News from Rio Grande

Just received this email from Rio Grande. Their house email newsletter, it has some really interesting new games in it. I have added the hyperlinks to these games on Boardgamegeek.com, click any of the highlighted titles to check them out. I've also added some comments in brackets, "[]". Please add your comments below (by clicking "x comments")!

"Gloria Mundi [looks good, attractive board, theme and pieces] and Cartagena [new version has some upgraded artwork apparently] released last week.

Alhambra: City Gate, Alhambra: Thief’s Turn, and Alhambra: Calif’s Treasure Vault, Taj Mahal [I've been wanting this for years, and Kevin has it on his list I know], and Dancing Ducklin’ (the expansion for Chicken Cha Cha Cha) have arrived in the US. Unfortunately, they have been held by US Customs for longer than expected. We are told they will be released to us this week or next and we will ship them immediately upon receipt. We apologize for this delay. Barnyard Critters and Augsburg 1520 have shipped from Germany and are expected to arrive in the next week or so. Thurn & Taxis and Lost Cities have been reprinted and shipped from Germany. They will arrive here before the end of October. Printing problems with the cards for To Court the King have delayed this game, but we expect it to be here in late October or early November.

We expect to release the following games in at Essen and will have them in the US in November: Medici vs Strozzi, Cartagena II, Imperial [know little about this one but sounds good], On the Underground [comparisons made to Ticket to Ride, but apparently has different mechanisms despite theme similarities], Power Grid: Benelux & Central Europe [reported about before, only questions is will someone pick it up before GOF5?], Hermagor, Yspahan [looks good], and Fiji [from same designer as Power Grid, are you listening Doug?]. If Wishes were Fishes, Ruse & Bruise, and Taluva [photos of this one remind me of Tikal and Java, a Good Thing] will not be ready for Essen, but should reach the US in late November. The re-release of Medici will occur in January.

Thanks for your interest in Rio Grande Games."

New Version of PoF

Check out the old and then the new version of Princes of Florence (#6 in the world according to the Geek):


Old.


New.

Awesome.

Check out the full page from the publisher here.

GOF 5 thoughts

Sent out a Gathering of Friends 5 update via email to all the invited guests on the 20th, and again today. Updated the games, confirmed attendees, and game times. Looks like we will have between 20 and 24 friends with us on the 11th of November!

One of the challenges in hosting the GOF is of course, food. Tammy takes point on this, and Marci was a great help at our last Gathering. The sisters and brothers are always great!

The other challenge is scheduling events and getting everyone into an appropriate game. We have a diversity of gaming backgrounds, and interests. Part of the purpose of a Gathering is to introduce regulars and new players (newbies), try out games that we haven't played in a while, and try new games. We've also had fun with the tournament aspect in the past.


I've decided to eliminate the tournament feel from this GOF, and to focus on the players and the games themselves. While the tournament was fun for some (generally the more serious players), it requires time to administer, and de-ephasizes the interactions between new and experienced players.

This is why I've asked some of our experts to "host" games this time, as opposed to an open selection process. The game host will be experienced with the rules, be willing to play the game, and can accomodate a wide range of experience levels.

Another detail is table space. I have 6 tables that can be used as potential play surfaces: The tall main game table (which holds 6 people, seated or standing), a large out-door table (that holds 6 seated), a kitchen table (4-5), smaller "Ikea" table (4, tight with 6), piano table (4), and large pine table (4-6, but tough finding enough chairs for this).

It's necessary for scheduling to make sure that the games have enough room to be played, there are enough chairs, and the table is in the right location. Some games required a lot of concentration, so the players will be seated and unmoving most of the time (Caylus). Others will require players to move around a lot because of the size of the board (Civilization). Others can get noisy, or require a lot of communication (Settlers, Power Grid).

Then there are the players! We will have some younger players (8-12 years old), some teenagers, some newer players, some who will only enjoy family games (Ticket to Ride, Scrabble, Alhambra), some who will only enjoy advanced German games (Puerto Rico, Caylus, Power Grid), etc.

I am the nut who loves Civilization type-games (Sid Meier's Civilization, AH Civilization, Mare Nostrum, Vinci, etc.). Kevin is the Caylus expert (brain-burner), Willy Joe is in the Settlers grove. Doug and Kim can play anything and seem to enjoy Power Grid the most. Jarred seems to like advanced games. Kyle loves Puerto Rico. Trudy has played a hundred games of Axis and Allies, but wants to learn the German games. Tab can play anything, but tends to lean towards Western-style games (although he's tough in Settlers, Serinissima, Captiol, Carcassone). Al and Pat have played a little of everything, and own St. Petersburg (not a game you can find just anywhere).

I can't wait to see everyone on the 11th!

Essen 2006

Seems that I can hardly find time to play the games from 2004 and 2005, and now Essen '06 is here! Here's a title that caught my attention: Leonardo da Vinci.

"It’s a game where you need to buy resources and materials to create your brilliant inventions in your laboratories."

Sounds good to me.



Shogun is a Dirk Henn (Alhambra, Metro) remake with an oriental theme of Wallentstein. Wallenstein is ranked 12th all-time, so I need to have a look at this one...

"Tara, Seat of Kings" is a new 45-min light game that looks good...

Their description:
"Ancient Ireland was a land of intense competition, as each rival petty king tried to unite the island and make himself the Ard Ri or High King. In Tara, Seat of Kings each player strives to win kingship in the ancient regions of the country: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster.

Through the play of cards representing their supporters and payment of “cumals” (a cumal was worth three cows), players promote their followers from farmers through herdsmen, warriors and chieftains to the ruling king of the region and, ultimately, to High King on the throne at Tara.

Tara, Seat of Kings involves strategy, tactics, the application of limited resources and sometimes a little [chance]."

Capitol Online

You've read about Capitol before, the Alan Moon (Diamant, Ticket to Ride) and Aaron Weissblum (New England, San Marco) creation from way back in 2001. I spotted the game back then, but it was apparently a "small batch" German game, and I was not able to find one for sale in the U.S. until 2005. It's rated 169 all time (with just 708 reviews) on the 'Geek, with a pretty small standard deviation (1.20).

Alan Moon apparently did a translation of the rules which you can find on the 'Geek here (MS Word format).

This is a fantastic game, and Boardgamenews reports that it is now available to play online at Ludoholic. There is a free trial for 3 months, and apparently a charge of $4.99 after.

I've asked Tab to host a game (or two?) of Capitol at GoF5 on the 11th, so here's your chance to practice a bit before you take him on!

November 11th: Gathering of Friends 5

Gathering of Friends 5

updated: 11/9, changes/additions in RED

It's time for another game get-together. Saturday, November 11th is the day. A couple of weeks before the madness for those affected by the retail season, just when it's starting to get really cold.

It's been difficult (almost impossible) to get everyone together during the summer, due to the nice weather, vacations, picnics, and graduation season. A few attempts that I've made have not been successful - although I've had some nice opportunities to break out a few titles (and Grayson and I have been busy trying out a few new titles, like Masons and The Great Space Race).

Here's what I had in mind for November:

================================================================

Gathering of Friends 5
Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania
November 11th, 2006
1pm to 10pm

The Gathering of Friends 5 will be a more open format than in previous years. Instead of a strict tournament format, this year will be more of a "convention" format, with games hosted by individuals at various times. Also, space will be provided for "open" gaming, so that friends can simply decide upon a game when they chose, and can match up opponents from who's available.

Times:
=======================================
Start: 1 pm
Finish: 10 pm?


Games with a host:
=======================================
David, Mare Nostrum, 5-6 players, 3 hrs
David, Antike, 4-6 players, 2 hrs
Taber, Capitol, 3-4 players, 1.5 hrs
Kevin, Caylus, 3-5 players, 3 hrs
Kevin, Mykerinos, 4 players, 1.5 hours
Michael "Willy Joe" K., Settlers of Catan, 4-6 players, 2 hrs
Al J., St. Petersburg, 3-4 players, 90 mins
Doug F., Power Grid, 3-6 players, 2 hours
Doug F.,Puerto Rico, 3-5 players, 2 hours
Kim F., Ticket to Ride, 3-5 players, 1 hour
Jared M., San Juan, 4 players, 90 minutes

Some possible games needing a host:
=======================================
Alhambra, 3-5 players, 1.5-2 hrs
Through the Desert, 2-5 players, 1.5 hrs
Quiddler, 4-8 players, 1 hr
Scrabble, 3-4 players, 1.5 hrs
Risk, 4-6 players, 2-3 hrs

The announcement on 11-9 is posted here.
http://brettspielcafe.blogspot.com/2006/11/gof5-in-39-hours.html

Okay, it's finally here. Who will blink?

Okay, Roads and Boats has finally arrived (has it been years since it's been available to buy from a store?). Here's where I've been able to find it:

Boards and Bits, $89.66 + $35.71 for @cetera (the mandatory expansion), +$9 shipping = $134.37

Thoughthammer, $96 + $30, or $126 for the set + FREE SHIPPING = $126.

Okay guys, who's going to grab this one?

Man vs. Machine

From an article in Chessbase.com:

In November classical chess world champion 30-year old Vladimir Kramnik plays a 6-game match against the computer program Deep Fritz. The prize fund is one million dollars, and the title sponsor the giant German energy concern RAG.

Ask about his chances, Kramnik reacted cautiously: "Fritz examines millions of moves per second. It is extraordinarily difficult to play against such a calculating monster. Right from the start you are walking on a very narrow ridge, and you know that any inattentiveness will be your downfall. It is a scientific experiment and I will have to fight very hard for my chance. The great chess duels between human and artificial intelligence, played at the highest level, have always fascinated the public."

In 1997 former World Champion Garry Kasparov (Russia) lost in New York against Deep Blue. Kramnik, who defeated Kasparov in their world championship match in 2000, achieved a draw against Deep Fritz in Bahrain in 2002, just as Kasparov did a year later in New York.

Source: Chessbase.com

New Power Grid Expansion: Benelux & Eastern Europe

New Power Grid expansion on the way! (Doug and Jared will like this). Titled: Benelux & Eastern Europe, it's available at Funagain.com for preorder, at $11.95. I could be talked into playing this expansion.

(no picture... yet. Funagain sez it will be available in October, 2006)

Another important note, Roads and Boats is available for pre-order at Boards and Bits. Retailing at $120, this one's only $89.66 on preorder apparently. Check out the expansion, &cetera for $35.71 (retail $45). I've written about this monster several times in the past... perhaps it is time to spring for this out-of-print-until-now baby?

They have it due to be shipped on August 21st.

Thurn: got it

Tammy surprised me with a gift of a game I had been talking (hinting?) about: Thurn und Taxis, the Spiel des Jahres (game of the year) winner for 2006.

Looks good!

Here's some facts about the game:

1) Designed by Andreas Seyfarth (Puerto Rico) and his wife, Karen.
2) Published by Hans Im Gluck and Rio Grande.
3) 2-4 players, transportation theme.
4) $21.42 from Thoughthammer.
5) Rated 79th on the 'Geek (as of August, 2006), average rating 7.6
6) Has a "heaviness" rating of 2.45 (Ticket to Ride is 1.83, Settlers is 2.37, Caylus is a 3.73).

Check out this neat "making of Thurn and Taxis" (machine translated from German to English) posting.


Ready to play?