We had games split over 5 tables this week, 2 of our newcomers, Vicki and Zoe joined Duncan & Rob C in a game of Dead of Winter, which went quite quickly or so I am told, with the survivors failing to survive. After this Duncan departed and the remaining three spent the rest of the evening in 13 rounds of Love Letter - The Hobbit.
Keith, Carl & Justin joined me and I introduced them to Power Grid, actually the deluxe version, played on the N. America map using the four eastern areas. I did give a bit of strategic advice as the game went on, but I did win as the others tended to fall in to the trap of buying too many power plants over the course of the game, something that new players often do when introduced to the game. That said I think the game went down well with Keith in particular saying that he liked it.
Over on another table, Gordon was playing Marco Polo again with Dave F and Steve K, after that Gordon & Dave played a close fought game of 2 player Carcassonne.
Scott and the 2 Marks spent the evening playing Ora et Labora, which was a first time game. I'm surprised that this one took so long before anyone played it given the apparent love of Rosenberg's other games here, I notice that it was published in 2011.
Finally Stan, Mike and Nick got through 3 games on the final table, the first 2, Siberia and Traders of Osaka being new games brought by Stan (who seems to have a never ending supply of them), while the final one was Santiago de Cuba, which has now been played 6 times this year.
I remembered my Camera this week and here are a few pictures of the games in play, followed by the results list.
Carcassonne has just finished
Ora et Labora
Traders of Osaka
Power Grid Deluxe
Santiago de Cuba
The Voyages of Marco Polo
| 02/09/2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Siberia - 45 Mins. | ||
| Posn. | Player | Score |
| 1 | Nick | 35 |
| 2 | Mike | 29 |
| 3 | Stan | 16 |
| Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game - 60 Mins. | ||
| Posn. | Player | Score |
| 4 | Vicki | - |
| 4 | Zoe | - |
| 4 | Rob C | - |
| 4 | Duncan | - |
| Traders of Osaka - 40 Mins. | ||
| Posn. | Player | Score |
| 1 | Stan | 16 |
| 2 | Nick | 12 |
| 2 | Mike | 12 |
| The Voyages of Marco Polo - 120 Mins. | ||
| Posn. | Player | Score |
| 1 | Steve K | 75 |
| 2 | Dave F | 68 |
| 3 | Gordon | 53 |
| Love Letter: The Hobbit - 45 Mins. | ||
| Posn. | Player | Score |
| 1 | Rob C | 8 |
| 2 | Zoe | 3 |
| 3 | Vicki | 2 |
| Power Grid deluxe - 120 Mins. | ||
| Posn. | Player | Score |
| 1 | Dave D | 17 |
| 2 | Justin | 17 |
| 3 | Keith H | 16 |
| 4 | Carl | 13 |
| Santiago de Cuba - 45 Mins. | ||
| Posn. | Player | Score |
| 1 | Nick | 36 |
| 2 | Stan | 32 |
| 3 | Mike | 29 |
| Carcassonne - 20 Mins. | ||
| Posn. | Player | Score |
| 1 | Gordon | 113 |
| 2 | Dave F | 108 |
| Ora et Labora - 135 Mins. | ||
| Posn. | Player | Score |
| 1 | Mark R | 199 |
| 2 | Mark W | 182 |
| 3 | Scott | 177 |
Despite coming last, I very much enjoyed Ora et Labora. On the surface it looks like a cross between Agricola and Le Havre, but it plays quite differently to either of those games. I would say that Rosenberg's games are underplayed at the club considering how popular they are both in general and among club players. I've hardly seen Agricola make an appearance, let alone such gems as Le Havre and Merkator. I must admit that the agricultural theme is rather overused, which puts me off buying Fields of Arle, though I'm sure it is a good game.
ReplyDeleteYou have reminded me to put Agricola in my bag. It is a game I really respect which for some reason rarely gets played. For me it is part of an elite collection of "cream of the crop" games which every board game hobbiest should experience at least once. I'd be delighted to introduce it to new players.
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