January 4, 2011 Game Night

Taco Night! There were eight of us at Brian and Shelly's house: Anthony, Brian, Brian2, Cade, Dagon, Erica, Romeo, and Shelly. We played a couple of quick games of Tsuro (with 8) and two longer games of 7 Wonders (with 7). Brian taught and sat out the first one and Shelly sat out the second. Good times!

Winter Solstice Game Night -- December 21, 2010

The group met at Round Table. I wasn't there, so I don't know how many attended (anyone want to fill in the blanks in a comment?) I'm told that the following games were played: Mission Red Planet, Bohnanza, Aquaretto, Monopoly Deal (x4), Hey, That's My Fish (x2), and Cave Troll.

December 7 Game Night

Good times at Erica and Dagon's house. There were twelve people in attendance, Brian, Shelly, Steve, Romeo, Dagon, Erica, Anthony, Cade, David (and three guests whose names I don't recall -- sorry!).  We had pizza, salad, cheese and crackers, beer, and orange soda(?). The games I saw played were Aquarreto, Charon Inc., Dixit, Dominion, Downfall of Pompeii, Pack & Stack, and something I didn't really see (Coloretto?).

Davis Board Gamers is One!

Today is the first anniversary of the Davis Board Gamers!

Our first event was held on Nov. 11, 2009, at Dagon and Erica's house. Since then, we've had 28 group events (not counting occasional pick up gaming at one or another of our houses, and the excellent monthly parties hosted by Jeff and Lora at their house).

We started small, with six people at the first event. I think our largest event had 15. (The smallest was three; Steve, Shelly, and me playing Endeavor & Circus Flohcati at Round Table). By my rough count, we've had 33 separate people participate in one or more of our events, and we seem to have a pretty stable core group -- enough to reliably turn out six to twelve at our biweekly game nights.

I'm really happy with how things are going. It's been great meeting and spending time gaming with all of you. At least so far (knock wood), we haven't had any problems worth mentioning. I'm looking forward to writing another message like this a year from now.

Game on!

November 23 Game Night

Nice turn out: Brian, Shelly, Dagon, Erica, Anthony, Jeff, Romeo, Brain, and David. We had some food and then got down to playing (Rattus, The Speicherstadt, Quoridor, Dixit and Dschunke). Bonus pop culture reference: there were many -- some might say too many -- "don't touch my Dschunke" jokes.

November 9 Game Night

Our luck finally ran out at Round Table. Ordinarily we just show up and occupy the long tables in the back room. This time we found that the back room had been reserved for the night. We did our best to find tables out in the main area, but that was packed too. Eventually we sorted things out but, the place was crowded and the table space a bit small for comfort.

That aside, we had a good turn out, with eleven people gaming. Games played included Lost Valley, Vegas Showdown, Pandemic, Rattus, and Hab & Gut. 

Special Session -- October 30

I sent an email out last week suggesting that we might try to schedule some "special sessions" on weekend mornings, outside of our ordinary every-other-Tuesday rotation. The idea was that there are some games that are better with coffee and a fresh brain, than beer and after-work fatigue. My hope was that we might schedule these far enough in advance, with firm RSVPs, to be able to pick a game suited to the number of players and read the rules in advance.

Most folks were already busy this weekend, but Dagon and I were able to get together on 10/30 and play Hammer of the Scots for a few hours. This is exactly what I had in mind, as it gave an opportunity to dig into a game that would be mostly unplayable in the after-work Round Table setting.

Good times! I hope we can have more of these "special sessions." I've got good candidate games for any number from two to six, and hope to get more of them to the table.

Game on!

October 26 -- Special Halloween Game Night

We gathered at Brian and Shelly's house for a night of good food, gaming, Brian's birthday, and too much cake. We were Brian, Shelly, Jeff, Romeo, Rich, Tom, and two newcomers -- Cade and Darren. We played mostly spooky games -- Gloom, Fearsome Floors, and Betrayal at House on the Hill -- plus a game of Ra! to fill up an open slot. Good times!

October 12 Game Night

Good turn out tonight. We had Erica, Dagon, Anthony, Jeff, Brain, Brian, Pete, Rich, and Steve. Plus two newcomers, Joe and Alec. Fun was had.

Game on!

September 28 Game Night

Round Table again, with excellent turn out (I counted 11, including a couple of new faces). Games played included Revolution , Saint Petersberg, Infinite City (x3), and Crokinole.

September 14 Game Night

Good times at Round Table. Jeff brought his crokinole set and taught us how to play. I also saw Infinite City, Small World, and Amazing Labyrinth being played.

August 31 Game Night

A very heavy night for the Davis Board Gamers. After a nice pot luck of pizza, bread, spinach dip, strawberries and brownies, we dove in. Five of us played Amun Re, which was new to all of us. It was an interesting but brain burning game that consumed the whole night. That was too bad because we didn't get much of a chance to meet two new attendees. They seemed to have a good time playing a 5-er of Ticket to Ride: Europe, followed by the always popular No Thanks!

Maybe next time we can mix things up a bit more. 

August 17 Game Night -- Our 20th Event!

We met at Round Table for food, beer, and gaming. There were seven of us (Anthony, Brain, Brian, Dagon, Erica, Steve, & Romeo) and we played Alhambra, Chinatown, Ra, and St. Petersburg.

August 3 game night

Good times at Jeff's house. There were an even dozen of us and we got in the following games: Category 5, Santiago, Ra (x2), Life Boat, Survive!, and Jamaica.

Jeff provided snacks and drinks. Thanks!


Game on!

July 20 Game Night

We were back to Round Table, which worked pretty well once I turned the volume down on the giant TV. There were eight people gaming, with a few friends and family hanging around for food and socializing. The initial split was a five player game of Cyclades and three player Goa. The Goa game finished first so we squeezed in a quick game of Downfall of Pompeii. One person left and the remaining seven of us played a couple of rounds of Category 5. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Until next time...

July 6 Game Night

Small turn out, just six of us, with Dagon, Erika, and Anthony hosting. Thanks! We tried out Forbidden Island (with a narrow win), and then moved on to Around the World in 80 Days. Not sure what happened after that, as I wasn't feeling well an bailed out early.

June 22 Game Night

The weather was great and we had a nice relaxed dinner outside before gaming. It was a good mix of new faces (Welcome, to Tom, Bekka, Samantha, & Flint!) and regulars (Brian, Brian, Shelly, Erika, Dagon, Anthony, and Jeff).

We played Ra, St. Petersburg, No Thanks (x2), For Sale (x2), Pompeii (x2), FITS, and Nicht die Bohne! (x2).

Game on!

June 7 Game Night

A smallish group of us met at Erika & Dagon's house, for gaming and eats. The first five of us to arrive (Dagon, Anthony, Brian, Steve, Romeo) launched right into a game of Cyclades. Erika and Brian2 arrived a bit later and played Mr. Jack until we had finished. We reshuffled, with Dagon, Erika & Romeo playing Dominion, while Steve, Brian, Anthony, and Brian2 tried Daytona 500. A low key and enjoyable evening.

May 25 Game Night

We had a good time. There were eight of us, so we split up into a 5 player game of Cyclades and a 3 player Carson City. With those heavier games out of the way, we wound down with For Sale (x2) and Bucket King. Then we learned the sad news that Anu and Soren are moving to Berkeley this weekend. We knew it was coming, but not so soon! Good luck in your new digs, and Game On!

May 11 Game Night

Game on! We had eleven people, including our newest addition, Tom. (Tom beat me in both games we played, so I have mixed feelings...) Erica and Dagon brought tasty con carne and others (Anu and Soren at least, but I'm not sure who else) added beer, snacks, and soda.

The games I saw being played were: Aladdin's Dragon, Fluch der Mumie, Nexus Ops, Vegas Showdown, Witch's Brew, and Yspahan.

April 27 Event

Good times were had. We had ten people in attendance and played: Carson City, El Grande, No Thanks!, and Werewolf.  Anu & Soren made their home made pizza again and provided other snacky stuff.

April 13 Event

Another Cranbrook festival! Food, games, etc. 

Games for Sale

As I mentioned, I'm trying to unload some games. Let me know if you're interested in anything. Also, look at my trade wants on bgg (skrebs). I'd certainly be up for trading multiples of mine for one of yours.

$20

Clash of the Gladiators (missing one counter - unlikely to ever affect play)

Canal Mania (game played once, in great shape, but box is kind of crushed)

Carcassonne The Count, The Tower, and The Princess and Dragon (3 expansions!!!)

$15

Oasis (played once)

New England (played once)

Industria (never played, in German, but with English rules)

Doge (unplayed)

Marco Polo (played a few times)

Age of Napoleon (good shape)

Carcassonne: The Castle (the two player version)

$10

Buy Low Sell High (played once)

Acquire (really really old and ugly version but it's a great game)

Hera and Zeus (played a couple of times)

Hare and Tortoise (played a couple of times)

Remember, it's "free postage" and no sales tax to anyone in the group! You can email me, geekmail me, or post right here.

Steve

March 30 Event

Good times were had. We went for heavier fare than usual, so fewer games got played (Steam, Caylus Magna Carta, Ra, and an introduction to Tichu). A&S provided homemade pizza!

March 16 Event

Another successful event at Cranbrook. We had 9 people and played St. Petersberg, Mission: Red Planet, Niagara (x2), Pompeii, No Thanks (x4), and Saboteur.

March 2 Event

We had an excellent turn-out. Twelve people met at Brian and Shelly's house. We ate a quick meal of lasagna, caesar salad, crusty bread, beer, wine, and soda before moving on to the main event. Games played included Starfarers of Catan, Taj Mahal, Manhattan, High Society (x2), Stone Age, Tobago, Penguin Pile-Up (x2) and something that I didn't see (?). Space was a bit tight but it wasn't much of an issue once everyone settled in. Puppy Bean was a good dog (though she tried to quietly make off with a ziploc full of Starfarer bits).

This was our seventh event since the group launched on November 11, 2009. It looks like we have a good group going.

Game on!

February 16 Game Night

We had another fun evening at Cranbrook lodge. It always seems more fun to be playing games when there are others in the room who are studying!

We had eight people in attendance, two Brians, Paul, Dagon, Anthony, Jeff, Anu, and Soren. We started off with Saint Petersburg (a squeaker win for Jeff!) and Caylus Magna Carta (I don't know who won). Saint Pete finished first, so we played a few hands of Falling while waiting for the other game to finish. Then we played a few more hands of Falling with the whole group. Then we switched and played a few rounds of Werewolf. Anthony and Dagon had to leave, so we finished up with a six player game of Himalaya, with a decisive "Brain" victory (not yours truly, I finished next to last -- thanks Paul!).

February 9 Game Night

Anu and Soren hosted again, which worked out very well. There was a bit of a hue and cry about the lint trap in the apartment dryers, but after that died down we played a six player game of Power Grid (to six cities). In addition to Soren and Anu (who won!), we had Romeo, Jeff, Steve, and Brian. Romeo had to leave after PG, so the rest of us played Schrille Stille, an odd German game about manipulating and speculating on the pop music charts. Neat machinery and interesting group think was involved. Soren finished just ahead of Jeff (iirc).

In response to an emailed request that we adjust the schedule to meet on different weeks, we tentatively decided to schedule the next event for next Tuesday (2/16), again at Cranbrook.

January 26 Event

Anu and Soren hosted this event at the clubhouse in their apartment complex (Cranbrook). The space was very comfortable, with good lighting and plenty of table space. Anu made key lemon pie for everyone. Yum!

We had eight people, so after an initial filler of "Worm Up!" while waiting for everyone to arrive, we split into two groups and played "Carson City" and "Small World." I was in the Carson City group. The game is a medium heavy role selection/worker placement/tile laying game with lots of direct interaction and a manageable dose of luck. This was my first time playing with four, and I was struck by how quickly the options and spaces for tiles got claimed. The scores were pretty close, but Soren got a solid win based largely on a last turn money strategy.

I understand that Jeff won Small World, but I don't know the details and haven't played the game.

After that, we were down to seven and we wanted to do something together as a group, so we played a couple of games of Incan Gold. I believe the wins went to Steve and Shelly (but I'm not sure about the first one).

Shelly and I had to leave after Incan Gold, so I don't know what the night owls did with the rest of the evening.

January 12 Event

We had a very successful event at Round Table on 1/12. Eleven people showed up, including Anu and Soren, Dagon and his son (whose name I missed, sorry), Erica and her son Anthony, Jeff,  John and Elysia (sp?), Steve, and myself.

We started with FITS, Ticket to Ride, Hive, and (I think) Set. Those all wrapped up around the same time and we regrouped to play Power Grid: Factory Manager, and Incan Gold. When Incan Gold finished up a few people had to leave. Those who stayed played Veneta.

Anu and Soren offered to host the next event, which is set for 2/26 at the Cranbrook apartments.

Game on!