Yet another game about building a castle?

I arrived late for game night last Tuesday so it didn't leave time for much gaming beyond the obligatory game of Tichu. I did manage to get in one game that I hadn't played before. That game was A Castle for All Seasons, a new game by Inka and Markus Brand, who also brought us Guatemala Cafe. It's a very pretty game about building a castle. What is it with so many games about building large medieval structures lately? We've got Pillars of the Earth and the two Cayluses just to name a few. Is this theme the new "trading in the Mediterranean"? Oh well, I digress.

Anyway, I don't have time to write a proper review (and I've only played it once so it wouldn't be fair to do so) but my initial impression was rather favorable. There seems to be some depth here and it's certainly a very attractive game. It's also pretty short which is typically a plus in my book. I do like the shorter games. Around an hour seems to be my sweet spot and this fits the bill nicely. I'm looking forward to playing it again.

Game Night and a BDay Greeting

Last night was another fun game night. My night began with a couple of games of Dominion. I really enjoy this fast-playing card game. For me it strikes just the right balance between complexity and simplicity. The game is very easy to learn but the interactions between the cards (which are different each game) are just deep enough to keep the game fresh for quite some time. And with an expansion on the way, it'll only keep getting better. My only complaint was that someone else had played using my copy sometime earlier and had failed to keep the different mini-decks in alphabetical order, making setting up our game a real pain in the butt. So to whoever you are: please keep the cards sorted!

Next up for me was a rousing game of Tichu. I began the night with a Grand Tichu call on my very first hand. Unfortunately I just missed it, starting our team 200 points in the hole. Ah but don't despair! For we had more than a few successful Tichu calls that game, including another Grand Tichu call where my partner and I scored a double-win! Four hundred points baby! Inspite of that, our opponents gave us a pretty decent run for our money and while we won, it wasn't exactly a blowout.

Finally, I want to wish Happy Birthday once again to my friend Jason who brought his whole family to game night last night. Sorry I wasn't able to get in a game with you but I sure did enjoy sharing your Thin Mint cookies!