Friday, February 21, 2003

Games played: Talisman, Cannes
Players: Mark, Josh, Eric, Lewis, Vitas, Justin, Chip

Thanks to Mark for hosting (with little notice)
Thanks to Lewis for giving me a ride.

TALISMAN (1:00 - limit set before we started. 22 minutes setup)
Mark, Josh, Eric, Lweis, Vitas, Justin: lost
Chip: won

I managed to make a number of lucky draws, and headed toward the inner loop when I noticed that the hour time limit was about to expire.
This is a fun game that's pretty easy to jump into. I would highly recommend using dice instead of the fiddly little cardboard counters that come with the game.
I enjoyed this game, and I think it's a good game for RPGer's that don't like (read: haven't been exposed to) other more interesting games.

CANNES (1:16 + 0:19 setup)
Chip: 39
Josh: 28
Mark: 26
Vitas: 15

I've never won two games in a single night before. It might be a while before it happens again, so I figured I'd mention it while I had the chance.
I'd be very intersted to see how this game would play out again. As we were all new, we didn't know what to expect, and my early lead was more chance then anything else.
I'd like to recommend a slight alteration of the game (which should have no impact other then possibly speeding the game up a bit, and making the downtime less onerous). At the start of each player's turn, they draw three tiles and then decide what to do. Instead, each player could start with the three tiles for the first turn, and then draw tiles at the END of each turn (to use next time) instead. That way, each player could do a little planning while the other players take their turns. What do you think?
By the way, in Culture Shock (which I enjoy) each player replenishes his/her hand at the end of each turn, and doesn't draw at the start of the next turn. This can help the game go really quickly (especially if all players have played before).