December Games

In December, we played GAMES!!!

It gets cold out. we're less inclined to go out... so... 

Also I severly strained my hamstring at the end of November so there were a few weeks I didn't even leave the house... 

Saturday, 3 December 2022

Saturday afternoon we played a game of Carcassonne, while Finnegan was out at work and Keiran was at an all-day dress rehearsal for the musical they were in the following week. 

Sunday, 4 December 2022

Sunday afternoon, Amanda wanted to try Stone Age as a two-player game. So we did. It was okay. Amanda soared ahead of my in points DURING the game, but I went whizzing past in the end-game scoring. It was still pretty close when all was counted up, though. 

Tuesday, 6 December 2022

Tuesday evening Finnegan was recording upstairs after work, so Amanda and I hid in the basement for a bit and played another game of Stone Age. I think the game ended up playing faster (and was a bit lower scoring) because we had a clearer idea of what we were trying to do and do it faster than the other... and that brought the game to a conclusion quicker, but with fewer points scored all around.  Amanda won this one. 

Wednesday, 7 December 2022

Wednesday evening we played Terraforming Mars. Mostly because I'd given up on the idea of getting any sort of challenge finished. Amanda had suggested Stone Age again, but I felt like playing something different. I like Stone Age... but not enough to play it three times in a row. 

Mars after 14 generations of Terraforming. 

I was playing Helion with Ecology Experts and Early Settlement. Amanda played Valley Trust with Biofuels, Aquifer Turbines, and Galilean Mining - she took Generalist and Tychoon milestones and Celebrity, Desert Settler, and Benefactor Awards. I got the Ecologist Milestone... 

Amanda won, obviously... 

Sunday, 11 December 2022

Stone Age. Again. 

Amanda won. 

By LOTS! 

Saturday, 17 December 2022

ON Sunday we were supposed to be playing another session of Finnegan's RPG - the first session of the new Dresden Files Accelerated RPG campaign he was going to run for me and my friends Neil and Jasper. As we got closer to the day, I checked in with Finnegan to see if he was ready and still interested to run the game - from the get-go I realized this was a bit of an imposition on him, being busy with his first year of University, running his two weekly D&D games, his part-time job an the library AND his side-passion-projects... and he admitted it was starting to cause him some stress having to come up with and investigative, mystery-solving campaign... 

So talking to the guys, we decided maybe I could take over and GM a game... though there was little chance I'd have anything ready by Sunday... so I suggested we try out Hellboy: The Boardgame. Everyone seemed keen on that, so it became a plan. 

Unfortunately it's been over two and a half YEARS since I last played, and, though it isn't a terribly complicated game, I thought maybe I should try playing through one of the scenarios to remind myself how to play. I can TOTALLY be played as a solo game, and I would have done so, but Amanda graciously volunteered to try playing through a game with me the night before. 

We just played the easy introductory scenario... It's kind of a cake-walk - designed to learn the important basic rules. Everytime I've run it the players win... 

It did NOT go well for us... Yikes. teh Boss monster - the Giant Frog Monster appeared and just kicked our asses. I was playing Abe Sapien... this is him about to be knocked out... 

Amanda was playing Johann Kraus... Here is Kraus, surrounded by Frog Monsters, a GIANT FROG MONSTER bearing down on him, and the room is ON FIRE.. this is where we called it. The writing was on the wall (which was on fire...)

It occurred to me afterwards, I think this might be the first time we played it WITHOUT Hellboy! 

Sunday, 18 December 2022

The next day Jasper and Neil came by and Finnegan, though he just didn't have time to PREPARE a role-playing adventure, figured he did have enough time to play the boardgame with us. He may even join the game that I run for Neil and Jasper. He only has to show up and role-play one afternoon a month, seems doable. 

Neil played Hellboy, Jasper played Johann Kraus and Finnegan played Abe Sapien. I kind of just ran the show and pushed around the frog monsters. 

They had a MUCH easier time of it... 

Especially with Finnegan making attack rolls like this, when Abe was shooting the Giant Frog Monster!? BLAM!! (because they'd acquired two insight tokens, the Giant Frog monsters Resilience was reduced from 4 to 2, I think...? or maybe the insight tokens are what upgraded the dice...? I don't remember... so this dealt NINE - or 7? - damage... the poor creature only HAD 20 wounds.. Abe shot him twice and then Hellboy PUNCHED him and... that was about it...). 

Fun times. Looking forward to trying running a role-playing game for these guys next month. 

Saturday, 31 December 2022

Amanda AND Keiran said they's play a game, and Keiran suggested Splendor.

I totally crushed it - ending the game with 17, Amanda took a final turn and got to 15... Keiran suggested we play again. I was very lucky... I couldn't POSSIBLY have that kind of luck again!? 

Ummm... apparently lightening DOES strike twice!? I won this game with EIGHTEEN points?! Amanda didn't even make it to 15. Keiran scored higher in the second game so they were pleased enough... They really like the game, but have only even won it on two occasions! 

Aaaaaaand... that's it... 

We played next to NO GAMES over the holidaze (compared to previous years!)... Which was kind of a major bummer... for the last decade and a half, that's kind of what we DID over the Holidaze between Xmas and New Year - pay lots and LOTS of games... I had really thought those last two weeks might be filled with gaming!? 

Part of the problem was Amanda got roped into cat sitting for almost three weeks!? Initially, there was an understanding that Keiran would help out... but then didn't... and then this last week we had CrAzY amounts of SNOW!? Which made it harder to get back and forth to the house and the snow had to be cleared off sidewalks and I couldn't even help out because I've strained my hamstring during the first snowfall in November and it just gets worse every time I try to shovel snow or walk over any kind of uneven ground - like across all the uncleared sidewalks all around our neighbourhood... So Amanda's just been exhausted and the kids are kind of into their own things... so...   

Ah well... maybe next year... 

Still to come this evening - Looking Back at 2022 and maybe Game Plan 2023 - Q1...?