boardgaming in photos

18 Sep 2011. Taluva is one game that I have always liked, but it doesn't get much play unfortunately. I recently pulled this out and played a series of games with Michelle. Each game is quick so we played three games per sitting.

The Two Towers.

7 Sep 2011. It had been some time since I last played this computer version of Race for the Galaxy by Keldon. It was fun to bring it out again to play some quick games againt the AI's. I may have won by a mile in this particular game, but my winning odds against the AI's are pretty mediocre. And that's why it's fun. I need to be on my toes.

18 Sep 2011. Glory to Rome. I have played it twice before, but it was a long time ago. I only remember I felt quite neutral about the game. Now that I've played again, I feel I have a better grasp and I think I like it more. Not as much as Innovation (same designer), but I definitely don't mind playing again and exploring further.

In this particular game I started with focusing on boosting my clientele. I had a building that let me recruit 2 more than my influence. I did quite well in the early game in getting things done, simply because I had many people. However later Allen caught up by having a powerful building that boosted the Legion action. He robbed my people and gained lots of materials. Eventually he beat us by a big margin. I think filling up the vault is the most important part of the game, and I have been neglecting it.

23 Sep 2011. In the Year of the Dragon played at OTK Cheras. Stefan Feld who designed this game has many fans, but there are only a few of his games that I truly like, the other one being Notre Dame. I think the problem I have with his designs is they are "too Euro", which is not really a problem. It is a matter of personal taste. Maybe I have a soft spot for In the Year of the Dragon because I'm Chinese (although I wasn't born in the Year of the Dragon).

This game is all about planning for surviving disasters. It can be a very painful game. Lots of bad things will happen throughout the year, and you have to recruit people and take actions to help you survive. The main competition among the players is in the action selection - it's like a single-worker worker placement game. Turn order is important, so that you can pick the action you want without paying money (and money is tight).

Everyone gets the same set of 11 character cards, one each in the 9 types of workers, and 2 jokers. I played this with Dennis (new to the game) and Allen. Allen suffered very badly during the first drought in the early game and his momentum was severely set back. He never quite caught up. This was due to being behind in turn order. I focused on fighting for turn order, and kept initiative most of the game, so life was easier for me. Dennis used his two joker cards to employ scholars, and if he took the Book action he would earn 9pts!! (which is a lot, because I use two exclamation marks). For the last few rounds I kept taking the action card group containing the Book action simply to deny him. I couldn't completely block him, because whenever he could afford it, he'd pay to take the Book action. Thankfully it was enough to keep me in the lead to win the game.

25 Sep 2011. On the Underground, a game I bought mostly because my wife used to live and study in London. This game is about building the London Underground network. During the game a passenger travels around London, and you get points whenever he takes your underground line. You also get points for completing loops, and for connecting to specific types of stations.

My previous play was 3.5 years ago.

This an upside-down view, i.e. a view from the north. There is a reference table in the top left corner of this photo showing what you do on your turn and how you score points.

Michelle's lines are those with lighter colours - orange, red, yellow, pink. Mine are the darker colours - black, green, blue, grey. That big pawn on the right is the passenger.

Game end. My black line and Michelle's yellow line created loops in the city centre. Loops are good. They score 1pt per station enclosed within.