I spent the entirety of last week in Columbus, OH at a boardgaming get together known as The Gathering of Friends. It is an invite only affair hosted by Alan Moon and this was my 4th time attending over the past 6 years. As usual, I had a great time having the chance to play a multitude of games with old friends and many new ones. I played several old standbys and many that were new to me including:
- Thurn and Taxis = I enjoyed this one and played and taught it several times over the course of the week. It is a medium weight route building game which has a meaningless German postal theme, but an entertaining enough set of mechanics to make up for the lacking theme.
- Seerauber = This was fun and light. Slightly reminiscent of Corsairs (which I abhor) but different enough to say that I enjoyed it. I played this one two times over the course of the week and the entire group seemed to enjoy both times.
- Times Square = This is a 2-player game very similar to En Garde, but with a different theme. I gave this one three plays over the course of the week, but it just didn't quite hook me. I doubt that I would buy it, but I would play it again without resistance. It's most entertaining attribute is trying to remember the names of the characters while playing; Dancing Deb, Saucy Sue and her bodyguards, Handsome Hal and Champagne Charlie.
- Shear Panic = This one had some of the most fabulous bits of any game that I have ever played. The sheep were fantastic. Contrarily, the game boards were significantly lacking. However, since the sheep are the focus of the game, they did not detract. This one is slightly difficult to explain, but suffice it to say give it a try if you have an opportunity.
- Breaking Away = I really fought through this game. I had absolutely no interest in the theme whatsoever (oval bike racing), I was hungry and some of the table company left much to be desired. Oh, and the game components were pretty terrible. All said, however, the game mechanics were pretty solid and I would like to give it another try well fed and with a different group of players.
- Railroad Dice 2 = I am a fan of railroad games on the whole and this one did not disappoint. It had the tiniest board of any game that comes to mind and you have to constantly manipulate dice on it, so that can be a bit challenging, but overall it squeezes a good rail game into a comparably fairly short time span.
- Boomtown = Old west themes tend to make for fun play and Boomtown is no exception. It put me into the mood, once again, to play the Doomtown CCG. Fun and fairly light. Definitely worth a purchase.
- Du Balai = A clever memory and pattern recognition game. Take a look at the website for an explanation. Had a great time with this one.
- Kreta = I enjoyed this one well enough, but not enough to own it. I doubt that I would ever suggest it as the game to play given a choice, but would readily play it again if suggested by others. It is a territory control game on the island of Crete.
- Cash 'n Guns = Simple and fun. Think Reservoir Dogs in boardgame form... sort of. Enjoyable, but it takes the right kind of people to have fun with it. AND it comes with foam guns. Can't go wrong there.
- 18FL = My first experience with an 18xx rail game and I'm glad that we had Craig Massey along to guide us through. Lots and lots o' rules, but a great time for a rail and stock game lover like myself.
Thanks to all who attended for aiding in my enjoyment (particularly Frank Wimmer and Mark Edwards) and a special thanks to Alan for hosting it all these years (this marks #17).
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