Gaming in May

May was a bit of a down month (as was April, at least compared to the first quarter of 2010) as far as my gaming was concerned. The month featured a couple of big gatherings for party games, one at my brother-in-law's place in Vermont, and the other here at the Todd Residence. The former consisted of a big game of Time's Up won by the Mrs. and Emily, a couple of games of Ca$h'N Gun$ (the Mrs. and Mike the two winners), and a three player session of Ghost Stories in which Tom, Emily, and I emerged victorious (despite playing on Nightmare difficulty) The latter game night featured a nine player game of Pit (which I didn't realize until mid-game is actually only an eight-player game), and another session of Time's Up, this time with three teams of three. I liked the 3x3 configuration for this one, and amazingly enough the game ended in a three way tie at 40 points each!

The Mrs. and I had another couple over with their son to play games. After one big game of Dixit, the grown-ups attempted a play of Ghost Stories, but we had to cut it short due to lateness of hour.

The Mrs. and I played a couple of games while we were visiting my Mom's and we couldn't manage to recruit my sometimes lame gaming family to play anything. One was Ghost Stories on Nightmare which we lost in epic fashion, and my latest expansion for Carcassonne (Abbey & Mayor...thanks darling!), which the Mrs. won by a landslide.

I did manage to keep up a weekly online game throughout the month, so that is a big positive. At various times myself, Tom, Ben, Trevor, and Toph all participated. Most frequent game played in May was Puerto Rico, which I'm really loving despite really not being very good at it at all, followed by Pandemic. Everyone seems to be enjoying both games and I look forward to delving further into those two and adding to the variety as we continue our weekly meetup.

My final bit of gaming in May is my return to Magic: the Gathering. I played a fair amount about a year ago when Shards of Alara, Conflux, and Alara Reborn were the newest sets, and I built a couple of decks. Now I have the full Zendikar block to play with and there seems to be some pretty fun stuff in there.

I haven't had much of an opportunity to play yet, mostly I've been tossing around ideas and trying to come up with a fun standard deck to play, and I've been trying to sell off the more valuable of my standard legal cards before they rotate out and lose value. Really one of the tricks to maintaining the value of one's collection in Magic is to try to sell or trade cards while they still hold strong value, and acquire others that are either older and are poised to better maintain price, or are brand new and will be tournament legal for another year or two. I have certainly sold some cards I would rather keep this time around, but I can always reacquire them a year down the road once they're a lot cheaper.

Besides building a new deck for standard tournament play I've been working on two EDH (Elder Dragon Highlander) decks. This is a format that I love (from very limited play, of course, but I love the idea!), and it tends to be a very inexpensive format to play. Because of this I'm able to maximize the play value of my limited card pool and can convert a few expensive cards into a decent stack of EDH staples.

Looking forward to June, I intend to play a bunch of magic, continue my weekly online board game night, and get to playing a whole lot more strategy board games! Also, perhaps I'll write a little more often in this ol' blog. My fan is demanding higher output, so I'll try to write just a little bit more than I have these last couple of months...

Gaming in Vermont

The family and I spent a largely sick extended weekend in VT, but did get a few games in anyway.

Ca$h'n Gun$

We weren't sure how Ca$h'n Gun$ would go over with my Quaker aunt and uncle, but decided to try it out. Game one featured five players and no super powers, as most of the participants were new to the game. Shockingly, I pulled out the victory! (My first at the game, I believe!) My brother Ben joined us for game two, bringing us up to a full compliment of six, and we added the super powers.

The most notable moment in the game was, I believe, round five, when there were about 15 bills on the table due to one impossible split-up, and one grenade detonation. Tara and I were the two that survived to collect that huge pot (although Ned could have used his super power to get a share as well if not for his misunderstanding of the timing of the power), and thus we had targets on our heads the remainder of the game. Everyone still felt I was probably the leader after round eight, but Darlene tied my final score and won since she had no shame markers to my three...

We also played Ca$h'n Gun$ with Tom & Emily, and despite only being a four player game it was still quite fun. We taught the game using two sample rounds with random bullet cards to introduce the basics, then read all the super powers out loud and jumped into the full game.

I like the two sample round teaching technique followed by the addition of super powers. There has been some confusion about the difference between phases and rounds and about when exactly super powers are to be used--I'll have to spend a little more time detailing those situations in the future.

Ghost Stories

After our play of Ca$h'n Gun$ the four of us jumped into a game of normal difficulty Ghost Stories. Emily was the only new player, so for the most part we taught as we progressed through the game. We kept up with the ghosts fairly well early, but as we neared Wu-Feng we were really overwhelmed by ghosts, having a completely full board for several turns before he arrived. We were able to free up a couple of spots, and the incarnation that appeared was Creeping Horror (4 green resistance, steals a die when he comes into play).

Emily happened to have two green tao tokens so she moved in front of him intending to set up another monk to take him down. She might as well take a shot herself, however, since she was right there, but she needed to roll greens on both remaining dice to pull off the victory. It was the perfect roll--two greens, high fives all around, and the win! I like the idea of moving up to Hell difficulty, but I don't know that we're quite ready for it--we do seem to be winning a high percentage of games at Normal, but the finishes always seem tight.

Time's Up: Title Recall

Later in the day we changed venues and added a couple of players: Mike and Sue. Time's Up was the game and though she and I did lose a match as a team the last time we played, the Mrs. is still the best single player at the game that I know. Thus it should come as no surprise that she and Sue took this one home, though Tom & Emily started to gain some ground in the later rounds. Ca$h'n Gun$ may be just as fun as this one at times, but nothing beats the Time's Up experience. Having to switch gears and be more creative as the rounds go by in the game really make for a rich experience, and one that I like to get to during any party game get together.

Session Report: My Week in Games

I must admit that it's pretty amazing that I need to consolidate a week's worth of session reports in one post because I'm simply playing so many games!

Games played this week:

• Dominion (6 plays) I played Dominion with all sorts of people this week. I played one teaching game with Abby, two simultaneous games teaching several new players, a pair of 2-player games with Dave, and yet another simultaneous session in which we broke out a few of the Intrigue cards. I'm loving this game, but still feel as if my handle on strategy is fairly weak. I won two of the five games I played other than the one with Abby. The two games at one table system seems to work fairly well, though it has yet to play out quite how I expected. As players get more games under their belts and play proceeds more quickly, I envision games ending, players shuffling between the two groups, and then card sets switched out as desired. In this way players will get so see a variety of different cards and play against a number of different opponents over the course of an evening.
  
• Wits & Wagers (2 plays) This one is fun and quick, and I'm glad I've been able to work in a couple plays of the game. I'm reminded, however, that it is very light.
  
• Pandemic (2 plays) I recorded one play with Abby (our second game overall), and though she gets all the basic mechanics, much of the strategy is still over her head--perhaps not the best choice with her yet. Also, the Mrs. and I taught the game to a couple during their second night over for games. They enjoyed it for the most part but will probably get a better grasp on more advanced strategy in subsequent plays.
  
• Race for the Galaxy (2 plays) Still loving this one despite Dave beating me in all three of the games I've played with him so far. Maybe I'm just not good at this one! So many hard decisions here to be made every turn--both in which cards to play and which to spend, and then which actions to select each round. I feel as if I have a much firmer grasp on the former, and not so much on the latter.
  
• Time's Up: Title Recall (1 play) Best party game ever! Can't get enough of this one, it's the centerpiece of every party game evening we host. We have never, to my knowledge, played two games of this back to back, however, perhaps because it's a little longer than the other party games we own.
  
• Cluzzle (1 play) I enjoyed my play of this on Friday. I respect the idea, the creativity, and the game system here, though I am pretty horrible at the game. I finished in last place. Again. Others I've played it with also seem a little lukewarm here despite doing significantly better in the final standings. Cluzzle still needs a few more plays before I can really decide what I think.
  
• Ca$h'n Gun$ (1 play) Really enjoying this one since we added the super powers, although I'm not entirely sure that someone's super power has ever actually tipped the game in their favor yet in our plays. I'll have to pay attention to that the next time we bring it to the table. I need to run the undercover cop variant soon, but feel as if we should try the super powers a few more times first.
  
• Say Anything (1 play) This one was fun as always--lots of laughter paired with creative answers. Say Anything is an excellent social game, especially with 6-8 players.
  
• Ghost Stories (1 play) Our one play of this one was late in the evening, with many distractions and a little too much booze so it dragged a little. Ghost Stories really requires you to be almost fully lucid to make the most of it. We've played the last couple games on Normal difficulty (two on a scale of four, four being hardest), and that seems fairly appropriate. The next level, Hell, seems like it is going to be a decent hike in difficulty and we're not quite there yet, methinks!
  
• Cheese Snatching (1 play) The cute and quick little push your luck kids game is still a favorite of mine (and the kiddos too!), and we played it yesterday before bedtime. Lincoln took this one 16 points to Abby's 14 and my 12. Apparently this is another one that I'm just not cut out for!
  

Well that's the last seven days in games. The coming week will probably be a little lighter game-wise since we'll be visiting family in Vermont and there will probably be fewer people looking to play games. I may aim for a gathering to get some party games to the table, however, with the family.

My Top 4 Party Games

So I've been thinking of writing a series of 'top 10' posts, with the only catch being that I don't own or play enough games to be able to come up with a list of 10 for any particular category. Until I can remedy that minor detail, I'm thinking some lists of four might just do the trick (perhaps this means I'm currently operating at 40% of board game capacity?)


For My First List...Party Games!

I would classify most of the games I play and enjoy into two distinct categories: strategy games and party games. Some examples of popular games that would fit this mold: Strategy--Monopoly, Risk; Party--Cranium, Balderdash. Though I've felt in recent years that I lean heavily in favor of the strategy end of the gaming spectrum, recently I've been engaged by a handful of stand out party games. In no particular order:

• Wits & Wagers The trivia game with a twist--you don't actually need to know any trivia to either win or have a great time! In Wits & Wagers you don't receive points by giving the correct answer, but rather by wagering poker chips on the answer you think is closest to the correct one. The game is quick, light, and a lot of fun. It can handle up to 7 individual players but also works well with teams so pretty much any number can join in the fun.
• Ca$h'n Gun$ Right out of the box this game seems like it must be a blast to play--it comes loaded with six orange foam pistols. Each player takes on the role of a gangster and takes turns pointing their weapons at each other attempting to be one of the last one standing and thus earning a share of the loot. Everyone who survives eight rounds of mayhem counts up their total haul and the richest player wins! I was lukewarm on this one at first, but now that we've started playing with the more advanced rules (each gangster gets a super power: a secret special ability that will influence who they shoot and how they act) that add a much needed layer of intrigue to the game.
• Say Anything If you've ever played Apples to Apples, this is somewhat similar but far more interesting. Players take turns drawing a card and reading one of the six questions listed, such as "In my opinion...If I could have a "BIG" anything, what would it be?" Each other player quickly writes an answer to that question, aiming to appeal to the active player's personality in such a way that their answer will be chosen. Players receive points if their answer is the one picked as the best, but there is also a betting mechanism that rewards players for being able to judge which of the given answers will be chosen. Like Ca$h'n Gun$, Say Anything is a game that needs to be played in a very lighthearted manner--it's important not to agonize too much over your answers, just write down the first thing that pops into your head and go with it, no matter how crazy (or dirty...as the case usually is!)
• Time's Up: Title Recall My favorite game of the bunch, this one is an amazing experience. Somewhat of a combination of Taboo and Charades, Time's Up forces players to communicate with their partners as the rules for what you are allowed to say and do change each round, moving from being able to say anything except the words on your card as hints, to the final round where no verbal clues are allowed at all. As the rules get more restrictive, players have to find more creative ways to hint at the answers on their cards. An amusing misleading clue in an early round can morph into a very useful hint in later rounds--and hilarity almost always ensues! Time's Up is one of the most interactive and creative game experiences I've ever had, and it is always fun to play. The only downside to this game is that younger players who don't have a large knowledge pool may have a tough time playing, as will anyone who is very reserved and isn't willing to get a little crazy or creative to get their message across.

Recent Gaming

Two weeks ago was Vegas Week when the Mrs. left me to my own devices. (My devices, in this case, were board games apparently!) Last week was mostly concerned with catching up on life and relaxing a bit, and thus almost completely devoid of games. This week threw us once again into a whirlwind of game nights--in some ways perhaps too many, but I refuse to complain about playing too many board games! What follows is a quick rundown of my last six days of board game mayhem:

• I taught Abby Pandemic on Sunday. She was the dispatcher and I the scientist. Unfortunately the player cards didn't really fall our way and two consecutive epidemics spelled our doom.
• Monday brought David (back from Italy), and Stacey over for a play of Agricola. Nobody really seemed to have their heads in the game and it was a little slow going at first. I made a couple poor decisions early that made it difficult to compete later on. David finished in first place this time with the Mrs. two points behind.
• On Tuesday the Mrs. had evening commitments so I taught Abby and Lincoln Wasabi, a game that Abby had been asking to play pretty much since I bought it last year! My opinion on this one has been steadily on the rise, which may or may not be related to some recent victories... The trick here is to adopt the style of play that best suits the depth of the game. Wasabi must be played at a brisk pace--if the game bogs down with too much analyzing, the fun really drains out of the game.
• Wednesday brought Stacey, Monica, Wannie, Theo, and Ana. Though I had originally envisioned a strategy game night, this one ended up with too many players, putting us into the realm of party games. Theo had been requesting Cluzzle the last couple times she'd been over so we opened that box for the first time, with Sarah and Wannie becoming a team to cut the group down to the required six players. The game was fun, but both my sculpting and question asking/sculpture guessing left much to be desired and I finished in dead last. Cluzzle awaits further plays before I'll pass judgment.
• Thursday has been Zachary night of late and this week was no exception. He, the Mrs. and I played our first game of Ghost Stories in a few weeks, bumping the difficulty up from initiation to normal due to a couple of victories in our last games. This one didn't play out very well with the ghosts pushing us pretty hard most of the game. We did make it to Wu Feng's appearance, but only had one 'hail mary' shot at his defeat before succumbing to certain doom... The Mrs. retired for the evening and Zachary pondered which of my many games he'd like to learn this evening. Dominion was the final choice, and seemingly a wise one, since we had a lot of fun. We played the base game with the 'first game' recommended kingdom cards. Zachary caught on very quickly and ended only three points behind my lead at game's end. I definitely need to get this one to the table more often, as it is a quick play but still with lots of strategy and variation.
• Last night brought Chris 'Bucky,' Jessica 'Joy Luck Club,' Stacey, and Ivan 'Mr. Shuffles.' We played our first game of Ca$h'N Gun$ with the super powers and had an absolute blast! I'd been a little lukewarm on the game up to this point, enjoying it enough in principle, but never really loving it. I loved this play! Super powers lend much interest and strategy to the game, but somehow the result was the same--Jessica was our winner. We followed with an amazing game of Time's Up: Title Recall (of course, almost every game of this one is a winner). The Mrs. and I were on the same Time's Up team for the first time, and ended up winning, though all three teams were excellent. Sometimes I feel this game works better with 8 or 10, but this session with six will be hard to beat.

This has really been a fabulous week for board games, and has me looking forward to the next one!

When the Mrs. Goes Away: RftG, Party Games, BSW

Race for the Galaxy (Thursday)

I taught David the game on Thursday, and it occurred to me that I'm really not very good at game explanation! I felt like I chose a very poor route to describing the game and realize now that I need to start coming up with a game plan before teaching any game. Luckily, David knows his board games and was able to stumble through the weak explanation and manage to learn the game well enough to beat me despite this being perhaps my 7th or 8th play to his 1st...

This experience also makes me wonder if I may let my guard down when teaching games. David also beat me in our first game of Agricola, though I suppose that was his second game overall, just his first in a year or two.

Race for the Galaxy is a space themed card game that uses similar mechanics to the legendary Puerto Rico board game--namely, that each player chooses a particular role at the start of the turn to determine which actual game phases occur that turn. For instance, if no one chooses the 'Settle' card, then the Settle phase doesn't happen this turn, and no one will have the chance to settle a new world.

Race involves lots of strategy, but is fairly quick playing. The cards are marked with a system of icons that take a little time getting used to, and the game explanation is a bit lengthy, but thus far I've been very impressed with the game and would love to start playing it more often.

Party Games (Friday)

We had a five person group over for more light-hearted games on Friday night. The glaring omission here would be Time's Up, which we still haven't managed to get to the table in 2010, though we love it so! The fact we had an odd number of players dissuaded us here, though there is a five player variant in the rules that we will have to try sometime.

• Ca$h'N Gun$ People do seem to enjoy this one, though we have still only played with the basic rules which really do not interest me very much. Certainly next time we play we'll have to move up to one of the more advanced variants, either the one with the specialized player powers or the 'one of us is a cop' version.
• Dixit I have enjoyed this game every time I've played it, but I'm still not fully sold. Dixit is creative, which I like, but it seems a little too subdued to be considered a party game. Not sure what niche it will ultimately fill, but I hope it does find a place because there is some potential here. Currently, however, I would reach for Time's Up, Say Anything, or Wits & Wagers before Dixit.
• Dancing Eggs The kids' game that works better for grown ups made an appearance at the end of the night because it is just so simple to explain and quick to play. I even won this one because Sarah wasn't present and she always wins! The game is fun enough that I won't turn it down when people want to play it, but I certainly wouldn't suggest it myself...

Carcassonne (on BrettSpielWelt, Tuesday)

I've been playing a lot of Carcassonne lately, both in person with Abby and online with the likes of Ben, Trevor, and Tom. This session was with Ben and we played two games, each of us winning one of them. I really like the idea of playing this one online, but unfortunately it is hampered by the inability of players to look at their next tile during the downtime when other players are taking their turns. In face to face Carc this really helps the game move along at a brisk pace since you can plan most of your strategy between turns.

Pandemic (on BrettSpielWelt, Wednesday)

We've hit a bit of a rough patch with Pandemic as of late, probably because we haven't been playing it much recently. This time we played on Legendary difficulty (7 epidemics), players were Tom (Dispatcher), Trevor (Containment Specialist), and myself (Researcher). We were doing a pretty good job at keeping the diseases down, I dished cards to others to get the cures and we were able to construct several research stations. In the end we were two turns from victory when back to back epidemics hit and the second one landed in a city with a cube already in it next to a 3-cube city. Red ended with -15 cubes and we had probably 15 outbreaks as well...

Well, that just about does it for my week of gaming: 7 straight days of board games that helped me pass the time until my love returned from Las Vegas. Not mentioned were a number of games I played with the kids including Yahtzee, Heroscape, and Carcassonne: the Castle, all of which we enjoyed immensely. Here's to many more games in 2010!