|
[Meriden, CT] 2007-09-14 & -15 Session Recaps
|
|
|
I got together with John, Melissa, Don, and Paul on Friday and Saturday nights. My co-worker Charlie was having a BBQ I'd already committed to going to (which was a good time), so after I jetted out of there a little early, I went home and picked up some games. I think I brought along I'm the Boss and Fist of Dragonstones, but we played neither. Instead, Niagara (w/ the Spirits of Niagara expansion) and Manila found their way to the table. We didn't start until 8:30ish, and I had to lead a hike the next morning, so I think we finished around 10pm. But we planned on getting together the next day for a late lunch/early dinner. I got home from the hike around 1:20 or so, and mowed my lawn, and when that was done I headed over to John's with a Basket O' Games.
|
|
|
|
|
Posted On: 2007-09-17 14:01:19
Edited On: 2007-09-17 17:51:04
|
|
|
|
|
Paul had brought along his copy of Niagara, with the Spirits of Niagara expansion. None of us had played with it before, and Melissa and I made the fatal mistake of not putting enough into our boats when going over the whirlpool. This, I think, started a downhill slide for me. The freaking whirlpool also screwed me over again later in the game. I'd tried to dock and let it pass me by, but it ended up being right on my square, and so it pushed me back when I came off shore.
Even so, with some opportunistic stealing I was able to acquire all but one of the gems I needed. Unfortunately, that last gem was pink, and *way* down the end of the board, near the falls. I didn't have the time to get there, anyway. Paul was collecting white gems (I think) and he was in an unstoppable position. He won the game (or shared the game with Don or John, perhaps). |
|
|
|
0 Comments
|
Posted On: 2007-09-17 12:58:07
Comment
|
|
|
|
|
Don had purchased Manila after played Steve's copy at the Fairfield County Meetup. The game itself is beautiful, full of "goober". Excellent production quality.
I can't recall the play by play, but I do recall getting totally hosed when I took the insurance all the 3 boats failed to make their destination. I'd made some poor decisions in the game, and honestly the only reason I ended up with like 60 points was because of a lucky pirate take. I'd also diversified my holdings rather than consolidating into 1 or 2 of the types of goods.
Don won this one handily, with points over 100. He pretty much spanked us all. Paul was doing fairly well, and John and Melissa and I were all near 60-70 I think.
There was an ongoing joke about the men (pictured to the left) and painting faces on them. I'd hum out the tune to "Hong Kong Fooey", and John got a kick out of that.
Don said the game would take like a half an hour, but it took 2 hours to play! No big deal, really. I was so tired at the end of the night. That happens to me on Friday nights sometimes, especially when I am up late during the week. |
|
|
|
1 Comment []
|
Posted On: 2007-09-17 13:05:57
Edited on: 2007-09-17 13:07:18
Comment
|
|
|
|
|
The next day, while John and Melissa were attending to dinner, Paul and Don and I got Fist of Dragonstones out. I'd played this once or maybe twice before, and I was less than enamored with it. I'd attributed this to playing it with 3 players, but I think perhaps it was due to the fact that the people I was playing it with weren't really gamers.
Paul and Don quickly made one point, and then Don made another and I got the twofer. So Don and I were sitting on two, and I've got 2 red stones and he had a couple of differently colored stones. One of the special cards that came up this round was one that gave you a point for two stones of a single color.
The bidding came up for the Witch and Don beat me for it by a coin. If we'd have tied I would have totally taken it from him, because I had way more silver coins than he did. Alas, this was the deciding factor for this game, because he acquired a third stone, and then bid over me (using all his resources) for the three different stones (I think) and a point.
It was rough losing that Witch, because I couldn't block him (and he could me!) and if I spent all my money taking something from him I couldn't use then I wouldn't have enough to take something I could use!
Anyway, I enjoyed this one much more than the other time(s) I'd played it. I don't think 3 players is a hindrance at all (though honestly I haven't played it with more yet and so can't really compare). |
|
|
|
1 Comment []
|
Posted On: 2007-09-17 13:10:46
Comment
|
|
|
|
|
I have the Front Porch Classics version of Liar's Dice called "Dudo". I actually purchased 2 copies of this while the B&N sale was on last year, and grabbed them both for like $7 each. I took the components from one box and put them in the second (which fit just fine), and now have an 8p version of the game in a sweet looking wooden box with a nice center cloth to put the dead dice on.
Melissa thought the game was called "Dildo" when she looked at the script on the box. I made some kind of humorous remark about the state of her mind and she threw something at me (a die?) and it bounced off my glasses (FTW!).
We played 2 or 3 times. In the first game John was sitting to my left, and got knocked out first. Then Melissa, and Don, and then it was Paul and I. I had like 4 of my dice and he had 1 or 2, but I still ended up having only one die at the end when I won.
The second game I did slightly less well. I think I got knocked out second or something. I think Don won this one, but I forget who exactly he was going against (I think it was John).
Everyone really enjoyed this game (as I do). And since we played one dice game, we decided to follow it up with another... |
|
|
|
1 Comment []
|
Posted On: 2007-09-17 13:19:01
Comment
|
|
|
|
|
Don had brought along "To Court the King", which he described as "Yahtzee with special powers". He taught us the game, and got cut out of the extra die in the first round. This proved to be harmful to him.
I was a die munching machine. I had accumulated the d:1, d:2, d:3, and d:6, then the Alchemist, and finally the General. So I had the base 3 die, + another 4, + the 2 for the general, for a total of 9 die. This was when I swooped in for the kill grabbing the King (and Queen!) with 8 sixes. Nobody else could even contest it. Paul had 8 dice, but he didn't have the 9th to beat me.
I enjoyed the game for the special powers. It suffers from the "very little player interaction" problem that Yahtzee itself does. Though the cards add some restraint, there's no meaningful way to block another player aside from taking the last of something.
It seems like a good gateway game, especially for the non-aggressive who don't like screwage in games and are already familiar with Yahtzee. |
|
|
|
0 Comments
|
Posted On: 2007-09-17 13:27:50
Edited on: 2007-09-17 13:28:10
Comment
|
|
|
|
|
Melissa has been wanting to play TTD for a while, so we busted out with that at her urging, as Paul had to leave after To Court the King. Don had never played before, and he'd never played Go before, so I think it was altogether a new experience for him in terms of the area enclosure mechanic.
So much happens in the game that I can't really give a meaningful play by play on this one. I was building an area down near my side of the board, extending it as far as I could with pink. Melissa was doing the same near her side of the board with pink as well. Guess which color ran out first? =) I pulled the trigger on that one, and claimed the longest pink too (though that was the only color I had longest on!) Don and John both had longest for 2 of the colors, and I think John won.
In some games, I'll do table talk like "Oh, look at what he's doing, you'd better block him!", but for some reason I like to let things lay during TTD (at least at present). John had exposed himself to Melissa a couple of times, and to Don as well. There was one time when John and I had exchanged glances, and I let my gaze slide meaningfully over to Don out of the corner of my eyes. Don could block John's move two ways, but one would thwart his own plans. Somehow we started talking about the move, and Don couldn't see it, and said "I could block him, but..." or something, and I was like "With which one?". John had his hand covering his mouth to stop from laughing. Don didn't see the second way he could block.
In the end, I think perhaps John won by a few points over Don. Melissa and I weren't all that far behind (well, I wasn't at least). Melissa didn't actually get any longest trains, and she had one large area and one small area enclosed.
There was a point in the game where I could block John from going and getting an oasis, *or* ensure that my caravan (my pink one that got my big area and longest pink) survived fairly unhindered. John, of course, saw it, and moved in his best interest (as I hoped he would) towards the oasis.
I forgot how much I like TTD. There's a lot happening on the board - almost too much! |
|
|
|
1 Comment []
|
Posted On: 2007-09-17 13:41:31
Comment
|
|
7.
Tichu [Average Rating:7.78 Overall Rank:34]
|
|
|
|
|
To finish up the night we decided to play Tichu. Melissa was hesitant, as the last time we played I'd made her cry. She was on my team, and it was the first time any of us had played. Me & Melissa vs John & Brenda (his mom). I'd called Tichu and she went out before me, and I'd exclaimed "What?!" and looked at her in disbelief. She chalks it up to my "yelling at her and making her cry". So there's some uneasy history with Tichu there.
Today, Melissa and I were playing on the same team again. She & I vs Don & John. The game was epic and I really enjoyed it, even though we lost horribly.
The first hand I'd called Tichu and blown it, and both Don & John went out before us. So we're at -100 and they're at 200. We played a few more hands, and before too long we're totally in the gutter and they're over 500. So I'm like "It's time for big tichu, baby!"
I think I played 6 grand tichu hands in a row. I won more than half of them. Melissa was throwing me her best cards (the Phoenix was the best). One time she tossed me the dog, which was a fatal mistake.
I can pretty clearly recall me having the phoenix on one of these grand tichu hands. I had a long, high run, an ace and the phoenix. I *foolishly* chose to play the phoenix in the run, thinking to extend it and lessen the likelyhood of another run by Don or John overtaking me. Don busts out with a bomb on me, and I lamented most grievously, pounding my hand on the table, staring at him in shock and cursing my own foolishness, vowing never to do that again. Don thought it was worth the price of admission just to see the look on my face when he dropped it. He got a good chuckle out of that one, surely.
Another time, John had the Mah Jong and wished for a card that totally ended up destroying my hand. They were wishing for point cards, like 5s (mostly) and 10s. Melissa got him back though, wishing for a Jake on him and crippling his run, no doubt.
It was an epic game of back and forth with me shooting grand tichu all the while. I think in retrospect we may have done better to just wait to kill their tichu calls (as more of an evener, since their points would go down), but I'm not sure we could have done it if Melissa wasn't passing me her good cards, so...
John would like to try Tichu cut-throat style, with every man for himself. I know that's how games with more players are played, but I bet we could do it with just 4 anyway. I like Tichu just the way it is.
There was one other thing that I did that I vowed never to do again. I can't remember what it was though.
"Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it," as the saying goes. |
|
|
|
1 Comment []
|
Posted On: 2007-09-17 13:56:39
Edited on: 2007-09-17 14:00:03
Comment
|
|
|
, ok so i was still way of, just tells us not to listen to my time frames. 
Posted On: 2007-09-20 10:36:41
