February 11, 2009

Participants: Jon, Gili, Nadine

Small game night, but some nice games.

Traders of Carthage

Nadine 19, Gili 17, Jon 15

A light game as an opener, in case anyone else showed up. First play for both of them, second for me.

Last time I compared the game to R-Eco: not at all in terms of game mechanics, but in terms of weight, four color collection, and hand management. I think this game is somewhat heftier. R-Eco's randomness is very random; you do the best you can. There's a bit more going on here, with the several ways that cards can be played and denied to your opponents.

I like it a bit more on this play than I did after the first. Nadine was confused for the first half of the game but began to pick it up in the second. Gili also liked it.

Antike

Jon 9, Nadine 7, Gili 6

First play for Gili, second for Nadine. I continue to love this game, especially when played to one less victory point than marked: makes it both quicker and less dependent on conflict. If we had played to one more victory point it would have taken another half hour and involved a lot more armies, which is fine for the right people in the right situations.

Gili realized that she wasn't aggressive enough, and both she and Nadine think it's good but maybe not their type of game. My experience certainly gave me an edge. I destroyed one of Gili's temples mid-game, which gave me a decent lead, and made life more difficult for either of them. I played Greece and quickly swarmed the oceans with my vast knowledgeable fleet.

Notre Dame

Gili 58+2, Jon 58+0, Nadine 57

Gili won on the tie. A close game, as you can see. I started with 2 parks, which the others though was a great play, but of course I was struggling for cash and cubes mid-game. Nadine was flush with cash, but only went to Notre Dame once; she drove her car a lot. Gili played a very balanced game.