Games Played: RoboRally, Turnabout, Yinsh, Hera and Zeus
Gamers: Vitas, Mark, Chip, Rob, Josh, Chris
Thanks to Rob for hosting!
ROBORALLY
Vitas: won
Rob, Josh: lost
Chip, Mark: left
Mark suggested RoboRally at the start of evening (actually, I think at least one hand of Set occurred before I arrived). The configuration of the game varied over time. With four players and 3 checkpoints (essentially two), it looked like a game that could complete within two hours or so, quite possibly less. Before we began, the game expanded to five players and 4 checkpoints. By the time the game ended, there were only three players left in the game (I don't know how many checkpoints were actually reached before Vitas was declared the winner).
When Chris arrived, I offered to exit the game (only a single turn had passed so far, so I felt that I had made minimal impact on the game). While leaving a game prematurely is not something I want to make a habit of, I think it was better than sending Chris home for hours until the game was finished. I admit to feeling bad about the decision, but I think it was the best choice in the circumstances. Unfortunately, Mark also had to leave early, leaving Vitas, Rob, and Josh to finish the game.
I agree with Josh's assessment that the options and the particular boards that we started with were complicated - perhaps adding too much analysis for inexperienced players (such as myself). I'm curious what a bare-bones game of RoboRally would be like - without options and with relatively simple boards. I think that the unpredictability of the other player's actions (limited, as they are, with the random distribution of cards) would keep the game from being boring. I'd like to at least give it a try sometime.
TURNABOUT (0:10)
Chip: won (defense)
Chris: lost (offense)
Mark recommended this simple game. I recalled reading about it in a previous SR, so I was happy to give it a try. I chose what I believe is the easier role of Defense, and we were off. This game wasn't really to Chris's tastes, so we didn't play a second game (with reversed roles). I'd be willing to try it again to see if the defense player really has an advantage.
YINSH (0:21)
Chris: 3
Chip: 1
Chris offered to teach me Yinsh, and I gladly accepted. I really like Dvonn (although I haven't played it recently), and I was curious about other games in the Gipf series.
The games have similar bits that look appealing while the game is in progress. One difference between this game an Dvonn is that (in most cases) your opponent can only score when you overlook something. Perhaps this problem will go away as I gain experience in the game. I look forward to playing this game again soon.
HERA AND ZEUS (0:20)
Chip: won
Chris: lost
After Yinsh, Chris also taught me Hera and Zeus. I had read over the rules months ago, but hadn't played it before now. My opening hand had a number of strong creatures (5s) and Zeus, so I filled my front row with my best cards and planned for an aggressive start.
During my second turn, I spent all four actions attacking and eliminated two of Chris's columns. With his single action during his turn, he used a Pegasus to remove Zeus. On the following turn, my Giant wiped out the rest of his creatures.
While this short game didn't allow me to explore it in any depth, I enjoyed it, and look forward to playing again. Chris was kind enough to lend me the game.
posted by FlyingSheep @ 12:10 PM
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