Den of Iniquity

One weeks its swearing the next its fighting, two bitches out of control (and I don’t mean Ben & Jack) we haven’t seen such action since the bad old days of the St Andrews tavern (and we were at the complete angler for over 6 months!) all we need is the ribs to start selling some kind of drug over the counter and games club will completely be a den of iniquity.

A man walks into a bar. Ouch!

There was a ruckus down the Ribs. No, Punk Rich didn’t get medieval on Ben’s ass (except in a game of Dominion), but two ladies set about some bloke with a bar stool. Thankfully, we were shut away downstairs in the Wherry room and no damage was inflicted on the NoBoGers or more importantly any of the precious, precious games. Whew, safe.

Three tables of gamers this week. Jimmy, Luke, New Andy and the fearsome Jack Shannon bowed and scrapped to the great god Amun-Re, as they built pyramids and planted crops along the ancient flooded Nile. Jimmy predictably walked away with victory, but I hear that the young upstart Luke gave him a run for his money.

On the central table, Pete, Punk Rich and Ben got down to the serious business of Dominion. There was little banter as they shuffled their way through three games, and by the end of the evening the honours were even with one win apiece.

On the final table I taught Settlers of Catan to New Pete and Lovely Rich. We were joined by Katie who had previously played Catan. Unfairly maligned by many of the NoBoG crew, Settlers went down very well, especially with Pete, and after the initial game, which I won, we reset it all and played it for a second time. This time Pete emerged victorious, narrowly beating Rich, who couldn’t quite get to ten victory points, despite being fuelled by pork scratchings that he’d bought off the internet. Settlers has once again worked its magic, as it sounds like Pete might buy himself a copy of Settlers to start off his board game collection.

Beer: I foolishly had a pint of Eagle IPA. It was cheap and nasty, like an old copy of Lunch Money bought from a jumble sale.

Parental Advisory

Ben brought games down to the Ribs for the first time ever. And against NoBog custom his game, Dominion, hit the table. This is not right. There is an unspoken rule that you have to bring a game down for at least 12 weeks in a row before it even has a chance of being played. Actually, it’s not an unspoken rule, as Crocker reminded us how he brought Leonardo Da Vinci along for two years straight and we refused to play it. Anyway, Ben played Dominion with Lovely Rich, Luke, Tash and New Pete. Ben won. Nobody was surprised, as he’d looked at a strategy guide prior to teaching it to the rest of the table. Nobody was surprised that he didn’t buy a drink either. Again. Tight git.

On the other table Mr Crocker, Old Pete, New Andy and myself played a game of Brass, which is an economic/efficiency game set in the better half of the North of England during the Industrial Revolution. This was the third time I’d played Brass and I enjoyed it more than my previous sessions as it has a rather steep learning curve and it takes a while to get into the flow. I hit the ground running this time, as I’d vaguely remembered how to play. I set a decent pace in the first era, only to be reeled in by the outstanding Crocker, who beat me by one point in the finally tally. Curse him!

Have to say a big welcome to twin brothers Andy and Pete, who attended their first proper session (having sussed us out the week before last). Hopefully they both enjoyed themselves and weren’t put off by Crocker’s potty mouth, who shouted every profanity under the sun in the course of the three hours. The cunt. And if you’re wondering how to tell Andy and Pete apart – Andy wears a scarf and Pete sits at the other table by the door.

Beer: I was on the Wherry. The old standard. Lack of guest ales at the Ribs recently.

We are still here.

If a stranger wanders in off the street and mentions that your blog hasn't been updated for a while, then it's probably a sign that the blog needs a bit of updating.* So here we are 75 days since the last update. Let me fill you in with what's been going on with the Norwich Board Gamers...

O.K so I wrote the entry before seeing Luke's latest entry. Damn him!

Slight recap, not including last week. We had Christmas and New Year and then met back in a rather empty Ribs of Beef, which suffered from the post Christmas lull throughout January. Rich Harding made a welcome return. Rachael and Adam chose to break their legs rather than venture into Norwich in the dark (does Chris give them extra x-rays for free?). Most of the other faces you'd expect to see have shown up at some point as well.

We've played Carson City, Tobago, Puerto Rico, Endeavour, Glory to Rome, Small World, Lost Valley, King of Siam, Turn the Tide, Citadels, The Adventurers, Power Grid, Last Train to Wensleydale, Primordial Soup and Chaos in the Old World (which got to the table three weeks in a row and is still being requested).

There has been a pork scratching crisis and we suffered a number of scratching free weeks before a new supplier of the pigulous snacks was found. Neither of the alternative brands have lived up to the high standard set by Blackcountry Snacks' Q Pork Crackling and poor Luke has resorted to keeping a salt shaker in his pocket in order to add extra salt to his pork snacks. This mostly brings you up to date.

Tonight we had seven. Rich Harding led a game of Evo which was played by Tash and Ben. I got the impression that Tash loved it and Ben hated it. I can only assume that Ben lost. On my table we played a game of In the Year of the Dragon. It was a close run thing with Luke coming from nowhere to grab victory in the final count up. He just pipped me, Pete came third and Jimmy trailed in last. We used another one of the Rio Grande expansions which Crocker mentioned last week. This one added the Great Wall of China to the game, which scores extra points if successfully built by the time the Mongols invade. It added an extra option and a bit of variation, but I'd hardly say it was essential.

Beer: I had some Ruby Ale, which was completely average. Luke can probably tell us which brewery it's from. I'd compare it to Amyitis - so completely average that I'll have forgotten it existed by tomorrow.

* That stranger was Andy. Not War-Lovin' Andy, but some new-comer, hoping to wrestle the mantle of "Andy" off of one of the stalwart few. He even had a beard. Welcome Andy - hope we see you next week.