Saturday, May 31, 2008

Damascus 05/30/08

Another Catch-Up quickie post...

Nineteen gamers in attendance after having the previous Friday off is always good, including a few we haven't seen in quite a while... Welcome back!

  • David, Noreen, & Corwin Fair
  • Lance Jones
  • Steve Lollis
  • Jason Cheng
  • John Stup
  • Rick & Linda Pasquale
  • Eric & Laura Reinhold
  • Martha & David Briggs
  • Ken Musgrabe
  • Raphael L
  • Melinda Carbonell
  • Bill Trac
  • Bob, Carol & Ben Jones
  • Marshall Miller
Games played...
  • Started out with Lance, David F, Steve and Jason attempting to hold back the advancing tide of disease and global death in Pandemic. We were doing fine until I had to go get Corwin and Marshall took over for me. I was gone 5 minutes, and I came back to find the world had been wiped out!
  • Meanwhile, Noreen, Rick, Linda, Ken, and John played Niagara, a game in which players try to collect valuable games without tumbling over the falls. John managed this best, getting 7 gems to all of his opponents' scores of 4.
  • Turn The Tide is another game that can be described as a trick-taking game with a twist. The twist here is that each of you plays the hands of the other players once the round changes. Jason (9) won this outing, over Marshall (7) and Lance (2).
  • Two games of Dominion are hardly enough, but it had to suffice for Marshall, Dave, and Raphael. Dave won the first game in a nail-biter, and Marshall the second in an ass-kicker.
  • Looking for redemption, Bob, Rick, Eric & Laura took on the test tubes and needles of Pandemic. The diseases were kept under control, and the rising tide of infection kept at bay. Good Job, Team Healthy!
  • Meanwhile, at the other end of the health spectrum, Carol (13) won a game of Poison while playing with Linda (21), Noreen (23) and Ken (29)
  • Jason and Lance played a 2-player game of Australia, exploring the outback and buckling up the beer... Jason won, 211 to 146.
  • More games with place names for titles... This time the highly rated Puerto Rico... Raphael (64) used his Coffee monopoly and Harbor to good effect, winning over David (51), Lance (50), Jason (42), and Marshall (29).
  • In Princes of Florence, the players all try to attract the most talented artisans to their villas, by acquiring the buildings, inspirations, and freedoms they need to work. Rick (58) managed to do this best, winning over Bob (57), Eric (53), Laura (49), and Noreen (48).
  • Melinda and Bill tried their hand at Dominion, With Bill (33) barely edging out Melinda (30).
  • In a 2-race matchup of Ave Caesar, Bill (8) proved most adept, followed closely by Steve (7), Lance (6), Carol (6) and Jason (5).
  • Another game of Bacchus' Banquet, in which Steve (Sentimus) and Jason (Octavius) won as Conspirators. Good Job Guys, I understand the Conspirator win is difficult to achieve.
  • Tichu. What's that? It's a game in which Melinda & Linda took 13 hands to defeat Rick & Noreen, 1025-775. Noreen wants it known that this game started after midnight. Like that matters.
  • Dave, Bob, Marshall and Raphael played Roll Through The Ages, but again, no scores.. My Bad!
  • We ended with Hanging Gardens, where David (40), thanks to a replacement tile drawn by Bob won over Bob (29), and Raphael (23) and Marshall (also 23).
See you in a Week!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Germantown 05/19/08

We had 9 Gamers in attendance...

  • Leslie Barkley
  • David Fair
  • Eric Reinhold
  • David & Martha Briggs
  • Carol Loman
  • Shannon & Aubrey Bell
  • Richard Christin
With six of us there to start the night, we played Hare and Tortoise. Near the end, we all had too many carrots, But Leslie managed to ditch them quicker than the rest, for the win. she was followed into her burrow by Dave F, Eric, David B., Carol, and Martha.

Eric took new arrival Richard and David B. and Martha and played Hansa. Eric (35) managed the win in this trading and travel game, followed by Martha (29), David B. (26) and Richard (19).

I played 2 games of the as-yet-unpublished Roll Through The Ages with (in game 1) Carol, Aubrey, and Leslie. I forgot to record scores, but I think I won... In game 2, we lost Carol, but gained Shannon. Again, no scores, but I think Shannon was the victor this time.

A short night, but a good one. See you another Monday, soon!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Damascus 05/16/08

I am way behind as I type this... Another short style one I am afraid...

Twenty-Five (!) gamers in attendance...

  • David, Noreen, Corwin, & Andrew Fair
  • Bryan Snyder
  • Jason Cheng
  • Lance Jones
  • Rick Pasquale
  • John Stup
  • Jason Rundell
  • Billy Rundell
  • Jared King
  • Nathaniel Klinger
  • Paul H.
  • Carol, Bob, Rachel, & Ben Jones
  • Millie Pryphun
  • Christin Woodhouse
  • Peter Stuart
  • David & Martha Briggs
  • Eric & Laura Reinhold
Games played...
  • Escalation, where neighbor fights neighbor in a growing battle. We played 2 games with the finish orders of Lance, Jason C, Dave, Bryan, and Dave, Jason C, Bryan, Lance.
  • Race for the Galaxy, with Paul (52) besting Jason R (37) and Billy (28).
  • Einfach Genial, where Bob was destroyed by a battalion of teenage girls. Rachel (10), Millie (11), Christin (8), Bob (10).
  • Ave Caesar, with Rick earning top laurels, followed by Marshall, Jared, Nathaniel, and Eric.
  • Primordial Soup, with Jason C (44) defeating his amoeba rivals, Dave (42), Lance (40), and Bryan (39)
  • Alhambra with Corwin (100) taking the win over Andrew (88), Peter (87), and Carol (80).
  • Blue Moon City, with Martha building to 5 stones while John & David B were still at 4.
  • Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers, with John besting David B 150-130.
  • Dominion - Nathaniel (21) was triumphant over Marshall (15), Jared (15), and Eric (9).
  • Ca$h-N-Gun$ - AKA: Reservoir Dogs, The Board Game... Millie and Bob died (Bob with only $5,000 in hand! Mille with $70,000), Rachel had $90,000, Christin had $100,000, but Carol won with $115,000.
  • Salamanca is a tile-laying game with some economic systems going on. It was a bit dry, and not my favorite new game of the year, that's for sure... Rick (84) won, followed by Bryan (77), Jason C (67), Lance (64) and Dave (60).
  • More Race for the Galaxy, this time Nathaniel (36) bested Marshall (28), Jared (26) and Eric (25).
  • Samarkand is one of Bob's grail games he recently purchased... Martha crushed him in the first outing, appropriately... Martha 560, Bob 315, David B (245)
  • Agricola did see some table time... first with Billy (37) winning over Jason R (36), Paul H (35), and Laura (32).
  • More time for Agricola, with David (48) winning over Noreen (41), Bob (41), and Carol (30).
  • Finally, we had 2 games of Roll Through the Ages played, but I did not get the players or finish order recorded. Sorry!
Thanks for Coming... See you next week!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Damascus 05/09/08

We had 21 gamers in attendance:

  • David, Noreen & Corwin Fair
  • Jason Cheng
  • Lance Jones
  • Marshall Miller
  • Doug Hoylman
  • Eric & Laura Reinhold
  • David & Martha Briggs
  • Rose Byington
  • Rick & Linda Pasquale
  • Paul H.
  • Nathaniel Klinger
  • Bob, Carol, & Ben Jones
  • Steve Lollis
  • Leslie Barkley
And here is what we played:
  • Attika, in which Jason won by getting all his buildings built before Lance, Doug or I did. There were several threats of a connection victory and the game was close throughout.
  • Hive, with Jason triumphing over Lance.
  • Can't Stop, where, in a seriously long and drawn out game, David B. finally capped three columns for the win, followed by Marshall, Rose, and Eric
  • Dominion, in which Nathaniel (14) was victorious over Laura (9), Rick (8), and Paul (3). Based on those scores, they must have been playing with the Witch in the game, and not have got many provinces!
  • Game 2 of Dominion, with Nathaniel (33), again besting the field, this time consisting of Paul (21), Eric (18), Rick (18), and Laura (15)... Ummm, That's supposed to be a 4-player game people!
  • Aquaretto, with Linda (31) winning easily over her tightly-packed competitors, David B (25), Martha (23) and Doug (22)
  • Maharaja, a fun, if slightly long game with some excellent mechanics. Jason won with 7 palaces and all other players were tied at 5. Lance had 18 gold, Marshall 16, and Rose some amount that shall forever be a mystery to us all...
  • Agricola... Needs no introduction here... Carol (47) had a great-looking farmyard, but her house was only of clay, and her cards brought few points, so David (48) was able to win by the slimmest of margins. Bob (41) also had a good setup, but only had the minimal number of several items. Noreen (37) was hurt by her low-value cards and a dearth of animals. Steve (36) did very well in his second game ever, and had good card points, a large stone house and a large family, but with few crops or animals, was hurt by the negative points.
  • Circus Flohcati, a great little set-collection game from the big RK,, where Marshall (67), sneaked past Rose (58), Jason (57), and Lance (53).
  • Unspeakable Words is a word-game with a Cthulhu theme. David B (105) managed to delay his descent to madness and emerge victorious over Jason (91), Rose (80), Eric (78), Lance (77), and Marshall (70)
  • Big City is a great game of city-building, with a lot of tension and tough choices. Jason (81) built a shopping center and a church on his way to victory. Dave (75) built the other shopping center and had fun dropping a factory on Bob's plans... Steve (73) built several special buildings on the streetcar line. Carol (39) got hosed several times, almost as many as Bob (38).
  • Kingsburg is a fun dice game of building up fantasy medieval villages, and surviving the inevitable attacks of the winter. Rick (35) and David B (35) tied for first, followed by Martha (28), Doug (27) and Linda (25).
  • Tichu, you know *that* game. Lance & Rose 91005) beat Noreen & Marshall (695) in a 18-deal endurance game.
  • Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries is the umpteenth map in the TTR series, and the cute snow-covered cards belie the tough and brutal 3-player game inside. Doug (168) was unmerciful in his game with Linda (152) and Martha (132).
  • Another game of Aquaretto, this time with Steve (25) prevailing over Carol (24), Dave (16), Jason (16), and Bob (16).
  • This just in... we have a late addition: Before the Wind, with Eric winning, Paul and Nathaniel tied for second (Paul won on tiebreaker) and Laura rounding out the number.
So... Gaming this week @ Damascus, next week @ Germantown, but not Damascus, and then Damascus on May 30 and Middletown on May 31. See you there!

PS. Were there really only 2 games of Dominion played? It seemed to be out for much longer than just 2 games...

Friday, May 09, 2008

Germantown 05/05/08

Monday night gaming at Borders!

  • Leslie Barkley
  • Aubrey Bell
  • Shannon Bell
  • Dave Briggs
  • Martha Briggs
  • Richard Christin
  • Dave Fair
  • Todd Heidenreich
  • Bob Jones
  • Nathaniel Klinger
  • Carol Loman
  • Brian Meeks
  • Helen Powell
  • Eric Reinhold
  • Laura Reinhold
The evening opened with the great filler, For Sale. Eric was the most successful real estate mogul with 67 points, followed by Leslie 62, Carol 57 and Dave Briggs 57. Close game.

I'm not sure of the timing at this point, but Dave took Laura and Leslie to China, Michael Schacht's rejiggering of his classic Web of Power. Experienced showed as Dave won 76 to Laura 67 and Leslie 47.

As they were setting up for a game of Hanging Gardens, Brian Meeks walked by and asked about the game. Dave invited him to play and he accepted! Public exposure to new gamers is the greatest benefit of the Borders location and I'm thrilled Brian chose to join us. Final scores for Hanging Gardens were Dave 41, Helen 33, Brian 32 and Leslie 31.

For my first game of the evening, I set up one of my favorite games, Big City, with Richard, Laura, Aubrey and Martha. I neglected to note the scores, but due to some confusion over the size of the Shopping Center, I was able to play it without anyone interfering. I believe I ended up the winner with several people close behind.

The first of two games of Race for the Galaxy involved Eric, Dave Briggs, Carol and Todd. Todd managed his empire the most efficiently (or ruthlessly) and won with 47 points, a very good score which included 14 points for his "6" worlds. With what is normally a winning score, Eric finished with 39, 27 of which were from consuming. Holy cow! Carol had 29 points and Dave had 15.

As the first game of Hanging Gardens ended, Brian said he would like to play again, so a few players shuffled and another game was started. Brian obviously learned a great deal from the first game, because he cleaned up during the second. Final scores were Brian 42, Leslie 32, Eric 26, and Dave Briggs 25.

The second Race for the Galaxy game was a bit lower-scoring than the first. Dave Fair continued his winning streak at this game with 39 points against Todd 35, Nathaniel 29, and Helen 28.

After Big City finished, Shannon joined my group and we played China. Aubrey and Martha tied with 29 points each. Shannon 25, Bob 23 and Richard 20.

Finally, Leslie, David Briggs and Eric played High Society. Leslie had the most points, 22, but the lowest remaining money and so was eliminated, giving the game to Eric with 16 versus Dave Brigg's 10.

A great evening all around. We played several games twice which is unusual for us.

Looking forward to seeing you next time.