Date 1/14/06

Jambo

At the table - Charlie Davis and John Giroir Game played – JAMBO

I was not able to attend Ted's weekend of games that started tonight. Since I was stuck at home, I invited John Giroir over for a game of Jambo. Three things about John. 1. He is competitive. 2. He has played and finished very high in some serious MTG competitions so card management is easy for him to understand. 3. He is a smart guy. You can probably see where this is going. I explain the game to him and we start. As in most games, I started fast and got a big payoff early. I had to use most of my hand to do it but I though it was a good opportunity. Over the next few turns, John managed to use several crocodile cards and remove all of my utility cards, while building up his own utility cards, wares, and hand. I had to just take cards and the one gold every turn for a while. The gold keeps me ahead of John but he always has more cards or wares. He pays 6 to build a small market and I get to build mine for 3 the next turn. I am still well ahead in gold but I can't get any wares and he gets another crocodile card. At this point, he starts cashing in and closing the gap fast. It is getting near the end of the game. I am still ahead but John uses a throne card to trade one of his wares for one of mine and it ruins my plans. One more turn and I could have sold 2 sets of wares. It is not to be. John is able to cash in twice and get to 62 gold while I can only sell the one set and manage 56.

Jambo is an excellent game for two. Try it at your first opportunity.