Ican Gold Discovered

Amazon marked Incan Gold down to $18.40 earlier this week, so I went ahead and ordered it. We were able to give it a try at Mom's tonight. Since the game works best with five or fewer, I sat out -- acting as dealer and banker. Andrew won the first game, and Gillian won the second. Also playing were Patrick, Mom and Non. Gillian liked the game, but the rest of the group had a mixed reaction.

The game is a basic "push your luck," with the setting of an Incan temple. I can't possibly describe it as well (or as entertainingly) as the Playmobile Legions review posted in February by EmeraldYam at BoardGameGeek.

Two Quick Games of Hive

Andrew had a jazz band concert last night at De Smet. Patrick and I arrived early so that Andrew could set up the drums. That left Patrick and me 45 minutes to kill, so we decided to play some Hive on the iPhone. Patrick won both games.

He's really getting very good at the game. Again, I'd recommend it to anyone wanting a quick abstract game. The app is only $1.99 at iTunes.

ASL Modules Arrive

The Advanced Squad Leader modules that I ordered last month arrived yesterday. As the lady who was selling them on Craigslist indicated, they're almost entirely unpunched. Everything seems to be complete, except that one module appears to be missing the boards. Even if the boards are missing (as I'm still holding out hope that they'll be in one of the other boxes when I carefully go through everything), it was still a bargain.

According to the historic BoardGameGeek prices (as recorded by Spielboy) at the site that I discussed awhile back, these modules (in like new condition) have mostly been selling for between $50 and $200 a piece.

Friday Night Wagering

Everyone was a little tired tonight, so we only played a quick game of Wits and Wagers at Mom's. Patrick scored big by betting seven chips on a 4-1 payoff on the fifth question; he then coasted to an easy victory. Also playing were Andrew, Mom, Non, Gillian and me.

Wits and Wagers is a good party game. The slogan is that it's a trivia game for people who don't like trivia. Each game consists of seven questions. Each question has a numeric answer. For example, one question tonight asked for the year that the electric razor was invented. Each player writes down his or her best guess, and the answers are placed (sorted from lowest to highest) on a board (as shown in the photo). In the second phase, players bet chips on the answer that they think is closest to being correct (without going over). The middle guess pays 2-1, and the odds increase as the guesses move to the extremes. Once all bets are placed, the answer is read, and the player closest to the answer receives three chips. In addition any other player betting on that answer receives his or her payoff. The player with the most chips after seven questions wins.

Mom doesn't like the game, and Non doesn't seem to enjoy it much either. But it is fast, and the rules are easy to keep track of.

Easter Gaming

Patrick and I though it would be appropriate to play Killer Bunnies on Easter, but, since that didn't appeal to Dennis, Teresa and Gillian, we agreed on Farkle instead. Gillian ended up winning with a total of 10,250. Rounding out the group was Patrick (9,400), Teresa (8,800), me (6,050), Dennis (5,850) and Andrew (5,200).

ASL Rookie Camp

Al came over yesterday afternoon for some Advanced Squad Leader. Al has been playing off-and-on for several years, so it was nice for us to play with someone who only needs to look a rule up every ten minutes, as opposed to every five minutes. As shown in the photo, Al (taking the Germans) played against Andrew (taking the Russians) in a Stalingrad scenario (S2). (The peeps in the front of the table were an early Easter snack.)

Andrew made a rookie mistake in his setup, so Al was able to break about half of the Russian forces in his first prep fire phase. The Russians were reeling for most of the ensuing two hours, and the Germans were able to take the victory point buildings. Andrew conceded after four turns.

About half-way through the game, we realized that we had all been playing an important rule incorrectly (not just yesterday, but since we started). Andrew was the first to notice that the rules didn't really say what we thought they did. After re-reading the section several times, I visited BoardGameGeek and found a thread discussing the issue.

We had a good time, and I'm looking forward to getting in on the action next time.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (Cont'd)

It was also during the summer of 1987 that I started helping Steve Stafford with his Strat-o-Matic Baseball team in a league at The Epic Gallery hobby shop. Steve's team in that league was also known as the New York City Corporate Raiders. We made the playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round.

We continued the APBA baseball league during the summer of 1988. Steve Stafford had to drop out because of a lack of time, so his team was taken over by Richard Philipak. Richard re-named one of the teams the Spectres. Also, Frank dropped out half-way through the season, and his teams were taken over by Kenn Leucke and Steven Erdmann. Al's two teams made it all of the way to the World Series, and the Medflys beat the Neanderthals to win the championship.

I moved away from St. Louis in August of 1988 to start graduate school, and although we finished a draft prior to a 1989 season, the season itself was never started, and our second attempt at a table-top baseball league came to an end.

In 2003, we decided to give it another try. I had bought Strat-o-Matic back in the 1990s just to see what the game was looking like. When I received the mailing in February 2003 I talked to Al and Dennis about starting a league, and we decide to give it a try. In addition to Al's (Greenwhich Meridians), Dennis's (Montauk Fighting Rainbow Trout) and my team (the St. Louis Crusaders), we were joined by Steven (The Gallifreyan Timelords), Jeff White (Metropolis Supermen) and Rick (Dallas Diamonds). The Crusaders won the 2003 World Series (defeating the Trout) and Al won the 2004 World Series (defeating the Diamonds). Mid-way through the 2005 season, we fell behind in our games, and we decided to jump straight to a playoff round. The Diamonds ended up winning the World Series (defeating the Timelords).

I don't honestly see us ever trying another league. However, I do think that we learned a number of lessons over the years. (1) It's important that league members reconcile themselves to the fact that "owners" vary in the amount of time that they can devote to the league. Members should have honest discussions prior to starting a league about the time commitment that's expected. Gung-ho members may need to accept the fact that not everyone shares their priorities. If they prefer a league with more games and/or extensive bookkeeping, they need to either find like-minded people or be prepared to accept a lower commitment level. (2) Members should think when creating the league about how to handle team openings. Members' lives will change, and people will move, gain new family commitments or just want to quit. (3) Every game's rules has "loopholes" that can be exploited -- things that allow players to "work the system" in an unrealistic manner. League members need to have in place a solid process for resolving these issues before they arise.