December 20, 2005 |
Trias |
Results | |||
Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
Lee (Squash Bot) | 2 flags | 1 | * |
Mike (Hammer Bot) | 1 flag | 2 (Tie) | |
Dan (Trundle Bot) | 1 flag | 2 (Tie) | * |
Brian (Spin Bot) | 1 flag | 2 (Tie) | * |
Karla (Zoom Bot) | 1 flag | 2 (Tie) | |
Scott (Twonky) | 1 flag | 2 (Tie) | * |
Annie (Twitch) | 1 flag | 2 (Tie) | * |
Notes: I had just gotten this bad boy for Christmas and was really eager to play it. I thought it might be crazy with 7 folks, but I didn't think it would be too bad, especially when I chose the easiest map I could find. It still took about two hours, but was definitely a palatable investment.
There were, in essence, two groups of us. There was the fast group, highlighted by Karla and Dan and Brian, and the slow group, among them Mike, Lee, Annie, and Scott.
Dan's Trundle Bot careened over the first flag in the first or second turn, then spent the rest of the game making bad turns and running into walls and getting pushed just out of range of the second flag.
Brian's Spin Bot did okay until he took too much damage, then rode the conveyor belt all the way around while being shut down, then backed into the first flag. Karla's Zoom Bot was there right after he was, just before a huge cluster f*** arrived. After that, Brian returned to the relative safety of the conveyor belt and Karla was shoved all over the place in a vain attempt to return down to the second flag.
In that pushy second group was Annie, Scott, Lee, and I. My Hammer Bot avoided destruction just enough to get to the first flag, then Annie, Scott and I pushed and shoved each other all over the place. Annie's Twitch and I took the brunt of the damage, though, eventually being shoved into pits a time or two each. Scott made a few mistakes, and kept getting shot. He managed the first flag, but then was too damaged to get anywhere near the second flag.
Lee's Squashbot got lucky. While Dan's Trundle bot danced all over the left side of the board, barely misguessing the effects of the conveyor belt, Squashbot zipped down the board, avoiding the crazy push-pull-shoot-fest of Scott, Mike, Annie, and Karla, and crossed the final flag. Had he not done so, either Karla's Zoombot or Dan's Trundle Bot would have probably (finally) made it on the next turn, as Karla had cleared out Annie's Twitch and Scott's Twonky. (I was on the other side of the board, closer to Brian's Spin Bot than the 2nd flag). Everyone really enjoyed this game...perhaps a bit too much, as events will prove in another week.
Stay tuned!
Taj Mahal |
Results | |||
Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
Karla | 54 | 1 | |
Mike | 46 | 2 (Tie) | |
Jamie | 46 | 2 (Tie) | |
Dan | 37 | 4 |
Notes: While Annie led Scott, Lee, and Brian in Edel, Stein and Reich, I managed to get Jamie and Karla to play Taj Mahal. They had played it wrong a couple weeks ago, and were both kind of eager to try it again.
We had a good time, and it went quickly. We actually finished before the ESR group did. I was way behind early, giving up cards and points to Karla and Jamie. Jamie was getting the bonus chips, and Karla was grabbing the elephants. Dan started slowly, too, and then managed to make a show of it.
As elephants were highly contested, I tried going for a Mogul Card and connections strategy. I did all right with it, but Karla was garnering way too many elephant cards, so I had to spend a round or two opposing her. Also, my connections weren't that great, as the first two rounds were sort of centrally located and I didn't garner any temples there.
The princess was mostly shared among Jamie, Dan, and me. Karla may have had it for a turn, but she mostly had elephants and picked up a couple points here or there with palaces. Jamie really wanted elephants, but only managed a few of them. He was usually getting palaces out there and acquiring the bonus chips. Dan had a spread out strategy and ended up second in elephants, but he had several pyrrhic victories or wasted turns. One thing that Dan does in an auction game is over-collect. He won't get into any minor skirmishes during the game in hopes of winning an important one later. Unfortunately, what usually happens is that you'll end up collecting cards for 3 or 4 rounds to blow them all in one round. He had a couple big fights with Jamie that wiped him out.
I always try to be efficient. Get a couple points, stay at or around 7 to 10 cards. Avoid conflict except in important instances. One of the reasons Karla won (after a quick start we managed to catch up and were all within 3 points of each other for a turn or two in round 8 or 9) was because no one opposed her in a few elephant gatherings in the mid to late rounds. I couldn't because I wasn't collecting elephants, and Dan generally refused to when he saw that she put out 2 elephants right away. Jamie would oppose her but usually ran out of cards (he was shortest on cards most of the game, too).
Still, very fun and very cool.
Edel, Stein & Reich |
Results | |||
Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
Brian | $82 Million | 1 | * |
Annie | $78 Million | 2 | |
Scott | $73 Million | 3 | * |
Lee | $46 Million | 4 | * |
Notes: Annie wanted to play this, but was skeptical when I told her that we had been playing it incorrectly. We used to play that only one card would be flipped and ALL players would bid for the proceeds on that card. The correct method is to distribute one card per player and they each bid for the gems or money on their own card.
I've found that the correct way results in fewer 3 of a kinds. Before, when, say, a $7 million card or 3 red gems was flipped, everyone would choose money or gems. This way, someone may have $4 million and someone $7 million, and the $4 million card probably won't be bid on. Much more strategy.
Anyway, I'm not sure what happened, but it sounds as if Lee got hosed, as he was smooshed in the scoring. Here are the first round scores:
Annie: $29 Million
Scott: $25 Million
Brian: $20 Million
Lee: $15 Million
So far so good. In the second round, though, Brian and Annie started to separate themselves from the pack:
Brian: $57 Million
Annie: $55 Million
Scott: $44 Million
Lee: $32 Million
In the end, the "score half-points in a gem" card and a "reduce someone to four in each gem" card were used to hose Lee, and he ended up in last place. Every time I checked in on them, Lee was upset and saying that he was getting completely hosed. Brian ended up the winner, and I think everyone said they liked it, even Lee.