Session Report, 19 Dec 2005: The Dayna and Simon Show!
Behold younglings, an epic tale of Beowulf and his loyal Geatish warriors, led by the fair Dayna, Simon the brave, and two lowly shield bearers named Brian and Ben. Many a foul fiend and foe the warriors vanquished, collecting a mighty hoard of gold and magical "victory point" essence. Though brutal scratches and terrible wounds were had by all, in the end 'twas the indefagitable Simon who proved the mightiest of the Geats, nearly doubling the paltry sum collected by Ben the Chicken-Livered Hindmost.
Next, our fine party was transported to another world, awakening to the clash of arms; the terrible cries of strange and foul beasts; and the bloodthirsty cries of a stadium full of crazed spectators! Yes, we had arrived at the glorious world of Colossal Arena. Making the best of the situation, the party decided to place bets on the monsters fighting for their lives in the arena below. The most experienced members of the party in overseeing gladiatorial monster combat, Ben and Brian engaged in a heated rivalry, countering each other's moves, then pausing just a bit to slaughter the innocent Gorgon creature Sir Simon had placed two bets upon. While the slugfest drew to its bloody conclusion, Dayna quietly nursed her charges through to the final round. As the dust settled and vultures circled, she emerged the triumphant victor, edging out battle-scarred Ben by one paltry gold piece.
Once again a mysterious cloud descended upon our fine group, teleporting them to a world smelling of diesel oil and sounding of mighty steel machines hurtling through the countryside. Also, everyone seemed to be speaking strange languages, eating cheese and bread, wearing berets, and drinking lots of wine. Yes, we had landed in the land of Ticket to Ride: Europe. A tense, hard fought struggle for domination of European railways ensued, with our rail systems rapidly consuming the precious few routes. Dayna quickly pulled out to a commanding lead, with Ben almost catching her at the end by laying a single 21-point route. Brian played a high risk strategy of drawing tons of destination tickets in hopes of landing some easy scores. Alas, it was not to be! Dastardly Dayna ended the game, cleverly securing the longest route bonus and enabling her to edge out Ben in the final score by 8 points. Drat!
posted by Ben @ 7:06 AM
10 comments
10 Comments:
Dayna and I both had a great time (love the guest house by the way). But alas, let's get down to some game commentary!
BEOWULF
I really liked this game and Dayna said she did too. It's a lot like LotR, obviously, yet done in such a way to breathe new life into it. The 'risks' that everyone complains about were not nearly as overpowered as what I was lead to believe. While they could put you ahead a bit, they never really decided an auction or event. I ended up winning by surviving without a wound and having a healthy treasure horde of 9+ scrolls (all VP scrolls). Dayna won two 7 VP auctions back to back, but sadly also collected a -2 Vp token and a wound, putting her behind me by one or two VP points. -A disheartening defeat indeed.
COLOSSAL ARENA
I had no idea what was really going on until halfway through and no idea on how to play effectively until after it was all over. Even having said that, I definitely see a lot of fun potential in this game. I'm pretty sure Dayna won by luck since she said she didn't really know what was happening until the last play as well.
TICKET TO RIDE: EUROPE
Ouch. Dayna played exactly like how she does on the Days of Wonder server (read: mean). I still don't know how she manages to plop down so many trains every turn and always get longest route. I was sure I was going to get last by a good margin, but then Brian went into an interesting strategy of drawing a whole bunch of tickets at the end of the game. -Risky, but with a potential pay-off.
I can easily say Dayna and I enjoyed ourselves and that I liked all the games that got tabled. I have concerns over Beowulf's replayability factor, but I know I want to play it again some time in the future for sure. Thanks again to Ben for hosting and Brian for coming! Good times.
I fully agree with Simon on Colossal Arena. After playing (twice, I think?), I still don't feel that I've got a good handle on the rules or game play (let alone strategy!). I, too, see alot of potential. I also enjoy that not every game will be the same, with the rotation of participants.
I don't think I'll ever get tired of playing Colossal Arena. From now on I'm showing newbies no mercy!
I enjoyed Beowulf and was thankful for getting the opportunity to play. I don't find it as intense, suspenseful, and engaging as LOTR, but its still a good game.
Ben, have you actually won LotR without setting a steep handicap? We haven't.
One more that I miss. SOunds like a fun night.
Who's Dayna?
Dayna is my girlfriend who decided she wanted to come after getting off work. I had inticed her with some Blue Moon play promises that we unfortunately didn't get to render (it's a 2 player game anyway).
I know LotR used to kick my arse before i realized I had been playing a few rules wrong. Namely, drawing two cards for every scenario board if you are the ring-bearer AND that the event tile with three cards or icons on it means you pick one or the other, not both. After that beating the game on 12 happens a little over 50% of the time.
Hmmm.. maybe we were playing LotR wrong. I really don't remember -- it's been awhile since we've played. Or maybe we just suck.
We've done okay with LotR... maybe just a little better than the 50% mark, which makes it especially rewarding when we win. I especially like playing with the Friends and Foes expansion. This was actually my first Knizia game, and I was just blown away with how tight the mechanics for the game were interwoven to the theme.
Colossal Arena
Yeah, that's a game that seems to keep getting better the more times I play it. It's especially interesting the way you are cooperating and competing with the same people on different beasts. The interaction is pretty wild.
I've played 3 times, and I wouldn't say I understand much strategy, but it's really interesting.
I'm happy that Colossal Arena has been hitting the table so regularly. Having played the game 5-6 times now, I'm able to see some of the subtle strategies at work and more effectively analyze the whole table. Now, at least when I make a stupid play, I'm able to recognize it right away... With the games I've only played once or twice, I never quite get to this level of understanding and enjoyment.
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