Seattle Cosmic Game Night, Saturday, 1 November 2003

tim higgins is scheduled to be the lead official tonight so we should not expect any ridiculous hometown officiating

tim higgins is a frustrated man these days when it comes to the recreation project he has spent more than a year and a half helping design

tim higgins is another dear friend who is also been a hero of mine for several years & if big red sets his mind to it you better watch out

Who came?

General notes.

--Ron_Hale-Evans?

Puerto Rico

Game: Puerto_Rico?
Players: Nat_Dupree?, David_Adams?, Will Herlan, Bob, James_Moore?
Location: ?
Time: ?
Winner: Nat D
Prize: ?

Scores

The high scores in this game reportedly stemmed from all three game ending conditions occuring in a single round.

Note from James - this picture is of an earlier Puerto Rico game with a different cast of characters.

--Steve_Dupree?

New England

Game: New_England?
Players: Nat_Dupree?, Meredith_Hale?, Will Herlan, AlphaTim Schutz
Winner: Nat D

Scores

What happened during this game?

Comments from the players?

--Steve_Dupree?

Nautilus

Game: Nautilus?
Players: Ben_Sklar?, John, Christine, Patrick
Location: ?
Time: 5:30
Winner: Patrick
Prize: ?

Scores

Chris went for early submarines, but failed to develop enough multipliers for the endgame. Patrick researched Sonar & Analysis early on (chosen because nobody else seemed interested in those technologies!), and expanded his laboratories away from the main hub. John trickily stole a leading position in [some kind of] technology from Ben late in the game, while Ben very nearly did the same to Patrick, who had several strokes of luck with his last-minute-deployed submarines finding large treasures in the last turn or two, which in turn gave him the funds to inflate the worth of the shells he had collected in the shallows, and hence the come from behind upset.

After some minor panic surveying all the pieces to this game as Ben aptly explained the rules, it seemed to flow nicely (although we were just beginning to grasp strategies near the end). Did we mention there were lots of bits? Ben took extra good care of all of them, Kisa! ;)

-- Patrick & Chris

Medici

Game: Medici
Players: Michelle_Teague?, Jay_Lorch?, Ben_Sklar?, John, Christine, Patrick
Location: ?
Time: ?
Winner: Patrick
Prize: ?

Scores

Chris seemed to develop an early lead in the dye & clothing industry, but then spent too much of her winnings in subsequent rounds. Everyone was very kind to Patrick who was somewhat befuddled by this type of game, having little experience with bidding. He repaid these gentle kindnesses by taking advantage of everyone's false sense of security and through no fault of his own, somehow managed to get the top bonuses in Spices and Grains by the last round. Jay seemed to take a contrarian tack and kept his hold empty as much as possible in order to fill it at the last moment on the cheap - a strategy which were it not for large helpings of beginners luck (not his!) and generous coaching of the newbies, would probably have given him the top score. Of course, I don't remember anyone elses score, so what do I know?

I didn't deserve this win, and am not sure how it happened. Both Chris and I greatly enjoyed the game and interaction, though. I wasn't sandbagging, honest!

-- Patrick

Jay has tried this strategy before, with similar results (i.e. not winning). So don't feel too bad for him. I have also tried the strategy unsuccessfully. I think perhaps the essentially random hold you get from doing this doesn't produce enough points, enough even when offset by the points you didn't spend. It's possible to get lucky and get a moderately good hold full, which when it happens I imagine is great, but the probabilities of that occuring appear to be pretty low. On the other hand, spending every florin you have filling your hold tends to put one at too much of a disadvantage. I think a more balanced strategy is optimal, avoiding bidding wars with other players set on a particular commodity or set thereof, and taking advantage of chances to get lots at a discount price when other players don't want them for some reason, yet still planning your hold and maing each buy a part of that plan.

Of course I've played only 3 or 4 times, so my advice should be taken with a grain of salt. I did win once though. :)

--Steve_Dupree?

Guillotine

Game: Guillotine
Players: Ben_Sklar?, John, Christine, Patrick
Location: ?
Time: ?
Winner: Patrick
Prize: ?

Scores

Mucho manic murderous mayhem!

Blokus

Game: ?
Players: ?
Location: ?
Time: ?
Winner: ?
Prize: ?

Scores

What happened during this game?

Comments from the players?

--Ron_Hale-Evans?

Carcassonne

Game: ?
Players: ?
Location: ?
Time: ?
Winner: ?
Prize: ?

Scores

What happened during this game?

Comments from the players?

--Ron_Hale-Evans?

Clans

Game: ?
Players: ?
Location: ?
Time: ?
Winner: ?
Prize: ?

Scores

What happened during this game?

Comments from the players?

--Ron_Hale-Evans?

Ra

Worst. Ra. Board. EVAR.

Game: ?
Players: ?
Location: ?
Time: ?
Winner: ?
Prize: ?

Scores

What happened during this game?

Comments from the players?

--Ron_Hale-Evans?

Risk 2210 A.D.

Game: ?
Players: ?
Location: ?
Time: ?
Winner: ?
Prize: ?

Scores

What happened during this game?

Comments from the players?

--Ron_Hale-Evans?

Lord of the Rings (with Sauron Expansion)

Game: ?
Players: ?
Location: ?
Time: ?
Winner: ?
Prize: ?

Scores

What happened during this game?

Comments from the players?

--Ron_Hale-Evans?

Cave Troll

Game: Cave Troll
Players: Ditto
Location: Ditto
Time: Ditto
Winner: Ditto
Prize: Ditto

This game will languish in obscurity for all eternity unless someone steps forward to identify it, describe the session, etc. Come on -- be a stand-up guy.

The game is Cave Troll. I still don't know who won, though! --Steve_Dupree?

Scores

What happened during this game?

Comments from the players?

--Ron_Hale-Evans?

NEXT MEETING

Saturday, 8 November 2003, 5:00 PM at the house of Dave Adams and Kathy Kizer in Tukwila. Come play for fun and FABULOUS PRIZES from the PrizeBag!

Remember, Seattle Cosmic Game Night occurs every weekend, in one of three locations: Kent, Mill Creek, or Tukwila. Email Ron Hale-Evans for a full schedule and directions. If you come, please bring a snack or drink to share (cookies, chips, soda, juice, etc.)

Supporting Seattle Cosmic and Games to the Rescue

GamesToTheRescue is a philanthropic project of the Center for Ludic Synergy and Seattle Cosmic Game Night. The aim of the project is to provide game equipment and a book of game rules to hospitals, for use by patients and visitors. You can support GamesToTheRescue by buying games via our Funagain affiliate program, buying Seattle Cosmic Gear, and in a number of other ways. See the GamesToTheRescue page for more details.

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