Beyond Monopoly!
I started with a 5-player game of Canal Mania from the Ragnar Brothers. In this, players compete to construct a canal network linking English towns to ferry goods. There are government contracts you have to complete, and you can enlist the help of famous engineers. The game ends with the arrival of the railways. Several players were familiar with it and, despite this, I managed not to come last. Final scores were: Adrian 80, Neil 66, Paul 58, me 54 and Keith 46. I enjoyed this and would play it again. The theme was a change to train games and I liked the engineers mechanic.
Next up was a 6-player game of Power Grid. This is a game I enjoy playing but am hopeless at. this was a typical outing for me: Paul won with 15 cities, Neil and Oliver were next with 14, Hugo and I managed 11 and Adrian could power 9. I wish I was better at this game!
I was then introduced to Cartagena. In this pirates are atttempting to escape from prison to a waiting boat. You play cards to move them along corridors, or they fall back to collect more cards. I found this somewhat challenging ot start with. In the end all 6 of Paul's pirates escaped, along with 3 of Adrian's and 2 of mine and Hugo's.
A good day's gaming!
Showing posts with label beyond monopoly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beyond monopoly. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Saturday 19th May, 2007
Today was Beyond Monopoly!
I arrived late so lots of games were in progress. I hung around for awhile until Andy arrived. I then introduced him to the joys of It's Alive! Despite losing 37 to 54 Andy enjoyed the game and was impressed with the artwork.
We then had a go at Balloon Cup. Andy had played before and so explained it to me thoroughly. We enjoyed this as it was well-balanced and fun! Andy won by 1 green cup. We decided to play again. I felt I had made a few blunders and so was happy to play again. I did worse this time losing by the green and the blue cups!
We mutually agreed to try Architekton next - a game neither of us had heard of before. We felt we were missing something as we just kept copying each other's moves to effect a draw; there seemed no reason to do otherwise. We scoured the rules convinced that we must have been playing it wrong but, we hadn't. Not a great game.
I then got involved in a game of Settlers of Catan - my first for sometime. Of the three other players, 1 was new to it and the other 2 were clearly experienced. It felt like there were actually 2 games being played; the experienced guys made no allowances for me and the noob. Needless to say he lost and I limped into third place. Not an enjoyable experience. Little time was taken to explain the rules, tactics or anything.
I then got involved in a game of Winner's Circle. I'm not usually that keen on horse or racing games but this one was okay (and a Reiner Knizia game!). I liked the bluffing involved in the betting and the board itself. In the end I came second out of five, narrowly avoiding victory by losing a photo finish at the end.
All in all a fun day, although the Settlers game will stick in my mind as a BM! lowpoint.
I arrived late so lots of games were in progress. I hung around for awhile until Andy arrived. I then introduced him to the joys of It's Alive! Despite losing 37 to 54 Andy enjoyed the game and was impressed with the artwork.
We then had a go at Balloon Cup. Andy had played before and so explained it to me thoroughly. We enjoyed this as it was well-balanced and fun! Andy won by 1 green cup. We decided to play again. I felt I had made a few blunders and so was happy to play again. I did worse this time losing by the green and the blue cups!
We mutually agreed to try Architekton next - a game neither of us had heard of before. We felt we were missing something as we just kept copying each other's moves to effect a draw; there seemed no reason to do otherwise. We scoured the rules convinced that we must have been playing it wrong but, we hadn't. Not a great game.
I then got involved in a game of Settlers of Catan - my first for sometime. Of the three other players, 1 was new to it and the other 2 were clearly experienced. It felt like there were actually 2 games being played; the experienced guys made no allowances for me and the noob. Needless to say he lost and I limped into third place. Not an enjoyable experience. Little time was taken to explain the rules, tactics or anything.
I then got involved in a game of Winner's Circle. I'm not usually that keen on horse or racing games but this one was okay (and a Reiner Knizia game!). I liked the bluffing involved in the betting and the board itself. In the end I came second out of five, narrowly avoiding victory by losing a photo finish at the end.
All in all a fun day, although the Settlers game will stick in my mind as a BM! lowpoint.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Saturday 5th may, 2007 (2)
I borrowed a copy of Trans Europa from Beyond Monopoly. It's a game I've played and enjoyed and it is staying firmly on my wishlist! I brought it home as I thought Lisa might enjoy it. She certainly did! She enjoyed having her European geography challenged and she appreciated the simplicity of the game. She tried several strategies; starting centrally, starting towards the edge, starting near her opponent, starting at the opposite side of the board to her opponent. I really admired her pioneering spirit!
We played three games (each of three rounds). I won 2 and Lisa won 1. We surmised that all of the above approaches had pros and cons. I faired better starting centrally, whilst Lisa won her game by starting at one edge. I felt this approach could be risky in the 2-player game as you are reliant on your opponents rail network going near where you need it to.
We really enjoyed this game and agreed we would play it some more.....instead of Carcassonne The Castle for awhile!
We played three games (each of three rounds). I won 2 and Lisa won 1. We surmised that all of the above approaches had pros and cons. I faired better starting centrally, whilst Lisa won her game by starting at one edge. I felt this approach could be risky in the 2-player game as you are reliant on your opponents rail network going near where you need it to.
We really enjoyed this game and agreed we would play it some more.....instead of Carcassonne The Castle for awhile!
Saturday 5th May, 2007
Today I made it to Beyond Monopoly! Soon after arriving I joined with Robert, Richard and Paul A to play Marra Cash - a game Richard had brought. In essence this is an auction and area control game in which you try to lure shoppers to your bazaars to earn money. Players auction off bazaars of various colours and get a cut if they can lure shoppers to bazaars of the same colour.
It sounds a bit abstract but it was actually good fun. I think I would play differently a second time as I bid too much in a couple of auctions and backed out of a crucial one too soon! All in all a good game which I would happily play again. Robert won with 6,900, I came second with 5,300, Richard was a surprise third with 4,050 and Paul A brought up the rear with 3,900.
Many people then dissapeared for a long lunchbreak. When they returned I joined with Andrew, Keith, Jim, John and Richard to have a go at Shadows Over Camelot. I have been curious about this for sometime as co-operative games are few and far between. As with all Days of Wonder games production values were astoundingly high. The game was enhanced for me as Jim quickly cycled home to fetch his beautifully handpainted miniatures.
I liked this game. It could be described as a themed series of rummy games but that would be a little unfair. The Knights of the Round Table are questing to rout the forces of evil. They do this by placing white swords on the Round Table. These swords are awarded for successfully completing Quests. However, if the Knights fail, then black swords are placed instead. It was quite hard playing collaboratively when the rules state that you cannot clearly discuss the cards in your hand or your intentions.
The game is made more interesting by the dealing out of Loyalty cards, as a result of which one player may be a traitor. If this is the case then that player must surreptitiously work to scupper the efforts of his companions. He can be accused and unmasked however. I was playing Sir Gawain (of Green Knight fame!) and I was actually the traitor. I enjoyed this role immensely as it lead to the type of psychological gaming I enjoy. No one accused me and I managed to foil several Quests apparently innocently. Once Darkness prevailed I revealed my allegiance to evil and claimed my victory. I wouldn't want to play this every week but it will remain on my wishlist!
Finally, Jim suggested that we try a game he'd brought; Oltre Mare (another one on my wishlist!). Keith had to depart so that left myself, Jim, Richard, John and Andrew. Jim and Richard had both played before and so managed to explain the basics to the rest of us. Oltre Mare is essentially a hand-building trading card game. The pretty board with cool sailing ships on is not as important as it first appears. Jim had printed out some really useful reference sheets without which I think I would have been lost. As I am currently a "bear of little brain" I found this game a bit too hard. There were a lot of options and I could not work out what the ramifications were going to be. I was hideously behind for most of the game but I recovered somewhat at the end. Jim won with 50 points. Andrew was second with 47, whilst John and Richard drew for third with 42. I was a little behind with 39. This game will reamin on my wishlist although I don't think I will play it again until I am fully recovered from my neurological problems.
All in all a great day's gaming!
It sounds a bit abstract but it was actually good fun. I think I would play differently a second time as I bid too much in a couple of auctions and backed out of a crucial one too soon! All in all a good game which I would happily play again. Robert won with 6,900, I came second with 5,300, Richard was a surprise third with 4,050 and Paul A brought up the rear with 3,900.
Many people then dissapeared for a long lunchbreak. When they returned I joined with Andrew, Keith, Jim, John and Richard to have a go at Shadows Over Camelot. I have been curious about this for sometime as co-operative games are few and far between. As with all Days of Wonder games production values were astoundingly high. The game was enhanced for me as Jim quickly cycled home to fetch his beautifully handpainted miniatures.
I liked this game. It could be described as a themed series of rummy games but that would be a little unfair. The Knights of the Round Table are questing to rout the forces of evil. They do this by placing white swords on the Round Table. These swords are awarded for successfully completing Quests. However, if the Knights fail, then black swords are placed instead. It was quite hard playing collaboratively when the rules state that you cannot clearly discuss the cards in your hand or your intentions.
The game is made more interesting by the dealing out of Loyalty cards, as a result of which one player may be a traitor. If this is the case then that player must surreptitiously work to scupper the efforts of his companions. He can be accused and unmasked however. I was playing Sir Gawain (of Green Knight fame!) and I was actually the traitor. I enjoyed this role immensely as it lead to the type of psychological gaming I enjoy. No one accused me and I managed to foil several Quests apparently innocently. Once Darkness prevailed I revealed my allegiance to evil and claimed my victory. I wouldn't want to play this every week but it will remain on my wishlist!
Finally, Jim suggested that we try a game he'd brought; Oltre Mare (another one on my wishlist!). Keith had to depart so that left myself, Jim, Richard, John and Andrew. Jim and Richard had both played before and so managed to explain the basics to the rest of us. Oltre Mare is essentially a hand-building trading card game. The pretty board with cool sailing ships on is not as important as it first appears. Jim had printed out some really useful reference sheets without which I think I would have been lost. As I am currently a "bear of little brain" I found this game a bit too hard. There were a lot of options and I could not work out what the ramifications were going to be. I was hideously behind for most of the game but I recovered somewhat at the end. Jim won with 50 points. Andrew was second with 47, whilst John and Richard drew for third with 42. I was a little behind with 39. This game will reamin on my wishlist although I don't think I will play it again until I am fully recovered from my neurological problems.
All in all a great day's gaming!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Saturday 7th April, 2007
Today I made it to Beyond Monopoly! Despite it being a very sunny day, and it being the AGM, quite a few people had turned up.
First up I played Trans Europa with Richard and Michael. I had not played this before, although it is onmy wishlist. It is a simple game in which you construct a rail network based on a hand of location cards. You can join onto other players' networks if they get you nearer where you need to be. We played this once, although it took 2 rounds due to the mechanism whereby you work out how many links you were short of completing your network and count down to 0. I won both rounds due to some good fortune in drawing cards for easy to get to places! A good game which will remain on my wishlist.
Next up was Vabanque - a casino game I had not heard of before. It is a game of gambling and bluffing. A the end I was the clear winner with 490 points, to Michael's 250 and Richard's 170. I expect this game would be more fun, and more random, with more players. As it was I quite quickly worked out my opponents tells when they were bluffing and I managed to set up a pattern so that there was no way I could lose on the final hand. I would happily play this again, although I'm not sure it will go on my wishlist.
Richard, Michael and I were then joined by Ian, Hugo and Anna to play Citadels. I've wanted to play this for ages and was glad to get the chance. In the end Hugo won with 26 points, Richard was second with 24. Michael and I drew for third with 19, Ian was next with 18 and Anna brought up the rear with 13. I enjoyed this game, although it is really a glorified card game! I think it would be more fun amongst a group of friends; there was a fair amount of downtime as people chose their characters. As we didn't know each other there was very little banter. Still, this one shall remain on the wishlist.
The six of us then embarked on Fist of Dragonstones; another game I'd never heard of. Not too sure about this one; another glorified card game. I came second with 2 points, outmanouvered at the end by Michael who outbid me for the third point. I liked the mechanics of the game but the theme was a bit daft. I would play it again though. IU suspect it would be more fun with less than 6.
All in all a good way to spend some time over the Bank Holiday weekend. Members can now borrow games from Beyond Monopoly, so I'm going to discuss loaning Trans Europa with Lisa!
First up I played Trans Europa with Richard and Michael. I had not played this before, although it is onmy wishlist. It is a simple game in which you construct a rail network based on a hand of location cards. You can join onto other players' networks if they get you nearer where you need to be. We played this once, although it took 2 rounds due to the mechanism whereby you work out how many links you were short of completing your network and count down to 0. I won both rounds due to some good fortune in drawing cards for easy to get to places! A good game which will remain on my wishlist.
Next up was Vabanque - a casino game I had not heard of before. It is a game of gambling and bluffing. A the end I was the clear winner with 490 points, to Michael's 250 and Richard's 170. I expect this game would be more fun, and more random, with more players. As it was I quite quickly worked out my opponents tells when they were bluffing and I managed to set up a pattern so that there was no way I could lose on the final hand. I would happily play this again, although I'm not sure it will go on my wishlist.
Richard, Michael and I were then joined by Ian, Hugo and Anna to play Citadels. I've wanted to play this for ages and was glad to get the chance. In the end Hugo won with 26 points, Richard was second with 24. Michael and I drew for third with 19, Ian was next with 18 and Anna brought up the rear with 13. I enjoyed this game, although it is really a glorified card game! I think it would be more fun amongst a group of friends; there was a fair amount of downtime as people chose their characters. As we didn't know each other there was very little banter. Still, this one shall remain on the wishlist.
The six of us then embarked on Fist of Dragonstones; another game I'd never heard of. Not too sure about this one; another glorified card game. I came second with 2 points, outmanouvered at the end by Michael who outbid me for the third point. I liked the mechanics of the game but the theme was a bit daft. I would play it again though. IU suspect it would be more fun with less than 6.
All in all a good way to spend some time over the Bank Holiday weekend. Members can now borrow games from Beyond Monopoly, so I'm going to discuss loaning Trans Europa with Lisa!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Saturday 17th February 2007
Today I made it to Beyond Monopoly! The club had relocated to Room 3 down the hall from our usual Room 1. I have to say that I wouldn't mind changing rooms permanently; it felt larger, lighter and brighter.... no storage cupboards for games though!
This marked the second birthday of Beyond Monopoly and it was nice to see the occasion marked by a high turnout, including more children than usual, which I strongly approve of, and several new faces.
I arrived around 11am and soon launched into a game of Manhattan with Bill, Paul and Keith. This is a fairly simple game in which you compete to build the tallest building, occupy the top floor(s) of skyscrapers and have the most of them in each city. Placement is based on a hand of cards and the orientation of where you are sitting. I enjoyed this alot although I got creamed! The game lasts for 4 rounds and in the first 2 it looked like I was being ganged up on! I simply could not recover from this and it gave Paul an opportunity to sneak ahead (no one challenged his dominance until it was too late!)
Final scores:
Paul 56
Keith 51
Bill 39
Me 31
My only slight complaint about this game is that I was unimpressed with the washed-out colours of the building blocks.
Next up was Die Saulen von Venedig (The Pillars of Venice?) which only Keith had played before. Kevin joined us for this one to bring us up to 5 players. I really enjoyed this game, although I again was royally trounced. Based on a card hand you play characters in Venice who can perform different actions. The 'pitchdipper' allows you to sink columns into the marsh on which other characters can construct buildings. Despite being in German this was still really good fun. I misplayed this as I did not expect the end to come so rapidly! If playing again I would build more and sink less columns. I would also make better use of the spy and gondolier to obtain extra points. Still, this is definately one I would like to own.
Final scores:
Paul 45
Bill 41
Kevin 37
Keith 34
Me 22
Last time I went to Beyond Monopoly I decided to tell people I was playing with about my neurological problems in case I looked like a complete idiot! I then felt like a bit of a fraud when I won several games! Today I decided not to mention it. Bad move! My apologies to the guys I played with as I said I had not played Niagara before. In fact I have but I don't remember playing it. I even own it but didn't remember that either!
This is a fast game in which you use canoes to collect jewels then paddle furiously upstream to deposit them whilst trying to avoid getting swept over the waterfall; something several of us failed to do....repeatedly! I like that you can influence the weather and thus the speed of the river.
I managed to lose this one as well! Bill won with seven different jewels. The other Paul had 6, Keith had 4 and Kevin and I each had 2. Still good fun though.
Bill left us at this point and the other Paul introduced us to the fast and furious card game 6nimmt. To be honest I didn't enjoy this that much. I think I missed a rule somewhere and this game didn't agree with my neurological problems. In essence, you have a hand of cards with numbers and bullsheads on them. You want to end up with as few of the heads as possible. Cards are layed out in rows and you simultaneously reveal the card to play. The lowest numebr goes first. There are several rows and you place cards in sequence along them. If you have to place the sixth card in a row then you have to pick up the row and thus accrue bullsheads.
I was hopeless at this! To be fair I did improve; in the first hand I misunderstood the entire game and picked up 34 heads. Things improved in the second hand so I only picked up 19 (still the worst of all of us). Then in the third hand I picked up only 2. The game ends when a players total score is 66 or above.
In the end Paul, Keith and I all went over 66 in the fourth hand. Kevin won magisterially with a total of only 21! I think his mind likes this kind of game! I'm not sure if I would play this again, although I did like it's 'filler' potential.
Kevin and Paul then departed. As everyone else seemed occupied Keith introduced me to the pleasures of Hive. This is a game I've been aware of since the first time I went to Beyond Monopoly but haven't got around to playing. In essence you have hexes representing different insects with different skills. The object is to surround the opposing queen bee. It's harder than it sounds! Keith and I played lots of times but I only won once. Again, this was more of a brain burner than it would normally be when I am firing on all cylinders. Still, I really enjoyed it and its definately a game I would love to own.
I rounded off the day by joining Jon, Chris and Amanda in a game of Carcassonne. This was the first time Chris and Amanda had been to the club (and their first bash at Carcassonne). I hope they continue to come; it's nice seeing couples there and they both seemed genuinely excited about the games. Jon gave a potted history of German games as we played which was hugely informative and useful; he really knows his stuff!
I realised that, despite it being my favourite game, I haven't played Carcassonne for months.....probably since last July! That was probably why I did so abysmally. I tried to compete with Jon for farmer-dominance in a field that was worth 24 points. Jon won that contest and I had failed to create a back-up plan! Chris and Amanda both did well getting their heads around a game which appears so simple but can quickly become quite complex.
Final scores:
Jon 81
Chris 64
Me 62
Amanda 55
All in all an enjoyable day if lacklustre scorewise. Now, I wonder if I can make a bootleg copy of Hive....
This marked the second birthday of Beyond Monopoly and it was nice to see the occasion marked by a high turnout, including more children than usual, which I strongly approve of, and several new faces.
I arrived around 11am and soon launched into a game of Manhattan with Bill, Paul and Keith. This is a fairly simple game in which you compete to build the tallest building, occupy the top floor(s) of skyscrapers and have the most of them in each city. Placement is based on a hand of cards and the orientation of where you are sitting. I enjoyed this alot although I got creamed! The game lasts for 4 rounds and in the first 2 it looked like I was being ganged up on! I simply could not recover from this and it gave Paul an opportunity to sneak ahead (no one challenged his dominance until it was too late!)
Final scores:
Paul 56
Keith 51
Bill 39
Me 31
My only slight complaint about this game is that I was unimpressed with the washed-out colours of the building blocks.
Next up was Die Saulen von Venedig (The Pillars of Venice?) which only Keith had played before. Kevin joined us for this one to bring us up to 5 players. I really enjoyed this game, although I again was royally trounced. Based on a card hand you play characters in Venice who can perform different actions. The 'pitchdipper' allows you to sink columns into the marsh on which other characters can construct buildings. Despite being in German this was still really good fun. I misplayed this as I did not expect the end to come so rapidly! If playing again I would build more and sink less columns. I would also make better use of the spy and gondolier to obtain extra points. Still, this is definately one I would like to own.
Final scores:
Paul 45
Bill 41
Kevin 37
Keith 34
Me 22
Last time I went to Beyond Monopoly I decided to tell people I was playing with about my neurological problems in case I looked like a complete idiot! I then felt like a bit of a fraud when I won several games! Today I decided not to mention it. Bad move! My apologies to the guys I played with as I said I had not played Niagara before. In fact I have but I don't remember playing it. I even own it but didn't remember that either!
This is a fast game in which you use canoes to collect jewels then paddle furiously upstream to deposit them whilst trying to avoid getting swept over the waterfall; something several of us failed to do....repeatedly! I like that you can influence the weather and thus the speed of the river.
I managed to lose this one as well! Bill won with seven different jewels. The other Paul had 6, Keith had 4 and Kevin and I each had 2. Still good fun though.
Bill left us at this point and the other Paul introduced us to the fast and furious card game 6nimmt. To be honest I didn't enjoy this that much. I think I missed a rule somewhere and this game didn't agree with my neurological problems. In essence, you have a hand of cards with numbers and bullsheads on them. You want to end up with as few of the heads as possible. Cards are layed out in rows and you simultaneously reveal the card to play. The lowest numebr goes first. There are several rows and you place cards in sequence along them. If you have to place the sixth card in a row then you have to pick up the row and thus accrue bullsheads.
I was hopeless at this! To be fair I did improve; in the first hand I misunderstood the entire game and picked up 34 heads. Things improved in the second hand so I only picked up 19 (still the worst of all of us). Then in the third hand I picked up only 2. The game ends when a players total score is 66 or above.
In the end Paul, Keith and I all went over 66 in the fourth hand. Kevin won magisterially with a total of only 21! I think his mind likes this kind of game! I'm not sure if I would play this again, although I did like it's 'filler' potential.
Kevin and Paul then departed. As everyone else seemed occupied Keith introduced me to the pleasures of Hive. This is a game I've been aware of since the first time I went to Beyond Monopoly but haven't got around to playing. In essence you have hexes representing different insects with different skills. The object is to surround the opposing queen bee. It's harder than it sounds! Keith and I played lots of times but I only won once. Again, this was more of a brain burner than it would normally be when I am firing on all cylinders. Still, I really enjoyed it and its definately a game I would love to own.
I rounded off the day by joining Jon, Chris and Amanda in a game of Carcassonne. This was the first time Chris and Amanda had been to the club (and their first bash at Carcassonne). I hope they continue to come; it's nice seeing couples there and they both seemed genuinely excited about the games. Jon gave a potted history of German games as we played which was hugely informative and useful; he really knows his stuff!
I realised that, despite it being my favourite game, I haven't played Carcassonne for months.....probably since last July! That was probably why I did so abysmally. I tried to compete with Jon for farmer-dominance in a field that was worth 24 points. Jon won that contest and I had failed to create a back-up plan! Chris and Amanda both did well getting their heads around a game which appears so simple but can quickly become quite complex.
Final scores:
Jon 81
Chris 64
Me 62
Amanda 55
All in all an enjoyable day if lacklustre scorewise. Now, I wonder if I can make a bootleg copy of Hive....
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Saturday 3rd February 2007
At long last I made it to Beyond Monopoly; my first visit since the onset of my neurological problems. I had a good, if slightly nervous time. I had decided to explain briefly to people that I am having some difficulties; I thought this would spare embarrassment if I had to constantly ask the same rules-related question over and over (a good call as it turned out!).
I forgot to note down scores or the names of other players...so my apologies to all concerned.
First up was a new game for me; Der Dieb von Bagdad (Thief of Baghdad). The aim of this one is to steal four treaure chests from a range of six palaces by bribing guards, placing your thieves, and placing your guards to confound the attempts of others. All actions depend on the cards you hold which allow you to perform an action in the palace matching the guards (similar to Ticket to Ride). You can collect three cards per turn and place a piece or move a piece on the board, or you can skip a go, get three cards and a Dancing Girl Card, which acts as a wild card. There is some merit in collecting cards for awhile I discovered. However, when a treasure chest is stolen from a palace, the next one in the palace requires more thieves, therefore its best not to wait too long.
The two people who had played it before came first and second (Mason), I came third and Colin came last. I sense that with more experience this would be a fairly simple game. However, in my current condition I found it quite hard, although quite quick! It is made by Queen Games and is up to their ususal high standards.
Jon then introduced five of us to Die Mauer; a bluffing game in which you work collectively to build a castle wall. Jon had a copy of this to sell and I was tempted (despite Lisa's ruling that I cannot buy any games until 2008). However, when I got home I created a bootleg version!
Again, this is a simple game requiring an ability to remember who has already placed what and then trying to outbluff your opponents. I really enjoyed this (hence the homemade effort!) and would happily play it again. In the end I came third.
I then played Hey! That's My Fish with Mason and Colin. I managed to win by slicing off a fair chunk of ice; I think they were concentrating more on the 3-fish floes and so didn't spot what I was trying to do.
The three of us then moved on to Diamant whilst others went off for lunch. I managed to win this as well (and realised that Lisa and I have been playing it slightly wrong.. although after discussion we decided we like our way more!).
Colin and Mason then introduced me to the auction game, Modern Art. In this you represent a gallery and have to buy and sell works of modern art at varying forms of auction. The more popular the work of one artist becomes, the more expensive their work is in later rounds. I really enjoyed this as I quite like the psychological aspect of auction games. I managed to win this although I don't understand how!
I then joined four others (including Mason and another Paul) to play Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers for the first time. I have been curious about this for sometime, particularly as several people say they prefer it to original Carcassonne.
It has some nice features. Hunters can be placed in meadows (like farmers). They score 2 points for each animal in the meadow, although they lose one deer for each tiger that is also there. Rivers (as opposed to roads) are terminated by lakes. A fisherman scores for the number of tiles between lakes and the number of fish in those lakes. This made rivers quite profitable as long as you could finish them (unfinished features score nothing at the end - another change). My favourite feature was the fishing huts. Each player has two of these. They can be placed on a river system and, at games end, score for the total number of fish in the whole system; this could 'net' a lot of points!
The mountains worked like cities, with mushrooms instead of shields. Some mountain tiles contained gold nuggets, which allow you to draw a special tile. These had less common landscape variants, such as a three-way river junction, and some tiles which change the rules a little, thus allowing for high scoring if placed well.
I ended up winning this, mainly due to two high scoring fishing huts and a better-stocked-than-I-realised meadow! I enjoyed this game and would love to own a copy! I slightly prefer original Carcassonne, but I suspect only because I played it first. My only slight complaint was that the colouration of the tiles did not offer much of a visual contrast, which I found made it slightly harder to work out where pieces could fit.
All in all, a great day. I had a chat with Jon and several other 'regulars'. I played 4 new games (I always said I wanted to play at least 1 new game each time I went) and I managed to win 3 games (my best victory score ever!). More importantly, I had been putting off returning to Beyond Monopoly as I felt my neurological problems would hamper my enjoyment, would make me feel embarrassed and might even put me off games. I'm pleased I waited until I felt truly ready to return. As it was, some things were hard, but the games and the people were great, and made it worth the effort.
I forgot to note down scores or the names of other players...so my apologies to all concerned.
First up was a new game for me; Der Dieb von Bagdad (Thief of Baghdad). The aim of this one is to steal four treaure chests from a range of six palaces by bribing guards, placing your thieves, and placing your guards to confound the attempts of others. All actions depend on the cards you hold which allow you to perform an action in the palace matching the guards (similar to Ticket to Ride). You can collect three cards per turn and place a piece or move a piece on the board, or you can skip a go, get three cards and a Dancing Girl Card, which acts as a wild card. There is some merit in collecting cards for awhile I discovered. However, when a treasure chest is stolen from a palace, the next one in the palace requires more thieves, therefore its best not to wait too long.
The two people who had played it before came first and second (Mason), I came third and Colin came last. I sense that with more experience this would be a fairly simple game. However, in my current condition I found it quite hard, although quite quick! It is made by Queen Games and is up to their ususal high standards.
Jon then introduced five of us to Die Mauer; a bluffing game in which you work collectively to build a castle wall. Jon had a copy of this to sell and I was tempted (despite Lisa's ruling that I cannot buy any games until 2008). However, when I got home I created a bootleg version!
Again, this is a simple game requiring an ability to remember who has already placed what and then trying to outbluff your opponents. I really enjoyed this (hence the homemade effort!) and would happily play it again. In the end I came third.
I then played Hey! That's My Fish with Mason and Colin. I managed to win by slicing off a fair chunk of ice; I think they were concentrating more on the 3-fish floes and so didn't spot what I was trying to do.
The three of us then moved on to Diamant whilst others went off for lunch. I managed to win this as well (and realised that Lisa and I have been playing it slightly wrong.. although after discussion we decided we like our way more!).
Colin and Mason then introduced me to the auction game, Modern Art. In this you represent a gallery and have to buy and sell works of modern art at varying forms of auction. The more popular the work of one artist becomes, the more expensive their work is in later rounds. I really enjoyed this as I quite like the psychological aspect of auction games. I managed to win this although I don't understand how!
I then joined four others (including Mason and another Paul) to play Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers for the first time. I have been curious about this for sometime, particularly as several people say they prefer it to original Carcassonne.
It has some nice features. Hunters can be placed in meadows (like farmers). They score 2 points for each animal in the meadow, although they lose one deer for each tiger that is also there. Rivers (as opposed to roads) are terminated by lakes. A fisherman scores for the number of tiles between lakes and the number of fish in those lakes. This made rivers quite profitable as long as you could finish them (unfinished features score nothing at the end - another change). My favourite feature was the fishing huts. Each player has two of these. They can be placed on a river system and, at games end, score for the total number of fish in the whole system; this could 'net' a lot of points!
The mountains worked like cities, with mushrooms instead of shields. Some mountain tiles contained gold nuggets, which allow you to draw a special tile. These had less common landscape variants, such as a three-way river junction, and some tiles which change the rules a little, thus allowing for high scoring if placed well.
I ended up winning this, mainly due to two high scoring fishing huts and a better-stocked-than-I-realised meadow! I enjoyed this game and would love to own a copy! I slightly prefer original Carcassonne, but I suspect only because I played it first. My only slight complaint was that the colouration of the tiles did not offer much of a visual contrast, which I found made it slightly harder to work out where pieces could fit.
All in all, a great day. I had a chat with Jon and several other 'regulars'. I played 4 new games (I always said I wanted to play at least 1 new game each time I went) and I managed to win 3 games (my best victory score ever!). More importantly, I had been putting off returning to Beyond Monopoly as I felt my neurological problems would hamper my enjoyment, would make me feel embarrassed and might even put me off games. I'm pleased I waited until I felt truly ready to return. As it was, some things were hard, but the games and the people were great, and made it worth the effort.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Saturday 16th September
Saturday was Beyond Monopoly at the Railway Institute in York. There was a good turnout and I managed to squeeze in 5 new games…which is a record for me!
Jon announced that the club will be playing games at the National Railway Museum in York on a Sunday in November. We don’t have to play only ‘train games’ though! I’m hoping to volunteer my services as I would like to do something to help out the club.
Jon also announced that we are going to be the first featured ‘Club of the Month’ in a new BBC games magazine! How cool is that! I hope that Jon is as proud of this as he should be….
First of all I got involved in a game of the Lord of the Rings with Andy, Mike, Adrian and George. To be honest I nearly bought this a few years ago but didn’t as it didn’t tie-in with the movies. Now, this seems refreshing. The game was excellent. I particularly liked the collaborative nature of it; I really felt that we were competing with Sauron and the evil hordes rather than against each other. In fact I was quite happy to sacrifice my character to increase the Fellowship’s chances. As it was my efforts were fruitless…
I also liked the interchangeable and reversible boards. The artwork was really good too. A solid 8 out of 10 from me. It was pointed out to us that we had played the idiot-level stupid persons version of the game…and still lost!
Next up the five of us were joined by Kevin for three hands of Who’s the Ass. This is a quick card game very similar to ….a standard card game whose name I can’t seem to remember (rummy?). It was good fun and I was pleased to come second. George did really well winning two hands, although he did have all four jokers in one of them! Final scores:
George 25
Paul 26
Mike 42
Kevin 66
Andy 80
Adrian 93
Kevin and George then headed off and the remaining four of us tried our hand at Hansa. In this game you play a fourteenth/fifteenth century trader in Scandinavia. You pay to move a trading ship, build trading booths in cities and buy and sell goods. I really enjoyed this. I particularly liked that you got taxed if you were doing too well and that it is not in your interests to stockpile goods too much. I felt this was quite a realistic aspect of trading at that time. (Monopolies seemed to become more economically viable 100-150 years later). The final scores were:
Mike 44
Paul 39
Adrian 35
Andy 35
Despite none of us having played this ever before we all enjoyed it.
Adrian then headed off to play something less mentally-taxing (I spotted him being introduced to Border Reivers) whilst the remaining three of us played Aqua Romana. I had not played this before but Mike and Andy gave clear instructions. Despite losing I really enjoyed this game and I hope to add it to my collection at some point. (I’m a sucker for tile-laying games!). It reminded me a little of Carcassonne: The Castle in that the board is a finite area and as tiles are placed it fills up rapidly. I quickly realised that my opening tactic of building straight pieces of aquaduct was flawed. I think I will do better next time. Final Scores:
Mike 33
Andy 32
Paul 28
I thought the quality of the board and playing pieces was outstanding and the mechanics were elegantly simple.
We decided on a final game before Mike and I had to head off. Mike introduced us to Adel Verplicht…which he said translates as Hoity Toity. I won this game but still enjoyed it a little less than the others. In essence you have to build a collection of antiquities to display at castles. Each turn you secretly choose to go to the auction house or the castle. Then you can buy new goods, steal money from the auction house, or steal part of a collection, display your exhibits or play a detective who foils any robbery attempts. There was a fair amount of bluffing and poker-facing going on….Mike consistently countered Andy’s moves! I fortuitously built the largest collection and then managed to arrest all the thieves leaving me free to exhibit my collection repeatedly and win the most points! Mike came second with Andy limping along in third. I think this may work better with more players. With only three it was relatively easy to work out what everyone was going to do.
All in all a really good day. It was nice to see Jack getting a go at Pitch Car and introducing people to Border Reivers. Also I think this was the first Beyond Monopoly when I have not played a single game with Jon!
Jon announced that the club will be playing games at the National Railway Museum in York on a Sunday in November. We don’t have to play only ‘train games’ though! I’m hoping to volunteer my services as I would like to do something to help out the club.
Jon also announced that we are going to be the first featured ‘Club of the Month’ in a new BBC games magazine! How cool is that! I hope that Jon is as proud of this as he should be….
First of all I got involved in a game of the Lord of the Rings with Andy, Mike, Adrian and George. To be honest I nearly bought this a few years ago but didn’t as it didn’t tie-in with the movies. Now, this seems refreshing. The game was excellent. I particularly liked the collaborative nature of it; I really felt that we were competing with Sauron and the evil hordes rather than against each other. In fact I was quite happy to sacrifice my character to increase the Fellowship’s chances. As it was my efforts were fruitless…
I also liked the interchangeable and reversible boards. The artwork was really good too. A solid 8 out of 10 from me. It was pointed out to us that we had played the idiot-level stupid persons version of the game…and still lost!
Next up the five of us were joined by Kevin for three hands of Who’s the Ass. This is a quick card game very similar to ….a standard card game whose name I can’t seem to remember (rummy?). It was good fun and I was pleased to come second. George did really well winning two hands, although he did have all four jokers in one of them! Final scores:
George 25
Paul 26
Mike 42
Kevin 66
Andy 80
Adrian 93
Kevin and George then headed off and the remaining four of us tried our hand at Hansa. In this game you play a fourteenth/fifteenth century trader in Scandinavia. You pay to move a trading ship, build trading booths in cities and buy and sell goods. I really enjoyed this. I particularly liked that you got taxed if you were doing too well and that it is not in your interests to stockpile goods too much. I felt this was quite a realistic aspect of trading at that time. (Monopolies seemed to become more economically viable 100-150 years later). The final scores were:
Mike 44
Paul 39
Adrian 35
Andy 35
Despite none of us having played this ever before we all enjoyed it.
Adrian then headed off to play something less mentally-taxing (I spotted him being introduced to Border Reivers) whilst the remaining three of us played Aqua Romana. I had not played this before but Mike and Andy gave clear instructions. Despite losing I really enjoyed this game and I hope to add it to my collection at some point. (I’m a sucker for tile-laying games!). It reminded me a little of Carcassonne: The Castle in that the board is a finite area and as tiles are placed it fills up rapidly. I quickly realised that my opening tactic of building straight pieces of aquaduct was flawed. I think I will do better next time. Final Scores:
Mike 33
Andy 32
Paul 28
I thought the quality of the board and playing pieces was outstanding and the mechanics were elegantly simple.
We decided on a final game before Mike and I had to head off. Mike introduced us to Adel Verplicht…which he said translates as Hoity Toity. I won this game but still enjoyed it a little less than the others. In essence you have to build a collection of antiquities to display at castles. Each turn you secretly choose to go to the auction house or the castle. Then you can buy new goods, steal money from the auction house, or steal part of a collection, display your exhibits or play a detective who foils any robbery attempts. There was a fair amount of bluffing and poker-facing going on….Mike consistently countered Andy’s moves! I fortuitously built the largest collection and then managed to arrest all the thieves leaving me free to exhibit my collection repeatedly and win the most points! Mike came second with Andy limping along in third. I think this may work better with more players. With only three it was relatively easy to work out what everyone was going to do.
All in all a really good day. It was nice to see Jack getting a go at Pitch Car and introducing people to Border Reivers. Also I think this was the first Beyond Monopoly when I have not played a single game with Jon!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Monday 11th September 2006
Monday night is games night! We were a little depleted in numbers...Greg was away somewhere doing something work-related and Jack was busily constructing sets of Border Reivers. However, Andy, Spence and Vin did trek out to the wilds of Osbaldwick!
Lisa joined us for a quick game of Guillotine before disappearing to sort out her budgetary overspend. As always it was fun, if a bit silly. Vin arrived a third of the way through..and looked thoroughly bemused!
The final scores were:
Andy 17
Spence 23
Lisa 26
Paul 29
I made timely use of The Scarlet Pimpernel card to end the game when I had just taken the lead.
Lisa then disappeared to the realm of numbers and accountancy whilst the rest of us indulged in a game of Flanders 1302...or whatever it's called. I had played this once at Beyond Monopoly and so thought I may have something of an advantage as the other guys had not even heard of it. How wrong I was! I'm not sure where I went wrong....but I did! On reflection I think I spread myself too thinly across too many cities. We did not use the neutral pieces or church pieces to hamper each others scoring as much as I had anticipated. I was braced waiting for this to happen...but it didn't! I admit I played badly but I still think this is a fine game... a pity it has been discontinued. The pieces are beautiful and the mechanics are satisfying. My only question is ...why 1302?
The final scores were....
Neutral - 2
Paul - 32
Andy - 38
Vin - 42
Spence - 49.
All in all a fun evening.
Lisa joined us for a quick game of Guillotine before disappearing to sort out her budgetary overspend. As always it was fun, if a bit silly. Vin arrived a third of the way through..and looked thoroughly bemused!
The final scores were:
Andy 17
Spence 23
Lisa 26
Paul 29
I made timely use of The Scarlet Pimpernel card to end the game when I had just taken the lead.
Lisa then disappeared to the realm of numbers and accountancy whilst the rest of us indulged in a game of Flanders 1302...or whatever it's called. I had played this once at Beyond Monopoly and so thought I may have something of an advantage as the other guys had not even heard of it. How wrong I was! I'm not sure where I went wrong....but I did! On reflection I think I spread myself too thinly across too many cities. We did not use the neutral pieces or church pieces to hamper each others scoring as much as I had anticipated. I was braced waiting for this to happen...but it didn't! I admit I played badly but I still think this is a fine game... a pity it has been discontinued. The pieces are beautiful and the mechanics are satisfying. My only question is ...why 1302?
The final scores were....
Neutral - 2
Paul - 32
Andy - 38
Vin - 42
Spence - 49.
All in all a fun evening.
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