Sunday, November 12, 2006

Games Played November 11, 2006


One key to happiness – GAMES


We had a fun day of games on Saturday. Kassi wasn’t able to join us, since she was on vacation in Hawaii! We did finally play the last of our un-played games – Hoity Toity.

Hoity Toity is an interesting game. I think we need to play it at least one more time to get a real feel for it. With six players, there are a lot of “conflicts” each turn. Rarely did anyone find themselves alone in either the Auction Hall or the Castle. We did not pace ourselves as far as spending our money, so the game dragged to a close with everyone trying to steal collectibles from each other, and rarely did anyone risk an exhibit near the end. Results: Mason first; Dan and Katrina (tied) second; me third; Sue fourth; Joel last (he didn’t care much for this game and might not play it again, very soon.

Next up was Marco Polo Expedition. Mason OWNS this game in our group. Before today, we had played it four times in the past year, and he had won every game! Near the end of this game, Mason was trailing the rest of us by several spaces, but he had been hoarding cards for some time. We knew he was planning to make a run for the finish, and we were all trying to beat him to it. Finally, he started moving, leap-frogged us, and indeed won the game, again. Results: Mason first; Dan and Sue (tied) second; me fourth; Katrina last. Someday, perhaps, one of us will beat Mason at this game (maybe).

We hadn’t played Carcassonne for a while, and decided to bring it out today. Early in the game, Dan was on two cities, each with a cathedral, and the cities were growing well. I managed to connect and join him in one of them, while Mason did the same in the other. Fortunately, just before the game ended, I managed to complete the city we were sharing, and Dan and I scored a bunch of points. He and Mason did not get the other city finished, so they got no points for it, since it contained a cathedral. Although I led from about mid-way through the game, it appeared Mason would win, because he managed to grab almost all the trade goods (each of the three worth 10 points to the person with the most in them). On my final tile placement in the game, I was able to finish a city that contained a wheat, and managed to tie him for that item. That preserved my win, and in fact, when we counted the farmers/fields, Dan passed Mason. Results: Me first; Dan second; Mason third; Katrina fourth; Sue fifth; Joel last.

For a rare event, Joel decided to opt out of playing Settlers of Catan today, so we had a five-player game. I was first player and placed my first settlement on an 8-8-9 combination. That should have almost guaranteed me a win. We started out fairly evenly, but soon Sue and Katrina began edging away from the rest of us. When Sue stole the Longest Road from Dan, and Katrina got the Largest Army, it was just a matter of time. On the last round, both Sue and Katrina had 9 points, but Sue played before Katrina and managed to get the victory. Katrina had the required 10 points, but didn’t get the chance to play and win. Results: Sue first; Katrina second; Mason and me (tied) third; Dan last.

We ended the day with a 7-player game of Bohnanza. I thought I was doing okay, until we counted the gold at the end. In fact, I did do well, but so did everyone else. The winning amount was 12 gold (a 3-way tie), followed by 11 gold, and finally 10 gold (3-way tie). That was a very close game! Results: Joel, Mason, and Sue (tied) first; Natalia fourth; Katrina, Dan, and me (tied) last.

I am continuing to work on expanding games for 7-8 players. We need to test many of them, to be sure the modifications will work, and I’m looking forward to that. Now, we have no un-played games, so perhaps I’d better get busy working on a new purchase list!

--- Gerald … near Denver, Colorado
aka gamesgrandpa -- A grandpa who is a mile high on gaming

4 Comments:

At November 12, 2006 6:10 PM, Blogger meowsqueak said...

You may have already known this and applied it to your game, but just in case you don't - ties in Bohnanza are broken by the number of cards remaining in your hand at the end of the game. The player with the most cards wins the tie.

 
At November 12, 2006 6:29 PM, Blogger Gerald McD said...

Right you are! As I read your comment, I recalled that rule (and looked it up to confirm it). We just simply forgot it.

At the same time, we frequently overlook tie-breakers in game rulebooks,believing that if two or more players have managed to tie, they both deserve the credit.

Thanks for pointing this out, though.

 
At November 12, 2006 10:13 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

Just an FYI...most people tend to play Settlers of Catan with out having the board filled with spots like a "8-8-9". Most people do this because it makes the board extremely unbalanced. But you did say someone else won.

 
At November 12, 2006 10:32 PM, Blogger Gerald McD said...

We go with whatever we get from the normal setup. The deserts just happened to produce that situation. And, yes, I did not win, nor even place second. Surely it wasn't my poor play!?

 

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