Session Report for July 8, 2004

by Susan Rozmiarek

There were not many new games played this week or ones that need a lot of comments. So, this report will be brief. Previous reports cover these games in more detail.

 

Anno 1503

Another playing of Mayfair's upcoming release of the Kosmos game, this time with four players. I think I failed to teach it well this time, as I was distracted. Rick and Rhonda had a lot of questions throughout the game and it seemed to drag on longer than it should. Nonetheless, I still found it enjoyable. Mark took the win just when I was so very close to fulfilling two of the victory conditions to win, myself. Darn it.

Mark, Rhonda, Susan and Rick go exploring in Anno 1503.

The Anno 1503 exploration board at the end of the game.

Iglu Iglu

This still seems to go over well with everyone to whom I have taught it. It has a good mix of luck and tactics. There is definitely the danger of it bogging down due to analysis paralysis at times, but with the right players this will not be a problem. I found myself, on my last turn, able to end the game and move one Inuit by kayak. I had several options and each one gave me points and took away points from somebody else. The only way for me to truly make the optimal move would have been calculating everyone's points first. This would have taken forever and would not have been enjoyable for anyone, especially me. So, I did my best with a quick assessment and my gut feeling. As it turns out I won, but it was a close game.

I am still just teaching the base rules, but next time I want to play with the "gamer variant" of igloos blocking other players' movement. The scoring seems fine the way it is. Squaring the value of an island for a lone occupant seems too big of a reward, but you just have to adjust your play and take it into account.

Mark, Rhonda, Susan and Rick melt the ice of Iglu Iglu.	Ah Mark, don't you know you can't escape the camera?
The Iglu Iglu board, early in the game.	A close up of the Iglu Iglu board.

Winds of Plunder

Another playing of the demo copy of Winds of Plunder before sending the copy back to the developer. Sign up for a copy via the GMT P500 list, this game deserves to be published!

Jeff Sims, Bobby Warren and Ed play the demo copy of Winds of Plunder.

Maharaja

I still haven't gotten to play this one yet! Reported by Ed:
Another playing of this new Rio Grande release. We almost got all the rules right this time. We misplayed one concerning paying for movement, but it went over well again. Oh well, must play it again to make sure we get it right. One hint, get some cash early.

Jeff Sims, Bobby, Jon and Ed give Maharaja a go.

The Maharaja board, mid game.

Other Games

More new Rio Grande releases got played including Saint Petersburg and Goa. The top two scores in the Saint Petersburg game were in the 130's, the highest I've heard. Maybe because it was a three player game?

The Goa game was very close with the final scores coming in at 42, 41 and 39, but I think there was some controversy about them.

Adam, Jeff Ford and Jon play Saint Petersburg.

Francesca, Peter, Jeff Ford and Adam build their spice businesses in Goa.

For more pictures from this gaming session and others, see our Gaming Picture Gallery.

Posted by Susan Rozmiarek at July 15, 2004 4:36 PM