by Steph
Hia!
Since my recent love affair with
Arle, I have been itching to play
Uwe Rosenberg's titles that I haven't had the pleasure of playing.
I requested Joe teach and play
Ora et Labora.
New to me!So Monday night came around and Joe was able to refresh on the rules in order to teach us. Ron and I were learning and Geoff had played once a while back.
I know this game is getting reprinted so I wanted to play and see if it is a game I HAD TO own.
I didn't really have any mind set on going into this game. I didn't really know what to expect and I knew basically nothing of the game other than resources and more resources like many of UR's other games.
If you aren't familiar with this game it is quite a heavy game and with lots of options. I am sure it benefits for a lot more plays. There are a set # of buildings that show up at different parts of the game and they are always the same (depending on the # of players). I am not sure that is good or bad- with only 1 play.
Once you own a building others can potentially use the buildings by paying you and using 1 of your workers, provided you have an available one. So you are never, fully, screwed over since you can still use ANY building. Very much like Le Havre in that regard.
The resource track is quite amazing. You can always take the action for wheat or $ etc, but you only get what the wheel provides. Is no one takes it for a round then the wheel turns (after each round) and more resource become available. It id a clever wheel and I really enjoyed that aspect of the game.
The wheel goes around fully 2 times and then the game is over. There are sections on the wheel where players have the opportunity to place a settlement which scores the surrounding buildings - but is not a building itself. So, all buildings might have a general VP amount and a settlement additional scoring amount. All- cards have to be placed with care and forethought. That is very cool. I love planning like that.
In our game I didn't have any real strategy. I was just trying to get buildings that made sense and had a ton of points. The game provides Very VERY good player aids, which are totally necessary. I wasn't paying attention to what will be coming out- just what was available at the moment. Looking back I wish I looked ahead a bit and planned. I was all geared up for an AWESOME building but I didn't have hillside space available so I wasn't able to place it. Ugh, that was a bummer and an eye opener. If and when I play again I have to plan better for that.
I was 1 move shy of getting a wonder (30 vps) but even that wouldn't have secured me a win at the end.
Ron actually creamed us all with 186 and I was second place with exactly 19 less at 167.
I think Geoff was 3rd and Joe was 4th. Joe didn't really have anything on his board and Ron and I scored huge with the buildings and settlements. Geoff was working on getting a bunch of wonders- he got 2 but didn't have enough else going on to make bank on the points.
All in all I really enjoyed the game and would happily play again when I am in the mood for a deep game. It was a bit long but I can see it getting shorter with players who know it.
It didn't capture my interest like Arle did but I do look forward to playing it again. I will likely pick up a copy when it gets reprinted.
Right now my UR favorites are
1. Arle
2. Le Havre
3. Glass Road
4. Ora et Labora
5. Patchwork
Not for me:
Agricola.
I need to revisit Gate of Loyang now that I picked it up a few months ago. I also want to see if Caverna is a game I might enjoy. I am still iffy on it though. I am willing to give it a try.
Sadly, that was my only game I got to play on Monday night before calling it.
:nostar::nostar::nostar:Speaking of
Fields of Arle, that hit the table on Tuesday night when Ron got home from a dinner he went to.
It was so good to play it again. I just don't know why, but it is so satisfying! Trying to counteract Ron's play all while trying to do multiple things at once. It has it all for me.
This game- I went right for the cows and started on the fields. Ron went for pushing the tracks and getting lots of wood and vehicles.
I always seem to fail in the vehicle department. I really need to focus on getting more of them in future games. I always have so much to ship but I can't ever seem to get that going. MUST GET MORE! I had so much materials by the end of the game- if only I could have been upgrading the materials for more points all along.
I was hurting for food all game and I had plans to build buildings I never got the chance to. My first move was to buy a building so Ron wouldn't have the chance to buy which is a free action to spend brick and food to upgrade a stall to a stable. It was pretty sweet - except I was hurting for food all game so this didn't happen for a while, but I did end up getting 2 stables.
Ron seemed a bit lost on his side with no direct strategy so he was falling behind by the end. He had tons of vehicles but nothing much to ship. He had a bunch of buildings but not many animals.
In the end I was victorious! I had 105 to Ron's 96. I am proud I did so well. I still feel like I could have done more... That's what next game's for :devil:
Still loving it so much. Want to play it all the time. Trying to add more variety to the games I play but it keeps pulling meeeeee.
:nostar::nostar::nostar:Wednesday night we kept up with our Uwe R streak and got to playing
Le Havre. It is a game that I just absolutely love.
I have never won (except on the IPad) against Ron. I still continue to play and love it. ITS JUST SO GOOD! I can be long and a bit to set up and tear down but it is worth it.
I think I really have to try it again with 3 players. I haven't ever played with more than 3 I am thinking it would just be a bit too long for my liking. I really want to teach some of the regulars this game and hopes they enjoy it so we will play it more.
In this game, like all the games, Ron rushed to build all the buildings like he always does. I do my best to build what I cant and what I think I will use the most. I ALWAYS go for the shipping line because it is my favorite and he knows it. I usually always get it too.
I collect boats and try shipping as much as I see fit.
This game I got a boat what seemed to be later than I wanted. I ended up with some more $$ and bought a second wooden boat. I was going to use Ron's wharf he bought but I would have had to pay him and the bricks to use it and then the actual boat cost. I found if I just waited another turn I could right out buy the steel ship coming out the next turn. I could have bought it but I found other things to do and ended up buying the 20 value steel ship for 30 coins. I felt that was a better use of my $$. It certainly was. I somehow planned my turns perfectly so I could ship then buy a 34 points lux ship and then ship again. I always get confused at the end since turns just run out so fast.
This game I was super proud of how well I did. Ron is a little jerk face since he did just a bit better. We played BOTH our best games yet. I scored 255 and he was 259. He makes me so mad- of course I went back and recounted 3 times and replayed my last turn to see if I could have prevented it. Grrrrrr if I just had the 2 fishys to pay him for use of the wharf.
I know there was a turn I totally wasted getting clay and I never used it so I bet there was something else I could have done. When I did my FINAL ship action I could only sell 2 boats worth and not 3 since I didn't have enough energy so that also would have pushed me over his score if I just had another charcoal! NOoooooooOooOOOooo
Oh well, At least I am improving on that game. I love it, and will definitely request a rematch in the coming weeks. I am still psyched that I got 255- that's so awesome!!! I rarely, if ever have scored above 200.
:heart:
My digits!!! Yay!
:nostar::nostar::nostar:Since I wasn't quite done for the night I took out
Patchwork, just to get in another Uwe R game. ;)
This time I wasn't planning properly and Ron sort of ran away with it. I was getting high button income tiles but they weren't properly filling my board and I was a bit of a mess with awkward spaces to try and fill.
By the end I had a 19 button income! But I had to cough up 18 for missed spaces... So I actually ended with 21 points but it was not enough for Ron's 37. I got HOSED!
I still want to play more but signs lead to the 7 point bonus tile always wins. Or in my games anyway.
This is a fun little 2 player game to wind the night down with. Even if Ron beats me, hard. :D
:nostar::nostar::nostar:Thursday night brought the FUN GROUP together for some laughs and good times. This night we had a bunch of attendees. Always good fun to be had with these guys.
We started the night off with 5 players for a fast game of
Money!.
New to me!I was so sad since we were just getting started and the other table decided to play Pictomania and that is basically what I wanted to play. Oh well.
I learned this filer card game and found it alright. It is not really a special filler but it was clever enough where I would play it again if asked.
You are trying to make large sets of same-type money. Each turn players place a bid for cards using the cards in their hand. If a player has high bid they get first selection of the face up piles including other players bids. The cards just swap or players can keep the hand they put down.
It was neat and some interesting decisions but I won't request it in the future. Simple but easy to play.
This game I came in second with a bunch a points But Scott had almost double mine and I was double the 3rd place. So yea, the people bidding a LOT had the worst scores. Scott and I were barely bidding and we creamed them.
Next time, they will know!
:nostar::nostar::nostar:Next it was suggested that I crawl through Joe R's pile of games to where the party games lie and un-pile and re-pile tons of games to locate
Ca$h 'n Guns (second edition).
Since I have no shame and don't mind crawling all over the basement floor for games... I did, and we played.
This time I taught the game and we played a practice round so everyone saw how it was going to play out. In the 2nd or 3rd round 3 people were aiming at Adam and he was like you are all bluffing... yea we weren't and he was out just like that 3 bangs and was down. haha it was pretty hilarious.
Next round everyone was like where Adam (he walked away for a minute) and I was like well, he is out. They were all confused and didn't think it meant for the game- but it did. :P
Yeah, it is a fun party game. Everyone was ganging up on me too. I had to sleep for many rounds and I only stepped away with maybe 100k not even. The others did much better.
I really enjoy this fun party game. I don't mind playing every once in a while. The foam guns are hilarious and it is just fun to play. It is easy to get ganged up on though.
Oldie but a goodie
:nostar::nostar::nostar:The final game of the night was a 6 palyer game of
A Fake Artist Goes to New York, or as the other players were calling it, "Fartist".
I taught the game to them all and after a few rounds they were questioning the point system. Yes, the point system is awful and needs to be revisited. We elected this game to be more of a fun activity where points were not really needed- even if we were tallying it. They gave the example of category "current presidents" - well clearly Obama is the answer and the faker would know this. Just to get the 2 points.
Once we established it was not really about the points but the experience they were opening up to difficult clues and just having fun with it. It was certainly a fun group to play this with and some of the clues were just great.
It is hard to try and come up with the clues but it is always a fun process to see the creation afterwards. I would totally play this any time. :)
There are guesses my my images below on the image themselves if you think you know. Surprisingly, it is still fun to play the game once it is already over just by playing on BGG with the comments on the images.
It is fun to try and guess the faker and what the picture actually is.
Betchya can't guess what they are!
Clues:
L: Colors R: Games
This one is so hard. I made the clue and perhaps it was too hard. It was pretty hilarious to watch though. Riley managed to guess it here on BGG though, so it is possible!
Clue is: Science
:nostar::nostar::nostar:So Friday night Ron read the rules to
At the Gates of Loyang. I want to count it as New to me! But I won't because I technically have played it before, badly. Many years ago when we were just getting into gaming and had no real idea of what we were doing. We had played a 3 player game and no one knew anything.
This time we are more formal gamers and picked up the game rather quickly and got to playing.
I got it in an auction in November since I wanted to give it another chance. I mean the bits are amazing! It is hard to argue with that and very easy to photograph. (Most of my images were rejected :shake: )
So, this game is also by Use Rosenberg - It seemed fitting to play it this week since it had been sitting on my self for a long time.
If you don't know the game it is all about best managing your farms and what you are producing with the customers you bring in and their demands. You need money to buy victory and purchase from the stores. There are trading cards and high paying customers for the right combo. The whole game is about building your tableau of cards to best score $$ and points. There is a point track where each round you can buy a spot on the track for $1 if you wanted to buy more spots it is the cost listed on the stone... As the game goes on it gets more and more expensive. If you have any loans it will take you back a spot on the track at the end of the game.
Ron jumped ahead on the track a few spots at one point and ultimately I was unable to catch him AND I had a loan so I doubly lost.
I think what the game has to offer is neat and I enjoy the planting aspect and uses of the veggies. It is a game that will never be played again. OR, maybe, rarely. I don't think it is ever be requested by me or Ron to play 2 player and I don't think we will play it with more.
It is a perfectly fine game, just not for us. We have other Uwe R. games we would rather play.
BGG Rejected
:nostar::nostar::nostar:We played one more game on Friday night which was
Five Tribes.
We had started to listen to Aladdin and I always get an itch to play Five Tribes when Aladdin is playing in the background.
The board start with a 3 red and 3 white meeple space! Yowza! So right out of the gate I spent 18 coins to grab the all white space which happened to be a palm tree space too. Ron opted to not take the all red space since he couldn't kill anything and place a second camel.
I easily took that space in turn 3- I was able to kill something by then. As the game went on I taking lots of spaces on the board and nearly placed all my camels and racked in a bunch of white meeples and the Djinn to make them worth more.
Ron had a ton of Djinns and a lot more end of game points in hand. I did have more market cards so it was all in all a very tight race to the finish.
The final score was 181 to 182. I WIN! BY 1! :devil: MWAHAHA
I love that it was so close and we were doing different things. That's the best. It is quite a great game. Very enjoyable to play. I am getting accustomed to 2 player, however.
:nostar::nostar::nostar:Saturday Ron and I drove down to NYC to see a couple of Broadway shows. We love musical theater and try to go at least once a year to see any hot new show. We got to see A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder- Tony Winner 2014 for best new musical. We also saw Fun Home (As of last night Tony WINNER 2015 Best New Musical)! It was awesome with a lot of hot Broadway actors and we had front row!! *I am spoiled*
If you like Musicals you should comment below with your favorites! I love love love musicals- and could talk about them- almost like I can talk about games.
I am terrible at taking selfies.
While waiting in between shows Ron and I found some time to play some games on the ipad.
We first played a 3 player game of
Le Havre using a bot.
In that game I had no idea what I was doing - I was just taking what was best at the time. I got hosed from the first turn. My final turn I had no energy and couldn't ship or buy a ship so that was just bad planning since the last turn always just sneaks up on me so fast!
Yeah, I lost that. Ron somehow came back from no where and beat the AI that was killing us all game. I only got a lousy 132 and Ron won with 162. We both didn't do as well as our 2 player game earlier in the week. i wonder if 3 player really changes the scores that much or if we were just not used to it and failed miserably. Still fun to play!
:nostar::nostar::nostar:We played a fast game of
Medici. Us 2 and 4 AIs. The Ai's are just so terrible though. The game took 15 minutes and I creamed it! Hhaha so easy to pick up a win. Sorry Ron!
Its OK for an app and if you have 6 players it might be better hahah. I enjoy the game and I a, still counted it as time playing games!
Still awesome!!
:nostar::nostar::nostar:We also got in a game of
Star Realms.
And- like most Star realms games, it came down to a final turn where if he can't beat me I will likely beat him... Alas, he beat me!
Still happily play that whenever. I think it is so addicting! I have no idea why!!!
:nostar::nostar::nostar:Sunday we made a pit stop at Mohegan Sun and got in some gambling time. I love
Blackjack and Spanish 21. I also enjoy Roulette and Craps. I can't help it I just love some risky business! ;) Ron did better than me this time around. He actually left in the positive! Not too shabby!
:nostar::nostar::nostar:We got back home Sunday afternoon and found sometime to play some games before GOT (which was insaneeeeeeeeeeeeee btw).
So- I made a gaming calendar for 2015 and this month, I think, is amazing. SO many rich colors and I look at it every day at work and just want to play! This week I managed to get in Le Havre and Five Tribes this week so I HAD TO PLAY
Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar to balance it out!
We did play with the expansion, cause you have to. I got a pitiful tribe and Ron got dealt the "broken" one and we decided to deal him a new one. I can get the "broken" one with out issue cause I still lose :p.
He had a pretty cool tribe where if he placed 2 workers he could remove another one. He was shooting for more workers immediately. We had the on-going goals which I managed to get 0, -5 and 0 points for. If I only didn't lose those 5 points!!!
The final turn of the game I managed to get another temple and Jump far but it still ended with Ron at 76 and I got 72. SO CLOSE! He usually play much better... he must have been off his game.
Wonderful game I will only play with a painted copy- why bother play without it. I don't play it enough cause I find it to be a bit longer than I would like, but with 2 players it is not so long and worth playing. I just happen to always lose! :)
I love my painted gears- so colorful and rainbow! It really makes the gaming experience better. :D
My inspiration for playing the game
:nostar::nostar::nostar:Rattlebones was calling to me for being easy -mindless fun. Ron hadn't played so I got to explaining it. It really is a simple game to teach and play.
We had 2 new to me modules the Stock token and the Thief. Both I hadn't played before and BOTH I feel would be much better with more players. I would have been all over the thief in that case- I love stealing from people in games!!! What's yours is now mine!!!! Evil but not exactly take-that. I am not really a fan of take-that games.
We got to playing and I managed to sell a few stars and Ron was boosting his VP die and getting random points here and there. I was able to push to the end with Ron on my tail the whole game!
I think it is a wonderful game if only just for the awesome dice. It plays fast and is simple and mindless and colorful. Definitely a good entry game and it has some good choices.
The more I play the more I don't really like the coin(s) spaces- I think that is the weakest.
I will happily play whenever :)
:nostar::nostar::nostar:Since we hadn't played
Nations in a while, I suggested that. We got the promos and still hadn't really used them.
I choose Ron to play with China- Since I think they are the hardest to play with, especially in a 2 player game.
Ron choose for me to play with Greece! My favorite!!! But still seems to be very weak and that is why he gave them to me.
I was in luck too since there were A TON of golden ages. I mean A LOT!
Ron Zoomed up the book track in a few ages had lapped me... What a guy.
Yah it was pretty terrible. I had all the resources I could want but in the first 3 rounds no buildings came out and like 1 military card. I had no stability AT ALL... so *fortunately* there were no events that hurt me- just events that benefitted Ron for Stability. I focused on Military and colonies and production.
I was doing all right but there were like no wars coming out and I wasn't hitting Ron hard enough by that measure. He was just doing his thing and had TONS of money.
I was just collecting Golden age points and lots of Rocks.
I still managed a respectable score of 42 but Ron passed by with scoring 50 points.
Awesome game- I should play it more and not be frustrated with Ron :p
I should try to get it out with 3 or 4 players too.
:nostar::nostar::nostar:That was it for the week, folks! No full day of gaming but still a decent amount. The next few weeks I am sure will make up for the lack this week.
I am aiming to learn Caverna one day and get in a bunch of other new to me games. I have to try and beat my May counts! :) I love learning new games.
But, I also just want to play Arle all the time. It is a new week so I can get it back on the table sometime!
I have Marco Polo on pre-order so I hope that ships out this week (with Elysium and Fantastiqa) ... I am super excited for that one!! I have heard only good things about it!!!
Side note:
I got to thinking this week and I was wondering what days people generally would find themselves looking to read blog posts? Is there a day that is better than another? I made a poll to try and decide if I should change what day I actually post my blog on. Does it actually matter? Just trying to get a feel for what people like/want.
[poll=162265]
:D
Back to regular scheduled gaming this week for a ton more games!!!
Thanks for reading!!
'Till next week-
Happy Gaming!!!
-Steph
