Pleasant Surprises
You live long enough in this world and you think you’ve seen it all. Then, out of the blue comes a text message and before you know it you’re leading a pack of Dwarves into Orc territory for control of Itharia!
But before I dive into that, there were a few notable Crokinole matches to discuss.
Crokinole
Jeff wanted to get the Crokinole board mounted to the wall so that obviously required us to play a few rounds. Our first match was pretty lackluster as we shook the dust from our flicking fingers. Over three boards there were only two twenties and I won 5-1. I warmed up quicker than Jeff and won the second match in four boards, the last one featuring three twenties in a row by yours truly.
Of course, my high hog ran out of steam when Erik showed up. Right out of the gates we traded twenties and even though I had four in the first board, Erik hit three and had plenty on the board to take the lead. I had the next one but Erik was too much and even though he’s played this game probably 60 fewer times he always beats me.
Summoner Wars
Joe as Deep Dwarves def Erik as Swamp Orcs
The last two factions to make their debut in Casa de Ludo appeared last night as I dueled with Erik for Summoner Supremacy. My dice were rolling hot and chopped through Mugglug’s vine walls to take a pretty convincing, and quick, win. I really made great use of the FATHER GEM in this game. Deep Dwarves may be my new favorite.
Erik as Shadow Elves def Joe as Phoenix Elves
Two elven races took the field and only one left—even though I had Erik’s summoner trapped in a corner with two champions holding him down, my wan Summoner couldn’t withstand Erik’s fleet footed onslaught.
Carcassonne
I’ve had a li’l Carcassonne bug lately as I’d picked up two new expansions. I convinced Erik to give The Count of Carcassonne a try last night two times. I managed to halt my losing streak as I took the first game 125-116. This game saw only one follower get placed in the city and I used it to share a 9 point cloister to maintain my lead. I also surprised myself by actually executing a decent farm strategy.
Second game, Erik returned to farming form as he won 115-111. Although we joke about how powerful farms are, there were only 36 farming points split between the two of us. Considering we each had three meeples farming, I think this was probably overkill.
Thoughts on the Count: I’m not sure I adapted well to the Count—I was too scared to put meeples down on many things that were “in progress” as I didn’t want to give Erik the chance to dominate the farms. Anyway, not much else to say about that—I need to get to Gen Con!
