Category Archives: game night

game night

Cake, Mars, and Crows

Fenland Gamers, game night, life, the universe, and everything, still alive

I know my usual posting schedule has once again gone out the window.

Despite having had a half term to recharge the batteries. This past week I’ve been particularly tired in the evenings. Often falling asleep whilst watching something.

I’m not sure folks appreciate how draining the day can be. Especially when you are still adjusting.

However yesterday was the end of the week and once again the fortnightly Fenland Gamers Friday game night.

Which means I go straight from work to where we meet up and play some games. Well that’s the new routine for club night considering the time I finish on a Friday, and it’s on the way home.

Plus it means I get there early, and have time to get something to eat before the majority arrive. I also get to set up the tables ready for some gaming.

Last night I got to play a four player game of Portal.

I’d been wanting to play the game with more than two players.

Our game was shorter than I expected and not as cut throat. But I put that down to one of our players not being a “gamer” and not really paying attention to what was going on. More importantly putting all their eggs into one basket so to speak by having both of their test subjects in the same test chamber. Which opened them up to Ben placing a turret in that chamber and ending the game. At that point in time Ben had the most slices of cake out on the laboratory. Giving him the win.

The second game of the evening saw Ben grab his second win of the evening when he won Alien Frontiers.

The latest edition to the collection, Murder of Crows was my final game of the evening.

The game had only arrived the day before. So naturally I hadn’t had time to read the brief rulebook.

So as I shuffled the cards Ben quickly read the rulebook, and was first player. After all first player was meant to be the most shady looking person!

Murder of Crows is a nice light take that card game, that plays in less than thirty minutes.

It definitely has a spot in the roster of filler games in my collection.

Harrison won the game.

It was a good evening of gaming.

A roll & write trilogy

game night

Last night whilst some club members were playing Railways of the World or team choo choo as I named them. Ben, Charlene and Harrison joined me to play a roll and write trilogy of games by the designers Ben Pinchbeck and Matt Riddle.

We started off our evening of rolling dice and crossing off boxes with Ben and Matt’s first game in this series Fleet the dice game.

I had not played Fleet or Fleet the dice game before. So playing this was a first for me. But one I was keen to play as I enjoyed the other two games in the series.

Fleet the dice game is all about running a fishing fleet. Well that’s the theme.

But let’s face it with a roll and write you aren’t playing for the theme. It’s so hard to do theme in this genre of game.

This game of Fleet the dice game was just the core game, no thrills.

Having played the other two games in the series there are common elements that run throughout them all. So picking up the game was a cinch. You just need to know how it varies from the others.

In this case it’s the flow of the round, the two sets of dice that get rolled at different points in that flow. Plus what is generating you points and when.

There were some pleasing combos in this game. But I didn’t feel the game was as combotastic as Three Sisters.

Ben bought the most fish home for the win!

Next up was the follow up to Fleet the dice game, Three Sisters.

Our play of Three Sisters was an all in game. That’s not just the weather expansion. But also the new rock garden pad that was an extra on the Motor City Kickstarter.

This was a first for Ben, Charlene, and Harrison playing with these expansions. They’d played Three Sisters before. And a first for me with the new pad.

I like the new pad.

Completing a row or column in the rock garden gives you a bonus. You complete a row by marking off a number that matches the die you chose off the rondel.

This gives you an additional factor to consider when choosing that die. Now it’s not only which rondel action you want and the garden you are planting or going to water, but also what you need to mark off on the rock garden to get that bonus.

And you do have to consider things as you won’t fill the rock garden. At best you will fill eleven spaces, but more likely up to eight.

Somehow I managed to win our game of Three Sisters.

Our third and final game of the evening, and the latest to join the series (having only just been sent out to backers) Motor City.

Like Three Sisters this was an all in game.

So we had the unique certificate tiles, plus the Bob’s expansion.

What I like about the expansions in both Three Sisters and Motor City is that they can be added with very little additional over head to the actual game.

Obviously the unique certificates adds no overhead at all, but gives each player a unique sheet. I don’t think I’ll play without these.

The Bob’s expansion uses the auditor die to select a couple of bonuses that can be claimed during a round.

I do like how in both this game and Three Sisters a die is used by the expansion. There is no overhead in using it except remembering to do it.

Harrison won our game of Motor City.

I know for Charlene and I think Ben their favourite of the three is Fleet the dice game. But with the caveat that they need to play Motor City a few more times.

But for me Three Sisters is still my favourite. With Motor City not far behind. Fleet the dice game needs more plays, and to be back in print so I can add it to the collection.

This really was a great evening playing the trilogy. Something I hope we are able to repeat in the near future.

At Last A Weekend of Gaming

Fenland Gamers, Game day, game night

A week into the new job and already I’m seeing a difference in what I can do in my spare time.

Finally I made a Friday Night gaming session in 2023. I know it’s only two that I missed but still that number would have gone up. In fact I don’t think I would have got any of this weekends gaming (apart from maybe todays) done if still in my old job.

My first game of the evening was Survive: Space Attack!

Somehow I managed to win the game. It wasn’t by design.

I don’t look at the values of the survivors at the start, or care which one gets placed where. During my turn if I get to place a monster/alien I combine the rules “shits and giggles” and “rule of cool” for placing it. I have no plan.

And yet I won this time. Don’t figure.

We followed up my victory with a game of Long Shot: the Dice Game.

I really do prefer this to Camel Up! for my racing, placing a bet, style game.

With four players the game has its backwards and forwards as everyone tries to manipulate the race. For a longtime I thought my two horses were going to take the top two spots, but in the end Colin and Jonathan managed to out manoeuvre me and get their horses into those spots instead, leaving me with a third place finish only.

Jonathan like his horse romped home with the win.

After nearly a two month hiatus our D&D group finally got back round the table on Saturday afternoon. But I’m not going to write about that in this post. You’ll get to read all about it in the post mortem.

This afternoon (Sunday) saw Julie and me meet up to play a game or two.

We started out with a learning game of Mariposas. Yeah the game by the Elizabeth Hargrave.

I think Mariposas was always going to suffer from what I can best describe as “second album syndrome” after having such a big hit with Wingspan.

What I like about Hargrave is her using less common themes for her games. Mariposas is about butterflies and their migration. I think her next game is based on some Russian experiment where they were breeding foxes to domesticate them. Themes that have a very broad appeal.

I have to say I was surprised how light Mariposas was. It felt very gateway like.

The game also played very quickly. It takes place over three seasons (aka rounds). You start off taking only four actions on the first round, five on the second, and finally six on the third and final one.

Add in end of round objectives, a bit of set collection, and you have a pleasant gaming experience.

At under £30 for a copy it’s not bad value.

Our next game was a first play of Motor City.

Once you get over the iconography this game feels very different to Three Sisters. Its definitely more puzzley and a lot less combotastic.

I liked the game a lot, and needs unpacking in-depth in another post after more games have been played.

We finished off the afternoons gaming with a game of the flip and write Silver and Gold.

It’s been a great weekend of gaming. Something I’ve not had in a long time.

Father Son Gaming New Year Edition Part Deux

father son gaming, Game day, game night

After tea last night Nathan and I did indeed play his favourite boardgame Star Wars Outer Rim and it’s only expansion Unfinished Business.

Nathan once again played as Boba Fett with the Crime Lord ambition. Which after the rather disappointing Book of Boba Fett seemed appropriate and in-line with the characters ambitions in that series.

I didn’t play Jyn Erzo but for a change I went with Doctor Aphra. A character I was unfamiliar with. But her ability was cool. I thought deep down Aphra wanted to be a Pirate Monach so that was the ambition I selected.

After taking an early lead on the fame track, and on my ambitions goals, Nathan soon started to close the gap on the fame track. It be a while before he made a late surge on his ambition goals.

In that time I quickly upgraded my ship and modded it so I stood a better chance of getting my ambition objectives.

A failed attempt to complete my goal of becoming the Pirate Monach was enough of an opening to allow Nathan to get his own attempt in to become a Crime Lord. Sadly that also failed. But my second attempt to become the Pirate Monach did not.

I snatched victory from what would have been a heroic comeback by Nathan.

It was a great ending with Nathan rolling six dice for my opponent in my final combat, and not rolling a single hit. I just needed a single hit to win. I got two. And I took no damage.

It was a glorious victory.

Today was my final day with Nathan before heading back.

After another relaxed start to the day. We played a learning game of Isle of Cats Explore and Write.

This is a flip and write that’s been on my radar for a while now. So to now have it in my collection and get it to the table with Nath is pretty cool.

I got some Cartographers vibes whilst playing the game. Mainly from drawing the polyomino shapes on the board.

How anyone fills all the rooms in seven rounds I have no bloody idea. Is it even possible?

I love the quality of the cards, and the linen finish.

I liked this flip and write. And definitely want to get this to the table again pretty soon.

Oh and I won.

I say this every time but our parting is always hard.

My mood wasn’t helped with the news of Lisa Marie Presley passing away yesterday. She was the same age as me.

I was a big Elvis fan back in the mid Seventies.

There has only ever been two times in my life when the death of a celebrity has really affected me. Those being Elvis and Steve Jobs.

I think with Lisa Marie it was a combination of the fact she was the daughter of Elvis, and the fact we were the same age.

It got me reflecting on my drive home on life, the universe, and coffee. Decisions made, not made.

I’m home now. Chilling out to some American Dad. Missing my son. Can’t wait until my next visit.

Father Son Gaming New Year Edition

father son gaming, Game day, game night

After a relaxed start to the day (which I’m totally allowed seeing as I’m on holiday) I taught Nathan how to play the two player game Splendor Duel.

As usual I didn’t win. If my bgstat app is correct (and why wouldn’t it be?) I have never, I’ll repeat that never won a game of Splendor in any of the editions I have owned or own! Bloody good job I enjoy playing it.

The rest of our day was taken up by a dentist visit for Nathan, cooking “not spaghetti bolognaise” (ask Diego why it was not the dish, ok adding baked beans, mushrooms, and using chorizo, may technically mean it wasn’t), and Nathan wanting to watch the evenings football match between Southampton and Man City.

Today saw us pop into town for a Burger King lunch and a visit the local boardgame shop.

I had gone there with the purpose of just getting the Mutant Genesis expansion for Marvel Champions. However the Storm character expansion joined it, along with the Agora expansion for 7 Wonders Duel.

As soon as we got home (after a coffee) we played an all in game of 7 Wonders Duel. That’s the core game plus the Pantheon and Agora expansion.

We both really enjoyed the game. Agora brings in a new decision, tactical element, and win condition.

Control all six senate chambers and you get an instant political win.

A victory I was one chamber away from achieving at the start of the third age. However Nathan only needed one more symbol for the science win. He was going first at the start of the third age, and was hoping for a science card as an option to buy.

Obviously the tension built up as I laid out the cards in the third age pattern. It was down to the last two cards to be drawn and placed. Indeed one of those cards was not only a science card but the sixth symbol he needed. Instant win for Nathan.

Yes playing with everything means the game takes longer to setup and play. But I think it’s worth it. I like the extra stuff going on. You can’t afford to not to be paying attention to what your opponent is collecting.

The area control element of the senate chambers is cool. Having the majority in a chamber gives you control and some sort of power up you get to use through out the game. Plus points for end of game scoring if it goes to the bitter end.

Yeah I think we’ll be playing all in from now on. Just need to get my own copy now.

Right time to make tea followed by Star Wars Outer Rim (Nath’s favourite boardgame).

Oops forgot the title!

Fenland Gamers, game night

Last night was the first and only session of the Christmas gaming program for Fenland Gamers that I could attend this year.

Traditionally there are three gaming sessions organised. However work rotas meant I had shifts during two of them. It was just luck that I was on an early yesterday and thus able to attend.

It was really great to be seeing friends again and playing games with them.

After some catching up, Katie, Jeff, and myself played Dune Imperium ALL IN!

By that I mean not only was it the core game and the first expansion Rise of Ix. But also the second and latest expansion Immortality.

Wow is this a table hog now.

For me Dune Imperium is like Istanbul. A great core game, that gets better with the expansions.

Granted when teaching to new players things might look daunting. But after a couple of turns, or just the first round, everything clicks into place.

I love what Immortality brings to the game. More decisions to make, more options.

In our game it was looking like Jeff might trigger the end of the game on the ninth round. I had decided not to go for one of my intrigue cards end game scoring conditions as I just didn’t think I would get a chance to complete it.

I had decided instead to try and get as close as I could to ten points and hope that my end game intrigue cards would be enough to snatch victory away from Jeff.

In the end after some beautiful minding it, I managed to grab three victory points to trigger the end of the game, and get two more from end game intrigue cards.

But that moment was all down to stealing an alliance token from Katie, and grabbing a couple of others by winning the combat, and doing research that enabled me to progress up faction alliance tracks.

It was not an outcome I had planned on that turn. But as I got closer to triggering the end of the game, one false move and we’d have gone to another round. Which would have given Jeff a window of opportunity to grab the victory instead. Everything had to be done in the correct order. Luckily I didn’t slip up.

There is still plenty to explore with the Immortality expansion before I talk more about it. But so far after this initial game I love it.

It was great to be gaming again. Tomorrow I’ve spending New Years Eve with Nathan so there will be a game or two there (even though it’s a whistle stop visit).

Now to start putting dates up for the next regular Friday evening gaming sessions.

Games Played Last Couple of Days

Fenland Gamers, Game day, game night, Scythe

Friday evening was once again a club night. Attendance was more pre-pandemic numbers than post. Whether that’s due to illness, time of year (it is the busy run up to Christmas) who knows?

Our first game of the evening was the classic, destroyer of relationships, Survive Escape from Atlantis.

This is such a fun game, and a members favourite.

Despite being victimised by the others (it’s so easy to make that claim in this game) I didn’t come last. I only got one survivor to safety but it was enough to put Marcin into last place with his lower scoring two survivors. At the other end of the survivor safety spectrum (more than three getting to safety) Ben managed to pip Colin to the winning line by a single point.

Our second and final game of the evening was Last Will.

Ben was declared the winner of this game. We still had a round to play. However with our hosts wishing to close up we had to finish the game.

The deciding factor in declaring Ben the winner was he needed one more action to trigger the end of the game, whilst the rest of us required more than that.

A fun evening, lots of banter.

Saturday afternoon saw me playing a two player game of Scythe with Charlene.

It was meant to be a three player game but illness meant the third player had to drop out at the last moment.

I was going to use the Automata as a third player. But I need to read the rules on running the Automata first before doing this.

We did use the modular board and that was the best idea of the afternoon.

Additional rules used

After randomly placing the faction markers round the board (all but one go out if using the Fenris factions as well, I removed that remaining faction from those that can be chosen), Charlene and I randomly chose player boards. Despite having the higher board I let Charlene chose first.

This will amaze folks but I did not go with my one of my favourite factions. Instead I gave Vesna a try.

Factions played

After choosing our factions we removed two of the modular boards. That was why using the modular boards was a great decision.

I had previously played Scythe two player with Jeff but that was with the “regular” board. Which isn’t best for a two player game. You can be on opposite sides of the map, never bump into each other.

With the modular board removing two of the boards shrinks the map so you are closer together, and you are more likely going to have to battle it out with the other player for spaces.

The way the map tiles were the Vesna river walk was useless and an early mistake for me. I should have built the tunnel first not the mech. Charlene had an easier time and was able to access more of the map without having to do either!

Timelapse of game of Scythe

I liked the resolution tile Deja Vu. It was fun. And how our end game was triggered. If Charlene hadn’t triggered the end of the game this way I would have triggered it on my next go by placing out my sixth objective star.

After the dust settled and money counted, I won.

If I play Scythe two player again it will only be with the modular board.

We finished off the afternoons gaming with a game of Splendor Duel.

I hadn’t played Splendor Duel before, nor had Charlene.

This is a two player only version of Splendor. Yes Splendor can be played two player. But sometimes like 7 Wonders Duel, the two player version gives you the same experience as the original but just takes it to another level.

I really like this as a two player game. Like it’s bigger brother it appears I’m not very good at it. I haven’t won a game of Splendor in a long time. And this two player experience was no exception and continued my losing streak.

I can see this being added to the collection to play with Nathan. Or on the rare occasion I get to play a two player game with Jonathan.

That was my gaming over the last couple of days.

It’s back to work for me now, and gaming when it can be fitted in.

Return of the Return of Father Son Gaming

father son gaming, Game day, game night

No gaming took place last night. After a pretty cool roast dinner we watched the Wales vs England match, and then John Wick 2 (we had watched John Wick the previous night, and guess what we are watching tonight?)

Why a roast dinner last night?

Nathan gets all the credit for that. I guess he fancied it while I was down visiting, because Sunday he said he had bought the stuff to make one, like a whole chicken, etc. Only problem he had was he’d never cooked a chicken before. So cooking duties fell onto me.

I’m still getting used to his oven, but the Yorkshire puddings came out ok.

I got to go into Basingstoke Centre today, and visit a gaming shop called The Gaming Den. Lots of stock, which is nice to see. I could easily have spent lots of money there but I was super strong.

Ok it helped that a visit to a stationary shop to pick up some index cards turned out to be a tad more expensive than planned.

Once home I quickly wrote out a couple of recipes that he’d asked for on the index cards and put them on Nath’s whiteboard for him.

The afternoon saw me making chicken noodle soup and visiting the Stonemaier web store to order the three new realms that were released today.

But whilst on the virtual store I was pleasantly surprised to see the Tapestry play mat had also been released.

I was aware Jamey had been looking at doing a play mat for Tapestry. But it had escaped me that they were actually in production. So I was definitely not expecting them in the store today.

After having the chicken noodle soup with slices of a fresh baguette to help mop it up, Nathan and I watched a brief Roll for Crit how to play for Marvel Champions.

It refreshed my memory (I don’t play this nearly enough) and gave Nathan an overview of the game.

It was enough so that we could play the following match up.

Nathan played Wolverine, whilst I played Phoenix.

Things seemed to be going well. The threat level of Thanos’s scheme was under control (by Phoenix) whilst he was getting thumped by Wolverine.

Then it went all Pete Tong as they used to say.

Thanos thumped Phoenix for a massive seven damage, followed by his minion Black Dwarf finishing the job off.

This left Wolverine to stand toe to toe with Thanos trading blows.

It was a heroic effort but in the end to no avail as Thanos managed to complete his scheme.

We really enjoyed going up against Thanos. With a better card draw we might have won. I think that is the difference between this game and the one with Diego with Ultron.

In that game our hero selection was totally unsuitable for the villain and his schemes. We got thrashed.

Here the match up seemed more appropriate. Phoenix keeping the threat under control whilst Wolverine did what Wolverine does. It felt like we had a chance.

Nathan really enjoyed our game of this. So it will find a place in the bag on future visits.

Our final game of the evening was a game of Rolling Realms.

Another winner with Nathan, despite me winning. But the scores were pretty close.

Our evening is finishing with the third film in the John Wick series.

Return of Father Son Gaming

father son gaming, Game day, game night

There seems a nice symmetry to this months gaming.

November started with me visiting Nathan and playing games with him, and it ends that way too.

It means so much that I am able to spend time with Nathan. That wasn’t always the case over the last few years. Caring for Nan meant it wasn’t possible to get away for a couple of days to visit him. It was a heavy price to pay. But we did willingly out of love for Nan.

After having toad in the hole with onion gravy for tea Nathan and I played the latest expansion for Wingspan, and also stand alone two player game, Wingspan Asia.

But before we played I had to open up the box it came in (yep I hadn’t even done this since it arrived a couple weeks back), take off the cellophane, punch cardboard, and quickly read up the rule changes for duet mode.

I’m not sure why but playing Wingspan with unsleeved or “naked” cards felt so so wrong. It just didn’t feel right.

Wingspan Asia can be used as a straight up expansion for Wingspan by just shuffling the cards that come into the box with the core games plus any other expansions. Which is how it’ll probably end up for me.

This expansion makes it so Wingspan can also be played by six or seven players in what is called flock mode. Or as I will refer to it as “not for me mode”.

Then we have the final way this expansion can be used, and that is duet mode.

Duet mode is a two player variant of standard Wingspan that adds a duet board, and new end of round objectives based on that board.

You get to place a piece on the duet board when you play a bird or a card ability allows you put a bird on the board. Where the piece goes on the board depends on the habitat the bird was played on, plus either the food type used to pay for it, it’s nest type, wing span, or direction looking.

Some of the spots on the duet board also give you a bonus of some kind when a piece is placed on it, like drawing a bird card, or getting an egg.

If you can’t or don’t want to place a piece on the duet board you can instead place it on the area in the bottom left of the board. Then on a future turn remove the piece from there to reset either the food tray or the bird market place. I like this a lot. Ok I didn’t do it. But just having that there as an option is pretty cool. It also makes that placement of the duet piece a harder decision.

I like what the duet board brings to the table in a two player game. It adds a new tactical element and decisions that need to be made that encourages the playing of birds.

I also like that the first player marker goes to the player that didn’t win the end of round scoring. It almost feels like an attempt at a catch up mechanism!

This may just be how I play Wingspan from now on when visiting Nathan. Which is the only time I play Wingspan two player.

The bgstat history books will record that I beat Nathan with a tucking engine!

Today, as the events already told were yesterday, has seen a relaxed start to the day.

Starting with my regular everyday breakfast of a mug of coffee and two Nevill’s Pains Au Chocolat. What can I say I’m a creature of habit. Except when Tesco don’t have them. Then I have to improvise.

After a relaxing soak in the bath reading a book on data science, it was time to take a trip.

A trip to the local shops sees a charity shop find that no-one boasts about on the Facebook boardgaming groups I belong to. I got a large saucepan and a couple of trays ideal to make Yorkshire puddings in. I need, well Nathan needs that big pot. Tomorrow I’m turning the left over chicken from our roast today into chicken soup for him. He didn’t have a pot large enough for that.

Lunch for us was an impromptu fry up to use up the remaining sausages Nathan had in the fridge, and some mushrooms just on the right side of edible.

I did start to look at the Star Wars card game Sabacc that Nathan bought whilst he was State side the other month. We’ll play that over the next day or two for sure.

Our first game of the day was Tinners Trail.

I’ve only played this once before as a three player game with Jeff and Jonathan.

So playing it as a two player game was interesting.

It wasn’t an unenjoyable experience. I just thought the bidding was a little flat with two players.

History will show that Nathan won by a massive two points.

Right I have a roast dinner to cook before some more games this evening.

One Shot Taster Session Post Mortem

D&D, game night, post mortem, RPG, taster

It’s a day or two since the D&D taster session took place. Even longer since the D&D campaign was held. But here we are with the post mortem for the taster first.

Despite a less than conducive environment for playing D&D everyone had a good time, and enjoyed themselves.

The adventure that I went with for the session was The Lost Tomb of the Delian Order (by Matt Colville).

I started the adventure off at the foot of the hill on a dusty road with the owner of a local inn hiring the adventurers to investigate missing people from the nearby village.

The inn keeper gave the party a bloodied bone and told them to break it when they got to the entrance of the tomb. The bloodied bone was a magical item I created to cast the spell aid over the party when it was broken into two.

Sadly the party did not do this.

They finally did use it over the scrying pool.

On a practical level I used The Giant Book of Battle Mats (generously given to me by Shane) along with scatter terrain to give the layout of the tomb.

I should have used my Big Book of Battle Maps because table space was once more limited. I thought before hand we would be using two of the folding 6ft tables.

However unbeknownst to us all, the evening of our taster session at the community centre it was also open mic night.

In my opinion they would have been better off watching us play D&D than listening to the public murder of songs.

That’s why earlier I said that the environment was less than conducive to playing D&D.

The volume of the “performers” murdering rock and pop songs was bordering on making it impossible to play.

The Wizkids 2D miniatures worked well. I think the players enjoyed having something to represent their chosen characters.

The puzzle in the adventure appeared harder than I thought it was. The other group I’ve run this adventure with got it pretty quickly. A fact that when strategically shared with Gavin made him determined to solve the puzzle.

I did give some time at the start of the session for the players to read their character sheets and ask questions. There was a whistle stop tour of the abilities and how an ability check works.

Having multiple copies of the Starter Set rulebooks available was a good call. I think for a taster session for new players they were just right. Especially for finding out the details of the spells. Easier to navigate, and a lot less to search through.

I did half the damage that the goblins did in combat. It seemed the right thing to do considering they low hit points first level characters have. It meant I was able to avoid a tpk. Although it was looking likely at one point!

Having The Arcane Library PC Cards on hand with the pregen details on was useful, and worked well for me.

I think that’s about it for now. Who knows if and when I’ll run another taster session. Maybe it’ll just be an adhoc one one shot for this group instead.