Ludocracy Now

The Tale of good things happening to bad people continued as I got to have an early morning (9am) board game play date!

My guest had brought along High Noon Saloon and, being the gracious host I am, I played and was quickly shot down in a pool of bourbon.

After we were warmed up, I presented him with the buffet of games I had dreamed about the night before.  Out of those he selected the oft lauded Twilight Struggle.  Learning from last time, I didn’t bother letting Ben choose between powers and thrust the Red Menace on him.  We played six full rounds with him getting a strong hold on Africa and the Middle East, but I ended it with a South American scoring at the beginning of the seventh.  He picked up the game quite well and I am happy to report that we both used Realignment rolls, a first for this copy of the game.

A quick break for barely-D grade fast food “beef” and we were back in action playing Hex.  All that practice on LittleGolem is paying off, I tell you.

I then explained Android: Netrunner to Ben for a Shaper (him) vs. Jinteki (me) match-up.  Either I am getting better at explaining the rules (not the case) or Ben is a superbly intelligent human/bioroid/clone because before I knew it, I was down two points and he was throwing around Netrunner lingo like an old pro.  He had a 1 in 5 chance to win the game on his final turn before I advanced and scored my third agenda to win 7-5.

The morning’s session was finished off with another bout in the High Noon Saloon where I faced off against both Brothers Karamazov.  My school marm managed to dispatch two whippersnappers to be the only one to walk away on her own two feet, off into the sunset.

Knowing that I may not even be done with gaming for the day, I count my blessings and wish you all a happy holiday season.  Until next time!

Fellow board gamers: the Green Bay Packers had a bye-week so I thought I could convince a few Ludocrats to dedicate a Sunday to one of my more… opulent… games.  Two brave souls responded in the affirmative.

As we waited for Katie to show up, Jake and I played two rounds of Hex.  It was a nice break from my continuous losing on LittleGolem.

The entree for the afternoon was Dominant Species, one of the most beloved of games in my collection.  We dueled for four hours, alternatively taking our turn at the top of the leader board.  After the first turn, I spent the whole game with only five action pawns—at the end of the game Jake had eight and Katie had seven.

We all learned the value of playing by instinct since the game inundates you with noise and picking out the signals is difficult to say the least.  I did, however, channel my inner Nate Silver and win the game on a tie-break 229 to Jake’ 229.  Katie did win the “time of possession” award for having the most points for the longest time.  My eight dominance cones and six tundra tiles occupied vaulted me from last to contest for first.  As we scored each tile the point spread shrank and my one little cube on the last Wetland tile gave me enough to force a tie.  As my Amphibians were higher on the food chain than Jake’s Arachnids, I was crowned most dominant Animal.

Epic, epic game and Katie liked it a whole lot better than “that space game [Eclipse].  I guess I just don’t like space.”  It had been about 10 months since I’d played this one (and possibly the one time I’ve played it correctly.  Who knew you’re supposed to score every tile at the end of the game!), and it might be about 10 more months until my brain recovers.  So grateful I got to play this one again.  Until next time! 

A less ambitious but no less fun day of board gaming with some very upstanding ladies.  And one very fat cat.

First off, these games were played while attempting to home brew some beer.  Some Irish Red Ale to be precise.  Brewing beer takes a long time and I’m pretty sure I botched it but! we will see in four weeks.

Anyway, Annie and I played a game of Summoner Wars with two factions we hadn’t played with yet: Mercenaries and Cave Goblins.  Annie zerg rushed her goblins with her seemingly endless supply of event cards but Rallul and my Stone Golems held their ground and the crest of the goblin wave was broken on their walls.  Both factions were great fun to play.

Annie transubstantiated into Christina who obligingly played a game of Hex with me.  A game that was unnecessarily close considering I’ve read a book of strategy about it.

We then played Caylus which had been absent from the table too long.  I took the Points track on the royal favor table and Christina took the Building favor.  I managed to pop out three prestige buildings over the course of the game and force tower scoring before Christina could turn in a batch.  The smell of boiling malt and hops was e’er overwhelmed by the aroma of my victory.

This has certainly been a gaming week for the ages so far: A Shut Up & Sit Down video match report and back to back evenings of classic board games.  I am counting my blessings and I will see you next time.

A few things at the week’s end.

1) I finally can beat Hexy on the Beginner level (see picture above.  Take THAT you smarmy robot!) which only took me about sixty tries.  I think I’m ready for human opponents.  I’ve always wanted to be a Hexpert.

2) I ordered and then cancelled an order for all the ‘big’ expansions for the A Game of Thrones: The Card Game.  (Response to Robosheep: I most certainly will be the only one buying decks.  I have the Greyjoy expansion and really only need the Martell one… it’s just… the five expansions I don’t have added up to free shipping.)  I’m taking a break from my non-fiction by reading the Song of Ice and Fire which has almost made me spend money I don’t have.

3) We’re doing a bit of Fall cleaning at the old manse and I’ve kicked 9 more games out the door.  I was just saying to Jeff how much money I’ve spent on this hobby.  I am down to fewer than 50 titles, and could certainly see another 10% cut coming my collection’s way.

4) Always remember Sturgeon’s Law, and Ludocracy’s Corollary: 1 great game played 10 times is better than 10 shitty games played once.  Also, Ludocracy’s Lemma: You may have to play 10 shitty games before you find 1 great one.  It’s best to play someone else’s copies, though.

THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION: THE ABSTRACT

Amazons / Hex / Zendo / Alien City / Ketchup

Look at me, already cheating.  But hey, don’t give up on me, hear me out.  If I pick Amazons (basically two player Hey, That’s My Fish!), I already have Looney Pyramids, Go Stones and my foam core board which has Ketchup on the back.  Boom, already I have Zendo and Ketchup along for the ride.  Add in a paper Hex board and a DIY Alien City board (and some meeples from Carcassonne) and you’ve got a package of 2 player abstract fun for years.

But seriously, you could make an essential collection with just Hex.  Or I guess various sizes of Hex boards.

Sunday.  Texted Jake who, as far as I know, has no obligations, and Tom who I have been dying to game with.  Jake and I ConHex‘d while waiting for Tom.  I lost.  It was annoying.  Tom showed up and we Hansa‘d.  Jake won, I was a few points behind.  I wanted to play again because I take losses in Hansa poorly…  Instead, we played Saint Petersburg… I won by fifteen and then gave the game to Tom as a house gift.  I should have given him In The Shadow of the Emperor as well—next time I see him.  After Tom left, Jake and I played ConHex again and three games of Hex.

Calyubration III starts tomorrow.  Nothing but Caylus (and maybe a session of Twilight Struggle…) for the next five days.  I LOVE CAYLUS (And I better win).