Monday Night Gaming

Wouldn't you know it, just as I start to get the gist of Puerto Rico the rest of the gang decides to use the expansion rules. Still, I seem to be getting the hang of the game, as I came in third place instead of fourth. I might have won had I built a warehouse or small wharf earlier in the game. We finished off the night with Bohnanza, or as I usually refer to it, the Bean Game. I seem to be getting better at that as well, coming in second. I think my earlier games went so badly because my trading strategies were too simplistic. I got in on some four-card trades and even a three-cornered trade this time. And I gave away fewer cards.

Next week I think we'll end up playing El Grande with the expansions. I really like this game and am looking forward to trying out the new rules. Bruce is not so keen on the original, so hopefully the expanded game will be more to his liking. We also talked about maybe playing Origins of World War I, which was published in Sid Sackson's compilation book A Gamut of Games. I'd have to make a board for that, but it's just a grid for placing some chips. If we can get all five of us together (Bruce, Al, Karl, Jim, and me) that would be ideal, as Origins of WWI is a 5-player game. Maybe I'll put together a set and just leave it at Bruce's until we get a full boat of players. We also discussed playing Nuke the Crap Out of Europe from the great folks at Critical Miss, the magaizne for dysfunctional roleplayers. If you like RPGs and cussing, do yourself a favor and check out their archives.