I don't really like the winter (equally during the summer I will claim to also dislike the warm weather), not only is it bloody cold outside but it's also bloody cold in the nerdcave. I arrive with a cold which continues to develop through the evening and may in fact be terminal (this probably isn't true). I pushed and pushed to get 7 Wonders played this evening but a combination of player numbers and timing issues meant that unfortunately didn't happen, hopefully I'll get a first play of it in next week.
Love Letter
Will, Chris and I are the first folks to arrive so we settle into a game of Love Letter, it's my go to filler game at the moment and I'm picking up new strategies and interesting combos/situations every play. First play of the game I play a Guard guessing that Chris has the Princess, he is eliminated and this ends up being my highlight of the game. Will goes on to win as the first to three rounds, Chris won two rounds and I won one.
King Of Tokyo
Graham, Mara and Sam arrive during our game of Love Letter and Mara really wants to play King Of Tokyo as Sam hasn't played it yet. I've had the game for around a month now and despite around 10 plays I am yet to record a win, this was close though. Both Sam and Will are able to gain 5 victory points in the first round and by the end of the second round Sam has pulled away with 9 victory points early on. A few rounds later I find myself in Tokyo and I'm able to dish out five damage to four other players eliminating Mara, Chris and Graham in one blow. This leaves me with enough energy to buy the card which grants me an immediate second turn, I dish out some more damage and get some energy to then buy two different cards that grant victory points. Sam takes his turn next and damages me leaving me on 3 health but only needing 3 victory points to win. I decide to gamble and stay inside Tokyo, one hit later and I'm a goner. It was a gamble admittedly, Sam goes on to win in his first game.
Bang! The Dice Game
We decide on one more short game before trying a game of 7 Wonders. Andy turns up just in time for us to start a seven player game of Bang! The Dice Game which was received well last week on first play. Graham is revealed as the Sheriff and on his first turns rolls two 1 Targets, a bit of debate goes on as he decides who to give the damage to out of Andy and Mara, Mara shows Graham her card which makes him pass the damage to Andy, we now know Mara is a Deputy. Andy goes next and has two adjacent damage to give out and puts it on Chris to his left, everyone around the table assumes he is the Renegade (mistakenly as he turns out to be the other Deputy). I foolishly show my card to Chris assuming that he, like myself, is an Outlaw (you may remember from our recent game of The Resistance that I ALWAYS trust Chris despite my experience). Chris, Will and I all agree that we are the Outlaws and proceed to target everyone else. Things continue for a while until Graham gets the chance to kill Andy off, this leads to Andy revealing himself as the other Deputy. The whole table erupts into debate trying to work out who has been lying about their roles. The teams are revealed as the following
- Graham (Sheriff) Mara and Andy (Deputies)
- Sam, Sam and Will (Outlaws)
- Chris (Renegade)
Bodies starting dropping as the bullets fly across the table until Sam is able to put the final bullet between the eyes of Sheriff Smart and get a victory for the Outlaw team.
I'm a big fan of this game. The combination of hidden roles, special character abilities and different win conditions makes for a great game.
Take 6
Andy gets out a german card game which translates as Take 6. What seems incredibly complicated whilst being described actually turns out to be really very simple. There's some really odd little strategies involved. I really liked this as a filler. Chris and Will came equal first with a score of 3 each.
Maori
By this point I really am desperate to play 7 Wonders but a combination of situations (Sam has to leave at 9 and we want to play some games that will keep him involved but not leave him having to go mid-game) mean we split into two groups. Andy, Chris and Will play Ra and Graham, Sam, Mara and myself decide to give Maori a go. It's like a solitaire version Carcassone with very little player interaction outside of purposely taking something an opponent wants or moving the explorer boat in a way that prevents somebody from getting the tile they need most. Very simple to learn and play. It's a little dry, perhaps due to the fact you may as well be playing solo but I did enjoy it and would happily play again. Final scores were incredibly close; Graham won with 35, Mara had 33 and I got 30. Sam had to leave during play but had managed to score 20.
After this Andy C arrives just in time to join a game of Hoity Toity with the rest of the group which is handy as I'm feeling under the weather by this point. I stuck around to get the gist of the game in hopes of playing some time in the future before making my excuses and heading home to bed.
Tonight was all about the 30 minute or less filler games but was still a good night. If I don't get to play 7 Wonders next week though people will die.
Love Letter
Will, Chris and I are the first folks to arrive so we settle into a game of Love Letter, it's my go to filler game at the moment and I'm picking up new strategies and interesting combos/situations every play. First play of the game I play a Guard guessing that Chris has the Princess, he is eliminated and this ends up being my highlight of the game. Will goes on to win as the first to three rounds, Chris won two rounds and I won one.
King Of Tokyo
Graham, Mara and Sam arrive during our game of Love Letter and Mara really wants to play King Of Tokyo as Sam hasn't played it yet. I've had the game for around a month now and despite around 10 plays I am yet to record a win, this was close though. Both Sam and Will are able to gain 5 victory points in the first round and by the end of the second round Sam has pulled away with 9 victory points early on. A few rounds later I find myself in Tokyo and I'm able to dish out five damage to four other players eliminating Mara, Chris and Graham in one blow. This leaves me with enough energy to buy the card which grants me an immediate second turn, I dish out some more damage and get some energy to then buy two different cards that grant victory points. Sam takes his turn next and damages me leaving me on 3 health but only needing 3 victory points to win. I decide to gamble and stay inside Tokyo, one hit later and I'm a goner. It was a gamble admittedly, Sam goes on to win in his first game.
Bang! The Dice Game
We decide on one more short game before trying a game of 7 Wonders. Andy turns up just in time for us to start a seven player game of Bang! The Dice Game which was received well last week on first play. Graham is revealed as the Sheriff and on his first turns rolls two 1 Targets, a bit of debate goes on as he decides who to give the damage to out of Andy and Mara, Mara shows Graham her card which makes him pass the damage to Andy, we now know Mara is a Deputy. Andy goes next and has two adjacent damage to give out and puts it on Chris to his left, everyone around the table assumes he is the Renegade (mistakenly as he turns out to be the other Deputy). I foolishly show my card to Chris assuming that he, like myself, is an Outlaw (you may remember from our recent game of The Resistance that I ALWAYS trust Chris despite my experience). Chris, Will and I all agree that we are the Outlaws and proceed to target everyone else. Things continue for a while until Graham gets the chance to kill Andy off, this leads to Andy revealing himself as the other Deputy. The whole table erupts into debate trying to work out who has been lying about their roles. The teams are revealed as the following
- Graham (Sheriff) Mara and Andy (Deputies)
- Sam, Sam and Will (Outlaws)
- Chris (Renegade)
Bodies starting dropping as the bullets fly across the table until Sam is able to put the final bullet between the eyes of Sheriff Smart and get a victory for the Outlaw team.
I'm a big fan of this game. The combination of hidden roles, special character abilities and different win conditions makes for a great game.
Take 6
Andy gets out a german card game which translates as Take 6. What seems incredibly complicated whilst being described actually turns out to be really very simple. There's some really odd little strategies involved. I really liked this as a filler. Chris and Will came equal first with a score of 3 each.
Maori
By this point I really am desperate to play 7 Wonders but a combination of situations (Sam has to leave at 9 and we want to play some games that will keep him involved but not leave him having to go mid-game) mean we split into two groups. Andy, Chris and Will play Ra and Graham, Sam, Mara and myself decide to give Maori a go. It's like a solitaire version Carcassone with very little player interaction outside of purposely taking something an opponent wants or moving the explorer boat in a way that prevents somebody from getting the tile they need most. Very simple to learn and play. It's a little dry, perhaps due to the fact you may as well be playing solo but I did enjoy it and would happily play again. Final scores were incredibly close; Graham won with 35, Mara had 33 and I got 30. Sam had to leave during play but had managed to score 20.
After this Andy C arrives just in time to join a game of Hoity Toity with the rest of the group which is handy as I'm feeling under the weather by this point. I stuck around to get the gist of the game in hopes of playing some time in the future before making my excuses and heading home to bed.
Tonight was all about the 30 minute or less filler games but was still a good night. If I don't get to play 7 Wonders next week though people will die.