Fortunately I have not had to resort to this yet, although I can say that it has been close. There was the discussion on whether playing the iOS version of Exploding Kittens with other people in the room counted (no), or whether the afternoon spent online playing 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons with the group back stateside counted (also no). I am taking as an early warning sign that the gap between my log entries seems to be increasing. I will endeavor in the future to keep no more than 2-3 days between posts.
Now, for the last week of games.
Game report day 22 - Coin Age
Perhaps the most micro of the microgames in the modern era, Coin Age fits quite a lot of fun into a small package. The game itself is a pretty basic area control game. The more territories you control, the more points you get. The coin mechanic that has smaller coins being able to take over larger coins makes things marginally more complicated. The fact that endgame is triggered when all territories are occupied is a strategic component as well. I used to be able to carry this around and play with pocket change as the designer intended. Now it is more difficult as I have to keep a selection of American coins around just for the purpose of this game. Aussie coins just don't work right. While I still have the cardboard coins that shipped with the game, I never use them. I get far more enjoyment using real coins, even if I have to keep special ones around just for this game.
Viticulture, along with the Tuscany expansion, remains one of my favorite worker placement games. The theme is fantastic, the mechanics smooth, and the play consistently enjoyable, regardless on the player count. I have played everything from solo games up to full Meetup tables of six.
When Tuscany was released, it was the designer's intent to have players add the additional content modules slowly and incrementally. I was like may players that played along, and then just got impatient and added the set of 6-7 modules that have proven to be the most popular. My standby setup now includes the following: Mamas and Papas, New Visitors, Advanced Visitors, Extended Board, Properties, Structures, and Patronage. Leading up to this last play, I decided to go crazy. Basically I wanted to add everything that I could that made any sort of sense. As such, I added the special workers (Professore and Oracle came up) and the Formaggio Tier 3 expansion. Mafia was still left out as it really does not make any sense with two players.
What followed was a seriously epic game. My wife took advantage of early structures and visitors to take a 10 point lead. My engine was slower to get going, but ultimately proved more profitable. The addition of cheese production did garner a noticeable amount of points, though if memory serves, I likely would have won anyway. Final score 35 to 21.
Game report day 24 - Labyrinth the Card Game
Pocket version of the Ravensburger classic. Despite the fact that tiles do not slide around to shift the maze, the feel is very similar. In this version the maze shifts as tiles are picked up and replaced. When a player plays a tile, he checks to see if a treasure on the played tile connects with a treasure on the field. If it does, and the player can demonstrate the path, the destination tile is picked up and scored. Play continues until the draw pile is exhausted. I won a close game by one tile.
Game report day 25 - Tsuro and Qwirkle
Tsuro is another game that can be added to the list of games for which my eldest son needs no coaching. Three of us played an enjoyable game, with my son strategically dispatching both mom and dad. Definitely no more kid gloves against this boy.
When Qwirkle came out, there was understandably more coaching. With this one there are just too many things to look at for the 8 year old brain to process. In the initial play, he rarely played more than one or two tiles at a time, and usually on the first location he saw. Perhaps after a few more plays he will get to see some of the possibilities. My wife on the other hand, spent much of the game annoyed as I had one tile turns getting one Qwirkle after another. Needless to say, I won handily.
Happy Australia Day! This city knows how to party! This public holiday was spent watching a fantastic international parade followed by some decent food, classic cars, good music, and an excellent fireworks show. In the middle of all of this was a Designer Faire. One of the stalls housed an artist that had created a simple roll and move game highlighting the interesting locations throughout Australia. While the game itself was pretty simple, the execution was beautiful. The board was screen printed on canvas and the game tokens were etched and printed on to nice hardwood discs. The playing pieces were even sized correctly for the spots on the game board
Game report day 27 - Pagoda
I am getting increasingly attached to this wonderful little two player game. I wavered more than a little before picking this one up at PAX AUS and I am glad that I let the impulse win out. This particular round the cards were not nice to me. I always seemed to be one card short on any given turn to be able to accomplish anything useful and establish a lead. As it was the game was close until the very end. We each had topped one pagoda and were consistently within a point or two of each other. Then I drew a had full of cards that I could do nothing with. This was the opportunity my wife needed to open a small lead and end the game. Well played.
Kinda makes me wish I had cheated... ;)
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