Tuesday 28th June

PaulC wrote:

PatPat wrote:Hi guys, someone goes to play citadels?

I would, but I'm already signed up to play Compounded.

Bring it along with you, you can probably rustle up enough players on the night.  

ok Paul.

Colonial Andy wrote:

Aneurin wrote:It's a 4 player Sam and first come first serve would be myself, dale, Evan and Andy S

I've been hogging GoL and had more than my fair share of playing it outside of regularly scheduled club meetups, so if Sam wants my place, I'm happy to relinquish it.  That seems fair to me.  I'll bring it tonight anyway and if Sam - or anyone else - wants that 4th slot, they are welcome to it.  I don't blame everyone for wanting to play; it's a delightful game.  I'm sure there will be something else on the go that interests me anyway.  See y'all tonight.

Hey gang, I don't mind if Sam wants to bail on memoir and play GoL instead.

I would ask if Sam wouldn't mind lending me his copy of memoir so I can try and get an overlord game going though as its been something I've wanted to play since getting the game about three years ago. I was so excited by the idea I painted my Americans last night in preparation for today.

Either way see you all later

Aneurin wrote:I'll be there from 5.30-6pmish so I can cover the last few boards. Any helping hands appreciated. Will buy some proper gaffa tape to secure them.

A staple gun was mentioned last week (I think that was for the board, and not to battle the army of knitters.) I can bring one down, if needed.

There was concern that staples on the underside might scratch table surfaces slightly.

Aneurin wrote:There was concern that staples on the underside might scratch table surfaces slightly.

Fair enough.

The idea of an overlord game sounds really cool and I would love to get a game going sometime, but I think I'm not going to make it down this week after all. Hopefully next time.

Very much enjoyed Guilds of London and Kodama last night with Dale, Evan and Andy. Guilds of London is such a smooth experience - and a relatively quick game with enough strategy to keep all engaged. The game gets a lot of stick for the iconography (after 1/2 a game you don't really need the reference sheet anymore) and the neutral liverymen. Apparently there are complaints about them making the game aggressive... I disagree. They are such a small part of the game and are more of a deterrent if used correctly.

I'd be up for another game next week...

Kodama - is a lovely little game. There are arguments to be made about the balance of the end game Kodama scoring cards... but again its only really a 30min game so it doesn't really matter. Action Phase have the perfect marketing strategy too.

Aneurin wrote:

Kodama - is a lovely little game. There are arguments to be made about the balance of the end game Kodama scoring cards... but again its only really a 30min game so it doesn't really matter. Action Phase have the perfect marketing strategy too.  

It's a really nice little game. Very pretty. High element of randomness though and after a few games of going 'ooo' at the art, I wasn't quite sure why I'd be picking it over options with slightly more strategy or a quicker play time or higher 'fun' factor.
I think a rule variant in which players start with e.g. 19 vp and then bid for kodama cards would be well worth trying. For me, it would perhaps add the bit of strategy needed for it to keep coming out of the box. Drafting has been mentioned which doesn't add the same level of strategy, but might act as a halfway house.

The marketing is slightly cringeworthy but also very damn clever.

Played Alhambra finally last night. Good game. Not one I'd be rushing to buy, but I'd certainly be happy to play again. Pretty light and easy to introduce to people I think, with a fair bit of strategy to go at too. Randomness is high.

Also played Five Tribes again for the first time in ages (6 tribes actually, with Artisans). It sort of makes me wonder why I bother playing other games. If you haven't played this game, sort it out.

I think I played all my favourite games last night, starting with Dominion (Base+Seaside). It went pretty quickly and after the first game we swapped out the cards and played again. I made the mistake of diving into the Provinces too early and there was some neat combo/cardplay from my opponents. Interesting to see how the orange 'duration' cards work.

Also played Citadels 4 player which again went fairly quickly although we only played to 7 buildings instead of the usual 8. It's surprisingly complex small box game, not because of the mechanics but guessing and double guessing what characters your opponents have chosen.

Finished off with a few rounds of Spyfall before I had to dash off which was of the usual comedy variety. I thought the new players handled 'Crusader Army' really well, that really threw us first time I played and it came up.

Aneurin wrote:Very much enjoyed Guilds of London and Kodama last night with Dale, Evan and Andy. Guilds of London is such a smooth experience - and a relatively quick game with enough strategy to keep all engaged. The game gets a lot of stick for the iconography (after 1/2 a game you don't really need the reference sheet anymore) and the neutral liverymen. Apparently there are complaints about them making the game aggressive... I disagree. They are such a small part of the game and are more of a deterrent if used correctly. 

Completely agree with this. I thought GoL was a great game and will now stare at the internet constantly until it is more widely available.

The neutral livery men add a nice bit of tension - I ended a couple of rounds hoping Aneurin's stash of them weren't coming my way.