Games Played February 24, 2007
We had time for only four games this Saturday afternoon, but enjoyed them all.
We started with Settlers of Catan. With seven players, we play only to a winning score of seven, rather than ten. This was about an average length game for us, a little over an hour, I believe. We had two ore hexes on “9,” and “9″ was rolled frequently. Ore was in great surplus. Near the end, it was a close race among Katrina, Kassi, and Joel. It looked like any of them could win. On Katrina’s turn, she played a Monopoly card, collecting most of the ore cards in the game. She still wasn’t sure she could win, but finally figured the right combination of upgrades and building, plus the one VP card she had, and pulled off her second game win of the year. Results: Katrina first; Kassi second; Joel third; Sue, Mason, Dan, and me tied for last.
Next up was Bohnanza, a real favorite. It is difficult to estimate the number of gold each player has, until it’s counted at the end of the game. It looked like Dan had wrapped up the win, until Joel (as usual) counted his gold. He tied Dan for the win, which means Joel’s record still holds. We have played Bohnanza four times this year, with seven or eight players, and Joel has won (or tied for the win) in each of them!
Natalia wanted to play only Nertz this time, so we played several hands of it, not keeping score, with eight players. I believe Mason went out three times, Kassi once, and Natalia once.
We finished the day with Carcassonne (with The River, The River II, Inns & Cathedrals, and Traders & Builders expansions). Joel decided not to play this time, so there were only six of us. Everyone was doing well at the beginning, except Katrina. Finally, she scored a huge city, to jump in second place behind me. I had a good lead virtually all the way through the game, but Dan acquired almost all the trade goods, of all three types, which meant he would have a tremendous bonus at the end of the game. I still thought I might be able to win. Near the end of the game, I managed to tie Dan in the number of barrels, which I thought might wrap it up for me. But, Dan found one more opportunity to grab another barrel just before the end of the game. The 30 points bonus for the most of each kind of trade good pushed Dan past me for the win by 23 points. It was an exciting finish. Results: Dan first; me second; Mason third; Sue fourth; Kassi fifth; Katrina last.
The next game up was Drakon, a new game for us that we haven’t yet played. I’m really looking forward to trying it, but Mason and Kassi had to leave, so we called it a day. One of these days, I’ll actually get that game to the table, I hope.
Games Played February 17, 2007
The whole family was together again on Saturday for games – great fun! And, we managed to play 6 games that counted in our family records, plus several hands of Nertz that we don’t count (because of the general chaos of playing it with 8 players on the same table). Alphabetically, these are the games we played:
Bohnanza is a game we play almost every weekend. With 7 players, it is a wild trading game, and it plays quickly. We have played this game three times in 2007, and Joel has won all three times. I do believe this is one of his favorite games, and he never ceases to amaze us when we count the gold at the end of the game. For some reason, it just doesn’t seem he is doing as well as he is, but he has a knack for it. Results: Joel first; Sue and Mason (tied) second; Katrina fourth; Dan fifth; me sixth; Kassi last.
I enjoy playing Hunters & Gatherers, but have seldom won it. In fact, I haven’t won this game since September 2005! But, Saturday was my day. I got off to a fairly fast start, and fell behind about mid-game. Early in the game, I placed a hunter in a valley that looked promising. Later, everyone managed to share that valley, except Sue and Dan, which was their downfall. The valley ended up worth over 30 points. Joel tried and tried to steal the valley, but wasn’t able to get the necessary tiles, so 5 of us added more than 30 points to our scores with the animals in that valley. That was the last item we scored, and Sue and Dan were in the lead at that time, but the rest of us passed them with the points from that single huge valley. Results: Me first; Katrina second; Kassi third; Mason fourth; Joel fifth; Sue sixth; Dan last.
Loot is becoming a family favorite, thanks to the nice generosity of Jason Little, who sent us the game free just before Christmas. Joel and I played a 2-hand game on Thursday, and he won 63-37. This is also a favorite of his. On Saturday, we played with 7 players, which is pushing the limit, I believe. But, we have found that it is fun for every number from two to seven. With 7 players, it’s rare to be able to keep one of your own treasure ships, although it does happen occasionally, especially with low-value ships. For the high-value ships, the competition can be fierce. Unlike the 2-hand game, in which you can build up a substantial hand of pirate ships (and pirate captains, if you are lucky), in a 7-hand game, you have little time to accumulate pirate ships. This situation requires a different strategy, forcing you to use your resources wisely. The game plays extremely quickly with 7 players, and we all enjoy it. Results: Joel first; Sue second; Dan and Kassi (tied) third; me fifth; Katrina sixth; Mason last. This was only our second game of Loot to count in our family records. Kassi won the first one with a score of 23; Joel won this time with 18. Unfortunately for her, Katrina holds the record low score of 2, in our first game.
Next up was the card game Oh Hell, a long-time family favorite. I have always enjoyed this game. It was only the second time we have played with 6 or 7 players. Saturday was a 7-player game, so we could play only seven rounds. I managed to stay scoreless (the object of the game) throughout the game, a rare event. I was very fortunate in two hands to receive only low cards and no trumps – perfect for a zero bid. Results: Me first; Mason, Kassi, and Katrina (tied) second {they each missed only one bid during the game, so it was a very close game}; Sue fifth; Joel sixth; Dan seventh.
Natalia decided to join us for a game of Pickomino. She must have had a premonition, because she won the game, her first game win for the year. We had more bad dice rolls/selections in this game than in previous ones, so lots of the top-value dominoes were turned over and not available for scoring. With 8 players, the scoring is low, and lots of stealing goes on. I don’t consider this a children’s game, necessarily, but Natalia and Joel were the top scorers. Results: Natalia first; Joel second; me third; Kassi fourth; Mason fifth; Sue, Katrina, and Dan (tied with no points) last.
Naturally, we got in a game of Settlers of Catan (Mason and Kassi chose the games for the day, and this is probably Mason’s favorite game). With 7 players, we use our modified start for the game and play to a score of seven, rather than ten, points. It was a close race among Dan, Mason, and Joel. Joel claimed the Longest Road, but Mason stole it from him. No one managed to get the Largest Army. Finally, Dan got a good roll on his turn and ended the game. Results: Dan first; Mason second; Joel third; Katrina, Kassi, and me (tied) fourth; Sue last.
It was a fun day – Joel’s YMCA basketball game in the morning, lunch at our house, and games all afternoon. That’s what family is all about.
