January 14, 2006 |
| 6 Nimmt! |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Jamie | 24 | 1 | |
| Amanda | 27 | 2 | |
| Mike | 48 | 3 | |
| Karla | 54 | 4 | |
| Howard | 56 | 5 | |
| Rakesh | 96 | 6 | |
Notes: It had been a while since we played this one, and as I hadn't really brought a good, quick 6 player game, I agreed with Jamie when he thought this one would be a good idea.
I started off impeccably, dodging cards left and right and built myself a small little lead. Rakesh and Howard kept getting stuck with the cards. First round scores:
Mike: 0 points
Jamie: 7 points
Karla: 8 points
Amanda: 10 points
Rakesh: 19 points
Howard: 25 points
In the next round, Amanda, Jamie, and Howard excelled, and I slipped up, getting hit with a big row in the last round. I had a weird set of cards. Two cards that were 98+ and the rest were 33 and lower. I had low card a couple times and took rows, but ended up getting hit at the end of the round. Second round scores:
Amanda: 11
Jamie: 12
Mike: 15
Karla: 28
Howard: 31
Rakesh: 41
In the third round I continued to slip, getting the 6th card on a couple of big rows. Those were my only slip ups, and everyone hit double digits this round except Jamie, who was getting free looks at Howard's cards, which I suspect helped him in this game. Third round scores:
Jamie: 13
Amanda: 21
Mike: 29
Karla: 39
Howard: 47
Rakesh: 65
Rakesh was one point away from ending the game, so we all had a final chance to catch Jamie. He kept avoiding disaster, though, picking odd cards and still escaping without getting slammed. He must have laid the 5th card in a row about 3 or 4 times in this one. I was hit in the middle, killing all my chances, and I happened to hose Amanda at one point. Jamie finally took cards on the last play, but they only totaled 11 points, and he held on to beat a charging Amanda by 3.
| Santiago |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Mike | 103 | 1 | |
| Jamie | 89 | 2 (Tie) | * |
| Amanda | 89 | 2 (Tie) | * |
| Rakesh | 66 | 4 | * |
| Karla | 65 | 5 | |
Notes: As Howard ducked out to make cookies, I pulled out my favorite 5-player game of 2005, Santiago. I explained the rules over a vociferous Jamie and dancy Karla. The game took about two hours, due in good part to Karla and Jamie paying about 50% attention. Over the last three rounds, though, they really bore down and paid maximum attention (in part because Jamie had a decent shot of winning), and the game went really quickly.
There were a lot of big plantations in this one. There were size 9 peppers and beans, a size 5 sugar cane, and a size 6 banana, along with a size 4 potato. Rakesh was often in a position of having to bid first or second, and usually tried to compete with the folks coming down the line. He really didn't want to be the canal overseer, and only had it once. Amanda was overseer early, and big bribes gave her a lot of early cash. She ended up spending all that cash on the banana plantation (which was almost entirely hers), and she was in good shape to win the game.
I had a nice mix of stuff. I had a hand in the potato field, I was making the most (by far) in the peppers, and I was in on the beans. I wasn't getting any sugar cane or banana money, but I was collecting good amounts as the overseer.
Rakesh made a bit of a run, getting his potato field expanded late (eventually worth 28 escudos) and getting some action on the pepper field. He also was the last one to play his emergency canal and did so on the last turn to gather about 30 escudos on a sugarcane field.
Karla wasn't paying too much attention, and it showed, though she did get some bean money and some pepper money.
Jamie was in great shape, and my last turn I had to hose him, otherwise I would have given him about 20 escudos. Amanda was upset because she saw it as hosing her, but it was a move done to hose Jamie more. Amanda would have had about 4 more escudos, but Jamie would have had - as I said - between 10 and 20. I might have lost making the wrong move (but I was offered more escudos to make the wrong move, so I probably was fine either way).
As I was overseer the last turn, I dictated the last canal (as can probably be inferred), and I took less money to avoid giving Jamie and Amanda more money. A few turns earlier, I paid for my own canal (thanks to everyone being cheap) and I forced Amanda to use her emergency canal to keep her banana fields at maximum pointage (pointage?), which may have aided my victory down the road.
In the end, it was a fun game with some tough moments.
| Tsuro |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Scott | Still Alive | 1 | |
| Jamie | 5th out | 2 | * |
| Mike | 4th out | 3 | |
| Rakesh | Smacked into Amanda | 4 (Tie) | * |
| Amanda | Smacked into Rakesh | 4 (Tie) | * |
| Karla | 1st out | 6 | |
Notes: With Scott back in the mix, we were up to 6 again, and I didn't have a good six player game, as Alhambra gets a bit overwhelming with six and Shadows of Camelot takes a while. Scott volunteered the quick and clever Tsuro and we were off, Amanda and Rakesh still in tow, and though Howard didn't play, he enjoyed watching Jamie take 2nd.
| Tsuro |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Scott | Still Alive | 1 | |
| Karla | 5th out | 2 | |
| Jamie | 3rd out (with Amanda) | 3 (Tie) | |
| Amanda | 3rd out (with Jamie) | 3 (Tie) | |
| Rakesh | 1st out (with Mike) | 5 (Tie) | |
| Mike | 1st out (with Rakesh) | 5 (Tie) | |
Notes: Scott wins again. My strategy of staying in a windy, twisty corner didn't work. This game usually results in you putting yourself at anothers mercy, and the cards didn't help me out. My practice in Metro doesn't help, as that's a different sort of game. So I need to go about this one a different way. It seems Scott knows the way...
| Edel, Stein & Reich |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Mike | $97 Million | 1 | |
| Jamie | $73 Million | 2 | * |
| Karla | $72 Million | 3 | |
| Scott | $68 Million | 4 | |
Notes: With everyone wearing out, but willing to play one more, I picked this excellent game. Everybody took to it really well, and it (as always) was a ton of fun.
In the first round, Scott and Jamie had a big fight for rubies, and Karla just edged me out (on the last turn) for topaz. I did manage to get the emeralds, but Scott's lead in sapphires kept him in good stead. I did tie with him as well in Contracts. First round scores:
Jamie: $35 Million
Scott: $33 Million
Karla: $32 Million
Mike: $26 Million
In the second round, a few triple-bids cost Scott, Jamie, and Karla, enabling me to pass them by. I also managed to grab the topaz lead, and I allowed the Contract bonus to go to Scott but the the minor bonus to go to me. Karla hosed everyone (especially Scott and Jamie) by taking the event card that made everyone give up half their gems (which, for some reason, we were pronouncing with a hard "g"). Karla only had 3 or 4 topaz, so she had to get that card to give her a chance.
At the end of the round, I made a nice advance, though Scott managed to tie me for sapphires late. He, Jamie and I tied for rubies, Jamie (or Karla) won emeralds, and I won topaz (but lost half). I was in excellent shape:
Scott: $58 Million
Mike: $56 Million
Jamie: $52 Million
Karla: $48 Million
A close game, but I had about twice as many gems as anybody else, and no one had any sapphires. In the third round, Jamie and Scott and Karla again fought for rubies allowing me to get a few easy things, like $4 and $5 million cash grabs. I also managed to get first in sapphires and emeralds. There was a three-way tie for contracts (one apiece among Scott, Jamie, and me), and Scott was hosed out of most rubies thanks to being short on gems to bid with over the last few turns. He ended up being passed in rubies despite a valiant effort and only managed the contracts money.
My big advantage in two gems plus the contract bonus plus having about 3 or 4 turns of getting the money unopposed rocketed me to a $24 million victory.
This is a slick, fun game, and everyone enjoyed it, though Scott's strong position was torn apart by the end.