Event #115 saw the arrival of 6 new board gamers. Tim and Mel ran a feature on entry-level games to draw the new crowd in.
The event was also a night to see some of those old favourites, along with some new ones, played at multiple tables throughout the night. Splendor proved to be the most popular, being tabled many times around the room, including with our latest recruits.
Here’s what Jimmy had to say about the night:
Last night I had the pleasure of teaching some gateway games to 4 new people that Mel & Cliff invited along. Mel’s mum, Corinna, and her friend Helen. A client of Cliff, Christian, and his mum, Rhonda. All very easy to get along with, I particularly got along well with Christian, as we shared many laughs across the table.
We first played 7 Wonders Architects, which I had never played before, but I picked it up in a snap, as it is very similar to the base game. No card drafting, but still that player interaction between yourself and your neighbours is there. I forgot who won this game, but it wasn’t me.
Next, I taught them Splendor. Yes it plays only 4, so I sat out in the first game and just taught. Christian triggered the endgame with 15 points, but his mum Rhonda snatched the victory straight after with 16 points. Unlucky Christian! They liked it so much that we played again, with Corinna out and I joined the fray this time.
After that game, we broke out the trusty game that never fails to entertain, Labyrinth. Ah, the hapless wizards wandering aimlessly through an ever changing Labyrinth, trying to find treasures and get back home. Christian and Rhonda were neck & neck in the lead with this one trying to find their way back to win, with Rhonda sneaking in the win just before dinner.
After dinner, Mel taught me, Christian and Rhonda how to play Cascadia, a great tile laying game about building the best ecosystem in patterns to score the most points. This game was pretty tight in scoring. My memory fails me, but I think Mel won, with me a close second. Great game this one, and Rhonda and Christian picked it up in a snap.
After Cascadia however, they had enough for the night, so it was time for me to learn instead of teach and that game was a silly game of High Stakes, taught by Dave.
This game didn’t seem like much, but boy I was wrong. It was just a whole bunch of silly fun that brought many laughs. Basically you have to travel from Earth to Mars and back in a race of building space stations to build revenue and gambling on stock market (basically event) cards, which either were good, bad or something in between. The game to me felt a lot like Monopoly. If people traversed across your space stations they paid ‘rent’ to you instead of the bank. If you had to pay a debt, you had to sell space stations in order to pay your debt, and the cards felt like Chance/Community Chest cards. In the end, my solid investment in lots of space stations to ‘clog up’ space, kept my revenue high with others paying me. This allowed me to fly home first and take the win. Lots of shenanigans happening in this little gem! Thanks heaps Dave!
All in all, I felt it was a very successful night in bringing new people into the world of modern board gaming. It was just a joy in seeing the thrill and understanding of game mechanics on their faces, that all I can say is thank you for allowing me to do so.
A big thank you goes out to Jimmy and Mike who, through teaching our new attendees some games, made them feel very comfortable and welcome. All new persons expressed an interest in returning to more events, congratulations to you both.
Thanks everyone for another great CBG event and we look forward to seeing all at event #116
7 Wonders: Architects
High Society
Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game
Root
Mysterium
The Guild of Merchant Explorers
Betrayal at House on the Hill
Saboteur
Splendor
Fire Tower
Century Golem Edition
Pandemic: Hot Zone – North America
Ship Shape: It’s a Smuggler’s Bounty!
Labyrinth
Splendor Duel
Shards of Infinity
Gizmos
Cascadia
Back to the Future: Back in Time
Carcassonne
High $takes
