Today's players:
Ashlei (pirate)
Fenwick (pirate)
Rachael (pirate)
Sam (ninja)
Sean (pirate)
TJ (ninja)
Small group. Big fun.
1:40 pm
War and Sheep
Players: Sean (p), Fenwick (p)
This a game I've had for a while. It's actually the original German version of the game, which is called "Molly & Lore". It's a game for 2 players. I've wanted to play it for a while, but we needed to figure out how to play! It looked kind of silly, but turned out to be pretty groovy.
Each of you have a flock of sheep, and you are trying to graze the most valuable plots of grass while avoiding being eaten by the wolves. Eating the most valuable grass will knock your sheep, while eating the least valuable gives you an action card to help you out in the game.
If your flock gets eaten, you lose immediately, but if you can both survive until the end, you compare the values of the grasses eaten... highest value wins!
Both of us made it to the end, Fenwick had 3 sheep left, Sean had 2. But the number of sheep means nothing -- it's all about the grass eaten!
Sean ate 27 points of grass. Fenwick had 23. Sean wins!
Cool game -- I see us pulling this out for a quick 2 player game regularly.
2:10 pm
King of the Beasts
Players: Sam (n), Sean (p), Fenwick (p)
This game always intrigues me... It's a Reiner Knizia game. And, as always in his games (mostly) timing is EVERYTHING. AND you have to give something away to get something in return.
It's a simple, quick game with painful decisions all along. It's almost too short to develop a good strategy, but it's quickness is definitely an attractive part of the game.
We played 3 rounds. Sean won EVERY one.
Final scores: Sean - 21, Sam - 14, Fenwick - 14.
2:30 pm
Quiddler
Players: Sam (n), Sean (p), Fenwick (p)
Quiddler. We play it. All the time. And here it is again.
We usually are very friendly playing this game -- helping each other out all along the way. But before we started, Sam declared that this would be a cutthroat version. No helping. Go out as soon as you can. We went with it...
It definitely makes for a quicker game. And a much more frustrating one.
After the 6-card hand, when Fenwick got ZERO points (we usually don't let someone have this fate, if we can help it), Sam threw his hands in the air and cheerily cried "Cutthroat!!"... it was quite funny.
Final scores: Sean - 252, Fenwick - 249, Sam - 188/
(Looks like Sean's having a good day.)
3:00 pm
Megalith
Players: Sam (n), Fenwick (p)
This is a two-player game that we'd never played before. Another Reiner Knizia (surprise!).
The bits are BEAUTIFUL as expected by the PIN games from Out of the Box -- all wood, finely crafted. And, also expected by this series: simple rules, clever strategies. And very Knizia-like, you need to play pieces with values to dominate lines on the board.
We played three rounds.
Sam won the first round.
In the second round, Sam also succeeded in winning.
BUT, IN THE THIRD ROUND.... Sam won once again.
Sam won 'em all.
Sam played the light pieces. This is how the board looked pretty much at the end of each game.
3:17 pm
Gang of Four
Players: Rachael (p), Sam (n), Sean (p), Fenwick (p)
This is a game Sean used to DESPISE, but he's coming around. I think it might be my (Fenwick) favorite 4 player card game ever. It's a lot like Tichu, but MUCH simpler and quicker. Possibly only Samurai beats it in my favorite 4 player games.
This was Rachael's first time playing, but the rest of us are veteran Gang of Four-ers. We tried to get her up to speed as much as possible, and then jumped in.
The full game went 11 hands. You are trying NOT to get points... first person to 100 triggers the end of game. At that point whomever has the least wins.
I think Sam played this straight...
Rachael won the first hand! But, alas, that was her last. Fenwick won 3 hands, Sam won 3, and Sean won FIVE. But it was not about winning the hands, it was about having less cards as much as possible...
A "Gang of Four" (four of a kind) is kind of rare. Maybe one or two in a hand. We had one hand that hand SIX GANGS OF FOUR played one on top of another. SIX. It was ridiculous.
Endgame scores: Sam - 37. Sean - 45. Fenwick - 62. Rachael - 105.
Sam wins!
4:25 pm
TransAmerica
Players: Sam (n), Sean (p), Fenwick (p)
Another classic Game Club entry.... TransAmerica got pulled out.
The game only lasted 3 rounds...
Rachael went off the board while Sam still had 8 points, and Sean had TEN.
Sean wins!
5:05 pm
Caratagena
Players: Sean (p), Ashlei (p), TJ (n), Fenwick (p)
TJ came! Our exalted President actually made it to a meeting!! At about the same time, Ashlei got there. AND Sam and Rachael had to go.
Hey look! It's Sean's arm!!
So, we were back to 4 players.
Cartagena is a good, quick, strategic one. And it's about pirates!
Ashlei picks a card to play.
Sean got all 6 of his guys onto the escape boat first! Fenwick had 4 on board, Ashlei had 3, and TJ had 2. ALSO, TJ's other 4 guys were behind EVERYONE else on the board.
Not surprising -- he's a NINJA.
Sean wins AGAIN.
The boat sails away in the distance. Look at all TJ's red dudes lagging behind... and he calls himself a PIRATE. Oh, wait. No he doesn't. He's a ninja.
5:40 pm
Shear Panic
Players: Sean (p), Ashlei (p), TJ (n), Fenwick (p)
We've had this one for a while, but have been itching to get the opportunity to play it. We finally had the right group together...
Roger Ram is getting a little busy with the sheep in the front.
In terms of bits, this thing is EXTRAORDINARY. Molded sheep on wooden bases. It's very satisfying. We kept banging into the score board, and knocking our bits off our individual move counter boards, so that was slightly annoying, but really, it's put together well. We realized at the end we were using the WRONG score sheet, so we played a shorter game than we should have, but it managed to give us the concept of the game.
The game goes through 4 phases, the last of which is the SHEARING of the sheep, and some sheep get eliminated. Ashlei was unhappy to be COMPLETELY shorn off the game by TJ. So she was cut out of the last couple moves of the game.
Waiting to be sheared... waiting to be sheared.
Final scores: Sean - 33. TJ - 29. Fenwick - 26. Ashlei - 24.
Summer is almost over... Our big game days will be back soon! Even though it was small, we played some new games, and some classics... a good day, indeed.
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