Island Dynasty - Wednesday Gaming Recap

Wednesday night at the Armory was my first gaming in a while (excluding a few rounds of Tides of Time) & it was nice to sink my teeth into some tricky decisions in both of the games we got to the table.

We started with Bora Bora - I hadn't played this Feld in the almost a year since I learned it at last year's charity marathon & it showed. I regained familiarity with the game soon enough, but some lousy rolls and questionable decisions in the first round started me off less than ideal. I was able to keep in the middle of the pack (we were after all playing for second given that Adam was playing) but in the end I came in third with a decent number of huts out but hardly any men or women to occupy them (and, you know, give me stuff). I really love this game regardless of my poor showing and the questionable eye-searing graphic design/colour scheme. I still haven't added it to my own collection but its probably just a matter of time.

Bora Bora - great game, eye-searing design

After a quick coffee break, it was time for me to FINALLY get to learn The Staufer Dynasty. Everything I'd seen & heard about this game had intrigued me & I was thrilled when Chris pulled it out of his bag. I was able to grok the gameplay quickly and feel like I was making meaningful choices but man, I need to play this again to start getting into the strategy and timing of each move. I came in a respectable third place, and this time it was Eric who blew everybody out of the water, scoring 21 points more than his nearest competitor.

Staufer in play - I love how this one looks on the table

I love the modular set-up used in Staufer - tons of randomness in set-up, but then once it's all placed the only real unknown is what chests will come out where. Everything else can be determined either from the start or is actively manipulated by players (ie. which sector meets a given condition to score). Looking back, I should have paid more attention to obtaining cards earlier but I loved every minute regardless, even if it did twist my brain around a few times. Just the fact that days later, I'm writing this and agonizing over where I might have changed things for the better speaks volumes!

Kigi in front, Belle of the Ball in back - lots of Solis

To finish the night, they pulled out Kigi for a quick game. I was getting a little achy sitting so choose to step out and wander the store checking out the new inventory and the other games in play. I didn't purchase anything though - having recently found out that I was one of the Dice Tower Network's CoolStuffInc giftcard winners, I'll be saving any upcoming purchases for an online order as I'm trying to cut down on the number of new games entering our house every month.

Games Played: Bora Bora, The Staufer Dynasty
New-to-Me Games: The Staufer Dynasty