First of all, many thanks to Matt Taylor of the Westford board gaming group for coming over on Sept 17th to play some board games. Without him, it would have been just Richard and myself. It seems that this September the stars and moon were aligned as such that our local members couldn't make it. With Matt attending, we were able to play Cyclades and Civilization.
Our next board game night will be held October 15th at 6 PM at the Derby Line Village Hall. To honor Halloween, we will make it our special Halloween edition of Border Board Games. That means we will bring along our horror/monster themed games like Betrayal at House on the Hill, Fury of Dracula, Last Night on Earth and whatever else in our collection fits the theme. I'm sure that there will also be some Halloween goodies available to eat as well.
If board gaming isn't your thing and you'd rather play RPGs, then consider joining our RPG group. We typically meet every 4th Saturday in Derby Line for our mega RPG day. We get together right after noontime and play for about 8 hours. For half the time we play D&D 3.5 and the other half we play the Song of Ice and Fire. If you are interested in only playing one RPG, that can be arranged. Our next RPG date is Sept 24th and, for October we will aim for Oct 22nd.
Showing posts with label game night. Show all posts
Showing posts with label game night. Show all posts
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Mail, Civilizations and Monsters
It was a small group that convened for Border Board games on Saturday night. We drew the usual crowd of Beth, myself, Homer, and Shannon and were glad that Rob could stop by as well. The night started with our second ever playing of Thurn & Taxis. T&T is a game I've been eying for a while so when the board game yard sale came to pass, Beth and I decided to bid on it. To our delight, we won it and picked it up at the Green Mountain gamers Game 'n Grill in Norwich.
We made some mistakes on our first play-through, mistakes we noted and vowed to not repeat. Luckily we managed to avoid the problems this time. Everyone earned the carriages in the right order and we negated points for having leftover bird houses errr, post offices. Beth seemed to have a pretty solid system in place from the get-go. Her houses popped up throughout the region in no time and her routes quickly earned her reams of bonus points. Homer went to big-route way and amassed a tidy sum of bonus chits himself.
Being his first time through, Shannon seemed a little lost leading to the dissolution of a promising 4 city route early in the game. While it didn't help his fortunes, it seemed to be the turning point at which he began to understand the subtle nuances of the game. I plugged away trying to fill up the big honking grey area and actually managed to trigger end game with my #7 carriage. Homer and I tied at 23 points apiece while Shannon had a dismal showing at only 4 points. The leftovers really damaged his score on his first time through. Beth won the game with an impressive score of 26, even without the #7 carriage in her possession.
Our next game involved breaking out 7 Wonders. The appeal is the game's ability to support a large number of players coupled with a relatively quick game play assuming everyone has played it before. This turned out to be a fairly tight match despite four wildly different strategies. Homer presented a surprisingly balanced point spread ranking 1st or 2nd in every category to score a 54 point win. Beth followed close behind mainly on the strength of her blue bonus points to finish with 47 points. Shannon and I ended up tied at 44 points each as Shannon went heavily on the military and I went the science route due to having Babylon B as my city.
Our last game of the night was a venture into Wrath of Ashardalon. While game play is similar to Castle Ravenloft, the monsters, challenges and some features are unique. Luckily the differences were so easily grasped that Rob and I being the only ones to have played both systems, still didn't need to explain much of anything. I believe Shannon may have been the only newcomer to the Wizards of the Coast D&D based game series.
With a full crew, we ventured into the subterranean lair of some evil Kobold dude (whose name I clearly cannot recall). As is often the case, we had barely stepped into the dungeon when things began to fall apart. Homer the Paladin and Beth the Fighter quickly went one way battling hordes while my Wizard, Shannon's Cleric and Rob's Rogue went the other. Before too long a cave in had reduced travel to a crawl on the north end of the dungeon while monsters streamed out in poison dealing masses to afflict Homer with curses and poison. The Blood-Raging Cleric continued to take damage owing to his inability to actually reach any monsters in time.
The environment cards are the biggest advantage the game has over the players (beyond always getting to attack first). As soon as the lava walls appeared, the Wizard was doomed. A curse would cause him to take damage for every tile he moved through while standing by a wall caused a single point. Standing still triggered yet another encounter that caused something to explode and the Wizard to tumble into a heap. Meanwhile the blood rage started to drain the Cleric of vitality, in spite of his starting with a Tome of Experience.
Over on the other side of the map, a giant boulder slammed into the Paladin and Fighter who, between them, seemed to be in a perpetual state of cursed, dazed and/or poisoned. When we finally came back together on the south side of the map, things continued to sour. The Legion Devils made their first (and second) appearance while Duergar and Kobold sentries opened more tiles and brought in more monsters. Oddly enough, we had only TWO tiles remaining when the trigger tile was finally pulled. This is a testament to the tile summoning monsters drawing everything from the bottom.
It was an error we caught late but we realized that we had not been activating like-named monsters as often as we should have. Given the difficulties we'd experienced to that point, it was probably for the best even though it did somewhat tarnish the end game. Knowing that he wasn't long for this world, the Paladin rushed ahead hoping to bring out the final encounter. It worked though it brought along a host of new monsters to go with it. Then with the Paladin down we used our last Healing Surge.
With hordes surrounding him and three of five party members in the eastern end of the dungeon, we had to orchestrate a complex and somewhat insane plan to somehow kill the Kobold Dude before the Paladin's turn came about again (for he had been swamped and died once more). As the Rogue and Wizard rushed to help the Paladin, the Fighter and Cleric orchestrated a careful fighting withdrawal from the Devil infested eastern caverns.
The Rogue and Fighter delivered some punishment to the Kobold Dude even as he slashed his way through our ranks leaving him down to 2 HPs with only the Wizard standing in the way of victory. Wielding an impressive arsenal of magic weapons (which, quite frankly could have better served someone else), the Wizard hypnotized the Orc Archer into attacking his commander allowing the coup de grace to be delivered via Flaming Sphere. The Kobold Dude fell to the ground as the Wizard's flaming balls tea-bagged him to death. Huzzah!
We made some mistakes on our first play-through, mistakes we noted and vowed to not repeat. Luckily we managed to avoid the problems this time. Everyone earned the carriages in the right order and we negated points for having leftover bird houses errr, post offices. Beth seemed to have a pretty solid system in place from the get-go. Her houses popped up throughout the region in no time and her routes quickly earned her reams of bonus points. Homer went to big-route way and amassed a tidy sum of bonus chits himself.
Being his first time through, Shannon seemed a little lost leading to the dissolution of a promising 4 city route early in the game. While it didn't help his fortunes, it seemed to be the turning point at which he began to understand the subtle nuances of the game. I plugged away trying to fill up the big honking grey area and actually managed to trigger end game with my #7 carriage. Homer and I tied at 23 points apiece while Shannon had a dismal showing at only 4 points. The leftovers really damaged his score on his first time through. Beth won the game with an impressive score of 26, even without the #7 carriage in her possession.
Our next game involved breaking out 7 Wonders. The appeal is the game's ability to support a large number of players coupled with a relatively quick game play assuming everyone has played it before. This turned out to be a fairly tight match despite four wildly different strategies. Homer presented a surprisingly balanced point spread ranking 1st or 2nd in every category to score a 54 point win. Beth followed close behind mainly on the strength of her blue bonus points to finish with 47 points. Shannon and I ended up tied at 44 points each as Shannon went heavily on the military and I went the science route due to having Babylon B as my city.
Our last game of the night was a venture into Wrath of Ashardalon. While game play is similar to Castle Ravenloft, the monsters, challenges and some features are unique. Luckily the differences were so easily grasped that Rob and I being the only ones to have played both systems, still didn't need to explain much of anything. I believe Shannon may have been the only newcomer to the Wizards of the Coast D&D based game series.
With a full crew, we ventured into the subterranean lair of some evil Kobold dude (whose name I clearly cannot recall). As is often the case, we had barely stepped into the dungeon when things began to fall apart. Homer the Paladin and Beth the Fighter quickly went one way battling hordes while my Wizard, Shannon's Cleric and Rob's Rogue went the other. Before too long a cave in had reduced travel to a crawl on the north end of the dungeon while monsters streamed out in poison dealing masses to afflict Homer with curses and poison. The Blood-Raging Cleric continued to take damage owing to his inability to actually reach any monsters in time.
The environment cards are the biggest advantage the game has over the players (beyond always getting to attack first). As soon as the lava walls appeared, the Wizard was doomed. A curse would cause him to take damage for every tile he moved through while standing by a wall caused a single point. Standing still triggered yet another encounter that caused something to explode and the Wizard to tumble into a heap. Meanwhile the blood rage started to drain the Cleric of vitality, in spite of his starting with a Tome of Experience.
Over on the other side of the map, a giant boulder slammed into the Paladin and Fighter who, between them, seemed to be in a perpetual state of cursed, dazed and/or poisoned. When we finally came back together on the south side of the map, things continued to sour. The Legion Devils made their first (and second) appearance while Duergar and Kobold sentries opened more tiles and brought in more monsters. Oddly enough, we had only TWO tiles remaining when the trigger tile was finally pulled. This is a testament to the tile summoning monsters drawing everything from the bottom.
It was an error we caught late but we realized that we had not been activating like-named monsters as often as we should have. Given the difficulties we'd experienced to that point, it was probably for the best even though it did somewhat tarnish the end game. Knowing that he wasn't long for this world, the Paladin rushed ahead hoping to bring out the final encounter. It worked though it brought along a host of new monsters to go with it. Then with the Paladin down we used our last Healing Surge.
With hordes surrounding him and three of five party members in the eastern end of the dungeon, we had to orchestrate a complex and somewhat insane plan to somehow kill the Kobold Dude before the Paladin's turn came about again (for he had been swamped and died once more). As the Rogue and Wizard rushed to help the Paladin, the Fighter and Cleric orchestrated a careful fighting withdrawal from the Devil infested eastern caverns.
The Rogue and Fighter delivered some punishment to the Kobold Dude even as he slashed his way through our ranks leaving him down to 2 HPs with only the Wizard standing in the way of victory. Wielding an impressive arsenal of magic weapons (which, quite frankly could have better served someone else), the Wizard hypnotized the Orc Archer into attacking his commander allowing the coup de grace to be delivered via Flaming Sphere. The Kobold Dude fell to the ground as the Wizard's flaming balls tea-bagged him to death. Huzzah!
Monday, June 20, 2011
July Game Dates
July's schedule goes back to our normal gaming times. We will play board games at the Derby Line Village Hall at 6PM on July 16th.
We now play two roleplaying games: D&D 3.5 AND A Song of Ice and Fire. We are doing a mega RPG day where we will play one in the afternoon and the other in the evening. The next date for that is July 23rd.
We got a few new board games so be sure to check out our list of games to see what we have. As always, let us know if you wish us to bring any particular board games to the board game night.
We now play two roleplaying games: D&D 3.5 AND A Song of Ice and Fire. We are doing a mega RPG day where we will play one in the afternoon and the other in the evening. The next date for that is July 23rd.
We got a few new board games so be sure to check out our list of games to see what we have. As always, let us know if you wish us to bring any particular board games to the board game night.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
June's Game Nights
June is going to be a screwy month and our game nights will not follow our usual pattern. The board game night will be June 11th at 6 PM at the Derby Line Village Hall. This was changed so anyone from Border Board Games could attend our regular game night as well as attend the Green Mountain Gamers, Game 'n Grill on June 18th in Norwich, VT.
Our new D&D 3.5 campaign was scheduled for the 4th Saturday but one of the players will be gone that weekend so we are in the process of rescheduling that date. The new date will be posted on the website once it has been settled.
We are also starting a discussion to begin A Song of Ice and Fire RPG. If joining Ice and Fire and/or D&D interest you, please let us know. We have room for new players.
Our new D&D 3.5 campaign was scheduled for the 4th Saturday but one of the players will be gone that weekend so we are in the process of rescheduling that date. The new date will be posted on the website once it has been settled.
We are also starting a discussion to begin A Song of Ice and Fire RPG. If joining Ice and Fire and/or D&D interest you, please let us know. We have room for new players.
Monday, May 2, 2011
May's Game Nights
Our D&D 3.5 game will begin anew with a new campaign. We will be playing in Eberron and if you are interested in joining the new campaign, contact us. The date hasn't been finalized yet but tentatively, we will begin on May 13th or May 14th. Keep checking the website for the final date.
Our next board game night will be on May 21st. Nothing has been planned as of yet but if there are any games you wish to play, please let us know. We'll stuff the Big Frakkin' Bag full of whatever we can.
Our next board game night will be on May 21st. Nothing has been planned as of yet but if there are any games you wish to play, please let us know. We'll stuff the Big Frakkin' Bag full of whatever we can.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
April Game Nights
March's D&D got cancelled so there is no session report. The next scheduled game nights are:
Regular board game night: April 16th at 6 PM at the Derby Line Village Hall. For April, we are planning on playing nothing but card games. That means we will have Dominion, Race for the Galaxy, Bohnanza, Bang!, plus we're getting four more card games through a game sale. And, as always, bring along your favorites too!
Dungeons and Dragons: April 23rd at 6:30 at Richard and Bethany's house in Derby Line. Come at 6 PM to play a board game or two before DM Rob arrives.
Regular board game night: April 16th at 6 PM at the Derby Line Village Hall. For April, we are planning on playing nothing but card games. That means we will have Dominion, Race for the Galaxy, Bohnanza, Bang!, plus we're getting four more card games through a game sale. And, as always, bring along your favorites too!
Dungeons and Dragons: April 23rd at 6:30 at Richard and Bethany's house in Derby Line. Come at 6 PM to play a board game or two before DM Rob arrives.
Monday, March 21, 2011
I fought the law, and the law won
Saturday, March 19th, brought us another edition of Border Board Games. The night started off quietly and while waiting for anyone to show up, Richard and I played Race for the Galaxy. For those who haven't played Race for the Galaxy, it is a card game where you try to play cards in your tableau to try to maximize the cards to yield you the most victory points at the end. Once you get used to the game, it is easy and quick. You'd think we'd have had our fill of RFTG wince we've been playing on our computers, but I guess not. BTW, I think the computers cheat in the computer version. I ended up winning against Richard but I don't recall what the exact scores were.
Near the end of our game, Homer and Alexis showed up. We decided to break out Homer's copy of Agricola. Agricola is definitely not a game to introduce a new gamer to. It's a worker placement game on steroids and can be overwhelming. We've all played a few times before so play was quite quick and smooth. I just couldn't get the synergy of placing my 'people' and my board was very weak. Homer and Richard on the other hand managed to pull ahead of Alexis and myself in the end. I had thought Alexis was going to give Homer a run for his money since she was filling up her board quite nicely but she didn't manage to diversify enough and fell into third place.
Near the end of Agricola, Shannon showed up and then while we were picking up Agricola, Amos and Ivy stopped by. We broke out Betrayal at House on the Hill so we could try out our new non-warped tiles. Betrayal is a very simple game to learn and is all about what players put into it. It's definitely more fun if players give their own spooky edge. Exploring the house was moving along quite nicely until I opened up a room in the basement and triggered the haunt. I ended up getting caught in the massive spider web and having spider eggs laid inside of my character and Homer, playing the big brute who just happened to have the spear, was the traitor. We should have known things would go badly while Homer went off into the kitchen of the hall to read his part of the scenario, we heard him cackle evilly.
I spent the remainder of the game trying to break free from the web while Homer went around with his brute and started killing everyone, starting with the little children first (isn't he a loving dad?). Amos decided to stay on the ground floor while the brute stayed in the basement with the spider. Shannon made a valiant effort and managed to heal my character of the spider eggs but between dynamite and the brute's spear, all characters except Amos' ended up dead. This scenario seemed to have a piece missing. We had to heal the spider eggs from the haunt revealer and then free the haunt revealer from the web and then if at least one character exited the house, we won. For the traitor, if he managed to kill all remaining characters, he wins. The thing was, the traitor was stuck in the basement as no way out had been found yet. We realized that Homer could have explored the basement until he found the way out and then head up and take care of Amos' character but this felt weird and would drag on. It just seemed odd that you'd think that Amos' character could have tried to leave anyway because why would you stay in a house if all your friends ended up brutalized by the brute? I dunno, we figured we'd just end as evil prevailed.In the meantime, Rob arrived to join the games.
We then moved onto Blokus. Amos had two copies so we broke off into two groups. Blokus is a great, fun, quick game and very easy to learn and explain. On one board was Alexis, Rob, Homer and Shannon and on the other board was myself, Richard, Ivy and Amos. I'm not sure how many games the other board got in. I do know that Alexis won one game and Shannon another. The board I was playing at played two games. Ivy won the first and Amos won the second.
At the end of the night, we decided to play some 8-player Bang!. Bang! is another card game that we have been enjoying a lot of lately. For 8 players, you have your Sheriff (Homer), 2 deputies, 2 renegades, and 3 outlaws. Homer was not able to figure who was who and ended up with a fistful of cards for the whole game and no idea who to target. I was an outlaw and got some bad cards (no way to defend myself) and after Alexis beat me down and then Rob played an Indians card, I was dead. Alexis made the blunder of exclaiming, 'I knew you weren't on my side!' after I kicked the bucket and revealed myself as an outlaw. The outlaws just couldn't get it together though and eventually, they ended up getting offed too (that would be Amos and Ivy). Then Shannon the renegade and Alexis the deputy got picked off and it was down to Sheriff Homer, Rob and Richard. The thing was, who was the renegade and who was the deputy? Richard and Rob picked away at each other while Homer sat with his fistful of cards. Richard prevailed and picked off Rob who then revealed himself as the last renegade. The law won!
It's kind of funny that Homer goes from being the traitor to the sheriff.
That concludes the March session of Border Board Games. Our next board game night is scheduled for April 16th, same time, same place. We think that perhaps April will be the game day where we will play nothing but card games. Hope to see you there!
Near the end of our game, Homer and Alexis showed up. We decided to break out Homer's copy of Agricola. Agricola is definitely not a game to introduce a new gamer to. It's a worker placement game on steroids and can be overwhelming. We've all played a few times before so play was quite quick and smooth. I just couldn't get the synergy of placing my 'people' and my board was very weak. Homer and Richard on the other hand managed to pull ahead of Alexis and myself in the end. I had thought Alexis was going to give Homer a run for his money since she was filling up her board quite nicely but she didn't manage to diversify enough and fell into third place.
Near the end of Agricola, Shannon showed up and then while we were picking up Agricola, Amos and Ivy stopped by. We broke out Betrayal at House on the Hill so we could try out our new non-warped tiles. Betrayal is a very simple game to learn and is all about what players put into it. It's definitely more fun if players give their own spooky edge. Exploring the house was moving along quite nicely until I opened up a room in the basement and triggered the haunt. I ended up getting caught in the massive spider web and having spider eggs laid inside of my character and Homer, playing the big brute who just happened to have the spear, was the traitor. We should have known things would go badly while Homer went off into the kitchen of the hall to read his part of the scenario, we heard him cackle evilly.
I spent the remainder of the game trying to break free from the web while Homer went around with his brute and started killing everyone, starting with the little children first (isn't he a loving dad?). Amos decided to stay on the ground floor while the brute stayed in the basement with the spider. Shannon made a valiant effort and managed to heal my character of the spider eggs but between dynamite and the brute's spear, all characters except Amos' ended up dead. This scenario seemed to have a piece missing. We had to heal the spider eggs from the haunt revealer and then free the haunt revealer from the web and then if at least one character exited the house, we won. For the traitor, if he managed to kill all remaining characters, he wins. The thing was, the traitor was stuck in the basement as no way out had been found yet. We realized that Homer could have explored the basement until he found the way out and then head up and take care of Amos' character but this felt weird and would drag on. It just seemed odd that you'd think that Amos' character could have tried to leave anyway because why would you stay in a house if all your friends ended up brutalized by the brute? I dunno, we figured we'd just end as evil prevailed.In the meantime, Rob arrived to join the games.
We then moved onto Blokus. Amos had two copies so we broke off into two groups. Blokus is a great, fun, quick game and very easy to learn and explain. On one board was Alexis, Rob, Homer and Shannon and on the other board was myself, Richard, Ivy and Amos. I'm not sure how many games the other board got in. I do know that Alexis won one game and Shannon another. The board I was playing at played two games. Ivy won the first and Amos won the second.
At the end of the night, we decided to play some 8-player Bang!. Bang! is another card game that we have been enjoying a lot of lately. For 8 players, you have your Sheriff (Homer), 2 deputies, 2 renegades, and 3 outlaws. Homer was not able to figure who was who and ended up with a fistful of cards for the whole game and no idea who to target. I was an outlaw and got some bad cards (no way to defend myself) and after Alexis beat me down and then Rob played an Indians card, I was dead. Alexis made the blunder of exclaiming, 'I knew you weren't on my side!' after I kicked the bucket and revealed myself as an outlaw. The outlaws just couldn't get it together though and eventually, they ended up getting offed too (that would be Amos and Ivy). Then Shannon the renegade and Alexis the deputy got picked off and it was down to Sheriff Homer, Rob and Richard. The thing was, who was the renegade and who was the deputy? Richard and Rob picked away at each other while Homer sat with his fistful of cards. Richard prevailed and picked off Rob who then revealed himself as the last renegade. The law won!
It's kind of funny that Homer goes from being the traitor to the sheriff.
That concludes the March session of Border Board Games. Our next board game night is scheduled for April 16th, same time, same place. We think that perhaps April will be the game day where we will play nothing but card games. Hope to see you there!
Monday, March 7, 2011
March Game Nights
For March, we will meet for our regularly scheduled board game night at the Derby Line Village Hall at 6 PM on March 19th. Not sure what we plan to bring for games yet but we'll have our usual bagfull.
Our next D&D night will be on March 26th starting whenever DM Rob arrives. We play at Beth and Richard's house in Derby Line. We could us a new player or two and if you are interested, please contact us at trashvacuum@hotmail.com. The first people to actually commit to showing up, will make the group.
Our next D&D night will be on March 26th starting whenever DM Rob arrives. We play at Beth and Richard's house in Derby Line. We could us a new player or two and if you are interested, please contact us at trashvacuum@hotmail.com. The first people to actually commit to showing up, will make the group.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Next Game Nights
The next regular board game night will be Feb. 19th at the Derby Line Village Hall starting at 6 PM.
The next D&D 3.5 night will be on Feb 26th at Richard and Bethany's hosue and will begin when DM Rob and Angela show up (sometime after 6 PM). If you are interested in joining this campaign, please contact Richard or Bethany at trashvacuum@hotmail.com.
The next D&D 3.5 night will be on Feb 26th at Richard and Bethany's hosue and will begin when DM Rob and Angela show up (sometime after 6 PM). If you are interested in joining this campaign, please contact Richard or Bethany at trashvacuum@hotmail.com.
A Night of Ghosts and Gallactica
Jan 15th's Border Board Games was a quiet one with Bethany, Richard, Rob, Angela, and Carlo attending. Carlo arrived just as the game, Ghost Stories, was getting started. Richard and Bethany had played Ghost Stories before and had wanted to try again. Rob and Angela brought their copy and provided the opportunity to try this difficult game.
Ghost Stories is a cooperative 4-player game where you each control a monk (or what I call a ninja since each player token looks like a ninja) where you try to keep a village from becoming haunted and making all the inhabitants run away in fear. There are nine tiles you can move your ninja to and each tile allows your ninja to do a special action. Each ninja also has his own special power than can be used on his own turn.
When it is your turn, you draw a ghost card and place it on the board. Some ghosts are difficult to defeat, some not so difficult, and some add 'haunters' to the board. If a haunter reaches the board's edge, a tile is turned over and becomes inactive. If there tiles are turned over, the village has become haunted and the players lose. I'm not sure of other losing conditions.
On your turn, you can move one space and then take an action, either using the tile's action or fighting a ghost. Since a lot of ghosts come out, it seems ninjas spend most of the time fighting ghosts and not using the tiles' powers.
We were able to fend of ghosts pretty well but in the end, three tiles had been turned over and we ended up losing the game before even seeing the big bad ghost to even try to defeat him.
After Ghost Stories, we broke out Battlestar Gallactica complete with all the expansions. Everyone except Angela had played before. Bethany accused Rob of being a cylon even before loyalty cards were dealt. Bethany played Tory as president, Richard played Felix, Rob played Helo as Admiral, Angela played Apollo, and Carlo was Galen. It was tough determining who the trader or traders were although, as the game got near the end, it was suspected that Rob was a cylon. Carlo suggested that Rob/Helo be put in the airlock and Bethany/Tory felt that was an excellent idea. The skill check didn't pass and Rob/Helo remained alive. It was curious that there were about half the cards in favor of airlocking Rob and about half that weren't which made me (Bethany) suspect there was another trader but not sure who.
Rob/Helo then revealed himself as a cylon (see! Bethany was right!)and he tried to work his evil powers to bring the Gallactica down. And then shortly after, at Rob's urging, Angela revealed herself as a cylon too! But it was too late and Gallactica managed to jump to Kobol.
This game of Gallactica seemed a bit unusual in that Gallactica's resources didn't drain as quickly as they normally seem to, therefore, the game was in favor of the humans. We didn't play for 11 hours although I'm sure Carlo would have been happy if we did.
Ghost Stories is a cooperative 4-player game where you each control a monk (or what I call a ninja since each player token looks like a ninja) where you try to keep a village from becoming haunted and making all the inhabitants run away in fear. There are nine tiles you can move your ninja to and each tile allows your ninja to do a special action. Each ninja also has his own special power than can be used on his own turn.
When it is your turn, you draw a ghost card and place it on the board. Some ghosts are difficult to defeat, some not so difficult, and some add 'haunters' to the board. If a haunter reaches the board's edge, a tile is turned over and becomes inactive. If there tiles are turned over, the village has become haunted and the players lose. I'm not sure of other losing conditions.
On your turn, you can move one space and then take an action, either using the tile's action or fighting a ghost. Since a lot of ghosts come out, it seems ninjas spend most of the time fighting ghosts and not using the tiles' powers.
We were able to fend of ghosts pretty well but in the end, three tiles had been turned over and we ended up losing the game before even seeing the big bad ghost to even try to defeat him.
After Ghost Stories, we broke out Battlestar Gallactica complete with all the expansions. Everyone except Angela had played before. Bethany accused Rob of being a cylon even before loyalty cards were dealt. Bethany played Tory as president, Richard played Felix, Rob played Helo as Admiral, Angela played Apollo, and Carlo was Galen. It was tough determining who the trader or traders were although, as the game got near the end, it was suspected that Rob was a cylon. Carlo suggested that Rob/Helo be put in the airlock and Bethany/Tory felt that was an excellent idea. The skill check didn't pass and Rob/Helo remained alive. It was curious that there were about half the cards in favor of airlocking Rob and about half that weren't which made me (Bethany) suspect there was another trader but not sure who.
Rob/Helo then revealed himself as a cylon (see! Bethany was right!)and he tried to work his evil powers to bring the Gallactica down. And then shortly after, at Rob's urging, Angela revealed herself as a cylon too! But it was too late and Gallactica managed to jump to Kobol.
This game of Gallactica seemed a bit unusual in that Gallactica's resources didn't drain as quickly as they normally seem to, therefore, the game was in favor of the humans. We didn't play for 11 hours although I'm sure Carlo would have been happy if we did.
Monday, November 29, 2010
December Game Days
For the month of December, here are the following dates for game nights:
December 3rd - D&D 3.5. It seems with Thanksgiving and Christmas that our regular D&D nights have to be shifted around. In addition, the regular D&D night for January will have to be scheduled for another night other than the 4th Saturday since Richard and I won't be home to host it.
December 11th - Carlo will be running a one time Trail of Cthulhu game. So far, we have 4 players and could fit a 5th so if you wish to join us, send a message.
December 18th - Border Board Games regular board game night continues. There was debate of making the game night a time to celebrate 'Black Christmas' with dark themed games but I think it would be best to just bring along whatever games strikes out fancy. Take a look at our list of games on our website and send us a message if there are any games you wish to play.
December 3rd - D&D 3.5. It seems with Thanksgiving and Christmas that our regular D&D nights have to be shifted around. In addition, the regular D&D night for January will have to be scheduled for another night other than the 4th Saturday since Richard and I won't be home to host it.
December 11th - Carlo will be running a one time Trail of Cthulhu game. So far, we have 4 players and could fit a 5th so if you wish to join us, send a message.
December 18th - Border Board Games regular board game night continues. There was debate of making the game night a time to celebrate 'Black Christmas' with dark themed games but I think it would be best to just bring along whatever games strikes out fancy. Take a look at our list of games on our website and send us a message if there are any games you wish to play.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Something to be thankful for
Saturday, November 20 marked the latest Border Board games game day at the Derby line Village hall. Featuring a theme based around colonization and exploration as well as hauntings, demons and other unassociated things, was held to mark the upcoming holiday.
We had two new faces to the Border Board Games community though neither was especially new per se. Welcome to J-Roc and Carlo and thanks to the Burlington crew for swinging by. Alex, Rachel and Tyler made the trip from parts west to join in the fun and mayhem. My apologies for the lack of squeak in the cheese curd but the large poutine lived up to the hype (I hope!).
We had games, games and more games as the crowd swelled to 16 (plus the wee ones as well) allowing us to run many games simultaneously. The night started off with a game of Age of Empires III. Original Josh's unusual strategy allowed him to sneak off for the win by a significant margin. He never earned much money, had lots of mismatched trade goods, owned few capital buildings but consistently scored well in the colonization rounds. The battle for Canada was fierce as Ken flooded the northlands with tons of British settlers in an attempt to crowd out Shannon's Spanish presence.
Next up we tackled a game of Stone Age. This time Homer came over and worked up a big point tool strategy. He never had much in the way of huts and earned only a few points here and there during the regular rounds but his eight-times tool multiplier catapulted him from the back and into second place. Only my plantings and technologies (7 of 8) allowed me to sneak ahead by a handful of points.
Elsewhere Rob, Ken and Josh ventured into the depths of Castle Ravenloft followed by a game of Cyclades. The Burlington crew and Carlo played Incan Gold before moving on to Battlestar Galactica when Beth came in with Shannon. The game featured a partial introduction of the rules from the Pegasus expansion. Carlo chose to be the Cylon commander John Cavil to add some spice. Rachel (Starbuck) turned out to be the Cylon saboteur. As it turned out the brave crew was unable to defeat the insidious Cylon threat before disaster claimed the fleet.
Later on the group broke out Betrayal at House on the Hill joined this time by Angela. The traitor turned out to be a pre-pubescent boy played by Carlo. Luckily the heroes ended up destroying their voodoo dolls in time to thwart the evil but not before two of them had perished in that grim domicile. At another table Homer, Kim, Zeke and Alexis burned and salted their way through a game of A La Carte as well as played through a game of Puerto Rico earlier in the evening.
A late start coupled with my failing memory of a single play five months earlier derailed an ill-advised foray into Dungeon Lords. We played long enough to get a feel for the game but not long enough to withstand an onslaught of heroic invaders.
We had two new faces to the Border Board Games community though neither was especially new per se. Welcome to J-Roc and Carlo and thanks to the Burlington crew for swinging by. Alex, Rachel and Tyler made the trip from parts west to join in the fun and mayhem. My apologies for the lack of squeak in the cheese curd but the large poutine lived up to the hype (I hope!).
We had games, games and more games as the crowd swelled to 16 (plus the wee ones as well) allowing us to run many games simultaneously. The night started off with a game of Age of Empires III. Original Josh's unusual strategy allowed him to sneak off for the win by a significant margin. He never earned much money, had lots of mismatched trade goods, owned few capital buildings but consistently scored well in the colonization rounds. The battle for Canada was fierce as Ken flooded the northlands with tons of British settlers in an attempt to crowd out Shannon's Spanish presence.
Next up we tackled a game of Stone Age. This time Homer came over and worked up a big point tool strategy. He never had much in the way of huts and earned only a few points here and there during the regular rounds but his eight-times tool multiplier catapulted him from the back and into second place. Only my plantings and technologies (7 of 8) allowed me to sneak ahead by a handful of points.
Elsewhere Rob, Ken and Josh ventured into the depths of Castle Ravenloft followed by a game of Cyclades. The Burlington crew and Carlo played Incan Gold before moving on to Battlestar Galactica when Beth came in with Shannon. The game featured a partial introduction of the rules from the Pegasus expansion. Carlo chose to be the Cylon commander John Cavil to add some spice. Rachel (Starbuck) turned out to be the Cylon saboteur. As it turned out the brave crew was unable to defeat the insidious Cylon threat before disaster claimed the fleet.
Later on the group broke out Betrayal at House on the Hill joined this time by Angela. The traitor turned out to be a pre-pubescent boy played by Carlo. Luckily the heroes ended up destroying their voodoo dolls in time to thwart the evil but not before two of them had perished in that grim domicile. At another table Homer, Kim, Zeke and Alexis burned and salted their way through a game of A La Carte as well as played through a game of Puerto Rico earlier in the evening.
A late start coupled with my failing memory of a single play five months earlier derailed an ill-advised foray into Dungeon Lords. We played long enough to get a feel for the game but not long enough to withstand an onslaught of heroic invaders.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Gaming in November
November is a busy month for gaming!
The first weekend of November from 5th to the 7th, is Vermont's only gaming convention, Carnage. Carnage takes place in Fairlee, VT at the Inn on Lake Morey and is an awesome gaming event. If you cannot make it for the whole weekend, we highly recommend going for at least one day. We are heading down on the 5th and and are coming back at about noon on the th. We have one spot available in the car for a passenger so if you are looking to hitch a ride, let us know.
Then, on November 13th, we will be at the Goodrich Library in Newport, VT (or visit them on Facebook)to participate in National Game Day. We will bring along some board games, Magic the Gathering cards and some roleplaying books. We hope we can introduce some people to some new games.
On November 20th, we will have our regular Border Board Games game night. To honor Thanksgiving, we will bring along board games with a exploration and colonization theme. So we'll have Settlers of Catan, Castle Ravenloft, Battlestar Gallactica, Age of Empires III, and Race for the Galaxy. If you have any gaming requests, please let us know.
And, to end of November, on the 27th, we will plan to have our regular D&D session.
The first weekend of November from 5th to the 7th, is Vermont's only gaming convention, Carnage. Carnage takes place in Fairlee, VT at the Inn on Lake Morey and is an awesome gaming event. If you cannot make it for the whole weekend, we highly recommend going for at least one day. We are heading down on the 5th and and are coming back at about noon on the th. We have one spot available in the car for a passenger so if you are looking to hitch a ride, let us know.
Then, on November 13th, we will be at the Goodrich Library in Newport, VT (or visit them on Facebook)to participate in National Game Day. We will bring along some board games, Magic the Gathering cards and some roleplaying books. We hope we can introduce some people to some new games.
On November 20th, we will have our regular Border Board Games game night. To honor Thanksgiving, we will bring along board games with a exploration and colonization theme. So we'll have Settlers of Catan, Castle Ravenloft, Battlestar Gallactica, Age of Empires III, and Race for the Galaxy. If you have any gaming requests, please let us know.
And, to end of November, on the 27th, we will plan to have our regular D&D session.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
October D&D Session
The next D&D 3.5 session will be on Saturday, October 23rd starting at about 7:30 PM at Richard's and Bethany's house.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Next Border Board Games date
We will resume our regular game night on October 16th at 6 PM at the Derby Line Village Hall. In honor of October and Halloween, we will bring along what horror-themed games we have. That means, Last Night on Earth, Fury of Dracula, and http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15987/arkham-horror. I'm sure Castle Ravenloft will make an appearance as will some other games. As always, if you have a gaming request, please let us know.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Next D&D Session
Our next D&D 3.5 will continue on September 23 at about 7:30 PM at Richard and Bethany's house.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
September's Game Day
For September, Border Board Games will change from its regular venue and join Green Mountain Gamers down in Lyndonville on September 18th for an all day game fest called Fall-oha. The game day will be held at the Grange hall on York St. and will run from 10 AM to 10 PM.
There will be all sorts of open board gaming the entire day. In addition, try your skill at the Small World tournament. If you are victorious, you will go home with the Cursed expansion. For all those mini players out there, there will be an introductory game of Flames of War.
Keep visiting the Green Mountain Gamers website to check for updates on the game day.
Border Board Games will return to its normal venue of the Derby Line Village Hall on October 16th.
There will be all sorts of open board gaming the entire day. In addition, try your skill at the Small World tournament. If you are victorious, you will go home with the Cursed expansion. For all those mini players out there, there will be an introductory game of Flames of War.
Keep visiting the Green Mountain Gamers website to check for updates on the game day.
Border Board Games will return to its normal venue of the Derby Line Village Hall on October 16th.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Next D&D session
The next D&D session is planned for August 28th at our (Richard and Bethany's) house. We should start as soon as Rob the DM arrives, which has been usually around 7:30 to 8:00.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
August 21st
For the next session of Border Board games on August 21st, we will be bringing along Axis and Allies, Ticket to Ride, Puerto Rico and whatever other games will fit in our bag. If you have any requests, please let us know.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Next game night
The next D&D session had to be cancelled due to a sick DM but the next Border Board Games will proceed as scheduled on August 21st at the Village Hall at 6 PM. During our last game night, there was interest in playing Last Night on Earth at the next night. Last Night on Earth is known as the zombie game in our group. It's a game that mimics the B-rated zombie movie. It has characters such as the high school jock, the town sheriff, the drifter, or the high school sweetheart. Just like in the movies, with Last Night on Earth, it's humans vs. zombies and the humans have to beat the zombies before dawn arrives. It's a fun, interactive game that's easy to learn. Besides the Zombies, we're not sure what else we're bringing along. As always, if you have any requests, please let us know.
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