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Session: Death in the Trenches: The Great War, 1914-1918:: Death in the Trenches AAR Part 1

billyboy — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:03:10 +0000

August 1914 The Great War begins!

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The Germans drive on Paris , Liege falls quickly with the help of the Krupp guns. The French stop the Germans at the gates of Paris and hold out at Ypres.
Belgrade falls to the Austrians but the Serbians hold out. On the East front the Austrians lose and than retake Lemberg! The Germans smash the Russian 2nd Army near Tannenberg and advance into the Baltic area.

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September 1914. The Germans are stopped on the West Front but they have captured most of Belgium and hacked out a bulge in Northern France right up to Paris. The lines are getting solid here.
The Austrians shatter the Serbians and advance a further.
On the East Front there is some back and forth in Galicia between the Austrians and the Russians. In the North the Germans easily hold the Russians back.

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Fall 1914. The West Front has stalemated.
The Austrians are pushing the remnants of the Serbian Army far to the South by the Albanian border. A lot of blood is shed in the East but no real ground is gained.

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Winter 1915. In the West attacks by the Entente and a counterattack by the Germans spend a lot of blood but the lines stay the same.
In Serbia an outbreak of typhus stalls operations. The Austrians are building up on the Italian border in response to Italian saber rattling.
Turkey enters the war and both sides start to gear up in the Near East.
On the East Front a surprise German stroke captures Riga smashing a hole in the Russians fortress line. This could be big trouble for the Russian empire!!

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Spring 1915. The Entente launches a couple of massive assaults on the Germans. Both sides continue to drowned in blood.
In Serbia typhus and floods prevent the Austrians from finishing off the Serbs.
In Mesopotamia the British, Indian forces drive up and capture Baghdad. The Armenians began to rise up against the Turks in the Caucasus and the Arabs began to revolt in the desert!
On the East Front the Central Powers continue to push the Russians back with heavy losses. The Austrian Sud Army leading the way in the Ukraine.

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Summer 1915. The French and British finally push the Germans back a bit from the gates of Paris. Italy has joined the war on the Entente side.

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The end of Summer 1915. Lots of action on all fronts. In the West heavy attacks continue as the Germans stand on the defensive. Very bloody!
In Serbia the Italians send a Corps from Albania to lead the weakened Serbs in a desperate counteroffensive. The Austrians just barely hold out and the Serbs are forced to surrender. On the Italian, Austrian border the Italians attack, more blood !
A French and Anzac force lands in Gallipoli as the Entente tries to hang on in the Balkans and knock Turkey out of the war. General Yudenich launches a Russian offensive in the Caucasus that smashes a Turk Army and advances on the Black Sea coast. The Turks cross the Sinai desert with some attached German engineers but are too weak to attack Cairo or Alexandria.
On the East Front the Germans drive towards St.Petersburg outflanking the Russians. The fortress of Friedrichstadt is taken after a pair of attacks. In the southern and central parts of the East front the Russians are pushed farther back. Russia is in real danger!
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Stay tuned for part 2.

Session: Kill Doctor Lucky:: And That's Why You Should Always Wear Earplugs When Wandering Around the Mansion

Delinquent — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:15:32 +0000

by Delinquent

My Tuesday evening gaming group enjoys conflict. Maybe "enjoy" is somewhat of an understatement: we relish opportunities to improve our own positions at the expense of those around us. When we first played El Grande, we enjoyed forcing other players' caballeros to remote areas of the map, preventing them from scoring. When we play Dominion, the Throne Room + Witch combination is a favorite combo. "Screw You" type elements allow for each player to have a say in the outcome of the game, even if it just means preventing a seemingly inevitable outcome from occurring.

Kill Doctor Lucky is a game that I had played a couple times prior to our group's session, and I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. One of the games had been silly and enjoyable, but another had lasted well beyond the point of enjoyment. Our group decided to give it a shot a few weeks ago, and everyone enjoyed the theme and style of play. The game had been rather short, and we agreed that we needed another set of eyes roaming the board in order to help prevent frequent murder attempts. Therefore, when we all sat down to play our second game of Kill Doctor Lucky, we threw in Shamrock from the And His Little Dog, Too expansion. It was a welcome addition to the game.

Our second experience with Kill Doctor Lucky was fantastic, solely due to it ending unexpectedly, yet quite appropriately.

Jeff was clearly in the lead, having amassed 7 spite tokens. Everyone else had nearly exhausted their fail cards and spite tokens (used as last resort fail points) during his murderous frenzy, so it was assumed that the next time Jeff made a murder attempt, the game would be over. I was pouting in my chair, upset that my 3 spite tokens had been given away in order to foil Jeff's latest attempt--making him even more powerful. He was thoroughly enjoying his position of power, and was content with methodically counting his numerous red wooden discs as the game progressed.

Shortly thereafter, Eric found himself alone in the Carriage House with Doctor Lucky (Shamrock was resting peacefully in the Lilac Room, the product of an unfortunate interaction with a Civil War Cannon). He declared a murder attempt with the Loud Noise, and because he was in the Carriage House, the attempt was at power 8 (6 plus his 2 spite tokens). I was sitting to Eric's immediate left, and had to pass because I didn't have anything to contribute to failing the attempt. Jeff was next, and he only played 6 fails out of his many fail cards and spite tokens before passing to Brenden--the last player--who had 2 spite tokens in his possession. Jeff had figured that even if Brenden didn't have any fail cards in his hand, he would be able to fail the murder attempt by using his remaining spite tokens.

Well, Brenden decided to match Jeff's accumulation of in-game spite with real-life spite by refusing to spend his tokens to fail the murder attempt--even though he didn't have any fail cards to contribute, either.

Confused looks abounded, and I hurriedly grabbed the rulebook to see if such inaction was even allowed. Finding nothing that disallowed Brenden's decision, it was decided that Eric had successfully murdered Doctor Lucky.

Brenden laughed maniacally, having thoroughly enjoyed the role he played in the outcome of the game. Jeff, however, quietly mumbled obscenities in Brenden's general direction as he put away his wasted stockpile of weapons and spite tokens.

Session: Richard III: The Wars of the Roses:: Pictorial Illustration of Game-play: A sample turn as a weakened King Henry VI fights desperately to save London!

EndersGame — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:29:57 +0000

by EndersGame

To help illustrate how Richard III works, especially for gamers not familiar with block war games, I figured I'd provide other folks on BGG a pictorial illustration of the game-play, with the intent of showing how the game works and giving a sense of the flow of play. So welcome to a sample turn of Richard III! This is early in the game, and the house of York (white blocks) is taking on the house of Lancaster (red blocks) in an attempt to win the crown! The situation is such that Lancaster's Henry VI is king in London, but his position is vulnerable as a result of the advancing Yorkish armies along with their mercenaries. What will happen next? Read on to find out!

NB: Normally blocks are standing upright and hidden from the opponent, but to illustrate gameplay in this example, they are all face up with the same orientation.

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1. CARD PHASE

Both player simultaneously select and reveal a card from their hand. York plays a 3 and Lancaster plays a 2.

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York has the higher number (3 Action Points), and thus gets to play first.

2. ACTION PHASE

York

1. Sea move: using a Sea Move, York moves the Burgundian and Calais mercenaries from Kent to East Anglia. Since it is from one Major port to another (Sandwich to Yarmouth) in the same Sea Zone, moving two blocks only costs 1AP.

2. Land move: Using another 1AP, York sends the Earl of Kent and the Earl of Salisbury across the Thames River to attack King Henry VI in Middlesex. The king is now pinned, and will have to face at least one round of battle!

3. Recruiting: York recruits the Earl of Arundel in Sussex for 1AP. Note the matching shield, which represents the Earl's own castle.

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Note that York is not obliged to use its Action Points in a particular way, and could equally have used all APs for Sea Movement, or Land Movement, or Recruiting, or any combination of the above.

Lancaster

1. Recruiting: Lancaster uses 1AP to recruit Lord Rivers in Leicester, to provide some back up support. Unfortunately for Lancaster, as a newly deployed recruit, Lord Rivers can't move to Middlesex to help the King this turn!

2. Land move: Henry VI needs some help, so Lancaster sends in the Earl of Oxford from Essex to Middlesex, as Lancastrian reserves for the inevitable battle there.

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3. BATTLE PHASE

Here's the scene of the battle in Middlesex!

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In this example, all blocks happen to be at full strength at the start of the battle. The Earl of Oxford is a reserve, and will only enter the battle in the second round.

NB: in the pictures of battle that follow, I will place the Lancastrian blocks upside down (i.e. south is top, north is bottom), as they would be in a real game.

First round of battle

Initiative is resolved, and first all the A blocks get a chance to fire, then the B blocks. When blocks have the same initiative (e.g. A), then the Defending player gets to fire before the Attacker.

A Blocks:

* Earl of Kent (York): There is only one A block, the Earl of Kent, rated A2. His strength is 3, so he rolls three dice, and the A2 means he scores a hit on every 2 or less. York rolls, but the numbers are all high, so there are no hits!

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B Blocks:

* Henry VI (Lancaster): Both the Earl of Salisbury (York) and Henry VI (Lancaster) are B blocks, but since York is the Attacker in this battle, Lancaster as the Defender gets to roll first. It's the first round of battle, so Henry VI may not retreat and has to fight. Henry has a strength of four, so he rolls four dice, so the odds are in his favour! But his rating of B2 means he only has a firepower of 2, i.e. only a 2 or less will score a hit. In this case he is defending a crown, so his rating goes from B2 to B3, and he also scores hits on 3s. (Note that as the King, Henry VI does have the special privilege of choosing to perform a treachery roll or an heir charge at this point, but we'll keep this example simple). He rolls the dice and wow, a one and a two, which means two hits!

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Normally the hits are all applied to the strongest block, but since both of York's blocks have a strength of three, the York player can choose which block the damage is applied to. He's about to fire with the Earl of Salisbury, so he decides to let the Earl of Kent take the damage and go down to a strength of 1 - this block is rotated accordingly.

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* Earl of Salisbury (York): With a strength of three, the Earl of Salisbury shoots by rolling three dice. It's also rated a B2 so it also will only hit on a two or less. A 1, 2 and a 5 - that means that the Lancastrian King takes two hits and will go down two steps!

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But that ends the first round of combat, and now the reserves (i.e. Earl of Oxford) enter the battle. Now things are starting to look better for Lancaster!

Second round of battle

A Blocks:

* Earl of Oxford (Lancaster): As Defender, Lancaster has the privilege of firing first. He could retreat the Earl of Oxford at this point, but since he has the advantage of firing first, and York's Earl of Kent has already been weakened, Lancaster decides to keep up a stubborn resistance. The Earl of Oxford rolls three dice - a 1, 4 and 5 - that's another hit! Of the two York blocks, the Earl of Salisbury is the strongest (3 vs 1), so the hit is applied to it, and it loses a step to go from a 3 in strength to a 2.

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* Earl of Kent (York): Lancaster is doing well - should York keep fighting? Its blocks are already weakened, and it has the disadvantage of firing second, so York decides to lick its wounds and retreat the Earl of Kent back to Sussex.

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B Blocks:

* Henry VI (Lancaster): Lancaster is on a roll - this is no time to retreat! As Defender, Henry gets to fire ahead of York's B2 block, and rolls a 1 and a 2! That's two hits, which finishes off the Earl of Salisbury - it's eliminated and permanently removed from the game.

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As it turned out, it was a foolhardy attack from York, and by underestimating Lancaster's defensive advantages, York's attack failed miserably. Lancaster's king suffered some wounds, but with the help of the Earl of Oxford, inflicted far more damage on York, and retains control of London.

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But York has learned a lesson: next time attack with a larger force! In many actual games, York will launch an assault on London with superior numbers, and trying to hold on to London will often not be a viable strategy for Lancaster. But in this case, it worked!

4. SUPPLY PHASE

Each area can supply food for only four blocks (five for an area with a city) - no areas have more than four blocks, so no blocks above the allowable limit need to be reduced a step. Here's the scene after the supply phase.

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That ends the turn - each player now selects another card and reveals it simultaneously for the next turn! I hope this illustration of game-play helps people learn the game, and understand how the flow of play works! For more, see my comprehensive pictorial review of the game which will be forthcoming shortly!

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The complete list of Ender's pictorial illustrations of game-play: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/42866

Session: Race for the Galaxy:: A Session/Review: How My Conflicting First Impressions Were All True

Peacefishy — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:01:25 +0000

by Peacefishy

Ahem. This is my simple review. There are no rules below, only my feelings and thoughts.

First a disclaimer: I do not own this game. I've only played three times.

Next, the history: Back on a hot day in July, I played Race for the Galaxy for the first time. After a grueling game of [thing=3931][/thing] the cards were shuffled and broken out. I played horrible. I was confused, I couldn't seem to get a strategy together, I had to look up every symbol but I was intrigued. I wanted to play again, I wanted to learn all about it. I left with a feeling of: I think this game is great, but well maybe it is just too confusing

Today: Today we started off the gaming afternoon with Race for the Galaxy. I received a windfall rare goods world as my starter and immediately got going on my tableau. I have played [thing=3076][/thing] a lot recently and as I chose my roles I recognized that I did need the other players and that this was not "multi-player solitaire". The icons seemed much easier this time around and I only had a few questions about certain cards. I came in second. It was a short game so we decided to have another go at it. I somehow ended up receiving the same starting world, but had a much better draw of developments and settlements to complement my tableau. I was cranking. Just before the end (where I settled/developed to 13 in my tableau) I had 3 6 cost developments, only 3 planets, and a sleu of developments that basically allowed me to develop at -2 cost and draw 2 cards, and settle at -5. I finished the game with 73 vp total.

What I would tell people: Now I was very "on the fence" about this game. It just didn't seem to click at first. I can sum up everything with this:

"Play it twice before you form any opinion about this game."

With all the different symbols and strategies to explore it is one of those games you just have to mess around with before you get good at.

Thanks for reading!

Session: Demono:: Demono - First Games (with thoughts on strategy)

ejohnson7 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:53:04 +0000

by ejohnson7

I played Demono a few times this afternoon. I have a home made copy of the game, but I don’t have the rules, so I wanted to fill in the gaps in Matt Ruff’s Quick Reference Sheet posted here on BGG and resolve some ambiguities therein regarding movement.

The purpose of this report is to briefly describe those games and share some of my preliminary thoughts about effective strategies.

In all three games, I played the boring gray world of concrete and conformity, while my sister Susan played the colorful world of imagination, whimsey and anarchy.

SET UP
In the first game, I spent my allotment of 200 points on the following items:
1 professional (1 x 10 = 10)
1 school (1 x 15 = 15)
1 computer (1 x 20 = 20)
3 businesses (3 x 20 = 60)
3 police (3 x 7 = 21)
4 households (4 x 10 = 40)
8 workers (8 x 4 = 32)
Total cost = 198

I arranged my cards with the Computer in the center, flanked by Businesses. Next to the Computer was the Professional, with a School adjacent so that the Professional could operate the Computer or work at the School. To maximize efficiency in production and reproduction, Workers were arranged around the Businesses, with Households adjacent. My initial draw was low on male Workers, so each Household had a male Worker and several female Workers. A Policeman was deployed on each edge of the roughly square array.

GAME PLAY
The first card flipped was a Professional, and a Penguin was revealed. Susan used the Penguin’s power to flip adjacent Gray mobile units to flip a Worker and a Policeman; those cards revealed another Penguin and a Turtle. Another Worker and Policeman were flipped, revealing a Demon and a Chimera. While those did no immediate damage, in the first round of play I lost my Professional and most of my Policemen. I used the remaining Policeman to remove one of the Penguins. For lack of a Professional, I could not operate the Computer to double profits from my Businesses; more importantly, I could not run the School to indoctrinate new Professionals and train new Policemen.

I did not yet know it, but I was already doomed. Another cascade of card flips in the second round removed most of my Workers, and Gray society ground to a halt for want of manpower.

LESSONS LEARNED
Redundancy of Professionals is of utmost importance, because Gray must have operating Schools to produce new Professionals and Policemen. Three Policemen is probably not enough. Even with their mobility, at least one Policeman on each side is required for minimal police coverage.

SET UP
In the second game, I added a Professional, a Policeman and a Worker to the mix, and reduced the number of Households to two. I spent my allotment of 200 points this way:
2 professionals (2 x 10 = 20)
1 school (1 x 15 = 15)
1 computer (1 x 20 = 20)
3 businesses (3 x 20 = 60)
4 police (4 x 7 = 28)
2 households (2 x 10 = 20)
9 workers (9 x 4 = 36)
Total cost = 199

My set up was similar to that used in the first game.

GAME PLAY
The second game played out much like the first, with multiple card flips eliminating my Professionals and my police force fairly quickly. I was also hampered by the gender rule which allows a male Worker to generate income at a Business and also to participate in reproduction (making new Workers), while a female Worker must choose one function or the other.

Also in this game, the Chimera’s power to reduce profits prevented any accumulation of income during the brief time Gray society held together. Again, inability to train Professionals and Police was a significant issue.

LESSONS LEARNED
Perhaps two Professionals and four Policemen is not enough. Have extra male Workers close to Households, ready to step in if the man of the house is flipped. Three Policemen is probably not enough.

SET UP
In the third game, I further increased the number of Professionals, and I bought a lot of Policemen; as a result, I could afford only one Business. I spent my 200 points on:
3 professionals (3 x 10 = 30)
1 school (1 x 15 = 15)
1 computer (1 x 20 = 20)
1 business (1 x 20 = 20)
8 police (8 x 7 = 56)
2 households (2 x 10 = 20)
9 workers (9 x 4 = 36)
Total cost = 197

I set up with the Business in the middle with the Computer adjacent to it. Then in line came a Professional and a School. The second Professionals was placed next to the School, while the third was arranged near by to substitute for either of the others in case of need. The Workers were deployed near the Businesses, with Households adjacent. A heavy police presence was in place, with two Policemen on each side of the array.

GAME PLAY
In the third game, Susan didn’t flip many cards that produced cascades of card flips. Early on, her flips produced cards such as Monkey, Turtle, and a Cat. While the Monkey reduced efficiency at one of my Businesses by replacing a Worker, My Policemen rapidly removed the Colored elements. My School and Computer produced more Professionals and increased profits, and Susan just couldn’t seem to get any traction, though she often flipped enough Chimera and Mouse cards to eliminate my small profits. I used some of the profits, when I had them, to purchase a new Business, which eased the situation a little.

Near the end, she did get a significant cascade of card flips, with multiple Penguins and an Octopus; however, the large number of Policemen and Professionals available to me kept them in check. Further, some clever movement isolated and eliminated a number of Colored elements. We ran out of time before finishing the game. When we stopped, it appeared that Gray might be able to keep anarchy in check, at least for a while, but it was unclear if I would be able to accumulate enough profits to win.

LESSONS LEARNED
When moving, be careful to avoid situations where large numbers of your cards can be isolated and destroyed. Make sure to have Workers near to Schools so that they are available for indoctrination.

FINAL STRATEGY THOUGHTS

Colored Player
Gray society is a well-oiled machine. In order to win, the Colored player must disrupt the workings of the machine. Some good ways to throw a spanner in the works are as follows:

Eliminate Professionals early to prevent Gray from making new Professionals and Policemen. Flip Policemen to reduce Gray’s ability to eliminate Colored elements. Target male Workers associated with Households to disrupt production of new Workers. Look for opportunities to isolate and destroy large groups of Gray elements.

Gray Player
Anarchy feeds on itself, and chaos breeds chaos. Clamp down on those disorderly ne’er-do-wells as quickly as possible. Your tools are Policemen, to squash nonconformists; Schools, to indoctrinate the masses (especially to make more Policemen) and, of course, plenty of compliant Workers to make profits for The Man. Look for opportunities to isolate and destroy large groups of Colored elements.

Session: Age of Scheme: Routes to Riches:: My first session.. my long thoughts.. and your thoughts would be nice.

shadow9d9 — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:12:48 +0000

by shadow9d9

Played my first game of AOS yesterday with 4 players, all newbies.

I was the 2nd player in turn order and started by buying into Jin(red) for $25. On my second turn, with $5 left and shares(families, but will be referred to as shares for the rest of this) being gobbled up, I picked up one share of Yellow for $5 family price.

I used a few turns to expand Jin(red)'s line and get the shares up to about 14 income or so. People kept on buying shares of families and red did not have enough money to make a connection anytime soon. None of the families could. Without the income of a dividend, I turned to taking $5 for multiple rounds and buying a share of another family, maybe green.

By 2/3 through the game, I had 3/4 shares of red with an income of 21 or so, 1 share of blue, 1 share of yellow, and one share of green.

I was lucky enough to have red make 3 double connections through the game and red finished the game with an income of 28. I believe my highest payout with a connection doubling bonus was 138. However, my competing top performer had one share of red. He should have used up the cubes right before I made the 3rd connection, to remove my ability to make my last connection with doubling bonus. The family I linked to did not have the cubes to get to my family though, so this also would have had the effect of giving one less dividend overall. I suppose in theory he still had the one share doubling bonus and the rest of his portfolio.

The other top competing player had approximately 2 shares of black, 1 share of red, 2 shares of blue, one share of purple, and one share of green.

Up until the final counting, I was as sure as I could be that I was going to win.

Purple had had the second most successful family, with an income ending aroudn 26, but stayed high the whole game with at least one double payout. the third best player in the game(with 3/4 shares in purple) made a mistake towards the end, preventing himself from benefiting from a possible 2nd connection bonus. Instead he ended up going towards red(me), allowing me that bonus.

Final counting gave the top player, the first player in the player order, had money in the low 700s, I had 637, the next player had around 580, and the last at around the mid 400s.

I wracked my brain today to try to figure out how I was bested. I had the best family, with the most double dividends. The player that won did have one share of both red and purple, and black did decently at the end. I guess he had the most overall exposure to everything, and therefore was always benefiting from double dividends.

A few comments:

1. I did not see much benefit from starting red at 25. Sure, it meant exclusivity for a while, and red could expand a lot. However, it left me with only $5, making me miss out on the mad grab for family shares at the beginning of the game. It took so long for the first connection, and therefore, dividend to be paid, that by the time I received return on my investment, a lot of early investment opportunities had been missed.

2. I found that there was a mad rush for shares at the beginning. The family prices started at approximately 25, 15, 25, 10, 5, and 6. Therefore, half the families had very little ability to expand for a while. This caused a lot of $5 to our personal treasury turns taken by all with more buying of shares. Being that I had spent so much on red, this gave me a bit of a disadvantage.

3. The first share bought in the game was black, followed by red, followed by purple. Turn order definitely had an effect on the game. Where you happened to be in the turn order was very important after making connections. Especially the first connection. With everyone cash starved by the first dividend, yes the person making the connection was likely to benefit the most from the doubling bonus, but they would also be the last to have an opportunity to spend that money on new shares. If you were the person right before that person making the connection, you would have 3rd shot to get a share. I was actually lucky in this aspect, and often got first or second dibs.

4. I found that shares were all bought out by the 4th dividend or so. Some families, like yellow and blue in our game, never got enough money to get more than 8-12 cubes into the game. Others, by the end, like red especially, had an almost unlimited supply of cash. Red ended with around 100, 3 others ended around 30-50.

I am not sure what I think of the game. I wasn't thrilled by the constant dividend paying out after all shares were out of the game. It became more about bean counting, with relatively little to be done(compared to other winsome games I have played).

I wasn't thrilled about how quickly shares were bought up and how long it took to make the first connection, and then how quickly the remaining shares were bought out.

The best strategy(or good strategy) seems to be holding a bit of everything while manipulating(bankrupting) trains that are too strong.

I still see less benefit to starting a family at 25 than to 15-17, which would leave you with more cash.

What are your thoughts? I can't tell if I have any desire to try again. It was just too much bean counting with little to do near the end.

My games of reference are Chicago Express and Pampas Railroads, both of which I love, with Pampas edging out because it is longer and more satisfying to me.

Session: B-17: Queen of the Skies:: HOWLING MAD (318th Squadron, 88th Bomber Group (H) - virtual PBEM group) Mission#84 (1) - Oil Refinery, Vienna, Austria

StocktonDave — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:50:58 +0000

by StocktonDave

DEBRIEFING REPORT

Take off was at 0600 hours for the 318th Bomber Squadron. The squadron formed up at 4000 feet with other squadrons of the 88th BG(H) participating in today's raid on an oil refinery near Vienna, Austria. Rendezvoused with the 301st BG and 463rd BG and our group took its place as lead group. The 318th filled the low squadron position of the lead group.

Encountered enemy aircraft once we crossed into Yugoslavia. Numerous attacks were made against the 318th going in, but the squadron's combined guns and the tenacity of our escorts (P-51's from the 31st Fighter Group) kept the enemy fighters at bay. The crew reported no direct runs made against HOWLING MAD and very little defensive fire against the enemy.

As we approached the run in point, our escorts broke away and headed elsewhere. One ME-110 tried to sneak in a shot at us before the flak batteries opened fire but Sgt. Morris in the ball turret threw enough lead at him and reported that he took some skin off that plane. Intelligence had warned us that Vienna was one of the more heavily defended cities in occupied Europe and the flak batteries began pounding away at us. The amount of bursts that I could see confirmed the intel. Fortunately HOWLING MAD made it through the storm relatively unscathed. Sgt. Stephens reported some shrapnel damage to the wings and Lt. Davis reported a momentary drop in fuel pressure in our inboard starboard fuel tank, but that seemed to be it.

Unfortunately the flak burst threw off our bomb run and Lt. Sanchez thinks our bombs drifted off the target and missed. Not a good way to start the war for us. We turned with the squadron and headed to the rally point. Again we were treated to a flak barrage, although not as dense as before. Sgt. Stephens reports some new holes in the port wing, but they appeared not to affect the performance of the aircraft. Sgt. Arnold in the tail reported that our escorts for the return trip (52nd fighter group in P-51s) were coming in at 6 o'clock high right on time.

The Germans were not to be denied their pound of flesh though and continued to harass us all the way home. The crew reported several bandit tallies and engaged in defensive fire quite frequently. The escorts did their best and bounced a few bandits, but the squadron had to fight through several attacks. Lt. Sanchez reported that he engaged a 109 and sent it home smoking as well as sending a FW190 to its demise. The crew got a laugh when he reported over the intercom "If I can't hit em with my bombs, I'll hit em with my 50s". Once we reached the Adriatic the Germans lost interest in us and the rest of the flight was uneventful. Landing was successful, taxied back to the hardstand, disembarked and the crew reported to Debriefing.

Lt. Keith Fisher, Pilot, HOWLING MAD, 318th BS, 88th BG(H)
16 June, 1944

Session: Caylus:: A tragedy of errors - our first game of Caylus

Dougmazur — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:41:29 +0000

by Dougmazur

I have owned the game for a couple of months and have been anxious to play but after reading the rules, it appeared that the game would have layers of complexity that could not be immediately obvious, and I was looking for one or more people fluent in the game to show me the ropes so to speak. Well the months went by, my interest kept increasing but no suitable players.
So I finally, bite the bullet, pull it out for my wife and older son last night. three newbies, trying to figure out Caylus with only myself having actually read the rules.

If it could go wrong, it did. I seemed to master the art of putting workers on production or buildings that happened later on the road than I needed it. ie. producing that cloth cube after the mason which I needed to build it with, or too far along the road that I did not have enough money to keep the site active.

My wife mastered castle building, but might put 5 or 6 batches together in one turn when no one else was building instead of taking 2-3 turns.

My son remained bankrupt for most of the game, but he held the first position in the turn, and I only challenged for it once which he immediately took back the next turn.

In the end, He won, and I brought up the rear. It was almost as bad as I feared, Devious complexity with a learning curve that is not too forgiving.

I say almost, because while the right moves may still be elusive, the bad plays are almost immediately obvious, and we all knew what not to do the next time. So it was still a great learning game, and it feels like a great game with tremendous strategic diversity and replayability. I know I will like it a lot and look foward to losing another dozen games!! I always learn faster from my losses than my wins.

Session: Middle-Earth Quest:: Solo session, Sauron wins

rcmoore4 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:10:58 +0000

by rcmoore4

Middle Earth Quest session
11-22-09
Solo session. I controlled two heroes AND Sauron. I’m finding that playing solo isn’t too difficult. Depending on whose turn it is, you just play what you think would be the best play for that player. The system does break down somewhat in combat, though, which is based on each side choosing cards without knowledge of the other side’s choice.

One way around this is to come up with a “plan” and stick to it. For example, let’s say that Thalin the dwarf has seven strength and at least three “Overpower” cards (Melee 2At 2Def, +2 next melee). Well, I might decide to play all three as my first set of attacks. The minion or monster then picks out a strategy and sticks to it as well. This way, I’m trying not choose cards based on information of what the character/monster has chosen.

Usually, though, I choose my “best choice” from my hand, given the other cards in my hand, and try not to think about what the card for the other side was or could be. Still, not as satisfactory as going up against a real opponent, but much better than say, playing a random card.

This was my third game, and I decided to control two heroes instead of one. I chose Thalin and Eometh. Thalin’s starting quest was to visit the Blue Mountains in search of Thorin’s artifacts, while Eometh was to visit the Mouth of the Greyflood to investigate some Dundlending mischief. Their mission was “Noble Blood”, and they needed to have 1 or less corruption cards by game end to complete it.

Sauron’s starting plot was “Sauron Hunts for the Ring”, a “ring” card. Unlike previous games, where I think I played the plots after seeing my mission, I decided to actually follow the progression in the Rules where you follow the Plot directions first and then draw your mission. I did find this a bit annoying; as you don’t know which Plots/Shadow cards you should keep/discard that will help fulfill your mission. As a general rule, though, I keep the low cost cards and discarded the more expensive ones. I ended up with “Urgent Summons” (a ring plot) and “Broken line of Kings” (a zero cost conquest plot). I also discarded “Shire, Baggins” (7 cost) in favor of “Seem Fairer, Feel Fouler” (3 cost) shadow cards. Sauron’s mission turned out to be “In the Darkness Bind them”, and required moving the ring story marker to the end of the story track. This made me regret discarding “Shire, Baggins” a bit, since it helps move the ring story marker, but as my Shadow Pool only reached 7 by the end of the game, it would have been difficult to pull off. However, “Seem Fairer, Feel Fouler” turned out to be an excellent and inexpensive card, and allowed me to cycle through the plot deck without spending an action (I also drew another one later on).

The first part of the game saw Eometh heading off for the Northwest (Aragorn was at Weathertop, and Gandalf in Bree), as well as finishing off his start quest with a quick side trip to the Mouth of the Greyflood. Unfortunately, though, he picked up some corruption while taking a short cut through Moria and it was a doozy…”Mistrusted”. What a wicked corruption card…it limits the amount of favor a character can gain on their to a max of 1. This really slowed Eometh down, and it wasn’t until he was able to pay for its removal that he was able to collect enough favor to even attempt to foil Sauron’s plots. By mid-game, he was able to discard “Broken Line of Kings”, on Lorien, but by that time, Sauron was focusing on getting out ring plots. Also, by this time, Eometh had picked up two more corruption cards (one from an Agent battled caused by “Seem Fairer, Feel Fouler”, and one from a peril site I believe). He was wiser, though, as his visit to Gandalf increased his wisdom to 3.

Thalin, in the mean time, was doing horribly. My hope was to get Thalin to the Gladden Fields to discard Sauron’s starting plot. As Sauron, though, I had built up a pretty strong line of defense around the Gladden Fields, sending the Mouth to defend it and bringing the Black Serpent up from the South into Mirkwood. I also had enough influence to make the adjacent sites in Mirkwood Perilous for Thalin (and Eometh at least initially). Thalin ended up fighting the Serpent at the Forest Trail and getting smacked back to the Woodland Realm Haven. Indeed, Thalin would never reach the Gladden Fields (nor Eometh), as more pressing Plots came into play in Mordor and Rohan. Furthermore, this trend would continue. Thalin, who I expected to be a really good fighter, was knocked out at least 3 times in the game, twice by minions and once by some Giant Spiders in Mordor.

Anyway, by mid-game, Sauron had gotten “Gollum is Tortured” in Barad-dur and “Urgent Summons” in Dunharrow (calling away Boromir). The Gollum plot came out first, and I, as Sauron, built up some influence in Mordor and placed a monster to help protect it. Also, the Ringwraiths were out by this time and I planned on using them to help protect the plot as well. At the same time, I sent Thalin south to Mordor, in a vain attempt to discard this 0 favor plot. In his first attempt, he defeat the Ringwraiths, but got stung by a giant spider in the “sea” of Udun. This sent him to Minas Tirith, only steps away from the “Urgent Summons” in Dunharrow; however, he had no favor, so he would not be able to remove it. Eometh, however, was making his way to Dunharrow.

At this point, the ring story marker was moving 5 spaces a turn, and the heroes had but one turn each and had to stop both the “Urgent Summons” and “Gollum is Tortured” plots and prevent the ring marker from hitting the finale on Sauron’s next turn. Eometh moved to Dunharrow where he met the Serpent in combat, who had moved south from Mirkwood to guard the plot. Unfortunately, Eometh couldn’t defeat him, and his turn ended. Thalin had to fight past the Ringwraiths AND the Witch King. He defeated the Ringwraiths, but couldn’t make it past the Witch King and into Barad-dur. Sauron’s ring story marker progressed to the finale on his next turn. Having fulfilled his mission, Sauron won.

Some thoughts about the game: I really liked Eometh’s character. His horse especially made movement a breeze and allowed him to move great distances in a single turn. Corruption plagued him, though, with that “mistrusted” card being the worst. A couple of times favor had to be discarded that could otherwise have been gained.

Thalin proved much more difficult to play. First, his ability to move in Mirkwood is absolutely abysmal. He just doesn’t have the forest cards. This is one reason why going to the Gladden Fields to discard the starting plot in the end was just not viable. His starting quest was kind of a joke as well. I’m sure it depends on the layout of the board, but most of the action from my last three games seemed to take place east of the Misty Mountains (appropriately I think), and Thalin’s quest to the Blue Mountains is a huge potential drain in resources (movement cards) and time. I also expected Thalin to be a top-notch fighter. He wasn’t. But then again, it’s hard to gauge in the solo game, as I don’t think my method of combat fully represents what one would find in a real game where there is no fore-knowledge of what the other person will play into combat.

Again, for Sauron, it comes down to protecting those plots…especially with the “ring” mission. Once the triple threat was out and the story marker moving 5 spaces a turn, the heroes were faced with a very dire situation and a very short clock. They had to forget their own mission (remove corruption…they would have failed), and focus on getting to those ring plots. Minions and monsters saved the day, though, and were very effective guardians for the plots.

Session: Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game:: I might be a little obsessed -- SIX plays this weekend.

Rubric — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:56:57 +0000

by Rubric

...and no, I was not at BGG con.

Received the game this past Wednesday. Played a few turns that night, but couldn't complete a game. But then:

Game 1: Friday night: Escape in the Truck, played solo, and reported in a different Session Report.

Game 2: Saturday night: Die Zombies, Die! I played the zombies with one of my kids helping. My wife was the heroes, with the other kid helping (both kids age 7). This game was kind of a disaster. On the first turn, "A Town Overrun" came up, and dropped the Signal Flare AND the Shotgun into the discard pile. The heroes easily got to the Hanger and the Police Station, which were conveniently located right next to each other. With the unending barrage of firepower coming from that side of the board, there was nothing I could do but run away. The zombies got mowed down quickly, and the game was mercifully short (and sadly, not much fun).

Game 3: Late Saturday night: My wife and I pulled out a random scenario, and got Defend the Manor House, with me as the heroes. This one started off rough. First of all, I got 6 starting cards (one for each hero, plus one extra for the two that started in the house), but was unable to draw a single weapon. Then, on turn 1, the zombies took over the high school, piling 6 zombies on top of two of my heroes. They were both dead by Turn 2, giving her two zombie heroes. I drew replacements, but was just not able to get enough weapons before I had to run up to the house to draw the zombies out. The heroes lost due to 9 zombies in the house, with about 6 turns to go. One amusing thing about this game was Father Joseph showing up with a revolver. "I don't believe in using firearms, but I brought one for you to use."

Game 4: Really late Saturday night: My wife offered to play again, and I suggested Escape in the Truck. I played the zombies this time. I started with a whole bunch of 6's and managed to kill 1 hero early (but not early enough to get a zombie hero). Then Town Overrun came up (which has got to be the most important card in the box) and dropped BOTH keys into the discard pile, along with one of the "Just what I needed" cards. She found the gas, but was not able to get the other "Just what I needed" until there were only three turns left. Jake used it to get the keys. Then, since his turn was over, he handed them off to Jenny. Jenny and Becky made a run for the truck. Jenny got there with a 4 on her move roll, but Becky only rolled a 1, leaving the gas 3 squares away from the truck. Jenny then got mobbed by 6 zombies and didn't make it. With only 2 turns left, both keys and both "Just what I needed" were in the discard pile, meaning Jake had no chance to search up another set of keys. And besides that, there was no one left to lure the horde away from the truck so Becky could fill the tank. So we stopped at that point, for my first win. Woo hoo!

Game 5: Sunday morning: The kids wanted to play Die Zombies Die again, so we started a three player game. Unfortunately, they wandered off about half way through, so this turned into a solo game. It went much better than my first play of DZD. I was very cautious with the zombies, having them hide in buildings as much as possible. I blockaded the Hanger and Police Station (which were again right next to each other), so there would be no weapon trains. Zombies also "Took Over" the Gun Shop. On top of that, Sheriff Anderson managed to roll a 1 three or four turns in a row, and was completely ineffective. Still it was very close. On the 2nd to last turn, only 2 more kills were needed. Jake had the chainsaw, and lured 4 zombies to himself. He got 1 kill, but then the chainsaw ran out of gas, and the other 3 zombies killed him. On the final turn, the Zombies played "Trip" to deprive Sheriff Anderson of a chance to shoot one more zombie. (Given his track record, he would have missed anyway). So, with only 14 kills, the Zombies win another one.

Game 6: Sunday afternoon: The kids wanted to try Manor House. My wife played the zombies again, with one kid helping. I played the heroes, but my helper wandered off half way through. So, this was a strange game with 1 hero player and 2 zombie players. The good guys at least got a few weapons this time (but no shotgun), and even had help from a dog. Still, this scenario is really hard. I tried luring them out, but my wife had positioned the zombie so I had to fight 4 at a time. Jake again found the chainsaw, and again failed to do much with it. Billy and Johnny both went down swinging, taking a few zombies with them. The game came down to Father Joseph with Faith and a Fire Axe (and a lot of 6's) giving my wife and son a run for their money. They eventually got him and won due to killing 4 heroes. They had 8 zombies in the house at that time, and would have won on the next turn anyway.

---------------------------------------------

So, the record for the weekend:

Escape in the Truck: Heroes 1, Zombies 1
Die Zombies Die: Heroes 1, Zombies 1
Defend the Manor House: Heroes 0, Zombies 2

Total: Heroes 2, Zombies 4

My personal record (not counting solo games): Ken 1, Family 3

Some thoughts on the cards: As mentioned, "A Town Overrun" has a huge impact on the game. But it's balanced, because it helps as much as it hurts. I think in the Truck scenario, it hurts more, but in DZD and Manor House it helps more. Also, taking over a building can be a huge benefit (if it's the right building). My favorite zombie card is probably "I Feel Kinda Strange" -- perfect theme and nice power level.

For the heroes, I think the Shotgun is king of the weapons. Jenny was a monster with it in Game 1. The Flare Gun is amazing if you can camp the Hanger, but that won't always be possible. The Chainsaw looks good, but I have been unable to get it to really take off yet.

Weak cards: For the zombies, Lights Out -- I just don't see where this card is ever going to help. Also the one that lets you spawn d6 zombies -- it's useless in Manor House. I suppose it might have a niche in another scenario, but I saw it get discarded every time it came up. For the heroes, they are usually glad to have any card they can get their hands on. The only one that is a disappointment is Keys, outside of the Truck scenario.

Overall: loving this game so far. Looking forward to trying the other 2 scenarios, plus web published ones, plus customs, plus expansions (when I get them), etc. The kids like it, but it's a little long for a 7-year-old. My wife has so-so feelings about it. She doesn't hate it, and is willing to indulge me, so I'll count that as a win.

Session: Shadow Hunters:: Very quick 4 Player first play... am I missing something?

mstachiw — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:26:12 +0000

by mstachiw

I was very excited to play this game. The artwork, theme, and gameplay is right up my alley. I really think we missed something though. An approx 60 min game was closer to 10min. While I felt this game has potential especially with more players it was anticlimactic thus I felt I was missing something.

We started off my wife, her niece, our friend, and myself. I get unknown, and our friend gets vampire, my wife has George and our niece has Franklin. I role first get a green card and instantly know my wife isn't a shadow like me since she didn't take damage. Our friend roles a 7 and goes to the church where he pulls a mirror revealing he's a vampire. He then attacks me (fellow shadow) which he later realizes was a first play fumble.

We were all kind of unsure what we should and shouldn't announce as far as pulling cards, which cards we play right away, etc. I attack my niece to keep my wife guessing which one of us is a shadow (since I know my wife is a hunter; and she knows that I know).

I get killed by our niece. Both of the hunters kill the vampire shortly after.

What turned a 60min game into a 10min play? Was it the shadow's fumble of strategy? Too few players? or just a fluke?

I told everyone I'll try to see if we're missing anything but otherwise I'll only pull this out with 5 or 6 players. I still think the game is great and never judge a game by first play alone.

Session: Advanced Squad Leader - Starter Kit #2:: Over open sights (S12) - played using full ASL rules

Meeduluk — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:08:37 +0000

by Meeduluk

The rationale behind this approach was to playtest a Starter Kit scenario (solitaire) that promised plenty of Ordnance action in order to learn and reinforce aspects of Chapter C (Ordnance) of the full ASL rules, free from the complications of vehicles. Although there are some scenarios in Beyond Valor, Paratrooper and Red Barricades that fit the bill in this regard, it was thought that the absence of the more complex full ASL terrain types would make for a cleaner, less variable-cluttered game where the use of Ordnance could be practiced and learned without this additional chrome. One down side of using SK terrain was the fact that no multi level buildings are present to apply the key differences of ITT fire (targets a single Location) and ATT fire (targets all Locations in a hex), which is one notable distinction between SK and full rules.

Over open sights (S12) is set during the early days of the 1944 Ardennes Offensive and has a strengthened Ge company (with MMG and light MTR) assigned to capture or destroy a small battery of Am Guns emplaced on ‘Skyline Drive’. The Guns are defended by a platoon of infantry (also with MMG and light MTR), with a further platoon of reinforcements due to appear on turn 4. The game duration is 6½ turns. The Am infantry are 2nd line with an unusually low ELR of 2, and the Ge a mix of 1st and 2nd liners with ELR 3.

Full ASL rules from Chapters A, B and C were in effect for the game; Chapter E rules were NA. Full ASL rules that were not in force were Bore Sighting (difficult to play solo), and it was decided in the interests of balance not to allow Canister as Special Ammo for the American 105s as it was seen to be potentially too devastating for the attacking German infantry. Sniper Activation Numbers were generated with reference to another Bulge scenario set around the same date: Carnage in the night (KGP 9) from Kampfgruppe Peiper II (US SAN 2; Ge SAN 3). It was assumed that the extended nature of the German drive and the unpreparedness of the US both contributed towards low sniper activity.

The Environmental Conditions were moist and there was no wind at the start. These values reflect the settled, overcast conditions that were prevalent during this period of the battle.

The only SSR stated on the scenario card was that the Am Guns were not allowed to set up HIP.

American set up

The Am Guns were emplaced at S3 (105mm), U3 (155mm) and V3 (105mm). The 105 at S3 is covering the narrow woods corridor that starts at X10. There is a MTR crewed by a HS at G3 in the Western half of the board that also has LOS to the X hexrow woods. At W6 and X6 is a delaying force of HS. There is a mini kill stack consisting of an MMG and 2 squads at X5 to cover the Eastern approaches. There are acres of Open ground both to the East and the West of the Guns (Grain is out of season) over which movement by the Ge would be very costly. Therefore it was expected that at least some of the attackers would approach under cover of the wood corridor on the X hexrow. Because the Ge were starting off board all US units were placed under concealment counters.

It was considered placing the Guns in the open away from woods hexes so attacks would have to cross Open ground, but in the end they were set up with rout paths and reinforcement in mind should the crews have to retreat, or were eliminated.

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609849]Am set up[/geekurl]

German set up

The Ge units lined up at X10 are a mix of 467s and 447s, and an 8-0 leader; 3 of the 447 squads have deployed. These units will aim to go forward and take the Am Guns using the woods as cover.

The Ge stack at A6 in the Western part of the board are a 447, a MTR crewed by a HS and a 7-0 leader. Their plan was to make headway to the woods around G3 then set up the MTR to harass the defenders...and possibly creep along the Northern edge towards the Guns.

The Ge at GG7 are a kill stack of 467s, lmg and MMG. These will provide covering fire for the advance through the narrow woods corridor.

Is was intended that the Ge force attack on several fronts to keep the Guns swapping CA, and so reducing the effect of acquisition and forcing CA change penalties.

The Ge sniper counter was placed at X5, the US at X8.

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609851]Ge and Am set up[/geekurl]

Ge turn 1

All Ge units enter the board under concealment but most lose this status by making non-assault moves in the LOS of nearby Am troops. The first Ge stack enters the board at GG7 (start of woods corridor) and is immediately under fire from the US in X5 (which cowers with its first shot), without any effect.

The approach along the thin woods corridor makes progress. All DFF US Gun shots miss, hampered due to doubled CA changes in woods (a factor which was to play in the Germans’ favour several times during the game).

The Ge MTR stack over in the West (dismantled MTR, which has 3PP) retains concealment by moving out of LOS of the Am HS + MTR at G3.

During an extended HE ROF run by the US MTR in G3 (assisted by the woods airburst -1 modifier) all units in the leading Ge stack in X6 break, and during routing low crawl into Open ground in Y8 so not to impede the following troops' advance...and also to increase the number of targets and perhaps draw fire away from unbroken squads. 1 Ge HS is eliminated by casualty reduction in the same attack. This shows the vulnerability of stacked units, although stacking was unavoidable given the Ge attack plan and the need to get all troops on board in turn 1.

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609852]End of Ge MPh turn 1 (East)[/geekurl]

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609853]End of Ge turn 1 (East)[/geekurl]

US turn 1

The Ge leader in the Open ground hex Y8 attempts to rally DM units, fails to do so and 1 HS is eliminated due to Casualty MC (12 roll).

All Guns and the US MTR prep fire. The three Guns fire WP as Special Ammo so to smoke hexes in the woods corridor and severely hamper outgoing Ge fire attacks, and also slow down the advance. The disadvantage is that acquisition was lost because WP is a kind of Smoke [A24.3]. The WP breaks a HS in X7 and pins a couple of other units, so stripping concealment (presumably the X9 infantry are running around in the woods amidst the panic generated by the chemical agent). The mini US kill stack in X5 takes a few steps back deeper into the woods, skulking to avoid a reasonably hefty Final Fire shot from the Ge MMG stack in EE7’s wooden building.

Back over on the Western flank the US MTR uses HE to strip concealment from the Ge D5 stack and breaks the leader.

At the opposite flank during Final Fire the Ge kill stack in the wooden building EE7, along with a PBF 20FP attack from X7 (made out of WP smoke with +3 LOS hindrance) breaks a US HS in X6 and eliminates the other HS, clearing X6. It was noted with interest that firing WP made the units in woods easier to hit and also gave an instant NMC; the disadvantage was that the NMC had the woods modifier and so the units were more difficult to break.

So far, the Am side has been reasonably effective at putting up a delaying defensive wall of WP, HE and small arms fire, checking the Ge advance to some degree.

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609854]End of Am turn 1 (East)[/geekurl]

Ge turn 2

The Ge HS in X8 rallies.

During prep fire the Ge kill stack in EE7 breaks and ELRs the US MG mini-kill stack in X5; the Ge MG keeps rate three times and reduces both US squads to HS, then eliminates them....as well as breaking the leader in W4 and ELRing him to 6+1, so is rendered practically useless (the US have an unusually low ELR of 2 that reflects their unpreparedness during the early days of the offensive). This is a key moment in the skirmish since it now makes the area east of the woods corridor dead ground and able to cover the Ge approach.

The Ge take full advantage of this and charge over Open ground, outflanking the woods corridor approach and the defending US troops within. They make good ground, with some managing to almost reach the Northern board edge; others end ADJACENT to Am infantry in the woods corridor. The Am Guns decline DFF in order to try for a multi-target Final Fire shot.

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609856]S12 End of Ge MPh turn 2 (East) [/geekurl]

The Ge MTR group over in the west charge through the woods towards the US MTR and its HS crew, which similarly declines DFF.

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609855]End of Ge MPh turn 2 (West). [/geekurl]

During Final Fire the US Guns fire ineffective low odds shots at Ge in the wood corridor and in the Open to gain Acquisition and change CA to face the new threat from the East. The US MTR HS over in the West Final Fires PBF at Ge infantry to no effect.

The Ge stack in X3 PBF in the AFPh and eliminates a HS in W5, breaking and ELRing their accompanying 8-1 leader.

The Ge MTR stack in the west advances into Close Combat with the US MTR HS (which considered a voluntary break but decided it would be better served as a sacrificial delaying unit and stays to attempt to force a time consuming melee). No ambush, the US HS is eliminated by a 6:1, +1 odds attack, and its simultaneous counter attack is ineffective vs. a Ge HS at 1:1,
-1.

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609857]End of Ge turn 2. [/geekurl]

AM turn 2

The Am 6+1 leader self rallies on a double 1 (no Heat of Battle with self rallies). A Ge squad and a HS rally in the woods corridor at X8.

The US 105 in S3 switches CA again, prep firing WP towards the west at G3 through 3 Orchard hexes with 5 needed to hit, and throws a 4. All Ge pass the WP NMC.

The 155 in U3 hits 1½ Ge squads in W4 with HE at 2 hex range - the Ge get off lightly from the 30 FP attack, 1 break and 1 pin. Also, this triggers the game’s first sniper attack which pins the 155 crew that activated it.

The 105 in V4 is beleaguered by 2 Ge stacks at PBF range, changes CA in woods at low odds to place acquisition then Intensive Fires to hit the W5 stack, breaking both squads.

In Final Fire, the 1½ Ge squads in X5 break and ELR a US HS in W6, and eliminate the broken leader who fails a wound check.

The WP smoked hex over in the west (G3) contains a Ge-manned US MTR which does not fire since captured penalties, WP and Orchard hindrance would provide a challenging +8 DRM shot.

The pinned Ge squad in W4 fires PBF at the 105 crew in V4 with no effect; however, the W2/X1 Ge Fire Group pin the V4 Gun crew.

In the rout phase the broken US HS in W6 has nowhere to go and for them the war is over, taken prisoner by Ge units in X5.

During turn 2 the Ge made swift progress outflanking the US to the East and are starting to position troops in close proximity to the Guns in preparation for an all-out assault. The Am Guns need to survive 2 more Ge Player Turns without being captured or destroyed before help is at hand in the form of reinforcements (3 x squads and a 7-0 leader). It is not looking good for the GIs at present, with 9½ Ge squad equivalents about to charge in from the East.

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609858]End of Am turn 2 (East). [/geekurl]

Ge turn 3

A Ge squad moving into V3 is on the receiving end of a critical hit from the 155 in U3 using DFF, and becomes KIA. Other Ge units surround V3. The 155 Intensive Fires at a stack of 3 squads and 8-1 leader in W3, breaking all and ELRing 2 squads, but the Gun malfunctions in the process.

The 105 in V4 PBF at 2 ADJACENT enemy units in W4 (plus a prisoner HS)...1 squad is KIA, along with the prisoner. This also activates the Ge sniper which wounds the US 6+1 leader in W5 (in retrospect he was of some use as sniper bait).

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609860]End of Ge MPh turn 3 (East). [/geekurl]

The 105 crew in V4 is pinned during the AFPh. The 155 crew breaks, decides further resistance is futile and surrenders to the squad in V2.

There is CC in V4 (105mm Gun plus crew) - the US crew is eliminated in a 4:1 attack, but takes a Ge HS with them. The only Am units now remaining are the 105 crew in S3 and the wounded 6+1 leader in the W5 woods.

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609859]End of Ge turn 3 (East). [/geekurl]

US turn 3

In the RPh the unmanned US Guns in U3 and V4 are recovered by Ge infantry.

The remaining US held Gun in S3 prep fires then Intensive Fires at the two enemy occupied hexes ADJACENT to it, breaking a HS and pinning another.

The Ge Fire Group surrounding the US 105 only manages to pin the crew during Final Fire. Attempting to force encirclement, the two Ge held MTRs over in the west in H2 fire on the Gun but have no joy (no previous acquisition, +2 orchard hindrance hexes, no ROF...and the captured US MTR malfunctions).

The two Guns held by Ge infantry are spiked.

The wounded 6+1 US leader finds courage and advances into CC with Ge infantry in V4, and is eliminated easily.

The Ge have one turn to capture the remaining 105 before US reinforcements arrive to lend a hand.

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609861]End of Am turn 3.[/geekurl]

Ge turn 4

All Ge rally (V0 and X6) except a squad which Casualty MC (double six).

The surrounding Ge squads prep fire, and KIA the remaining Gun crew (Gun undamaged). This also activates the US sniper who breaks a Ge squad in X6. With no more enemy units on the board, the Ge stack in V0 move with leader bonus (Bypass is used for the first time in the game) into the Gun hex. The Gun is captured by a squad using its remaining MF, and the game is over.

[/geekurl][geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609862]End of game (East). [/geekurl]

[geekurl= http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/609863]End of game. [/geekurl]

Concluding comments

The aim was to test out the usefulness of applying full ASL rules to a starter kit scenario, prompted by a desire to practice Chapter C rules in a fairly simple context that gave a ‘clean’ setting free of vehicles and complex terrain. There was certainly plenty of Ordnance action in this playing. However, Chapter C chrome that is absent from SK rules but relevant to this scenario such as firing at units in Bypass, improbable hits and MTR spotters did not come into play. That said, the game was useful in the sense it allowed the application of the Ordnance rules in a full ASL situation that included the use of deployment, concealment, snipers, dismantled MTRs, an encirclement attempt, prisoners and a few others. As stated at the beginning of this piece, it might have been better if multi-level buildings were present so the differences between ATT and ITT fire could be compared.

With respect to balance, one might think since the game ended on turn 4 (7½ turns for the complete game) a consequence of using full ASL rules was that the scenario became unfairly weighted towards the German side. The ability to Deploy and use Bypass movement probably favours the attacker, though concealment should favour defenders. On reflection however, it is likely that the initial set up was tactically unsound as for instance it permitted the Ge advance to be made almost wholly under the cover of woods, so perhaps even with SK rules a similar outcome would have ensued. In the final analysis, since the game was played solitaire, balance was less of an issue and the main aim of practicing Chapter C rules was achieved to some degree.

In conclusion, the exercise was useful and is recommended for players relatively new to full ASL as training/familiarisation for Chapters A, B and C. The next step would be to try out other SK scenarios that use Ordnance but no vehicles such as 88s at Zon (S14) in a similar manner. This approach is not new, as two years ago Sherry Enterprises produced a series of scenarios in a package called Rally point 2 that uses SK maps and can be played using either SK or full ASL rules. Two out of these ten scenarios use Ordnance without vehicles, although since the two scenarios provide only light MTRs in the OOB the Guns rules cannot be practiced.

I speculate that there are significant numbers of SK players who have bought the 2nd edition full ASL rules but are currently intimidated by the time/effort commitment that they perceive will be required to make the switch to full ASL…I remember when I was in the same position, for a while it seemed just too big a leap than I was willing to make. Due to the absence of complex terrain in SK scenarios (some of which represent a steep learning curve) exercises such as this might encourage these folk to more readily bridge the gap between the two systems.

Session: Rise of Empires:: First play

dchappelle — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:34:51 +0000

by dchappelle

Ward, Richard and I decided to tackle the new Martin Wallace game, Rise of Empires. None of us had played or read the rules. Richard volunteered to read the rules for 30 minutes and lead us through.

Some reviews have criticized the ye olde mappe look of the board, but I think it's fully functional, after some orientation. The same style is used on the tiles, and while a simpler design might have been more functional, it does not detract from the play. I would have preferred larger Progress tiles.

The setup is extremely fiddly, and I think that in the future, I will take the advice of other reviewers and only set out the tiles as needed, rather than stack the whole game's worth of tiles at the beginning.

Thinking that it is better, given a choice, to acquire scoring tiles sooner rather than later, I picked up several city tiles early and had the lead after the first two turns. Ward and Richard skirmished in western and north Europe, while I claimed the middle east and north Africa.

I ended up not taking any Progress or Territory tiles until later in the game. I was getting a few more VPs each turn, but was short on resources and cubes. Richard saw the power of the turn order, and tried to get both the first and last Empire actions on the A turn, so he could get the last action on the B turn. He was getting plenty of city tiles and progress tiles in the 2nd age, and pulled out to a good sized lead.

At first we were mostly spending gold in the B turns, but we all realized that food is much easier to come by than gold, so we switched to burning food on the B turns. Richard was generally claiming last on the turn order, but did claim first on one turn so he could get the tile that allows you to not pay the B turn penalties.

Going into the 3rd age, I saw that the cube shortage was killing me, and had picked up 3 mountain territories. I now had decent attack capabilities, and claimed the first Empire action both turns so I could get in the last attack of the game. We were all using Progress tiles that gave Resource discs for certain Territories - Ward and I for Plains, Richard for Islands. We ran out of discs and had to use proxies. We were all trading resources for VPs, but with 3 players, there's enough VP spaces on the board so that no one gets shut out. Ward missed one of the prime third age Wonders, so I was lucky to get it for myself.

I tried to use the threat of having the last two attacks on turn 3B to persuade Ward to attack Richard, the leader, but he beat down two of my Age 3 regions. Naturally, I used my attacks to reclaim my territory, letting Richard extend his lead.

Starting with turn 2B, Richard's lead got bigger every turn, and he ended up winning easily. Ward and I had a fairly close race for 2nd, and I won due to getting the big Wonder in the third age.

Final score:
Richard 209
David 162
Ward 155

Ratings:
Richard 9
David 7
Ward 8

I would like to try again with 4. 5 seems like a long game, and 2 seems boring due to low interaction.

Session: 1960: The Making of the President:: Very Preliminary First Impressions/Musings, etc.

Anjohl — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:57:02 +0000

by Anjohl

Ok, so we FINALLY got to try out the game on Saturday, after having to cancel our normal gaming day due to my having to wait ALL day for the cable man. So, Saturday Making the President is underway, both of us having read the rules, and ready to go.

I was Nixon, Jay was Kennedy, and it was fun. My first impressions are that some of the rules seemed counterintuitive at first. I was adding cubes to advertisers like I was to states, not realizing the support check rule required a more resource-intensive method, which makes perfect sense *now*, but wasn't obvious at first.

Not being from the US, I also COMPLETELY missed the differing elector values per state. Once I realized the difference, thanks to Jay explaining it, we began viciously fighting over key states like Texas, New York, California, etc.

I kept reading about this game having one large flaw compared to Twilight Struggle/other CDG's, that being the debates. It's much too early for me to have a solid opinion on it, but I will say that while the debates REALLY add to the theme, we found the mechanics VERY clunky, and the strategy almost non-existent. I hadn't realized that I should have been stocking Nixon cards, and actually ended up with half my cards being for JFK! Preliminarily, and cautiously, I will state that the mechanic feels somewhat forced and constrictive. The funniest part was that I won the debates, but only circumstantially.

Coming from a history with Collectable Card Games (CCG), I expected some sort of mechanic allowing a minimum 2-3 CP action for the discarding of ANY card, or something to that effect, to account for those times when using ANY of your cards for CP’s allows a nasty event to be triggered. This does seem to bestow a sense of primacy to chance, as one candidate is forced to allow the triggering of a harmful event or risk falling behind. The ability to use your character card helps in this manner, but felt insufficient. Similarly, I felt like there should have existed some sort of "counter" mechanic. I often felt helpless as nasty cards/combos hit the table. An example would be Jacky and Bobby Kennedy in one turn. The net result is that I can do nothing but campaign, and my opponent can use ANY card for that turn without the risk of my triggering an event. Even a once-per-game mechanic to counter an event would seem appropriate here.

That being said, the game is definitely living up to my expectations. The theming is as rich as I have seen in a game, while still making sense, and I often am looking through the discard pile reading the captions! As a political science alumni, and history buff, it's great that the game has things to teach me about history.

I wish we had had time for 2 games, which was our plan, but it took I believe 4 hours for our first game. I expect we will switch candidate cards each game, and try for 2 games next week. Very impressed so far, and looking forward to more!

Session: Frank's Zoo:: Isleworth Boardgamers learn the Laws of the Jungle……

wightwulf — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:09:03 +0000

by wightwulf

Wednesday 18th November,2009. Venue: The London Apprentice, Isleworth.
Length of Game 30mins.

This was our third attempt at Frank’s Zoo, having more than a few problems understanding what appears on paper a relatively simple card game. A smaller group of five tried it tonight with Jayden, Gareth, Scott, Barrie & Tonio. Rules were quickly explained to those unfamiliar with the game and the hands were dealt. Play was quick and Jayden was first to get rid of his cards, followed closely by Gareth and Scott. Barrie who was playing for the first time was having problems with the concept of which animal outranked another , but to be fair most of us have had this problem on our first game. When the scores were totted up for the first round, Gareth took the lead with 7 pts after capturing three lions. Jayden and Scott were equal second, with 4 pts each, Barrie on 2 pts and Tonio yet to score. In round two we partnered off which brought about some debating on just how old some of us were. Scott in coming third was solo which he played to a great advantage, Gareth paired off with Barrie and Jayden with Tonio. Gareth then made the terrible mistake by playing three lions as a starting hand which were quickly captured by Scott with his Elephants and Mosquitoes . Play continued with Scott finishing first, then Jayden, Tonio, Barrie and finally Gareth. Therefore by the end of round two Scott had a commanding lead of 17pts to Jayden’s 10 pts, Gareth’s 8pts, Tonio’s 6pts and Barrie on 4. As others gamers were now starting to arrive at the club we agreed to play one more round. This time Gareth played solo, Scott paired up with Tonio and Barrie with Jayden. Scott finished his hand first, followed by Jayden and then Barrie who picked up a couple of lions at the end. Gareth came in fourth and Tonio last, but he did capture three lions in the process. A fun starter game to get the brain warmed up before moving onto something more in depth.

So the final scores were Scott 21pts, Jayden 16pts, Gareth and Tonio 14 pts and Barrie with 13pts.

For more reports from the Isleworth Boardgamers, check out our blog - http://isleworthboardgamers.blogspot.com/

Session: Maharaja: Palace Building in India:: Isleworth Boardgamers. A final visit to the Raj…..

wightwulf — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:28:08 +0000

by wightwulf

Wednesday 18th November, 2009. Venue: London Apprentice, Isleworth.
Length of Game - 120mins

This was the fourth play of what has become this months, game of the month. Jayden, Barrie and Gareth were all familiar with the rules, but Tonio was new to game. Gareth quickly ran through the basics, while Barrie and Jayden set up the board. The Character cards were distributed randomly, with Jayden getting the lowest number, allowing him to place his houses first. The first few rounds were fairly evenly matched, with Jayden, Tonio and Gareth each winning a scoring round. Gareth then slumped into decline, only picking up 9 gold in three rounds, allowing Jayden and Tonio to increase their leads. Barrie was a slow starter, generally messing up Gareth’s game plan with a knowing smile . Mid game a missing piece was lost under the table, Tonio searching for it, inadvertently bumped into Jayden’s leg with numerous innuendos from the other side of the table . Once the laughter had subsided, the game resumed. Gareth tried to make a valiant recovery winning the last three scoring rounds, but to no avail. Jayden had hoarded to many Action Chits from the Yogi character. This allowed him to finish the game with ruthless efficiency . It was a good final play of the game for the time being. Having played this game four times in the last month, I would rate it as a good solid medium length game. Although it would not be part of my top ten, I would still rate it a healthy 8 out of 10. Definitely a game to be played again in the future.

Scores Jayden 7 Palaces (0 Gold), Tonio 6 Palaces (12 Gold), Gareth 5 Palaces (27 Gold), Barrie 5 Palaces (9 Gold)

For more reports from the Isleworth Boardgamers, check out our blog - http://isleworthboardgamers.blogspot.com/

Session: Power Grid - Brazil/Spain & Portugal:: A trip to Brazil for the Isleworth Boardgamers.....

wightwulf — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:15:31 +0000

by wightwulf

Power Grid

Saturday 21st November, 2009. Venue: Isleworth. Length of Game - 90mins

As their was time on Saturday, we set out the new Power Grid, Brazil Expansion. Their were 3 players, Gareth, Barrie and Philip. They were all familiar with the game, so no rules explanation was needed. The game was set up using the green, purple and pink areas of the map.

Early on in the game Gareth started developing the coast of the Pink Region, where as Philip and Barrie contested the Green Region. Gareth managed to purchase two of the wind farm generators early on, giving him free fuel for his four cities. This allowed him, to stock up on Elektros for a couple of rounds. Philip favoured, the Biogas and Oil and Barrie a mixture of Oil, Uranium and Coal. Step 2 was initiated by Gareth increasing his cities from 4 to 7 in one round while Barrie and Philip were leapfrogging each others positions trying to build more cities. Their was then, a gradual build up of cities by all three players. Gareth used his large stock of Elektros, to purchase some larger power stations for the end game. But, he held back on building two many new cities until all his power stations were fully stocked with enough fuel for two rounds. Philip and Barrie were finding it difficult to catch up mainly because they had been in competiton for the majority of the game. Step three commenced and Gareth bought his 3rd major power station and the following round built his final five cities giving him 18 in total. It was a tight finish for second place with Barrie and Philip powering 17 cities each. Overall a good map with a lot of cheap links between cities along the coast which can allow for rapid growth. Looking forward to playing this board again, on Wednesday at the club with more players. Another good addition to a great game.

Scores: Gareth (18 Cities, 203 Elektros), Philip (17 Cities, 150 Elektros), Barrie (17 Cities, 146 Elektros).

For more reports from the Isleworth Boardgamers, check out our blog - http://isleworthboardgamers.blogspot.com/

Session: Dominion: Seaside:: Pawning Ghost ship

allstar64 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:24:04 +0000

by allstar64

So I've voiced my dislike for ghost ship in the past. I've said that it seems to be the weakest Seaside card relative to cost. Today I played a game where the only 5 cost cards were GS and Duke so I really got a chance to see it in action and after it I'm convinced I was completely correct.

My complaint was that it was high cost, low benefit and didn't hurt your opponents enough, in fact it might help them. I found this to mostly be true.

In our game there were 3 people. One guy rushed villages convinced that he could get a draw machine going with GS. I was skeptical since the closest thing to a draw 3 was courtyard which I tried to point out to him but he insisted. He ended up with like 5 villages I think. I got 2 or 3 I forget how many. We all got 2/3 ironworks which was out too. The last guy picked up villages and maybe 1 GS as well.

I'd say a GS would hit 2 out of every 3 turns. It was very popular to Ironworks silver and buy silver/gold. At the end of the game we each had at least 10 silver in our decks and close to 6/7 gold.

I forget what exactly the other guys were doing mid game but I began ironworking for pawns at every chance I could. The others were going after silvers exclusively I think. In fact at the end of the game I had 8 pawns. They were extremely valuable in countering GS. On more than one occasion where I would be GSed with a hand of money for example gold silver silver silver pawn. I would put 2 silvers on top of my deck then play the pawn for money and card. Surprise surprise it was a silver, exactly what I needed for a Provence happy with the knowledge that I had a silver coming to me next turn.

Even moreso there were times I had hands like Estate Estate Estate (or other point card) gold silver and I would be hit. Excellent I can put 5 coins away for next turn and now I know there are 3 dead cards i won't be drawing and I would get my provence on the next turn thanks to it.

Now I had GSs too but I used them mostly as a draw 2 which there are other 5 and even 4 carders that do that better. It was really the guy with 5 villages who was playing them almost every turn. The reason I bought them were because I wanted to see how well they work and cause there were no better 5s so I didn't need to worry about there being a stronger strategy that would crush me.

At the end of the game I had 8 Provences for 51 points with the next closest guy had 39 with a duke duchie strategy. The guy with all the villages and GSs was dead last because he got a later start on the Ironwork Silver game than we did. He acknowledged that his failure to get money as soon as we did coupled with the fact that GS does a good job at stopping chain decks (I'll give GS this one) more or less completely stopped him.

It was clear during the game I was buying most of them and it was clear that flexibility the Pawns gave me was essential. To me I knew that the ability to tailor my hands as well as the top cards of my deck were the key. Often I would need a little more time to figure out the optimal arrangement of cards. Never needing to guess if I needed a +1 action with a pawn was nice as I would often take 1 card and one coin to get exactly the number I wanted and put away the card I didn't need which wasn't always a bad card for a later turn.

In conclusion (I know I know cheer) though GS can be annoying it is hardly reliable and really not worth 5 coins. 5 cost actions are probably the strongest in the game so passing up most of the other ones one for this card is unthinkable to me. Okay I've told my experience and expect a bunch of people to pitch in about how come I'm wrong and didn't see what GSs really were.

Session: The d6 Shooters:: Session Report for Play-Test Rounds 1 & 2 of "d6 Shooters: Dead or Alive"

revtiedye — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:54:31 +0000

by revtiedye

d6 Shooters - Dead or Alive
Session Report

Game 1 - (Non-game) Quit early because I’d made too many rule errors. Messed up the use of the Prisoner Event (4-4). By day 10, I was down to 3 Posse, largely due to food shortage. Started over at Day 13

Game 2
Day 5 - P: 11 / F:2 / A:3 / G: 0 / I:3 / Ev: 1
Day 6 - Captured! (event 6-6) First day, Stole Ammo, and did 1 on 1 shootout, escaped.
Day 15 - P: 5 / F:2 / A:6 / G: 0 / I:4 / Ev: 1
Day 16 - Completed 2 Evidence
Had 3 info, rolled: 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 = (1 2 3 4) 2 (3 3 3) collected 4th info & turned into evidence
Day 21 - P: 2 / F:7 / A:5 / G:1 / I:1 / Ev:2

Notes: Several times I forgot to roll to see who my shootout opponent was. I was able to reconstruct those rolls, and correct data accordingly.

Arrived in Capital City Day 23 - P: 1 / F:7 / A:5 / G:1 / I:1 / Ev:2

I rode into Capital City at sundown, 7 days before the election. My horse was just about dead. My entire posse WAS dead. Just five days ago there were 4 of us in Carlin. The next day Wayne Nelson noticed a carving on a tree next a ravine. He thought it might be a clue. He yelled back to us, "All it says is P-" and 'graceful' Wayne tripped over a tree root, and fell backward into the ravine.
The next day was really hot. We’d made good time all day, but in the afternoon we had to hunker down in the shade. After a few minutes Willy Gee jumped up and took off running, screaming "Water!" I think he must have gone crazy and seen some kind of mirage, because he tore off all of his clothes and jumped headlong into a dried-up creek bed. When we caught up with him, he was sitting there nekkid, holding his bleeding head. We told him he was lucky he didn’t break his neck. But between the blow to his head, and the toll the heat had already taken on him...well he passed out, and we couldn’t revive him. What we didn’t realize was that his screaming had carried down the canyon, and was heard by one of Sheriff Brown’s men. Just as we were lifting him out of the creek bed, the sheriff’s man got off one shot from his Henry Rifle, and hit Danny Charles right in the throat. He and Willie both fell back in the creek. I made it back to our shade-cover, but he had me pinned down for an hour. Once the sun had gone down, I sneaked out, and circled around behind the sniper and took him out with my Bowie knife. I was one quiet sneak that night. By the time I got back to Danny and Willie, they were both dead. I decided to ride on alone the rest of the night and most of the next day--I covered more ground than I had in the last week.
That night I was just feeling sorry for myself. I was more than a day’s ride from Capital City, I had a month’s worth of food. So I decided to have myself a little campfire. I ate plenty good, sang some songs all by myself, and played some solitaire with a deck of cards that I'd found in Danny's pack. I went to sleep feeling as strong as two men.
When I was striking camp, I dropped the deck of cards, and when I picked them up, you won’t believe what I saw--Five Aces! I jumped on that horse, and rode like the wind, and made it into Capital City as the sun was going down. I found "Slow Hand" Marley at the Grand Marnier Saloon. I handed over the evidence we’d gathered over the last 23 days, and we drank a toast to 13 brave men--and 1 klutz, who had helped me bring Sheriff Brown’s reign to an end.

Session: Middle-Earth Quest:: Short report

kostek — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:18:18 +0000

by kostek

After a busy spell at work, I managed to free up some time today to play MEQ. My friends Kirk and Vanessa decided to host a local "mini BGG con" with all days games at their house.

Unfortunately, I had to leave about 1/2 way through the game, but I we all enjoyed it, and Bob and Rolf both said they would play again.

I took on the role of Sauron, and Kirk, Bob, and Rolf played Argalad, Eometh, and Thalin respectively. It was the first play for Bob and Rolf.

The first few turns, the heroes pumped their abilities. I put out a plot in Sea of Udun, but it was quickly stomped. The next turn I was set to place another plot in Minas Tirith, but two of the heroes were close by, so I chose to skip that turn.

I had gotten some good (evil) Shadow card draws, so the heroes were getting a bit disrupted, but they managed to hurt both the Mouth and Serpent. By phase II, both these minions were dead.

My next turn I could either play a plot in Barad-dur or skip again. I didn't want to put the plot so close to two heroes, but I figured if I didn't try something I wasn't going to win. I put the plot down and managed to fill Mordor with so much influence the whole place was perilous. I also dropped a monster and the wounded Serpent in the way. The heroes managed to get through all this and discard the plot. Drat!!

I was fairly far back on the story track, but the heroes all had 3 corruption.

At this point I had to leave, so we'll never really know how it would have ended.

I had a lot of plot cards in my hand, and I was set-up to play three at widely spaced locations.

On the other hand, I was pretty far behind on the story track.

I would say that I was behind, but I still had winning chances with good play and a bit of luck.

One thing I learned is that it's important to space out your plots across the board. Also, while the ring plots are easy to place, they're fairly easy to remove. Some of the other plots take many favor to get rid of as opposed to just showing up.

A fun game.

Session: Bulge 20:: Battling the Bulge: Our first game of Bulge 20

alsandor — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:35:09 +0000

by alsandor

I had proposed this to Geoff and he agreed to give it a try. Perhaps it's the map art, but at first glance, one has the impression that the game is somehow incomplete. And when we tried to do the proposed setup, we were unable to find three German counters, a 2-2 corps and two Armies. As it turned out, we had mislaid them under the map and recovered them after the game was over. Oh well.

However, as much as first impressions were a tad off-putting, playing the game helped us grasp the well thought out design in this "little" gem.

The game system proposes a "new" approach to military gaming, one that more closely resembles the HQ work that is done during a campaign. It emphasizes that one should plan *before* one allocates a choice of resources, G-1, G-2, G-3 and G-4, and indeed, as the game progresses, one sees how this is necessary. So the player must have a plan (so and so should attack, this unit should have proper defense, etc.) and he should select the cards that will allow him to do that. By the second half, we were going through entire turns in mere minutes. Combat was the slow part.

Like some card games (the Down in Flames system comes to mind), one refills one's hand at the end of one's turn which gives the player a wide variety of choices during the opponent's turn, but if cards are played, then one's own turn sees a dearth of resources left to plan attacks. As the designer pointed out, there are never emough cards to do the job. As cards have multiple uses (up to four possibilities as well as events in some cases), it is tempting to use that G-4 to boost defense of a beleaguered unit, but it will not be available later for strategic move which is what we wanted it for. Hard choices must be made in this game, more so than any other, as the system allows you to select any cards in your pool. So if that unit doesn't get support, there's no one to blame but you!

The weather remained bad throughout the game, so no air support although I did use Patton prays for sunshine (or something to that effect). Overall, losses were low, but probably because we were able to marshall our forces. A reconstituted corps of mine got a roll of 6 on turn 3...pointless. I was able to use Patton without giving the German a +1 VL as his objective made another card do that.

After having eliminated a corps of mine that was in Clervaux then Bastogne, Geoff headed off to Antwerp but we clarified that, not having chosen the Wacht Am Rhein objective (which I had revealed on my first G-2 play...his objective was Plan Martin), his targets were elsewhere. In the process, however, he had captured Namur (a supply source) with von Manteuffel, which was part of his Victory conditions, and he was going to try to hold out. Eventually, however, he was cut off.

Sepp Dietrich went south to sit in Luxembourg, while I sent Hodges to Marche to cut off von Manteuffel's connection to Bastogne, Dempsey to Charleroi and Patton to Luxembourg where he took a lickin', but kept on tickin'. With Simpson in Liège, the chances of the Germans holding out were slim. A strong two-point attack damaged von Manteuffel's army and it just required cleanup on the last two G-3's of turn 8 to drive the point home. Hitler's last gamble had failed.

Session: Imperator:: The abbreviated reign of King Hammusethi of Babylon (a King of Kings session)

wargamer55 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:23:42 +0000

by wargamer55

he privately published King of Kings is probably best known for one of the truly awful boardgame covers in wargame history, but underlying it was a pretty decent little strategic rule and conquest ancients game. It was by Bill Good, the designer of Ancients and there were rules for using that tactical game to resolve the battles, although every time I've played King of Kings I've used the higher level battle system included with the strategic game.

Turns represnt three month seasons, with various economic, poliutcal and military activities taking place in each turn. While best payed as amultiplayer game, most of the 15 sceanrios can be played solitaire, with the various nonplayer and neutral states acting under s et of straightforward rules.

The game, despite the military elements, is not really a wargame per se, in that military conquests are not the most efficient way to accumulate victory points. There's a good payoff from trade and an even bigger payoff for purchasing "achievements" such as Religion or Roads.

The game was later published by 32W as Imperator as an area-movement game instead of the hexes used in King of Kings, but I preferred the hexes and never bought the later game.

So I hauled out this hoary old veteran for a little amusement the other day and decided to play the first scenario, called Hammurabi, set circa 1700 BCE. As a solitaire game one plays Babylon, with the other potential player poweres (Egypt, Hittities and Larsa being neutrals instead. There are also several other neutral states. Because i was the only active player, all the game action occurred within the few hexes around Babylon and Larsa.

Year One of the reign of King Hammursethi turned out to be one of the more active of his entire reign. The year started off amidst a trade boom that boosted the treasury by 100 talents, or two years normal income. Tragedy struck later in that same years, though as a devastating plague ripped through the kingdom, decimating the army and completely disrupting trade.

The following year saw court intrigues, no doubt encouraged by the stress of the plague, surrounding the young king with enemies. The economy began to recover from the plague year and a mutually beneficial trade arrangement was made with Larsa where Babylon supplied its neighbor with Wool, while the Larsans downriver supplied Grain.

The next two years passed without incident while King Hammursethi spent lavishly on temples and other aspects of Religion to achieve a wide reputation for piety. Perhaps sensing an opportunity to take advantage of Babylon's depleted treasury, the Elamites over in Susa prepared for war. (Baghdad doesn't exist as yet). Receiving word of the Elamite plans, King Hammursethi mobilized his army and marched out to the river to meet the invaders. The larger. but lower quality Elamite army soon appeared. The core of both armies was made up of about 1,000 chariots and their crews, but the rest of the Elamite force was little more than a mob. some 20,000 light infantry and 4,000 light archers. In contrast the Babylonian army was much better equipped, with 4,000 heavy infantry, 4,000 heavy archers and about 10,000 light troops filling out the ranks.

The ensuing battle was a great victory for our king, who refused one flank while the Elamites charged recklessly and broke again st his best troops. The fighting was hard, with 5,000 Babylonians falling, but 10,000 Elamites were slain, resulting in their rout. The pursuit saw another 12,000 Elamites lost as they retreated back to their city. The Babylonians began a year-long siege of Susa that finally captured the city in the fifth year of Hammursethi's reign.

In the sixth year of his reign, King Hammursethi decided to celebrate his victory with magnificent Monuments and also quiet the discontented faction in his court with a strategic marriage to the middle-aged and fat sister of his leading rival. While annoying spoiled, the woman actually liked young Hammursethi as became a good and loyal friend for the short time he had left.

The next four years also passed quietly, as King Hammursethi amassed a large treasury for his next project. But before he could act, the king died in the 11th year of his reign. Overall it was a reasonably successful, but not extraordinary reign. Hammursethi dies with a larger and richer kingdom than he inherited, and earned a reputation for advancing Religion (helped by his magnificent Monuments), but his 806 victory points were not what he might have had had he lived a little longer. (I earned 226 VPs for talents in my treasury, 30 VPs for the value of my cities Babylon and Susa, and 550 for my achievements Religion and Monuments).

From my blog at http://pawnderings.blogspot.com

Session: StarTaxi:: Where was that alien...???

volnon — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:45:25 +0000

by volnon

Or,why it is best not to drink while playing a memory game.

Ok, I admit I like to drink while playing games. Not to excess, but just enough to get a little happy. So, as usual I has a little nip while setting up StarTaxi.
StarTaxi, you ask?
Oh, it is a cute little Euro memory game set in outer space.
The object is to move your space ship (with the help of a die-roll) and "explore" cards you travel across. The object is to collect matching pairs of aliens or planets to get points.
Sound simple?

It is, and that is why the game fools you.
You think it will be a piece of cake, roaming around picking up pairs like plucking grapes off a cluster. HA!

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The guys who made this game were sneaky. The aliens are male and female, and they have kids. They resemble each other, so it is easy to think what you saw earlier was a male brown alien when it was really a female or child brown alien. More than once I travelled all the way back over the known universe of cards only to discover it was a child alien, not an adult alien...ARGH!

The wife, who drinks MUCH less than me, got an early lead. She got the first pair, and as luck would have it they were female, which is worth more than males (she loved rubbing that in!). Then she got two green planets. Geez, this was not going so well. I was just flying around wasting moves and fuel. Not a single pair!
I finally got my first pair, finding two robot-looking females hanging around a Black Hole (an empty spot where cards have been picked up). The wife was still ahead, but at least I showed her I had a few brain cells left.
Then she matched up another two planets, followed by two pairs of kids...

The rest is a blur. I don't know if it was the alchohol or the humiliation. Either way the next thing I remember was the wife doing her "happy dance" as I grumbled and put up the game.
Is the game fun? Yes, but be prepared to think. You will not just start grabbing pairs- it will take some thought and planning. I like the way there is some luck with the dice. A few good high-numbered rolls toward the end of the game and you can really play catch-up with the points.

Pick up the game- it comes in a small box, and is easy to travel with.
Oh, and leave the liquor alone until AFTER the game.
Trust me.

Session: War of the Ring:: Champions of the west!

Nicholas1024 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:02:36 +0000

by Nicholas1024

Played a game of WOTR today, playing both sides. It was interesting, despite the complete blowout win by the FP. Of course, sometimes I have to make a move that I know isn't the best move for one side to remain true to the game. (As SP doesn't know what cards the FP holds and vice versa)

A quick summary:

The game started out with plenty of musterings on both sides. Silver-tongued Saruman appeared on turn 1, and used his voice to whip his armies up into a frenzy (making a 5/5/0 army ready to descend on Rohan). However, Gondor and Rohan prepared for war, putting both of them to the point where an attack would send them to war. Armies stared at each other across the fords of both Osgilath and the Isen. Meanwhile, the Fellowship moved several times, suffering no corruption, but getting revealed twice in Hollin and then Moria. At this point, Mordor stack #2 decided to make a push for the DEW line, sacking Dale with no difficulty, but got stuck on Erebor, thanks to Gandalf, Gimli, and the book of Marzabul. Casualties were taken on both sides, with Gandalf making a Heroic death, until at the end, both sides were low... 3 units left in Erebor, and the shadow had 4 + some nazgul. So, the shadow attacked, and total carnage ensued (Everyone died, as both sides Yahtzeed on their combat rolls!) Meanwhile, the Witch king led Dol Guldur against Lorien, but again, too few units were brought for a successful siege, so they settled for leaving the elven forces bottled up inside.

On the Rohan-Gondor front, the real fireworks ensued. Gandalf reappeared in Fangorn, to be joined by Aragorn and Boromir. Joining the riders of Theoden in Edoras, they entered Helm's deep, and were reinforced by the retreating armies from the Fords of Isen. Then, a giant clash, as the 4/5/0 Isenguard stack fought the 3/2/4 garrison. Although some slight damage was done to the Rohan garrison, the Isenguarders took damage, and more damage, and more. They took so much, that at the end, the forces of Rohan sallied forth, and despite the frantic musterings at Isenguard, the 4/0/4 Rohan stack defeated Saurman's 0/2/1 Isenguard defense, being taken down to 1 regular, but ultimately prevailing. Unfortunately, due to bad Shadow dice, the SP was unable to take advantage of the weak escort Gandalf was travelling in, as Rohan was mustered into a frenzy, making 6 more regulars who then travelled to Orthanc.

However, thanks to many kings to the service of Mordor, the southrons collected a 6/2 stack which was about to descend on Dol Amroth, when the Gandalf, Strider, and Boromir appeared with the Dead Men of Dunharrow, pushing back the forces (inflicted 2 casualties), and then joined the men of Dol Amroth, making a 6/1/3 stack. The 4/0/1 Mordor stack (which had been keeping MT in check for the moment) joined the 4/2/0 S&E stack, but when the attacked Aragorn's forces (which had moved to Pelagir), they scouted away and moved towards Umbar. On their next die (which was their last movement die of the turn, actually), they fought the 5 regular garrison of Umbar, and vicious battle ensued. However, thanks to the leadership and battle cards of the FP, they sacked the city, giving them 4 VP. The Orthanc stronghold was defended with a 7/0/1 garrison and no heavy stacks were anywhere near close enough to make an attack upon it, so the only chance for the SP was to defeat the 4/0/4 army holding Umbar. The witch king and all his nazgul gathered, and descended on Umbar with an 8/2/9 juggernaut. However, the FP prevailed, thanks to GtW nullifying the Shadow's leadership, and the fact that every battle effect the shadow had was worthless in this situation. (After a foul stench was used in round 1, Words of power, One for the dark lord, Onslaught were the only options, none of which would be effective at all.) So, at the end, there were still 2 regulars holding Umbar, and the Witch King's army had been completely and utterly destroyed, a FPMV!

Summary:
Just about every break this game went the Free people's way. Book of Marzabul appeared just in time to set up a defense in Erebor, and every card the Free peoples player drew seemed to either recruit units where they were needed (Dead men, Riders of Theoden) , or provide a great combat effect in a critical situation(No quarter, Valour, scouts, mighty attack, etc.) . On the flip side, the Shadow's cards were awful. After playing some of the strategy cards for their mustering effects, they were left with no good combat cards left when the FP had taken Umbar. However, to sack a stronghold, you definitely want to take 2-3 times as many soldiers as the defenders. Shadow attacked mostly with the forces on the board from the beginning of the game and lost badly all over the board;Helm's deep, Lorien, Minias Tirith, Erebor. The Free people almost always had 4-5 leadership, whilst the Shadow didn't muster nazgul until mid-late game. In endgame, the Shadow had all of a pathetic 2 victory points- Dale and Pelagir, and had 7 dice to the FP's 6. The Free people were doing so well militarily, that the fellowship never even bothered moving past Moria!

Session: A Touch of Evil: Something Wicked:: Q: How do you have a really short game of ATOE with SW?

Grudunza — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:33:12 +0000

by Grudunza

A: Play against the Banshee and draw "The Horror" Mystery Card on your first turn.

I played a solo 3 Hero game against the Banshee last night. My Heroes were Katarina, Anne Marie and Captain Hawkins. I had drawn someone other than Anne Marie, but figured that with the Banshee gaining +1 Combat against anyone with less than 4 Spirit, and her main minion (Barrow Shades) only being attacked using Spirit, I needed someone out there with a little more Spirit, so I substituted Anne Marie for Valeria. (Anne Marie has 4 Spirit and Valeria, Katarina and Hawkins all have only 2.)

I started out with Katarina going over to the Church to gain some Spirit, then Anne Marie ventured out to the Manor, where she had a "Nightmare" and had to draw a Secrets card and add it to a Town Elder. And wouldn't you know it, it was an evil Secrets card, so that immediately put Sophie the Vixen onto the Villain's team, and being the "Darkest Secret" of them all, it gave the Villain an extra +1 Combat. So right off the bat, the Banshee's combat dice had jumped from an already high 7 to 9. Captain Hawkins went to the Church as well and was also successful in gettin' some of that fine Spirit. The roll on the new Advanced Cooperative Mystery Chart (which is often quite nasty) yielded a Barrow Shade in Anne Marie's location, which worked out nice because she was best equipped with Spirit to defeat it, and she did, gaining 4 Investigation. And then, that left the Mystery card draw... Oh, the horror... I mean, literally, "The Horror". It Remains in Play, and it forces you to roll twice on the Mystery Chart every turn (and then you still draw a Mystery Card as usual). Ouch. I could tell that wasn't gonna be good...

Now, I've only played ATOE a few times, but it's been enough to know that there are a couple of Event cards that allow you to cancel Mystery cards that "Remain in Play". So I tried to focus on getting to spaces where I could draw Event cards, even at the risk of drawing an occasional Mystery Card. But much as I tried, I could not find one of those cards. And boy, did the Shadow Track move from that point on... The Banshee is already a little more pushy on the Shadow Track than most of the other Villains, because her Shrieking in the Night ability (which activates any time a "Murder!" card is played) advances that, whereas most other Villain's "Murder!" activation just spits out another minion. And considering that the roll of 8 on the Mystery Chart is equal to a "Murder!" card, and that I rolled a lot of 8's, and that I was rolling twice on that chart every turn... well, you can imagine what happened there. Before long, I was at 4 on the Shadow Track and had rolled the thing on the Mystery Chart that adds d3 spaces to the Shadow Track, unless you take 5 wounds collectively. So I took the 5 wounds. And then I rolled that same thing again! And barely took another 5 wounds to prevent it. Luckily, Anne Marie and Katarina were right in town already so it was easy for them to get to the doctor and take care of those wounds. But Captain Hawkins had been out trying to collect some of the Investigation that was all over the board (the Banshee is very generous with Investigation... at one point I had only two single Investigation markers not in play). I should note that I also very nearly ran out of Barrow Shades at one point when there was a "Tide of Darkness"... there are only 8 Barrow Shades to begin with, and of course, if they run out then new activations of them would have moved the Shadow Track some more.

Nonetheless, taking those wounds was delaying the inevitable, as the Shadow Track moved down to 2. I was able to push it back by 3 spaces with a "Reassuring Speech" ("There there... don't worry... it's not that dark...") but it quickly went all the way back down to 1 and so it was really now or never as far as defeating the Villain. Captain Hawkins went first and purchased a Lair card, and I caught a lucky break in it being the Magistrate's Office, which everyone was right next to. Katarina went next and bought a Musket to go with her Pistol and Silver Shot (giving her a total of 6 Combat... she had also gained a +1 Combat marker earlier). Then Anne Marie went to the Magistrate's Office and initiated the Showdown. Now, I had only checked one Secret from a Town Elder during the game, and another had been added to him (Reverend Harding), so I was flying blind as far as choosing them for my Hunting Party... but again I got lucky and both Rev. Harding and Lord Hanbrook were good guys. Not only that, but Lord Hanbrook had "Inner Strength", giving me an additional +2 Fight Dice during the Showdown.

During the game I had been disappointed every time I drew an Event card and it wasn't one that would cancel that Remains in Play "Horror" card... but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as I had a good number of "heal all wounds from one source" Event cards in hand and those kept the Banshee's hits at bay for quite a while as I chipped away at her. She had gained another Evil Elder prior to the Showdown and another +1 Combat from something else, and she was +1 Combat against Katarina and Capatin Hawkins (who both still had only 3 Spirit), so she was throwing like 12 dice against them. Anne Marie ended up getting KO'd after doing only a little damage (and that added another Wound to the Banshee) but Captain Hawkins and Katarina, with help from their Elders, barely held out and defeated her, with each of them on their last possible wound.

Altogether, that game took about an hour and fifteen minutes, which is probably a good hour less than the other games I'd played. Now, in retrospect, as I was putting away the Town Item cards, I realized that there was a Book of Lore in there which I could have purchased and discarded at any time to cancel any Mystery Card. Hmmmm, so yeah, that would have been a good choice to buy as soon as possible after that "Horror" card came out... Even so, I think the Banshee would have been a somewhat quicker game with her Shrieking ability moving the Shadow Track, but definitely not that fast... But regardless, I like how this played out quite a lot so in a way I'm glad I didn't realize I had that option.

Anyway, Shadowbrook and Echo Lake are now open for tourism again. We promise there will be no more terrifying disturbances or evil villains in the future.

Session: Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game:: One night in Woodinvale....

Rubric — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:56:25 +0000

by Rubric

Jenny hears the cows acting up just after dinner, and peeks out the back door. "What are y'all clamoring about! I just done milked you!" Her eyes widen as two blood-soaked figures stagger out of the barn. One is carrying the back leg of a cow, and both are stumbling across the lawn with their heads wobbling on weak necks. "Oh my stars! Zombies!" she exclaims.

"Now where does daddy keep that dynamite...." She rushes to the living room. "Oh right, behind the rocking chair!" Just as the two zombies crash through the door, she pulls out a red stick of dynamite and yells, "I'm not afraid to use this on y'all!" The zombies are unimpressed and creep towards her with arms outstretched. She decides to run for it.

Across the way is the general store. She hurries over and finds the door already open. A mysterious drifter is already inside rummaging through the supplies. "Got a light?" she asks. "I don't smoke," the stranger replies. "No, I mean for this!" She holds up the dynamite.

"Ah", the stranger smiles and tosses her a lighter. As she prepares to light the stick and toss it out the window at the group of zombies shambling towards them, the stranger looks her up and down. "Nice shorts," he says. "Are you completely serious?" she demands. "You know sweetie", the stranger says, "this could be our last night on earth...."

"Ewwww, gross!" she yells. "Ya'll are a disgusting pervert!" She spends the next few moments scolding the older man, even as zombies descend on the store.

Just then, Father Joseph barges into the store, carrying a baseball bat. "I've just run all the way across town. The zombies are everywhere! But there's a truck in the middle of town. If we could find the owner...."

"I'm the owner," says the stranger. "We ran out of gas, though. And my buddy walked off with the keys. Don't know where he went."

"Uhmmmm, could this be him?" asks Father Joseph glancing down in one corner of the store. He holds up an arm that appears to have been ripped from its shoulder socket. Dangling from the finger tips is a ring of keys.

"I think that's him." The stranger walks over for a closer look, but two zombies suddenly smash through the store front. The stranger pulls out a gun and unloads the clip into one of them, who reluctantly falls down. The other zombie grabs for the stranger, but he catches the zombie in a headlock. To everyone's surprise, the head actually comes off and the body sinks slowly to the ground.

"Lord have mercy, that was close!" exclaims the Father. "Are you all right, my son?"

"Well," the stranger says, "I'm feeling a little strange...." He lifts his shirt to reveal a green-tinged bite mark on his side.

"It... uhhmmm... doesn't look that bad," says Father Joseph. "Maybe some first aid? I think I saw Nurse Becky over by the hospital."

"Good idea," says the stranger. "I have to get to the hospital right away!"

Jenny rolls her eyes. "We don't have time for that! At least help us find some gas for your truck first, you pervert." The stranger breaks out in a sweat. "No, I have to go right now!" He runs for the door.

"Wait son, you might need this." Father Joseph hands him the baseball bat. The stranger dashes away. The zombies don't chase him, however. Instead, four of them continue their slow advance toward the store.

"Let's get outta here!" Jenny shouts. She lights the fuse on Daddy's dynamite and blows a hole through the advancing line of undead. "Let's get to that Gun Shop and find some real weapons!"

"No, you go there," says Father Joseph. "I'm going to run over to the plant and find some gas."

Jenny runs to the Gun Shop, but a surprisingly fast zombie shambles in behind her. She grabs the first gun she sees, turns to the zombie who is right on her, and... *click*. "Sonnovabitch!" she yells. At that moment, she remembers what Daddy taught her about unwanted advances. She takes a step back and then launches a hard-kicked cowboy boot to the groin. Despite being dead already, the zombie mutters "owwwwwwgghhhhh" and falls to the floor, clutching what's left of its former glory. "I shoulda done that to the perv with the stupid hat!"

Before she has time to be proud of herself, another zombie smashes through the door. She dives over the counter and scrambles to get her hands on another pistol, a nice pearl-handled .44. As the zombie lunges for her, she raises the gun and... *click*. "Can't a girl get a damn bullet in this place!" she screams. She rolls backwards away from the zombie, who stumbles over the wreckage of the counter, and misses her.

She scrambles to her feet, stumbles through the debris, and crashes through a glass display shelf. To her surprise, she comes up holding a shot gun. No click this time. Boom! Zombie innards splatter the back wall of the store.

She steps outside. Boom! Boom! Two more zombies disassemble.

Then she spots Father Joseph running from the plant. He is carrying a gas can! He runs fast for an older guy, and dodges through the line of zombies that appear to be surrounding the truck. "Run for the truck!" he yells to her.

"Y'ain't got to tell me twice!" she yells back. She heads the other way around the advancing horde. Boom! Another zombie goes down. She reaches the truck safely, and wonders how it was so easy. Then she sees that the stranger with the hat has actually lured four zombies away from the truck. He swings the baseball bat in great mighty arcs as they reach for him. But four zombies proves to be three too many, and the stranger goes down beneath a mound of rotting flesh. She shudders, even though the pervert deserved it.

Father Joseph runs up to the truck. Nurse Becky is with him, but looks pale and possibly a little green. "Get in the truck" she says to Jenny. "Don't tell me what to do!" Jenny complains with a sudden rush of teen angst. "I already killed six o' them sombitches. You old folks ain't even killed one, have you?"

"Young lady," interrupts Father Joseph, "we respect your independence, but you really need to get in. Your father would want you to." Jenny glares at him. "Or maybe I'll just stand here and let the zombies eat ya'lls brains!" she exclaims.

Five zombies close in around the truck. Jenny is revolted to see one of the zombies make a lewd gesture at her, while wearing a stupid hat. "Oh my god, it's that pervert! He's a zombie!" The revulsion quickly passes though, as two other zombie grab for her. Father Joseph unleases some type of holy kung fu on the pervert zombie, while Jenny kicks and punches and jumps away. She is injured but regains her footing and lifts the shotgun. Boom! One dead. Boom! Two dead. *Click* Uh-oh. Four zombies are left, including the creepy one with a hat. "Look out!" Father Joseph yells. Jenny turns to see the former Nurse Becky, now fully green, grabbing for her. "Givvvffff meeeeehhhh braaaaainnn!" the nurse says. "I told ya'll *kick* NOT to tell me *punch* what to do!" Somehow, despite a severe case of teenage petulance, Jenny manages to escape serious injury in the face of five zombies.

Father Joseph gasses the truck. With his other hand, he continues to let loose with holy kung fu, even killing one of the zombies. Somehow, like Jenny, he survives the attacks by the other four zombies. "Can you please get in the truck now, if that's okay with you" he says to Jenny.

She resists the urge to roll her eyes and yell "Fine!", and instead just dives in through the window. Father Joseph gets in the driver's seat, puts the keys in, and burns rubber out of town.

Notes: My first complete game, played solo. I played a partial game the other day with the kids, but they got upset with each other (typical seven year olds) and we had to stop. I made a couple of mistakes. For one, I didn't notice that Father Joseph can't have multiple Faith cards. I think he was rolling five dice at one point. Also I may have forgotten to move the turn counter a few times. The heroes made it with 6 turns to spare. I really didn't think they would make it though, since they each had to fight a large group of zombies on the last turn. The zombies rolled a whole bunch of 1's and 2's, and the heroes had 3 healing cards (two Recover and one First Aid). Between those, they were able to survive 8 to 10 fights, and get out alive.

One other interesting thing, right after Father Joseph found the keys, the "Town Overrun" came up. Among the 10 discards were the other keys and BOTH gas cans. Doh! Maybe I didn't shuffle well enough. Seeing as how there was no gas station on the map, I thought the heroes were screwed for sure. But then after a couple more turns, Father Joseph pulled "Just what I needed", and was able to get the gas.

Session: Austerlitz 20:: Austerlitz 20 solo replay (standard scenario): the second day of battle

dmcke013 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:51:51 +0000

by dmcke013

Withdraw to first day of battle: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/465349

Turn 11: December 3, Morning (Allied morale 3, French morale 2)
Weather = fog

(random event = “We Exist in Gloomy Apathy” (again). Again, effectively a non-event due to the fog)
Once again, the Allies use cover of fog to redeploy their troops, with the Austrian 5 cavalry corps moving into the French objective of Maxdorf and all three of 2/4, ¼ and AG (infantry) corps moving to invest Grenadier division within The Stanton (south-west, south and south-east respectively). AG cavalry disengages, moving south-east, and no other Allied unit moves.

With neither the French player nor the Allied player choosing to attack, this enables the Allied player to claim this as a ‘lull’ turn (+1 Allied morale).

(random event = “L’Ordre Mixte”. All French infantry units receive +1 combat strength during this turn, and the Allied next turn)
III corps crosses the bridge north of Reichmansdorf, as Bavarian Division advances north-east. Both IV/2 and V corps moves south, with both Res/L and I corps falling back towards Maxdorf, and that’s it for this turn.

With no enemy reaction phase, and with the French player not declaring any attacks himself, he is also able to claim this as a ‘lull’ turn (+1 French morale).

Situation at end of turn 11
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Turn 12: December 2, Mid-day (Allied morale 4, French morale 3)
Weather = clear

(random event = “Unexpected Help”. 6th column placed on time track, but does not arrive this turn)
Russian 1 corps heads north-west into Puntowitz as AG cavalry moves to the north-east of IV/2 and as the Guard corps finally leaves the security of Krzenowitz, heading south-west. Austrian 5 cavalry corps remains in Mazdorf, and no other Allied unit is able to move.

Res/H counter-charges 1AG, forcing an exchange of troops (morale +/- cancel out), and Res/L disengages north-west.

Russian 2 corps attacks French III corps, forcing them to rout 5 hexes (-1 French morale) back to Tellnitz, and ‘holding fast’ rather than advancing after combat. AG infantry and AG cavalry corps combine to attacks IV/2, but both are forced to withdraw. 1/4 and 2/4 combine to attack Grenadier Division within The Stanton, forcing the defenders to withdraw: a result they are able to ignore.

(random event = “Les Grognards”. Associated roll = French lose a morale point)
IV/2 heads to the patch of rough ground north of their position as Bavarian Division heads north towards Kobelnitz. I corps moves north a single hex as V corps and Res/L both do the same southwards, surrounding Austrian 5 cavalry corps in Maxdorf.

That cavalry corps then penetrates southwards.

I corps attacks Austrian 5 cavalry across the river, routing the cavalry 5 hexes (-1 Allied morale) and opting to ‘stand fast’ rather than advance after combat. Grenadier Division decides not to attack at all.

‘Sudden Death’ roll = game continues

Situation at end of turn 12
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Turn 13: December 2, Afternoon (Allied morale 3, French morale 1)
Weather = clear

(random event = “But you can wait another quarter of an hour, and it will be time enough then!” Allied player immediately spends a morale point to enable his units to enter French ZOCs.)
With still no sign of the 6th Division, the Russian Guard corps climbs onto the Prazten Heights as the 2nd corps moves off the Heights in order to engage the Bavarian Division. 1 corps crosses the river to the south-west of Puntowitz, and AG infantry and Cavalry corps both move to engage IV/2 (south and north-east, respectively.)

Res/L disengages from 1 corps, moving into Maxdorf.

2 corps attacks Bavarian Division, forcing the defenders to withdraw and ‘taking ground’. AG cavalry and AG infantry combine to attack IV/2, forcing IV/2 to withdraw. AG cavalry (is forced to) advance after combat. 2/4 and 1/4 combine to attack the (surrounded) Grenadier Division within The Stanton, only resulting in another withdrawal which they are again able to ignore.

(random event = “The Friction of War”. Associated roll = French units may not enter enemy ZOCs this turn; those in place must remain so)
III corps moves north-east, to the south of the Bavarian Division, as V corps heads north towards Bellowitz. Unable to move into enemy ZOCs, both Res/L and I corps opt to remain stationary were they are.

Allied player decides to forego his reaction phase.

IV/2 attacks AG cavalry corps, forcing the defenders to withdraw and advancing after combat onto that patch of rough ground. Bavarian Division attacks 2 corps, but are themselves routed a single hex, with the 2 corps advancing after combat. Grenadier Division decides not to attack at all.

‘Sudden death’ roll = game continues

Situation at end of turn 13
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Turn 14: December 2, Evening (Allied morale 2, French morale 1)
Weather = fog

(random event = “Weyrother meddles” Russian and Austrian units may not move through each others hexes, nor end adjacent to each other. Those that start adjacent may remain so)
6th Division finally puts in an appearance, moving along the road through Austerlitz. Austrian 5 cavalry corps crosses the river, heading towards Tellnitz as the Russian Guard corps continues to advance on St Anthony’s Chapel and as the Russian 1 corps crosses the river, arriving north of Maxdorf.

Res/L disengages south.

Russian 2 corps attacks III corps (ignoring routed Bavarian Division both because they have no ZOC and it is a fog turn), routing that corps 4 hexes (-1 French morale) and immediately ending the game with an anti-French decisive victory (Allied morale 2, French 0).

Situation at end of game (after French full routed movement – they successfully made the hazardous retreat over the ice)
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Final Thoughts

So, it appears that Napoleon over-estimated his own strategic genius, convinced that he could win an extraordinary victory by withdrawing from the Pratzen heights the night before the battle to lure the Allies into his trap. Unfortunately for Napoleon, however, and in his eagerness to get to grips with the enemy, he then proceeded to spring that trap too early and to over-extend his left flank, leading to the loss of the Imperial Guard with only good fortune saving the Grenadier Division and (further west) the V corps from the same fate. This was a blow he never fully recovered from: prior to that, the French actually had the edge in morale points. By the end of the game, the Allies had made the most in-roads on the French positions (who were forced steadily backwards throughout the course of the battle) with the Russian Guard corps not even needing to make a single contribution towards doing so!

Session: Napoleon's Triumph:: Lessons learnt from an encounter that would become known as the Battle of Austerlitz

hreschreiter — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:49:26 +0000

by hreschreiter

Lessons learnt from an encounter that would become known as the Battle of Austerlitz

The French set-up is a fairly standard ‘let’s see what will happen’ approach, with the guards in the background, and two similar minimum corps coming as reinforcements.

The Allied appeared to be set for a strong southern push, with quite an impressive looking Bagration and Constantine in the north.

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Disclaimer: We are both still in the learning phase of this game with little experience in the face-to-face setting. The pics are from Vassal, as we played it (..had to, grml…) on the screen for logistical reasons.

The early phase of the battle saw the expected Allied advance in the south, and the sending of recon cavalry detachments forward to explore and harass.

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Loose contact is made all along the front - with little true action happening as yet though (we both were too scared really to get the teeth firmly into things – that would change soon though).

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Around 9 am the Allied armies eventually firmly committed themselves on the attack in the south, and started the war of attrition that could only lead to the crumbling o the French positions. At the same time they amassed a very strong looking northern anchor for their lines while keeping their lines a bit backwards in the centre. All faint or true in the north???

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French cavalry managed to the getter of their Allied counterparts in the far north and wrapped around the line causing annoying distraction. Parallel, the French corps were starting to probe if that Bagration was truly as strong as he obviously wanted us to believe.

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The Allied troops manage to take the Schloss in the south with the collapse of the rest of the line just a matter of an hour or two at best. A bit further to the north, cavalry skirmishes and harassments are going on. The French are playing here for time and use their superior command to play cat and mouse as they could not contest in a true stand up fight.

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The French commit their heavy cavalry on the far northern flank, and though getting repulsed, that attack took the wind out of an Allied corps. My mates face told a thousand words… What I saw in his face and on the board convinced me more and more, that there was far less strength in these battalions up there than he wanted me to know  Nonetheless, the overall moral drops so far have been very even with neither of us getting really the upper hand.

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Ken eventually confirmed my thought in revealing his guards in the far south. My lines broke, and he crossed the river. The pickets still holding the line would fall apart rather quickly now like a card-house…. Or would they?

The situation demonstrated our inexperience with the system, as we underestimated the speed in which the French trap, that in quintessence Austerlitz was, would snap closed soon.

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It was now or never for the French. The reinforcements raced onto the board with their double move, closing in on the Allied positions on the west-bank of the river. The Allied troops didn’t stand a chance… The retreat became a rout and a headlong flight back eastwards…To rub it in, a detachment even went south of the lakes to threaten a strategic envelopment further east. The Allied position was truly a mess.

Turning to the northern flank I maybe did something reckless, but it paid off. Though I had far less regiments around, my troops were of much higher quality, including the French imperial guard!!
Too many threats from too many angles, and the Allied positions were in shambles. Retreating troops from their encounter with the guards ran in and over still holding other positions turning the whole situation into a major rout. The moral loss was catastrophic. A 16 point moral swing in a single turn, with shattered Allied corps in the north and south!

Facing certain loss, the Allied commander sent envoys to Napoleon to ask for a cease-fire….

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We had tremendous fun playing this game and certainly learnt a lot. Mistakes can be very unforgiving, and the crossing of the river line in the south was just one of these. Too few troops to cover all approaches with the French coming from every angle. We just didn’t realise how fast these guys would come on. The Allied bluff did not work in the north, with just too many low quality regiments around. Maybe if a few more stiffening 2-3 blocks would have been around, this could have been very different, as I may have not dared the guard assault then.

We already can’t wait for the revenge battle to come!

Thanks for reading!

Session: Dominion: Seaside:: When dominion goes green - Using all the VP cards.

krechevskoy — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:41:41 +0000

by krechevskoy

Every once in a while I try to put together games that will see use from all the available (10) kingdom cards. There are times where I like playing hands where I have to sometimes choose which actions I have access to instead of chaining them. So as an experiment we played with all the Victory point cards (sans curse) to see how it would play out. I also added cards that added to multiple buys and allowed for cycling through cards in hand. We tried with 2 and 3 player variants, and called the setup “Land Grab”

Great Hall - First pile gone each time.
Duke – Never really had a chance to get the Duchy-duke sequence off the ground.
Gardens – If the game went long, was easily a 5 point card.
Island – Some used it, others bought it and didn't use perfering warehouses and cellars.
Nobles – useful, but not useful enough to spend 6 in this game
Harem – It was one of those decisions of gold or cash and VP. Got used more in later games.

Woodcutter – Was used when couldn't get 4 for a bridge or had no coinage. Least used action card.
Bridge – Used heavily, but not a depleted pile. Nothing to chain actions for multi-bridge buys.
Cellar - Used to cycle through the hand like warehouse. Heavily used
Warehouse - Used to cycle through hands similar to cellar. Heavily used.

2 Player:

The games were very close and high scoring, we had a tie of 57, and a game of 38 to 40. The 2nd game we used multiple buys to buy the cheap stuff and deplete 3 piles as quick as we could, due to the games were longer and drawn out. We found bridge was necessary to help get the larger cards, to try and buy 2 cheaper equal value cards of an equal point total, or get a VP card and one of the few action cards to help cycle through the garbage. Warehouse and Cellar Kingdom cards went to about 2 left in the pile down quick but never depleted. And yes sometimes you cellar'ed a warehouse or vice-versa.

Great hall and Duchy were the first depleted. Eventually Estates were the third to go, since we had bought Duchy's it was harder to get higher point cards with all the garbage in hand to put the dukes in effect. Toward the end of the game it was see if we could buy a garden or duke, and if not buy estates. Oddly every card got bought and used at least once. On the 2nd 2-player game we did try to buy as many free coppers as we could if we had leftover buys.

3 Player:

The 2 was a bit more fun in this regard, with the 3 player, we found instead of going for high points, we tried to see who could get a spike in points hold the lead, and then try and buy out the cheaper kingdom cards as fast as possible. Estate, Cellar, Great Hall. I think this game was influenced by the 2 player game prior to where we got sick of it. Point totals were decided by 2 from first and last player. Once again a very close game.

Overall:

For what it was worth, it was a good attempt and probably should be tried at least once. It is a slow paced game, but it does make you plan your moves, especially when everyone is practically getting points at every turn. This setup allowed for very close games.

Session: Arkham Horror:: The Battle Of Yig

TheDoctor394 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:07:16 +0000

by TheDoctor394

It had been a fanetic battle. Monsters had, surprisingly, been few and far between in the streets of Arkham, but the investigators knew Yig was awakening quickly. This particular Ancient One was not known for long slumbers.
Led by Expedition Leader Leo Anderson, who himself had obtained the personal services of cranky but sprightly Granny Orne and Sir William Brinton, had led the team, which also consisted of shifty salesman Bob Jenkins, Professor Harvey Walters and young Diana Stanley, always haunted by her cultist background.
They had all worked together well, sealing four gates between them, but they knew it was only a matter of time...
And Yig did awake.
The lizard like creature roared as it faced its adversaries. Granny Orne and Sir William backed away, knowing they were not up to this task. Together, the four investigators threw all they could at the monster. Bob fired away with his acquired tommy gun, Diana too making use of her much smaller but still effective weapon, while Leo and the Professor offered support, the latter using his magic as much as possible, at the risk of his own sanity.
Then, victory! Professor Walters, who had struggled to cast his spells with the success he was so accustomed too, threw his knife at the creature, and it gave a final cry of agony as it fell to the ground. There never had been any doubt that they would win, but the question was were they all going to survive the battle?
They breathed a collective sigh of relief and ran in to congratulate each other.
Prematurely.
Slowly, but surely, Yig arose. It took more than what they had offered to defeat the terrible foe. It reared up and roared in fury.
The fight was not over yet.
Bob and Leo still had much fight left in them, but Diana and Professor Walters were at their collective wits' end. They weren't sure if they could last much longer.
They all attacked Yig once more, and they saw it falling back, but Diana could not keep up. It was becoming too much of her. The Professor too had thrown all his magic he could at their enemy, but he could not offer much more.
Leo, the natural leader that he was, had encouraged and supported the investigators throughout their adventure, and had continued to offer all he could during this final, terrible battle. Yig was surely close to death now, but it had reared up and was turning to Diana and the Professor. Diana looked to Harvey, and back at the monster. She then saw Leo hurrying towards them. Yig was near death, but it was clear it was going to use its deathroes to take at least one person with it.
Diana knew what she had to do. She ran ahead, in front of the Professor, attempting to shield him. But she then saw Leo run towards her! In a mass of confusion, she felt strong arms push her away. As she fell to the ground, she heard two symaltanious cries. One was the death throes of the terrible Yig, while the other was that of Professor Harvey Walters.
"No!!" she screamed in horror. She saw the body of the Professor lying beside Yig, its scaled body giving its final spasms before falling still.
She got up and wheeled on their group leader. "Why did you do it?? Why??" She ran towards Leo and attempted to pound him with her small fists, but the explorer grabbed her by the wrists.
"Diana!"
"Why did you save me??"
"Diana, listen to me!"
The young lady looked up at him with wild eyes.
"That wasn't me who pushed you," Leo explained. "That was the Professor."
Diana looked at him bewilderingly, and then turned back to the body of Professor Walters. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "He saved me?"
"Yes. He knew it was either you or him."
Diana looked back at Leo imploringly. "Then why wasn't it me?"
Leo put an arm around her. He had no answer.

Alright, that was pretty lame, I know. Hardly publishing material. But I just had such a terrific battle, I thought I'd sit down here, before going to bed, to write a bit of it out.
To explain something... the reason Yig came back from the dead was I realised that, after the win, I'd made a mistake, forgetting about his modifier. So I put four tokens back on him and continued.
There was never any doubt Yig would still lose, but it got down to Harvey and Diana facing death, both with just one Sanity token left. And, in the end, it was the Professor.
Which, with respect to him, I'm rather glad about. I've gained quite a fondness for Miss Stanley.

Session: A Touch of Evil: Special Edition Soundtrack:: Good 4 player session: basic game

loskevino — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:51:41 +0000

by loskevino

I had played this game once before but I was quite tired and my heart wasn't really in it. But I was excited to play again when I could give it my full attention. We drew Inspector Cooke, Anne Marie, Victor Danforth, and Karl and drew the vampire to play against.

The inspector's ability came in quite handy as he gained a great deal of investigation off the bat. He bought items for everyone in the group by the 8th round due to very succesful rolls. Victor got the tools of science, I was playing Anne Marie and got the book of town secrets, which is very useful for her, increasing cunning and combat while reducing cost of secrets. Victor collected investigation after unfortunate KO's in the early rounds seeking an item at the Abandoned Keep. Karl boosted his cunning at the magistrate's office.

The mystery cards were fairly uneventful, the vampire gained a wound and some bats popped up on the map. then the Succubusses... Succubi? ...came out of the woodwork. Karl finally became useful. as he had failed to collect investigation almost entirely. Karl began to take out the minions using a musket aquired from the keep while we saved up for lair cards, the shadow track had moved to 18 so they were still at 12 investigation.

In the meantime, I found all the secrets, 1 was evil, the vampire killed two, and turned one of the dead ones into a vampire elder. The vamp was up to +7 combat and 6 wounds. The elders provided some help, the lord had strength of spirit giving him +2 to combat in addition to the one provided as his ability. The judge pulled the cowardly secret card.

Karl had come up with 2 events allowing him to retrieve discarded items which came in handy since there were now 6 bats on the board taking my books away from me. The inspector came up with the lair card for the swamp which only costs 1 investigation but causes you to discard an item... "Hey Karl..." As the inspector approached the swamp, I drew a militia event and placed it on the swamp.

I thought that we would have our hands full going into the showdown. Especially after the judge immediately wet himself and took flight. But the vampire failed to hit the inspector who dealt 2 damage. Then Victor rolled 5 successes out of 5 dice that the villain did not evade and that was that.

Overall it was a fun session, but I can't help but feel the basic game is just too easy. So I look forward to playing the advanced version now that we are used to the gameplay and fully understand the rules. We did play one uneventful and entirely too easy game against the scarecrow, who we pummeled handily swiftly. So it didn't really warrant a review.

kevin

Session: Elusive Victory: The Air War over the Suez Canal, 1967-1973:: EV 2 AAR

jonbryon — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:54:10 +0000

by jonbryon

EV2 AAR

[This was a game played by email using the wonderful Elusive Victory VASSAL module designed by Torsten Spindler. I was the IAF.]

EV2 Fighting Back

In this scenario, set on 6th June 1967, the day after the surprise Israeli Air Force (IAF) attacks on airbases of the United Arab Republic Air Force (EAF), both sides undertake bombing missions. The IAF were designated to strike Hulwan airfield, just south of Cairo and a long way from Israeli lines. In addition, infantry (both mechanised and regular) and armour units east of the Suez Canal were to be struck by a motley collection of IAF attack aircraft.

Whilst the IAF would be trying to attack these targets, the EAF would be attacking Israeli armour and mechanised infantry close to their own ground units. With both sides fielding bombers and CAP flights, a busy day of combat loomed.

The IAF allocated 3 flights of 4 Mirage IIICJs to the attack at Hulman airfield. The flight path was to be a simple in and out, entering from the southeastern edge of the map, flying straight to the target, turning after the attack to return the way they came. They were head in on the deck over the rough, using afterburner as necessary to evade detection from SAMs and marauding MiGs. Since they were tasked with Strike/CAP, they would be able to defend themselves in the event of interception.

The EAF ground units were to be struck by 2 flights of Super Mysteres, 2 flights of Mysteres and 2 flights of Ouragans. Again, the flight paths were simple, with all flights entering from the eastern map edge, flying the shortest route to their targets on the deck, turning 180 degrees after their bomb runs and heading for home. Given their tiny bomb loads, however, strafing attacks were anticipated. These flights would be protected by 8 Mirages flying CAP east of the Suez Canal.

The EAF received average warning. Since all IAF flights were to enter on the deck, they would at least remain undetected for a while. The EAF started with a flight in the air near the Canal, and many others ready on the ground.

As the IAF flights began to stream over the Sinai, hugging the ground, EAF flights amassed just west of Canal. The IAF received an extra Quick Reaction Alert flight of 2 Mirages, reinforcing the IAF CAP presence. This extra firepower only lasted a couple of minutes, however, as the CAP flight was recalled to defend Israeli territory.

5 minutes into the raid, and the IAF bombers began to near their ground unit targets. Eygptian SAMs based near the Canal began to light up, but the proximity of EAF aircraft on their way to bomb the Israeli army in Sinai prevented any SAM shots being taken. The Ouragons and Mysteres are slow aircraft and the race was on to reach their IPs before SAMs or MiGs could take them out. The Mirages on their way to Cairo had, at this point, just gone feet wet over the Gulf of Suez, but orbiting MiGs were up ahead ready for the intercept...

In southern Sinai, two flights of Super Mysteres began their bomb runs on Egyptian mechanised infantry. The AAA was fierce, and damaged two aircraft in the first flight. The shock caused the entire flight to jettison their ordnance before reaching the target, and they aborted their bomb run. The second flight was also hit, but avoided any damage and completed their run. Despite the pilots being sure they had bombed the heck out of the target [a 20 was rolled!], damage assessment proved they were deluded, and only slight damage was caused. The second flight, Engel, later made a strafing run on the mech unit, but hit trouble, and was forced to abort without causing any damage.

Over the Canal, a Mirage CAP flight attempted to engage what turned out to be 2 Su-7 bombers, and caught them by surprise. Despite the Sukhois desperately attempting to disengage, the superior firepower and manoeuvrability of the Mirages was devastating, and both Fitters were sent crashing into the desert. Harish, the victorious Mirage flight, depleted its cannon and was forced to abort. IAF 2, EAF 0.

At 6 minutes into the raid, the Ouragans reached their target (Egyptian tanks) in northern Sinai. The first flight dropped its bombs in a level bombing attack on the deck, but completely missed. The second flight was more accurate and caused heavy damage. The Ouragans hung around to make strafing runs, without further success.

Simultaneously, in central Sinai, Mysteres began attacking their targets, Eygptian infantry. (By now IAF and EAF bombers were flashing past each other just feet above the desert floor, the EAF flights remaining doggedly undetected.) As the first Mystere flight was making its run it was hit by small arms fire, thankfully not causing any noticable damage and allowing the level bomb run to be completed. As was beginning to be a pattern, all bombs missed and no damage was caused. The second Mystere flight, acquired by a SAM dive bombed its infantry target, and was hit by radar-directed AAA during the run. Fortunately, the hit produced no effect but SAM avoidance due to a SAM shot meant all the bombs were dumped into the desert for no result [upon reviewing the game it is clear this was an illegal SAM shot since the Mysteres were only two hexes from an Su-7]. Subsequent strafing of infantry by the Mysteres would damage one of the units and destroy the other, the latter whilst under attack from two SAM battalions.

To the south, as the Mirage strike package neared the Egyptian coast, an EAF CAP flight closed in for the kill. Owing to flying so low, the Mirages had managed to remain undetected, and were hoping their luck would hold against the much higher MiGs. The EAF couldn't quite be sure which flights were real...until 8 minutes into the raid when a flight of 2 MiG-21s managed to get on the six of 4 Mirages. Both sides engaged, and Baharav jettisoned their bombs to enter the fight. The MiGs received a nasty surprise as the Mirages bit back, and both Fishbeds became fireballs whilst the Israelis escaped unscathed. IAF 4 EAF 0

While all this was happening, the EAF were not idly sitting by. Two Su-7s flew right under some Mysteres on their bomb run and made a rocket attack on Israeli armour. Israeli guns were good, and the #2 Su-7 went down in flames before his rockets could be fired. Despite the loss of his wingman, and his small warload, the Fitter pilot was accurate and slightly damaged the Israeli unit. Later, this lone Su-7 would make a strafing run that would cause heavier damage to the tanks. IAF 5 EAF 0.

Four MiG-17s then made their rocket attacks on Israeli tanks, but were wide of the mark, leaving the armour unscathed. An Israeli CAP flight closed on the MiGs very quickly, but failed to engage. The MiGs kept their nerve and made a U-turn, strafing the armour to damage it. MiG-21s also dive bombed Israeli armour to the north, dodging accurate AAA and heavily damaging the tanks with their rockets. These MiGs would later engage an Ouragan flight on its way home, but fail to generate a shot.

The two remaining flights of Mirage bombers, on the way to bomb the airfield south of Cairo, were well over Egypt now. Despite interception attempts by an EAF CAP flight, they remained undetected and unmolested. Miraculously, by staying very low and using afterburner, this remained the case until they reached their target 13 minutes after the raid commenced, outrunning the chasing CAP. Spector, the first Mirage flight to reach Hulwan airfield, bombed the aircraft revetments. Again, pilot perception was over-optimistic, and the revetments were only slighty damaged. The second flight was loaded with runway dibbers to attack the runway. Heavy flak meant the Mirages completely missed [rolling a 3 with a -6 DRM!], and the attack on Hulwan was officially a failure.

The MiG-17s that had bombed Israeli armour were finally bounced by the Mirage CAP. Despite the MiGs being out of ammo, it wasn't quite the anticipated whitewash and only one Fresco didn't make it out of the furball. IAF 6 EAF 0.

By now, with three of the Egyptian ground units damaged, the slow Israeli bombers were heading for home, one Mystere flight narrowly dodging SAMs. It was also clear that EAF were done bombing, and all efforts switched to them trying to attack the Mirages around Hulwan.

Everyone was going home. Baharav, who had earlier shot down MiG-21s, had hung around over Egypt, hoping to get a MiG to engage. Even when disordered, the flight was riding high on previous success and confident of victory if they were to be engaged. Fate was on their side, and an EAF CAP flight of two more MiG-21s swooped to attack. Despite the EAF having surprise, they couldn't compete with the guns of the Mirages, and 1 Fishbed was shot down, the other damaged, for no loss. IAF 7 EAF 0.

The Mirages at Hulwan were still far from home, and there were still MiGs hunting in the area. Kamal, a flight of two more MiG-21s engaged one flight of Mirages as they egressed the target area. What was becoming a bad day for the EAF became worse as their attempts at making a dent in the IAF only resulted in one more MiG-21 making a big hole in the desert for no return. IAF 8 EAF 0. Further attempts by Mirages to engage the returning EAF flights were unsuccessful.

With no chance of any more action, as all EAF flights were landing and the IAF were well on the way home, the raid was 'completed' 18 minutes after it began.

The day was a good one for the Israelis:

Damaged revetments at Hulwan (rounded up to 1VP) 8 aircraft destroyed (16VP) 2 damaged ground units (8 VP) 1 destroyed ground unt (6 VP)

Total 31 VP

(It's possible the target VP should be averaged, although the rules are unclear on this, in which case total is 20 VP)

The Egyptians managed:

2 damaged ground units (8 VP)

Which, with a balance of 23 is a Decisive Victory for the IAF (or 12 VP for Victory).

The strange thing is that is doesn't feel much of a victory for the IAF. To me, the main target was the airfield, which was barely damaged. But shooting down MiGs and damaging ground units produces a lot of VP, so a solid win. One thing that was clear was that the EAF player has a very hard time getting his SAMs into the game to shoot at the bombers attacking his ground units because the EAF bombers are bound to be in the area.

An enjoyable game, and my opponent and I have started a late war scenario to compare and contrast (EV15).

Session: Imperium:: The First Terran War

JasonC — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:08:26 +0000

by JasonC

This is a session report on the first war in a campaign of the original "Imperium".

The war lasted five years and ended in an Imperial victory - officially. But the Terrans held the initiative at the war's end, and in some respects improved their position considerably.

The Terrans opened with a push through Procyon, setting up an outpost on the habitable world at Mirabilis. Their ambition for the entire war was to keep this promising colony, hoping to see it mature in any ensuing peace into a thriving full World. A second Monitor defensive station was ordered for the Alpha Centari system, the first holding Sol, while scouts screened the border beyond Barnard's Star. The bulk of the fleet concentrated at Procyon.

The Imperials rose rapidly to the challenge. A single missile monitor held the major system at Nusku with little else on that wing, and the entire fleet charge into Procyon and gave battle. The Imperials won, with a few Terran survivors limping out toward Sol, though the Imperial heavy cruiser was lost in the action. The central government promised to replace it the next year, so this was an acceptable cost for securing the key star route junction. Later in the same year, Imperial jump troops led a large force onto Mirabilis and destroyed the settlement, along with its garrison. Terrans still held the surface at Procyon in some strength, and the Imperial fleet left there was reduced as some ships return to Epsilon Eradani for refit, but the whole initial Terran thrust had been smashed.

The Terrans shifted their fleet mix to fighters, destroyers, and missile boats, and were on the defensive in the second year of the war as their fleet rebuilt. The Imperials stormed Procyon, again wiping out the Terran settlement and garrison, at some cost this time. They were also engaged in a sustained economic development drive in their rear areas, dropping new outposts to increase their income stream to match Terran levels, but all of it far from the front. Their fleet relied heavily on their cheap and flexible destroyers, and they expanded their ground forces far beyond Terran strength in that arm. After the fall of Procyon, they shifted the point of attack to Agidda, continuing their campaign to limit Terran expansion and seize their further outposts.

Imperial losses in fleet actions became serious by the third year of the war, however. The heavy portion of their fleet took half the budget for its upkeep, and the economic investment program (outposts) roughly balanced the value of replacement ships being sent by the central government. This left a handful of new destroyers each year to replace all battle losses - which sufficed when the war was going one way and involved one major or a couple of minor battles a year. But in the third year, a stronger Terran navy both sought battle of its own initiative, fought to the death in Imperial attacks, and counterpunched during Imperial operations. The loss rate on both sides soared, and remaining forces at the end of the year fell to a handful of battle-worthy vessels on each side.

Each year, the new vessels just launched now outweighed the remaining forces from the prior year, letting either side attack when their new fleet deployed. The Terrans used one such period to retake Procyon, and push beyond it to Sirius with a token force, while the main fleet remained at Procyon. The Imperials reacted defensively, just rebuilding, because the previous loss rate could not be sustained. At bottom, the Terrans were trading missile boats for cruisers and fighter squadrons for destroyers, and the economic weight of those efficient exchanges weighed hard on the limited Imperial naval spending program. By the fourth year, the Imperials abandoned further economic investment and ground force replacements but were still not keeping up.

In the fifth year, Terran forces resettled Mirabilis, their strategic goal for the whole campaign. Their main fleet at Procyon was too powerful for the Imperials to challenge - but the end of the war was in sight, with the Imperials ready to claim "victory" based on their early successes. The Terran concentration on the Procyon front also left a target of opportunity in the final year of the war at Barnard's Star, and the Imperial's last offensive succeeded in seizing and destroying that colony before peace was signed.

The peace lasted four years - not long enough for Mirabilis to mature into a full production World, but long enough that many forces were disbanded during the peace. The Terrans resettled Procyon and the Imperials grabbed Barnard's Star, and each deployed new monitor defense bases at these key points.

On the eve of the second war, the Imperial force consists of the following -

1 missile monitor - Barnard's Star
1 heavy cruiser - Epsilon Eradani (main force)
2 light cruisers - Epsilon Eradani (main force)
3 destroyers - Aggadi (2nd DD division)
3 destroyers - Markashi (1st DD division)
1 transport, jump troop 6 - Shuruppak (1st Marine division)
1 transport, jump troop 4 - Aggadi (2nd Marine division)
1 fleet oiler - Markashi
2 planetary defenses - Epsilon Eradani, Nusku
6 worlds - Epsilon Eradani, Tau Ceti, Nusku, Dingir, Gashida, Iskur
14 outposts - Barnard's Star, Aggida, all within World boundary

budget - 30 RU per year (13 maintenance, 17 spendable)

Terran forces consist of the following -

(garrison fleets)
1 beam monitor, 3 fighters - Sol
1 beam monitor, 3 fighters - Alpha Centari
1 beam monitor, 1 missile boat, 1 fighter - Procyon
(main fleet)
1 mothership, 3 fighters, 2 missile boat, 4 destroyers - Junction
also (support group)
1 transport, jump troops 6, fleet oiler - Junction
5 transports elsewhere (1s and 2s at outpost worlds etc)
4 army - Sol
2 army - Alpha Centari B
planetary defenses - Alpha Centari A
3 worlds - Sol, Alpha Centari A, B
5 outposts - Proxima Centari, Junction, Midway Procyon, Mirabilis

budget - 29 RU per year (9-15 maintenance, 14-20 spendable)

The Terran's have two immediate priorities in mind when hostilities reopen - retaking Barnard's Star to shorten their front and the vulnerability of the home systems, and to hold Procyon. More ambitiously, they calculate that a relatively quick strike toward Nusku might be able to win the war rapidly on favorable terms.

FWIW...

Session: 1989: Dawn of Freedom:: Fall of the Berlin Wall

taulus — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:08:19 +0000

by taulus

This is an AAR of a wargameroom.com 1989 league match I played with Jeff Aaronson on November 6, 2009, right around the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, an event that, in an uncanny echo of history, finally decided this (rather atypically one-sided) match.

1989 is a fun game designed by Ted Torgerson, with mechanics reminiscent of Twilight Struggle (but with important differences, especially the scoring cards called Power Struggles, which play a lot like battles in Hannibal:Rome vs. Carthage.

Jeff was the Communist player, while I took the side of the Democrats.

This was the setup influence placement:

1 Communist support added to Lodz, now at 1
1 Communist support added to Miskolec, now at 1
1 Democrat support added to Poznan, now at 1
1 Democrat support added to Debrecen, now at 1
1 Democrat support added to Timisoara, now at 1
1 Communist support added to Tatabayna, now at 1
1 Communist support added to Gyor, now at 1
1 Communist support added to Warsaw, now at 2
2 Democrat support added to Krakow, now at 3 (for control of the city)
2 Democrat support added to Debrecen, now at 3 (for control of the city)
1 Communist support added to Warsaw, now at 3 (for control of the city)
1 Communist support added to Bialystok, now at 1

Turn 1: Jeff took Tatabayna to defend Miskolec (in Hungary); I responded by taking control of Budapest and playing into Miskolec. Jeff then took control of Bydgoszcz, in order to follow up with support checks to get me out of Gdansk, but I attack in Miskolec (taking control) and Lodz (removing Jeff's influence and getting 2 of my own). Jeff retaliates with Legacy of Martial Law, flipping my influence in Poznan red, and taking Gdansk for himself with the support check, forcing me to shore up Lodz (taking control) and Wroclaw with The July Concept, which unfortunately helps Jeff out in Bulgaria (but that wouldn't be a factor until later in the game, and I need to fight for Poland). Jeff takes Poznan and builds up Dresden. I'm going to be knocked out of Wroclaw too if I'm not careful, so I take control of it and extend some influence into Dresden. Jeff now plays Poland Scoring, we're tied at 4 cities apiece, and he decides it's not going to get any better.

************************************************************
** The Battle deck is being shuffled. **
************************************************************
Communist: 4 base +8(2 per city) = 12 cards
Democrat: 4 base +8(2 per city) = 12 cards
** The Democrat discards 3 Battle Cards for a +1 drm should he win the Power Struggle **
Card discarded: March 1
Card discarded: Intellectual leader, Petition 3
Card discarded: Student leader, March 3

I discard 3 battle cards for the +1 drm if I win the power struggle. I can't use the two leader cards anyway, since I don't control the student or writer spaces in Poland, and March 1 is pretty weak.

The Communist attacks with a Petition 2
The Democrat matches with a Petition 2.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 4 -- counterattack is successful!
The Democrat attacks with a Strike 2
The Communist matches with a Strike 2.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 1 -- counterattack fails.
The Democrat attacks with a Strike 3
The Communist matches with a Elite leader, Rally in the Square 3.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 2 (+1) = 3 -- counterattack fails.
The Democrat attacks with a Strike 3
The Communist does not match the Strike 3:

** The Democrat wins the Power Struggle in Poland!!! **
** Power Struggle Support Loss die roll: 4 +1(discarded 3 Battle Cards) = 5 -- 2 support to be removed
Communist support in Bydgoszcz reduced by 1, now at 3
Communist support in Bialystok reduced by 1, now at 0
** Power Struggle VP die roll: 6 +1(discarded 3 Battle Cards) = 7 -- 4 VPs awarded, plus Power
VPs up 4, now at 4

Miraculously, I manage to exhaust Jeff's Strike cards. He cannot match me, and the unions in Krakow, Wroclaw, and Lodz bring the Communist government to its knees! I take power there and get 4 VP. Not as good as if I scored domination, but I'm happy to be up in the score and have the card out of the deck, so the Communist don't get to score for keeping power in Poland repeatedly (which can be worth lots of VPs).

USSR Stability drops to 4, and Poland Scoring is removed from the game.

I ditch State Run Media on the Tiananmen Square track, and Jeff does the same with St. Nicholas Church (an event that the Communist should attempt to prevent from ever happening, if he can help it, since it leads to the Monday Demonstrations). Since Poland Scoring is gone, I shift my focus to Hungary. Peasant Parties gets Jeff influence in 4 farmer spaces, but I use it to build up Szeged, a bedrock of influence in Hungary for whoever gets a hold of it. Jeff builds up more in Dresden, while I take control of Szeged and Timisoara (next door in Romania). Because I played Honecker earlier in the turn, Jeff gets an 8th action round, playing Common European Home for control of Berlin, Dresden, and a VP. At the end of turn 1, the score is 3 in my favour, Poland Scoring is out of the deck, and I am set up nicely in Hungary, controlling all of its battlegrounds.

Turn 2: Jeff opens the round by ditching General Strike (a nasty Democratic card, similar to Bear Trap in TS) on the Tiananmen Track. Seizing the opportunity to take the initiative, I play Hungarian Democratic Forum, playing 3 influence into Tatabayna, and wiping Jeff out there with the support check. He now controls no cities in Hungary! Jeff does damage control and takes Gyor (in Hungary), while extending his influence into Leipzig. I respond by moving into K-Marx-Stadt in Germany - the scoring card's not in the deck yet, but if I let Jeff get too far ahead there, it'll be a disaster. He responds by beginning to surround me in Magdeburg and Leipzig. I use Gorbachev Charms the West to knock down his influence in Berlin and Dresden, and then remove him from Magdeburg with a support check - but I don't get any influence of my own. Jeff responds with some big cards, taking back Leipzig and establishing control of Halle (also in Germany) and Prague. I don't have the ops to counter, and things begin to look dire for the Democrats in Germany, but I do what I can, taking control of Magdeburg. Jeff uses Solidarity (which gets me all kinds of influence in Poland, but it's relatively harmless now, with Poland Scoring out of the deck), and grabs K-Marx-Stadt with support checks. Magdeburg is now completely isolated. As my final play, I put a point on influence into Halle.

Turn 3: Jeff re-established control of Halle. He's only got 1 city in Hungary, and I doubt I'll be able to remove his presence from the country. Time for Hungary Scoring:

************************************************************
** The Battle deck is being shuffled. **
************************************************************
Democrat: 4 base +10(2 per city) = 14 cards
Communist: 4 base +2(2 per city) = 6 cards
** The Democrat discards 3 Battle Cards for a +1 drm should he win the Power Struggle **
Card discarded: March 1
Card discarded: Intellectual leader, Petition 3
Card discarded: Intellectual leader, Petition 3

Once again I don't control the Writer's space, so I ditch the leaders I can't use, along with a weak March card. I can much more easily afford to do this time, since it still leaves me with 11 cards to Jeff's 6.

The Democrat attacks with a March 2
The Communist matches with a March 1.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 1 (-1) = 0 -- counterattack fails.
The Democrat attacks with a March 3
The Communist matches with a March 2.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 5 (-1) = 4 -- counterattack is successful!
The Communist attacks with a Petition 3
The Democrat matches with a Petition 1.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 5 (-2) = 3 -- counterattack fails.
The Communist attacks with a Rally in the Square 1
The Democrat matches with a Rally in the Square 1.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 4 (+2) = 6 -- counterattack is successful!
The Democrat attacks with a Strike 1
The Communist matches with a Strike 3.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 4 (+2) = 6 -- counterattack is successful!
No playable cards in the Communist hand:

** The Democrat wins the Power Struggle in Hungary!!! **
** Power Struggle Support Loss die roll: 5 +1(discarded 3 Battle Cards) = 6 -- 3 support to be removed
Communist support in Szekesfehervar reduced by 1, now at 0
Communist support in Szombathely reduced by 2, now at 0
** Power Struggle VP die roll: 3 +1(discarded 3 Battle Cards) = 4 -- 1 VP awarded, plus Power
VPs up 1, now at 4

*** Scoring in Hungary ***
Communist: 2(presence) = 2
Democrat: 6(control) +4(battlegrounds) = 10
VPs up 8, now at 12

Jeff fights valiantly, but he runs out of cards. I take power in Hungary and clean up in VPs. With the score at 12, I have a nice buffer, but with Jeff running all over me in Germany, I need to find a way to earn more points for myself in the future. The governments of Poland and Hungary may have fallen, but Germany, the other big prize in the game, is still a solid bastion of Red. and with his next play, Jeff wipes me out of Magdeburg and Wroclaw! The wave of budding revolutions looks like it's going to die on the barricades of East Germany. Clearly I'm not going to win any more battles in East Germany, and I need to think long term, so I play Helsinki Final Accords for the event, which will let me expand into student and intellectual spaces pretty fearlessly. Jeff plays Walesa with his next card - which gets me heaps of influence in Poland, but is pretty painless until finally scoring. Thankfully, he decides to use the ops for damage control in Poland before my event. I place influence in his battlegrounds and wipe out his presence in Poznan. The Reds now control no cities in Poland, and I follow up with Free Press, making all of Jeff's influence in Poznan my own! Jeff keeps playing defense in Poland, taking back Wroclaw, Bydgoszcz, and Warsaw, while I respond by grabbing Poznan. Jeff grads Magdeburg for control of Germany. Jan Palach Week (now much safer to play with Helsinki in effect) gets me control of the Charles University space in Czechoslovakia. Despite events in East Germany, Czech students stand up for freedom! Jeff's play of Intelligentsia gets him control of Brno, while I use it to grab the Bulgarian and (crucially) the German Writers spaces. I play into Bratislava and Ostrava, while Jeff ditches Sajudis on the Track.

Turn 4: We move into the middle of the year, and I now have to quake in fear at the prospect of Germany Scoring... Jeff opens by ditching Soviet Troop Withdrawals, one of the most powerful Democratic cards on the Tiananmen Track - that would have been a big help in East Germany. I take control of Ostrava and Sofia University. Jeff can now play 1s for 2 Ops, so he uses St. Nicholas Church to pump up Brno (in Czechoslovakia) - arguably a mistake, since Monday Demonstrations can now occur, threatening Jeff's lock on East Germany. I use Papal Visit to take control of the Catholic Church in Czechoslovakia, which now openly aids the dissidents (and gives me domination). Jeff plays some damage control in that country; I try to grab Brno with a Workers Revolt but fail to take it. Jeff's play of Goodbye Lenin! gets me no results with support checks in Sofia, and he plays more damage control in Czechoslovakia and Germany. I sneak into Plovdiv in Bulgaria, but Jeff knocks me out with support checks. I expand into the Ulbricht Academy, and Eco-Glasnost gets me control of Ruse, but the situation doesn't change before the end of the turn. Czechoslovakia is turning blue, but Germany and Bulgaria both look very bad....

Turn 5: Jeff uses the propaganda of State Run Media to knock down my influence in Bratislava and Ostrava, and I respond with damage control in those cities. Deciding it's not going to get any better, Jeff plays Czechoslovakia Scoring:

************************************************************
** The Battle deck is being shuffled. **
************************************************************
Communist: 4 base +8(2 per city) = 12 cards
Democrat: 4 base +8(2 per city) = 12 cards
** Roundtable Talks: The Democrat draws Strike from the Communist Battle Hand **
** Roundtable Talks: The Democrat draws Petition from the Communist Battle Hand **

Roundtable Talks (a Democrat event) gets me some cards, and that saves my bacon. I don't discard any cards this time - Jeff's got so many that I'm going to need them all. I'll be happy to win the power struggle, knock down some of his influence, and maybe earn a VP or two, and in fact, since I'm not set up to score domination right now, I want Czech Scoring to stay in the deck (but I'll happily press him with Rally cards, since it turns out I have a few).

The Communist attacks with a March 2
The Democrat matches with a March 1.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 2 (-1) = 1 -- counterattack fails.
The Communist attacks with a March 1
The Democrat matches with a March 2.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 3 (+1) = 4 -- counterattack is successful!
The Democrat attacks with a Rally in the Square 1
The Communist matches with a Rally in the Square 3.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 4 (+4) = 8 -- counterattack is successful!
The Communist attacks with a Petition 3
The Democrat matches with a Petition 3.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 5 -- counterattack is successful!
The Democrat attacks with a Rally in the Square 1
The Communist matches with a Elite leader, Rally in the Square 3.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 1 (+3) = 4 -- counterattack is successful!
The Communist attacks with a Strike 2
The Democrat matches with a Strike 2.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 6 -- counterattack is successful!
The Democrat attacks with a Rally in the Square 2
The Communist does not match the Rally in the Square 2:

Once again I somehow pull it out. But despite winning with a Rally card, I don't knock Jeff from power (thankfully).

** The Democrat wins the Power Struggle in Czechoslovakia!!! **
** Power Struggle Support Loss die roll: 3 +2(Rally) = 5 -- 2 support to be removed
Communist support in Plzen reduced by 2, now at 2
** Power Struggle VP die roll: 1 +2(Rally) = 3 -- 1 VP awarded
VPs up 1, now at 13

*** Scoring in Czechoslovakia ***
Communist: 2(presence) +2(battlegrounds) = 4
Democrat: 4(domination) +3(battlegrounds) = 7
VPs up 3, now at 16

The Communist scores power in Czechoslovakia for the 1st time:
VPs down 2, now at 14

Jeff makes an error, removing influence from Plzen when he had 2 to spare in Brno. As a consequence, I get to score Domination. He gets to score power, but with the tally at 14 for me, I'm less worried about Germany for the nonce.

I respond with New Forum, which gets me influence in Berlin, Schwerin, and Rostock, but Jeff responds to keep control of Germany. We both ditch cards on the Tiananmen Track, and I re-take Ostrava and spread into Cluj - Romania's the one country that still seems up for grabs, although the cards seem to favour the Reds there. I'd better spread out there sooner than later. Jeff continues to play to keep the lid on Germany, leaving me a free hand to expand more in Romania, which I do, grabbing Babes-Boylai U and placing influence in Bucharest: democratic ideas begin to taint the loyalties of the lower levels of the party. Jeff starts to respond, but I'm now able to really start stretching into the east of the country, and I do.

Turn 6: Jeff ditches The Crowd Turns Against Ceausescu, and gets to draw an extra card, while I continue to spread out in Romania (I've now got Timisoara, Brasov, Jassey, and have influence in Galat. Suddenly democratic ideas dominate Romania! Using Legacy of 1968 (Czechoslovakia seems lost to him now anyway), Jeff takes Ploesti (in Romania) and Varna (in Bulgaria), which will give him better odds with support checks against neighbouring cities. I take Galat and Schwerin, but with Gorbachev Charms the West, Jeff undoes all my hard work in Romania, breaking my control of Brasov and almost making it his. Lazlo Tokes re-establishes my control of Galat and Jassey, however. We spar a little more in Germany, Romania, and Bulgaria, and then I decide it's time for the Monday Demonstrations!:

Turn 6, Democrat action round 5

The Democrats play the following card as an Event:
#61 Ops 4: The Monday Demonstrations * (Democrat)

Place sufficient SPs in the Lutheran Church Space and Leipzig for Democratic
control. Then the Democratic Player may make FIVE support checks in Germany
using the Ops value of this card. Requires play of St. Nicholas Church as an
event.
** The The Monday Demonstrations card is permanently removed. **

6 Democrat SPs added to Leipzig, now 5

Support Check attempt in Berlin (stability 3):
** Berlin die roll = 3 (+4 ops, +2 mod) = 9
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 3.
Communist support in Berlin reduced by 3, now at 1

Support Check attempt in Berlin (stability 3):
** Berlin die roll = 6 (+4 ops, +2 mod) = 12
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 6.
Communist support in Berlin reduced by 1, now at 0
Democratic support in Berlin increased by 5, now at 6

Support Check attempt in Leipzig (stability 3):
** Leipzig die roll = 5 (+4 ops, -1 mod) = 8
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 2.
Communist support in Leipzig reduced by 2, now at 1

Support Check attempt in Rostock (stability 3):
** Rostock die roll = 6 (+4 ops, +2 mod) = 12
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 6.
Communist support in Rostock reduced by 4, now at 0
Democratic support in Rostock increased by 2, now at 3

Support Check attempt in Leipzig (stability 3):
** Leipzig die roll = 6 (+4 ops, -1 mod) = 9
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 3.
Communist support in Leipzig reduced by 1, now at 0
Democratic support in Leipzig increased by 2, now at 8

The turnaround is dramatic! Suddenly from having control, we both only have presence (although Germany is still worth 2 points to him, aside from any power struggle VPs) and I have what I thought was a big big buffer in Leipzig, but no:

Turn 6, Communist action round 6

The Communists play the following card for 2 support checks:
#92 Ops 4: Deutsche Marks * (Communist)

Support Check attempt in Leipzig (stability 3):
** Leipzig die roll = 3 (+4 ops, +3 mod) = 10
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 4.
Democratic support in Leipzig reduced by 4, now at 4

Support Check attempt in Leipzig (stability 3):
** Leipzig die roll = 6 (+4 ops, +1 mod) = 11
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 5.
Democratic support in Leipzig reduced by 4, now at 0
Communist support in Leipzig increased by 1, now at 1

(A prior card cancelled my drms for Jeff's first support check, I think). His big rolls do me in, and Leipzig flips again. Time for Germany Scoring, before this situation gets out of hand:

Turn 6, Democrat action round 6

The Democrats play the following card as an Event:
#17: Germany Scoring

************************************************************
** The Battle deck is being shuffled. **
************************************************************
Democrat: 4 base +12(2 per city) = 16 cards
Communist: 4 base +10(2 per city) = 14 cards

I don't discard any cards for the power struggle drm - I just want to win this one.

The Democrat attacks with a Strike 1
The Communist matches with a Strike 1.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 6 -- counterattack is successful!
The Communist attacks with a Rally in the Square 3
The Democrat matches with a Rally in the Square 1.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 6 -- counterattack is successful!
The Democrat attacks with a March 3
The Communist matches with a March 1.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 6 (-2) = 4 -- counterattack is successful!
The Communist attacks with a Rally in the Square 3
The Democrat matches with a Intellectual leader, Petition 3.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 3 (+3) = 6 -- counterattack is successful!
The Democrat attacks with a March 3
The Communist matches with a March 3.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 5 -- counterattack is successful!
The Communist attacks with a Rally in the Square 1
The Democrat matches with a Intellectual leader, Petition 3.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 6 (+3) = 9 -- counterattack is successful!
The Democrat attacks with a March 3
The Communist does not match the March 3:

** The Democrat wins the Power Struggle in Germany!!! **
** Power Struggle Support Loss die roll: 2 -- 1 support to be removed
Communist support in Saxon-Anhalt reduced by 1, now at 3
** Power Struggle VP die roll: 3 -- 1 VP awarded
VPs up 1, now at 15

*** Scoring in Germany ***
Communist: 3(presence) +4(battlegrounds) = 7
Democrat: 3(presence) +1(battlegrounds) = 4
VPs down 3, now at 12

The Communist scores power in Germany for the 1st time:
VPs down 3, now at 9

Even keeping him to presence, and winning the power struggle, Germany Scoring is still worth 5 VP to Jeff when all is said and done! But it could have been much, much worse for the forces of democracy, had I not also drawn Monday Demonstrations (Control of Germany, which Jeff briefly enjoyed, would have been worth 14 VP, even before bonuses for being in power, and winning the power struggle!). Jeff follows up with some damage control in Germany, to make sure he keeps Leipzig (and there's little chance I can flip it again), and I ditch a card on the Tiananmen Track to start catching up to him there (plus Nepotism can be a powerful Communist event, and I'd really like to prevent it from happening if I can). Disaster for the forces of democracy in Germany has been averted, and I breath a sigh of relief...

Turn 7: Jeff opens by starting to make sure he'll have strong domination in Bulgaria. Romania Scoring probably isn't going to get any better, so I play it sooner than later:

Turn 7, Democrat action round 1

The Democrats play the following card as an Event:
#21: Romania Scoring

************************************************************
** The Battle deck is being shuffled. **
************************************************************
Democrat: 4 base +8(2 per city) = 12 cards
Communist: 4 base +8(2 per city) = 12 cards

Once again I don't discard any cards. It'd be nice to have the extra drm if I win, but I just want to avoid losing influence and giving Jeff VPs for now.

The Democrat attacks with a Strike 1
The Communist matches with a Strike 2.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 2 (+1) = 3 -- counterattack fails.
The Democrat attacks with a Strike 1
The Communist matches with a Strike 1.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 4 -- counterattack is successful!
The Communist attacks with a March 3
The Democrat matches with a March 1.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 5 (-2) = 3 -- counterattack fails.
The Communist attacks with a March 2
The Democrat matches with a March 2.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 2 -- counterattack fails.
The Communist attacks with a March 1
The Democrat matches with a March 3.
** Democrat counterattack die roll: 3 (+2) = 5 -- counterattack is successful!
The Democrat attacks with a Strike 2
The Communist matches with a Strike 3.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 1 (+1) = 2 -- counterattack fails.
The Democrat attacks with a Strike 2
The Communist matches with a Worker leader, Strike 3.
** Communist counterattack die roll: 1 (+1) = 2 -- counterattack fails.
The Democrat attacks with a Strike 3
The Communist does not match the Strike 3:

** The Democrat wins the Power Struggle in Romania!!! **
** Power Struggle Support Loss die roll: 5 -- 2 support to be removed
Communist support in Cluj reduced by 2, now at 1
** Power Struggle VP die roll: 6 -- 3 VPs awarded, plus Power
VPs up 3, now at 12

*** Scoring in Romania ***
Communist: 2(presence) +2(battlegrounds) = 4
Democrat: 2(presence) +3(battlegrounds) = 5
VPs up 1, now at 13
** The Romania Scoring card is permanently removed. **

Once again, I luckily manage to pull it off. Jeff repeatedly fails his counter-attack rolls, and I wear him down with strikes. Unions in Timisoara, Jassey, and Galat bring down the Communist regime! I get 4 VP for Romania, and it's out of the game. Jeff responds by crushing me in Ruse and seizing Control of Bulgaria. For the rest of the turn, we fight back and forth over Plovdiv, the one battlground city in Bulgaria that I have hope of contesting.

Turn 8: Jeff re-establishes control of Plovdiv, but I strike back with the Union of Democratic Forces, adding influence in Plovdiv and a number of his cities in the east of the country, and almost flipping Sofia to Democratic control. Jeff undoes the damage in Plovdiv and the east, but I grab Sofia, and spread out into the northwest of the country. Jeff is wiped out of Cluj by Government Resigns while he pumps up in Bulgaria, and I respond in a similar fashion. Jeff plays Shock Therapy for support checks in Sofia, knocking down my influence there, but I target Poland and succeed, earning 2 VP, and placing 3 influence in Wroclaw. The score is now 15, and I threaten to dominate Poland in final scoring. I re-establish control of Sofia, and Jeff counters by taking the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Unlike the Catholic churches, the corrupt Orthodox Church cozies up to the Communists! Jeff uses Civic Forum to hammer me in Sofia again, while I use that card to grab an influence lead in Prage, and flip Brno. Now Czechoslovakia is almost controlled by democrats, and the next power struggle might be a disaster for the regime! I'm forced to do something similar in regard to Romania, however. Massacre in Timisoara gets Jeff support checks that wipe out my influence in Galat, and almost eliminate me from Jassey; but Romania's out of the deck, and Bulgaria's not, so sacrifices have to be made. At the end of turn 8, the score is 16 in my favour. Germany, Bulgaria, and Romania all look bad, but the rest of the board has just about turned blue!

Turn 9: Jeff ditches a card on the Tiananmen Track, while I take Eastern Rumelia, setting up for taking a crack at Plovdiv. Jeff plays Kohl Proposes Reunification to hammer me in Sofia again, but the event triggers, reducing USSR Stability and getting me 2 VP, bringing the score to 18 for me. Now, if Jeff's holding the right scoring cards, he could put a real crimp in my style, and he'd garner a bunch of VPs in final scoring since he still has power in Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria, so I decide to take a gamble on ending the game early. I hold The Wall Must Go!, and play it for the event:

Turn 9, Democrat action round 2

The Democrats play the following card as an Event:
#86 Ops 3: The Wall Must Go! * (Democrat)

Reduce USSR stability by 1. The Democratic Player attempts to tear down the
Berlin Wall. Each player rolls a die and adds the number of spaces in Germany
they control. Higher total wins. This is best 2 out of 3. If successful +3 VPs
and the Communist must remove 3 SPs from Germany.
** The The Wall Must Go! card is permanently removed. **

The Democrat attempts to tear down the Berlin Wall!

Round 1
** Democrat die roll: 2 (+ 6) = 8
** Communist die roll: 2 (+ 6) = 8
Round 1 is a draw.

Round 2
** Democrat die roll: 6 (+ 6) = 12
** Communist die roll: 4 (+ 6) = 10
** The Democrat wins Round 2! **

Round 3
** Democrat die roll: 1 (+ 6) = 7
** Communist die roll: 1 (+ 6) = 7
Round 3 is a draw.

Round 4
** Democrat die roll: 2 (+ 6) = 8
** Communist die roll: 1 (+ 6) = 7
** The Democrat wins Round 4! **

** The Berlin Wall is torn down! **
VPs up 3, now at 21
********************************************************
The Democrat player wins the game!!!
********************************************************

With the opening provided by Kohl, East German protestors swarm the Berlin Wall. We've both got a +6 drm, so it's basically a coin toss, but once again at a crucial moment, Jeff's luck deserts him. The contest is best 2 out of 3, and the ties force re-rolls, but the Reds don't win a single one. Playing on wargameroom, it was over in a flash, but I can imagine how tense and fun it would have been as the conclusion of a face-to-face game: after 4 rounds of rolls, in a stunning echo of history, the Berlin Wall falls, and it's all over for the Communists in Eastern Europe! With the reunification of Germany, the Soviets are forced to face the fact that the Cold War is lost.

Normally 1989 doesn't go like this, and the Communists have more of a fighting chance: Jeff's fortunes deserted him at crucial moments (kudos to Jeff for bearing it manfully), and despite a basically even board (at least up until the final turns), the score kept creeping in my favour. The Communists just couldn't seem to win a power struggle, and it cost Jeff large amounts of VP as a consequence.

Session: Space Hulk (3rd Edition):: Mission 1 Session: First Game with Wife and U2

Oogie Da Bruce — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:23:45 +0000

by Oogie Da Bruce

A few weeks ago, me and Angel (my wife) got in our first game of Space Hulk while we watched the U2 concert streaming from the Hollywood Bowl!!! The 1st Mission: The Marines need to destroy the escape pod master control room. This will ensure the Genestealers cannot escape the Hulk. I was the Marines and Angel was the Genestealers. I needed to make it to the Control Room (room closest to the picture foreground wit the skull in the center) and shoot it with a flame burst. Angel wins if she kills the Flame Marine or I run out of Flame ammo (I got 6 canisters).

This is about round 3. My sergeant with a Power Sword is leading the way. Here he set himself on Guard (melee boost) and downed 3 Genestealers (one roll was a 6 vs 6 - even after I made Angel reroll her first 6 - it was the sergeants +1 melee effect that made the difference. I had Marines on overwatch covering the other rooms and corridors.

This is around round 5. I left 1 Marine to guard the back room and brought the backup to the front line. Well that didn't work out. Angel had a ton of Genestealers in the backmost room and I had pulled a 1 for my command points (I 1st pulled a 2 and chose to used my sergeant to repull). My gun jammed and I cleared it, but then it jammed again and Angel swarmed the backmost Marine and ran the rest of her Stealers past him, sneaking up on my other squad mate. Furthermore, my once tough sergeant couldn't stop the growing horde of advancing Genestealers.

The next round. She finished what she started and killed off the other 2 marines. The Flame Marine drop a Flame burst (which lingers till the end of turn) to stop any Stealers from pressing the advance, but it was too late... the damage was done.

I lost my Sergeant and two Marines. The only chance I had was to blast Flames everywhere and try and rush the control room. Success was unlikely at best. So I blasted away and wouldn't you know it, Angel rolls the only number to save on a fire blast, a 1, TWICE!!! I was left with only one canister and no way to make it to the control room. The Marines failed and the Genestealers made sure they have an escape route.

This was a great first game! It was a wonderful defeat!!! I’ll never forget the night I lost Space Hulk to my wife, with a smile on my face, while we listened to U2 live from the Rose Bowl.

Session: Austerlitz 20:: Austerlitz 20 solo replay (standard scenario): the first day of battle

dmcke013 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:36:27 +0000

by dmcke013

Withdraw to initial deployments: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/464643

Turn 6: December 2, morning (Allied morale 8, French morale 8)
Weather = fog

(no random event)
Under the cover of Fog, the Allied player slowly consolidates their hold on the Pratzen heights with both the 2/4 and 5 cavalry corps advancing north-west along the Heights. 1/4, AG Cav and AG all move along the road leading towards Bosenitz, and no other Allies corps moves.

(random event = “The Sun of Austerlitz!” (I guess I’m not holding that, then!) French player opts to cancel fog effects AND give his units +1 movement)
Napoleon launches his trap! Grenadier corps moves into Bosenitz as the Imperial Guard also moves to engage the Prussian 1/4 corps (-1 French morale for early committal of elite force). The cadre in Zurlan moves into The Stanton, while the other cadre moves along the same road towards the same. IV corps and Res/L both move to engage the Russian 3 corps in Blasowitz, and Res/H and V corps move to engage the Austrian 1AG on the east tip of the Pratzen Heights. Finally, the I corps leaves Maxdorf and heads towards Sokolnitz Castle as Davout’s III corps arrives in play as a 2-2 unit, moving towards Satchen.

GR and IG combine against Austrian 1/4, routing that unit 6 hexes (-1 Allied morale) , with the IG advancing after combat. IV corps and Res/L combine against Russian 3 corps in Blasowitz, who commit their reserves (-1 Allied morale) and manage to force a costly exchange of troop losses (morale gain/losses cancel out). Res/L (is forced to) advance after combat. V corps and Res/H combine against Austrian 1AG, who also commit their reserves (yet another -1 Allied morale) but are still forced to withdraw, with Res/H advancing after combat.

Situation at end of turn 6
]]>

Turn 7: December 2, mid-day (Allied morale 5, French morale 7)
Weather = clear

(random event = “Hopeless Leaders”. French player chooses one Allied unit to retreat (as if it had suffered DW event) and chooses to move the Austrian 2/4 off the Pratzen Heights)
Russian I corps moves north-west, south of the French Res/H who have gained a foothold on the Pratzen Heights as Austrian 5 cavalry corps moves north of Pratzen to engage the French Res/L cavalry corps. 2/4 moves back on to the Pratzen Heights (no doubt muttering about their leaders, who can’t seem to make up their mind what to do and who keep marching them back and forth). AG cavalry corps heads to the woods at the top of the map, and AG (infantry) moves along the road to engage both the Imperial Guard and Grenadier corps. No other Allied unit moves.

Res/H counter-charges I corps, forcing the defenders to withdraw back into St Anthony’s Chapel and ‘taking ground’. Res/L counter-charges (and commits reserves against for -1 French morale) Austrian 5 cavalry corps, but are forced to rout 4 hexes (another -1 French morale for routing further than movement), with the 5 corps in hot pursuit.

That corps catches up to the routed Res/L and attacks them again, but are themselves forced to withdraw. Austrian 1AG and Russian 1 corps combine to attack Res/H, who commit their reserves (and another -1 French morale) but are still forced to rout. Luckily, this is only 2 hexes. 1 corps advances after combat. Finally, AG attacks (and commits reserves against for -1 Allied morale) both the Imperial Guard AND Guard corps, but are themselves routed 4 hexes (another -1 Allied morale) with both the Imperial Guard and Grenadier corps opting to ‘stand fast’.

(deciding he has nothing lose, French player decides to play his ‘held’ card: it’s “Fickle Weather”, meaning the weather is automatically fog)
Fog closes in again, masking the French redeployment of troops: III corps continues along the road through Satchen, V corps heads north towards Kobelnitz (able to disengage as no ZOC during fog turns), I corps moves into Sokolnitz castle, Imperial Guard continues along the road towards Austerlitz with the Guard corps falling into place just behind them, and the two cadres re-combine into the IV/2 within The Stanton. Neither of the tow (routed) cavalry corps opts to move, and with no French unit adjacent to any Allied unit, that’s it for this turn!

Situation at end of turn 7
]]>

Turn 8: December 2, Afternoon (Allied morale 3, French morale 4)
Weather = clear

(random event = “Confusion and Uncertainty reign”. All Allied units have their movement allowance reduced by 1)
Realising they are in danger of out-distancing the rest of their army, the Austrian 5 cavalry corps falls back, moving to the north of the French V corps as the Russian 1 corps moves south of the same (effectively ‘surrounding’ it). 1AG moves south into St Anthony’s Chapel, and 2 corps moves south-west (also adjacent to V corps) out of Pratzen proper. AG cavalry moves into Bosenitz as 2/4 moves north, adjacent to both the Imperial Guard and Grenadier corps. Finally, both AG and 1/4 continue along their road, bring AG adjacent to the Imperial Guard (now effectively surrounded).

1, 2 and 5 cavalry corps all combine to attack V corps, forcing that unit to rout 2 hexes. The first of these is a hazardous retreat (into Kobelnitz), which they succeed. The second is a doubly hazardous retreat (over river, and onto a Pond hex); it manages to survive both rolls. 5 cavalry corps advances after combat and then pursues into Kobelnitz, with the I corps advancing after combat into their vacant hex. AG and 2/4 combine to attack the Imperial Guard, who commit their reserves (-1 French morale) but are still forced to withdraw (north). Again, this is a hazardous retreat, which the Imperial Guard fails and so breaks instead (+1 Allied morale, -1 French). AG advances after combat. AG cavalry corps commits their reserves (-1 Allied morale) against Grenadier corps, but are themselves forced to withdraw north, with the Grenadier corps re-capturing Bosenitz.

(random event = “Unexpected help”. Bavarian corps arrive in play this turn (needed a ‘6’ to do so, got a 6!))
The Bavarian corps arrives in play, heading along the road towards Tellnitz, as the III corps continues along the same road, heading towards Reichmansdorf. Res/L moves to aid in the upcoming mandatory attack by V corps on Austrian 5 cavalry corps, moving north of the same. Finally, Res/H moves to attack Austrian 1AG in St Anthony’s Chapel as IV/2 moves to aid the Grenadier division against AG cavalry corps.

AG cavalry corps penetrates to the patch of rough ground north of IV/2 as 5 cavalry corps counter-charges the (routed) V corps across the river and onto the ice. This results in the V corps withdrawing, with the 5 cavalry corps taking their place on the ice.

Res/H attacks (and commits reserves against for -1 French morale) 1AG in St Anthony’s Chapel, with both sides remaining engaged. (Routed) V corps attacks 5 cavalry corps (on the ice) but are again forced to withdraw north, with 5 cavalry corps once again ‘taking ground’. Finally, IV/2 attacks AG cavalry corps, forcing the defenders to withdraw and advancing onto that patch of rough ground.

Situation at end of turn 8
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Turn 9: December 2, Evening (Allied morale 3, French morale 1)
Weather = fog

(random event = “But you can wait another quarter of an hour, and it will be time enough then!” Effectively a non-event, since enemy units do not have ZOCs during fog turns)
Russian 1 corps moves into Kobelnitz as 2 corps drops south, north of Res/H. Both AG infantry and 2/4 move north-west, adjacent to Grenadier corps in Bosenitz and 1/4 advances along same road. AG cavalry corps moves away from IV/2 (able to do so due to the fog) and no other Allied unit is able, or willing, to move (Russian Guard corps must be having a hell of a good time in Krzenowitz: they’ve yet to leave it!)

Res/L disengages from 1 corps, moving back into Puntowitz. Res/H counter-charges 1AG in St Anthony’s Chapel, forcing the defenders to withdraw and capturing that Allied objective.

Austrian 5 cavalry corps attacks (routed) V corps, forcing the defenders to withdraw once more and yet again ‘taking ground’. AG infantry attacks Grenadier division within Bosenitz, remaining engaged against the same. Russian 2 corps attacks Res/H within St Anthony’s Redoubt, again only remaining engaged against the defenders.

(random event = “Les Grognards”. Associated roll = no effect)
III corps moves north towards Reichmansdorf as Bavarian corps moves north-east into Tellnitz. Res/L remains in Puntonitz as V corps moves north, finally breaking away from the pursuing Austrian 5 cavalry (and thus able to rally). Res/H remains in St Anthony’s Chapel, and I corps remains ensconced within Sokolnitz Castle. Finally, the Grenadier division drops back north-west towards The Stanton.

With neither the Allied nor the French player choosing to attack (choosing, as fog effects means, in effect, all attacks are optional) that’s it for this turn.

Situation at end of turn 9
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Turn 10: December 2, Night (Allied morale 3, French morale 1)
Weather = n/a

(random event = “We Exist in Gloomy Apathy”. Effectively, a non-event at night as no ZOCs)
Austrian 5 cavalry corps crosses the river towards Maxdorf as AG infantry enters Bosenitz, with AG cavalry corps moving to their north (in the woods). Both 1/4 and 2/4 continue moving towards The Stanton, and no other Allied unit moves.

During the night operations phase, the Russian 3 corps is eliminated for good before the Allies gain a single morale point from rest (+1 Allied morale).

(random event = “According to plan”. Reshuffle cards)
Napoleon breathes a sigh of relief, having just about survived the first day of battle. V corps moves south-west, to the south of Bellowitz, as III corps enters Reichmansdorf and as the Bavarian Division exits Tellnitz. Grenadier Division occupies The Stanton, with no other French unit opting to move at all.

During the night operations phase, IV corps remains broken but the Imperial Guard is destroyed for good. The French then drive the Allies morale down by 1 (-1 French morale) as they hold the Allied objective of St Anthony’s chapel, before gaining a single point from rest (+1 French morale)

Situation at end of turn 10
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Advance to second day of battle: to follow

Session: Agricola:: Puzzler

smcmike — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:36:07 +0000

by smcmike

This is half of a session I (Tacticus) recently played, with a bit of a puzzler in Round 7.

Round 1: Sheep

Tacticus: Occ Resource Seller
cunning: 3 Wood
Tacticus: Day Laborer
cunning: 1 Clay

Round 2: Sow/Bake

Tacticus: 2 Reed
cunning: 3 Wood
Tacticus: Occ Clay Deliveryman
cunning: 1 Clay

Round 3: Major/Minor Improvement

Tacticus: 3 Wood + w
cunning: Fireplace
Tacticus: 3 Fishing
cunning: Sp: Alms

Round 4: Fences

cunning: 4 Sheep
Tacticus: 2 Reed
cunning: 3 Wood
Tacticus: Sp/Wooden Path

Round 5 Renovate

Tacticus: 3 Wood
cunning: Occ Church Warden +4w
Tacticus: Build 1 Room
cunning: 3 Clay

Round 6 Family Growth (+2 clay Tact)

Tacticus: 2 Reed (+1)
cunning: Occ Wood Deliveryman occ on farm
Tacticus: Family Growth/Milking Stool
cunning: Start Player/Stone Cart

Round 7 Stone (+ 2 clay Tact)

cunning: 4 Fish
Tacticus: ???

At this point, I have 2 food, 4 clay, 5 reed, and 3 mouths to feed. Nothing in my hand will help me. How do I avoid begging?

Session: Neuland:: Hey, hey! You, you! Get off of my wool!

claudio212 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:27:42 +0000

by claudio212

Now that my brain is no longer glowing white-hot, I’ll take a moment to write up the session report for our game last night. This was Michael’s and my second game and Chris’ first. We were playing first edition rules on the Z-Man board. When Michael and I first played, it was with one other newbie. We had no sense of how to the game would unfold, and, as it turned out, we sprinted up the tech tree, ran out of gas, lost some dudes, regrouped, built more food-makers, learned to protect our food like a mama-bear protects her young, and worked a bit more methodically toward the VP-makers. With this knowledge, we played this second game VERY differently.

We started out building very densely (with everyone building a second food-maker early) and trying to protect everything we built. That was the lesson learned, right? But of course, with the number of actions available, the long climb up the tech tree, and the dying off of the sleeping dudes, there is no choice but to leave buildings open. Still, protect your darned food! Eventually, dudes were crisscrossing the board, going every which way. Here was my ah-ha moment: Determining which buildings your opponents DON’T need so that you can leave them open is where the game is. Lesson #1.

I got out to an early lead picking up a 1VP and a 2VP building. Michael was on my heals with 2VP. Chris was slow out of the gate, but quickly ramped up. We stayed pretty close together all game, leapfrogging over each other as people vacated the high-level buildings to use them as inputs for the VPs, leaving them for others to get that next, higher VP.

Then my first misfortune happened (i.e. my first big screw-up): I realized that I needed 4VP to win and there was only one building that fit the bill – the sword/food/rug building. I targeted it, swiped the sword (which Chris needed to get his final 3VP btw), got on some food and a rock (to build the building) and ran out of actions. But I felt good. All I needed was the rug. And no one needed a rug, right? The wool-makers were open and should stay that way, right? Freakin’ idiot. In comes Chris, takes both wool-makers and makes my sword worth nothing. Zip. Nada. I could hear the sucking sound as all those accumulated actions were whisked off into the void.

Lesson #2: Lesson #1 was totally wrong. The game is not in knowing what your opponents won’t need, it’s in protecting yourself from the pillaging of your mean-spirited neighbors. If you need something REAL BAD, your opponents will throw themselves on the bomb. This ain’t no multi-player solitaire. This is screwage, but big-time.

Then came my second misfortune. And this one, I can at least blame partly on the game. Now that I had been effectively knocked out of the win, I was trying to get second. But the only VP building left was too much for me on my next turn. So, I ran out of gas. Then, in steps Michael and TAKES A 3VP BUILDING THAT IS ALREADY ON THE BOARD! Now, how did that get there? More importantly: how did I not see it? Here is where I scream, “The information design in this edition is total B.S.!” Yes, I should have known it was there, but come on people: the game end board with all the tiles down in the new edition is just a big technicolor blur. So, there went second. Chris got his final VPs. Game over.

So here is my take: The game is fiddly, but with a payoff if you are into brain-melting logistics games with the complex dynamic of other players trying to achieve similar ends using the same resource set. Think Age of Steam. These are, in fact, not my favorite kind of games. I call them ‘competitive logistics’ games. They are truly interactive and in no way MPS. But they don’t jazz me the way a good shareholding game will. I prefer games where manipulating situations and incentives is the focus, not planning complex operations (regardless of the abundant opportunities for screwage). That said, this is a good game. Even a really good game. But I’ve got to say, it needs a redesign. I mean, really, what were they thinking trying to make this more appealing to a broader audience through the artwork. The subtitle says it all: “Produce. Transport. Optimize.” That doesn't sound like a game for a broad audience. (I think my wife even laughed at me when she saw that.) The graphics need to be spartan (I hear they were in the first edition). Some ideas:

-The building display should have brown or grey backgrounds depending on the resource type needed to construct. This would allow the tiles to lie the other way round so that players could see the input/output of the building itself.
-The tiles should have a border color that corresponds to the appropriate terrain. Within that, divide the tile background to two contrasting colors so that the input is always on one background, the output on the other.
-Simplify the input/output icons. They are just too darned busy.
-Eliminate all unnecessary graphic clutter (e.g. all the shading an whatnot on the tiles)
-Put a border color around each item on the player aid so that players know what terrain type the different VP buildings go on.

Session: In the Year of the Dragon:: If first turn double privilege is taken, do you pay $3 Yuan to build? Also do you take the last experienced healer to deny the leader?

Norbert Chan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:33:46 +0000

by Norbert Chan

This was a recent game on Mabiweb, game ID 39414.

Player order:

Norbert (15 games experience)
Chad Ellis (200 games experience)
Jeremy (ITYOTD virgin)
Lynette (ITYOTD virgin)

I was looking forward to having my way with the two newbies, so to speak, until Lynette invited Chad to join the menage a trois.

Events were: 1) peace, 2) peace, 3) Contagion, 4) Tribute, 5) Contagion, 6) Fireworks, 7) Mongul, 8) Drought, 9) Fireworks, 10) Mongul, 11) Drought, 12)Tribute

Choosing first, I took healer and monk. I thought that combination would be high enough so I could have the option of taking the first turn double privilege, but Chad had other ideas.

Chad chose warrior and monk, giving him one more privilge than me. No worries, I said to myself, I had enough experience in countering a first turn double privilege, and I had always wondered if a good player got the first turn double privilege what woudl the game be like? I was about to find out.

Jeremy chose healer and tax collector.

Lynette chose court lady and healer.

In round 1, the double privilege and build action were unfortunately together. Chad took the double privilege. I think the only way to counter the first turn double privilege is to build as often as possible, so after some worry, I decided to pay $3 Yuan to build a new palace. Was this the right move? I welcome any comments on this one.
Jeremy took the money action to gain $5 Yuan, while Lynette took rice.

In the person phase, Chad took a 6 monk. I followed suit to try to keep the pressure on him. Jeremy took double healer, Lynette took builder.

Scores: Chad 4, Lynette 3, Norbert 3, Jeremy 2

In round 2, Chad took builder, I took rice (that seemed to be the next best option), Jeremy took double privilege oaying $6, Lynette took money. In the person phase, Chad took tax collector, I took the younger healer (value 4) to tie Chad for the lead in prestige points. Jeremy took tax collector, Lynette took elder healer.

Scores: Chad 9, Lynette 6, Norbert 6, Jeremy 6

Round 3: Contagion. I selected builder, building another palace. Chad took money, Jeremy took money and Lynette took builder.

In the persn phase, I had an interesting dilemma: I could have taken the last double healer in front of Chad, and he would have lost at least 2 people to the contagion, assuming he took a normal healer. But I didn't need a double healer, and I thought a tax collector was better for my game. Comments? Taking away the last double healer would have hurt Chad, I think, but it didn't fit into my plan. Chad (gratefully, I'm sure) took the double healer, Jeremy took younger Monk to get back in the prestige race, Lynette took tax collector.

In the contagion phase, Chad and I threw away our 6 Monk.

Scores: Chad 14, everyone else 10.

Round 4: Tribute. I took tax collector, Chad took builder, Jeremy took another double privilege (!) and Lynette paid $3 Yuan to take tax collector. In the person phase, I took an inexperienced fireworks maker (one symbol) to try and keep the prestige lead. Chad took an experienced famer (2 symbol rice), Jeremy took an inexperienced fireworks maker, while Lynette took an experienced fireworks maker. We all could pay the $4 Yuan tribute.

Scores: Chad 20, Jeremy 16, Lynette 16, Norbert 16

Round 5, Contagion: I took fireworks, Jeremy took money, Chad took rice, Lynette took fireworks (she getting 3 fireworks symbol to my 2).
In the person phase, I took builder, Jeremy took builder, Chad took an experienced warrior, Lynette took experienced farmer (releasing a court lady).In the event phase, Chad and I released our healer.

Scores: Chad 26, Jeremy 22, Norbert 18, Lynette 17

Round 6, Fireworks: I took builder, taking 2 palace floors and expanding outward. Chad took 3 rice, Jeremy bought a single privilege for $3 Yuan, while Lynette got $3 Yuan for skipping this phase.
I noticed Chad was able to plan well in advance by taking the actions that were not in high demand, like the rice.

I took an experienced farmer (2 rice symbols), Chad took a fireworks maker (one symbol), Jeremy and Lynette both took inexperienced warrior (one symbol). Lynette got 6 VPs for the fireworks, I got 3 VPs; I was hoping to be the only one to worry about fireworks, but alas Lynette had other plans.

Scores: Chad 32, Jeremy 29, Lynette 26, Norbert 26

Round 7, Mongul: I took 3 rice, Chad took builder, Jeremy bought a single privilege for $2 Yuan, Lynette took another 3 fireworks. I wasn't sure what she was celebrating, but her fireworks were all over the place in this game.

In the person phase, luckily the last experienced warrior (double symbol) was still there, so I took it, Chad took an inexpereinced scholar, Jeremy took inexperienced farmer, and Lynette took inexpereineced warrior (one symbol).

Chad and Lynette got 3 VPs for the mongul attacks, while Jeremy had to release a person (his warrior).

Scores: Chad 42, Jeremy 37. Norbert 33, Lynette 32

Round 8, Drought: Chad paraded to go up 4 spaces, I took 3 rice, Jeremy built to take 2 floors, while Lynette took 3 rice.

Person phase: Now Chad took his builder, I took a court lady, Jeremy took a tax collector, and Lynette took an experienced scholar.

Scores: Chad 49, Jeremy 45, Norbert 39, Lynette 35

I don't know if the game was effectively over here. Comments? Should I have taken a scholar to try and catch up that way?

Round 9, Fireworks. Having paraded earlier, Chad was assured of going first for the last turns. He built 2 palace floors, Jeremy took $8 Yuan, I tool 3 rice, and Lynette researched for 4 VPs.

In the person phase, Chad and Jeremy took a court lady, I took an experienced scholar (releasing a healer), while Lynette took a court lady (releasing a warrior).
Lynette got 6 VPs for fireworks, and I got 3 VPs.

Scores: Chad 58, Jeremy 54, Lynette 49, Norbert 48.

Round 10, Mongul: Chad took 3 rice, I took 2 palace floors, Jeremy got $8 Yuan, and Lynette scored 4 VPs for researching. In the person phase, Chad used his wild card to take a double symbol monk, I did likewise, Jeremy took an inexperienced farmer, and Lynette took the last double symbol monk.

Scores: After the mongul attacks, Chad: 70. Jeremy 63, Lynette 58, Norbert 57

Round 11, Drought: Chad took 3 rice, Jeremy also took 3 rice paying $3 Yuan, I took 2 palace floors and added it to my existing one with the double monk, Lynette took $5 Yuan.

In the person phase, Chad took a court lady with his last wild card, Jermey took an experieced scholar, while I took an inexperienced scholar to tie Jeremy in prestige for the last turn. Lynette took an inexperienced scholar.

I had to release one person due to the drought.

Scores: Chad 80, Jeremy 72, Norbert 64, Lynette 61.

Round 12, Tribute. Chad took money getting $5 Yuan, I researched for 6 VPs, Jeremy researched for 4 VPs, and Lynette researched for 6 VPs.
After paying the $4 Yuan tribute, scores were: Chad 90, Jeremy 85, Norbert 78, Lynette 69.

Finally, we counted persons and monks to get:

Final score: Chad 118, Norbert 104, Jeremy 96, Lynette 80.

I would be ineterested in any comments on strategy that would have allowed me to stay close to Chad. Should I have taken a different choice of persons on the first turn, perhaps a warrior and monk?

Session: For Sale:: Highlights of our games

railbaron — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:11:02 +0000

by railbaron

I played two rounds of For Sale last night with three newbies and we had a great time. Here are a few highlights that I remember:

1) The very first four cards for auction were: 2,3,4 and 27. The first two players bid 1 and 2 respectively and the 3rd played passed. I was bidding fourth, and I decided to go for the 27, so I bid 5 (or 6). Of course, what you don't want to have happen is end up paying 3 thousand for the 4. The first player passed, but to my chagrin, the second player outbid me with a 6 (or 7). Neither of us wanted to pass, but in the end, I ended up paying 11 for the 27 on the first hand! Crazy bidding, and I'm not sure who got the best of that deal. Reminder, we only had $18k, so I had $7 left to buy 6 more properties.

2) In the middle of the game, the auction was something like: 20,23,24,30. The player to my left bid $7k as a starting bid, and the rest of us gladly passed. He realized afterwards that maybe $7k was too much... it was a good early lesson in relative value.

3) In the opening check round, the checks were something like 2,3,10,15. The properties sold were the 30,29,28 and 10. The person who played the 28 was not happy about only earning $3k for it. In another round, the checks were something like 3,4,6,9 and the properties played were 1,2,4,6. We quickly remarked how the 4 property earned twice what the 28 property earned

The first game I won with a score of 70 and the others were between 50-55. The second game was closer but I still prevailed by a few points. This is certainly a fun game and I especially like watching people start to "figure it out" and develop different strategies.

Session: Chaos in the Old World:: A first session report -- and half a review

alex352 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:55:41 +0000

by alex352

A brief introduction: Who played?

I have to admit that the reviews I found about CitoW did not succeed in giving me a clear idea about the game. I could get, however, the fascination many players felt when playing. Based on this impression I bought the game and had a first session with 4 players last night. All are part of my gaming group and we enjoy games like Starcraft, TI3, Age of Conan, but also RftG and sometimes a game of Dominion. I will include a few information in this session report that make it readable for people who never played. Therefore, some parts might look like a very light review.

Reading the rules and setting up

Me and one other player had read the rules in advance. Explaining them to the others took almost 45 min. Only then did we feel informed enough to start the first round. I played as Tzeentch (flexible, able to play many cards). All in all I would think that only after 1 hour were the first moves made on the board. It is also clear that in subsequent plays setup will be a quick thing.

Unleashing the chaos

Khorne (strong in military, eager to kill many opponents) started by boxing himself in in the upper right corner of the map. Slaanesh (whose strength lies in his flexibility) chose the corner in the lower left while Nurgle (cheap units and good cards) and myself went for the area center left. This put Khorne in the akward situation to actually not have any enemies within the reach of his units. Everybody seemed to focus on spreading corruption in this early phase thus only Khorne had militarily significant units that could, however, just kill a few neutral peasants (which might bring a few victory points at some point in the game).

Learning through pain

Over the next few turns we all needed to understand how to play our faction. Khorne started to move towards enemy units but had some trouble getting his first real kills. I teleported his approaching warriors away and into Slaanesh's territory. Nurgle had a first strong round but afterwards was hit hard by Khorne and Tzeentch. While Nurgle lost many units he was still able to score a significant number of victory points by dominating areas and also destroying the first region of the old world. Only Slaanesh seemed to be able to make progress on his threat dial at an early stage. Khorne soon joined in, though, as he made his first kills.
Basically, the first 2 turns were a period in which everyone made tactical mistakes but quickly figured out how to best play his hand.
The Old World itself was not putting up much resistance, no heroes killed our minions and no events gave us Chaos gods a particularly hard time. The card "Franz's Decree" in round 2 resulted in a diminished Old World Card Deck and thus in an increased chance that this game timer might put an end to the game before any player would be able to win it.

Slaughter and corruption everywhere

Khorne and Slaanesh in particular moved a lot on the board. I myself assisted them by making good use of my teleport cards - usually sending enemies into other enemies's territory. Khorne was killing enemies at an impressive rate but Slaanesh also managed to keep his dial ticking. Nurgle scored victory points over and over again while I was falling behind. The Old World also started to fight back, heroes showed up and started to kill our creatures. The tactical situation in this period of the game changed constantly and interaction was very high (as you would expect in CitoW). All players started to understand the scoring mechanisms a lot better now and it became clear to each of us how final victory could be achieved. In my case, ticking the dial had been difficult and often not very successful. Since I seemed to fall behind in victory points, I started to think about pushing for a victory by the Old World by exhausting the Old World card deck before anyone would be able to claim final victory by reaching 50 points or ticking his dial into the last position. Events also limited my ability to play cards into some of the last contested regions. Khorne, however, also had a hard time since in some parts of the map an event limited the number of dice a player could use in combat. Nurgle seemed to go for a strong win in victory points. It became clear that the final round would see the destruction of at least two provinces and that whoever would be able to benefit from this would gain a significant boost on the scoring table.

The end

In the last game round three more regions were destroyed and A LOT of vctory points were scored. Nurgle went beyond the 50 points and I myself moved into second position at 44. However, both Khorne and Slaanesh had a fair chance to win through the threat dial victory condition. Bad luck with the dice and my own minions fleeing from Khorne's great demon handed the victory to Slaanesh.

A final verdict after the first play

Everyone had a blast. Even though we were at times shaky with the rules this did not affect the fun in any negative way and we are looking forward to the next game.
One thing is clear to me, though. NEVER play this with people who hate direct aggression and confrontation. You have to be able to endure the loss of your minions. You will see others hit you hard and often. If you take such things personally, this is not a game for you.
Before playing I feared that this game might be to close to Age of Conan in its style. While I like Conan (see my review however for the reasons why my enthusiasm has cooled down recently) CitoW will see more table time in the coming weeks. What seemed to me to be a dry race for victory points interrupted by occasional conflict when I read some of the reviews available on the net has been proven to be an interesting and very likely unique game. We will see if or how this verdict will change with future plays.

Session: Tunisia:: California Campaign Nov 22 and 26 turn summaries

TornadoChaser — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:11:06 +0000

by TornadoChaser

November 22 Turn: Allies Initiative- Weather is no Flight
I am attaching photos to the turn reports, and I apologize for the glare/out of focus shots. Until I get the close-up mode of my digital camera and the lighting in the room straightened out I beg your patience! The two photos show the situation at the start of the turn. The first is my defense at the end of the previous turn at the Juk El Arba airbase, where I have the Barenthin Para on top of the two Superaga AG tank units plus the 1-5 FJ. The allied stack topped by the 1st Cdo includes a French Pol unit and the US 6 mech Rgt from the 1st Army.

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The second photo shows the defenses east of Tabarka, and my reserve units in and around Bedja.

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Allied Turn:
Allies race the Brit 6th Army and Us 1st Armored reinforcements on the board in entry area A and move all the combat units with the move range right up to my Juk El Arba defenders. I am a little surprised, but I have a healthy force here. He moves three new reinforcement artillery units (didn’t note exact units) to 27.20. He lands the 78th Brit Inf reinforcements in Tabarka and moves the British Corps HQ all the way to the river hex adjacent to the Witzig stack allowing for the possibility of bridging next turn. Curses.

During the Axis Reaction phase I fuel up the Superaga Div and the non-divisional units and move the 190 PZ to the air base hex and the Superaga artillery unit adjacent. I pay to fire the artillery on the stack in the hills and roll a 6 for no effect. See photo for a shot of the battle.

Allied combat round: Allied player fires the three artillery units in 25.20 and DGs my stack of defenders. Combat factors drop from 19 to 9.5, sigh. US attack with the all the adjacent units spending 2 SP for the 8 units (except the 501st AT). I pay 2T to defend, with the 190 PZ my lead unit. I avoid surprise fate (+1 AR 1 CDO vs the DG 190 PZ), but he gets a great roll on the 3-1 table in the open and gets an 11, +1 to a 12. I have to destroy the 190 PZ, and the allies choose to retreat so I don’t have to accept the optional result. A tough loss of the 190 PZ.

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Axis Turn:
I don’t have as much options with no flight, as I can’t use my air in Sicily to fly in SPs, but since I only have the Superaga 92 INF left, I ship it and 1.5 SP to Bizerte and the Regiment to Tunis.

My defense at Juk El Arba is not as sound as I would like with a big stack in open ground so I choose to take advantage of the fueled Superaga and Non-Divisional units to spread out behind the river and into the mountain hex 31.21 north of the village. I move the Barenthin and a Superaga AG unit to 29.20 to seize the river line, and another AG unit to 31.20. I thought it would be harder to attack a spread of units across the river. I move the 1Re Italian paratroopers and a German MRCH unit into Juk El Arba. This leaves Allied units in the mountains only one hex frontage on the air base.

I leave the 501PZ and 557 Independent Italian AG in reserve with my HQ in Bedja. As I am not attacking, I choose to build a level one Hedgehog in Bedja under my HQ. I launch an air strike on the units in the hills near Juk El Arba for no effect, maybe my HS129 needs more bombing practice.

No reaction movement by the allies, and no combat initiated by me this turn.

November 26 turn: Axis wins initiative! Weather is clear!
Axis Turn:
I thought about it, and I decided to take a double move this turn to what I thought was an opportunity to improve my defense of Juk El Arba, and to bring in the 10PZ truck, 90 Art, and 1-7 PZ, as well as much SP as my air can carry.

I move the German MRCH unit to 29.21 leaving a full buffer around Juk El Arba, I choose to launch my new Me-110 to attack the units across the river from Witzig in 33.27, but miss rats. I launch another air strike against the US ground stack in 28.19 and this time my HS129s DG them! Way to go Luftwaffe. I move the Superaga ART back to my HQ in reserve and put the 90th Superaga Inf in reserve with the 501st PZ and Indep Italian AG.

I still feel I can’t attack (looking at all those allied reinforcements) and choose to build a level one hedgehog under Witzig in Jebel Abiod. I figure this should make quite the obstacle on the northern front. The photo below shows my defensive deployment around the airfield

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No allied Reaction Phase activities, and I choose not to initiate combat.

Allied Turn: Here come the fuzz!

Wow, if I thought last turn was bad, this turn is worse. I didn’t know so many reinforcements could dash onto the board so fast…

After building an airbase with the HQ near Tabarka (that was sure easy, maybe I shouldn’t have fought so hard for the Juk el Arba airbase) he moves the entire French Corps with the last of the 1st Armor in a dash onto the map from the east. The US units roar in to reinforce the attack on Juk El Arba, he flips his British Corps HQ to combat mode and is ready to attack across the river.

Allied air power screams across the map DGing the Witzig stack, and the unit just south of it. Fighter sweeps swarm over Tunis and Bizerte, but I protected my remaining axis fighters with the wimpy Italian ones, and I lose the MC202 to the dead pile. Several fighters rebase to the new airbase near Tabarka. No more air superiority for the Axis.

The Allied player masses against the Witzig line, and in the reaction phase I fuel the Superaga Division and Independent units once again and move the 501st Pz to the DGd Witzig stack, and the indep AG to the unit just south. The Superaga artillery (playing the roll of the fire brigade if I’ve ever seen one) dashes to that front and tries to fire on the large stack of Allied units across the river, and off course miss despite the unit-density and open ground. Can’t these Italians do anything?!

I can’t do anything with my last reserve Italian Inf Rgt, so now it us up to the fates.

Combat Phase: The Allied player attacks first with the CDO stack north of Juk El Arba, and after DG-ing the sole defender in the foothills proceeds to crush it in a surprising attack, gaining exploitation for all but the US unit.

The Witzig hedgehog is too heavily defended so he attacks and destroys the Italian Marine unit across the river in 35.28 (but doesn’t advance due to poor supply lines through the mountains), and then launches an attack across the river on the two units south of the Witzig hegdehog. This time his luck runs out as he gets an Ao1/Do1 result and retreats his units instead of losing his 5 AR CDO unit leading the attack.

During the Exploitation phase the CDO stack near Juk El Arba moves adjacent to the airbase and attack the Italian paratroopers. Combat result is DL1o1/Ao1 and I lose the Italians and he retreats his exploiters back.

Here is the status at the end of the turn:

]]>

Things look very bleak for my units near Juk el Arba, the Barenthin and Italian AG are adjacent to two large stacks of Allied combat units, one no longer DG, and only have the river line to cling to. (Note that the DG marker in the photo above on the US units adjacent to them should be removed) If the Allied player gets a double move they are almost certain to be eliminated and I need them to survive to mount a credible defense at Bedja. I have no idea how I am going to stop the French Corps that is going to push to the south, I did deploy a few wimpy units to cover key railroad/road hexes to prevent an end-around of mechanized units to go for my rear, but no way can they hold off an attack of infantry units.

I have one wimpy Italian Rgt in reserve and an unused German fighter force still active, but an allied double move would be hard to stop.

I find that I learned very easily how to attack with this game system, but I still have a lot to learn how to defend. The defense of the Juk el Arba seems now to be a mistake as the Allied player could build an airbase anywhere his HQ went after 22 Nov. This location is also too close to the reinforcements and can be reached during their free-fuel phase and attacked on the same turn.

Session: Age of Conan: The Strategy Board Game:: Three players free-for-all... sort of.

Uvatha the horseman — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:36:30 +0000

by Uvatha the horseman

Last night two friends and myself gathered to play Age of Conan for the first time with 3 players. We decided to follow the advice in the rules book and left Hyperboria out.

First era Turan and Stygia had the control of Conan for a couple of times each and Aquilonia the rest of the time, making its controler the uncontested leader of both Monsters and Womans tokens. Turan had the most Treasures.

Stygia was able to build 3 towers while the others built 2 each. One of Stygia towers was destroyed by Aquilonia. Stygia and Aquilonia built one fort each and Turan had the most unlucky rolls of its history failing twice to overcome Eastern Desert so it ended the era with no forts at all.

In the second era Stygia was able to build forts in two more regions and one more tower, fighting against neutral territories only. Same did Turan and this time won easily against Eastern Deserts, summing up three forts. Aquilonia built a lot of towers in the center and destroyed one more of Stygias towers.

The control of the barbarian was again mostly under Aquilonia, but the other nations were able to grab a few counters as well. Aside from Stygia, the other players were trading counters as there was no tomorrow ensuring a healthy supply of coins and scrolls. Stygia traded only Treasure tokens.

The third era was compared to the Cold-War era given the number of troops deployed in the board; Aquilonia recruited all of its military pieces and Turan was short in 3. Stygia recruited only 8 troops and one emissary.

The third era was a bloody one, making the other two look like childrens play. Stygia claimed one of the territories Aquilonia has build a fort in the place of a previous Stigia tower, and brought the bararian there to help defend the unavoidable counter attack. When it came, the barbarian held the enemies at bay, reducing a full army to 2 pieces only. In the south Turan destroyed one Stygia army and its fort but halted; in the counter offensive Stygia went for the abandoned Turan region and readily built a fort there. In the north Turan killed off one Aquilonian Army in Corinthia, but again did not had the chance to built up a fort.

The third era went fast due to the high number of Crown+Conan dices. Stygia grabbed no tokens this time because the only time it controled the barbarian, it got him out of his way to defend Western Shem, while the other players colected a few tokens each, again trading most of them.

In the end Aquilonia had more Monsters and Womans tokens, Turan more treasures, while Stygia was a few tokens behind in the two categories Aquilonia lead. All players had the same number of Croms tokens and Aquilonia had more coins. Stygia had more forts and Aquilonia more towers. The final tally was Aquilonia 36, Stygia 33 and Turan 21.

This game made it clear for me that standing up in defense does not pay the price and that you must grab all the oportunities to attack a smaller army or enemy territory; the counter attacks most of the times should aim for weaker spots instead of the focus of the enemy attack, no matter how weird it may sound, otherwise you will lose the steam before your enemy.

Session: Chicago Express:: My second game, a 5 player report

Darke — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:55:25 +0000

by Darke

The state of play after the initial auction:

Player 1: PRR - $13, cash $11
Player 2: C&O - $12, cash $12
Player 3: NYC - $24, cash $0
Player 4: cash $24
Player 5: B&O - $12, cash $12

First round order of actions:
1: Null capitalisation
2: Auction NYC (went to player 4 for $12)
3: Expand NYC
4: Expand NYC
5: Auction NYC (went to player 4 for $11)
1: Expand PRR
2: Expand C&O
3: Develop
4: Expand NYC

First general dividend
(Note: After this point I got kind of caught up in the game and neglected my notes, as such I've managed to note down what got auctioned to who for how much but I've kind of lost track of which expansion/develop actions were taken in what order)

1: Auction NYC (went to player 2 for $15)
2: Auction C&O (went to player 5 for $12)
3: Auction C&O (went to player 1 for $10)

Second general dividend
(Player 3 is looking completely screwed at this point, he doesn't have anywhere near enough money to compete in auctions before the auction action dial is used up. He half heartedly tries to devalue NYC stock by running the trains into the woods but also expands into a city. To my mind if he was going to try devaluing to sabotage the NYC, he should have gone all out, however it was his only income stream. I'm pretty sure overspending for that initial share has killed his game)

Auction B&O (went to player 5 for $10)
Auction B&O (went to player 1 for $20)
Auction PRR (went to player 5 for $10)

Third general dividend
(At this stage, I think player 1 regretted spending on the B&O share as it allowed player 5 to buy into the PRR, which was previously doing well as a sole ownership company. No one has really noticed that player 4 is hoarding cash at this stage...)

Auction NYC (went to player 1 for $21)
Auction C&O (went to player 2 for $19)
Auction PRR (went to player 5 for 21)

Fourth General dividend
Shortly after, the B&O is driven into Chicago, meaning that:

Auction Wabash (went to player 5 for $17)

Okay, I lied, I lost track of the auctions in the last round, I know that:
player 4 bought into the B&O
Player 3 finally got another share (in the C&O)
Player 1 got B&O (and this was the share auction that triggered the end game)

Fifth and final general dividend standings:

[c]
Company Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Income Share Value
PRR 1 2 $18 $6
B&O 2 1 1 $28 $7
C&O 1 2 1 1 $27 $6
NYC 1 1 1 2 $40 $8
WR 1 $10 $10
Dividend$34 $20 $14 $23 $35
[/c]

Game end state:
Player 1: $42
Player 2: $42
Player 3: $15
Player 4: $72
Player 5: $64

I don't think many of us really noticed that Player 4 had been quietly sitting on his cash for most of the game, and with player 3 desperately trying to claw some money out of his single share in the NYC, player 4 effectively had his railroad successfully run for him by another player.

Did player 3's overbid for NYC and the powerful purchasing capability of player 3 in turn one of the game decide this from the word go?

Interested in peoples thoughts, this is only my second game and the first with 5 players, I'm keen to analyse what went wrong and what could have been done.

Session: Dominion: Seaside:: Winning with Treasure Maps, but in a completely different way

mac_s_1 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:44:08 +0000

by mac_s_1

I played a 2-player game with the following set:

2: Courtyard
3: Smugglers, Woodcutter
4: Treasure Map, Spy, Salvager, Ironworks
5: Upgrade, Merchant Ship, Mine

I started out with the idea of grabbing a few Treasure Maps early, add a Courtyard or two and hope to pair the Maps early.
It didn't work out, maybe I should have been more single-minded or maybe it just was a bad idea to start with.
Meanwhile I was trying to build some sort of Upgrade-engine and I managed to get some Gold in my deck, simply by buying or smuggling it.

Somewhere in the mid game, my opponent did trigger his Maps and bought the first Province with the gained Golds. He surged ahead from this point on.
In the late game, I drew the following hand: Map - Map - Upgrade - Mine - something (don't remember).
Plan A: Upgrade Mine to Gold and play Maps. Would all that gold really be useful this late in the game (apart from the one guaranteed province)?
Ok, so I play Upgrade and draw... another Upgrade.
Then I switched to Plan B: Upgrade Map into Duchy. Upgrade second Map into Duchy. With the second Upgrade I was lucky enough to draw a Salvager. I dumped the Mine and bought a third Duchy (had no treasure cards).
The rest of the game was mostly Upgrade & Salvager to gain more Duchies and one or two Provinces. I won by 2 points despite losing the Provinces 5-3.

OK, so I didn't really win with Treasure Maps. I won with Upgrade & Salvager. Beware the Salvager, folks. It's easy to unerestimate him, but this is turning out to be one of the most useful cards in Seaside.

Session: Man O' War:: Dark Elves vs Dwarfs micro battle

bolter — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:31:29 +0000

by bolter

I recently had a quiet day at work and managed to print out and laminate the ship cards made by universal head so to celebrate I decided to have a quick game of Man O War. As all my ships are busted up/dissasmbled/look like crap, I decided to use my least crappy fleets. Dwarves don't need masts (all of my ships have had their masts removed to ready them for a dip in the simple green) and dark elves only need three.

I like Man O War even though it is a wild dice fest, even more so than other GW games. Perhaps I like it because it is a wild dice fest...

Here is how the game went:

Fleets
Dark Elves vs Dwarves 600 points

1 black ark, 2 death fortress, 3 doomreavers

3 iron clad, 3 monitors

Dark Elves seize the initiative and inflict some early casualties on monitors while minimising dwarf opportunities for ramming. Battle devolves into a bloodbath in the centre of the board. Doomreavers rip up a few more monitors and sink an iron clad while also feasting on a deathfortress. A mutiny aboard the Black Ark reduces it to three crew which are lost to cannon fire and boarding actions by the remaining two ironclads, although one of these looses all its crew in the process. Just as it looks like the dwarven fleet is about to win (the second deathfortress has been lost by this stage) the two doom reavers rush in and eat the last remaining ironclad's final crew member. The battle ends two doomreavers trying to tow the Black Ark home...

Final comments
The game took about 45 minutes to set up and play. The universal head ship cards were superb. They halved the space needed and meant all of the information you need is at your fingertips. I recommend not cutting out each ship card but laminating each page as this means that you have just one or two sheets, each smaller that an A4 sheet, for your whole fleet. This saves having to shuffle through many smaller cards.

Session: Battle of the Bulge:: Scenario One - "Surprise"; Basic Game rules

Chump — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:39:21 +0000

by Chump

The apprenticeship of Patrick Quintin breaks new ground with his first hex-and-counter wargame.

A couple of years ago, Patrick approached me with the desire to start a hobby. He’d seen me over the years play wargames avidly like a true amateur, and has himself always had a penchant for military history, so I welcomed him (finally) into the wonderful world of wargames. The first game we tried was [thing=551][/thing]. After that, he expressed an interest in grand strategic WWII games, so we played most of the Axis & Allies series of boardgames. Then I got hooked on [thing=12333][/thing], and we played a few of those over the past year, knowing he’d be interested in this game that just drips with theme ...

Patrick always knew that the pinnacle of wargames, and the standard that still pervades the hobby, is the hex-and-counter wargame. So I showed him my series of Smithsonian Editions from Avalon Hill of the ‘90s, and he selected [thing=5607][/thing], much to my delight, as I had yet to try that one myself.

Patrick played ze Germans, as they’re usually more exciting to play, and basically more fun. Patrick set up a bunch of attacks, but I advised him that he was trying to make the odds too overwhelming in his favour, and that he was going to need to hit more of my units, as the onus was on ze German to take as much ground and cause as much Allied casualties as possible, and, after all, he only had six turns in which to accomplish this.

Patrick made slow progress in the first few turns, but, as historically, he eventually made some significant breakthroughs in the middle, and on the last turn, a few armoured units blitzed through and made it all the way to Dinant, Marche and even half of Liege. I was only able to to take back Marche on the last turn, and, having lost Bastogne, I feared the worst as we calculated victory points. I worried that I might not be able to squeak out a draw, much less an outright victory, as the German progress towards the end of the game appeared quite significant, and my counterattacks went generally poorly on the last turn. Patrick did, however, need three times as many victory points as me for a German win, and I needed to get more than half as many as Patrick to get an Allied victory.

Miraculously, I managed to get 38 points to Patrick’s 62 (including 15 for objectives), and eked-out a victory! The Americans managed to not only hold Elsenborn Ridge to the north, but also outflanked ze Germans in that area by the end of the scenario. And to the South, more Americans held fast, significantly slowing ze German advance on that flank as well. But where did I get 38 points from?

The key was the destruction of two SS Panzer divisons. Each of these units have four "steps". The way victory points work in this game, you get 1 point for each loss counter and the difference in points between the reduced strength side and the full strength side of any reduced units. But you get VPs equal to double the full strength combat factor for any eliminated units. So, break it down: a 6-4 SS Panzer Division is worth one point for a unit with three steps left (one loss counter), 3 points for a reduced strength unit, four points for a unit with one step left (reduced side w/ one loss counter), and 12 (!) points for an eliminated unit! That’s a big differential for that last step.

The lesson? Take those spent units outta the line of fire before they get eliminated. And concentrate on chasing down, whenever possible, you opponent's weakened units for that final kill shot.

Session: Dungeon Twister 2: Prison:: 2nd solo play of DT: Prison

gheintze — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:37:23 +0000

by gheintze

This is another play on Level 1 (rose). This game lasted much longer than the first one, so I may have forgotten some details to include in the session report.

I also have a few questions which I will highlight in red.

I decided to start with my Cleric, Naga, Backstabber, and Wizard. I think it may be a good idea to have speed on the starting line and I also looked forward to using the Backstabber's special ability since so many characters are nearby.

My Turn 1: I reveal a room with a telescoping spear, fireball wand, and Hur-Ban the Colossus. I put him in a closed area of the room. My 2nd action is to move my Wizard towards the fireball wand.

NPC Turn 1: Hur-Ban moves and reveals a room with Wave-Rick, key, and another spear. He moves and reveals a 2nd room with my Telepart, Schmurtz, and a rope. This 2nd room is the other room adjacent to my starting line and is 39 counterclockwise (the one with all the parallel passages).
Wave-Rick also enters reveal room mode. He manages to reveal two rooms. One with Snake Slissken, a shield, and my Banshee; the second contains Reek Richards, Lissandra, and the other fireball wand.
Schmurtz moves and rotates the room (this becomes a recurring theme).
Snake Slissken also enters reveal room mode and reveals two rooms: LeyVite the Wizard, rope, shield + Weak Ed, my Colossus, and a key.
Reek Richards takes the fireball wand and moves closer to the exit.
Lissandra opens a portcullis and moves.
LeyVite takes the telescoping spear and moves toward my Banshee (who is stationed in a room with a closed portcullis and an adjacent trap at the other opening).
Weak Ed can't exit so he moves to take the rope.
The NPC now has 8 (!) characters on the board and has used 35 actions.

My turn 2: 3 actions. My Wizard takes the Fireball Wand in two actions and I move the Backstabber into position.

NPC turn 2: Hur-Ban breaks a portcullis and moves to break another -- moving dangerously close to my telepath.
Wave Rick moves and repulses my Colossus.
Schmurtz rotates the room which turns it into an excellent position for the NPC. I didn't know how to figure out which direction Schmurtz would rotate the room. Since he always rotates the room he's in, I just used the direction on the rotate die. Is this right?
Snake Slissken reveals the last room which had the last three items.
Reek Richards (with the Fireball Wand) and Lissandra both escape due to the convenient rotation of the room by Schmurtz.
Ley-Vite moves to get the bow and then back towards my Wizard (!). Even though he already has the Telescoping Spear, I assume that he will go after the Bow, since it is a higher priority object. After he gets the bow, he cannot get to any of my characters -- I assume he goes after my Wizard since it is the higher priority.
Weak Ed also moves to get the other bow (!). I'm getting a little worried about all these missile weapons in the NPC's hands.

NPC - 2, me - 0

My turn 3. My Colossus moves and wounds Wave-Rick since he is an easy target. Nolock the Backstabber comes onto the board as a reinforcement.
My Naga moves towards my Telepath, since Hur-Ban will probably attack the Telepath on the nextrun.
My BAckstabber open a portcullis to join the fray with my Naga.

NPC turn 3. As predicted, Hur-Ban moves and wounds my Telepath. He then moves toward my Cleric, since he is the next highest priority.
Wave-Rick is wounded and cannot act.
Schmurtz rotates the room again (yawn).
Snake Slissken jumps to take the rope and regroups with Ley-Vite.
Ley Vite moves toward my Banshee and attacks him with the bow. I assume that once Ley-Vite has the bow, that he will ignore the text on his card that says he will only attack in group combat. Presumably the bow overrides this peculiarity...
Weak Ed moves to engae the Mekanork and wounds him with the second arrow. He is then reinforced by Father Clobber, who luckily gets stuck in a locked room and remains there for the entire game.
Nolock opens a portcullis.
Father Clobber moves to the portcullis and screams for one of the NPC characters to bring a key. Even Nolock is in the next room, this portcullis never becomes the closest to her (whew!).

My Turn 4: I use my 5 action card. My Naga and Backstabber surround Hur-Ban and wound him. My Colossus moves to protect the wounded Mekanork.

NPC turn 4: Hur-Ban and Wave-Rick are wounded.
Schmurtz rotates the room again.
Snake Slissken regroups with Ley-Vite again.
Ley-Vite moves to attack my Wizard with the Bow. I play a really high card, since I have the Fireball Wand and don't want my Wizard to be wounded. Xanth comes onto the board as a reinforcement.
Weak Ed fires at my Colossus four times and misses. I'm starting to get nervous, as I've now used most of my combat cards. Djenh the Naga comes onto the board as a reinforcement.
Nolock opens two portcullises.
Clobber is still screaming for help.
Xanth repulses my Colossus.
Djenh moves to attack my Wizard. I play my +6 to wound him. Muldon Firehand comes onto the board (there are an awful lot of NPCs out there now).
Muldon picks up the wounded Wave-Rick and regroups with Xanth.

My 5th Turn. I play the 5 action card again. My Wizard moves and kills Ley-Vite with the Fireball Wand. My Colossus jumps and attacks the Telepath -- this is the turning point in the game, as they tie and I fail to wound the telepath.

NPC - 2, Me - 1

NPC 5th Turn -- Hur-Ban and Wave-Rick are still wounded.
Schmurtz rotates again.
Slissken regroups with the wounded Djenh.
Weak Ed runs under the Colossus, jumps over a pit, and fires two more arrows at his, but misses. A rather clever move actually...
Nolock opens another portcullis and gains a VP for the bad guys.
Clobber still stuck.
Xanth moves and repulses my colossus. Thankfully, he also gets in the way of the Telepath and his annoying bow.
Djenh is also wounded.
Muldon (with the wounded Wave-Rick) regroups with Nolock.

NPC - 3, Me - 1

My 6th turn: I notice that on the next turn, Xanth will repulse my Colossus out of the Dungeon, so I leave him there. My Backstabber and Naga protect the wounded Telepath and kill Hur-Ban for my 2nd VP. Unfortunately, Hastenyne comes onto the board only one room from the exit (this makes me nervous).

NPC - 3, Me - 2

NPC 6th turn: Wave-Rick still wounded.
Schmurtz, the annoying Mekanork, rotates the room again which will allow, not one, but two NPC characters to exit.
Slissken escapes with the rope.
Weak Ed rotates a room.
Nolock opens a portcullis to my Banshee.
Clobber still stuck...
Xanth repulses my Colossus out of the dungeon for my 3rd VP.I didn't find anything in the rulebook saying this was not allowed.
Muldon regroups with Nolock.
In a totally anticlimactic final move, Hastenyne exits the dungeon to win the game for the NPC.

NPC - 5, me - 3.

I did better this time and I've found that the solo game does a great job of copying the frustration I feel playing face to face. I do wish that I didn't spend more time moving the NPCs than my own players...

It's still a lot of fun and I'm already looking forward to the next game. What have I learned -- don't let the NPCs get the bows. You really go through alot of combat cards that way. I also think I need to do a better job getting the characters on my starting line into the dungeon. That way the battlefront won't be so close to the exit. Maybe I should start with the Mekanork, so I can rotate rooms from the beginning. On the other hand, it is probably important to have a rear guard to keep any luckily placed reinforcements from exiting...

Clearly, I still have more to learn as I continue to explore the Prison.

Geoff

Session: Starmada: The Admiralty Edition:: First Battle of Kleptron III

mundungus — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:21:57 +0000

by mundungus

(Again, session report by a player who doesn't have an account here.)

11/17/09
Fifth Battle between Core and Rim
Background and Setup
Scenario: To the Rescue
Attacker: Core
Defender: Rim

Thus far in the campaign, the Core has 3 victory points and the Rim has 1 victory point. The Core is attacking a Rim system containing a size=2 planet (while in orbit, veers become stay the courses in terms of engine cost). The Rim forces are composed of 2 Katanas (485 pts each) and 4 Sais (45 pts each). The Core forces are composed of 1 Katana, 1 Aurora (279 pts) and 1 Marauder (286 pts). The Rim has split its forces into two groups of 1 Katana and 2 Sais each. The second group shows up at the end of a turn on a roll of 4, 5, or 6. First side to 800 points wins a victory point. Points are awarded for destroying an enemy ship and half-points are awarded for an enemy ship escaping via hyperdrive. Double points are awarded to the Rim for Core ships destroyed before reinforcements show up. Katanas, the Aurora, and the Marauder all have 9 G heavy lasers. The Katanas and Marauder also sport 2 EF light lasers and the Sais each have 3 GHI heavy lasers. All ships have engines=6, except the Marauder which has engines=7. The Sais have no shields, the Marauder has shields=4, and the other ships have shields=5. The Marauder carries 2 torpedoes and Katanas carry 6 torpedoes (3 torpedoes/turn launch for all these ships).
This campaign is fighter-free. All hyperdrive rolls and damage dice are hidden knowledge. Thus, hull damage is hidden knowledge throughout the campaign and from one battle to the next. Everything except hull damage regenerates between battles free of charge. Ship names are referred to as Side-Class-Ship Name.

Left, right, top, and bottom refer to the map from the point of view of the Core (with the Core starting at the bottom and the Rim starting at the top).

Strategy

The Core’s strategy was to stay together and concentrate their attack power (hopefully on one of the enemy Katanas). The Rim’s strategy was to wait for reinforcements before engaging and to send the Sais away so that they could rejoin the battle from outside the area of battle (rather than be in the middle of the hot zone). The double points weren’t attractive enough to take on the Core ships with only one battle group.

Battle Report

Initially, all the Core ships start below the planet in one group and all the Rim ships start above the planet in one group. Core ships are facing up and Rim ships are facing down.

On Turn 1, the Rim ships stay put. The Core Katana Georgia veers up and left, entering orbit. The Core Aurora Starshadow does the same. The Core Marauder Atlanta veers up and left. Reinforcements are still pending.

On turn 2, the Rim Katana Justice moves down and left, entering orbit. The Georgia and Starshadow move in orbit to just around the corner from the Justice. The Atlanta veers up. The two Rim Sais Escutcheon and Buckler move up and right at full speed and up and left at full speed, respectively. The Justice fires 9 lasers on Atlanta at medium range with one penetration. The Marauder launches its 2 torpedoes and the Georgia launches 3 of its torpedoes. The Justice launches 3 of its torpedoes. Reinforcements now arrive with the Rim Katana Truth arriving left of center at the top of the map and the Rim Sais Targe and Parma arriving at the extreme left, facing down and right. Core-0, Rim-0.

On turn 3, the Targe and Parma move down and right while the Atlanta veers up and left. The Atlanta splits its fire 5-4 (medium range) between the two Sais and both are destroyed. The Core scores 90 points. The Justice orbits around the planet to the far side (speed 12) and the five torpedoes chasing it hit the planet and blow up. The Escutcheon comes about and is stopped. The Buckler turns to face down and is stopped. The Truth moves down 2 hexes. The Georgia and Starshadow zigzag out of orbit up and left. The Georgia and Starshadow split their fire 15-3 between the Truth and Buckler (long range). The Buckler is destroyed and the Core scores 45 more points. The Truth suffers one penetration. The Targe, Parma, and Buckler all fired on the Atlanta and the Atlanta suffers 5 penetrations. The Rim torpedoes chase the Atlanta and one is destroyed by the Georgia’s rear-facing lasers. The Truth fired on the Aurora but does no damage. The Truth and Georgia each launch 3 torpedoes and the Atlanta begins warming up its hyperdrive. Core-135, Rim-0.

On turn 4, the Atlanta veers left and up. The Truth veers down and left. The Georgia and Starshadow veer up and left. The Escutcheon veers downs and left, facing up and left. The Justice breaks orbit to face up and left. The Truth fires 9 lasers on Atlanta at close range and gets 6 penetrations. The Georgia fires 9 lasers on the Truth at close range and gets no penetrations. The 3 Core torpedoes detonate on the Truth and score 3 penetrations. The Georgia destroys another torpedo that is hunting Atlanta with its EF lasers. The Justice fires on the Starshadow and gets 2 penetrations. The 3 Rim torpedoes begin hunting the Starshadow. The Truth launches its last 3 torpedoes. The Core has no more torpedoes. The Truth begins to power up its hyperdrive. All three Core ships roll for hyperdrive. Core-135, Rim-0.

On turn 5, the Atlanta veers up and left. The Truth zigzags down and left (later learned that the Truth was moving faster than its engines and was zigzagging to slow from speed 6 to speed 5). The Georgia moved up and left one hex. The Starshadow came about and moved down. The Justice moved up and left. The Escutcheon veered up and left (facing down and left). All 6 Rim torpedoes impact the Starshadow and get 3 penetrations. The Justice and Escutcheon fire on Georgia at medium and long range respectively and get 2 penetrations. The Truth continues to roll for hyperdrive as well as all 3 Core ships. The Justice launches its last 3 torpedoes. The Atlanta escapes via hyperdrive and the torpedo that was following it self-destructs. Core-135, Rim-143.

On turn 6, the Georgia comes about and heads down and left. The Truth stops, facing up. The Justice comes about, facing down. The Escutheon veers left and down. The Starshadow stays the course downwards, accelerating to speed 8. No shots are fired. All remaining Core ships escape via hyperdrive. The Truth cooled down its hyperdrive. Core-135, Rim-526.

Aftermath

The Rim wins a victory point, bringing the score to 3-2 in favor of the Core. Three Rim Sais were destroyed and the Truth took some damage. No Core ships were destroyed, but all took damage. The Core rolled for repair credits and earned 500 credits (credits can be used either to repair hull damage or to buy new ships).

So far in the campaign, the Rim has earned 900 repair credits and the Core has earned 850 repair credits. The Rim has destroyed 934 points worth of Core ships and the Core has destroyed 155 points worth of Rim ships (not counting hull damage as this is hidden knowledge). It costs 41 credits to repair one hull on a Katana, 28 credits to repair one hull on an Aurora, and 24 credits to repair one hull on a Marauder.
The Core was initially able to concentrate its firepower, but had few penetrations and had to use 5 torpedoes to force the Justice to leave the vicinity. The Core was unable to take advantage of the Justice’s absence to cripple the Truth. The Rim’s torpedoes were very effective, but lost 3 of its 4 gunboats. Since it was obvious where the Justice was going to come out of orbit, it might have been best for the Georgia and Starshadow to stop and come about, so as to focus 18 lasers on Justice at medium range.

Next Battle

Scenario: The Trap
Attacker: Rim
Defender: Core

The next battle will be the Rim attacking a Core system. There is a size=2 planet in this system. Rim is limited to 1400 pts while Core is limited to 1000 pts. The Rim must split into two groups with each group at least size 300. The two Rim groups start at opposite ends while the Core starts in the middle. The Core receives double points for destroying a Rim ship.
Author: Brett Tomlin

Session: Space Alert:: The Voyage of the HMFS Quack Hole

tallgrant — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:05:41 +0000

by tallgrant

This is a session report of our adventures in Space Alert this evening. As the ship is a Sitting Duck class vessel and the Battlebots appear to have bills, we've christened all our ships with duck style names and developed our stories around it. As many of our mission end up with dead ducks we've started to get a bit out there with ships' names.

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Her Majesty's Feathered Service HMSF Quack Hole set out with a bright eyed crew of 4 ready to map uncharted space and earn the big bucks on patrol. The ship was helmed by Captain Laurie (leban), with the other warm bodies being 'Dead Weight' Dick (tvdinner), the handsome Communication Officer Grant (tallgrant) and Ship's Loafer JB (FirstToDie).

Mission 1: Survival amidst incompetence

A group of Commandos appeared early- JB took heroic action and quickly dispatched them. Dick made his way to the port side and began pouring fire into an Energy Cloud. Grant moved down and to starboard and began to fire rockets at the scoutship, while Captain Laurie managed the computer and took joyrides in the elevator.

Grant's actions resulted in the death of the scout, and he provided an additional shot to help Dick complete the dismantling of the Energy Cloud. A group of Commandos appeared- JB hit them once. Realizing he could not repair his Battlebots he decided to take the rest of the mission off and watched the Commandos trash the reactor instead. Laurie managed to hit an asteroid before it impacted the ship a lower the damage caused to the bridge. Captain Laurie continued to pour laser fire into empty space to scare of the ghosts of any threats. Grant and Dick decided that real threats took priority over imagined space monsters and moved to eliminate a Fighter that appeared. The ship then jumped for hyperspace.

Assessing the damage, the crew decided the 5 hits to the central section made further work impossible and returned to base. Central Command evaluated the actions of the Ship's Loafer and reassigned him to narcoleptic duty dirtside. His replacement was a shiny new android. The crew was awarded 14 spacebucks (after being fined 11 spacebucks for pouring hot chocolate into the reactor).

Mission 2: The brave little android
An unstoppable Juggernaugt appeared off the port bow, followed immediately by a Seeker droid on the bridge. Grant and Dick hurried to the port gunner stations and laid into the Juggernaut while the android managed the ships computer and roused the Battlebots. Captain Laurie moved to fill the reactor and watched with horror as the android sacrificed himself to destroy the Seeker.

Dick and Grant kept up a constant stream of fire, completely destroying the Juggernaut and the Destroyer that followed it. Captain Laurie resumed command on the bridge and destroyed an Amoeba that wandered into the path of fire. Dick and Grant shuffled to the starboard side of the ship and eliminated a Marauder.

The crew was thoroughly impressed with their own handiwork- Grant speculated that with this sort of mission log they could easily be paid another 39 spacebucks! The tiny bit of damage sustained was prepared and the crew headed to a new system.

Mission 3: The Double Cross
Panic set in early as a Swarm appeared. The newly reactivated android made a heroic jump to the port laser and unleashed fury into the Swarm. Grant and Dick moved into position as a Leviathan tanker appeared- it was quickly dispatched. Captain Laurie, who had been minding the mouse, notice that some wires had been crossed- she began trying to fix them. She did not realize the extent of the trouble- before the problem was fixed the engine overloaded the reactor and destroyed the ship.

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We survived the first game, but JB had to go home afterwards and we were unimpressed with the score. There was a lot of uncoordinated moves that could have been done much better so we decided to try a new set of missions.

The second was a group best- we killed the Seeker (which none of us had ever seen) for a whopping 15 points, and sustained a single point of damage during the entire mission. The 39 we scored was a group best!

The Crossed Wires did us in- we'd never seen them before and the leaked energy was too much. We'd actually filled the shields heroically and then the reactor before it appeared. We couldn't fix it fast enough- we took 5 damage from the reactor energy, and then another 5 from the shield. Was a shame- we had done so well before.

Session: Mr. Jack:: Mr. Jack with the Missus..

DarkCelt — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:50:32 +0000

by DarkCelt

My wife, has been known to roll her eyes whenever I talk about my games or click about on the Geek. (She is mocking me right now as I write this session report..) However, she also has been known to enjoy the odd game of Cathedral or other such lightly themed abstract. So I picked up Mr. Jack in the hopes that it would be one she would be interested in. Tonight, we had our first chance to break it out.

Let me preface this by saying, that in the few time that I have played this game I have never won this game. Sad, I know. It's still a game I enjoy a great deal. Yet, when her brow crinkled right up during the rules explanation, I thought it might not go over well. I assured her that one or two turns in, she would have no problems. I also said that I would play as Jack and she could be the detective. And so we began.

The first round saw a pretty usual turn of events as we selected our characters. By the end of the first turn we had four suspects witnessed, and four in the dark. The next turn narrowed the field a bit more as it ended with only three possible suspects. The third turn proved to be disastrous for me, as she identified the sole witnessed character, Dr. Watson as the nefarious Mr. Jack.

In the fourth round, I made my first choice, moving a suspect away, keeping the slipery Doctor well away from everyone else. But would I be able to keep this up for another four rounds? Looking at the remaining characters and the board set up, I realized I had lost the game. I prompted my wife that if she looked carefully, and thought about the characters and their powers that were left, the game was hers. It didn't take her long to select Sir William Gull, switch places with the distant Doctor, and then immediately select Sergeant Goodley to hop on him and make the accusation.

Wow. All over in four turns.

At any rate it is now one that she is eager to try again. Who says I didn't win?

Session: BattleLore: The Hundred Years' War - Crossbows & Polearms:: The Battle of Poitiers (I)

MerricB — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:31:22 +0000

by MerricB

Nash and I met again last weekend to play through the Battle of Poitiers. We played the battle twice with us swapping sides between games. For this game, I played the French, which are towards the bottom of this set-up photo:
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I had a lot of heavy infantry, which, set as it was back in my reserves, would have a great deal of problems engaging the English. More interesting were my arbalesters and heavy cavalry which had the potential to wreck the English line - if I could survive their initial longbow assaults.

Later in the game, the English cavalry might come into play. This would be a tough battle for the French, and the momentum was quite likely to shift.

]]>This is Nash, in the early stages of the game.

The initial stages of the battle saw Nash bringing up his right flank whilst, on the other side of the battlefield, my right flank did likewise. The initial clashes were deadly to the English troops, and soon I'd eliminated a unit of spearman and one of archers on my right, although some of my heavy cavalry had been reduced to a single unit.

2 flags to none, but my left flank was looking tremendously exposed: too many forces massed to swing around and crush me!

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The next few manoeuvres weren't pretty as I attempted to reinforce my left flank with some medium infantry. Heavy cavalry crushed my reinforcements and moved around to surround and entrap my forces. Nash gained his first flag - my medium horse - and though I was getting close to eliminating one of his heavy force, my line was out of position and very vulnerable.

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Unfortunately, my infantry just folded without being able to take out his exposed horse. With no units left on my left flank, Nash began to swing the English forces around to attack the bulk of my troops. His horsemen surveyed the area from the hill and planned their charge.

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Meanwhile, my right flank had broken Nash's troops on that side. The score was four flags (me) to five (Nash). I had to be very careful to withdraw my vulnerable troops lest Nash gain the last flag he needed for victory. Getting my infantry into defensive formations was key, and Nash, although pounding them with his horse, wasn't able to quite deal enough damage to take the victory. The battle back responses were causing some pain to Nash's cavalry, and putting it in range of a consolidated push.

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We continued to manoeuvre. Nash's cavalry fell, and I rotated my infantry to keep the fresher troops at the front and away from his toughest troops. A charge by Nash's medium infantry fell afoul of my formation and retreated in confusion. At five flags all, the battle hung in the balance. Nash needed to swing his horse around my lines and attack my wounded units - but he was running out of time.

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I did not allow him the luxury. His exposed heavy cavalry was in range of my arbalests and infantry and I did not roll poorly. The battle was mine - at 6 flags to 5!

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This had been a hard-fought and extremely entertaining game, which could have really gone in either direction. Nash's archers had a minor effect on the game, compared to how devastating they could have been, and it was good manoeuvring that took the day.

I'll post the reverse battle sometime soon.

Session: The Burning Blue:: Where are we, nav? Ich weisse nicht!

cstimpson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:21:54 +0000

by cstimpson

Time for a solitaire Scenario 4, I thought. I like Sc. 4 - deep penetration of the airspace, potential for some big air battles. Drew raids on the factory at Yate, near Bristol, and The Royal Docks and Isle of Dogs in London.

The LF3 raid (GG) used 1g He111 and 1s Epro 210, with 2 g Me110 and 2 g Me 109 as escorts. I decided to split these into two raids, with the jabos and 1 g 109 as top cover going out 5 minutes ahead of the Heinkels, which took the 110s as close escort and 1 g 109 as top cover. That way the lead raid would look like an FJ sweeping ahead of the bombers, and the RAF might leave them alone.

The LF2 raids (D) used 2 g Do17 and 6 g Me109. I needed to distract the defences, so peeled off 2 g of 109s for an FJ sweep far south of the target, aiming for Crawley in the Kenley sector. Since I had 3 gruppe in the channel patrol I also assigned one to sweep ahead of the bomber stream and orbit just short of the target, and a second one as withdrawal escort. The bombers and the remaining 4 g of 109s were to head north from Peuplingues, staying clear of the coast till northeast of Margate, then turn sharply west into the Thames estuary and split into two raids. One would follow the north bank until NE of the target, turn and bomb the Royal Docks then follow the south bank back out and pick up the outbound route home. The second raid would do the opposite: take the south bank, turn NW to hit the target, then overfly Hornchurch and Rochford on its way back to the coast and the withdrawal escort. It looked like a good plan.

The LW had no trouble with form-up, and the Crawley decoy raid got off at 1100, the LF3 E210 raid at 1105. Five minutes later the LF3 bombers followed. Then at 1115 the single Me109 gruppe sweeping ahead of the LF2 bombers launched, and at 1120 the bombers set out. The only noteworthy event was that the single Me109 gruppe (H5) was not detected by the British as it formed up.

At about 1120, the Spitfires of 72 Sqn from Biggin Hill tallied the decoy raid and the fight began. It ended with the destruction of two Me109s, and although 72 Sqn was forced to pancake, the raid had at least been identified; the 2-squadron Kenley wing declined to join in and headed off to the eastward.

At 1125 the E210 raid crossed the coast at Christchurch and, despite the presence of 152 and 238 sqns, continued inland unseen. Of course, at this point the situation changed somewhat, because if it really had been an FJ it would probably have tried to tally the squadrons, which it didn't do. So now the RAF needed to assign sqns to chase the raid and find out what it really was -- a task made more difficult by the fact that the Observer Corps lost sight of it. In the east at this time, the still-hidden H5 passed North Foreland and turned west.

At 1130 the LF3 Heinkels turned over the coast and immediately became lost. They were also pounced on by 152 and 238 sqns and shaken, but not stirred. As a result of the combat, however, the air picture quickly deteriorated to 'poor'. And at about this time the London raid turned into the Thames estuary but, before splitting into raids H2 and H3, also managed to lose itself.

The RAF's response was now at its height. Two more 2-squadron wings, from Hornchurch and North Weald, had scrambled, as had the rest of the Biggin Hill sector (66 and 92), 222 from Rochford, and 56 and 609 from the Middle Wallop sector - a total of 14 squadrons for the day.

At 1140 H5 reached its orbit point just east of Tilbury, having spent almost its entire flight undetected. At 1145 in the west, the E210 raid, still unchallenged, reached its target and bombed the factory. The bomb-free jabos and their Me109 escorts now entered an orbit northeast of Bath.

The RAF's response to the London raid was now massing up in a solid wall spanning the Thames near Chatham. Raids H2 and H3 crossed the Essex and Kent coasts on diverging headings, their navigators still scratching their heads, then ran into the wall. Even with the poor air picture, the Fighter Command pilots were able to tally the raids, and the massive air battle, involving 9 squadrons, 4 fighter gruppen and 2 bomber gruppen, raged above the eastern approaches to the capital. Two separate dogfights milled around the bomber streams as they pushed west. When the fighting was over, two Do17s, five Me109s and five RAF planes had been downed, all the defending squadrons were headed back to their bases, both LW raids had been raid-matched, and both were still lost.

Curiously, the FJ gruppe orbiting Tilbury never got into the action until later, when 66 Sqn, on its way back to Gravesend, passed close enough for the Me109s to engage it. In the combat that followed, 66 Sqn lost a second Spitfire and I JG3 lost all cohesion and turned for home.

In the west, 56 and 609 sqns finally managed to tally their targets. 56 Sqn and the E210 staffel each took a loss and were forced to pancake, while the larger raid, losing a He111 and two Me110s, became raid-matched. The bombers corrected their navigation over Colerne, however, just in time to bomb their target. The recovery route for both LF3 raids took them over Warmwell before turning for home, and II JG2, who had been top cover for E210 and was now FJ, planned to pay it a brief visit.

H2 and H3, at this point, were making their final turn near Hornchurch and Sevenoaks, respectively, to line up with their targets. Both, happily for the crews, corrected their navigation on the turn, although H3 allowed itself to be decoyed over the target. On its way east over Rochester, H2 had the misfortune to lose a bomber to heavy ack-ack fire.

With all RAF squadrons either on the ground or approaching their airfields, the day's raids produced just one more loss. II JG2 descended as it approached Warmwell, and strafed the airfield. Unfortunately for the LW, 152 Sqn was at 'available' status and took no losses; the airfield ack-ack, however, accounted for one of the Me109s.

The tally for the day, then, had been a loss of 4 bombers and 11 fighters for the LW, against 8 RAF fighters. All raids except for the E210 sortie had been matched, and the final VP was 8 against 22 needed: a clear victory for the RAF.

With the poor air picture for most of the game, the jabo raid posing as FJ, the hidden raids, and the uneven performance of the LW navigators, it was a great game!

Session: Summoner Wars:: The Fall of Oldin

aldin — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:42:39 +0000

by aldin

I played my first game of Summoner Wars tonight – Cave Goblins versus Guild Dwarves. It was a learning game played with my son and I offered him the choice of factions. He chose the Goblins, won the initiative roll to give me the first turn and we were off!

I got a powerful Dwarf champion in my initial hand, Baldar, who only takes damage when all of your opponent’s attack dice are hits. I immediately moved my starting units forward to attack the Goblins, hoping to convert some of my foes into magic to summon Baldar. With decent luck I managed to kill a Fighter and wound a Berserker, building a point of magic. At this point I discarded four common units from my hand to build my magic pile for summoning Baldar. Big mistake.

The Goblins play like a horde, getting two attacks from their Fighters in addition to their normal three attacks. Also, two of their common units are free to summon. My son reminded me of that fact when on his turn he immediately brought two Fighters in to reinforce and proceeded to knock off both of the Defenders I’d advanced on my turn.

In subsequent turns he exploited my lack of commons. The pricey Baldar fell to Goblin Rage – allowing them an additional attack with their single attack die and bypassing Baldar’s special defense. With all the magic he’d accrued from killing MY units he brought in The Eater – a commons destroyer with a substantial attack. And with The Eater he found a clever thing to do.

You need Walls to bring units into play and he moved The Eater next to my only Wall, attacking it with his beefy attack and willing to sacrifice his own cheap commons as necessary to maintain the attack (The Eater must destroy a common at the end of every turn, player’s choice). I ended up needing to summon and move commons to attack him which he then ate to maintain his attack on my Wall.

In the end, he pulled an Event combo using Rage and Horde Attack to make several strong strikes against my Summoner, Oldin, and that was all she wrote. Lots of fun and something I’m eager to play again. Total play time was about forty minutes.

Session: 1941:: Stubborn Red Army blunts Axis pitchfork

moss_icon — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:16:02 +0000

by moss_icon

Myself and erstwhile gaming partner Lewis were looking for a game to play in an evening and this one fitted the bill. It's fairly simple, easy to learn, doesn't have many bits and is a fair approximation of Barbarossa. I'd suggest it was a Russian Campaign light. Plenty to appreciate here, although the German player has most of of the fun.It played in 3 and a bit hours and presented the the usual Barbie thing of Germans crushing, killing, destroying and then seeing the Zombie Soviets rise from the dead pile.

Lewis got off to a slow start as the Germans on the limited turn 1, but on turn two started plouging through the north and centre. This was how the game was to go on, regular progress everywhere except the bane of Lewi's existence, the grim south. One of my Armour groups dawdled on the border and delayed Lewis' slow footed infantry for several turns, allowing Odessea to be reinforced to the point where Lewis was going to have a hard time taking it. Leningrad looked under threat though as Lewis pushed forward, and Moscow was in his sights too. But turn 2 and 3 see major Soviet reinforcements, plus the arrival of Soviet replacements, and there was always a roadblock. Odessa simply would not fall, the drive on Moscow faltered as Lewis peeled off Panzers to go looking for the easy picking VPs that Kharkov and Rostov appeared to offer. Taking those two cities would put the Germans on 4, enough to win even if I held Odessa. Army Group North battled their way to the gates of Leningrad before the mud turn slowed down the Panzers heading south. This allowed me to shore up Kharkov, but Lewis darted a Panzer round to Rostov on the frosty turn 6. Things were getting interesting. Odessa stubbornly held on, Lewis then thrust units in the direction of the isolated Sevastopol, but I was able to cut him off and put him out of supply to essentially save that. The driving Panzers hurtled into Kharkov, that put Lewis on 3 VPs, enough to win. Moscow was safe, only mediocre infantry were attempting to beat a path and I had handy armour units in reserve. Leningrad was another matter, Another tough panzer army was in tow, and Lewis managed to force half of the Leningrad forces out. I managed to keep the door open and supply from the East, whilst the Finns struggled to make it out of their back yard. On my turn I surrounded Kharkov and eliminated the panzer army holding out, so we were going into the snowy turn seven on 1 VP. Lewis needed one more city and to hold on to Rostov. He relieved my siege of Rostov to put it back in supply, threw everything one final time at Odessa and was repulsed, died horribly at Kharkov and Moscow, and found that going up against two 8 strength infantry units lodged in fortress Stalingrad was going to be suicide. The Red Army had held strong, much reduced but the Axis spearhead was shattered. For now.

Session: Hellenes: Campaigns of the Peloponnesian War:: Stormy Weather Forecast

MerricB — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:31:08 +0000

by MerricB

I've been getting behind in my wargame playing, so I went into Good Games Ballarat last night with purpose - I was going to play Hellenes with anyone available. After I set up the BattleTech game I was overseeing, I discovered Liam would be interested in trying the game. So, together, and making a *lot* of rules mistakes, we played through the five years of the Sicilian campaign.

The game that we played wasn't the one in the rulebook. It had some correspondences (combat worked in a similar fashion), but we pretty much discarded a lot of the Sicilian activation restrictions, which explained why my Athenian forces were having so much trouble from the initial Spartan/Syracusan sieges on the island.

However, this game was far more about getting a feel for the game than accuracy of play. The first two years went by very slowly (and Liam patiently suffered) as I looked up rules. The last three years went by a lot quicker.

There were some lovely touches in the game, though: born of good design or horrible tactics. Sending a big flotilla of ships over to Sicily the long way round in early spring counts as horrible tactics. They all ran into a storm and sank.

After that, I got the hint to send my fleets over in summer. It didn't leave much of a campaigning season, but at least they'd get there alive. I offered tribute to Poseidon to get my ships there safely (yes, that's a real game mechanic) and Liam offered tribute to Hera to counter Poseidon. Then Liam played a card (Hurricanes?) to cut even shorter the campaigning season, and my Athenians had to go home over the wine-dark and stormy sea... only some of them made it back alive to their staging point.

In the last turn, I managed to send a party around the back of Liam's forces and capture the almost-undefended Syracuse, but he'd gained enough other prestige points to take the game.

We got a *lot* of rules wrong, but we had fun. More important, I now have enough of a handle on the feel of the game so that next game things should be a lot closer to how the game was designed to be played rather than our more casual first game. This game seems like one I'm going to enjoy. It definitely has resonances with Hammer of the Scots, but with a topic I like a little more.

Session: Agricola:: JimmyO's first 3+ Player Victory, or By The Hair of His Chinny-chin-chin

MisterG — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:05:32 +0000

by MisterG

I intended to present what our crew thought was JimmyO’s first legitimate 3+ player victory, albeit a 4-player family version contest at that, but halfway through my write-up I realized that he had, in fact, committed a gross error that invalidated the game. Given that none of us caught it at the time, I can only admit that as official recorder of the session, the fault was mine. Be that as it may, Jimmy soon redeemed himself in the following 3-player session with a combination of careful (for the most part) play and some fortuitous cards. It was a deal 7&7, keep a pair of each to start, then one each pass thereafter draft. My initial holdings were the Fisherman and the Stone Carrier, with the Simple Fireplace and the Stone Exchange as my Minors. One Ock that passes through my hand is the Layabout, and one that stays is the Ratcatcher. Both will prove to be instrumental in my undoing. The game gets off to a somewhat standard (though flawed) start, as Constant Reader will soon see…

Round One/Fences
Geoff – Occ/Fisherman
Brian – SP + Guest> (-2f)
Jimmy – 3W(3)
Geoff – 1C/1
Brian – 2W(2)
Jimmy – PF

I open with the Fisherman, one of those Ocks that seems to be favored among the Agricola cognoscenti worldwide, but has always left me quivering with doubt within seconds of playing it. Will it be worth it, will it pay off, or will I suffer the torments of the damned as it’s blocked time after time after time? Well, too late now. Brian bypasses the wood, apparently having no Minors requiring same, and jumps the button, coughing up for the Guest. Pretty obvious that he wants the stacked reed, or maybe the guaranteed shot at a prime Occupation. If it’s the Ock, though, I have to wonder: why not just spend the food on it now, and save the Guest for more important things? Jimmy agreeably clears the forest, while I snipe clay. Brian takes the remaining wood, and Jimmy settles for an early field. Weak move it may be (was there anything better?), but you sure couldn’t tell it by his final victory.

Round Two/Sheep
Brian – Occ/Field Watchman
Jimmy – SP + Guest> (-2f)
Geoff – 1R(2)
Brian – 3W(3)
Jimmy – 1C(2)
Geoff – Fish(2+2f)
Brian – 1G + PF

Indeed, Brian’s eye is on the Ock, and out pops the powerful Field Watchman. This could be trouble. Jimmy snags the button, sending the Guest my way, and I am more than happy to take the stacked reed. That was not expected, not at all. Brian claims wood, Jimmy picks up some clay, and I get first use from the Fisherman while Brian does the same with the Watchman. Fair enough.

Round Three/Sow & Bake
Jimmy – Occ/Village Elder (4W)
Geoff – 2W(4)
Brian – 1C(2)
Jimmy – 3W(3)
Geoff – SP + Simple Fireplace
Brian – 1G + PF
Jimmy – DL(2f)

Jimmy takes a page from Skyp’s playbook and ocks the Village Elder, although as it turns out, his plans for actually using the Elder rest on much firmer ground. I swipe the corded wood, and Brian suffers a first real miscue (at least in my opinion) with a questionable clay grab. Why not put pressure on Jimmy by blocking Day Laborer? Instead, Jimmy piles up more wood. I retake the button to get out my crummy little cookery, Brian works the Watchman again, and Jimmy restocks his larder. Don’t worry, Brian, it’ll be my turn to screw up next Round.

Round Four/MIMI
Geoff – 1R(2)
Brian – S&B (2Gf)
Jimmy – MIMI/Fp2
Geoff – SP + Guest> (-2f)
Brian – Fish(2f)
Jimmy – Sheep(3)burn2

MIMI finally manifests, and I am torn: do I snatch the reed, or do I upgrade my chintzy fireplace and torch the sheep, making life difficult for Jimmy? I take the reed, since it delays building rooms for both of my opponents. Brian sows his fields (as well he should), and Jimmy quickly picks up his fireplace. I nail down the button, adding the Guest to next Round’s roster, confident that no one’s going to snipe the wood. Brian hauls in much needed food, and Jimmy makes a meal of the sheep, wisely saving one just in case. Dudes home, feed, and Brian sacrifices a grain. I am not unhappy.

Round Five/Stone
Geoff – 3W(6)
Brian – 2W(4)
Jimmy – Occ(-1f)/Clay Worker
Geoff – 1C(3)
Brian – 1C(2)
Jimmy – SP + Ladder
Geoff – MIMI/SFp>CH4

The 6Wood is mine, Brian follows suit with the 4Wood, and Jimmy gets out the always useful Clay Worker (which ultimately yields a 5Clay, not a bad deal). Speaking of which, I liberate the 3Clay, Brian copycats with the deuce, and now Jimmy retakes the button to play the powerful Ladder and ease his reed requirements. Nice one. I finish out the Round by upgrading to a proper hearth. Given the weakness of the Simple Fireplace, I can’t see how this is a bad play. Constant Reader may disagree.

Round Six/Family Growth
Jimmy – 1R(2)
Geoff – BR(2) + x
Brian – 1S(2)
Jimmy – 3W(3) +1C
Geoff – FG + Stone Exchange> (2C>2S)
Brian – MIMI/Clay Oven (5f)

Jimmy swipes the reed; imagine that! Needless to say, I promptly build my rooms. Stables would have been nice, but who really cares? Brian picks up the key ingredient for his impending oven, Jimmy stocks up wood, I hire on a new worker, swapping out clay for stone in the process, and Brian claims his desired oven, putting it to work.

Round Seven/Renovation + MIMI
Jimmy – BR(2) + x
Geoff – Sheep(3)burn3
Brian – Occ(-1f)/Clay Plasterer
Jimmy – Fish(3f)
Geoff – DL(2f)
Brian – SP + Stone Exchange> (2W>2S)
Geoff – FG + Dovecote (5f>)

Now it’s Jimmy’s turn to build, also sans stables. I put some pressure on him by torching the woolies. Feed, baby, feed! Brian pops an Ock to ease clay needs, but it doesn’t seem to gain him much advantage in the long run. Jimmy quickly fishes, if only to deny me. My supplies are already adequate, but I pick up another deuce for insurance. I have plans. Brian nips the button, passing on the handy Stone Exchange, banking on next Round’s 6Wood. I add a fourth peep and a Minor that swaps stone for points and some endgame food. Once again, I’ve added 15 actions to my roster by the end of Stage Two; I’m feeling pretty confident. As we all know, however, pride goeth before a fall.

Round Eight/Boar
Brian – 3W(6)
Jimmy – 2W(6) + 1C
Geoff – 1R(2)
Brian – MIMI/Well (5f>)
Jimmy – FG + Canoe
Geoff – Boar(1)burn1
Geoff – Occ(-1f)/Pieceworker
Geoff – 1S(2+1-1f)

Brian and Jimmy make short work of the abundant wood, and I clear the reed, thinking that Brian has gotten his priorities backwards. Nonetheless, he claims the Well. Jimmy adds a worker at last, along with a Minor that essentially lets him swap a wood for a reed (that he really doesn’t need) and a modicum of food. I now—at my complete leisure—torch the boar, get out the Pieceworker, and clear the stone. I am still a perfectly happy camper/farmer.

Round Nine/Vegetables
Brian – 1R(1)
Jimmy – 1C(4+1)
Geoff – Sheep(2)burn2
Brian – S&B (5f)
Jimmy – Fish(2+1f+1R)
Geoff – Boar(1)burn1
Jimmy – Ren>C + Fp2>CH5
Geoff – 1G + 1G –1f
Geoff – MIMI/Stone Oven (8f)

Brian chooses the Ninth as his opportunity to choke horribly, opening the Round with a horrendous solo reed grab. Why he failed to snap up clay is utterly beyond me. Jimmy does exactly that, and I find myself once again on the horns of a dilemma. I have the Ratcatcher in hand, a somewhat vicious Ock that I have never used before. He offends my sensibilities. I hesitate, and then fry sheep, delaying the decision while putting pressure on Jimmy’s food situation. I know that the Layabout is out there, too, and I suspect Jimmy’s the one who has him. I want to see if he’ll play him early, since I can easily afford the increased cost of the backup Ock space. Brian, distraught, weakly bakes, and Jimmy hits up the fishing pond. I am left at the crossroads; this is the moment of decision. Unfortunately, I allow my humanity to prevail; the Ratcatcher will remain dormant. I fricassee the boar, again trying to lure Jimmy into prematurely activating his Layabout, and again he refuses the bait, choosing to renovate to clay and upgrade his fireplace. He’s quite obviously going to sacrifice his wooly. I stare my final opportunity to unleash the Ratcatcher in the face and blink yet again, choosing to piecework the grain and pick up the Stone Oven, baking fit to beat the band. It is a decision that will soon come back to savage my rump quite rudely. Dudes home, we all feed, with Jimmy willingly recreating a wooly negative. I’ve dug my own grave, and don’t know it…yet.

Round Ten/Stone
Brian – 1C(5)
Jimmy – 3W(6) + 1C
Geoff – 2W(4)
Brian – Ren>C + Writing Desk
Jimmy – 1S(2)
Geoff – PF
Jimmy – FG + Stone Exchange> (2C>2S)
Geoff – 1G + 1G –1f
Geoff – 1V

Brian scoops up clay he most likely should have taken last Round, then Jimmy and I clear the timber. Brian renovates, playing a near-useless Writing Desk (it’s a point, but he never plays another Ock). Jimmy commandeers stone, I plow a first field, Jimmy adds another worker and swaps off for more stone, and I prep for some serious farming and/or baking. I’m already beginning to regret not having played the Ratcatcher.

Round Eleven/Cattle
Brian – 1R(2)
Jimmy – Boar(2)burn2
Geoff – 1S(2+1-1f)
Brian – BR(1) + x
Jimmy – Cattle(1)burn1
Geoff – PF
Jimmy – Occ(-1f)/Renovator
Geoff – SP + Bakehouse (10f)
Jimmy – Ren>S + Joinery
Geoff – 1G + 1G –1f

Wonder of wonders, Brian takes reed, even if all three of us know he’s pretty much out of the race. Jimmy restocks his larder with burnt bacon, I snap up a solid chunk of stone, and Brian builds a room. At least it’s a nice room, eh, Brian? Jimmy stows away some beef jerky, and again I contemplate the pros and cons of playing another Ock. Flush with food, Jimmy’s not likely to be playing his Layabout this Round, but he might have something else useful, and thereby worthy of blocking. Trouble is, all I’ve really got left that’s even semi-useful is the Stone Carrier. Is an extra two or three stone going to be of practical value to me? Possibly, but I’m also aware I need to get cracking on fields. After much dithering, I crack and plow a field. Jimmy immediately gets out the Renovator, saving himself a stone grab. Fairly certain he’s going to renovate, I regain the button to upgrade my oven to the Bakehouse, baking up my grain in the bargain. Jimmy makes the expected renovation and claims the Joinery; I close the Round with another Pieceworker grain heist. All feed without problem, and it’s on to the endgame.

Round Twelve/Family Growth w/o
Geoff – 3W(6+1-1f)
Brian – 2W(4)
Jimmy – FG w/o
Geoff – Sheep(3)burn2
Brian – FG + x
Jimmy – 1G
Geoff – Fish(3+3f) –1f>j.
Jimmy – 1V
Geoff – 1C(3+1-1f)
Jimmy – PF

There are times in the play of Agricola when the “obvious” play can be quite deceptive. This often occurs when a player is confronted with a nice, juicy 6Wood. In this case, I’m well aware that time is running out to fence, and I’m short of timber. With ten wood on the board, and ten more due to appear, the impetus to strike now is incredibly strong. Still, taking the easy family growth has its own charms: three points and two extra actions guaranteed, not to mention denial of same to Jimmy (and Brian, though I’m unconcerned about him getting it, since he’s obviously far behind). My first intuition is that Brian will take the growth, but that intuition proves wrong. Wood, wood, and worker, and my heart sinks; this is not good. I herd the sheep, slaughtering two of them. Now Brian chooses to grow, curse his dark little soul, and Jimmy nabs a grain, prepping for routine farm work. I put my Fisherman to task for the second and last time (it must be noted here that both Jimmy and I overlooked the Canoe’s tax, which I have properly recorded here, but it made no difference in the outcome: I bought an extra wood in the Fourteenth with the surplus food, which I have eliminated in this report, since if I hadn’t had it, I wouldn’t have spent it. As I say, the outcome would have been the same), and Jimmy snags veggie seed and a field, flanking my penultimate clay grab.

Round Thirteen/Plow & Sow
Geoff – 1S(3+1-1f)
Brian – S&B (2Gf + 5f)
Jimmy – P&S (1Gf/1Vf)
Geoff – 1C(3+1-1f)
Brian – FG w/o
Jimmy – SP + Planter’s Box
Geoff – 1S(2+1-1f)
Brian – Fences(15)
Jimmy – Occ(-1f)/Layabout
Geoff – Ren>C + Stone Oven
Jimmy – 3W(3) + 1C
Jimmy – PF

The thirteenth is a nail-biter of the worst order. I need to both block Jimmy’s best interests and fulfill my own, and it’s damnably hard to determine what the optimum move might be. I settle for the 4Stone, to guarantee renovation to same. Brian bumps his grain holdings and bakes, not a bad move for him, but I dearly wish he’d interdicted Plow & Sow, which Jimmy immediately takes, despite its relatively low point yield. His Layabout still lurks, and again I am torn. Impulsively, I take clay, thinking, “Pottery,” again spurning the fifth worker. Brian happily adds a dude to his roster. Jimmy retakes the button, adding a one-point Minor that is otherwise superfluous. Now is the time, if ever, to make life difficult for Jimmy, but I choke again, snagging more stone out of sheer greed. Brian fences, and Jimmy now slams down the Layabout. He won’t get to harvest this Round, but I’m still worried. I renovate and reclaim the Stone Oven (so much for the Pottery), refusing to waste grain on baking. Jimmy picks up more wood (no doubt concerned that I might block fencing should he try for a 6Wood next Round), and plows a last field. Brian and I feed easily, and it’s time for final introductions of Mr. Rock to Mr. Hardplace.

Round Fourteen/Renovation + Fences
Jimmy – Fences(12)
Geoff – P&S (2Gf/1Vf)
Brian – Cattle(3)
Jimmy – Boar(3)
Geoff – 2W(4)
Brian – 1G + PF
Jimmy – Sheep(2)
Geoff – MIMI/Fp2
Brian – S&B (1Gf + 5f)
Jimmy – SP + Pelts
Geoff – Ren>S + Fences(15)
Brian – FG w/o
Jimmy – Occ(-1f)/Yeoman Farmer

Jimmy makes the requisite play of fencing, maxing his pastures in a 2x2 array. I farm, Brian herds the cattle, Jimmy the boar, and I seize the last wood I need for my own fences. Brian exercises his poor Watchman one last time, Jimmy gathers in sheep, and I have one last opportunity to vacillate, this time over the potential bonus from Jimmy’s Village Elder. If (one of the biggest two-letter words in the English language)…if he has no playable Minors, then I can interdict MIMI for a cheap Major and tie Jimmy for the number of Improvements played), or I can simply surrender on that front and go for my final worker, three points guaranteed, and pray for the best. I opt to interdict, fingers crossed. Brian sows and bakes, and Jimmy destroys my gambit with the totally unsuspected Pelts, which not only gives him the Elder’s bonus, but will gain him another four bonus points besides! Ouch, and double ouch. I’ve been had! Disconsolate, I renovate and fence, prayers unanswered. Brian takes on his last, futile worker, and Jimmy now delivers his final coup by way of the Yeoman Farmer, which cancels his animal negatives, and ultimately wins him the game. All home, harvest and feed; Brain sloughs off four grain, while Jimmy fries his hapless boar and a wooly, plus a kumquat, popping four of those food into his rooms for the four-tuitous Pelts bonus, pardon the horrendous pun. Tally scores, and read ‘em and weep, pal, read ‘em and weep.

Final Score (Occupations Played, Minors/Majors Played)(Wood taken/bonus)(Rounds as Starting Player)(Total Primary/Secondary/Tertiary Actions)(Points Per Primary Action)(Food Spent)
Primary Actions are those actions first taken when a player claims a space with a family member. Secondary Actions are the “extra” actions allowed by certain spaces, such as a Minor Improvement when taking Starting Player, or Baking after Sowing. Tertiary Actions are all other “extra” actions enabled via card play or the seasonal rules of the “Through the Seasons” variant. Note that the “TtS” variant has two Action Spaces that allow Secondary Actions: Spring and Autumn.

Jimmy – 41 (5 Occ, 6/2)(24/4)(4)(41/9/6)(1.000)(41*) *includes 4food for Pelts
Geoff – 40 (2 Occ, 5/4°)(24/1)(5)(44/9/12)(0.909)(57) ° Stone Oven purchased twice
Brian – 30 (2 Occ, 3/2)(19/0)(5)(32/6/3)(0.938)(34) Each player played the Guest once

Player Fields Pastures Grain Veg Sheep Boar Cattle Unused Stables House Peeps Pts Bonus
[c]Jimmy 4(3) 4(4) 3(1) 1(1) 1(1) 0(0) 0(0) 3(-3) 0(0) 4S(8) 5(15) (4) (7)
Geoff 3(2) 4(4) 6(3) 2(2) 1(1) 0(-1) 0(-1) 2(-2) 0(0) 4S(8) 4(12) (12) (0)
Brian 3(2) 4(4) 4(2) 0(-1) 0(-1) 0(-1) 4(3) 3(-3) 0(0) 3C(3) 5(15) (7) (0)[/c]

Wow! What a photo finish! Despite Brian’s midgame collapse in the face of dual double-builds by his opponents, this was a very entertaining and elucidating contest. I’ll leave the rest of the post mortem to Constant Reader. I do note with interest, though, that even though Jimmy’s Clay Worker netted him an eventual 5Clay, all it was effectively was good for was the 2Stone he swapped off some of that clay for, courtesy of the Stone Exchange, since he never used the other three. I submit that he could have just as well dispensed with the Clay Worker altogether, grabbed a 2Stone somewhere down the line, and used an MI play for something else better than the Stone Exchange. But, that’s just me playing 20-20 hindsight.

Next report: Oh, I dunno, what to you wanna do tonight, Marty?

Session: Brass:: Unlikely Moves

random user — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:11:47 +0000

by random user

Can you win a 4 player Brass game with a decent score (140+) without building any cotton mills or ports, using multiple double-card moves, overwriting your own tiles often, taking several loans, and starting the rail phase with a negative income? Not always, but it can happen...

Unlikely Moves

This was an interesting game because I made many moves many people either don't like or don't consider in their games: double moves, overwriting oneself, and taking loans. So I thought I'd write this one up to give an example of how you can still win using unconventional tactics.

This game was played online. The full game can be found here (there is a link to the game log on that page):

http://wargamessoc.union.shef.ac.uk/brass/board.php?GameID=6...

Unfortunately, I didn't keep specific notes on that game, so I'm not 100% sure what my starting hand was. Here are the 15 cards I played in the canal phase, in the order I played them though:

Coal Mine, Shipyard, Stockport, Cotton Mill, Manchester, Bolton, Burnley, Ellesmere Port, Macclesfield, Oldham, Manchester, Oldham, Iron Works, Cottom Mill, Liverpool

My guess is my initial hand was something like: Coal Mine, Shipyard, Stockport, Manchester, Iron Works, Manchester, Liverpool, Ellesmere Port.

I started in 4th position, and the first turn went: develop 2 ports, coal mine at Wigin, develop 2 cotton mills. Not having a cotton mill adjacent to a distant market, I decided my best bet would be drop a coal mine at Oldham and start iron on the east side of the board. In addition, going last on turn 2 sometimes gives you flexibility since you can often chain your turn 2 and turn 3 moves to get 4 moves in a row.

As luck would have it, one of the players developed 2 tiles away, and as expected player 3 built an iron works and collected 10 pounds. This allowed me to develop (2 ports) and build a canal from Oldham to Manchester on turn 2, and then on turn 3 take a loan and build an iron works to bring me back to 0 income without paying an interest on my loan.

This was a game where lots of developing went on, and I was getting left behind. I couldn't really find much synergy in my cards. I drew a Bolton card, where someone had earlier played a coal mine, so for my next turn I was able to play Bolton to flip my lvl2 iron works as my first action. At this point I felt I was pretty far behind in both ports and mills, and didn't really have the cards to make use of them anyway.

For my second action I developed away 2 shipyards. I decided I was going to try and flip as much iron as I could, build coal mines, develop away shipyards, and take lots of loans to set up for the rail phase and hope to get lucky with cards in the rail phase.

By the end of turn 4 Grey had built a lvl3 port at Ellesmere Port, and on turn 5 Green built a lvl3 cotton mill.

I had a Liverpool card for a shipyard, but it appeared that no one was going to connect it for me, and I wanted to play a coal mine (and didn't have a single card which could play one) so I used a Ellesmere Port and a Macclesfield card to play a lvl2 coal mine in Wigin for turn 5.

By turn 6 though I realized I wasn't going to have enough actions to do everything I wanted: I still had a coal on my lvl1 coal mine in Oldham and I wanted to flip that; I wanted to try and play a lvl3 and possibly even a lvl4 iron works still, but my opponents hadn't been cooperating because they had mostly stopped developing, and I wanted to play a shipyard in Liverpool.

My priority was to place my lvl3 iron works, but there were only 3 empty spots on the demand track, and I didn't want to give my opponents free develops. The other problem with the shipyard was the timing worked out there would be a high chance I would have to play the shipyard on my last turn, and I didn't want to go into rail phase going 4th given my board position (or lack thereof).

So for my turn 6 I developed away my lvl1 shipyards and overwrote my lvl1 iron works in Manchester with a lvl3 iron works. With luck I was hoping to play a lvl4 iron works in Rochdale.

In turn 7 Green sold 2 lvl3 cotton mills to the distant market, and Purple sold 3 lvl2 mills to Grey's lvl2 and 3 ports, so I knew my opponents are all doing well. I overwrote my lvl1 coal mine in Oldham with a lvl2 coal mine and took a loan; I had iron works and Liverpool as my last two cards, and was hoping that enough iron would get used I would be able to play and flip it.

Unfortunately that didn't happen so instead I took 2 more loans to end the canal phase with 125 pounds but an income of -4.

As expected, my score was awful: Grey was in first place with 29 points, followed by Green with 22 points, Purple with 17 points, and me at 12. I'm not sure I've ever scored that low in canal before.

In terms of rail points (flipped cards which would again score in rail), Grey had 20 rail points, Green had 18, Purple had 17, and I had 12, so the real score was as follows:

Grey: 49
Green: 40
Purple: 34
Me: 24

This game wasn't going well on the face of it. On the other hand I had a lot of pounds, and lvl2 shipyards ready to be placed, and I was going first.

For my first turn I double double-railed, securing a spot into Barrow-in-Furness, flipping both of my coal mines, to bring my income back to 5 pounds. I spent the next two rounds dropping more coal mines when the price of coal was high, and building rail when it was not. Unfortunately, I still hadn't picked up a single shipyard. I did notice I had a ton of coal mine cards though, which hopefully meant it would be harder for other people to play coal.

Finally after my 3rd turn, I picked up a shipyard card, and I was lucky in that no one had decided to poach the shipyard in Liverpool yet, so on my turn 4, I was able to play my first lvl4 coal mine, and a shipyard in Liverpool.

Unfortunately, I was now done drawing cards and still hadn't found another card to build a ship. I would have to find a time to safely double-card into a spot.

On turn 6 one of my opponents made my life easier by building the link into Barrow-In-Furness to play an iron works. By now, almost all the rail links were gone. Since I hadn't developed cotton mills and didn't have any port cards, I built the last rail links available and pondered what I could do with my two actions not reserved for the shipyard.

Turn 7 left me going last with 4 useless cards. Between building a shipyard and not having to take a loan in the rail phase, I had almost caught up. The scores were as follows (including turn 8 income):

Grey 135, or 142 if he could flip his lvl2 cotton mill
Green 125
Purple 115

and me at 128. That seemed good since I was going to pick up 15 points next turn from my shipyard. The biggest problem were my lvl2 and lvl3 ironworks, at Bolton and Manchester, since there were only three iron on the demand track, and both Green and Purple had lvl4 iron works unplayed and the money to play them. In addition, I knew there was still an unplayed iron works and an unplayed Bolton card, so chances were really high one of them would be overwritten.

Furthermore, I didn't have any good options which meant I would have to play my shipyard before they went again, putting the iron into the danger zone with only 2 left in the demand track.

My solution was to overwrite my own lvl2 iron works in Bolton with a double-card move. This left 1 iron on my lvl4 iron works, but I knew it would get used since I was building a ship next turn. This also gave me 4 points and removed any chance for my iron works to be overwritten.

Turn 8, another double-move to the shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness and when the dust settled the score was:

Grey: 146
Green: 130
Purple: 125
Me: 147

This game was among the oddest I've played, and it was interesting enough I thought I'd write it up in case other people might enjoy reading about an unusual win.

Session: Talisman: The Frostmarch Expansion:: Frostmarching with Newbs

Praxus — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:26:18 +0000

by Praxus

And so, after just buying the base game + Reaper the weekend before, my birthday rolled around Tuesday, and I could think of nothing better waste of birthday cash than to expand upon my purchase with the Frostmarch expansion.

Be forewarned that there are some inside jokes here that reference my previous session report, found here: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/463570

Cast of Characters
Minstrel/Druid - Lisa
Prophetess/Sorceress - Andy
Knight - Me

We had decided beforehand to try out the new Ice Queen alternate ending, to see how it might change the gameplay for us. In retrospect, I have to say not much at all. We have a tendency to accumulate as much as possible before attempting the inner region as it is.

Here are some highlights from the session:

* The knight runs around for a bit, getting pretty beat up from monsters, bad rolls, and a shatter spell on his nice new armor.

* The prophetess blasts everything in sight, with spells raining destruction everywhere

* Minstrel moves out into the world, and says "excuse me sir, nice scythe by the way, do you know the way to the tavern?". Dead. That's right, second turn of the game, the minstrel dies. Gotta love the Reaper.

* Druid replaces the fallen minstrel, quickly picking up some evil items that the knight and the prophetess could not.

* Druid gets visited by death, they decide to play chess. My wife got no less than 6 visits from death over the course of the game. She was not amused.

* Seeing an opportunity to get her revenge, she sends death after the knight. The knight gets a strength. Thanks death!

* The knight, heads off into the woods, and draws....the witch! "Ma'am, I know we've had some differences in the past, but I'm hoping that's all behind us..." CROAK!

* Wife decided to go to bed, so the Druid drops his stuff on the ground and disappears.

* The now un-toaded knight attempts to get his stuff back. "Ok, miss, I'm really tired of your crap. All I want is my stu..." CROAK!

* Prophetess, in the meantime, has run out of useful spells and succumbs to one too many high-strength monsters. There is now one whole strip of the board covered with peoples stuff.

* Knight finally manages to get his stuff, as well as the druids stuff. Ironically, he also picks up a spell....toadify. He certainly has experience.

* The Sorceress enters play, and quickly gets enough items/craft to attempt the inner region.

* In a race to the finish, which involved us needing to kill Cerberus at the portal, the Sorceress manages to make it to the Ice Queen.

* Knight gets a riding horse, and finally manages to make it into the inner region. Fortunately, by this time, he has a ton of items/followers etc. Along with a porter and a mule.

* The Sorceress has a fairly short fight with the Ice Queen. Needing a 5 or 6 to come close to taking a life from her, she eventually falls to the Queen.

* The knight quickly dispatches the inner region, and confronts the queen. Only losing once, he manages to pull off a fairly easy combat victory.

I don't know if we'll be using the Ice Queen much, to be honest. It takes something away from the game that I just can't place. In a way, it feels more predictable. I think for our next session, we'll be attempting the Warlock Quest alternate ending. I just hope there's no witch...

Prax

Session: Age of Steam Expansion - Alabama Railways, Antebellum Louisiana & Four Corners:: Alabama Railways - First Play

jcurtis55 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:12:17 +0000

by jcurtis55

We played our Age of Steam using the Alabama Railways map last night. This is a 2-player map designed by Ted Alspach. Ted always comes up with some interesting twists with his Age of Steam maps, and he’s done so again here.

Here are the special rules for Alabama Railways:
• Only blue, red and black cubes are available for shipping.
• The map does not start with a blue, red or black city on the map. There are 4 brown cities which are stocked with goods but do not receive goods.
• The only available actions are urbanization and locomotive.
• 2nd place in the auction does not pay anything
• A blue, red and two black cities are available for urbanization.
• All deliveries generate one less income than the length of the route.
• If you use a link of track belonging to your opponent when you ship, the income you subtract from the delivery can be the income your opponent would have received when you used his or her track.

We randomly pulled the 3 cubes that start in each brown city and of the 12 cubes, only one black cube was on the map. There were several black cubes on the goods chart, but even then most of those were in the 2nd or 3rd row down and would likely not come out until well into the game. The distribution during goods growth is also not even. The northern brown city gets cubes on a roll of 1 or 2. The central brown cities only get cubes on a single roll of 3 or 4, while the southern brown city gets cubes on 5 or 6.

The reduced income makes money tight in the early game. Money is always tight in Age of Steam, so making it even tougher to increase your income is definitely a bit evil. I really liked the twist though that the one income you subtract from your delivery can be the income your opponent would have received when you use his track. This meant it was much tougher to really keep a person out of a city. You just had to get a route within one city or town from your final delivery spot and you can make the delivery and your opponent gets no income as long as you only use one of his or her links. Being able to use a single link of your opponents with no real penalty opened up a lot possibilities when choosing your delivery routes.

Another interesting aspect is the auction. Only the auction winner has to pay the amount bid. My immediate impression was that with no shippable cities on the map to start that urbanization would be critical. I think that is true on the first turn. The auction winner is automatically going to get first ship and first move, which can also be critical. On turn one of our game Eric bid 6 to win the auction. He placed the blue city in the SE corner of the map and built to it. I could have built track to the town north of the blue city and got in a single shipment for 1 income, but decided to build track further north to put myself in a position to utilize the red city, assuming I won the auction in round two. Unfortunately, this meant Eric got 2 income on the first turn and I got none.

I should also point out that between mountains in the north, multiple rivers in the south, and numerous towns, there are very few turns when your track builds aren’t going to cost you at least $7-8 or more. This made urbanization even more important as it basically gave you a free link in your track and you don’t have to pay the $3 to lay track in a town. I did win the auction in round two and placed the red town in the center of the map. I also built track out of the northern brown city in the only gap through the northern mountains. This forced Eric to build through the mountains to connect to the 1-2 brown city which had 4 blue cubes in it by turn two.

This is where I think I made my big mistake of the game. I won all the auctions for turns 2-4. In each case I took urbanization, which meant Eric got 3 free bumps to his locomotive, while I had to forego a shipment to bump my train up. I didn’t keep exact track of it, but by the time we got to round six or so, I would guess he had gotten in at least 3 more shipments than me, which gave him an 7 or 8 point lead on the income track. Yes, I finally had a great loop set up and could make 6 shipments for the final couple of turns but by then I had no chance to catch up and Eric was still getting 5 and 6 shipments himself. At the time I felt I really needed urbanization to get the shipments I needed to keep from going broke, but in retrospect, I should have taken locomotive a time or two and adapted to whereever the new city was placed. To further compound my problem, the lower income also led to me issuing all 15 shares of stock whereas Eric got by with about 11. In other words, I got my but kicked. I believe Eric ended up around the 34 area on income while I was at about 27 or 28.

Without further plays, I’m not sure if it will always be this way, but other than turn 1, we never really seemed to have a shortage of cubes to ship, and that was despite the fact that a six only came up once on all the goods growth rolls. Eric had a good blue route going while I was often shipping red. I suppose that was more a factor of some unusual distribution of the cubes in the initial placement and on the goods chart.

All in all, I thought this was a very good 2-player map. Reducing your income by one for each shipment seemed particularly evil but giving you the option to use your opponent’s track and take the reduction from the opponent added greatly to the strategies available. I’m really looking forward to trying this one again.

Session: Here I Stand:: Battle of the Brothers - French Perspective

RiffRaff14 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:01:42 +0000

by RiffRaff14

[Cross-posted from our blog, Margin of Victory: an in-depth look at board games]

Battle of the Brothers - French Perspective

Last Sunday three sets of brother sat down for a friendly game of Here I Stand (read the twitter feed for some play-by-play commentary). I was really looking forward to the game for many reasons. One, the sibling rivalry aspect - I would play the French and my brother (Russ) the Protestants. We shouldn’t tangle too much, but we’re brothers, anything can happen. Two, this would be my fourth game of Here I Stand so I was feeling really good about the play and rules aspect of the game. And three, I analyzed all the possible plays, cards, etc. to get the VP necessary to win as the French. I was ready!

Turn 4
The deal was bad: I got 5 cards for a total of 10 CP, well below the 2.7 CP/card average. I would need some help. I allied with the Hapsburg in exchange for Besancon. Not too important, but I was really just looking to keep the Haps off my back. I knew I was going to war with the English. The English would DoW Scotland with their home card and I would vacate it. In exchange, I would get a card draw the next turn. Sounded like a good deal and if anything changed, I could just hold Scotland.

The action phase progressed as expected. I took Milan and the English DoWed Scotland. However, after the English rolled a 6 on the pregnancy chart and got a healthy Edward and 5 VP, I wasn’t going to give him another easy 2 VP. So I held Scotland and sent an explorer who went off to discover the Amazon! 7 VP in one turn! Things were looking up.

Turn 5
Going into this turn, I knew the English would try to press me. I got decent cards and decided on a pure defensive strategy. I was near the lead and didn’t want to draw any attention. My hand was decent: Potosi Silver Mines and Plantations should net me cards for Turn 6 and I could use Auld Alliance to defend Scotland. I was also able to get a Franco-Ottoman alliance this turn. He would play Swiss Mercenaries on my behalf and I would loan him a fleet. I would build my forces and gain the cards necessary for a turn 6 win.

The English player went for Metz and Bordeaux (with the crafty play of Charles Bourbon and moving out some fleets). He forced the use of my home card for CP, but my defensive plays and his bad dice roll on the assault in Metz forced him into an odd position on his final play of the turn. With his 1 CP card should he assualt Bordeaux or Metz? I still held one card in my hand and no one knew what it could be - Mercenaries Bribed had already been played. I put on my best poker face. He finally chose to assualt Metz and I played my combat card: Mercenaries Grow Restless! The renegade leader and his ragtag bunch of mercenaries were wiped out! After that huge success I was riding high and hoping for great things in the new world. Then Lady Luck left me. I had invested big in the New World and got nothing. No extra cards.

Turn 6
We dealt out the cards and and I got a decent CP hand, but no good events. The negotiations were intense. The Hapsburg player (Joe) was in the lead and had 11 cards in his hand. Having won the previous two games, he already had a huge target on his back - this just made it bigger. The Ottoman, Papacy and Protestant powers wanted either the English or the French to go to war with him to block his win. With the promise of a card play and a couple of mercs I could easily stop the Hapsburg player. However, I would also need an alliance with the English to also give myself a chance at the win. The English player knew this and refused. My next best bet was to go to the Hapsburg. I would give up a card draw for an alliance as well as the transfer of Navarre to the French. He was interested in the deal but also spoke to the English. During the announcements, my hopes of winning were crushed. The Hapsburgs took the English deal instead and I was on my own. My only chance at victory now was to go to war with the Hapsburgs and the English.

The action phase began. I took Navarre right away and then turned to defending against the English onslaught. The English player took Metz and then stormed on to Lyon. I did the best I could with my few remaining CP, but it was of no use. The English took Lyon. I could only build Chateau for 1 more VP and finished at 20. Good enough for fourth place. The English player made all the right moves and with luck in the new world, rolled himself to a great victory.

Game Over
The Turn 6 diplomacy was the win or lose moment of the game. All 6 powers had legitimate shots at winning the game going into the final turn. The Ottoman player could win with Vienna and Piracy. The Hapsburg player was in the lead and held 11 cards - I still can’t believe the luck in the new world! The Pope was doing well against Luther, but the religious game can swing so dramatically it is hard to tell. The English and French had made big moves and only needed another key or two.

And this is why that diplomacy phase lasted way too long and was way too intense. Everyone had a huge stake and wanted someone else to stop the Hapsburgs. But no one wanted to give up much to allow that and throw away their own chances of winning. Having Russ at the table and knowing how to push his temper didn’t help matters either. I couldn’t blame him for throwing his hands up and leaving the table for a few minutes at one point. This was supposed to be fun?! It gave me a headache and I wanted to stop.

A few days later I composed my thoughts for this blog. I thought this was the best I’ve played a game of Here I Stand. I knew all the right things to do and made good moves during the negotiations. I think 2 extra cards from my colonies would have won it for me. The atmosphere was intense; every power had a shot at victory; good diplomacy can give you the power to win. This left me thinking: when’s the next game?

Session: Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery:: First game/session of AoE 3...

Tekkor — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:05:28 +0000

by Tekkor

Well I finally got the game. AoE3 has been a game I had on my radar for quite some time. I just had put off buying it a couple times because of other games or whatever else seemed to pop up. Anyway I finally got it yesterday and I read over everything and watched the very helpful video review by Thirdfloorgamers here on the site to get a bit of a visual reference.

So then myself, wife and son embarked on a game. One note....my wife is a bit of a part-time boardgamer with us. However she has one favorite game that she loves to play anytime....Stone Age. It is by far her favorite game. I bought AoE3 because everything I read gave me the idea this was a very similar style game in that....you place workers and then resolve those actions. I was right.

Anyway the game started out with my son in first turn, wife second and I had third. Of course none of us had played or had any sort of strategy for this first game so we were sorta just trying to fly through based on past game experience whatever that is good for lol.

My son hopped on a building first turn and I believe it was the one that allowed a Captain to the Discovery space each turn.

My wife jumped on a Trade space and I took a Colony space. I realized later after some reading I by far probably made the weakest opening move lol.

Anyway as the game progressed my wife seemed to mostly ignore Discovery although she did I believe do Discovery on 2 areas but only dominated population of 3 on one space. She instead seemed to focus mainly on getting the $5 money building, stocking up tons of resources and buying buildings whenever able.

My son sorta started with some Discovery but then focused on buying the buildings whenever able and eventually picked up the building that gave points for each ship you had...I believe he ended up with 4.

My strategy was more scatter brained lol. I started out trying to do a bit of everything which was a mistake. After a few turns I tried to focus on Discovery and getting control of more areas along with getting a few soldiers to pick off the other players settlers.

The big mistake my wife and I made that we figured out afterwards is we let my son on at least 2 different turns dominate the Specialists space. Two different times he got 3 of the 4. We just were not paying attention being our first game (and my son is 14 and a VERY sharp kid, probably read a strategy from you guys before we played lol). So on many turns he was placing twice the number of colonists/specialists that we were.

The final scores were approximately... Son 84 Wife 76 Me 60.

My first game desire to play around with everything to see how it worked doomed my score from the start. I was able to get some points by dominating more areas then they did but they killed me with better scoring buildings at the end.

Most important thing though...we had a great time and my wife really like the game because of the similar mechanics to Stone Age. So many more games to come Im sure.

Session: Carson City:: Second Play

Eisley — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:44:33 +0000

by Eisley

Carson City is a people placement game that I really enjoyed on my first play (This is a follow-up to my initial review posted here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/458802). Lots to think about and plenty of difficult decisions. I was looking forwards to my second play and was interested to see if it would offer new challenges and opportunities.

During my second play, all the different characters continued to have their own appeal which was great as it meant no-one feels they’re left with a choice of total duds, although you can still find the characters that best fits your plan are not available because other players have already taken the ones you’d like most.

I did notice a powerful combination though which I used to win the game. One character gives you +3 firepower and I used that in conjunction with claiming the +3 firepower token too. In total, I had 10 firepower for both of the last two game turns. As a result, I could swagger through the streets of Carson City and pretty much choose which actions I wanted to perform as I could beat anyone in a duel for the right to take an action. In the final round, I was the player who used all the actions that score points apart from one because everyone else lost the duels with me to perform those actions. This seemed rather powerful, and I even felt bad for being such a bully, but I was playing in a tournament day so I had to do it. I don’t believe this is a weakness of the game as, in my first game of Carson City, two players went the firepower route - whilst they were dueling each other I constructed cheap buildings using the worker role and I won that game. So, the firepower route isn’t necessarily a certain win, but players should be careful of letting one player dominate that aspect.

In the final round (out of four), I noticed that players bought a lot more parcels of land in this game than my first play. They mainly bought them for the extra 2 points per building/mountain/house that they earn their owners at the end of the game. But these purchases had a secondary effect too with greater effects than it first appeared which was to deny the benefit/income of these locations to other players who would have used them for income because. For example, if you own the parcel of land that a mountain is on then no other player can receive income from that mountain, but they would have if it was not owned by anyone. If all players grab the extra 2 points per building/mountain/house then it is likely to be relatively even; however, the effects on other players’ income can have a bigger effect. Afterwards, we thought that we would probably buy more parcels containing mountains/houses during the earlier rounds in future games, if we could afford the meeple and cash, as it would deny income to players when it is much harder to earn. This is a really interesting tactic and could cause more duels over land.

Almost by accident, one player discovered that some non-productive moves can be very disruptive too. The green player went to buy the same parcel of land as the blue player. They dueled for it and the green player won the right to buy it; however, the green player then realised how expensive that parcel was so decided not to buy it. But, it wasn’t a waste of an action because denying the blue player the purchase of the parcel really messed up the blue player’s plans. So, negating someone else’s actions can sometimes result in a positive net gain for you.

So, more depth was discovered during my second play of Carson City. There was already a lot of choice in the game and no way near enough meeple or money to do them all (which makes for interesting and difficult decisions), but having greater discoverable depth in a game is a good thing for future plays. I can see other ways to try and play the game in terms of land ownership and just generating cash for points. In addition, I have yet to use any of the variants and I am looking forwards to using those - especially the one that removes using the dice to decide duels which may remove some of duels’ unpredictability.

Overall, I really like Carson City. It has a lot of options and potential strategies. I find it quite stressful as at no time did I not feel safe and was just waiting for someone to ruin my plans. You always feel short of resources, so finding good combinations of actions and purchases is essential. I feel there is more variety in the gameplay and tactics to be seen yet too. To me, these are all signs of a good game.

James.

[Played with 4 players]

This article and others on Essen Spiel 09 games on my blog at http://thegameofgaming.wordpress.com

Session: Tichu:: Tichu at the Stonebraker house

dklein2 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:17:32 +0000

by dklein2

First time posting, long time reader.

Our little group plays board games once a week (this week was Cuba which I won by 2 VPs! then Dominion which I finished last), followed by Tichu. My partner and I are usually on the same page, but recently our "skill level" had been down especially mine. Tonight however was total domination!

Some background. My partner and I are basically the same age (31 - Sam and 33 respectivly), and our opponents are 33 (Blur) and I believe 60ish (Rick). The older of the two (who posts on this board, but I don't know his handle) also plays on Fridays in another group. The younger of the two has one rule in Tichu: ESTABLISH DOMINANCE!

First hand, Blur calls Tichu and is set by myself with a 9 bomb. Second hand, I call Tichu but they make up some points. Third hand and fourth hands we easily out score them. Fifth hand I call Tichu, and Sam and I go out one two. Sixth hand we go out one two again (no Tichu call). Seventh hand I call Tichu, make it and the game is over! I had all the skill tonight! (More on that another post!)

Round by round scoring

Sam and Dave Blur and Rick
95 -95 (set)
115T 85
75 25
70 30
300T12 0
200 12 0
150T 50
1005 95

ESTABLISH DOMINANCE!!

Session: Commands & Colors: Ancients Expansion Pack #5: Epic Ancients II:: Epic Gaugamela - a bloodbath

mdr003 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:53:12 +0000

by mdr003

After last week's two scenarios, I was itching to play Epic again. But my regular opponent Randy was busy every evening this week - kids, rehersals, unimportant stuff, he was booked solid. BUT... yesterday was Ballarat Cup day.

Side note - horse racing is a big deal in Victoria (as is sport in general). Each year during Spring there is a series of race meetings, culminating in the big race. It's so big it's a public holiday. In every town it's the same - they all have a day in October or November where all the businesses close down and everyone dresses up in their classiest duds and heads out to the track.

Not me though... or Randy. I was working, and Randy was home with two of his kids (one sick, and one whose kindergarten was closed so all the teachers could live it up). So we worked out a plan - we could play a quick scenario during my lunch break. I dropped off the Epic stuff so Randy could set it up in the morning, I worked hard to get things done so I could have an extended lunch, and Randy spent the morning making sure his kids ran around like dervishes so they would be content to watch a video at lunch time. The things we do to get a game in.

At lunchtime I headed to Randy's, and found the blocks set up ready to go. I shuffled the cards again to make sure there were no shennanigans and we were off.

The scenario we picked was Gaugamela - Macedonians vs Persians. I'd been keen to play this one ever since I opened Epic. Persians spread from sideline to sideline with elephants, heavy cavalry and chariots, and on the other side was Alexander with his Companions and an enormous phalanx, it had the makings of a fantastic batttle. I had the Persians, Randy was Alexander, and we were off.

]]>
Gaugamela initial setup - Persians in tan, Macedonians in blue

In Gaugamela, the Macedonians have three units of Companian cavalry in the centre-right - they had a special rule where they can ignore one flag and sword. And the unit that Alexander is with gets an extra combat die. On the centre-left, they have six units of heavy infantry led by Craterus. A few medium infantry, auxilias and lights flesh out the battle line, and there is a small group of cavaly on the left wing.

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Alexander and his Companians review the Persian battleline

The Persians are led by Darius with two units of heavy cavalry in the centre. The battle line stretches across the whole board, with lights and bows on the flanks, and a mix of medium infantry and auxilia throughout. There are a lot of light cavalry on either wing each with a unit of leader attached medium cav, and starting spaced out in front of the line are three units of elephants and two of heavy chariots.

The Persians start with 6 command cards, while the Macedonians have 9 and move first. That worried me somewhat... Randy would always have a lot of cards to choose from. But I looked at my starting hard and I was optimistic. Only six cards, but two mounted charges, and a first strike. Not too shabby at all.

Randy started things off with a general advance with his skirmishers who threw javelins, arrows, rocks, whatever, hoping for a lucky strike on my elephants and chariots. He was out of luck though as all his detrius bounced off. I wanted to save my mounted charge cards for when they would do some damage, but I really didn't have the cards to do anything else. So my elephants moved forward and sent the Macedonian lights back to their battle line. Randy evaded across the board, but some good rolling by the elephants meant quite a few casualties - out of the five units that came forward, four went back with fewer than 4 blocks.

In the next turn, Randy shuffled his line and again sent a shower of stones my way, but again casualties were very light. I had my elephants in position so played a second mounted charge, and straight into the Macedonian heavy infantry. Three elephants and a heavy chariot against the phalanx, all with an extra die.

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Persian elephants and heavy chariot charge into the Macedonian phalanx

I picked up the dice and started rolling. By the end, I had lost three out of the four units - but at the same time, I had removed 10 blocks of heavy infantry. I was happy with that exchange. Elephant blocks are pretty fragile, so a 2 for 1 swap for the much more durable heavy infantry was a great result. I'd only managed to completely remove one unit though, so the banner count was 3-1 to Macedonia.

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Result of the elephant charge is a severly damaged Macedonian phalanx, and greatly reduced elephants

In Randy's turn, he moved a healthy heavy over to pound the last elephant unit, picked up the dice to attack, and I played the first strike. Ha.... my name is Inigo Elephantoya, you killed my brothers, prepare to die. Not quite, two hits and two flags and the heavy bouced off without being able to score a hit. In my following turn I activated the elephant again, and was confident of two more flags as there were two damaged heavies in range. I picked up the dice, and... what's this? Randy playing a First Strike? Bastard. The card count on the players aid says there is only the one... I checked the discard pile to make sure there was no shennanigans but it seems like there are two in the deck. Goodbye elephants. Randy tells me he picked the card up at the end of his previous turn. Some people have all the luck.

He also brought up the medium cavalry on his left, and managed to kill one light cavalry unit and drive off another with only one block remaining. However, in my turn I attacked with my medium cavalry, after first surrounding his units with some light cavalry. Both units were destroyed, with the leader evading back to some auxilia.

On my left, things had been quieter but still pretty active. The battle lines had drawn close so there was only a hex in between, stone throwing distance. I had a line of auxiila and mediums, while Randy had a line of lights and mediums, with the Companions urging them on from behind.

]]>
Darius moves forward to engage the Macedonians. Note Alexander skulking at the back

Alexander was curiously hesitant, so it was up to the Persians to take the initiative and Darius ordered the charge. Heavy casualties on both sides, and the Macedonians were forced to temporarily retreat. Both sides reorganised, and a second clash had the same result - casualties on both sides, but no clear advantage to either side. A good old shoving match. The banner count climbed steadily on both sides, and by the end of the middle period the score was 9-7 to Macedonia.

In the centre, after the Macedonian heavies destroyed the elephants, they had been advancing steadily while the battle raged on the Persian left. Leaving two badly damaged units in the rear, three units of heavies advanced across the board and met the Persian centre of mediums and auxilia. They attacked, and after initial success they pressed the attack home to find disaster - the heavy unit led by Craterus attacked a unit of mediums and rolled badly - one hit only. The mediums attacked back, and after two hits, rolled for the leader - you guessed it, leader death. Craterus paid for his recklessness. Without a leader, the attack faltered. Persian reinforcements arrived from the right, surrounded the Macedonian heavies and destroyed them to a man.

]]>
Craterus comes forward with the Macedonian phalanx and meets his death

Randy renewed the attack on the Macedonian right. The Companians were brought up again, and attacked the damaged Persian line. Exhausted, the line broke. Two units eliminated, others damaged or forced to retreat. The extra die Alexander generated for his unit, and the ability to ignore swords and flags by the Companians were the deciding factors. Although there was one funny moment - a heavy chariot attacked Alexander and rolled four dice, for four flags. Alex could ignore one flag, plus another for being companions, plus a third for being supported, but the fourth flag sent him packing for a moment.

At this stage, I didn't have much of a force left. My cavalry on the far left were intact, but were only lights and light bow. In the centre I had two units of heavy cavalry with Darius, and a few units of auxilia and mediums. The only thing in my favour was an I AM SPARTACUS card in my hand, waiting for just this circumstance. There was only one thing for it - Darius rallied his heavy cavalry, ordered what units were left in the centre, and they all charged across the field and into the waiting Macedonians. (it was a pretty good Spartacus roll - six dice, three leaders and a triangle).

With the score at 11-9 to Macedonia, they only needed one more flag to win. Desperate, I sent Darius straight at Alexander. Although my heavy unit was down to a single block, I figured five dice against Alexander might do the trick. And if I kill him, the other units also in the attack will have a much better chance to generate banners, and the game. Darius and Alexander clashed in the centre, and in the climax of the battle, Alexander... evaded? Randy evaded both my heavy cavalry and heavy chariot, and sped away.

]]>
Darius attacks Alexander at the climax of the battle

Of course I ridiculed Randy mercilessly. Although obviously tactically sound, Alexander running away? Come on, man! In Randy's turn he attacked, and fate rewarded his timidity with not a single flag. His dice deserted him and I lasted the round still in the game.

]]>
Darius sees off the Companians and tries to stabilise the Persian lines

In my turn, Darius moved to a full strength unit of mediums and attacked some damaged Macedonian infantry. He pressed the attack home, and Darius's unit destroyed the opposing mediums. A momentum advance allowed him to attack an auxilia, who also perished. The banner count was now 11-11. Darius could do no more though, and it was up to another Persian unit to attack. Medium on medium, this was it - if the attack didn't succeed all was lost as I had a lonely heavy cavalry block sitting out on it's own, within range of Alexander and two units of Companians. In Randy's next turn he would surely wrap the game up.

So my mediums attacked, and.... completely flubbed. In the battle back, Randy rolled the three hits he needed and eliminated the unit for his 12th flag. He rolled for the leader Mazeus, and added insult to injury as he also fell with his men.

(sorry about the last two pictures... my camera battery died in the excitement so these were taken with a lesser resolution camera)

]]>
Darius attacking heroically but eventually runs out of troops to attack with

Final score, 12-11 to Alexander. Although he was the victor on the battlefield, I can't say there would be too many odes written about him. Darius on the other hand was everywhere. Attacking from the front, rallying his men, he was a Persian hero. And he very nearly pulled it off. The Macedonians had seven units down to a single block at the end of the game.

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Final position. Note the number of units down to a single block

A great, great scenario. Playing time was a little under 90 minutes too, so I was back at work before anyone noticed I was gone.

Session: Galaxy Trucker:: Drifting along in space...

MerricB — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:18:16 +0000

by MerricB

You know, I haven't written a session report for Galaxy Trucker before, despite playing it about 5 or 6 times before. It's a game I enjoy, but I don't think it makes the best session reports. Great experiences while playing, yes, but trying to convey that to others? Hmm.

That said, there are people who have been able to convey the true delight of Galaxy Trucker to others through session reports, so I might as well tell you about my recent experience with the game.

We played this game with the Big Expansion, which is a necessary part of the equipment for any true Truckers. It raises the game to something exceptional. We were using the additional components (from which I removed 25 as this was only a 4-player game) and, for the first time, we decided to play with the Evil Machination cards. Did you know that not all of them are bad? We were quite surprised to discover that as we perused our cards. At least, I was, and I'll project my own feeling onto everyone else if I want to. Who's telling this story, anyway?

I asked everyone what level of "Rough Road Ahead" everyone wanted. Rich wanted 3. Josh wanted 2. I wanted 2, but Randy - having a little more of an idea of this game than the rest of us - settled on 1. "We've added the Machination cards", he explained. "That adds to the difficulty by itself."

And yes, it did.

]]>Randy's first ship

Our first Rough Road card was... Surprise! Yes, we wouldn't know what it was until we built our first ship. I wasn't that displeased by my ship, and I hoped it would survive the journey safely. Josh displayed his exceptional ship-building skills by building a ship that ended up with no crew on it at the end of the journey. Why was that exceptional?

Because he managed to do that every time this game. His ships always lost their crew before they finished!

Of course, the actual Rough Road card had a lot to do with it - crew didn't want to be next to exposed connectors. Goodbye, Josh's crew.

Astonishingly, I managed to finish the race and gain a lot of credits. It would be the last time this game.

]]>My second ship

I really liked my second ship, but the meteorites didn't like it. One by one, my lasers fell off and I found myself with five events still to go and no defenses. Only Randy and I were left in the race. Having a bit of cargo, I pulled out and let Randy take the remaining cards.

They were all neutral or good, and Randy made a killing. Argh!

]]>My third ship

I was really worried about my third ship because it didn't have any shields. I was right to be worried, as meteorites and lasers kept hitting it. Rich and Randy did really well this mission. I didn't.

My beautiful ship was reduced to this:
]]>My third ship - a hulk somewhere in space!

Randy had picked up lots and lots of credits. Randy is one of those superior truckers you hear about, and one you don't want to cross because he can hire bounty hunters to track you down. Not that he needs to do so - you'll perish out in space of your own accord!

]]>Randy's wealth

Rich and I made credits (Rich more than me), but not anywhere near Randy.

Then there was Josh. Josh hadn't made credits. Josh had lost credits, and ended the game with a negative score.

]]>This is Josh

Galaxy Trucker. Great game. A game that separates the Randys from the Joshes of this world!

Session: Descent: Journeys in the Dark:: Quest 4: Perhaps we should have opened the door?

MerricB — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:42:11 +0000

by MerricB

The latest game in my Month of Descent saw Rich and Josh take two fairly strong characters into a dungeon and get slaughtered. It's all Randy's fault, as he'd failed to get his dinner in a quick enough time and so wasn't ready to take on the denizens of the dark. (I'm not sure of how much Randy likes Descent, anyway, but I know Rich and Josh enjoy it).

The initial room had monsters in it:
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Rich and Josh looked at the monsters, and attacked! Unfortunately for Rich and Josh, I had a few spawn cards in hand, and the big rubble counters in the middle of the room meant I could always spawn. Perhaps they would have done better if they'd been opposite side of the room?

It wasn't that long before I was able to rush a beastman or three around the grappling Rich and attack Josh. One adventurer down!

]]>

Josh came back, and I thought I'd just kill him again. However, the beastmen found it a lot easier to get to Rich's character. Yes, it had armour. Unfortunately, I had a beastman commander, and each beastman was doing a total of +2 damage. A few hits, and that was it for Rich's character - and the last of their Conquest tokens. Overlord victory. Hooray!

]]>

You know, I don't think I've had a 30 minute game of Descent before! It wasn't good for the heroes. In retrospect, they should have tried rushing to a treasure chest or two. Still, Josh's archer wasn't the strongest of heroes - especially given how good he was at missing. It was also an astonishing run of spawn cards; one they couldn't overcome.

We'll try the mission again sometime soon - perhaps they'll have Randy's help next time and can overcome the first room!

Session: Endeavor:: Sailing to Distant Shores (5 players)

MerricB — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:51:01 +0000

by MerricB

I was doubtful about Endeavour when I first heard of the game. I enjoy Euros, but I've been getting into some classic hobby games recently - ASL, BattleTech. With games like Age of Empires III doing very well for me, did I really need another exploration-themed game? And so, I resisted ordering it from MilSims when it came into stock. "I can live without this game," I told myself.

Unfortunately, the good folk at Good Games Ballarat then ordered it in, and I fell in love with the box. I mean, it's so wonderful a design! Don't look at the back - you'll see a boring Euro there - but the front of the box is brilliant!

]]>

So I bought it, and brought it to last week's Board Game session with Randy, Jesse, Rich and Josh. After we finished the BoardGameGeek game, this was the next game we played.

And I'm going to keep on spelling this game as "Endeavour". That's the name of the ship which James Cook was sailing when he discovered my land, so I'm going to keep that "U"!

But, on to the game!

]]>Early Days

Endeavour shares a number of features with other Eurogames, whilst having its own distinct identity. It is something of a worker placement game, although more complex than Agricola or Caylus in its interactions. It has different levels of technology, such as Goa, and also buildings you can construct to change how you play the game, such as in Puerto Rico or Caylus. The position of markers on the board also matters - trade chains give extra points, which is reminiscent of Taj Mahal.

However, by the time you add together all of these elements from these separate games, you end up with something that is quite its own thing. What's more, Endeavour is fun. It's also a game that you're very unlikely to properly "get" the first time you play it. Early moves have implications throughout the game. With experienced players, I'm not sure how forgiving it would be of early mistakes.

]]>Jesse and Rich

However, given our novice status, we made mistakes and we made a lot of them. Few with the rules, as far as I could tell. No, it was all strategical or tactical from us. In my first turn, I took the Market, thinking I would use it first turn. Hmm, I don't have enough colonists for that. Perhaps the Workshop would have been better - quite likely.

One of the really good things about the game is that there were a lot of different avenues you could explore. Four technologies, cards to draw, settlements to make, trade goods to take. They were all interlinked, but the emphasis of each player was different. Rich and I did a lot of good work controlling the Old World and its tradegoods, whilst the others were exploring new worlds. Jesse and I dipped into slavery, and - as no-one was really gaining control of the Old World - never really feared the consequences of slavery ending. Randy wanted cards, but he didn't have the actions to take the better cards without opening them up to the rest of us...

]]>The board has filled up - almost.

For a lot of the game, it looked like not all of the areas would be colonised, but this is one of those games where you can do more and more as the game continues: you have more workers and more options. So, eventually it was all claimed (except for one or two points that probably didn't count, anyway!) It took me a very long time indeed to start shipping to the New World, but when I did so, I did so with a vengeance - two Cartographers working overtime to put my colonists on the trade-routes. Of course, I was only good at discovering the places; by the time I wanted to colonise, I was out of men.

I took an Museum for my last building, but, like the first, I didn't have enough colonists to use it properly. I'm going to have to play this game more to learn the tricks.

]]>Endgame

When the game ended, I thought I was in a good position. I was: solidly in third position. It was Jesse and Randy who had done the best, and the difference between them was only two points. Jesse had drawn some amazing cards in the last turn, but he didn't have enough places to put them all.

Final scores: Randy (purple) 53, Jesse (black) 51, Merric (green) 47, Rich (red) 38, Josh (white) 35.

How did Randy win it? How did I come third? I'm not quite sure. I can look at the table and say that Randy got some great trade links at the end there which helped, and some good cards, but the full analysis escapes me. This is going to be a fun game to explore, and I look forward to playing it more in the coming months.

Session: The BoardGameGeek Game:: First Session Report of the BoardGameGeek Game

MerricB — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:24:11 +0000

by MerricB

Randy has his contacts, which is why we were sitting down last Saturday to play The BoardGameGeek Game at his gameroom table in Ballarat, Australia on a rather warm afternoon before most of the other non-Essen-attending Geeks have even seen the game! Present were our regular crew: Randy, Josh, Rich and myself, and also Jesse, a friend who is very interested in boardgames but is rather lacking in time to play them. However, he'd arranged some free time and we were very glad to have him with us.

The BoardGameGeek Game casts you in the dual role of game publisher and game purchaser. The object of the game is to make as much GeekGold as you can by selling your goods for the best prices available whilst also achieving the best collection of games for your own collection.

What makes a good collection? Well, lots of sought-after games is the first criteria. Each game has a number from 1 to 6 indicating its value at the end of the game. If you have a lot of high-value games, then you've gone a long way towards winning the game. However, duplicates of games aren't worth any points, so it's no good buying a copy of Age of Steam if you already have one.

]]>Jesse in the middle; Josh and Rich on either side

Also important are sets of games - one game of the same value from each other publisher. In our five-player game, if I got one of each of the "2" value games from each other player, then each title in the set would be worth 6 points rather than 2 points. As you can imagine, it's well worth getting a set of 1s or 2s; there's no actual additional point to getting all the 6s.

Actually picking up the games requires you to get your Geeks to the right stores. Each player has three dice - also known as geeks. They initially go to the stores identified by what they roll, but you can spend GeekGold to either roll again or move them to an adjacent store.

]]>Randy, Josh and Jesse

Honestly, there's a lot of strategy in this game that I don't think we touched on. Do you flood the market with your games? Do you try for the sets or just for really valuable games? When is it worth taking your stock off the shelves (and dumping in landfill) rather than letting another player buy it and give you ?

As the game began we were just worried about whether anyone would buy our games! Randy nobly gave up his beloved Warfrog to me so I could remain playing "green", and took R&D Games instead. Josh played Hans Im Glück, Rich played Queen games and Jesse played Eggertspiele. Our choice of company was far more based on the colour of the pieces than what games they made!

]]>Peeking behind my screen. I have three copies of Tinner's Trail, and one of each of Brass, Automobile that I haven't stocked on shelves yet, and I've bought El Grande, Fowl Play! and Imperial.

Each turn, you get a few more games added to your supply behind your screen. You can put none, all, or any number in-between into the stores, available for purchase by the geeks.

Deciding how many games to put into the stores was the first really tricky part of the game for us. Would our games get sold or would they rot on the shelves?

For the most part, we were just flinging games onto the lower shelves and hoping they'd sell, but I think there's more to it than that. Positioning is also important. If you have the only game in a store, wouldn't it be more likely to sell?

]]>The Geek dice are ready to take some games home

The next set of decisions we had to make started when our "Geeks" came to buy the games. Initial placement of each player's three geeks was done randomly, but we could then pay geekgold to reroll the dice or move them to an adjacent building.

Was it worth moving the geeks? Our final scores were based on how much geekgold we had, so any movement would cost us points!

(Just a note: when your geek buys another player's game, you don't lose . They just get added to their score based on the store and shelf the game is on).

Certainly, if there are more geeks than games in a store, then not every geek is going to go home happy. Depending on where you were in the turn order, you probably have to move your geeks. The "geek dance" was observed in most of the turns we played as geeks rushed from store to store, looking for the best deals.

]]>Which store? Which store? The Geek dice are deciding!

To make things more tricky, some of those tiles could be blank! The identity of the new games wasn't revealed until after the geeks had entered the stores, so you might be trying to buy a game that wasn't there!

I wasted one of my blank tiles early, but my second blank tile caused one geek to go home empty handed later in the game. Poor fellow!

Despite the dice, the game really didn't feel very random. They were there to set up the initial positioning. I rolled low? That meant I would go first next turn... or I could grab those sets of low numbers that were so valuable at the end of the game.

]]>More games for the Geeks!

As the game progressed, we made a few tactical mistakes. One of my geeks went home empty-handed because I'd been so busy setting up a play elsewhere I totally missed that there weren't enough games in the other store for everywhere. That was problematic - each geek that didn't come home with a game was points not scored, and the game was feeling tight. Meanwhile, Randy had absent-mindedly snatched up two copies of El Grande. Sorry, folks! That duplicate copy wasn't worth much.

You could see half the score - that gained by selling games - on the table throughout the game, which had me sitting in a good position for most of the game. What we didn't know was how good the other players' collections were. I was going for a set of ones, and I discovered how nerve-wracking that could be, especially as what I was convinced was the last blue 1 stared at me from the table. Having a better eye for detail and a memory for what came before would definitely help here!

All-in-all, the supply and demand stayed about even and most of our games got sold. Not all - a few disappeared into the garbage - but mostly the games we were selling were grabbed by our eager geeks and taken home to their growing collections.

]]>We're approaching the end of the game! Rich has sold the most games, with Merric next and Jesse just behind him. Randy is last - an unusual placing!

At last, all the games were sold and all that remained was the final scoring. The rules suggest that everyone first reveal their "1s" then their "2s" and keep going from there, so that is what we did. I was very gratified to gain a large score from the set of ones I had managed to accrue. I wasn't the only player with a set, but neither Jesse nor Josh were able to get one.

The scoring disks moved quickly around the track. Randy had recovered from his initial poor sales and was lagging only a little behind me. The result of the game would come down to whether or not he had managed to get all four of the "six" tiles. Unluckily for Randy, although he had four "six" tiles, one of them was the duplicate El Grande and he was just short of my score!

]]>Your author, victorious. From left to right: Jesse, Rich, Merric & Randy.

Final scores: Merric 150, Randy 144, Rich 135, Jesse 132, Josh 110

Jesse had managed to pick up a "set" of Warfrog (my) games - each of the numbers. Josh had picked up a lot of duplicates. We wondered if that might possibly be an effective strategy: stopping other people getting sets? However, it obviously hadn't been in this case for Josh, so, perhaps not!

The BoardGameGeek Game feels like a Eurogame, and plays well. It isn't a particularly difficult game to learn or play, and I think it has some hidden depths to explore. Certainly we haven't worked out all of the strategy yet!

Was it fun? Yes, it was. It's never going to be in my personal Top 10 list, but it'll be a game that I'm sure I'll play from time to time in the future. There's something of a thrill playing a game based on a hobby and a site I've spent a lot of time on. No, my avatar isn't on the box, but you can find Randy's (genesteeler) if you look hard enough.

Good fun with my friends - the essence of being a BoardGameGeek!

Session: Mamma Mia!:: Hungry Hungarian food hunters are heartily hunting for heme - humi

judoka — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:41:10 +0000

by judoka

We love pizza, don't we? Yesss!! With lots of salami, pepper and cheese on! Pizza pizza! How do you make pizza? You buy the ingredients, take the order from your loved ones and then you put the dough with the ingredients in the oven! Probably you will have properly baked and delicious yummy pizza with which you can fill your tummy ! But you have to make sure you have the right ingredients for each kind of pizza. You cannot mess up or your pizza will be a mess.
There are many different kinds of pizza but when you make pizza out of cards you can make Regular, Minimale, Monotoni and Bombastica .
This is a light session report of our first game of Mamma Mia.

Saturday afternoon the three of us set out to make pizza.
My older son, A. : 12 yrs
My younger son, D.: 10 yrs
Mum: age is not revealed but old enough to make REAL pizza.

As the two hungry Hungarians were hungry and mum likes to feed them well she had made pizzas before they started the game.
This is how our table looked like before we started baking the card pizzas. (Just a note: you cannot really see, but on the pizza I put Hungarian salami!)

]]>

In the first round A. concentrated on making Bombastica - he worked hard counting and trying to remember the ingredients. He managed to make one Bombastica with a lot of olive, some mushroom and salami on top. He thought Bombastica was the easiest and most delicious kind of pizza to make with lots of different kind of ingredients. He kept putting the ingredients in. D. managed to make a Regular and a Monotomi pizza. I made one Minimale and one Regular . For Minimale my personal ingredient was salami (which is very good as I put Hungarian salami on our real pizza that is shown in the above picture) and the fewest card was cheese on the table.

We also wasted some precious and delicious ingredients as this was the first time we tried to make this big amount of pizza and we could not really always follow the ever changing ingredients on the table. Too much of a good thing! But good that we could use them again in our second round.

As neither of us likes mushroom whenever we used mushroom we made a face showing that we would not eat THAT pizza! With mushrooms on top, no way!

Here you can see the game in play:

]]>

A. was the Mamma Mia and he diligently sorted out the orders and named the pizzas.

]]>

In the second round we tried to follow more carefully thought out plans and strategies. Funnily enough, my two sons tried to make delicious Bombastica and all my two sons managed to complete them! A. could also make a Regular pizza; his topping was salami and he put cheese and pepperoni as other ingredients. D, made Monotony whith much loved salami toppings on. In his Bombastica he mostly had cheese, olive and mushroom. I could make two Regular pizzas but failed to make Pizza Minimale. All the better, as I should have put olive on it which I do not like. (I am not a fussy eater but olive and mushroom do not like me and vice versa.)
Again, A. was Mamma Mia.

In our third round we tried to finish our orders from the previous round. With lots of hard memory work I managed to make a Pizza Bombastica. A. intended to make a Regular Pizza and he completed his order from the table. D, could make a Monotony and a Regular Pizza with cheese on top which was OK. as he loves cheese on pizza. He

If I remmeber well, these are all about the pizzas we made that afternoon. Surely, by the end of the game we were not hungry anymore.also had salami on his pizza.
This time I was Mamma Mia.

My sons concluded that it is a fun game and mum made it even more fun by making them real pizza . Making faces when we put down mushroom and olive and shouting the orders gave us an even more enjoyable time.
A fun filler that we surely will play many more times. Especially if I give those hungry Hungarian food hunters some real heme - humi. And you wondered all along what "heme - humi" means! Here is your reward for reading this report patiently through - you might be hungry as well now .
"Heme - humi" in Hungarian means something to eat.

Session: Power Grid - Brazil/Spain & Portugal:: Two player game on the Portugal / Spain board

dougadamsau — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:27:23 +0000

by dougadamsau

Janet and I sat down and tried out the Portugal and Spain board, two player.

]]>
Thanks to marauder for the image of the board.

As per the rules, we only played on three regions. It ended up being the green (containing Salamanca), brown (Madrid) and purple (Toledo) regions. Alas no Portugal (thus no no-nuclear rules). We included the transformer station and flux generator cards in the deck.

The game felt a little strange - tons of cheapish uranium was on offer, as the initial market starts at 5, however we didn't see a nuclear station until mid way through step 2. The fact that three wind stations get popped on the power station deck at the start of step two helped with this. The upshot was uranium became very cheap...

Strategy wise, Janet began in Toledo, and quickly expanded to Ciudao Real and Madrid. She was in early oil and hybrids, and expanded into garbage mid game. The connection costs from her initial pocket put her behind in cash compared to me.

I began in Salamanca and followed the cheap route through Valladollio and Leon, and up around the coast in both directions (La Coruna and Santander via Cijon). I was in cheap coal stations early but expanded into nuclear and good hybrids. I picked up the flux generator late in the game which was very nice - gives you a lot of flexibility to tinker with the markets.

I kept a three city build lead for most of the game. I connected to my 21st city when Janet had 19, which she could power. I could only power 19 cities with my stations, but I was 65 ahead in cash, so took the win via first tie-breaker.

Good fun. Fast too... about 45 minutes.

Session: The Downfall of Pompeii:: Introducing the game to two new players

thepackrat — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:06:20 +0000

by thepackrat

I really like Pompeii as a two-player game, it has a nice tempo and the different phases of the game mesh wonderfully with the theme and most of all, throwing your opponent's citizens into the volcano is fun! (particularly if you do the required aaaaaie! scream when you do it)

We had a chance to play this on the weekend with two new players. The four of us set up the pieces and the board quickly (although I was reminded that Pompeii is another game that skimps on player pieces in some colours). Inevitably, there was a slightly uncomfortable 'we're not asking why, but....?' pause as I did the deck setup and then we were off into the rules.

This is a fairly intuitive game to explain, but there were a couple of points that needed to be gone over carefully. I'll try to give some of the highlights. It was easy to explain the general sweep of the game, moving from trying to get the most citizens into the city on the first round, bringing family members in and then fleeing the lava!

In the very first phase, players are simply adding pieces to the board based on building matching the cards in their hands. This is easy to explain but it's worth pointing out the lava start spaces and the seemingly plentiful gates.

In the second placement phase, the family placement rule comes into place. Being able to place family members equal to the number of people already in the building is fine, one per building is fine, but there are several buildings where the gap between the two buildings isn't obvious. There were a few move corrections over that.

In the second lava-flow part of the game, even the slightly gamey movement was easily explained. We needed only to remind people about how they could chain movement most effectively, how to strand other players and the rule about moving one piece twice if it started alone.

The first game saw nearly everyone get out of the town except for a few citizens foolish enough to inhabit buildings right in the middle. The game resulted in a 3-way tie of 9 citizens rescued with M winning with the least pieces in the volcano (E and B being seen as stronger players, lost more pieces).

In the second game, the speed at which the lava came and the dangers of having extra unrescuable pieces was much more obvious. All players were much more conservative in bringing family members into the city (always a good thing) since extra unrescuable people are actually a liability. The omen cards were mostly used to free up slots in buildings near gates for later use.

The lava phase in the second game was also a lot more aggressive. Players actively rolled the burning rock over their own citizens in order to cut off large groups of the remaining people and many people ended up trapped in the city to die as the last gate was blocked (with quite a few lava tiles remaining)

Final scores saw C take the lead with 10 citizens rescue, while B and E tied on 9 again, feeling this was a good winning score and paying more attention to

It's clear that being unpopular or seeming to be winning is a clear disadvantage in this game since everyone has an opportunity to punish you for it. Even so, the theme of fleeing the volcano is so nifty for a Euro that you can't help but enjoy the game. A fairly quick playtime helps this as well.

Session: Austerlitz 20:: Austerlitz 20 solo replay (standard scenario): initial deployments

dmcke013 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:02:23 +0000

by dmcke013

Introduction

I’ve been wanting to do an AAR on the standard scenario of Austerlitz 20 for quite a while now, to go with my previous AARs of the Historical and Early Deployment scenarios. However, the game has been designed with face-to-face play in mind and I could never quite work out the best way of going about converting this to solo play (most of my games are played solo), without either providing the Allied player with too much information (knowing what card the French player holds, what French unit is placed were, etc) or by hamstringing the French player too much (so what unit is were would come as much of a surprise to him as to his opponent, as would what card he holds!). Eventually, and after having discovered that the designer of the game usually opts for the second of these options, I thought I’d do the same …

Set-up

The ‘Sun of Austerlitz’ card and two other cards are shuffled, and French player then chooses one at random WITHOUT looking to see what it is (face to face games: he would know). He then chooses IG, Gr, I, IV, 2 cadres (in place of IV/2), V, Res/H, and Res/L and two dummy counters before flipping these all upside down, mixing them up (as playing solo: face to face he would know what is placed were) and deploying as follows:

]]>

The Allied player then rolls a D3 (D6 / 2, rounding up) to see how many French units he may reveal, only rolling a ‘1’. The French player opts to reveal the corps in Maxdorf (remember, he doesn’t know himself what it is!): it’s the I corps!

]]>

Next, The Allied Assault Force of 1AG, 1, 2 and 3 are all placed blindly (again, only blindly as I’m playing solo), as follows:

]]>

Followed by the Second Echelon of 1/4, 2/4 and 5 Cav (also blindly):

]]>

This is followed by the Allied player placing the Reserve Force of GD, AG Cav and AG as follows:

]]>

Finally, all corps are revealed:

]]>

And it’s on with the battle!

Advance to day 1: to follow

Session: Canadian Crucible: Brigade Fortress at Norrey:: Canadian Crucible Scenario 5.3 Playtest Summary

Rick McKown — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:52:19 +0000

by Rick McKown

Playtesters : Rick McKown (German), Lee Misselbrook (Canadian)

1. Initial Set-Up / Op Plan:

a. German (Defender):

(1) 6 Coy II/26 (reinf w/ 1x Inf Plat & 1x MG Sec 130 PzGr Regt, 4 x MG Sec 716 Inf Div): Hasty Defence West sector Putot CDB, between Hwy D217 and East bdy hex 10.18 to hex 14.24 incl;

(2) 7 Coy II/26: Hasty Defence Centre sector Putot CDB between West bdy hex 10.18 to hex 14.24 and East Bdy hex 13.18 to hex 16.22 incl;

(3) 5 Coy II/26: Hasty Defence East sector Putot CDB between West bdy hex 13.18 to hex 16.22 to hex East bdy hex 19.18 to hex 19.19 incl;

(4) 8 Coy II/26: Reserve; set up in Move Mode on road hexes from 02.11 to 02.12 incl.

b. Canadian (Attacker):

(1) C Sqn 1H (reinf w/ D Coy CSR, K Trp 62 AT, 2x MG Sec CHLO) attack along Hwy D217, occupy hexes along road from bridge at 06.17 to Xroads 08.24, Fireflies and K Trp remain on road to defend bridge at 06.17, rest of Sqn (reinf) attack East into Putot to occupy VP hexes South of road from 08.24 to 14.20, on/West of hex row 14.xx (N.B., used C Sqn OB as per countermix: 6x Fireflies, 14x regular Shermans);

(2) C Coy CSR (reinf w/ 2x MG Sec CHLO), attack on East side of Hwy D217 parallel to hwy, to orchards North of road from 08.24 to 14.20, then attack East into Putot North of road to occupy VP hexes on/West of hex row 15.xx;

(3) D Coy CSR: see (1) above;

(4) Spt Coy CSR (reinf 4.2-in Mtr Sec CHLO): Bn mtrs and Carriers set up in La Bergerie Farm, CHLO mtrs set up in Bretteville; all mtrs remain in place to spt attack, Carriers advance to Hedgerow along hex row 18.xx to serve as artillery spotters;

(5) RWR: move to and reform around hex 25.25, defend in place;

(6) A Coy CSR: follow C Coy, pass though LD 15.21-15.23, attack on/North of road and clear East end of Putot;

(7) B Coy CSR: follow C Sqn 1H abd D Coy, pass through LD 14.18-14.20, attack South of Road and clear East end of Putot;

(8) 14th Field Regt RCA, 19th Army Field Regt RCA Pre-Planned Barrages on hexes 12.22 and 14.20.

2. Sit Rep:

a. Pre-Planned Barrage: one Good Shoot (12.22), one Bad Shoot (14.20); German lost several steps, numerous units suppressed.

b. 1940 hrs: German received arty but all No Shoots; Cdn arty lays three Bty HE on orchards @ NW corner of German perimeter, three Smoke across front along road 10.25-15.23 to block LOS and screen advance; C Sqn 1H (reinf) Overruns and Assaults NW corner, destroys / drives out most of 6 Coy with Cdn loss of one tank and three Inf steps; German Reserves not released; German counterattack destroys one more tank w/ AT Rolls but C Sqn passes its Morale Check.

c. 2000 hrs: 1H recovers one Morale Point (back to 0); German gets arty but has no targets in LOS except RWR, which loses five steps, and CSR Carriers, which lose one step; Cdn arty Suppresses remnts 6 Coy; Cdn goes first, Assaults / destroys 6 Coy; German Reserves not released; German shifts 7 Coy to cover West bdy of Coy area; German gets Pz reinf:

(1) 1 Coy I Pz Bn moves to LD 08.09-13.11, attacks toward bridge 06.17; loses four tks to Cdn Overwatch Fire but kills all three Cdn Fireflies at 06.17; 1 Coy and C Sqn both pass their Morale Checks;

(2) 2 Coy I Pz Bn moves to LD 11.18-13.19, attacks toward obj hex 08.21; loses four tks to Cdn Overwatch Fire but destroys all four M10 TDs; 2 Coy fails a Morale Check, becomes unassigned.

d. 2020 hrs: German gets no arty; Cdn arty Suppresses all of 7 Coy; German goes first, German Reserves not released; German pulls 7 Coy back out of Cdn LOS, 2 Coy I Pz pulls back to its Rally Point (hex 19.12), 1 Coy I Pz attacks across bridge at 06.17 toward obj hex 08.21, loses seven tanks to Cdn Overwatch Fire, destroys five Cdn tanks with Overwatch Fire; 1 Coy fails Morale Check, becomesunassigned, C Sqn passes all Morale Checks (Morale now = 5); CSR C & D Coys Assault 7 Coy, destroy or drive back most of it, A & B Coys move into position for next turn, 1H supports with fire but stays away from German inf.

e. 2040 hrs: German get no arty; Cdn arty Suppresses most of 5 Coy; Cdn goes first, A & B Coys Assault and destroy remnts 7 Coy and most of 5 Coy, clear Putot West of hexrow 16.xx but lose four steps from one Plat in Assault; German Reserves not released; 1 Coy I Pz Bn (3 tanks) pulls back to Rally Point, 2 Coy I Pz Bn implements new orders, attacks toward obj hex 13.18, Overruns one Platoon D Coy in that hex but loses four tanks to OW and Cdn AT Rolls in OR Combat, fails its Morale Check and pulls back to Rally Point (7 tanks left).

f. 2100 hrs: German gets arty but all No Shoot; Cdn arty Suppresses rmnts 5 Coy, Cdn goes first, C Sqn 1 H Overruns and destroys remnts 5 Coy; Cdn inf occupies all VP hexes in Putot; German Reserves not released; no Germans North of Railroad; German player concedes.

3. General Commentary: It took the Cdn player five turns to totally wipe out the three Inf Coys of II Bn 26 SS Pz Gr Regt and to reduce the two Pz Coys to 1/3 of their original strength; in a Campaign Game the German would have pulled out of Putot NLT the 2020 hrs Game Turn but given the scenario VCs the German player went for maximizing Cdn casualties but even so could only reduce the Cdn Victory from Major to Minor (Cdns lost total of 38 steps, incl 10 tanks, 4 TDs, 1 step Carrier, 1 step MG Sec, 5 steps Inf from RWR, and 18 steps Inf from CSR). German was lucky to get the Panzers at 0800 hrs but was unable to drive the Cdn armour from the field as per plan and was unlucky both with arty and with Reserves not being released. Cdn arty was deadly as usual and Cdn tank-infantry attack was a well-organized meat grinder.

Session: Lock 'N Load: Forgotten Heroes Vietnam:: Ap Bac - Part 2

Dazooz — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:56:59 +0000

by Dazooz

4 years ago, I posted a session report on Ap Bac.

In that game, my ARVN failed to take the stone building and lost a close scenario due to casualties. This time around, it was my turn.

The VC deployed fairly straight-forward, with troops covering the victory hexes at the stone building, and fox holes around the heavy jungle on the west side, and some reserves held back in foxholes as a final line of resistance.

Remembering my last attempt to move forward and failing to use all available cover, this time I decided to attack primarily on the west side, up through the rice-paddies and into the heavy jungle to maintain maximum terrain protection.

Again, the reason for this is the low morale of the ARVN troops. Once they are shaken, it is very difficult to get them back in the fight due to their, and their leader's low morales.

The first few turns I pushed forward in a line along the west edge (basically in successive lines). I used the armored transports as mobile heavy MGs daring the VC to take a shot at me to reveal themselves so I could unload a volley of lead in their foxholes.

The VC were using the view from the Stone Building to reign mortar shells on me whenever my troops stopped to take a breath, and while I would move up, the VC would wait patiently, until I used up most (if not all) of my units before revealing himself by firing, preventing me from taking any shots back.

About mid-way through the game, I had 5 shaken units, and I had lost 1 squad with 2 other 1/2 squads killed. The VC had only lost 1 unit. I had taken the south edge of the heavy jungle though, and was preparing to push through the rest of the trees and toward the stone building, but I was running out of time.

The VC had prepared an ambushing platoon deep in the heavy jungle area. The VC have that special ability to ambush in melee, killing units before they have a chance to melee back. I was leary of moving too far forward as well because of the VCs ability to move easily through the jungles as well.

I was able to pick up a dropped RPD and moved forward with 2 squads, a leader and one of the enemies dropped RPDs attempting to enter melee with the ambush group (if I was bale to melee them first, they wouldn't be able to use their ambush capability).

I entered the adjacent hex, and they unloaded on me with opp. fire shaking one of my ARVN units. This prevented me from attempting the melee due to poor odds so I decided to wait.

The next turn, I got the initiative again, amazingly I was able to rally the shaken ARVN unit, and I was able to enter melee with the VC before they could do anything about it, rendering the ambush platoon ineffective. I was able to take out 2 of the VC squads in that melee, while losing 1 myself, but it was too much of a loss for the VC, since they were locked in melee, I was able to bring up additional troops and taken them out completely the next turn.

At that point, I had lost 2 squads and 2 other 1/2 squads, and the VC had lost 4 squads and a leader. With only 2 turns left, the ARVN was ahead 10 pts. to 6 pts. I played the rest of the game conservatively, not allowing the VC to take out any more of my troops and won the game with that score.

The VC did attempt to take out an armored transport to even up the score, but I was able to shake the VC squad attempting the close assault before they were able to attempt to destroy the vehicle, securing my win.

I was surprised again in this game to get another ARVN hero. In order to do so, you have to not only roll a 1 during the damage check, but then when trying for the hero, you have to roll another 1!. Both times I have played this scenario, that has happened. What are the odds?

Good stuff again from a great game!

Session: Cosmic Encounter:: "OK, you won", "No. I think I'd rather negotiate about it instead."

Reish Galuta — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:48:37 +0000

by Reish Galuta

Players: Eli P , Avri , Eliezer , Mory

Eli was the Loser (Can choose to reverse the outcome of an encounter - before cards are shown), Eliezer went with Clone (Can choose to keep used cards instead of discarding them) after we had trouble figuring out Anti-Matter, I was the Zombie (Doesn't lose ships to the Warp), and Mory was the leeching Remora (Takes back from the warp whenever anybody else does, and draws 1 card whenever anybody else draws cards).

The ending of this one was just fantastic. Eli, Eliezer, and I were all on 4 colonies and Mory was on 3. It was Eliezer's turn and he attacked me. I had 3 Negotiates and a 40 in my hand. I laid down an N, as I was pretty sure that Eliezer was going to as well, and I wanted to save the 40 to win on my turn. Eliezer also played an Negotiate, and I declined dealing for a shared victory, but I let him take back three ships from the warp in exchange for 3 of his cards. Eliezer gladly passed me 3 more Negotiates. (I think I need to do a better job shuffling). That was his second encounter so then Eli P had his turn.

Eli drew to attack Mory and invited us all to join on the offense and share in victory. I sided with Mory (which was a bad idea) to try and defend him as I was still trying for a solo win on my turn. Both cards were a 6, but Eli was up on ships and looked to have secured a shared win. BUT NO! Eli then throws down a card that turns both attack cards into Negotiates and goes back to the bargaining table. Mory knew he wasn't going to win anyways at that point and Eli managed to negotiate a base exchange so that Mory would get up to 4 points and share 2nd place, while Eli would get a solo win. Eli had secured a shared win, but chose to renegotiate it to a solo win. Incredible.

It got even more amusing when Eli revealed that he thought the card he used turned only Mory's card into a Negotiate and not both, and it was entriely unintentional.

Eli P 5, Avri 4, Eliezer 4, Mory 4

Session: D-Day Dice:: Above and beyond the call of duty..

princemousey — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:17:42 +0000

by princemousey

You squeeze your rifle tightly, mumble a prayer, and signal the men to follow you. Looking back, you see that "Doc", the platoon medic and a few others are hot on your heels. "These are good men", you think to yourself. Shielding behind hedgehogs, you slowly pick your way across the open beach whenever there is a lull in the machine gun fire. Reaching a burning tank, you take cover behind and check strength.

For the first three turns, try and roll for a Medic and Reinforcements. Also, try and get at least one Courage.

With your heart hammering madly in your chest, you signal your some of your men to lay down covering fire, while the rest of you make a mad dash for it to the next section of the beach. Once there, you take advantage of the natural terrain and dive to the ground, hoping that you are keeping low enough and the German machine gunners are unable to see you. Some of your men get hit around you, but there's nothing you can do for them. You manage to find a discarded walkie talkie and use that to try and make contact with other scattered platoons. This will be slow going. However, you hope to be able to use the cover provided by the slope of the land to flank the German forward post. In a shell crater, you see one of your platoon Sharpshooters doing what he does best. Picking off Germans from long range. You'll be glad to have him covering your tail.

Advancing to Sector 2, hang in there for the maximum 3 turns and then crawl laterally to Sector 3 and hang in there for another 3 turns. Try to gain as many soldiers as you can, while also picking up an Engineer and a Sharpshooter. Use your item points to buy a Whistle and save up for a Flamthrower.

You signal to your Sharpshooter to provide covering fire while your Engineer blows the wire. The Medic is fearless, doing what he can to help your men survive. "That man deserves a citation", you think to yourself.

Advance to Sector 6. You'll be tarrying here for another 3 turns, with the emphasis now on picking up as many soldiers as you can. Also, if possible, buy a cheap 2 cost Specialist. You're gonna need him to help you get to the next sector. By now, you should have a Whistle, be saving up towards a Flamethrower, and also have a Sharpshooter, Engineer, and Medic. Hopefully, you might have a MoH by now. I think you'll be better off turning it in for the 5 Courage points.

Mustering your courage, you have a little more confidence now. Looking back, you see that you have covered more than half the beach. Seeing a machine gun nest up ahead, you signal your men to stay low. One of your men crawl up to you. You remember him from boot camp. He's always the one that's first in to any danger, and the last one out. "Hero", some of the boys affectionately call him. "Sarge", he say, "make sure you make the shot." You have no idea what he's talking about when he suddenly jumps up and start running towards the machine gun nest that's pinning the better part of your men down. "Stay down, trooper!" You yell in vain. You see the tracer rounds dance a pattern of light around him. Miraculously, he's still running, his boots thumping the beach in a strangely rhythmic fashion, beating out a dance of death. It seems like time has slowed, and things are playing out in slow motion. He pulls out a grenade, and you see the charging handle ping and fly off it. As he begins to crumple, shredded to ribbons by the German machine guns, you get up and start firing away at the German gunner. Following your example, the rest of the men get up as well and start firing. You pull the Medic over and tell him to get Hero, and make sure he's all right. However, even as you give the order, you know that's he's not going to make it out.

If you don't have a Specialist other than your Medic, Engineer, or Officer to sacrifice by now, use your MoH to get a Hero and sacrifice him. Use your Specialist points on an Officer, and make sure you have the Whistle by now. Any remaining Tools can be used to find a Flamethrower, or whatever you have enough for. Personally, I only managed to get the Whistle and Walkie Talkie the whole game. I had bad Tool rolls.

Taking out the machine gun nest, you look back and see your Commanding Officer leading the next wave. "I haven't seen an officer since LT got pinged by the boat", the Engineer says. "Seems like a real long time ago now." The CO signals you to get ready to charge, and with a shrill blast from his Whistle, he runs ahead. You see him get hit. You run towards his location. He's alright though. Just a stumble. "Keep moving! Sergeant, keep your men moving!" He yells at you.

Ideally, once you reach sector 8, keep moving! You're not going to be gaining much men here, so don't stay. Just keep moving! Sacrifice your Officer, blow your Whistle, and keep moving!

Reaching the German bunker, you feel a searing pain in your leg. You continue running, but you realise that your legs have stopped moving. As you slowly crumple, you yell out, "Keep moving, boys! Grenades through the window and let 'em have it!" And then, the world fades to grey.

Opening your eyes, you see the most brilliant sunset. A mad kaleidoscope of purple, orange, and grey hues fill your eyes. You see Doc coming by to check on you. "How's it, Sarge?" You tell him that you're fine, and to tend to the boys first, and he says, "There's no one else, Sarge. We're all that's left." You look around and see the remnants of your platoon just sitting around. A warmth spreads over you as you look around and think to yourself that these are good men. The best that you ever want to have with you. Doc tells you to just relax and take it easy..

"For he today that sheds his blood with me, shall be my brother".
D-day is over. The battle for France has just begun.

Session: Tigris & Euphrates:: The Big Blob - OR - First play with two players

Reish Galuta — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:56:07 +0000

by Reish Galuta

This was my first play of T&E with two players. When you play with two players to fold a third of the board underneath and play in a smaller area. The dynamics of the two player game was much better than I expected... at least for the first 2/3 of the game. The opening of the game had a much larger kingdom with Marc's King and Trader, and my Priest and Farmer, growing while I laid back not very far away with my King and Trader and very few tiles. I didn't want to appear to be a nice target to attack so I didn't lay any black or green early, and I didn't cross the river to get treasures b/c of Marc's Farmer which he put in with my King. Marc grabbed a treasure and built an early black/green monument. That's when I finally laid two black tiles, and drew another (having three in my hand), and attacked his kingdom. I thought I was going to win in blue for sure (up by 4), but I was worried about black. I went for black first anyways since at this point I only had the two black points, (and still 0 green), and won 4 blacks, but then shockingly lost the blue war as Marc discarded 4 blue tiles.

After this initial fight though the board started to solidify. I kept beating down Marc's King whenever it was put back down and revolted his Trader to take over the kingdom with stronger green and the monument. Marc tried to make his Priest in a kingdom south of the river joined to my original kingdom to be able to threaten my Priest, and a series of catastrophes were played to try and swing the red strength. Eventually I had to give up on the Priest, but the rest of the kingdom had joined into one main glob and we were both out of catastrophes. Still only 2 treasures had been collected, and I was earning 5 cubes through 3 monuments (one was red). This continued until I was able to collect enough reds to oust his Priest and control everything in the massive kingdom. At this point I was earning over 2 points a turn and it was just silly. Marc actually had a hand full of greens and won a war against me, but then lost on trying to replace my farmer when I had three reds left in my hand. The game ended on the next turn as I built a 5th monument and the last treasure.

Avri 22, Marc 12

This is a game that went on too long. The game definitely would have ended on tiles if we had removed 1/3 of the tiles from the bag before playing. We also realized that the board is so small that if there is a big blobby kingdom it's impossible to dislodge it. Some things to try in the future is to take out 10 greens, 10 blacks, 13 blues, 16 reds. I think we might also try having 3 catastrophes each in 2 player.

Session: Arkham Horror - The King in Yellow Expansion:: Light Review + Session: The King Helps Us Against Shudde M'ell - A First Play

Reish Galuta — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:09:37 +0000

by Reish Galuta

Arkham Horror + Dunwich Horror + King in Yellow

Players: Avri, Eliezer, Yitz
AO: Shudde M'ell-

Arkham Horror is a co-operative game played on a ginormous board (made even bigger by the Dunwich Horror Expansion). Yitz's table was covered almost entirely by the board and paraphenalia, and all the encounter cards were kept on a chair near the table. Yitz has been trying to get a game of this going on game night for a while, but was worried about the long play time. We had been scheduled to start a little early, but ended up starting at 8:20 or so anyways. The board was already set up, and Yitz explained the basic rules of the game fairly quickly (considering how many things exist in the game).

Each player takes on the role of an investigator trying to save their town (world?) which seems to be beseiged by otherworldy gates opening up around town. Monsters pour out of them and terrorize the populace, and eventually if left unchecked an Ancient One will awaken and presumably do very bad things to us feeble humans. The Investigators must either permenently seal a certain number of gates or close all active gates to prevent the awakening of the AO, if they do not then they have to duke it out with the thing for victory.

There are a great many investigators to choose from, and also a large number of possible Ancient Ones that you might be facing off against. Each investigator has a set of skills (like fight and sneak) and a number of Stamina and Sanity (these beasts don't just beat you up, you can easily also be driven insane by the horrors you face). Most encounters and challenges in the game involve a skill check of some sort meaning rolling dice. For example you may need to pass a Will check at -1 difficulty so you'd find your Will score, let's say it's 3, subtract (or add if it's positive) the difficulty, and roll that many dice. A 5 or 6 is a success, and most encounters only require a single success to pass. (Blessings can let you have success on 4's as well, and Curses limit you to only 6's).

Investigators wander about the board finding weapons, items, clues (which you use to let you roll more dice if you need, or 5 are needed to seal a gate), spell, and allies while fiighting off the monsters and attempting to close or seal the gates.

This is of course a co-operative game which means it's liable to suffer from the "one guy tells everybody what to do" problem, but that didn't happen at all in our game.

I played as Harvey something who is a professor with a high sanity, low stamina character who is decent at casting spells.

Yitz was the opposite playing a Gangster with the highest stamina and lowest sanity and starts with a very strong weapon (+6 fight dice)

Eliezer was a photographer who gains cash every turn (until losing their retainer), with mostly middling values but the ability to choose from 2 possible encounters in any Arkham location.

Our Ancient One was Shudde M'ell who tries to destroy the town through earthquakes. Whenever a gate would open on a location that already has an open gate there is a Monster Surge (causing one new monster per open gate to be put on the board) one location in Arkham is also destroyed by the AO. If 7? locations get destroyed then then game is over and the AO wins. If the AO awakens then each turn its attack is to destroy one more location until all 7 have been hit. (So if there are 3 surges during the game you only get 5 turns to kill the AO before you are all devoured).

For all the talk of this being a very long game, we managed to kick the AO's butt in under 2 hours of play. This was helped along strangely enough by the King in Yellow expansion which has a mechanism that speeds up the arrival of the Ancient One. We were lucky enough to start off the game with pretty decent weapons and spells and we closed enough gates to earn ourselves each a Blessing right before the awakening of Shudde M'ell. The ability to add extra doom counters so that he'd wake up early helped with keeping down the number of Monster Surges so we had 5 turns to kill the thing. (There had been 2 surges during the game). We then had a string of exceedingly good rolls and wiped the floor with the beast kill him in 4 turns. (We needed to get 54 hits on him to kill him and I think Eliezer and Yitz each had 6 dice to attack with, and I had only 3 (due to a broken hand), but I had the ability to reroll my dice once if I wanted to). In 4 turns we got 60 dice, plus about 5 for leftover clues, so we got 54/65 hits. Pretty crazy.

While not a game I'd purchase for myself, I thought Arkham Horror it was fairly entertaining and didn't feel very long.

Session: Tobago:: Second play

Eisley — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:04:42 +0000

by Eisley

Tobago is a fun, relatively simple game with some fresh gameplay mechanics, a beautiful board and lovely pieces. (This is a follow-up to my initial review posted here: http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/458462/new). I’ve even seen talk of it being a nominee for the Spiel des Jahres - I can imagine that coming true but it’s a long way off yet.

To start, Tobago may seem fun but shallow; however, further play of Tobago revealed that there are some light tactics to be found within the game, especially in the final turns. Adding clues to multiple treasure searches is a great way to gain treasure cards without neccesarily needing to move to pick the treasure up - so it pays to co-operate with others. However, one player will always find it tempting to dominate one treasure by playing lots of their own cards on it. This is fine early on but doing this late in the game means you’d better be able to pick it up yourself because no-one else is likely to do it for you.

Amulets are starting to reveal themselves as being much more useful than they first appear and we’re still developing ways of using them in powerful combinations. Sometimes you can have a hand of cards that don’t help any treasure hunt much. It is tempting to hang on to them and use one where your forced to, but using an amulet to switch your hand of cards can allow you to get back in the game and have more influence and choice. I had three or four wek turns by not doing this.

It can be said that you can’t do too much planning ahead of your turn because the potential treasure locations (and corresponding cards) can change a lot during a turn, but this is only a light game and some planning is possible, especially using amulets - you might just have to adapt your plan at short notice. The game flows quickly too so there’s little down time between your turns.

All of these factors reveal there is some further thinking to be discovered in the game the more you play which means greater longevity, and a wider audience appeal because it will appeal to more experienced gamers who want a bit of depth as well as the new/light gamers. The board has multiple set-up combinations too for longer and shorter games and lots of varied map layouts.

Overall, I really like to play Tobago and find it interesting. I’m not sure it’s a game you can become really good at due to its light nature but there are some tactics starting to emerge which may separate the players out.

This time I played the game with 3 new players of my regular games group and all the players enjoyed the game and would play it again. At the games event I went to on Saturday, it was very well received by nearly all of the 15+ players (mostly experienced gamers) that played it too - another encouraging response for a game that deserves to be noticed.

James.

[Played with 4 players]

This article and others on Essen Spiel 09 games on my blog at http://thegameofgaming.wordpress.com

Session: Caylus:: "I'm my own worst enemy, but you're a close second."

Reish Galuta — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:14:36 +0000

by Reish Galuta

Avri 105, Marc 100, Yitz 97

While everybody else at game night played a number of games, we three were entrenched in a 3 hour long game of Caylus. Yitz probably would have won the game but for a few slip ups along the way like miscounting a cube or so. Towards the end I kept Yitz off the Cathedral by blocking all the stone spaces, which probably kept him from winning outright in spite of the slip ups. I ended up building it myself.

"I'm my own worst enemy, but you're a close second." - Yitz

There were a couple rough provost actions this game including one that stopped Yitz from being able to donate a batch to the castle. Marc experimented with the point track and got it to 5 by the end, though he didn't get any bonus favours in the second round. (Later that week he used the point track again in a 2 player game and whipped me thoroughly). I was actually pretty impressed at how well Yitz scored despite having no stone production buildings. I had one and Marc had the other two. I guess they aren't as required to win the game as I thought. (Though they do help). We let Marc get two cheap donations in the castle late in the game which helped him a lot. He was strong in resources and played to the gate often to discourage other people playing to the castle. In the end we each had built one prestige building. I had the cathedral, Yitz built the hotel, and Marc built the stage. I had 4 extra gold at the end of the game to win the game with the 12 points they were worth.

Session: It's Alive!:: Forget The Bodies, THE KITCHEN'S ON FIRE - A First Play Report

Reish Galuta — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:28:54 +0000

by Reish Galuta

Richie+, Avri, Lorien, Hdar, Kettle 0

As we sat down to play It's Alive, we decided to make some tea. Somebody put on the kettle and we sat down to start. Then all of a sudden:

"OMG FIRE!!!"

I turn around to see that there is a fairly large fire engulfing one of the burners on my stove. I run over and shut off the gas, and take the still-flaming kettle off the stove top.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?"
"I just turned on the kettle!"
"... IT'S ELECTRIC!"
There was flaming plastic melted over my stove, and carcinagenic smoke filled the room. We put out the fire, scraped off the stove, and aired out the room.

Then it was time to play It's Alive!

This was our first game, and we decided to play the "basic" game, though I think we will only be playing the "advanced" in the future. The difference is that in basic it's just a race to fill up your slab with the 8 different body parts first. In the advanced game you are playing for the most valuable body parts on your slab + cash left over (and a 5 point bonus for finishing your monster).

We were all actually within one body part when the game ended, and I could have won on the turn earlier when I turned over a brain that I could have bought for the win... but sold it instead b/c I had my coffin (a wildcard) covering the brain spot on the slab and I didn't recall that I could have moved it to the elbow slot instead. Instead richie won picking up his last needed arm. Richie was also subject to the most villager attacks, but he won anyways.

Just for fun we counted up what the scores would have been if we were playing the advanced game and I would have won with 58 to Richie's 52, (to Lorien's 48, to Hdar's 38). Though if we were playing the advanced game Richie would probably not have bid all his cash on that last body part.

We enjoyed the game, and we'll try it again this time with the "advanced" game in mind. The game plays fast and it's a good alternative to For Sale and it's ilk.

Session: Reef Encounter:: First Play Session + Review

Reish Galuta — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:15:45 +0000

by Reish Galuta

I received my missing pieces in the mail earlier in the day, and I was determined to get in a game of Reef Encounter.

Reef Encounter is a fairly complex game about growing coral, and eating it. There are 5 different kinds (colours) of coral and an eco-system that has each kind dominant over others. You have 4 cute little wooden shrimp that you use to claim and guard groups of coral. At the start of your turn you can choose to eat one of your shrimp and all the coral that it is guarding. After paying a tax of 4 tiles, the rest are put into your parrotfish's belly to be counted as part of your score at the end of the game. The game ends after a player has eaten all 4 of his shrimp (then the other players get one last turn in which they can only eat a shrimp and do nothing else). Eat tile you have in your parrotfish is worth at least 1 point, it also earns a bonus point for every other colour that it is dominant over. So if white tiles are dominant over yellow and grey tiles then they are worth 3 points each. A tile then can be worth anywhere from 1-5 points depending on the eco system at game end.

You can affect the ecosystem and change dominance as part of your turn, and also lock down certain dominancies (only after you've eaten at least one shrimp). The other way the game can end is if all 10 dominance tiles have been locked down.

One of the main actions on your turn is the ability to lay down new coral. This can expand your current territory, or create new territory that you intend to claim, or just eat some of your opponent's coral to prevent them from eating too big of a reef. If you grow a coral over another colour (that it is dominant over) you get to collect the tiles that you've enveloped and can use them as a sort of currency to perform other actions. This is how you can affect the open sea ecosystem, or you can just use them to lay down larger reefs during your actions. (You can normally use only 4 tiles to grow a reef, but you can add as many tiles as you want that you've already devoured before). The key to winning the game is building up a good store of these "currency" tiles in front of your player shield. One strategy is two just grow a reef and then immediately devour it back up with another reef just to collect the tiles.

----------Session Here------------

In our game Mory started out looking to be strongest as he built and devoured some very large reefs and we were unable to stop him (though I did sacrifice a move that I really wanted to make in order to take out one of his reefs... eventually I was able to use that reef I made anyways). I ate a small 5 tile reef just to start getting the game moving and be able to lock down dominance tiles. Then Marc grew one of his reefs to be exceedingly large, but placed his shrimp badly which allowed my to come in and eat alot of it setting up a good spot to eat a reef of my own. I was then set up to eat two fairly large reefs, and I ended the game in three straight turns (though possibly four). Because of the speed that the game ended with, the other players (especially Eliezer) were unable to get their reefs in a shape to be eaten successfully and were caught with uneaten and/or suboptimal reefs. This was mainly a learning game though as we were just feeling out the mechanics.

Avri 34, Mory 23, Marc 20, Eliezer 10

------------End Session--------------

The games feels a bit like Tigris & Euphrates as you're laying out tiles for growing and attacking reefs instead of kingdoms and you have shrimp instead of leaders. The way you draw new tiles though is a lot more controlled than in T&E, as there are 5 open sea spaces that each have a larve cube (needed to lay out new coral growth) and between 1-3 tiles on them. At the end of your turn you choose one of the 5 spaces and collect the contents. So you may wish that there were differently coloured tiles along with the yellow cube, but in the end there is a lot more control over what you draw here and there is no issue with "not drawing enough reds." (Not to knock T&E, I still love T&E and think you can win with pretty much any tile draw... but some people think otherwise.).

It took us about 2 hours to play it for our first game, and about 20-30 minutes to explain it. It's actually not all that complicated once you get into it, but there is a definite learning curve in that you will need to play a few times to figure out what you really want to be doing. I'm looking forward to playing it again.

Session: Shadows over Camelot:: Make Sure It's Your Turn Before You Reveal Yourself

Reish Galuta — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:15:29 +0000

by Reish Galuta

Avri+ (Galahad), Mory (Palamedes), Richie (Kay), Eli P (Percival), Eliezer (Arthur), Tani (Gawain)

Once again I was dealt the traitor, I didn't even deal out the loyalty cards this time! We played with squire rules (Knights don't get their special ability until they've won a quest) to make it a little harder, and also that the cards you win after a quest is finished were handed out face down not shared face up. The second part didn't come into play very much and was probably unnecessary. I think the squire rules really bumped up the difficulty, though the black cards seemed more troublesome this time around, but it might just have seemed that way b/c we had no powers.

I finally learned how to actually be a traitor and be slightly less than helpful. 4 cards were laid down against the Saxons, but the only knight who had a 5 was using them against Lancelot. We were on the verge of losing three quests and it was quite tense. I went against every instinct and resisted rushing over to defeat the Saxons with my 5, and instead threw it out at Excalibur. In the end I won Excalibur and the knighthood to keep them both away from the other players. The only knighted players by game's end were myself, Eli P (with Lancelot's armor), and Eliezer.

As it got towards the end of the game there were a lot of siege engines out thanks to losing two wars and the black card with adds two engines. We had 4 black swords out and 5 white, but the grail quest was not anywhere near being won. On my turn I was planning a grand reveal to assure the win and crush the spirits of the knights. After Tani played I was set to put on a siege engine, accuse another night, and then play the fate card which would reveal me and force every other knight to discard 2 cards.

I was then informed that Tani had not yet taken his Heroic Action. Well... darn.

For his heroic action Tani chose to accuse me of being the traitor... lo and behold he was correct!

Even with my reveal getting messed up, the game was too far gone to be saved. Mory sacrificed his last life to try and prevent losing the game, but in the end it was to no avail. The final siege engine was laid down and Camelot fell.

Also as a side note, when Mists of Avalon came out, everybody wanted to Merlin it, but I was against it. I actually thought it was a bad idea. Turns out we were still due to lose too many quests and the game would have been ended by black swords if it had come out. I was wrong.

Session: Power Grid:: Powergrid has no way to win, just many ways to lose

Reish Galuta — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:15:20 +0000

by Reish Galuta

Eli P 14 + $29, Yitz 14 + $10, Avri 14 + $2, Mory 4

I have come to the conclusion that there is no way to actually win Power Grid, there are only many different ways to lose that you discover each time. The one who makes the least fatal errors furthest from the end game wins.

This was Eli's first game of PG, and also the first game he's won at a game night. Well done there.

I started with the 4 plant with two cities in the North East, Yitz had the 5 and started with 2 cities as well in Savanna/Jacksonville. Mory won the 7 and started a bit West of Yitz, and Eli with the 8 went West of me. Step two was broken as soon as possible by Eli who had the most room to grow. This helped me since I got trapped in with only 5 cities as the folk who start in New York tend to be.

Mory kept buying new cities even though he couldn't power them yet, giving him poorer selection in power plants and never getting his capacity high enough to be in the running to win.

Towards the end game I had the highest capacity, and I was in 4th in turn order, but I couldn't end the game that turn (short $15 for the mathematical win). For some reason that meant to me that the game would definitely go another turn, so I double stocked on all resources to last me through to the end game. Since I started buying all the resources everybody else did to. The resource market was entirely drained of everything except uranium by the time it got to Mory, and he had no resources to power anything except his green plant that powers 4 cities. This was a lot of monies. We all spent so much on resources that we couldn't expand out as far as we would have liked. I could power 17, but I could only build to 14. Yitz could power 15 or 16, but also could only build to 14. Then Eli gleefully ended the game, and built to 17 cities even though he could only power 14 of them. At that point Mory just bought more cities for the heck of it and ended with 16 cities, capacity for 12 of them, and only 4 of them actually powered.

I've never seen an empty resource market before. I'm glad I was short on the mathematical win though, those wins are always so anticlimactic, this was much more exciting

Session: Modern Art:: Fixed Priced Failure

Reish Galuta — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:15:06 +0000

by Reish Galuta

Players: Gavriel, Avri, Mory, Yitzchak, Hdar

Hdar was dealt a pretty bad hand and knew she was going to lose fairly early on. (Probably in the second season where she offered up a Krypto instead of a Karl Gitter dooming her hand full of Gitters to be worthless for the rest of the game). She also had two double Lite Metals paintings with nothing to go with them. This would come back to hurt me later.

In contrast I was dealt a great hand, with double Cristin P, and two double Krypto and the extra paintings to use them. Unfortunately most of my paintings were fixed price, but I figured I could play around that.

Things were going pretty well until I offered up my second double Krypto in the third season which was a fixed price that I tried to get too much money for. I didn't realize that everybody else was so poor and couldn't buy the paintings, or like Gavriel just wanted to stick me with them. I got them for $152, and they ended up being with $180 I believe, so I didn't lose money on them... but I lost a lot on not making the sale. I hate fixed price auctions

In the last round I figured I could still assure myself of victory if I sold my double Cristin P which I still had, it would have been worth a lot. My second and third turns in that round though were skipped b/c Hdar sitting in front of me offered up half of a double Lite Metal twice in a row. The second time to end the game. The double was stuck in my hand, I said many bad words, and Gavriel beat me by $2.

Gavriel 440, Avri 438, Mory 352, Yitzchak 285, Hdar 223

Session: Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game:: The Townsfolk are Saved and the Zombies Give Up

Reish Galuta — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:43 +0000

by Reish Galuta

(This game happened almost a year ago, but I'm finally going through my backlog of session reports and getting around to posting on BGG again).

Last Night on Earth (Save the Townsfolk!)

Avri/Mory (Humans)+, Gavriel/Eliezer (Zombies)

We may have gotten slightly lucky, but it seems this scenario is pretty easy for the humans to win. I played as Johnny and Becky, and Mory took Sheriff Anderson and Jake the Drifter.

Becky was in a bit of danger early on as the zombies rushed her in the hospital. She took one wound and began to feel a little strange. Johnny and Jake holed up in the gun shop, and even though Johnny was feeling a little angsty and overconfident, they managed to get along fine. Becky ran across the open field to join Johnny and Jake in the gun shop and began to feel a little better. She was _quite_ gratefull to Jake who had brought her into the safe shelter and they spent a turn making the nearby student blush. The zombies failed to take advantage of this momentary distraction and they regained their composure and some firearms.

Throughout all of this Sheriff Anderson had not moved. The man was a rock. He stood at his office window and killed every zombie that dared approach him. Eventually we found 4 of the missing townsfolk (who were evidently hiding under boxes in the gunshop and sheriff's office) and kept picking off the zombies and waiting for dawn. Johnny had some fun with a fire extinguisher to push a few zombies together to line them up for a shotgun volley. The humans were yawning and absentmindedly taking headshots at the nearby undead, whenever one of them actually managed to get hurt (like the two times Jake self sacrificed himself to protect Becky), Becky just healed the wounds.

The zombies were frustratedly hungry and there seemed to be no chance to win by dawn. By mutual agreement the zombies wandered away in search of more helpless prey and the humans won the day, cutting the game short by 4 turns.

The zombies didn't draw very many scary cards early on and perhaps held on too long to some useless cards and should have cycled through to better stuff rather than trying to use situational stuff.

This is a really long scenario that you _must_ play all the way to the end to win as humans. I think it might need to be spiced up, or play other scenarios.

Session: Space Hulk (3rd Edition):: Another Space Hulk Weekend: Pt 2

cheetor — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:55:06 +0000

by cheetor

This report was originally posted on my blog.

Pt 1 is here.

------------

Sgt Downey climbs over the pile of genestealer corpses that he has cut down. Fourteen 'stealers are killed in close combat alone in "Return to Kalidus: Honour Bound".

Day two of our second Space Hulk weekend started with a set of missions from White Dwarf February 1993: the Return to Kalidus campaign.

Return to Kalidus came out at the same time as the original Space Wolf: Wolf Guard Terminator box, waaay back in early 1993 or so. The Space Wolf: Wolf Guard Terminator box consisted of five terminator figures with some slightly unorthodox weapon fits. The box, which was what the entire Return to Kalidus campaign was based on had the following configuration:

Sergeant with Storm Bolter and Power Sword
Marine with Heavy Flamer and Chainfist
Marine with Assault Cannon and Power Fist
Marine with Storm Bolter and Chainfist
Marine with Storm Bolter and Power Fist

Like almost every Space Hulk player on the planet, I dont have a painted terminator model with a Heavy Flamer and a Chainfist. The difference between a Chainfist and a Power Fist is entirely cosmetic in the scenarios that we played so it didnt make any difference.

For the purposes of this SH campaign, the marines are from the Space Wolf chapter. In game terms that means that every member of the squad gets an additional +1 in close combat. Not too shabby, particularly for the Sergeant, doubly so if he is on 3rd ed Guard orders.

——-

Return to Kalidus Mission I : A Quest for Power

A Quest for Power Set Up

In this scenario the marines are trying to get to a console on the opposite side of the map and spend some APs to find the location of the items to be procured in scenarios 2 and 3.

MTs crusade marines are joined by an Iron Man.

Despite a very promising set of opening turns, the Crusaders lose their Sergeant and Assault Cannon suddenly.

Soon the 'stealers have the run of almost the entire map.

Finally the only Marine representative still alive has a flamer with enough ammo for one shot. He bought the farm shortly afterwards.

The game ended in a win for the Genestealers (me). Amusingly, the boy MTs performance is so hilariously dismal that it means that the rest of the campaign is supposedly defunct, as the remaining two missions simply cannot be completed without a marine victory in A Quest for Power

We decide to play the next one anyway, despite the campaign abruptly ending on a technicality.

——-

Return to Kalidus Mission II : Honour Bound

Honour Bound Set Up

Honour Bound involves an identical squad to the one that appeared in A Quest for Power trying to get through the map to find a chapter relic in one of four rooms. The ’stealer player gets two blips per turn plus an unprecedented six starting blips. This does not bode well for the marines.

The Marines inch forward, covering each others flanks against the vast number of 'stealers.

The flamer uses the last of its fuel to clear a room for the slow advance. The flamer marine dies almost immediately afterwards.

Sgt Downey slowly hacks his way through the corridors, a battle brother guarding his back.

The slaughter continues and the Sgt racks up his tally of bugs at this point. His battle brother is about to be overwhelmed however...

Sgt Downey is finally overcome, failing in his mission.

The game ends in a Genestealer victory for MT.

——-

The Return to Kalidus campaign is hard. Considering that it was written for 1st ed (where Marine shooting is less effective than in 3rd ed overall) it is hard to imagine the Marines winning the second mission very often. The only reason that the marines got as far as they did in Honour Bound was because of the Sergeant: +2 combat, plus Parry plus Guard orders is not to be sneered at (even if it is a bit uninspiring to play with/against).

Lastly, we decided to leave the third and final Return to Kalidus scenario until next time and to play one more Marine vs Marine game to round off the weekend.

——-

Retrieval

Retrieval Set Up (we reused the Honour Bound map, seeing as it was already set up).

We made up Retrieval on the spot. We placed a Maguffin (a C.A.T. this time) equidistant from both sides which both sides had to get back to their deployment room. We also used the rules from Mission IX: Regroup to stagger the arrival of the ten Power Armour marines that we each had.

MTs Emperors Voice Tactical Squad ready to deploy.

My Sin Eaters Tactical Squad Van Helden ready to go.

The game was a hair-raising, back and forth affair, with Marines diving into overwatch zones hoping to get a shot off before they got killed by return fire.

Sgt Van Helden makes an early break for the C.A.T. (top right).

Van Helden and a battle brother, just before Van Helden is cut down by enemy fire.

The lone Sin Eater sprints down the corridor after the now randomly moving C.A.T., avenging his Sarge with shots from the hip. The Emperors Voice flamer marine puts paid to his antics however, with not one, but two blasts of promethium.

The game ends with a Emperors Voice marine win for MT.

——-

In conclusion, Space Hulk is great. The marine vs marine games are a bit weird, but they were fun all the same. I will try Marine vs Marine games out again, but I am uncertain that the mechanics are suitable for games where both sides have guns really.

That said, I still havent played any games with my Hybrids so I am sure that there will be another Space Hulk session again soon.

Session: A Victory Denied:: Illustrated AAR: A very close game...

Amnese — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:35:48 +0000

by Amnese

This is a picture-based review of my second game of A Victory Denied, played solo.
My first game was a bit of a mess – I forgot a lot of rules and the German offensive failed to get anywhere. This game was VERY different and the end result was surprisingly close.

Initial setup (photo courtesy of Arteusz, the other images are mine):
]]>

Turn 1
The Germans began well, forcing the Russians back away from the Dneper and West Dvina Rivers. I skipped a few front line cities thinking that my infantry following up could deal with those. Besides, I thought at the time that there was little the Russians could do without their HQ (I shouldn’t be so careless in future, as the Russians can place HQ in victory cities, place reinforcements there, and launched a counter-attack, as it turned out the Russians were busy dealing with other issues so never took advantage of the opportunity). Timoshenko arrived and spread his forces along the southern flank of the German 2nd Pz Group, with two units blocking the Dneper River near Rogachev.

Turn 2
Not much combat this turn but the German units of PzGp 2 and PzGp 3 press further towards Moscow, displacing HQ as they proceed and again by-passing most of the small pockets of Russian resistance. The advance units of 3rd Pz Gp approach Sychevka and Vyazma in the north and are, based on starting positions, most of the way to Moscow already! Further south the 2nd Pz Gp faces stiffer resistance (and more Russian HQ) and so their advance is a little slower. The Russians desperately try to fall back and screen their HQ, and their few, but valuable, reinforcements attempt to delay the Germans, if not necessarily to stop them outright. Meanwhile the German infantry begin their advance with a view to wrapping up the victory cities and small pockets of Soviet resistance left behind by the panzers.

Turn 3
Turn 3 saw the Russians successfully stall the German advance. The 2nd Pz Gp put Smolensk aside for now and instead pressed onwards towards Moscow. The infantry began cleaning up behind the lines and moved to prevent any advances by Timoshenko’s forces, whilst the advance of the 3rd Pz Gp was successfully blocked by some strong and well placed Russian reinforcements.

Turn 4
With increasing numbers of German panzer units being out of supply the German advance stalled even further. Units of the 3rd Pz Gp in the north were split up and redirected to a gap in the south in the hope of being able to press an advantage. Meanwhile some units of 2nd Pz Gp captured Smolensk whilst other units resolved to blocking the southern flank against more Russian reinforcements. Up north the Russians counterattacked (and used artillery) to force the advance units of 3 Pz Gp back. It would seem the northern drive on Moscow had been stopped for the time being.

Turn 5
Turn 5 saw the German advance grind to a complete halt. The infantry moved up from the rear to further consolidate a few remaining pockets of Russian resistance but there was little more the panzers felt they could do. There was a large gap in the centre, but there were Russian forces on either side of that gap and it would have been risky to advance. Meanwhile, the Russians actually began to counter in the centre-north, consolidate a relatively strong force.

Turn 6
Whilst German infantry advanced in the south-west the advanced units of German panzers were forced to withdraw and attempt to form a line against any strong Russian counter-attack. A series of Russian HQ activations in the centre saw two strong units of 3nd Pz Gp surrounded and isolated (but not yet eliminated). At the end of the Hitler’s distraction dictated that the battle would end at the end of turn 8.

Turn 7
The infantry again advanced in the hope of capturing Krich-, and again the panzer units of 2nd Pz Gp were forced to fall back. This time the two isolated 3rd Pz Gp units were eliminated (2x 4VPs for the Russians)

Turn 8
The final turn saw the German infantry capture Krich-, whilst the Russians launched an all-out offensive against the German panzers in the centre. Attack after attack all along this centre area caused only ONE loss against the panzers, with the rest forced back a few miles. The Russians had hoped to grab a few extra VPs in this area, and foolishly missed the opportunity to grab an open victory city in the north. By the end of the turn the German infantry had arrived to begin to consolidate the situation and give the exhausted panzers a break…

Result
I was actually surprised at how close the end game result was. The Germans had captured more than half the map, and all but 4 victory cities. The Russians were significantly helped by the elimination of 3 panzer units, but in the end the Germans escaped with a very narrow victory with a score of 30 over the Russians with 28.

Session: HeroScape Master Set: Rise of the Valkyrie:: In which the Granite Guardians take the field

manutd03 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:35:00 +0000

by manutd03

My husband Mike and I played a quick game after we got the new figures from Special Collection 10. They didn't feature prominently, but I did try out the Granite Guardians, whom I thought were pretty cool.

Game Rules:
600 pts, 8 rounds, most points left wins. Army placement on your half of the board (with middle, neutral forest area to remain clear during initial placement).

Play took place on the left side of this canyon board. Mike placed his army in the swamp; I placed mine in the rock/snow/ice area. Armies on the board are from a prior game--just ignore them.
]]>

My team:
Zetacron
Zelrig
Cyprien Esenwein
Granite Guardians (x2)

Mike's Team:
Protectors of Ullar (x2)
Raelin (ROTV)
Taelord
Laglor
Isamu

I took a beating in Round 1: The Protectors of Ullar flew down (into the neutral forest area) and thwomped Zelrig and Zetacron before I could really do anything with them (those blasted Protectors can be frustratingly good against heroes!). A sad ending for Round 1.

Rounds 2-3 saw me taking the fight to him with my Granite Guardians. I liked them, although their move of 3 was almost depressing. Still, I took out all his Protectors w/them in the end. Their end move power (moving one space, which can be up to 4 levels taller) is excellent.

Rounds 4-6 saw me abandon my last 2 Granite Guardians and fly Cyprien Esenwein into the fight. He took out Laglor in a few turns (did Chilling Touch for 4 wounds--sweetness!) and went after Raelin. After Cyprien took out Raelin by rolling a 20 on his Chilling Touch power (she already had 4 wounds, so it wasn't as monumental as it could have been), he went after Taelord. Sadly, Taelord dealt Cyprien 3 wounds with one blow, killing him off mercilessly.

So, Mike won. We both played some parts poorly (tactically), but it was fun to try out the new Granite Guardians. They worked fairly well, since I had many minor terrain changes on my board that made use of their special height powers. Thumbs up to them!

Game Highlight: Isamu fell to his death trying to get to Cyprien.

Session: Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel! - Kursk 1943:: FF8 - Black Knights in a Lurch at Lunch!

adorablerocket — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:32:46 +0000

by adorablerocket

Inspired by Mark, I thought I would relate our latest firefight. It's remarkable not only for how much fun it was, but for being the second game we've actually dashed off during our lunch hour.

My buddy and I have now played ten games of SoS, covering less than half of the firefights included! We've got a hang of most of the rules and errata (though we're busting out planes for the first time today), but are still just getting a hang of the tempo of the game. The more we play, the more we appreciate the importance of choosing when to Pass, when to Stall and when to Activate. You need to manage more than just your fields and concentration of fire, or your cover and concealment. You must actively maintain the right tempo of action to keep your opponent from controlling the battle when you are left without action points. It's the first wargame I've played that really makes you feel the impact of the OODA theory.

Ok, so enough about that, let's talk about the battle! We picked FF8 because we thought it was a single map firefight that had a handful of tanks. We were wrong as we realized during setup, but it still seemed manageable. We did a random draw to choose sides and I ended up as the Soviets. As I pondered the setup of my hidden units I recalled the many stories I'd read of German tank platoons suddenly finding themselves cut off behind rapid Soviet advances. They always escape by driving hell for leather and avoiding engaging, so I decided to ignore the German's strengths and just try to immobilize as many units as I could. To that end I hid both KVs in the woods, but on the far side. I didn't need to try and go for close in shots that would devastate him, I just needed to get a hit or two and force him to draw immobilization chits.

The battle opened with the German Tiger on point moving cautiously down the road. My two Churchills engaged at long range and then retreated out of sight. The one by the barn suffered a hit, thankfully not an immobilizing one. Although it may have seemed like a bad start I was secretly pleased. That injured Chruchill was the perfect bait to lure the Tiger into range of my KVs!

However my opponent continued to advance cautiously, making sure not to bunch his units up. Thankfully he wasted a number of actions by firing into the woods and the barn in a futile attempt to conduct 'reconnaissance by fire'. In the meantime I passed and when it seemed like he was wrapping up his actions I activated my Rifle Squads and had them stall. I didn't want him to feel like he could end the turn without facing the wrath of my unrevealed, unactivated units. Not that I was actually planning to use them, I just wanted to use the possibility of it to slow him down.

Finally he committed himself, sending a PzIII down the road to pick at my wounded Churchill. Screened by the trees I felt safe enough to reveal my KV closest to the road and fire into the German's exposed flank. It took two shots, but I took great pleasure imagining the turret flying high into the air with the force of the explosion.

That was enough to make the Germans move onto the offensive. They either charged for the woods, now sure that I was on the far side, or tried to skirt around the side furthest from the barn. In response I used my hidden action card to move my hidden KV through the woods and right next to the Tiger. My next turn I revealed myself and with the close range bonus scored a hit on the fearsome beast. In return my brave tankers gave their lives for the Motherland. He continued to move his tanks and halftracks on the far side of the woods, so I popped my wounded Churchill into the barn for a flank shot at the PzIV before it got out of range. Luck was with me and the PzIV also took a hit.

On the far side of the woods the German half track and PzII ducked into the woods themselves for cover, however my other Churchill now dashed out of the town (safe from the Tiger's LOF by the woods) and within range of the PzII in the woods. He fired off a shot and also scored a hit.

With this final spurt of furious action Round 2 came to close. The Germans had moved forward with the Tiger impetuously pushing aside my Chruchills, however they kept up that pace right against the woods. When my KVs finally revealed themselves a rapid exchange of fire took place with tanks popping out of cover and exchanging lethal fire. I'd lost one of my heavy tanks and the other was hit, and I'd taken a hit on a Churchill. The Germans had only lost a relatively weak tank, but all of them had taken a hit. As it turned out, all of them were immobilized.

With that revelation my opponent conceded and I realized my plan had worked out exactly as I had hoped!

My success was based partly on maintaining enough action points to do what I wanted when I wanted. I really felt that this game I finally started to have an intuitive sense of when to pass, when to stall, and how many command points to keep in reserve. However I think my victory rested even more on the decision to keep the KVs on the back of the woods and thus force the enemy to enter my sights and come into my range.

In thinking about how I'd counter my own deployment I kept thinking that the Germans need to use someone to spring the trap earlier. Either the Grenadiers sweeping the forest (possibly too slow) or using the PzIII and PzIV to do reconnaissance and using the Tiger to punch through the KVs once located. Either way this seems like a hellish ride for the Germans and one where making progress across the map needs to be balanced with the need to secure yourself from flank shots. I can't wait to try it from the German side!

Session: Memoir '44 - Eastern Front:: Ladder Match Rd 11 Match 11 - Kursk Provorovkha Overlord

Nightrain — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:03:55 +0000

by Nightrain

Ladder Match
Round 12 Match 11

1st half
Steve(Russian) 9 vs Jeff(German) 12

Russian was dealt with 6 flank cards, TFH, Firefight, Medic, and Dig-In, looks like the strongest section was the center flank. German played Barrage and took out an artillery in one turn, but after several turns of aggressive play of panzer, Russian was able to soften up the attack and gained 3 kills by with the BEL and Firefight cards.

Russian made a mistake after putting two units on the right flank in the open field and smashed by the mighty German Armor Assault and they quickly eliminated three units there, practically crippling the half section of Russian right flank.

Another mistake by the Russian was not realizing the river was fordable as they thought there's no retreat path for the German panzer and it did safely retreated to the back with no kill to the Russian side. For the right flank, things not very good as they expect two kills from the panzer, but only 1 was successful.

German's BEL and Close Assault proved deadly as they managed to reduce a lot of Russian tanks to 1-fig and eliminated a unit. Russian fought hard and able to knocked down three units, but the German easily picked three weakened units and was leading by 9-8.

Russian was struggling with cards so they decided to go with the TFH, but rolling on each flank were awfully bad that not enough order for the tanks to roam around and eventually they only got a kill while the German comfortably enough to play the necessary card to kill three units for the victory.

Kills Ratio
Russian 38 : German 44

***

2nd half
Steve(German) 12 vs Jeff(Russian) 10

In the early game, German was struggling with no Left cards so they're trying to switch the battle to the center and right flanks, but Russian's defense was very tight with many big cards on their hands, General Advance, Firefight, Armor Assault, and CA.

Russian launched the Armor Assault on their left flank and began to sweep across the forests, destroyed an elite while reducing another one to 1-fig. German retaliated with their own Armor Assault and got two kills on that flank, while productively killed two other units on the center flanks.

Russian played CA on the Armor Assault flank supported with a Barrage, and rolled an ARM on each center and right flank initiative, and for the whole game, Russian 1d mostly ARM, effectively gave orders to tank and killed a 1-fig enemy tanks. Russian's action was deadly enough to tied the game to 4-4.

German played TFH and gave 7 orders for all flanks, not bad compared to the prior game. Actually this turn was very good for them as they manage to destroy 4 tanks, but surprisingly, Russian was rolling hot dices after that, and swallowed 3 elite and 1 panzers in one turn, practically tied the game again to 8-8.

German's Right Flank was still very strong as another Russian tank was destroyed, but their key winning is the lone tank survivor in the forest which failed to be destroyed by them and in the next turn, a TFH order on that tank succesfully wiped two units to give the Russian the medals they need to win the match.

Everything was too late for the German, even though the CA on TFH successfully ended the game to their winning after eliminating three units. After reviewing both games, it's safe to say that the up and down of TFH rolls on both sides played a major factor of deciding who's winning the game.

Kills Ratio
German 40 : Russian 37

***

Jeff won the close match by 22 - 21 (81 - 78 kills)

Session: Hellenes: Campaigns of the Peloponnesian War:: First Play -- Sparta wins -- Two thumbs up

Thies — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:24:56 +0000

by Thies

Background:
As background, I am not a hardcore or longtime wargamer, but I am becoming more interested in them. My experience is limited to a handful of plays of [thing=12333]Twilight Struggle[/thing](all vs. my opponent in this game), a few plays of older block games ([thing=85]Quebec 1759[/thing], [thing=1662]Napoleon: The Waterloo Campaign[/thing]) and a couple of solo plays of [thing=14105]Commands & Colors: Ancients[/thing]. I bought this game because of my positive experiences with both blocks and card-driven systems (I'm not that eager to dive into a mountain of chits on a hex map), good early reviews, and my interest in the period.

Anyway, I sat down last night with [username=fattylumpkin] to give Hellenes a spin. We played the 431 scenario and drew randomly for sides: I ended up with Sparta and Joel played Athens.

Session:
431 started out inauspiciously for the Athenians: my New Year event was Atrocity, which got me 2 quick prestige points. And things only went downhill from there: Potidea resisted the Athenian siege for the entire year, a rebellious fleet was recruited by Sparta in Chios, and the combined Spartan/Corinthian army pillaged the countryside around Athens after the Athenian army retired behind its walls. In fact by the end of the year, Sparta stood at 10 prestige. Because we both wanted to play on, I declined to try for a peace offer and we continued on.

430 should have been more of the same for Sparta: I drew both Plague strikes Athens and Plague returns into my hand, and put everything into establishing a siege as quickly as possible with the hopes of killing off Pericles. However, Athens had spent much of the first year recruiting and the Athenians elected to meet the Spartans on the field of battle before the gates of the city rather than retiring behind the walls, and successfully drove back the invaders with their units, which were weaker but more numerous. This left Sparta and her allies licking their wounds, while Athens recorded successes on both the eastern (wiping out revolts in Lesbos and Chios) and western (taking Leucas) sides of the map. Much to Pericles' chagrin, the brave defenders at Potidea continued to hold against all odds (including a winter siege).

Spartan morale was low heading into 429. They were going to have to spend a good chunk of their actions recruiting and rebuilding the army that failed to reach Athens the previous year. To make matters worse, Athens raised taxes (giving it a total of +2 actions with Pericles still in play) and Spata didn't have the ability to foment any revolts. At this point, Athens might have played too conservatively -- other than an expedition to Cythera, which was quickly dispatched it mainly concerned itself with putting out fires in the eastern reaches of its empire rather than threatening the Spartan homelands. Of course, there were fires aplenty: although Potidea finally succumbed to a barbarian-assisted assault, a rebel fleet again showed up in Chios and a Spartan detachment had found its way to occupying Samos. At the end of the year, Spartan prestige was at 11, and they successfully imposed peace.

Thoughts:
First of all, we both loved the game. There is always much more to do than actions avaiable, so it is necessary to come up with a strategy to deal with all of the possibilities. Gameplay is very rewarding because of this.

I really enjoyed the asymmetry of the game. First, there is the obvious difference between the sides of the Athenian naval strength vs. Spartan land forces. But even more fun is the different objectives of the sides: Athens needs to balance keeping a large spread out empire under control with not depleting its Athenian defenders; Sparta wants to amass enough force to hurt Athens on the mainland but constantly must watch out for quick strikes by the much more mobile Athenians.

We certainly got a couple of small things wrong in the rules (which I've confirmed today by looking at the forums) but overall things went reasonably smoothly for a first play by non hardened wargamers.

After this first taste, we're definitely up for more. All in all, it is a fantastic experience.

Session: Power Grid - Factory Manager:: Second play

Eisley — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:37:54 +0000

by Eisley

[Please note this post was originally and wrongly posted in the review section. I have deleted that entry and moved it to here.]

I enjoyed Factory Manager a lot when I played it first time. (This is a follow-up to my initial review: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/460861). A second play (again with experienced gamers) was just as enjoyable and a chance to try my gained knowledge to improve my efficiency.

Like my initial play, I found there were lots of decisions to make which is not common to find in a relatively short game. So, it held my interest as before and kept my brain very busy. I still really like how the turn order is balanced by the later players getting discounts on all their purchases. It’s a really nice game mechanic as it means that turn order doesn’t over-dominate the game, which means players who have more workers available because they’ve gone the manpower efficiency route don’t automatically get to dominate the game. I can’t tell yet if it’s almost too balanced as few players have bid for these tiles in my games and no-one’s ever bid more than one worker, but it’s a nice system.

I’ve not seen the seasonal workers used very much at all so have yet to fully appreciate if there’re further strategies to be found within them. Also, I haven’t seen anyone use the tactic where you can bid more workers than you need to to win a turn order tile. The rules suggest you can do this so that, when the time comes, you don’t have to draw down as many tiles into the market. Doing this would restrict the choices of machines to buy because there would be fewer available. I can see that, if you have a lot of unused workers and play first or second in a round, then this could be a very interesting tactic to use because you’d get first or second choice of the tiles and the remaining players may then have little to choose from. However, I don’t think I’ve seen this overbidding for a turn order tile yet because tiles get drawn down into the market in their cost order; this means that if you only get to draw down one or two tiles, you probably won’t be able to guarantee you’ll get to purchase the higher value machine(s) that you want because you only got to draw down the lower value machines. I like the idea of the tactic but I will be interested to see if anyone uses it.

My only slight concern about Factory Manager is that there isn’t much variety between each game so that may impact on its longevity. There will be differences between each game because the machines that are available for purchase each round will vary which will affect which routes to efficiency are available, plus purchases/decisions by other player’s will also need to be factored in. So, I’m not certain the difference between each play will be very great. This makes Factory Manager a very solid and enjoyable game (especially if you like some thinking involved) but may be a game you won’t play over-and-over in short succession. However, this is a relatively minor issue given how enjoyable the game is.

Overall, I’m starting to think I may buy the game now because I rarely get to play Power Grid due to its length and relative complexity (which rules it out of being played by one of my gaming groups).

All 3 other players I played with, who were all experienced gamers and only one had played Power Grid before, really liked the game. It took them a turn or two to fully get into the process. One player managed to end with an income of 150 (which was amazing as the maximum is 160) and no workers required to run the factory - incredible efficiency.

James.

[Played with 4 players]

Session: Dominion: Intrigue:: Swindler Backfires

monkeyboy157 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:52:39 +0000

by monkeyboy157

For the last three months one of the local game stores has been having a dominion league. I was finally able to make it to the last one and I just had to share what happened during one of the games. After the first game, all the winners from the various tables were placed together. During this game the card selection came from a random 10 cards selected from Dominion and Intrigue shuffled together. The key card in play was the swindler.

I was going to hit up the mining village and use it to do some branching and for the extra coins when needed. When I drew it on turn 3, with 4 copper, I decided to trash it to get an early gold and it just never really worked out to go back to the mining village. I bought up a few gold, then started spending my 6 coins on nobles. I'm not sure what other actions I was buying, but I was buying provinces at the same rate as the other players.

The player to my left had a 5/2 and got a trading post and a courtyard to start things off. I thought we were doomed and that him being able to thin his deck quickly would make him win. On his third turn he decided to buy the swindler, just for fun. While he was buying up a lot of nobles and did thin his deck, my heavy money deck was able to keep up with his buys.

I wasn't paying too much attention to what the third player was doing, but he was keeping pace as well.

This was turning out to be a great game. Three different strategies all working at about the same pace. Of course we picked up a couple of curses from player 2's swindler and eventually we got down to the last province. By my count whoever took that province was going to win the game. I drew my cards and knew I wouldn't be getting it. I was staring at 3 coins and no actions, but I figured it would be bought before I got a turn anyway. To my surprise my turn came and it was still there, I bought an estate and then drew 9 coins in my next hand. I had a little hope, but figured again the game was going to end before I got another chance. At this point player two goes through his long chain, just like every turn before, and he notices that he has 8 coins to spend, but he also has 2 buys. Seeing the swindler in his hand and an action left he decides to play it so he can buy the last province as well as an estate for good measure. To all of our surprise, player three turns up a province on the swindler and so he got the last province instead, I turned up a nobles and so I lost 2 more points on the last turn. Player 2 bought 2 duchys and figured that he only really lost 1 point on the deal and it would be okay.

We tallied up the scores and the points came out:
Me: 28
P2: 32
P3: 32

In the end the swindler he played did cost him the game because he needed one more point since player 3 had the tie breaker. Looking back, if he hadn't played the swindler and only bought the province it still would have been a tie (even though I would have had two more points) and he wouldn't have won anyway, but it was still fun to see the last province gobbled up by somebody being attacked by the swindler.

Session: Pandemic: On the Brink:: Virulent Strain? What Virulent Strain?

MrScaryMuffin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:42:54 +0000

by MrScaryMuffin

November 15th, 1am: I-65N

It was late and I was sleepy, but I knew that I had time to sleep on the plane. I was enroute to Chicago, where I had arranged a chartered flight earlier. To keep myself awake, I turned my thoughts towards the meeting I had just left.

November 14th, 7pm: Atlanta

Miga sniffed. Toby and I shot a glanced at each other and then at her.

"You're not getting sick are you?" I asked. Miga shook her head.

"No, I was sick last week. That was just a reaction to all these dusty books. I don't know why I became an Archivist, I have a degree in Chemistry for crying outloud!"

"And that's why you've been working with us these last few months instead of polishing your librarian glasses," Toby replied, "even if you're not sick, I think it's probably best for you to go first anyways."

Miga bit her lip and gave Toby a sardonic look. She brushed her bangs away from her eyes and considered the world map laid out in front of us. Her nickname was derived from her hairstyle.

The little wooden cubes on the map tracked the diseases we were handling. Both deadly fevers, yellow and scarlet, were of concern to us. Scarlet fever had already hit China pretty hard, with two cities threatening to chain outbreak. Yellow fever was gaining momentum in South America and there were signs of it reaching Africa over the Atlantic as well. Additionally, rumours that the Black plague was returning was popping up all over eastern Europe. Only Deadly Depression, or the Blues, was quiet, but we knew that we couldn't ignore it either.

"Well Mike, how's the research coming along?" Miga looked over to her right at our rookie Researcher. He was a new member to our experienced team and still wasn't fully orientated yet.

"I don't got much, I'm afraid. Just some stuff on Shanghai."

"That's good, we've got to save Asia." Though we were all asian, I believe that Toby was perhaps the one who was the most proud of his roots. "I'm calling dibs on Asia, I already got two other research papers for that area."

"Typical. Well, you're the Medic, so you can call the shots," said Miga, "I guess I'll go down south then and see what I can do there."

The plan looked good to the rest of us, so Miga quickly began looking up directions for her long road trip south. Toby took the research from Mike and looked at me and Jude.

"And what will you guys be doing?" He asked.

"I got a plane waiting for me in Chicago, ready to take me anywhere. I think I can arrange some things with people I know in Hong Kong and get a research station up for you once you get all your research in." I replied.

"That's good, but I'm still short on data," said Toby.

"I got your answer right here," said Jude, "Troubleshooter to the rescue again. I've been working with Mike on the Asia stuff and I think I can pull something on Osaka for you. Why don't we meet up there so that we can confirm the research and then I'll pass it over to you?"

"Sounds good. Looks like we basically know what we're doing. Ok team, hands in." We brought our hands to the middle, hovering over the world map. "Annnnnnd...BREAK!"

And then we were off.

November 19th, 10am: Hong Kong

It was hot inside, but I couldn't go out. Scarlet fever cases had been starting to pop up in the area and everyone was told to remain indoors.

Toby had arrived this morning in his usual loud, boiterous form. The staff at the quickly built research station broke out in appalause as his curing actions in Asia no doubt prevent an outbreak after Mike, the new guy still stationed in North America, noticed an Epidemic a little too late. But I couldn't fault our Researcher too much, as he did manage to notice a Hidden Pocket of Yellow fever, which had turned out to have a Virulent Strain.

A heavy hand slapped me on the back. It was Toby.

"Hey hey! Guess what I have?" he waved five folders in front of me.

"Oh, you didn't!"

"I did so, I managed to get the research data we were missing while on my curing mission. The staff here is already getting a vaccine made and we're going to cure this area first. With my super Medic skills and the vaccine, it'll be like nothing at all."

I just had to shake my head. As big headed as he was, Toby can sure be amazing some time.

"Oh, one more thing. Jude had this for you," Toby handed me an envelope, "it's from HQ. You've been given a New Assignment. We don't really need any more research stations and so we have no need for an Operations Expert. Instead, you are to act as our Dispatcher in the Middle East."

My face involuntarily grimaced. I didn't mind the Middle East, it couldn't be hotter than here, but I wasn't crazy about the pink shirts that were part of the uniform of my new job.

"Speaking of Jude," I said, "where is he now?"

"I sent him ahead to Jakarta," Toby replied, "once we get this vaccine done and the area cured, you can say good bye to Scarlet fever."

"Eradicated?" I asked, holding my breath in hope.

Toby grinned and nodded. I sat back down on my chair and released a big breathe of relief. So that's why the staff was cheering so loudly, I thought.

"No wonder I'm not needed here anymore. I guess I book it over to desert then."

November 30th, 5pm: Tehran

I was getting ready to pack shop when Jude arrived. It was hard getting him in town after Miga convinced the UN to put up a Commercial Travel Ban, but the ban was necessary after the last two Epidemics caused a couple of outbreaks. Jude was here to help me handle the one in the Middle East while I had sent Mike to where Miga was in South America to handle the one down there.

"Good news," said Jude, "Mike managed to compile a tonne of research on the Virulent Strain of the Yellow fever and Miga dug up some data that was tossed aside in the past. I think Miga is heading back to Atlanta to drop it off. We may have a vaccine for it soon."

Mike, the Researcher, had proved to be a vital addition to the team. He had also managed to compile data on the Blues and handed that off to Toby, who was criss-crossing the Atlantic, trying to prevent another outbreak. A Resilient Population in the area was certainly helping things.

At the same time, Mike managed to research a method to allow us some Borrowed Time and to do more things in a day than we normally could have. However, the method was still being tested and, after Toby's first attempt, though successful, we decided that it was probably safer to go at our usual pace.

"That is good news," I agreed, "but we can't celebrate yet. Another Epidemic is coming soon, I can feel it. If Toby can pull off in North America what he did in Asia, then we will only have to worry about the Black Plague."

"That's where I want you to help me," said Jude, "I've started compiling some data on our disease here, using what I learned from Mike when I was troubleshooting for him. I'm only missing a few vital bits, you have any research papers on you?"

I waved over to the filing cabinet. "Help yourself, I've only got the stuff that I used when building this research station. Ever since I got reassigned, I had to build these shacks the hard way."

As Jude sifted through the paper work, I rebooted the computer and began putting in the orders to get Toby where Miga was, in Atlanta. That should do it, I thought to myself. Just as I was thinking that, I heard a shout from Jude.

"Eureka! This is it!" he exclaimed. "With this Re-Examined Research, I've got all I need. Quick, tell the staff to skip dinner and get back here, we're gonna get this done overnight."

I shared his excitement. "I just arranged Toby's flight back to HQ, all three of these babies are going to hit at the same time." I pinched myself. "Oh man, this is happening. It's frickin' unbelievable!"

Jude and I just stared at each other in the hastily built research station, caught in the moment. At the same time, we broke out in an ear-to-ear grin.

"Dude, we just saved the world."

Session: Waterloo 20:: Waterloo 20 replay, with retrofitted weather rules

dmcke013 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:45:54 +0000

by dmcke013

Introduction

The inaugural game in VPGs Napoleonic 20 series, Waterloo concerns perhaps the most famous of all Napoleonic battles. The game itself launched a new game system, which has been refined and enhanced over time. I hesitate to use the phrase, but one of the drawbacks of the original design is in the fact that there is only the one historical scenario, although this is mitigated somewhat by the random event cards. Having said that, and to increase replayability, I thought it might be interesting to retrofit the weather rules from Dresden 20 onto Waterloo (replacing ‘threatening weather’ card with ‘a change in the weather’): the following AAR describes my experiences doing so:

Situation at start of game
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Turn 1: June 16, afternoon (French morale 8, Allied morale 7)
Weather = Cloudy, worsening

(no random event)
The battle starts with the French closing in on Ligny: II cavalry corps moving to the east of Ligny as I cavalry corps moves east of Prussian III corps and as the IV cavalry corps moves west of the Prussian I corps allowing the Imperial Guard to move adjacent to II corps in Ligny (-1 French morale for early committal of Guard). Further west, III cavalry corps and II corps both move to engage English I corps (west and south-east respectively), with (French) I corps advancing along the same road.

III cavalry corps and II corps combine to attack English I corps, but both attackers are routed: III cavalry corps 6 hexes (-1 French morale), II corps 5 hexes (another -1 morale), breaking at Gosselies (+1 Allied morale). I corps advance into the woods. Further east, I and II cavalry corps combine to attack Prussian III corps, routing that unit 3 hexes (-1 Allied morale), with the I cavalry corps pursuing. III corps and IV cavalry corps also combine to attack Prussian I corps east of Ligny, also routing that unit 5 hexes (another -1 Allied morale), with the IV cavalry corps also pursuing and with III corps ‘taking ground’. Finally, the Imperial Guard and IV corps combine to attack the (now surrounded) II corps in Ligny, leading to a costly exchange (French lose Imperial Guard, and have a net loss of -1 morale as said guard are obviously unable to advance (other gain/losses cancel out)). IV corps captures Ligny.

(random event = “Coordination Crisis”. Anglo-Dutch and Prussian units may not move through, or end adjacent to, each other)
Only the Anglo-Dutch Res corps moves, moving into (but no further than) Quarter-Bras: the rest of the Allied army in either unable, or unwilling to, move.

I cavalry corps counter-charges the (routed) Prussian III corps, forcing the defenders to withdraw and again ‘taking ground’.

That unit then counter-attacks the I cavalry corps, but are again forced to withdraw. Once again, I cavalry corps ‘takes ground’. Anglo-Dutch I corps attacks their French counter-parts, but are forced to withdraw (-1 Allied morale for elite forces unable to advance), with French I corps capturing the woods. Finally, the Prussian I corps recovers from rout effects (II corps unable to do so, as adjacent to French I cavalry corps)

Situation at end of turn 1
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Turn 2: June 16, evening (French morale 4, Allied morale 5)
Weather = Showers, worsening

(random event = “Conflicting orders”. Allied player places routed marker on III cavalry corps)
Bad weather sets in as rain begins to fall. IV cavalry corps moves to the south-west of Prussian I corps as VI corps arrives in, and moves through, the LOC in Gosselies and moves towards Quatre-Bras. II cavalry corps moves to the woods to their north-north-west, and both the III and IV Infantry corps head north-west onto the road towards Quatre-Bras.

I cavalry corps attacks (routed) Prussian II corps, who struggle to load and fire their muskets in the damp and are forced to withdraw (again!), with I cavalry corps taking ground. IV cavalry corps attacks Prussian I corps (who are also affected by the inclement weather), but are forced to withdraw, with the Prussian I corps advancing after combat. Finally, French I corps attacks, and commits their reserves against (-1 French morale), their Anglo-Allied counter-parts (both corps affected by the rain), but are themselves routed 3 hexes (another -1 French morale), with the Anglo-Allied I corps recapturing the woods.

(random event = “Rally to Old Forward”. Prussian II corps returns to play east of Ligny)
The newly rallied II corps advances along the road towards Ligny, as the Anglo-Dutch Res corps moves north into Genappe (opted not to move further), and as I corps also moves north into Quatre-Bras.

French I cavalry corps counter-charges the still routed(!) Prussian III corps (who are now east of Mont St Guibert), forcing them to withdraw yet again and advancing after combat. Both II and IV cavalry corps combine to counter-charge Prussian I corps, routing that unit 6(!) hexes (-1 Allied morale), with the II cavalry corps pursuing and IV cavalry corps advancing after combat.

Finally, the routed Prussian III corps attacks French I cavalry corps, but are undone by the inclement weather and are forced to rout 6 (again!) hexes (-1 Allied morale). Again, I cavalry corps pursues.

situation at end of turn 2
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Turn 3: June 16, night (French morale 2, Allied morale 3)
Weather = Showers, worsening

(random event = “Napoleon humbugs Allies”. All French units gain +1 movement)
As the rain continues throughout the night, Napoleon re-organises his troop deployments, utilising the extra movement allowance gained by that card for the I and II cavalry corps to close on (respectively) the Prussian III and I corps, for the IV corps to drop back into Ligny, for the VI corps to move south-east of Quatre-Bras (also using road movement bonus) while the III corps moves east of the same. IV cavalry corps skirts the woods to the east, moving towards Anglo-Dutch Res corps, I corps moves through Fleures to the south of Ligny and III cavalry corps moves along the road towards the same.

During the ‘night operations’ phase, the broken II corps is eliminated for good, while the Imperial Guard rallies in Gosselies. The French then regain a single morale point from rest (+1 French morale).

(random event = “Esprit de Corps”. Associated roll = No effect)
Uxbridge Cavalry corps arrives at, and moves through, Nivelles as the Prussian IV corps arrives in play to the south-east of Hamme. No other Allied corps moves.

During the ‘night operations’ phase, the Allies reduce the French morale by 1 for holding the French objective of Quatre-Bras (-1 French morale) before gaining 2 morale points from rest (+2 Allied morale). Finally, and as there are no ZOCs at night, both the Prussian I and III corps recover from rout effects.

situation at end of turn 3
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Turn 4: June 17, morning (French morale 2, Allied morale 5)
Weather = Cloudy, worsening

(random event = “Esprit de Corps”. Associated roll = No effect)
The rain finally lets up, allowing the Emperor to get on with the battle: I corps and III cavalry corps move to attack Prussian II corps east of Ligny as the Imperial Guard closes on Quatre-Bras and as IV cavalry corps moves east of III corps.

I corps, IV corps and III cavalry corps all combine to attack Prussian II corps, who commit their reserves (-1 Allied morale), leading to an exchange of the I and II corps (morale loss/gains cancel out). III and VI corps combine to attack Anglo-Dutch I corps in Quatre-Bras, who also commit their reserves (another -1 Allied morale), forcing both attackers to rout: III corps 3 hexes (-1 French morale) and VI corps 5 hexes (another -1 French morale). This ends the game with an Allied (anti-French) decisive victory! (French morale 0, Allied morale 3)

situation at end of game
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Final thoughts

So, once again, Wellington carried the day. I’m not really sure yet whether changing the weather rules to the newer design of Dresden 20 had much of an impact on the game: the weather, as a matter of fact, only seemed to change between “Cloudy” and “Showery”, with “A change in the weather” (or “Threatening weather”) card not even making a single appearance! This left out “Clear” (no game effect), “Downpour” (-1 infantry combat, -1 movement allowances, no road movement bonuses) and “Strom” weather (placing mud marker on time track). In this game, and when it did rain, I also noticed that this seemed to have more of an effect on the Allied army (with a higher proportion of infantry units) than on the French army: further play-testing may be required, especially as I wasn’t too sure where to (historically) start the weather: Cloudy, Worsening? Cloudy, Improving? (although that doesn’t seem right) Showery, Improving? Showery, Worsening? In the end, I simply opted for Cloudy, Worsening simply as it seemed the ‘best-fit’ for what I know of the battle proper.

Session: Samurai:: Where Is My Mind? ...A Tale of Brain Hemorrhages, Harakiri and Paralysis

mutilatedlips — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:56:28 +0000

by mutilatedlips

My wife and I played this a couple of times together and we loved it. A brilliant, but simple game.

This was the first time we had played a four player game with friends.

It only took a few minutes to teach, being a game that is extremely easy to learn, but real heavy on the decision making.

It did not go over as well as I thought. Analysis Paralysis (AP) through the roof!
You ever see that movie scanners? the way that guy looked just before his head exploded? That was the look everybody had during their turn. You would have thought the loser would commit seppuku by watching our game.

They all saw it for a very very good game. Comments like "Wow, that was a thinker of a game...a real Brainbuster, My Mind is Destroyed!
Maybe it was a little too heavy for them. They would definitely play again, but it is like 4 people playing chess against each other, real intense, instead of the laughing sillyness during our other games like Stone Age and Cosmic Enounter.

I was surprised that we were each left with tiles at the end of the game. I won, Yay. Partly because they left me on an island by myself and partly because of my no choke, swift as a tiger gameplay.

Session: Chaos in the Old World:: A Cloud of Magic as the Old World was almost saved

Umbratus — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:27:01 +0000

by Umbratus

Just as I asked how to win with Tzeentch at all in the other thread, it happened like this in my 7th full game of CITOW at Thoule Spieleverein:

Even though I mixed the initial Old World tokens pretty thoroughly we had a rather strange distribution. Both nobles north at Norsca and Troll Country, followed by all 3 Warpstones at Kislev, Empire and Bretonnia and then all 4 peasant in the remaining regions.

First event was Plunged in Chaos, no effect at all. Khorne started the game with a warrior in the Empire, Nurgle put one of his to Bretonnia. Naturally, Slaanesh claimed the Nobles north, while I as Tzeentch shut off Kislev with a Temporal Stasis. Khorne was lucky enough to tick his dial at all first turn with a late hit on Nurgle. Tzeentch double ticked as he got rid of the initial Khorne warrior from The Empire, by teleporting him away into Slaanesh territory. So I was effectively able to double tick my dial right away

Upgraded my cultists of course for mobility with the Warpstones. Speaking of warpstones, Meteor Shower came up next. Even though I could not select where to place them, I could choose for the one warpstone rewarded by the dial, so the board was smiling at me with options. The others noticed that as well for sure, so while Khorne divided his attention between Slaanesh and me, Nurgle was unharrased for a moment and could throw some warriors at me as well.

I could somewhat dodge these attacks and dealt out some nasty cards as well so I wasnt bashed too badly. Still managed to keep ticking my dial but not collecting many VP. We had a peasant uprising that made collecting victory points somewhat more difficult so that drew some attention to overcome as well.

Nurgle wasnt unattended for too long before I pointed out we'll have to take care otherwise he may collect 30-40 points in a dash and win. I teleported away another Khorne warrior into Nurgle territory to underline this

Slaanesh didnt get any additional Nobles or Heroes for trigger options. Too bad he missed one turn entirely and thus missed the dial reward to place 2 new nobles. Sort of a downward spiral for him. He also soon regretted his first upgrade which he applied to his Greater Demon. It was useful once but never again, and so he should have gone with upgrading his cultists to take two hits instead as he was entangled in fights with Khorne all the time.

Khorne and me were constantly competing for the double tick, I tied him more often than not, but he got away twice with double ticking while I didnt manage to do that again. One time I diversed him pretty nicely so he spent his last points on an area where I did a feint move. So everyone was out of points when I dropped two Warpshields into the same area that was under siege, to secure my dial trigger there

We finally had more nobles and some heroes on the board by events like Electors Arise and Dwarf Trollslayers. But also the game got shortened by Franzs Decree, which alarmed Khorne and Slaanesh as they realized they wont be able to win by dial in time anymore. We also had the nasty ongoing event of Teclis Aids the Empire, which removes all corruption in the region with the most tokens. That prevented Troll Country from collapsing as it removed 11 tokens there !

Nevertheless, first region to get ruined was the Empire then. I stacked 5 or 6 cultists there to make sure Teclis wont sweep that before overflow. Finally collected some serious amount of VP. Khorne was switching to collecting some VP as well. Nurgle hit the thirties and we took care we dont miss a fact so he can easily collect the remaining points. He had taken the Provender of Ruin upgrade, but Teclis helped to keep him under control even though two more regions got ruined.

Last turn it was clear that only Nurgle or Tzeentch could still win, Khorne and Slaanesh were working together towards a draw so that everyone had lost alike to the Old World. Nurgle focused on ruining The Border Princes where his Greater Demon was present since a couple of turns as well. Slaanesh decided to sweep the Badlands from all my corruption by Teclis so I couldnt gain all the points for ruining it by myself - too bad.

For the last turn I took my last upgrade to draw up to six cards since nothing else made much sense at that point. Got me some nice cards indeed 2x Temporal Stasis for instance. Played one to The Badlands, hoping for a save trigger. Khorne played the Blood Gods call nevertheless, spending 4 points and bringing over his Greater Demon and a Warrior, grinning to have spoilt my plans. But as he emptied Bretonnia by that I played the second Temporal Stasis to there, evacuating to trigger there instead. I spent far less points than he did for this whole action, so I was grinning back

I had gone unnoticed that I can still win by dial as well until now. Summing up points it looked like I could also beat Nurgle 54:53 by VP when I dominate Bretonnia. Two power points to spend I made that sure by adding a cultist and I added another cultist to Norsca to have three of them against two Slaanesh dice. Hoping to trigger my condition a second time there for the needed double tick.

Slaanesh rolled 3 and 4, just one hit so 2 cultists got through and I triggered twice for the final double tick. We broke it up right there. A very very tight and gripping game

Some Facts:
- Tzeentch never summoned a single warrior or even his Greater Demon. All other Greater Demons hit the board sooner or later. I never rolled a single die throughout the whole game but still won
- first time ever that I cycled through a whole deck of Chaos Cards and had to reshuffle the pile
- ticked the dial twice each in first and last turn while Franzs Decree shortened the game. Never missed a turn to tick at least once in between.
- first time that we nearly lost the game to the Old World and two players were actively working towards that in the end.

Session: Pandemic:: Pandemic Fail! How to lose on the first turn.

airjudden — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:28:12 +0000

by airjudden

I played 5 roles solitaire (why not? It's a cooperative game, so nothing is hidden).

After messing with the orders, I have found the optimal way (for me) to put the roles is in this order:
1) Dispatcher - he can move others into place, especially Operations Expert, who can then build a research facility in order to get the Atlanta pawns to the danger faster.
2) Researcher - if Dispatcher doesn't move him, he can pass cards to his Atlanta buddies. Otherwise, it's a good idea for him to shove cards to others, so they can hopefully build when it's their turn. Besides, you often are close to running out of cards and have to plan your last few moves carefully, so it's a good idea to have him shoving cards to those who can win it in your darkest hour.
3) Operations Expert - See #1 -- he helps get other pawns to the fires early in the game. He also can pass cards to Scientist, or build him a research center close by to cure a disease.
4) Scientist - He can be a receiver and cure easily. Put him late, so he can receive cards from others and dispatcher can move him into places to receive them.
5) Medic - He goes around and cleans up big messes.

When I drew the 3 cards for 3 cubes at the beginning, they were Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Osaka -- wow -- 3 reds!

On Dispatcher's turn, he moved researcher 3 spaces to Manila and then had Operations Expert join him. The idea was Researcher would move to Hong Kong, remove 1 cube, then move to Bangkok and remove 1 cube. This would remove the threat of a double outbreak. Afterward, Operations Expert would plant a station at Manila, move to Taipei, move to Osaka, and remove 1 red cube. All immediate outbreak threats removed!

To borrow a phrase from ESPN's Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend!"

When Dispatcher drew his first 2 cards in the deck, the top one was Epidemic. The lucky city? Shanghai -- ANOTHER red. I shuffled the cards and 2 drew 2 cities to infect. One was Bangkok. Outbreak. It causes Hong Kong to outbreak, which causes Shanghai to outbreak.

I run out of red cubes.

Game over. First turn.

I never stood a chance.

Is that a trip or what?

I guess after about 40 games, you are bound to see just about everything, even a colossal fail.

Session: B-29 Superfortress:: History of "Ronnie", Mission #1

Major E — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:06:28 +0000

by Major E

Mission # 1
Date: Nov 17’th, 1944
Target: Nagoya Aircraft Factory
Intel Brief: (Conducted evening Nov 16, 44) Heavy fighter resistance is expected, however due to other operational requirements no fighter escort is available. This will be a high altitude daytime mission. Squadron location within the formation is indicated in your briefing packets (low for Ronnie’s squadron). Since this is a high altitude mission both the forward and aft bomb bays will be carrying auxiliary fuel tanks instead of bombs. Mission launch will begin tomorrow morning during daylight hours. Specific times assigned to your squadron and your bombers position in the stick are in your briefing packet. This is a daylight mission and you will have the benefit of full daylight for your bombing run. However, be advised that during RTB night time conditions will commence while crossing the Iwo Jima area. Landing lights and navigation beacons will be turned on for RTB assistance and landing operations here in Guam. Stand by for the weather forecast. Good luck.
Flight Recorder: (only transcript of enemy combat or emergency situations included)
ROBERT (Pilot): "Approaching target."
JERRY (Bombardier): "I’ve go it." [airplane background noise for a 15 seconds followed by a loud explosion and exclamations and chatter]
ROBERT: "Clear comms and report!" [one by one everyone reports in. During which Bombardier breaks in and reports "Bombs Away"].
ROBERT: "We are RTB." [formation makes a lumbering turn to the right to head back to base.]
CAM (Left Waist Gunner): "Fighter at 9 o’clock high!"
GREG (Central Fire Controller): "On it." [pause, then sound of the Forward Upper and Aft Upper turrets simultaneously firing] [ loud thumping/popping sounds, a loud bang, and screaming is now heard ]
CAM: "What the ..?!"
COY (Right Waist Gunner): [calmly] "There’s no fire, but the fire extinguisher is going off?"
ROBERT: "Report!"
COY: "The fire extinguisher back here’s been killed."
GREG: "CFC reporting Aft Upper Turret not functioning. Looks like it took a large caliber slug."
CAM: "Waist reporting three or four holes in the fuselage and one KIA fire extinguisher. There’s white powder everywhere back here."
COY: "I’m not cleaning this up."
Pilot AAR: Mission was uneventful until we were over the target and on the bomb run. While the bombardier had control there was a flak burst near the plane. The next day upon examination of the plane the flak burst had caused four punctures in the plane all of which were superficial, with the alarming exception of one that punctured the aft bomb-bay auxiliary fuel bladder. However, by the time we were over the target the bladder was empty. Bombs were on target, and upon turning for RTB an enemy plane, type unidentified, jumped us from nine o’clock high. SSgt E (Greg) engaged with the two top turrets via the CFC fire control center but with no apparent effect. The enemy plane destroyed the rear top turret, and punctured five holes into the waist area of the bomber, one of which hit the fire extinguisher in that area causing it to explosively expel it’s gas into the compartment resulting in some excitement. Overall a good mission, although I’m a little surprised at how dangerous it turned out to be. Not that I expected a cake walk. But now I’m worried if all of us can make it through the full thirty five missions if we already had some close calls on our first.
Finally, the #2 engine sputtered and coughed briefly during final approach to landing. DA 2408 13 tac 1 entry made, and referenced in my DA 2408-12 Flight Log as well. RAE.
Mission Rating: Success. 34 to go.

Session: Scotland Yard:: Police come through at the last possible second.

fatetwister64 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:10:30 +0000

by fatetwister64

Last night was my first large game of Scotland Yard. I had played a few 1 v. 1 games times to warm up my evasion skills and was fairly confident I could escape three rookie detectives. I explained the rules, dealt out the tickets and the chase was on!

The detectives began placed liberally around the board. I begin on the far right side and one the 3rd turn surfaced on 118. My first double move and 2 black tickets took me down river and then a taxi into the crowded areas in the center of the board. The police focused 4 of their detectives around 118, assuming I had pulled off something tricky and stayed close to them. In a few turns when I surfaced again at 75 they we're cursing themselves and quickly scrambled back onto the undergrounds to catch up. By the time they got up to the area most of their underground resources were depleted.

Seeing their dwindling ticket supply I went for a bold and perhaps foolish move. My last double move, taxi to the tube station at 46 then take then underground to 16 and reveling there. It was a tough move to commit to. Double move and reveal on the 2nd one? It would allow me to jump over two detectives trailing close behind me. They we're tapped out as far as red tickets. If I did it they would spend 4 -5 rounds busing after me. This made me fairly confident I could get far away. And I did. With them regulated to mostly Bus and Taxi tickets I was just going to take the Underground as far as I could and wait them out. The red detective was left behind in the north to prevent a double back, and the rest headed south. A round about loop had me reveal on the tube station at 163.

This is where I noticed that I would have to reveal on my last move, meaning I need to have some distance between them and myself after that last move. I decided cutting thought the park on the right hand side was my best bet. If I could lure them all to the south I could slip thought there. The North would be a safe hideout.

Coming into the last set of moves the gumshoes had built a tight dragnet from one corner of the park down towards the south. At this point Red was so far removed he was basically out of the game. I started to work towards the park, towards freedom. 140 -120 -121 All under black moves. Blue's final Underground ticket landed her at 163, to close for comfort. With two moves to go, Detective Yellow @ 123 stated he was going to go cover the park entrance. I was trapped! The way out was cut off. All I could do now was play the odds. The area was swarming with badges. But there way no way out! I was helplessly cornered on 121 with one move to go. I would either rush into Yellow at 122 go back to 121 and be nabbed by Purple, who was sitting on 144 or suffer the same fate at 145. I had led my self into a corner. The jig was up.

Session: Call of Cthulhu LCG:: Hastur and Miskatonic throw down!

fnord3125 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:39:43 +0000

by fnord3125

I've been playing a few games of CoC lately with a friend of mine. I'm the only one that actually owns the game, though, so we weren't really sure how to do deck building. However, the other night, while working on other things, we decided to take a break and play a game. I commented that I kind of wanted to try playing an all Hastur deck, and we decided to go for it and quickly build something right then on the spot. He decided, probably to keep it simple, to only take one faction as well and picked MU.

That game didn't go that well for him. He got stomped. But we were also both tired and distracted and both did some stupid things.

The next day he came back, and I'd been looking through the cards, looking for ways to improve his deck's defense against Terror. Though I still believe (and told him as much) that I thought his best bet would be to pull in cards from another faction (like Agency) he decided to stick with just MU and neutral cards, though he did switch a few around, and I did as well.

That game was MUCH more interesting. I'm not sure how much of it was due to the randomness of the game, and how much was our tweaks to the deck and how much was better play, but it was the first game of CoC (though I've enjoyed them all) that really felt excellent when it was all over.

It seemed, at first that he was going to get pounded again. I was able to quickly bring out characters will fairly high terror and combat levels, as well as a few other useful abilities, and he was having trouble getting the characters out he needed to control the battlefield and avoid the terror. I fairly quickly took my first story. He eventually got out his first Chess Prodigy who, unfortunately for him, developed an Infernal Obsession (though I quickly realized I really should have saved that card for the Cafeteria Lady, who came out shortly thereafter and proceeded to cause me a great deal of frustration).

I snagged a second story without much trouble (as my opponent was frequently declining to attack and sometimes defend as he was unwilling to let a character die while he felt his ranks were "behind") and built a third one up to four successes on my side (there were three on his side of it, and the other two had a 2 and 3 on his side and none on mine).

Then, in a fairly startling turn of events, he was able to block me from taking my final story, and bring himself up to 4 points on it, and, in the final round he was able to take all three stories at once! (due, primarily to clever choice about which story to resolve first - the story that kills all characters of skill 2 or less resulted in one of the stories being completely undefended, allowing him to go from 2 success to a win)

So I lost, but it was a good loss. The way he was able to come from behind like that made it worthwhile. Before the end, I had nearly become convinced that MU by itself couldn't put up an effective fight against Hastur, but with the ability of some of the MU characters to mess with icon struggles, once he finally got the right characters out, it was very effective.

Session: Dominion:: Six Player Dominion, an experiment

MrScaryMuffin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:48:41 +0000

by MrScaryMuffin

I recently got Dominion and have been having fun introducing it to all my friends. We all love it.

So, when a close friend came back to visit after being in England for a year, I immediately suggested a game of Dominion when he expressed a craving for boardgames.

Unfortunately, out group was a bit big at that moment, consisting of six people, two of which had never played Dominion before. Instead of leaving people out, we decided to gung-ho it and play with six.

Set Up
We used the set recommended for first timers (Cellar, Market, Smithy, Woodcutter, Workshop, Village, Moat, Militia, Remodel, Mine)

To my left was my fiancée Jasmine. Next to her was our special guest, Jude. Then it was Mike, the other new player, and finally there was Miga and Toby.

As we were playing with more people, we decided that the game would end once all the Victory cards were gone or when 5 of any pile disappeared.

I took the first turn as I demostrated how to play the game and we proceeded clockwise.

Initial Strategies
I was a bit dismayed that I got 5 treasures to start. Typically, with the beginner's set I like to grab Smithys and Cellars and load up on cash. Instead, I took a Mine for my first turn and grabbed a Cellar for my next.

Jasmine and Jude both had 5 as well and opted to take a Market instead. Mike had 3 and took a Woodcutter and Miga took a Militia with her 4 and Toby grabbed a Market and later on a Moat.

Time Passes
I could see the strategies of the experienced players right off the bat. Jasmine was trying to build a strong draw engine with Market, Village, and Smithy while Miga was doing the same, but mixing in more attack cards. Toby was a bit defense minded and took more Moats than he probably should have. Jude and Mike dabbled a bit with cards that looked good to them, as most first time players do.

Myself, I used the Mine a few times early on and eventually passed on using it later. I grabbed as many Smithys as I could and managed to snag a Market before that pile ran out. I touched up with a couple of Cellars and focused the rest of my efforts on buying Gold.

The Militia attacks by Mike and Miga were quite annoying but I resisted grabbing moats and tossed Cellars and Coppers whenever I had no Victory cards to discard. Knowing that the game wouldn't last that long even though we were playing until 5 piles ran out, I grabbed Provinces whenever I could. Toby, on the other hand, used his 8+ treasure turns poorly and bought multiple cards, opting for things like Gold and Moat, which worked out for me

Endgame
The Duchys ran out first. The Market was the first kingdom card to go, followed quickly by the Smithy and Village. I grabbed the second to last Estate and Jasmine took the last one to wrap up the game.

Most of the players hovered just above 10 points. Jasmine had 19 points thanks to a single province and a handful of Duchys that she wisely purchased when she could.

Around mid-game, thanks to my constant Gold purchases, I had managed to buy two Provinces, the most that anyone got, and these proved to make the difference as I had 20 points to Jasmine's 19.

Thoughts on the Experiment
Playing with more than 4 players seems to work just fine, though the balance of the game is upset a bit. Definitely there needs to be more Estate cards. If I had Intrigue, I would have added enough Estate cards to bring the stack back up to 12.

Playing until 5 piles ran out/all Victory cards bought worked well. I might consider adding a few more Kingdom cards or the other Victory cards so that we have more than 10 Kingdom cards, which may be appropriate for the increase of players.

The biggest issue is downtime and purchase order. The player that goes first gets a huge advantage as they have purchase initiative and, in a large scale game, this can make a difference. To solve this, I may propose that all players play their hands simultaneously, with Attack cards going first. Cards gained during the Action phase will resolve before the Buy phase. If a card runs out during the Buy phase, then a dice is rolled to determine who gets shafted. This is probably the easiest way to remain fair to all. The other alternatively is to simply add an identical set and increase the number of cards appropriately.

Session: Pandemic:: Terrorist Plot leaves world in danger!

Archimiedies — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:20:59 +0000

by Archimiedies

My wife and I had the On the Brink expansion for some time. My wife was never up for the variants, but loved the extra roles. Finally our friend Tom came over the other day. He was giddy with malicious intent wanting to be the Bio-Terrorist. We pulled it out and set 'er up. So it begins.

Heather, the medic, was relaxing casually while new flu vaccines were on order. Then the phone rang. I hopped out of my chair and picked it up,"CDC Atlanta..." The situation had become horrible in Asia and being on call meant we had to spring into action. As the Containment Specialist, I geared up and headed to Miami to pick up on some research for a new yellow virus that had broken out. When I arrived there was a shadowy figure I recognized as a suspected Bio-Terrorist from a news cast earlier that week. I immediately detained him but before the authorities could arrive he gave me the slip and I barely caught a glimpse of him slipping thorough the door for a plane to Santiago Chile.

The Medic caught up to me in Miami and showed me the lab which had info on the yellow cure and then she flew off to Mumbai and Paris to treat some moderate infection that had broken out. We were lucky she was in Paris because an Epidemic struck in Essen after she arrived.
I headed to Asia to contain what I could of the overwhelming amount of infections taking place. I knew I needed a Base of Operations and set one up after arriving in Shanghai. Just as we thought things might look up for us I turned on CNN and saw horrific footage of the CDC in Atlanta exploding and burning... the terrorist had struck! If Only I hadn't lost him!

The Medic Treated Essen and made her way to Moscow which was heavily infected. As she arrived she learned it made an Outbreak to neighboring regions! While I was helping Asia I made a stop in Tehran to set up base there as a preventative measure, In case the terrorist struck again. It turned out to be a wise move. The terrorist did strike, but by sending a new mutated strain to Bogotá. Our Medic, in the mean time, cleared out the area of Moscow.

I had just put together the cure for Yellow when suddenly I got word that our Shanghai base had been bombed! That terrorizing B@$#@%D! I quickly sent out the cure for yellow to all major counties affected by it to start production and high tailed it to Shanghai Just in time to see the evil mastermind duck onto a transport for Kolkata.

With The yellow cure discovered our medic dashed to central Africa to efficiently administer the vaccine. The Asian disease "red" (*no, not communism!)was growing thick again When I got word that the vile Terrorist destroyed our last research station in Tehran. Death would not be enough for this villain. I had to contain "red" from Jakarta to Hong Kong. Meanwhile the terrorist was sending mutated infections to Khartoum.

Our medic was having a better time, and eradicated the yellow disease nullifying the threat it caused. The Terrorist had nothing else to bomb and sent his diabolical "purple" to Moscow. I held down the fort containing Asia. (Man that was such a HOT SPOT!) But the Medic had an ace up her sleeve. She had studied "purple" as she treated it, so there in Lima she made a base and developed the cure! If we eradicated "purple" the terrorist would no longer be a threat! The medic then went strait to work doing just that, even if it might take a while. As she left, Lima Base was bombed.(vindictive jerk:arrrh The base was short lived but very worth while.

While I continued keeping Asia from being consumed and working on the "red" cure the medic was stamping out "purple" in St. Petersburg and Moscow. When there was a local infection of "purple" in Santiago Chile we knew the terrorist had gotten sloppy in his containment procedures. I had Just gotten a Govt. Grant from China, now that I found the cure for "red", and built a base in Shanghai again. I used the left over funds to air lift the Medic to Santiago, eradicating "purple". As a bonus the medic tracked down and detained the Terrorist. Caught and defeated he could do nothing more. Tom the Terrorist was summarily executed by the Chilean local authority as punishment for his vile crimes before world authorities could extradite him.

While the terrorist was gone, the "black" and "blue" diseases were not. Both strains nicknamed the "bruise brothers" would turn out to be punishing indeed. Washington D.C. had an Outbreak of "blue".

After broadcasting the cure for "red", I was trying my best to eradicate it. With some help from our our troops deploying Rapid Vax to SE Asia we got it mostly treated. The Medic treated D.C. and London containing the most damage "blue" caused, but "black" came back with a vengeance leaving things on the verge of massive outbreaks. I continued to stomp around Asia looking for the "bruise brothers" cure and never really eradicated "red". The Medic did her best keeping "black" under control but it was too little too late. Our time and funds had run out. The Bruise Brothers had decided the fate of the world and as the unrestrained death toll mounted I could hear the maniacal laugh of Tom the terrorist from beyond the grave!

--In Review-- Having the terrorist was FUN and annoying as ! That is why I loved it. The best strategies we found for the terrorist concentrated on destroying bases -which slows us down and wastes resources- or if he concentrates on disseminating his cubes as fast as possible. We as the hero's could have made it were it not for the last black and blue cards being split equally between us!

Session: Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear! - Russia 1941-1942:: Dry Ground AAR

cstimpson — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:28:03 +0000

by cstimpson

Having bought the swamp board at the same time as AtB last year I thought I should make good on my investment! I set up and played 'dry ground' solo, and had a blast.

The Germans get to hide SIX counters! I (probably no surprise) hid all 4 of my ATGs, the IG and one LMG. I started with Soviet mortars to lay smoke, then had the Soviet infantry flush out what guns they could.

In the event, they did very well. By turn 2 they had found the 2 Pak-38s in the northern woods and the Pak-36 in the house to the south. It was at this point that I realized I had guarded the only dry, continuous road across the swamp with a single Pak-36 - not too smart, especially when I left it short of APs and the Soviet light tank short-ranged it in the flank! By then, however, I had also committed the T-34s to the road that disappears into the swamp just south of the northern woods.

It was also obvious at this point that my positioning for the 88-mm was terrible. I had put in in the woods to the south of the only high ground, in the center of the board, to guard against the Soviets coming out of the south-west woods and charging across the central isthmus to take the high ground. (I'd also mined the isthmus against that possibility). Since the Soviets were not so obliging, the gun had nothing to fire at, so at the end of a round I pulled the gun up to the high ground, so that if the Germans activated first next round they could maybe take out two T-34s.

Of course, it didn't happen. Goodbye, 88-mm, and goodbye lots of units that might have been safe in the woods but for those *&^%#$&^() mortars! The only saving grace for the Germans was that two T-34s got immobilized in the swamp, and although they could fire at the escape road, they never reached it.

I used the truck to bring the infantry gun to a point where it could enfilade the light tank and infantry units in the SE trying to interdict the escape route entry point, and eventually got 3 of 4 rifle units to safety.

In the end - how's this, Gunter - the game was a dead heat, about 11 points each. Must warm a designer's heart. I think with better positioning of hidden guns I could have made it a German victory, but then history is full of what-ifs, right?

Great FF!

Session: Descent: The Road to Legend:: Campaign 2: Sorcerer King bringing on the Endless Night - Part 9

edroz — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:48:36 +0000

by edroz

Previous reports:
Session 1 / Session 2 / Session 3 / Session 4 / Session 5 / Session 6 / Session 7 / Session 8

Overlord
Avatar: Sorcerer King
Conquest: 233 total / 138 unspent
Upgrades: Snipers. Silver Eldritch, Sir Alric Farrow, Lord Merick Farrow, Lady Eliza Farrow, 2 Event Treachery, 3 Trap Treachery

Party
Conquest: 86
Money: 7925
Upgrades: Bazaar, Enchanted Boat, Kerak’s Map, Staff of the Wild
Nanok of the Blade: 50 XP. 2 additional black power dice, Taunt, Mace of Aver, Axe, Ring of Protection
Varikas the Dead: 60 XP. 1 silver melee power die upgrade, Leadership, Plate Mail, Skull Shield, Iron Shield, Shillelagh
Landrec the Wise: 80 XP. Quick Casting, Ghost Armor, Elven Robe, Mana Weave, Immolation Rune, Sunburst Rune, Crystalize Rune
Grey Ker: 60 XP. 1 silver range power die upgrade, Eagle Eye, Archer’s Charm, Ripper, Crossbow, Chain Mail, Crystal Shield

We continue this session with the conclusion of the Caverns of Thuul, the copper legendary dungeon. Not to be deterred by the excessive conquest generation, the heroes decide to get the extra gold while they can. So we set up the remaining part of the dungeon and the heroes head back into action.

Week 20:
The Caverns of Thuul: Copper Legendary Level - continued
The end of the last session had Nanok and Landrec being revived in town. Verikas and Grey Ker decide to take the short cut through town to join the others at the entry glyphs. This delay allows me to spawn more beastmen in the entry area. And remember the beastmen and Ferrox that did not chase the heroes last session? They are still hanging around blocking the stairs down to the third arm of the dungeon.

The beastmen and ferrox really only slow the heroes some, but some timely misses by Landrec allow them to close in and send Landrec back to town again [+3 CP]. Once the other clear the hallway of monsters, Nanok heads down the stairs. There he is met with a couple of Dark Priests who say "Hi!"

Evil Genius and Trapmaster help a lot on this section as I churn through the cards for threat and traps. As the party battles to get the glyph, gold and gems on the level, I trap them silly. Verikas dies not once, but twice [+9 CP] and a cursed Nanok gets hit with a crushing block and a spiked pit to buy another trip to the temple [+5 CP]. Landrec eventually flips the glyph (+3 CP) but some skeletons send him packing while the others fight the dragon [+2 CP]. The dragon is eventually slain (+2 CP) and the heroes rejoice. This leaves us with conquest totals of OL: 19 and Heroes: 5 for this last section.

CP: Heroes: 91 / OL: 252 / 157

Week 21:
We begin the week with 343 total conquest. Well into the silver level of the campaign, but this will be our first week at silver. I reviewed the game changes with the heroes and we officially move to silver.

With two cities razed I get the 3 conquest for the week and make my first in a series of weekly upgrades. I decided to start with silver Beasts [-30 XP] to upgrade for encounters and possible lieutenant battles. Next Sir Alric and Lord Merick move to Forge and Lady Eliza moves to Moonglow Marsh.

The heroes move to Greyhaven with no encounter. There Nanok buys the first silver treasure, the Grinding Axe.

A quick and mostly quiet game week.

CP: Heroes: 91 / OL: 255 / 130

Week 22:
[+3 CP] weekly conquest. Alric and Merick lay siege to Forge adding the first two siege engines there. For this week’s upgrade I purchase the first scroll of the Heavens [-10 XP] and place it at Moonglow Marsh. And guess what, Lady Eliza is already there ready to pick it up, which she does. She then starts her trek to the Overlord’s keep and moves to the Smokeblue Hills.

Another quiet week for the heroes as they move to Frostgate using the Staff of the Wild. Again they have no encounter. There they purchase another silver item, the Bo Stick.

CP: Heroes: 91 / OL: 258 / 123

Week 23:
I get the weekly conquest handout [+3 CP]. For this week I finally upgrade my Eldritch to gold level [-25 XP]. The Farrow brothers continue their siege at Forge and Lady Eliza moves to the Bitter Downs.

The heroes finally make towards Shika’s Tree but have an encounter on the way. The party runs into The Sentinels (two master Golems) at the Swollen Stream. This is one of those encounter combinations that just doesn’t work. With the impassable water spaces and the large figures, there are very few spaces for the Golems. My choice was to have both golems in one "hallway" and leave the other exit wide open or have one golem in each "hallway" but with one by the exit space with no where to move. I go with splitting up the golems.

With one golem basically out of the fight, the heroes can concentrate on the closet one. It proves to be a one sided fight. The heroes gang up and take out the closest golem in two rounds. He got one attack in against the heavily armored Nanok, which was shrugged off. After seeing that, I conceded the other golem to the heroes and we moved on to the next week. (+4 CP)

CP: Heroes: 95 / OL: 261 / 101

Week 24:
Again, the weekly conquest is given. [+3 CP] I complete the monster upgrades by upgrading the Humans to silver [-30 XP]. With this much conquest to spend, I don’t want any copper monsters as speed bumps in the dungeons. This upgrade also boosts my Beastmen.

Lord Merick builds the last siege engine at Forge while brother Alric leaves for the Broken Crags. Lady Eliza returns to the keep at Blackthorn Grove and hands the first Scroll of the Heavens over to her master. The plot actually makes progress!

The heroes finally get their training at Shika’s Tree.
- Nanok gets the Knight skill.
- Landrec gets the Spiritwalker skill
- Verikas buys a new black melee trait dice and upgrades another melee die from black to silver.
- Grey Ker also buys a black die but for range and upgrades a black range die to silver.

CP: Heroes: 95 / OL: 264 / 74

Week 25:
Weekly conquest is obtained [+3 CP]. I still have 77 XP to spend so I get Arcane Energies for my Sorcerers giving them Blast 1 [-20 XP]. Gold Sorcerers with blast, yummy. Lord Merick fails to raze Forge. Lady Eliza heads back out to the Bitter Downs and Sir Alric moves on to the Gaping Abyss.

The heroes stay at Shika’s Tree and spend another week training. This week they get:
- Nanok adds a black melee die and upgrades one to silver.
- Landrec adds a black magic die and upgrades one to silver.
- Grey Ker adds 4 health.

CP: Heroes: 95 / OL: 267 / 57

Week 26:
[+3 CP] Lord Merick successfully razes Forge, removing another town from the heroes. (Go Evil!) He then moves to Red Echo River. Lady Eliza moves to the Misty Plains and Sir Alric stays at the Gaping Abyss. This week’s upgrade is my fourth point of Trap treachery [-10 XP].

Done training and running low on funds the heroes move out to Frostgate. On the way they have an encounter, running into the Circle of Doom at a Quiet Pond. Ah, this encounter looks better, five gold sorcerers and the heroes start stunned.

Since the heroes start stunned, I placed the sorcerers in the trees within striking distance. Wary of the sorcerers’ blast, the heroes spread out a bit with the taunting tank Nanok out front to absorb damage. Grey Ker gets a small hit against one sorcerer but the sorcerer withstands the attack. Now feel the power of gold sorcerers!

Even Nanok with his 7 armor cannot stand against the attacks of the five sorcerers. The hero party watched as Nanok is worn down and killed in one round [+4 CP], the remaining heroes realize they can’t stay and go toe-to-toe with the sorcerers. Since they cannot afford a Total Party Kill, they make plans for at least one hero to escape. It turns out that Verikas and Grey Ker can both make the exit during the second round. However, Landrec does not have enough movement to escape. He runs as far as he can but the sorcerers have plenty of firepower to not let Landrec escape [+3 CP].

CP: Heroes: 95 / OL: 277 / 57

Week 27:
My weekly conquest handout is now four. [+4 CP] Still flush with conquest, thanks in part to the little extra from last encounter, I decide to splurge and branch out into Monster treachery [-20 XP]. Lady Eliza moves to Dawnsmoor while the other two lieutenants stay put. (Hmmm, I wonder why.)

The heroes stay in Frostgate allowing Verikas to train and get the Tiger Tattoo skill.

CP: Heroes: 95 / OL: 281 / 41

Week 28:
Weekly conquest received [+4 CP], this is starting to add up quickly. We’re at 380 now, so close to gold. This week’s OL upgrade is my third point of Event treachery [-15 XP]. Lady Eliza moves to Blackwing Swamp and again the other two lieutenants remain where they are. (Double hmmmm.)

The heroes move out to the silver legendary dungeon at the Fool’s Rapids but we roll an encounter along the way. The draw is the White Wraiths (Wendigos from the Tomb of Ice expansion) at the Peaceful Glade.

But, running out of time we decide to call it a night there. We will pick it up here during our next session.

CP: Heroes: 95 / OL: 285 / 30

Total Conquest: 380

Comments:
After spending over two sessions to get through the Caverns of Thuul, game time passes very fast this session. We blast past the boundary of the silver campaign and are knocking on the door of gold. I was really surprised on the total amount of conquest generated in the Caverns of Thuul. The final tally was 153 conquest for that one dungeon, 117 to the Overlord and 36 to the heroes. They did get a bunch of cash that they really needed. So, we’ll see if they gave up too much to get that gold.

The two encounters this session are a mixed bag, one a cakewalk for the heroes and one heavily in the OL’s favor. We start the next session with another encounter. Although I don’t think I will do it, a Total Party Kill during this upcoming encounter would be a disaster for the heroes. The conquest from a TPK plus the weekly income would mean the heroes do not do the silver dungeon. Although, there is an 83% chance of an ambush for the encounter.

The silver legendary dungeon will be interesting due to all of the upgrades. The hero party has beefed up with new skills and power dice. While I, the Overlord, have completely upgraded the monsters, added blast to sorcerers and gained several points of treachery. In fact, I now have eight points of treachery. The heroes will be seeing some new cards in the next dungeon, including the return of an OL favorite.

The Evil Plot to blot out the sun started in earnest this session with the first scroll being delivered to the Overlord’s keep. And just what are the lieutenants up to?

Session: Tales of the Arabian Nights:: Isleworth Boardgamers and the crippled cobbler........

Emsdad — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:42:29 +0000

by Emsdad

Wednesday 11th November, 2009
Venue: The London Apprentice, Isleworth

Ma'aruf (Ian), the Cobbler of Cairo, took the fleeing of his wife quite literally when angering a Djinn who spirited him away to the far off island of P'an P'an. Completely lost and with an arduous journey ahead he wandered further into unknown territories. Seemingly unable to leave vengeful spirits alone, Ma'aruf was frequently ensorcelled and was magically aged into an old man.

On spying a way to quicken his journey home he conspired with a mischievous cohort to steal a magnificent flying statue - and was promptly unseated by his conman companion whilst airborne. Fortunately, some jagged rocks broke his fall and the now crippled cobbler somehow found his way across the oceans to Africa. It was here that he had a narrow escape from some bloodthirsty brigands who wanted to chop his hands off for trying to rob them.

The much humbled traveller finally found a way to break free from the chain of curses and sorcery that had plagued him and finally set course for home.

Meanwhile Ali Baba (Daniel) set off at a brisk pace to discover the fabulous continent of Asia. Maybe it was the influence of the forty thieves but he seemed intent on robbing or beating everyone in his path, being cursed and scorned by all and sundry, until the outraged populace of Su Chou finally declared him an outlaw.

Fleeing his fate, he headed back home to Arabia, despondent at his lack of fortune. However, on the way he had many religious epiphanies and followed a rumour all the way to the deepest part of the African desert where he discovered the fabled City of Brass.

Humbled by that mysterious city’s inhabitants, Ali Baba's fortune changed and he started out on his final journey home laden with many fine treasures that he acquired during his adventures.

However it was Ma'aruf who first found his way to Baghdad where the fantastic stories of his arduous journey saw him borne aloft by admirers and declared the Sultan's favourite.

Ian (Ma’aruf) won; Daniel (Ali Baba) lost.

For more reports from the Isleworth Boardgamers, check out our weekly blog - http://isleworthboardgamers.blogspot.com/

Session: Power Grid - Factory Manager:: Isleworth Boardgamers witness the rise of the machines........

Emsdad — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:36:06 +0000

by Emsdad

Wednesday 11th November, 2009
Venue: The London Apprentice, Isleworth

Russ had just returned from Essen, and brought with him several shiny new games. The lure of “it plays in just an hour” led us to - Power Grid : Factory Manager

First off, this is nothing like Power Grid, except that the money is in ‘Elektros’, some of the graphics are similar and there’s a fair bit of maths involved (the idea of replacing outdated machines is also reminiscent of a similar idea with the power plants in PG too).
The idea of the game is to buy and run a selection of machines, robots and computers in the most efficient way in order to accumulate the most wealth after 5 rounds. It does take a couple of rounds to get a handle on what’s going on, but the mechanics aren’t overly complex.

Russ (having played several 2-player games) did a good job of explaining the rules, but even so, clarity is only achieved through actually playing the game. He also claimed to “not have a clue” about how to win the game……yeah, right!

Initial bidding for turn order was cautious, as no-one (except Rob) wanted to overbid so early in the game. Players also appeared to be experimenting with a variety of strategies, although everyone seemed to form the same opinion that labour-saving robots were a ‘must buy’. James had invested early in some clever computers, which saved him in power costs, whereas Jon was single-handedly doubling the carbon emissions of Western Europe.

Russ was ensuring that his production and storage capacities were even, whilst regularly replacing his plant with more efficient models. David carefully considered his every move…

And so it came to the last round – Jon had brought down his power output, and appeared to be running a completely automated operation, but at the expense of production capacity. James had almost managed to max out on his production and storage, giving himself a very large income. David had snuck up on the rails and also appeared to be running quite an efficient factory, whilst Russ obviously knew exactly what he was doing, with some very effective upgrades purchased in the last round. And as for Rob – he made every move with a big smile on his face, but was running his factory about as efficiently as British Leyland.

The end result was that Russ did “have a clue”, James could definitely have a second career as a Factory Manager if his latest job interview goes pear-shaped, and Rob did the decent thing and came last in his first game at IBG.

Russ 283; James 236; David 227; Jon 192; Rob 163

(ps It was actually more like 2 hours rather than 1, but this should definitely improve with more play.)

For more reports from the Isleworth Boardgamers, check out our blog - http://isleworthboardgamers.blogspot.com/

Session: Tsuro:: Tsuro - Me likes

towncrier — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:25:25 +0000

by towncrier

I went to a game night at a pub this Sunday. I didn’t know anyone there but why worry? Six hours later I came out in high spirits having tried six new games! One of these was Tsuro, a game I had seen images of and thought 'wow, that’s the best looking game I’ve seen in my whole life', but hadn’t read much about.

So last night me and some other folks played two games of Tsuro, the first with 8 (!) people and the second with six. And with equally many beers on the table... To tell you the truth, it got a bit chaotic but I didn't really expect T&E or anything close to it.

There were close finishes in both games and I was really close to winning one of them. In that particular game (our second), I had acres of space in the lower right corner of the board doing a few twists and turns and feeling good about myself. But a corridor of space began to open up in the lower middle of the board and pretty soon this area was crowded. So, I tried to sneak around the jam by reaching for the upper right area, that looked promising, but found myself on collision course with another player’s stone and that was it. Bang! I doubt I could have strategized myself out of that one with seven opponents, regardless of being a Tsuro first-timer.

Playing Tsuro is just really...light, fast and enjoyable but still demands concentration and tactics (well, a bit). After all, these kind of games play their part in your game collection too, don’t they (Hey that’s my Fish!, Fjords, 10 Days etc)? And the fact that it’s possible to play Tsuro with up to eight people is just brilliant. I don't think I own any game that handles more than six players.

After asking around at the pub whether Tsuro was enjoyable/trickier/possibly better with less players I have to say this is a soon-buy for me. I’ll be curious to try a bgg variant where 2 players control two stones each, that sounds like an interesting challenge. What would the boardgaming world be like without the multitude of variants out there?

Session: Stronghold:: A Tale of Two Strongholds

doubtofbuddha — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:14:41 +0000

by doubtofbuddha

It was the best of times and it was the worst of times...

Wait, no. Thats not right!

A Tale of Two Strongholds.

This weekend I was able to play two games of Stronghold each against a different player. The two players were as different as night and day, but they had two things in common: they defeated me and found the game to be very, very stressful.

My girlfriend, who is my most frequent opponent for 2 player war games, found herself to be very absorbed in the game and the potential ramifications of losing it. The constant assault on the walls, and every lost soldier caused the tension to escalate for her to the point where she has declared that, despite her victory, she has no intention of playing the defender in Stronghold ever again. She is willing to try the invader, but she does not need the stress that the defender brings.

Will, has been playing board games longer than I have, though he took a break of about a decade before recently starting playing them again within the last year. We play games regularly together, and we typically, with others, have at least two 7+ hours sessions a week. His reaction to the game, after playing the defender, was that he would rather get chewed out by his boss at work then to play the defender because of the sheer amount of stress and tension involved with it.

I enjoyed my play as the invader though I admit at this point in time I am a little frustrated with my inability to think of an effective way for the invader to win. I suspect I am not timing the wall assaults properly and may be a little too careless with the lives of my soliders. This just makes me want to play more though, simply to see if I can break my current impasse with the game. Unfortunately, it looks like both of my most likely opponents are probably or definitely unwilling to play the game as the defender again, so I will have to experience new invader strategies on the other side of the table.

In my first game, against Minerva, the war engines card I chose had the Ballista, Cover, and Trebuchet; the equipment card had the Sap, Bridge, and Poisons; the training card had Artilleryman, Fire Master, and Saboteur; and the rituals card had Blood Stones, Gale, and Spectres.

I started off with building up sufficient additional resources to build both trebuchets. Time was also spent on the ballistae, but I was concerned about them also killing my own units so I only built two of them. I took great advantage of the bridges and saps, but did not find it generally useful to build the poisons. That may have been a mistake. I also moved my units too far up on the first turn without building cover, allowing her to decimate me with her archers. It was difficult to pick up my momentum after that (and she disagreed with me about the ultimate impact of the move), but it took a long time before I was able to bring enough troops on the walls to seriously threaten her. I was pretty free with the hourglasses, particularly in the dispatch phase where I used a double dispatch almost every single time. She was able to stop my ability to get into the fortress until well into round 7. At which point it was no longer possible for me to win, especially since I had not yet succeeded in getting either the blood rituals or ruined walls victory points, and I had too few victory points left in my pool.

In my game against Will the war engines card I chose had the Ballista, Cover, and Trebuchet; the equipment card had the Sap, Bridge, and Poisons; the training card had Artilleryman, Fire Master, and Saboteur; and the rituals card had Accident, Gale, and Spectres. As you can see I selected a lot of the same equipment as I did in my first game (I was lucky to get the right cards), as I wanted to see how the game would be if I used a different strategy.

This time I only built one trebuchet and one cover and spent a good portion of my effort on building ballistae, eventually building all four of them. I cared a bit less about the potential of friendly fire casualties because of the replacement factor. Every orc I lost could be replaced. Every time he lost a soldier or veteran he came one step closer to lacking the forces to prevent me from getting into the walls. I was also more judicious about giving him hourglasses. I only dispatched once during the first turn, and tried to minimize his ability to react to my placements. It still was insufficient; however, as he was able to just barely stop me in three consecutive turns, ensuring that I failed to get into the stronghold in time.

One thing that was nice about the plays was the previously mentioned tension. While I was not overwhelmed with stress like my opponents, I still found the game tense and interesting throughout, and was very engaged by the game. It was a good purchase and even if it turns out that one side has an advantage over the other it would be very easy to correct. Just changing the starting victory point ratios would be sufficient to change the balance of power between the two sides.

I am concerned that some of the trap, machine, and skill options to be strictly better than others. The catapult seems to be largely better than the trebuchet, and I question the value of a lot of the spells, beyond their ability to get you closer to the 1 glory point goblin sacrifice level. On the other hand, I am interested in trying out some of the other options available, such as the Siege Towers and Shields, and to see how big of an impact they have on the relative strategies available in the game. They are just one of a number of things I want to explore in what is, so far, my favorite game of 2009.

Session: Citadels:: As the Bell Tower strikes Midnight, the game concludes

MrScaryMuffin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:35:07 +0000

by MrScaryMuffin

One of my main gaming groups is my fiancée's friends from when she was studying to be a high school teacher. Now, a year later, the majority of them are working at local schools but one of them had left to teach in England. Recently, he came back for a short visit and we hosted a gaming session in his honour.

After games of Dominion, Cash 'n Guns, and Pandemic, we went for dinner. We we got back to my place, we figured that we could get in one more game before it was midnight, which was when we agreed to call it quits for the day. Citadels was the one called to the table.

Speaking of table, instead of sitting at our usual gaming table, we decided to use the fancy marble table with the lazy susan for fun. It definitely changed the atmosphere of the game.

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Set Up
To my left was my fiancée, Jasmine. Next to her was Toby, then Miga, Mike, Lexus, and Jude. That made seven players, which was perfect for a proper game of Citadels. The expansion cards that I mixed in were the Emperor, to move the crown more often, and the Diplomat, which made the eighth card a more viable choice. I also threw in the Bell Tower, Lighthouse, Quarry, and Throne Room for good measure.

I spun the crown on the lazy susan. That is, I spun the wooden item itself, not the lazy susan. It pointed at Jasmine, which meant I got last pick for the first round

Round one
I remembered the first round fairly clearly in my head. I also remember that Jasmine snapped a picture of it, so I might upload it later.

Jasmine is known for picking cards with high initiative without fail. What surprised me was that the first four cards were picked in order. Jasmine took the Assassin, Toby grabbed the Thief, Miga the Magician, and Mike the Emperor. A few notes here. This was Mike's first game, he played very well and learned quickly, but still had a hard time working around the character's relationships with each other.

As Jasmine typically manages to nab the Assassin, our group is used to the Merchant and Architect being in danger all the time, as they tend to be the best picks. Usually, the Merchant is killed while the Architect or Magician is stolen from (as they tend to have money, but no buildable cards).

With this in mind, I got the Bishop in my hand and the Architect, which was initially burned prior to the first pick. I easily chose the Bishop to avoid problems. I only had yellows and greens in my hand anyways so neither would have really helped in the first round.

Jasmine, built a 4-cost yellow district and killed the Merchant. Toby stole from the Architect and built a 3-cost yellow district. Miga traded some cards with the deck and built the same 3-cost yellow district that Toby had. Mike moved the crown to Miga so that he could have second pick in the next round. I played the Bishop and built a 3-cost green district. Lexus had the Diplomat and built the battlefield (3-cost red) and got a gold back. When she built her district, we immediate broke out in song, singing Jordin Sparks' "Battlefield". In a previous game, three people actually built a Battlefield in the first round and I cannot tell you how many times that song came up in the days to follow.

Jude, our special guest, unfortunately caught the Assassin's knife and was out the first round. In the past, Jude had caught exceptionally bad luck with the kills. It seems that every time he touches a card, it comes under consideration for murder or theft. Without him, however, it seemed that I was the main target, inadverdently getting killed when someone else was being targetted.

Time passes...
In either case, we progressed through the game slowly. I built two yellow and three green districts, but the rest of the cards in my hand were duplicates of the ones I already had.

Toby and Miga were in a Theiving duel that carried over from a previous game and other people were getting caught in the middle of the fray. The funny thing was, neither of them had any good cards that they could build. Still, they both had 4 districts to my 5.

Jasmine had one unlucky round where she lost 4 gold to the Thief and then all her cards to the Magician. She also had 4 districts but no gold or cash.

Mike, Lexus and Jude were progressing slowly, as they had been the ones Assassinated the most so far. They had 3 districts each.

Closing in on Midnight
Time was getting short and Jasmine was getting sleepy and grumpy. I was in luck. I had the difficult choice of Architect or Merchant, somehow being stuck with last choice again. I chose blindly under the table and did not peek at my role until after the Thief had made his move so that there would be no tells in my poker face.

I had the Merchant! With three green districts in my city that meant that I could potentially score 6 six this turn on top of my 1 gold in hand. The Magician grabbed my cards, giving me a 3-cost Blue and some other worthless cards. On my turn I grab a card as my action and take 4 gold. As if I wasn't lucky enough just to survive to my turn, I drew the Bell Tower (5-cost purple)! It had the special effect of ending the game at 7 districts, which I used as I was now the only one who was one away from winning (barring an Architect blitz).

The clock strikes midnight
The crown ended up on Jude somehow and so I got the second pick. From what I could see, Jude no doubt took the Architect as the Bishop, which was burned, was no help to him. I thought carefully and took the Diplomat, hoping to throw Jasmine's Assassin off my scent since I held no red districts. I was unafraid of the Thief as I had no gold in my hand and only a 3-cost blue that was worth building.

On my turn, I used the Diplomat's ability and the 2 gold I got that turn to exchange my 1-cost green district with Lexus's 3-cost red battlefield. In gaining a red district, I earned myself another gold and was poised to build my 3-cost blue the next turn.

As luck would have it, I managed to get the Assassin on my final turn and built my 7th district, completing the rainbow and ending the game. I killed the Diplomat for good measure (we had agreed that his ability was usable even on a completed city as it did not diminish the size of the city) and won with 32 points. I must say that I was quite proud of myself

Session: Incan Gold:: Charging Headfirst Into The Incan Temple Ruins

meskue — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:59:31 +0000

by meskue

My parents came over to hang out this weekend and we ended up playing a few games. Incan Gold is still relatively new to me so I wanted to try it out on them and see how they liked it. The game is so simple and is a good way to introduce traditional Monopoly and Yahtzee gamers to the better games out there. We played two games and they ended up liking it quite a bit.

In the first game, my mom and I played fairly conservatively and it was almost eerie how close our decisions were. The Gman was pretty predictable because he always goes for the artifacts, even if they are the first item revealed. My dad, on the other hand, is a wild man.

Rewind to about 10 years ago when we used to play airsoft in the back yard. We lived in a rural area where there wasn’t much to do and you could get away with running around shooting each other without the neighbors or cops freaking out. Having two younger brothers, we could usually get a good skirmish of 2 vs. 2. However, when one of us boys was not home, it would usually end up being 2 boys vs. my dad. He would use two pistols at the same time to maximize the intimidation factor (hey, if it’s good enough for Bruce Willis in "Last Man Standing" it’s good enough for my ol’ pop). The airsoft guns we used were single shot spring loaders so he would have to set one down to cock the other one between each shot, but he didn’t care. His fearless aggression usually paid off.

Fast forward to our adventure into the depths of Incan ruins. My dad pushed his luck further than any normal (sane) person would go and it ended up paying off... big time. The rest of us scored in the 20’s and my dad pulled of a whopping 63! He would keep going until the rest of us dropped out and then kept going a few rounds beyond that. More than once, he returned to camp just in time and with a huge share of the loot.

Game 1
Gman - 21
Me - 25
Mom - 29
Dad - 63

Rewind again about 10 years. In our airsoft games, we always wore goggles, but would play with our shirts off so we could tell if we were hit. The little plastic BBs would sting at close range, but from further away, you may not be able to tell if one hit a fold in your shirt. In one particular game, my dad was preparing for a charge across the yard. He cocked his guns and let out his best Braveheart yell while my brothers fled in terror. The battlecry was cut a bit short when my dad slammed headfirst into our swing set and knocked himself out cold. My brothers couldn’t help but laugh at our poor, shirtless, father as he lay unconscious on the ground. Other than his pride, there were no permanent injuries and we all learned a very important lesson that day: charging into a situation headfirst can sometimes end badly.

Fast forward again into the Incan temple. My dad’s go for broke strategy did not pay off in the second game as he ended up losing all his treasure before getting it back to camp on more than one occasion. He ended up coming in last place, but actually wasn’t too far behind the rest of us considering the circumstances. At least this time the consequences of pushing his luck too far did not end with him shirtless and unconscious on my dining room floor... because that would have been awkward.

Game 2
Me - 38
Lisa - 39
Mom - 43
Dad - 33

We all had a good time though, and I look forward to playing again over Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Session: Doctor Who: Solitaire Story Game:: A cracking little adventure game !

TheMadWelshWizard — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:31:10 +0000

by TheMadWelshWizard

With the new Doctor Who episode yesterday I decided to give the this new solotaire adventure game a go. I've been following it since it first came out as I'm a huge fan of Barbarian Prince (although that game is damned hard and I've never come anywhere near completing it). Typically I made the decision to start printing off the books in lovely colour a few weeks ago but sadly half way through the shiny new versions came out. So I duly abandoned the idea and had some coffee. Now a few weeks later, Who fresh in my mind I've got the new versions and have decided to play them sitting in front of my PC in the place I call Absentia...

For those of you 3 1/2 seconds away from stopping reading after the first paragraph here's the main pro's and con's I found...

Pro's

Excellent solo player game with really high replayability due to the sheer number of combinations of play.

Con's

Slightly confusing startup for the first time player (although having played it once this won't ever be a problem again)

Now then below is a detailed account of my adventure, my progress through the game. I've not converted it into a fictional account as some have done, I simply cut and paste sections as I played into a GoogleDoc adding things here and there. I also used Wizard's online D&D dice roller for all the rolls and cut and pasted the results in. It's the same way I play Barbarian Prince and as such it's a bit rough round the edges having only been slightly edited, it's mainly a resource for me but some poeple (escpecially the designer I imagine) might find it of interest. There's a few points and questions at the end if you want to skip down to there...

In hindsight I did make a few mistakes playing through but hey ho.

First thing I did was open the rule book which in turn shortly directed me to the Adventure book and it was time to create my charcater...

Whilst creating my character I kept the 8th Doctor in mind, I assigned my points and chose my traits and ended up looking something like this...

Brains 10
Brawn 6
Bravery 10
Charisma x 3
Computers
Engineering
History
Running
Science

4 Luck Points

I rolled for my random item and got e183 - The Sonic Screwdriver !

[Sadly I then proceeded to forget I had it for the whole game.]

“Your thoughts turn to your last companion – your friend who gave her life so that you could reach the TARDIS and escape and you lower your head sadly."

Read 302,303, 304, 305, 306

“You watch as a loud wheezing, groaning sound suddenly fills the air as the TARDIS starts to materialise. As the sound dies away, you check the controls of the TARDIS to see where you are.”

Roll(1d6)+0: 3,+0 Total:3 - a403;

“Now you straighten your new clothes (much better than your last incarnation anyway) and step outside the TARDIS to begin your adventure.”

Choose your first Action by reading ‘Actions in Adventures’ (r306). Don’t forget that after each Action you roll on the Encounter Matrix (r307) to see if an encounter has occurred. If it has, the relevant table in this Adventure booklet will lead you to a new event.

If you wish to return to the TARDIS during the Adventure, go to e001c. At the end of the Adventure, go to e001

• Defeating Enemies
• Escaping Capture
• Exploring
• Investigating
• Move
• Plan
• Relaxing
• Research
• Rescue Prisoners
• Rest to heal wounds
• Seek Information

A403. Earth - 1869

You have landed in Victorian Cardiff. It is a dark and cold evening, and a light dusting of snow covers the cobbled streets that are lit by the soft glow of gas lamps. A hansom cab rattles past you as your breath curls in the chilly air. Time to experience living history...

Special: Your first Character event will be e118. When the Enemy is revealed, gain an additional +1DM.

Turn 1 (+1DM)

Action: Explore !

Roll(2d6)+0: 4,2,+0 Total:6 - You discover nothing unusual.

(Checked example of play and found after each action must use encounter matrix, took me bloody ages to find it.)

Roll(2d6)+0: 3,4,+0 Total:7 - An Event
Roll(2d6)+0: 2,4,+0 Total:6 - Location
Roll(1d6)+0: 6,+0 Total:6 - e252 - Department Store

(Location) You have found a huge department store. If you have any female Companions native to this Era, they may spend some time shopping if you have not had a Plot or Enemy event - roll on r306g for each Companion and gain a point for each result of 8+. Otherwise if you Investigate as an action here, gain +1 to the roll.

If the Enemy is not revealed – see immediately v500 on the first result from the Event Matrix and take a -1DM penalty.

V500. The Autons!

You have encountered the Autons – plastic mannequins animated by the Nestene Consciousness (DM 0; Goals: 1-2: e138; 3-4: e221; 5-6: e165). You watch in horror as their wrists drop away to reveal deadly energy weapons.

Roll 1D6 to see what you have encountered, adding any DM to the roll and +1 if Turn 5-8, +2 if Turn 9+:

Roll(1d6)+0: 1,+0 Total:1 = 0 [No result for 0 ! Am going to use result for 1-2 - hmm, no companion]

I'm choosing to Evade: You may make Running 8 rolls before combat starts. If you fail, or choose not to escape, you must choose another option. If you later choose to Surrender, you have -1 to die roll.

Roll(2d6)+0: 4,1,+0 Total:5 (+Running) = 6 = Fail

I'm choosing to Surrender: Roll(2d6)+0: 3,2,+0 Total:5 (-1) = 4

3-4: You are surrounded by the Autons and taken to a cell – see e061. If you later escape the cell, you may make a successful Move action to see v500a below

e061. Punishment

You are thrown into a securely locked cell to await further punishment.

Turn 2 (0DM)

If you wish to escape, you may attempt it as an Action. Roll 2D6 and add any Thief Traits you may have. If the result is 9+, you escape. If the roll is 4 or less, you are caught in your attempt, and any future escapes are made at a -1 penalty for each failed escape.

If you fail to escape, after the Action roll 1D6 each turn: 1: e060; 2: e062; 3: e063; 4-6: No further event.

Action: Escape !

Escape Attempt: Roll(2d6)+0: 4,1,+0 Total:5 - No escape
Roll(1d6)+0: 6,+0 Total:6 = No further event

Turn 3 (0DM)

Action: Escape !

Escape Attempt: Roll(2d6)+0: 1,5,+0 Total:6 - No escape
Roll(1d6)+0: 3,+0 Total:3 = e063

e063. Interrogated

You are taken to a bare room and subjected to a harsh interrogation.

Bravery Roll: Roll(2d6)+0: 5,4,+0 Total:9 (vs Bravery of 10) - Passed !

Back to cell.

Turn 4 (0DM)

Action: Escape !

Escape Attempt: Roll(2d6)+0: 3,5,+0 Total:8 - Escaped !

Encounter matrix !
Roll(2d6)+0: 6,4,+0 Total:10 - Event !
Roll(1d6)+0: 5,+0 Total:5 - Character !

Your first Character event will be e118. When the Enemy is revealed, gain an additional +1DM.

e118. Caroline Fairfax
You have met Caroline Fairfax, the pretty, loyal, but independent daughter of a Victorian politician. Caroline is Brains: 6, Brawn 4, Bravery 7 (Charisma, History, Marksman, Running). Make a Charisma 9 roll. If you succeed, she joins you as a Companion – gain a point, otherwise she joins you as an Ally. Make a Brains roll for Caroline. If she succeeds, she knows something that could help - roll for a Plot event.

Roll(2d6)+0: 1,4,+0 Total:5 (+3 Charisma) = 8 - Fail ! She does not join me as a companion.

She joins you as an Ally. Make a Brains roll for Caroline.

Roll(2d6)+0: 6,4,+0 Total:10 - Fail ! She knows nothing that can help.

Turn 5 (0DM)

Action: Seek Information !

You decide to try and find out more information. You must have had a Plot or Enemy (but no Goal) event and use Charisma (any era), Thief (any era), History (Modern Era or earlier), or Computers (Post-Modern Era onwards). Roll 2D6, adding +1 to the roll for each of your chosen Trait. You may Seek Information using more than 1 Trait per Adventure, but only 1 at a time per group per action.

Using Check: Roll(2d6)+0: 6,5,+0 Total:11 (+3 Charisma) = 14

Discover the Enemy plan – roll for a Goal (revealing Enemy if necessary). Gain 1 point.

Enemy Goal: Roll(1d6)+0: 2,+0 Total:2 = e138 Alien Transmission

(Goal 4) You discover that the Enemy needs to transmit a signal to complete their plans. If the Enemy are Autons (v500), take a -1DM penalty. If you make a Tracking 9 roll, you find the source – see e034. To gain a +2 DM, you need 2 Aware, 2 Charisma and 20 Brawn.

[If a roll is trait based and you don't have the trait can you roll ? Am using no for this game]

Event Matrix
Roll(2d6)+0: 4,3,+0 Total:7 - An Event !
Roll(1d6)+0: 6,+0 Total:6 - A Character !
Roll(1d6)+0: 5,+0 Total:5 - e052 Charles Dickens

You have met the famed author Charles Dickens. Gain a point. He is Brains 7, Brawn 4, Bravery 6 (Aware, Charisma, History, Running). You have a long talk with him to see if he knows anything useful. Make a Charisma roll:

Roll(2d6)+0: 3,5,+0 Total:8 (+3 Charisma) = 11 = He joins you as an Ally for the adventure - roll for a Plot Event.

Roll(1d6)+0: 3,+0 Total:3 = e176 Conduit

(Temporal) (Plot) You discover that the Enemy is using a fracture in the Space-Time continuum to invade here. If you can make a Brains roll by at least 3, or have total Brains of at least 25, gain a +1DM or reveal the Enemy.

Roll(2d6)+0: 1,3,+0 Total:4 (vs brains of 10) = Pass !

Turn 6 (0DM / 6 Luck Points)

Action: Planning !

You plan to increase your chances of Defeating the Enemy. You may only choose this action if you have had a Goal event. You must decide what Quality you need to increase or what Trait you wish to gain. These only last until the Adventure ends. Roll 2D6, adding +1 for each Trait you have already have that matches your desired Trait, or +1 per Character with you with the desired Quality of 8 or greater.

To gain a +2 DM, you need 2 Aware, 2 Charisma and 20 Brawn
(Currently 1 Aware, 3 Charisma and 14 Brawn)

Going for Aware: Roll(2d6)+0: 4,4,+0 Total:8 (+1 Aware) = 9
You succeed in gaining the Trait of your choice or a +3 Quality total. Increasing a Quality in this way does not add to any Character’s personal Quality totals.

Gained 1 Aware !

Event Matrix:
Roll(2d6)+0: 2,4,+0 Total:6 - An Event !
Roll(1d6)+0: 6,+0 Total:6 - A Character !
Roll(1d6)+0: 1,+0Total:1 - e244 Businessman

You have encountered a businessman. Whether he is reputable or dishonest remains to be seen. He is Brains 6, Brawn 5, Bravery 5 (Bureaucrat, Charisma, Computers, Thief). You may ignore the businessman or talk to him.

Roll on the Talk table (Charisma)
Roll(2d6)+0: 5,2,+0 Total:7 (+5 Charisma) = 12 !

He joins you as an ally and may know some information that could prove useful so if he makes a Brains roll then roll for a Plot event. If at any time the businessman enters a fight, he must make a Bravery roll or run away. If at any time you meet law enforcement officers (e050), roll 1D6. If the result is a 1or 2, then he is a wanted criminal and a fugitive.

Brains: Roll(2d6)+0: 4,4,+0 Total:8 (vs Brains of 6) - Fail !

Turn 7 (0DM / 6 Luck Points)

Action: Planning !

You plan to increase your chances of Defeating the Enemy. You may only choose this action if you have had a Goal event. You must decide what Quality you need to increase or what Trait you wish to gain. These only last until the Adventure ends. Roll 2D6, adding +1 for each Trait you have already have that matches your desired Trait, or +1 per Character with you with the desired Quality of 8 or greater.

To gain a +2 DM, you need 2 Aware, 2 Charisma and 20 Brawn
(Currently 2 Aware, 3 Charisma and 19 Brawn)

Going for Brawn: Roll(2d6)+0: 1,6,+0 Total:7 - I have no scuccess with my plan !

Event Matrix:
Roll(2d6)+0: 2,5,+0 Total:7 - An Event !
Roll(1d6)+0: 4,+0 Total:4 - Event (2)
Roll(1d6)+0: 4,+0 Total:4 - e107 Time Rift

(Temporal) You discover that the area has a Time Rift running directly through it. This could either be incredibly dangerous or very useful! You may Investigate as an Action next turn.

Rift Effect: Roll(1d6)+0: 1,+0 Total:1
There has been a fracture in Time. If there are already Enemies here, then they gain power from the fracture – take a -1DM penalty.

Turn 8 (-1DM / 6 Luck Points)

Action: Investigate !

You do some investigating to try and find out more information. This action may usually only be chosen if indicated by another event or if you know the Enemy but not the Goal. Roll 2D6, and add +1 for each Aware (and +1 for each History if in Earth Victorian Era or earlier). If you roll doubles, also see e002

Investigate: Roll(2d6)+0: 4,5,+0 Total:9 (+1 Aware / +3 History) = 12 = You discover a vital place - see e082.

You have discovered somewhere that is vital to the Enemy. Roll 1D6 with +1 if Turn number greater than 8,

Roll(1d6)+0: 4,+0 Total:4 (+1) = 5 = You find more information. Gain a DM of +1 and then roll for a Plot event.

Roll(1d6)+0: 2,+0 Total:2 - e137 Strangers

(Plot) You discover that there have been mysterious strangers seen in the area. You may Investigate as an action next turn.

Aware Roll: Roll(2d6)+0: 6,1,+0 Total:7 (+1 Aware) - Fail !

Event Matrix !
Roll(2d6)+0: 5,2,+0 Total:7 - An event !
Roll(1d6)+0: 5,+0 Total:5 - Character !
Roll(1d6)+0: 3,+0 Total:3 - e207 Aristocrat

You meet a finely dressed and cultured aristocrat. Roll 1D6:

Roll(1d6)+0: 4,+0 Total:4: A lady – Brains 6, Brawn 4, Bravery 6 (Bureaucrat, Charisma, History, Screamer).

Roll 1D6-2 for the amount of companions, retainers, etc the aristocrat has with them. Each is Brains 4, Brawn 4, Bravery 4 (Minion, Running, Troop, Victim).

Roll(1d6)+0: 6,+0 Total:6 (4 Companions)

Brains 4, Brawn 4, Bravery 4 (Minion, Running, Troop, Victim)
Brains 4, Brawn 4, Bravery 4 (Minion, Running, Troop, Victim)
Brains 4, Brawn 4, Bravery 4 (Minion, Running, Troop, Victim)
Brains 4, Brawn 4, Bravery 4 (Minion, Running, Troop, Victim)

You may evade them if you wish and end the event, or introduce yourself and make a Charisma roll. Roll 2D6, adding +1 if the aristocrat is a lady and another +1 if the aristocrat has no followers:

Roll(2d6)+0: 6,1,+0 Total:7 (+6 Charisma / +1 ) = 14 - The aristocrat becomes a Companion and joins you in your travels in Time and Space. Gain a point. Make a Brains roll for the aristocrat and if they succeed, roll for a Plot event.

(Currently 2 Aware, 6 Charisma and 39 Brawn)

Plot Event: Roll(1d6)+0: 6,+0 Total:6 - e150 Enemy Revealed

(Plot) You have learnt about the Enemy here – reveal the Enemy. If you (alone) can make an Aware 10 roll (or if the enemy are Daleks or Cybermen), then you have heard about these Enemies before and know about their weaknesses. [Cannot make roll as do not have Aware]

Turn 9 (+2DM / 7 Luck Points)

Action: Defeating Enemies
This action is only allowed if you know the identity of the Enemy in the adventure and their Goal. You roll 2D6 and add any Defeat Modifiers (DM) you have, with -2 if Turn 1-4, and +1 if Turn 9+.

Roll(2d6)+0: 1,4,+0 Total:5 (+2DM / +1) = 8 - Using Luck to Reroll (6 Luck Left)
Roll(2d6)+0: 3,2,+0 Total:5 (+2DM / +1) = 8

Event Matrix
Roll(2d6)+0: 4,1,+0 Total:5 - An event !
Roll(1d6)+0:5,+0 Total:5 - Event (2)
Roll(1d6)+0: 5,+0 Total:5 - e135 Possessed

A mysterious force has possessed the mind and body of an individual. Each Character in your group must make a Bravery roll – they may add any Domination they have to the total.

The Doctor: Roll(2d6)+0: 6,5,+0 Total:11 (Luck Reroll 5 Points left)
The Doctor: Roll(2d6)+0: 2,5,+0 Total:7 (vs Bravery of 10) - Passed !
Caroline Fairfax: Roll(2d6)+0: 3,6,+0 Total:9 (vs Bravery of 7) - Fail !
Charles Dickens: Roll(2d6)+0: 3,5,+0 Total:8 (vs Bravery of 6) - Fail !
Thomas David (Businessman): Roll(2d6)+0: 4,6,+0 Total:10 (vs Bravery of 5) - Fail !
Rebecca Draper (Aristocrat): Roll(2d6)+0: 1,6,+0 Total:7 (vs Bravery of 6) (Luck Reroll 4 Points Left)
Rebecca Draper (Aristocrat): Roll(2d6)+0: 5,3,+0 Total:8 (vs Bravery of 6) - Fail !
Butler: Roll(2d6)+0: 3,2,+0 Total:5 (vs Bravery of 4) - Fail !
Maid: Roll(2d6)+0: 2,5,+0 Total:7 (vs Bravery of 4) - Fail !
Maid: Roll(2d6)+0: 5,3,+0 Total:8 (vs Bravery of 4) - Fail !
Maid: Roll(2d6)+0: 2,1,+0 Total:3 (vs Bravery of 4) - Passed !

If any Character fails this roll then they are possessed by the force, join the ranks of the Enemy and gain Domination.

If you Defeat your Enemy here, the Characters return to normal. If you do not Defeat your Enemy here, those Characters are lost. If you are possessed and your allies cannot defeat the Enemy, the game is over.

Just me and the maid left...

Turn 10 (0DM / 4 Points)

To gain a +2 DM, you need 2 Aware, 2 Charisma and 20 Brawn
Currently 1 Aware, 3 Charisma and 10 Brawn

Action: Planning !

You plan to increase your chances of Defeating the Enemy. You may only choose this action if you have had a Goal event. You must decide what Quality you need to increase or what Trait you wish to gain. These only last until the Adventure ends. Roll 2D6, adding +1 for each Trait you have already have that matches your desired Trait, or +1 per Character with you with the desired Quality of 8 or greater.

Going for Aware !

Roll(2d6)+0: 6,5,+0 Total:11 = +1 Aware
Currently 2 Aware, 3 Charisma and 10 Brawn

Event Matrix:
Roll(2d6)+0: 4,2,+0 Total:6 - An Event !
Roll(1d6)+0: 1,+0 Total:1 - Enemy !

Roll 1D6 to see what you have encountered, adding any DM to the roll and +1 if Turn 5-8, +2 if Turn 9+:

Roll(1d6)+0: 3,+0 Total:3 (+2) = 5 - 1D3+1 Autons, each Brains 1, Brawn 10, Bravery 9
Roll(1d6)+0: 6,+0 Total:6 = 4 Autons

Auton1 - Brains 1, Brawn 10, Bravery 9
Auton2 - Brains 1, Brawn 10, Bravery 9
Auton3 - Brains 1, Brawn 10, Bravery 9
Auton4 - Brains 1, Brawn 10, Bravery 9

Evade !
Roll(2d6)+0: 1,2,+0 Total:3 (+1 Running) = 4 - Fail !

Surrender!
Roll(1d6)+0: 6,+0 Total:6 - You are taken to the Nestene lair – see v500a below.

v500a. The Nestene Lair

You are brought to the Nestene - Brains 9, Brawn 8, Bravery 5, a bubbling, writhing mass of living plastic, contained in a huge vat below you. It is with 1D6+1 Autons, each Brains 1, Brawn 10, Bravery 9. Roll 1D6 and add any Charisma you (only) have:

Roll(1d6)+0: 3,+0 Total:3 - 4 Autons with it !

Roll(1d6)+0: 3,+0 Total:3 (+3 Charisma) = 6 - (Luck Reroll 3 Points Left)
Roll(1d6)+0: 6,+0 Total:6 (+3 Charisma) = 9 !

You invoke the Shadow Proclamation and are released by the Nestene! The Nestene leaves – you have Defeated it.

***

Huzzah ! I won the game ! I knew charisma was a good idea !

***

Aftergame Stuff !

All the possessed characters are released !

I survived with 3 luck points and I gained an extra 4, giving me 7 for my next adventure.

I also gained a companion ! Rebecca Draper – Brains 6, Brawn 4, Bravery 6 (Bureaucrat, Charisma, History, Screamer). I made up the name (as I did with all ally's I met along the way as it makes them a bit more interesting and you care about loosing them)

She had servants but I'm not sure if they'd accompany me through Time and Space so I've surmised they've gone back to thier lives.

I liked the extra rules for Companion Personalities and rolled a few dice...

Roll(1d6)+0: 6,+0 Total:6
Roll(1d6)+0: 1,+0 Total:1

meaning that Rebecca is Determined – She can be stubborn and has a very strong mind. Whenever she is required to make a Bravery roll, she may gain a Domination Trait.

A few things I wasn't sure of were...

Do I keep my Sonic Screwdriver or roll again ?
Do I start from e001 for next adventuere ?

A few points I'd like to make are...

I would have prefered the begining to be a bit more open. It doesn't need to start with a newly regenerated Doctor. With some small tweaking you could in fact play any 'heroic' Timelord who happens to be travelling alone.

This led on to my next thought that it would be good if there were templates for playing the existing Doctors. They all had stengths and weaknesses, a few pre-written character sheets woiuld help out here.

And one typo I found was...

rule number 305: "If you not Defeat the Enemy before the time limit is reached"

That's all for now folks, I'll definetly be playing it again.

Craig Andrews, November 2009

Session: Descent: The Road to Legend:: Campaign 2: Sorcerer King bringing on the Endless Night - Part 8

edroz — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:34:02 +0000

by edroz

Previous reports:
Session 1 / Session 2 / Session 3 / Session 4 / Session 5 / Session 6 / Session 7

Overlord
Avatar: Sorcerer King
Conquest: 173 total / 78 unspent
Upgrades: Snipers. Silver Eldritch, Sir Alric Farrow, Lord Merick Farrow, Lady Eliza Farrow, 2 Event Treachery, 3 Trap Treachery

Party
Conquest: 67
Money: 2400
Upgrades: Bazaar, Enchanted Boat, Kerak’s Map, Staff of the Wild
Nanok of the Blade: 31 XP. 2 additional black power dice, Taunt, Mace of Aver, Axe, Ring of Protection
Varikas the Dead: 41 XP. 1 silver melee power die upgrade, Leadership, Plate Mail, Skull Shield, Iron Shield
Landrec the Wise: 61 XP. Quick Casting, Ghost Armor, Elven Robe, Mana Weave, Immolation Rune, Sunburst Rune
Grey Ker: 41 XP. 1 silver range power die upgrade, Eagle Eye, Archer’s Charm, Ripper, Crossbow, Chain Mail, Crystal Shield

It’s been a long while since I posted the previous sessions. If you don’t want to reread the previous sessions or try to remember what was going on, here’s the 30 second recap.

Very late in the copper level of the campaign, the hero party, being poor and not extremely well equipped, had a decision. They had time to do one thing last thing at copper, secret training or legendary dungeon. Due to their lack of funds, secret training seemed to be out so off to the Caverns of Thuul it was.

The evil Overlord (yours truly) has three lieutenants roaming the lands and has razed two cities. With several points of treachery already and a stash of conquest to spend, I’m ready to flip over to silver to upgrade, upgrade, upgrade. I have also decided to not raze Tamalir to see if I can conquer the world through other means.

We pick up the action with the heroes half way through the copper legendary dungeon, the Caverns of Thuul.

Note: Landrec’s player was a last minute no-show but we were lucky enough to get a gaming buddy to jump in and play. Also, being that we played this session several months ago, the details have become a bit fuzzy.

Week 20:
The Caverns of Thuul Level 3: 35 - The Pull of the Depths
[Power cards in play: Trapmaster and Evil Genius.]
This level seemed like it might be interesting with the pits that pull the heroes towards them. However, in practice the pits were nothing more than a slight inconvenience. And the level leader’s special ability to push people was used some but not a lot since it used his movement points.

The heroes started off quickly in an attempt to rush through the level. But with a tight hallway between them and the level exit, it was fairly easy to block and slow them down, at least for a bit. An early Crushing Block kept Grey Ker from sprinting to the glyph but Landrec quickly came up and flipped it (+3 CP). However, this left both Landrec and Grey Ker open to attack from previously spawned skeletons and Beastmen. The monsters drop Grey Ker [+3 CP] and a cursed Landrec is attacked and then pushed into a pit [+3 CP].

With the glyph flipped, the heroes concentrate on the chest and level leader. Nanok is the first to go for the chest. However, he was barely hanging on with one hit from previous attacks. So naturally I had to drop a crushing block on him as he went for the chest [+4 CP]. Grey Ker then returns and goes for the chest. As he opens it (+1 CP) he is turned into a monkey. The monkey Ker is quickly dispatched again [+3 CP].

The heroes finally manage to kill Meladon the Magnificent (+2 CP) and open the door. However, I still had enough other monsters available to take out Landrec one more time before the heroes exit the level [+3 CP].

So even though I thought the heroes got through the level fairly quickly, I was still able to win the level 16 to 6.

CP: Heroes: 73 / OL: 189 / 94

The Caverns of Thuul: Copper Legendary Level
Note: This write up has some spoilers in it. If you haven’t played the level and don’t want to know some of the details, you might want to skip the write up.

This is a big level, almost equal to a regular Descent Quest. The heroes were a little undecided on what to do, so when all else fails, kill things. They cleaned out the starting razorwings fairly quickly, but I was able to spawn some Shades in the entry area to distract them some more. I was also able to Dark Charm Nanok as he stood next to Landrec and Nanok’s axe did a nice 10 points of damage to Landrec.

The heroes make it down to the eastern wing of the dungeon with no loses and Nanok runs to the first glyph (+3 CP). I quickly got even as the weakened Landrec fell in spiked pit [+3 CP]. Some Dark Priests are summoned to the party and with the help of a Critical Strike card take 10 points off Nanok’s health. As Nanok tries to take his revenge, he also falls into a pit and wakes up back at the temple [+4 CP]. The razorwings swoop in on a newly returned Landrec and send him packing again. [+3 CP] Before the remaining heroes can clear out the monsters the Dark Priests rage against Grey Ker and take him out [+3 CP]. The monsters are finally cleared and Nanok picks up the gold and the gem pile, triggering the appearance of the Gemstone Dragon.

You know, I’m not really a big fan of copper dragons. They’re dragons; they should bring the hurt to the heroes. Instead they’re paper dragons breathing hot fumes on the heroes. If it wasn’t for extra wounds this dragon would not have been around long enough to cause much trouble. The best thing about the battle with the dragon is that it took a while to whittle him down allowing me to restock on threat. Also, the minor damage and burn tokens did allow me to kill a cursed Grey Ker again as he burned up [+4 CP]. Eventually, Nanok finished off the dragon and collected the conquest (+2 CP). During this time I did cycle my deck [+3 CP].

Meanwhile, I had spawned some Ferrox back in the entry area and moved them down the stairs to harass Veritas. He slowly started losing health through a series of bleeding cuts. Back in the main room I was able to have Landrec put a burning Nanok out of his misery with a Dark Charm attack [+4 CP]. This opened up some spawning space which conveniently held some Beastmen. The beastmen promptly made minced meat of the lightly armored Landrec [+2 CP].

The three recently deceased heroes return via the entry area glyphs and they are met by a bleeding Veritas who is trailed by Ferrox and Beastmen from downstairs. The heroes make towards the central arm of the dungeon and head down. Here they are met with a Scything Blade trap. I probably played the trap a little too close to the staircase because I later had a hard time bringing monsters down from upstairs. I decided to leave most of the melee monsters up in the entry area for later hero harassment.

The heroes quickly take care of the manitcore and flip the two glyphs. (+6 CP) Here the details start to get fuzzy. I did manage to finally kill the double shield wielding Veritas [+5 CP]. Some Shades were able to get through Nanok’s hide and bring him down [+4 CP]. A series of three traps (one crushing block and two pits) were enough to prevent Landrec from attacking the second dragon and kill Landrec in the process [+2 CP]. Finally, Nanok and Grey Ker were able to take down the second dragon but not before Nanok took enough burns to turn into a well done Nanok [+4 CP]. I was also able to cycle my deck yet again during this time. [+3 CP]

Running out of time we stopped there. So far on just this level the conquest totals were OL: 44, Heroes: 13. So counting the first three levels and this partial level, the conquest score for the dungeon is OL: 98, Heroes: 31. A total of 129 conquest points for just this dungeon. Wow.

CP: Heroes: 86 / OL: 233 / 138

Total Conquest: 319

Comments:
With the heroes bleeding conquest right and left the reader may be asking why they stayed in the dungeon. To get gold, that’s why. Remember, they were basically broke and pretty much out of luck. At the end of the session they now had 7925 gold, enough to finally buy some more upgrades. Of course, they have been fueling the Overlord’s upgrade machine as well. I have 138 XP to spend right now. It’s going to take me several weeks to spend all of that. I’m going to have to plan out my upgrades.

The heroes have one more arm of the dungeon level to complete if they want. With us well over halfway to the gold level of the campaign, they will have to weigh the benefits of getting the extra gold vs hurrying along to the next campaign level. We’ll have to see what they do during the next session. (Which has already been played. I just need to write it up...)

Session: Wizard Kings:: Barbarian Raid

maka — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:49:57 +0000

by maka

Yesterday we played the Barbarian scenario once more, this time I played Amazons and my girlfriend played the Barbarians.

I placed the castle at Tarsuz. It was a pretty obvious choice but I wanted to be able to upgrade its strength quickly. The Bowling was near it at Bredun, but it was a bad choice because I was unable to buy any more steps for it.

As the Barbarians came closer, I concentrated my effors on protecing Niko because of its gold value. The Amazons there managed to grow to full strength as did the Charmer. But the Barbarians left that city alone and crossed the wall at Iron Gate.

Meanwhile, the Viking began circling the peninsula quietly...

There were a few interesting battles and I even crossed the wall once so Barbarians had less choice of whom to attack, but I was pretty unlucky, and had to retreat although I did win one battle forcing the Barbarians to reatreat north of Farga. But then, the Barbarians started moving into the Crimson lake with a couple of mountain units, and I couldn't stop them in time...

I rushed back to protect Tarsuz, but it was too late: The Barbarian's wizard, the viking ship and a mountain unit all entered Tarsuz. My girlfriend cleverly left a unit at the lake, cutting that path for me. I had hoped the river and the mountain would have offered more protection, but that mistake cost me the game.

The castle wasn't well defended and I couldn't bring any units in, so it was doomed...

It was a fun and quick game and we both enjoyed it. My girlfriend enjoyed the fact that her unusual tactics managed to trick me and her gamble worked (she wasn't 100% sure my castle was there, and maybe I should have bluffed, but the 2 gold per turn was too tempting...). We joked saying that had I placed the castle at Niko I would have probably win the game, but of course, that's not something I would have done anyway...

Session: Carcassonne - Der Tunnel:: Der Tunnel to Confusion

Whaleyland — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:31:24 +0000

by Whaleyland

This will be a long report for a small expansion. Thoroughness is key to understanding the nuances of Der Tunnel.

Tunnels and Chits
The four Tunnel tiles are great quality and, unlike Spielbox's release of The Cult, are once again the proper thickness. Their colors are slightly yellower than the usual Carcassonne tile, but it isn't overly unmatched. The little tunnel chits are made of the same thickness cardboard and the colors fairly well match the players' pieces. The backs are the same pattern as the tiles instead of a matching reverse as with most other accessory components.

Gameplay
I played Der Tunnel at the same time that I tried out [thing=45748]Wheel of Fortune[/thing]. It was a 2-player game with my girlfriend. Unfortunately, the Tunnel tiles weren't very well mixed in despite my best efforts, so all four appeared in a batch of around 20 tiles (of 76). Following the somewhat vague rules, we each took two sets of tunnels since it is a 2-player game.

My girlfriend picked up the first tunnel before anyone had claimed any roads. The rules are somewhat vague concerning if a tunnel can be claimed on the same turn that someone places a follower. Since the rules aren't clear and no roads had been claimed, we decided to allow both claiming roads and tunnels on the same turn. In hindsight, this probably was a bad choice since I think the Tunnels are suppose to be more competitive in nature. In a 2-player game, though, it's hard to make 8 tunnel entrances competitive when all of them can be claimed without conflict by the players. Regardless, she claimed a tunnel and a road and we continued.

She also drew the next tunnel and so decided to connect her two together. Her road wasn't complete on one side, but was completed a few turns later. It seemed quite obvious and easy adding them together, although only 6 points were earned. I drew the other two tunnels and claimed an entrance each time (and placed a follower on a tunnel the first time). As the game progressed, we quickly claimed entrances and exits of tunnels to complete them. Combined with Wheel of Fortune, we often used 0-placement turns to claim both a tunnel entrance/exit and a crown spot on the Wheel. Again, tunnels probably should be claimed INSTEAD of placing a follower, making placement of tunnel entrances/exits more difficult and competitive. Instead, our tunnels didn't really impede us at all.

Conclusion
Ultimately, the tunnels failed in their mission of conflict. We never once competed over a tunnel entrance/exit and both of us completed one tunnel-road and had an incomplete one at the end. The incompletes, though, had both ends of the tunnels claimed, only a road was unfinished. The result of playing with our rules meant that the expansion was not that challenging or confrontational. In future games, the other rules will certainly be attempted. Spielbox, though, needs to get its act together to define these rules. As they stand, their ambiguity makes playing the game difficult. Playing 2-player probably didn't help.

Final Results
Quality: A-
Presentation: A-
Price: B
Rules: C-
Concept: A-

Session: Richard III: The Wars of the Roses:: A pictorial report of my first ever block war game: a man and his 13 year-old son take a thrilling ride back to medieval England

EndersGame — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:31:04 +0000

by EndersGame

Pre-amble

Our adventure begins in 1460. It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, and somehow two time travelers found themselves back in the medieval ages: myself as counsellor to the Yorkish nobles, and my 13 year old son as counsellor to the Lancastrian King Henry VI and his allies. For both of us, this was somewhat of a strange, surprising and new business: we'd never had any experience with block war games. We'd also never been in the year 1460 before! But my son had read about the Wars of the Roses in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges Into History, and was sufficiently interested in the theme to agree to play the game - he even diligently read the rule book on his own, after I proposed we try the first campaign just to get a taste of the game. So there we were, having spent the morning at the beach in the year 2009, but the same afternoon suddenly finding ourselves in the middle of a hostile conflict between the houses of Lancaster and York, back in the year 1460.

First Campaign: Usurping kingship

For those like me who haven't spent enough time in 1460, or for that matter in the bathroom with Uncle John's Bathroom Reader, I should mention that the game is set in the Wars of the Roses. It pits the house of Lancaster (red) against the house of York (white), and the aim is to get your royal heirs to be the king (determined by having the majority of nobles at the end of each campaign). The start of the game saw England firmly under the rule of the Lancastrian forces (red), with King Henry VI in charge.

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The madcap king himself, along with his wife Margaret, were cozily enjoying all the royal privileges that their castle in London had to offer. There was no spa or wireless internet, but there were some lovely fireplaces and an archery range. And Henry did have a lovely vegetable garden, and particularly excelled at growing carrots. Sure, the king was said to be a little stir-crazy sometimes, but his soldiers were happy because they got to laze around the castle, play with the royal terriers, feed carrots to the royal horses, and take the occasional dip in the River Thames - which they altogether preferred above life-threatening battles that came with the threat of life-threatening injuries and blood and death and gore.

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The view for the Yorkish nobles was decidedly more grim. Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, was in exile in Ireland along with the Earl of Rutland. There they had, however, acquired the support of some brave Irish Mercenaries, in anticipation of an uprising against the foolish Lancastrian king.

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The Yorkish nobles wasted little time in piling on the pressure. They sent their sympathizer Warwick, along with other nobles and mercenaries, to Sussex and Kent via the ports of Southampton and Sandwich. In no time at all, King Henry VI found himself besieged in London, and was forced to make a hasty retreat north, leaving his archery range, terriers, horses, and carrots.

The nobles of York were quickly able to establish their supremacy in Middlesex and the surrounding area, and it soon became apparent that the rule of the weak Henry VI would be short lived. The end of the campaign saw an official usurpation, with Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, crowned as Richard III in London! All the royal loving townspeople were in attendance, and there was much much clapping and playing of trumpets!

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Despite his heavy losses, my son was enjoying himself immensely in the late 15th century, and was not at all interested in travelling forward in time back to 2009AD. "Let's play the next two campaigns!" he said eagerly. So we did.

Second Campaign: Consolidating power

The tables had turned, and after the various nobles had returned home, recovered from their battle wounds and regrouped their armies, England was firmly in the hands of York. The royal Lancastrian heirs, meanwhile, were languishing in exile in France.

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The new king Richard III wasted no time in trying to consolidate his position, by launching a quick and brutal attack on the unsuspecting Earl of Wiltshire, James Butler. The Lancastrian noble was hopelessly outnumbered, and didn't stand a chance, suffering a crushing defeat.

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Did the Lancastrians really have any chance of getting Henry VI back to the throne? The Yorkish forces continue to press hard, despite suffering the loss of a single noble in East Yorks. The Lancastrians sent troops to the north east of London, but they proved no match for the fierce resistance of the Yorkish forces. With the help of Warwick's cunning, York enjoyed a big symbolic win when Warwick was successfully able to persuade the large army of the Duke of Buckingham to commit treachery, and switch their allegiance from Lancaster to York. Shortly afterwards, the weakened Henry VI was executed in a swift battle, and a new heir, the young Prince of Wales, Edward of Lancaster, made his appearance as the new Lancastrian leader.

By all appearances, it seemed that the last hopes for a royal house of Lancaster had faded. But the Lancastrians refused to be daunted by failure. Recruiting forces quickly, it quickly became apparent that Lancaster was sending a large army to the fortified city of Salisbury, where the new king Richard III was still crowing over his recent victory over the Earl of Wiltshire. A massive battle loomed! Would the presence of some Rebel forces be enough to give Lancaster the edge?

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Although the Lancastrian army had the advantage of forces with better initiative than the Yorkish fighters, they did not have much firepower. What's more, king Richard III had acquired a Bombard, and damage from its initial blast quickly took its toll on Lancaster's troops. Here are some scenes from the battle as it unfolded:

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As the dust settled after a long day of combat in and around the city of Salisbury, the battle field included the corpses of countless rebels. Worst of all, Lancaster's Henry Holland, Duke of Exeter, had perished. The remaining royal nobles, Prince Edward and Beaufort (Duke of Somerset), were severely crippled as a result of some unlucky defensive fire, and forced to beat a hasty retreat in order to spare their lives. They fled north to lick their wounds and come up with a new plan.

By now the sun set on the second campaign, and by all accounts the last glories of Lancaster were gone. Should we call it a day? Despite the fragile condition of his army, my son was not about to throw in the towel as counsellor to the Lancastrian forces, and was determined to continue with the third and final campaign. So we did.

Third Campaign: Surprising fortunes

After some bloody battles in a tough second military campaign, there were several years of uneasy peace, giving both sides an opportunity to reassemble their armies and plan their next moves. With the Lancastrian heirs in exile, York had a stranglehold in the south west part of England.

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The royal house of Plantagenet presided in London, with Richard Plantagenet (formerly Duke of York) ruling as King Richard III. His two sons Edward Plantagenet (Earl of March) and Edmund Plantagenet (Earl of Rutland) ready to take over the rule in the event of the premature death of their father. And of course, the vegetable garden and terriers inside the castle walls continued to flourish, although by now many of the residents were starting to get sick of carrots.

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With England so decisively in the hands of York, the political pundits of the day had written off Lancastrian chances completely, although a Welsh bookie in Pembroke was offering odds of 25 to 1 for a Lancaster win. And so began the surprising, astounding, unexpected, remarkable, impossible, delightful, fantastic, amazing comeback! Yes, a Lancaster comeback! Perhaps it can be accounted for by surmising that the Lancaster kitchen staff concocted an anachronistic version of Red Bull for their soldiers. Or perhaps the Yorkish nobles were so assured of their victory that they all started taking afternoon naps instead of sharpening their swords and practicing their military moves. Or maybe the soldiers of York ate too many carrots. We will never know the real reason for the events that transpired, but what followed was an absolutely stunning!

The tide began to turn shortly after Warwick had recruited a Bombard in his castle. To most Lancastrians, approaching a fickle man like Warwick when he's armed with a cannon inside his own castle would be the equivalent of insanity. But that didn't stop the three most important Lancastrian nobles from knocking on Warwick's door on a sunny afternoon. Treason! Yes, Lancaster has put his card on the table, and it smells like Treason! Accompanied with some French mercenaries, Prince Edward was joined by Beaufort and Henry Tudor, to entreaty Warwick to switch allegiances! Surely it was completely foolhardy move! After all, England was firmly in the hands of York - why should Warwick defect?

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Inexplicably, as the hours passed, the surprising outcome of the negotiations began to be apparent. 4, 4, and 2, said the dice! Was it the presence of the three Lancastrian bigwigs that did the trick? I don't know how they pulled it off, but the result was clear: Warwick had become a turncoat! And was now wearing the colours of Lancaster! The impossible was starting to happen!

King Richard III recoiled in horror when he heard the news. Quickly, he issued a command for his individual nobles to Muster north of London! He could not risk letting them fight independently, lest they too begin seeing things through the rose coloured glasses of Lancaster! But before the Muster, news came from Kent: Piracy! The Lancastrians had sent pirates by sea to Kent! But that wasn't the worst of it! The turncoat Warwick was among them, and under his influence, the Duke of Buckingham had been persuaded to change sides for the second time, and support Lancaster once again!

The news was devastating, but Richard III remained optimistic. He kept the armies of York together in groups of four, hoping for safety in numbers, and made a few small raids on areas with only one Lancastrian noble. But the armies of Lancaster kept pressing, and more than one loyal noble of York lay dead on the field of battle. In a desperate move to ward off an unexpected defeat, the commander of York's armies raised up levies in Salisbury and London, and the following turn sent them north with some mercenaries, hoping to create a buffer zone that would protect the remaining nobles who were closeted together in London and surrounding areas. But the plan only had moderate success.

A great and final battle was on the cards, as Lancaster pulled out all stops, and amassed its forces in castles just north of the Avon river, in preparation for a final and desperate attempt at a final crushing blow. The military adviser to King Richard III recommended a bold move: "Attack the Lancastrian leaders in Warwick, even though they are in the safety of their castles, and crush them once and for all! They will not expect it, and if it works, they will be finished once and for all!" It was a fool hardy move! A crazy move! A daring move! A brilliant move! Or was it? To attack, when conservative defensive play may have won the upper hand anyway, trading off the possibility of heavy losses in exchange for a permanent and lasting York dynasty without the threat of Lancastrian rebels? But it was the stuff that military commanders who have drunk too much Red Bull and eaten too many carrots dream of!

And so it happened. Nobles from far and wide dashed to the field of battle as reserves. Its nobles outnumbered, the only way that the house of Lancaster would ascend to the throne was by means of a decisive victory on this field of battle, on this final turn of the game. It was all or nothing, for both armies! Here's the scene as the forces assembled to fight:

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Alternate history would record this great battle in their tomes as the Battle of Warwick! All the big players from the history books were present on the field of battle - for Lancaster: Warwick himself was there, defending his castle (and getting a defensive bonus), as was the Duke of Buckingham, defending his castle (and getting a defensive bonus). Both men had shifted allegiances already at least once. Together with them was the up and coming Henry Tudor, and Lord Rivers, as well as a long line of reserve troops ready for action. For York: King Richard III himself was in the front lines, with his two sons and the Burgundian mercenaries. Nothing like laying your own life on the line for the crown! Ready in reserve to help were nobles from Worcester, Suffolk, Arundel, and more. It was do or die!

And so began the battle. It soon became apparent, however, that the Lancastrians had overextended themselves, as the fatigue of a long campaign began to set in. One by one, bodies of dead Lancastrian nobility began to pile up.

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Although the men of York also suffered losses, the battle was clearly falling their way. It was a long and hard fight, but in the end, a York victory was never really in doubt. The armies of York were forced to retreat in the fourth and final round of battle, but it was only a moral victory for Lancaster, because the retreating Yorkish troops left a rather bleak landscape in Warwick. When the levies and mercenaries had gone back to their women, children, and vegetable patches, it became evident that while Prince Edward of Lancaster had survived the heat of battle, only two others beside him were still alive. The three royal heirs of the Plantagenet family, on the other hand, including King Richard III himself, were in good health, and had held out for a solid victory.

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Final score: Lancaster 5, York 9 (includes 1 for controlling London)
Winner: King Richard III

The aftermath

The nobility all returned home, and the land was at peace for many years under the blessed rule of Richard III, who died at age 93 after choking on a fish bone. Prince Edward of Lancaster buried his sword and convinced his nobles to do the same, and began a career as a fisherman in Scotland. Legend has it that he caught the fish that ended up causing the death of Richard III, but this was never proven. Edward ended his years in poverty, but in bliss, surrounded by his 13 children, three terriers, and a pet cat named Larry.

After the death of York's Richard III, rule passed to Richard's son Edward Plantagenet, who became King Edward IV. His first act as king was to issue a decree, mandating the burial of all the swords in England. Wondering why nobody had thought of this earlier, all of England was quick to obey, and there was peace in the land, as men, women and children spent all their free time in their vegetable gardens. After suffering an allergic reaction to carrots, Edward IV himself turned to a diet that consisted exclusively of baked beans and pork, and subsequently took up a successful career as an opening batsman of the London Cricket Club. And everyone lived happily after...

...until another time warp! Suddenly my son and I found ourselves back in 2009. Well over three hours had passed. The burden of defeat did not seem to be weighing very heavily on him. "Dad, can we play again?" asked my son. "Like, another day?" I inquired. "No," said my son, "Right now!" It looks like the reign of Richard III, the game, is not over in our household!

Session: Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune:: Wheel of Predictability

Whaleyland — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:16:39 +0000

by Whaleyland

I received Carcassonne – Wheel of Fortune in the mail on Friday, and so I decided that is must be tried by the end of the weekend so I can get a report presented. Tonight was the night and so it came out. I played it 2-player with my girlfriend and decided to try out [thing=59065]Der Tunnel[/thing] at the same time.

The Wheel Tile
One of the most visually different aspects of this expansion/spin-off to Carcassonne is the oversized starting tile. Even compared to the [thing=12903]Count of Carcassonne[/thing], this is 4 tiles larger making a huge square. Somewhat surprisingly, it didn't become a major eyesore like I expected. It instead became the focal point of the game and something around which to build the game board. The available starting locations were fairly well balanced and I really have no complaint about the oversized Wheel tile.

Fortunes
Game play is, in fact, identical to Carcassonne. There really are no changes except for the Wheel options and tiles. In a rare moment of luck, I managed to evenly distribute the 19 Wheel tiles among the other 57 tiles we were playing with. There were no clumps or even pairs of Wheel tiles, which was very nice. When they came up, the Pink Pig moved around the wheel and we completed the next round. Since it was our first time, I was afraid that we would have to look at the rules booklet a number of times to figure out the cryptic meanings of the Wheel of Fortunes fortunes, but they are actually pretty straightforward one you realize that the little gold crowns equal points earned. In fact, the reasons we looked at the rules the most were to find answers to things not mentioned in the rules. It didn't happen much, but an FAQ by Matthew Harper will be eagerly looked for in the near future because Hans im Glück definitely leaves some information unresolved.

Crowns
We didn't really have any problems with the fortunes. They made sense, they balanced each other out, and they all had relatively equal likelihoods of being chosen. Where the game took an unexpected turn was the gambling crowns at the top of each fortune. My girlfriend decided to claim a crown first, but, not understanding the freedom of the choice, did not chose a 6-point crown. Her mistake caused her to neglect the crowns while I earned 18 points, gaining a nice lead over her. After that, both of us continued to claim 6-crown spots, balancing each other out fairly well. The crowns don't really do much in a 2-player game, it seems. If anything, it just causes someone to win by a landslide because of the next problem:

Lucky Breaks
Just like in the basic game, Wheel of Fortune has a large degree of luck to it. You don't choose your tiles, they are given to you by chance. With the addition of the Wheel, chance now occurs twice, sometimes, in the same turn. For me, that meant that whenever the Tax fortune was up, I had more knights and shields; whenever the Inquisition came, I had more monks. I also landed on the Fortune fortune twice, giving me free points. My girlfriend, meanwhile, only ever landed on the Famine, which earned her 1-2 points each time (we were tied for the big field throughout the game).

Game End
By the end of the game, I was just 7 points from lapping her. I had 119 and she had 76. It was not the best game she's ever played since she usually beats me at Carcassonne. Truly, the luck of the fortunes were in my favor since she built larger cities, claimed more fields, and completed more roads than I ever did.

Conclusion
Wheel of Fortune is a nice twist on the great game of Carcassonne, and I will definitely keep playing with it, but it requires skill to properly play to avoid a total defeat. It's strength, I imagine, is with 4-6 players, since the competition for claiming features and crown spots would be so much greater. For 2 players, the Wheel of Fortune seems to be able to predict its victor long before the game is ever finished.

Final Results
Quality: A
Price: A
Appearance: A-
Gambling feature: B+
Fortunes: B
2-Player playability: C+