AND we played games.
Game: Dante's Inferno
Players: Mike2, Sean, Kaylin, Fenwick, and TJ (replaced by Joe (replaced by Molly))
I thought this was a good one to start out a Halloween Game Day...
This is basically the "Settlers of Hell". Dice are rolled at the beginning of each turn, and 'resources' are made. In Dante's Inferno, the resources are things like Lust, Gluttony, and Violence. With these, you can move characters and buy new parts of hell.
First person to the deepest pit of hell and defeats Satan wins the game.
Molly tried to get the big man first, but failed.
Fenwick managed to get to him next and succeeded in defeating him for the win!
Game: Treehouse
Players: Molly, Mike2, TJ, Fenwick
This is a cute little time killer from the makers of Fluxx and Aquarius -- a couple games that come out on Game Days now and again.
It's rather simple -- each Player and "The House" have three pyramid-shaped pieces. They can nest and stack easily. Each piece can either be laying down pointing to the left or right, or upright (possibly in a stack). Each player is trying to make his/her pyramids look like the house.
Each turn, a player will roll a special die which tells the possible moves the player may do. The player MUST do a move, if possible. If impossible, that move may be done on The House. If neither of those is possible, or the player chooses not to mess with the House, the die is rolled again, repeating, as necessary, until a move is possible.
We all got within a move or two, but in the end...
TJ wins!
It's a rather pretty game -- the plastic bits are solid and come in nice colors. And the whole thing fits into nice sleeve that can basically fit in your pocket. This games bits are used in a whole series of games... I'll have to look at some of the others...
Game: Gimme the Brain!
Players: TJ, Mike2, Rich, Sean, Dave, Fenwick
Another good Halloween choice. I have always liked this game. I can't help but laugh whenever I play it. The text and pictures are quite hysterical.
The point of the game: each player represents a zombie worker in a fast food restaurant for the dead. Each player is dealt a hand of 7 cards which are basically his/her tasks to be completed. First person out of cards wins the game.
One little twist -- some tasks are harder than others, and require at least a brain to complete. The main problem with this: there is only one brain among you all. You'll probably need the brain at som point, and it is rarely easy to hold onto the darn thing.
Whenever a brain gets 'dropped', a bidding round begins -- winner picks up the brain and takes a turn.
There's not really a score -- first player out of cards wins the hand. Play until you want to do something else.
Fenwick wins hand 1.
Dave wins hand 2.
Game: Samurai
Players: TJ, Sean, Kaylin, Fenwick
Among my FAVORITE Reiner Knizia games. And I own a bunch. Actually it's one of my favorite games PERIOD. And, still, I own a bunch.
When Game Club first formed this was THE GAME. I think the first 6 or 7 meetings all featured a game of Samurai. It has everything I love best in a game -- GORGEOUS bits, scalable when playing with different amounts of players, strategy out the wazoo, random setup of the game each time, every decision is AGONIZING -- you know you're going to have to give up something to get something else, AND you can get through a full game in about 1/2 hour. This thing is glorious.
The only slight problem is the win conditions. Knizia always likes to throw in a little twist, AND likes to make sure people need to keep things balanced in the game. So it is in Samurai. If someone has a majority in 2 of the three possible areas, it's a win! That rarely happens, so then you have to dig into the half dozens 'tie breaking' sub conditions.
Of course, in this game we had to do that.
And, of course, Kaylin wins! (I say 'of course' because she kicked all our butts last time we played.)
Game: Citadels
Players: Rich, Sean, Ashlei, Nolan, Dave, Fenwick, Mike1, Mike2
From Samurai we move on to the game that rivals it in terms of my favorite. Citadels is a dreamy game in so many regards. See previous posts for descriptions of the game.
Unfortunately, as so often seems to happen during my favorite games, Sean, Ashlei, and Nolan all had to leave early, so we didn't get to finish...
ANother little note: I am amazed at how choreographed the "Long Live the King!" cheer has become! It was really impressive this time -- more than ever before.
Game: The Great Dalmuti
Players: TJ, Mike1, Fenwick, Dave, Rich, Erick, Ericka
This is another classic Game Club one. Simple, some strategy, and you get to stretch your legs between each hand! It's not my favorite, but I don't see me EVER turning down a game. The struggle for power is great fun. Watching the mighty fall is great fun. Saying "Isn't that a band?" whenever someone plays "Three Elevens" is great fun. OK, maybe not that part.
I didn't keep track of what positions were held each turn, but I do know: Ericka was the Dalmuti most.
Game: Settlers of Catan: Historical Scenario 1 - Alexander the Great
Players: TJ, Sean, Mike1, Fenwick
I had just picked the Settlers of Catan Historical Scenarios 1 expansion two days before game day. I was dying to play one of the two games included -- we decided to try the Alexander the Great version.Let's skip right to the conclusion: LOVED IT. It added gaming elements that REALLY moved the game along. I think it may have lasted longer that a 'standard' Settlers game, but it sure didn't feel like it. The game starts out giving you a resource card for free each turn (The call at the beginning of each turn to "Forage!" was fun.). To get settlements on the board, you have to bid for it. SOmetimes that can give you a real bargain in real estate, but sometimes, the market is hot and you have to pay way over what you normal would. The bidding system was really clever. And it is used to collect tokens related to Alex's journey through Eurasia...
The game ends when someone gets 14 points, or Alex makes to the end of his journey (he gets a cold and meets an untimely death -- too bad he didn't bring NyQuil or penicillin on his trip!).
The game ended before Alex croaked...
Scores:
Mike1 - 7
TJ - 9
Sean - 11
Fenwick - 14
Halloween Game Day was another great one...
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