GCOM Game Days report

[kmusser]

So it's a day late. Anyway games played: Alhambra (twice), Anno 1503 (with expansion), Dominion (twice), Imperial, Insider Trading (twice), Kreta, La Citta, Ming Dynastie, Pandemic, Race for the Galaxy (twice), Rheinlander, Ticket to Ride, Ticket to Ride: Switzerland, Uptown, Vikings



Insider Trading is the stock market game. It's a basic buy low, sell high, make the most money kind of thing, but on your turn you get to play a card affecting the prices and act on it before the other players do (representing your inside info). It was fairly well received and I got some good suggestions for it. The ending mechanism doesn't work very well as written but could easily be fixed. Like many Dad's designs it definitely have the feel of an American designed game (read too long, too many fiddly bits and too many special rules) - I think I'd need to Euro-ize it a little for it to become publishable.

Dominion - A not yet published game from Rio Grande (they're aiming for Essen). A rather unique card game in that you build your deck over the course of the game. You have gold cards which you can use to buy special ability cards, more gold cards, or victory point cards which go into your deck and will come up when you reshuffle. In many ways manages to capture the feel of a CCG without actually being one. I liked it and will probably buy it when it comes out.

Ming Dynastie - an abstract area control type game, decent, but I wasn't wowed by it, felt similar to a lot of other games out there.

Pandemic - a cooperative game in which you are CDC types trying to stave off world-wide epidemics, pretty neat, we managed to win, but it was definitely a close thing.

Thanks largely to byronczimmer I've come to see the light regarding Race for the Galaxy, I'll pick that up with the next reprint.

I was hoping to get in games of Kingsburg and Agricola which were getting quite a bit of play, but didn't manage it. Agricola especially I'd like to try before buying, Kingsburg I already know I like.

Comments

[byronczimmer.livejournal.com]

What'd I do to convince you about RftG, at least at GCOM. You weren't at the table I taught it to, and unless I had an out of body experience, we didn't play it together.

(I did teach it to 3 new players, who seemed to get it pretty quickly, but then had to bolt since it was very late on Saturday and we had no hotel for that night (and didn't want one) ).

It's no secret I like the game, which is surprising since I San Juan left me pretty flat (and still does actually).

As to Agricola - we'll have our set whenever they actually get shipped - and will bring it to the next available GCOM:BitB gathering.

[kmusser]

Nothing at GCOM, it was the opportunities for repeated plays at Katsucon and in Brunswick. My 1st play left me feeling it was overly complicated for what it was, but it's definitely grown on me since. I was pleased when I was able to completely school a group of experienced players at GCOM (I was playing New Earth - everything lined up, won with 53, the low score in the game was 38).

[byronczimmer.livejournal.com]

It is usually on the 3rd or 4th game that everything clicks and you 'get it'.

Prin and I had the benefit of a captive audience (each other) and a long train ride to get over the hump quickly.

The expansion comes soon (if not delayed AGAIN) and I expect that the 'complete' game (aka, w/ both expansions) will prove to be as rich as Puerto Rico without the time commitment.

Glad to hear you like it. I usually have this one in the car when we're heading to a 'game location'.

[byronczimmer.livejournal.com]

I'm also glad the last time we played it together didn't sour your opinion due to analysis paralysis issues.