Our Favorite Games - Part 3

Click for Part 1 and Part 2 of the series. Now on to Part 3.

David Briggs

1. Blue Moon City
2. Ticket to Ride - USA 1910
3. Kingsburg
   

Scott Fisher
I would put my top five as ...

• The Stock Car Champions Racing Game (McGartlin)
• Showmanager
• Puerto Rico
• Alhambra
• Santiago
  

Not in any order. [Scott continued by naming his very favorite game but we don't want to go there.]

Carol Jones

1. Dragonland, by Reiner Knizia, is my favorite game; somewhat of a sleeper. But, if you haven't tried it, you should. It really plays on two levels, and is very deep if you consider all the strategies. However, children can pick it up and play and enjoy it as well without understanding the deeper strategies. Some people say it was designed as a children's game, but it really doesn't play like one at all. It does use dice to control movement, but it is not roll and move. There are many options with each roll of the dice, and the fun comes in when you decide which option is best. Also it is one of the most pretty games we own.
2. Agricola
3. Princes of Florence
4. Samurai
5. Tiki Topple: This was probably my favorite new game this month, just edging out Bananagrams. My son really enjoys it too. The bits are fabulous and it teaches quickly. It is by Gamewright available at Barnes and Nobles ($15.00), along with Bananagrams. It is a very easy line ordering/card game, with excellent bits. Easy to teach, plays quickly and fun. Good for kids who read and adults alike.
   

Tom McCorry

• Twilight Struggle – Area control, historical flavor, shifting situations, can be played using PBEM
• Dominion – Card management with good player interaction, quick playing, expandability
• ASL Starter Kit Volume 1 and 2 – Historical conflict simulation, many scenarios, manageable rules set
• Agricola – Worker placement game, economic engine building, need to adjust to cards provided
• Carcassonne Series – Tile Placement game, quick to long play, nice mix of variants
• 18XX series (Steam over Holland is current favorite) – Mix of tile building, stock management, and group think.
  

Howard Wagner
Here's a "10" I thought no one else would pick:

• Reef Encounter – My reaction after my first game was “Wow.” First, the components are absolutely gorgeous. There is a real “under the sea” feel to the game. The game reminds me of Tigris and Euphrates, but Reef Encounter builds on those basic mechanics and the game is taken to a higher, more refined and complex level. The flipping and locking down of the coral strength tiles is brilliant. Reef Encounter is a deep thinker’s game that retains the “fun factor. Best of all, it plays beautifully with two players, which is important to me.

Again, the group shows a great deal of depth, even as Agricola, Dominion and Ticket to Ride continue to wrack up votes. Some games that are good for kids but also for adults show up in Carol's list.

Next, Part 4!

Our Favorite Games - Part 2

Click here for Part 1 in our series on our favorite games. Now for Part 2.

Martha Briggs

• Agricola (surprise)
• Ticket to Ride - USA 1910
• Blue Moon City

Rick Pasquale
For me, Agricola is clearly at the top of the list.

1. It's fun*
2. It's enjoyable with any number from one to five
3. It has sophistication, but isn't so complicated that it turns off non-gamers.
4. It plays relatively quickly (two can play in 30+ minutes).
5. The multitude of card combinations and choices makes it a game with great replayability.
   

*Fun: Its a game where success is based upon creating and developing, rather than destroying. So even when you don't "win" by having the highest score, you've nonetheless succeeded in developing your own unique farm. Although you sometimes miss out on a selection taken by another farmer, there are plenty of alternatives to pursue, so "screwage" is minimal. The game has nice graphics and for some of us, even miniature animals and materials to get fully immersed in the game (and escape from reality).

Eric Reinhold
My favorites aren't always what I want to play at GCOM sessions...

• Blue Moon City
• San Juan
• Race for the Galaxy
• Ticket to Ride is of course what I usually bring out as the starter with new players (with the USA 1910 expansion).
  

Favorite 2 player games:

• Gin Rummy
• Lost Cities
  

Bill Salvatore
Serious games:

• *Attika
• *Power Grid
• *Puerto Rico
• *Princes of Florence
• *World in Flames
• *Russian Campaign (and variants)
• *Acquire
• *Caylus
• *Agricola
• *Antiquity
• *Cribbage
• *18xx
  

Games for fun:

• *Alhambra
• *San Juan
• Saint Petersburg
• *Ticket to Ride
• Taj Mahal
• Elfenland
• *Cleopatra & the Society of Architects
• *Magna Carta
• Settlers of Catan
• Ingenious
• Lost Cities Boardgame
• Railway Rivals
• Blue Moon City
  

New (to me) games I'm still trying out:

• *Wealth of Nations
• Galactic Emperor
• Roads and Boats
• Tichu
• Merchant of Venus
• *RailRoad Tycoon
• *Pillars of the Earth
• *Dominion
• *Race for the Galaxy
• Silverton
  

The less a game has in the way of random elements, the less skillful I am at the game, in general: terrible at Wealth of Nations, Age of Steam, and Caylus, for example (although decent at Antiquity, because it's almost a solitaire). If such games are rich in logistics, production, and other forms of pseudo-economic planning, and if I were any good at them, they'd be my favorite group.

Games with the randomness level of, say, Power Grid, Princes, and Puerto Rico are my favorites, because once in a while I can get lucky, even against good players, but games with even more randomness, such as Attika, Taj Mahal, and the Ticket games, are really more in my wheelhouse, because I’m more lucky than skillful.

Games that I'll play pretty much any time that I have time to play (and opponents) are marked with an asterisk. Games not so marked I’ll happily play unless I can get people to play one of the asterisked games.

I hate games that require a lot of negotiating, because no one ever trusts me -- they must have a reason for thinking that way, but i don't know what it is. I have a weakness for non-negotiational train games; and for games that are convenient to play by email or over the Internet that it's easy to find opponents for. If anyone has suggestions about games not on my list that they think I’d really like, I’d be eager to hear them.

Judy Trent

• Through the Ages (Scott and I are obsessed with this game at the moment)
• Power Grid
• Age of Steam
• Brass
  

These are the four that popped into my head immediately. I'm sure there are others that I have forgotten and left behind to play Through the Ages though.

Thanks everyone. Part 3 coming soon!

Our Favorite Games - Part 1

Recently I asked the folk of the GCOM West Yahoo! group to send me a list of their favorite games. I didn’t put any restrictions on the request, asking that people list any number of games and add any commentary they liked. The list wasn’t limited to absolute favorites but any games that currently caught their fancy.

I received fifteen responses. Because of the size, I will break the results into multiple posts and post them over the next few days. Here’s the first batch.

Leslie Barkley
Goodness, pick out a favorite game, or even 5....

• Blue Moon City I love for the play and the art
• Qwirkle for it's quick learning to play and the depth it can develop as you play
• Dominion for the play
• Pegs and Jokers for the play
• Werewolf for the community play
  

Doug Hoylman
These are a few of my favorite games:

• Settlers of Catan
  
• Puerto Rico
• RoboRally
• Dominion

However, the games I'd prefer that people bring to sessions are new ones and ones we don't play very often.

Scott Percival
I think of games in terms of categories, so I'll pick one from each category.

• Age of Steam: Well Rounded Brain Burner. Its got many of my favorite game mechanics: role-selection, auctions, route-building, economics; lots of player interactions. My favorite part is the (typically) tight competition and endgame tension. Even though I find it exhausting, losing a close game is a joyous occasion, winning a close game is nirvana.
  

• Bamboleo: Geeky Dexterity. If I had my way I'd alternate brain burners with dexterity games. The physical activity loosens me up and refreshes me. The engineer in me loves to calculate the mass distribution on the plate to see which piece to take. I don't care who "wins" as much as I want to see how far we can get: I view it as a cooperative game.
  

• Advanced Squad Leader: wargamer's wargame. Strategy and Tactics, Oh My! I don't care for Memoir '44, I want a wargame where I can fully develop and implement my own unique strategy and tactics.
  

• Tichu: Favorite Slippers. Like an old pair of slippers you love because they fit so well. It was challenging at first, but I've played so often that the "Tichu Pathways" in my brain have fully developed so I don't have to think about it anymore. Kind of like running down stairs: if you had to think about it you would be in serious trouble, but if you let your subconscious take over it is a breeze. I can play even when I'm so tired I can't think straight. A light game, but a pleasant way to spend time with your friends.
  

• Go: Deep Abstract. Simple rules yet complex game play. Kind of like fractal definition. Calls very loudly to the geometry geek in me.
  

Laura Reinhold

• any of the versions of Ticket to Ride
• Amun-Re
• Bohnanza (Laura said: “the Bean Farming card game (can't remember the name)”. Amongst gamers, the bean game is good enough. :-)
• Agricola
• Guitar Hero :-)
• Vegas Showdown
• Carcassonne
  

Bryan Snyder

• Iron Dragon - Rail Game. I like rail games in general but the empire builder type games offer some good route vs money planning with a minimum of conflict. (Oh, there is game screwage. Just not as much as a lot of other games). It is a good relaxing game that still works the brain a bit. The randomness of the destination cards and event cards makes each game a bit different

• Descent: Journeys in the Dark - Brings me back to my old AD&D days. We got a great group which makes it even better.

• Axis and Allies - Even though I have been on the losing side most of the time, I like the cooperative aspect of the game. You have a good mix of strategizing, money management, and the fate of the dice rolls.

• Can't Stop - Quick fun game of risking another dies roll for the win or losing it all

• Dominion - I like the whole idea of starting with a few cards and building your deck up.

That's it for the first batch. There's certainly a wide variety of games represented, from dice games to card games, from abstract games to wargames. There are already three mentions of Dominion.

Please discuss or ask any questions in the Comments below.

Germantown 03/02/2009

Fourteen gamers this night!

• Leslie Barkley
• Aubrey and Shannon Bell
• Dave and Martha Briggs
• Dave Fair
• Doug Hoylman
• Ben and Bob Jones
• Eric Reinhold
• Christopher and Tiffany Bass; Alidia and Clarisa Findley

With five players ready to go at six o’clock, we started with Cheeky Monkey. This was one of the most even games I’ve played, with everyone doing reasonably well. Consequently, the game was over much quicker than usual without the typical “dingo-dingo” draws crushing everyone’s hopes and dreams. Final scores were Ben 22, Dave F. 17, Bob 17, Eric 11 and Doug 11.

Next up, a new Amigo game, Six. As dice are rolled, each player tries to run through his deck of cards, scoring points when the dice match the amount on a card. There’s also a speed element as a hidden hourglass counts down time. If time runs out while it’s your turn, the next player can call you on it, costing you a scoring card. I really liked this. I was the best with the dice (luckiest) and won 36 to Dave F. 31, Doug 24, Leslie 23, and Eric 19.

When Aubrey and Shannon arrived, Shannon joined Ben and me for a quick game of Tiki Topple. I scored heavily in the first and third rounds while Shannon mounted a valiant comeback after a scoreless first round. Final scores were Bob 23, Ben and Shannon tied at 16.

Meanwhile, Aubrey joined the other group for Gem Dealer, a quick auction game making its first appearance. Eric won with 4, followed by Aubrey and Doug with 2 each, and Dave F and Leslie with 1 each.

Looking for another reasonably quick game, Dave suggested Pandemic and was joined by me, Aubrey and Ben. Despite a great start and a quick curing of the red disease, things took a bad turn when epidemics struck closely together. We managed to cure the yellow disease before the end but humanity lost with the eighth outbreak.

With the arrival of the Briggs and first time guests, Tiffany, Chris, Alidia and Clarisa, we broke into three groups.

One group played Bruno Faidutti’s Citadels, where players take the roles of Thieves, Assassins, Kings, Bishops and others to build the most valuable district of the city. Martha crushed all comers. Martha 37, Leslie 25, Dave B. 24, Shannon 24, Doug 23, and Eric 20.

Dave and I played Reiner Knizia’s Poison with Chris, Tiffany and Clarisa. Usually we don’t play the full five rounds but the game was going quickly so we went the distance. Chris and Tiffany started out strong and finished with excellent scores. My luck in the last few rounds gave me the win by a whisker. Scores were Bob 7+4+3+3+2=19, Chris 0+4+4+6+6=20, Tiffany 2+2+5+0+12=21, Dave 9+10+2+0+7=28, and Clarisa 10+6+4+17+11=48.

Meanwhile, Aubrey took on Ben for two games of Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation, an excellent two player game. Ben has been crushing me regularly at home but in this case, Aubrey won the day in both games.

They then broke out one of Ben’s favorite games, Wasabi. I haven’t played this with two players but it seems to have played just fine. Final scores were Aubrey 29, Ben 13.

After Citadels, out came Cheeky Monkey again. This time, the scores were lopsided as usual. Shannon 50, David B. 21, Leslie 14, Doug 12, and Eric 1. Yes, that’s a 1. Yikes.

Dave then joined Ben and Aubrey for a couple of quick games. First up, Loco, a quick-playing fun game where you play cards and take chips, hoping that at the end your chips are worth more than the other players’ chips. Dave F won 66 to Ben and Aubrey’s 60.

They then brought out Tiki Topple. Dave F 33, Ben 16, Aubrey 3. Ouch.

I played two games with Chris, Tiffany and Clarisa, now joined by Alidia. First was Reiner Knizia’s Circus Flohcati a press-your-luck game where players try to collect high scoring fleas in each of the ten suits while laying down three-of-a-kind sets for 10 points. Chris was the best ringmaster here. Chris 60, Bob 52, Tiffany 50, Alidia 44, and Clarisa 36.

For the last game of the night, we tried Six again. Thanks are due to Eric who caught a rule we were playing incorrectly only a couple of turns in. In a very close game, Tiffany edged out Alidia and Chris. Final scores were Tiffany 34, Alidia 33, Chris 32, Clarisa 17 and me in the basement with 13.

Thanks to everyone for coming. We played fourteen games in around four hours, which may be a record for this location. Well done!

Damascus 02/28/09

[posted by Bob]

This session was hosted by David and Nadine Kuijt who were very nice to invite us all into their home, which was very comfortable and exceptionally suited for gaming. Thanks!

• Leslie Barkley
• David and Martha Briggs
• Noreen and Corwin Fair
• Scott Fox
• Bob, Ben and Carol Jones
• David and Nadine Kuijt
• Linda and Rick Pasquale
• Scott and Liz Percival
  

With ten people ready to go, four of us decided straight away to satisfy their Tichu fix. In a very close game (which also means a very long game), Linda and Noreen bested Liz and Leslie (what’s with all the “L” names?) 1130 to 970. Not only was it a close game, but Linda and Noreen must have had a whopping good final hand.

The other six of us gathered around the big table to play one of my favorites, RailRoad Tycoon. I started out strong taking an excellent position in the Southeast and shot into the lead. Unfortunately for me, near the end I didn’t have enough long routes to stay competitive. Conversely, Rick started out very slowly, grabbing two hotels over his first two turns but came out strong in the mid-game, took the lead and never flagged, seriously pummeling the rest of us who were all very close. Final scores were Rick 67, Nadine 50, Carol 50, Scott P 49, Bob 47 and David K 44. Great game.

Ben and Corwin played a game of Tiki Topple, but the records don’t indicate who won.

Meanwhile, Scott F and the Briggs arrived so they settled down to 3-player Agricola. In a fairly low-scoring game, Scott crunched the Briggs, 27 to David B’s 21 to Martha’s 20.

After some departures, with 8 people remaining we decided to play a big ole game of Wings of War. David has many of the plane miniatures including some he made himself. We played with the rule that the first three people to die could come back into the game. This benefited the Allies as they died quick deaths; all three resurrectees were from Allied Planes. We also played that hits had to be scored on the center peg instead of anywhere on the base, which lengthened the game considerably. Alas, even with the extra lives, the Allies did poorly. Nadine, Linda and Carol all died twice while Bob died once. The Germans fared much better, with only Noreen and Rick dying, while Leslie and David K survived and won the game for the Germans.

It was a very enjoyable night for all. Thanks, David and Nadine.

Germantown 02/16/09

A night filled with a lot of light and medium weight games.

• Leslie Barkley
• Dave and Martha Briggs
• Dave Fair
• Todd Heidenreich
  
• Doug Hoylman
• Bob and Ben Jones
• Mike Mullins
• Eric Reinhold
  
• Bill Salvatore

When Ben and I arrived, the Catan Dice Game was already in progress. I haven't played this version yet, but Settlers of Catan is certainly a classic. Mike was the best settler in this game. Mike 78, Leslie 70, Bill 69 and Doug 67.

When Eric arrived, he joined Ben and I for Cheeky Monkey. There's always one player who consistently draws the same animal after two or three pulls and this time it was Eric. I won 50 to Ben's 25 to Eric's 19.

We then pulled out Knizia's Bucket Brigade which is a reprint of Honeybears. My first round score put me ahead and gave me the game. Bob 23+27+28=78. Eric 17+26+28=71. Ben 16+27+28=71.

While Catan continued, Dave joined us for the great filler Uptown. After a strong start, I stuttered and died, while Ben managed to connect his far flung groups. Neither of us could hold on, though, against Eric. Final scores (groups/captured tiles) were Eric 2/5, Bob 2/8, Dave 2/9, Todd 2/12 and Ben 4/6.

Next a group tried Tiki Topple, a Gamewright game I bought at Barnes & Noble. The bits are very nice, featuring nine awesome resin tiki heads. Gameplay is a little bit Guillotine with a little bit Schrille Stille. This filler will get a lot of play. Leslie 26, Mike 18, Doug 13, Bill 9.

We mixed the groups into two 5 player games. One group played two games of Race for the Galaxy with The Gathering Storm expansion. The first game was over very quickly and the scores were pretty close, the second game considerably less so. First game - Eric 25, Bill 22, Bob 22, Dave F 18, Todd 17. Second game - Dave F 52, Bob 35, Todd 32, Eric 27, and Bill 26.

Meanwhile, the other group played the Egyptian-themed bidding game Ra. Final scores were Martha 43, Doug 42, Mike 32, Leslie 29, and Dave B 27.

Tiki Topple again hit the table. Bob and Ben tied at 21, Dave F 16 and Bill 5.

The other group played one last game, the popular Cheeky Monkey. Dave B and Leslie tied at 30, Mike 21, Martha 8 and Doug 4.

Hope to see you next time!

Germantown 02/02/09

A large group tonight in Germantown.

• Leslie Barkley
  
• Aubrey Bell
• David and Martha Briggs
  
• Ethan Goffman
• Todd Heidenreich
• Doug Hoylman
  
• Bob Jones
• Nathaniel Klinger
  
• Carol Loman
  
• Eric and Laura Reinhold
• Marianne Szlyk

First up, Doug taught us Aquadukt, the game of building housing units in pre-arranged plots and moving water to those units. (Yes, that sounds completely boring. It's not, though.) If no water is delivered, the unit is removed and scores no points. I was able to score more of my units and had the victory. Bob 40, Carol 32, Laura 29, and Doug 27.

While we were finishing up, Aubrey and Leslie had time for one round of Lost Cities. Aubrey demolished her, 83 to 23. I'm sure she would have caught up in the second round.

With more people arriving, we broke into two groups. The first played the game of Egyptian archaeology, Mykerinos. an underrated game in my opinion. Eric put together the best exhibit in the museum for the win. Eric 56, Bob 49, Todd 36, Carol 24.

Meanwhile the other five played the classic Knizia game of pastel camel placement in the desert, Through the Desert. Based on Go, the players try to claim scoring spots, create the longest caravan and surround the most empty spaces. In a very close game, final scores were Aubrey 58, Martha 56, Leslie 55, Doug 53, and David 24. Don't know what happened there.

As Ethan, Marianne, and Nathaniel arrived, they played three-player Puerto Rico. Scores were Ethan 55, Marianne 47, and Nathaniel 45.

Next out came the perenniel favorite, bean-growing game, Bohnanza, in an apparently cooperative, hugely high-scoring game. Final scores were Doug and Aubrey tied at 21, Martha 17, Leslie 16 and David 14. Usually 14 would be a winning score.

Meanwhile, I taught one of my favorite games, Michael Schacht's Web of Power. This was an excellent game. Ethan made huge numbers on his Advisors for the win. Ethan 54, Nathaniel 49, Todd and Bob 38, and Marianne 32.

Finally, Leslie, Doug and Aubrey played a quick game of recycling-themed, R-Eco. Leslie won with 16, Aubrey 14 and Doug 9.

Thanks for coming out.

Bob's Five and Dime for 2008

For the past several years I've been keeping track of the games I've played. This was mostly inspired by curiosity and by Dave who has kept records for a long time. Until 2007 I had a log book which I carried with me which meant that at the end of the year I had to transfer my scribblings into a spreadsheet, an exceedingly tedious task. In early 2007 I was on the verge of quitting when I started to use the tracking system on Boardgamegeek.

Many of us in the group track our games played on BGG, which has an easy to use interface, making data entry fairly simple and quick. I only track the date on which I play each game, but the system will actually track scores, opponents, where the game was played, how long it took, and has expansive room for notes. It really is a nice resource that enables you to run some interesting statistics. Here's where Dave keeps track of the GCOM West games played.

In 2006, I played a total of 439 games. In 2007, I was way down with a total of 346 games. Yikes! What's worse, I had only one "dime" (that is games I played more than 10 times), and only fourteen "nickels". My most played game was Poker.

In 2008, I turned the trend around. Here's my list of games played at least five times.

Agricola	60
Star Wars: Epic Duels	28
Dominion	27
Pandemic	17
Race for the Galaxy	16
Unpublished Prototype	15
Star Wars: Episode 1 - Clash of the Lightsabers	14
Poker	11
Cheeky Monkey	10

Hanging Gardens, The	9
Sorry! Sliders	8
Circus Flohcati	7
Crokinole	7
Escalation!	7
R-Eco	7
Diamant	5
Showmanager	5
Uptown	5
Zooloretto	5

It won't surprise anyone in our group to see that Agricola now dominates my plays. I don't think I've played anything as many times as I've played Agricola. Interestingly, Poker was way down this year.

What's more significant is that I now have nine dimes and ten nickels!

Alas, my total plays for the year was 499. A huge leap up, but one game short of 500! Rats. Maybe this year.

If you're interested in tracking your games on BGG, just ask. There are lots of us who can help you out.

Damascus 02/06/09

Again, on the road, this time at Reinhold Manor.

In attendance:

• Eric & Laura Reinhold
• Doug Hoylman
• Dave Fair
• Rick & Linda Pasquale
• David & Martha Briggs
• Bob Jones

Game records were not completely kept, but we do know that the following games were played:

• Gloria Mundi
• Chicago Express
• Amun-Re
• For Sale
• Cluzzle

See you again soon! Thanks to the Reinhold's for hosting us all, we had a great time!

Middletown 1/31/2009

We had sixteen gamers make the trek to Middletown for some great gaming:

• Scott Fisher
• David Fair
• Tom McCorry
• Bryan Snyder
• Noreen Fair
  
• John Weber
• Rick Pasquale
• Linda Pasquale
• Leslie Barkley
• Lige Carpenter
• Brian Carpenter
• Karl Musser
• Ben Jones
• Robert (Bob) Jones
• Corwin Fair
• Andrew Fair
  

Another great night of gaming that welcomed two new persons to our game night. I hope everyone met and had an opportunity to welcome Brian and Lige Carpenter to our group in Middletown. We look forward to seeing them again in the future.

This game night was also a birthday celebration for Noreen. Happy Birthday! We enjoyed a ham, scalloped potatoes, many vegetables and desserts! Now on to the gaming!

A quick rundown follows:

A few games of Tichu were played. The first game pitted the Scott & Noreen Vs. Linda & Leslie. The score ended with a victory for Scott & Noreen winning 1030 to 170. Another game pitted Rick & Linda Vs. Noreen & Lige. This game ended in victory for Rick & Linda 1045 to 555.

A couple of games of Ticket to Ride were played. The first was the original game of TtR with the 1910 expansion. This game was played by Karl (85), Scott (81), Noreen (116), Linda (103) and Leslie (157) getting the win.

TtR:Nordic Countries was played by Leslie (87), John (63) and Bob (115) taking the victory. Bob reported that he "hosed" the others often! Nice victory.

We played a card game that I picked up at Essen call Mow. It is similar to Take Six but with a cow theme. The object of this game is not get stuck picking up flies. The game was played by Karl (8), Leslie (36), Noreen (6), Rick (8), Linda (10) and getting the victory was Scott (5). The game is designed for maximum of 5 so we may have not gotten the best example of play. It was OK but I enjoy Take Six more.

A very good game of Alhambra was played. I really enjoy this game and will always join a game if it is available. The game was played by Scott (107), Leslie (86), Noreen (80) and getting the win was Karl (114).

The new Zoch game, from Reiner Knizia, Sushizock in Gockelwok was enjoyed by Noreen (7), Rick (4), Lige (1) and Linda (4). I am not sure if the object is to get points or have low score so I am not sure who was the winner. Anybody??? (High score wins - Ed.)

A very competitive game of San Juan was played by Bob (31), John (30) and Leslie (25).

Another new game that was released at Essen that got played was Fast Flowing Forest Fellers. The game was played by Lige (4th place), Linda (3rd), Noreen (2nd) and Rick winning this racing game of log floating.

Tom, David, Brian Carpenter and Bryan Snyder played a game of Tichu.

Others played: Battlestar Galactica (Cylons Tom and Scott won), Steam over Holland, and Dominion.