January 24, 2006 |
| Ricochet Robot |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Mike | 2 | 1 (Tie) | |
| Jamie | 2 | 1 (Tie) | * |
| Karla | 1 | 2 | |
| Scott | 0 | 3 | * |
Notes: I knew a bunch of people were still coming by, but as it was almost 7 we had to play something, so I opted for this little guy. Scott never quite got it, but Jamie made a couple of nice plays after I won the first two chips. Then we had 8 people and we broke up into two groups.
| Princes of Florence |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Mike | 50 | 1 | |
| Annie | 49 | 2 (Tie) | |
| Karla | 49 | 2 (Tie) | |
| Brian | 48 | 4 | * |
| Jim | 44 | 5 | * |
Notes: I've been eager to play this one for quite some time, but I haven't been able to pull it out either because of attendance numbers, or a complete lack of excitement for it. Tonight I pulled it out and thought Dan would leap at the chance, but he was stodgy and tired and acting kind of pillish. Undaunted I recruited Annie and Karla, then roped in Jim (partly because he was too lazy to leave the table), and then Brian jumped in, though as I explained the rules I could see him looking longingly at RoboRally.
When Rakesh and Lee showed up, though, that sealed the deal for Brian, as 6-player RoboRally is a thing to be avoided. I explained the rules as quickly as I could (which wasn't quickly enough for Karla), and then we finally started playing.
I had a goal of reaching at least 5 works, and no one really listened to me too hard when I encouraged them to make a work each round. I ended up getting the Jester, matched the freedom and scooped up a quick 8 point work, netting the 3 point bonus for best work.
After that I was seriously challenged. Karla went cuckoo crazy on Jesters, eventually ending up with three. She had a lot of Lake works, so she went for those. I spent the second round investing in new things, like Professional cards and buildings, and Annie and Brian also grabbed one while building a work each. Karla had the best work of the round and Jim was still work-less.
In the third round I made another work but couldn't claim best work, as Jim had the best work, standing on the foundations he had made the first two turns. Karla finally grabbed a Professional card, and we were all pretty knotted up around 12 or 15 points, with Jim finally catching up.
Things pretty much moved in a nice ebb and flow from here on out. Brian was the first one (in round 4 or 5) to make a big work and take a lot of points from it. He had more money than anyone else (he frequently went cheap in the auctions). Karla managed to get a Prestige card, as did Jim. There was some competition for Recruitment cards, and we all managed one except Karla over the final four rounds. Karla was lowest on money by the end, having used her works exclusively for points in turns 5 and 6, and as she had no cards left, she could do nothing (except match her prestige card) in the final round.
It was going to be tight down the stretch. Karla made a monster of a work in round 6, worth 26 points, which blew me away for first place. I saved up my Bonus cards (I had two) and then collected one more Prestige Card in the last round. Jim was pretty far back, but had a chance if things went perfectly. Annie was going to be close, and so was Brian.
Unfortunately, Annie's final work just barely scraped the 17 point barrier, and wasn't quite enough to knock me out. I thought that I could work my final prestige card (build 4 buildings and 2 landscapes) in, but I couldn't fit a tower or chapel into my palazzo anywhere! Had I done that I could have coasted to victory, but I was running low. If Jim's Bonus cards were better than mine...Gulp! I needed those 3 bonus points, as Karla had a Prestige Card and Annie had passed Brian for the lead with 49 points. I was still back in the early 30's.
My bonus cards got me up to 26 points, which beat Jim by one! The three point bonus and my one prestige card boosted me (barely) into first place. Jim's final push and prestige card got him up to 44. Had he tied me for the best final work, we all would have been in the 47 to 50 range.
In the end, Annie's works weren't quite good enough, though she received a lot of points for her extra builder and for building the most buildings. She didn't have a prestige card, though she did take best work once, I believe.
Brian probably should have spent more work value on points. He ended up with over 1500 florins, which was too much. Had he been more efficient on taking points, he probably would have won.
Karla just didn't plan quite right for the final turn, putting all her eggs in the turn 6 basket. Not building a work in turn 7 is a killer.
Jim started out a bit slow. A quick work in turn 1 or 2 and he would have pressured us a bit more.
I benefited from no one building a first turn work - a bit of a rookie error, I'd say - though I really had to fight the rest of the game. I always managed to get something useful in the auction (I think I ended up with one of everything by the end, which is a bit weird) and was kind of lucky in that the turns that I was determined to go for best work I managed to get it. Had I, though, gone before Karla did in turn 6 I might have used one of my bonus cards and not gotten best work in either turn 6 OR 7, and I would have lost. As it was, I settled for fewer points in turn 6 but managed the best victory in turn 7.
At the end I couldn't believe that Annie said that we should play this game more often. I thought I was the only one that liked it!
| RoboRally |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Scott (Twonky) | 3 | 1 | |
| Lee (Hammerbot) | 1 | 2 (Tie) | |
| Jamie (Zoombot) | 1 | 2 (Tie) | |
| Dan (Trundlebot) | 1 | 2 (Tie) | |
| Rakesh (Hulk X90) | 0 | 5 | |
Notes: I only caught the very end of this race, which officially didn't finish, but Scott was facing the flag and was one spot away, and I had to get everyone out of the house.
Dan seemed frustrated, and Jamie and Lee and Dan were in a three-some push fest at the end that really wasn't getting anyone to the second flag. Rakesh was severely damaged and spinning around getting zapped by lasers, then ultimately fell into a pit, much to his masochistic delight.
Scott was making slow progress, but he had fortunately been destroyed the previous turn after touching flag #2, and he had the event card that nullified the 2 points of damage on an immediate restart. He made good progress to the flag.
They only played one board, but it didn't look too bad in terms of time (though their game must have taken close to 1:45, as Princes of Florence did, though that included rules instructions). Seems like everyone's still bonkers for this one, though, as whenever I'm not at the table it seems like it gets pulled out.