This week's game night was a little down for the Hypermind Boardgamers in terms of attendance, with only around 13 or so playing games.  But regardless, we still got in several games, and made a pretty cool decision (IMHO) for Game of the Month! in June.  I was a little extra late, but so were a few others, and it wasn't too terribly long before I got into a game. 

7 ate 9

Chip and I pulled out this quick, little simultaneous-action game and gave it a go while waiting for some others to finish their games.  We played quickly, but had to stop for a little while to find in the rules what we should do when neither of us had a playable card.  Even with the delay, however, it only took a few minutes, and Chip edged me out for the win leaving me with just 2 cards left in my hand.

Time: 7 minutes
Score: Chip - Win, Me - Lose (2 cards left)
Ratings: Chip 7, Me 6

I really need to try this with 3 or 4, just to see if it's better.  It's not a bad game by any means, but I don't know that it's something I would actively seek out as a filler very often.  But I'll give it at least another shot or two...

Tobago

Two groups played Tobago at the same time to put our current Game of the Month! to bed.  The players at my table were a bit... shall we say "distracted".  Mainly, it was by Skittles and Reese's Pieces, along with the gathering of change to use in obtaining the aforementioned candies.  But the game itself was very close, and it took a last-minute, 3-amulet-spendin' turn for me to end the game and gather up the treasure I needed to edge out new player David.       

Time: 46 minutes
Score: Me 33, David* 31, Michelle 25, Beth 23
Ratings: Me 8, David 8, Michelle 7, Beth 8

Tobago is a really nice game, but I'm not sure that it was really deep enough to be a great Game of the Month!  There's a bit of a learning curve in how to acquire amulets and use them effectively, and there are a few choices in what kind of "strategy" you'll use (as far as trying to spread out your clue cards or concentrate them, as well as whether you want to try to dig up the treasures or let others do it), but there's not a lot more to explore.  But it's still a lot of fun, and I expect it to continue to be a staple in my gaming with Gwen, as well as seeing some regular play at game night as well.

Speaking of Game of the Month!, our choice for the five Tuesdays in June is Macao!  I'm really excited about that, and I make a promise to finish up my solo variant and release it next month as well.   

Colosseum

I got Colosseum as a present back when it first came out, and it's remained mostly inplayed ever since.  Gwen and I tried out a game using the "official" 2-player variant, but that was my only experience with it.  So this week, mainly because I've been thinking a lot about The Princes of Florence lately, I decided to refresh myself on the rules and see if others would be interested in it.

As it worked out, we actually had a full table of 5 players vying to be the most influential Roman impressario.  There's not a lot of narrative to the game, though.  We enhanced our colosseums, had auctions, did some trading, and put on shows.  Personally, I started out by buying an Emperor's Loge on turn 1, which may or may not have actually helped.  I ended up putting on 5 different shows, focusing mainly on Gladiators, Horses, and Chariots.  I actually pulled off a "perfect" Circus Maximus on turn 4, and did a decent job of putting on the largest show of all, , on the last turn missing only 3 tiles.  I didn't exactly come from last place or anything, but I still came from sort of nowhere to vault into the lead with 75 points.

Unfortunately, shenanigans were afoot.  Michelle and David are dating.  And even though Michelle did not benefit from the trade in any significant way, she gave David a tile that allowed him to complete his last show perfectly and score a total of 79 points.  Shame on you, Michelle.  You not only stooped to the nefarious depths of king-making, but it was even the most loathesome type, conjugal king-making.  David got the win, but you both now have to live with the knowledge of what you've done.  
   

Time: 117 minutes
Score: David* 79, Me 75, Alton* 70, Michelle* 67, Chip* 65
Ratings: David 8, Me 6.5, Alton 8.5, Michelle 8.2, Chip 7

Seriously, though, I don't know what to think about Colosseum.  I absolutely adore the theme, and what you're doing throughout the game is very fun and interesting.  But unfortunately, the game drags on and on.  And unlike some other games, which may take a while but keep you engaged and interested the whole time, Colosseum feels like it drags. 

The main culprit is, as many people have complained before, the open trading phase of each turn.  Trading goes slowly because you can only trade with the active player, and you have to be aware of all the tiles that everybody else has and which ones they might actually be willing to get rid of.  So there's lot of looking over at everyone else's play area and making proposals.  If no one bites, then you make another proposal, adding another tile or some cash.  And then you try to convince them through making pleas about how much you've always liked them and admire that new shirt or enormous hangbag (which could probably hold a dead body, as long as you chopped them up real small) they just bought.  And after you get done with your phase, someone else gets to do the very same thing. 

So what should be about an hour-long game goes on and on, outstaying its welcome by another hour or so.  I'm not sure what my desire would be to play again soon, but I think that it would definitely need to involve some sort of variant to streamline or otherwise speed up this part of the game.  
     

Basari

After getting through Colosseum, I wanted something quicker and lighter.  Basari was another of the games I received from Out of the Box, and it seemed like the thing to try out next.  I started out pretty well, but especially in the third round Alton, Chip, and I kept picking the same action cards on multiple turns.  This let Beth get a sizeable advantage in points and move further along the merchant track, which led her to beat the crap out of all three of us.


Time: 20 minutes
Score: Beth* 71, Me* 54, Alton* 53, Chip* 53
Ratings: Beth 9, Me 7.5, Alton 7, Chip 8

I was incredibly impressed with Basari.  For 20 minutes of game time, you get mulitple ways to score points, bluffing/second-guessing, and a neat little 2-person auction ("bartering") element.  There's definitey a lot more to figre out and explore about this game, and I plan on making it a regular filler choice over the next little while. 

Witch's Brew (with the expansion from the Alea Treasure Chest)

Speaking of excellent filler choices, Witch's Brew was the next thing to hit the table.  I haven't previously had the chance to try out any of its expansions from the Alea Treasure Chest, so we used the "Special Power" variant this time.  I thought I had a good shot, but Chip scored a lot of potions early and had an enormous pile of vials by the end, so he took the game instead.   

Time: 43 minutes
Score: Chip 33, Me 30, Alton 23, Beth 20
Ratings: Chip 9, Me 8.5, Alton 9, Beth 8

I just love Witch's Brew, and the special powers added in a nice little twist that mixed things up a little without really changing what makes the game great.  I'll definitley play with it again, and I may try out the amulet expansion as well.

Other Games Played

Carcassonne: The New World
Time: 28 minutes
Score: Anna-Marie 135, Mark 132
Ratings: Anna-Marie 10, Mark 8.5

Forbidden Island
Time: 15 and 19 minutes
Game 1: Treasure Hunters (Chris & Josh) - Win, Forbidden Island (Normal) - Lose
Game 2: Treasure Hunters (Chris, Charles, Ken & Josh) - Win, Forbidden Island (Normal) - Lose
Ratings: Chris 7.5, Charles 8, Ken 8, Josh 8

Ghost Stories
Time: 72 minutes
Score: Wu Feng (Bone Crusher) - Win; Taoists (Charles*, Josh, Keith* & Ken) - Lose 
Ratings: Charles 8.5, Josh 9, Keith 6, Ken 8.5

No Thanks!
Time: ??
Game 1: Michelle 44, Josh* 82, Keith 88, Beth 128
Game 2: Beth 42, Keith 45, David* 65, Josh 104, Michelle 116
Ratings: Beth 8, Michelle 9, Josh 8, Keith 8.5, David 8

Race for the Galaxy (with Brink of War)
Time: 40 and 34 minutes
Game 1: Chris 66, Alton 56, Charles 51
Game 2: Charles 71, Alton 67, Chris 60
Ratings: All 10's

Ticket to Ride
Time: ??
Score: Charles* 111, Beth 82
Ratings: Charles 7, Beth 8.5

Tobago
Time: 40 minutes
Score: Alton 52, Charles 37, Keith 35, Chip 22
Ratings: Alton 8, Charles 5, Keith 7, Chip 8

Witch's Brew (with expansions)
Time: 38 minutes
Score: Chris 27, Ken 26, Josh 21, Charles 16
Ratings: Chris 9, Ken 8.5, Josh 8, Charles 8

Thurn & Taxis
Time: ??
Score: Unfinished when I left
Ratings: Chris ?, Ken ?, Josh ?, Charles ? 

* First play for that Person