A fellow BGGer (Boardgamegeek.com), Rhonda, started a local gaming group at her house. A few months ago we were introduced to each other at Great Oaks Board Game Days. After chatting over a game we realized we lived close to each other. She mentioned she wanted to start a local group.
Fast forward to the 29th of December and we join her for her first official game night. We ended up with a maximum of 6 players but had 7 people come and go though out the night. All of us brought games and some brought more than others. There were stacks of games, ranging from fillers like No Thanks to heavier fare like Agricola. Honestly there were more games than we would ever play, which afforded us with plenty of options for the whole night.
Here is a list of what was played over the course of the night.
Guillotine
I was running late due to a previous engagement, so they were just finishing a game of Guillotine. As filler games go, Guillotine is a fun, back stabbing card game. The object is to score the most nobles during 3 days of execution during the French Revolution. The key is to manipulate the noble line and capture the higher pointed nobles and avoid the negative pointed heroes.
TransAmerica
Five of us sat down and played TransAmerica while waiting for another player to show up. I ended up losing horribly as I crossed the end of the track, triggering the end of the game. TransAmerica is a simple game of laying tracks and connecting 5 cities. It is helpful if other players build track you can piggy back on so you don't have to do all the work.
I could not get any cities that were close and I was all over the map. This was my second time playing this game and I am not a fan. I feel the city cards have to much randomness and if a fellow player doesn't build track close to your cities, you can lose bad. -8 points bad for me one turn.
Agricola
The final player showed up as we were setting up Agricola. Three of us decided to play as farmers and the others went off to choose a different game. This was my second time playing and I felt I was doing much better this time around but ended up third in points.
I had some decent occupations that helped me snag plenty of wood and fish. I just failed to purchase a little bit of everything and suffered to many negative points in the end. I don't mind Agricola but I am so bad at worker placement games. I fail to grasp which task is best for me at the time.
Eminent Domain
This managed to get played while I was farming on the moor. I believe two of the three were new players and I have no idea who won. I was concentrating too much on food production.
7 Wonders with Leaders
We managed to finish Agricola in time for all 6 of us to join in a 6 player game of 7 Wonders. We opted to play with the Leaders expansion, since we all have player before.
I like 7 Wonders for what it is, a light civilization card game. I had never played with the Leaders before and boy can they help you score some big points in the end.
Citadels
Citadels was chosen as a quick game to finish out the night. Now I don't know about you, but I have never found this game to be quick. It seems to me so many people stare and lock up at all the choices when picking a role.
I ended up tying a first time player at the end of the game. It was funny because if I didn't have the Merchant, she did. I was a little more obvious as I had 3 green buildings in my district, but no one made an assassination attempt on the Merchant when I had the role.
Final Thoughts
It was a good time for a first meeting and I want to thank Rhonda again for the use of her house. I look forward to our monthly meetings and who knows, maybe we will get more people.
I also plan on taking more notes of final scores and bring a camera to capture our gaming moments. Besides, who doesn't like to look at pictures of people having fun.
Geeks present: Eidolon, Emcglohon, Rj_berg, Tanzania and Pescime
