As I arrived to Game Night on Tuesday, Alton, Chris, and Graham were already embroiled in conflict over a Small World.  And unfortunately, it was still early in the game, so I mainly browsed the shelves, read some rules, and watched them for a while.  I also ruminated on the fact that the start of school had decimated our numbers worse than normal this year.  And eventually, Chris finished beating the crap out of the other two and we were able to start a game of our Game of the Month!, Toledo...

Toledo

By the luck of the draw (or, rather, total lack of it), I ended up last in turn order, so I got screwed over a bit in business placement.  Early on, I decided to try a "race" strategy, where I'd grab up three swords as quickly as I could and end the game before everyone else's plans came to fruition.  To this end, I was the first to deliver a sword (an 8-VP, 2 jewel/2 steel one) to the Alcazar.  I was soon poised to make my big move, having constructed a 2-VP (1 steel) sword and holding the resources to also make a 4-VP (1 jewel/1 steel) sword as well.  But then, just before my turn where I hoped (with a little luck at the tavern) that I would be able to end the game, another player (that jerk, Graham, I believe) challenged my pawn that was farthest along to a duel.  Since I had ignored sword training to that point, I lost and saw hopes of a quick end fade swiftly away.

Recovering as best I could, I ended up gathering a few more resources and instead made another 8-VP sword, delivering it next to the Alcazaar.  Alton, however, used the extra time to implement a brilliant plan.  His gameplan was focused on picking up the paintings at El Greco's studio, complete a big sword, and then winning.  He did all three, getting the 3-VP and both 2-VP paintings, finishing the 15-VP sword, and then getting three of his pawns to the Alcazar.  

Time: 48 minutes
Score: Alton 20, Graham 15, Me 15, Chris 13
Ratings: Alton 8.5, Graham 8, Me 7, Chris 8

As opposed to the last time I played, I didn't have such a great experience in this session.  There were several times when I felt frustrated by the mechanics of the game (rather than by the actions of other players or my own failings), and I just didn't have that much fun.  I'm pretty ambivilent about it right now, and I welcome another play or two to make up my mind.

Dixit

Next, we pulled out Dixit, the 2009 Golden Ace - French Game of the Year winner.  I had heard several people talk about it recently on various podcasts, and comparisons to Balderdash had me very interested.  So I was very happy to be able to see it in action. 

Basically, everyone has a hand of 6 oversized cards that all show unique and, at times, slightly disturbing artwork.  The "storyteller" of the turn chooses one of their cards and places it facedown, giving a short (like, one sound, word, phrase, or sentence long) description.  Everyone else then chooses the card in their own hand that best matches the description, and adds them (also facedown) to the storyteller's.  All the cards are shuffled, dealt out to the center of the table, and assigned a number.  The players vote secretly on which one they think is the storyteller's, and points are assigned based on how they do.  Scoring is reminiscent to Cluzzle, where the Storyteller doesn't want to make the clue too easy or too hard, because if either everyone or no one chooses their card, then they don't score anything but everyone else gets 2 points.  However, as long as some but not all of the players choose it, the storyteller and all of those choosing it get 3 points.  In addition, players get one point for each player that chose their card.  Whoever has the most points when you run out of cards wins.


One other neat little thing is that the "board"/score track is built into the box.  You have these cute, little bunneeples that race around, and there;s even a recessed "lake" for you to drop the cards into when you've used them.  In our game, Graham 's blue bunny ran away with it. 

Time: 25 minutes
Score: Graham 26, Brad 23, Chris 21, Alton 19, Me 18, Jen 16
Ratings: Graham 8, Brad 9, Chris 7.5, Alton 7, Me 7.5, Jen 7

Overall, I had a good time with Dixit.  We all found it pretty difficult at times to come up with a description or reference that was appropriate but not too obvious (which is, I guess, the whole point).  But trying to find a good match from your hand was a lot of fun, and it was pretty amazing how well some of them tended to fit.  It kept us well engaged, and our energy level was really good throughout the whole game.  While it may not hit the table all that frequently at game night, I think that this could be a bit hit with casual- or non-gamers. 


Escalation!

Chris had also picked up Z-Man's Escalation! card game, and we gave it a try with the full group.  We played one hand, then another, then another, and finally decided to complete the "game" when everyone had taken a turn as dealer.  Graham had to leave before that happened, so even though he was in second place at the time, he was also a loser just like me.

Time: 25 minutes (for 5 hands)
Score: Alton 32 (lowest points wins), Chris 39, Me 56, Brad 61, Jen 65
Ratings: Alton 8, Chris 8.5, Me 7, Brad 8, Jen ?, Graham 8

The game is lighter than air, but it's quick, fun, and has some great illustrations on the cards, so it's a big hoot!  I don't necessarily need to own it right now or anything, but it will make a nice stocking-stuffer suggestion for my wife to get me at Christmas.

Super Secret Review Game

Next, we played the game that I'll be reviewing for BGN.  I'm still not going to tell what it is, but I'll give you a few hints through my regular stat block and one very interesting picture.

Time: 46 minutes 
Score: Me 102, Brad 68, Alton 66, Chris 56
Ratings: Me 8, Brad 8, Alton 8, Chris 7.5

I will also say that it was the heaviest game we played all night, and that we had a good time with it.  I definitely benefited from my one previous play, and I expect further games to be more competitive now that a few others have a better idea how it works.

Oh, and by the way, it should be known that while the picture was, in fact, taken during the game, Chris' headgear had nothing to do with it.  He was just being stylish. 


Take Stock

I've owned this game for a very long time and had yet to play it.  So, when it was nearing 11pm but we were looking for one more game to play, I suggested that we give it a try.  For a card game, it's relatively confusing to explain and get your head around, but by the second round, we were starting to see how some of the elements worked together.

Brad and I were tied after the first round, but he then jumped out to a lead in the second that neither Alton nor I could make up.  In fact, he just pulled further and further away, ending up winning by 55 points.

Time: 73 minutes 
Score: Brad 370, Me 325, Alton 262
Ratings: Brad 8, Me 7, Alton 8

Initially, I was a little less than impressed.  But after reflecting a little more, I've actually become more interested in what it has to offer.  There are some interesting decisions that you have to make each turn, and your strategy can vary considerably based on what you choose to focus on.  You have to strike a balance between acquiring shares of stock (which reduces your hand size), increasing the stock prices (which may help others as much or more than yourself), and manipulating the market (which is never a sure thing based on the cards you draw).  Other than running a little longer than I think it should have, I'm definitely up for exploring Take Stock through a few more plays.



Other Games Played

Escalation! 
Time: 18 minutes (for 3 hands) 
Hand 1: Chris 15, Alton 36
Hand 2: Chris 20, Alton 34
Hand 3: Chris 22, Alton 29
Ratings: Chris 8.5 Alton 8

Race for the Galaxy 
Time: 18 minutes 
Score: Chris 66, Alton 63
Ratings: Chris 10, Alton 10

Small World 
Time: 50 minutes 
Score: Chris 123, Graham 98, Alton 90
Ratings: Chris 9, Graham 8.5, Alton 8