December 27, 2005 |
| RoboRally |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Dan (Trundlebot) | 2 flags | 1 | * |
| Annie (Twitch) | 1 flag | 2 (Tie) | |
| Brian (Spinbot) | 1 flag | 2 (Tie) | * |
| Amanda (Twonky) | 1 flag | 2 (Tie) | * |
| Karla (Zoombot) | 1 flag | 2 (Tie) | |
| Mike (Hammerbot) | 0 flags | 2 (Tie) | * |
| Annie (Squashbot) | 0 flags | 2 (Tie) | * |
Notes: All right, this time, things got out of hand. Faced with seven players, with the first-timers of Amanda and Rakesh, Brian, Dan, Annie, and Karla all clamored for RoboRally. I warned them that it would be crazy and overwhelming. They ignored me, though I could see in their eyes that they knew I was right.
It was a mess. As soon as Jill and Sam showed up, Rakesh and I ducked out. I was about 2 spaces from the first flag (out of 3) when we had played an hour. People kept making tiny little mistakes that would send one off into orbit or off the board. There were built-in lasers on the board, too. When I left, no one else was close to the first flag, and when I ducked out, it must have taken forever.
As Jill, Sam, Rakesh, and I played a peaceful game of Ticket to Ride, I went over to the RoboRally table an hour later. No one had hit the first flag yet! Finally, Dan hit the first flag after the 2.5 hour mark and they quit.
I hope this doesn't deter Rakesh and Amanda too much. Normally, with only a few people, this game can be pretty normal. I'm going to have to put the kibosh on playing this with more than 5 or 6.
| Ticket to Ride |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Mike | 107 | 1 | |
| Rakesh | 105 | 2 | * |
| Sam | 96 | 3 | |
| Jill | 78 | 4 | * |
Notes: After some pleasant holiday greetings, Sam and I agreed that Ticket to Ride would be a nice game to play. We crowded around my card table and set it up while I explained the rules.
It was a well-balanced game for much of it, though it turned out that around halfway through, both Jill and I were saving up for long red connections. Finally I finished mine, supplying Jill with the red trains she'd need in the re-shuffled pile.
The game was very close, though Jill wilted down the stretch. She also didn't have a long route card in her hand, and so she didn't get as many big points at the end of the game as Sam, Rakesh and I did. Sam and I were the ones competing for longest train, but I managed to connect my east coast tracks to my west coast and got the 10 bonus points I needed to pass Rakesh. Had Sam managed the 10 point bonus (he missed it by about 5) he would have beaten Rakesh by 1!
Jill said she enjoyed the game even though she came in last.
| Gulo Gulo |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Dan | Found the Baby | 1 | |
| Brian | Back | 2 (Tie) | * |
| Karla | Back | 2 (Tie) | |
| Amanda | Back | 2 (Tie) | * |
| Annie | Back | 2 (Tie) | |
| Jamie | Back | 2 (Tie) | |
Notes: I have no notes on this, but a disgusted Brian told me that Dan won. I hope he didn't lick the eggs.
Jamie and Howard showed up to hang out with Jill and Sam, and though Jamie may have played Gulo Gulo, I'm pretty sure Howard didn't play anything. When the games were done we listed to Jamie's recent recording for his band.
It was a fun night, especially for those of us who sneaked out of playing RoboRally!