7 Wonders - Resource Management (in 2-Player)

This weekend brought an opportunity to get in a couple of games of 2-Player 7 Wonders (as per our usual with the Leaders and Wonder Pack expansions).  In past games I have definitely hurt myself due to not having enough resources, but this is the first time I can remember playing a 2-Player game where the resources I needed weren't available at all, even for purchase!

In the first game my strategy was to make sure I got a few gray resource cards and ignore the military based on the leaders I had.  The first age went well.  Then about halfway through the second age I realized that not only did I not have any wood, but I couldn't build the second stage of my wonder as there wasn't three wood available between my neighbours (they each had one).  I never did see the double wood card that round, I think that it was likely the last card in the "dummy" player pile (that doesn't get picked up).  Despite a decent science score, I was defeated 60 to 50.

The board at the end of our first game

New Year (2015) Gaming - Stone Age, Dominion and Suburbia

The beginning of the new year brought a mini-holiday for me and led to some much appreciated opportunities to play some of my newer games.

Stone Age continues to be a favourite in our household, and we were excited to try it 4-player with another couple who had invited us over for an evening of games.  Neither of them was familiar with Stone Age, or even worker placement games in general.  Part of what had attracted me to Stone Age was reviews I had read that recommended it as a good introduction to worker placement games; not overly complicated but still a lot of fun.  The other couple we played with play a fair amount of boardgames, so the combination of game and players seemed to work out well, as they picked up the concept within the first couple of rounds.  I was expecting the 4-player game to be very different than a 2-player game, but I found that it wasn't.  The removal of the restrictions imposed by the 2-player version on limiting placement actually seemed to make it easier to get the resources I was seeking, and seemed to make other players choices have less impact on me (as there was limited ability to "block").  The exception was the end game, where the huts and cards seemed to disappear very quickly.  I was also a little bit disappointed that the first three placements were always agricultural track, tool, extra worker until near the end; that being said I also didn't change it up as it seemed to be the smart play for me too.  Despite all my complaints above I really enjoyed the 4-player game and will continue to want to play both 2 and 4 player games.

I also had a chance in a 2-player game to try out a new strategy; I focused entirely on tools and tool-related cards, and then population when they weren't available.  The hope was that the increase to my rolls from the tools would offset the need to hunt more often.  In this particular game we met both end-game conditions on the same turn, with only 1 hut and 1 card not being bought, resulting in the highest total score yet.  My strategy didn't work so well and I lost badly, so it won't be used again.

Final turn of Stone Age with Tool Strategy

Despite having played Dominion a fair bit, almost all of my games have been 2-player.  We got to play a 4-player game the same evening as the Stone Age game described above.  We played one of the pre-made sets from the base game, and it was heavy on +action and +card.  Playing with four experienced players combined with the kingdom card set led to a very quick game, to the point that I had trouble keeping track of what everyone else was doing.  It was still a lot of fun, but I think I would rather play a little more of a relaxed pace next time (it was late, which may of contributed to the speed we played at).

With Suburbia I have only been playing one strategy so far; maximize income early and then work on reputation.  I think with the next few games I am going to try and diversify my strategies a bit just to see how it works out.  Having a high income means that I can afford pretty much any tile that shows up in the market, forcing my wife to either buy or bury any tiles that are really useful for me.

My "city" where I focused on income

With 2-Players each "stage" (A/B/C) uses less than half of the tiles, leading to games where only one PR firm or Casino is available.  I have found so far that these are really powerful, leading to an automatic buy (or bury when a player can't afford) as soon as it shows up on the board, and a huge leg up if it is bought.  I am thinking to possibly add a house rule to remove these tiles; eliminate some advantage based on the order tiles are revealed, and make it a little more challenging as the scores climb.  I am definitely glad I got this game, and am excited to teach a few other people and try a 3 or 4 player game.

My "city" with no PR Firm or Casino

As we get back to the normal "routines" I hope opportunities to continue to play these games keep presenting themselves.

Christmas Gaming - Stone Age

Christmas break is now over for me, and we didn't get nearly as much gaming in as I was hoping we would.  Sickness (kids, us and guests) kept us a lot more low key, and led to naps (especially by me) during our normal gaming times.  We did manage to get a few games of Stone Age in, but only two player. 

Stone Age is still a new game for us, so we are both still testing various strategies and playing styles.  In Stone Age there are two ways to trigger the end of the game; build the last hut in a pile or if there are not enough Civilization cards to replace all four slots on the board.  One thing I have noticed is that with 2 players, it seems to be the huts that end the game, not the cards.  Its not all that surprising considering that the number of hut piles changes depending on the number of players (though the amount in each pile stays the same) and the number of civilization cards stays the same.  We did have our first game with the civilization cards being the end game condition, but I have noticed that we the score from the cards seems to dominate the hut score, even with the huts ending the game.

My board at the end of the game where we ran out of civilization cards.

7 Wonders - Wasted plays

When playing any game, I find that there three situations that can contribute to a win or a loss; how you play, how your opponent plays, and luck of the cards/dice/etc.  One of the reasons that I enjoy 7 Wonders so much is that it is rare that I feel that the luck of the cards is the reason for a win or loss.  Yes, it can make some difference, and it definitely affects how you play, but there always seems to be decent options with the cards you are presented. 

I often let my wife pick which boardgame we play, as it is usually me wanting to play a boardgame in the first place.  7 Wonders is one of her favourites and is relatively quick to play, which is why we have played it so much lately.  This weekend we played again, and this was one of the games where in hindsight I realized that my play is what caused me to lose, due to wasted plays.

Like many of our games, and as I previously posted about, the leaders I ended up with affected my strategy.  This time my plan was based around Phidias (one point per brown card) and Imhotep (wonder stages cost one less resource), I also had a couple of leaders that were just straight victory points.  The conflict between these card should have been obvious; one directs you towards lots of resource cards, and one away from needing them.  It is an even bigger error when you consider that the wonder I had, Olympia, has a brown resource already, only needs common resources to build its stages, and a low number of them (only two per stage).  I used my leader for the 2nd age to build the 2nd stage of my wonder; this allowed one building to be built each age for free.  Because I had so many resources, I never ended up using it. Yes it allowed the 3rd stage to be built, but for 2 cards 7 points should have been easily achievable, even in the 2nd age. 

Final card layout (me at bottom)

It should be pointed out that my wife played well, and took full advantage of her wonder, which definitely contributed to the final score of 64-53.  It just goes to show, that even with a game you have played many times before, it is important to pay attention to your strategy!

7 Wonders - Leaders Influence Strategy

When playing 7 Wonders, I find that the strategy I use is influenced by the wonder, leaders and early cards I get.  I find that with the 2-player version this is even more true, as I can control (to some extent) what cards my opponent gets to see.

Last night my wife and I got a game in, and this was a great example of the leaders influencing my strategy.  I drew Rome (A) as my wonder, which means that I was able to recruit leaders for free; this allowed me to pick the expensive leaders, with potentially the highest reward from them.  I ended up with Ramses, Justinian, Nebuchadnezzar and Sappho (leaders can be viewed in the rulebook here).  Throughout the game I ended up playing the first three, leading me towards playing a balanced game of military (red), science (green) and civilian (blue) cards.  This is a big change for me, as I tend to play by focusing on one area and almost never go for civilian cards.  The final results can be seen in the picture below; I am at the bottom, my wife at the top and the neutral to the left.

Completed Game

 

Justinian was a success, as I managed to get 3 sets of the red, blue and green cards, and in doing so even managed to win the final round of military combat, and complete a set of scientific cards.  The big disappointment was the guilds, which I was counting on scoring well with due to being able to play them for now cost with Ramses.  The 5 that ended up in this game just didn't work for many points.  I ended up playing just one, and for only 4 points as my very last play.

 

In the end the final score was 65 to 55, with me being on the losing end.  Even with the loss, a 55 score is not bad and has won games before.  I am enjoying the fact that the wonder and leaders I get can have such an influence on the strategy I employ.  It not only makes me try interesting combos, it also keeps the game fresh, as each one can be completely different than the previous.  There is also enough leaders (36) that you don't see the same ones game after game.

Dominion - Session Report

My wife and I played a couple of games of Dominion last night.  As usual, we used a random set of kingdom cards from all of the sets we have (see list in Boardgame Collection).

Game 1

 

In the first game I planned to go for the treasure maps and use the cartographer to try and get them together.  The name synergy of using the cartographer to find the maps just an added bonus.  The problem I ran into is that by focusing on the maps I didn't have 5 coins to spend until it was too late, so the plan fell apart.  As well, my attempts at using the crossroads was hampered by us using the Dark Ages starting cards in place of the three estates.  My wife ended up using a couple of Goons and Death Carts to walk all over me.  Final score was 47 to 31.

 

 

Game 2

In the second game I used the trader to ditch my Estates and get Silvers instead, which worked rater well.  I then used Shanty Towns and  Spys to build towards Alters.  In the end the province split was 5-3, but I also had a bunch of Duchys gained through the Alters, which allowed me to win the game 42 to 28.

Clash of Clans - Townhall Location

Clash of Clans has quickly become one of the games I play the most often.  I had originally tried it out and enjoyed it, then my brother started playing (and a lot more than me) and we now are in the same clan, making it even more fun.

One of the strategies that I currently employ, and many players do, is to keep the townhall out, easily accessible to anyone who attacks.  This means that they get an easy win, and I get a 12 hour shield where no one else can attack me.  The key is that many people will only hit the townhall and leave my resources alone, allowing me to grow faster.  It is almost an essential strategy while raiding for resources, but even so, it just feels wrong!

My base with the townhall easily accessible

I would love to keep my townhall in the middle of my base, and actually win more defensive battles.  However, I have done that in the past, and it just isn't as effective as you end up losing more resources.  My only consolation is having my Hidden Teslas at the townhall, occasionally catching someone off guard, and at the very least forcing them to use some more troops.  I love the game, I just wish I could be successful with a wider range of strategies.