Match Report 28th February 2011

The night we failed with Dominion

Monday night saw another good turn out with Ben, Daniella, Matt, Ian, Crispin and Malcolm joining us. Gwen working in the background was sadly not able to join us and Natalie had similar problems having hoped to be with us but found herself deluged with work at the last minute.

Straw (Age 6+, 2-6 players 30 minutes playing time)
Having not played Straw for a while we gave this a run out to start the evening and get us limbered up for more serious fare. Ben and Ian joined us midway through the game and so not surprisingly finished well down the rankings. On this occasion the laurels went to Crispin with a deft and almost unnoticed demonstration of how not to
find yourself breaking the camels back with anything other than a Straw whilst steadily building a solid score – well done.

Dominion (Age 10+, 2-4 players, 30 min playing time)
With the team fully assembled and with enthusiasm for Dominion still riding high

the team decision was to try and bend the game to fit 7 players rather than splitting into 2 groups. This was, in hindsight, a big mistake and I think the first time we have actually abandoned a game. The result became unworkable and was ultimately disappointing for everybody as we have all enjoyed Dominion so much this year. Having bent rules (concerning the number of players) on some of the lighter games with no ill effects it did not occur to us that disaster could ensue with a more serious game. The lesson ultimately is that the reason good games are normally for 4 to 5 players and frequently best with three or four players is because the more serious games are designed that way and cannot be bent.

The munchies on this occasion were some home made flapjacks backed by Daniella, wonderful fare as ever – thank you.

Bohnanza (Age 8+, 2-7 players, 45 min playing time)

Have recovered from the trauma of a failed game of Dominion we moved on to one our best games for 7 players (although even this plays best with 5) Bohnanza and had a lively and a very vocal game with everybody bar Matt being experienced bean farmers. So the creativity used for suggested trades and donations at times pushed the limits of believability and you could always rely on some other player not involved in the trade to highlight the reasons why one or other party should not trade. In spite of these warnings the other players somehow allowed me to win what everybody agreed was a very enjoyable game.

This will sadly be the last evening for Ian for sometime as he has secured himself a position with a well known aircraft engine maker down in the West Country. We wish him well and look forward to the next time he can join us. Before he left us he dug out the attached photo of him and his mates playing a game of Advanced HeroQuest in the deserts of Saudi Arabia in the 1st Gulf War – he was a lot younger then!

As we packed up our games for the evening we discussed the next evening and I think we may dig out a couple of excellent board games the team have not played yet. I am hoping that I can tempt Gwen to lead the way on a game of StoneAge – a brilliant game I was lucky enough to get for Christmas – whilst I may lead a game of Fresco or Seeland – we will see what everybody wants to do on the night.