Gaming For The Week 28th March - 3rd April 2010

My cell had a connect gathering over the weekend. Most were non-gamers but they had a good time with Jungle Speed and Liar's Dice. Both games play nicely in the 6-8 range. With Jungle Speed, more players ramp up the difficulty since you have more cards to pay attention too but with too many, decks tend to rather thin and the endings of such games feel somewhat premature. I suppose getting the expansion solves this problem to some extent although I'm not sure if I would prefer to put the dough to a different party game altogether. I would say that Jungle Speed needs to be played quickly for maximum excitement. Over-deliberate flipping can slow the game down to a crawl and make it a far less enticing experience.

I organized a usual games session midweek and there was a nice turnout this time round with 6. The early ones started with a game of Dominion:Intrigue which I won with a low score. Once everyone arrived, we split into 2 tables, with a group of us playing Le Havre while the others took on Confucius. I broke my previous high with a 257 score for Le Havre but it was largely due to the fact that Ivan and Ben failed to challenge me for the use of crucial buildings since they were new to the game. Le Havre, like games such as Puerto Rico, is one that rewards repeated plays. Nonetheless, Ivan did well for his first game.

Both tables ended around the same time. Ivan, Ben and Jo proceeded with a game of A Game of Thrones LCG while the rest of us had a run at Nexus Ops. I heard the AGoT LCG game was a close one with Ivan taking the win by a point. They however couldn't play till 15 power tokens and decided to end the game on a pre-decided round. Marcus was first to 12 points in Nexus Ops. Nexus Ops is a nice alternative to Risk especially with its euro-elements. I like the fact that the objective of the game isn't to wipe out your opponents, but picking battles wisely in order to nab victory points. Nonetheless, the game can be prone to downtime and I can't imagine playing a game with 4. Perhaps playing in teams may help somewhat...

On Good Friday, the cell came over and before we began our themed dinner, we manage to squeeze in two games of Monopoly Deal which Van dominated and a game of Ra.

8th Dec 2009 Session Report: Hansa Teutonica

Battle Line

The day of gaming began innocuously enough with Van suggesting a rematch at Battle Line despite her winning the last game couple days back. As usual, it was a tight affair with Van emerging victorious 2 games to 1. While abstract (typical Knizia), the tension the game creates is splendid. Some view the tactic cards as overly random but I see it as an opportunity cost mechanic which I enjoy.

Opting to hold tactic cards in hand means the trade-off of greater flexibility by holding more numerical cards. I usually avoid taking tactic cards till my opponent takes his/her first one so as to reserve an option of responding if he/she does play one against me.

Besides the decisions of how early to take a tactic card and how many to take is the decision of when to play a tactic card. My experience is that I will usually initiate the play of tactic cards when I'm falling behind and do so in the hope that my opponent holds inferior tactic card(s) which prevents a timely response. When ahead, there is absolutely no reason to open the can of worms that tactic cards bring and often I'll 'take a blow' without responding so that no further tactic cards can be played against me.

All in all, my opinion is that meaningful decisions are introduced with tactic cards and I always opt to play with them except when teaching new players the game.

Hansa Teutonica

Marcus contacted me last minute that he was available to game. He brought along Hansa Teutonica which I had read so much about from the Essen reports on BGG. It has been touted as comparable to Endeavor but perhaps more gamey. I had my reservations about Endeavor despite owning it and wondered if Hansa Teutonica would be a worthy substitute as a game with somewhat similar mechanics.

We grappled a bit with the rules at the start as it was the first time Marcus was explaining the rules. In retrospect, there is probably a little more to explain for HT since its mechanics are less streamlined than Endeavor and it possesses more numerous ways of scoring points. However, I do appreciate that points scored for your development tracks are less fiddly than those scored in Endeavor. In HT, you simply score 4 points for each track you maximize. With a few plays in the bag, I suspect HT shouldn't be much tougher explaining than Endeavor.

It was a close game with the three of us groping in the dark trying to formulate some kind of strategy. Marcus and I realized early that developing our actions track would be key to our competitiveness and thus there was fierce competition for the relevant route. Van caught on a bit later and was unable to maximize her actions track by the end of the game. My points grew as I controlled a city on that route and I ended the game when I crossed the 20 point threshold by scoring the 7 points given to the first player to connect the 2 red labelled cities from east to west. Marcus almost caught up as we tabulated the scores as he was the only one to advance his network multiplier to 2, which doubled the points he scored for each office he possessed in his longest network of connected cities. The scores ended 42-40-18.

The game played quick - one hour excluding rules and set-up for a first game! It pleased me to see that HT plays likely in the same time as Endeavor despite posts on BGG that suggest that it plays longer. I was a bit perturbed that most parts of the board were left untouched as we focused our actions on the south-east portion where the city to upgrade the actions track laid. I also questioned the game was too predictable as it was apparent that the action track seemed overpowered as suggested by some on BGG. But upon some reflection, I realized the various options to score points in the game was oddly balanced and it was possible to do well even without upgrading to the 5th action. The ability to take an action and move multiple cubes while less apparent can be just as powerful and potentially negate the disadvantage of having less actions. In fact, it's probably wise to opt for another path to victory if other players compete too fiercely to upgrade their actions.

Herein lies the factor in which I rate HS over Endeavor. Endeavor is a great gateway game and probably easier for casual gamers to pick up compared to HT. However, my grouse with Endeavor is that every game doesn't seem to develop differently enough. Diversification is the key to victory and one is unlikely to do well if he or she overly neglects any of the developmental tracks. The charm about HT is that there are viable options where players can specialize, whether in their choice of developmental tracks to upgrade or their means of scoring points. This trait of having multiple paths to victory is one possessed by most of my highly rated games including the Princes of Florence.

One play seemed sufficient for me to make up my mind and at the point of typing this entry, I have already sold away Endeavor and made an order for Hansa Teutonica as its replacement.

Le Havre

We ended the night with Le Havre. Marcus and Van seemed to get their hands on all the key buildings before I could and I struggled to keep up. Van sold off her Sawmill which reaped her enough francs to purchase a wooden ship before the Wharf was available. Coupled with my mistakes in the end game, the final scores were 223-196-167 in the favour of Marcus and Van. I realized that the end game is highly critical and there is a need to plan your final actions taken. The tricky bit is that most players will be aiming for the same buildings in the end game (shipping, clearing loans, building the luxury liner, etc.) and you may very well be shut out of those buildings. This happened to me and I wasn't able to finish shipping the goods I stocked up for most of the game. This is especially so since one cannot repeat his last action as his final, unblockable action at the end of the game. A splendid game no doubt and one I'm looking forward to honing my play in.

12th Oct 2009 Session Report: 2-player Le Havre

Van surprised me by offering to game tonight so I took advantage of her enthusiasm to have a go at the full game of Le Havre. Our only previous attempt at 2-player was the shortened game which felt somewhat abrupt so I was reluctant at attempting it again despite the attractive playtime.

Van took the win 260+ to 230+ and I noted that we took as long (about 2 hours) to finish our 2-player game as our 3-player game with Marcus. My AP (analysis paralysis) contributed somewhat to the time taken as I guess I wasn't used to the short intervals between decisions. With 2 players, you have not just more actions to take over the course of the full game but they also come fast and furious at times since you take every alternate action.

I realized that there's a nice strategic and tactical tension in the game. I aimed for a coke shipping strategy but I discovered that I could blindly pursue that strategy without first evaluating the most profitable action each turn. Le Havre after all is still an efficiency game and a player taking the most tactically superior action each turn will probably do well. This evaluation however isn't easy with the number of buildings which increases over the course of the game. Comparing the piles of resources available may be more straightforward but definitely not when compared to possible returns when taking building actions. One may opt for a coke shipping strategy but the timing as to when to take the necessary steps towards the strategy is highly significant.

I clearly made some sub-optimal moves in the game, pursuing the strategy on turns when superior tactical moves were available. This lead me to be shut out of the solitary Wharf for a significant period which led to my downfall as I accumulated 8 loans and struggled to feed myself subsequently as the requirements rose. I waited for Van to build the Wharf but made a mental mistake when I realized I lacked the necessary resources to build a wooden ship. The rest was history...

Much Ado About Le Havre...

"I can't believe a game can reach the Top 10 on the Geek (right behind Dominion, and with a higher average rating) if there's only one path to victory."

Interesting discussion going on at Tao's about Le Havre after its IGA win. Does the game have a single path to victory?

22nd Sept 2009 Session Report: Catan Card Game & Le Havre

Been some time since I got to game on two consecutive days but as fortune would have it, Marcus managed to get half day off to game. Van unfortunately was still stuck in school so I decided to teach him the Settlers of Catan card game which I rate highly.

Catan Card Game

Since it was his first play, I refrained from loading him with the host of expansions and stuck to the original. He caught on quickly despite the number of wordy cards. While it took only about 75 min, it did feel somewhat longer due to the 'struggle' aspect of the game. He upgraded a couple of settlements and despite only managing one myself, I pipped him 12-10, thanks to my 5th settlement, and maintaining control of the Knight and Windmill symbols for most of the game. In particular, Marcus found himself at the shorter end of the Windmill event all game, which allowed me to rob him of multiple resources. It was nice for once to be on the other side as Van typically trumps me on this aspect in most of our games. Nonetheless, Marcus had a positive view of the game. Perhaps we can get some deck-building in once I get my second copy of the expansions set.

Le Havre

Marcus tried to teach us Imperial when Van got back but her mind was clearly not geared towards learning a new game, especially one as complex as Imperial. We aborted halfway through the rules explanation and opted for Le Havre instead. Amazingly, we bettered our last run of about 135 min and finished the game in about 110 min. Marcus ended with 220+ points yet again, while I only managed 190+. I realized I am still not fully familiar with the building powers, especially those in the special buildings deck and ended up taking some suboptimal actions by nabbing resources when a stronger move was available via a building action. Marcus did highlight me towards the end of the game that with the Bank in my tow, I should buy up the neutral buildings available with the relevant symbols. Guess I'm still rather inexperienced in the game despite playing it about 5 times. Nonetheless, with our speedy play, I can see it much more palatable bringing it to the table in future.

8th Sept 2009 Session Report: Docking At Le Havre

Planned a game session for 3 but Shiqing couldn't make it last minute so Van and I decided to have a go at our new copy of Le Havre. This game has been on my radar ever since I tried it a couple of times on Marcus' copy. I have only tried it with 3 previously which is supposedly what it plays best. Nonetheless I've heard that it plays well with fewer players so I figured it should offer a decent game with 2 too.

We took quite some time punching out the bits and sleeving the cards so decided to give the shortened version a try. It took us only about an hour to get through the game. But as I suspected, the shortened game doesn't give the full flavour of the game. There were only 8 rounds and despite starting with a load of resources, I felt somewhat lost as to what to do with the actions remaining. I lost the game 107 to Van's 127 after making a couple of mistakes:

1. I spent too much time accumulating resources and was left with inadequate actions to convert them to cash via shipping.

2. I assumed taking loans was similarly advantageous in the shortened game as the standard game but realized that the limited actions coupled with the lack of the Court for free repayment made it more 'costly' to acquire loans. However by the time I realized, I was already saddled with 4 loans.

3. I planned to use my final action to purchase the Bank which would have won me the game. Unfortunately I mistakenly assumed that the building cost was 4 bricks and 1 iron which I prepared but it turned out to be 4 bricks and 1 steel. The resources I had remaining didn't allow me to take an alternative action which proved to be my downfall.

In Puerto Rico, timing is key in determining when to switch from acquiring money to VPs. Likewise, I'm starting to see that timing is similarly key in Le Havre where one has to decide when to start converting the resources acquired to cash and VPs. If one is left with a significant stash of resources at the end of the game (which count for nothing), clearly he or she has failed to time that well. I'm glad there's an option of the shortened game for days when the full game would be an overkill but my preference is to get the full game in cause it's clearly the superior option.

Age of Empires III, Le Havre, Fairy Tale & Loot On The Way... Goodbye Stone Age!

Found out that an ex-student of mine was making her way back from the States after completing her degree so I took the opportunity to request a delivery favour which she graciously agreed. Did some research on BGG (where else?) and finally decided on a package of Age of Empires III, Le Havre, Fairy Tale & Loot - the last necessitated by the need to break the free shipping barrier at Coolstuffinc.com

Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery

Was contemplating between this and Chicago Express but after getting favourable comments about it at BGG, I figured that this would probably suit me better. It seems relatively deep with a multitude of ways to victory, and most importantly, sufficient conflict between players to keep me interested. I was initially undecided because I was wondering whether I needed another worker placement game since Le Havre was a definite order but it was reassuring to hear that it had a variety of mechanics including some area majority.

Le Havre

This was the game that prompted the order because after 3 tries with Marcus's copy, I realized that this was a game worth owning despite the price point. It was between this and Agricola and despite the latter being a more accessible game and the one Van preferred, I couldn't help but feel that Le Havre was inherently the better game due to its less constrained gameplay. I realized I highly valued multiple paths of victory and my experiences with Le Havre gave me that feel despite some opinions that the coke strategy seemed invincible.

Fairy Tale

This game had been a couple of my previous orders but I took it off every time. I finally took the plunge thinking that my collection lacked a deeper filler ever since I sold Race for the Galaxy. While no way as complex as RftG, I have heard good things about Fairy Tale and its CCG elements were particularly enticing since I realized that while I have never tried a proper CCG, those elements in various eurogames such as Glory to Rome and Catan Card Game appeal to me.

Loot (Reiner Knizia)

As highlighted above, this inclusion was due to a need to breach the US$100 barrier. I was pondering the option of acquiring Archeology: The Card Game instead but decided to opt for the safer choice based on BGG game rankings. Additionally, the ability to play up to 8 was appealing since it would serve as a option to entertain big groups. I gave away the same game at a Christmas gift exchange despite having never tried it and the feedback I got from the non-gamers who ended up with it was promising.

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I was hoping Dominion:Intrigue would be released in time for the order but in vain. While I wasn't as impressed by its predecessor but I figured its accessibility coupled with the heightened interaction promised made it an interesting potential acquisition.

With such a load of games on its way together with BSG, Sorry! Sliders, Railroad Tycoon and Nexus Ops, I figured there was a need to trim down my current collection. In the end, I decided on Stone Age and got it sold today. It was a good-to-have game to have in my collection due to its accessibility to casual gamers. I enjoyed the dice which reminded me somewhat of the feel from Settlers but at the end of the day, I deem it too light for a worker placement game of its length. I would rather spend the time and some on a worker placement game such as Agricola or Le Havre. The game also lacks the tension of those games and blocking is rare, reducing the interactivity. At the end of the day, I decided that it was dispensable.

The only other non-filler game that I considered selling was Galaxy Trucker especially in view of its cost but Van likes it considerably. I too enjoy the ship building phase but what comes next is often disappointing. Nonetheless, its one-of-a-kind mechanic makes it worth keeping in the collection, at least for the time being.

27th March 2009 Session Report: The One Where I Broke 200 In 3-Player Le Harve

Marcus came over for games tonight and I requested he bring his copy of Le Harve. Having played the game twice, I really enjoy it for its open play and it appeals to me somewhat more than Agricola. It also helps that with each game, I gain a slighter better idea of what I can do better in my next game.

I felt good about tonight's game despite accumulating up to 8 loans. I acquired a load of goods which enabled me to ship a total of 3 times for about 30 francs each. Acquired a couple of frequented buildings such as the Wharf, Shipping line, Colliery and Abattoir which allowed me to minimize my visits to my opponents' buildings. Purchased a 36 VP luxury liner in the final round. Scored 216 which my best effort to date though still falling short of Marcus's 227. Reflecting on my play, there were 3 areas which I possibly could do better in:

1. Used francs to pay off indivisible food requirements in the last few rounds of the game. While that seemed a good move at that time, the surplus of a few meats at the end suggested I could have saved a few francs.

2. One of the wharves came out prematurely and after building a wooden ship, I continued to leave it blocked to prevent Van and Marcus from acquiring a source of early food production. This seemed like a good move at that point but it did mean I relinquish the opportunity to use buildings for quite a few turns, opting for sub-optimal plays till the next wharf was built.

3. Had to sell a few building in the game. Some were intentional to garner cash mid-way in the game, but one or two were forced due to having to evacuate opponents in my buildings. Selling the Shipping Line in the last round cost me 5 francs but my hand was forced in order to make my 3rd shipment.

The game ended in 2 hours which was a huge improvement over our last two games which took over 3 hours. I was really surprised at how quickly we played but I concurred with Marcus that it helped that we had an idea what we wanted to do and thus suffered from less AP (analysis paralysis). If all games were this short, just a tad longer than Agricola for a 3-player game, it is truly a contender for one of my preferred games. My only concern going forward is whether the greater usage of certain buildings as compared to others game after game will reduce replayability after some time.

We still had some time for another game and Van opted for Galaxy Trucker which was supposed less of a brain-burner. Marcus played the game once last year but still needed a refresher. He did admirably in his 2nd try though making a few connection errors. I struggled too after a long hiatus and found myself exceedingly rusty. Van built 3 excellent ships and took the win deservedly with 100+ points. Marcus and I scored 70 and 75 respectively.

21st March 2009 Session Report: The One Where We Tried Reef Encounter For The First Time

Marcus came over for games in the morning, bringing along with him Le Harve and Reef Encounter. I had favourable impressions of Le Harve after my first play and was eager to give it another go. Learning from my first play, I intentionally:

1. Tried to acquire buildings which were more significantly used. It helped that I was more familiar with the buildings this time round but nonetheless competition was stiff for them. Delayed acquiring the Shipping Line and Van stole it from under my nose due to my carelessness. 

2. Avoided indivisibilities for most part, but towards the end of the game, had to use coke for energy requirements despite it being lower than the 10 units which coke provided.

3. Acquired ships early to aid in feeding. Ended up with a wooden, iron and steel ship each though I anticipated the end of the game poorly and should probably aimed for a luxury liner rather than merely sub-optimally utilizing my resources on a steel ship in the last round.

4. Processed goods in bulk. Did so for grain and cattle though I realized the longer you can hold it off, the better. Would have liked to delay for a couple more rounds if possible. Managed to covert 8 coal into coke at one go too. Somewhat overpowered - no energy cost coupled with 1 franc earned for each unit of conversion.

For some reason, all 3 of us failed to realize it was the last round till it was too late. I failed to visit the local court adequately and had to repay my remaining 4 loans with francs. Also, I didn't manage to accumulate sufficient goods to maximize my shipping. Ended up with 173 which was a marked improvement from my first game but still insufficient to top Marcus at 198. The game is really growing on me and on the current debate comparing it to Agricola, Le Harve might actually be my preferred option as play seems much more open-ended, with greater strategic options. Agricola seems constrained by the elements introduced in more or less a fixed manner as you move through the rounds. Nonetheless, one of the biggest issues I have with Le Harve is its length. Would be a 10 in my book if its game length was around that of Agricola's. A more minor issue is that casual players would probably take to Agricola more easily due to its theme.

Marcus next introduced to us Reef Encounter. Always heard it was a brain-burner and was keen to experience it for myself. Had a cute theme but unfortunately the mechanics came across too abstract and felt disjointed from the deep sea theme. The game reminded me of Tigris and Euphrates which I have to acknowledge is the far deeper game. Nonetheless, similarities abounded with the tile laying, cube collections and "conflicts" (in this case, coral consumption). The shrimps reminded me of the leaders in Tigris though with a much diminished role.

I struggled in making sense of the strategy during the game. While cognitively explained by Marcus that locking down the multipliers and collecting the relevant corals were key, I had little clue how to implement it. Marcus rushed the game by removing his shrimps quickly and I just tried to keep up. Ended up 35 points to his 44, while Van managed 26. Wouldn't mind trying it again but doubt it would really grow on me. Somewhat abstract and if I was indeed in the mood for something along these lines, I would reach for Tigris and Euphrates which seems to trump it on most counts. The conflict aspect is far more interesting with the differing natures of internal and external conflicts while here, it is merely 'eating' another's coral tile.

8 Feb 2009 Session Report: The One With First Impressions Of Le Havre

Picture courtesy of Gary James @ BGG

Marcus came over today to introduce us to Le Harve. I was eager to try it since both Van and I enjoyed its sister game Agricola when it was loaned to us.

While the 3 common playing boards did bring Agricola to mind at the start, the game that stuck in my mind as I played was Caylus. Le Harve utilizes a similar mechanic which allows players to build buildings available for use by other players for a small fee.

Some first impressions:

1. With the nature of the loans in this game, a 'starvation strategy' is much more feasible than in Agricola or even Stone Age. In Agricola, starvation is a strict no-no due to the hefty penalty. In Stone Age, a starvation strategy while possible can be easily deterred by opponents who catch on to it. Here, it almost seems a folly not to take advantage of loans at opportune moments.

2. The game gives the same feel as Agricola in which I feel I've constantly more things to do than actions available. However, the availability of loans coupled with the ability to substitute money for food at 1:1 reduces the tension somewhat, and food actions can be sacrificed for better options when available. However, the demands for food do step up significantly towards the end.

3. Shipping appears key to racking up points towards the end of the game. I failed to anticipate the ending well, and was busy repaying my loans and acquiring food towards the end-game. As a result, I failed to ship even once, leading to an inability to acquire a better exchange rate for my remaining resources.

4. Ships have a triple role - first for a regular food supply, second to provide capacity for shipping and third, VPs. I paid too much attention to the third function, and put off building ships to the very end in hope of nabbing the ones with higher VPs. This was terribly unwise as it left me fighting to acquire food at the end, and unable to effectively utilize shipping to acquire points towards the end. Early ships are evidently important with the incremental food requirement.

5. The best goods to ship appear to be those that can be converted without energy such as coke and charcoal. In particular, shipping steel makes little sense with the additional need to supply substantial energy for the production process.

6. Bulk exchanges are a must to save actions, thus planning ahead is critical. Efficiency of actions is clearly the determinant of victory.

7. I like the set-collection element of the buildings where acquiring certain groups of buildings provide additional advantages.

8. The ability to purchase buildings ahead in a stack could be used as a strategy in gaining priority assess to high cost buildings that need to be built.

9. In some ways, it is harder to plan your actions as there is no certainty an opponent will vacate a building you are targetting. While it did not come to that in today's game, I see that part of the importance of owning key buildings is to be able to sell them when necessary to forcefully vacate an opponent.

10. Owning and blocking the Shipping Line towards the endgame can really throw a spanner in our players' plans. However, with a sufficient large shipping capacity, perhaps one ship with the last unblockable action is all that's needed.

11. Potential wastage of resources due to indivisibility. I can remember the number of times today I over-payed or had to round down francs acquired due to odd number exchanges.

12. Game seems to drag on somewhat towards the end. I suspect I would prefer it more if its length was closer to that of Agricola. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to my next play.

I ended the game with 114 points, Van had 140 and Marcus took us to the dryers with 200+ points. Almost left that out but this is after all a supposed session report ;)