GoF5 in 39 hours...

Gathering of Friends 5: Clarks Summit is 39 hours away. Here's a summary of the the latest news.

When
1:00 pm to 10:00pm, last game starting at 9:00pm
Dinner at about 6:00pm

Attendance (confirmed):
Dave, Tammy, Grayson, Gabriel
Kevin and Marci, Northampton
Tab and boys (Ethan and Ryan), Pittsburgh
Ron and Mona, Toledo
Doug and Kim, Northampton
Michael (Willy Joe) and Nikki, Northampton
Mike S., Whitehall
Jared and Angie, Northampton
Al and Pat, Northampton
Ben, Rosanne, Susanne, Carbondale
Trudy and Nikke, Carbondale
Mike and Kate, Carbondale

Food
Everyone bring favorite snack, and/or favorite beverage for munching
(Dinner details to be posted here)

Games
Capitol
Caylus
Through the Desert
Mykerinos
Antike
Mare Nostrum
Power Grid
Puerto Rico
San Juan
St. Petersburgh
Settlers of Catan (original plus Seafarers, Cities and Knights)
Ticket to Ride (multiple versions)
Alhambra

Tables
There are two tables in the main area (downstairs) that will accomodate 6 and 4 players.
There are two tables upstairs that will accomodate 6 and 4(6) players.
There is a backup table in the kitchen that can handle 4(6) players.

Look forward to seeing you there!

San Juan news

There is some great news about the San Juan card game, little brother of the number one game Puerto Rico. A new version of the PC game (free) has been released, apparently correcting the error with the poor house in the game. Also, someone has published a 5-8 player variant to San Juan on the 'Geek, the rules of which are below!

Double-Deck San Juan Variant (Requires 2 sets of San Juan)

5 Player Modifications:

- Add ONE additional role from the selections below.

- Add cards: 1 each violet building, 2 each production building + 1 extra Indigo

- Add the following Trader market value tiles: [1 1 2 2 2 ] + [1 2 2 2 3 ]

6 Player Modifications:

- Add TWO additional roles from the selections below.

- Add cards: 2 each common violet building, 1 each “6” violet building, 4 each production building + 2 extra Indigo

- Add the following Trader market value tiles: [1 1 2 2 2 ] + [1 2 2 2 3 ] + [ 1 1 2 2 3 ]

7 Player Modifications:

- Add THREE additional roles from the selections below.

- Add cards: 3 each common violet building, 2 each “6” violet building, 6 each production building + 2 extra Indigo

- Add the following Trader market value tiles: [1 1 2 2 2 ] + [1 2 2 2 3 ] + [ 1 1 2 2 3 ] + [ 1 2 2 3 3 ]

8 Player Modifications:

- Add ALL FOUR additional roles below.

- Add ALL cards from the second San Juan set.

- Add ALL Trader market value tiles from the second San Juan set.

Extra Roles Available for 5-8 Players:

2^nd Prospector

Add a second Prospector, similar to Puerto Rico. This can give the Gold Mine an extra chance to pay off.

Colonist Ship

A new supply ship arrives with goods and colonists. Draw a number of cards equal to the number of players

and turn them face up on the table.

Action: Starting with the active player, each player takes one card from the new supply.

Privilege: Active player immediately takes one additional card if they have a Library.

Note: This could result in the last player in order not receiving a card. This is an intentional limitation of goods.

Captain

The active player indicates which of the five goods will be shipped back to the homeland during this round.

Action: Each player ships ALL goods produced of the selected type, sliding them beneath the Production Building.

Each card shipped is worth 1 VP at end of game.

Privilege: Ship a single additional good of any other commodity.

Note: Possession of the Library allows for a third unique commodity to be shipped.

Settler & Modified Builder

The standard San Juan Builder is divided into two unique roles like Puerto Rico.

These two new role tiles must be used together, and they replace the existing Builder role tile.

Settler Tile:

Action: Each player may build one Production building

Privilege: Active player pays 1 card less

Modified Builder Tile:

Action: Each player may build one Violet building

Privilege: Active player pays 1 card less

Card additions, Colonist Role, Captain Role, credited to Mik Svellov’s San Juan Variant, available at http://brettboard.dk/games/sanjuan.htm

(Note: this link is dead as of 11-4, will post update ASAP)

Perhaps we can try this new variant at Gathering of Friends 5?

Two weeks til GoF5

November 11th is fast approaching!

Early scenes from Essen!

Wait til you see what is coming out of Essen this year. Rick Thornquist is reporting the new games he is seeing first hand in Germany at the annual convention on his site, www.boardgamenews.com.

Surf over to this link and feast your eyes on the incredible looking new titles the Europeans already have, and will no doubt be shipped to the US later this year. Also, have a look at some intriguing Geeklists that showcase some of the games from this years crop:

Geek list #1, pre-Essen
Geek list #2, Essen French games
Geek list #3, big list of new games for '06 including Essen

And check out this video from the show floor! The Germans are unbelievable in their love of boardgames...

GoF5 Schedule: Google spreadsheet

The tentative schedule for Gathering of Friends 5 is now online! This is an experiment with google spreadsheets, check out the link here (you will need to create a Google account to view or edit, takes a minute):

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=o08736252620782211311.7899015944153427286

This will take to an online (and editable) version of the schedule. I've invited a several of the friends scheduled to attend, and would love to have everyone enter the games that they'd like to play right into the spreadsheet! Check it out.

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!