Modern Art, HeroScape, Colossal Arena, Gettysburg

Time to play catchup. Sorry, no photos in this post.

Our lunchtime gaming group at Corillian is really picking up steam. We are averaging about 8 per week and I wouldn't be surprised if that number increases. A week ago Friday, we split into two groups: 5 for Modern Art, 3 for Trias. Unfortunately I had to teach both games (Eric was out) which made the start a bit slow and chaotic. I helped jumpstart the Trias group then returned to teach and play Modern Art. This was a first play of MA for me, other than a false start with my family last year. We played the Mayfair reprint that I bought at GenCon last year.

Wow, what a great experience. This is considered to be one of the purest of the auction games (the only mechanic in the game is the auction). There was a lot of joint analysis by the 5 newbies playing around the value of pieces coming up for auction - these are bright people I play with and they catch on quickly. I could give a summary here, but I suggest you read this fantastic review by Fawkes over at the 'geek. I do think we all have a lot to learn in this game and I suspect it will come out frequently at lunch. This group is starting to request repeat performances, which will be refreshing as we hone our skills on a smaller number of games. Final scores: Arron 371 Jason 253 Tamara 448 David 441 Chris 523.

Last weekend Jacob, Matthew, and I played a three-player scenario of HeroScape. Matthew and I as the attackers (or, rather, rescuers of a hostage) took on Jacob as the defender. This was a fun romp, with the attackers winning due to a tactical error made by Jacob near the end (I had to exploit it... does that make me a bad father??). He had the stronger forces remaining, but failed to keep an adequate defense around the hostage, allowing me to sneak in. Fortunately, the victory conditions didn't require me to escape with the hostage - perhaps I was beamed up? - otherwise, I would have been disposed of quickly.

Last Friday at work we brought out Colossal Arena again (San Juan was played at the other table). This game is always enjoyable, and I think the newcomers enjoyed it. San Juan was a big hit as well. Might be time to bring out Puerto Rico at lunch...

Finally, I thought I'd mention that Jacob and I are immersed in a game of Gettysburg: Badges of Courage. This is a Columbia Games block game - my first glimpse was at Game Storm earlier this year. Jacob just read Killer Angels, and I thought this would be a good way to tie some of the history into a light simulation. He's loving it so far and is starting to ask about some of the other block games I own - I suspect Wizard Kings will be coming out soon.