Up the vacuum thingy

2011 Games Record

2011-01-02T19:14:00.006+11:00

Update at 26/12/11: Yeah, so this didn't happen. Blogging lapsed ~~somewhat~~ completely in 2011. I have no idea whether things will improve blog-wise in 2012. Maybe the new addition to the family, The Hatchling, will inspire me.

As per usual for these Games Record thingamies, I'll update this list during 2011 as games get played. But that's not all. For no extra cost, I'm going to provide monthly breakdowns as well. Talk about bonus content. All free, no freemium!

The Year So Far (at 17 April 2011):: Total different games played: ??; Total number of plays: 53
January Summary:: Total different games played: 11; Total number of plays: 18
February Summary:: Total different games played: 7; Total number of plays: 13
March Summary:: Total different games played: 7; Total number of plays: 12
1 January 2011 - The Very Hungry Caterpillar Game (Play #1): Jessica (aged 3) def The Giggling One and Jeremy
1 January 2011 - Man Bites Dog (Play #1): Sandi (605) def The Giggling One (410), Jeremy (380), and Danny (340)
1 January 2011 - Man Bites Dog (Play #2): Jeremy (550) def Sandi (490), Danny (460), and The Giggling One (445)
1 January 2011 - Dixit (Play #1): The Giggling One (43) def Sandi (40), Wynne (38), Jeremy (31), and Danny (23)
2&8 January 2011 - A Game of Thrones LCG (Play #1): The Giggling One (15) def Jeremy (2)
4 January 2011 - Settlers of Catan (Play #1): Jeremy (10) def Brian (9), The Giggling One (7), Paul (7), Darren (6), and Narelle (6)
7 January 2011 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #1): Christine (11) def Jeremy (8), Steve (4), Maka (4), Bernd (4), The Giggling One (2), and Gypsy Anna (0)
7 January 2011 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #2): Christine (12) def Steve (9), Jeremy (8), The Giggling One (7), Bernd (7), Gypsy Anna (2), and Maka (0)
7 January 2011 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #3): Gypsy Anna (10) def Christine (9), The Giggling One (8), Maka (6), Jeremy (5), Steve (5), and Bernd (3)
7 January 2011 - Dice Town (Play #1): Splat (35½) def Jeremy (25½), Christine (23½), The Giggling One (20½), and Steve (10½)
7 January 2011 - Mississippi Queen (Play #1): Jeremy (1st) def Christine (2nd), Splat (3rd), Steve (4th), The Giggling One (5th), Bernd (6th), and Kam (7th)
7 January 2011 - Ultimate Werewolf: Ultimate Edition (Play #1): Steve (Seer), The Giggling One (Villager), Bernd (Villager), and Christine (Villager) def Kam (Werewolf/Sorcerer) - with Jeremy as the Moderator
7 January 2011 - Ultimate Werewolf: Ultimate Edition (Play #2): The Giggling One (Seer), Steve (Villager), Kam (Villager), and Christine (Villager) def Bernd (Werewolf/Sorcerer) - with Jeremy as the Moderator
22 January 2011 - Dominion: Prosperity (Play #1): The Giggling One (44) def Sam (42), Jeremy (34), Martin (17), and Chris (17) - "Beginners" set
22 January 2011 - Dominion (mix) (Play #1): Chris (15) def The Giggling One (14), Jeremy (7), Martin (6), and Sam (4) - 9 random Prosperity cards (Quarry, Talisman, Mountebank, City, Contraband, Vault, Hoard, Goons, Peddler) + Moat
22 January 2011 - Ultimate Werewolf: Ultimate Edition (Play #3): Bryarne (Werewolf) and Steve (Sorcerer) def Ewan (Seer), Sam (Lycan), Chris (Hunter), Michael (Villager), Christine (Villager), The Giggling One (Villager), Bernd (Villager), and Martin (Villager) - with Jeremy as the Moderator
22 January 2011 - Ultimate Werewolf: Ultimate Edition (Play #4): )Sam (Seer), Ewan (Lycan), Christine (Hunter), Bryarne (Villager), Steve (Villager), The Giggling One (Villager), Bernd (Villager), and Martin (Villager) def Chris (Werewolf) and Michael (Sorcerer) - with Jeremy as the Moderator
22 January 2011 - Ultimate Werewolf: Ultimate Edition (Play #5): Bernd (Tanner) def Ewan (Werewolf), Sam (Sorcerer), Martin (Seer), The Giggling One (Hunter), Steve (Idiot), Bryarne (Villager), Chris (Villager), Michael (Villager), and Christine (Villager) - with Jeremy as the Moderator
4 February 2011 - Martian Fluxx (Play #1): Jeremy def The Giggling One
4 February 2011 - Martian Fluxx (Play #2): Steve def The Giggling One and Jeremy
4 February 2011 - Martian Fluxx (Play #3): Jeremy def The Giggling One, Steve, and Haydn
4 February 2011 - Martian Fluxx (Play #4): The Giggling One def Jeremy, Steve, Haydn, and Dan
4 February 2011 - Martian Fluxx (Play #5): Jeremy def The Giggling One, Steve, Haydn, Dan, and Mark
More to come...

Review: Are You the Traitor?

2010-12-22T19:38:00.007+11:00

It’s been some time (read: ages) since I wrote a review, so it’s time to remedy that with a review of Looney Labs’ Are You the Traitor?

I’m a big fan of Werewolf, and I particularly enjoy moderating games. Of course, being a moderator means not participating in the game as a “player”, so it’s good to be one of the villagers every now and then.

One of the other “issues” with Werewolf is that once you’re night time fodder for the werewolves, or a victim of the noose during a day phase, your participation in the game is over and you have to watch the rest of the game play out from the sidelines (although this can have its own voyeuristic fun).

If you are one of those people who doesn’t like that aspect of Werewolf, then Are You the Traitor? could be the game for you. It features similar secret roles and a good team and an evil team, but everyone plays at all times, and everyone can change roles multiple times throughout the game. It does, however, max out at 10 players, but can be played with as few as 4.

OK, that’s enough of the lycanthropic comparisons for now. Here’s what you get in a game of Are You The Traitor?: 56 cards.

Well, 56 cards and a rule sheet.

The cards themselves come in three types: Character, Wizard Alignment, and Treasure cards.

At the start of each round, the character cards are shuffled and each player receives one card face-down. You can end up as one of four characters: The Key Holder, a Guard, a Wizard, or the eponymous Traitor (insert evil organ music here).

The number of each type of character is determined by the number of players. For example with four players, there will be one of each character, but with 10 players, the split is: 1 Key Holder (there is only ever 1 Key Holder), 2 Traitors (double the trouble), 3 Wizards (triple the wizardry¹), and 4 Guards (quadruple the, er, guardiness).

The Key Holder and Guards are on the side of goodness while the Traitor is, as one would suspect, captain of the evil team (note: there are no actual captains, but given the title of the game, anyone playing a Traitor has a right to a certain degree of cockiness).

That leaves the Wizards. These guys can be good or evil. That’s where the Wizard Alignment cards come in.

Anyone who is a Wizard must reveal his or her Character card. They are then given an Alignment card which must be kept secret. In any game with two Wizards, one will be good and one will be evil. Things get more interesting in a 9 or 10 player game when there are three Wizards. At least one is Good and one is Evil, but no one knows what the actual Good/Evil split is.

Now the Key Holder, while quite an important role, doesn’t get to remain as secret as he or she may wish. If there at least 6 players, then everyone except the Wizards gets to know who the Key Holder is. So it’s ye-olde-close-yon-eyes-thou-casters-of-magic-while-yonder-Key-Holder-makes-it-known-the-Evil-Magic-Key-is-in-his-or-her-possession time.

The last reveal belongs to the Traitors. If there are two Traitors (as there are in 8-10 player games) then everyone must close their eyes and allow time for the Traitors to open their eyes and identify each other.

After that it’s a free-for-all with unstructured conversation between all players. Everyone tries to figure out who everyone else is with suspicions flying left, right and centre. Who looks shifty? Which of the Wizards is good and which is evil? Who are the dastardly Traitors?

This can go on for some time or be over very quickly. The round ends when one player points to another player and cries “Stop!”

Why would they do this? Well, the thing is each player has a job to do. Everyone except the Traitor(s) has a target they are trying to identify:

The Evil Wizard, who wants the Evil Magic Key for his or her cunning and evil plans, is trying to find the Key Holder.

The Key Holder wants the Evil Magic Key to be destroyed and so wants to give the Key to the Good Wizard.

The Good Wizard and the Guards, meanwhile, are on the hunt for a Traitor.

The Traitor doesn’t have a target player so his or her job is to lie low and try to help the Evil Wizard.

If any player thinks they have identified their target, that’s when the finger pointing and “Stop!” calling come in. The round ends immediately and everyone reveals their cards. If the player who called “Stop!” has correctly identified his or her target, then everyone on that team (good or evil) wins the round and receives a Treasure card. If the person is wrong, then the members of the other team each get a Treasure card.

The Treasures are valued from 0 to 5 points, and the idea is to collect at least 10 points worth of the shiny stuff in order to win the game. This can be aided using the 1 Point Magic Rings which you can trade in in order to steal a random Treasure card from one opponent. You’d better hope that person doesn’t have a worthless Gilded Statue, as you have to take that card if the person has one.

Once the loot has been divided, all the Character and Wizard Alignment cards are shuffled and re-dealt, and the next round begins. You may very well find yourself on the opposite side of the Good/Evil divide and gunning for the Key Holder instead of trying to protect him or her.

This keeps going, round by round, until one person reaches the 10 point threshold. At that point, everyone else curses their misfortune (read: inability to bluff well) and quite possibly voices the desire to play again.

And that’s the game. From a fairly simple premise, the game can get quite clever with players learning how to play in their best interests. If you are the Good Wizard, you not only want to find a Traitor, which can be difficult, but you can also appeal to the Key Holder to give the Key to you.

Similarly if you are the Evil Wizard, you probably want people to think you are the Good Wizard. If you can convince the Key Holder to point to you, then you win. Of course, you don’t necessarily want everyone to think you’re good, as you also win if a Traitor, who knows the identity of the Key Holder, can surreptitiously point out the Key Holder to you.

And that’s just the start of the strategies. Usually at last once in games we play, the Traitor just comes right out and shouts “Key Holder!” while pointing at that player. It then becomes a race between the Evil Wizard on one side (who now knows who the Key Holder is) and the Good Wizard and Guards on the other (who have just had the Traitor revealed to them) to point at their respective targets. It usually comes down to whoever is most on the ball. And in the race to point to someone, players can often point to the wrong player!

There is even more room for cunningness with the maximum number of players. With fewer players, and only two Wizards, it is in the Evil Wizard’s best interest to claim that he or she is the Good Wizard. Christine tried the truth once when she was the Evil Wizard. No one targets the Evil Wizard, so Christine’s plan was to announce herself as the Evil Wizard so the Traitor would then point out the Key Holder to her. Unfortunately it backfired when the Key Holder (me) immediately pointed to the other Wizard and shouted “Stop!”

With three Wizards in play however, there is an incentive for an Evil Wizard to claim he or she is evil. As the Key Holder can’t be sure if one or both of the remaining Wizards is good, the Traitors have time to secretly signal the Evil Wizard. Then again, there’s nothing to stop a Guard pretending to be a Traitor and signal secretly to the Evil Wizard and point him or her to the wrong target...

And so it goes. On most occasions I’ve played this we played more than one game. It’s quick, easy to learn, and a lot of fun. There’s just something about secret role games that tickles people’s fancy. It’s the thrill of having your own little secret and being able to keep that secret or, even better, convince the other team you’re on their side.

On the down side, whether you win or lose a round is often outside your control, and whether you win or lose the game can come down to the luck of the Treasure card draw. But hey, if you get screwed by the Treasure cards, then that’s just an incentive to play again.

If you’ve never played one of these secret role party games, or if you can’t muster the numbers of players needed for a decent game of Werewolf, or you just want to try something new that’s not overly taxing on the grey matter, then give Are You the Traitor? a try.

1. Back in my youth I used to play a Commodore 64 game called Wizardry. Not to be confused with the RPG of the same name, this one was an isometric “graphical adventure” game in which you walked round a dungeon trying to find hidden objects and shoot spells at monsters and walls. I seem to recall it was incredibly fickle. If you didn’t line up a spell precisely (usually by lining your character up on just the right crack on the floor) it wouldn’t hit its target and you pretty much had to start the game all over again (being the C64 you couldn't save your progress). Of course with the incredibly obscure puzzles, knowing exactly what to cast and where was nigh on impossible without the walkthrough that came with the game. Except the walkthrough was only for Level 1. I think I eventually trial-and-errored my way through Level 2 but didn’t get much further. I much preferred the isometric adventuring of Head Over Heels, my all time favourite Commodore 64 game.

Amuse-bouche: Return from the Great Beyond

2010-08-11T18:59:00.003+10:00

So yeah, this Great Beyond thing. So great and beyondy that it's so easy to get lost in a non-blog world of beyondness.

Which is my way of saying I've been a slack bastard and haven't blogged in ages.

I have kept my game stats up to date, and I do have a half written draft for my World Without End review sitting here, and I have been playing lots of games. But yeah, I need to write more.

With that said, today's amuse-bouche concerns the games I've purchased in the last couple of months, and my brief thoughts on them so far.

Firstly we have Red Dead Redemption. Not a board game. I've been playing the hell out of it on my PS3 and loving it. I've played through the story mode once and I'm now playing through again in a bid to get 100% completion. Highly, highly recommended. Riding horses around the Wild West and shooting innocent people and bunnies has never been so much fun.

There's only one little teensy weensy problem with my quest to get 100% completion on Red Dead Redemption. And that is a little ~~timesink~~ game known as Starcraft II. I loved the original, and I'm really loving this one too. I'm 6 or so missions into the single player campaign and can also highly recommend this one, especially for fans of the original.

Starcraft II is pretty much more of the same as the original except with more polish and a lot of new units. And the Battle.net interface is fantastic. There are extra challenges to teach you more skills than the basic tutorial does, and I've also become somewhat of an achievement whore. There's just something about collecting achievements and getting those extra points that's so damn addictive.

The only negative thing I have to say about Starcraft II is the dialogue. The scripting is pretty average, and the voice acting is quite universally awful. Don't let that put you off, though, because overall it's a very polished and entertaining package, even if it is only one third of the single player game (with two more games due out in coming months to complete the campaign).

So, other than those two non-board games, on a trip to Brisbane last week The Giggling One and I picked up Dixit (her choice) and Fresco (my choice).

We played Dixit at a recent HoGS night and both loved its artistic simplicity. I thought it was a little light to win the Spiel des Jahres, but it's clever and family friendly.

I haven't played Fresco before. I've read (and watched) a few reviews and heard nothing but good things. It sounded like my type of game so I figured I'd take the opportunity to grab it while we were in a city that actually sells decent board games. :-)

Oh, and we also bought the Inns & Cathedrals expansion for Carcassonne. It was a spur of the moment decision, but having taken the basic game to Queensland with us (to have an easy-to-learn game to play with my parents), we wanted to flesh out our Carcassonne experience a little more. We're yet to play it, but hopefully we'll get a chance soon.

World Without End

2010-07-10T15:05:00.005+10:00

Kingsbridge, England, 1337. It has been 200 years since Prior Philip’s cathedral was built. The cathedral still dominates the town, but now the monastery has been joined by a convent, and wool has become the major commodity traded at the market. This is World Without End.

If you’ve read Ken Follett’s novel on which the game is based, playing this game may well mean more to you, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an enjoyable strategy game if you haven’t read the book. Because it is. The fact that it won the 2010 Spiel des Jahres Plus award is more than enough reason to check out this game. But seriously, read the book anyway. Ken Follett is a brilliant wordsmith and both The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End are fantastic reads.

In World Without End - I was about to start abbreviating the game as “WWE”, but I kept picturing big beefy blokes throwing each other around a ring, so I think I’ll stick with the full name – players earn victory points by undertaking various tasks around Kingsbridge. Rather than place workers on the board to signify what you want to do, each player instead has action cards. In the six rounds of each of the game's four chapters (yes, that’s 24 rounds all up but don’t worry – it’s not excessively long), you are allowed to choose 1 action per round from your 12 available actions. Everyone has the same 12 actions, so there’s no blocking another player from taking a particular action by getting in first. Of course, you can always make one action less desirable for another player if you jump in and grab that last wheat token or complete the building project they had their eye on.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s do this by the book and start by having a gander at the board.

It’s pretty isn’t it? Michael Menzel has done a fantastic job with World Without End. Around the outside of the board is the ubiquitous victory point track. Down the left side of the board are the field, quarry, and forest where the wheat, stone, and wood tokens are placed. A smattering of houses surrounds the wool market in the centre of town, along with various other buildings including the famous cathedral. The bottom left of the board depicts Leper Island where you will be able to build your own houses during the game. Finally, there’s a favour track forming an arch in the bottom centre of the board.

A sizable amount of extra stuff also comes with the game.

While stone and wood come in the ever-popular cube motif, the wheat actually looks somewhat wheaty which is nice. Wool and cloth are, erm, curvy, carpety shaped. Other (not pictured) "resources",for want of a better term, are represented by cardboard tokens. These include medical knowledge, piety, and loyalty.

For those interested in accumulating a little wealth, gold coins are also provided in three denominations.

Each player also gets their own supply of 4 houses, 2 donation seals, a scoring token, and most importantly, a nifty screen to hide stuff behind. Handily, the screen also has a picture to keep you amused and to remind you of the mandatory duties you must pay at the end of each chapter.

There are also seven buildings which may come on to the board during the game, and which you may help build by contributing resources. While the bridge and the tower come on to the board at the start of the first and third chapters respectively, the other buildings will only come on if the appropriate event card is drawn.

Speaking of event cards, each round starts with the topmost event card being drawn by the starting player for the round (the player who starts the game is the last player who built something, so if you want to go first in round 1, you may want to knock something together before you play). There are actually 11 event cards per chapter, but with only 6 rounds per chapter, 5 cards from each chapter won't be used.

If you have a glance at the picture above, you'll see that event cards come in two exotic colours: red and blue. Red means the event is one-off and immediate (you do what it says straight away). For example, the event card for Chapter III shown above reads "Each player receives his or her choice of either 1 wood or 1 stone or 1 medical knowledge." Blue cards, however, mean the event is long-term, and will generally last until the end of the current chapter. These events are not taken into account until the action card phase of each round (we're coming to that).

You may also have noticed that each event card also happens to have a picture of a resource in each corner. After resolving the event (if necessary), the current player gets to orient the card in any one of four ways. Each player then gets the resource that is facing them (it therefore helps if players are seated along each edge of the board). So yay, a free resource for everyone.

But the event card fun doesn't end there, oh no. Also depicted on each card is a little red arrow along one edge. The current player must also take this into account, for whichever direction the arrow ends up pointing then determines how the marker on the favour track moves (from 0 to 3 spaces). If the marker moves then the current player gets their own little benefit dependent upon the space it lands on. Bonuses like VPs, piety, wool, or wheat are available. Alternatively you could end up losing money to the outlaws. Funnily enough, most players tend to avoid that outcome.

Alrighty, so now everyone's got some resources, and the current player hopefully has a bonus. This means it's time to move on to the action card phase.

There are 12 action cards in total, and all players get exactly the same set of cards. Each turn you get to play one of your actions. These let you do things like gain grain, wood, stone, or piety, or build a house on Leper Island, or contribute resources to a building project. Each building project, by the way has its own little spot on the board so it seamlessly blends in with the rest of the artwork. Nice.

All of these actions have their perks, particularly the building project one as you can gain 3 VPs per wood or stone you place on a building. In the third and fourth chapters, the Medicine action can come in handy as you can gain stuff by curing residents of Kingsbridge of the plague. Each action card can only be played once per chapter, so some degree of planning helps.

Another tricky thing the designers have put into the rules in the action phase is a cunning little mechanic called discarding. You see, every time you choose one of your action cards to play, you must discard another card from your hand. This discarded action will not become available until the next chapter. This makes planning ahead even more vital, because if you find you want to play an action you've already discarded, then too bad. Of course, if you're not quite sure what you're doing, then planning can be difficult. So good luck with that, then.

I mentioned the plague earlier. The plague is a central theme of the novel, and it also plays a role in the board game. After the end of Chapter II, the houses in Kingsbridge, along with the outlaws, may become infected. This is achieved in the game by randomly distributing the plague markers face down on each house.

Thereafter, in Chapters III and IV, each event card also has a house number on it. That house's plague token is turned face-up to see how many inhabitants are affected by the plague. If you wish to cure a house, and therefore gain a reward (generally 2 VPs plus a resource), you'll need to not only play the Medicine action card, but also have accumulated enough medical knowledge tokens equal to or greater than the number of infected inhabitants. The good news is you don't lose medical knowledge by using it, so you can go on to cure another house in the next chapter (or indeed the same chapter if you use the Privilege action that allows you to repeat your last action).

And so the game goes. Players gain resources and then use them to do stuff in order to gain VPs. Easy.

Yeah, I'm fibbing a bit. If accumulating and using resources was all there was to it, this game would be a lot simpler, and a darn sight less frustrating (in a good way), than it actually is.

And that's because of the dues. Just like Agricola, where you have to worry about feeding your family when each harvest comes around, in World Without End each player is required to pay dues to the king at the end of each chapter. And he's a right greedy bastard.

Every player must pay two piety, two wheat, and a gold tax equivalent to the roll of the tax die (a d6 with sides 2,3,3,4,4,5 just like the tax die in The Pillars of the Earth). Failure to cough up the required dues results in loss of Victory Points as well as an additional penalty applied in the next chapter.

Not enough piety? Then it's penance for you miladdo. You don't get to choose your action card discard in the next round - someone else randomly chooses it for you. Ouch. At least you'll get an action in the next round, unless of course you can't pay your tax. Double ouch.

I found that ensuring you have the requisite resources to pay your dues is always in the back of your mind as each chapter goes on. That's not to say you can't do other things, because you can; it's just that it's a very delicate balance of accumulating a decent amount of resources, while avoiding those dreaded penalties. It can be quite difficult to play an entire game without once being penalised, especially when you only have control over the event card once or twice per chapter.

Frustrating though it may seem, and somewhat of a grind early on, World Without End is still a solid, enjoyable game. The mechanics are clever, and work in nicely with the novel. There is very little down time as everyone is involved in every round. There are just enough screw-your-opponent options in the game to be satisfying, but not game changing. And that's always a good thing.

If you like your "Euro" strategy games like Caylus, Agricola, or The Pillars of the Earth you'll like World Without End. I do.

Amuse-bouche: The Great Flood

2010-04-01T18:41:00.002+11:00

Inspiration. Sometimes it's there. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes it doesn't need to be there.

It's the middle one for me. But here I am back blogging again.

OK, enough of the flimsy excuses. Time to write about something gamey.

Like my "quest" to make my own game this year. Erm...

Moving on then, surely it's time for a new review. I did score Dominion: Seaside, Agricola: Farmers of the Moor, and World Without End for my birthday earlier this year. While I've played the former once, and the second game not at all, it's the third game I'm keen to write my next review about. Except I've only half played it, and I'm not going to put up a post until I've played it at least once all the way through.

Why only half a game of World Without End? Well, I could make a really lame joke and say we couldn't finish it cos it's without end, but the truth is slightly more interesting: The Great Kingsbridge Flood.

A very quick overview: World Without End is based on the novel of the same name by Ken Follett, which is itself a sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, which was also made into a board game by the same designers who made this new one. While both games are set in the town of Kingsbridge, World Without End plays completely differently to Pillars.

The plague plays a significant role in the novel, and is introduced to the game half way through. After playing two of the four chapters in the game, the houses on the board become infected with the plague, which the players can combat using medical knowledge they have accumulated. Except the plague never came to Kingsbridge in the game we played. It would have come, except the town was wiped out by a flood first.

One of the players, who I do not wish to shame in any way, accidentally knocked over a glass of water, spilling its contents upon the board. A large portion of the board was covered as well as pieces both on and off the board. To the credit of the mortified flooder, the next hour was spent drying out the pieces between pieces of paper towel weighed down by books, and ironing the board (beneath tea towels) in an attempt to minimise the water damage.

To this person's further credit, upon realising that the game board and some components were not what they were to begin with, another game was promptly ordered online and shipped directly to me. So now I have a brand new copy of World Without End, while the water damaged, but still very much playable, version now belongs to the generous water spiller.

I haven't had a chance to get the game out again at another HoGS night, but I make the commitment now to bring a review up the vacuum thingy as soon as a full game is under my belt.

Speaking of HoGS (he segues, having deliberately mentioned HoGS in the preceding paragraph), the Hobart Games Society is well on its way to become a fully fledged, registered organisation. While we're not formally registered yet, we do have a committee and officers and members, and have had a couple of committee meetings. I am pleased to say that yours truly was elected as Secretary.

Which means I get to write minutes and agendas and other exciting stuff to make me feel important.

Happy Easter to everyone out there, especially those in the gaming blogosphere whose writings I do enjoy. Here's hoping you get a chance for some good gaming over the long weekend. I know I will.

Bellamy Sports: Bellamy Bunny-Oon

2010-02-15T18:04:00.002+11:00

If you thought the other Bellamy Sports were odd, then hold on to your hats folks - you ain't seen nothing yet!

What do you do when you're at someone's birthday party and you want to have a little fun? Easy. You play Bellamy Bunny-Oon.

Now what the *&^# is Bellamy Bunny-Oon you ask? You may come to regret asking that, but you're gonna have a lot of fun if you try it.

Bellamy Bunny-Oon came into existence in 2000 at Leah's birthday party. To celebrate ten years of Bunny-Oon, we played it again last Saturday at my birthday party.

For Bellamy Bunny-Oon, you need a few things: friends, seats/couches, and balloons. You can have a few drinks as well, but you'll want to keep them well clear of the play area.

This game is best played with plenty of balloons. About 50 balloons will do nicely, though most are for decoration (it is a party after all).

Players divide into two even teams. Three to five players per team is a good number, as long as you can accommodate that many people sitting side by side. If you have an uneven number of people who want to play, don't worry - as you'll see Bellamy Bunny-Oon caters for that eventuality too. In fact, this game is best if you do have an odd number of players.

The players sit in their two teams facing each other on couches, chairs or benches approximately 1½ metres apart. Each player holds a balloon in each hand. These are known as rabbits. Another balloon acts as the ball and is known as the oon. For best play, the oon should be a different colour to the rabbits. As you may now have gathered, the name Bunny-Oon is derived from these.

One other player (or two if you have an even number of participants) takes part. He or she is not a member of either team, but sits on the floor in between the two teams clutching a rabbit in each hand. This person is the Confusoid. The Confusoid is there to assist the oon to remain in play, and alternately hits the oon in one direction and then the other.

Play commences with an Oon-Up by the Confusoid. The Confusoid hits the oon into the air with one of his or her rabbits. While the Confusoid should not favour either team, it does not matter if the oon goes toward one particular team during the Oon-Up.

At the first Oon-Up, and any subsequent post-goal Oon-Ups, players must hold their rabbits to the top of their heads like big bunny ears until the Confusoid plays the oon. Players then try and whack the oon (this is known as doinking) as hard as they can with their rabbits in an attempt to get the oon to pass over the heads of their opponents and hit the floor or wall behind them, thus scoring a goal.

Players may not doink the oon twice in succession with the same rabbit (a double doink), though there is no limit to how long a player keeps possession by alternating rabbits.

Additionally, at no time may a player's buttocks leave their seat unless retrieving the oon from out of play.

There is no penalty if the oon comes to rest on the floor between the teams. This simply results in an Oon-Up (without the bunny-ears requirement). Should the oon land out of bounds (eg. on a side table) then the last team to touch the oon loses possession, but no penalty is incurred.

At certain times during the game, penalties will inevitably be incurred. If a penalty doink is awarded (read on for penalty doink situations), then the team who incurred the penalty must sit bunny-eared while the other team gets a free doink. The penalised team may not play the oon until it ceases its forward motion or comes into contact with any member of the penalised team or their rabbits (players may not move to make the oon hit them).

Should a team incur another penalty during a penalty doink, then the penalty doink is retaken for the opposing team by the Confusoid.

Should the oon burst (a burstation) then a replacement oon must be found and the last team to doink the oon concedes a penalty doink.

If a player's rabbit undergoes a burstation then not only do they concede a penalty doink, but they must continue playing with one rabbit until the next goal is scored. The rabbit may then be replaced. Should burstation occur to both rabbits before the next goal is scored, then that player must remain seated without taking any further part in the action.

The same rule applies to any player who is de-rabitted (ie. loses hold of one or both rabbits). That player may not recover his or her rabbit(s) until a goal is scored.

There is no penalty if the oon should come into contact with a rabbit-less player. However, should a player deliberately doink the oon with a hand that does not hold a rabbit, then that player not only concedes a penalty, but must also leave the play area until the next goal is scored.

Any deliberately induced burstations of either the oon or rabbits will also concede a penalty doink and result in the offending player's ejection from the play area until the next goal is scored. Any player who falls foul of a deliberate burstation by another player may immediately replace his or her rabbit.

If any penalty situation occurs due to the actions of the Confusoid, then, while no penalty is incurred, all players are free to leave their seats and doink the Confusoid soundly on the head with their rabbits.

A goal is scored when one team manages to doink the oon past their opponents, by hitting the floor or wall behind the opposing couch. It's best to have some space between the back of the couch or chairs and the wall to allow for swinging rabbits.

The first team to score five goals wins the round. The teams then switch positions and play again. The first team to win two rounds wins the game.

In summary, teams can incur a penalty doink if:

a player's buttocks leave their seat when doinking the oon; or

a player moves a rabbit out of the bunny-ear position before the Oon-Up; or

a player moves a rabbit out of the bunny-ear position while defending a penalty doink, and before the oon stops its forward movement; or

a player does a double doink; or

they were the last team to doink the oon before a burstation; or

a player's rabbit undergoes a burstation; or

a player doinks the oon with a rabbit-less hand; or

a player deliberately causes a burstation.

The final two penalties also result in the player being kindly asked to remove himself or herself from the play area until the next goal is scored.

Phew!! That's the general gist of Bellamy Bunny-Oon. As long as you remember your doinks, penalty doinks, oons, rabbits, burstations, bunny-ear positions, and Confusoid, you'll have a wow of a time. :-)

Dice Town

2010-02-03T18:40:00.011+11:00

While I was pondering about posting a piece about Dice Town, the They Might Be Giants song Cowtown entered my head unbidden, and found itself morphed into a somewhat different version...

I’m going down to Dice Town, the dice are friends to me
Living in the Wild West, and that’s where I will be
Beneath the skies, the skies, the big blue open skies
I’m gonna see the town with all the dice

It’s enough to make any TMBG lover cringe, but I just had to get it out of my head.

Now that that’s done, let’s take a look at Dice Town.

If it’s not clear by now, Dice Town is a dice game with a Wild West theme. Players roll poker dice in order to try and visit various locations in the town as determined by the faces on the dice.

On the face of it, Dice Town appears to be a fairly light and not supremely strategic game. As it happens, that’s quite an accurate assessment. It’s not without strategy, of course, and therein lies the core fun of the game: attempting to outguess your opponents by either rolling what they are not, or trying to outroll them and get to visit a particular location instead of them.

Before we look at how the dice mechanic works, let’s mosey on into town to take a closer look at the various locations on the board.

Each location can only be visited by one player each round, so it’s important to choose wisely as sometimes there’s a battle to be the one who collects the good stuff.

First up we have the gold mine. And wouldn’t you know it, there be gold nuggets in that there mine. Any nuggets you obtain from the mine (and manage to hold on to) will be worth 1 Victory Point (VP) at the end of the game.

Next to the gold mine is the first of the town’s buildings: the Bank. All money deposited at the bank is available for withdrawal (at gunpoint naturally) by one enterprising player each round. In front of the bank you’ll find the Stagecoach. Any money spent by players during a round is placed on the Stagecoach ready for delivery to the bank at the start of the following round.

The General Store is the next stop in town. Here there are various cards available for the taking. A visit to the store will get you a card which bestows a benefit upon your good self. Some cards are worth VPs at the end of the game, while others allow you to take extra actions during the game (like doubling your takings at the gold mine or allowing you to change a dice roll).

The Saloon is where you get to have a drink of the local brew and win the favour of the Girls. Using their feminine wiles, the ladies will assist you in taking a card from another player.

I’m not sure if the regular Sheriff patronises the drinking establishment, but he just so happens to handily have his own place right next door. In fact, it seems he must be holed up in a dark corner of the saloon, as he’s delegated his sheriffy duties to the players. The youngest player starts with the sheriff’s badge, but anyone else can take it for themselves with a visit to the jail. Being sheriff means you get to break ties during the game (bribes from the other players are actively encouraged), and if you are the sheriff at the end of the game, you get a bonus 5 VPs.

The final stop in Dice Town is the Town Hall. This is where the town dishes out Property Claims, and with each claim valued at between 1 and 5 VPs, this is where the bulk of the scoring takes place.

Now, if things don't go your way, it's not the end of the world. Just the end of town. For any player who didn't get to visit one of the six main locations, Doc Badluck is but an arrow's flight away just waiting for you to come blowing over like a tumbleweed.

Doc Badluck is, as his name suggests, there to make you feel better about being shut out of town. His services include providing barbed wire for one of your properties so no one can steal it, letting you draw the top card from the General Store, making every other player give you $2, or making every other player give you a gold nugget. That's not too bad huh? In fact, those last two are very nice indeed, especially in a 5 player game (the game plays from 2-5 players), and it can sometimes be advantageous not to fight for a spot in town when you know the good Doctor is going to assist you in the acquisition of four gold nuggets.

Alrighty, so you've had a look around and assessed the lay of the land, and you have an idea what you might like to go for. Alternatively (as happens a lot) you have no idea what you want to do and will just play it by (front) ear as the round progresses.

Now we come to the meat in the proverbial sandwich, or...um...whatever passes for grub in this neck of the desert: the dice.

Everyone gets five, shiny poker dice and a cup to put them in. At the start of the round every one shakes their cup, then turns it face down on the table. Now it's time to see what you rolled. Everyone secretly lifts up their cup, keeping the dice hidden from the other players and peeks at their dice. Then comes the hard part: deciding what to keep.

You get to keep one die for free. You choose which die you want to keep, then secretly remove the other dice. However, you can choose to keep more than one die if you want. Heck, you can choose to keep all five if you had a really good roll.

The catch is that you have to pay $1 for every die in excess of one. So if you keep three dice, you have to pay $2. To keep all five dice,you'll have to fork out $4. Oh, and if you don't like the look of any of your dice, you can choose not to keep any of them. It'll cost you $1 to remove all the dice from under the cup.

Once everyone has removed the dice they don't wish to keep, everyone lifts their cup and reveals what they kept. Everyone who paid to keep extra (or no) dice now places their money on the Stagecoach.

All kept dice are then put aside and the process then repeats for the remaining dice. Deciding what to keep on subsequent rolls now takes on a whole new dimension as not only do you have to keep in mind what you've already kept, but you also now get to see what everyone else has kept. Have you kept the same dice as someone else? If so, do you try and roll the same again, hoping that they won't, or do you try for something different?

"But hang on just a second there mister," you say "How do I know what to keep if I don't know what the effect of the dice I roll will be?"

Well, to answer that question, here's the rundown:

The player with the most 9s goes to the Gold Mine and takes nuggets equal to the number of 9s he or she rolled.

The player with the most 10s robs the bank and takes all the money currently in the bank.

The player with the most Js takes cards from the top of the General Store deck equal to the number of Js he or she rolled. That player keeps one card, and discards the rest face down next to the board.

The player who rolls the most Qs goes to the Saloon. He or she chooses one other player and takes cards (either General Store or Property Claims) from that player equal to the number of Qs he or she rolled. One card is kept, and the rest are given back.

The player who rolled the most Ks becomes Sheriff and takes the Sheriff badge.

The player who has the best poker hand goes to the Town Hall and takes the bottom-most face up Property Claim, plus an extra claim for each Ace in his or her hand (though you can never take any more than the three face up claims).

Any player who hasn't got anything so far visits Doc Badluck and chooses one bonus. If you have at least one 9 or 10, you can choose to barbed wire a property by removing it from your hand and placing it face up on the table. If you have at least one J or Q you can take the top card from the General Store pile. If you have at least one King, you can force every other player to give you $2. Finally, if you have at least one Ace, you can hold everyone else at gunpoint and order them to give you a gold nugget.

Now, where was I? Ah yes: choosing dice to keep. So as I said, you keep one die for free or pay to keep more or less. Kept dice are put aside, and the process is repeated until one or more players has kept and set aside all five of their dice.

At that point, any player who has not yet kept all five dice gets one final roll. There are no more choices now; you just keep what you roll. The good news is that if you are rolling more than one die on this final roll, you don't have to pay anything. You just keep what you roll for free.

And then you look around and either give a self satisfied "yippee!" or a disgruntled "you %^&(#;@ bastard!" when it becomes clear that another player has beaten you to the punch.

Then everyone sees who has rolled the most 9s, 10s, Js, Qs and Ks, and each action is taken from left to right on the board. You'll find that ties are a common occurrence. Two or more people are often tied for the most Js or Qs or whatever it may be. That's where the Sheriff comes in as he or she gets to decide who takes the cake.

Now let me make this abundantly clear. Being Sheriff can be a very good thing. You may think that rolling the most Ks just gives you a shiny badge but no actual nuggets or cards so what's the point. Bribery. That's the point. Any time players are tied, they can offer the Sheriff money, nuggets or cards in any combination. If you can start the tied players in a bidding war it can be very lucrative indeed. Plus the 5 VPs for being Sheriff at the end of the game ain't too bad, but this can also make the Sheriff's badge a popular target when everyone knows the game is about to end.

That end comes when one of two criteria are met. The game will end when either there are no more nuggets in the Gold Mine (there are 30 to begin with) or when all 25 Property Claims have been taken.

And then, wouldn't you know it, everyone adds up their points for nuggets (1 VP per nugget), dollar bills (1 VP for every $2), General Store equipment cards, Property Claims, and for being Sheriff (5 VPs). The highest scoring player wins. If there is a tie, the player with the most Property Claims wins. If there is still a tie, the Sheriff gets to decide who wins.

Dice Town is, first and foremost, fun. You will laugh a lot, and quite possibly curse a lot as well. If you're like me, you may well curse at your own stupidity when you bribe the Sheriff $1 to visit the Saloon so that you can take one card from another player, and that card turns out to be useless as the game is about to end, and you then realise that had you not spent that $1, you could have gone to Doc Badluck and taken a Gold Nugget from everyone because you had an Ace. Sigh.

I've played the game three times so far: one 2-player game, and two 5-player games. It was certainly a lot more fun with more players as you all vie for the various spots in town. Going to Doc Badluck is a viable strategy in the 5-player game. Just don't expect ever to do that if you only have two players.

It's hard to know what is a good strategy in this game. There are many paths to victory as they say in the classics. One such path I found that worked for me with five players was what I cunningly call the "Saloon Strategy" in which I consistently kept Queens and took the Saloon action (stealing cards off other players) for the majority of the game. This proved to be a very successful strategy, and I amassed 42 points (second place was 34) which is a pretty impressive total if I do say so myself.

I heartily recommend Dice Town as a good, fun, family-friendly game, as well as one you can pull out at games nights with more serious gamers to get those competitive juices flowing. The game box says games last 30-45 minutes, but you can easily double that time if you have anyone prone to analysis paralysis in your group. The good thing is it's not one of those games where you worry to much if you make the wrong choice.

Not excuse me while I get back to my song.

I’m going down to Dice Town, the dice are friends to me...

Bellamy Sports: Bellamy Volleyfoot

2010-01-17T20:05:00.000+11:00

Bellamy Volleyfoot is the third Bellamy Sport, following in the footsteps of Bellamy Tennis and Bellamy Football.

Bellamy Sports came indoors with the advent of Bellamy Volleyfoot. The accolades for the name of this game go to Heidi. Also present at Bellamy Volleyfoot's inaugural game were myself, Paul, Narelle, Mick, and Leah.

This game actually has nothing to do with volleyball, and even less to do with football. So what does it have to with? Stuffed if I know, but it's a lot of fun!

For this game you need an even number of players (six is best), a soft miniature football and a largish living room, preferably with couches and a coffee table. Cushions or other similar sized objects serve as goals.

From there it's simply a matter of each team placing their goals in an open space (eg. on top of a couch or propped up against a wall), team members placing themselves in strategic positions, and then pelting the opposition's goal with the ball.

Prior to commencement of play, players' positions should be defined. No player may start within an arms width of their own goal, and a maximum of two can be just outside arms width. Any other player must be within their own half of the room, generally strategically placed beside the coffee table.

Players' starting positions normally involve buttock contact with a particular item of furniture. For example, player one's starting postion may be defined as having one buttock cheek on a rug, while player two's left buttock must be in contact with the couch. If one team is defending a goal on a couch, one player may kneel behind the couch, with their starting position defined as having both arms flat on the back of the couch.

Players may not move from their starting positions until the ball has left the hand of an opposition player having a ping at goal. Once the ball is flying through the air towards the goal, the defenders can dive in front of the goal in an attempt to stop the ball hitting it. There is no restriction on how much arm waving there is prior to a shot at goal (except, that is, for any player behind a couch whose starting position requires their arms remain on the couch).

If the ball misses the goal, then the nearest player grabs it, regardless of who had the last possession. If the ball comes to rest outside the reach of all players then anyone may leave their position to fetch it, but they must return to their starting position before playing on.

Team members may pass the ball between themselves as much as they like in an effort to gain an advantageous shooting position. When they do shoot for goal, the ball may not hit the wall above a goal and then drop onto it (if this happens it does not count as a goal). However, ricochetting into the goal off another player, the floor, a side wall or the coffee table still counts as a goal.

The first team to nine goals is the winner of the game. Teams then change places and play again. The first team to win two games is the winner.

That's Bellamy Volleyfoot. Don't forget to use a soft ball. It's also probably a good idea to remove breakables from the room before starting - this game can get particularly violent! Enjoy.

2010 Games Quest

2010-01-16T13:38:00.000+11:00

To my myriad of readers, my 2010 quest may not come as a complete surprise, given that I've already mentioned it a few times, and that it is that part of my 2009 quest that I failed to complete. Or even get off the ground really.

My goal this year is to produce a workable, playable, enjoyable board game. I'm not talking about getting it published - though that is a future goal. I'm talking about developing a working prototype with a board, pieces, cards, and rules.

Preferably I'd like to work at it and get it on the table for multiple play tests with interested/bribable folk.

I'm not starting completely from scratch, however. I do have quite a few pages of thoughts, ideas, scribbles and diagrams to work from. It's been slowly cobbled together over the last two or three years, and has already seen a number of changes from my original concept. No doubt it'll see some more as I discover what works and what doesn't.

Now I'm not going to give out any info about the game here. Not yet anyway. I'm intending to keep a diary of the progress that will one day see itself in the pages of this blog, and I may decide to post thoughts/snippets of the game here as I go.

Ultimately, I see this quest as the next step in my evolution as a gamer. Here's hoping I don't develop some hideous mutation and slide into extinction.

2010 Games Record

2010-01-03T17:27:00.041+11:00

I ended up playing 7 more games in 2010 than in 2009, but the plays of those games combined came to 46 fewer.

Summary for 2010:: Total different games played: 53; Total number of plays: 187

Games Played (Number of Plays) - from most played to least played:

Martian Fluxx (28)
Magic: The Gathering (18)
Time's Up! Title Recall! (14)
Are You the Traitor? (12)
Werewolf (11)
Zombie Fluxx (7)
Carcassonne (6)
Dice Town (5)
Geschenkt (5)
Killer Bunnies (5)
Dixit (4)
Man Bites Dog (4)
Munchkin Quest (4)
Pandemic (4)
Set (4)
Ca$h 'n Gun$ (3)
Dominion: Seaside (3)
Jenga (3)
Oriente (3)
Aquarius (2)
Bang! (2)
Colosseum (2)
For Sale (2)
Fresco (2)
Saboteur (2)
The Pillars of the Earth (2)
The Resistance (2)
Too Many Cooks (2)
World Without End (2)
Agricola: Farmers of the Moor (1)
Apples to Apples (1)
Bellamy Bunny-Oon (1)
Bluff (1)
Bohnanza (1)
Bugger (1)
Ca$h 'n Gun$: Live (1)
Catan Card Game (1)
Citadels (1)
Dominion (1)
EcoFluxx (1)
Fact or Crap (1)
Junta (1)
Knaves (1)
Lawless (1)
Lifeboats (1)
Mall of Horror (1)
Mamma (1)
Mississippi Queen: The Black Rose (1)
Munchkin (1)
Samurai (1)
Settlers of Catan (1)
Vinci (1)
Why Did The Chicken...? (1)

Games In Detail

3 January 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Plays #1 - #6)

Jeremy (White) v The Giggling One (Green/Red); Winners: The Giggling One (#1: 16-0; #6: 22-0), Jeremy (#2: 31-0; #3: 20-0; #4: 14-0; #5: 15-0) - Set: Magic 2010

10 January 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Plays #7 - #11)

Jeremy (White) v The Giggling One (Green/Red); Winners: Jeremy (#7: 37-0; #8: 6-0; #9: 18-0; #11: 46-0)The Giggling One (#10: 7-0) - Set: Magic 2010

16 January 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #1)

Jeremy def Bernd, The Giggling One, Christine, and Trent

16 January 2010 - Man Bites Dog (Play #1)

Bernd (610) def Jeremy (525), Nina (425), Christine (400), Ewan (395), Carl (395), Trent (370), Carla (365), Belinda (360), The Giggling One (325), and Erin (290)

16 January 2010 - Dice Town (Play #1)

Jeremy (42) def Erin (34), The Giggling One (27), Ian T (21), and Ewan (16)

16 January 2010 - Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (Play #1)

Ewan (9 carrots) def Jeremy (3 carrots), The Giggling One (no bunnies), Ian T (no bunnies), and Erin (no bunnies) - Magic Carrot: #9

16 January 2010 - Werewolf (Play #1)

Villagers - Belinda (Seer), Erin (Bishop), Carla (Mason), Ian T (Mason), Mark, The Giggling One, Carl, Christine, Trent, and Nina def Werewolves - Jeremy and Ewan (with Bernd as the Moderator)

16 January 2010 - Werewolf (Play #2)

Villagers - The Giggling One (Seer), Mark (Bishop), Carl (Mason), Ewan (Mason), Jeremy, Christine, Trent, Nina and Carla def Werewolves - Erin, Belinda, and Ian T (with Bernd as the Moderator)

16 January 2010 - Werewolf (Play #3)

Villagers - Carl (Seer), Erin (Bishop), Trent (Mason), Nina (Mason), The Giggling One, Ewan, Carla, Belinda, and Ian T def Werewolves - Bernd, Mark, and Christine (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

16 January 2010 - Werewolf (Play #4)

Villagers - Carla (Seer), Erin (Bishop), Mark (Mason), Belinda (Mason), The Giggling One, Carl, Christine, Trent, and Ian T def Werewolves - Bernd, Ewan, and Nina (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

16 January 2010 - Werewolf (Play #5)

Villagers - Bernd (Seer), Christine (Bishop), Jeremy (Mason), Trent (Mason), The Giggling One, Carl, Ewan, Carla, and Belinda def Werewolves - Erin, Nina, and Ian T (with Mark as the Moderator)

23 January 2010 - Ca$h 'n Gun$ (Play #1)

Deb ($95,000) def Jeremy ($90,000), The Giggling One ($90,000), Kerry ($65,000), Matt ($50,000), and Vanessa (Dead)

23 January 2010 - Ca$h 'n Gun$ (Play #2)

Vanessa ($90,000) def The Giggling One ($85,000), Matt ($85,000), Jeremy ($40,000), Deb ($30,000), and Kerry (Dead)

23 January 2010 - Ca$h 'n Gun$ (Play #3)

Deb "You Don't Need It Any More" ($105,000) def Kerry "It Does Not Even Hurt" ($90,000), Jeremy "The Specialist" ($80,000), Matt "6 Feet Under" ($70,000), Vanessa "The Unbreakable" ($50,000), and The Giggling One "Dragon Skin" (Dead)

24 January 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #2)

The Giggling One def Jeremy, Matt, and Vanessa

24 January 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #3)

Jeremy def Matt, Vanessa, and The Giggling One

24 January 2010 - Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (Play #2)

Jeremy (6 carrots) def Vanessa (4 carrots), The Giggling One (2 carrots), and Matt (no bunnies) - Magic Carrot: #12

25 January 2010 - Bohnanza (Play #1)

Matt (23) def The Giggling One (17), Jeremy (17, and Vanessa (14)

25 January 2010 - Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (Play #3)

Vanessa (3 carrots) def The Giggling One (7 carrots), Matt (2 carrots), and Jeremy (0 carrots) - Magic Carrot: #1

25 January 2010 - Bugger¹ (Play #1)

Matt (160) def Jeremy (60), The Giggling One (50), and Vanessa (50)

31 January 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #4)

The Giggling One def Jeremy and Ian T

31 January 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #5)

The Giggling One def Jeremy and Ian T

31 January 2010 - Citadels (Play #1)

Christine (35) def Bernd (31), Ian T (30), Gordon & Polly (29), Jeremy (27), and The Giggling One (15)

5 February 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #6)

Jon def Christine, Bernd, David, The Giggling One, and Jeremy

5 February 2010 - Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (Play #4)

Jon (6 carrots) def The Giggling One (5 carrots), Jeremy (1 carrot), Ian T (no bunnies), and Mark (no bunnies) - Magic Carrot: #11

5 February 2010 - Dice Town (Play #2)

Jon (32) def Ian T (28), Jeremy (22), The Giggling One (17), and Mark (15)

5 February 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #1)

Bernd & Christine (42) def Jeremy & The Giggling One (37), Ian T & Mark (25), and David & Kam (16)

8 February 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Plays #12 - #14)

Jeremy (Blue/Black) v The Giggling One (Green/Red); Winner: Jeremy (#12: 3-0; #13: 18-0; #14: 19-0) - Set: Magic 2010

13 February 2010 - Bellamy Bunny-Oon (Play #1)

Tim, Madelaine, Brian, and Neil def Jeremy, The Giggling One, Leah, and Mick (4-5, 5-2, 5-4) - with Paul as the Confusoid

13 February 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #2)

Leah (48) def Jeremy (42), The Giggling One (38), Mick (36), Tim (30), Brian (25), and Madelaine (21)

20 February 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #7)

Jeremy def The Giggling One, and Belinda

20 February 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #8)

Belinda def Jeremy, The Giggling One, and Mark

20 February 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #3)

The Giggling One & Dan (39) def Trent & Mark (38), Christine & Belinda (22), and Ewan & Jeremy (21)

28 February 2010 - Mamma (Play #1)

Bernd (11) def Jeremy (8), The Giggling One (3), and Christine (-4)

28 February 2010 - Mall of Horror (Play #1)

The Giggling One (12) def Christine (5), Jon (3), Bernd (3), Kit (3), and Jeremy (0)

5 March 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #9)

Christine M def Bernd, Jeremy, Christine C, Peter, and Michael

5 March 2010 - Mississippi Queen: The Black Rose (Play #1)

Michael (1st) def Christine C (2nd), Peter (3rd), Bernd (4th), Jeremy (5th), and Christine M (left early)

5 March 2010 - Dominion: Seaside (Play #1)

Christine (46) def Jeremy (39), and Bernd (36)

6 March 2010 - Settlers of Catan (Play #1)

Jeremy (11) def Ian T (8), Christine (7), and Bernd (7)

8 March 2010 - Munchkin Quest (Play #1)

Jeremy (10) def The Giggling one (10)

13 March 2010 - Junta (Play #1)

Ian T ($17) and Christine ($17) def Mark ($12), Jeremy ($9), Dan ($6), and Bernd ($2)

20 March 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #10)

Wade def The Giggling One, Alice, Tom, Gypsy Anna (with Bernd), and Jeremy

20 March 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #11)

Jeremy def The Giggling One, Wade, Alice, Tom, and Gypsy Anna (with Bernd)

20 March 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #1)

The Giggling One def Jeremy, Wade, Alice, Tom, and Christine

20 March 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #2)

Christine def Jeremy, The Giggling One, Wade, Alice, and Tom

20 March 2010 - Oriente (Play #1)

The Giggling One (18) def Bernd (15), Tom (14), Alice (13), Christine (13) Jeremy (13), and Wade (5)

20 March 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #4)

The Giggling One & Jeremy (46) def Christine & Bernd (42), and Tom & Alice (32)

20 March 2010 - Bluff² (Play #1)

Alice def Bernd, Tom, The Giggling One, Christine, Alice, and Jeremy

2 April 2010 - Catan Card Game (Play #1)

The Giggling One (13) def Jeremy (12) - with Barbarians & Traders expansion

2 April 2010 - Munchkin Quest (Play #2)

The Giggling One (10) def Jeremy (2)

2 April 2010 - Munchkin Quest (Play #3)

Vanessa (10) drew with Matt (10), Jeremy (9), and The Giggling One (8) - game called a draw after it got too late to continue

17 April 2010 - Set (Play #1)

Jeremy (7) def The Giggling One (6), Christine (5), Ian (2), Bernd (1), Ewan (1), Clyde (0), and Dan (0)

17 April 2010 - Set (Play #2)

The Giggling One (6) and Christine (6) def Ian (2), Dan (1), Jeremy (1), Ewan (0), and Clyde (0)

17 April 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #12)

Jeremy def Christine, The Giggling One, and Ian

17 April 2010 - Dominion (Play #1)

The Giggling One (30) def Jeremy (29), Christine (28), Ian (26), Belinda (25), and Mark (19) - Random mix of Base game + Intrigue

17 April 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #5)

Christine & Bernd (33) def The Giggling One & Jeremy (30), Belinda & Dan (17), Ian & Mark (16), Rebecca & Rachael (13), and Ewan & Clyde (11)

17 April 2010 - Werewolf (Play #6)

Villagers - The Giggling One (Seer), Dan (Bishop), Jeremy (Mason), Rachael (Mason), Ian, Mark, Clyde, Belinda, and Rachael def Werewolves - Christine and Ewan (with Bernd as the Moderator)

17 April 2010 - Werewolf (Play #7)

Villagers - Belinda (Seer), Rebecca (Bishop), Dan (Mason), Rachael (Mason), The Giggling One, Christine, Ian, Mark, and Ewan def Werewolves - Bernd and Clyde (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

18 April 2010 - Pandemic (Play #1)

Jeremy (Dispatcher) and The Giggling One (Scientist) were defeated (5 Epidemics)

24 April 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #6)

Jeremy (67) def The Giggling One (56), Leah (51), Brian (33) and Narelle (33)

7 May 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #13)

Jeremy def The Giggling One

7 May 2010 - Oriente (Play #2)

Mark (21) def Christine (20), Bernd (18), Carl (17), Dan (16), Trent (15), The Giggling One (14), and Jeremy (7)

7 May 2010 - World Without End (Play #1)

Jeremy (43) def Mark (31), Ian (30), and The Giggling One (29)

7 May 2010 - Pandemic (Play #2)

Ian (Researcher), Jeremy (Dispatcher), The Giggling One (Operations Expert), and Mark (Scientist) were defeated (5 Epidemics)

22 May 2010 - Too Many Cooks (Play #1)

Christine (22) def Ian (17), Bernd (17), Jeremy (3), and The Giggling One (3)

22 May 2010 - Bang! (Play #1)

Mark (Outlaw), Ian (Outlaw), and Jeremy (Outlaw) def Christine (Sheriff), Bernd (Deputy), and The Giggling One (Renegade)

22 May 2010 - Bang! (Play #2)

Ian (Sheriff) def Bernd (Deputy), Christine (Renegade), Jeremy (Outlaw), The Giggling One (Outlaw), and Mark (Outlaw)

22 May 2010 - Why Did The Chicken...? (Play #1)

Mark (6) and Jeremy (6) def Bernd (4), Christine (3), Ian (3), and The Giggling One (2)

22 May 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #7)

Bernd & The Giggling One (46) def Jeremy & Christine (44) and Ian & Mark (30)

4 June 2010 - Dice Town (Play #3)

Jeremy (36) def Jon (28), Christine (27), Mark (19), and Bernd (17)

4 June 2010 - Colosseum (Play #1)

Mark (94) def Christine (86), Bernd (84), Jon (82), and Jeremy (76)

12 June 2010 - Lawless (Play #1)

Jeremy (16) def Christine (14), Bernd (12), and Mark (10)

19 June 2010 - Man Bites Dog (Play #2)

Christine (515) def Steve (440), Ewan (435), The Giggling One (395), Jeremy (335), Ben (330), Fern (315), and Ruth (235)

19 June 2010 - The Pillars of the Earth (Play #1)

Jeremy (50) def The Giggling One (47), Ewan (44), and Ben (30) - with Expansion even though there were only 4 players

19 June 2010 - EcoFluxx (Play #1)

Ben def The Giggling One, Ewan, and Jeremy

2 July 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #14)

The Giggling One and Jeremy were forced to retreat!

2 July 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #15)

Christine def Jeremy, Splat, and The Giggling One

2 July 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #16)

Jeremy def Christine, Splat, and The Giggling One

2 July 2010 - Saboteur (Play #1)

Jeremy (6) def Splat (5), The Giggling One (5), Bernd (5), Ian (2), and Christine (2)

2 July 2010 - The Pillars of the Earth (Play #2)

Jeremy (50) def Bernd (46), Splat (43), Ian (42), The Giggling One (41), and Christine (37)

17 July 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #3)

Ewan def Jeremy, Bernd, Meryl, Melanie, and Miriam

17 July 2010 - Dice Town (Play #4)

The Giggling One (29) def Maka (29), Jeremy (25), Miriam (18), and Mark (17)

17 July 2010 - Dixit (Play #1)

Jeremy (48) def The Giggling One (44), Miriam (35), Ewan (33), and Mark (31)

17 July 2010 - For Sale (Play #1)

The Giggling One (60) def Jeremy (55), Ewan (49), Mark (46), and Miriam (36)

17 July 2010 - Werewolf (Play #8)

Villagers - Meryl (Seer), Ewan (Bishop), Christine (Mason), Miriam (Mason), Jeremy, Joel, Melanie, Dan, The Giggling One, and Belinda def Werewolves - Ian, Thamar, and Bernd (with Mark as the Moderator)

17 July 2010 - Werewolf (Play #9)

Villagers - Christine (Seer), Meryl (Bishop), Ian (Mason), Joel (Mason), Melanie, The Giggling One, Belinda, Bernd, and Miriam def Werewolves - Thamar, Ewan, and Dan (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

30 July 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #17)

Jeremy def The Giggling One

30 July 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #18)

The Giggling One def Jeremy

31 July 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #1)

Jeremy (81) def Vicki (79), The Giggling One (58), and Gordon (43)

31 July 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #4)

Jeremy def The Giggling One, Gordon, and Vicki

31 July 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #5)

Jeremy def The Giggling One, Gordon, and Vicki

31 July 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #6)

The Giggling One def Gordon, Vicki, and Jeremy

31 July 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #7)

The Giggling One def Vicki, Jeremy, and Gordon

1 August 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #19)

Jeremy def The Giggling One and Gordon

1 August 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #20)

Gordon def The Giggling One and Jeremy

1 August 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #2)

Jeremy (85) def The Giggling One (81) and Gordon (68) - with The River

1 August 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #3)

Jeremy (84) def Gordon (64) and The Giggling One (61) - with The River

14 August 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #4)

Jeremy (133) def The Giggling One (96) and Paul - with The River and Inns & Cathedrals (46)

21 August 2010 - Set (Play #3)

The Giggling One (8) def Bernd (6), Christine (5), Jeremy (3), Ewan (1), and Dan (0)

21 August 2010 - Set (Play #4)

The Giggling One (6) and Christine (6) def Jeremy (5), Bernd (3), Dan (1), and Ewan (1)

21 August 2010 - Oriente (Play #3)

Bernd (19) def Jeremy (19), Dan (18), Christine (18), Ian (16), The Giggling One (12), Belinda (8), and Ewan (5)

21 August 2010 - Samurai (Play #1)

The Giggling One (2 majorities) def Bernd, Jeremy, and Christine (all with 0 majorities)

21 August 2010 - Dixit (Play #2)

Bernd (18) def The Giggling One (17), Christine (14), and Jeremy (13)

21 August 2010 - Saboteur (Play #2)

Ewan (8) def The Giggling One (7), Bernd (6), Ian (4), Jeremy (2), and Christine (1)

28 August 2010 - Lifeboats (Play #1)

Maike (28) def Mark (18), Christine (15), Bernd (15), Jeremy (14), and Ian (12)

3 September 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #21)

Jon def The Giggling One, Jeremy, and Mark

3 September 2010 - World Without End (Play #2)

Jeremy (44) def The Giggling One (43), Jon (34), and Mark (32)

3 September 2010 - For Sale (Play #2)

Jeremy ($60,000) def Jon ($49,000), The Giggling One ($49,000), and Mark ($40,000)

3 September 2010 - Geschenkt³ (Play #1)

Jeremy (43) def The Giggling One (55), and Mark (65)

3 September 2010 - Geschenkt (Play #2)

The Giggling One (38) def Mark (57), and Jeremy (75)

4 September 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Plays #22 - #24)

The Giggling One def Jeremy (in all 3 games)

4 September 2010 - Geschenkt (Play #3)

The Giggling One (10) def Jeremy (43), and Bernd (54)

4 September 2010 - Dixit (Play #3)

Jeremy (32) def Gypsy-Anna (30), Bernd (29), The Giggling One (25), Christine (21), and Ian (19)

11 September 2010 - Agricola: Farmers of the Moor (Play #1)

Jon (36) and Christine (36) def Ian (35), Bernd (32), and Jeremy (22)

18 September 2010 - Jenga (Play #1)

Joel def Gypsy Anna, Miriam, Bernd, The Giggling One, Melanie, Jeremy, and Christine (Loser)

18 September 2010 - Jenga (Play #2)

Christine def Gypsy Anna, The Giggling One, Joel, Melanie, Bernd, Mark, Miriam, and Jeremy (Loser)

18 September 2010 - Fresco (Play #1)

Jeremy (119) def Mark (102), The Giggling One (92), and Joel (72)

18 September 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #8)

Mark & Bernd (33) def The Giggling One & Christine (47) and Jeremy & Melanie (19)

24 September 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #5)

Jeremy (371) def The Giggling One (247), Mark (240), Christine (233), and Ian (169) - included The River II, Abbey & Mayor, Inns & Cathedrals, King & Scout, The Cult, The Princess & The Dragon, The Tower, and Traders & Builders

1 October 2010 - Jenga (Play #3)

The Giggling One def Gypsy Anna, Bernd, Kevin, Jeremy, and Christine (Loser)

1 October 2010 - Fresco (Play #2)

Jeremy (98) def The Giggling One (97), Ian (71) and Jon (68)

1 October 2010 - Geschenkt (Play #4)

The Giggling One (27) def Jeremy (54), Jon (60) and Ian (63)

1 October 2010 - Geschenkt (Play #5)

The Giggling One (41) def Ian (46), Jeremy (54), and Jon (73)

16 October 2010 - Fact or Crap (Play #1)

Jeremy (44) def The Giggling One (34), Christine (21), Bernd (20), Gypsy Anna (20), Joel (19), Miriam (13), and Thamar (13)

16 October 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #1)

The Giggling One (13) def Ewan (10), Thamar (10), Joel (10), Jeremy (9), Erin (9), Bernd (7), Christine (5), Ian (5), and Miriam (4)

16 October 2010 - Dominion: Seaside (Play #2)

The Giggling One (42) def Ewan (34) and Jeremy (30)

16 October 2010 - Dominion: Seaside (Play #3)

Jeremy (38) def The Giggling One (36) and Ewan (33)

16 October 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #9)

Jeremy & The Giggling One (49) def Bernd & Ewan (35), Carl & Christine (33), and Joel & Thamar (21) - with 46 cards instead of 40

22 October 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Play #15)

Jeremy (Blue/Black) v The Giggling One (Green/Red) - Winner: Jeremy (2-0) - Set: Magic 2010

22 October 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Plays #16 - #17)

Jeremy (Blue/Black) v The Giggling One (White); Winner: Jeremy (#16: 15-0; #17: 10-0) - Set: Magic 2010

22 October 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Play #18)

The Giggling One (Blue/Black) v Jeremy (White) - Winner: The Giggling One (17-0) - Set: Magic 2010

22 October 2010 - Munchkin (Play #1)

Jeremy (10) def The Giggling One (6)

23 October 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Plays #10 - #12)

Jeremy & The Giggling One (78, 71, 78) def Matt & Vanessa (42, 49, 42)

29 October 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #6)

Ian (288) def Bernd (215), Jeremy (212), The Giggling One (162), and Christine (154) - included The River II, Abbey & Mayor, Inns & Cathedrals, King & Scout, The Cult, The Princess & The Dragon, The Tower, and Traders & Builders

5 November 2010 - Apples to Apples (Play #1)

Bernd (6) def Jeremy (5), Martin (4), Steve (4), The Giggling One (3), and Christine (1)

5 November 2010 - Vinci (Play #1)

Bernd (101) def Jeremy (92), The Giggling One (91), Christine (89), Martin (86), and Steve (80)

5 November 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #2)

The Giggling One (12) def Martin (9), Bernd (8), Christine (5), Jeremy (3), and Steve (3)

5 November 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #3)

Bernd (11) def Jeremy (10), The Giggling One (7), Martin (6), Steve (5), and Christine (0)

13 November 2010 - Aquarius (Play #1)

Christine def Ian and Jeremy

13 November 2010 - Aquarius (Play #2)

Bernd def Jeremy, Christine, and Ian

13 November 2010 - Knaves (Play #1)

Jeremy (20) def Christine (15) and Bernd (9)

20 November 2010 - Werewolf (Play #10)

Werewolves - Matt, Naomi, and The Giggling One def Villagers - Kerry (Seer), Daniel (Bishop), Bronwyn (Mason), James (Mason), Vanessa, Kim, Scott, and Lauri (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

20 November 2010 - Werewolf (Play #11)

Werewolves - Matt, Bronwyn, and James def Villagers - Vanessa (Seer), Daniel (Bishop), Naomi (Mason), The Giggling One (Mason), Kim, Kerry, Scott, and Lauri (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

20 November 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #13)

Jeremy & The Giggling One (56) def Daniel & Bronwyn (34), Matt & Vanessa (19), and Kim & Kerry (11)

3 December 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #27)

The Giggling One def Jeremy and Mark

3 December 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #28)

Mark def The Giggling One and Jeremy

3 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #4)

Christine (1) def Kit (7), The Giggling One (7), Jeremy (6), Mark (4), and Jon (3)

3 December 2010 - Dice Town (Play #5)

The Giggling One (33) def Kit (29), Jeremy (29), Jon (20), and Mark (18)

3 December 2010 - Too Many Cooks (Play #2)

The Giggling One (32) def Mark (17), Kit (17), Jeremy (9), and Jon (7)

3 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #5)

Jeremy (12) def The Giggling One (8), Steve P (5), Christine (4), Mark (4), Kirsi (3), Steve W (2), and Bernd (0)

3 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #6)

Bernd (10) def Christine (9), Steve W (8), Jeremy (7), Steve P (4), Mark (4), and The Giggling One (1)

3 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #7)

Mark (13) def Steve P (8), Steve W (6), Christine (6), Bernd (6), Jeremy (4), and The Giggling One (2)

3 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #8)

Steve W (13) def Bernd (12), Jeremy (8), The Giggling One (8), Mark (6), Steve P (3), and Christine (3)

4 December 2010 - Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (Play #5)

Scott def Jeremy, The Giggling One, Vanessa, Matt, and Lauri - Magic Carrot: #11

4 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #9)

Jeremy (11) def Vanessa (6), Matt (5), Lauri (5), Scott (3), and The Giggling One (2)

4 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #10)

The Giggling One (10) def Jeremy (8), Scott (6), Vanessa (4), Matt (4), and Lauri (4)

11 December 2010 - Colosseum (Play #2)

Mark (95) def Christine (80), Ian (78), Bernd (77), and Jeremy (69)

18 December 2010 - Ca$h 'n Gun$: Live (Play #1)

Chris, Anson, and Martin ($340,000) def Gypsy Anna, Christine, and Sam ($315,000), and Bernd, Julianne, and Steve ($215,000) (with Jeremy as the Godfather)

18 December 2010 - Pandemic (Play #3)

Mark (Scientist), The Giggling One (Dispatcher), Jeremy (Researcher), and Martin (Operations Expert) were defeated (5 Epidemics)

18 December 2010 - Pandemic (Play #4)

Jeremy (Researcher), Martin (Medic), Mark (Dispatcher), and The Giggling One (Scientist) were defeated (5 Epidemics)

18 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #11)

The Giggling One (10) def Sam (8), Splat (5), Steve (4), Martin (2), Jeremy (0), Mark (0), and Chris (0)

18 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #12)

Splat (10) def Anson (5), Bernd (4), The Giggling One (4), Steve (3), Jeremy (0), Martin (0), and Mark (0)

18 December 2010 - The Resistance (Play #1)

Imperial Spies Splat, Steve, and Anson def Resistance Operatives Jeremy, Martin, Bernd, Mark, and The Giggling One

18 December 2010 - The Resistance (Play #2)

Imperial Spies Jeremy, Anson, and Mark def Resistance Operatives Splat, Steve, Bernd, and The Giggling One

22 December 2010 & 26 December 2010 - Munchkin Quest (Play #4)

Jeremy (10) def The Giggling One (8)

25 December 2010 - Man Bites Dog (Play #3)

Jeremy (515) def Wynne (445), Chris (390), and The Giggling One (285)

25 December 2010 - Man Bites Dog (Play #4)

The Giggling One (540) def Wynne (420), Jeremy (390), and Chris (330)

25 December 2010 - Dixit (Play #4)

Jeremy (33) def The Giggling One (24) and Wynne (18)

25 December 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #14)

Brian & Leah (41) def The Giggling One & Tim (40) and Jeremy & Mads (39)

1. aka Up the River, Down the River and lots of other names.
2. aka Liar's Dice
3. aka No Thanks!

2009 In Review

2010-01-02T13:08:00.002+11:00

2009 was another very enjoyable year of gaming. I only began my journey into the world of "proper" board gaming in 2008, and two years in, I'm still going strong. And I have no intention of slowing down. Ever.

So, what happened in this little gaming world of mine that finds an outlet in this even littler blog I call Up the vacuum thingy? Well how about we start with the quest I set myself for 2009.

Here's what I wrote on January 1st 2009:
: Part I of my Quest for 2009 is to play at least 15 games a minimum of 3 times each. Additionally, to qualify a game must either be on the 2008 New Games list, or be a game I am yet to play. Games I first played prior to 2008 will not count.

That goal, I am pleased to say, was successfully met. I finished the year having played 19 games at least 3 times. All of these were games I had never played prior to 2008.

These are the 19 games in question (and the number of times I played them):
: Agricola (5), An Evening With Bram Stoker's Dracula (3), Ca$h 'n Gun$ (5), Carcassonne (4), Citadels (3), Democrazy (4), Die Macher (3), Dominion (24), Dominion: Intrigue (4), Fluxx (4), Loopin' Louie (3), Magic: The Gathering (7), Martian Fluxx (13), Munchkin (7), Pandemic (7), Set (7), Stone Age (6), Werewolf (34), Zombie Fluxx (57)

A quick note: while Dominion: Intrigue is an expansion for Dominion, it can be played as a stand alone game. I played it as a stand alone game 4 times, and mixed with Dominion 15 times.

For the complete record of all games played (and by complete I mean including every player's score) you can read my 2009 Games Record. Given it lists all 233 plays for 2009, it is quite lengthy. :-)

And 233 plays is pretty good I reckon. Nowhere near as hardcore as some other bloggers I read, but it's definitely in the "serious gamer" category.

Speaking of being a serious gamer, I did have a second part to my quest in 2009 that I wasn't so successful at achieving. Again, let's go back twelve months and recap:
: Part II of my Quest was spawned from something I've been piecing together over the last year. To fulfil the Quest, I need to create my own board game, with a fully working game completed by the end of the year. It doesn't matter if it isn't of professional quality, as long as it is fully playable.

No game creation appeared in 2009 I'm afraid. I ended up abandoning this goal fairly early on, especially as there was the minor matter of a wedding in November to help organise. So I've deferred this goal to become my quest for 2010. I'll blog about that shortly.

Finally, a recap of the year would not be complete without a count down list. Last year I counted down my top ten games for 2008. This year, however, I've decided to take a slightly different tack:

My Top Five Gaming Experiences for 2009

#5 - Magic: the Gathering

This was a rather surreal moment in my gaming life, and occurred on Sunday, December 13. It is best explained in the post I made on the following day, and which I will summarise here:

The Giggling One and I were lying in bed. I was browsing the net on my iPhone as I am wont to do. I remembered hearing about the Magic: The Gathering game on the Xbox 360, and reminiscing about the games of Magic I used to play online led me to check out a review of the game out of curiosity.

I then decided to head on over to Wikipedia to check out the latest expansions. I had a chuckle reading the amusing code names each of the sets of three were given (eg. Control, Alt, and Delete; Live, Long, and Prosper).

The Giggling One asked me what I was laughing at, so I showed her. Then, just like that she said "We should get it."

I was a little taken aback. This was a game she had never seen before, but she had heard me mention it here and there. I've played plenty of games of Magic online, but I've never actually played the real, physical-cards-in-your-hand version of the game.

So, on a whim we went out that afternoon and bought two intro packs for the 2010 Core Set, as well as eight booster packs, and placed these under the Christmas tree as our presents to ourselves.

Needless to say, if you noticed the list of games earlier in this post, we've since played a few games. We also went back in to our FLGS and bought the remaining three intro packs so we now have a nice selection of cards in all colours.

I have to say I was just a little worried about buying the game, what with it being the (perceived) domain of the geekiest of geeks, and coming with the inherent must-keep-buying-more-cards risk. I like to think we're mature enough and smart enough not to fall into the just-one-more-booster-pack trap. We've spent more than the cost of a regular board game on it already.

Still, it's been worth it. Now that The Giggling One has got her head around the basics and understands how the cards interact, we've had some fun games, with plenty more to come.

#4 - Achieving the Quest

Well, achieving the first part of the quest at least. I've blogged about this more than once, but after playing as many new games as I could in 2008 (28, or 31 including expansions), it was time to concentrate on enjoying multiple plays of games.

While most plays of each game were in the single digits, I did get four games into double digits. Yes they were all light games, but 57 games of Zombie Fluxx is not only an achievement in itself, but a testament to just how darn fun the game is.

And interestingly, while I wasn't concentrating on playing new games, I still racked up an impressive 28 new games anyway. Which equalled 2008!

I'll still be logging all my plays for 2010, but won't have a specific play target. It will be interesting to see how my tally goes when I'm not aiming for a particular total.

#3 - Werewolf

When The Giggling One and I were first introduced to Werewolf, I wasn't too keen. It didn't sound like something I would be interested in.

And then, of course, we played it and loved it. It became a staple of HoGS games nights in '09, and as long as we had enough people we generally wrapped up the evening with a few games of Werewolf.

The highlight of the year as far as Werewolf is concerned was undoubtedly introducing it to, and moderating a game for, a group of fourteen (well thirteen plus The Giggling One) non gamers, nearly all of whom I hadn't even met before.

We played with three Werewolves, three Masons, a Seer, and a Bishop. After getting to grips with the first game, everyone was eager to play a second game now that they knew what they were doing and understood the nuances of the game. It was a nice way to end the dinner party, and not just for me.

And that's the great thing about Werewolf: it doesn't matter who you introduce it to - nearly everyone loves it. It's simple, requires just a deck of cards to play, and can be enjoyed with any moderate to large sized group.

It was rather fitting that Werewolf was the game that saw out 2009 for us, with three fun games played (again with Werewolf newbies) leading up to midnight. In actual fact, the third game was postponed part way through to bring in the new year, before The Giggling One began 2010 in style by successfully killing off the remaining villagers without being lynched.

#2 - HoGS

My gaming life would not be what it is without the Hobart Games Society. The group has remained fairly modest throughout the year, with anything from six to sixteen gamers attending the regular games nights.

The Giggling One and I tried to get along to as many as nights as we could, and attended the vast majority of them. Even with two nights a month (the first Friday of the month, and the second Saturday following the first Friday - ie. two weeks and one day later) I'm still feeling like I'm not getting enough gaming. :-)

I'm hoping things may change in 2010. Thanks to Bernd's drive, HoGS is on its way from being a casual meet up to becoming an official organisation. We now have a constitution and everything.

At December HoGS we had our first proper meeting where we began to formalise proceedings. A committee was formed with Bernd as President (and Public Officer), Mark R as Vice President, Christine as Treasurer, and myself as Secretary. Ian T and Ian B also joined the committee as regular members.

I've had my doubts over whether this would ever get off the ground, and we still have much work to do to grow HoGS into something bigger and better. One thing's for sure: we've got a great group of dedicated gamers to lead the way, and that's a promising start.

#1 - My Wedding

This was my number one moment for 2009, gaming or otherwise. Full stop.

The Giggling One and I tied the knot on November 14, 2009 in a beautiful ceremony at Fitzroy Gardens followed by an awesome reception at Barilla Bay. It will certainly be a day I will never, ever, forget.

There are two ties to gaming that this has for me, which is why this qualifies as my number one gaming experience for 2009.

Firstly: fudge. For the bonbonnières at the wedding reception we decided to give our guests small boxes containing fudge. But not just any fudge. Apart from being made using our good friend Brian's secret fudge recipe (he would not divulge the actual quantities of the ingredients even to us (though we got a good look as we helped him make it)), we gave the fudge a gaming theme.

As well as the hearts that The Giggling One insisted we have, we also cut the fudge into dice and meeples. The latter was achieved by finding a person-shaped cookie cutter and working it into the shape of a meeple using pliers. The dice were simple cubes to which we added icing for the dots.

Finally, let me reflect on the second tie my wedding had to gaming. That one is simple, and can be summarised in three words: The Giggling One.

Finding someone to love and spend the rest of my life with is amazing. To have that person share my love of games? I really can't find a word to describe just how majorly, wonderfully cool that is.

My gaming future is bright.

Bellamy Sports: Bellamy Football

2009-12-30T16:54:00.002+11:00

Continuing with the Bellamy Sports series, it's time for sport number two: Bellamy Football.

Bellamy Football became the second Bellamy Sport in early 2000. It evolved from a social kick around and quickly overtook Bellamy Tennis in popularity.

What you need for Bellamy Football is a large open field or park, an even number of players, and an Aussie Rules football (though a rugby ball will do at a pinch).

The game is a version of "Forcings Back" where one team must kick the football to their opponents' boundary in order to win. The boundaries must be determined prior to the game commencing. The original Bellamy Football game was played in a park surrounded on all four sides by fences. If no fences exist on any side, then an imaginary border must be decided upon.

There is also no requirement for the field of play to be fully open or, indeed, flat. Our official Bellamy Football field had an asphalt path running diagonally across it, trees planted every twenty or so metres on either side of the path, a park bench with a rubbish bin next to it, a children's play area at one end complete with swings and slides, and a nasty downhill slope at the other end. Any obstacles and slopes should be taken into account when deciding the starting point of the game.

A toss of a coin is held before the start of the game. The winner of the toss may decide either who starts with the ball, or which end they wish to attack. The loser of the toss has the other choice. Once ends and initial possession are decided upon, the game commences.

The team with possession starts at the designated spot - generally the halfway line - and then handballs the ball as far as possible towards their opponents' end of the ground. All handballs must be made Aussie Rules style and must be made with the person's non-preferred hand. Any handball made with the person's preferred hand will result in a penalty.

The receiving team must then catch or grab the ball as far upfield as possible. The ball must be in a players possession before it stops moving. If the ball comes to a complete standstill then the receiving team are penalised (see below). Once a player is in possession of the football, they must then kick it mightily towards their opponents' boundary.

When a player kicks the ball, they must not move their non-kicking foot from its position on the ground. That is, the non-kicking foot must remain planted firmly where it was when the ball was picked up, while the other foot kicks the football. This is the no-step kick rule that Bellamy Football employs. There are only two exceptions to the no-step kick rule.

The first exception is the one-step kick that players are allowed if they mark the ball (ie. catch it on the full from an opposition player's kick). On marking the ball a player may take one step forward with their non-kicking foot and kick at the same time.

Additionally, if a player marks the ball they earn a free handball. This allows them to handball (again, with their non-preferred hand) to a team mate further up the field before that player takes the kick. Earned handballs may be accumulated and used at any time a team is in possession of the ball, though handballs may not be carried over from game to game. For example a team may take three marks during the course of the game but not use the handballs. When they get within striking range of their opponents' boundary they can then handball three times to bring the ball even closer for a shot at winning the game. If a player attempts a handball and it is not caught by their team mate, then they immediately lose any accumulated handballs and must return the ball to the original player for a penalty kick.

A team is also allowed to use one sideline handball if the ball is within two metres of a side fence. This handball cannot advance up the field but must travel laterally or back towards that team's own boundary. Failure to adhere to this will result in a penalty kick.

Penalty kicks are the second exception to the no-step rule. Any time a team is penalised their next kick must be taken while taking one step backwards. The player must step back with their non-kicking foot and kick the ball simultaneously. This isn't quite as hard as it sounds, though it can lead to some amusing moments.

Play continues until either one team kicks the ball into the opponents' boundary or boundary area, thereby winning the game, or one team kicks the ball out of bounds, thereby immediately losing the game. The teams then change ends and play a second game. The first team to win two games is the winner.

Penalty Summary

A penalty is awarded against a team when a player from that team:

drops an attempted mark; or

drops an attempted handball; or

handballs with their preferred hand; or

takes the wrong kind of kick; or

moves after taking possession of the ball; or

allows the ball to come to a complete stop before picking it up; or

handballs forwards at a sideline handball; or

handballs when the team has no accumulated handballs remaining.

Note: Penalties in italics also indicate the team loses any accumulated handballs.

And that, my friends, is Bellamy Football. Things to remember are:

make sure you use the correct "step" rule when you kick;

always handball with your non-preferred hand;

grab that ball before it stops rolling;

don't kick the ball out of bounds or you'll lose immediately;

have fun; and

wherever possible, laugh and/or jeer at your opponents.

Amuse-bouche: Shiny!

2009-12-27T16:09:00.001+11:00

In addition to the new games I scored this Christmas, The Giggling One was even more generous when she gave me some bonus bits and pieces for Agricola.

My animeeples have now been complemented with vegimeeples:

And I have five majorly cool new designer boards to play with:

Shiny!

Christmas Hoard 2010

2009-12-27T15:24:00.000+11:00

It's good to be a gamer at Christmas. You get what you want, and it makes it easier for people to find something for you. Unless of course, they know you are a gamer but not your game preferences and you end up with a bit of a dud. Of course, I cannot confirm or deny whether or not any games I received were duds. I'll let you be the judge, but I did pretty darn well.

We'll start with my wish list. Two months ago I posted about what was on my gaming radar as far as games I'd be happy to be the proud recipient of. I scored three out of the six games that were on that list, so that's a pretty impressive hit rate:

Martian Fluxx

Dice Town

Citadels

Additionally, my sisters chose to fuel my gaming habits with:

Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot plus the Perfectly Pink Booster (this was a gift for both myself and The Giggling One)

and Big Brother (this one doesn't have an entry on Geekdō, so I've now submitted one :-) ).

Finally, there was my and the Giggling One's gift to ourselves: Magic: The Gathering (Magic 2010 edition).

We've already played Martian Fluxx, Dice Town, and Magic. I'll do my best to post reviews in the near (read "distant") future. With any luck, the other games on my wish list may come my way by my birthday in February (hint hint).

Bellamy Sports: Bellamy Tennis

2009-12-19T17:45:00.000+11:00

This is the first of a series of posts detailing the legendary Bellamy Sports: games I created with the aid of friends in 1999 and 2000. "Bellamy" is my nickname among my circle of friends with whom these increasingly ridiculous games were created and played.

The first Bellamy Sport, Bellamy Tennis, came into being during a doubles tennis match (well "match" isn't perhaps the best description as it was more of a social hit around) in 1999. The four players who were blissfully unaware of what they were about to start were myself, Leah, Steve and Mick. After a couple of regular games with various partnerships, the game suddenly changed...

Imagine, if you will, a standard doubles tennis court, with fences or walls (boundaries) at either end and perhaps to the side as well. Any side without a boundary is deemed a penalty area, and the edge of the penalty area should be determined prior to the start of the game. Any area outside a boundary is out of bounds.

There should be four players taking part as in standard doubles tennis. Bellamy Tennis cannot be played with only two people. Ends are chosen by the flip of a coin or other fair or unfair means as the case may be.

The game commences with a serve from behind the baseline. Each serve from then on will be taken by the team that won the previous point. The server must alternate each time a team serves. A serve does not have to land within the diagonally opposite service court, but must land within the court proper. For example, a serve may land in the doubles alley near the baseline and still be in play.

The receiving team then attempts to return the ball. The ball must be struck by both players before it travels back over the net. No player may hit the ball twice in succession without another player touching it. As in volleyball, each team is allowed a maximum of 3 hits before the ball must return over the net.

There is no restriction on how many times the ball bounces before it is hit. As long as the ball is played when it is still in motion, then play continues. A ball could be rolling along the back fence, for example, and still be in play.

When a ball is returned in general play there is no requirement for it to land inside the court, but it must travel directly over the net. As long as the ball lands in bounds it is in play. A ball is also still in play if it hits a boundary on the full, as long as it comes down in bounds or in the penalty area.

The penalty area comes into effect only when the ball is played directly over the net into that area, in which case the point is lost by the team that hit the ball. If the ball hits a boundary before travelling into the penalty area, it is still in play. If the ball travels into the penalty area off a player before it is returned over the net then it is also still in play.

Each team is awarded 1 point whenever they win, or their opponents lose, a rally. The only exception to this is the Bellamy Rule. If the first player reaches the ball on the full they may call "Bellamy". Their partner must then also hit the ball before it touches the ground and pass it back to the first player, again on the full, before travelling over the net. If that team goes on to win the point then they are awarded 2 points. The other team will still only score 1 point if they win. However, if one team calls "Bellamy" and fails to complete the 3 hits on the full and successfully return it over the net then 2 points are awarded to their opponents.

The first team to reach 9 points wins the set. The first team to win 2 sets is deemed the winner.

Summary

One (1) point is awarded to a team's opponents if:

the serve lands outside the sidelines or over the baseline; or

the ball is returned without both players hitting it; or

the ball is hit 4 or more times before returning over the net; or

one player hits the ball twice without the their partner hitting it; or

the ball passes into the opponent's side without travelling directly over the net; or

the ball comes to a complete stop before it is returned; or

the ball is hit out of bounds; or

once returned over the net, the ball passes directly into the penalty area.

Two (2) points are awarded to a team (the Bellamy Rule) if, at some point during the rally:

the ball is played on the full by the first receiver; and

the first receiver calls "Bellamy" before or while hitting the ball; and

the ball is then played to the second receiver on the full; and

the ball is then played back to the first receiver on the full; and

the ball is then returned directly over the net; and

the ball does not then go directly into the penalty area; and

they win the point.

Two (2) points are awarded to a team's opponents if:

a team member calls "Bellamy"; and

any of the first six requirements of the Bellamy Rule are not met.

And there you have it. Bellamy Tennis. The game that started it all. When taking this on, be prepared for some very long rallies. Remember, the ball is still in play as long as it is moving. By the way, the winners of that inaugural game were myself and Leah in straight sets. :-)

Amuse-bouche: A Magic Christmas

2009-12-14T19:33:00.004+11:00

Let me relate a little story.

On Sunday morning (ie. yesterday), The Giggling One and I were lying in bed. I was browsing the net on my iPhone as I am wont to do. I remembered hearing about the Magic: The Gathering game on the Xbox 360 (the only current gen console we don't own), and reminiscing about the games of Magic I used to play online led me to check out a review of the game out of curiosity.

I then decided to head on over to Wikipedia and see what the latest expansions were, as I hadn't been keeping track for the last couple of years. I had a chuckle reading the amusing code names each of the sets of three were given (eg. Control, Alt, and Delete; Live, Long, and Prosper; etc. - full list here).

The Giggling One asked me what I was laughing at, so I showed her. Then, just like that she said "We should get it."

I was a little taken aback. This was a game she had never seen before, but she had heard me mention it here and there. I've played plenty of games of Magic online, but I've never actually played the real, physical-cards-in-your-hand version of the game. In total I own one Magic card (called Oppressive Will), and only because that came as a freebie with a magazine.

Did she not know how pervasive the trading card game genre could be? Did she not understand that Dominion is one thing, but Magic is quite another? Did she not know how much more geeky playing this game would make her?

Well yes. Turns out she did. And she was OK with that. She figured it would be nice to play it together.

So, on a whim we went out that afternoon and bought two intro packs for the 2010 Core Set, as well as eight booster packs.

So shiny new Magic: The Gathering cards are sitting under our Christmas tree just waiting to be played come December 25. Now there's a way to celebrate.

Amuse-bouche: What's on my gaming radar?

2009-10-25T15:42:00.007+11:00

We're heading in to that season again when everyone is seeking ideas on what to get me for Christmas. For me, that's easy. Games.

The Giggling One has asked me to put together a list of games that I'd like, and here's what I've currently got on my list...

#1 - World Without End

Ken Follett's World Without End, the novel that is, is a sequel to The Pillars of the Earth, and both sit right at the top of my all time favourite books list. They are, to put it bluntly, bloody fantastic books.

Given that I raved about the Pillars Board Game last year, do you think I was excited to find out there was a game based on the sequel? Oooooh yeah.

There's not too much info floating around about this at the moment, but it's still way on top of my "must have" list.

#2 - Dominion: Seaside

Seaside is the second expansion for Dominion, and looks to shake things up with duration cards that last multiple turns, as well as introducing player mats that let you set aside cards and collect coins and place embargo tokens on card piles. It certainly looks intriguing. Wait, no, that was the first expansion. I guess that makes this one seasiding.

#3 - Martian Fluxx

We love Zombie Fluxx, and this new Fluxx game looks the bomb. Plus a game where you play Martians invading Earth is just cool.

#4 - Dice Town

Stephen and Dave at The Spiel are totally to blame for me wanting this game. It's a light dice rolling game with a western theme where you must decide which part of town you want to visit (eg. the gold mine, bank, general store or town hall) and try to roll the right poker hand, while everyone else is doing the same.

#5 - Agricola: Farmers of the Moor

This is the first major expansion for Agricola, and adds peat bogs and forests to players' farms which they need to get rid of if they are going to build the regular fields and pastures. The good news is you can use the wood and peat to heat your home, as you're going to have to keep your family warm in addition to feeding them at the harvest.

The expansion also adds horses which can be placed on farms, as well as a slew of new Minor and Major Improvement cards. It's getting some positive reviews, and as a fan of Agricola, this is going to be a must-buy, or a must-have-as-a-Christmas-present.

#6 - Citadels

The Giggling One and I only played this game for the first time at HoGS last week, and we both loved it. It's been around for a few years (since 2000), and we'd briefly seen others play it at HoGS, but had no idea how enjoyable it was.

Citadels involves choosing a role from a set of cards, then passing those cards on for the next player to choose one of the remaining roles, and so on. Once all the roles are selected, they are played in numerical order and players take basic and special actions that allow them to obtain gold, steal gold, play cards, swap cards, etc. This process is repeated until one player has eight cards in front of them. Each card is a "district" (or building) and has a point value. The player with the highest point value of cards in their citadel at the end of the game wins.

I'll finish off by quickly mentioning the three video games that are also on my gaming radar at the moment:

StarCraft II - is StarCraft, is good.

Gran Turismo 5 - is Gran Turismo, is gran.

TrackMania 2 - is TrackMania, is track.

These are three franchises that I have enjoyed the heck out of. StarCraft is a great, well balanced, RTS that rocks online. The realism in Gran Turismo is awesome, especially with a force feedback steering wheel. And as for TrackMania, well I've pumped more hours into it than almost every other game I've ever played combined. These games will definitely be getting some love when they are eventually released.

He shoots, he scores!

2009-10-03T09:38:00.005+10:00

Goaaaaaal! Achieved!

At the start of 2009 I set myself the goal of playing at least 15 games a minimum of 3 times each.

That goal was reached on October 2nd. So I can now relax cos I've attained my goal.

But wait just a die rollin' second there matey comes the call. What about Part II of your quest?

Oh. That.

Well, you see, it's like this. Other things got in the way, particularly the planning of a certain wedding to a certain Giggling One in November, and I've deferred the creation of my own game to 2010.

So that will be the quest for 2010. But let's forget about that for now, and reminisce about the 15 games that led me to this momentous(ish) achievement I'm celebrating today:

Agricola, An Evening with Bram Stoker's Dracula, Ca$h 'n Gun$, Carcassonne, Democrazy, Die Macher, Dominion, Dominion: Intrigue, Loopin' Louie, Munchkin, Pandemic, Set, Stone Age, Werewolf, and Zombie Fluxx

Happy days.

Pandemic

2009-09-22T19:21:00.009+10:00

With the somewhat lengthy period of time since my last update, I'd like to say I've been laid low by H1N1, but I'd just be telling porkies. Instead, I'll offer this excuse: I'm just lazy. Anyway, let's forget that and get on with the latest Up the vacuum thingy review: Pandemic.

One wonders if, upon the worldwide spread of the H1N1 virus that the publishers of Pandemic just had a wee moment of guilty pleasure. I like to think so anyway.

So let's see. Just what exactly is Pandemic and how do you fight it? Well slow down there soldier...or doctor...because you're not going into this alone. You see, we've got your back.

Pandemic is one of what seems to be a growing trend of cooperative games. Sure, co-op games have been around for many years, but with big name titles like Ghost Stories and Pandemic, which was nominated for the 2009 Spiel des Jahres, co-op games are all the rage with the hip gamers.

And I'm nothing if not a hip gamer.

Or is that a geek gamer? Yes, definitely geek.

The object of Pandemic is for the players to run around a board...

...trying to stop four different diseases (in the form of ubiquitous cubes) from running rampant, and ultimately, hopefully cure them.

The problem is that at the end of every turn, more disease cubes are added to the board. Where the outbreaks occur is dependent upon which Infection Cards are drawn.

Each disease originates in a particular part of the world easily discernible by the colour coded board. For example, if the Tehran and Santiago cards, as seen in the picture above, were drawn from the deck then a black cube would be placed in Tehran and a yellow cube in Santiago.

This doesn't stop the colours from spreading to cities of another colour, as any time you would be required to add a cube to a city, and there are already three cubes of that colour in that city, the dreaded outbreak occurs [insert ominous music here].

During an outbreak, one cube of the outbreaking colour must be added to each adjoining city. If you're really unlucky, or just suck at the game, this can have a domino effect if an adjoining city also outbreaks because of this. If you ever hit your eighth outbreak, then it's game over, and not in a good way. You lose.

But wait, that's not all. For the special price of one Epidemic Card things can get a whole lot nastier.

Squirrelled away in the Player Deck (I'll get to that later) are a number of Epidemic Cards. The more you have, the harder the game becomes. Four Epidemics are for beginners or cowards, five cards are for a "normal" game, and six cards are for the "heroic" game. And if that's just not enough, the Pandemic expansion, subtitled On the Brink, actually let's you add a seventh Epidemic for a difficulty level they call "Legendary" and I call "Death Wish".

If you draw one of these bad boys, you have to draw an Infection Card from the bottom of the deck (representing a city that has not been diseased before) and place three cubes of the appropriate colour in that city. Then you shuffle all the Infection Cards in the discard pile (ie. the cities you've already had to put cubes in) and place them back on top of the Infection Card deck. Meaning that the next time you have to draw cards, you're going to be drawing cards you've previously drawn, thus increasing the rate of infection. Ooh, that's dastardly. And clever. I'll pay that one.

By now you're probably wondering how you actually stop the scourge from infecting every darn city in the world and turning everyone into little cubes. Either that, or you followed the link at the start of the review and found out for yourself. Shame on you if you even considered it.

As I mentioned earlier, you get to run around the board doing stuff. Like removing cubes, building research stations and discovering cures. But first, before all of that begins each player is given a special role.

Each role has special abilities. For instance the Dispatcher can move other players' pawns about, and the Medic can remove all cubes of a single colour in a city with just one action (for everyone else it's one action per cube removed).

The special abilities are really where it's at. Utilising these effectively is the key to doing well. In a recent game, I was the Medic, The Giggling One was the Dispatcher, and Mark was the Researcher. On successive turns, The Giggling One flew us all to the same city and used a Special Event card to build a research station there for free, Mark gave me all his cards of one colour, and I cured the disease and then removed all the cubes in that city for free. Sweet.

With each player having four actions available to them each turn, there is a lot of discussion on how to use them. For one action you can move to an adjoining city (or a non-adjoining city if you have the right Player Card in you hand or you're flying from one research station to another), remove one cube from the city you are in, build a research station in your current city (if you have that city's card in your hand), pass a card matching the city you are in to another player in the same city, or cure a disease.

Curing diseases is rather important, because that's the only way you can win the game. You first need to get yourself to a city with a research station, and then discard five cards of the same colour in order to cure the disease of that colour.

Cure all four diseases and you win the game. Hit eight outbreaks, run out of cubes of one colour, or run out of Player Cards and you lose.

Speaking of which, I haven't really explained Player Cards yet have I? I'd better to that now then I suppose.

Player Cards, like Infection Cards, simply depict a city on them. There is one card for each city on the board. Each player starts with some Player Cards and then draws more during each turn after they've taken their four actions.

Player Cards are used primarily to cure diseases, but also as a means of quickly travelling around the board and to build research stations. Once a Player Card is used, it is placed on the discard pile and is not used again. So you always need to think twice before using a card. You may desire to travel to a red city in one action, but if that leaves you short of red cards for a cure then you could be in trouble.

Mixed in with the Player Cards, along with the evil Epidemic Cards, you'll also come across Special Events that give you a free leg up.

Handy dandy.

Pandemic is a lot of fun to play, and I especially enjoy teaming up with people rather than pitting my wits against them. I've played the game three times so far for two wins and one defeat. Take that you insidious diseases!

The first game I played was a two player game with The Giggling One. We played with four Epidemic cards to ease ourselves into the game, and were almost beaten.

As you can see, we very nearly ran out of red cubes with all the infections in Asia. We also fought a losing battle to eradicate yellow and then blue, but we managed to find the fourth cure after hitting the third epidemic and only suffering six outbreaks.

The second game was a three player affair with The Giggling One and Mark, and was pretty much a non contest. We played with five epidemics, and the blue disease simply ran rife. We cured yellow early, but the rest of the game was spent in a futile effort to contain the spread of blue. We ran out of blue cubes just after the third epidemic and lost the game.

The third Epidemic Card didn't even get a chance to come out in the third game. Again with The Giggling One and Mark in a five epidemic game, we fought the diseases as best we could. And this time it was a walk in the park. Only one outbreak occurred by the time we cured the fourth disease.

Which brings me to my final comment. There is a large degree of luck involved with Pandemic. The order the cards come out in is a huge factor. To have played two three-player games with five epidemics, and get slaughtered in one and coast home in the other shows that perhaps the game is a little too luck heavy. Or we just played so much better the second time.

Regardless of the luck factor, Pandemic is still a very enjoyable game, and worthy of the accolades it has achieved. It's currently ranked at number 24 on Board Game Geek which is no small feat. Highly recommended if you'd like to join forces with other players and rid the world of little coloured cubes.

Amuse-bouche: A trio to whet the appetite

2009-08-25T19:04:00.005+10:00

Three new games recently arrived in the Jeremy/Giggling One household, having winged their way from the US via GatePlay.com (which, freight included, cost less than the best deal I could find in Australia before freight costs!).

First on the list was an expansion I had been hanging out for for some time: Dominion: Intrigue.

I bought the original earlier this year based on reputation alone (and mainly because I couldn't find another game I wanted to purchase with my games shop voucher) even though I wasn't completely sold on the premise.

Having played eight games of Dominion to date (I knew the Games Record on the sidebar would come in handy one day) I'm still not completely taken by the game. Sure it won the 2009 Spiel des Jahres, but I've never really felt it was that good.

Enter Intrigue which completely shakes things up and makes the game so much more interesting. While the base game had only one real strategy (use Copper to buy Silver -> use Silver to buy Gold -> use Gold to buy Provinces), Intrigue adds a whole new set of ways to win.

In particular, the cards that double as Victory Cards and Action Cards add an intriguing (ho ho) level to the desirability of Kingdom card, and with cards like Duke making Duchies worth purchasing, I think I'm going to enjoy this game a whole lot more.

Second on my gotta get list was Pandemic.

Having heard and read a lot about this game, and having seen the accolades it has received, it was an easy decision to purchase Pandemic.

I was also keen to add a co-op game to my collection, and Pandemic fits the bill nicely. I've only played it once so far, in a two player game at the beginner level (four epidemics) with The Giggling One, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I can see that it's going to take some kick arse strategies to beat this game at harder difficulties as we barely won with just four epidemics. Playing with the Dispatcher and Scientist, we were very close to running out of red cubes (only three left).

We found that we were better off trading cards and curing diseases, as trying to eradicate diseases was just too damn frustrating: just when you only have a few cubes of one colour left, a whole new bunch come on to the board in cities you've already cleared.

I'm definitely taking Pandemic to the next HoGS night.

The final game in the trio was one I was not intending to buy, but I'm bloody glad I did. While I was browsing GatePlay's website waiting for Pandemic to come back in stock, I came across Stone Age.

I had read one or two things about Stone Age, and it looked interesting, so I read (and watched) some reviews which helped me make my mind up about it.

Stone Age falls in the "worker placement" genre, and being a big fan of The Pillars of the Earth and Agricola, I thought I would like it.

And I do. As does The Giggling One. We gave this a go in a two player game, and The Giggling One absolutely trounced me. I employed my usual Agricola strategy and concentrated too much on getting extra workers, leaving me with food shortages necessitating sending workers hunting for food instead of obtaining other resources or cards. Don't do that is my advice.

All three games need loving, and will certainly be vying for my attention at coming games nights.

Amuse-bouche: Why I'm not sold on Incan Gold

2009-08-09T14:49:00.005+10:00

Perhaps my experience of Incan Gold was tainted by the first play when, with a runaway leader going in to the final round, there was no way anyone else was going to win.

With hindsight, I did go into this game expecting greater depth rather than treat it like the light piece of fun that it is designed to be.

The thing is, I do like light, fun, anyone-can-win style games (Zombie Fluxx being a prime example); I just don't like the uncertainty of the whole press your luck genre.

For the uninitiated, Incan Gold is an, erm, Incan themed treasure hunt card game where each turn every player must decide whether they wish to remain in the current round ("exploring the temple") or not. For those that stay in, a card is turned over. If that card contains treasure, those players still in the round share the treasure evenly amongst themselves, with any remainder placed on the card.

If the card turned over is a "danger" (ie. snake, spider, zombie, fire, rock fall), no one receives anything. However, there are three of each type of danger, and should one danger appear for the second time in the round, all players still exploring run screaming from the temple, dropping all their ill gotten gains in the process.

The crux of the game is, therefore, to decide at what point you wish to quit the round so as to safely stow your treasure. Obviously, until at least one danger card appears (they make up just under 50% of the deck) there is no benefit to departing the temple, but once a danger appears, you have to weigh up the risk of remaining in the round, as well as the likely decisions of the other players.

If you are the only player who quits the round on a particular turn, you get to take all the treasure still sitting on the cards that couldn't be divided between the players when it was discovered. Of course, your share diminishes if you depart at the same time as another player, so that's where factoring in the other players' decisions comes in to the equation.

The two games of Incan Gold we played were vastly different, and showed the two types of strategy that I think are likely to succeed. They also illustrated just what a random game this is.

We played with eight players in each game, which in itself makes a huge difference as to how much treasure you get, as more players are likely to leave the temple at the same time as you if the treasure is enticing enough.

One particular player proved to be more reckless, or foolhardy, than everyone else, and was always the last player remaining in each round. As a strategy, it's not the smartest thing to do, but it paid off handsomely in game one. With a massive haul all to himself, he finally left the temple in Round 4 with a total of 37 gems to his name.

This was significantly more than anyone else, and made the final round something of an anticlimax. No one was ever going to reach the same score, so it became a situation where you might as well stay in the round for as long as possible, risks be damned.

The same strategy was applied by this player in the second game, but failed dismally as he finished that game with no treasure what so ever. I found myself employing the same strategy as by that time I didn't really care how I went. I did, however, decide I'd rather not finish scoreless so I jumped out of Round 4 with 13 gems.

Round 5 was another anticlimax when the first four cards dealt were dangers, two of which were the same, so no one scored anything in that round.

Fortunes were reversed in game two as the winner of that game had lost the first. His 32 gems were amassed evenly across the first four rounds, and showed that playing it safe and not being too greedy is also a viable strategy. I'd tried that strategy myself in game one but, like everyone else, had lost out to the whale.

If I hadn't gone on tilt in the second game, I would almost certainly have improved my score. Ultimately, though, Incan Gold just seems a little too random. It's how you and the other players manage that randomness that decides the winner, but because of this it didn't have the fun factor for me.

Take Incan Gold for what it is, and it can be a fun game. The way the games panned out on the night just didn't make it as enjoyable as it otherwise could be. That's not to say I wouldn't play it again, because I would. I'd just lower my expectations a bit and get into the light hearted treasure grabbing romp that it is designed to be.

StarCraft: The Board Game

2009-05-11T18:30:00.006+10:00

Year 1

Among the planets of the Bellerive sector were eight peaceful orbs, circling lazily around their respective suns, unbothered in their own quiet majesty.

Oh how war changes everything.

The feud that had ensnared much of the galaxy had now come to Bellerive, and things were never going to be the same again.

First to arrive was the Overmind, seeking further resources for its hungry legions. The Zerg Swarm descended upon the world of Tarsonis and began to breed.

With survival on his mind, Jim Raynor also led his Terran forces to the Bellerive sector and set up home on Antiga Prime. He knew the Zerg had already arrived, but beggars can't be choosers. Besides, wasn't there an adage about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer?

With reports of Raynor's new colony reaching him, Arcturus Mengsk wasn't going to let a prime opportunity to lord it over Raynor once more go astray. He brought his own forces in to the sector, and planted the kernel of his new empire on Abaddon.

The picture would not have been complete without the third race in the galactic war. Joining his rivals in the sector was Tassadar, himself a fugitive from the Protoss Conclave, who was on his own personal mission to redeem himself and rid the galaxy of the insidious Zerg. Tassadar's choice of homeworld was the bountiful Torus. While producing the resources he would require to build Tassadar's empire, the planet also found itself bordering the home planets of the two Terran factions. Perhaps this could be turned to his advantage...

After initial allocation of forces, each faction sought to expand its territory immediately. The Overmind sent its Zerglings to the small, but strategically strong Vyctor V; Jim Raynor's new troops were dispatched to Halcyon; Arcturus Mengsk solidified his grip on his end of the sector by establishing a base on Bhckar Ro; while Tassadar sought to tap the resource rich planet of Pridewater.

At the end of Year 1, the Overmind's tactical placements saw the Zerg's yearning for conquest grow more quickly than its rivals, signalling its strength early. Still, the battle for supremacy in the sector had only just begun.

Year 2

An unspoken pact of sorts emerged in the second year of the Bellerive occupation. Each faction further established its two colonies without any conflict taking place.

The threat of conflict, however, was laid down, reminding all that battle was growing nearer.

With Arcturus Mengsk's only path to expansion via Tassadar's planet Torus, the Protoss leader was justifiably wary of an attack from the Terrans. Tassadar's order of troops to Abaddon was one he had no intention of carrying out. Leaving himself vulnerable to a counter attack this early in the war could very well be disastrous, and Tassadar had no desire to leave his existing colonies unprotected.

Tassadar's desire to both ruffle Mengsk and delay the Terran's own orders was successful, but Mengsk wasn't one to fool around, and he had the Protoss very firmly in his sights.

Year 3

Arcturus Mengsk wasn't the only rival eying off the bountiful resource deposits on Torus. Before Mengsk could launch his assault on Torus, he was beaten to the punch.

Seeking new resources, and conscious of the fact that control of just two more resource areas could well cement him victory in the sector, Jim Raynor dropped a force of Marines, Vultures and Wraiths on the two mineral fields on Torus that Tassadar had not protected.

For now, Raynor was content simply to deprive Tassadar of the mineral fields, but the other Terran force was not. With Tassadar's base on Torus unprotected by photon canons, Arcturus Mengsk launched an assault, keen to grab the planet's conquest advantage for himself.

Tassadar was no fool, however, and had a plan of his own. When the Marines and Firebats dropped in on the base, Tassadar withdrew his troops to the safety of the vespene geysers on the other side of the planet. While losing one unit of zealots in the process - the war's first casualty, albeit non-combat - the retreat forced Mengsk to return all bar two of his own units to Abbadon. Tassadar then capitalised with his final action of the year by counter-attacking in force and destroying the token force Mengsk had left behind.

While all the action had focussed on the Terran invasions of Torus during the third year of the war, the Overmind had quietly gone about its own business, as Zerg are wont to do, and had strengthened its bases and units numbers. It was only a matter of time before the Zerg sought further territory...

Year 4

...and that time had come.

With most of Jim Raynor's troops ensconced on Torus, this left Antiga Prime relatively undefended, and ripe for the picking by a gluttonous Zerg army.

The Overmind signalled its intentions early, and with the major threat of a Zerg invasion, Raynor had no choice but to order his own troops back to Antiga Prime from Torus.

While the reinforcements failed to arrive back in time to stop the Zerg force , including a unit of the formidable Ultralisks, from establishing a foothold at the Terran base, they were in sufficient number to launch a strong counter-attack.

It was a vicious battle, with casualties on both sides, but ultimately, Raynor's troops held their own. Just as the battle looked like it could go either way, the last of the Overmind's front line units, an Ultralisk, caught splash damage and was killed in a splatter of gore. With only a Queen remaining, the Overmind was forced to retreat to Vyctor V, lick its wounds, and seek another path to victory.

With Jim Raynor's forces all but removed from Torus, Tassadar seized the opportunity to take back one of the mineral fields. The Marine unit stationed there knew what was coming, but could do nothing to prevent it.

With four years of the war having elapsed, all factions knew the end was near. The time was coming to put one final plan into action that would see the glory of victory.

Year 5

It was not long into the final year of the war, that all sides knew what was at stake. The Terrans, unfortunately, would not be victorious.

Jim Raynor had severely miscalculated his ability to conquer and hold the extra resource areas he required to forge a victory, and it was now impossible for him to come out on top.

Similarly, Arcturus Mengsk, while controlling all areas of Abaddon and Bhckar Ro, had not done enough to secure victory for himself.

It was simplicity itself for Tassadar to move into the two remaining regions on Torus and Pridewater and secure more areas than any other faction. However, even Tassadar's run may have come too late.

Despite its failure to establish a base on a third planet, the Overmind's control of Tarsonis and Vyctor V had given it the conquest advantage it needed. All the Overmind had to do was hold on to its bases on the two planets until the end of the year, and victory would belong to the Zerg.

The Zerg victory was what Tassadar had to avoid. With no help coming from Jim Raynor, now wallowing in his own inability to succeed, the odds were stacked against the Protoss leader. Tassadar amassed his force of Reavers and Zealots on Pridewater and prepared to launch an all-out last-ditch attack on Vyctor V.

It was then that Tassadar realised his mistake.

The Overmind's base on Vyctor V was protected by spore colonies. An attack force could not be landed in the area of the base and had to be dropped on the other side of the planet. Even if Tassadar's troops could have conquered two separate groups of Zerg, he hadn't left himself enough time. He could make it to Vyctor V, but not to the all important Zerg base.

Realising the war was over, Tassadar reluctantly surrendered to the Overmind , watching helplessly as the Zerg swarm claimed the Bellerive sector for their own.

The Actual Game Summary

I've eschewed my usual how-to-play-the-game review and instead opted to write a session report because, well, it's more fun.

I was joined at my house in Bellerive (does the name of the sector make sense now?) by Mark, Tim and Christine. Instead of randomly choosing factions, they were chosen on personal preference.

Mark and Christine chose to play with their favourite colours (green and red respectively) meaning Mark was the Overmind and Christine was Arcturus Mengsk. Tim, as the only other player besides me who had played the Starcraft computer game, chose his favourite race, Terran, and so selected Jim Raynor. With a choice of three remaining, I chose to play Protoss and took the yellow forces of Tassadar.

After initial placement, we all expanded to a neighbouring planet, so had two planets each come the end of Round 1. It was at this point, that we realised Mark had the advantage. His two planets gave him 3 conquest points per round, while Tim and I had 2, and Christine had only 1 conquest point.

Round 2 was fairly uneventful, with all players improving bases and adding units to the board. I did place one move order on the top of the stack on Christine's planet of Abaddon, but that was really just to mess around with her and force her to take a couple of event cards when her actions were blocked.

Christine, whose two planets bordered only my planet of Torus, took action in Round 3, and placed orders on Torus. Later in the order placement phase, Tim placed a move order on Torus as well.

Tim, unfortunately, misunderstood the special victory conditions. He mistook "Round 3" for "Stage 3" and thought that if he captured the two empty mineral areas on Torus that he would have the six resource areas he needed to win.

Christine then attacked the conquest point area of Torus where my base was located. Fortunately, I had an event card that allowed me to retreat without engaging in battle. I moved my units to the gas area, and had to lose one Zealot due to the unit limit, but Christine had to return all except two units to Abbadon. I then executed a move order and succeeded in defeating Christine's remaining units.

Mark, whose special victory conditions required him to have bases on three planets, saw an opportunity and placed orders on Antiga Prime at the start of Round 4. Tim, who had moved most of his units from Antiga Prime to Torus in the previous round had to move them back again. Mark captured the conquest point oarea of Antiga Prime, and looked like he might hold on, especially with an Ultralisk assisted by a Queen.

Despite failing to defeat the Ultralisk, Tim had played a splash damage in the other skirmish won by his Vulture. The splash damage took out the Ultralisk, and the Queen was forced to retreat because it is an assist unit.

Mark didn't actually need the third base to win. He'd been receiving 3 conquest points each round and at the end of Round 4 was on 12 points. If he held on to his planets, he'd claim the 3 points again in Round 5 to reach the 15 needed to achieve a normal victory.

Both Christine and myself had a special victory in our grasp, but as Christine had fewer conquest points than me, she couldn't win. Tim just didn't have the forces to take the extra areas he needed.

The problem I had was that the check for a normal victory is made before a special victory at the end of a round. Therefore, I had to prevent Mark from getting his three conquest points. For my first order placement in Round 5, I placed my special move order on Vyctor V. My plan was to attack Mark's base there directly.

Unfortunately, as related in the story above, I didn't realise that Mark had the spore colony protecting his base, meaning I could only attack that area if I already had units on the same planet. That required two move orders: one to move to the second area on Vyctor V (and battle Mark's forces there), and the other to move to the base. As I'd only placed one move order on the planet I couldn't do that, so it was impossible for me to win even if I could defeat his forces.

So, Mark was the winner and he received congratulations from the losers.

I was left feeling somewhat underwhelmed by the game. I felt as if my choices were limited and that the grand scale on which a game like this ought to be played just wasn't there.Ultimately, it seemed that the game came down to the initial planet layout. Mark claimed planets that gave him 3 conquest points each round, and that is ultimatley what decided the game.

The game took a good four plus hours to play, and yet we only had five rounds. I felt like I wanted to do so much more. I only built three types of units, and was left thinking the game could have been so much more if only I had a chance to develop my base more, or build different units.

And yet, now that I've had time to digest the game, rethink my strategy, and work out what I could have done differently, the game is growing on me. A good game gives you an array of choices in a limited timeframe, and it's how you approach these choices that affect the game.

I imagine StarCraft would play out very differently with six players and twelve planets rather than the fours players and eight planets we played with. I think I'd like to try that one day. I don't think I've even scratched the surface of what a strong Protoss strategy can do. If the game can serve that up, then I'm willing to chow down on more StarCraft action. Bad metaphors aside, what I mean is that, while I'm not entirely convinced I like this game, I'm willing to give it another chance.

Caylus

2009-04-12T16:30:00.008+10:00

"Caylus": not the most gripping of titles for a game. Despite this, Caylus has fought off plenty of more intriguing sounding games to hold on to the number 9 spot on the Board Game Geek rankings. And, you can even buy the t-shirt.

Caylus is one of those games for thinkers; one of those games where the term "analysis paralysis" is particularly apt. It presents you with choices - limited at first but increasing as the game goes on - that lead to a frustrating want-to-do-everything-but-can't-afford-to-and-if-I-don't-do-that-then-someone-else-will-and-it's-just-not-fair-damnit.

Ultimately, your goal is to earn more prestige points (effectively victory points) than anyone else. You do this by accumulating resources and then using those resources to build buildings and/or build part of a castle. Of course, everyone else is trying to do the same thing, and once that castle is built it's game over and you hope you've done enough to win.

Of course, to do all of this, we need a pretty board to play on. Here's one I prepared earlier:

What? That monster? Wait, no. That's the Essen ye-olde-gigantic-3D-rific version. Here's what we peasants play on:

As you can see we've got a kick-arse castle at the top, and a path that leads down through a village, and across a bridge, before winding gracefully down through lush green pastures.

As the game progresses, those empty squares will be filled with buildings. The first six after the bridge are filled at the start of the game, with the remaining empty spaces filled during the game when players decide to build.

The buildings themselves give various benefits from producing resources (food, wood, stone, cloth or gold), to trading resources for money or vice versa, to allowing new types of buildings to be placed on the board.

Each building generally has a cost, a reward for building, and some sort of output (what you get from that building), though there are exceptions (aren't there always?).

Say you wanted to build a farm. That's the wooden building in the middle of the bottom row in the picture above. It will cost you one wood and one food to build (as indicated by the cubes in the top left of the tile), reward you with 2 prestige points (per the top right of the tile), and will produce either two food (mmm...pork) or one cloth when it is utilised.

Which leads, in a nice little segue, to a quick explanation of how buildings are utilised.

Each player has six workers. Taking it in turns, players place one worker at a time on a building. Most buildings can only have one worker on them. Once everyone has placed all the workers they wish to (there may not be enough buildings or you might not have enough money (placing workers costs money) to place all of your workers) then each building with a worker is resolved from the castle downwards and whoever placed their worker on a building gets the benefit from it.

Just because you built a building (you get to place a little house on the tile to signify you own it) doesn't mean other players can't place their worker there. In fact, it can be handy if they do, because every time another player uses one of your buildings you earn a prestige point. Not only that, but some buildings also reward the owner with resources if another player's worker is placed there. Sweet.

So far it's looking relatively straight forward right? You place workers on buildings - those buildings give you resources or money, or the right to buy another building. Of course, it's not that simple.

Firstly, the buildings between the castle and the bridge are special and have some, er, special benefits. In particular, the Stables allow you to change the order of play, which doesn't change otherwise. The Inn lets you place all your workers for 1 denier (the game's currency), even if you would have to pay more.

The Merchant's Guild lets you move the provost up and down the road.

The what? Pronounced "prov-uhst", the provost is a sneaky little bugger that players can move along the road in order to prevent other players from activating buildings. When it comes time to get the benefit from a building on which you've placed a worker, and that building is further away from the castle than the provost is, then bad luck - you ain't gettin' a sausage from that building. Ouch.

Another of the special buildings is the Joust Field. Placing a worker here gives you - for the cost of 1 denier and 1 cloth - a royal favour (or "favor" if you want to be true to the Americanised rules).

Favours are pretty darn handy in this game, and are another way to gain stuff. Gaining favours allows you to move a marker of your colour along one of the four favour tracks (the grid in the top right of the game board). Here's a close-up:

There are multiple ways to gain favours in Caylus, and you'll want to utilise them as best as possible. Each time you gain a favour, you can advance a token further along one of the favour tracks for a bigger and better reward.

The top favour track gives you bonus prestige points; the second track gives you deniers; the third gives you resources; while the fourth lets you buy buildings at reduced cost. All nice things to have.

Now, that just leaves me with one last thing to address: the castle. When it comes to your turn to place a worker, instead of choosing a building space, you can elect to place a worker in the castle.

After all the other workers have collected their goodies during a round, anyone who placed a worker in the castle can now build part of the castle. You do this by spending three resources (one food and two other resources) and placing a house of your colour in one of the spaces beneath the castle.

Not only are you rewarded with prestige points for giving a batch of your hard earned resources to the castle, but the more you give, the more favours you get.

It's certainly rewarding to spend resources this way, but with a limited amount of resources at your disposal, you need to decide whether it is better to invest those resources elsewhere, particularly by paying to place a building that will reward you with more points down the track.

So it comes down to those aforementioned analysis paralysis decisions...

"I can place my worker there, which will give me that resource, and I can then afford to build that stone building, but that means I'll have to place a worker over there as well, and someone else might go there, so do I go there first and hope someone doesn't take the resource I want, or do I take the resource first, or do I spend the resources at the castle instead and hope it's enough to gain a favour? Oh, and do I want to save some money in case I need to move the provost, or will I hope no one moves it? Also, I'd really like to go first next round, but if I go in the stables now I might not be able to get the gold that I need if I'm going to have enough for the prestige building later on."

And so on.

If this is your thing, then go for it. Caylus is a lot of tactical fun, especially when you're playing with people of a similar disposition for this kind of game. I've played the game twice now: one 2-player and one 5-player game, and I'm starting to see the strategies involved and I'm most certainly intrigued to play again.

While I haven't covered every little nuance of the game (like scoring the castle sections and movement of the bailiff), I reckon you'd probably know whether this is your sort of game or not.

As for me, I definitely like it. It has a similar sort of feel to The Pillars of the Earth with worker placement choices, giving ample opportunity for experimentation with varying strategies.

The best laid plans can go awry with opponents' workers blocking or delaying your cunning plan, and it's the necessity to constantly adapt your strategy that I find so damn frustrating yet so enjoyable.

Get the right crowd, like this one, and it's a damn good game:

Dominion

2009-03-09T14:40:00.008+11:00

Dominion is one of those games that falls squarely in the category of "I really want to love this game, but I'm not sure that I can".

Let me explain.

On the face of it, Dominion is a fairly simple card game with the appearance of containing a deeper game within, with potentially clever underlying strategic gameplay. It's ranked very highly on Board Game Geek (currently sitting at Number 6), and this, combined with its plaintive "Buy me! You know you want to!" cry when I saw it on the shelf at the game shop led me to obtain my own copy, despite knowing little else about it.

I had already read that Dominion was promoted as a card game with all the fun of a CCG (collectible card game) without all the hassle of, well, constant card collecting. While I've never played a physical CCG before, I have dabbled online with Magic: The Gathering in the past so I knew a thing or two about the game mechanics of a CCG.

Having said that, let me make one thing clear. Other than drawing and playing cards from your own stack, Dominion has nothing in common with Magic: The Gathering. The latter is quite complex and can lead to cunningly complicated strategies. Dominion is a wannabe, that doesn't get close to the same level.

OK, so it sounds bad right? Well as long as you don't try to compare it with Magic like I just did, then you should find the game enjoyable. Just don't look for anything deep.

And that's where Dominion has so far fallen a little short for me. I have, admittedly, only played the game three times (two 2-player games, and one 4-player game) and I'm yet to play with all the different sets. Yet I'm not convinced any particular combination of the game's Kingdom Cards will make this game as exiting as I'd like it to be.

A rundown of Dominion's gameplay seems appropriate at this point, so let's do that.

The object of this game is to collect cards. An array of cards are placed face-up on the table for all players to purchase during the game. As the game goes on, you'll buy these cards and place them in your deck (every player has their own deck) and use them to purchase more cards. Your deck will keep growing until the the end of the game.

At the end of the game, everyone adds the points on any Victory Cards they have in their deck and the person with the most points win.

I'll get to Victory Cards shortly, but before I do that it's worth noting how each turn works. It's quite simple really: you get to play one Action from your hand, then you get to buy any card from the table, then you discard your entire hand and draw five new cards. When you run out of cards to draw, you shuffle your discard pile into a new draw deck.

Actions are found on what are called Kingdom Cards. During the game you can purchase these on your turn during the Buy phase, place them in your discard pile, and after they get shuffled into your deck, you'll draw them into your hand on a later turn and can then play them during your Action phase.

There are a total of 25 Kingdom Cards (you'll need to click on the pictures to read the cards):

Looking at these, most cards give bonuses like letting you draw more cards into your hand, letting you play more actions, or giving you more coins to spend during the Buy phase.

The thing is, only ten of these 25 sets will be available in each game. Ten copies of each card are available for purchase during the game, so once a particular card has been bought ten times, the pile will run out and no one else can buy another copy of the card.

This seems to lend itself to a plethora of different options during games doesn't it? Unfortunately, in my limited experience that's not entirely true. There isn't a great deal of interaction between cards (and virtually none between players) and once you hit on an optimal strategy, there will probably be some cards you won't even bother with.

I mentioned earlier that you can buy Victory Cards as well. Victory Cards have both good and bad qualities. They are good because (obviously) they give you Victory Points which you need to win. They are bad, however, because once they are in your deck they are useless until the end of the game, and therefore take up valuable space in your hand that could otherwise be taken by a more useful card.

Victory Cards come in three types: Estates (worth 1 VP), Duchies (worth 3 VP), and Provinces (worth 6 VP):

By and large, you'll want Provinces and not want Estates. It seems a little counter-intuitive at first to avoid collecting Estates (because they're Victory Points right?), but if you're going to clog up your hand with cards that you can't use, you're far better purchasing a Province than an Estate.

A similar principle applies to Treasure Cards. In order to purchase cards, you'll need coins.

As you can see, Treasure Cards come in Copper, Silver, and Gold. Everyone starts with seven Copper cards in their deck, and if you're at all serious about winning you'll need to use these to purchase Silver and Gold cards as soon as possible.

Silver and Gold cards are much more valuable than Copper, because when you only have a hand of five cards during each turn, the more coins you have, the better the card you can purchase. You're not going to be able to buy a Province with a handful of Coppers.

And there you have it. Each turn you'll have five cards in your hand, and hope that you have either a slew of Silver and Gold coins to buy the good cards, or an Action Card or two to boost your buying power.

Buying power, you see, is really what this game comes down to. In order to win, most of the time you'll need more Province Cards than anyone else. Each Province costs 8 coins to buy, so your best bet is to manage your deck in order to maximise the number of times you'll draw a hand of five cards that will net you at least 8 coins.

That's why I don't think Dominion is quite as deep, or good, as it appears. Yes, you need to work out which Action cards can benefit you in your quest, but ultimately it comes down to getting as many coins into your hand each turn as possible. Purchasing low value cards (like Estates or Coppers) that don't do much is next to useless.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there is a greater depth to Dominion that I am yet to discover. Certainly cards like the Witch or Gardens change things up a bit (and the latter admittedly does encourage stacking your deck with as many cards as you can), and I'm hoping that playing this game more (and perhaps the upcoming expansion) will change my perception.

I certainly intend to find out.

Die Macher

2009-01-31T16:05:00.008+11:00

Could you really blame me if, when asked to play a game about German politics, I was a little trepidatious? I didn't think so. Politics leaves me indifferent at the best of times, and I don't exactly jump for joy at the thought of an election.

So why is it then, that playing a game in which you represent a political party vying to outdo your opponents over the course of seven elections is actually quite enjoyable?

I'll tell you why. Strategy. If you ignore the political dressing, the game comes down to a series of interesting and clever strategic and tactical choices that you use to boost your score. Have the highest score at the end of the game, and you'll be the champion of Die Macher.

For the heads up on this five hour monster of a game, I suggest you do what I did: head over to Board Games with Scott and download Scott's excellent video review (it goes for about an hour). You can, of course, stay here instead and get the Up the vacuum thingy take on Die Macher.

One of the first things I asked myself when I was approached to play this game was "Five hours? Are you mad?". And after I realised that I was, I then wondered what "Die Macher" actually meant in English. So I typed "die macher" into Babel Fish, which translated it to "more macher". Not particularly helpful.

I then tried translating "Die Macher" on the chance that capital letters might help. What do you know, I was right. This time it spat out "The doers". Which is quite appropriate because I was about to play a game where I'd be doing a lot of stuff.

With that in mind let's take a quick (and I use the word "quick" advisedly) squiz at the stuff with which you'll be doing the, er, other stuff.

These are (most) of the bits and pieces that the green player starts with. The game can accomodate up to five players, each representing a political party in one of five colours: black, yellow, red, green and pink. Yes, pink. I do believe this is the first time I've ever seen a pink player in a board game.

There are various cubes and flattened cubes which you use to keep track of various things on the boards; there are cards representing your shadow cabinet, bribes and various denominations of Euros; and there are little tiles used to tell you what your party name is, and to indicate that you are up for a coalition during an election (that's the telephones - no face-to-face shenanigans here).

In addition to the stuff pictured above, you get five cards representing your party's policies. Essentially, these cards are used to show whether your party is either for...

...or against...

...five (of seven) particular issues (eg. nuclear power, genetic engineering, taxes, social security etc).

Now, if you're like me and party politics leave you cold, then don't worry. The issues represented on the cards aren't really the focus here. You see, this is really just a card matching game dressed up in political clothing.

You don't really care whether your party is for or against nuclear power. All you're trying to do is match your cards as best as possible with the four issue cards in each state.

Each of the seven elections during the game has four public opinion cards associated with it (though these can be changed during the game). As the idea is to get as many votes as you can in each election, matching your party's policies to each state's issues is the key to doing well.

Exact matches are good, while opposing cards are bad. For example, if one of your cards has the white square tomato card, and one of the public opinion cards in an election is the red square tomato card, then it means the public aren't digging your policies (or your tomatoes).

Don't fret though, because you have the power to change public opinion, and if you play your cards right (literally) those ignorant voters will soon come around to your way of thinking.

One way to do that is via media control. During the game you'll get the chance to become your media mogul/despot of choice by placing media markers (they're the big cubes you start with) on the various election boards.

Each election board can have up to five media markers on it, and if you have more than any other player, then you control the media in that state. And that means power (cue maniacal laugh). Once per turn any player with media control in a state may switch out one public opinion card, and replace it with another, preferably one matching their own.

You know what? I think it's time we looked at the board itself to see exactly what we're dealing with.

Each election board looks a little something like this:

You may notice the card hanging off the bottom of the board. That's a State card and determines what state the current election is for. What this really means is the card determines how many points the current election is worth.

Not all elections are created equal, and each state is worth a different number of points per seat you win. Here are some examples:

With a maximum of 50 seats available to win in each election, you have to pick and choose your battles. You won't be able to win the 50 seats in every election so it makes sense to save your resources for the elections that'll earn you the most points.

In the example cards above, winning 50 seats in Hessen will get you 48 points, whereas you'll get 60 points if you win the same number of seats in Freistat Bayern. Therefore, winning Freistat Bayern is more valuable than Hessen.

With the cards coming out randomly, and quite a few more than seven state cards in the deck, the points on offer varies from game to game.

OK, so concentrating on more valuable elections is generally a good thing (so expect your opponents to be doing it as well), but how exactly do you win seats in an election?

That, my friend, comes down to two things: meetings and multipliers.

Think of meetings as chances to meet and greet the public. The more you get out there kissing babies, the more people are going to vote for you. You have to fork out €1,000 for each meeting, but without them you're not going to get far.

Once per turn, you'll get a chance to plonk down up to four meeting markers (little cubes) on any of the four election boards, though you can't exceed ten in any one election.

Which leads us to the multipliers. When you count the seats won in an election, you multiply the number of meeting markers in that state by the magic multiplier number.

OK, so it's not really magic. The multiplier is calculated by taking your popularity level in a state, adding the number of your party's policies that match the opinion cards, and subtracting the number of your party's policies that are opposite to any opinion cards (you'll have one or more policy cards that don't match or oppose the opinion cards, and they are ignored).

But what is this popularity level of which I speak? Is it not the same as matching public opinion? No, it's not.

Let's have a gander at the election board again:

Notice those pretty coloured columns? They are used to keep track of each player's popularity in the state. You start of in the middle of each popularity scale (worth 0), and can either increase your popularity (to +2 or +3) or decrease your popularity (to -2 or -3).

Obviously, an increase in popularity is good as it increases your multiplier at vote counting time.

Let's have an example to clarify. Say you have placed the maximum ten meeting cubes on that board. Say that you have also increased your party's popularity to +2. Say, also that two of your policy cards match opinion cards on the board, but one of your policy cards is opposed to another of the opinion cards. In this case your multiplier will be + 2 + 2 - 1 = 3. The number of seats you will gain in the election is therefore 10 x 3 = 30.

If those 30 seats are more than anyone else, you win the election. Woohoo! Don't celebrate too early though as you'll find that the maximum 50 seats will be won by at least one player in almost every election.

Once everyone's counted their seats, these are then converted to points as per the state card. Everyone can get points regardless of whether they win the election or not. Which is not only nice, but an essential way to keep your score ticking over if you know you're not going to win an election.

And it's then rinse and repeat for seven elections (although the seventh election count is conducted immediately following the sixth, so you have less time to influence the result).

And that's how the game works. You play cards and cubes that let you affect opinions and popularity in each state in order to maximise the number of seats you gain in each election, and thus maximise your score.

At any one time, there are four elections (one current and three future) that can be affected/manipulated, so you'll actually have four election boards on the table like so:

Now for the sake of brevity and simplicity I have deliberately skipped over a few other elements of the game, such as the national opinion board (which tracks national opinions and party membership numbers), shadow cabinet cards, opinion polls and bribe cards, but you should get the idea.

What? You want to know about these things too? Well alright then, but only because I went to the trouble of finding these pictures and it would be a shame to waste them.

For the cost displayed on each shadow cabinet card, you may play that card to a particular state during the designated phase of each turn, and take one of the actions on the card. Actions can be things like extra seats in an election, or replacing someone else's media marker with your own, or increasing your popularity in that state. All quite handy, but these cards can only be used once each during the game.

Opinion polls are available for blind auction (you can't see what you're buying during the bidding) each turn and let you take one or two of the actions on the card:

If you win the auction you get to see the card, and if you're lucky one of the options will be to boost your own party's popularity. If not, you can always elect not to publish the poll, and instead roll two dice to increase your party membership.

And then there are bribes, or should I say "party contributions":

You can use these to get yourself some extra cash at the expense of party membership, or show what an upstanding party you are and ignore the money to increase your membership.

If you're still with me, then well done. As I said at the start, if you're not into politics and you can see through the politics to the strategy beneath, it's actually a good, challenging game.

Die Macher is not for the casual gamer. Don't try to jump your new gamer friend straight from Carcassonne to Die Macher - you may fry their brain. You have to have some gaming pedigree behind you, and the willingness to sit down for five hours (our first game actually took six) to see it through to the end.

If you like your games on the strategy heavy side of the spectrum, then you'll probably get a kick out of Die Macher. Just pretend it's about vying with evil aliens for control of the Galactic Council and it'll be a blast.

The Phone

2009-01-20T18:04:00.004+11:00

The promos looked intriguing. Imagine you're walking along a street and a phone rings. Do you answer it? It could be the Clue Master calling to give you the chance to win $25,000.

Teamed up with another random person who also answered another fateful ringing phone, you solve clue after clue as you dash around the city, in an attempt to get to the case of cash before the time runs out.

How would you like to be that random passer by? It'd be majorly cool right?

Except it couldn't be you, and not just because you don't live in the right city.

Why not? Because the contestants are cast.

Which blows the whole premise out of the window straight away. Sure, they edited it to make it look like the phone was ringing with countless people walking past ignoring it, until one lucky person decided to answer it. Unfortunately, it became very clear, very quickly that the gorgeous girl and the hunky guy who answered each phone were preselected by the producers. Unsurprised, and with unquestioning obedience, the two immediately set off on their quest.

The girl, told to go and get into a van, does so. If you're a gorgeous young woman and you've suddenly received a phone call from a strange man telling you to go and get into a van would you do it? Of course not. She did so because she already knew she was on a game show and had been prepped by the producers.

The show is also edited to make it look like the contestants have no contact with any crew from the moment the phone rings until the money is found. Amazingly, their voices come through oh so crystal clear when they aren't speaking on the phone. Yup, they're wearing microphones too. How convenient.

Let me just say here that if you think about it, casting the show in this way makes a lot of sense for the producers. Getting two completely random people on the show is fraught with danger and unknowns. If they cast the contestants, they know they're getting two people who look good on camera, they can match up the contestants to form the sort of team we want to watch, and they can make sure they're not getting any psychos. They also have the added benefit of getting the contestants to pre-sign whatever forms they need to to appear on TV, and can prep them with microphones and at least some degree of knowledge that they're going to be busy for the afternoon.

OK, so let's get past this obviously contrived scenario that saw these two enter the game. Let's look at the game elements. Here, we must give at least some kudos to the writers. They did have some clever and diverse puzzles and challenges throughout the episode:

solve a clue to work out the PIN to a card that you can use to pay for petrol in your almost empty van;

using a bunch of keys with remote locks, find the one car in the huge car lot that one of those keys will open;

find a woman walking around the streets whose point of view one of the contestants can see via a camera in the woman's glasses, and must relay by phone to the other contestant who is trying to find her.

It seems, however, that the two contestants they chose were, shall we say, not the sharpest tools in the shed. They failed to complete either of the first two challenges I just mentioned within the allotted time the Clue Master had given them, and so had money deducted from the $25,000 prize.

In the find-the-car challenge, The Giggling One was screaming at the TV telling the dopey pair to use the damn car remotes to see which car beeped/blinked its lights instead of walking up to each car to try the lock.

Here, the show did actually achieve something that all good reality shows do: make you shout at the TV to tell the contestants how stupid they are and how patently obvious the solution was, and how you would have done that challenge so much better.

On the subject of doing things better (lame segue I know), the host, Justin ~~Mullet~~ Melvey, just didn't cut the mustard as the mysterious Clue Master. He was too wooden and pompous, and lacked that degree of authority necessary to pull off the role. Casting an unknown with the right degree of "stage presence", and who doesn't flirt with the female contestant, would have been a better option.

But now, to the pièce de résistance; the element of the show that managed to tip it from a somewhat contrived game show to an utterly ridiculous load of bollocks: the fictional story-line.

The Fox 8 website gushes about the show's "enthralling fictional element". Enthralling? Er, no. Not by a long shot.

Let's set the scene. The Clue Master is riding in a limo talking on the phone to the contestants to give them their next clue. Sitting beside him in the limo are two Japanese men (who reappear throughout the episode), one of whom is busy typing on a laptop. Initially it just appears as some silly window dressing for the Clue Master, to make him seem more important than he actually is.

Oh, if only that's all it was. We found out later that the Clue Master was actually "doing business" with these men, and the deal had gone south. As he didn't want to get his hands dirty, it was up to the contestants to put on the supplied gloves, secretly enter a house while the occupant was having a three minute shower, and steal the keys to a sports car parked outside. Meanwhile, the Clue Master was grassing on the Japanese businessmen to the cops, who later "arrested" them.

What the? It's a game show. You have a cool premise of getting two people to run around Sydney following clues Amazing Race style, and you have to add this naff pretend story line? I haven't seen anything with a less immersive story since Scavengers. Marrying game show and fictional plot just doesn't work unless you're in improv.

*sigh*

Alright, that pretty much brings me to the end of my rant.

Except to ponder what happened to the 3 hour countdown. It was nowhere to be seen at the end of the episode. Were they close to the 3 hour limit, or was that just another staged gimmick as well? Sort of like the only-one-person-can-win-but-we'll-let-you-share-the-cash-anyway lame excuse for a twist. They could at least make them divvy up the cash 60/40 or something.

The Giggling One and I were both hyped by the promos, and significantly let down by the execution. No second chances for The Phone I'm afraid. This won't be getting a look in on our TV screen again.

Agricola

2009-01-04T17:41:00.009+11:00

Oh Agricola how I want to love thee, but thou overwhelmeth me, leaving me battered, yet yearning for more.

Anticipation can be a killer, and to say I was hyped for this game is the understatement of the (admittedly short so far) year. Agricola had been on my Christmas wish list, and true to form, my ever-loving better half snuck it under the Christmas tree while I wasn't looking.

If you don't know about Agricola, know this: it is the highest rated game on Board Game Geek - a lofty accolade indeed.

It was with high expectations, then, that I opened the hefty box, removed the plethora of pieces, congestion of cards, and bulge of boards. You see, Agricola is a game of such depth and, dare I say it, underlying complexity that it really requires numerous plays before you get a true indication of what it has to offer. Only then can you really sit back and say "this is a bloody great game", or "this game really sucks and I can't believe I invested so much time building silly little fences for ridiculous cubic animals".

I look forward to seeing which side of the silly little fence I fall on.

As I said, Agricola has an extraordinary amount of depth below its simple farming conceit. As such, I could never do the game justice with an in-depth look at the machinations of 17th Century farming. If you need more information, there is more than enough to quench your thirst at Board Game Geek.

But let's at least dip our toes into the metaphorical waters of the game.

Agricola, pronounced "a-GRICK-oh-la", is the Latin word for "farmer". As you may have gathered by now, it's a game about farming.

Everyone starts with their own little patch of ground:

As you can see your farm consists of 15 spaces. During the game it is your responsibility as a responsible farmer to responsibly develop these spaces into a working farm.

At the start of the game, two of these spaces are taken up by your cosy little wooden hut. It's not much, but it's home. If you're not partial to wood, you can upgrade you home to clay or stone during the game.

You can expand your home to other spaces during the game, as well as plough (sorry, "plow" as the Americanised version of the game says) fields, fence areas to form pastures for animals, or build a stable or two.

Of course, it's not going to be easy, and your family is going to have to toil for their supper. You start with a mummy and a daddy farmer, and during the game you'll have the option to grow your family (the nights are long and cold) so that you have more hands to work for you.

The way it works is that each round players take it in turns to choose a specific action to take with one of their family members. The actions that are available depend upon the number of players, and more actions become available during the game.

Once one player chooses an action during the round, no other player may choose it. All of the available actions can be found on the three (yes, three) game boards:

As you can see some of the actions are preprinted (like "Build room(s) and/or Build Stable(s)", or "Take 1 Grain", or "3 Wood" (3 Wood is added to this space each round)).

Other spaces are devoid of actions. Some of these spaces are filled at the start of the game, such as these action cards used in a 4 player game:

The other spaces (with a Round designation on them) will be added to as the game progresses. Actions you will come across include:

Obviously, the strategy is to select the actions that are best going to improve your farm. You'll want to collect resources to build stuff, grain and vegetables to plant in your fields, and collect animals to place in your pastures (though you are allowed to keep one in your home as a pet. Awww).

I bet you're wondering what exactly you will be physically collecting. Let's take a squiz at some of the pieces that come with the game:

The cubes represent animals while the discs are the various resources (clay, wood, stone, grain, vegetables and reeds). Oh and the little yellow discs with plates and cutlery represent food.

Now this is quite boring, so many people have taken to replacing the standard pieces with animeeples and vegimeeples:

Much prettier I think you'll agree. I must get my hands on some of those.

So you gather all these resources to further expand your farm. But what should you focus on? Well, you shouldn't focus. Focussing is bad m'kay? You should diversify, because at the end of the game you will actually lose points for not having stuff. See the score summary:

See the left-most column? It says "-1 Point". You lose points if you don't have at least one of everything on that list. And it is remarkably easy to get a few -1's creeping in to your final score if you're not careful.

That's the core of the game then: take one action per family member each round and use those actions to build up your farm so that you can maximise your score at the end of the game.

Sounds relatively simple, but where the depth of this game really socks it to you is with the sheer number of cards.

Cards? Oh yes. We're not just talking the action cards here. We're talking extra cards: Occupations, Minor Improvements, and Major Improvements. Well over 300 of the buggers.

The Occupation and Minor Improvement cards are also sorted into decks based on their complexity. You can play with the Easy deck, the Interactive deck, or the Complex deck. Or, if you're feeling particularly masochistic, you can play with all the decks mixed in together.

Here's a little sample:

Everyone starts with a hand of 7 Occupations and 7 Minor Improvements, and once you've got your 14 cards, that's what you're stuck with for the game. With so many different cards, this means you're going to get a different group of cards every time (unless there is some freakish occurrence when all the animeeples align or something).

And that's what sucks you in. You peruse the cards in the decks and think to yourself "Ooh that might be useful", and then you play 20 games trying to get dealt that one card or card combo that you just have to try.

There's a semblance of normality to each game, though, as the 10 Major Improvements are always available for everyone to purchase. They are very useful, so trying to play through the game without getting your hands on one is, quite frankly, just plain stupid.

And that's Agricola. Accumulate stuff in order to improve your farm as best as possible so you maximise your score at the end of the game. Simple. Ish.

Getting back to the whole hype killer thing, Agricola has so far lived up to most of my expectations. Like I said, however, it'll take plenty of more plays of this baby before I can truly judge its worthiness. Things are looking good though, and I've no intention of quitting the farm any time soon.

2009 Games Record

2009-01-04T14:11:00.071+11:00

Having concentrated on playing as many new games as possible during 2008, the Up the vacuum thingy goal for 2009 was to play at least fifteen games a minimum of three times each. That target was achieved with the third play of Stone Age on October 2nd, and finished at 19 at year's end.

Summary for 2009:: Total games: 46
Total plays: 233
Total games played at least three times: 19
Games Played (Number of Plays): Acquire (2)
Agricola (5)
An Evening With Bram Stoker's Dracula (3)
Ca$h 'n Gun$ (5)
Ca$h 'n Gun$ Live (1)
Carcassonne (4)
Catan Card Game (1)
Caylus (1)
China Moon (1)
Citadels (3)
Democrazy (4)
Dice Town (1)
Die Macher (3)
Dominion (24)
Dominion: Intrigue (4)
Dune (1)
Fact or Crap (1)
Fluxx (4)
Incan Gold (2)
Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (1)
Loopin' Louie (3)
Loot (1)
Magic: The Gathering (7)
Mamma Mia! (1)
Man Bites Dog (2)
Martian Fluxx (13)
Monty Python Fluxx (1)
Munchkin (7)
Munchkin Booty (1)
Pandemic (7)
Pictionary (2)
Puerto Rico (1)
Razzia (2)
Risk (1)
San Marco (1)
Set (7)
Settlers of Catan (1)
StarCraft: The Board Game (1)
Stone Age (6)
The Pillars of the Earth (1)
The Princes of Florence (2)
Time's Up! Title Recall! (1)
Werewolf (34)
Why Did the Chicken...? (1)
Wizard's Quest (1)
Zombie Fluxx (57)
Games In Detail
1 January 2009 - Carcassonne (Play #1): Jeremy (120) def The Giggling One (87)
1 January 2009 - Carcassonne (Play #2): Jeremy (118) def The Giggling One (90)
1 January 2009 - Agricola (Play #1): Jeremy (47) def The Giggling One (23)
2 January 2009 - Loot (Play #1): Christine def Jeremy, Carl, The Giggling One, Mark R, Gypsy Anna, Betty, and Bernd
2 January 2009 - Agricola (Play #2): Jeremy (29) def The Giggling One (28), Splat (23), and Carl (13)
24 January 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #1): Splat def Mark R, The Giggling One, Jeremy, Tammy, Christine, and Mark S
24 January 2009 - Agricola (Play #3): Jeremy (51) def The Giggling One (41), Splat (24), and Mark S (20)
24 January 2009 - Democrazy (Play #1): Mark S and Ian T (both 14) def Jeremy, The Giggling One, Mark R, Tammy, Splat, and Christine
27 January 2009 - Die Macher (Play #1): Mark R (348) def Bernd (320), Jeremy (301), and Christine (248)
6 February 2009 - The Princes of Florence (Play #1): Jeremy (63) def The Giggling One (46), Nathan (44), Juanita (44), and Ian T (39)
6 February 2009 - Monty Python Fluxx (Play #1): The Giggling One def Jeremy, Ian T, Daniel, Nathan, and Juanita
10 February 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #2 - #4): Jeremy v The Giggling One; Winners: The Giggling One (#2,#4), Jeremy (#3)
10 February 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #5 - #6): Jeremy v The Giggling One; Winners: Jeremy (#5), The Giggling One (#6)
13 February 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #7 - #12): Jeremy v The Giggling One v Lucinda; Winners: Jeremy (#7,#10), The Giggling One (#8,#9,#11), Lucinda (#12)
14 February 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #13): Jeremy def The Giggling One, Lucinda, and Ric
16 February 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #14 - #15): Jeremy v The Giggling One v Lucinda; Winners: Jeremy (#14), The Giggling One (#15)
19 February 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #16 - #20): Jeremy v The Giggling One; Winners: Jeremy (#16-#19), The Giggling One (#20)
22 February 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #21 - #23): Jeremy v The Giggling One v Patty; Winners: Jeremy (#21,#23), Patty (#22)
28 February 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #24 - #27): Jeremy v The Giggling One v Mel v Tim v Stuart v Louise; Winners: Stuart (#24,#25), Jeremy (#26), The Giggling One (#27)
1 March 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #28 - #30): Jeremy v The Giggling One v Danny v Sandi; Winners: Sandi (#28), The Zombies!! (#29), The Giggling One (#30)
4 March 2009 - Dominion (Play #1): Jeremy (42) def The Giggling One (38)
5 March 2009 - Dominion (Play #2): Jeremy (41) def The Giggling One (29)
6 March 2009 - Dominion (Play #3): Jeremy (39) def Chris (28), Jon (21), and Andy (9)
6 March 2009 - Munchkin (Play #1): Dan (10) def Nathan (9), Jeremy (9), Ian (8), and Maike (8)
15 March 2009 - Munchkin (Play #2): Jeremy (10) def Brian (9), and The Giggling One (6)
21 March 2009 - Munchkin (Play #3): Jeremy (10) def The Giggling One (8), Christine (6), and Andrew (4)
21 March 2009 - Ca$h 'n Gun$ (Play #1): Andrew ($285,000) def Christine ($120,000), The Giggling One (Dead), and Jeremy (Dead)
21 March 2009 - Mamma Mia! (Play #1): Christine (7) def Jeremy (5), and The Giggling One (4)
21 March 2009 - Wizard's Quest (Play #1): Game abandoned after two and a half hours when the clock hit 1am. At the time the scores were: Mira (1), Christine (1), Jeremy (0), The Giggling One (0), Ian T(0), Bernd (0)
27 March 2009 - Die Macher (Play #2): Jeremy (351) def Bernd (333), Ian T (285), Mark R (274), and Christine (271)
28 March 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #31 - #33): Jeremy v The Giggling One v Paul v Narelle; Winners: Narelle (#31), Jeremy (#32), The Giggling One (#33)
3 April 2009 - Man Bites Dog (Play #1): Social game (no scoring) with: Jeremy, The Giggling One, Mark R, Mira, Chris, Bernd, Andy, Keith, Raphael, and Nadege
3 April 2009 - Ca$h 'n Gun$ (Play #2): Kit ($110,000) def The Giggling One ($100,000), Andy ($75,000), Jeremy ($55,000), Jon ($35,000), and Bernd (Dead)
3 April 2009 - Ca$h 'n Gun$ (Play #3): Andy ($125,000) def Jeremy ($120,000), The Giggling One ($115,000), Bernd ($60,000), Jon (Dead), and Kit (Dead Undercover Cop)
3 April 2009 - Caylus (Play #1): Ian B (54) def Jon (52), Jeremy (45), Christine (36), and Bernd (36)
4 April 2009 - Dominion (Play #4): Jeremy (42) def The Giggling One (20)
4 April 2009 - Dominion (Play #5): Jeremy (33) def The Giggling One (28)
4 April 2009 - Dominion (Play #6): The Giggling One (29) def Jeremy (27)
9 April 2009 - Munchkin (Play #4): The Giggling One (10) def Paul (9), Jeremy (8), and Brian (7)
11 April 2009 - Pictionary (Play #1): Jeremy & The Giggling One def Leah & Brian
11 April 2009 - Pictionary (Play #2): Leah & The Giggling One def Jeremy & Brian
18 April 2009 - Set (Play #1): Jeremy (13) def The Giggling One (10)
18 April 2009 - Set (Play #2): Jeremy (7) def Ian (4), The Giggling One (3), Mark R (3), Nadege (2), Raphael (1), Dan (0), and Bernd (0)
18 April 2009 - Acquire (Play #1): Bernd ($44,000) def Jeremy ($40,400), Dan ($26,700), Ian T ($23,900), and Keith ($23,700)
18 April 2009 - Democrazy (Play #2): Jeremy, The Giggling One, and Nadege (all 9) def Mark R (7), Raphael (7), Cam (4), and Bernd (2)
1 May 2009 - Carcassonne (Play #3): Jeremy (103) def The Giggling One (77), and Gordon (71)
9 May 2009 - StarCraft: The Board Game (Play #1): Mark R (15 - normal victory) def Jeremy (10), Tim (10), and Christine (5)
16 May 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #34): Mark R def Jeremy, Splat, Erin, Thea, and Belinda
16 May 2009 - Democrazy (Play #3): Erin, and Thea (both 12) def Belinda (11), Jeremy, Mark R, and Bernd (all 10), and Splat (4)
16 May 2009 - Dominion (Play #7): Jeremy (38) def Splat (29), and Thea (18)
16 May 2009 - Dominion (Play #8): Splat (44) def Jeremy (33), and Thea (33)
16 May 2009 - Fluxx (Plays #1 - #2): Jeremy v Splat v Thea; Winners: Jeremy (#1), Splat (#2)
16 May 2009 - Razzia (Play #1): Splat ($330,000) def Jeremy ($225,000), Thea ($215,000), Bernd ($215,000), Belinda ($210,000), Mark R ($180,000), and Erin ($175,000)
29 May 2009 - Risk (Play #1): Jeremy (Conquer Africa & Asia) def Andrew (Conquer Africa & North America), The Giggling One (Conquer Australia & North America), and Paul (Destroy the Blue Army (The Giggling One))
29 May 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #35): Paul def Jeremy, Andrew, and The Giggling One
5 June 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #36): Game abandoned after twenty minutes in order to play other games. Playing were The Giggling One, Jeremy, Mark R, Jeung, Carl, Christine, and Emma
5 June 2009 - The Pillars of the Earth (Play #1): Carl (52) def Jeremy (48), Mark R (45), The Giggling One (43), and Ian T (41)
20 June 2009 - Set (Play #3): The Giggling One (6) def Jeremy (5), Splat (5), Erin (3), Bernd (1), Christine (0), and Belinda (0)
20 June 2009 - Werewolf (Play #1): Werewolves - Splat and Ian T def Villagers - The Giggling One, Christine, Hannah, Erin, Belinda, and Jeremy (with Bernd as the Moderator)
20 June 2009 - Agricola (Play #4): Jeremy (43) def Christine (37), and Bernd (34)
20 June 2009 - Werewolf (Play #2): Werewolves - Jeremy and Keith def Villagers - Erin (Seer), Hannah (Bishop), Christine (Little Girl), Ian T, Carl, Belinda, The Giggling One, and Splat (with Bernd as the Moderator)
20 June 2009 - Werewolf (Play #3): Villagers - Hannah (Seer), Carl (Bishop), Keith (Little Girl), Ian T, Christine, Jeremy, Splat, and The Giggling One def Werewolves - Erin and Belinda (with Bernd as the Moderator)
3 July 2009 - Set (Play #4): Mark R (6) def The Giggling One (5), Splat (3), Christine (2), Jon (2), Erin (1), Dan (1), Jeremy (1), and Keith (0)
3 July 2009 - Set (Play #5): Mark R (4) def Christine (3), Jeremy (3), The Giggling One (2), Splat (1), Jon (1), Erin (1), Carl (1), and Keith (0)
3 July 2009 - Dominion: Intrigue (Play #1): Jeremy (33) def Bernd (31), The Giggling One (19), and Splat (19)
3 July 2009 - Dominion: Intrigue (Play #2): Jeremy (53) def Bernd (52), The Giggling One (51), and Splat (51)
3 July 2009 - Werewolf (Play #4): Evils - Ian T (Werewolf), Carl (Werewolf), and Mark R (Half-blood) def Villagers - Thijs (Seer), Erin (Bishop), Keith (Mason), Splat (Mason), Christine, The Giggling One, Dan, Pete, and Bernd (with Jeremy as the Moderator)
3 July 2009 - Werewolf (Play #5): Evils - Ian T (Werewolf), Christine (Werewolf), and Keith (Half-blood) def Villagers - Dan (Seer), Splat (Bishop), Bernd (Mason), Carl (Mason), Mark R, The Giggling One, and Erin (with Jeremy as the Moderator)
3 July 2009 - Werewolf (Play #6): Villagers - The Giggling One (Seer), Christine (Bishop), Bernd (Mason), Splat (Mason), Ian T, Carl, and Erin def Evils - Mark R (Werewolf), Dan (Werewolf), and Keith (Half-blood) (with Jeremy as the Moderator)
18 July 2009 - Set (Play #6): Christine (5) def Bernd (4), Jeremy (3), Ian T (3), Carol (2), Ian B (1), and Keith (0)
18 July 2009 - Acquire (Play #2): Carol ($51,500) def Christine ($39,700), Jeremy ($38,100), Ian T ($36,000), and Keith ($22,500)
18 July 2009 - Werewolf (Play #7): Villagers - Carl (Seer), Keith (Bishop), Bernd (Mason), Alan (Mason), Jeremy, and Maike def Werewolves - Carol and Christine (with Ian B as the Moderator)
18 July 2009 - Werewolf (Play #8): Villagers - Keith (Seer), Christine (Bishop), Carol (Mason), Alan (Mason), Jeremy, and Bernd def Werewolves - Maike and Carl (with Ian B as the Moderator)
18 July 2009 - Werewolf (Play #9): Villagers - Bernd (Seer), Alan (Bishop), Carl, Keith, and Maike def Werewolves - Jeremy and Christine (with Ian B as the Moderator)
31 July 2009 - Carcassonne (Play #4): Jeremy (241) def The Giggling One (237), Ian T (173), and Christine (156)
Note: Game included expansions The River II, Inns & Cathedrals, Traders & Builders, Abbey & Mayor, The Princess & The Dragon, The Siege, The Cult, The King, and The Robber Baron
1 August 2009 - An Evening With Bram Stoker's Dracula (Play #1): Erin (Dracula) def Christine (Vampire), Jeremy (Vampire), Betty (Vampire), Lana (Vampire), Belinda (Vampire), Bernd (Traveller), Joe (Traveller), and Kam (Traveller)
1 August 2009 - An Evening With Bram Stoker's Dracula (Play #2): Kam (Dracula) def Bernd (Vampire), Christine (Vampire), Jeremy (Vampire), Joe (Vampire), Belinda (Vampire), Erin (Vampire), Betty (Traveller), and Lana (Traveller)
1 August 2009 - An Evening With Bram Stoker's Dracula (Play #3): Joe (Traveller) def Bernd (Dracula), Christine (Vampire), Jeremy (Vampire), Betty (Vampire), Kam (Vampire), Belinda (Vampire), Erin (Vampire), and Lana (Traveller)
7 August 2009 - China Moon (Play #1): Mark R (14) def Jeremy (4), Keith (2) and Christine (2)
7 August 2009 - Puerto Rico (Play #1): Carl (51) def Jeremy (49), and Dan (42)
7 August 2009 - Incan Gold (Play #1): Bernd (37) def Dan (25), Keith (20), Jeremy (11), Ian T (10), Christine (7), Carl (7) and Mark R (5)
7 August 2009 - Incan Gold (Play #2): Mark R (32) def Keith (31), Dan (15), Carl (15), Jeremy (13), Ian T (9), Christine (0) and Bernd (0)
7 August 2009 - Werewolf (Play #10): Evils - Keith (Werewolf), and Dan (Half-blood) def Villagers - Carl (Seer), Mark R (Villager turned Moderator), Christine, Bernd, and Jeremy
7 August 2009 - Werewolf (Play #11): Villagers - Carl (Seer), Christine (Villager turned Moderator), Bernd, Jeremy and Keith def Evils - Mark R (Werewolf), and Dan (Half-blood)
7 August 2009 - Werewolf (Play #12): Evils - Christine (Werewolf), and Keith (Half-blood) def Villagers - Jeremy (Seer), Dan (Villager turned Moderator), Mark R, Bernd, and Carl
14 August 2009 - Stone Age (Play #1): The Giggling One (311) def Jeremy (246)
15 August 2009 - Die Macher (Play #3): Jeremy (309) def Bernd (258), Christine (238), Mark R (175), and Ian T (110)
16 August 2009 - Pandemic (Play #1): Jeremy (Dispatcher) and The Giggling One (Scientist) were victorious (4 Epidemics)
22 August 2009 - Werewolf (Play #13): Villagers - The Giggling One (Seer), Ann-Marie (Bishop), Lori (Mason), Sarah (Mason), Nick (Mason), John, James, Scott, Alistair, Suzie, and Vanessa def Werewolves - Matt, Naomi, and Kerry (with Jeremy as the Moderator)
22 August 2009 - Werewolf (Play #14): Villagers - John (Seer), Nick (Bishop), James (Mason), Lori (Mason), Kerry (Mason), Matt, The Giggling One, Naomi, Sarah, Alistair, and Suzie def Werewolves - Scott, Ann-Marie, and Vanessa (with Jeremy as the Moderator)
4 September 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #37): Christine def The Giggling One, Jeremy, Christine, Jon, Rene, and Mark R
4 September 2009 - Stone Age (Play #2): Jon (138) def The Giggling One (128), Jeremy (117), and Mark R (85)
4 September 2009 - Pandemic (Play #2): Jeremy (Reseacher), The Giggling One (Dispatcher), and Mark R (Scientist) were defeated (5 Epidemics)
4 September 2009 - Werewolf (Play #15): Werewolves - Rene and Christine def Villagers - Ian T (Seer), Mark R (Villager turned Moderator), Bernd, Erin, The Giggling One, and Jeremy
4 September 2009 - Werewolf (Play #16): Werewolves - Bernd and Ian T def Villagers - Christine (Seer turned Moderator), Mark R (Bishop), Erin, The Giggling One, Jeremy, and Rene
4 September 2009 - Werewolf (Play #17): Villagers - Ian T (Seer turned Moderator), Mark R (Bishop), Bernd, The Giggling One, Jeremy, Rene, and Christine def Werewolf - Erin
19 September 2009 - Loopin' Louie (Plays #1 - #3): Jeremy v The Giggling One v Ian T v Josh; Winners: Ian T (#1), Josh (#2), and Jeremy (#3)
19 September 2009 - Pandemic (Play #3): Jeremy (Medic), The Giggling One (Dispatcher), and Mark R (Researcher) were victorious (5 Epidemics)
19 September 2009 - Dominion: Intrigue (Play #3): Jeremy (38) def Mark R (35), and The Giggling One (33)
19 September 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #38 - #39): Jeremy v The Giggling One v Mark R; Winners: Jeremy (#38), Mark R (#39)
19 September 2009 - Ca$h 'n Gun$: Live (Play #1): Jeremy, Julianne, and Bernd ($400,000) def Dan, Christine, and Ewan ($155,000), and Erin, Belinda and Ian T (#150,000) (with Mark R as the Godfather)
19 September 2009 - Werewolf (Play #18): Villagers - Belinda (Seer), The Giggling One (Bishop), Jeremy, Ewan, Ian T, Erin, and Dan def Werewolves - Bernd and Christine (with Mark R as the Moderator)
19 September 2009 - Werewolf (Play #19): Villagers - The Giggling One (Seer), Ewan (Bishop), Ian T (Mason), Christine (Mason), Bernd, Dan, and Mark R def Werewolves - Erin and Belinda (with Jeremy as the Moderator)
19 September 2009 - Werewolf (Play #20): Villagers - Ian T (Seer), Erin (Bishop), Mark R (Mason), Christine (Mason), Jeremy, Ewan, and Dan def Werewolves - The Giggling One and Belinda (with Bernd as the Moderator)
25 September 2009 - Dune (Play #1): Bernd (Atreides) and Christine (Emperor) def Dan (Fremen), Ian T (Guild), Mark R (Bene Gesserit), and Jeremy (Harkonnen)
26 September 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #40 - #42): Jeremy v The Giggling One; Winners: Jeremy (#40,#42), The Zombies!! (#41)
2 October 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #43 - #45): The Giggling One Jeremy v Mark R v Christine v Paul v Dan; Winners: Mark R (#43), Christine (#44), Dan (#45)
2 October 2009 - Stone Age (Play #3): Jeremy (162) def Mark R (159), The Giggling One (134), and Paul (114)
2 October 2009 - Pandemic (Play #4): The Giggling One (Operations Expert), Jeremy (Dispatcher), Mark R (Researcher), and Paul (Scientist) were defeated (5 Epidemics)
2 October 2009 - Werewolf (Play #21): Villagers - Paul (Seer), Bernd, Christine, Dan, Erin, and Ian T def Werewolves - The Giggling One and Mark R (with Jeremy as the Moderator)
2 October 2009 - Werewolf (Play #22): Villagers - Jeremy (Seer), Paul, Mark R, Christine, Dan, and Erin def Werewolves - The Giggling One and Ian T (with Bernd as the Moderator)
2 October 2009 - Werewolf (Play #23): Werewolves - Jeremy and Bernd def Villagers - Erin (Seer), The Giggling One, Paul, Mark R, Christine, and Ian T (with Dan as the Moderator)
4 October 2009 - Settlers of Catan (Play #1): Matt (10) def The Giggling One (6), Jeremy (4), and Vanessa (4)
4 October 2009 - Munchkin Booty (Play #1): Matt (10) def Jeremy (9), The Giggling One (8), and Vanessa (8)
10 October 2009 - Stone Age (Play #4): The Giggling One (264) def Jeremy(216)
10 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #9): Jeremy (35) def The Giggling One (35) in the tiebreaker (combined game including Intrigue)
10 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #10): Jeremy (42) def The Giggling One (34) (combined game including Intrigue)
10 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #11): Jeremy (32) def The Giggling One (24) (combined game including Intrigue)
10 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #12): Jeremy (37) def The Giggling One (34) (combined game including Intrigue)
10 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #13): Jeremy (27) def The Giggling One (27) in the tiebreaker (combined game including Intrigue)
10 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #14): The Giggling One (48) def Jeremy (33) (combined game including Intrigue)
10 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #15): The Giggling One (30) def Jeremy (27) (combined game including Intrigue)
11 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #16): The Giggling One (29) def Jeremy (22) (combined game including Intrigue)
11 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #17): The Giggling One (27) tied with Jeremy (27) (combined game including Intrigue)
16 October 2009 - Pandemic (Play #5): Jeremy (Dispatcher), and The Giggling One (Medic) were defeated (5 Epidemics)
16 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #18): The Giggling One (33) def Jeremy (24) (combined game including Intrigue)
16 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #19): Jeremy (34) def The Giggling One (32) (combined game including Intrigue)
16 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #20): The Giggling One (46) def Jeremy (43) (combined game including Intrigue)
16 October 2009 - Munchkin (Play #5): Jeremy (10) def The Giggling One (1)
16 October 2009 - Munchkin (Play #6): Jeremy (10) def The Giggling One (6)
17 October 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #46): The Giggling One def Jeremy, Ewan, and Dan
17 October 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #47): The Giggling One def Jeremy, Ewan, Dan, and Mark R
17 October 2009 - Citadels (Play #1): Mark R (29) def Bernd (27), Ewan (25), The Giggling One (22), Belinda (19), Dan (18), and Jeremy (18)
17 October 2009 - Why Did the Chicken...? (Play #1): Mark R (9) def Belinda (7), Jeremy (5), Dan (3), The Giggling One (2), Ewan (1), and Bernd (1)
17 October 2009 - Fact or Crap (Play #1): Mark R (32) def Ewan (29), The Giggling One (28), Jeremy (27), Bernd (19), Dan (14), and Belinda (0)
17 October 2009 - Werewolf (Play #24): Villagers - Mark R (Seer), Ewan (Villager turned Moderator), Dan, Jeremy, Bernd, and Belinda def Werewolf - The Giggling One
17 October 2009 - Werewolf (Play #25): Villagers - Dan (Seer), Jeremy (Villager turned Moderator), Ewan, Bernd, Mark R, and Belinda def Werewolf - The Giggling One
17 October 2009 - Werewolf (Play #26): Villagers - Bernd (Seer), Belinda (Villager turned Moderator), Dan, The Giggling One, Ewan, and Mark R def Werewolf - Jeremy
17 October 2009 - Werewolf (Play #27): Villagers - Ewan (Seer), The Giggling One (Villager turned Moderator), Dan, Jeremy, Bernd, and Mark R def Werewolf - Belinda
17 October 2009 - Werewolf (Play #28): Werewolf - Jeremy def Villagers - Mark R (Seer turned Moderator), Dan, The Giggling One, Ewan, Bernd, and Belinda
17 October 2009 - Werewolf (Play #29): Villagers - Dan (Seer), The Giggling One (Villager turned Moderator), Jeremy, Ewan, Mark R, and Belinda def Werewolf - Bernd
22 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #21): The Giggling One (43) def Jeremy (34) (combined game including Intrigue)
22 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #22): The Giggling One (39) def Jeremy (39) (combined game including Intrigue)
22 October 2009 - Dominion (Play #23): The Giggling One (43) def Jeremy (34) in the tiebreaker (combined game including Intrigue)
22 October 2009 - Dominion: Intrigue (Play #4): Jeremy (45) def The Giggling One (44) ("Best Wishes" recommended set)
22 October 2009 - Catan Card Game (Play #1): The Giggling One (13) def Jeremy (9) (with Politics & Intrigue Expansion)
22 October 2009 - Munchkin (Play #7): Jeremy (10) def The Giggling One (7) (with "Listening at the Door" variant)
23 October 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #48): Vanessa def The Giggling One, Jeremy, and Matt
23 October 2009 - Agricola (Play #5): Jeremy (36) def The Giggling One (25), Vanessa (14), and Matt (6) (with E Deck)
6 November 2009 - Fluxx (Play #3): Splat def Jeremy
6 November 2009 - Fluxx (Play #4): Jeremy def Erin, Kam, Ian, Splat, and The Giggling One
6 November 2009 - The Princes of Florence (Play #2): Jeremy (78) def Erin (59), Ian T (52), and Kam (51)
6 November 2009 - Werewolf (Play #30): Villagers - Bernd (Seer), Erin, The Giggling One, Kam, Splat, and Christine def Werewolf - Ian T (with Jeremy as the Moderator)
6 November 2009 - Werewolf (Play #31): Villagers - The Giggling One (Seer), Bernd, Erin, Ian T, Kam, and Christine def Werewolf - Splat (with Jeremy as the Moderator)
19 November 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #49 - #52): The Giggling One v Jeremy; Winners: The Giggling One (#49,#51), Jeremy (#50,#52)
21 November 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Plays #53 - #55): Jeremy v The Giggling One; Winners: Jeremy (#53,#54), The Giggling One (#55)
23 November 2009 - Dominion (Play #24): Jeremy (61) def The Giggling One (49) (combined draft game (selected 5 Kingdom cards each from 10 randoms) including Intrigue)
24 November 2009 - Stone Age (Play #5): The Giggling One (268) def Jeremy (197)
25 November 2009 - Pandemic (Play #6): The Giggling One (Operations Expert) and Jeremy (Medic) were defeated (5 Epidemics)
25 November 2009 - Pandemic (Play #7): Jeremy (Medic) and The Giggling One (Dispatcher) were victorious (5 Epidemics)
4 December 2009 - Democrazy (Play #4): Jon (10), Splat (10), and Jeremy (10) def Maike (8), Ian B (5), Christine (5), Bernd (4), David (4), The Giggling One (3), and Damien (3)
4 December 2009 - Stone Age (Play #6): Jeremy (182) def The Giggling One (178), Ian B (174), and Maike (130)
4 December 2009 - Set (Play #7): The Giggling One (16) def Jeremy (8)
4 December 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #56): The Giggling One def Jeremy

18 December 2009 - Ca$h 'n Gun$ (Play #4)

Jeremy ($75,000) def The Giggling One ($70,000), Brian ($65,000), Donald ($65,000), Narelle ($55,000), and Leah (Dead)

18 December 2009 - Ca$h 'n Gun$ (Play #5)

Jeremy ($105,000) def Donald ($75,000), The Giggling One ($65,000), Brian ($65,000), Narelle ($40,000), and Leah ($35,000)

18 December 2009 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #57)

The Giggling One def Jeremy, Leah, Narelle, Brian, and Donald

19 December 2009 - Man Bites Dog (Play #2)

The Giggling One (565) def Jeremy (440), Chris (410), Bernd (370), Vincent (355), Christine (285), and Guirec (210)

19 December 2009 - Razzia (Play #2)

Guirec ($305,000) def Mark ($260,000), Bernd ($220,000), Jeremy ($220,000), Vincent ($170,000), Chris ($150,000), The Giggling One ($110,000), and Christine ($85,000)

19 December 2009 - San Marco (Play #1)

Dan (57) def Jeremy (54), The Giggling One (53), and Bernd (52)

19 December 2009 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #1)

Jeremy & Dan (39) def The Giggling One & Christine (35), Guirac & Mark (25), and Bernd & Vincent (21)

25 December 2009 - Martian Fluxx (Plays #1 - #2)

Jeremy v The Giggling One; Winner: Jeremy (#1,#2)

25 December 2009 - Martian Fluxx (Play #3)

Jeremy def The Giggling One, Chris, Wynne, Danny, and Sandi

26 December 2009 - Martian Fluxx (Plays #4 - #6)

The Giggling One v Jeremy; Winners: The Giggling One (#1,#2), Jeremy (#3)

26 December 2009 - Magic: The Gathering (Plays #1 - #3)

The Giggling One (Blue/Green) v Jeremy (Black/Red); Winners: The Giggling One (#1: 28-0), Jeremy (#2: 20-0; #3: 13-0) (Set: Magic 2010)

26 December 2009 - Dice Town (Play #1)

Jeremy (74) def The Giggling One (42)

26 December 2009 - Martian Fluxx (Plays #7 - #10)

The Giggling One v Jeremy; Winners: The Giggling One (#7,#10), Jeremy (#8), Retreat! (#9)

28 December 2009 - Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (Play #1)

Jeremy (Carrots 1,2,4,8,10,11,12) def The Giggling One (Carrots 3,5,6,7,9) (Magic Carrot: #10)

28 December 2009 - Magic: The Gathering (Plays #4 - #6)

Jeremy (Black/Red) v The Giggling One (Blue/Green); Winners: Jeremy (#4: 4-0; #5: 20-0), The Giggling One (#6: 11-0) (Set: Magic 2010)

28 December 2009 - Citadels (Play #2)

Jeremy (37) def The Giggling One (20)

30 December 2009 - Martian Fluxx (Plays #11 - #13)

The Giggling One v Jeremy; Winners: The Giggling One (#11,#13), Jeremy (#12)

30 December 2009 - Citadels (Play #3)

The Giggling One (37) def Jeremy (25)

31 December 2009 - Magic: The Gathering (Play #7)

Jeremy (White) (11) def v The Giggling One (Green/Red) (0) (Set: Magic 2010)

31 December 2009 - Werewolf (Play #32)

Werewolf - Paul def Villagers - Drew (Seer), The Giggling One, Narelle, Darren, Brian, and Leah (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

31 December 2009 - Werewolf (Play #33)

Villagers - Mary (Seer), Narelle, Darren, Brian, Paul, Drew, and Leah def Werewolf - The Giggling One (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

31 December 2009 - Werewolf (Play #34)

Werewolf - The Giggling One def Villagers - Paul (Seer), Narelle, Darren, Brian, Drew, Leah, and Mary (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

2008 Games Recap

2009-01-04T12:45:00.003+11:00

In 2008 I managed to play a total of 31 new games (28 if you don't count the 3 expansions). I'm quite chuffed by that. And also by the fact that I achieved a life long dream of using "chuffed" in a blog post. Twice.

To see which of these games were my favourites, mosey on over here.

Here's the list:

Date First Played	Game
January 18	Kings Keep	Review	BGG
February 1	Loopin' Louie	Review	BGG
February 1	Bohnanza	Review	BGG
February 1	Familienbande	Review	BGG
February 1	San Marco	Review	BGG
March 7	Democrazy	Review	BGG
March 7	Carcassonne	Review	BGG
March 7	Set!	Review	BGG
March 7	Wits & Wagers	Review	BGG
March 13	The Pillars of the Earth	Review	BGG
March 13	Ca$h 'n Gun$	Review	BGG
March 17	Catan Card Game	Review	BGG
March 23	StarCraft: The Board Game	-	BGG
April 4	Race for the Galaxy	Review	BGG
April 17	Catan Card Game Expansion	Review	BGG
May 2	Maka Bana	Review	BGG
May 2	Hoity Toity	Review	BGG
June 6	Liar's Dice	Review	BGG
June 14	The Pillars of the Earth Expansion Set	Review	BGG
July 4	Reiner Knizia's Amazing Flea Circus	Review	BGG
July 12	Caylus	-	BGG
September 5	The Princes of Florence	Review	BGG
September 5	Zombie Fluxx	-	BGG
October 3	Power Grid	Review	BGG
October 18	Löwenherz	Review	BGG
October 25	Puerto Rico	Review	BGG
November 7	Tigris & Euphrates	Review	BGG
Decembe 5	Ticket to Ride	Review	BGG
December 5	Monty Python Fluxx	-	BGG
December 26	Agricola	-	BGG
December 27	Carcassonne - the Tower	-	BGG

2009 Games Quest

2009-01-01T02:34:00.002+11:00

Having successfully achieved my 2008 Games Quest of playing 25 new games, it is time to set my sights on 2009.

I have decided on two goals, with one at each end of the gaming spectrum: playing and creating.

In 2008 I concentrated on playing as many new games as possible. This inevitably lead to experiencing many games only once. So often at the end of a post I waxed lyrical of my plans for the next time I play the game.

So, with that in mind, Part I of my Quest for 2009 is to play at least 15 games a minimum of 3 times each. Additionally, to qualify a game must either be on the 2008 New Games list, or be a game I am yet to play. Games I first played prior to 2008 will not count.

To aid with the tally, I'll be recording my progress on the blog. Hopefully I'll be able to get things going nicely with a game or two on the New Years Day holiday, followed by the first HoGS of the year on Jan 2nd.

Part II of my Quest was spawned from something I've been piecing together over the last year. To fulfil the Quest, I need to create my own board game, with a fully working game completed by the end of the year. It doesn't matter if it isn't of professional quality, as long as it is fully playable.

I already have an outline of the basic game on paper. The idea for 2009 is to formulate the gameplay, rules, and bits and bobs, and come up with a proper game. It's time to see the dream come to life.

So there it is: play at least 15 games a minimum of 3 times each, and create my own board game. Quest on!

2008 Game of the Year

2008-12-31T15:58:00.004+11:00

Here we are at the end of 2008. 12 short months ago, my goal was simply to play five new games in the coming year. It was a modest goal, but back then I didn't play board games very much.

I played the first new game of the year on January 18. The game was Kings Keep and the venue was Paul & Narelle's house. Joining us that evening was a friend of theirs by the name of Bernd. It turned out Bernd hosted regular games nights at his place. He called this little gathering HoGS - the Hobart Games Society.

Discovering HoGS changed everything. The Giggling One and I rocked up to our first HoGS night on February 1st. That night we played four new games, and my goal was achieved. Just like that.

A rethink was in order, and after a quick calculation, I reset the bar at 25.

I reached game 25 on October 18, and went on to play a further six new games, bringing the total to 31 for the year. Admittedly, three of the games I included on the list were expansions, so it's 28 if you don't count expansions as "new".

So looking at those 28 games, I figured I'd make a good old Top Ten list of my favourite games of 2008.

So here it is. It wasn't the easiest of lists as I enjoyed almost all of the games. And that was the key factor: enjoyment. These our the games I liked the most.

To simplify the task somewhat, I went through the list of games and short-listed those that I enjoyed the most. That short-list contained 11 games. Through a process of elimination (or inclusion) I settled on my top 10 before ranking them. Incidentally, the honourable mention for the unlucky 11th game goes to Wits & Wagers. On to the Top 10...

#10 - The Princes of Florence

What I said: [We] thoroughly enjoyed the game. I imagine having 5 players instead of 3 makes the Auction phase a whole new ball game.

Justify yourself: While deserving its place in the Top 10, having a deeper underlying strategy than it may first appear, The Princes of Florence wasn't quite engaging enough to rank higher. I'm not the greatest fan of auction mechanics in games, but it was made easier with only three of us playing. The design-your-own-principality aspect of the game was fun - a sort of game within a game. Planning and modifying your strategy to maximise your points is the key to winning, and with multiple ways of earning points limited by the seven game turns, the result is a pleasing strategic mix.

#9 - Ca$h 'n Gun$

What I said: I have to say that I've never had so much fun pointing a foam gun at someone else's head.

Justify yourself: Foam guns are where it's at. This game is all about the fun you get from pointing orange guns at other people, and the ensuing laughter when someone discovers that everyone else has chosen to target them. A deeply strategic game this is not. There is a little strategy but ultimately Ca$h 'n Gun$ is a short, fun diversion that you have to play at least two or three times each time you pull it out.

#8 - Carcassonne

What I said: You know what? It wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I never expected Carcassonne to be so..simple.

Justify yourself: Carcassonne is known as a gateway game for a reason. It's very easy to pick up and is light on strategy. It's fun and clever, which is why it has spawned so many expansions. Discounting "The River" (which adds a few tiles but doesn't change the gameplay), the lone expansion I've played - "The Tower" - adds a level of vindictiveness to an otherwise friendly game, and the jury is out on that one. If light is your cup of tea, then Carcassonne is a worthy game.

#7 - Power Grid

What I said: 'Twas a good game...[I] came away with a positive view.

Justify yourself: Not particularly useful comments there, but as I said in my review, I was in two minds about Power Grid before playing it. From reviews that I have read, it tends to be a game you either love or hate. I wouldn't say I "love" it, but I'm definitely lying towards that end of the spectrum. The clever use of the resource market, coupled with the power plant auctions and map placements makes for a cunning game.

#6 - Zombie Fluxx

What I said: Groooooooaaaannnn!

Justify yourself: Well, I said that during a game. I haven't blogged about it yet, which is very slack of me. Zombie Fluxx is the highest rated "light and fun" game on my list. It ranks this high due to the sheer amount of fun to be found in the 99 card deck. I promise to review it next year, but all you need to know in the meantime is Zombies + Everchanging Rules = Max fun.

#5 - Tigris & Euphrates

What I said: [I thought] I wasn't going to enjoy it. It looked too chess like. I'm happy to report that I was wrong. I really enjoyed the game.

Justify yourself: T&E makes it all the way to #5 courtesy of the surprisingly enjoyable mechanics. After reading about the game, and finding out it involved placing tiles on a board, I was worried. I shouldn't have been. It is nothing like Chess or Othello. Instead T&E is its own breed of simple tile laying mixed with a complex underlying strategy that results in a beguiling and intriguing game.

#4 - Agricola

What I said: n/a

Justify yourself: I'm waiting until I play a game with 3 or more players before I blog about Agricola. I've mentioned more than once that it is the new number #1 on Board Game Geek, and from my lone play through I can see the attraction. With so many cards available, Agricola lends itself to a slightly different experience each time. The key is combing the cards you are dealt with the known actions available throughout the game. I must admit, the anticipation of playing Agricola, and the ensuing enjoyment of the two-player game is what shoots it to number 4 on my list. And that's without animeeples. Will it manage to stay this high on the list over the coming 12 months? I have a sneaking suspicion it might.

#3 - Puerto Rico

What I said: I almost feel like a real gamer now. Everyone really enjoyed the game. One more to add to the ever growing must-play-again list.

Justify yourself: No other game was as eagerly anticipated this year as Puerto Rico. It has been the benchmark for all other games for the last few years, and my gaming quest would never have been truly complete without playing it. Like Agricola, I've only played it once (a five player game), and all I can say is that the genius mechanics and player interaction make this a must-play for anyone who considers themselves a gamer.

#2 - Catan Card Game

What I said: If you're a Settlers fan and have that special someone who enjoys the game as well, then this is a worthy consideration of your hard earned moolah.

Justify yourself: I was surprised as anyone that a two player card game made it to #2. However, I couldn't deny it this position. While I still think it could make a fun three or four player game with a couple of tweaks, it is nonetheless a very enjoyable game with just two. The Giggling One and I played the Catan Card Game many times this year, and we both thoroughly enjoyed it. Aided by the expansion sets, it is easy to learn, simple to set up, and allows for some cunning strategies. It's great for fans of the Catan series and newcomers alike, and is perfect for a lazy afternoon with that special someone.

#1 - The Pillars of the Earth

What I said: It was a joy to play a game that made reference to the events and characters within [the novel]. If you enjoy board games, then this is a great game to play. Easy enough for board game novices to understand and enjoy, and deep enough for veterans to have fun with as well. It rocks!

Justify yourself: No surprises here. "Pillars" was always going to be my game of the year. While I um'd and ah'd about the make up and order of this Top 10, it was only spots 2 to 10 that I debated. Pillars has a great balance of strategy accompanied by a dabble of luck. Despite only lasting six rounds, what it packs into those rounds is fun, exciting, and sometimes frustrating. Never frustrating enough to break the game mind you - just to curse your opponents. Awesome mechanics and a fantastically illustrated board set Pillars well above any other game I played this year. The expansion added that little bit extra to share the cathedral-building love with another two players, and there's nothing better than sharing this game with as many gamers as you can. Read the novel and play the game. Then read the sequel. You won't regret it.

A Christmas Hoard

2008-12-26T19:14:00.002+11:00

Do I have the greatest girlfriend or do I have the greatest girlfriend?

Not only did The Giggling One give me the game I really wanted for Christmas, she also bought me two other games as well!

I am now the very proud and grateful owner of Agricola, Carcassonne, and Carcassonne - the Tower.

And my thoughtful step-sister Michelle also gave us Acquire.

What better Christmas could a gamer ask for?

The Giggling One and I have already had a 2 player game of Agricola. Sooo many options with sooo few available moves. This game is huge, and is definitely getting a look in at the next Hobart Gamers night.

Look for an Agricola-centric blog entry once I've played it with more players. Hopefully it's only a week or so away.

Spoiled for choice I am.

Ticket to Ride

2008-12-07T16:21:00.004+11:00

I can now proudly say I have played what I regard as the triumvirate of gateway games: Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, and Ticket to Ride.

I'm not so proud to say I got my arse whipped on Friday night, finishing stone cold motherless last against three other Ticket to Ride beginners.

Ticket to Ride was first published in 2004, and has gone on to spawn a slew of sequels (3 expansions, and 4 re-implementations (expansions add to the original game, while re-implementations create a whole new game based on the original)).

The concept of Ticket to Ride is very simple: place trains on a board to link up cities and score points.

Here's the board:

As you can see there are routes of various colours linking the cities on the map. In fact, there are nine different coloured routes: black, white, red, orange, yellow, pink, green, blue and grey (or "gray" if you want that authentic US feel).

In order to place trains along a route, you need to collect Train Car cards of the corresponding colour.

The number of Train Car cards you need to collect is equal to the number of spaces between the cities.

For example, to link Seattle and Helena, you require 6 yellow Train Cars. To link between Salt Lake City and Denver you need either 3 red carriages, or 3 yellow carriages.

Things can be helped along by a Locomotive card (the bottom card in the image above) which acts as a wildcard and can be used to make up a set if you don't have enough cards of the right colour.

Additionally, grey routes can be completed with any set of cards, as long as they are all of the same colour.

On each turn, you can take one (and only one) of three actions:

1. Draw Train Car cards, or
2. Claim a route, or
3. Draw Destination Tickets

We'll start, as is customary, with number 1.

There are 110 Train Car cards all up (12 of each colour, and 14 Locomotives). Each player gets 4 to start with. The remaining cards are shuffled and placed face-down. The top five cards are then placed face-up next to the board.

There will always be five Train Car Cards face-up. Whenever a face up card is taken, the top card of the deck replaces it.

Your choice for drawing Train Car Cards is simple: you can draw a maximum of 2 cards on your turn. You can either take a face-up card, or take pot luck by drawing the top card from the deck.

If you take a face-up card with your first pick, the top card is turned over to replace it. You can then either take another face-up card (including the replacement just turned over) or take the top card from the deck with your second pick.

The only exception is that if you choose to take a face-up Locomotive card, that is the only card you may take this turn. If you take a face-up card, and a Locomotive replaces it, you can't then nab the Locomotive. Of course, if probability favours you, and you draw a Locomotive from the top of the deck, then there's nothing stopping you from taking a second card.

Alrighty, so you've drawn a few cards and you think it's time you staked your claim to a route. That's action number 2.

All you do is take a set of cards that match the colour of the route (or any old colour you like for a grey route) and play them face-up so that the other players can see you're not cheating (not that you would cheat of course).

As I mentioned earlier, the number of cards you play is equal to the number of spaces along the route. You can only claim one route per turn.

You then place the cards in the discard pile and place your own trains on the spaces of that route. Like so:

Every player gets 45 trains, and you need to take care where you play them for two reasons.

Firstly, you score points based on the length of each route you claim. the longer the route, the more points it is worth.

A route one space long will only get you 1 point, while completing a route six spaces long will get you 15 points. It's therefore worth collecting/hoarding cards for a while (something I didn't do which cost me dearly) to claim the longer routes.

The second reason you want to take care with your train placements takes us to the final action you can perform on your turn: drawing Destination Tickets.

Destination Tickets are cards with two cities printed on them. Everyone gets three of these at the start of the game (though you discard one of them if you wish).

On your turn you can draw more Destination Tickets if you wish. You simply take the top three cards from the face-down deck of Ticket cards (there are 30 cards all up), and keep 1, 2, or all 3 of them.

You keep your Destination Tickets secret until the end of the game at which time you score bonus points equal to the number on the card if you have a continuous train network connecting the two cities on that card.

The longer the route required to link the two cities, the more points you will get if you link the cities.

It's therefore important to play strategically and efficiently so as best to complete routes between the cities on your Destination Ticket cards. Having two cards where you can share routes is generally a good idea.

It may also pay to claim a route that blocks an opponent from linking up his or her trains in one long route. This will make it harder for them to link two particular cities.

The downside for not linking the cities on a Destination Ticket is that instead of gaining those points at the end of the game, you lose the points. I made the mistake of taking a new, high scoring Destination Ticket towards the end of the game only to have the game finish before I could complete the route.

In case you're wondering how the game ends, it's when one player has 0, 1 or 2 of his or her trains remaining. All players then have one more turn and the game finishes.

Everyone then adds the successful Destination Tickets to their score and subtracts any failed Destination Tickets from their score.

The player with the longest continuous route also scores a bonus 10 points.

And that's it. If you've played well, you'll score over 100 points. If you've played poorly, you...er...won't.

Reporting briefly on the game played on Friday night at HoGS, all four of us were new to the game (though I believe David may have played once a few years ago).

At the start of the game I made the rookie decision of ditching the high scoring, long distance Destination Ticket in favour of two low scoring, easy to connect cards. With hindsight I would have kept all three cards.

The game started out with everyone grabbing the short routes in the middle of the board, before Cathy (I apologise if her name is spelled incorrectly) began amassing a large hand of Train Car cards and began to grab the long routes one by one.

Not only that, but she managed to link all 45 of her trains in one long route to claim the longest path bonus at the end.

Despite only having two relatively low scoring Tickets, the long routes were enough to give Cathy the win with 107 points.

The Giggling One successfully completed four Tickets and came second on 99 points.

David and I were left in their dust. David managed 70 points, while I scored a paltry *cough* 53 *cough* points.

Here's the final board (Cathy was red, David was green, The Giggling One was blue, and I was black):

It was quite fun, but also frustrating to finish with such a low score. I'd love to play again and apply the lessons I've learned (claim more long routes, keep higher scoring Destination Tickets).

In fact I think that will be my next New Year's Resolution: of the new games I only played once this year, play as many as I can again next year. I shall endeavour to make Ticket to Ride, or one of its sequels, one of those games. It's worth it.

Tigris & Euphrates

2008-11-09T17:27:00.015+11:00

Two more milestones were achieved here up the vacuum thingy this week.

Firstly, the lads over at The Spiel have added a link to this blog on their site (and I finally joined their site after listening to Stephen and Dave for over a year). If you like your board games (and let's face it, if you're reading my blog then you probably do) I highly recommend giving The Spiel podcast a listen to on your mp3 player of choice.

The second milestone was that after purchasing the bundle of goodies I keep harping on about, last Friday I finally played Tigris & Euphrates, meaning I've now played all five games. Woohoo!

I bought Tigris & Euphrates (T&E) knowing nothing about it other than it was one of the top rated games on Board Game Geek (it's currently sitting at number 5 (out of 4845 (and if you're at all interested, the lowest rated game is tic-tac-toe))).

It's fair to say, in fact, that of the five-game bundle, I deliberately left T&E until last thinking I wasn't going to enjoy it. It looked too chess like, what with all the strategic placing of tiles on a board.

I'm happy to report that I was wrong. Sure, there's strategy involved but it's not as taxing as you might think. There are enough avenues to collecting victory points that no one is going to be completely shut out of the game. Certainly there are ways to build and defend strong positions, but there's always a way to exploit another player's weakness.

In short, I really enjoyed the game. I made some decisions that were, in hindsight, poor, and that I probably wouldn't do again. Then again, all four players were rookies so there was no advantage of experience for any of us.

OK, let's get into the game play and then, as usual, I'll finish with a quick summary of the game we played on Friday night.

T&E is played on a board. Said board looks like this (as usual, click on any image for the full size picture):

The board has nice artwork depicting the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flowing through the ancient civilisation of Mesopotamia.

As a side note, the game keeps reminding The Giggling One and me of one of our favourite songs: The Mesopotamians by They Might Be Giants (from their album The Else).

The board is divided into a grid of 176 squares (16 x 11) in which players take turns placing tiles and leader disks.

Civilization tiles (there are other tile types I'll get to in due course) and leaders, come in four colours: blue, black, green and red. Each of those colours is representative of a different "sphere" in which players try to win victory points.

Blues tiles represent farms, with the blue leaders being farmers.

Black tiles are settlements, with the black leaders known as kings.

Green tiles are markets, while green leaders are traders.

Red tiles are temples, with red leaders being, not surprisingly, priests.

The leader disks themselves look something like this:

Unlike most other games, players are not differentiated by colours. Instead, each player chooses a "dynasty" which is represented by a symbol: the lion, the archer, the bull or the potter.

As tiles and leaders are placed on the board, they create "regions" and "kingdoms". A region is any area of the board covered by one or more linked tiles. If a region also contains one or more leaders then it is a kingdom.

The basic idea of the game is that when a civilization tile is placed on the board, if you have a leader of that colour in the same kingdom then you score a victory point in that colour.

Yes, that's right, victory points also come in the four colours. You'll need to win VPs in every colour if you want to win the game, because it's the colour you have the least of at the end of the game (your weakest sphere) that determines your score.

Before we get there, though, we need to know how the placement of tiles and leaders work.

In order to look at that, we should look at how a turn works.

But before we look at how a turn works, we need to know how the initial setup works.

And before that, we...actually, let's just go with the setup.

Let's take another look at the board:

See those 10 spaces with winged beasts? To get the game rolling, 10 red civilization tiles (remember, they're the temples) are placed on those spaces.

Not only that, but each of these temple tiles has a treasure placed on it. Oooh! Treasures are simply small uncoloured wooden cubes that act as wildcards. If you claim a treasure during the game, you keep it until the end of the game and use it to shore up your weakest colour (or use multiple treasures to boost the VPs of one or more colours).

Additionally, all players are given 3 special tiles: 2 catastrophe tiles, and 1 unification tile (technically there are also dynasty tiles with each player's chosen symbol on them, but as far as I can see they play no part in the game other than being used to randomly select a starting player).

Now, here comes the cool, sneaky part. Each player is also given a screen with their dynasty symbol on it. These screens are used to hide stuff behind so your opponents don't know the secret stuff you've got. Unless they cheat and sneak a peak of course.

The secret stuff you hide behind your screen includes your stash of civilization tiles (you can have up to 6 at any one time) and the victory point and treasure cubes you collect during the game.

Once everyone has their screen set up, players take it in turn to draw 6 tiles out of a cloth bag. There are 153 tiles (57 red, 36 blue, 30 green and 30 black) in the bag, minus the 10 reds already placed on the board.

Then, the game starts in earnest.

On your turn, you get to take two actions. There are a total of four types of actions you can take, and you can take any combination you like, including the same action twice.

Position a leader: You place one of your leaders on to the board, you move one of your leaders from one space to another space, or you remove one of your leaders from the board. Pretty straight forward really.

The whole point of positioning leaders is so that they earn victory points when tiles of the same colour are placed in the same kingdom, or when monuments are located in the same kingdom. "Monuments?" you ask. Let's not get ahead of ourselves - we'll talk about monuments later.

When it comes to positioning a leader, they can only be placed on empty spaces adjacent to a temple (adjacent in T&E means orthogonally adjacent (sharing a common edge), not diagonal). Additionally, leaders can't swim, or don't like getting their tootsies wet, so they can't be placed on a river space.

Leaders aren't great diplomats either so the final restriction is that they can't be placed on a space whereby they would unite two kingdoms.
Place a tile: You take one of the 6 civilization tiles behind your screen and place it on the board.

You'll generally want to place the tile somewhere where you're going to earn a victory point - that is in a kingdom where you have a leader of the same colour.

These tiles can go on pretty much any empty space on the board. The major restriction is that only blue tiles may go on river spaces, and indeed they are the only spaces on which blue tiles can be placed.

Unlike leaders, you can unite two kingdoms with a tile placement, though you're not permitted to unite more than two kingdoms.

Tiles don't have to be placed adjacent to an existing region. If you wish you can place a tile all on its lonesome.

Once a tile is placed, if there is a leader of that colour in the kingdom then the player who owns that leader takes a victory point cube of that colour.

If no leader matches the tile, but there is a black leader (king) in the kingdom, then the player with the black leader gets the VP matching the colour of the tile.

If there is no matching or black leader in the region in which a tile is played, then no VP is awarded. Keeping up? Good.
Play a catastrophe tile: You place one of your two catastrophe tiles on the board.

Catastrophe tiles are used to permanently occupy a space on the board. They can be played on top of an existing tile (as long as it doesn't have a treasure or monument sitting on it) or on an empty space.

The main purpose of catastrophe tiles is to split a kingdom in two (or more), thereby severing leaders from certain lucrative parts of their former kingdom.
Swap tiles: You discard (face down) any number of tiles from behind your screen and draw replacements from the bag.

You'll do this if there are certain colours you don't have that you'd like to get, and/or you have some tiles you don't want. Of course there's no guarantee you won't just draw the same colours from the bag.

OK, so I've been mentioning victory points and treasures a bit so I guess I'd better include a pretty picture I took with The Giggling One's digital camera (no poor quality mobile phone pics this time):

The little cubes are worth one victory point, while the big ones are worth 5. See how much you can intimidate your opponents by saving up the little cubes then trading them in for big ones.

The little white-looking ones (they are actually a light tan colour) are the treasure cubes.

Treasures can be claimed when two kingdoms with a treasure become united. Whoever has the green leader (trader) in that larger kingdom (or whoever is the first to place a green leader in that kingdom) gets to take one of the treasures.

Now at this point, you might be thinking "What if there are two green leaders in the kingdom?"

Well that's a good question, and I'm glad I asked it for you.

No kingdom can have more than one leader of any colour. If two like-coloured leaders do end up in the same kingdom then there will be a battle for supremacy, ending with one of the leaders being withdrawn from the board.

This is the meat of the game where strategy really comes to the fore. Knowing where and when to cause a conflict, and planning one carefully in advance, is the key to success.

There are two types of conflict: internal and external.

To cause an internal conflict, all you have to do is place a leader in a kingdom which already contains a leader of that colour. You'll then duke it out by counting the number of red tiles adjacent to each leader, plus any number of red tiles you want to add from behind your screen (those tiles are then removed from the game). The winner gets to stay and receives a reward of one red VP, while the losing leader goes home in a huff (ie. gets taken off the board).

An external conflict occurs where two kingdoms are united by the placement of a tile, and there are now leaders of the same colour in the new, larger kingdom. Battle lines are drawn over the uniting tile. The active player places his or her unification tile over the joining tile then the players with the matching leaders count the number of tiles on their side of the divide that match the colour of the feuding leaders. The combatants can then add to this if they wish with matching tiles from behind their screen.

Once again, the winning leader stays and gets a VP of the same colour, while the losing leader is removed from the board. External conflicts have one extra casualty: all matching tiles in the loser's side of the kingdom are also removed.

Unfortunately, in the game we played, while I remembered this rule while I was explaining the rules at the start of the game, I forgot about it as the game went on. This meant that after external conflicts, no tiles were removed along with the defeated leader. Additionally, I forgot all about the rule of the winning player in a conflict receiving a VP. Major oops!

External conflicts won't necessarily involve the player who places the unification tile. Sometimes you might just want to be a bastard and cause two other players to fight.

Oh, and have no fear; losing leaders can always be placed back on the board later. Also, any players in a conflict who added tiles from behind their screen get to replenish their hand at the end of the turn.

By the way, if there is a tie in a conflict, the defender wins.

Alrighty, we're almost done. Hoorah!

I promised we'd have a chat about monuments, so let's do that before we finish up.

Monuments are large, er, monumenty things that look like this:

As you can see, there are 6 monuments, each made up of two colours.

If you think you might like to build a monument, all you have to do is place a tile such that it creates a square of four like-coloured tiles. You then flip the tiles upside down and whack on a monument.

Like this:

The monument must contain the same colour as the four tiles you flipped over. If there aren't any monuments with that colour left, then you can't flip the tiles.

Monuments have a pretty funky purpose in the game: they are an ongoing source of victory points.

At the end of your turn, if you have a leader in the same kingdom as a monument, and that leader shares a colour with the monument, then you get a victory point of that colour. For example, if you had a green leader in the same kingdom as the green & black monument pictured above, you'd get yourself a green victory point.

If you had both a green and a black leader in that kingdom, you'd get two VP cubes, one in each colour. If there were a green & blue monument in the same kingdom, that monument would also generate a green VP for your green leader. Nice!

So now you know how the game works. You place leaders and tiles in order to maximise your VP scores across all four colours. VPs are earned from tile placements, monuments, and from winning conflicts.

The game ends when at least 8 of the treasures have been taken, or there aren't enough tiles left in the bag to replenish a player's hand back up to 6 tiles.

Screens are then removed, and players count the number of VPs of each colour (with treasures added where necessary). The player with the most VPs in their weakest sphere (the colour in which they have the least VPs) wins.

If there is a tie, the next weakest sphere is compared, and so on.

It's definitely a juggling act to try and collect all four colours. It's often easy to have a strong position with which you can collect VPs of one particular colour, but it's how you collect the other VPs that determines how well you do.

Nevertheless, you still need to be in a position to win VPs, which is exactly where Splat put himself right from the start during our game.

After creating two monuments very early on, Splat started the VPs rolling in. When he was finally knocked off his perch in that kingdom, he'd made himself a nice little earner in the opposite corner of the board.

Despite our best efforts, neither Bernd, Carl nor I could gain a strong enough position to be any real threat to Splat.

As for myself, I had one or two ad hoc plans that worked OK, but any long term strategy always managed to be scuppered by the actions of someone else before it got off the ground.

Also, I used my two catastrophe tiles fairly early to block Bernd's black leader from reuniting with a kingdom containing two black monuments and my black leader. It may have been more prudent to sacrifice that kingdom and use the catastrophe tiles later to split other kingdoms.

It's all about adjusting and readjusting to the goings on around you. If you think you have a position of strength in one kingdom, be prepared to see that undermined with a catastrophe tile or two.

Here's the board as it was at the end of our game (I was the archer, Splat was the bull, Bernd was the potter, and Carl was the lion):

Final scores:

Splat: 13

Jeremy: 10

Bernd: 9

Carl: 4

All four of us collected two treasures each, with Carl's treasures doubling the size of his blue VP stack, a colour he found particularly difficult to come by.

And for good measure, here's Splat's winning VP stack:

Unfortunately, he didn't quite reach his goal of building his stacks as high as his Tic-Tac box.

It was good fun, and with more people coming along to HoGS nights, I'm sure I'll get a chance to play this and my other games again. Next time I'll try and remember the rules!

Puerto Rico

2008-11-01T15:42:00.012+11:00

Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies...

Wait...no, that's not right. Let's try again...

Picture yourself on a Caribbean island, with tropical rainforests and azure skies.

There, that's better.

But what about the boat? Well that's at the docks and you're loading it with goods to ship back to the motherland.

This, is Puerto Rico.

I've been dying to try Puerto Rico for quite a few months. It was on my "must buy" list for a long time, simply on reputation alone, and when I discovered it in a bundle with four other top rated games at GatePlay.com, well the rest is history.

How I've quite managed to own the game from the beginning of July to the end of October without playing this beauty amazes me. Nevertheless it wasn't until Saturday 25 October 2008 (coincidentally the same date I first became an uncle), that I finally played my first game of Puerto Rico.

I almost feel like a real gamer now.

Before I get into the nitty gritty, I should point out that I generally like to throw a splash of colour in to my posts in the way of images I've shamelessly pilfered from Board Game Geek. But do you think I could find any decent images of the various game components on the 18 pages worth of pictures?

No. So instead I took some pictures of my own. Using my mobile phone. The end results were, to put it mildly, less than stellar, but I'm not going to get all the bits & pieces out again just for the sake of this blog, so please forgive my shoddy camera work.

Enough of the bollocks. On with the show.

Once again, picture yourself on a Caribbean island. Specifically, the island of Puerto Rico.

You are an entrepreneur of sorts, and your job is to manage the production of goods, and see those goods shipped back to the old world.

You have a choice of what goods to produce. There are five different types of goods: corn (yellow), indigo (blue), sugar (white), tobacco (brown), and coffee (black). You can end up producing all five if you wish, though it's more likely you'll be concentrating on two or three.

Producing these goods is a two-step process (well, except for corn but I'll get to that shortly).

Firstly, you're going to need a plantation. The more plantations you have (and you can have a maximum of 12), the more raw goods you can produce.

As well as plantations for each of the five goods, you can also build quarries that don't produce any goods per se, but simply help you reduce the cost of purchasing buildings.

Speaking (blogging?) of buildings, there are two types of buildings, and you're going to need the first type - known as production buildings - for the second part of the production process. Indigo, sugar, tobacco and coffee produced at your plantations need to be processed further in order to end up with the finished product.

Corn is a finished product straight away so you won't need a production building.

So, for example, to convert raw sugar into the finished product that is actually useful to you, you'll need a Sugar Mill.

The remaining buildings are called violet buildings because they are, get this, coloured violet.

Violet buildings give you bonuses during or at the end of the game that help you towards your goal.

Now, having plantations and buildings is all well and good, but they're not going to get things done by themselves. You're certainly not going to get your own hands dirty, so you're going to need colonists to do all the hard labour for you.

Colonists (or, as Brian likes to call them, sultanas) sail in on the Colonist Ship every so often and are allocated to you and your rivals.

Where you set your colonists to work is up to you. You'll often not have enough colonists to fill all the vacancies in your colony so you'll need to decide what is more important to you. Without a colonist on a plantation or in a building, it simply won't function.

Before you know it you'll have your own little empire working away, so that this:

...becomes something like this:

Note: this is the one image I did nab from Board Game Geek.

You'll notice that, along with goods, the top right corner of the board pictured above contains doubloons (used to purchase buildings) and upside-down victory point chips (because you don't want other players knowing exactly what you have). Here's what the victory point chips look like upside-up:

"Hmmm," you think, "Those doubloons and victory point chips look quite handy. How can I get my hands on some of that doubloony and chippy goodness?"

We'll deal with the victory point chips first. These you obtain when you ship your goods. For every good you ship you get one victory point.

The catch is that there are only three cargo ships available at any one time, and each only takes one kind of good. When to load ships, and what to load them with is key to getting yourself ahead, especially as each ship has a limited number of goods it can store in its hold.

Which three ships are used in the game is dependent upon the number of players.

Other than the five cargo ships and the colonist ship (remember that's the ship the colonists arrive on), the picture above also shows the trading house.

The trading house is one of the ways you can make money. Instead of shipping goods, you can instead choose to trade them. The amount of money you receive depends on the type of good you sell. Corn, for example, has a trade price of 0 doubloons (though with certain violet buildings or a privilege you can actually get some doubloons for it) while coffee sells for the relatively princely sum of 4 doubloons.

So now you've got an idea of what's what, you may be wondering how on earth this all fits together. That, my friends, is where the roles come in.

During the game each player gets to choose roles to undertake that allow everyone to take certain actions.

There are seven different roles to choose from: settler, mayor, builder, craftsman, trader, captain, and prospector.

Settler allows you to choose a plantation for your colony.

Mayor gives you more colonists from the colonist ship.

Builder allows you to purchase buildings.

Craftsman means you can produce goods (as long as you have a plantation and matching production building, both with colonists)

Trader gives you the option to trade goods for doubloons at the trading house.

Captain means everyone must, if possible, load goods on to the cargo ships and receive victory points for each good loaded.

Prospector (of which there are two in the five player game) simply gives the player who chooses that role 1 doubloon from the bank.

Other than the prospector, when you choose one of the roles, all players get to take that action. The benefit of being the player to choose that role is that you get a privilege. For example, if you choose mayor you receive an extra colonist, or if you choose craftsman you are allowed to produce one more good than everyone else.

Once someone has selected a role, no one else can choose that role for the remainder of the round. The round finishes once everyone has chosen a role and all actions associated with each role have been taken.

There will always be three more roles than there are players, so not every role will be played every round. Those roles that aren't selected in a round get 1 doubloon placed on them to make them more attractive next time.

The governor card you may have noticed with the role cards in the picture above is simply used to designate the first player for each round.

And that's the core to the game. There are, as you might suspect, other rules to do with the various actions that I haven't covered, but you should have an idea of how the game plays at least.

The game ends when you run out of victory point chips, or you run out of colonists, or one player fills all 12 building spots in their city.

Amusingly enough, the game we played did not end with any of these conditions. Instead, as it was getting late, we agreed to end at a predetermined time (11:40pm I believe).

We were nearing a conclusion anyway, so the game wasn't affected too much by the early finish. With five complete novices, it was taking longer to play than the time it would take a group of more experienced players, but we enjoyed ourselves.

Having read that money is more valuable early in the game, I decided that I would focus on this from the start. Unfortunately I did possibly the dumbest thing anyone can do in Puerto Rico. In the first builder phase, I bought a large market for all my doubloons. My thinking was that the market would gain me extra doubloons from the trading house. Unfortunately, because I'd spent all my money I couldn't afford a production building to produce goods that I could then sell, so the market was useless.

I finally managed to use the the benefit of the large market late in the game, but by then it was a two way battle between The Giggling One and Paul.

Final scores:
1st: Paul...20 (VP chips) + 15 (buildings) + 7 (bonus from residence) = 42
2nd: The Giggling One...29 (VP chips) + 7 (buildings) = 36
3rd: Jeremy...11 (VP chips) + 17 (buildings) + 5 (bonus from fortress) = 33
4th: Brian...14 (VP chips) + 15 (buildings) = 29
5th: Narelle...16 (VP chips) + 12 (buildings) = 28

Everyone really enjoyed the game. Paul and The Giggling One in particular said they liked it better than The Pillars of the Earth. As for, me I still rate Pillars as my favourite game this year.

I've read that Puerto Rico plays quite differently with fewer players, and I fully intend to put that to the test. One more to add to the ever growing must-play-again list...

Löwenherz

2008-10-19T17:11:00.009+11:00

25!

Two five.

That's the number of new games I've now played in 2008!

Target achieved!

I can stop now, right?

Ha! As if.

So, as the congratulatory cheers die down, it's time to reflect on the game that took my tally to the magic quarter century.

Fittingly, it was a game designed by the same man who designed the game that started this whole board game obsession malarky for me: Klaus Teuber.

I still remember with great fondness the time I first played The Settlers of Catan. Not just because I was a first up winner, but because it started me down this road of board game geekdom. They don't call it a gateway ~~drug~~ game for nothing.

So via Settlers and Hoity Toity, the third game I've played by Klaus Teuber, and my 25th new game of the year, is...Löwenherz!

Translated into English, Löwenherz means Lionheart. However, as the game was only ever released as Löwenherz, even in the English language version, that is how it shall remain, even if it means having to either copy-paste or use alt+148 every time I want to type "ö".

Löwenherz works best as a four player game, which is the reason Bernd chose it on Saturday night when I, The Giggling One and Ian joined him for the evening.

Ultimately, the game is about Power Points. Each player takes the role of a prince vying for the right to take control of the kingdom when the dying king finally carks it. The player who amasses the most Power Points during the game wins.

The game is played on a modular board, with the kingdom made up of six large square pieces, each subdivided into 25 spaces. Here's a look at two of the six pieces to give you an idea:

The basic game sets out a specific pattern for the pieces to be placed in, but we, being anything but basic, went for a random layout.

Once the pieces are in place, you end up with a playing area 15 spaces long by 10 spaces wide.

Each space on the board will either be blank or contain forest, a hill or a town.

These are important because placement of pieces in this game is everything.

At the start of the game (and I'm describing the random variant here, not the basic setup which has a set configuration to begin with) everyone gets to place 3 castles and 3 knights on the board.

Castles may only be played on blank spaces, and no player may place two castles within 6 spaces of another of their own castles.

Generally, placing castles next to or near a town is a good idea. Why? Because during the game you're going to be creating regions by placing walls around your castles, and for every town inside any of your regions, you get an extra 5 Power Points.

In fact it's fighting over ownership of towns that tends to decide the outcome of the game. At least it did in our battle.

Once everyone's placed their castles and knights (knights have to be placed immediately adjacent to castles to begin with) then the turns begin.

Each turn, an action card is turned over. Most of the action cards show three pictures designating the three actions that can be played this turn. Three or so of the action cards drawn during the game show silver mines (you get 1 point for each silver mine in your regions), and one card (which will be one of the last 4 cards drawn) reads "The King is dead!" - or it's equivalent in German which I can't recall (we were playing the German version).

When the action card with the three pictures gets drawn, everyone bids for a particular action to play that turn. With four players this creates something of a dilemma, because well, 4 just doesn't fit into 3.

Someone's going to miss out and not get to take any of the actions. But don't fret, because there's usually some sort of compensation involved.

So who chooses what? Well, one at a time starting with the starting player (duh!) players put down a card signifying which action they want to take - either 1, 2 or 3.

Actions are then taken in order from top to bottom with the person who chose that action taking it.

If two people choose the same action then a battle to the death dressed in full armour with nasty sharp swords and pointy lances takes place. Either that or a peaceful negotiation.

Basically, the two players who want to take the same action try and come to a deal where one player gives the other player a sum of money in return for being able to take the action.

If they can't come to a deal, or three or more players choose the same action, then it's a battle to the death dressed in full armour with nasty sharp swords and pointy lances. Or, maybe, a "duel" where players secretly make a bid, and the player who bids the most takes the action and gives his or her ducats to the bank. Whichever you prefer really.

So what are these actions you can take?

Well, if we glance back up at the pretty picture with the action cards, we'll use the two appropriate cards (the first and third cards in the picture) as examples.

In fact, we'll start with the third card in the picture - with a money bag at the top.

A money bag simply means you take that many ducats from the bank. Simple. Theoretically this can be split if more people choose that action, but that's just silly.

Wall pieces mean you can build that number of wall pieces on the map. The card pictured shows 2 wall pieces, but others could show 1 or 3.

Walls can be built pretty much anywhere except between castles and knights of the same colour, and not within a completed region. A region comes into existence when one, and only one, castle is completely separated from all other castles on the board by walls.

So in the early game what you're aiming to do is build yourself regions, preferably containing at least one town and some silver mines, and then reinforce and expand your territories.

The sword and shield action is what allows you to do this reinforcing and expanding. With this action you can either place one knight in one of your regions, or expand one region by two spaces.

Herein lies the key to winning the game. Once you have regions up and running, if you have more knights in one of your regions than your neighbour has in his or her region, you can expand your region by 2 spaces (thus reducing your opponent's region by 2 spaces). If said spaces contain a town (and let's face it, that's pretty much what you'll be going for) then you gain a bonus 5 Power Points (plus 2 points for taking 2 spaces) and your opponent loses them.

The key to winning is when to do this. Do it too early and your opponent may be able to win the territory back later. Do it late enough, and it could well win you the game.

Continuing with the actions, and on top of the first card in the picture above you'll see a crown and sceptre. This signifies a politics action. Basically you get to choose one of the two piles of shuffled face down politics card, rummage through it, and take the card you want (though in our game, Bernd (who was the owner of the game and thus responsible for keeping we new players (fresh princes?) in the loop rules wise (especially as the rules were in German), and who shall now be dubbed "Bernd the Forgetful") forgot we got to look through the piles, so we just got pot luck with whatever card was on top of our chosen pile - oops!).

Politics cards give you various benefits during the game, like forcing an alliance between one of your regions and one of its neighbours, or giving you extra power points at the end of the game, or allowing you to steal a night from a neighbour and add one of your own, or just give you a nice weighty sack of ducats.

Back to the action types, and you may have noticed that along with the single sword and shield, there is an action with two swords and shields.

This action means you have a choice: either add 2 knights to the board, or add 1 knight and expand 1 region.

This very action decided our game. Bernd the Forgetful and The Giggling One both fought over what turned out to be the final action of the game. Eventually Bernd the Forgetful gave in and took The Giggling One's cash, only to have her play a knight in one of her regions, then expand that territory one space into one of Bernd the Forgetful's regions and one space into one of mine.

As both of these spaces contained towns, she picked up a total of 12 Power Points, with Bernd the Forgetful and I both losing 6. Ultimately it made little difference to me as I was dead last anyway, but it was enough for The Giggling One to jump ahead of both Ian and Bernd the Forgetful.

When the "The King is dead!" was the next card drawn the game was over. The Giggling One pulled 3 more points ahead with a parchment card she picked up earlier for a total of 56 points, 4 ahead of Bernd the Forgetful and Ian on 52. Even with the 5 point parchment I held at the end, I could only muster a measly 43 points. Boo.

Here's how the board looked at the end of the game. The Giggling One was, appropriately, rose; I was gold; Ian was grey; and Bernd the Forgetful was purple.

Löwenherz was a fun game, even if I found it very difficult to form a coherent strategy. I think playing the correct rule with the politics cards would make a difference to how the game plays out, so (and I know I say this with pretty much every game I play) I'd like to give this one another go. If only for the sharp swords and pointy lances.

Power Grid

2008-10-04T15:27:00.008+10:00

I was in two minds over Power Grid before I played it, having heard some negative reviews from certain game afficianados, while also taking into account that it was the number two ranked game on Board Game Geek for a reason. At least it was number two, but it's slipped one spot (as has the former number one Puerto Rico) after the rise and rise of Agricola - a game more eagerly anticipated and hyped in the board game community than the 7th Harry Potter novel was by children, book stores and Giggling Ones everywhere. My doubt wasn't helped when Bernd said he'd played it before and wasn't keen. Still, we gave it a crack and came away thinking...well read on and see!

I've owned Power Grid since July when I purchased it in a great little bundle from GatePlay.com but last night at HoGS was the first time it's been on the table.

OK, now that I've set a record for the number of links in the first two paragraphs, it's time to look at what went down, or was powered up, last night.

The first thing you notice about the game when you pull out the board is that it is double-sided. One side is a map of Germany while the other shows the USA. We - that is Bernd, Ian and I - decided to play our 3 player game on the German map.

Incidentally, there are also expansion boards you can buy with Italy/France, Benelux/Central Europe, or Korea/China, not to mention a few custom made boards of other locations made by fans if you go hunting on BGG.

Let's take a gander at the German board (you might want to click the picture for a closer look)...

The board (as with the USA map) is divided into 6 regions. The reason for the divide is that you only play with the same number of regions as players. We chose to play with the three central regions coloured red, blue and yellow.

Each region contains seven cities, meaning a total of 21 cities were available to play on in our game. With the game ending when one player reaches 17 cities, this might seem a little too crowded, but up to three players can build in each city - quite handy when there were only three of us playing.

The object of the game is to build a "house" of your colour in the cities of your choice, and then power those cities using power plants that you buy along the way.

You may notice that each city has a "10", a "15" and a "20" printed on it. This signifies the cost (in the game's currency of Elektro) to build in that city. The first player to build in that city pays 10 Elektro, the second 15 Elektro, and if a third person wishes to build in that city, he or she must pay 20 Elektro. Simple.

Now you can't have everyone building in one city right from the word go. In fact, until at least one player has built in 7 cities, you can't have more than one player in a city.

This is where strategy kicks in, because placement is important. After you've built in your first city (for 10 Elektro remember) your next city must be connected to that first one. And if you look at the map again, you'll see that there are connection costs that have to be paid to connect most cities. For example, if you've built in Essen and you want to build in Dortmund, it'll cost you 4 Elektro for the connection plus the 10 Elektro to build in the city, meaning you'll fork out 14 Elektro altogether.

Dortmund was my first placement of the game, with Bernd having taken Essen. This is where I screwed myself in the early part of the game. As Bernd was building first for the initial few turns, he took the cheapest connections, while I was limited to the next best. Ian, on the other hand, having been shut out of the cheap zone, took Fulda in the yellow zone and branched north, south and west, effectively cutting Bernd and I off from expanding.

You don't have to build in two adjacent cities. You can skip cities in between as long as you pay the total connection cost between them. So with Ian blocking us from adjacent cities, the only way Bernd or I could expand was to pay at least two connection costs to get to a city on the other side of Ian.

Of course we couldn't afford this to start with, so I was stuck with four cities, Bernd with five, and Ian with six. Of course Ian wasn't really stuck, but it served his purpose not to expand to seven cities, because this would have allowed Bernd and myself to build in each other's cities. This is what's known in Power Grid lingo as the "Step 2 stall" (Step 2 being the stage of the game where the maximum number of players allowed to build in each city is two). As the amount of money you get each turn is dependendent upon how many cities you can power, and I had the last cities, I was earning the least amount of cash each turn and falling further behind.

Now one might be tempted to ask how this whole powering of cities thing works. Assuming you've given in to temptation, here's the deal:

Each turn, players take it in turns to auction a power plant from the power plant market. Basically, four power plants are always on offer (pedants take note that, yes, this increases to six power plants in Step 3) and players can bid on a maximum of one power plant each turn.

As the game goes on, better and more efficent (and more expensive) power plants come into play. Let's take a butcher's shall we?

Here we can see six examples of power plants. The number on the top left indicates the value of the plant. This is the minimum amount of Elektro that can be bid for that plant, and gives a good indication of how good it is; the larger the number, the better the power plant.

Along the bottom of each card are the resources required to power that plant, and the number of cities you can power. Number 4 is a coal power plant. You need to burn 2 units of coal to power 1 city. Number 7 allows you to burn 3 units of oil to power 2 cities. Number 13 is a wind turbine and, handily, allows you to power 1 city for no resource cost.

In the mid-range you have the Number 23 power plant which uses 1 unit of uranium to power 3 cities. At the upper end of the scale you have Number 30 which uses 3 units of garbage to power 6 cities, and Number 46 which, being a hybrid, gives you the choice of using 3 units of either oil or coal (or 2 of one and 1 of the other) to power 7 cities.

As fate would have it, those six examples show all types of power plants available: coal, oil, garbage, uranium, hybrid coal/oil, and "free" energy (wind or fusion).

Requiring resources to burn in most plants means there must be some way of getting your electric little hands on the stuff. And so there is.

Each turn players get an opportunity to purchase resources from the resource market. The resource market is an area along the bottom of the board where resources are placed:

The above snapshot is of the "7 Elektro" section of the resource market. Each unit on this section costs 7 Elektro to purchase. Of course, you're only going to want to pay 7 Elektro for something if the cheaper stuff has already been snapped up.

In the game, the brown cubes represent coal, the black cylinders represent oil, the yellow octagonal cylinders represent garbage, and the smaller red octagonal cylinders are uranium.

So now you should have a basic idea of the how the game works. You buy power plants (you can have a maximum of three), buy resources to use with those plants (a set number of resources are replenished in the resource market at the end of each turn), build in cities on the map, then burn your resources to power your cities.

You don't have to power all your cities every turn, and in some cases you won't be able to if your power plants don't have enough capacity. Powering more cities is generally better though, because the more cities you power on your turn, the more Elektro you get. And the more Elektro you get, the better the plants you can buy and the more cities you can expand to.

So it's a happy circle of growth, but how does the game end?

Well, the game ends when, at the end of the building phase, at least one player has built in 17 cities. At that point, all players then power as many cities as they can with their current power plants and resources. Whoever powers the most cities wins. This may not necessarily be the player with the most cities.

In our game, with my lousy start it appeared to be a two horse race between Bernd and Ian. Bernd took a solid lead in the mid game after he eschewed fossil fuels for wind, and was able to power 10 cities simply with the power of wind.

Towards the end, as we started vying for the best power plants, I started to catch up. I'd been the only one using coal and oil for a few turns, and as a result was picking it up very cheaply. As no one had been using garbage since the start of the game, it also became very cheap, and after I picked up the best garbage power plant (and three units of garbage for the whopping total of 4 Elektro) I had the capacity to power 18 cities.

Ian also had the capacity to power 18 cities, but didn't have the cash to build in that many cities before Bernd or myself. Bernd had more cash than he knew what to do with, but his power plants could only power 17 cities.

So, with my carefully managed savings (actually there wasn't that much planning involved), on the final turn I rose from the dead and trumped the other two by building no fewer than six more houses to take my total from 12 to 18 cities, thus forcing the end of the game. Bernd could have built more cities than me, but as he could only power 17, that was the end of the game and I was victorious.

Huzzah!

'Twas a good game, with three strong strategic players who all had an enjoyable time. I do believe Bernd's view of the game was turned around, and first time players Ian and myself both came away with a positive view of Power Grid.

Next time (and that is the true joy and desire of a gamer: for there always to be a next time) I'd like to see how Power Grid goes with more players. I imagine a six player game will be a substantially different beast with increased competition for power plants and resources. Can't wait.

The Princes of Florence

2008-09-06T10:22:00.009+10:00

At last night's HoGS games night, I finally got The Princes of Florence on to the table. That still leaves me with Power Grid, Tigris & Euphrates and Puerto Rico as unplayed games on my shelf, but I will get to them soon I swear. No offence to the guys at The Spiel, but owning a game you've never played seems a little silly to me.

Anyhoo, The Princes of Florence.

I set to playing a 3 player game with The Giggling One and Ian. Total experience playing this game: zero. A level playing field then.

I'd read the rules the night before so I had an inkling of how to play, and we muddled through it pretty well. There were a few times we had to redo something because we'd forgotten the rule. Like in the last round where I tried to complete two Works, forgetting that the Work Value (WV) of each had to be at least 17. So after going through the motions of the second Work, I had to backtrack and buy a Building instead.

But that's getting ahead of things. I like to try and explain how the game works first, so here goes.

The idea of the game is to gain the most Prestige points (PP) in the 7 rounds that the game lasts. You gain PP by building stuff and by completing Works using artists and scholars.

In the middle of the table is the game board:

As you can see it has a score track running around it. This is to keep track of each player's (and the game is played with 3 to 5 players) Prestige points as well as the values of any completed Works.

The game board also has a table showing the minimum value required to complete a Work in each round.

Placed around the game board are all the various bits & pieces you can buy:

I say "buy" because pretty much everything in this game comes at a cost. Naturally, given this is the Princes of Florence, the game's currency is Florin.

Everyone starts with 3,500 Florin, depleting their stash by purchasing objects and cards, and earning money by completing Works (or backtracking on the score track, but no one did that in our game). Additionally, each player's supply of money is kept secret, but we - well OK, I - forgot about this rule until the final round, so everyone pretty much knew how much money the other two players had throughout the game. I don't think it made much difference in the end, but oops.

Now, each player also has their own player board that represents their Principality and looks something like this:

It's a nicely designed board because it not only has places to put each of the various objects obtained, but it also provides a handy reference for each of the artists and scholars (the Professions), as well as a scoring guide for each phase. The scoring guide in particular we found very useful without having to constantly refer back to the rules booklet.

Each turn comprises two phases: The Auction phase, and the Action phase.

In the Auction phase, players bid for one of the following items: a Forest, a Lake, a Park, a Jester, a Builder, a Prestige Card, or a Recruiting Card.

Each player can only buy one item during each Auction phase, and each item can only be purchased once per Auction phase.

So what are these items and why do you want them taking up space in your Prinicipality?

Well, to quote the Curiousity Show, I'm glad you asked.

Forests, Lakes and Parks (collectively known as Landscapes) are all places that the Professions like to relax after a long, tiring day of working. If you play a Profession card during the Action phase (I'll get to that later), you'll get more points towards the WV if that particular Profession likes to hang out in that Landscape.

Jesters also increase the WV of a work. In fact every Jester you have will pump up the WV of each work by 2. Ostensibly, this is because they bring entertainment and relaxation to the artists and scholars.

Builders provide advantages when purchasing Buildings and placing them in the Principality. One Builder will reduce the cost of Buildings from 700 to 300 Florin. Two Builders will allow you to place Buildings adjacent to each other on your board, while a third Builder will make all subsequent Buildings you build free.

It sounds pretty good right? Get a couple of Builders and not only are Buildings 400 Florin cheaper to build but you can place them next to each other on the board. The Giggling One and I certainly thought this was a good strategic move, and we both got our hands on two Builders as soon as possible. Ian, however, did not. He didn't buy a single Builder during our game (though I think he made an unsuccessful bid on at least one) but still ended up winning. I guess building isn't everything.

Next we have Prestige cards. There are 14 Prestige cards, 8 of which (along with the card back) are shown here:

Prestige cards are fairly straight forward. You hold on to them until the end of the game and then play them. If you meet the criteria for each card you play, you get the number of PP shown on the card.

For example, one card reads "For the most Landscapes you earn 7PP (4)". This means that if the total number of Forests, Lakes and Parks in you Principality is higher than anyone else's you get 7 PP. If you tie for the most you get 4 PP. If someone else has the most you get zippo.

It's not quite pot luck getting a Prestige card you want, because when you buy a card, you get to look at the top five cards on the pile, and choose which one you wish to keep. the other four cards are then placed on the bottom of the pile in whichever order you like.

Recruitment cards are the final auction item.

There are only five of these in the game. Owning one allows you to "recruit" any face up Profession card from an opponent. That is, you can nab any Profession card that has already been played by an opponent and use it yourself.

I was the only person to buy a Recruitment card during our game, but it was ultimately wasted because of my final round stuff up mentioned earlier.

Moving right along, once everyone has their handy dandy auction purchase, the Action phase kicks in.

Each player gets to take two actions during their turn, choosing from five possible actions:

Complete a Work (can be done twice - ie. you can complete a Work with your first action, then complete a second Work with your second action)

This is the action around which the whole game revolves; it's where the artists and scholars get to what they do best: artistic and scholarly Works.

Completing a Work is as simple as playing a Profession card from your hand to the table. You then calculate the WV for the Work (starting at 0):
- if the artist or scholar's preferred Building to work in is in your Principality: +4
- if the artist or scholar's preferred recreational Landscape is in your Principality: +3
- if the artist or scholar's supported Freedom is in your Principality: +3
- for each Jester in your Principality: +2 each
- for each Profession or Recruiting card you have in you hand or on the table: +1 each
- for each Bonus card you play during this action: +X (it varies from card to card)

Each round has a minimum WV you must achieve for the Work to be completed, ranging from 7 points in round 1, to 17 points in round 7.

You then get cash based on your total WV, receiving 100 Florin per WV.

If you wish, you can then trade in any of the Florin you just received for Prestige Points at a ratio of 1 PP per 200 Florin. This is a good way to increase your PP, and obviously all Florin received for Works in the final round should be traded for PP as the money will be no good to you.

Take a Profession card (can only be done once per turn - ie. if you take a Profession card with your first action, you cannot take another with your second)

There are 21 Profession cards in the game, each representing a different artist or scholar. Everyone starts with 3 Profession cards and can purchase another one for 300 Florin during this action.

Here is a sample of the Profession cards for you viewing pleasure:

Professions are needed in order to complete Works. Each Profession has a particular Building they prefer to work in, a Landscape in which they like to chill, and a Freedom they like to support. No two Professions share the same three desires.

For example, the Mathematician prefers to work in the University, relax at the Lake, and support Religion. The Composer, on the other hand, prefers to work and the Opera and support Opinion, but also likes the gentle lapping of the water at the banks of the Lake.

The idea is to match the Professions in your hand to the Buildings, Landscapes and Freedoms in your Principality in order to increase the value of Works.

As with Prestige cards, when you purchase a Profession card, you get to look at the top five cards and keep one.

Introduce a Freedom (can only be done once per turn)

We've already established that the Professions like their Freedoms, so obtaining them for your Principality is beneficial.

There are three types of Freedom: Travel, Opinion and Religion. You can buy all three for your Principality during the course of the game if you wish (at 300 Florin a pop), but bear in mind that the number of each Freedom available is one fewer than the number of players, so at least one person will always miss out on each Freedom.

Acquire a Bonus card (can be done twice)

Bonus cards simply add to the WV of a completed Work depending upon how well you meet the criteria on the cards.

For example, one Bonus card reads "Each large Building in your Principality increases the WV by 2". Therefore for every University, Laboratory and Workshop in your Principality you'll add 2 to the WV.

You can play multiple Bonus cards when completing a Work, but they are then discarded from the game.

Build a Building (can be done twice)

There are 10 different types of Buildings in the game (3 large, 5 medium, and 2 small), each of which can only be built once in your Principality. There are also three copies of each Building available, so each Building can only be built in a maximum of three Principalities.

You've probably deduced by now that you want to build Buildings that match to the Profession cards in your hand, because you'll get 4 WV when you complete a Work for the right Building.

Bonus cards and Prestige cards may also affect which Buildings you want to get your hands on.

The fun thing when it comes to Buildings is deciding where to place them on your grid. Buildings must fit on the grid, must not overlap with other Buildings or Landscapes, and cannot be directly adjacent (diagonally adjacent is OK) to other Buildings, including the Palazzo.

So it's like one of those puzzles where you fit the pieces to form a particular shape. Planning where you are going to place your Buildings and Landscapes is important, and can stuff up your plans big time if you are not careful.

If you have purchased at least two Builders in auctions, you can place Buildings adjacent to each other which is very handy if you are going for a multi-Building strategy. As mentioned earlier, Builders also reduce the cost of purchasing Buildings.

And that's that. After all players have completed both of their actions, the player or the players who have the highest WV for a single completed Work gain 3 PP.

At the completion of the 7th and final round, the game is over, and everyone plays their Prestige cards for that final boost to their PP tally.

Depite having two Prestige cards, The Giggling One could not make up enough ground to avoid finishing last. Admittedly I did ruin her chances a bit with my final round stuff up where I played a Work that didn't meet the minimum WV. The other two allowed me to retake my second action, with which I purchased a Building. Unfortunately this reduced the value of one of The Giggling One's Prestige cards so she tied with me for most Buildings instead of winning outright.

Ian was the surprise of the final round, though. By virtue of playing two Bonus cards with his final Work, he was able to leap frog from last to first, and cement his position with the Prestige card for all three Landscapes (worth 8 PP).

Final scores: Ian 60, Jeremy 56, The Giggling One: 52.

All three of us thoroughly enjoyed the game and I am definitely keen to see how it plays with more players. I imagine having 5 players instead of 3 makes the Auction phase a whole new ball game.

Olympify Me

2008-08-24T22:02:00.007+10:00

It was a fantastic 16 days of competition, spoiled only by Channel 7 and Southern Cross interrupting the broadcast on weekends to show the AFL. That and Rebecca Wilson on Yum Cha (an excellent daily olympic themed show despite Wilson).

I write this as the Closing Ceremony beams into my lounge and that of countless viewers around the world (ooh, more drummers). I've had my backside firmly planted on the couch for two weeks (and am more than a little eager to get some exercise tomorrow!).

Our coverage here was, of course, biased towards Australian athletes with little else being shown, though SBS to their credit did show some of the less popular sports from an Australian perspective.

It was weird in a way that because we did well in Sydney and Athens, there was an expectation that the Aussies would do just as well, if not better, in Beijing. And we didn't. But, China's astonishing medal haul, along with that of the USA, aside, we did very well. As did Great Britain who are showing ominous signs for London in 2012 (and, it has been pointed out, won a lot of their medals sitting on their bottoms).

I did enjoy some sports more than others. Swimming and athletics were obvious highlights, especially Mr Phelps and Mr Bolt.

At the other end, gymnastics, diving, boxing, equestrian, BMX, and anything synchronised, head my list of events that continually puzzle me by their presence in the Olympic Games.

But no ranting now as it's time to sit back and bathe in the 16 days that were, and look forward to the next Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the London Olympics. There is a high probability I'll be doing just the same and taking leave for couch sitting then as well.

Well done China! Magnificent!

Edit: OMG the Mayor of London is a scruff. Button up your suit man!

And another OMG! A London Bus that comes apart to reveal an aged rocker and an Idol winner. Puhlease. Following on from the fantastic Chinese pageantry it is just awful. Oh, wait, David Beckham. Well that makes it all better. Good grief. Let's hope they learn how to do this properly by the time 2012 comes around.

Olympic Thoughts

2008-08-15T16:39:00.002+10:00

Some Olympians seem to pride themselves on fashion. Take Stephanie Rice for example. She swum wearing green and gold earrings during her races. And female gymnasts are all fashionable and sparkly.

Some athletes and sports, however, have no concept of fashion. In particular I'm pointing the finger of unfashion right at the Handball goalkeepers. They wear trackie daks for goodness sake. Daggiest. Uniforms. Ever. Which leads me to ponder why the Aussies are so bad at the sport.

On another "what the?" note, I've added a few choice Olympic quotes over at my other blog Whimsy Askew. Enjoy.

2008 Olympics - Opening Ceremony Live Blog

2008-08-08T21:47:00.039+10:00

Well, yes it is sport, but it is the Olympic Games so as games they are valid fodder for this blog.

Opening Ceremony Live On Channel 7 HD

(Times are Australian Eastern Standard Time - 2 hours ahead of Beijing)

21:50 - Olympics in HD baby. Volume turned up for drums.

21:51 - Aw kids are cute. Not so for TV host who doesn't bother welcoming Tasmania. Oh, the HD coverage has stopped. Standard def now shows a weather report. Looks like they screwed up the switch locally.

21:55 - Finally back to the Opening Ceremony. 'Bout time. The Giggling One and I are a right pair of geeks sitting on the couch with our laptops.

21:57 - Cool drums that light up. Epilepsy fits ensue.

21:59 - Drum light count down. Wow!

22:00 - Must watch TV and not computer screen. Chinese mega haka.

22:05 - Drums, glow sticks and fireworks. Very impressive.

22:06 - Dem rings they are a flying.

22:09 - Obligatory cute as buttons kids.

22:12 - Disconcerting the way the HD signal cuts to generic scenic pictures during ad breaks.

22:16 - The great Chinese tradition of RPGs is shown with the unveiling of a scroll. I think it involves finding the man with the leaky hand.

22:20 - Someone stuck giant darts in all their heads.

22:26 - They should have done Space Invaders on their giant typewriter. Nonetheless very impressive. Again.

22:28 - Puppets! Recreating the lonely goatherd scene from The Sound of Music by the looks of it.

22:34 - The oar dancing is seriously impressive.

22:38 - Thanks to the commentator I now know that the history of China is very sumptuous. Feeling peckish?

22:41 - No safety nets for the guys on the pillars? Quick, call the Health & Safety Rep.

22:44 - Chinese fluoro disco dancers.

22:45 - The disco guys form a giant dove/blob.

22:47 - The Beijing Nikki Webster. She's got a crappy music career ahead.

22:51 - These Channel 7 commentators are AWFUL. Where are Roy & HG when you need them?

22:58 - According to the commentators the birds on the giant screens are symbolic of the green games...in a city of smog.

23:00 - The Giggling One has just found an online news site article about the whole opening ceremony written in the past tense with a post time of one hour in the future from now. It's a time travel conspiracy.

23:07 - Hoorah - the commentators have been given the boot and Bruce McAveney is in the chair. Just in time for more drumming. They like drums in China.

23:09 - Ah, now we find why Bruce and Sandy Roberts are behind the mic now - it's time for the competitors to come in.

23:10 - Greece enters first. Who woulda thunk it?

23:11 - We get a lesson in the Chinese alphabet as Guinea come in 2nd followed by Guinea-Bissau. Then we have Turkey.

23:12 - The marshals are going to get very tired if they have to bounce for the whole parade.

23:13 - OK, I'm not blogging every team. Instead I'll see what facts I can share from the wisdom of Bruce and Sandy.

23:18 - "When you think of Bhutan, you think of archery." Um...OK.

23:29 - OMG, there are 204 countries marching? I didn't realise there were that many. *stifles yawn*

23:40 - Chad's 100m runner is 15 years old. Fast little blighter.

23:45 - As well as blogging, I'm chatting with friends on Skype and we're creating a drinking game to get us through the parade. So far it's a drink every time judo is mentioned, every time we spot a handy cam, and whenever "Dick Pound" is mentioned.

23:53 - We're not drinking enough. We've added mentions of greco roman wrestling, and shots of Juan Antonio Samaranch.

00:00 - "Judo"! *drinks*

00:02 - The bagpipes are back. *drinks*

00:06 - "Judo"! *drinks* ... Handy cam! *drinks* ... Are we half way yet?

00:09 - The Giggling One (also participating in the drinking game) thought the "Albania" sign said "Alabama". I think she's keeping an eye out for Connecticut.

00:21 - Poor Bolivia have been competing since 1936, but haven't won a medal.

00:22 - The dancing usher girls are running out of puff.

00:27 - The USA team look like golfers.

00:42 - Four "judo"s in a minute. Thank frak we've stopped the handy cam spotting. I couldn't handle both.

00:57 - New Zealand. Led by a man wearing a dead sheep.

01:06 - Team #202: Australia! And aren't their uniforms awful. Though according to Sandy the uniforms are "quite sensational". Idiot. The Giggling One was more on the money. She said they put half their uniforms in a bucket of bleach.

01:09 - Finally China arrive to a thunderous reception (as you would expect).

01:23 - All the teams are in and we can now begin the final part of the ceremony. Hoorah!

01:34 - Wake me when the speeches are over...

01:36 - The games are declared open! (at least I think that's what he said)

01:44 - Soldiers steal the Olympic flag!

01:46 - Soldiers have a change of heart and raise the flag.

01:57 - Go the old fat bastards with the flame.

02:01 - He flies!

02:05 - We have fire!

02:08 - It's over! A pretty damn impressive event. Here's to the next 16 days.