Flaschenteufel. Despite a few bumps in the road, it looks like they got it. They played 9 rounds, and Noreen won (243) over Bob (229) and Carol (104).

Next was Kingsburg, a game of strategic dice-rolling and role-selection. This game definitely has a few "gotcha" moments. Rose got hammered in the final round and did not pick up any points, ending with 24. Marshall got crushed during one of the invasions, losing a building, and this hurt him for a long time, leaving him with 31. I had some decent luck and ended with 35. Rick crushed us all and played very well, winning with 38 points.

Queen's Necklace was next. I haven't played that in a very long time. No word on how it went, but the scores show that Linda (70), Martha (80), David B (100) and John (130) all played, and it was over in just 2 rounds.

A game of, what else, Tichu came next, with Rick & Rose winning over Marshall & Noreen, 1030-870.

Power Grid is a game of careful timing and game management. I proved that in my stunning come from ahead loss on the Benelux map, using Deck 2. I might have been able to end things on my turn, but instead I bought 2 rounds of resources and extended the game another turn, allowing others to match me in capacity and surpass me in buying ability. Bob won, (17/17/2) over Helen (17/17/0), Luke (16/16/26), Dave (16/16/15), and Carol (15/15/25).

See you next week!