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The inaugural, get-to-know-the-game session, that pitted four unlikely heroes (Tom: Battlemage Jaes, Bryan: Varikas the Dead, Scott: Trenloe the Strong, Steve: Ispher) against the Mighty OverLord (Dave).

We played Quest #6: The Eternal Guardian. It was a hard-fought battle throughout, with the Heroes constantly hampered by the Guardian. The heroes won 1 turn before the Overlord was about to take their remaining Conquest tokens (1 hero was near death, and the deck was about to run out), but as it was, a hit with exactly the damage required to kill the final demon won the day for them. They ended with 8 conquest tokens.

Kill Log:
Trenloe: 15 (4 masters) (Died Once)
Varikas: 11 (3 masters) (Was Not Killed)
Jaes: 36 (13 masters) (Died Twice)
Ispher: 7 (3 masters) (Died Once)

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John Weber brought this very interesting game. He had recently acquired it from Europe, and, truth be told, it looked much like a prototype and not so much like a published game. The rules were easily understood and, as the game progressed, I began to see something for the first time...

I was really nervous as the game was starting and he was explaining it using obscure racing terms and it all made little sense to me. By the end, I had really enjoyed the game and had a new appreciation for the game, and for cycling as a strategic sport.

I have never been a big fan of Cycling. I like race games in general, but the strategy and tactics in a bicycle race have always been like a dark cloud to me.

As the game progressed, I began to see how it was that conserving your strength on this hill could be good, how breaking away from the pelleton (or from a larger or smaller following group) could benefit your leader, in fact, much of the strategy of team bike racing started to come through. As this happened, I really started to enjoy the game.

Towards the end, I took a big chance as we entered a flat area and broke away from a lead pack with 2 riders that had tempo points left for both flats and downhills (the final segment was downhill) and I became uncatchable, and finished 1-2. Bryan Snyder got quite lucky in the sprint to catch 3rd place, even though 4 players had better starts in that sprint than he did.

All-in-all, it was a very interesting game, and one that heightened my understanding of a sport that has always been something of a mystery to me. Big Kudos to John Weber for bringing and teaching it, and for patiently waiting for our Descent game to finish so we could play it.

Finish order:
Dave Fair
Dave Fair
Bryan Snyder

Other Racers:
Tom McCorry, Steve Lollis, Scott Fisher, and John Weber.

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There is a lot to like in social experience games like Werewolf, but they tend to break down with fewer players. Here is a game that captures well that feeling from Werewolf, but works well with 4-7 players.

Steve brought the game and taught it, and we were off, sailing about in our rowboat, trying to ensure our own survival, the survival of the other player we were secretly in love with, and the death of one whom we secretly despised.

I was the first to die, as Lady Laurel, followed soon by Tom (Sir Stephan) and John (the Kid). Frenchy, the Captain and the First Mate survived, and points were totaled:

Tom (Sir Stephan, Loved the Kid, Hated the Captain): 0
Dave (Lady Laurel, Loved herself, Hated herself): 12
John (The Kid, Loved the Captain, Hated himself): 14
Steve (First Mate, Loved & Hated Frenchy): 14
Scott (The Captain, Loved Sir Stephan, Hated himself): 18
Bryan (Frenchy, Loved the First Mate, Hated Sir Stephan): 18

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John completed a solo play as he (patiently) awaited our ending of a game of Descent. Lincoln won, 278-260 over Kennedy.

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An excellent game with some memorable moments (Steve doing the "I'll have what she's having" scene from When Harry met Sally).

John & Bryan: 29
Steve & Tom: 41
Scott & Dave: 44