But first, to set the scene: Anja and baby Luther were away, giving Steve free reign of the house. Sam and I arrived and promptly played two games of Cube Quest while Steve ate his supper. 1-1.
Then Adam arrived, minus a poorly Hannah. So, with the four of us assembled, the only question was what to play. At first, we veered towards Wallenstein, but without Anja it seemed a bit mean. Instead we went for A Castle For All Seasons: Sam and I were experienced in it, Steve knew about it and Adam was a total newbie. Perfect!
We set up, Sam went through the rules (oh, how we miss Joe!) and we got stuck in. This was the first time that the game was played with the maximum four players, and it becomes quite a different beast. Relying on other players became paramount, and knowing where you were in relation to the starting player was also worth bearing in mind.
In the end, I juggled those aspects better than the others. I played a Master Builder in a round when two players built, and I went for bonuses for unbuilt buildings and money. Sam found himself bereft of resources for most of the game, Steve was awash with resources but strangely reluctant to build anything with them. Adam’s gaming instinct homed in on the better bonuses on the board and he cruised to a comfortable second place.
Andrew 65
Adam 41
Steve 28
Sam 15
Afterwards, Adam said he felt the game was unbalanced, and he searched the rules for clarification on the “unbuilt buildings” bonus, believing it to be too powerful. It was an odd game, though, because very few people played the Trader (or is it Merchant? You know: the guy on the cart), meaning resources weren’t flowing as much as they normally would.
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| Phone calls to wives, mid game. |
After this mind-melting experience, we went for something that we thought was a little lighter: Metro. The recent newcomer to the table is rife with opportunities to sabotage your opponent. Especially if they’ve just won at A Castle For All Seasons. I found myself at the end of some very short railroads, and I was frustrated by the rule that says you can’t send an opponent off the board in one move even if it meant the best possible fate for my stunted network.
Adam was unstoppable and maybe that’s the secret to the game: slip past when no one else notices. Make no enemies, don’t rock the boat and before you know it, you’ve won.
Adam 75
Sam 56
Steve 41
Andrew 36
After this, we fancied something a little lighter. 7 Wonders, perhaps. Or Biblios. No. We went for Condottiere. Perhaps we forgot that this pocket Risk is a heavy game in a light game’s clothing. It is not a late-night closer, and I found myself quite exhausted well before the end of the game. My main problem with it is that I just don’t care who wins. I find myself making half-considered decisions, and not being bothered when I lost. Which I did. Perhaps the best bit is when other people get caught up in battles, and I did enjoy seeing Sam and Steve face off with Steve on 32 points against Sam’s 2.
Adam 5 territories
Sam 3
Steve 2
Andrew 1
An evening of three quite heavy games (apart from Cube Quest at the start). This leaves Adam top of the pile, with Joe still in second after his three week holiday.
| Points | ||||||
| Adam | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Joe | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| Sam | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| Steve | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 16 |
| Hannah | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| Andrew | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 17 |
| Anja | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 18 |
| Miles | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 20 |
| Lizzy | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 22 |
I must apologise for describing A Castle For All Seasons as a gem - with four players it was much more of a juggling act that two; even Andrew as a runaway winner was cursing (though not as much as me and Steve). And Adam's point about the Servant's House being too powerful seems very salient.
ReplyDeleteI stand by it as a two-player though - both players play two cards each round instead of one and it feels less like you are fighting the odds.
Metro is possibly the most snarky game we have! At least in Wallenstein you're supposed to wipe each other out. And Condottiere - I differ from Andrew in that I really like it, but I would concur it's not a filler but a light-heavy game. Like a bowl of leaves hiding half a chorizo.