Two Years

This week was our second anniversary. Sometimes it's hard to believe it's been two years since we started Ipswich Board Gamers. In celebration of the fact that IpBoG is still running the plan was to play two player games all night. We kind of got half way there, although there were a enough two player games to go around most of them were brought by a handful of people so there wouldn't have been anyone to teach the games.

Some great two player games did get played though like 7 Wonders: Duel, Android: Netrunner, Lost Cities, Star Realms and Tash Kalar. Games that support more than two players also got played as two player like Carcassonne, Entropy, Imperial Settlers. Although you can play Entropy and Imperial Settlers with more than two players I wouldn't recommend it. To me they seem like two player games they tacked multi-player rules onto. There were some other great two player games that never got to be played like Go, Jambo, Innovation, The Duke, and a bunch of games from the GIPF series.

I started off the night with Lost Cities, the Reiner Knizia two player classic. Dan beat me but 100 points to something embarrassing. I redeemed myself in Entropy beating Dan in that game. Then we played 7 Wonders: Duel. Dan beat me by getting six different types of research which was again pretty embarrassing. Afterwards we played Imperial Settlers, Dan got off to a good start and it looked like he was going to win but I crept ahead in the final round and took the lead for the win. I finished off the night with another game of Lost Cities, this time against Mike. I managed to beat him by ending the game before he could play his best cards. If he'd have had a few more turns he defiantly would have won the game.

A bunch of non-two player games got played as well like Boss Monster, Lords of Waterdeep, Rattus, Red7, Rhino Hero and The Big Book of Madness. Back to normal next week for the usual multi-player stuff.

Free To A Good Home

This week Cath brought a bunch of games to give away free to a good home. This is the kind of thing you're missing if you're not coming to IpBoG!

I started the night with Codenames. I'm generally bad at this game but sometimes slow and steady wins the race and my team managed to win in all the rounds, even when I was the spymaster. Afterwards we played a quick game of For Sale which Cath won followed by the main event, Onwards To Venus. Like Mythotpoia from the previous weeks this is another Martin Wallace game that I picked up for cheap. It's is a kind of area control game set in some steam punk style alternate history universe that I've never heard of but is allegedly slightly famous. I preferred this game to Mythotopia but I won so I would say that. In all honesty it seemed less generic and fiddly and more like something I'd play again rather than something which will probably sink to the bottom of my cupboard.

Machi Koro was played along with the Millionaires Row expansion which Phillip said was an improvement on the base game. Eight Minute Empire: Legends was also played which Phillip also said was an improvement on the base game.

Others played Mafia de Cuba, Pit, Spyfall and Arctic Scavengers. Remember next week is our two year anniversary and so we'll be having a two player game night so make sure to bring all your best two player games. Or at least your games that work best with two players.

Anniversary Plans

It's nearly been two years since the first ever IpBoG. We should probably do something fun. Well, board games are always fun, but something a bit different maybe. I was throwing around the idea of having a two player game day and people seemed pretty into the idea. Our anniversary is the last week in March which is two weeks away from now so don't forget to brush off your copies of Star Realms and Andriod: Netrunner. I'll probably be bringing Imperial Settlers, okay it's not a two player game but I'd never play it with any more than two people.

Anyway, to the blog proper. We got something like 21 people this week, it's getting hard to count the exact amount. I arrived to fine people already playing Ca$h 'n Gun$ and also (I think) Zombies!!!

I brought Mythotopia again and we got through it much quicker this time and cleaned up a couple of rules errors. I snuck in late for the win but it was pretty close and could have been anyone's game. Afterwards I played Tiny Epic Galaxies. I game Philip a hint as to what he could do and he did it, losing himself (and me) the game. This is the last time anyone takes any of my board gaming advise.

Mike brought Quartermaster General which made it's IpBoG debut. It's a team game with three people on each side, each player controlling a different country on either the Axis or Allied side.

Dan brought For Sale. He'd been holding out for the recent Asmodee version which has super nice art and super nice components and, not wanting show show off but, is the one that I own.  It's pretty hard to get hold of though, at least for a price that isn't totally extortionate so he finally caved and bought the English version.

Danny had bought the Revolución expansion for Mafia de Cuba which I think went down well. A bunch of other games were played including, but not limited to, Coup and Blueprints. I'm sure others were played but I was caught up on the other side of the bar so didn't get to see them all.

Dee Un Dee

Twenty two people this week. One down from last week! There were a lot of games making their IpBoG debut appearances.

I turned up this week to find people already mid-game. One table were playing the game with the longest name I've ever heard Dungeons & Dragons: The Fantasy Adventure Board Game. Although it bears the name of the RPG, it it's more of a standard dungeon crawl than a role playing game.

I brought Mythotopia, the game with probably the most generic name in board gaming. It's pretty much a multiplayer re-implementation of the Martin Wallace game A Few Acres of Snow which is conversely the game with probably the least generic name in board gaming. It was my first time playing it and the rules are a but fiddly. It ended up taking us the whole night and we didn't get to the end. It's probably our fault more than the game's. We let Dan have the honorary win because he was winning throughout most of the game although Alex was hot on his tail towards the end.

Joe won at Quantum but Joe always wins at Quantum. In what can only be described as a strange attempt to prove me right, Mike brought Friese's Landlord, a recent re-implementation of Landlord! the first Friedemann Friese game to ever be published back in 1992. Rhino Hero, the dexterity game for kids that's also enjoyed by adults, also made it's debut this week.

People also played Star Realms, Light Line, Chinatown, Machi Koro and almost defiantly a bunch of other games that I didn't see.