August 23, 2005 |
Only Lee made it to Game Night tonight, though I was assured by Scott, Dan, and Jim that they will be able to make it in the future. Karla wanted an early bedtime, so we timed everything to wrap up at 9pm on the nose.
| Boy Meets Girl: A Tragedy |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Karla | 33 | 1 | |
| Lee | 31 | 2 | * |
| Mike | 25 | 3 | |
Notes: Karla wanted to play the game she won at Gencon, which is a very nice game for a starter. I was Louis the fratboy going out with Inga the immigrant factory worker. Lee was Avery the Ice Cream Truck Driver. Karla was the busboy Fabrizio and dated Janet/RAGE!
The two of them teamed up on me in the first round, and I ended up having a fantastic date, one that implied getting some action. Karla had pretty bad date and ended up in a solid first, ahead 19 beers to Lee's 13 to my 0.
I had a kind of bad second date, though Lee made a late round switch that cost me 9 beers. That card saved his ass and kept him in the game. Karla still led 31 to Lee's 18 to my 7.
In the last round, Lee and I really teamed up and hosed Karla pretty bad, making her date better and better. In fact, if Karla hadn't played a "Must play two Dawning Horrors" card, she would have been in a tie with Lee. As it was, my furious comeback fell short and Karla was bought the most beers by her friends.
| Goldland |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Lee | 23 | 1 | * |
| Mike | 20 | 2 (Tie) | * |
| Karla | 20 | 2 (Tie) | * |
Notes: Since it looked like only Lee was going to make it, I pulled out Goldland for its first play. I heard it plays better with fewer, as there may be some downtime issues. Still, we got 'er rolling pretty good right away and Karla wasn't too overwhelmed by the rules.
I took one side and Lee and Karla the other. Karla's B-line for the amulet was going really well until she reached a bandit and then a second desert. She really flipped over a lot of adventure-less tiles.
Lee crossed a canyon first and ultimately managed to be the first to appease the natives and kill the panther. He and I also dug up a lot of treasures along the way, 3 and 4 apiece. Karla didn't grab one until later, when she already had an amulet and just was trying to fluff up her score.
I had the Bandit and Chasm markers and on my last turn I took the lake marker away from Karla, leaving her with only the desert marker. I never did get an amulet - the cost was absolutely prohibitive - so I focused on adventures that would net me gold and digging up treasure.
In the end, my last round taking away of Karla's Lake tile cost her a tie for first. My treasure digging made my score respectable, but the fact that Lee got 3 treasures AND managed to get an amulet before time expired managed him the victory, especially since he was the first to kill the cat, which is worth 5 gold.
I thought it was pretty fun, tactical, and smooth, but Lee felt it was a bit too lucky. I sort of agree. You probably need to get the amulet to have a chance of winning, but I'd like to play a few more times to be sure.
| Samurai |
| Results | |||||
| Player | Buddhas | High Hats | Rice | Place | First Time? |
| Mike | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | |
| Lee | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | * |
| Karla | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
Notes: We had about 35-40 minutes until nine o'clock, and Karla was beginning to fade, so I went with Samurai over the offerings of 6 Nimmt! I set it up quickly and explained the rules, and everything went well. Lee caught on really fast and the game went smoothly.
Karla was quiet early on while Lee and I tussled over some early Buddhas. I was a bit dismayed that Karla was getting things without a fight and so I brought attentiont to her solitude. Still, I had to get things going by stealing a High Hat from under her nose, then Lee made sure to focus on both of us equally.
Karla still had some nice foundations and spent time gaining stuff on the mainland, leaving a couple guaranteed victories alone until later. But then I made a run, as I really surrounded the towns around Edo and ensured a host of High Hats and Rice. Still, Karla managed to threaten me a bit, and although I scooped up some more Rice, she took a Buddha and High Hat from me. Lee also deprived me of a Buddha. Still, I took one last High Hat (just to be sure) and watched Lee and Karla helplessly play their last two tiles in a way that led to two Rice victories for me, a Buddha for Lee, and another Buddha tie.
I felt good about my chances as Karla really slowed down after an early push, and sure enough, I had majorities in two regions, while Karla was too spread out. It was my first victory in several tries.
Tonight was mellow but fun. I think Tuesdays will work out just fine.