Saturday already?

Time for everyone's favorite weekly game.

It's called: Calibrate Chris' TV.

Games that do not require calibration (i.e., board games) should also make an appearance. Come try your hand at either one. Saturday, 9am, at the place where Chris' TV is.

Weekend Update

It's too overwhelming to give a proper session report for the THREE events I played games at this weekend. Here's my "sum up" of what I played:

--Jeff & Amy's on Friday --
(My) Amy and I made it to Jeff and Amy's since my in-laws were in town as free babysitters. Not having family local, it's a big treat for us to get out together. Much fun was had, including:
Celebrities (the all musical version, at least on my team)
Pitchcar
Werewolf
Bang / Dodge City

--My house on Sunday--
Predict-The-Oscar-Winners
Race For The Galaxy
Hollywood Blockbuster
Bang / Dodge City

--Monday Evening @ Dragon's Lair (with TWO new visitors - great to meet you, Rob and Travis!) --
Pandemic
Wicked Witches Way
Hart an der Grenze (I couldn't remember the name of this one, so I just did a Google search for /board game illegal goods bribe/ and it's the first match.

Forget the Quadfecta! The Ocho!

Assuming that tonight goes off without any disasters (fashion or otherwise) then non-Hollywood related gaming will start again tomorrow night. I'm itching for some Through the Ages (and if Chris shows up we'll only really need 1 to have the right number). I'm think a full game with all the trimmings ....

But while our Quadfecta will be done, a lucky gambler in England parlayed an 8-race bet into $2 million. I couldn't find the version that Chris showed me yesterday, which included the line (paraphrased) "After being informed of his winnings the man visibly blanched and then said he would have to tell his wife." Such is the power of the Ocho!
So, let everyone know if you'll be there tomorrow PM.

Weekend Trifecta

So the Oscars are this Sunday... I don't know if anyone's a fan. We've developed a friendly competition of predicting the winners, and will open our home on Sunday to any who would like to come over and watch the awards. As the speeches don't require a close listen, gaming can go on at the same time - but be warned that Hollywood Blockbuster will be played at least once. We're on the NW side - anyone interested can send me a message on BoardGameGeek.com for directions. Telecast starts at 7, we'll open the house at 6, and will have some snacks.

Saturday Gaming

Good to see that there may be a good turnout for Friday gaming again! For those not suffering from gaming hangover or lack of sleep or who are not out of town/country/what have you, I'm offering to host Saturday morning, 9am. If someone wants to play a specific game, feel free to suggest it. (I figured Rock Band was implied.)

Friday Night Gaming

Wise Magic 8-Ball, despite weak turnouts lately on Friday nights and the fact that Brian is the default Friday host, should I throw out an invite for boardgames?

I should?

Whatever you say.

Gaming at Jeff and Amy's tomorrow at 6. Feel free to drop in later if that's what your schedule demands. Let us know in the comments if you're thinking of coming.

"Stay Right There."

I arrived around 6pm to find Steve and Brian playing Roma. I can never tell what's happening in this crazy game, but I think Steve won by repeatedly making Brian pick up half the cards on the table. After an egregious Rule #1 violation, Steve left, to be replaced be Sean.

The three of us tried the winnable version of Pandemic, a cooperative game of saving the world from germy teenagers infecting each other. At least that's what it was in my head. I liked the mechanism of periodically reshuffling infected city cards and placing them at the top of the deck, so that the same cities get repeatedly hit, and some planning ahead is possible. But the cooperative part had the same problems as Shadows over Camelot (no personal goals, too much incentive to share all information), and the decisions didn't feel difficult. We lost one turn shy of victory when the Blue Death erupted in Toronto -- God's punishment for being Canadian.

Jon arrived, and as we reached for Race for the Galaxy, one of the guy's behind the counter said, "Someone just called and asked if the San Antonio Boardgamers were here, and then said that he'd be right over." Hmmmm. Do I owe someone money? We played three games of Race while waiting for the unknown embittered crazy guy to come blow us all away. I had two respectable showings with New Sparta (32 and 40, both only good enough for second), followed by a catastrophic failure with Alpha Centauri when I drew only one nonmilitary world in the first six turns.

The embittered crazy guy turned out to be Larry, an Army Reservist newly arrived in San Antonio from living in/being stationed at/smuggling artifacts from Mali. He dove headfirst into Vegas Showdown and put up a good score, a tie for third with my Slots-O-Fun budget casino. I need to stop concentrating so hard on filling my casino (I came one square away from filling the entire board) and worry more about the finer things. Brian and Jon ran nearly 20 points ahead of us, but I can't remember who won, because I was busy coughing up a lung.

Jon left, and we finished with Phoenicia. In my previous two playings, I went all out for clothmaking based on Michael's recommendations, and got crushed both times. This time I decided to concentrate on dependencies -- I'd either scoop the city centers or the shipyards, and follow the discounts all the way to the end. After an early Prospector/Smelter boosted my income, the City Centers presented themselves, and I was off and running, eventually winning by 6. I'm still not sure I like the game, since my later actions felt entirely determined by my early ones, but if the game played as quickly as Race for the Galaxy, I think I might like it more. I also began to suspect that Michael gave me bad advice, so to punish him I took Ryan Perrilloux to a casino.

Good to meet you, Larry, and I look forward to being healthy for Saturday.

Gaming, STAT!

I'll be at Dragon's Lair monday (at the normal time). Seeing as how there was no gaming today, Jacqui and I will host tomorrow starting at around 2:30 pm until whenever (although I do have to work on Monday, so it's not going to be too late).

And I finally got a new game -- Pandemic. A co-operative game about saving humanity. Or watching them all die, at the hard level. RSVP in the comments...

Random Game Post.

So Slide5 the re-themed version of 6 nimmt! is at barnes and noble. I think i will pick this one up, unlike arkadia. anywho just wanted to post about it. there were about 15 copies at the de zavala store when i was there, and they are half off of $9.95. I didn't know if there was anyone other than me who would want a copy, so if this is a pointless post i apologize.

Saturday Planning

I've got some good news. And some bad news.

Bad news is I can't host this Saturday. I'm working 24 hours in a row (7am Friday to 7am Saturday), and I know all I'm going to want to do when I get home is sleep. Go figure. And Rock Band in the next room is not so conducive to sleep.

(Chances are actually pretty good that I might wake back up after a 2-3 hour nap and join in gaming if it was going on elsewhere, but I can't be sure ahead of time.)

BUT...

This Monday is a holiday (President's Day, right?) and I've got the whole day off (the aforementioned good news--for me, at least), so I might be able to host some early gaming on Monday or meet people at DL a little earlier than the usual 5pm. I know I'm committing the heresy of discussing two gaming days in one planning post, but I figured I'd see what everyone else is up to.

File > Save as...

Hmmm... I have to say, I may FINALLY pick up Descent. This seems like a good reason for people on the fence about it like me.

I'd Like To Offer You My Protection

I arrived at Dragon's Lair around 6ish. There was a game of Through The Ages being played by Brian and Chris - I don't know much about this game, but it looks complicated and long. Sounds fun! For $70, it better be...

I missed what game Simon and Steve were playing when I arrived - you guys need to chime in and let us know. My first game was my newly-opened box of Nexus Ops. (ooh, the smell of a newly opened... gah - WHAT is that smell???) For a game that is/was being sold for a fairly cheap price, it's got a LOT of nifty glowy bits. I need a play or two more to figure out what to do with this game - I defended my territory pretty well, but managed not to score any victory points. Steve ran away with it by amassing a huge pile of pink bugs, dragons, robots, and (we think) a human somewhere in that pile. Jon arrived and started stacking the mission and energize decks to try to give Simon the edge, but it was too little too late.

For our next game Simon pulled out Bootleggers - a game of prohibition-era moonshine distribution. I had the brilliant idea to man a smaller speakeasy early in the game, but failed to plan for the larger bar that Jon manned to capacity. I also used up my mobster influence too early, instead of holding the potential destruction over people's heads for extortion and bribery. Jon was clearly winning the game until he revealed his hatred for success - he self-destructed by inviting the copper into his distillery for a personal tour. This let the game continue for one extra turn, where Steve took advantage of his non-threatening, not in the limelight strategy to amass enough money for the TKO. Hmm. The prevent-Steve-at-all-costs strategy clearly needs some tweaking.

At this point most of the crew left, and we had time for one quick game of Race for the Galaxy. I managed to draw all military worlds with zero military strength for the first four turns, crippling me for the game, but I WAS working on a pretty decent comeback strategy involving alien goods and developing-for-profit. Chris pulled a win out, scoring 2 more than Brian, and I finished a distant third.

It's a Major Award!

I got home from gaming tonight and found a big box on my doorstep.









Of course, I was hoping for something like this...







What I actually got was this:


This is my sister's Christmas present to me. Apparently they are so backordered on these things that they take about 10-12 weeks to fill an order. I never in a million years would have gotten one of these things for myself, but my sister is a great gift-giver.

I have not yet hooked it up. I am a bit afraid of it and what it might do to a human being. It has recessed speakers in the headrest. It has game-triggered lighting effects. It has 12 motors. And it doesn't even go anywhere. I will probably host on Saturday just so I can offer rides on this thing. Call of Duty 4, Rock Band...$10 a pop for 20 minutes- I should clean up. Bring your credit card, Michael.

Traditional Planning Post

As always, let everyone know if/when you'll be attending on Monday. Due to a change in plans, I'll probably be there around the normal time (5pm) instead of later.

Elephants over the Alps

By train!

Anyway, Ben and Steve played Hannibal. The band played OK. Most of us played Rails of Europe (my thoughts here). Nixon and Kennedy fought for the election. Several games of Race were played. Through the Ages wasn't.

No tacos were stolen by cats. Just saying, is all. (Cats like tacos, dogs like toast.)

As always, thanks to Chris for hosting, and to Mr. Black for not stealing all the pizza.

Yeah, the guy in the $10,000.00 suit is gonna make a planning post. Come on!

So, is anything happening Saturday? Dennis said he wants to try TI3 some time. I wouldn't mind that or rocking out.

FYI - Arkadia at Barnes and Noble

I was at the De Zavala Barnes and Noble last night with some friends, and noticed that they had two copies of Arkadia on sale. The Sticker price was 30, so for 15 dollars (with an extra 20% off if you have the coupon they mailed out this week) then someone could be the proud owner of the game. If its still there in a few days I might pick a copy of it up myself, but if anyone is dying to have it, go ahead.

Has anyone seen anything on this?

I just ran across this. Looks like a Twilight Imperium "Lite". Does anyone know anything about it? Just wondering. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/27463

I Just Think About Baseball

First, a recap of Monday night -- I won a couple of races (Ave Caesar), and then lost several more (RftG).

Now that football season is over, it's time for pitchers and catchers to report, and for a rash of baseball boardgames to come out. It looks like Pizza Box Baseball has reached the US and will be in stores soon. Also, I received a catalog from the Strat-O-Matic folks; the 2007 cards are out and cost $37.

I'm pretty much guaranteed to get Oracle Box Baseball, but I'm only going to take the Strat plunge if people are still under its Jedi mind control. Will there be more Strat this season?

Also, I haven't played fantasy baseball since I was 19. Anyone? Scott?

Now that that's done

The pizza does not lie. Now that the superbowl is over, we can all game on Monday. We can all set aside our differences and revel in the Patriot's loss through interpretive gaming. Can't we? I'll be there by 5-ish.

TI3 Post-mortem

Yes, we finally finished the game.

Michael, Jon, Ben, Scott, Chad and myself set out on a different sort of race for the galaxy in TI3. Ben got the Embers of Muaat, Michael the L1z1x Mindnet, I played the Naalu, Jon was the University of Jol-Nar, Scott the Xxchas, and Chad was the Mentos....er, Mentak Coalition. Ben quickly showed off his nice new War Sun and everyone cowered in fear and left him alone for the entire game. Jon spent his time in his University library and had many technologies to show for it. Scott played cautiously, expanding slowly but inexorably to Hope's End and the wormhole nexus. I darted towards the center and grabbed a few inner ring planets which slipped in and out of my control throughout the game. Michael built up his usual locust-like swarm of forces and took Mecatol Rex, all while shielding his eyes from the glory of Ben's War Suns (which turned out to be a winning strategy). Finally, Chad soaked up pretty much all of Ben's wrath and scrambled for footholds in the galaxy while Ben razed his homeworld. Credit Chad for taking a difficult position early in the game in stride and continuing to play for VPs (and survival) when all seemed lost. And credit Ben for being aggressive, because that's what he needed to do to get his VPs.

In the end, Michael's hold on Mecatol Rex and the only artifact in the game proved too much to overcome. Long game, but enjoyable and well-played.

Brian and Jacqui stopped by with Aidan and played Puerto Rico and To Court the King with Steve. I think they may have gotten in one or two other games, but I'm not sure, as pretty much everything besides TI3 was just a blur today.

Oh, and Michael discovered Call of Duty 4. Should make for entertaining nights ahead in the in-game chats.

Mark Teaches Twilight Struggle

I wanted to thank Mark today for showing me the ropes on Twilight Struggle. Fantastic Game! We were able to get in two games. The first one really did not count as I just learned the mechanics and was defeated rather quickly. I still lost the second game (as the Soviets), but I think that I was able to offer Mark a little better challenge. I will be happy to play this one again anytime.

So did anyone buy Through the Ages?

(BGG Link here) I'm mainly asking because it appears that the second printing has come and gone. [I'd like to play again, but I didn't pre-order it. I got Agricola ... it's someone else's turn.]