Storm of Games

The next day started with much more focus and also with us bringing games as back-ups. We sat at a table and started playing Deep Sea Adventure. After barely getting started, we were joined by 3 different people and we started over. Things began well. Most players made it back to the sub on every trek. One of the other players had a very good strategy on the last run, but I was able to foil his plan and win. He revealed to me later that it wasn't his first go-round with the game.
After that, one of the players had to leave, but the other two still had time so the guy set up and explained...

Space Colony Hex 3-7 players
This is a three team hexagonal tile laying game. Players are given one of three secret roles at the beginning of the game. Engineers are trying to make a good space station, the government is trying to make the most expensive station, and the con artist is trying to blow things up and collect expensive scraps. Players take turns placing tiles so that the hazard lights line up. If this causes a tunnel to meet with a hazard light, parts of the base will break off and be added to the players collection of tiles. If after a player's turn one of the winning scenarios is met (4 connected hallways, a base worth 15 trillion space bucks, and/or the con-artist with 9 trillion worth of tiles), the game ends. Who ever met their goals wins. This means multiple teams can win.

We played two games. Liz and the other girl had some trouble getting the hang of how to properly place tiles or at the very least how to place them effectively. At the end of the first game, the engineers and government won. Liz and I were the engineers. At the end of the second game, I believe the con artist won which was the guy who owned the game.

This game was supposedly on Kickstarter and failed and is only available from the designer by special request. The guy who brought it and his friend seemed to be very big on having absurdly niche and unknown games. It was alright, but isn't for a player who likes lighter games. The overall idea is cool: a hidden role team tile-laying game. The mechanics can just be a bit hard to grasp.

We tried to play another one of their games, but time ran out on the table's availability after them trying to half-explain it for a third time. Liz and I found a new table and played a small game with each other from the library...

Roll For It! 2-4 players
This is the full version of the solo variant I own of Roll For It! Express. Players take turns rolling their available dice and then assign them to any of three different cards to try and match the indicated dice combo. Players only get one roll a turn and dice are locked on cards until some one matches the combo and wins the card or unless the player decides to re-roll all of their dice. The first player to collect cards worth a combined value of 40 points or more is the winner.

Liz had some really good rolls and took a tremendous lead. She even snaked a few of the cards I was trying to complete away from me. I then had to change to a strategy of big points and it worked in my favor. I won by 6 points.

This is an okay game. There really isn't much to it. I'd play it if someone was dying to try it out, but other than that, I would probably suggest they play a different game. There are much better and richer small short games.

We took a break for lunch and got some burgers from the restaurant in the hotel. We got the food to go, found a table, and started to play Isle of Trains. Just as we were about to start the game, a random person got drawn into the game's small form and unique art style. I played very poorly, Liz and the other guy were doing quite well. Liz had the win.
After her win, Liz took some time off from game to check out the brewfest going on nearby. The other guy noticed I had Fleet in my collection and asked if we could play that. He owns it, but doesn't get to play it ever since his wife was soured on the game. As I was remembering setup conditions, another player joined in. I setup a game to make use of the Arctic Bounty expansion so that they could get a taste of it. It was a very close game. I lost, but not by nearly as much as I though I was going to. We were all within 6 or 7 points of each other. They really dug the expansion and I enjoyed not having to constantly explain the rules this time.
I packed up and started looking for Liz. She had perfect timing because she was already back from the brewfest. We found another table and started to prepare TSCHAK!. One player joined the game. He had a few missteps in the beginning, but caught on quick. He ended up winning by nearly double my points.
We packed up again and we ran back into the guy who we played Isle of Trains with. We saw a game of Ca$h 'n Gun$ 2nd Edition about to start and joined in on the fun. I liked the changes that were made. It streamlines the game a bit more, adds room for two more players, and makes game variants really easy to explain. We played two games (I mean we as in the group, Liz left after the first game to use up the rest of her brewfest tokens.) I nearly won the first game. In the second game, I didn't come close to winning, but it was fun since I was able to use the twin guns the whole game.
As I was leaving that game I ran into Liz and she spotted two people just starting a game I had been trying to get on the table for a while. They were more than willing to let me join in, since I had a greater grasp on the rules. They handed me a random ship and I started playing...

Xia: Legends of a Drift System 2-5 players
A Kickstarter that I backed. In fact, anyone who backed it got their name on the box so if you got a retail copy, my name is on there. Had this not been a Kickstarter, I probably would have never gotten this. I'm glad I did. It fills a spot in my game collection that needed to be filled: a space themed sandbox game. So much better than Solarquest. I'm sure I would have be gaga over this game as a kid. It's really beautiful. The spaceships are sweet and as you play, your ship only gets cooler.
Each player is the owner of a ship trying to earn fame through out the galaxy. Fame is earned a number of different ways: exploration, trade, aid, missions, titles, ship tier, etc.  It's a players choice as to what kind of ship to build and what path to victory to take. Players agree on what fame level to play to and then get to flying, selling, and blowing things up.

We were playing a short game to 5 fame points. I started my game with the intent of exploring for fame. It did me well, but then I switched tactics to a trade route strategy. With some extra cash I was able to upgrade my ship. Eventually there was an open title to gain for the first ship to get stranded in a nebula and make is safely back to a planet. The player to my left to up the challenge and got stranded, but needed a few more turns to get to a planet. On my turn, I foiled his plan by flying up to him and saving him. He had considered this as a possibility and had intended to blast me to kingdom come since I was without shields, but my engines were to good and was was able to fly away before my turn ended. I was one point away from victory and didn't know what to do next. Since I had the engines, I went back to my exploration plan. I found some credits, but no fame. I was, however, able to pick up an easy mission. Unfortunately, it required a deliver a package to a place that hadn't been discovered yet. As I was jumping into new areas of space, I found a special warp gate that, once travel through, earned me my fifth fame point and the win.

I nearly forgot how awesome this game is. You can play it so variably. You can adjust the length of the game, how you play, or what modules to include. The only downfall is that it requires other players understand most or all of the rules. to enjoy the game. That might be a tough call for Liz and Sarah. I know they could eventually get it, but I don't know if they'd want to try.

Liz still wasn't up to play any games yet, but she was willing to watch. I saw the fellows that I played Mascarade with the day before about to start playing Mysterium and joined in, along with two other new players. We all did pretty well in the first phase of the game. In the final round of the final vote, two of use voted for option 3 and three of us voted for option 5. The correct option ended up being option 1 so we all lost.
Liz was up for playing one more not-so-heavy game before we headed home. Our friends from the day before (they played Terra and Dimension with us) saw me looking to play and invited us to join them for a game of...

Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King 2-5 players
This is a tile laying bidding game. Over 6 rounds, players earn income on tiles placed and score ranking, get tiles, secretly price those tiles, buy tiles from other players, place the tiles gained in their town, then score their town based on one or more feature dictated by the current round. After the final round, any bonuses are scored and the player with the most points wins.

I had a very poor strategy of trying to get a lot of points in the beginning. It worked, but because different things are scored in different rounds, I failed to make big scores in the end game. I ended up in third place. Liz was surprised to find that she won (with an asterisks of course). Nearly all of us kept accidentally breaking the tile placement rules.

I liked this one. It was a lot easier to learn than I thought it would be. The most interesting aspect is the pricing. As the rounds go by, players tend to have more money, so you have to adjust your prices for what you how much you think inflation has changed since the previous turn. Liz really enjoyed the game. She not sure if it's because she won or not, but I'm pretty sure she'd like to own it.

We headed home after this but not before filling our bellies from the nearest Taco Bell.

Tally: 184/187  Bonus: 57/50