That's a Lot of Sheep
For Friday game night, we were missing Jay and I was too lazy, errr busy, to prepare anything for our role-playing campaign. So, it ended up being "Board Games What I Got for Christmas" night.
First up, we broke out Settlers of Catan. I took the win with 5 settlements, longest road, largest army, and a 1 VP development card. Mike was a close second, with 4 cities and a 1 VP card. His cities were placed every 2 corners though, and he would have had to build 2 road segments to accommodate another settlement (all of which required wood, which he had a hard time acquiring). I, on the other hand, had a hard time acquiring ore (Mike was the magnate, but wouldn't trade it to me, so I had to rely on a 3:1 port), which made upgrading to a city difficult. Mike eventually caught on to my strategy of buying as many development cards as possible in hopes of picking up a VP card. I just happened to win that race. Matt was a distant 3rd.
After that, we played Agricola, which Mike had brought over. Unfortunately, Mike had only given the rules a quick read-through so it was figure-it-out-as-you-go, which I don't really care for. Apparently I won by a single point over Matt, but I couldn't really tell you how or why it happened. It seems like it could be a fun game, but large parts of it felt like 3 people playing 3 different solitaire games, which again, is not my favorite.
Last up was Cowboys: Way of the Gun, also one of Mike's new ones. Again, it was figure-it-out-as-you-go, but the this one was pretty rules-light so it wasn't as hard. In one scenario Matt and I attempted to re-create the death of Wild Bill Hickok while Mike figured out the rules. All 3 of Matt's special cards gave him townsfolk as minions, though, so it ended up being a 6-on-1 fight that didn't go so well for me. In the second scenario, Matt and I were a sheriff and deputy who had to face down a lynch mob (16 townsfolk, 1 of whom was removed from the map each turn, and a 'real' character). It ended being a shooting gallery - could Matt and I kill them before they got in enough lucky shots to whittle us down? Answer: yes, primarily due to some well-timed special cards from Matt's hand. Overall, the game felt a little light to be interesting for too long. I would prefer Gunslinger for my western gunfighting needs, even if it is a bit too weighty.
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On Saturday, I played a couple games with the kids. In Carcassonne, Maddie and I ended up tying, with Corry a distant 3rd (we almost lapped him). In Settlers of Catan, I was the winner but I don't recall the details (I think I was distracted by football). Maddie (10) is right at the bottom of Catan's age range so she gets the game, but I think some of the larger strategies elude her (she does just fine at Carcassonne, though). Corry (almost 14) not only gets the game, but actually stopped me from building a settlement only 1 corner away from one of his (I was trying to break up his road) by citing the rules. As a part-time rules lawyer myself, it did me proud.
First up, we broke out Settlers of Catan. I took the win with 5 settlements, longest road, largest army, and a 1 VP development card. Mike was a close second, with 4 cities and a 1 VP card. His cities were placed every 2 corners though, and he would have had to build 2 road segments to accommodate another settlement (all of which required wood, which he had a hard time acquiring). I, on the other hand, had a hard time acquiring ore (Mike was the magnate, but wouldn't trade it to me, so I had to rely on a 3:1 port), which made upgrading to a city difficult. Mike eventually caught on to my strategy of buying as many development cards as possible in hopes of picking up a VP card. I just happened to win that race. Matt was a distant 3rd.
After that, we played Agricola, which Mike had brought over. Unfortunately, Mike had only given the rules a quick read-through so it was figure-it-out-as-you-go, which I don't really care for. Apparently I won by a single point over Matt, but I couldn't really tell you how or why it happened. It seems like it could be a fun game, but large parts of it felt like 3 people playing 3 different solitaire games, which again, is not my favorite.
Last up was Cowboys: Way of the Gun, also one of Mike's new ones. Again, it was figure-it-out-as-you-go, but the this one was pretty rules-light so it wasn't as hard. In one scenario Matt and I attempted to re-create the death of Wild Bill Hickok while Mike figured out the rules. All 3 of Matt's special cards gave him townsfolk as minions, though, so it ended up being a 6-on-1 fight that didn't go so well for me. In the second scenario, Matt and I were a sheriff and deputy who had to face down a lynch mob (16 townsfolk, 1 of whom was removed from the map each turn, and a 'real' character). It ended being a shooting gallery - could Matt and I kill them before they got in enough lucky shots to whittle us down? Answer: yes, primarily due to some well-timed special cards from Matt's hand. Overall, the game felt a little light to be interesting for too long. I would prefer Gunslinger for my western gunfighting needs, even if it is a bit too weighty.
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On Saturday, I played a couple games with the kids. In Carcassonne, Maddie and I ended up tying, with Corry a distant 3rd (we almost lapped him). In Settlers of Catan, I was the winner but I don't recall the details (I think I was distracted by football). Maddie (10) is right at the bottom of Catan's age range so she gets the game, but I think some of the larger strategies elude her (she does just fine at Carcassonne, though). Corry (almost 14) not only gets the game, but actually stopped me from building a settlement only 1 corner away from one of his (I was trying to break up his road) by citing the rules. As a part-time rules lawyer myself, it did me proud.
Labels: Other Games
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