by William Ernest Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of t h e years
Finds, and sha ll find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
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That may be too grand an opening for a board game blog, but it's a well-regarded poem about the will to survive in the face of a severe test. This is how it often feels on a Wednesday evening when facing up against gamers that I have little to no chance of besting! But I survive, and come back relishing the chance to survive, and maybe win.
This week, 8 of us split into 3 groups. Aaron and Neil (the elder) learnt and played Nexus Ops followed by Eight-Minute Empires, Jon, Simon and Peter M gave Brew Crafters another outing and David, Neil (the younger) and I played Roll for the Galaxy for the 3rd week running. Considering the relatively short playing time, this game feels quite meaty, full of decisions and strategy and fun dice rolling! Neil showed his prowess with a comfortable (and slightly inevitable victory), establishing a very impressive colony of green worlds to exploit. We then continued our sci-fi dice manipulation theme with a game of Alien Frontiers (a first play for David); Neil once again claimed victory, finishing the game with his last colony before we could catch up. Meanwhile, Jon was once again giving his competitors a mauling in Brew Crafters; at least this week he didn't loudly complain that he was going to lose!
Neil (the elder) and Aaron joined us and we played a first round of Bang! the dice game before Simon, Jon and Peter M brought us up to a full compliment of 8 for a second round. Neil (the elder) and David won the first round as the Outlaws; the second round was won by Neil (the elder) as the Sheriff and David and me as his deputies (despite the fact that we unknowingly attacked each other and were both deceased at the end). Such is life, or at least the rules of Bang! the dice game.
Brew Crafters
Jon 84
Simon 58
Peter M 40
Nexus Ops
Aaron 12
Neil (elder) 6
Eight-Minute Empire
Aaron 16
Neil (elder) 15
Roll for the Galaxy
Neil (younger) 40
David 33
Peter H 30
Alien Frontiers
Neil (younger) 9
Peter H 7
David 6
Bang! the dice game #1
David* Outlaw
Neil (elder)* Outlaw
Aaron
Neil (younger)
Peter H
*Winners
Bang! the dice game #2
David* Deputy
Neil (elder)* Sheriff
Peter H* Deputy
Aaron
Jon
Neil (younger)
Peter M
Simon
My gamer of the week goes to Aaron for wins in Nexus Ops and Eight-Minute Empire.