Monday Night is Games Night! Tonight I was joined by Spencer, Jack and Greg, with Vin arriving later in the evening.
We played a couple of quick games whilst waiting for Vin to arrive. First up was my homemade copy of Die Mauer. This is a simple bluffing game in which players try to empty their hand of town wall segments by guessing which piece the master builder is attempting to construct. It's a really simple game; describing the rules makes it sound more complicated than it actually is.
Spencer won this, being the first to have built all his pieces, Jack was next with wall worth only 5 points left in his hand. Paul was next with 6 points worth and Greg brought up the rear with 26 points left. I don't think Greg enjoyed it!
As Vin had not yet arrived we turned our attentions to Guillotine. This is something of a favourite as it is always good fun and is easy to play. Spencer and Jack drew on 20 points, although as Jack had executed the King we felt he was the moral victor... sort of. Greg came next with 17 points and Paul was last with 16.
Vin arrived during Guillotine and so we decided to play Alhambra. This is a beautifully-produced Queen game. It's one of those which is easy to play but hard to play well. The aim is to build the palace of Alhambra by purchasing tiles. You can choose to purchase tiles or collect cash each turn. There are three scoring rounds during the game where poits are awarded for the length of your enclosing wall and having the most, or second most, or even third most, of each building type.
I've previously not done too well at this. This time I kept more of an eye on who was building what and managed to score for several building types. As a result I cam joint first with Greg (we both had 85 points), Spence was next with 80 and Vin and Jack drew for last place with 58 points.
Another fun evening with much wit, laughter, and some sarcasm!
Showing posts with label alhambra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alhambra. Show all posts
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Saturday, January 13, 2007
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.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Monday 30th October 2006
Lisa and I were joined by Andy and Greg for games! Vin is off recovering from a weekend in Whitby, Jack phoned to say he was going to have a quiet night in with The Wife and Spencer is excused after his partner, Jessica, gave birth to a baby girl on Saturday night! Congratulations and welcome to the world Little One.
Once again aiming to keep things simple for my malfunctioning brain we kicked off with Diamant. After being victorious through recklessness last week I decided to go for overcautiousness this week. It paid off! Final scores:
Paul 37
Lisa 30
Andy 24
Greg 14
We then moved on to Alhambra, a game Andy and I had played before (although I can barely remember it). This is not as complicated as it first appears and is good fun. I am a sucker for tile-laying games though! My impaired cognitive abilities were evident however. I failed to apply a strategy, realising late in the game that I should have accrued more money earlier on to buy more properties towards the end. A few last minute purchases helped me pick up my score. Unfortunately Lisa's strong position was eroded by Greg and Andy buying odd buildings to reduce her advantage. Her really long wall could not save her! Despite it being his first attempt at this game, Greg clearly got the hang of it and romped to victory. Final scores:
Greg 103
Andy 83
Paul 81
Lisa 79
As it is nearly Halloween we decided to end with another go at Finster Flure (Fearsome Floors). Once again this was good fun but more mentally taxing than it appears. Despite everything, I managed to win...although to be honest.... I was not really thinking beyond "must move pieces....preferably away from monster...." ( a man-sized slime creature this time).
Once again a great evening much enhanced by Andy bringing green-filled chocolate rolls!
On a personal note, I really enjoy when Lisa joins in with us on Monday nights ...I can't put into words why, other than to say it is nice to do something together!
Once again aiming to keep things simple for my malfunctioning brain we kicked off with Diamant. After being victorious through recklessness last week I decided to go for overcautiousness this week. It paid off! Final scores:
Paul 37
Lisa 30
Andy 24
Greg 14
We then moved on to Alhambra, a game Andy and I had played before (although I can barely remember it). This is not as complicated as it first appears and is good fun. I am a sucker for tile-laying games though! My impaired cognitive abilities were evident however. I failed to apply a strategy, realising late in the game that I should have accrued more money earlier on to buy more properties towards the end. A few last minute purchases helped me pick up my score. Unfortunately Lisa's strong position was eroded by Greg and Andy buying odd buildings to reduce her advantage. Her really long wall could not save her! Despite it being his first attempt at this game, Greg clearly got the hang of it and romped to victory. Final scores:
Greg 103
Andy 83
Paul 81
Lisa 79
As it is nearly Halloween we decided to end with another go at Finster Flure (Fearsome Floors). Once again this was good fun but more mentally taxing than it appears. Despite everything, I managed to win...although to be honest.... I was not really thinking beyond "must move pieces....preferably away from monster...." ( a man-sized slime creature this time).
Once again a great evening much enhanced by Andy bringing green-filled chocolate rolls!
On a personal note, I really enjoy when Lisa joins in with us on Monday nights ...I can't put into words why, other than to say it is nice to do something together!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
