CHIPPENHAM BOARDGAMES CLUB – 29/03/2012

1.       We had 13 players in attendance again so we split into 3 tables. On table 1 Mike led a 3-player game of “LE HAVRE”, at Lucy’s request. 3 is the preferred number for this game as you get more turns each round. See full review in report for 07/10/2010. Surprisingly nobody took loans in the game as all players had enough food each turn. Lucy twice thwarted Mike’s plan to build Wooden Ships by taking the large pile of Wood on offer. Mike retaliated by using the Tannery to convert Hides to leather and then built the Shipping Line and used that to export 2 leathers at a time, having decided to buy a ship at a cost of 14 points, gaining 8 points for each trip. Kelly plugged along with advice from the other 2 as it was her first game. In the latter stages of a 12-round game Mike built the Steel Mill for 22 points but this was not enough to peg back Lucy who had built up a good lead with her proliferation of buildings totalling 100 points. The game finished at just about 2 hours and final scores were Lucy 128; Mike 105; Kelly 104.

2.       On table 2 5 players played the card game “SCREAM MACHINE”, the game about building an amusement park with rides that attract the public.  See review of 21/01/2011 for details. The winner was newcomer Jon.

3.       Table 3 saw 5 players engaged in “TICKET TO RIDE” mainly for Poppy and Zak’s benefit. Poppy demonstrated her know ledge of the game by winning with a margin of 5 points.Oin the final scoring, by remembering to add on the points for money in hand, much to Paul’s chagrin’.

4.       On table 2 4 players played “7 WONDERS”, mainly to introduce Jon to the game. In a close finish Kevin won from Rob on the tie-break rule.

5.       As all 3 tables finished at roughly the same time we mixed up the player groups. On Table 1 4 player tackled “LABYRINTH” for the first time in the club. In this game players are dealt 7 cards containing pictures of artefacts hidden in the Maze and they have to shuffle these, place them face down to keep them secret from other players. They then have to move their dobber around the maze to locate the first artefact in their pile. Once they have done that they reveal it and take another card from their deck and locate that. The game ends when one player had found all 7 artefacts and got back to their starting square. Sounds easy doesn’t it ? However the maze is made up of passages and walls and each turn a player take a tile and moves certain parts of the maze one position. This changes the make-up of the maze and clear paths to the next artefact suddenly have a wall in front of them !! A lightweight game but fun to play. Mike never got in a blow , managing to collect only 1 of his artefacts when Jon ended the game as the winner. Kelly was 2^nd and Rob 3^rd.  

6.       On table 2 3 players played the Leaders version of “7 WONDERS”, which adds even more choices to this excellent game. Lucy gained the victory for a second win of the night.

7.       Table 3 saw 5 players engaged in a game of “CARGO NOIR”, which was played on 08/12/2011 so see review for that date for details. In a close finish Paul secured the victory.

8.       Table 1 finished their evening with “MAUER BAUER” played by 4 players. This game is about placing walls, towers and building in unspoilt territory with the aim of constructing towns when an area of triangles are surrounded by walls. When that occurs a scoring round takes place and players have the option to play 0,1 or 2 cards from their hand which will yield victory points. If they play 0 cards they obviously score nothing but they can discard a useless card and take another. Those that do play cards score the relevant points but they only receive 1 new card, so if a player plays 2 cards frequently they will soon run out of cards. A neat game that was quickly picked up by Rob and Kelly, whilst Jon just didn’t get the cards he wanted. Rob was the winner from Mike, Kelly and Jon.

Games played and Winners were:

Le Havre – Lucy Newbury;

Scream Machine – Jon Bradford;

Ticket To Ride - Poppy Jabelman;

7 Wonders – Kevin Ward;

Labyrinth – Jon Bradford;

7 Wonders(Leaders)  – Lucy Newbury;

Cargo Noir – Paul Bulpin;

Mauer Bauer – Rob Piesse.

CHIPPENHAM BOARDGAMES CLUB – 22/03/2012

1.       We had 13 players in attendance so numbers are rising. Because 3 tables were eventually in play it is difficult for me to present a detailed report on all games played, so only those that I actually play will receive the treatment…pause for collective sigh of relief !!. On Table 1 a group of 8 played “THE RESISTANCE”, the collective find-a-spy game that was played on 08/03/2012 so see detailed review there. The Resistance managed to outwit the government guards to win the game.

2.       On table 2 Mike introduced 4 other players to the game of “ALHAMBRA”, in which players are trying to construct the most beautiful palace. They do so by ‘buying’ tiles on which are depicted one of 6 types of buildings , e.g. a Garden, a Tower, a Pavilion, and placing them, under certain rules, in their construction of their palace. The clever part of the game is that each turn 4 tiles are available for purchase but in 4 different currencies, so to buy a tile the players have to sometimes use another option in the game, which is to collect money from the 4 currency cards on offer. Another neat twist is that if they can pay the exact price for a tile they get to have another complete turn, so they could buy another tile or opt to take more money. However if they do not have the exact money they must pay over the odds and receive no change . When constructing their palace the players have also to consider where to place buildings which have exterior walls associated with them, as this affects scoring in the game. One further option the players have is they can store a tile in their ‘reserve’ for later use and instead of buying new tiles or taking money they can remodel their palace to achieve a better scoring palace. So now to scoring, which occurs 3 times, the first 2 times at random in the pack of currency cards and finally at game end. Players score points for having the most number of each of the 6 types in their palace, plus 1 point for each connected wall. On the first round of scoring only 1^st place is awarded, on round 2 places 1^st and 2^nd are awarded and on round 3 places 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd are awarded, with an ever increasing number of points on offer. Roger and Jeremy were lucky with their tile drawing early on and scored the most in the first round. Lucy Kelly and Mike closed up by the time round 2 was scored but Jeremy’s large collection of towers enabled him to pull away again and he won comfortably from Roger.

3.       The 8 players on table 1 then split into 2 groups of 4. On table 1 Paul led a game of “LONDON”, the card-drafting game about rebuilding the city after the Great Fire. See review on 09/12/2010 for details. In a close run thing and in what he claimed was a “masterful” bit of planning Alister triumphed by 1 point in the final scoring, by remembering to add on the points for money in hand, much to Paul’s chagrin’.

4.       On table 3 Jerry led 4 players in a game of “DOMAINE”, which had suffered a beer-drenching a couple of weeks ago.  As he knows this game well it was not surprising that Jerry ran away with an easy victory.

5.       Back on table 1 5 players played “INFINITE CITY”, one of the most popular games in the club. See review of 10/02/2011 for details. Lucy established a significant presence in one corner of the display by building them around a power station, which meant hey could not be attacked but it made her a target for the others. Similarly Jeremy looked strong in another part of the display so the 3 other players used their tiles to good effect by splitting up these large groupings. In a game with constantly changing holding it was difficult to predict a winner but eventually it was a tie on 23 points between Jeremy and Lucy, with the latter winning the tie break.  

6.       To introduce Kelly and Kevin to another game table 1 played “TURF HORSE RACING”, in which players place their 3 bets on horses of their choice, from a field of 8 runners and then in turn each player rolls a D6 and’ allots’ the symbol on it to one of the horses to move that turn. They will try and give a good score to one of the horses they have backed, or if not suitable give a ‘bad’ movement to a horse that their opponents have backed. A race last just 41 spaces and when 1 horse had passed the winning post the race ends and a payout occurs to those who backed the first 3 home. There is much shouting and ‘encouragement’ during a race to try and sway the current where to allocate their dice roll. After the first race Kevin and Lucy were the joint leaders on 8 points. By the end of race 2 this had changed dramatically with Roger on 14, Kelly on 13 and Kevin, Lucy and Mike on 10 each. So all to play for on the last race which was the closest of the three. In a tight finish Lucy and Kelly struck up a ‘girlie agreement’ which meant that they both gained 12 points each for a particular horse to win, leaving the final scores as Kelly 31, Lucy 23, Roger 16, Mike 11 and Kevin 10.

7.       The session ended with 5 players as others departed so we played “INCAN GOLD”, the popular quick filler. Mike thought he was going to win it for the first time ever only to be pipped in the last round by 1 point by Kevin.

Games played and Winners were:

The Resistance – The Resistance won;

Alhambra – Jeremy Hurault;

London – Alister Gitten;

Domaine – Jerry Jabelman;

Infinite City – Lucy Newbury;

Turf Horse Racing  – Kelly Brown;

Incan Gold – Kevin Ward.

CHIPPENHAM BOARDGAMES CLUB – 15/03/2012

1.       We had 9 players in attendance. On Table 1 Tony led a group of 4 playing the game “PRET-A-PORTER”, a business game based around the cutthroat fashion industry. You will need to recruit models, acquire premises and new techniques to produce designs that win the fashion shows in the 4 locations that are putting on displays each game round. The game looks good, as you might expect for a game based on fashion, with lots of bits, individual player boards, tokens, card stock and by a quick glance during play it seemed to me to have similarities with “Drum Roll”. The game took all evening to play because of a lengthy explanation for first-time play but Kevin, Rob and Paul were all unanimous in their praise of the game. If the same 4 can get together next week the playing should be reduced and we will have a better understanding of how good the game is.

2.       Lucy brought a new member along, Kelly Brown, so on table 2 Mike led a series of small games to introduce Kelly and Jon, our other new member, to the hobby. We started with a club favourite “OREGON”, the game about placing settlers and building on a mapboard of the US state. Seeing as it is one of Lucy’s favourite games it was little wonder that she stormed away to an easy victory, with Kelly 2^nd, Jon 3^rd, and Mike a miserable 4^th

3.       We then played one of Mike’s favourite games “RAZZIA”, the game about sending gamblers to one of the 6 dens in the game in the hope of grabbing the loot on offer. However sometimes other players send a corrupt copper to the same den and they arrest you but pocket the loot for themselves. A simple game to explain but quite amusing as you are chuffed when you arrest someone to steal ‘their’ money or you manage to get away with a pile of loot unchallenged with the sole gambler at one den , as Roger did on several occasions. However it was the 2 newcomers who eventually came through, with Kelly winning with $400,000 to Jon’s $385,000, a close thing.

4.       The group of 5 then played “BOHNANZA”, the bean-planting game. See review of 5^th January for details. Once again a fun-filled trading game with a close result. The eventual scores were Roger 13; Jon 11; Lucy 9; Mike 6; Kelly 5.

5.       To continue the theme of playing quick games for the benefit of our newcomers we then introduced them to “HECKMECK”, the dice-rolling game about collecting worms for a barbecue. Roger and Jon held the most tiles for most of the game with the other 3 only getting a brief ownership from tome to time. When the last tile was taken and the count of worms took place Jon was found to be the winner for his first victory. Well done Jon !

6.       Another quick game made it to the table in “INCAN GOLD”, an all-time club favourite. Too many disaster cards came out too early for Lucy and she scored a miserable low total as a result. The other players put up a close contest but Jon emerged the victor with 27 points to Roger’s 22, Kelly’s 21 and Mike’s 20. A second win for Jon.

7.       The session ended with 4 players as Lucy departed. We played “FELIX”, the card game about placing cats, dogs and rabbits secretly in a sack and then playing a poker style hand with players dropping out of the bidding and the winner collecting the cards on offer for the current round. Some cards are positive scores whilst some are negative so the players have to carefully consider if it is worth staying in the auction or not. The game is played over 10 rounds and Mike did not partake in too many early auctions, preferring to drop out early and build a reserve of cash for later rounds. Roger won a couple of large value auctions but by winning a pot worth 16 points on the last round Mike eventually won by just 5 points from Roger.

Games played and Winners were:

Pret-a-Porter – Kevin Ward;

Oregon – Lucy Newbury;

Razzia – Kelly Brown;

Bohnanza – Roger Skull;

Heckmeck – Jon Bradford;

Incan Gold – Jon Bradford;

Felix – Mike Oakes.

CHIPPENHAM BOARDGAMES CLUB – 08/03/2012

1.       11 players in attendance tonight, including new member John Bradford.  On table 1 Tony led a 5-player game of “BIG CITY”, the game about constructing various buildings in various plots in a city and scoring VP’s for doing so. The initial city plan is constructed from 6 of the 8 boards in the game, on which are printed numbers for each group of 10, i.e 11-19; 21-29; 31-39 etc. Players are dealt 6 cards, 1 from each of the groups 1-6, and they use these in combinations to build the various buildings, which can be 1, 2 or 3 in size, if they have the required card combination. The buildings score different points, plus a bonus if certain conditions are met. 2 other features drive the game, the first being the Tramcar line. Players have the option on their turn to construct up to 2 lengths of the line, and for any player who constructs a building that is adjacent to the line their VP’s for that build is doubled. The second key feature is the Town Hall, of which there is only one building (not surprising is it? ). When this is constructed then other Special Building like Banks, Post Offices and Cinemas can be built, if they meet the required criteria. A further option the players have is to increase the city plots by adding another board but they score no VP’s for this. The city builds up impressively with the plastic moulded pieces and scoring happens in bursts. Alister secured an early lead by building the Shopping Mall and scoring 30 points for doing so. Other players built Businesses and Residences, some along the tramline to double their score. Tony opened up the ‘second phase’ by building the Town Hall and he caught Alister up by building the second Shopping Mall, and despite minor bursts of scoring by the others he was never headed and won comfortably in the end.

2.       Table 2 saw 6 players playing “INFINITE CITY”, see review for 10 February 2011 for a fuller description. The eventual winner was Jerry in a close finish. 

3.       On table 1 7 players played “BOHNANZA”, the bean-planting game. See review of 5^th January for details. Due to the large number of players the game took longer than usual. Much laughter ensued, mainly due to Tony (hereafter known as Betty) and his interaction with Donna. Trading was ferocious between the players, with many cards being kindly donated as they tried to gain a competitive edge. In a very tight finish Alister won with 12 points, with 3 players on 11, one player on 10 and one on 9. Huge fun, despite the time taken.

4.       Table 2 were in the middle of a game of “DOMAINE” when Jerry unfortunately spilt beer all over the game, so it was abandoned. The 4 player took up “MOSAIX” instead, a dice game in which the faces are covered with the symbols of Circles, Triangles and Crosses. Players throw 4 dice and from the resultant throw they arrange the dice into a sequence which they enter on their own personal 7x7 grid. They are trying to get as large a group of one symbol as possible for scoring purposes but as their grid fills up this becomes more difficult to achieve. A lightweight game of 20-30 minutes, for which the winner was Jerry, to make him feel better about the mishap with his game.

5.       The session ended with Kevin leading 9 players playing the new party-style  game “THE RESISTANCE”.  At the start of the game players are dealt cards which gives them an identity of whether they are a Spy or a Resistance member. They keep this information secret from the other players until the game leader calls for ALL players to close their eyes, then he calls for the Spies only to open their eyes so that they can see who the other Spies are, and then everyone closes their eyes again. Then the first of 5 missions begin with the Leader selecting a number of players to go on mission 1 and the whole group then vote simultaneously whether they are happy or not with the selected crew. If they are, the mission goes ahead with the nominated crew. These players then decide by secret vote whether the mission is successful or not. These votes are collected by the Leader who then reveals them and announces the result. If the Spies win a Red counter is placed against the Mission, if the Resistance win a Blue counter is placed against the Mission. The next player becomes the new Leader and the process is repeated for subsequent missions until either side gains 3 successes.  Armed with limited knowledge about who was selected for a mission and what the outcome was the players try to deduce which players are on ‘their side’ and try to gain the overall victory for their team. Our first game took about 20 minutes and fined with a 3-0 win for the Spies so we were able to play a second game and this time the outcome was much closer but the Spies still defeated the Resistance.

Games played and Winners were:

Big City – Tony Simons;

Infinite City – Jerry Jabelman;

Bohnanza – Alister Gitten;

Mosaix – Jerry Jabelman;

The Resistance – The Spies win.