November

Quick update for the past three weeks.

We’ve been graced by another new member, Adam. He’s been twice. The first week he lost everything he played, but in the following session he had his revenge and won everything he participated in. An interesting fact about Adam is that he isn’t colour-blind.

We’ve played 7 wonders (three times), Sid Meier's Civilization: the Board Game (twice), Power Grid, Chaos in the Old World, Santiago, Caylus Magna Carta, Frank’s Zoo. As well as two offering from Jimmy’s recent trip to Essen; Trajan and Hawaii.

The festive season will soon be upon us. I’ll check with the pub as to whether they have any Christmas dinners/parties that will impact on our Tuesday meetings in December. I’ll post any clashes on here and on the NoBoG calendar.

The Lure of the Games

Halloween, and a weary traveller stumbles into the Ribs of Beef. He’s not sure why he’s here or how he even got here. He orders a beer, not really taking note of what the barmaid serves him. A twitchy faced man stares at him from his perch at the bar. So Jeff, for that is our traveller’s name, decides to take refuge downstairs, away from the prying eyes of the locals. “NO, don’t go down there!” shouts the barmaid. Alas Jeff doesn’t hear. He’s drawn down the stairs, into the bowels of the pub, as if some unearthly power had a hold of him. At the bottom of the stairs is a large red door from which he can hear howls of anguish. Still drawn, he cautiously opens the red door and peers inside. ARRRGGHHH! Unspeakable horror! He see’s Stu trying to wedge Tom’s Small World board under a table leg to keep the table straight. Oh my! Tom dances to and fro squealing at his tormenter. Next he sees Nicky placing her full to the brim drink perilously close to the edge of the Shogun board (the glass even leaves a ringmark). This is too much for Jeff. He turns to flee, but comes face to face with the hideous, shambling malformed shape of [insert NoBoGer of your choice here]...

OK, so it was November 1^st and Jeff was already there when I arrived, but you get the picture. Jeff’s first night at NoBoG - all the way from America, though he’s now living in Thetford. Welcome Jeff (or maybe Geoff or even Djeph).

Jeff said he liked Fantasy Flight games and so Chaos in the Old World was the obvious choice. He joined a game with myself, John and Pete. It was an embarrassingly quick win for Khorne, who double dial clicked every turn and had won before even a single region was ruined. It was so quick that we even had time for a three player game of Hansa Teutonica, which was a much more competitive affair as I only just nudged past John and then Pete in final scoring.

Jimmy had been to Essen and rolled off two games that none of us had seen before: Hawaii and Die Burgen von Burgund. The latter was chosen by Crocker, Tom and Stu. It seemed to be a hit with Luke and Stu and I’m sure Tom enjoyed it as he won.

Phil’s copy of Shogun had finally arrived and he settled down with Diane, Nicky and Moritz to battle for control of Japan. It ended with a win for Phil, who clawed his way back from a dodgy start by initiating a non-aggression pact with Diane.

Beer: Wolf’s Werewolf. This is a seasonal premium bitter. Chestnut in colour. Slightly malty, hint of biscuit and pretty quaffable. Nothing exciting, but very good. A bit like 7 Wonders – there’s nothing overly unusual or different about it, but it does the basics very well.

My Hovercraft is Full Of Eels.

Another month has almost slipped out of sight. October 2011 will be remembered for the unseasonal weather, the death of Steve Jobs and Muammar Gaddafi and here, at NoBoG, Andy Malcolm’s most unlikely win at Power Grid. But that was last week and this is this week...

We had only one confirmed casualty from the Norwich Beer Festival. Jimmy had fallen in the line of duty; taken down by the relentless ale. Rich and Crocker are both MIA. And no one has seen Lovely Rich for a long, long time. Offically he’s been sent on a classified mission, but rumour is that he’s ‘gone native’. If you see the lad, send him back our way. We miss him dearly. But never fear! We have new recruits. John has been with us four weeks and coped admirably with everything that has been thrown at him. And then last night saw the arrival of reinforcements from Germany; Heike and Maren. Welcome.

So, three tables last night. Pete ambitiously brought down the latest incarnation of Sid Meier’s Civilisation (or simply ‘Civ’), it’s far better than the poor effort from Eagle Games and thankfully much shorter than the Avalon Hill version from 1980. Diane and Tom signed up to this one and were still playing when I left a few minutes before time. I think it can certainly be played at the club, but with a rules session it will always be a rush to finish.

On the middle table I fumbled my way through the rules for Hansa Teutonica - Young Pete, Heike and Maren were the bewildered pupils. In the end it came down to the wire as I beat Pete by 1 point, who managed to connect the red banner cities. We also played Monty Python Fluxx, which is a tedious game if it wasn't for the outragous accents and the fact it provided the title for this weeks post.

The other table slapped Alien Frontiers down on the baize. Diane won, though Moritz came close to overhauling her lead at the end. And then they succumbed to Phil’s whim and agreed to play the ridiculous cooperative game Red November – all about gnomes trying to save an ailing submarine. From the sound of it they had fun trying, but ultimately failed; with most of the gnomes burning to death before sinking to the bottom the ocean and a watery grave. Harrowing.

Beer: Woodforde’s Admiral’s Reserve. They’d pulled out all the stops to bring this fine ale to the Ribs. Chestnut coloured beer with almonds, sultanas, a deep sweetness, but still light enough to be quaffable. Like drinking a delicious fruit cake. 9/10.