Three week review

Three weeks and no updates. Slack, I tell you. So slack. To make up for it here is a three week update-mash-up-type-thingumy. Word!

2^nd. Hello Moritz. Lost Valley. Clans. Tichu. Agricola: Farmers of the Moor. Drunken fool. Citra = smashing.

9^th. Age of Empires 3. Chaos in the Old World. Nicky crushes all before her. Boondoggle = jolly.

16^th. Hello Rick. Hello Jen. Hansa Teutonica. Someone named their baby Games Club. 7 Wonders. Steam. Nicky crushes all before her. Lack of = lager.

Normal blog service will resume.

Navegador: A Beekeeper's Tale.

Cuba finally made it to the table. It has been on the brink of play for well over a month since Rich sold his spare copy to Phil, but this week we had the numbers and Rich was willing to teach it. I say teach it, I'm not sure if he actually did as he walked to an easy victory over Phil and Nicky. Alhambra was then given a rare outing and saw Phil claim the win.

Meanwhile Jimmy, Mike, Tom and I sailed east with the game Navegador. The game is inspired by the Portuguese Age of Discoveries in the 15th & 16th centuries. Players take actions such as contracting workers, acquiring ships and buildings, exploring the seas, establishing colonies in discovered lands and trading goods on the market. For some reason the box lid depicts Jimmy dressed as a beekeeper.

Jimmy won a fairly comfortable victory by specialising in factories and workers, I came in second by also concentrating on workers, but opting for colonies. Mike came third with what looked like a balanced strategy and Tom, who to be fair hadn't played before, languished in fourth by not really doing enough of anything.

There was debate as to whether Navegador is the best of Mac Gerdt's Rondel Games; Jimmy thought that it clearly was, and while I still favour the slightly flawed Imperial - mostly because of the theme - I think Navegador is probably the more accomplished design.

We finished off the night with a few hands of the Chinese card game Tichu, which has become a favourite closer with some of NoBoG. A good win for myself and Jimmy over Tom and Mike.

Beer: Blakemere's Bobby Dazzler. It has the tagline Blonde, Spicy, Arresting - alluding to the blonde woman on the pump clip, who I doubt is a real enforcer of the law, especially in the skirt she was wearing. It was certainly blonde in colour. Not really spicy, but it did have a little bite. Arresting? Once again going a bit far, but this is certainly a very good golden ale, with a good head, a hint of wheat, a hint of citrus and a bitter finish. I rate it an 8 and compare it to 7 Wonders as it's a great session beer, which you can keep going back to all night.

NoBoG News

Let it be known that the cupboard under the stairs at the Ribs of Beer is damp. As a result the boxes of lamps and leads are being stored by myself and Crocker. The green baize remains in the cupboard, but is now in a special protective vessel – the NoBoG Bin Bag.

In other news, we now have a guild on boardgamegeek.com. The NoBoG Guild can be used for discussions, questions, ideas and general murmurings. It also has a calendar function, which I’ll keep up to date – so you can check whether games are on at the Ribs of Beef.

And finally. This Tuesday saw myself, Phil, Pete, Nicky and Crocker playing Steam. We tried the USA side of the map. Much of the game was a two-horse race between myself and Pete. I took an early lead on the VP track, but to the neglect of my locomotives. I got a decent headstart, but alas, it was not enough. I was eventually reeled in by Pete with his superior engine range, which he cranked up to six, while I languished on a range of five. Three points in it, and although the others were a little way behind, they were making up ground by the end. As always thoroughly enjoyable.

There is no beer news this week.