Robo Rally Game (5/3/1997)

Players: Anne, Joshua, Mike, Scott, Vishal

Decided to play Robo Rally while waiting to see if our mystery guest showed, and it worked out perfectly. Allan painted the 'bots and not only do they look great, you can actually tell which direction your 'bot is facing -- excellent! Phase one saw Josh kill his robot on the conveyor of doom and a serious crusher threat to Mike's robot, while Scott and Anne's 'bots bounced around in the wall maze, both real and both sustaining real damage. All of this tempered Vishal's wish that his virtual robot get real soon. Joshua went for the conveyor again (a move he'd soon regret), and Mike forged into the lead, dodging crushers like laundry duty. Vishal's robot no sooner became real than it conveyored itself off the board. When Anne faltered at the crusher conveyer belt, Mike seemed assured of victory and already had his winner's tip written: "What's the big deal. You program your robot and run it. Simple." (Hope those words taste good ;-> ) Luck of the non-Irish kicked him when he was three squares away from victory and was dealt seven, count 'em seven, turn cards. This allowed Joshua and Scott to move in, gumming up the works on the main conveyor and both dealing and receiving some serious damage. Joshua got off the conveyor by diving into a pit (death number three always sucks), and Mike and Scott raced for the flag.

Scott's robot passed over the flag and pushed Mike's into a wall, and the two 'bots traded damage for a few phases. Mike locked two of Scott's registers, and then had one of his own locked, after which he announced a shutdown following the next turn. Mike's 'bot passed over the flag and shut down precariously at board's edge, while his opponent (the "damn the torpedoes" robot) spun and sputtered to the flag just before bumping Mike's 'bot off the board. What happened to Anne and Vishal's robots is a mystery. Anne was still going at game's end, but Vishal was restarting for the third time, and of course, parts of Joshua's machine were strewn all over the board. We'd originally set up two flags for a one-hour game. Someone remarked, "We always underestimate this game," to which Mike replied, "No. We always overestimate ourselves."

A word from our winner Scott

"In the past, I've believed you should shut down rather than dying and coming back. However, tonight's game was a sprint, so I didn't think any shut down was advised -- just roll on and hope for the best. Three pieces of advice: think about which way you want to go before the timer begins; always turn your cards so their all facing up while the dealer is finishing the deal; first thing once you turn your cards over? separate the turns from the move. A swivel chair doesn't hurt either."

Settlers of Catan Game #2 (4/12/1997)

Players: Allan, Joshua, Mike C., Scott

This game of Settlers didn't go accoring to plan at all. After placing the tiles, the obviously fertile land of 5, 6, and 8 die rolls produced like the frickin' desert. Allan banked on that land, and was initially hurt, and Joshua battled him for central-board supremecy. Mike and Scott pursued coastal strategies out of necessity once Allan and Joshua clogged up the middle. Mike tried building cities rather than expanding his range of settlements, and both he and Scott seemed destined for mediocrity as they were pushed toward the outside of the board. Allan grabbed the longest road (again) and then made a crucial error in trading Joshua what he needed to build a settlement -- the settlement that chopped Allan's road in two. This gave Scott the longest road (which he held to the end), and completely fouled up Allan's strategy.

At this point, with Mike and Scott marginalized and Allan falling, it seemed Joshua's game to win. That's when the vindictive non-fraternization policy went into effect. Allan, Mike, and Scott adhered to a strict no-trading-with-the-leader rule for the remainder of the game, and it almost worked. Mike began to get those cities established and developed the Largest Army, while Scott put together a few more settlements and got necessary resources from both Allan and Mike. The Robber remained on Joshua's property for the duration, and though he finally pulled out the win (with a Library or something on his last turn), it was far closer than it should've been. Final score was Joshua 10, Scott 8, Mike 7, and Allan's precinct still hasn't reported.

A word from our winner, Joshua
"Location, location, location.

"Resource Order According To Joshua: Grain, Clay, Wood, Rock, Sheep.

"Try to pick a location that sets you up to be getting the resources that are more precious (especially if the numbers make them rare). Either that or you have to expend resources to get a port that can trade, which is too costly in the beginning when you need to be collecting resources on all sides."

Scott's words to live by:
- Happy May Day to all, and to all a good night

Settlers of Catan Game #1 (4/12/1997)

Players: Allan, Joshua, Scott

This round of Settlers was a blowout. Allan put down his stuff first, and got a primo space with a 5 and 6 roll that brought timber and brick, and when he combined it with a "3 of anything" port, the writing was on the wall before the Robber showed. He got the longest road, built two settlements into cities, and kept raking in the resources. Meanwhile, Joshua and Scott were competing for dead second and dead last, with only Joshua even close for a short time. Scott got his "empire" cut in half, and Joshua could only stay close if Scott traded him everything he needed (not bleedin' likely). Meanwhile, Allan rolled so well that he not only got tons of resources, but he got to place the Robber most of the time. His only setback came when he finally scooped up a ton of wood only to have it taken when Scott called a forest monopoly (getting a total of 11 trees), though that did give Allan a great story to tell afterward. By the end, the resources poured in so fast he didn't even care if he had to lose some cards. The final tally was something like Allan 10, Joshua 6, and Scott 4.

Allan's victory is significant for one other reason: it came in a dice rolling game. Congratulations, Allan. Hope you didn't use a lifetime of luck on this one game, as I was hoping to ally with you next Dune game. (And don't forget, you still have a coupon for two free spice next time we play Dune. Coupons can't be honored if you don't bring them.)

A word from our winner, Allan
"Probably already said by many, but be aware of the catalystic relationship between the resources you plan to harvest. Work on pairs of wood and brick (for roads and towns) or 3 of a kinds for cards. Always develop cities on your best villages if you can. Beware of monopolies when you harvest 8 wood (argh!)."

Scott's words to live by:
- Can't wait to get pictures of the Robo Rally figures posted. Way cool, Allan

Priceless Game (4/12/1997)

Players: Mike B., Mike C., Vishal

All that is known of this game of Priceless is the following. The two experienced players, Mike B. and Mike C., cost each other MAJOR coin trying to get each other to overpay for items. The plan failed, however, because they forgot there was a third player, and thus Vishal discredited the Mutually Assured Destruction strategy by kicking their tushies and is now one of the few undefeated Priceless players we know. The final tally (as can be best estimated) was about $900,000 to a pair of $450,000s (though Mike B. claims victory over Mike C. - perhaps a reamatch is on tap). What wisdom does Vishal have to pass along? Read below and learn, Grasshopper.

A word from our winner, Vishal
I will attribute to my victory less to my skills and more to Mike B. and Mike C. mutual destruction play. This was the first time I was playing the game. When Mike C. expalined to me about the the game, one thing was clear -- that you have use your checks very carefully. I could see that both of these guys had used up their checks very quickly. Here are some tips which I think will be useful:

1. Don't buy the 4th item in the group, rather it would be good to buy articles from the adjacent groups as they save your checks and allow you to form a chain.
2. In the auction, if you think the price has gone to high, don't go for it.

Scott's words to live by:
- When ordering from Wok & Roll, split a dinner, don't try to eat one yourself -- they put in too much food

Time Agent Game (4/12/1997)

Players: Allan, Joshua, Mike B., Mike C., Scott, Vishal

Three reasons this summary will bite: with a new game you have to explain the game and the action of that night; I can't remember any of the other player's character names; and I waited way to long to write this up. Bear with me. In Time Agent, players send agents into the past to change key events from history -- events that once hurt their race (or that once helped other races) -- and try to destroy time travel when history smiles more upon their race. For some players, it's tougher to find events that help your race (umm... the Buralti spring to mind), so those players should change what they can to hurt other races, whereas some players benefit from almost every alteration in history and simply look around for the changes that help them most.

During your turn, you can look into the past (up to three tiles per time machine), build new equipment, buy new squads and agents, or send agents and/or squads into the past where they can rotate tiles or alter events. Combat ensues when opposing squads/agents have opposing plans for the same hexagon. Most players opted to search before sending troops into the past, except for the richest player (Scott) who sent troops back to explore rather than waiting a turn and for the most economically challenged player (Allan) who didn't even have the cash to explore (SUCK!). After that first turn, all players started exploring the past, searching in accordance with the "cheat sheet" provided that tells you where your most important events are. Josh had to take away his own Victory Points to get cash (a cruel twist in the rules), and Allan built his empire from the ground up, exploring the less expensive tiles of the recent past and working his way back. The two Mikes tried with little success to bolster their empires (for every step forward, seemed one backward was right behind), and after a slow start, Vishal roamed the western part of the board unopposed for most of the game.

At this point, "blood" was spilled for the first time in our gaming sessions. Mike B. knocked over his wine glass, and as Malcom McDowell once said, "The vino was flowing," flowing all over Mike B.'s cheat sheet and character description. We surveyed the damage and all realized that this would be a much cooler (and cleaner) game if ACTUAL Time Travel was available. Also might've helped if loose fitting clothes were out of style. Mike C. dispensed his advice for all time: "When you're gaming with a new group, this is how NOT to get invited back."

Perhaps spurred by the sight of blood on the table, Allan roared to second place (all the while whining about other players' advantages -- deception at its finest), and the rest of the pack crept toward the Buralti (who start the game miles ahead), so Scott tried to end the game but was temporarily rebuffed by those pesky rules. Mike C. cost Allan and Vishal points just to play spoiler, and knowing the game might end the next turn, Joshua sold back his economic advantage for Victory Points. When Scott destroyed Time Travel, the Victory Points jumbled and juked, and in the end, Josh won with Allan a close second and all others crushed in defeat.

A word from our winner, Joshua
When playing the alienraceIplayed (sorry, can't remember what they're called) the VERY first thing you MUST do is reverse the invention of alienraceIplayed's philosophy. This does two things for you:

1. You get 15 more bucks per round.
2. Your victory points go down so you look weak and helpless (pretty much true).

Once this has been accomplished (by turn 2 at the latest) always buy one time machine per round since the only way to win the game is for the alienraceIplayed to know which turn the game is going to end and reverse all of the key events on that turn only. (Since you're going to lose that 15 extra bucks per round and have too many points to fain weakness.) Figure out who is going to stop time travel and "advise" them sufficiently such that you know/control when the game will end.

Scott's word to live by:
- Time Agent might be a keeper if the different character advantages don't get predictable
- For years now, "Guild counter in the salsa" was our worst disaster. Now that Mike B. has raised the bar, should we fear our next gaming session?

Joshua Brings the Hammer (2/15/1997)

Players: Allan (Harkonnen), Anne (did not play Dune), Brian (Fremen), Joshua (Atreides), Mike B. (Emporer), Mike C. (Guild), Scott (Bene Gesserit)

Dune...

What an effin' wipeout. Played four games, Joshua won three and we didn't finish the fourth. He brought the hammer alright, and my head still aches. We started out with Dune, skipping the Spice Harvest because of time constraints on one player (he had only three hours), though it turned out we should've played Spice Harvest and skipped Dune. First round was pretty boring, Atreides took Habbanya Ridge Sietch sans opposition (and with only two tokens), the Fremen got spice in The Great Flat. The Worm appeared and the Fremen rode it into Tuek's Sietch, and next turn, the Guild moved out for spice and the Emporer swooped in to fight the newly arrived Fremen in Tuek's. Everyone else passed until Atreides sold some information to the Emporer, which gave him just enough spice to ship into Sietch Tabr to battle the Fremen. The Bene Gesserit (and everyone else at the table) did not realize that this was for the win, and the spiritual sisters skipped their turn. This meant that an Atreides win in Sietch Tabr meant a one-player victory on turn two of a six-player game, which is exactly what happened as he wiped out the no-treachery-card Fremen and ended the game early.

Robo Rally...

After we detached our chins from the floor, we decided to play a serious game of Robo Rally. Mike C. screamed out to an early lead (first one to the second gameboard), while the other players bumped and lasered each other around on the massive "conveyer belt vortex." Allan reached the second gameboard next, and his reward was a robot that immediately spun into a small pit, and the "bots" got pretty spread out due to robots enticed by the edge of the board or Scott and Joshua's "laser-magnet-bots." Mike C. muddled around around between walls and lasers and couldn't get himself going, Scott's bot took serious damage and shutdown (while on a slow conveyer), while Joshua, Anne, and Allan rebuilt their robots and started over. Eventually, Mike was forced to shut down, and Brian flew into a pit; but restarting looked like a pretty good strategy when Allan got back to the second gameboard right away and Anne kicked ass with her nine cards. Scott avoided the crushers by swooping across them toward the backside conveyers. Mike B. stopped for multiple rounds on a repair spot to shed some damage, and Mike C.'s robot was finally compacted into a can and had to restart (though his archive point was close to the flag -- close geographically, that is), and Scott finally navigated the conveyers to land first on the first flag, which left only two flags to go.

Brian had to leave, so we removed his bot. Allan reached goal No. 1 next, and was hot on Scott's trail (and halfway to the next flag) when Mike B. made it. Joshua got there next, and Scott and Allan missed on their first pass at the 2nd flag, meanwhile, Mike C. and Anne pounded each other into oblivion at the edge of the board, and Mike's robot died as he was trying to shutdown whereas Anne rode the momentum of Mike's defeat to the first flag. The second flag was on the edge of the board and had three layers of conveyers between you and it, and was particularly difficult to reach, but Allan appeared to have it in sight when he changed his plan just before the timer sounded (we used a two minute timer). His new plan was safer, but he realized he would've gotten there with the old one and kicked himself the rest of the game. Scott shut down again (and again was on the conveyer at the time) Finally, after the shutdown, Scott reached the second flag, followed closely by Joshua and Anne (the latter of whom knocked the former off the board -- which was Joshua's third death and the end of the game for him). We called it quits then (with still one flag to go). Finally tally was as follows: Mike B., Mike C. & Allan reached the first flag, Allan nearly reached the second one (Anne nuked him before he got there) and Mike B. had the healthiest robot ever after spending multiple turns on repair spots. Scott, Anne, & Joshua reached the second flag, with Joshua knocked out of the game by Anne right afterward, and Scott on his way to the third flag, carrying no damage at all (and still on his first life).

Priceless...

Priceless went sour fast. In the first game, Joshua built an early lead with cars and coins, Mike B. and Scott competed for games and in the end they both lost (overpaying for half the points), and Mike wandered around the board because he had nothing together. The luck of the draw indicated that Joshua should win, and he did -- by about $500,000 -- as he locked up antiques, cars and coins (the three most valuable groups on the board).

The second game was more competitive, with Allan moving out to a quick lead (collecting antiques), Mike C. gaining when he lost an early auction to Scott (who once again overpaid -- this time for glassware). Joshua started slowly, lining up some stamps and card through shrewd trading, while Scott tried to recover by grouping clocks and one antique with his early glassware error. Mike started a nice collection of cars and married it to a chain in toys (and one glassware) that brought him to the lead for a moment before Allan filled in his third artwork item and catapulted back in front. Joshua added a few coins (and one jewelry) to his chain, and built momentum that appeared ready to carry him to second place.

Allan erronously thought Scott was ahead of Joshua and used an Auctioneer card to spoil Scott's attempt at a respectable last-place finish, and when Joshua bought his third stamp right afterward, Allan realized he should've saved that dastardly deed for Joshua. Mike could never finish his jewelery collection (price was driven through the roof), and that ultimately relegated him to 3rd place. The Joshua/Allan sweepstakes ended with Joshua at $1.4 million and Allan at $1.36 million -- our closest finish ever and quite a disappointment to Allan who might've won if he'd hosed Joshua rather than Scott.

A word from our winner, Joshua
For Dune:
"ANY time a player has two cities (no matter how weakly held), assume that his next move will be for the game and block him. Especially when he's got a mere 2 troops holding a city. Remember this: The more pathetic a player looks the more he deserves to be in tanks instead of being in a city. If nothing else lobby to pay someone to eradicate the weakest city held. Otherwise you might as well go for the six player alliance."

For Priceless:
"Don't listen to the bull look at their points. That's where the real money comes from. Keep a tally of how many checks each player has spent and you immediately know how much their worth and probably where they're headed next. Also, if you go with a middle group then don't plan on buying the 4th item; it's just way too expensive. However if you go with one of the outer groups then it's just a measely $100,000 for the 4th item and you still get the 10 bonus points. Two adjacent outer groups can be worth way more than solid inner groups since they won't deplete your check supply while your building up points. One check makes a difference big time."

Scott's words to live by:
- Joshua was lucky enough to follow both his Priceless strategies in one night -- and win twice
- In Robo Rally, anyone else notice the correlation between the name "Anne" and the phrase "knocked out of the game"?
- Also in Robo Rally, don't give up a life too easily; shutting down for a turn is better because you don't go back to your archive point and you (usually) come back with fewer damage points
- Next time I'm that far behind in Priceless, I vow to cheat
- I propse a variant on 1830 where we play Spice Harvest first for either cash or stock in companies. This might eliminate some of the predictability of the game

Priceless Games (11/16/1996)

Players: Joshua, Mike, Scott

You gotta love Priceless, a game with blank checks that can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars (especially considering that you start with NINE of them). Leaping off point for this game: players start with little cash and a bunch of blank checks (that are also worth little, at first), and they then purchase collectible objects (from Art to Cars to Cards). Buying additional items within one category increases the value of your collection but is also more difficult financially, and putting together "chains" of items (i.e. items that connect to each other on the game board) builds your wealth faster as well. At game's end, the player with the greatest value (comprised of cash on hand and value of remaing blank checks) wins.

I won't describe all three games we played (play time is roughly one hour per game), so I'll just provide some specific rememberances and general principles that we discovered while playing. I remember Scott won all three games -- there, I said it, and I'm glad. The first game started out close, with all three of us trying to put together chains, without spending too many checks. The strategy of the game dictates that you cannot use all your checks if you expect to win, so we all struggled with the balance of saving checks and building income so that we could make future purchases in cash. In the first game, Mike and Scott managed that balance better than Joshua, who eventually overspent checks to start his first chain. No specific turning point stands out, but Mike and Joshua battled over some similar objects d'art, while Scott built a collection along the western side of the board. Joshua and Mike traded property cards a few times, and Mike made it out of the cellar first, followed by Scott.

We encourage trading as it makes the game more interactive and interesting and offsets the luck factor (which can become enormous if players don't trade). In the third game, early trading between Joshua and the two other players put Mike out in front at first, and a late trade between Mike and Scott locked in two entire categories for Scott and a long chain for Mike. However, you should always (and only) trade when it helps you corner a certian category or build a chain for yourself. In fact, this strategy worked for both Mike and Scott in the last game, where Scott collected within a category while Mike traded and auctioned effectively enough to chain seven items together; in the end, both players built their buying power exponentially and raced toward the finish and ended up within 15% of each other. Overall, the first and third games were competitive whereas the second game was a wipeout.

A word from our winner, Scott
"At first, this game feels like a delicate balance between building your wealth while trying to save blank checks for the end, but the more we play it, the more it appears that you simply have to bite the bullet and spend checks aggressively to get over the income hump. That hump is the point at which you can purchase a property each round (up to about $35,000) without spending checks; that way, you can build within a category without suffering much and you can effectively bid on items in an effort to get them or to make others pay more for them."

Scott's words to live by:
1. If an auctioned item is worth $20,000 to you and $100,000 to another player, force that player to PAY for it. Lack of blank checks hurts more than plenty of collectibles helps
2. If given a choice, build within a category rather than in a chain
3. If your hand stinks, don't pass your turn until you've explored all trading opportunities