Last week in rainy Bracknell

Mammut was tabled this week after our inability to work out the rules last time. I had spent a few moments the day before playing myself and found that actually, it was quite simple and fast moving. For those that can't remember the premise from its last GNN entry, it is a stone-age themed game of the policy used in many households where one child cuts the cake and the other chooses which piece they want. Instead of cake though it is the spoils of a hunt which, somewhat incongruously, includes axes and fire. Each player makes a grab for a share of the haul and the other can either take whats left or snatch an opponents pickings. The grabbing can go on for some time until either equilibrium or apathy takes hold.

The game's scoring has a neat device that hauls back players in some categories so even though I gained an early lead on turn 4 I saw Paul's purple elephant barreling past me like it had seen a packet of peanuts on square 50. Then when it got there it proceeded to race away as if chased by an imaginary mouse, (Thats the elephant stereotypical imagery done away with then) as Paul made a connection with the ? tiles being an effective winning tool.

Paul - 107
Chris - 80

Then on to Thurn and Taxis, where I recorded a win based on getting the big two scoring positions first. These being Bayern province and all the exterior provinces. In a game of narrow margins it was a surprise to see the final totals thus:

Chris - 38
Paul - 27

We still had enough time for one more game and seeing as it was Paul's choices this week (apart from Mammut) Ticket to Ride got another airing. It seemed like we made an un-said pact before the game, as we both decided to take as many tickets as possible. As always Paul was the most adventurous but this became his downfall. In the final tot up his uncompleted tickets dragged him back to make the scores,

Chris - 93
Paul - 90

Also last week I took my games round to James' house and persuaded him to have a go at Mammut. Although James won, with me again racing ahead only to be pegged back, he didn't enjoy the experience. It raised an interesting preference on his part where he doesn't enjoy games that involve being mean to your opponent. Most Eurogames avoid this and the only interaction you get is by restricting your opponents options. Mummut has a slight confrontational element to it and goes against that Eurogame grain. For myself, I like games that create a bit of interaction, otherwise they become more like a game of solitaire with someone across the board from you doing the same. I made a note to leave such games at home in future.

We finished off with a game of Stone Age. James' massive field bonus won the day here and my final round choice of going for another hut multiplier instead of taking culture cards he needed proving decisive. Charlotte, James' wife and fellow Scrabbler, often pokes her head round the door to see what bonkers game we are playing each week made this observation of Stone Age. That is was another one of those games where you don't know the score until the end. "Whats the point in that?" she said, "How do you compete not knowing how much you have to get to win? (Paraphrasing here).

Good point!