Weekend Gaming

This past weekend we had two other couples over for games that we play with regularly.

We have played a variety of games over time, but this weekend we played one that we haven't in a while, Settlers of Catan, and two we have play regularly, 7 Wonders and Castle Panic.

Although we have played with this group before, it had been a while since the last game of Settlers.  This is the "original" game that hooked me on boardgames, and it was because both me and my wife had an itch to play that we convinced the others to give it a go.  Despite getting what I thought was a set of great starting locations, I fell behind pretty quickly due to some rolling that didn't go my way.  There was one guy who took the lead pretty early, and although a couple of other people made it close at the end, he just was too far ahead for anyone to catch.  I started to get better rolls near the end, but I was just too far back.  There was a few comments after the game that Settlers can be a long game if you fall behind early, and this is the first time in a long time that I had to agree, and felt out of the game for the majority.  I still would be willing to play any time, but I doubt this group will be playing in the near future.

We then played a round of 7 Wonders, using the Wonders Pack and Leaders expansions.  This is our bread and butter game, and is always enjoyed by all.  I had three military oriented leaders (only two of which I managed to play due to high costs), and focused on that as my strategy.  In the end I think that it focused me too much, and I ended up with more red (military) card than I needed, and lost a bunch of points as a result.

The final hurrah for the night was a round of Castle Panic.  The only time I have lost so far was when we played with this group, our very first time playing it.  We have won a few times since then and we work together well.  We were cruising through until near the end, when we all had empty or near-empty hands, making the trading almost useless, which made for a hairy ending, but managed to squeak out a win.  This is one of the few co-operative games I enjoy; I just find that I have a hard time not pushing my strategies onto the other players, and so I find myself being very careful when we play these types of games.  Thankfully this group includes friends I am close enough with that this is less of an issue.

Castle Panic (Setup and ready to play)

Overall a fun night!