5th April 2023
There were 15 attendees this session making for a 4 table long game split, with 2 new games tested and 2 previously played requests. Everyone was keen to get stuck in to the long games so the shorter filler games came out at the end this time.
Iain D. had requested another try of Medieval themed bag builder Orleans back from session 49 and soon a 3-player game was underway. Kathy J. tried a fisherman- and farmer-based strategy this time, which was bringing in lots of resource and money but ignored the development track, an important end game score multiplier. Iain D. went heavy on the carpenters and cogs, which meant he was having more actions each turn as the game progressed and so he finished 10 points ahead. New player Adam D. focused more on the scholars and so did well on development but took a little while to get going on building trading stations around Orleans. Scores were fairly close and it was a fun and non-confrontational game making the most of the roles that came of out the bag or dealing with the events each round.
Jyo K. set up Terraforming Mars and soon had 4 players colonising and modifying the temperature, water and oxygen levels to make the planet habitable.
There were 2 games of Mysterium with Catherine D. then Jeremy J. as the ghost. The ghost has to give clues to a few different murder scenarios (one per player) in the house to the mediums (players) through a series of abstract images. The players have to work out the murderer, weapon, and room, and then in a final round the ghost tries to show which of the individual murders was actually theirs. How well players have guessed in the earlier rounds influences have many clues they have access to in this final round. Ghost Catherine D. only had 2 mediums correct and 1 rogue guess, whilst Jeremy J. was successful with all 3 player mediums guessing the correct murder scenario.
The final table of 4 tried a brand new game - Darwin’s Journey. This involves exploring the Galapagos islands and expanding your biological knowledge. It is mostly a worker placement game, with workers learning skills that then allow more complex later actions. It is quite important to progress most skills evenly: exploration, correspondence, gathering, and dispatch of samples to museums. There are many ways to earn victory points and short and long term goals to work towards. The game plays over 5 rounds and is fairly heavy weight due to the number of options available. As it was new, it took a little while to get going, making it the last game to finish, but there was some very positive feedback afterwards, so it should be back.
Then as the long games finished various table reshufflings occurred with those still keen to stay on for a bit more gaming fix. Four very different fillers came out: Big Dig for some Tetris type speed mining, Ecosystem: Coral Reef for underwater themed tableau building, Ukiyo for some abstract icon placement, and Sagrada for coloured dice stained glass window creation.
The next session is on Wednesday 19th April. As always we are happy to bring and advertise certain games in advance, so do let us know if there is a favourite you want to play or a newer game you would like to try again now you know the basics of gameplay. Or just turn up and see what there is on offer! The committee and regulars bring many different games each session so there should be plenty of choice. Contact us via Discord, Twitter or email for more information.
- Total Session Attendance: 15
- Board Games: