Encore une meurtre

Glad to hear The Bloody Inn went down well.

Lucky really, because I already had the expansion on order!

More people!
More disease!
More money!
More bonuses!

Bed and Board Games

The Bloody Inn

As I’m the most irregular of the St Albans gamers, I hadn’t played this game before.

Ostensibly, this was a game about provincial French innkeepers trying to make a living during the 1800's. We were to do this by having and keeping guests, which seemed fair enough but then by also bribing them and/or murdering them.

The game mechanics were complicated but not too bad compared to many of the other games I’ve been presented with, and I had a pretty fair grasp on them as we began play.

Unfortunately, my ‘Softy Walter’ personality came to the fore again…

I was uncomfortable with the murdery aspect of the game so decided just to try to make an honest-ish profit.

Make some money through bed and board, do a bit of bribery and add several extensions to my hostel.

I was playing Monopoly while everyone else was playing Murder-in-the-Dark!

In the end, group generosity granted me the win, as one of the two rules I’d failed to comprehend, should have cost me the game.

I assumed that the francs limit would expire at the end of the game.

Also, the ‘Key’ thing confused me a bit.

Thanks for the kindness boys.

Overall, a good game with creepy, ‘Gauguin-like’ artwork, that I’d more than happily play again.

I’d give this game:

Four, bloody thumbs ups out of five.

:)

"Murder the child and bribe the fat policeman" - Great game :)

Castles of ‘Ron’ Burgundy

Just a note to thank Assif for hosting a fantastic first game of the year!

As I’ve previously stated, Assif took pains to study, understand and explain the rules.

The two Dans listened carefully while I munched down revolting Twiglets and gagged (three of four times) at the ultimately inedible Truffle flavoured ‘gourmet’ crisps.

(Apologies for my ingratitude and terrible manners.)

I’m usually baffled by the rules explanation portion of all of our games sessions and try instead to learn as I go.

And though this game had several similarities to some of the other ‘world/farm/city’ building games we’ve played previously, the only thing I really took in was when Assif said:

‘The Mines are useless’.

My twisted thought process took this to mean ‘Assif wouldn’t try to get any of them and therefore more mines for me’.

Also, if I was lucky, the Dans would trust and follow Assif’s lead.

Using up all my little die altering men in the first round, I managed to buy two mines and one more in the second.

Ultimately, all they did was to provide a small but regular income.

An income that effectively gave me an extra turn or two per round.

Those extra turns enabled me to buy five more tiles and so therefore gave me a hefty advantage over everyone else.

Although I did enjoy the final book-keeping phase, where my little black marker tromped around the board overtaking Proper Dan and Assif, my victory was simply down to a knee-jerk decision at the beginning of the first round.

Great game, great night and great ‘Ron Burgundy’ joke, all provided by Assif!

:)

1st game night of 2017 postponed

Due to general post-christmas malaise, lack of interest and absence due to "illness", we are postpoining tonight's game night.

TBA

Christmas Gifts to oneself

So, tell me. What Board Game related gifts did we get for ourselves this year?

Mine include Castles of Burgundy, Skull and Cash'n'Guns!

That Code Name Game!

Another new game and another winner!

I loved this game as it featured many of the idiosyncrasies of the English language.

I was tied in knots by all the homophones and the weirdly different but similar word options.

Thankfully, my scatter-gun/brain tactics and clues were interpreted masterfully by a stunningly astute Scott.

I hereby bagsy him as my team mate for every future Code Name game.

I know what I'm buying my eldest this year!

:)

Munchkin was fun too, as it was a nice change to actually understand the rules of the game I was playing.

Annoying that the games was won by someones (Scott and Assif?) else though.

Damn ‘Divine Intervention’!

:(

Herman the German Merman

Whilst aboard a large and luxurious sailing ship, you’re approached by a group of friendly Mermen. Their handsome leader smiles and waves, as he calls out a charming, if heavily accented, greeting.

Do you:

A) With dampened down towels and chaise lounges provided, invite them aboard for a nice cold glass of Riesling and a bit of a chat?

Go to 187

B) Engage in a trade based conversation via loud hailer, while they remain at a distance and in the water?

Go to 224

C) Mercilessly attack them from a safe distance with bales of flaming death from the ships many catapults?

Go to 731

D) Hurriedly unfurl the ships sails, throw all weighty and valuable merchandise over the side and flee screaming at maximum knotage?

Go to 461

E) Offer them money. Power too. Offer them all that you have and more?

Go to 937

187: Herman the friendly German Merman laughs happily as his underlings set fire to your ship, sinking it and killing everyone aboard other than you. All your treasure is lost and you wake lying prostrate across some floating flotsam. One eye is full of tears, the other full of sharp wooden splinters.

Lose five Wealth levels and three Destiny levels but gain one Story level, a ‘Oh my God, I’ve lost a fricking eye, Permanent vision loss’ card AND a ‘Survivors guilt’ card.

223: Herman the friendly German Merman laughs happily as his underlings set fire to your ship, sinking it and killing everyone aboard other than you. All your treasure is lost and you wake lying prostrate across some floating flotsam. One eye is full of tears, the other full of sharp wooden splinters.

Lose five Wealth levels and three Destiny levels but gain one Story level, a ‘Oh my God, I’ve lost a fricking eye, Permanent vision loss’ card AND a ‘Survivors guilt’ card.

461: Herman the friendly German Merman laughs happily as his underlings set fire to your ship, sinking it and killing everyone aboard other than you. All your treasure is lost and you wake lying prostrate across some floating flotsam. One eye is full of tears, the other full of sharp wooden splinters.

Lose five Wealth levels and three Destiny levels but gain one Story level, a ‘Oh my God, I’ve lost a fricking eye, Permanent vision loss’ card AND a ‘Survivors guilt’ card.

731: Herman the friendly German Merman laughs happily as his underlings set fire to your ship, sinking it and killing everyone aboard other than you. All your treasure is lost and you wake lying prostrate across some floating flotsam. One eye is full of tears, the other full of sharp wooden splinters.

Lose five Wealth levels and three Destiny levels but gain one Story level, a ‘Oh my God, I’ve lost a fricking eye, Permanent vision loss’ card AND a ‘Survivors guilt’ card.

937: Herman the friendly German Merman laughs happily as his underlings set fire to your ship, sinking it and killing everyone aboard other than you. All your treasure is lost and you wake lying prostrate across some floating flotsam. One eye is full of tears, the other full of sharp wooden splinters.

Lose five Wealth levels and three Destiny levels but gain one Story level, a ‘Oh my God, I’ve lost a fricking eye, Permanent vision loss’ card AND a ‘Survivors guilt’ card.

The ‘Oh my God, I’ve lost a fricking eye, Permanent vision loss’ card.
Until you find some way of regrowing your missing eye, you lose ‘2’ from your movement die and if your final (including reduction) dice roll equals ‘1’ you gain the ‘I'm completely lost’ card.

The 'I'm Completely Lost' card.
Whenever you roll (revised or otherwise) a '1', the player who hates you the most, elects which direction you move that pathetic ‘1’ in. You keep this card until the end of the game or the 'Apocalypse', whichever comes first. (Probably the Apocalypse.)

The ‘Survivors guilt’ card.
Until you manage to raise all the lost sailors back from the dead, you feel so overcome with guilt you must immediately give all your (positive only) benefit cards away to the player who whines that they're in last place and/or shouts the loudest.

WTF?!