Sunday, 6 February 2022
Almost a week into the month before we played any games...
Amanda and I played Wingspan - with ALL THE EXPANSIONS!?
Sometimes, when playing with just the two, I try the goal board that's point per/max five, rather than points for most. Sometimes it works better... sometimes it's just to easy to get five... Like this one...
My sanctuary at the end of it all...
Tuesday, 8 February 2022
On Tuesday, after school, Keiran actually asked ME if I wanted to play a game?! Well I wasn't going to past THAT opportunity up!
We played Splendor and they were delighted to WIN - for the first time EV-AR!?
After Amanda got back from teaching yoga, we played For Sale. (Which we haven't played in a long time!)
Didn't get Amanda in the playing picture... so here are the two of them with the box.
Friday, 11 February 2022
Played with Ellysium and Prelude
Amanda (red) played Inventrix with Ecology Experts and Research Network - took Ecologist Milestone.
I (blue) played Credicor with Io Research Outpost and Mining Op - took Tycoon and Generalist Milestones and Desert Settler Award.
I actually won a game of Terraforming Mars! Yay!
Saturday, 12 February 2022
If playing Terraforming Mars on Friday weren't enough, we played again TWICE on Saturday evening!?
The first game we played on Hellas
Amanda played Credicor with Nitrogen Shipment and Power Generation - took Diversifier and Energizer Milestones and Cultivator Award.
I played Vitor with Supply Droop and Metals Company - took Polar Explorer milestone and Space Baron Award.
I won this game as well.
Amanda suggested "best two out of three...?"
I'm not sure she understands how that works... as I'd already won two!?
In the second game, Amanda played Tharsis Republic with Bio Lab and Society Support. She took Gardiner and Planer Milestones and Banker Award
I played the Mining Guild with Acquired Space Agency and Self Sufficient Settlement and took Mayor Milestone and Miner Award
Both tied for Scientist Award.
I had SO MUCH steel production... and just couldn't draw any building cards!? It was ridiculous!?
Friday, 18 February 2022
Some friends, Kurtis and Tania, came over on Friday to play games.... They're both co-workers of Amanda and both recently started dating each other (Though I've known Kurtis for longer than he's been working in Amanda's office)
We started with Wingspan.
Of all our games, I don't think we've used the Food Cost of Played Cards goal before!?
My Sanctuary at the end of the game. SO close to filling the board. my bonus card awarded 2 points per card in the row with the fewest... so would have been cool to get two more.. but it just wasn't happening. I had one more I COULD HAVE played, but went with eggs for my last activation instead... The card was only worth two points... and it would have taken two eggs to put it into play - so, net zero... Or I could gain eggs, discarding food or card for an extra one... for four eggs and four points... IF I'd played the card I would have also not had to share the round end goal... but that would have only gained two points... so... still better to do the lay egg action.
Afterwards we played a quick game of Azul. I think Kurtis had suggested it because he thought Tania might like it. She did. She totally crushed it...
THEN we played Bananagrams - which Keiran owns and we haven't played in AGES... but Tania is a bit fan
This was mine at the end of the game.
Saturday, 19 February 2022
Friday evening, Amanda and I played Terraforming Mars again.
Amandas mess of cards at the end of the game. She played Thorgate with Mining Ops and and Galilean Mining... She took all three milestones: Diversifier, Energizer AND Rim Settler.. AND took the Cultivator and Eccentric Awards... (after I sponsored the Cultivator!?)
How it all looked at the end. I had a LOT of cities and got a lot of points from them... but not nearly enough to catch up...
I was playing Tharsis Republic with Acquired Space Agency and Martian Industries and trying to build a lot of space stuff... I almost single-handedly heated up Mars... A lot of Amandas points were from the milestones and one card (I forget which) that she got out on the first turn - along with a couple that gave her, like 8-10 power generation - which scored her 2VP/turn by spending energy resources... it was crazy.
Sunday, 20 February 2022
Sunday we played Terraforming Mars again...
Amanda played Cheung Shing Mars with Power Generation and Self Suficient Settlement. AGAIN she scooped three milestones before I could get any - took Terraformer, Planner and Builder milestones. She also won the Thermalist award
I played Phoblog with Biolab and Business Empire... got off to a slow start and Kind of knew I wasn't going to win by the second or third turn when Amanda took her third milestone!? In the end I won Scientist (with 10 tags!) and Landlord Awards and put a LOT of greenery and cities out there... but just couldn't catch up.
After supper, Keiran suggested they'd like to play a game and settled on Azul.
They just crushed us... like 64 points to Amanda's 49 and my 40!? WTF!?
Finnegan and I stayed up STUPID late and binge-watched all of Space Force season 2.
Monday, 21 February 2022
Monday was Family Day in Saskatchewan (and the beginning of public schools February break) so everyone was at home and, theoretically, not working or having much to do... so we did get in a few games.
Amanda and played Carcassonne.
Afterwards Keiran suggested we play Azul again. Amanda suggested we try on "the OTHER side".
She refered to is as "the hard side". Without the pre-printed pattern, she had a really hard time figuring out where things could go without messing things up.
I didn't find it particularly challenging. You can basically follow the same sort of pattern that is printed on the opposite side... but start with whatever is easily available the first round or two and then follow that patter. Yeah. Totally rocked this one. Keiran also did really well.
Friday, 25 February 2022
Friday was my birthday. I'd really hoped to host a weekend of in-person gaming, but the way things have been here in Saskatchewan in terms of Covid, that didn't seem like a great idea... Which was a bit of a downer.
And then the whole Russia invadine Ukraine thing... ugh...
Despite all this... I tried to stay positive and have a good time.
We went and got donuts from Darkside Donuts and a non-dairy "ice cream" cake from Fable Ice Cream - both located just a block away!
The cake we had with lunch. Actually there was a lot left over and it would last a few days!
It was delicious.
Then Amanda played a game of Terraforming Mars with me. I played my 50th game of Terraforming Mars on my 50th birthday!
"Oh, you thought I was going to go easy on you? Think again!
Pretty much from the get-go, it was pretty clear I was going to lose - Amanda just got an AMAZING group of cards to start with and scooped up all three milestones in the first few turns and was generating just piles of money and resources...
She was playing Point Luna with Metals Company and UNMI Contractor.
I was playing a game of catch up the rest of the game.
I did not catch up...
I played Ecoline with Early Settlement and Mohole..
We Terraformed Mars. I got a lot of greenery and cities out there. I did a fair bit of the temperature raising. But Amanda has SO MANY cards in play - I think she had 39 points of cards to my ten or eleven...? And then the three milestones!? She ended with 150 points and I had... maybe 120...?
After Terraforming Mars we nipped downtown to pick up some supper from Seasoned Fusion.
We had the donuts from Darkside for dessert.
In the evening, the family joined in for a few more games.
Everyone joined in for Splendor.
I think they LET me win...
(this also happened to be my 40th game of Splendor!)
Then we Finnegan dug out Five Tribes - which we have apparently not played in 3.5 years! They very definitely did NOT let me win this one... I was dead last.
Saturday, 26 February
I tried to run a game of Wrath & Glory online. I didn't have much prepared. We spent most of the time discussing the situation in Ukraine. We did develop the background a bit more. Everyone arrived on Xoxigar Secondus. One of the tank crew died of Space Herpes and had to be replaced with fresh meat from the Reserve Squadrons.... that's about it...
And that's it for February....
How are things going for GAME PLAN 2022 Q1...?
Well....
The miniature-game-a-week-plus-game-report thing hasn't happened so far...
5x5 Challenge...?
So far I have played:
- Terraforming Mars x6
- Azul x3
- Wingspan x3
- Carcassonne x2
- Splendor x2
- Wrath & Glory x2
- Bananagrams x1
- Five Tribes x1
- For Sale x1
- Marrying Mr. Darcy x1
- The Silver Bayonet x1
Terraforming Mars is done and looks like a contender for a 10x10 by the end of the year. We'll probably play two more games of Azul and Wingspan in March to get in five of those... Splendor might make it to five (seems kind of lame having two short an easy games on the challenge - Azul AND Splendor...) Maybe Carcassonne?
It WON'T be Wrath & Glory as we are only scheduled to play every other week... so we'll probably only get two games of that in.
Everyone had a lot of fun playing Five Tribes... could we play it four more times in March?!
I'd LOVE to get some miniature games going on... but I just haven't had the energy. I also haven't been painting much. Usually it's the PAINTING of miniatures that gets me excited about PLAYING with them... no painting... no playing... which is ridiculous, because I have SO MANY, FULLY-PAINTED that I could EASILY set up any number of games in any number of periods... bah.
Maybe the new Eldar Codex coming out next week will get me motivated to play some 40K...?
Interest in Silver Bayonet has waned and unlikely to recover. Neat idea, not enough there to keep my interest. So many other systems I could do the same thing in and have more fun and better campaign rules. Song of Blades and Heroes... Savage Worlds... I'd actually thought about replaying the last game we played USING Song of Blades and Heroes to see how it compares... but just didn't get to it.
Happy first half-century!
ReplyDeleteIs Amanda getting younger? Looks like it from the pics.
Maybe you got a late start playing games in February, but it looks like you got plenty of fun gaming in.
Space Force binge-watching - that's around 3 hours of viewing time isn't it? ha ha (I got through it in about 3 days myself)
Thanks!
DeleteMaybe it's the lighting? I dunno - she's older than ME!?
We did play a lot of game. I hope we can keep that momentum going through March. It was super fun to pick up Five Tribes again and have all - including Finnegan - be really excited about it and wanting to play again!
I loved Space Force. I might have to watch it again. We just started watching Legends of Vox Machina on Prime - which finnegan suggested - it's been good for a laugh!
Happy birthday! How great that you got in so much terraforming Mars. Pity about the games day, but maybe you could do it later in the year?
ReplyDeleteSo, are you hyped by new eldar?
Thanks so much!
DeleteAmanda and I played a LOT of Terraforming Mars that first year of the Pandemic. Like, A LOT! (last year Wingspan kind of took over as the go-to game).
Things are REALLY bad here in Saskatchewan right now. The provincial government has removed ALL vaccine and mask mandates and stopped all testing (except in hospitals) and won't even release statistics until a week after the fact as a weekly update. So, stats for the week of Feb 20-26 were released today, and it was one of the deadliest since the pandemic started. The rate of death was the highest in Canada and equal to the second and third place... The first three weeks of February accounted for over 10% of our total deaths since it all began... so... things aren't even slowing down here and there is zero willingness on the part of the government to do anything... I might have to wait until next year for a gaming day... or maybe for my 60th... or... 75th...
I was super stoked for a moment or two and launched into finishing up rebasing and started working on other units that needed a warrior or two to finish up... and then lost momentum as I started painting more pictures... I'm for sure going to pick it up this weekend and hopefully that will get me fired up enough, again, to finish up a few more units and get in a game or two. I'm so glad that the one book will include Asuryani, Harlequins, Corsairs, AND Ynarri!
Yeah, people are "ready for the pandemic to be over"... regardless of what the actual health situation is! Do you still have mandates at the county/city level?
DeleteSince I was already (slowly) painting Eldar, not much of a change for me, but it is exciting to see all the new stuff coming out, and I read a couple of codex reviews that were interesting from a force-building/modeling point of view. I figure that what is hot/allowed will change with the next edition anyway, and since I paint so slowly I am not too concerted about the new hotness, but I would not want to build my units with things they can not use anymore, or are really poor weapon combinations.
I'm not running out to buy anything NEW for my Eldar... I doubt it will even inform or change up the order I paint the things I still have to paint. Usefulness in the game is rarely a consideration for me (which is probably why I ALWAYS do so poorly in competitive games... alas...).
Deletewell... I WILL buy the new Kill Team box for the Corsairs - and the Chaos Space Marines!! - but that will be kind of a separate thing from my other eldar!
I'm kind of working on TWO different Eldar forces - the main one is my old metal Eldar of my own craftworld (well... splinter fleet from a craftworld) and a small, separate plastic/resin Ulthwe force lead by Eldrad Ulthran, himself. I acquired a handful of plastic and resin eldar as part of a lot that i bought for a pile of metal eldar that were in it. I also included Ulthran. I like the look of Ulthwe forces, so.... The corsairs, being plastic, will join them - if they are ever to be used in 40K.
I actually have a bunch of old Rogue Trader era Eldar that I'd earmarked to use as Guardians, and have painted some of the ones with Shuriken Catapults... but there are a bunch with an assortment of other weapons - lasguns, mostly, but also Melta guns and flamers - that I'm hoping I might be able to pass off as Corsairs attached to my own craftworld forces.
The City I live in has mandated that in City Hall and City buildings (like Leisure/Rec Centres and the Libraries) and busses, that masks are still required. The provincial government has forbidden public schools from enforcing their own mandates - but the school boards have sent out messages "strongly encouraging".
In Alberta - the province just to the west of Saskatchewan went one step further - forbidding municipalities from enforcing their own mandates and threatening to amend the municipalities act if they try... So the city of Edmonton - the CAPITOL of Alberta - has gone and stated they will be enforcing their own public health orders/mask mandates! It'll be interesting to see how that plays out!