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.

Bah...Missed Another Stone Age Rule

Was reading through a Stone Age review on BGG and came across another rule that I've overlooked. Resources at the end of the game (not including food) are worth a point each regardless of type. While not significant except in close games, it's nonetheless an important rule. It somewhat diminishes the penalty for unspent resources at the end of the game, and makes it friendlier for new players since they usually fail to time the end game as well as more experienced players.

Hopefully that's the last Stone Age rule I've overlooked...

5th April Session Report: The One With A New Friend

A new friend, Gengyang, came over our place to hang out. I asked whether he was keen to try some Euro boardgames and he obliged though I don't know whether he was fully sure what he was getting himself into it. I figured I would kick it off with Stone Age as a representative game, hoping to catch lightning in the bottle. After I got through the rules, I somewhat regretted my decision as I could tell he was a little caught by surprise at how involved the game was. Nonetheless, he somewhat got the hang of the game after a couple of rounds. The game ended with me taking the win with 150 points over the other 2. Next time I have a non-gamer around, I will be reaching for my copy of High Society perhaps...

10 March 2009 Session Report: The One Where I Tried To Convert 2 Non-Gamers

2 game sessions in consecutive days...I must be dreaming. Anyway, Sarah came over for a visit today while Van had Siew Min over to bake with her. After letting Sarah have a go at Wii Sports, we proceeded to try our first 'real' game. Considering that she hadn't been exposed to the world of Eurogames, I figured the first experience was key - it could either make it or break it. The other factor was that there were only 2 of us as the other 2 gals were busy in the kitchen. My initial plan was to go with Stone Age but fearing that it might be overly heavy as a first game, I decided to ease the process by opting for a shorter, simpler game. I went with Battleline which was one of my favourite 2-player games, hoping that the short yet surprisingly tactical game would make a good first impression. I would typically be concerned about starting someone on a Knizia due to its abstract nature but since Sarah was a chess player, I figured I might just be able to pull it off.

I naturally opted to play without the Tactic cards to avoid overwhelming her, which turned out to be a good decision. She got the hang of the game relatively quickly, the only blimp being she took awhile to familiarize herself with the various card combinations as she had never been exposed to Poker hands. I took the first game 5-1 but she came back with a vengeance in the second, and pipped me to the victory with a score of 5-3 - an impressive game played on her part indeed.

She seemed to enjoy herself so I took the risk of pulling out Stone Age next. I would have gone with Settlers but unfortunately it was not an option with 2. I was looking for a game of similar weight which scaled well with 2 and the choice was obvious. She was slightly overwhelmed during the explanation of the rules but quickly got into her stride after playing a couple of rounds. I made it a point to highlight to her some of the more important spots and she acquitted herself well. The game ended 249-212 in my favour but only because I was more intentional in collecting advantageous civilization cards.

Van and Siew Min finally finished baking and I was able to persuade them to join us in a game of Settlers. Siew Min was a hard sell but we finally managed to get her to give it a go. Apparently, her last attempt at Galaxy Trucker still left her somewhat scarred, hah. Van and I went easy on the 2 newbies, trading generously with them, and tried to steal from each other whenever possible. Settlers can be a somewhat confrontational game and mean play can really spoil the experience for those new to such games. We were all neck-to-neck for most of the game but the breakthrough came when Siew Min connected her longest road. Coupled with her sheep port, she took the win while I was stuck on 7 VPs with the other 2 at 6 VPs. 

Well done Siew Min! This seemed a much more palatable experience for her and hopefully this would encourage her to give other games a try. Sarah on the other hand did find playing 3 games in a row somewhat brain taxing but commented she especially enjoyed Stone Age and Battleline. Looking forward to introducing other games in my collection.

Argghhh...Missed A Rule In Stone Age

Played Stone Age a total of 7 times with more than a couple of games with 2-3 players. Chanced upon the Stone Age rules forum at BGG and realized that I missed a rule about the 2-3 player game.

We have been playing with 4 stacks of huts regardless of the number of players. The rules actually indicate that the stacks of huts (7 per stack) in play are based on the number of players. This means that during the game earlier, we ought to have played with 3 stacks of huts instead of 4.

I like the rule - it adds to the other rules such as limiting the number of players procuring resources each round in enhancing the game's scalability. The designers have done a good job of ensuring the game doesn't lose any luster with less than the full complement of players.

27th Feb 2009 Session Report: The One Where I Witnessed The Power Of The Colosseum

Marcus joined us for a late night session of gaming today and we started off with Glory to Rome since he was familiar with it as well. I have been singing its praises on BGG and once again it did not disappoint. Despite repeated plays, I'm still discovering new combos. 

This was the first time I won by ending the game by building the Catacombs. I racked up an easy lead with my Scriptorium (completes any building with one marble) by completing a series of influential marble and stone buildings. Marcus and Van were struggling to keep up and being clearly in the lead, I decided to end the game since the Catacombs was in hand. This was fortunate too since I failed to notice that Marcus was attempting a Forum victory. The scores ended 11, 7, 6 in my favour with Van and Marcus battling for second place.

With the speedy game, we decided to proceed with a second round. I was progressing well again with the Gate (activates powers of uncompleted marble buildings) completed and a series of marble building powers activated including the Temple (+4 max hand) and the Scriptorium (again!). Unfortunately, Marcus had a good game going too. 

Van and I had little experience with the Colosseum in play and I was always under the false impression that the value of the card only laid in allowing the owner to 'steal' other players' clients when the Legionary role was played. What I didn't realized was that the obtained client doesn't go into the stockpile as other cards acquired via the Legionary but rather straight into the vault. 

When I realized what was going on, Marcus had already built a lead in terms of stashed gold from various materials sold in the vault. Van and I had none since the Merchant role hadn't been played and with the 3 bonus points awarded for the majority of each material stashed, we were faced with a significant deficit. 

I was clearly ahead in building influence but trailed nonetheless. At one point, I had up to 5 Craftman clients but ran out of marble and stone sites to build on. I also failed to make up the deficit via the vault due to Marcus obtaining a rare Merchant client on the first turn. 

The game dragged on as Van and I tried in vain to make up ground while Marcus attempted to end the game by utilizing the last in-town site. Interestingly, he never got his hands on the wood building required and finally only ended the game by exhausting the deck. He ended up with the highest score I had ever witnessed with 60 while I and Van took the rear with 46 and 36 respectively.

Marcus was keen to try Princes of Florence but I suggested otherwise due to the limited number of players. I rate the game very highly but it is really only worth playing with 4-5. Hopefully, I will be able to get this newly traded game to the table soon. 

In the end, we decided to introduce Marcus to Stone Age. Despite being his first play, he caught on quickly and the dice rolls were especially kind to him. However, his failure to anticipate the end of the game as well as Van and myself left him with a substantial number of valuable resources unused at the end of the game. I thought my game was well diversified, racking up points on the building front as well as accumulating a majority of the civilization cards. Unfortunately, Van pipped me at the end by a mere 7 points, with a score of 257. If only I had that one extra wood to purchase the final 12 point building. Alas, it was not to be... 

This demonstrates that while dice rolls tend to average out over the course of the game, there are instances when the last roll decides between victory and defeat. Nonetheless, it is still a game I fancy despite its lack of depth compared to other worker placement games. I find it a good stepping stone for introducing casual gamers to heavier games.

3rd Feb 2009 Session Report: The One Where Van Beat Me At Glory To Rome

My pre-arranged game session fell through with Ben and Mun not being able to make it. Van graciously suggested playing some games just between the two of us so off we went:

We started with Glory to Rome which was Van's pick. Despite her previous irritation at the way 2-player games often end abruptly with the all the in-town sites being utilized, she was keen to have another go at it. 

She got off to a strong start with a couple of building completions and a Storeroom (all clients count as labourers) allowed her to make up for my initial advantage in the vault. As usual, the Circus Maximus (doubles each client's action) proved to be a devastating card and I tried in vain to make up for the differential in influence between the two of us. 

I managed to obtain each of 6 different clients and with a completed Scriptorium (able to complete any building with one marble material) stood a good chance at a Forum victory but alas, the card never came. 

In the end, Van took the victory easily with a score of 32 to 19. She commented that she made an effort to manage her hand more efficiently this time round after I highlighted it to her after the last game. Looks like I can look forward to more keenly contested games in future.

I next picked Puerto Rico cause I was keen to play a game that hadn't come to the table much recently. Van as usual was reluctant to play Race for the Galaxy so I figured Puerto Rico was one of the deeper games we had that scaled reasonably well for 2 using a suitable variant. 

The plantation draw was cruel to me and I failed to get either cash crop early in the game. I successfully blocked Van by taking both the Harbour and Factory (in the variant we played, we had only one of each violet buildings) but in vain as she propelled to victory by scoring maximum points for her Guild House. The final score was 48 to 35 in Van's favour. 

On second thought, I should have perhaps taken the Guild House earlier since it seems particularly strong in the 2-player game. I thought I had a nice shipping strategy going but due to my limited production of goods, I ended up with only 18 shipping points despite the effect of the Harbour (extra point for each type of good loaded)

Van chose Stone Age as the final game and I made it a point to opt for a more diversified strategy this time round. It paid dividends as I maxed out my tools, meeples and was just one short of maximizing my food production. I also managed to obtain all 8 different green civilization cards and beat Van with a score of 437 to 342. She tried to pursue a building strategy but her limited number of multipliers at the end of the game did her in.

CNY 1st Day Session Report: The One Where We Tried 2-Player Stone Age

Tried to garner a few friends for games today despite it being 1st day of CNY but in vain. Ended up playing some games with Van nonetheless - it had been some time since we played games on our own. 

We each picked one game: she chose Glory to Rome and I, Stone Age since I heard good things about its scalability and I was keen to try it out with just 2. 

Glory to Rome definitely scales better with 3-5 but I find that it plays out less predictably with 2 than Race for the Galaxy, which has made me increasingly unwilling to play it with 2. It always seems choices eventually boil down to a Consume (x2 VP) and Produce towards the latter rounds. That appears to be the predominant strategy to win with 2.

Enough rambling, back to GtR. I took an easy win as Van struggled to complete her buildings. An early sewer (put order cards played in stockpile after turn) put me in a good position and my stockpile was soon flooded. I eventually managed to build the Wall (every 2 materials in stockpile count as 1VP at the end of the game), and both my vault and influence easily trumped Van's. Clearly she isn't enjoying the game as much as before although I suspect with a little more efficient hand management she should find herself much more competitive.

As mentioned, it was our first play of Stone Age with 2 and Van obliterated me with a score of 338 to 293. I was already expecting higher scores especially after coming across a couple of 2-player session reports of Stone Age on BGG. 

I maxed out my tools and obtained all the 8 tool multipliers available. Alas, Van was playing a much more impressive game and she not only maxed out her food production and 'meeples' but also had more buildings than me. She also managed to obtain all 8 different types of the green civ cards while I ended up with 7, the last being at the bottom of the deck and was unobtainable as the game ended with a failure to refresh the civ cards.

It was clear that a more diversified strategy was probably necessary with fewer players.

Going visiting with Crusade friends tomorrow, hopefully I will be able to entice them to try a couple of games at the different houses.

11 Jan 2009 Session Report: The One Which We Played Settlers!

Mun joined us this afternoon for games. Hopefully, we will be able to get a regular session on Sunday going.

For some reason, we have been playing the same games for the past few sessions and today was no different. However, we managed to squeeze a game of Settlers in between Glory to Rome, Agricola, Stone Age and Galaxy Trucker.

I gained the upper hand in Glory to Rome again and took the game with 21 points to Van's 15 and Mun's 10. I'm increasingly convinced that the key to the game is efficient hand management. I make it a point to avoid 'thinking' (drawing of cards) unless the 'think' action reaps me at least 2-3 cards.

Van complained that the game ended too abruptly with me claiming the last 2 in-town sites to end the game. I took a quick lead in building completions and decided to end it while I was ahead. While I agree that it is rather easy to end the game by a building spree, that isn't much different from the use of the Catacombs (which ends the game immediately). I guess part of challenge of the game is ensuring that you are consistently in or near the lead so that you can benefit by initiating the endgame or discourage your opponents from taking the risk to do so prematurely.

We proceeded to Agricola at my request though I'm sure the other 2 were keen to play it too. I decided to use the Interactive deck this time round since we concurred that the 'Wet Nurse' occupation in the K deck seemed somewhat overpowered. We drafted in the same means as before and we were off to our farms! The game ended with Van and I tied with 31 points while Mun had 23.

Cards in the I deck were comparatively underpowered to the ones in the K deck. Van and I were struggling to feed our family members for most part of the game. Mun managed to obtain a generous supply of food but failed to extend/renovate her house and grow her family which proved costly. 

Mun and Van indicated a preference for the K deck, which is understandable because part of the thrill of Agricola is seeing a well-built up farm. With the weaker cards, it always felt there were many things to do yet too few actions to complete them. Nonetheless, the I deck while weaker came across more balanced than the E deck, which had a couple of comparatively stronger cards the last time we tried it. Perhaps we will attempt the drafting variant with the deck in future.

Van requested for the evergreen Settlers of Catan next and it was nice to take it out for a game since it hadn't seen many plays since we purchased the 4th edition. I guess we have also leveled up in terms of the weight of games we play but nonetheless it was nice to revisit the game which kindled our interest in euros every once in awhile. Van won the game with a victory card draw for her final point. I made the mistake of not robbing her of the longest road when I had the chance and instead opted to build an extra settlement instead.

The game played quickly as we typically play the tournament variant on BSW where we start the placement with a settlement/road, followed by a city/road and finally and extra road. This is my preferred variant as the build-up with the basic two settlements drags the game out and the lack of resources at the start feels rather tedious.

Mun finally got her win during our play of Stone Age taking it convincingly with a score of 178 while Van and I took up the rear with 153 and 147 respectively. Despite obtaining all 8 different green civilization cards, I was caught unawares by the civ card deck running out and ended up without an opportunity to trade in my 7 remaining gold for a corresponding building. It seemed that we drew down on the civ deck particularly quickly today leading to the quick game.

The last game of the night was Galaxy Trucker. As it was late, we only managed two ships - boards 2 and 3. Mun was substantially slower than both Van and I during ship building which was allegedly due to brain exhaustion (*wink*). She had to abandon the second journey due to the loss of all her crew. I pipped Van by a mere 8 points thanks to me taking advantage of the numerous slaver and abandon crew events in accumulating cosmic credits.

Musings on Stone Age

My feelings regarding the game have evolved over the few plays I have had. Interestingly, I strongly contemplated whether to sell or trade the game after my first play. The game seemed to dragged out somewhat and Agricola seemed to offer much greater depth for only a slighter longer play time.

I initially ordered Stone Age because I wasn't willing to fork out the amount for Agricola since both shared similar mechanics. While ranked no. 1 on the geek, I found myself hard pressed to pay an amount which would almost get me two other decent games in return. What I didn't anticipate was that one of my friends bought Agricola by chance during his business trip to the States and graciously lent it to me for a period of time.

Despite a rather bland first go at the game, I was eager to try Stone Age out a second time to determine if my initial impressions of the game were indeed warranted. After a couple of plays, I find myself increasingly drawn to the game. Sure it won't be one of my favourites, but I started to realize that my initial opinion was perhaps a little presumptuous.

I enjoy the tension that comes from the competition for spaces. While the spots for the tool, field and hut are typical favourites, the game hinges in my view on the competition for civilization and building cards. There is always the risk of the card you covet being blocked or snatched away if you opt for one of the spots above instead of taking it with your first placement. These cards are so important that you may even occupy them without the necessary resources and hope your subsequent placements will reap them sufficiently for the purchase. And the dice roll ensure that these well-crafted plans pan out at times but also disappoint during others.

One complaint about the game was how the rate of exchange of resources for VPs is consistent throughout i.e. the cost of the buildings will reap you a representative VP total. When I read about it, I thought that would be a real issue for me since that was the thing that killed Keythedral for me but I realized after a few plays that that didn't matter since the crux was rather about trying to exchange the most points with as few turns possible. This is accentuated by the competition for building spaces since only 4 are available each turn. The ones without fixed resource cost are even more actively competed for since they allow huge VP gain with the right resources.

Efficiency in Agricola boils down to trying to do more things in as few turns possible, either through the use of occupation/minor improvement cards or various spaces which allow you to kill two birds with one stone. For example, it would be prudent for me when expanding the size of my house to have adequate wood to build stables at the same time. If not, I would probably have to waste an extra turn further down the road to expand my capacity for farm animals. 

The efficiency aspect of Stone Age feels more direct where you are trying to obtain as many point scoring cards or buildings as quickly as possible. While it lacks the build-up of Agricola, it provides a similar tension that keeps me on my toes for a game which I appreciate the ease at which it can be introduced to new and casual gamers. It is no Settlers of Catan but it fills the same niche in my collection, for which I'm thankful. The next time I'm looking for an introductory game, this may just be the one I pull out instead.

6th Jan Session Report: The One I Starved My Workers!

Mun joined us for games in the afternoon and we started off with a game of Agricola. I will probably have to return the game to Lawrence soon, so figured I better get as many plays out of it while I can.

I suggested drafting the occupation and minor improvement cards this time round. While it did take some extra time, it was quite entertaining being able to choose the cards we preferred.

We opted for a simple draft where we would take a predetermined number of cards and pass the rest of the hand to the person on the left, and this continued till each one ended up with 7 cards of each type.

We started with the occupation cards and selected 1-2-2-2 cards respectively. I was pleased to get the 'Lover' occupation which allowed me to acquire an added family member for 4 food without needing to build extra rooms. Little did I know that Van got herself the 'Wet Nurse' card (extra family member each time a room is built) and that would prove significant in the result of the game.

I managed to use the Lover card early and got myself up to 3 family members by round 3, but Van wasn't far behind. Before I knew it, she managed to build up to 5 rooms and increased her family size likewise to 5.

She eventually took the win with 47 points, playing her hand brilliantly.

Van's farm - Score also helped by 4 points from the Well and the max. wood bonus for her Joinery

I ended up with 44 points, surprised that I got as close to her as I did. My whole game was based on the 'Constable' occupation Mun played early on which awarded 5 bonus points to any player who ended the game with no negative points. I was the only who achieved it and that aided my score despite a failure to expand my house.

My farm - First ever time with a fully utilized player board

We moved on to Glory to Rome where I ended the game by taking the last in-town site. The scores were 24-14-11 to I, Van and Mun respectively. I chanced upon the prowess of the Scriptorium which allowed me to complete any structure with just 1 marble. This led to a spree of completed structures once I got my hands on a couple of purple cards with the help of a Temple structure which increased my max. hand size to 9. A large part of my scoring thus came from the influence gained through completed structures.

The last game of the day was Stone Age. It seems that we haven't been able to move away from these few games for the last few sessions. Whether this is due to the merit of the games themselves or just us jumping on the bandwagon of the cult of the new, that remains to be seen.

I decided to be adventurous and attempted a starvation strategy. This strategy is actually feasible here as compared to Agricola as the penalty of 10 points is consistent regardless the number of food short. I also realized that it was unwise to starve my workers too early and basically only started doing so when I got to 9-10 workers.

I was fortunate to get 3 out of the 4 worker multipliers including the 2 doubles and took a close one from Mun by a single point! The final scores were 228-227-216 to I, Mun and Van respectively.

While successful this time around, I can see how difficult it would be to attempt this strategy once your opponents get a whiff of it. Any failure to obtain majority of the worker multiplier cards would spell disaster and access to them can be easily blocked in a 3-4 player game. Other strategies would allow greater diverisfication unlike the starvation strategy which somehow feels like 'putting all your eggs in one basket'. It was nonetheless an experience attempting it.

29th Dec Session Report

Weilong and Mun joined Van and myself for games today which would probably be our last session before the reopening of the school term.

We started off with Stone Age which was relatively a new game for all of us. It was the second play for Weilong, Van and myself, and the first for Mun. I was somewhat lukewarm after my first play and hoped a second play would help me assess if the game was worth keeping.

I managed a respectable 2nd with a score of 140+ by nabbing all 8 green bonus cards despite trailing most of the way. Impressively, Mun took the win despite it being her first play with 157 points through some well-diversified scoring. In particular, she took 4 buildings of flexible scoring which secured the bulk of her points.

We then tried Galaxy Trucker since it was the final game from my recent games order that Weilong and Mun haven't tried. They were keen to try it especially after hearing about its 'jigsaw' mechanism.

I started well and took the lead with well-built ships the first 2 rounds. I also realized that being able to complete the ships first were highly advantageous. I managed to benefit from most of the journey cards and had the first turn of the timer during the next ship building phase.

For the 3rd and final round, I suggested to Van that we use the 3A boards since we were more experienced that Weilong and Mun and had relatively handsome leads over them. Boy, was that a mistake. The odd ship shape of the 3A board proved a real headache when searching for pieces. This struggle was accentuated with 4 players since there was greater competition for ship parts. In addition, I noted the long sides of the ship design and made a mental note to acquire side-pointing guns to reduce the ship's vulnerability.

Unfortunately, the pieces were hard to come by with Van snatching them up quickly and I failed to set up my ship as intended. This would prove to be disastrous as my ship quickly unravelled during the journey. We encountered a card with multiple side large meteoroid hits which smashed through the centre of my ship and ripped it half with the destruction of the pilot pod. I had to abandon the journey too as I unwisely released all but 2 of my crew during a previous abandon ship encounter which reaped my 10 cosmic credits.

Van took the win with 76, with an excellently built 3A ship. Mun again impressed with her score of 51 despite it being her first play while myself and Weilong took up the rear with scores of 48 and 28 respectively. Weilong was unfortunate due to the hefty cannon fire penalties during 2 consecutive cosmic zone encounters which took off the rear of his ship.

Van's 3A ship - note all the cannons pointing sideways

The final game we played before dinner was Glory to Rome. This is fast becoming a personal as well as crowd favourite. The game ended with me, Van, Mun and Weilong scoring 30, 17, 14 and 12 respectively. This was the first time we experienced the game ending through the draw pile being exhausted due to two early temple (+4 hand) builds by Van and I.

I took the win by amassing materials in my stockpile and scoring bonus points with the Wall (1 point for every 2 materials in stockpile at the end of the game) as well as hoarding the most gold in the vault with the help of an early Merchant client.

After dinner we decided to go for a game of Agricola at Van's request. Mun had a fantastic hand of cards and built up her farm easily. My cards had to do with food provision mostly which allowed me to multiply my family members early. I ended with a 5-room stone house, 4 farms, 3 stables, 2 pastures and just 1 unfilled space tying Mun for the win with 42 points.

My farm - scored most my points through family and house expansion