CHIPPENHAM BOARDGAMES CLUB – 03/05/2012

1.       We were 9 players in attendance so we split into 2 groups of 4 and 5. On table 1 Jerry led a group of 5 on “SEAFARERS SETTLERS”, with some expansions. Settlers is well known within the club and is not reviewed again here. With the extra player Settlers takes a lot longer to complete and this game took most of the evening. It was ended one turn early with Jerry certain to win.

2.       On table 2 a group of 4 played “METROPOLIS”, a game published in 1984 and a forerunner to the excellent “BIG CITY” which followed years later. The board shows a city dividing into 8 ‘City Blocks’ of 10 lots each, each uniquely numbered. There is a deck of Lot Cards numbered 10-89 from which each player receives their initial lot holdings of 6 lots and they place a counter of their colour on these lots. There are several plastic buildings available, in different numbers, size, colours and shapes, and the players are trying to acquire the desired lots in the correct shape to construct the building for VP’s at the end. Each building has a base value but these can be enhanced depending upon where it is located or what other buildings are in the ‘City Block’.  There are also some buildings which reduce in value if unfavourable buildings are constructed nearby. A player’s turn is simple; they select a vacant Lot Card from the choice of 4 available, and either place a counter of their colour on it or offer it to another player in a negotiation.  Either by design or negotiation they are trying to get the required lots to construct a building. The game ends when all the Lot Cards are exhausted and no more buildings can be constructed and the final VP’s are calculated. The game started brightly enough but with a slight imbalance due to Kevin getting 4 Lots in one City Block, which in later turns meant that no other player could get vacant lots in that block. Lots of negotiation took place between the players if the choice of vacant Lot Cards did not suit the active player, some it obvious but some of it ‘spirited’ to say the least, as to who to help ! As the city began to grow the options to place became limited and the game dragged on a bit to the conclusion, so it was not entirely a satisfying experience but the game was designed nearly 30 years ago. With his fortunate initial allocation Kevin was always best placed to win and this was reflected in the final scores, which were Kevin 68, Paul 52, Mike 46, Tony 44.

3.       Table 2 then played the game of “INTRIGUE”, in which each player has a Palace consisting of 4 sections, each with a different Salary level printed upon it. They also have 8 tokens, in 4 pairs of 2, which represent their Relatives who perform certain occupations, and in turns they will try and get these Relatives employed in the Palaces of their rivals, for which the bank will pay the salary, which they will receive each turn. They need this income as when they send a relative to a rival they must offer a Bribe to the owner. If there are other Relatives present in the same occupation the owner decides which Bribe to accept and the rejected Relative is placed on the Central  Island and take no further part in the game. All conflicts are sorted in a strict sequence so the placing of Relatives is important, as is the size of the Bribe. This game generates some light-hearted nastiness as Bribes are rejected and alliances are made and broken. The object of the game is to be the wealthiest player at the end of 6 game turns and once again Kevin came out on top. Final wealth was Kevin £161,000; Tony £129,000; Paul £100,000 and Mike £88,000, due to having most Relatives sent to the Island. 

4.       With the departure of 3 players the remaining 6 players played the popular card game “BOHNANZA”, which was reviewed on 05/01/2012, so see details there. As we were playing with a larger deck than usual, with more Bean Types, the trading between players was very boisterous. A couple of players opted to spend some money to construct a 3^rd bean field but this was not the choice of the eventual winner Paul, who won in a very close contest. Final scores were Paul 14; Lucy 13; Tony 12; Roger 10; Kevin 9; and Mike 9, last again!!

Games played and Winners were:

Seafarers Settlers – Jerry Jabelman;

Metropolis – Kevin Ward;

Intrigue – Kevin Ward;

Bohnanza – Paul Bulpin.