Match Report 17th January 2011

Where to start? I think with a big thank you to everybody who turned out this week, possibly the largest turnout we have yet had with a total of nine, Crispin, Daniella, Matt, Alex, Ben, Natalie, Gwen and Malcolm.

With Ben and Alex cooking the family meal we needed a game to fill the half hour till they joined us. Perhaps not surprisingly we selected the groups current favourite starter / filler game Hick Hack, which when the feathers and feed were counted saw Gwen emerge as clear victor. Ben and Alex timed their arrival to perfection appearing just as this game finished and as they settled into their seats a lively culinary discussion ensured fuelled in part by Malcolm having brought along a cook book that looked more like a Haynes Car manual and the munchies that Natalie had kindly cooked for us, not to mention other munchies brought along by Daniella.

With thoughts of food put to one side, for the moment, we decided to split into two groups for the next game with Ben leading a game of Dominion, (eventually won by some significant margin by Matt in only his second game - he was very keen to play) at one end of the table whilst Gwen, Crispin, Alex and myself played Citadels at the other end.

Now we played Citadels a couple of times last year with very mixed

Review - The Resistance

(5-10 players, aged 13+, 30+ minutes playing time)

The Spy cards

Designed by Don Eskridge, published by Indie Boards and Cards

This was a game I picked up whilst at Essen 2010 following the very positive comments by a number of my travelling companions. As a game in the style of Werewolves of Millers Hollow it was one I had particular interest in for my work with Imagination Gaming as there is no need for a narrator and none of the players are excluded along the way . My first game was played whilst in the Channel Tunnel across the top of our car on the return trip from Essen. There are not many designer games that can be played whilst on the move.

The Resistance cards

In The Resistance players draw a card to indicate the role they are to play in the game. Each player is a member of the resistance however some players will be government spies (indicated on their role card by the red colour and the absence of a fist in the top right hand corner ) intent on causing dissent within the group, sabotaging

Review – Braggart

(2-6 players, Aged 10+, 30+ mins playing time) 

An example of a Boast with all the possible card types

Designed by Kyle Daniel, published by Spiral Galaxy Games and provided to me by Games Lore Ltd as part of my work with Imagination Gaming.

A long time ago in a land far away where men did great deeds and the ladies stayed at home there was a little known pub called the Hero’s Return where men regaled any who would listen with tales of great valour. But when the real heros left to put their lives at risk, the men left behind created ever great stories fuelled by

A Christmas Match Report for 2010

Here in brief is a summary of the gaming activities of the last two weeks, at our house, allowing for a combination of the appalling weather (some days Ian and I cleared our drive of snow 3 or 4 times), my wife’s broken leg (meaning increased duties around the home) and all the socialising over the Christmas / New Year period. 

The 20th December saw Crowborough deep in snow and ice with the sad result that only Crispin (who lives within walking distance) ventured out to join the regular Monday night session. In truth I am not sure whether it was the allure of games or the promise of seasonal munchies that encouraged him out but he is always a welcome guest. Food aside we had a good game of Dominion plus Hick Hack and Sushizock im Gockelwok (details of all the games played over the holiday season can be found here).

More games were inevitably played through Christmas and Boxing days, perhaps the most memorable ones being a game of RoboRally where not only did I not end up spending the whole game on a conveyer belt and but was actually winning when it was time to break for food. The other was a game of Dixit (which Gwen agreed to play despite her previous view that it was the game from hell) with Effie and her children on Boxing Day. This turned into a really