Game Night Write Up

I keep showing up late for game night. This time it was because I took Kray and Jason to see the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe first. (Good movie by the way.) Then the three of us headed over to game night.

When we arrived, we found Curt (welcome surprise), Christopher, Mike M., and Tejas just sitting down to a game of Lost Valley. I've yet to play this tile laying/exploration game. I arrived too late to join the game (they were full at four) but what little I saw looked very good and they all seemed to enjoy it.

Although we were late, Kray and Jason managed to squeeze into Oren, Mike K, and Jose's game of Descent: Journeys in the Dark. That filled them up so I decided to order food while I waited for the other game to finish up. I still haven't managed to get in on a game of Descent but Kray and Jason can't stop talking about it so it's obviously a hit with them. Everyone else who's played it seems to like it too.

Adam arrived just as I finished ordering dinner so we played a quick game of PÜNCT, the new game in the project GIPF series. This is a two-player connection game with the added twist that pieces can be moved (in limited ways) on the board after they've been placed. They can also be stacked and used as bridges to cross over your opponent's pieces. It's a good game and we both enjoyed it but I have to say that it's not something I expect to play a whole lot of. It makes my head hurt too much as I try and find the optimal move. But if you're an abstract strategy game fan, and especially if you've liked the other Project GIPF games, then you should give this a look. Adam won, then we undid one move and I won, then we traded back and forth several times in similar fashion.

After Lost Valley broke up, Tejas went home, leaving five of us (the Descent game was still going strong) to play Curt's new copy of Caylus. This game is easily the most lauded game since Essen, having quickly risen to a second place ranking (behind Puerto Rico) on the Geek (http://www.boardgamegeek.com). Should you believe the hype? Well if my two playings (I played it again today) are any indication, YES! It's fantastic. This is the next Puerto Rico. It's a near-perfect, true gamer's game. Even more impressive is that (near as I can tell) this is William Attia's first game! To hit a home run your first time at bat must be quite the rush! I don't know if it will stay at number two but I'm pretty sure it will remain right up near the top. Rio Grande Games will be releasing a new production run (the first was rather limited) soon so look for it! (By the way, I won last night's game but it was pretty close. I came in second today.)