And it was all yellow

Tonight we had it all planned. Steve, Sam and Anja would play Wallenstein again – this time they'd be able to leap in without relearning the rules, and finally get to work on finishing off Magdeburg good and proper. Meanwhile, Joe, Adam and I decided beforehand to play Maria. With one half of the table German and the other half Austrian, we were in for a Teutonic treat.

Except that Steve couldn't make it. So instead we chose Hansa Teutonica as a suitable five-player replacement.

But first, before Anja arrived, the four of us decided on a game of Incan Gold to warm us up. This game of luck-defying greed is always entertaining. We begin each temple as honest, decent gentlemen who do not turn and flee at the slightest sign of misfortune. Before long, however, we became cautious, panicking at spiders and zombie ladies and scrabbling for the exit with our dignity in tatters.

Joe 42
Adam 41
Andrew 38
Sam 34

Then we set up Hansa Teutonica. Anja arrived, Sam was given a refresher of the rules, and we were ready to start. Except that only one of us was paying attention: Adam. He swiftly picked up a bonus marker that everyone else ignored, which he converted into an extra action before anyone else could claim theirs. As such, even after the second turn, the four of us were trying to catch him up.

I had a frustrating game, feeling duty-bound to try and stop Adam since no one else wanted to, but then unsure of how this could benefit me. Joe seemed to have an equally aimless game, as he ended the game with no cubes on the map at all. Unsurprisingly, the two of us came last.

Anja played a better game, rising above any petty name-calling at the creeping custard, and instead played her own game. Sam controlled cities near privileges which gave him a healthy amount of points and stopped the game before Adam could increase his lead any more.

Adam 50
Anja 35
Sam 34
Joe 24
Andrew 24

Finally we ended with a game of Poison. A simple game which, for whatever reason, prompted some extremely geeky conversations. Mostly from Joe. First, he noted that the height of liquid in the bottles on the cards was related to the number on the card. But Sam regretfully pointed out that the volume of the liquid in the bottles wasn't related.

Then Joe wondered if you could really buy the design of poison bottles on the cards, causing Adam and I to check our cards to see what he meant, thus giving away that we were the only ones left with poison.

Then Joe wondered if there was a reason why the cauldron's weren't colour co-ordinated. Three colours, three cauldrons. Why not have a red cauldron, a green one and a blue one? It would certainly change the balance of power when someone was putting a poison into an empty cauldron, he explained while I wished he'd just play his card.

In the end, Sam played a solid game, seeing off the rampant rubber gloves, who had to settle for second. Anja was stung by a bad second round, leaving her in last, while Joe and I took up third and fourth.

Sam 3
Adam 10
Joe 19
Andrew 23
Anja 31

With a first and two second places, Adam increases his lead at the top. I fall back down faster than Icarus, and Sam sneaks into second.

						Points
Adam	2	1	2	1	2	8
Sam	1	3	4	2	1	11
Steve	1	5	2	3	1	12
Joe	3	4	1	3	1	12
Hannah	1	1	3	5	5	15
Andrew	4	4	3	3	3	17
Anja	5	2	2	4	4	17
Jonny	2	2	5	5	5	19

Interesting that Adam's return to form has come at the same time as his beloved Tottenham's run of bad results. A bit of karma? Perhaps Adam should try losing a few games, see if Spurs improve.