Boardgame session: 17/18 Sept 2016

In my previous post I recorded my wargaming failures playing against my old friend, Graham. Rather than just play wargames all w/e away from Elaine, we ventured from the table and played some boardgames with her.

The first game I played was Mr Jack against Graham (whilst Elaine was preparing dinner). I took the role of Mr Jack (disguised as Sherlock). Graham narrowed down the possible suspects and prevented me from escaping off the board. In the last pair of turns (7 & 8) Graham narrowed the suspects to only two, and the last turn had determined Sherlock to be Mr Jack. But, I managed to ensure Graham had no final character who could reach Sherlock to make the accusation! Therefore, a win for me and Graham would not escape from the w/e undefeated. The game really forces you think hard and is deceptively difficult. I was glad to get my first win of the w/e.

Next, just before dinner, we fitted in a quick game of Tsuro. Elaine got boxed in with no choice that would not take her off the board. I emerged as the winner (again). Tsuro is an excellent filler game, especially for new players because the rules are so simple, also the graphics are very pretty.

After dinner we played a game of Blueprints. The rules are simple to explain, and maybe we taught them too well because Graham comprehensively beat the both of us.

We finished the night with a game of Dominion (base set, using the starter combination of cards). Graham had played this boardgame before, so fully understood the strategy. He loaded his deck with Village and Smithy cards, and in one memorable turn had a run of cards allowing him multiple actions and a pile of money, which enabled him to purchase two (or possibly three) of the valuable Province victory cards. On reflection, this single turn pretty much allowed Graham to win the final scoring phase. So the evening finished with both Graham and I having two wins each.

Next day (after playing wargames in the morning, where I was defeated again) we played a couple of games of ‘Ticket to Ride, Europe’, which surprisingly Graham had never played before. In the first game Graham got stuck trying to build tunnels, whilst Elaine beat me by a single point! I was sure I was going to win (must have added the scores wrong!). The second game was dominated by Elaine who streaked ahead. So, the w/e finished all square. A thoroughly enjoyable gaming session. Graham remains the dominant force in the wargaming arena (one day I will beat him!), but on the boardgame front things are more balanced.