Madison Board Gamers Session Report,
October 23th, 2002
written by Everett E. Proctor

Games Played:
LOTR: The Confrontation, Twixt, Atlantic Star, Piratenbucht, and Carcassonne.

Players:
John, Everett, Bill, Doc, Tim and Mike

Low turnout tonight; I think the They Might Be Giants concert drew off a lot of our players. John had brought some of his birthday presents, but it didn't look like we'd get a chance to try them out as it was only him and myself there at first. Luckily I had brought a couple of 2 player games. However, Bill's RPG game didn't run tonight, so Bill and Doc came over to play board games, and Mike and Tim also ended up showing up (due to work, neither of them can normally show up until later anyway). So we did get to try a couple of John's new games after all.

LOTR: The Confrontation: John and Everett

This was the first two-player game John and I played while hoping others would show up. Dark won both times. During the first round, I played dark and quickly defeated Gandalf and Aragorn, and then had Saruman decimate the rest of the white forces. The second round was much closer, but the dark side again won fairly easily with John controlling it.

Score: Everett 5, John 3

Ratings: Everett 8, John 7

Twixt: John and Everett

It was now after 6:00, and still John and I were the only ones there, so we played a couple of games of the other 2-player game I had brought, Twixt. It had been a long time since either of us had played this. Twixt is one of the classic 2-player abstract games, being in Games Magazine's Hall of Fame, and is well worth its reputation. I like it because the rules are simple, but it also has a lot of depth. And even though it has a lot of depth, it is easy to quickly improve your game. Every time I play, I learn and recognize more beneficial patterns and moves. (Unfortunately, with my memory, I usually forget these by the next time I play.) We played twice, with John easily winning the first game. The second game was much closer, with me getting the win. The medium ratings are because 2-player abstract games are not either of our favorite types of games, but as such, this is an excellent one.

Results: John won first game, Everett won second game

Ratings: John 6, Everett 6

Atlantic Star: Everett, John, Bill and Doc

This was one of John's birthday presents, so John and I decided to try this 2-player, but fortunately Doc and Bill showed up, so we were able to play it 4-player. I was pleased to be able to play this as it counts toward my goal of playing all of the Internet Top 100 Games. (Atlantic Star is a remake of Showmanger, with only the theme differing). The object of this game is to have the most combined points on the four cruises (sets) that you make. On your turn, you either buy a ship (card) from a display of 4 ships (cards), or play a cruise (a set of cards). Ships that can be used in many different cruises are worth fewer points than ships that can only be used on one cruise; and mail ships, which can be used on any part of any cruise are worth the least (one point). This is mostly a game about resource management, of both your cards and your money. Even though this game has some luck, depending on which cards get drawn when, the restriction on the number of cards you can have (no more than 2 cards left in your hand after you play a cruise) and the options you have with your money (buying cards or spending $2,000 to discard and re-draw the display of cards you get to buy from), gives you a lot of control and will determine who wins and who doesn't. I had the top cruises in the 5-star and 4-star categories (which give the most points), but my other 2 cruises were pretty poor. John had 2nd place in the 5, 4, and 3-star categories, and 1st place in the 1-star cruise, and came away with the win.
Bill's quote: "I borrowed, and got 4th because of it. And where is Marseilles on the Med. Cruise ?!?"
Doc's quote: "I borrowed, and got 3rd. It was great!"

Scores: John 59, Everett 50, Doc 34, Bill 33

Ratings: Doc 8, John 8, Everett 8, Bill 5

Piratenbucht: John, Bill, and Everett

Mike and Tim showed up, so we split into two games of three. This was another of John's birthday presents that we got to play for the first time. Everyone plays pirates, trying to earn the most fame. There is also a neutral player, Blackbeard, who sails around and battles anyone he runs into. Each turn players secretly choose which island they are going to sail to, to plunder it (collect fame, gold, treasure, and/or action cards), and to purchase whatever the island offers (cannons, men, sails, hulls, or action cards). At treasure island, you can bury the treasure you've obtained to gain fame points. Only one pirate can end up at each island, so if two or more people choose the same island (or an island were Blackbeard is), you must either fight over the island, or run away, with the person who loses or runs away being able to do very little for that turn. This makes this a guessing game, with everybody trying to sail to islands that no-one else is sailing to. If you can do this, you'll avoid fights and most likely win the game (even though you do gain a little fame for winning battles). John had a full cargo hold of treasure, but didn't realize that Blackbeard would be at treasure island on the last turn, so he had to sail there anyways and try to defeat Blackbeard. Fortunately, by that time, John had a pretty buff ship, and a lot of action and battle cards, and he was able to defeat Blackbeard, giving him a total of 17 fame on the last turn (6 for defeating Blackbeard, and 11 for his treasures) and the win. Bill and I tied for 2nd, with Bill winning the showdown battle. Overall, a light, but fun, game. I think it would be better with 5 people, where it would be harder to get lucky and avoid sailing to the same islands as other people.
Bill's quote: "And I had time to plunder Her Majesty's chest, if you know what I mean."

Scores: John 41, Bill 32, Everett 31

Ratings: Bill 6, Everett 6, John 6

Carcassonne (with Expansion but no River): Mike, Doc, and Tim

This was the other three player game that we played. They weren't in the mood to learn the rules to something new, and Doc isn't a big fan of Settlers, so they settled on Carcassonne. It has been a while since my copy of Carcassonne was used, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had the Expansion set (I had forgotten that I had bought it, and now I have to cancel the special order I made for it at Pegasus.) Tim was the only one who never played Carcassonne before, and Doc had not yet played with the expansion.
Doc's quote: "I borrowed money and placed 2nd. It was great!"
Tim's quote: ":-)"
Mike's quote: "Friendly game - no one played nasty."

Scores: Mike 96, Doc 92, Tim 91

Ratings: Mike 9, Tim 8, Doc 7