Damascus 03/21/08

Twenty Gamers, Eighteen Games, and herein lies the tale...

• David & Noreen Fair
• Rick & Linda Pasquale
• Doug Hoylman
• Jason Cheng
• Rose Byington
• Lance Slifka
• Raphael Lehrer
• David & Martha Briggs
• Marshall Miller
• John Stup & Mary Lou Ballew
• Steve Lollis
• Bob, Carol, and Ben Jones
• Dan Hucker
• Chris Johnson

Corwin had a fever this evening and stayed home, and Andrew stayed home to take care of him. this meant Ben was on his own, but he played xBox most of the evening.

We started with a quick 4-player game of Dragon Parade... it uses a now-familiar mechanism of using the same cards to score that you use to move, but has a nice complex method of scoring to keep the tension up... Dave (16) won, followed by Rose (15), Jason (14) and Doug (8).

Rick and Raphael got in a quick game of Hive, the game of insect swarms which is better than it sounds like it would be, which Raphael won.

We played a game of Edel, Stein, and Reich. This is game in which you try to outmaneuver your opponents by taking actions no one else wants. It can be tough to out think everyone... Lance (64) won, followed by Jason (60), Rose (59), Doug (45) and Dave (40).

A game of Pow-Wow was started, but aborted early on...

Yspahan hasn't seen much light of late, but Raphael (102) made a run of it with Martha (76) and David B (38). i think 3 might be the sweet spot for that game...

We played Blue Moon City (sans Expansions) and had a nice close game of it. John (4) won one turn ahead of Dave's (3) ability to win, who was one turn ahead of Doug's (3) ability to win. May Lou (2) played well in her first game with us.

In Mykerinos, players attempt to gain favor with British Lords and Ladies, getting their help in making successful archaeological digs and shows. Bob (55) managed the process well, and took the win, followed by David B. (44), Martha (41) and Marshall (40).

It can be hard to get longer games to the table, but Raphael (270) and Lance (187) played Through the Ages, a lengthy but deep card-based Civilization building game.

Building Casinos and Hotels is the theme of Vegas Showdown, which sounds like it involves gambling, but does not. Rick (68) had a good game of it, followed by Chris (55), dan (53), Steve (49), and Carol (40).

Around the World in 80 Days follows (loosely) the theme of the Jules Verne book of the same name, buts pits the players as racers competing to be first. This day, it was John (61) who did it quickest, followed by Mary Lou (69), and Martha (78). David B did not, alas, ever reach London.

Not many games take the theme of serving drunks during Oktoberfest, so Goldbrau fills a rather interesting void. In reality, it is a stock manipulation game with a nice theme. Bob (85) managed the win followed by Jason (74), Marshall (57) and Doug (46).

A trio of Tichu games... the first had Jason & Noreen in a decisive win over Rose & Linda, 1020 to 280... The next two games pitted Linda & Dave against Noreen & Rose. It took a few hands but the first game was won decisively by Dave & Linda when they went on a tear, making 2 Tichu calls and getting 4 1-2's in 5 hands to win 1195 to 405. the next game was just a decisive, but for Noreen & Rose, who scored 3 1-2's of their own, and set their opponents twice to win 1035 to -135.

Dilbert: Corporate Shuffle is a fun game which re-themes the classic game A$$hole into one of corporate ladder climbing. Steve and Dan (15 each) shared a victory, followed by Rick (13), Carol (7) and Chris (4), who spent many rounds as a Jr. Intern.

A trio of Race for the Galaxy games were played. One of the nicest things about this game is how well it plays with differing numbers, and how fast it is for such a deep game. In game one, Marshall (46) won over Jason (41), Doug (37) and Steve (31). In game two, Raphael won 37 to 27 over Marshall, who got his revenge, winning game three on a tiebreaker, 52 to 52. A very high-scoring and close game!

Finally, Agricola was the last game of the night, and despite my trouble with the scoring, manged to be a very close and good game. David (58) won with a board filled with Sheep, Veggies and Grain, followed by Bob (50) who had a strong hand with good card bonuses. Dan (30) was next, scoring very high in his first game, followed by Chris (24) who likewise did very well. Carol (19) made a crucial error early, forgetting she had a Simple Fireplace in hand, and ended up losing several actions, and having to take a begging card. This hurt a great deal, and she ended the game in last place.

Looking forward to more great gaming... See you Friday!