Category Archives: Fenland Gamers

Fenland Gamers

Monthly Meetup October 2021

Fenland Gamers, game night

Last night saw the first monthly meet up since global stuff kicked off.

It was looking like the trend set by the fortnightly Friday sessions of being well attended was going to continue. However we ended up with half the numbers expected turning up. Life changes plans, and the assumption was it had indeed changed the plans of those unable to attend.

However it can not be said we did not give a socially suitable amount of time for them to arrive before starting to play Dune Imperium.

I know it’s hitting the table a lot at the moment. However Marcin (a new member) had wanted to try the game as it was on his list of games to get. And who am I to disappoint?

So after a run through of the rules, the battle for Arrakis commenced.

Once again I played Duke Leto. I like the powers of the character, that discount makes a big difference. It allowed me on round three to get the extra agent and the seat on the high council. Jonathan likes playing Paul.

In this game despite having the solari to get the extra agent and on the high council in the first round I didn’t get the cards to do either in the second round. So that round ended up being a setup round.

I was also pretty slow in getting started on the score track. However I made up for that and soon caught up.

I did manage to get some good extra card draw going during the game. So I was pleased with that.

In one of the stage 3 conflict rounds near the end I did play an intrigue card to help Jonathan win the conflict against Marcin, and get me third place. It didn’t matter at that point if Jonathan got two victory points. But it did if Marcin got them as he would have been a point away from victory.

Our game nearly had me winning in round 9 but I couldn’t scrape out that extra victory point to do so. Which meant for the majority of the last round there was a three way tie for first place until Marcin bought a Spice Must Flow Card in his reveal stage to get the winning point.

In that final round I managed to avoid Jonathan stealing a victory point from me, and failed to return the favour. Which felt good to deny him that. Would have been better to have flipped his plan on him and to have won. That would have been a sweet sweet victory. But sadly in this reality it never happened.

Final scores

It was another fun evening of gaming. Looking forward to the next club night. And a big big thank you to our hosts for the evening The Luxe cinema.

The spice flowed

Fenland Gamers, game night

Last night saw the (for now) fortnightly Friday Evening gaming for Fenland Gamers at our regular hosts The Luxe cinema.

As usually I got there early to set up the tables. Some-one has to do it. It saves time and means some-one is there to welcome folks as they arrive.

Last nights session was one of our best attended, if not the best, with eight members turning up for gaming plus one member of the general public who joined us.

We split into two groups for gaming, of four and five. Although thinking about it we could have gone to three groups of three.

However we did what we did, which saw Jeff, Jonas, Rachel and myself battle over the planet Arakas in Dune Imperium. Whilst the other group played Istanbul, followed by Saboteur.

This was the first time I’d played Imperium with the full player count. Whilst the others were new to the game and chose from the one pip player boards, I went with Duke Leto Atreides a two pip player board.

I got the extra agent/worker pretty early on. What I found interesting was in the previous two plays with the lower player counts I didn’t think the extra worker made much of a difference, gave very little advantage. However in this full player count game I think it made a big difference.

Intrigue cards also proved to be very impactful in this game too. Plus we were seeing more cards in the trade row, and got to see some cards that required you to move down a space on an influence track as a payment. I hadn’t seen them come out before.

In this game apart from the opening water you get at setup, I never had water after that all game. I did get much spice either. I was all about the solari (money).

I think Jeff is correct and we played the Alliance rule incorrectly. Which needs double checking before the next game. So that kind of puts a big asterisk next to this win.

However even with the cloud over the victory I won. And I’ll take that. Imperium still pips Lost Ruins for me.

A much needed gaming session

Fenland Gamers, Game day

Friday I was feeling I needed some game time. So on the clubs discord server I put out the call to see who was free for some gaming Saturday afternoon.

Luckily with a slight adjustment to the initial suggested start time two others could make it.

The initial games I had suggested playing were Lost Ruins of Arnak, Tapestry or Funkoverse (if there were only 2 of us). But during Saturday morning I had been tempted to take Dune Imperium. Even Wingspan for a fleeting moment was considered. It was a close call because which ever of the games I took I’d have to teach it because the game would be new to at least one person.

In the end I went with putting Lost Ruins of Arnak and Love Letter 2nd edition in the bag.

As usual I went a little early to start getting set up. I like to maximise the game time for the others playing.

I was still setting up when Jeff arrived, and almost finished when Julie turned up. Which meant I could start teaching the game to our noob to the game Julie.

Lost Ruins of Arnak

I like Lost Ruins but I think this second play cements my preference for Imperium. Well for the time being. The expansion may change that. After all the expansion does add one of the things I like better about Imperium the asynchronous player boards.

There is also a nagging feeling that in both plays we are not discovering enough new dig sites and focusing too much on the research track. It seems the game is more about racing up the research track than anything else. Although the margin between Jeff’s final score and mine was the two sites he discovered and defeating their guardians.

I did like how the blocking of some of the second spaces on the base camp spots in the three player game is random.

I did get some cool extra card draw going on, and at times despite there being fewer rounds than Imperium felt that I was doing more on my turns.

Jeff asked if the deck building side was more important in Imperium than Lost Ruins. And I think it is. Or more like it has a bigger emphasis. Although I do like how new cards in Lost Ruins are added to the bottom of your deck, so they come into play quicker.

The scores were much closer this time with Jeff still winning and starting his undefeated run with the game. Sadly I still managed to come last with a slightly better score than the first play.

Final score for Lost Ruins of Arnak

We finished off the afternoon with a game of Love Letter 2nd edition. Which was another new game to Julie. But this is soooo much quicker to teach.

The second edition is an update by Asmodee after taking over Love Letter from AEG. It increases the max player count from 4 to 6 players. The tokens have been upgraded from wooden cubes to plastic disks, and new art. Plus to accommodate the extra player count there are more cards, from 16 to 21. Which also sees some new characters/cards.

Firstly the number of guards has increased from 5 copies to 6. Two copies of new card The Spy (value 0) wins you a point if you were the only player to play or discard a spy during the round. Which is a pretty cool additional way to win that extra point each round. Finally there are two copies of the Chancellor (value 6) allows you to draw two new cards, add those to your hand, then place two cards of your choice on the bottom of the deck. It’s an interesting card. Great for burying a card and finding one you want.

Love Letter 2nd Edition

At the end of the day it’s still Love Letter and still great fun. Although this version will replace the first edition, especially when we want to make use of the higher player count. It doesn’t come close to knocking Love Letter: Batman off its perch as my favourite version of Love Letter.

Final scores for Love Letter 2nd Edition

As you can see Julie won, and once again I came last.

Despite coming last in both games I had a good time. It was exactly what I needed. However the heavy rain as we were leaving wasn’t! A big thank you to Jeff and Julie for taking the time out of busy weekend schedules to play some board games.

Jonathan rides the great worm to victory!

Fenland Gamers, game night

What a Friday.

It started out taking yet more clothes to the Salvation Army drop off spot in the Tesco car park. And ended with Jonathan somehow winning our second game of Dune Imperium!

I hadn’t planned on gaming. But after the roads in the area decided to throw spanners in the works for the majority of those planning to go to the Friday gaming session. Tied in with the petrol panic buying taking out others (what is this 2002 again?) I didn’t want Jonathan and Julie to be left high and dry at the last minute.

So I quickly got ready, grabbed a bag that already had games in it, and left for The Luxe.

I set up the new round table, and awaited the arrival of the others. Because I hadn’t made it to the previous Friday gaming session I hadn’t met Julie before. So introductions were made. Then Jonathan arrived and a game was chosen for the evening.

Our game for the evening was Dune Imperium.

  • Rules lawyering!
  • Winner, winner, chicken dinner

I thought Dune Imperium played ok with two players. But with three it was great. Taking into account setup, teaching the game to Julie, the whole thing took about two and a half hours to play. Which is pretty good.

If I was asked to choose between Dune Imperium and Lost Ruins of Arnak, which I both really like. Imperium edges it for me.

The unique player abilities (which I believe the Arnak expansion adds), the combat, twice as many rounds, the influence tracks, the worker placement plus the reveal stage, dual use cards, the take that element. Oh and that the scoring is much closer. Just tip it in favour of Imperium.

  • Boy do I look grumpy, must be my thinking face.
Photos taken by Jonathan

Next time I play Imperium I’m going to use one of the more difficult leaders to play. The fact they rank the leaders in order of difficulty to play is a great little touch.

Whilst playing we were asked a couple of times about the game we were playing. Now get this one of them had met/knew Frank Herbert! How frickin cool is that? Plus what are the odds that whilst we are playing a game based on the Dune books in a small single screen cinema, in a Fenland market town (some would argue with delusions of grandeur, after all it is the Capital of the Fens) we would bump into such a person?

I had a fun time despite everything going on. It was great meeting a new club member.

Dune Imperium

Fenland Gamers, Game day

Yesterday Jonathan and I met up for a learning game of Dune Imperium at The Luxe. It was also a chance to use the new 4ft diameter round table I got for club use.

I’m not going to write much about this as I’m not really in the mood for obvious reasons.

Ideally Dune Imperium should be played by 3 or 4 players. However it does have a deck of cards to provide an AI for a simulated third player (this is also used in solo play as well). There is also a free app that can be used instead of the cards. The app does the heavy lifting of shuffling the deck and interrupting what each card does. And that is what we used in our play.

Photos taken by Jonathan

All I’m going to say is I liked Dune Imperium, and not just because I won.

At the moment I’m processing a lot of guilt over being away from Nan for a couple of hours gaming. It’s during this time that she passed away in her sleep. I know even if I’d been there I couldn’t have done anything.

My only comfort is that the fur balls were with her. They have been her guardian angels since we got them.

Any way the posts will be infrequent for a while I think.

A problem to solve by Friday

Fenland Gamers

There is no mid week games this week. No Vampire Wednesday Morning with Diego. No Commander with Gavin and Diego.

There is however a club night this Friday.

The first club night since world events meant they had to be stopped.

I’m pretty excited about it but also a tad anxious.

If all come who said they are coming, this will be the best attended Friday night session ever. Plus there is also the possibility that the numbers may be more if we get members turning up that hadn’t replied to the event.

With so many coming I don’t think we have enough table space.

There is our 6ft x 3ft folding club table. Which even splitting into two groups would be cramped. Ideally we would be three gaming groups on the night. Which means three tables.

The club table could get six round it, three each end, as long as the games being played are not space hogs.

Hopefully Jonathan, the manager of The Luxe (our hosts) and myself can work something out.

Testing,Testing,1,2,3,Testing

Fenland Gamers, game night

“It’s been a long time since I rock and rolled
It’s been a long time since I did the stroll
Ooh let me get it back, let me get it back
Let me get it back, baby, where I come from” Led Zepplin, Rock and Roll

It’s been a long time since we gamed at The Luxe.

But last night we finally returned to our gracious hosts for a test gaming session with limited attendance.

The plan was hold a game night at The Luxe. See how it went. Review the evening and make a decision about restarting regular club nights.

Our game for the evening saw Lost Ruins of Arnak hit the table. A game that joined my collection over a year ago and remained unplayed until last night. I hadn’t even punched the cardboard until Tuesday when I discovered I hadn’t even done that.

Naturally I arrived a few minutes before the designated start time for the evening to get set up. It’s a little thing but it does ensure that the majority of our game time is spent playing and not setting up and packing away.

And that brings me to my main comment about the Lost Ruins of Arnak. It’s a lot of setting up. Lots of fiddling about with mixing up tokens and placing them on the board, shuffling decks, shuffling of piles of tiles.

Once you start playing it’s a lovely game, a great mash up of deck building and worker placement. I can see why this was getting a lot of buzz when it came out.

I love how it’s 5 rounds and that’s it. It forces you to focus. And seems a popular mechanic in some great games (Imperial Settlers and Wingspan come to mind). Like those other games you are left wanting at least one more turn. Which I like.

Also like those other games you start off not being able to do much and as the game progresses you are able to do more and more on your turn as you buy items or artifacts to make your deck more powerful.

Naturally there were misplays and a need to refer to the rule book on a regular basis through out the evening. Our impression of the rule book was it wasn’t great. We found trying to find information not easy due to it being spread over multiple pages, if it had what you were looking for. Plus on more than one occasion we found that it was also unclear in the information it was giving. I think our best example of this was artifact cards, buying them and using the ability straight away.

I loved that new cards (unless an artifact) went on the bottom of the deck. Getting to use the new cards quicker is cool.

The research board is a great addition as you race the other players up it to claim bonuses before the others.

I was surprised how few sites we explored to. In the end there were 4. I think it’s more that we all got distracted by the research board at the cost of exploring.

Photos taken by Jonathan and therefore his

Jeff took the honours and romped home to the victory. Sadly I came last by a point to Jonathan. So now I got to live with that until I can return the favour and crush him.

The general consensus around the table was we liked Lost Ruins of Arnak. Definitely a game we want to get back to the table (aren’t they all?)

It was felt the evening went well. We all felt safe enough. The precautions our host have in place to mitigate risk were excellent. Although the cinema wasn’t busy, no crowds in the foyer. So we decided to go ahead with holding regular gaming sessions again. But at a slow, cautious pace. What that means is instead of weekly gaming sessions on a Friday they will be fortnightly. As for the monthly meet up. Before starting that up we decided to get some feedback from the club members about the best night to hold that.

For those interested we are asking that those attending are either vaccinated against covid and/or have taken a LFT (which is negative) in addition to any requirements that our hosts The Luxe require.

I’m hoping to get Dune Imperium, Star Wars Outer Rim, Rolling Rome and Vampire the Masquerade Vendetta to the table over the coming weeks.

It’s that portal song title post again

D&D, Fenland Gamers, magic, MtG, new arrivals, news, vampire the masquerade: rivals

Time sure flies.

Before you know it over a week has passed since the last post.

Not much has happened to share on here. Obviously world events are still putting a dampener on things like playing board games in person. Plus there hasn’t been much online gaming using apps (outside of Star Realms and Epic the Card Game) either.

My “secret” project is going slowly. I’m not sure what folks will make of it. It is a departure for me and this blog. Which I hope folks will like.

On the Kickstarter side of things Vampire the Masquerade: Rivals finally landed (after it hit retailers).

Naturally I’ve sleeved it all up with the official sleeves that came as part of the Kickstarter. I’ve even used a couple of the Stonemaier token containers to surprisingly store the tokens for the game.

From a recent Renegade live stream it was revealed what the next expansion will be after the first expansion Blood & Alchemy comes out. It will be called The Wolf and The Rat. But it was also revealed they have a third expansion that has finished production and a fourth currently being worked on. Both of them currently remain unnamed.

And yes for the record I have pre-ordered Blood & Alchemy. The bonus for doing so are a couple of alt art vampire cards, one for each clan.

Vampire the Masquerade: Rivals first 3 OP kits

Another big reveal from the stream were the contents of the first three OP kits for Vampire Wednesdays. These will be available for your FLGS to order, or for those that can’t get their local store interested, or get to a store to participate you can order direct from Renegade. These OP kits introduce three new vampires that will eventually be available on the Renegade website to purchase.

I got the season 0 OP kit as part of my Kickstarter and plan to get these as well. These will form part of my attempt to kick off a Rivals scene in Wisbech once Fenland Gamers starts up gaming sessions again. Although my track record in doing that sort of thing is pretty poor.

Which brings me nicely onto the news that Jonathan and I have had chats between ourselves and also with our hosts The Luxe about when and how we will start gaming sessions back. Taking into account current world events we are eyeing September as our target month for once more holding meet ups.

Hopefully in the meantime those corrupt, lying bullies in charge of running our country will not screw things up (although history is not on their side on that front) and we will indeed be able to safely once more gather to roll dice, shuffle cards and move pieces of plastic around a board.

On the D&D news front apparently next week (Tuesday) instead of releasing stories setting up the next MtG set, because that set is a D&D/MtG standalone crossover set, WotC will be releasing five free D&D adventures for players to download. These 15 to 20 page adventures are aimed at tier 2 characters, specifically levels 8 – 10.

Hopefully the next thing you read on here is the “secret” project. But you know me!

Crushed Eggs!

apps, Fenland Gamers, game night, nintendo, online play, switch, virtual game night

Last night there was another virtual game night for Fenland Gamers.

Sadly it was just Jonathan and myself that were able to virtually meet up to play games. So mirroring one or two of the real life meet ups of yester year.

At Jonathan’s suggestion we played a game of Wingspan. It’s not as if I’m going to say no. We both love the game. So I started a three player game with an AI player taking the third spot.

I should screen shot my opening cards and discuss my decisions about what to keep, etc. I’ll do that for the next game. In the meantime all I can remember about this games starting cards is that I had a bonus card that synergised with the final rounds end of round bonus. That I had two cards in hand that not only counted (if played) towards my bonus card (and by implication the final round bonus) but also allowed the setting up of a tuck engine on the grasslands.

The Wingspan scores and final board state for me

I think I only took the initial draw cards wetland action once, and that was my first action if I remember correctly to grab a bird needed for the engine. After that all my card draw was coming from doing an egg run.

During play I had guessed Jonathan was struggling. He was taking a lot of draw cards actions. Jonathan was hunting for something. Later during the game my suspicions were confirmed when Jonathan posted a message on Discord (and I’m paraphrasing here) that the cards in this game indeed hated him and were conspiring against him.

The final scores did surprise me. Especially Jonathan’s. His claim that this was his worst scoring game ever, was probably right. I don’t remember him doing so poorly.

But that’s the nature of the beast. You see it in every game. Sometimes the stars don’t a line, and everything seems to be working against you. In these situations I think it helps to be the optimist and write the game off as one of those things that just happen, and next time will be different. It’s not fun as it’s happening, and can be frustrating. But you have to play to the last turn on the last round. Things might turn around.

It’s like the game of Epic the Card Game I had last week (lucky for the world the app doesn’t allow you to replay the whole game to record it). Early on in the game I went down to 2 health. Whilst my opponent was gaining life also. It wasn’t looking good.

Life savers!

But drawing into the two cards above I was able to stabilise by removing big threats from attacking, and basically neutralise tokens. This bought me enough time to draw into hopefully solutions to whatever the current threat on the board was.

There has even been games of Star Realms like this. I’ve been on one authority with my opponent in the 60s, and still hung in there and won! That game might actually also be on YouTube. There have been numerous games of MtG like this. Plus just as many that didn’t pan out.

When there is a turn around like the above they become epic gaming moments that you retell time and time again. The boardgaming version of “this one time in band camp…”

I’m digressing from the fact I crushed Jonathan, and had to settle for the fact the only banter was by sharing the above screen shots showing the emphatic victory on social media.

Afterwards we agreed to start up another game of chess via discord. This time it’s Jonathan’s turn to be white.

Marathon Wingspan Game Finishes

apps, Fenland Gamers, online play

21 or more days after starting our 4 player game of Wingspan we have finally finished playing today!

Yes that is a long time to take to play a game of Wingspan.

However considering we were all basically only taking one turn a day (I think there was a day when we got to play a second turn). Taking over 21 days to play the game was to be expected.

I’ve mentioned in the past this game was going to take a lot longer than our regular games where we play in real time (with or without discord) so that one of our friends could participate.

So how did the game end? I won comfortably. Which was a bit of a relief after all the round one hype of me playing a raven.

Final scores and my end board state

After you get and play the raven early there is the pressure that you are going to run away with the game. However without cards that combo well with it, it’s not a big advantage.

In this game I got some that worked ok with it. I did have to set up a card draw engine and round 2 was basically me drawing cards looking for cards to work with the raven. So I had a massive number of cards in hand to use through the remaining rounds.

How did I think it went playing a game that went on for so long? It was ok. Not something I’d want to do regularly. The long delay between turns was frustrating. But the fact it allowed a friend who otherwise would not be able to play to join in counts for a lot.

Right now to organise the next virtual game night.