Friday Game Night in July

Finally able to hold a game night at Bob’s! The previous two attempts were cancelled for various reasons. We actually had a nice turnout for a Friday game night — 7. In addition to Bob and myself, Kieron, Troy and Heather all turned out for a spot of gaming. Jill and Bob’s wife, Julie, also joined us later in the evening for a game or two.

The first game to hit the table was Havoc. It is a game that is played with some frequency at our game nights. It was the first time playing for Heather. We used a 6 battle (the odd numbered battles plus #8, Formigny) setup for a shorter game since Julie and Jill would be joining us later. Heather was the peacekeeper and everyone was heavily recruiting early in the game causing peace and harmony to reign without the battle of Sluys ever occurring. Heather had good cards and won battles at Poitiers and Agincourt. Troy prevailed at Orleans while Bob crushed Heather and me at Formigny. Kieron dominated Castillon but Heather’s early victories earned enough points to win the day and be crowned King.

Afterwards, we split into two groups. Heather, Troy and Kieron played Traumfabrik while Jill, Bob and I played Ra. Two great Knizia games going at once! First play for everyone of Traumfabrik. I explained the game while Bob set up Ra. They picked it up quickly and only had a few questions during the game. I didn’t have much opportunity to monitor the game but everyone said they liked it. We talked about the fact that Uberplay is releasing an english version of this game called Hollywood Blockbuster. My understanding is that the actors, directors and movie titles will be replaced by fictional names to avoid any copyright, licensing or other legal issues. Even though the game isn’t materially changed, I feel like it won’t be quite as interesting as it is now with all the famous classic movies, actors and directors. Seriously cool as it is and glad I have the original version.

Jill, Bob and I are experienced Ra players. I picked up the reprint last summer (also by Uberplay) and it’s one of my favorite games to play with 3 players. I did get away with a couple of nice large sets of tiles that included many different monuments. Bob and Jill had long rivers but I continued building sets of monuments that paid off well at the end of the game.

We wrapped up the evening with a game of Time’s Up. Jill and I were a little behind in the first 2 rounds but finished strong in the final round taking 15 of the cards and winning by 2 points. This is my favorite large group/party game at the moment. The last round with no words — only gestures or sounds is hilarious.