Ted Con II
Day 2 February 18,
2006
Breakfast Day 2
The day was started with crossword puzzles, paper reading and a light breakfast casserole with eggs, cheese, sausage and ham. Add the coffee just and masterpiece muffins and we were fully fueled for a day of gaming.
Abusir
It was time to build pyramids thanks to the loan from Dale Yu. At its heart, this is an area majority game with an element of dexterity. Again, some very neat ideas that time forces to overstay its welcome. Boats are loaded on the river with various building blocks of one, two or three blocks. Your job is to load them onto sledges and with an actual hook and string, pull the sledges across the desert to building sites (the dexterity part). To do this, you must navigate around obstacles on the board and the pyramids that are ultimately trying to build. This proved to be a little easier than I thought it would be (except for Charlie who got jammed up and landed in the river).
Next, with only two actions per turn, you must get your workers to the build sites to unload your blocks and build the pyramids. The goal is to score points for building the most blocks at the pyramid sites...i.e. 6 for first, 4 for second, etc. You get fewer points if the game ends and the pyramid is not complete.
I am very glad I got to play this one and thanks to Dale Yu for the loaner. It will not get added to my collection as the $70 acquisition cost to get it here is a little too steep for what you get in terms of game play.
Anticke
Let me point out to you up front, that John assured me, this game was unlike any other he has played to date of this title. This was a very fun Civ building game. It has a very nice idea of a rundell??? You pick actions by moving around a circle of options. You can move up to three spaces for free or pay to move farther along. Everything you do, you must be on the action spot on the track. So, to get gold, you must be on the gold square, to build a fleet, you must be on the build square...you get the idea. Early on, it makes for a slow plodding build up as you try to find what solution to victory will work best for you in a solitaire type growth mode. You need 9 victory points to win (with 4 players) and you get them for advancements, temple building, taking oceans, building cities, etc.
Our game proved very non-confrontational as apparently Rodney King insisted that we all must get along. As a matter of fact, the score track was sitting at 8,8,7,7 when it was determined that the only way for anyone to win was to take out someone’s temple. However, at this point in the game, this was incredibly difficult as everyone had amassed armies in defense. Our game began to bog down a little at this point. I took the plunge, taking out Rob...this cost me dearly as in combat if he has 10 you need 11 and at the end, you only have one guy left as they all kill each other. This left Rob and I both open. I was next to be plundered as my defenses were tapped to attack Rob. Even at that, we needed to wait a couple of turns for Charlie to take the final victory.
Honestly, what was a fun little game had a very bad ending experience for me. To that end, remember, John said he had never seen this happen before. Apparently, it pays to be a little more aggressive in the beginning. I am by no means suggesting a change to the game with this comment, but if the game had been to 7 or 8 victory points, it would have been a pure economic building game and ended a lot sooner. Again, I have only tried it once. It was a fun ride with a bittersweet ending on this play.
Neuland
Well, we were in an Eggertspiele moment I guess and decided to follow up their version of Anticke with this game. I still like this one although I shouldn’t. Grow this to build that, take that, to make this...etc. Call it Roads and Boats lite. This board developed oddly with Rob and Charlie putting all the clothes production on their side of the board forcing John and I to avoid this track of development. As the end game drew near, it was clear I could not win as I needed 4 points and there was only 3 points VP tiles showing. And, Charlie needed 3, John needed 2, and Rob needed 1. There was no way I could make victory in time.
Another bitter sweet here as Rob was ready to win next turn when John blocked his clothes production. That delayed the game but Rob had to loose his other production and let John win. We discussed this one at length...but all in all, I guess you have to see it coming and protect your flanks.
Lunch Day 2
It was time for the sandwich smorgasbord. Jane had laid out three kinds of sandwiches
and a variety of chips. This
international flavor was prevalent as we visited
Big Kini
With stomachs full, we were off to the islands, man. We played the advance version with the cards and the option of $7 to discover a new tile. This feels about right. The game ran 11 rounds. I recommend you try the $7 discovery option as a minimum. The cards were an interesting twist and I actually like it. This has some nice ideas also with the action board. Rob turned out to be the Big Kahini.
Das Zepter von
Zavendor
This one developed just fine as we bought artifacts and traded gems in what reminds me of a Princes of Florence bidding game with solitaire play. No one worked on the Ruby track at all. Charlie did not manage to get an emerald or diamond upgrade and fell way behind with no chance of victory. I got emeralds, John got diamonds and Rob got emeralds and diamonds. From this have you figured out who won yet? It was actually fairly close with the three of us but, Rob was the winner.
Volle Hutte
Everyone liked it so much, we did it again. This time John managed to attract the most customers.
Dinner Day 2
Keeping the international theme, Jane decided to lead with a
nice Italian salad. The second course
took us to
Mein Lieber Biber
Kid’s game gone mad. Play cards to move beavers on a tilting board.....it is on the trade pile.
Sitting Ducks
In my top 10 for 2005 as a light silly filler style take that game. Family Business meets Guillotine as you massacre other player’s ducks and try to be the last “duck” standing. If you haven’t tried this one, give it a go.
The
This was a movie tie in Lord of the Rings game. Orcs come piling in from both sides of the board as you try to fend them off before they can connect a line from the two towers. If they manage that task, everyone looses. If not, whoever can slay the most valued Orcs wins. This is a pure dice fest style game but with no dice. A light fun hack and slash. We hooted and hollered and it was very touch and go for some tense moments. In the end, the Ents arrived to save the day before the Orcs could connect the two towers. Although John had slayed the most Orcs, I had killed the most valuable ones to eke out the win.
Dancing Dice
One more filler to finish off the night. I think it was just too late for my tired little feet to tango anymore. Rob maintained his rhythm for the victory.
Ted Con II day 2......that is it.