Rusty Scabbard
People didn't start showing up until 3PM, and different people were in and out, which makes for a nice variety of playing styles.
First up: Bohnanza. Players were Nichole, Andy, ShaunB, and myself. I was the only one who played the game previously. I was the starting player.
Nichole acted like she didn't understand the subtleties of the game, but she held her own throughout. Perhaps because she enjoyed negotiating fair deals to keep people happy. Andy, of course, decided to deprive me of good deals, but he ended up making some good deals with me just to get what he needed. I think the game encourages that behavior, which makes it a good game for mixed company. It was a close game. Everyone but me bought a third bean field, and that must be what helped me win in the end.
Final scores:
Click here to buy Bohnanza at FunAgain.com
Click here to learn more about Bohnanza at BoardGameGeek.com
Next up: Entdecker. Nichole had to leave. So, gamers were Andy, ShaunB and myself. We all played the game before. I was the first player. We played variant #2.
ShaunB was eager to play the game because he enjoys the exploration aspect of the game, and the beauty of the emerging island patterns. I agree with this sentiment.
Andy and ShaunB started off establishing tolls, so I had to limit my starting tiles just to avoid paying for the privilege of exploring.
Andy and I spent a lot of effort competing for high scoring islands, while ShaunB went off in his own corner to explore his own islands. ShaunB was reliably rolling the dice to give us incomes, but he was spending his money placing the exact tiles he wanted. After a while, he started jumping in on our islands as well.
ShaunB was behind for most of the game, while Andy and I were competing for the lead.
In the end, ShaunB won from competitions for well-chosen huts.
Entdecker: all islands explored
Final scores:
Click here to buy Entdecker at FunAgain.com
Click here to learn more about Entdecker at BoardGameGeek.com
Next up: Goldland. While Andy yapped with the newly arrived Richard, ShaunB and I played Goldland. ShaunB was new to the game and I was the starting player, which was OK with ShaunB who wanted to see how a turn played out before his turn started.
I started going up one edge of the board, running into a lot of adventures, while ShaunB was exploring a flatter territory near base camp.
I was going to play aggressively, but when I saw him do that, I thought I'd play more leisurely, collecting equipment I needed to put a camp down where ever I could to get the bonus adventure tokens.
I reached the temple first, and ShaunB didn't reach it at all. I forgot to collect the temple gold a few turns, and that gave ShaunB a few extra points.
In the end, I won the game. ShaunB was good natured about it, and looks forward to try the game now that he understands it better.
A very happy Goldland player
Final scores:
Click here to buy Goldland at FunAgain.com
Click here to learn more about Goldland at BoardGameGeek.com
Next up: Drakon (third edition). Dee showed up. Andy and Richard were interested in board games, seeing how their D&D game wasn't coming together with other players being absent.
ShaunB and I suggested Drakon. Players were Andy, Dee, Richard, and myself. Dee and Richard were new to the game. Andy was the first player. We played the variant in which a player needs to escape with 10 gold to win.
ShaunB enjoys the aspect of the game in which a player can affect the progress of other players, and he played to that instead of playing to win.
I had an escape tile right from the start, so I predicted an easy win for me when I collected enough gold.
Richard was making an effort to be nice and tried hard not to affect people adversely. He was one square away from the dragon with the only arrow pointing towards the dragon, and decided to play tiles in the hopes that something would keep him from losing the one coin he collected. Meanwhile, the rest of us were collecting coins and screwing each other.
Someone had destroyed a tile connected the dungeon to the dragon, so Dee and I had little worries for a little while. Andy and Richard were worried about the dragon, though the drakon tiles were in their area.
Actually, I was at the point in which I was one move away from getting a coin, having no coins, and Andy was one move away from stealing a coin from me, so we were having our own waiting game, playing tiles instead.
In the end, Dee silently collected enough gold and played an escape tile for the win.
Final standings:
Click here to buy Drakon at FunAgain.com
Click here to learn more about Drakon at BoardGameGeek.com
Next up: Category 5. Dee suggested Category 5, which is quick and simple.
Players were Andy, Dee Richard and myself. Richard was new to the game.
Richard was claiming that he wasn't getting the game, and was trying to collect cards just to see how the game worked.
I was dealt horrible hands, with a range in the middle, and the face up cards in that range as well. When the rows started filling up, I could only play cards which would take a row, unless by some rare long shot, someone got there first. The game lasted four hands.
Final scores:
Richard was getting the hang of the game, laughing maniacly as he collected cards, as was his intention, despite the winning condition. The second game was over before we could get into it (with four hands.) Oddly, this four hands seemed quicker than the last one :-)
Wrapping up a game of Category 5
Final scores:
Click here to buy Category 5 at FunAgain.com
Click here to learn more about Category 5 at BoardGameGeek.com
