April Games - Part Three

And the gaming - and bike rides - just kept rolling along...

Thursday, 16 April 2020

Ever so slightly warmer today - actually got above freezing. I went for a shorter ride, though, because...



I actually convinced Number Two to come for a ride WITH me! (first she played Blackstone Fortress, now bike rides... she must be REALLY BORED with all this social distancing going on!)



Later, Amanda and I dug out Carcassonne to play. We ended up playing two games - the first was just with the base set - for a quick game to remind ourselves how to play (it's been a while) and to see if it was something we were really interested in... and it was fun... so the next game we added in Traders & Builders and Inns & Cathedrals..



Where to put that last piece...?


Friday, 17 April 2020

Aaaaaaand we're back to Terraforming Mars...



I tired a corporation called Viron - it seemed like it had a neat special ability - as an action I could basically repeat an action on a blue card every turn! I've had lots of games where I get loads of those cards out... I didn't get a SINGLE blue card with an action on it ALL GAME!? I only put two blue cards in play at all - both were just effects - one being -3 cost to any cards with Earth Tags... and I didn't get a single card with an Earth Tag after that!? GAH!



WE played with the Elysium board and just decided to skip the World Government Phase. the game only went 13 turns - probably wouldn't have gone 10 if we'd been doing the world government phase (and I might have had a CHANCE!)

Amanda had UNMI and EVERY turn got an extra Terraforming Rating for 3 credits when she increased... something.



Despite SWEARING she was going to actually DO some Terraforming and put Greenery and Cities on the table this game - she didn't put hardly any on - until the last couple of turns - when she was collecting 80 money per turn...



As usual, she won by a landslide by putting piles and PILES of green cards into play - all with points on them - 34 points to be precise. Over a QUARTER of her total points just came from cards in play.

(I had eight points from cards)

Part way through the game she had been moaning that she wasn't getting to do much Terraforming and wondered if I'd play a second game afterwards... Then beat me by 20 points...


Saturday, 18 April 2020

Saturday our friend Bruce dropped off our copy of Century: Golem Edition, which we had loaned to him some time ago...



So... Amanda and I had to play a game!



Amanda played a VERY quick game - picking up cheap cards as fast as she could - along with a lot of coins... Despite me only having four victory cards to her six cards and four coins... I still won...



right off the start, I'd picked up an amazing engine that allowed me to very quickly generate and trade for any sort of gems and I went for all the highest point cards!



In the afternoon Finnegan ran his Saturday afternoon D&D game.



I went for a ride up to the Chief Mistawassis Bridge.



When I got back, Amanda and I set up and played a game of Blackstone Fortress

A whole report of that action can be found here:

Blackstone Fortress: Null-Gravity Abyss


Sunday, 19 April 2020













Monday, 20 April 2020

Didn't play any games today...

I did make a couple trips out - both to run errands/get groceries. Trip #2 took me to Broadway Avenue, and while I was waiting outside the Steep Hill Food Co-op for my curtsied pick up, I noticed what they'd put out on the old Broadway Theatre....



Fly casual, indeed.



Curb-side pick up of groceries.



I also spent some time, reorganizing a few of my bookshelves and got all the Warhammer and Cthulhu stuff in one space...



A bit of spill over of older White Dwarf magazines had to be left on the top of the shelf...


Tuesday, 21 April 2020

Today was Amanda's birthday. The kids and I chipped in and picked up a copy of Azul for her (which she had expressed interest in a few times over the last few months - especially after playing it again at ToonCon!)



After breakfast we sat down with The Girl to play. They joked about us playing two separate games - there was the game they (Amanda and Keira) were playing and then I was apparently playing in a game entirely unto myself - because I scored WAY higher than they did (I had 72, they had 44 and 41).

They made a lot of comments about how I'm going to "dominate" this game and "always win". This is why I keep track of stats on Board Game Geek. Often I pick up games really quickly and will usually win the first time we play... maybe the first few times we play... and after that, somehow, Amanda just Groks it and wins most of the rest of the game we ever play...

I spent a good chunk of the rest of the day working on a couple of desserts for Amanda's birthday. She's been trying to reduce wheat/gluten intake for the last while - to see if it helps with this chronic pain she's been having in her abdomen - so she wasn't interested in the cake I usually make. I came up with a few other options... but she couldn't settle on one... so I made BOTH!



First, was a Creamy Coconut Pie - the filling was coconut and some tofu and a load of sugar with  a crust that was mostly nuts and dates. Gluten Free. Sort of Vegan. Keto? Not-So-Much!



The second was a Chocolatey Not-So-Cheese cake. Same crust as the pie above, the filling was mostly cashew and maple syrup and cocoa powder.

I tried to convince the kids that they probably wouldn't like them... I mean, they're practically salads... they saw right through my ruse, however.



In the evening, while we were waiting for supper, we played another game of Azul - and actually convinced Finnegan to join us!



Remember what I said about the false belief that I dominate all games... yeah, that's me with 45 points. Finnegan got 65 - the first time he played, EVER.



And Amanda...? 49. Looks like that earlier game was the last time I'll be winning this one... Ah, well... it's fun just making patterns with the pretty tiles...



Supper arrived. We actually ordered out (something we rarely do!) from a newish place called Kashmere over on Broadway.



Dessert #1 - Keira insisted that birthday candles be put on at least one of the desserts. Amanda said there was no way we were putting one for every year as that might end up with the fire department being summoned. They settled on one. I suggested she try blowing it out with the face mask I made her for her birthday.



It didn't really work out... neither blowing or the face mask... It was WAY TOO BIG for her tiny little head. Guess it's going to be MY face mask! (Which is probably for the best, I'm the only one that really ever goes out at this point anyway...).



Happy Birthday Girl eating pie.


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Um...?



Lot of different stuff on the workbench these days... with the pressure off to finish the Noise Marines by next weekend, and the state of chaos in the world getting to me a bit, I've been a little all over the place. There is a lot of GUARD on the workbench - mostly because I've been reading Ciaphus Cain novels. Probably have a post with some of those sometime today or tomorrow.

After that...? Blackstone Fortress...?

I've been thinking a lot about Kill Team, lately, as well. Trying to come up with scenarios based on - or, at least, inspired by - stories I'm currently reading - or read in the past. Finnegan has Tau and Genestealer Cult stuff - two of the factions involved in For the Emperor - the first Ciaphus Cain novel, which I am currently reading. Not sure if I'll be able to convince him to play, just yet. I have been telling him about the novel, and he did say he might be interested in reading it when I'm done.... so there is hope!