Frederick south 12/12/2009

For our last gaming session of the year at the Common Market we had a nice group of folks. Sadly there may have been too much snow shoveling since we met as I do not recall actual game play, so this will be a sparse posting.

It started with Fran Lunney and Leslie Barkley playing Roll Through the Ages. This was Fran's first play and she learned quickly, Leslie won the first with 46 to 24, Fran won the second with 45 to 18. Mark Broski showed up as the second game was finishing, followed very quickly by Jack Ridgeway.

While we were discussing which game to play next Jack reminded me that during late play last month we had played Qwirkle, and he had won, with a particularly noteworthy 3 qwirkles in a row.

We went with Ticket to Ride, 1910 with a close game for most. Mark won with 111, Fran at 110, Jack with 98 and Leslie trailing at 81. I think at this point we moved into the Common Room and out of the Cafe, I am beginning to prefer the Cafe when there are just a few of us. I also find the chairs in the Cafe more comfortable, not sure why as they are both wooden.

Next up was Aquadukt with Mark winning, and I believe learning as well, with 29, Jack with 27, Fran with 26, and Leslie trailing again with 22.

We then played a couple rounds of Dominoes, Multiples of Five. Mark learning quickly and winning with 407, followed by Jack at 270, Leslie at 248, and Fran with 205. The second game ended with Jack at 379, Mark at 324, Leslie at 255, and Fran at 193.

Our final game of the evening was Settlers of Catan, which ended due to time rather than score. Leslie had eked out 8 points, Fran and Mark both had 5, and Jack had 4.

It was then 10 of nine so we packed up, wished each other happy holidays and went on our merry ways. Looking forward to January and seeing what the 2010 will bring. Happy holiday season to all, enjoy those days off, the fine company and food, and whatever traditions you may choose to observe.

Leslie Barkley

Germantown 12/07/09

Attendance - 17:

• Leslie Barkley
• Aubrey Bell
• Marc A. Drexler
• Christopher & Tiffany Bass & Clarisa Findley
• Andrew & Dave Fair
• Ethan Goffman
• Todd Heidenreich
• Doug Hoylman
• Ben & Bob Jones
• Nicholas Kelley
• Nathaniel Klinger
• Eric & Laura Reinhold
  

Games Played (scores in order of place):

Pack & Stack - Dave 32, Clarisa 31, Tiffany 7, Chris -14
Uptown - Marc 1/6, Ethan 1/14, Bob 2/11, Nicholas 3/5, Ben 3/7
Tales of the Arabian Nights - Nathaniel won, Doug, Eric, Laura, Leslie, Andrew
Fast Flowing Forest Fellers - Chris, Clarisa, Tiffany, Dave, Aubrey
Citadels - Bob 34, Todd 30, Ethan 27, Marc 25, Ben 15, Nicholas 14
Saboteur - Dave 4, Chris 3, Clarisa 2, Tiffany 1

Posted by Bob

Germantown 11/30/09

Attendance - 16:

• Leslie Barkley
• Christopher & Tiffany Bass & Clarisa Findley
• David & Martha Briggs
• Andrew & Dave Fair
• Ethan Goffman
• Todd Heidenreich
• Doug Hoylman
• Ben & Bob Jones
• Carol Loman
• Eric & Laura Reinhold
  

Games Played (scores in order of place):

Alhambra - Leslie 105, Laura 102, Carol 88, Andrew 82
Ra - Bob 39, Ben 36, Eric 28, Martha 24, Chris 24
Diamant - Clarisa 35, Carol 31, Tiffany, Andrew & Leslie tied at 10
Diamant - Clarisa 36, Carol 12, Andrew 8, Tiffany 3, Leslie 0
Zeus on the Loose - Bob ZEUS, Chris ZEU, David B ZEU, Martha ZE, Eric –
Pandemic - Clarisa, Tiffany, Andrew and Leslie lost the human race to disease and death
The BoardGameGeek Game - Dave F, Doug, Ethan, Todd
Pandemic - Ben, Andrew and Leslie lost an alternate human race (the original having died earlier)
Power Grid - Doug, Ethan, Todd, Dave F

Posted by Bob

Upcoming Gaming Opportunities!

Here are some gaming opportunities, starting next month!

GCOM Annual Holiday Party and Potluck

Dec 19, 2009

GCOM Sykesville. 8337 Oklahoma Rd, Sykesville, MD, 21784. 443-609-4933. 3pm till late. There will be turkey, ham, gravy, & punch. Please bring a side dish or dessert. Email if you'd like suggestions. Host: Sybil Buckwalter: sbuckwalter@ziprealty.com

Menygwacon 5

Dec 31, 2009-Jan 3, 2010

Michelle and Eric's New Years Gamefest Without a Cool Name

Brunswick Games Day	Jan 2, 2010	5th Annual Brunswick Games Day
GCOM Gaming Retreat	Jan 8, 2010-Jan 10, 2010	A three day open gaming event with served meals. A GCOM Members only event. Weinberg Center at Camp Fretterd. 5501 Rue St Lo Drive, Reisterstown, MD 21136. A Pre-Registration Only event.

Check out the Special Events page and Convention page on the GCOM Website for more information.

http://www.gamesclubofmd.org/SpecialCon.asp

http://www.gamesclubofmd.org/Conventions.asp

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Brunswick 11/21/2009

A beautiful day with warm sunny skies, a day for open windows and enjoying those chores which get done on a Saturday. Apparently quite a few folks felt that way as we had a small crowd in Brunswick.

The first to join me was Tim Whelan, we enjoyed a quick game of Qwirkle. I had the fortune to gain good tile draws and won with a strong lead. While we were playing Brian and Lije Carpenter showed up.

In no particular order of play, as I neglected to make note of which order they were played in, we played Dominion, Pandemic, and Aquaduct.

Tim learned Dominion and we played with a mix of cards from all three releases. A most enjoyable game won by Brian with a solid lead of 32, Lije with 24, Tim with 20 and Leslie with 18.

In Aquaduct we had a close game with many houses lost due to a lack of water. Final scoring was Brian 33, Tim 26, Lije 25, and Leslie 17.

Sadly, we failed to save the world in Pandemic. We cured both the Blue Flu and the Scarlet Fever, but the Black Death overcame us at the end.

Tim left for another gaming venue and we three remaining played a game of Qwirkle. As we were finishing the singer/songwriter arrived and did his sound tests. We managed to finish our game with Leslie at 171, Brian at 160, and Lije at 138. We then skedaddled out the door.

reported by
Leslie Barkley

Germantown 11/16/09

Attendance - 19:

• Leslie Barkley
• Christopher & Tiffany Bass & Clarisa Findley
• Aubrey Bell
• David & Martha Briggs
• Dave Fair
• Ethan Goffman
• Todd Heidenreich
• Doug Hoylman
• Dan Hucker
• Ben & Bob Jones
• Carol Loman
• Doug Mercer
• Eric & Laura Reinhold
• Howard Wagner
  

We welcome back Howard and Dan whom we we haven't seen in some time!

Games Played (scores in order of place):

Cosmic Cows - Christopher, Clarisa
Carcassonne - Ethan 97, Eric 75, Tiffany 72, Laura 43
Steel Driver - Howard 1010, Natalie 990, David B 960, Martha 910, Aubrey 870, Todd 820.
Ticket to Ride: Europe - Ethan, Tiffany, Doug M, Eric.
At the Gates of Loyang - Doug H 17, Dave F 16, Leslie 16, Carol 15.
Ghost Stories - Ben, Clarisa, Bob and Chris lost to the ghosts.
Star Wars: Epic Duels - Aubrey (Yoda) and Bob (Mace Windu) beat Ben (Darth Maul) and Dan (Darth Vader)
Roll Through the Ages - Howard 30, Todd 24, Ethan 13.

Posted by Bob

Frederick 11/14/2009

Well, as Euro Quest continued over in Timonium a few folks gathered at Frederick South to play for the afternoon. As an added treat the Common Market was doing a Taste of Thanksgiving from 12 to 3 so we had some great samples to munch upon, Apple Cider Brined Roast Turkey with a Walnut Bread stuffing, gravy, cranberry relish, Sweet Potato and Squash Bake, Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie, Blondies and cookies. I was also able to sample Tofurkey and must admit that in a blind taste test I might have been hard pressed to tell the difference between the average roasted bird and Tofurkey. I also learned that the requirement for this is proper cooking, otherwise you end up with something considered inedible by most folks.

Fran Lunney was the first to join me and we played Ticket to Ride. As we were drawing to a finish, Jack Ridgeway arrived and so we promptly started a three player game of Ticket to Ride. Near the end of the game we had our 4th arrival, Jim Sparks. Jim watched the game while we finished up and expressed some interest in learning, so yet one more game of Ticket was played. Cynthia Lewis arrived as the game was drawing to a close and while it might have been interesting to have played a 5-person game we decided to play something else. Leslie's wanderlust must be making itself felt as she won all 3 games.

With all five we played two games of Dominoes, one for Jim to learn our scoring system, and then a second to put it into practice. However, Jack's ability and skill gave him the win in both games. When we play Dominoes we take the open end of the tile played and add it to each of the other open ends, if the total of the two ends is a multiple of five the player scores the total. When the open end is a double tile then the tile end is the total pips of the tile.

While Fran went to run a quick errand the remaining four played a game of Guillotine with Leslie being the most bloodthirsty of the mob, winning with 23 points.

When Fran returned Jim left to go watch a game. I want to give a quick shout - Congratulations to Jim on his promotion at work- well deserved.

The remaining folk played a game of Qwirkle, and while we came close to the edge the game stayed on the table. A close game with all players scoring in the 90's but Jack eked out to the lead with 97.

Our final game at the Common Market was Aquaduct, we played twice with a resounding win by Cynthia in the first game. The second game ended in atie between Cynthia and Leslie.

It was then just shy of 9pm and so we left the store. Carolyn Lewis, a former regular, invited those who were interested to come over to her place to continue gaming. Fran decided to head home, the rest of us headed over to Carolyn's in a slow, circuitous manner.

Once we arrived we played Pegs and Jokers twice and Aquaduct. Sadly I did not keep track of the results.

somewhat recorded by
Leslie Barkley

Germantown 11/02/09

Lots of games played this night. The pub table in the corner is still problematic . . .

• Leslie Barkley
• Tiffany & Christopher Bass & Clarisa Findley
  
• Aubrey Bell
• David Briggs
• Dave Fair
• Ethan Goffman
  
• Todd Heidenreich
• Jo Hogan
  
• Doug Hoylman
  
• Ben & Bob Jones
• Nathaniel Klinger
• Carol Loman
  
• Doug Mercer
• Eric & Laura Reinhold

Maori - Tiffany 32, Chris 23, Clarisa 22, Leslie 10
Roll Through the Ages - Doug H 25, David B 17, Aubrey 12, Leslie 11
Ra: the Dice Game - Dave 50, Laura 46, Eric 44, Aubrey 41
Hey! That's My Fish - Christopher 40, Clarisa 31, Carol 28
Hey! That's My Fish - Carol 40, Christopher 37, Clarisa 23
Qwirkle - Christopher 77, Clarisa 55
Pandemic - Ben, Jo, Bob and Marc beat the dreaded viruses and saved the world!
The Bridges of Shangra-La - Bob 19/11, Christopher 19/10, Clarisa 18, Ben 17
Roll Through the Ages - Nathaniel 21, Todd 14, Marc 12
Race for the Galaxy - Marc 34, Todd 27
Thurn and Taxis - Aubrey 21, Doug H 17, Leslie 11, David B 10
Euphrat & Tigris - Eric 9, Ethan 7, Tiffany 6, Dave F 3 (ouch)
Guillotine - Leslie 18, Doug H 16, David B 15, Aubrey 12
Pow Wow (in order of finish) - Marc, Clarisa, Bob, Ben, Chris, Nathaniel
Fluxx - Aubrey won over Doug H, Leslie, Eric, David B, Ethan

Although Doug Mercer's name is on the attendance list, I don't have him listed as playing any games. If you can solve this mystery, please comment.

Germantown 10/19/09

Attendance:

• Leslie Barkley
• Aubrey & Shannon Bell
• David & Martha Briggs
• Dave Fair
  
• Todd Heidenreich
  
• Doug Hoylman
  
• Ben & Bob Jones
• Nathaniel Klinger
• Doug Mercer
• Alex Pang
• Eric & Laura Reinhold

A bit of a drop in attendance as we go deeper into the Fall. Still, 15 gamers is pretty good.

Tales of the Arabian Nights - Did not finish but they all had fun. Doug H, Nathaniel, Eric and Alex.
Samurai: The Card Game - Leslie won. Doug H, Dave F, Laura.
Diamant - Aubrey 43, Shannon 29, Leslie 27, David B 27, Martha 21, Ben 19
Mamma Mia - Erc 5 (won tie), Alex 5, Nathaniel 3
Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation - Leslie beat Ben
Pack & Stack - David B 62, Aubrey 51, Martha 36, Leslie 33, Shannon 0 (huh?)
Pack & Stack - Aubrey 92, Martha 66, David 47, Leslie 18, Shannon 0 (double huh?)
Endeavor - Bob 59, Dave F 53, Doug M 48, Todd 34
Ingenious - Dave 11 (won), Bob 11, Todd 11, Doug M 7

Article of Interest to Boardgaming Aficionados

Last month, Dave sent around a link to this very good article on boardgaming.

Alt Text: A Belligerent Guide to Board Games

The article describes many different categories of board games, including, "Games Your Grandmother Has Heard Of", "Games That Make You Want to Make Battle Sound Effects When You Play Them" and "Games That Sound Incredibly Boring but Aren’t."

That last category describes our favorites, Euro Games.

Check it out!

(You may also want to check out a previous Wired article on Settlers of Catan. Monopoly Killer: Perfect German Board Game Redefines Genre.)