With 6 attendees, we split into two groups. Jon “Princess” Gameson, Sam Brooks and Peter Measham took Trains for another spin while Chris Phillips, Ash Southcott and myself took some tentative steps into the world of Martin Wallace with Mythotopia. Jon once again claimed victory in Trains (there seems to be a theme developing here) securing 41 victory points and just seeing off the challenge of Sam with 39 points. Peter came third with 33 points.
was about as different to Sleeping Queens as Cersei Lannister is to Hodor: difficult, frustrating and often inexplicable as opposed to simple and gentle. Created by Chris’ favourite designer, Mythotopia is a medieval/fantasy-themed area control/deck building game where players squabble over a fantasy world to conquer territories and build cities and castles. Often area control equates to warfare and military power is a part of this game; however, it is not the whole story. Players could quite successfully claim victory without ever attacking another player by focussing on building instead. This feels like a nice dynamic as not all players are equally bloodthirsty; conversely, some gamers might find building to be rather pedestrian compared to the thrill of trying to take over the world. Having said that, I found this to be a game with one of the steepest learning curves since I got into the hobby; with most new games I might take a round or two before starting to get the hang of it. We were fully one hour into his one before the penny finally dropped and I started to understand what makes this game tick, and I believe it’s very clever. I also believe that it is not for everyone; however, you could say that about every game under the sun. Suffice it to say, I think you’ll know after one play of this if it’s your cup of tea or not. I would love to play this again; Ash I suspect would not touch it with The Mountain’s lance. Final scores showed that this time military was might as my aggressive confrontational strategy paid off and gained me 55 points. Chris, my victim, claimed second with 49 and Ash got 32. Mythotopia
Meanwhile, Jon gained another victory, this time in Love Letter, getting to 5 points first. Sam came second with 4 while Peter M finished with 2. This left just enough time for more of a ‘party’ game, breaking open Say Anything for the first time. Judging by the fun we had, this is a game that will get more plays in future as it rewards humorous and creative thinking while also giving the opportunity to be uncommonly rude to your fellow players. One player selects a card and picks one of the questions; all the other players write what they consider a good answer to the question. For example, ‘What would make me more hip?’ says Ash. ‘Having less gut’ says I. The player who posed the question then secretly chooses their favourite answer and the other players vote on which answer they think that person preferred. Every player has 2 chips to bet on anyone’s answer (including their own). If your answer is selected by the question master then you also earn 1 point. Based on the experience of this play, more often than not, the successful answer will somehow have the word ‘hoverboard’ in it *your experiences may differ*. After each player has posed 2 questions the game is over and the scores are tallied up.
Jon – 15
Sam – 15
Ash - 13
Peter M – 12
Peter H – 10
Chris – 7
We were feeling so festive that the tie made us all go home with harmony and peace in our hearts…until next time that is.
My gamer of the week goes to Sam for his pioneering use of the word ‘hoverboard’ in Say Anything.
I would also like to give Jon the 2014 special award for attending every session of BBG so far.
Bring on 2015…