Unity Games V
Games Played: Set, Chrononauts, Culture Shock, Through the Desert, Elfenland, Quiddler, Mexica
Players: Chip, Sara, Lewis, Rob, Eric, Mark, Don, Pete, Kaj, Ralph, Vitas, Ben
I'd like to offer my thanks to those who organized this even and kept it running smoothly throughout the day.
SET
Sara and I played a game of Set with another person (I didn't catch his name). We went to start the next game before I tallied up the score.
CHRONONAUTS
(0:25)
Lewis (won)
Rob, Eric, Mark, Don, Chip, Sara (lost)
(0:25)
Eric (won)
Won, Chip, Sara, Lewis (lost)
This was a fun quick game for any number of players. We had to put in some effort to keep the game from dragging, as there were a lot of things to keep track of (speaking as a first time player). I'd be willing to play this game again.
CULTURE SHOCK (0:25)
Kaj: 0 pieces remaining (won)
Chip: 3
Pete: 4
Sara: 6
After 15 minutes of going over the rules (and all the various exceptions), and suggesting the "ideal play", I dealt out the cards and we began play. This is a pretty quick game that I enjoy despite a high randomness factor. At one point, I was able to block Sara off with markers and my playing token. I don't think Kaj or Pete particularly liked this game, but I'd still play it again.
THROUGH THE DESERT (0:44 - including rules and setup)
Sara: 71
Kaj: 62
Chip: 57
Pete: 56
Sara and I were drawn to the theme of this game, being "camels" (alumni of Connecticut College) ourselves. Kaj did an excellent job of explaining the rules. I thought I was being clever by quietly sectioning off areas of the map with my camels, but I neglected the "longest camel chain" aspect of the game. I enjoyed this game, and it's prompted me to consider various strategies, so I look forward to playing it again.
ELFENLAND (1:20 - delayed a bit by the prize drawing)
Kaj: 6 5 6 2 - 19 (2) closest to elvenhold
Chip: 6 5 5 3 - 19 (2)
Sara: 6 5 5 3 - 19 (0)
Ralph: 6 5 5 1 - 17
Pete: 3 6 6 1 - 16
Yet again, I was unable to completely resist the temptation to be "greedy" and maximize a single round (3) at the cost of the overall game. Despite obstacles in Kaj's way, he managed to get 2 of his remaining 3 cities and end up closer to elvenhold, thus winning the game.
Ralph mentioned the fact that every time he plays this game with me (twice, so far), most of the face-up tiles end up being clouds that no one wants. Last time we played, Vitas suggested an alternate rule - if all the face up tiles are the same, they should be mixed back into the face-down pile, and 5 new ones should be revealed. Of course, I'm sure the first time I play with this rule, I'll be the one that wants clouds (:
I'm increasingly suprised at how the length of this game has decreased. Even with the occasional pauses to listen for door prize numbers, it was under 1 and a half hours. I'd play this game again.
QUIDDLER
Sara 255
Kaj 213
Vitas 184
Chip 164
This is a fun little word game that we played while devouring a pizza. This is the lowest score I've ever gotten in this game. In fact, the first turn, Sara was the only one able to put down any words at all, netting her both bonuses. I'd play this game again, it makes a nice filler that can be stopped at any time. It also provides a break from thinking strategically, as it requires creative thought instead.
MEXICA (2:06)
Ben: 54 134
Vitas: 23 109
Chip: 34 100
Rules explanation took 20 minutes.
I enjoyed this game more then Java. The scoring mechanism seemed more transparent throughout the game, and each player will get an equal number of turns. I think Ben had the best strategy (as shown by the final scores), and in particular he manages to squirrel away quite a few extra-action tokens. I tried to discipline myself into only using 4 actions/turn to save up some tokens myself, but I couldnt' seem to do anything worthwhile without using most of my allotted action points each turn.
This game took quite a while, and we all got bogged down towards the end, trying to think of the best way to spend each turn. As much as I enjoy the mechanics of this game, I still think that it's not enough of a return on an investment of over 2 hours time.
TIKAL (2:24 - with rules explanation)
Kaj: 147
Sara: 138
John: 122
I didn't participate in this game, but we watched it develop, as both games shared a table. I thought I'd record the length of the game and the final scores for anyone who cares to know them (:
posted by FlyingSheep @ 3:41 PM
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