Friday, January 19, 2007
Thursday 18th January 2007
Lisa and I spent part of the evening playing Cribbage. Lisa easily won both games. She was fortunate in that she received many high-scoring combinations of cards and she then played them very well to score even more points during the game. A demonstration by a talented player which I would have been grateful to observe had it not been me getting trounced! Mope, mope, mope.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Monday 15th January 2007
Monday night is games night! I was joined by Greg, Andy (who made it last week), Spencer (freed from fatherhood for the evening) and Jack (all sorted after the festivities).
To start with Lisa joined us in a quick game of Diamant, joining which Spencer arrived and laughed at our misfortune (or ineptitude, I'm not sure which). Despite getting off to a good start Lisa could only manage third place with 13 jewels, behind Jack's 19 and Andy's 17. We'll quickly gloss over the fact that Greg and I scored nothing..... One of the mines yielded no jewels at all before collapsing.
Lisa then retired to the study to do some work. The gang then had a go at Jack's prototytpe 'Codename: Monster' (although we quite liked referring to it as "It's Alive!" - possibly with more exclamation marks!). As this game is in the early stages of production I won't go into too much detail. Each player is a graverobber attempting to construct an entire body from parts. There is also molney which can be used to purchase body parts. The mechanics of the game worked well and it was great fun. We all made suggestions for the final artwork etc and all the feedback was positive.... apart from how annoying the Village Uprisings can be (I suppose they are unless you're selling pitchforks and flaming torches).
Not too surprisingly Jack won both games! Final scores were:
Game one: Jack, 54, Paul 48, Greg 40, Spencer and Andy 25.
Game two: Jack 61, Spencer 44, Paul and Andy 41 and Greg 37.
A promising game for the future.
We then moved on to Falling; a card game I had picked up at Steer's recent mad giveaway. What can I say.... this game was utter chaos...on a biblical scale! I don't even know how to describe it! One player is the dealer, the others are falling to the ground and fighting. The aim is to be the last one to hit the ground. You play cards to delay your own fall and speed up that of your opponents. It is frenetic, mad and rapid.
We had six goes at this in very little time.
Game one: Spencer dealt. Andy hit the ground first (ie lost!) followed by Paul, Jack and Greg.
Game two: Spencer dealt. Paul hit the ground first, followed by Jack, Andy and Greg.
Game three: Greg dealt. Spencer hit the ground first, followed by Andy, Paul and Jack.
Game four: Jack dealt. Andy hit the ground first, followed by Paul, Spencer and Greg.
Game five: Greg dealt. Paul hit the ground first, followed by Spencer, Jack and Andy.
Game six: Andy dealt. Greg hit the ground first, followed by Paul, Jack and Spencer.
Mad game but great fun.
And that was it. Sadly, this was Andy's last Monday nigth as he is moving with his family ot the wilds of Lincolnshire. He will be greatly missed and is always welcome on a Monday (lisa and I have offered him use of the guest room).
After everyone had left, I suggested that Lisa and I play Cribbage, curled up in front of the fire eating liqeur chocolates (I knew she would find this hard to refuse!). Sadly, she agreed and whooped me royally. She got two very high scoring crib hands which helped her immensely. I realised she is better at discarding than I am...yet. Maybe next time...
To start with Lisa joined us in a quick game of Diamant, joining which Spencer arrived and laughed at our misfortune (or ineptitude, I'm not sure which). Despite getting off to a good start Lisa could only manage third place with 13 jewels, behind Jack's 19 and Andy's 17. We'll quickly gloss over the fact that Greg and I scored nothing..... One of the mines yielded no jewels at all before collapsing.
Lisa then retired to the study to do some work. The gang then had a go at Jack's prototytpe 'Codename: Monster' (although we quite liked referring to it as "It's Alive!" - possibly with more exclamation marks!). As this game is in the early stages of production I won't go into too much detail. Each player is a graverobber attempting to construct an entire body from parts. There is also molney which can be used to purchase body parts. The mechanics of the game worked well and it was great fun. We all made suggestions for the final artwork etc and all the feedback was positive.... apart from how annoying the Village Uprisings can be (I suppose they are unless you're selling pitchforks and flaming torches).
Not too surprisingly Jack won both games! Final scores were:
Game one: Jack, 54, Paul 48, Greg 40, Spencer and Andy 25.
Game two: Jack 61, Spencer 44, Paul and Andy 41 and Greg 37.
A promising game for the future.
We then moved on to Falling; a card game I had picked up at Steer's recent mad giveaway. What can I say.... this game was utter chaos...on a biblical scale! I don't even know how to describe it! One player is the dealer, the others are falling to the ground and fighting. The aim is to be the last one to hit the ground. You play cards to delay your own fall and speed up that of your opponents. It is frenetic, mad and rapid.
We had six goes at this in very little time.
Game one: Spencer dealt. Andy hit the ground first (ie lost!) followed by Paul, Jack and Greg.
Game two: Spencer dealt. Paul hit the ground first, followed by Jack, Andy and Greg.
Game three: Greg dealt. Spencer hit the ground first, followed by Andy, Paul and Jack.
Game four: Jack dealt. Andy hit the ground first, followed by Paul, Spencer and Greg.
Game five: Greg dealt. Paul hit the ground first, followed by Spencer, Jack and Andy.
Game six: Andy dealt. Greg hit the ground first, followed by Paul, Jack and Spencer.
Mad game but great fun.
And that was it. Sadly, this was Andy's last Monday nigth as he is moving with his family ot the wilds of Lincolnshire. He will be greatly missed and is always welcome on a Monday (lisa and I have offered him use of the guest room).
After everyone had left, I suggested that Lisa and I play Cribbage, curled up in front of the fire eating liqeur chocolates (I knew she would find this hard to refuse!). Sadly, she agreed and whooped me royally. She got two very high scoring crib hands which helped her immensely. I realised she is better at discarding than I am...yet. Maybe next time...
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Sunday 14th January 2007
In a desperate bid to maintain some dignity and self-respect, Lisa suggested taht we play Cribbage whilst Eleanor enjoyed her afternoon nap. She failed on both counts as I won 2 games in a row. Go me! To be fair, I was hugely fortunate with the cards I was dealt.
After having dinner and before heading for a bath, Eleanor declared her wish to play 'Two By Two'. She won both games, although we had all matched our animals in the first game, but Ellie was the first to find a raincloud. In the second game she reached this stage whilst Lisa and I both had an animal left. Beaten by a 2 year old..... again ..... 2 days running!
After having dinner and before heading for a bath, Eleanor declared her wish to play 'Two By Two'. She won both games, although we had all matched our animals in the first game, but Ellie was the first to find a raincloud. In the second game she reached this stage whilst Lisa and I both had an animal left. Beaten by a 2 year old..... again ..... 2 days running!
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Saturday 13th January 2007
Lisa, Eleanor and I played Ellies' Shopping List game, which she received as a Christmas present. It is fun, quick and simple. It is beautifully produced to Orchard Toys' usual high standard.
Ellie was the first to obtain all eight items in her shopping trolley. Lisa and I had managed to find only 6 items each. Beaten by a 2 year old....
A little later the three of us turned our attention to 'Two by Two'; a Noah's Ark game in which you have to remember where animals are and match them up before placing them in a cardboard boat. Ellie loves it and she is now quite good at remembering where tiles are. This may explain how she won, whilst Lisa and I still had 2 animals each left to match.
Ellie wanted to play again after her storming victory and, being indulgent parents, we.... indulged her! This time Paul won. Ellie was the first to match all her animals but failed to find a raincloud which is needed to make the Ark sail away. Lisa was again left with 2 animals.
Eleanor retired to bed a bit later and Paul and Lisa had another go at Cribbage. Paul demonstrated that he has got the hang of this by winning 2 games. Life is sweet....
Ellie was the first to obtain all eight items in her shopping trolley. Lisa and I had managed to find only 6 items each. Beaten by a 2 year old....
A little later the three of us turned our attention to 'Two by Two'; a Noah's Ark game in which you have to remember where animals are and match them up before placing them in a cardboard boat. Ellie loves it and she is now quite good at remembering where tiles are. This may explain how she won, whilst Lisa and I still had 2 animals each left to match.
Ellie wanted to play again after her storming victory and, being indulgent parents, we.... indulged her! This time Paul won. Ellie was the first to match all her animals but failed to find a raincloud which is needed to make the Ark sail away. Lisa was again left with 2 animals.
Eleanor retired to bed a bit later and Paul and Lisa had another go at Cribbage. Paul demonstrated that he has got the hang of this by winning 2 games. Life is sweet....
Friday 12th January 2007
Lisa decided that she should teach me to play Cribbage. She did. It was fun. We each won one game (first to 61 points). The end.
Worthy of note: you can score 1 point 'for his nob'! What kind of sick game is this !?!
Worthy of note: you can score 1 point 'for his nob'! What kind of sick game is this !?!
Monday 8th January 2007
This was the first Monday Night is Games Night of 2007!
I was joined by Vin, Greg and Andy. After we had gassed with Lisa for half an hour and noticed our matching haircuts (not Lisa's!) we settled down to play Masons.
We all like this game as it is quite straightforward to play yet a bit mentally challenging. It was a fairly close game, with each of us spending sometime in the lead. In the end though, Vin who assures us he did have a strategy, won convincingly with 93 points. Paul and Greg managed 84, whilst Andy limped at the rear with 59 points. Much childish laughter had occurred, particualrly when Vin had to place a Pink Palace.....
Masons is a fairly quick game so we decided to try Alhambra. Vin had not played this before but the rest of us had played twice. The silliness continued even though this is a much harder game. Once again I realised too late that amassing money in the early stages is more important than building lots. I did remember, however, about checking that you may score more for coming second with one building colour than for sharing the points with someone else who has the same number as you. This did affect my purchasing strategy and I felt it paid off in the end.
Final scores: Greg 118, Paul 102, Andy 96, Vin 62.
In an uncharacteristically petulant moment Vin declared that he will not play Alhambra again and that we all smelt of pooh.
I was joined by Vin, Greg and Andy. After we had gassed with Lisa for half an hour and noticed our matching haircuts (not Lisa's!) we settled down to play Masons.
We all like this game as it is quite straightforward to play yet a bit mentally challenging. It was a fairly close game, with each of us spending sometime in the lead. In the end though, Vin who assures us he did have a strategy, won convincingly with 93 points. Paul and Greg managed 84, whilst Andy limped at the rear with 59 points. Much childish laughter had occurred, particualrly when Vin had to place a Pink Palace.....
Masons is a fairly quick game so we decided to try Alhambra. Vin had not played this before but the rest of us had played twice. The silliness continued even though this is a much harder game. Once again I realised too late that amassing money in the early stages is more important than building lots. I did remember, however, about checking that you may score more for coming second with one building colour than for sharing the points with someone else who has the same number as you. This did affect my purchasing strategy and I felt it paid off in the end.
Final scores: Greg 118, Paul 102, Andy 96, Vin 62.
In an uncharacteristically petulant moment Vin declared that he will not play Alhambra again and that we all smelt of pooh.
Monday 1st January 2007
Happy New Year!
After a lovely evening with Lisa S, Richard and Emma to see in the New Year, Lisa, Ellie and I returned home. After her late night Ellie retired for an afternoon nap. Lisa and I decided to celebrate the start of 2007 .... by playing Carcassonne - The Castle.
Paul won the first game 107 points to Lisa's 98. It had been a close game. Paul had managed to fisnish a large tower just after collecting a token which allowed him to score double for this. This was mitigated by Lisa having a 'score an unfinshed road' token as well as a very long, branching road.
Paul also won the second game 99 points to Lisa's 70. Paul managed to score for most of the markets (something Lisa normally manages!) and finished a large tower with his last tile without which he would have lost. Lisa was suitably miffed!
Of note: this was the first time we drew an unplaceable tile (market stall between two curving bits of road). The rules say that the unplaceable tile is discarded and will play no further part in the game. We were both a little disappointed as the market is worth 3 points. Oh well.....
After a lovely evening with Lisa S, Richard and Emma to see in the New Year, Lisa, Ellie and I returned home. After her late night Ellie retired for an afternoon nap. Lisa and I decided to celebrate the start of 2007 .... by playing Carcassonne - The Castle.
Paul won the first game 107 points to Lisa's 98. It had been a close game. Paul had managed to fisnish a large tower just after collecting a token which allowed him to score double for this. This was mitigated by Lisa having a 'score an unfinshed road' token as well as a very long, branching road.
Paul also won the second game 99 points to Lisa's 70. Paul managed to score for most of the markets (something Lisa normally manages!) and finished a large tower with his last tile without which he would have lost. Lisa was suitably miffed!
Of note: this was the first time we drew an unplaceable tile (market stall between two curving bits of road). The rules say that the unplaceable tile is discarded and will play no further part in the game. We were both a little disappointed as the market is worth 3 points. Oh well.....
Monday 25th December 2006
Merry Christmas!
After a day of presents, food, chocolate, food, alcohol, snoozing, food, TV and a little more food followed by more alcohol Lisa and I decided to play some games.....what else is Christmas about?
Cara, Lisa's sister, joined us in a quick game of Diamant. We think she liked this, although complained that it sounded much more complicated how we explained it at the start than it actually was as you played it. As she won with 61 jewels to Paul's 60 and Lisa's disastrous 30, I don't know what she was complaining about!
Cara then departed to watch 'The Vicar of Dibley' (Lisa and I are not huge fans!). Instead Lisa and I played 3 quick games of Hey! That's My Fish! Of all the games I play regularly this is the one I find my neurological problems have most affected. I really struggle to play it. Not surprisingly Lisa won the first two games (59 fish to 41 and 63 fish to 37). I must stress though that she did play REALLY well in both games. She completely shut off most of the ice floes and mopped up the remaining fish. It reminded me at times of playing Connect Four as a child; remember when you were in the position that whichever side of the opponents line of three you went they were still going to get the fourth? It was just like that. She outmanouvered me repeatedly.
I clawed back some dignity in the third game by managing to block Lisa's blocking moves! It was fairly close as this was not a very good territory-grabbing approach but I held on to win with 57 fish to Lisa's 43.
We then had a go at Carcassonne - The Castle; clearly still our favourite game! This was an incredibly close game even though we were virtually almost playing at opposite ends of the board. Lisa won by 94 points to 91 - is that the closest game we've had? We were both happy with our performances and I certainly did not begrudge Lisa her victory. Given the amount of alcohol we had consumed by this point that we could even place the tiles was quite an achievement!
Worthy of note was that this game marked the inaugural use of the new BAG! This was fashioned for me as a Christmas present by my mother in law from the remains of a leg of my recently thrown away favourite pair of trousers! I deny rumours that my victory was due to Lisa's unease at being prompted to put her hand in my trousers every time it was her go!
Once 'The Vicar of Dibley' had finished Cara rejoined us and asked to play Diamant again. Lisa and I foolishly agreed and allowed ourselves to be whooped; Cara scored 62, Paul managed 39 and Lisa scraped along behind with 29 jewels. We then collapsed drunkenly in our beds having had a marvellous Christmas Day (apart form losing hideously at Diamant to someone who hadn't played it before. Mope, mope, mope!).
After a day of presents, food, chocolate, food, alcohol, snoozing, food, TV and a little more food followed by more alcohol Lisa and I decided to play some games.....what else is Christmas about?
Cara, Lisa's sister, joined us in a quick game of Diamant. We think she liked this, although complained that it sounded much more complicated how we explained it at the start than it actually was as you played it. As she won with 61 jewels to Paul's 60 and Lisa's disastrous 30, I don't know what she was complaining about!
Cara then departed to watch 'The Vicar of Dibley' (Lisa and I are not huge fans!). Instead Lisa and I played 3 quick games of Hey! That's My Fish! Of all the games I play regularly this is the one I find my neurological problems have most affected. I really struggle to play it. Not surprisingly Lisa won the first two games (59 fish to 41 and 63 fish to 37). I must stress though that she did play REALLY well in both games. She completely shut off most of the ice floes and mopped up the remaining fish. It reminded me at times of playing Connect Four as a child; remember when you were in the position that whichever side of the opponents line of three you went they were still going to get the fourth? It was just like that. She outmanouvered me repeatedly.
I clawed back some dignity in the third game by managing to block Lisa's blocking moves! It was fairly close as this was not a very good territory-grabbing approach but I held on to win with 57 fish to Lisa's 43.
We then had a go at Carcassonne - The Castle; clearly still our favourite game! This was an incredibly close game even though we were virtually almost playing at opposite ends of the board. Lisa won by 94 points to 91 - is that the closest game we've had? We were both happy with our performances and I certainly did not begrudge Lisa her victory. Given the amount of alcohol we had consumed by this point that we could even place the tiles was quite an achievement!
Worthy of note was that this game marked the inaugural use of the new BAG! This was fashioned for me as a Christmas present by my mother in law from the remains of a leg of my recently thrown away favourite pair of trousers! I deny rumours that my victory was due to Lisa's unease at being prompted to put her hand in my trousers every time it was her go!
Once 'The Vicar of Dibley' had finished Cara rejoined us and asked to play Diamant again. Lisa and I foolishly agreed and allowed ourselves to be whooped; Cara scored 62, Paul managed 39 and Lisa scraped along behind with 29 jewels. We then collapsed drunkenly in our beds having had a marvellous Christmas Day (apart form losing hideously at Diamant to someone who hadn't played it before. Mope, mope, mope!).
Sunday 24th December 2006
Once we were firmly ensconced at the in-laws, Eleanor was tucked up in bed, presents were neatly arranged around the tree and everyone was watching 'Coronation Street', Lisa and I (not soap fans!) had a game of Carcassonne - The Castle.
The game went really quickly - maybe because we felt a little selfish not joining in with the rest of the family. We arranged the board diagonally to see if this would alter our habit of both starting at the same points on the board.... it did! We both played aggressively to score quick points and hamper each others building efforts. Lisa faired much better, due to securing quite a lot of markets, managing to finish a huge house and thus scoring extra points at the end. She had also managed to accrue the most tokens by scoring small amounts and landing on the corners ahead of me to collect them. An easy victory for Lisa with 97 points to Paul's 67.
In my defence I would like it to be known that I was somwhere beyond 'tipsy' at this stage of the evening and my critical thinking skills were non-existant!
The game went really quickly - maybe because we felt a little selfish not joining in with the rest of the family. We arranged the board diagonally to see if this would alter our habit of both starting at the same points on the board.... it did! We both played aggressively to score quick points and hamper each others building efforts. Lisa faired much better, due to securing quite a lot of markets, managing to finish a huge house and thus scoring extra points at the end. She had also managed to accrue the most tokens by scoring small amounts and landing on the corners ahead of me to collect them. An easy victory for Lisa with 97 points to Paul's 67.
In my defence I would like it to be known that I was somwhere beyond 'tipsy' at this stage of the evening and my critical thinking skills were non-existant!
Saturday 16th December 2006
Following our normal habits, whilst Eleanor napped, Lisa and I played two games of Carcassonne - The Castle. We felt a little guilty as there was loads of christmas-related stuff we ought to do but, hey, it is the season to be jolly!
The first game was very close and neither of us knew who had won until the final scoring. In the end Paul snatched victory with 90 points to Lisa's 83. Lisa was a little annoyed as she had missed an opportunity to score about 8 points earlier in the game....
She made up for her error in the second game by managing to place 8 markets and 'own' them with only one meeple! She then got a token to score 4 points per stall in one market field. This netted her 32 points and significantly assisted in her 108 to 76 points win! She also tried a new tactic; she would finsish of my buildings and roads which scored me points but stopped them getting very big and thus scoring more. This worked particularly well as I had a score an unfinished building token and score an unfinished road token neither of which I could use.
Sometimes I feel myself starting to sulk.
The first game was very close and neither of us knew who had won until the final scoring. In the end Paul snatched victory with 90 points to Lisa's 83. Lisa was a little annoyed as she had missed an opportunity to score about 8 points earlier in the game....
She made up for her error in the second game by managing to place 8 markets and 'own' them with only one meeple! She then got a token to score 4 points per stall in one market field. This netted her 32 points and significantly assisted in her 108 to 76 points win! She also tried a new tactic; she would finsish of my buildings and roads which scored me points but stopped them getting very big and thus scoring more. This worked particularly well as I had a score an unfinished building token and score an unfinished road token neither of which I could use.
Sometimes I feel myself starting to sulk.
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