Dreamt about attacking tigers last night. Hmmm...
I also played a few more duels of Magic online. I decided to try the blue deck, and it worked very well. During the second game, I had the rare pleasure of beating someone who decided to start out the match with a rather rude comment. Once I got two Theiving Magpies in the air, I had more cards at my disposal than I knew what to do with, and defeated him easily.
I'll add to my previous complaints. I've had a number of opponents who, realizing that they are about to lose, disconnect from the system. I'm not sure there's anything else for me to do but concede, in order to start another game. I should think that, when there's only one person left at the table and the game isn't finished yet, the remaining person should be granted a win, or at least a draw, rather then having to give up. It doesn't really matter, of course, but it does leave a bad taste in my mouth.
I've got Feedreader now instead, and it works much better.
I've been playing Magic online a bit the last few days - just the free trial version. For the free trial, you're limited to constructed play with 5 decks (one of each color). So far, I've played with the black and green decks, mostly the latter.
It's great to be able to play Magic at any time. However, the interface still leaves a bit to be desired. The ability to request and grant "undos" should be more available to each player, as this happens all the time when playing casually ("I'm going to tap 3 forrests, no wait, I'm going to tap 2 instead"). Tapping lands for mana should be undoable without your opponent's consent (as long as you haven't used the mana). There are a few other minor things, but taken as a whole, I don't have a strong desire to start buying virtual cards.
Of course, for free, it's a great deal. I figure there's still a few hours of enjoyable gameplay left, more if I try to explore all the decks to some level of detail. And when ninth edition comes out, I'll probably play again.
I've got Awasu, and it slows my computer down a lot. I've got to try a different RSS reader.
I think someone should create a parody of neoPets called NeoPests.
Session Report: November 3, 2003
Games Played: Parts Unknown
Gamers: Mark, Lewis, Vitas, Josh, Chip, Mike, Joyce
Thanks to Mark for hosting. This was Joyce's first (and hopefully not last) appearance at a SOG session.
PARTS UNKNOWN (2:20 + 0:21 rules and setup)
Lewis: 408
Mark: 349
Vitas: 349
Mike: 342
Josh: 320
Chip: 309
Joyce: 289
Josh wanted to bring out this Cheapass game and, as there were no other suggestions for 7 player games, we decided to play it. The theme, like other Cheapass games, includes mad scientists and various body parts (include "Giblets", pronounced with either a hard or soft G, depending on how much you wanted to infuriate Josh). During your turn, you purchase cards from the deck (or other players) and price the cards you have selected to sell. Additional selling spaces ("shelves") are available for purchase. A die roll determines the type and amount of body part that is in demand for that turn.
There was a certain amount of down time, which is more or less inevitable when seven people sit down to play a 2+ hour game. Fortunately, each player took his or her turn fairly quickly, and there wasn't a lot of room for analysis paralysis.
Personally, I didn't get a good sense of how other players were doing, or even how I was doing as the game progressed. Ultimately, I'd have to say that the game didn't really engage me as much as I had hoped it would. There isn't anything with the game itself that I can single out as offensive to me, it is remarkably well balanced for a Cheapass game, and didn't have any obvious flaws. I would avoid playing it again anytime soon, but it might be okay to drag out once a year or so.
So, I've removed Arrows and the Secret Deals sections of the website. Please let me know if this affects you greatly.
Session Report: October 31, 2003
Games Played: Carcassonne (H+G), Bohnanza, Electronic Catchphrase
Gamers: Chip, Liz, Sara, Leah, Rob, Jim, Shaun
In between handing out candy, and getting take-out Indian and Thai food, we were able to play a handful of games.
CARCASSONNE (Hunters and Gatherers)
Chip: 87
Shaun: 78
Liz: 68
Jim: 83
Carcassonne is a very interruption-friendly game, which was good, as I left every few seconds to answer the door or do other hostish duties. Sara offered advice to the other players (only Liz had played once before), such as "ignore the fishing huts, they're never worth much." As a result, I was one of the only players to use one of my huts!
Early on, Shaun claimed a field complete with the tiger-banishing fire. I then drew the stonehenge tile and placed it close to his field, but he got just the right combination of tiles to block me out before I could sweep in for the kill.
I really like this game, and look forward to playing it again. I'm convinced that it would make a good introduction game for non-gamers.
BOHNANZA (1:05)
Sara: 14
Rob: 12
Chip: 12
Leah: 11
Jim: 11
Liz: 10
After dinner, we decided to play Bohnanza, one of my favorite games for a larger group of people, as the downtime is minimal. There was a hint of PA during the game, but not too much, as the whole game took about an hour. As I predicted, Sara won by a (relatively) large margin.
This is another good gaming staple. Most memorable quote from the game? "I'm going to burn the stink."
ELECTRONIC CATCHPHRASE (0:17, 0:13)
Rob, Jim, Chip: 14
Sara, Leah, Liz: 8
We played two rounds of guys vs gals, with the guys winning each round. Believe it or not, "Stink bean" was one of the words that came up. The timing mechanism seems to make this game too random to take seriously, but it is fun.
Happy Monday!
Last year, kids started trick-or-treating really early, and I was surprised. This year, I decided that I would be ready, and had my costume on and the candy on hand at 4:00. For the next two hours, no one came. I began to suspect that all the kids had decided to go out the night before, instead. Around 6:30, though, they started to arrive. They continued, in a pretty steady stream, for the next two hours.
Hope you all got lots of good candy (:
