Ken Rude and I traveled to Kevin's house for our first
gaming session with the Portland
Gamers. Kevin is the gracious host for this group, and Jeff had gamed
a few times before with Kevin. Doug, Mimi, Ken, and I were all newcomers
to the group. Thanks to Kevin
for hosting - I think everyone had a great time.
Attendees: Chris Brooks, Ken Rude, Jeff Fisher, Doug Walker, Mimi Walker,
Kevin Graham
Games Played: Zendo, Dragon Delta, Fist of
Dragonstones, Condottiere, Bohnanza
Zendo
Played By: Chris B. Ken R. Jeff F. Doug W. Mimi W. Kevin G.
Game Length: 45 min.
We played Zendo as an opener while we awaited possible late arrivals. Nobody
turned up, but we had fun teaching Doug, Mimi, and Ken this Zen game with
Icehouse pieces.
Winner(s):
Finish: Chris B. Ken R. Jeff F. Doug W. Mimi W. Kevin G.
Dragon Delta
Played By: Chris B. Ken R. Jeff F. Doug W. Mimi W. Kevin G.
Game Length: 60 min.
Chris brought this game of Chinese youths competing to lay planks to cross the
delta. Everyone enjoyed this game, though we realized part way that I've been
playing wrong: all players turn over their cards for the current round before
the first player takes their action. This could certainly affect choices made
when placing planks, removing planks, etc.
Winner(s): Chris B.
Fist of Dragonstones
Played By: Chris B. Ken R. Jeff F. Doug W. Mimi W. Kevin G.
Game Length: 60 min.
This is a game worth playing once, but possibly not more frequently. It has a
nice theme, and interesting bits, but the blind bidding frustrates people. Poor
Doug was frequently just barely on the losing end, which is most annoying. We
only played to 2 victory points to cut the game short.
Winner(s): Ken R.
Condottiere
Played By: Chris B. Ken R. Jeff F. Doug W. Mimi W. Kevin G.
Game Length: 60 min.
Kevin introduced this game - Doug and Mimi had played before, but the rest of us
haven't. This is a much more pleasant bidding and bluffing game than Fist of
Dragonstones, and one I might consider adding to my collection. There does
appear to be a strong luck element in the draw.
Winner(s): Ken R.
Bohnanza
Played By: Chris B. Ken R. Jeff F. Doug W. Mimi W. Kevin G.
Game Length: 60 min.
I requested this for a closer since I've heard so much about it but have never
played. Definitely a light game, but I think my kids might enjoy it. One thing I
like is that there is very little downtime with all of the trading going on.
Winner(s): Mimi W.
Session Report generated by GameTracker (©Goldraven 2002)