Nov 1, 2009: Dice, fish, fits, gems and jets
Venue: Brian’s place
Present: Alex, Jeff, Pat, Richard, Andrew, Brad, Brian, Paul
Played: Coloretto, Ra the Dice Game, Fresh Fish, Fits, Diamonds Club, Jet Set, Diamant.
Meta-commentary here. I don’t have anything clever or inspiring to say here this week (unlike previous weeks…?)
Coloretto: This was just finishing the second of two games as I arrived.
1st game: Jeff: 31. Brad: 30. Andrew: 23.
2nd game: Andrew: 48. Jeff: 35. Brad: 33.
Ra the Dice Game: Also in progress when I turned up, with Brian’s uniquely personal leather and perspex dice tower in employ.
I’ve put in a request with Brian to bring this to the next session. I haven’t played this yet, but feel I ought to…
Results: Pat: 22. Richard: 16. Alex: 10. Brian: 9.
Fresh Fish: Build your retail outlets as near as possible to the sources by road count.
I don’t know for certain, but I might have helped Brad to his significant win…
17 mins rules and setup; 42 mins game time.
Results (lower is better): Brad (blue): -9. Andrew (red): -3. Paul (white): 0. Jeff (green): 13.
Fits: Tetris on the tabletop.
Sorry Alex - getting a detailed view of your arm certainly was not the goal of this shot.
About 40 mins.
Results: Alex: 17. Pat: 14. Brian: 9. Richard: 6.
Diamonds Club: I like this game a lot after a first playing. There is a lot in here that reminds me of Goa, so I wasn’t surprised to learn that they are by the same author, Rüdiger Dorn. At the start of each turn there is a “growth” option that is affected by the spatial position of other players’ choices. Then there is investment in one or more specialisations that lead directly to victory points. And there are skills/tech advancement tracks that can have a positive multiplier impact if they’re pushed early enough in the game.
Some observers will note that the above features are generic enough to apply to dozens of games, maybe more. But I’ll stand by it; maybe its more a feeling of similarity that I was picking up on.
Anyway, looking forward to playing this one again soon.
20 mins rules and setup; 72 mins game time.
Results: Pat (blue): 77. Jeff (gold): 69. Paul (white): 64. Brian (red): 58.
Jet Set: The alternative Euro game to Diamonds, played on the other table.
About 90 mins, incl. rules.
Results: Alex: 51. Richard: 45. Brad: 32.
Diamant: The second gemstones game played tonight, and the “B.o.S.” variant, in which everyone risks their share against complete loss on each expedition.
Highlights include Alex’s 17 pickup and my 16, the latter being enough to push me over Alex’s final score.
Results: Paul (brown): 36. Alex (yellow): 35. Richard (orange): 28. Jeff (green): 27. Brian (white): 22. Pat (blue): 17. Brad (black): 12.
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richard said,
November 3, 2009 @ 9:51 pm
We played Palast Gefluster after you left at my request. This seems an intriguing game, but everyone needs to be up to speed to read the signals, but also has to accept that there is some serious luck-of-the-draw involved here. The plan Pat and I cooked up to smite Jeff failed, leaving Jeff to crow and Alex to complain ;-)
Ra Dice Game - best of the Yahtzee dice games. Very similar to Roll Through the Ages, but definitely more interactive.
FITS - I’m disappointed there is no slidey dexterity involved. Has obvious mass-market appeal (Blokus for dummies / Tetris meets Take it Easy). Like a diet soda - refreshing but not nourishing.
Jet Set - I was really liking this for a while. The harsh might say it was until I lost the lead, i would say it was until I saw the horrible role of luck in the game. This is simple and works OK. It feels a little plodding because you only get one action per turn and your plan usually takes 3-4 turns to implement, so you only have one decision every three turns. It is very similar to Ticket to Ride, which I think gives you a decision nearly every turn. Not bad, but not really an improvement on TTR - the money is really just a way to restrict actions.