So Wrong.

I found out that last week they made Francie play Fury of Dracula at game club. That is so wrong. I've been told that the expressions on her face during the game were photo worthy.

This week enough people showed up that Francie got to play something more to her liking. She learned three new games last night. She is no longer allowed to complain that I teach her too many new games, when it's really only like one new game every month or six weeks. Truth is however, we have gotten to the point that there are no more new games I want or need to teach her.

I played Pandemic which I would play again, but I don't need to own. I think I have pretty much a three tier rating for games:

Must have my own copy.
Will play other people's copy.
Avoid playing.

Also played Escape from Atlantis, which was very fun. The guys kept calling me evil. "You're are an evil, evil woman." The sea serpents and sharks just don't get rolled often enough.

Game Club

I really like the guys at game club. They are all so nice and so funny. Today I played Power Grid for the first time. The game took forever. I think the first turn took an hour. The fun part was spending most of the game whispering with Star, who was sitting at the far end of the table next to me. He was saying the most catty things, and I was calling him Cordelia, because everything he said was true. Then Dave would make faces and roll his eyes at us.

Power Grid reminded me of Railroad Tycoon, which I like better. Therefore, I don't need to own it, but would be happy play again if someone suggested it.

Excellent Gaming Over the Past 2 Weeks

I got Pirate King on sale at B & N. We had lots of fun playing that last week.

Al gave me Cavetroll for Valentine's Day. Haven't had a chance to play yet, but will probably try it before the weekend is over.

Last night at game club exactly five of us showed up. We played an awesome game of Fury of Dracula.

Today we all got snowed in, so Francie came over in the afternoon. She brought Arkadia which I liked. It's a Euro puzzle game, but it doesn't pretend like it's not. It is very pretty too. Francie had been telling me that it was a really easy, light game, but it isn't. Pirate King is a light easy game. Arkadia is somewhat Go like. I was surprised Al liked it, since he doesn't like Through the Desert. Then we played Railroad Tycoon. Over vacation, Francie borrowed Age of Steam because she had heard so many people raving about it. She convinced us all to try it with her. We all decided it wasn't any fun. While we were playing Railroad Tycoon Francie kept commenting on how much cooler all the bits were, and how much more fun it was than Age of Steam. I kept teasing her that she had a little bit of Trash in her soul. After RRT, we had dinner, and then another game of Arkadia. Al and I both beat Francie this second game. So Francie said that maybe the game was harder than she thought.

If the roads are clear tomorrow, Francie and I are going to game club. Otherwise she may come over here again for a couple games of something.

Age of Discovery and Fire & Ax

Went to Elliscon yesterday with Al and Z. Didn't get there until 4 pm because, well, I'm a slug and slept until 12:20 p.m. Bought some "used" games for $10 each - no shrink, banged up boxes, but unpunched. Mystery of the Abbey, The Hobbit, and Monster Mash I. Played half a game of Fire and Axe: A Viking Saga with the CGC guys. We had to quit before we were finished because Elliscon was closing. The CGC guys were not happy that we didn't finish, and I felt kind of responsible because I was the one who really wanted to play and talked them into it, even though it was getting late. I did point out to them that now five of us know how to play, so we can play on a Thursday night. It was only half a game so I don't know what I think about it. Raiding is fun, but it is clearly not a good path to victory.

I found out that three, yes, THREE of the CGC guys have StarCraft but NONE of them have played it yet. Gamer dudes bewilder me sometimes. So it looks like I may get a chance to play sometime in the next month. Yay!

Today I went to visit Francie. The people from work sent her a "Get Well" fruit basket with three games. We flailed through Age of Discovery. I think that I like it. We'll probably play again over Thanksgiving break.

Game Night

Last night the mini guys were absurdly loud. As in painful. I hate having to share a space with them. Plus they hogged all the tables, including putting things covered in wet paint on one of the tables we usually use. We ended up squished around one table. Fortunately, there were only 6 of us last night.

I played Through the Desert with Francie and Todd. Todd hadn't played in a while and forgot how the game scored. As a result, he lost. I beat Francie by about 15 points. She was all like, "Well, if you hadn't squeaked out the largest purple caravan by one camel, I would have gotten it, and the game would have been closer." So what. The game is still boring.

Then 5 of us played Taj Mahal. The mini guys got extra loud at this point, so I couldn't hear all the rules. I flailed through the game by watching what the other players were doing. Taj is beyond boring. Taj makes me wish I was playing Through the Desert. Towards the end, Dave joined the table to watch and we talked about Battletech and Mechwarriors, so the night wasn't a total loss. Dave told me that the mini guy that had been screaming like a rubber ducky being axe murdered, had been getting his robot blown up, so I sort of forgive him for being so loud, but next time scream like a man! Somehow I didn't come in last in Taj, but I think that the guy who did lose was playing unusually poorly due to sleep deprivation as a result of owning an infant.

Dave got a free Q-Workshop D8 green elvish die with some magazine he picked up at the game store. He gave it to me because he prefers the red ones. So yay!

Game Group Sat

Drove the 40 minutes to spend the day playing a big, long, complicated multiplayer game... but the game never happened. Instead, I spent all day playing short games waiting for the real game to start. But by the time everyone was there, and not playing another game, it was too late. So instead of spending 6 hours playing one really good game, I spent 6 hours playing crap.

The low point of the day was Manitou, a buffalo hunting themed card game. BLEGH!

The highlight of the day was watching the kids play Ca$h 'n Gun$ and All Wound Up. Wind up zombies and foam guns are fun.

This & That

Went to game night Thursday. Can't remember what I said but, one of the guys responded with much surprise and pleasure, "YOU play long games!" I had always suspected that a couple of the guys in the club were ATers, but the environment of the game night precludes playing anything long or complex. Therefore, we always end up playing shortish Euros, card games and fillers. My suspicions were confirmed. A few of the guys get together unofficially about once a month at someones house to play games like TI3. It turns out that they are often short a player or two. We happily exchanged e-mail addresses.

I confessed to Al about ordering Mordred, and he just laughed and said, "So does this mean I don't have go shopping for your birthday gift?" Win - win.

Cartagena is better than Cartagena II.

I think I am sun burnt again.

Gladware mini rounds (4 oz) are better than ziplock bags for any bits that get piled up next to a board, such as money. Just pull off the lid and put the bowl next to the board. Makes set up and clean up of Arkham Horror much easier.

CGC

Sat. CGC was meeting just a few miles from my house, so Francie and I decided to check it out. Our goal was to meet some gamers, and play some new games. Francie's birthday is in a few weeks and she wants a new game. We crossed our fingers and hoped it wouldn't be teenagers playing CCGs or scary old dudes pushing chits with tweezers.

There were about eight guys there, all very nice, playing Euros. Most were married and had kids, so they didn't mind that we brought the girls along. Z and S found a corner on the floor and played A Dog's Life Francie spotted a copy of Cleopatra and the Society of Architects which she has been wanting to try for awhile. The owner was happy to set up the game and teach us to play. Francie won, no surprise, and I got thrown to the crocodiles, also no surprise. It wasn't my kind of game, but it wasn't bad. I could tell that Francie loved it, so I told her that if she got it, I would play with her. I think it is a solid family game that S and Francie's parents could play.

Francie and S played a game of Wizard with a couple of the guys who wanted to play something light after finishing Power Grid. I thought it was really nice that they had no problem letting S play. Meanwhile, I played a game of Modern Art. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed this game and didn't do too poorly (came in second). I might be willing to play it again.

I left to take the girls to dinner. Francie stayed and played El Grande which she really liked. I told her that Al and I would play that with her too, but she felt she wouldn't get to play often enough to be worth owning. Other than Al and I, she mostly plays with her daughter and parents, so she she won't buy anything that they won't play. So it sounds like it will be CaSoA for her birthday gift.

I had an enjoyable enough time to be willing to make the longer drive to the club's regular meeting location. Al wants to come next time too.