Getting home from work last night was a flippin nightmare once I hit March. Hit a standstill near Tesco, so cut across to the station to take the back roads to Friday Bridge. But nope traffick was bad that way too. Not sure what was getting into everyone. Was the hot weather and it being the Friday of a bank holiday weekend the cause? 

In a hot and flustered and very rushed state I threw some games into a bag. I wasn’t sure if Jonathan would be there so in went some two player games. But I decided also as a last second decision to also throw in one or two games that played more.

Jonathan was waiting for me at The White Lion, with Dice Town. A game he had recently bought off a Facebook trading/selling page. But after playing with his wife, she’d decided she didn’t like it. Which suited me. It had been on my wish list for a long time. I’d missed out on this copy by a minute or two to Jonathan. So I wasn’t upset because I knew I’d get to try it. But then I was given the chance to buy it.

Jonathan had informed me that Diego and Chris were also attending. A chance to play my new purchase. Plus Jonathan could teach the game as he already knew the rules!

So our first game of the evening was Dice Town.

I’ll come right out and say it I enjoyed Dice Town.

I liked the dice rolling using the little cups, and selecting one dice at a time to save and build your hand with, then rolling the remaining dice. With the ability to save more dice, reroll, or not take any dice, but at a cost. A monetary cost. Which can be limiting if you run out of money and unable to get anymore.

There is some take that, mainly in taking cards off other players. But also a chance to bribe the sheriff to persuade them to chose you in a draw for a bonus. 

After the game I asked Jonathan how it compared playing as a four player game against a two player game. To which he responded it was better. It had struck me as not being a two player game. The more the better for this game I think. More competition for the bonuses. 

Oh Chris won. 

I think I’m getting a nice collection of dice based games now. The students will love Dice Town. 

Our second game was Sagrada. Which Jonathan somehow won. This is still a charming puzzle game, which looks beautiful.

The final game of the evening was Don’t Mess With Cthulhu. A new arrival that once again has been bought to be played by my students. I’d heard about it on the latest Rolling Dice and Taking Names podcast. It sounded interesting, and apparently played well with four players. So it was great that I could learn the game with friends before introducing it to students.

There was some confusion at first. But the game is quick enough that an initial play can be done to clear up that confusion. Which our first play did.

For a hidden role game that plays quickly, it wasn’t bad with four players. I like the four round limit on play. It keeps the play time short. Redistributing the remaining cards at the start of each round is a nice touch. I can see how the success of the game could be down to who you play with. Especially when it comes down to selecting a card to reveal and the discussion between players over whether that is the correct card to reveal.

We finished the evening with some chit chat. Before heading off for questionable meat and chips.

A great evening of gaming.