This game has been played so often that Sam believes it’s already paid back its price in sheer fun. Sam and Joe went head to head, with Sam taking the victory in a game where Joe left his king undefended, tempting Sam into long-range attempts which usually ended in Sam’s piece flying off the table. But Joe, too, found his aim lacking and in a war of attrition, Sam had enough to hold on.
Then Adam and Hannah arrived. I played Adam at Cube Quest, which was pretty even until Adam scattered my king’s defence with one flick, leaving my monarch alone in facing the enemy. In a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid-style rampage, he lasted about one flick before being sent off the table.
So the five of us sat down to play a new game, 1812: The Invasion Of Canada. Because it is co-operative, it doesn’t lend itself well to leaderboard type statistics. But we tried it out, anyway. My initial impression wasn’t good: Cubes on a rather serious-looking map.
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| 1812. Note the Canadian dice, top left, poised to flee |
However, once it got going, it turned out to be much more fun. The game encourages collaboration, but with no way of maintaining secrecy, you must be careful with your words. The rule book promised lots of “fun tension”, but instead me and Joe soon started bickering. We were the Americans, and Joe suggested that we block the way to Pittsburgh: one of the towns where we can muster new troops. So I did that, and Joe immediately decided that he’d rather do something else. Like an old couple who can’t decide which tourist attraction to visit, our strategic meeting descended into “no, but you said...”
North of the border, Hannah, Adam and Sam were the British. Sam found himself with the Canadians. Their dice are loaded in such a way that “run away” is the most likely option. And so they did. Very funny, but a bit rude towards Canada. Their dice are even yellow. (I keep forgetting: Most people associate yellow with cowardice, unlike us who associate yellow with tactical nous.)
In the end, I played a truce card, triggering the end of the game, and Joe and I tried to win enough battles to take the win. But we were undone by Adam’s clever thinking. We left one road clear to a town, meaning he could simply march up and raise a British flag without so much as a scuffle. That mistake meant the whole war ended honours even.
Finally, we chose a game that was leaderboard: Las Vegas! And since this game was all about dice, it meant a welcome return to the table for Das Exclusive. Hannah was taught the rules, and we began rolling dice and betting on casinos. Joe mentioned that Vegas makes you feel like your making decisions, but really you’re not. It’s impossible to plan ahead, so you just have to hope for the best.
Sam took the win, and Adam found he’d used up all his dice-luck on 1812.
Sam $390,000
Andrew $360,000
Joe $280,000
Hannah $260,000
Adam $250,000
Sam heads to the top of the leaderboard, despite still having a red five weighing him down! To do so this late in the season must be some kind of record.
Looking forward to an extra-curricular GNN on Thursday!
| Points | ||||||
| Sam | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Adam | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Andrew | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| Joe | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| Hannah | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 19 |
| Miles | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 20 |
| Lizzy | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 22 |
Very enjoyable evening, with comedy relief from Andrew and Joe, who were as ever abetted by Sybil and her range of gruff-old-Victorian harrumphs and mad barking frenzies. Less welcome were her indoor toilet habits (not so funny for Joe).
ReplyDeleteJoe and I had played 1812 already and though we'd enjoyed it, he was right in suspecting it would be much more fun with the five players the game recommends. That said though, it does suffer - for want of a better term - from the co-operative curse of one (or more) people running the game. Adam couldn't have been less dictatorial but - his reputation obviously preceding him - I found myself deferring to his recommendations, because he tended to suggest the best option.
However that's a mild criticism (of the game) as overall I enjoyed it a lot. And Vegas - well, Vegas is Vegas.
Yeah I wondered if I'd been a bit bossy on our side of the map, having played before - if so apologies Andrew. I think it's a very clever game - the small number of special cards means that it's pretty much open information: once you've played a few times and know what everyone could be holding cards-wise, I think it would become much more a battle of wits.
ReplyDeleteAnd the dice are quite clever too - the British give you the best chance of hitting, but as Sam noted, they never flee, so you have to try and keep them on the board. The Canadians, conversely, continually run away, which seems weak - until you realise that they re-emerge at the beginning of every yellow turn in droves. Even the random turn order seems to add a bit of drama. Thanks for trying it out - one for the next con, perhaps?
Vegas was Vegas baby. Pure luck? Maybe not quite - perhaps 6Nimmt levels of strategy, but none the worse for it. It always seems to have at least one moment of hysterics, as a last dice roll blows up in someone's face, or lands someone else a tidy prize. So simple, but much fun. A better choice than Modern Art to round of the evening - there's a little more thinking to be done with Knizia's auction-a-rama. Thanks all for a lovely evening, and apologies from Sybil.
Also on the subject of 1812 - it felt like a nice change to be collaborating in a game (against another team) - I'm sure there are others where this happens but I can't think what they are. Perhaps I'm just thinking of the times we gang up on Adam in regular games . . .
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