May 29-30, 2004 |
We played games at Karla's and my party on Saturday, and a quick game of Chez Geek at Dan's just before his BBQ on the 30th.
| Puerto Rico |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Mike | 54 | 1 | |
| Sam | 46 | 2 | |
| Dan | 38 | 3 | |
| Annie | 32 | 4 | |
Notes: Dan and Sam (I guess) really wanted to play this, and we almost got Kate to play, but after seeing how the first turn went, she panicked and bailed. I've played it so many times now I forget how complicated it seems at the outset.
Anyway, this game was really heavy on shipping, and I benefited by having 2 corn fields right away and by getting the harbor for my second building (after an old standby, the small market). It was really my night, as I went last in the first round and still managed to get the first round quarry, which is my favorite opening move. Dan went for building, Annie went mayor, and Sam went craftsman.
With my shipping strategy, I also gathered a quick monopoly on coffee to rival Sam's tobacco monopoly. Sam kept picking craftsman, and I kept picking captain, which gave me the +1 VP bonus in addition to being able to choose my ships. I was able to stockpile coffee on one ship and was usually able to get corn or indigo (which I acquired later) on another ship. Sam kept helping me out in this way because he had the wharf, and he was able to grab 4 or 5 points per shipping phase while Dan and Annie were frustrated.
Annie started with indigo instead of corn in this game, which really messed with her usual corn strategy. Dan had
good money throughout, but never seemed to have enough colonists to keep all his stuff together. It also didn't help
that, at one point, Annie said, "Hey!" and knocked her beer onto Dan's island. After cleaning up the remnants of
his once proud plantations, Dan was too discombobulated to pull off victory. It was a clever psychological ploy on
Annie's part. I would have tried it, but it was my copy of the game. Plus I won anyway, even though Dan refused
to pick the builder on his last choice to let me get some extra VPs. The scores broke down as follows:
| Name | Shipping VPs | Building VPs | Bonus VPs | Total |
| Mike | 40 | 14 | 0 | 54 |
| Sam | 32 | 14 | 0 | 46 |
| Dan | 30 | 14 | 0 | 38 |
| Annie | 16 | 12 | 4 | 32 |
Normally, I never use a shipping strategy, but I went with it from a very early turn thanks to my harbor. The coffee gave me cash to keep up in buildings, and once Annie took the Customs House (which gives bonus points per 4 VPs shipped) I didn't really want any of the other bonus buildings. I love this game.
| Wyatt Earp |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Mike | $26,000 | 1 | |
| Dan | $23,000 | 2 | |
| Annie | $22,000 | 3 | |
| Ebbin | $21,000 | 4 | * |
Notes: We played a very close game of Wyatt Earp. Normally I only play this one 2 player, but I kind of like it 4-player, too. It goes a bit more slowly, but there is a lot more sharing of the cash, which makes for a more balanced game. Ebbin led after the first round, and I led after the 2nd and at the end. At one point I got pissed at Dan because I gave him an extra turn and he used it to hose me. I didn't think I was that pissed, but Karla was miffed enough at me to yell at me. Sorry, honey.
Dan, to his credit, just laughed at me.
| Chez Geek |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Sam | 20 (needed 18) | 1 | |
| Jill | 10 (18) | 2 | * |
| Annie | 10 (22) | 3 | |
| Mike | 8 (19) | 4 | |
Notes: We actually played this Sunday afternoon. Sam really wanted to play Duel of Ages, but (1) it would have taken too long - the game's not very good unless you play at least an hour and a half, and people were coming over and we were grilling, etc., etc., and (2) Annie hates DoA, and although Sam tried to lure Jill into playing it, I'm pretty sure she would have rather played Traumfabrik, which Sam refused to commit to for some reason, despite its short playing time, wonderful theme, and the immense time investment I put into making it. So, like any good compromise, we were both disappointed, and were forced to play Chez Geek.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad game, just not as good as the other options available.
Sam womped us pretty good. I kept getting the "Evil Visitor" cards - Choad Warrior, Can't Handle it Guy, etc., but I needed to use them on Sam, and he only had things like Nookie and Sleep - no food, no alcohol, no weed - at least, not until the last turn, when he beat us. Jill did pretty well, but Sam got rid of all her booze and weed at one point, which cost her 6 points. Annie seemed to be flailing in the same well of ineptness that I was.
Annie was a corporate drone, so she could only do one thing per turn. I had a campus job, but Sam played evil boss on me and I was put even further behind the eightball than I should have been. Sam was a temp, and Jill was a security guard.