Germantown 01/18/16

Attendance:  21

• Leslie Barkley
• Aubrey & Shannon Bell
• Aaron Blair
• Dave, Noreen & Alison Fair
• Nick Ferris
• Christine Fiedler
• Jennifer Glinzak
• Randy Hoffman
• Bob & Carol Jones
• Rich Parker
• Eric & Laura Reinhold
• Gordon Rotter
• Alf Shupe
• Kelsey Smith
• Chris Sears
• Howard Wagner

On this extra-long session, due to MLK Day, we welcomed Aaron!

Games Played (scores in order of place):

Splendor - Bob 15, Dave 9, Alf 8, Noreen 5
Blokus - Aubrey -18, Shannon -23
Codenames - Dave, Bob, Alf, Christine won, Aubrey, Shannon, Noreen, Howard and Rich lost
Codenames - Dave, Bob, Alf, Christine won, Aubrey, Shannon, Noreen, Howard and Rich lost
Takenoko - Carol 29, Laura 22, Randy 22, Eric 10
Mysterium - Jenn, Nick, Gordon, Kelsey, Alison, Leslie (all won)
Burgle Bros. - Noreen, Howard, Dave, Christine (all won)
Istanbul - Aaron 6, Eric 5 (+20R), Randy 5, Laura 4 (+3R), Carol 4
Hang Town - Chris 94, Aubrey 63, Shannon 62, Alf 58, Bob 56, Rich 54
Ave Caesar - Chris managed to crash in a choke point during the last lap so that no one could finish the race. Bob, Shannon, Aubrey, Gordon, Alf and Chris all lost.

Hang Town image by Jonathan Cantin on BGG.

Posted by Bob on 02/28/16

Germantown 01/04/16

Attendance:  17

• Leslie Barkley
• Dave, Noreen & Alison Fair
• Ethan Goffman
• Randy Hoffman
• Bob & Carol Jones
• Rich Parker
• Eric & Laura Reinhold
• Gordon Rotter
• Alf & Cynthia Shupe
• Kelsey Smith
• Chris Sears
• Howard Wagner

Welcome to a new year of gaming!

Games Played (scores in order of place):

Istanbul - Leslie 6, Chris 5, Noreen 1
Strozzi - Bob 260, Rich 220, Eric 190, Laura 170
Roll for the Galaxy - Randy 45, Ethan 38, Gordon 37, Alf 31, Cynthia 24
Lanterns - Laura 43 (3), Eric 43 (0), Leslie 41, Bob 37
Orleans - Dave 124, Kelsey 120, Howard 90, Alison 85, Carol 80
Port Royal - Randy 12, Ethan 9, Gordon 7
Burgle Bros. - Team Chris, Noreen and Rich won!

Orleans image by The Kins of Ame on BGG.

Posted by Bob on 02/21/16.

Germantown 12/21/15

Attendance:  14

• Leslie Barkley
• Dave, Noreen, Corwin & Andrew Fair
• Mike Galiszuski
• Randy Hoffman
• Bob & Carol Jones
• Rich Parker
• Eric & Laura Reinhold
• Kelsey Smith
• Chris Sears

Welcome, Mike!

Games Played (scores in order of place):

Qin - Bob 0, Chris 8, Rich 8, Kelsey 9

Qin - Kelsey 0, Bob 1, Rich 6, Chris 6

Qwixx - Randy 40, Carol 36, Corwin 32, Eric 31

Thurn & Taxis - Randy 18, Eric 8, Carol 6, Corwin 3

6 Nimmt - Dave 5, Laura 8, Leslie 10, Noreen 10, Eric 12, Randy 16, Carol 24, Mike 25

Ticket to Ride Pennsylvania - Dave 187, Leslie 153, Laura 149, Noreen 136, Mike 87

Traumfabrik - Chris 78, Bob 78, Kelsey 65, Rich 63

Cyclades - Leslie, Randy, Carol (tie)

Cyclades image by Violeta Bafile on BGG.

Posted by Bob on 02/21/16.

Germantown 12/07/15 - MYTHOLOGY!

Attendance:  17

• Leslie Barkley
• Dave, Noreen & Andrew Fair
• Nick Ferris
• Jennifer Glinzak
• Randy Hoffman
• Bob & Carol Jones
• Rich Parker
• Eric & Laura Reinhold
• Gordon Rotter
• Alf & Cynthia Shupe
• Kelsey Smith
• Chris Sears

Our theme for the night, pushed back from the previous week, was mythology!

Games Played (scores in order of place):

Amun-Re - Eric, Rich, Laura
The Game - Team of Noreen, Kelsey, Nick, Jenn - played 3 times (17, 0!, 4)
Cyclades - Alf 2, Randy 1
Dragon Delta - Kelsey won, Noreen, Nick, Jenn
Ghost Stories - Team of Chris, Gordon and Andrew 26, Ghosts 0
Port Royal - Gordon 12, Chris 11, Andrew 9
Fresco - Dave 156, Bob 152, Leslie 128, Carol 121
Age of War - Chris 15, Andrew 13, Gordon 8
Lanterns - Randy 48, Rich 41, Alf 39
Forbidden Isle - Team of Alf, Randy and Rich won

Ghost Stories image by Rafał Kimla on BGG.

Posted by Bob on 02/21/16.

Germantown 11/30/15

Attendance:  13

• Leslie Barkley
• Nick Ferris
• Jennifer Glinzak
• Bob & Carol Jones
• Randy Hoffman
• Rich Parker
• Eric & Laura Reinhold
• Gordon Rotter
• Alf & Cynthia Shupe
• Kelsey Smith

As this was the fifth Monday, we were supposed to do our Theme Night, but we pushed it back a week.

Games Played (scores in order of place):

Between 2 Cities - Nick 59, Jenn 58, Leslie 58, Kelsey 58, Laura 57, Carol 56, Rich 56
Metro - Bob 43, Randy 42, Eric 30, Cynthia 19, Alf 18, Gordon 15
God's Gambit - Jenn 16, Kelsey 51, Laura 69, Nick 98, Eric 146
Qwixx - Nick 122, Kelsey 79, Jenn 57
New England - Bob 34, Gordon 34, Alf 27, Rich 26
Concordia - Randy 147, Leslie 137, Carol 110, Cynthia 79
Blue Moon City - Gordon 5, Alf 3, Bob 3

New England image by Hazel Halliday on BGG.

Posted by Bob on 01/10/16.

In Memory of Doug Hoylman

Doug Hoylman 1943 - 2015

Our good friend, Doug, died on Nov. 2, 2015. He was a regular member of GCOM Germantown from nearly its very beginning at the Borders Cafe up through our session on October 19, 2015. During his last session, he played the base game of Fresco with us (intending to play all the expansions over the next several sessions) and The Voyages of Marco Polo.

Doug will be remembered for his quiet good humor, his kindness and his keen intellect. Doug was a great person to play games with and will always be remembered by his friends at all the GCOM locations he attended.

Here's Doug's really complimentary and informative obituary from the Washington Post.

And here's a thread on Boardgamegeek.  Feel free to add your comments.

Farewell, Doug. We'll miss you.

Germantown 11/16/15

Attendance:  15

• Leslie Barkley
• Paul Czarnota
• Dave, Noreen, Andrew & Corwin Fair
• Nick Ferris
• Jennifer Glinzak
• Bob & Carol Jones
• Henry Ho
• Rich Parker
• Eric & Laura Reinhold
• Kelsey Smith

Games Played (scores in order of place):

Conquest of Orion - Nick & Kelsey 92, Andrew & Noreen 83
Shakespeare - Rich 19, Henry 14, Laura 13
Port Royal - Kelsey 12, Nick 6, Andrew 4, Noreen 3
Steam Works - Corwin 70, Jennifer 53, Eric 49
Qwixx - Andrew 90, Nick 76, Kelsey 71, Noreen 37
Qwixx -Noreen 117, Henry 98, Andrew 86, Corwin 86
Fresco (4,5,6) - Dave 156, Leslie 126, Bob 125, Carol 122

Shakespeare image by W. Eric Martin on BGG.

Posted by Bob on 01/03/16.

Germantown 11/02/15

Attendance:  12

• Leslie Barkley
• Dave & Andrew Fair
• Nick Ferris
• Jennifer Glinzak
• Rebecca Holte
• Bob & Carol Jones
• Rich Parker
• Gordon Rotter
• Kelsey Smith
• Chris Sears

Carol took over for Doug in our playing of Fresco and its expansions.

Games Played (scores in order of place):

Qwixx - Rebecca 115, Gordon 77
Qwixx - Rebecca 110, Gordon 95
Fresco (1,2,3) - Dave 118, Bob 113, Carol 88, Leslie 78
Splendor - Gordon 15, Rebecca 15
Splendor - Gordon 16, Rebecca 12
Nevermore - Gordon, Rebecca, Carol, Leslie, Dave, Bob
Kobayakawa - Dave 12, Leslie 4, Bob 4
Kobayakawa - Leslie 10, Dave 7, Bob 3
Steampunk Rally - Kelsey, Nick, Chris, Jenn, Rich, Andrew

Nevermore image by Curt Covert on BGG.

Posted by Bob on 01/02/16.

Germantown 10/19/15

Attendance:  14

• Leslie Barkley
• Paul Czarnota
• Dave & Andrew Fair
• Nick Ferris
• Jennifer Glinzak
• Doug Hoylman
• Bob & Carol Jones
• Eric & Laura Reinhold
• Gordon Rotter
• Kelsey Smith
• Chris Sears

This was the last day that Doug played with us.

Games Played (scores in order of place):

Between Two Cities - Eric, Gordon 59 (tie), Nick 56, Andrew 56, Chris 55, Jenn 55
Cheeky Monkey - Nick 34, Gordon 31, Jenn 22, Andrew 6, Chris 5, Eric 1
Takenoko - Paul 28, Kelsey 18, Carol 14, Laura 12
Fresco - Bob 69, Dave 66, Leslie 64, Doug 56
Witches Brew - Eric 26, Gordon 21, Carol 16, Andrew 15, Laura 13
Samara - Chris 31, Jenn 17, Paul 14, Nick 9, Kelsey 7
Cheeky Monkey - Andrew 44, Carol 33, Gordon 13
Modern Art: The Card Game - Paul 82, Andrew 79, Gordon 68, Carol 54
Modern Art: The Card Game - Paul 66, Carol 59, Andrew 55, Gordon 43
Qwixx - Paul 55, Andrew 51, Gordon 45
The Voyages of Marco Polo - Dave 79, Leslie 64, Bob 44, Doug 35

The Voyages of Marco Polo image by Michael Wißner on BGG.

Posted by Bob on 01/02/2016.

GCOM-Milestone, December 5th

I was surprised and happy at the great attendance for our inaugural session at GCOM-Milestone.

People in attendance:

• David & Noreen Fair
• Henry Ho
• Bob and Carol Jones
• Alf Shupe
• Nick Ferris
• Jen Glinzak
• Eric Haas
• Mark Broski
• Eric and Laura Reinhold

Games played (players listed in finishing order):

• Pi Mal Pflaumen (Nick 36, Jen 35, Alf, 30, Eric H. 28, Dave 20)
• This is an interesting little bidding/trick taking game with set collection. Great artwork. The game play may not be very deep, but it works and is a nice filler.
• Black Spy (Dave -5, Eric H. 0, Alf 34, Mark 91)
• The game is a little like Hearts, but with different point values for certain cards, and the ability to dodge tricks by following with numbers rather than suits.
• Libertalia (Eric H. 66, Jen 61, Alf 58, Nick 57)
• This is a tactical card game of pirates and treachery. I had never heard of it before, but it is in BGG's top 250 so may be worth checking out.
• Shakespeare (Bob, Henry, Carol, Noreen)
• Bob and Carol won a copy of this game at Euroquest and have been tying to get it to the table ever since. It involves bidding for turn order with the player who bids the least actions getting to start. Sounds interesting.
• Dice City (Eric R. 51, Laura & Dave tied at 49, Mark 47)
• When I got this game, the box was so heavy I thought it must have tons of dice in it, but it only has 25. The weight comes from the massive player boards. It was an interesting resource management and building game. I often felt that there was not enough ways to carry over progress from one turn to the next, but maybe we were all just too conservative.
• Splendor (Alf 15, Henry 15, Eric H, 9)
• So I asked Noreen how you play Splendor and have 2 people get to 15, and it turns out there was a miscount, so the game went on a bit longer than it should have. Alf reached 15 first, but miscounted, and the game stopped when Henry got there a bit later. LOL.
• Codenames (2 plays)
• Game One: W: Dave, Noreen, Alf, Jen L: Bob, Eric H., Henry
• Game Two: W: Noreen, Alf, Carol, Jen L: Dave, Bob, Eric H., Henry
• A great party game for any number, Codenames has 2 players trying to get their team to pick the right 8-9 words from a set of 25 before the other team picks theirs. Equally fun as the clue-giver, and as the guesser, in my opinion, and the best party game in a long time.
• Igel Argern (Alf, Noreen, Dave, Eric H., Henry)
• A tactical racing game of hedgehogs. A favorite of Doug Hoylman's, a good friend and gamer whom we will miss at the table.

Thanks for coming out everyone, we will see you in January!

Lebertalia image from BGG user Niquilibrium