Having enjoyed the all day event last year Billy and I once again made the arduous (3 minute) journey to the village of Radley and the SOXS (South Oxfordshire Gaming Society, (SOGS?!)) gaming day. This is a mix of RPG and Boardgaming, with funds from the entry fees, food, raffle tickets etc going to a local autism charity. It seemed to be busier than I remember last year being, which can only be a good thing - see the village hall picture above, not half an hour after opening.
We weren't sure how many gaming friends would be coming along and so we passed up the opportunity to play The Voyages of Marco Polo, and to get out of our comfort zone by jumping into one of the organised RPGs and instead set up our own mini Kniziathon whilst we 'stayed available' - games of Age of War, Samurai and Battle Line ensued and then whilst we were debating who to rope into a game of Tigris & Euphrates we spotted another father and (young) son looking like they could do with some company so invited them over. A quick ascertaining of game familiarity meant that T&E wasn't suitable and so we went for a game that they played at home, King of Tokyo. As the young lad was quite chatty and up for a bit of banter I went all out 'death or glory' we plenty of trash talking. Which obviously ended up with me out of the game quickly and using the time to purchase some fine homemade cake and get a cuppa from the kitchen!
Young Shaun then took himself off to play with the huge pile of Lego and we taught his dad how to play Ticket to Ride: Europe which had caught his eye and was something he'd never tried. Billy inadvertently blocked a key route that Colin was needing very early on and so I took it upon myself to amusingly (in my opinion at least) dick about and block Billy at every chance. I forgot to photograph the game, mainly because as we were finishing we were approached by a photographer for the local newspaper who wanted to stage some pictures and get some quotes from Billy (watch this space!)
Not long after that GFaL pal Laurence arrived and after a bit of a rummage around bags decided to set up one of those 'take all afternoon' titles, and something I'd always been keen to experience, A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition). We thought we might be able to get a 5p game going but had to settle for 4, which probably makes for a lesser overall experience but I still found the game fascinating. The deviousness and aggressive move and counter, alliance making and breaking seemed to be made for Billy as well...
...and he started off very aggressively playing as House Greyjoy, striking out and gaining lands. Unfortunately he found himself overstretched and had somewhat neglected his naval power; his early lead fell away and he went slowly into decline with isolated forces getting stomped by the Lannisters and my Baratheons. Anthony, playing as the Lannisters, and an experienced GoT player wound up winning. I spotted a couple of rounds from the end that I'd probably missed some pretty straightforward opportunities to grab some more castles and had not made the most of my power/ influence tokens. I'd made some ill advised forays into Stark territory and lost some units when I should've gone south or hit the Lannisters before they'd mustered the bigger armies. I enjoyed it, even through my poor reading of the board and game state and I'd certainly be up for playing it again. Billy isn't so sure - I think it went on a bit too long for him.
With that wrapped up and darkness falling it was time for us to head off for some tea, a trip to the local fireworks display and then a few hours drinking wine like Tyrion with my brother in law in his kitchen, for which I suffered the consequences on Sunday morning...