I've now been at the Gathering of Friends for 24 hours. I took the redeye flight out here, hoping to maximize my gametime, not losing a day spent in airports. At the expense of my sleep! I'm not sure that made a lot of sense. Although the more reasonable morning flight out here would've taken much of the day due to the distance and changing timezones, the redeye didn't get here that much earlier, especially when I needed to take a nap mid-day. Then again, I did get in one new game before that nap, and then was recharged enough to stay up late for several more. Maybe I wouldn't have managed all of that without the redeye.
But you don't care about my travel plans, you want to know about the games! Yes. First up was Kogge, not exactly a new game (it came out in limited release just after Essen), but new enough. New to me! I met a woman I'd previously found on Brettspielwelt, where she goes by Nikita. In real life she's Johanne, but I forgot her last name. (Quick aside: this is why I always prefer boring, real-life names on online sites. Maybe no one thinks we'll ever meet each other, but I know different!) Jeff Goldsmith had spotted me the minute I walked into the game room--I know Jeff from California, and he used to work at JPL like me. Randy Somerstein was our fourth, and the only one that had played the game.
I thought the game was just okay, but it might be better with three players. There's so much modification to the board situation that happens after each player's turn that it's hard to do effective planning. And that leads to downtime as a new player must re-evaluate their situation each turn. Some parts were very thematic, other parts completely non-thematic. It's one that I was happy to try, but I won't seek out another play.
After finally checking in to the hotel room and getting a rest, I went down and finally found Dave Arnott. He's the one that vouched for me, helping me get an invitation. Dave was playing Corsari with two people I'd hoped to meet this week, Stven Carlberg and Patrick Brennan. They had a ways to go, so I shifted over to join two friends I remembered from Essen: Ward Batty and Christine Brancheria. This was my chance to try Ticket to Ride (there was a fourth person I've forgotten). How can I say this gently... I'm not normally a fan of Alan Moon's games. You know, the guy who invited me to join his amazing game party. I really enjoy Get The Goods and San Marco, but most others haven't worked with me. Therefore, I was almost relieved to find that I liked Ticket to Ride!
I enjoyed it quite a bit, in fact. It's a very easy game to understand and learn, even to play. It's one of those that everyone can do well in, even newbies, but the experienced or skillful players will rise to the top. That's a great quality (it's one that led to Carcassonne's success, I think). Add to that the wonderful production that Days of Wonder always provides, and you've got a real winner.
I'm thinking I forgot one game at this point (that didn't take long--I need to take better notes!). Walked to dinner at Chinese restaurant with Ward & Christine (Chris).
When we came back there was a chance to drop right into a game of Goa. This is the title that appears to be getting the best word-of-mouth among the new games, and the two or three copies present are in constant demand. It was really a stroke of luck to get to play it when we did.
I really enjoyed Goa, even though I shouldn't. It's another game that's essentially about building a victory point-generated "engine". Buy some things that allow you to buy other things, just keep going up the productivity ladder. There are a swirl of various mechanisms that prompted comparisons to Princes of Florence or San Francisco. All of that gives lots of action for your mental gears, and I can imagine "meaty" game players loving it. They might also make the game take a long time, since there is plenty of opportunity for analysis paralysis. Like I said, I shouldn't like this, since my preference is for the lighter games. And yet, I did like it. Quite a bit, in fact. I can also see myself getting a little burned out on this one after just a half-dozen plays, but other players will keep enjoying this.
To round out the evening, I got to try Einfach Genial. Funny--this is one I'd read good things about on German game sites, and had placed it on my German game order despite hearing almost nothing in the English-speaking world. Then our order was overweight, and the game was cut. It was surprising, then, to hear that this game was getting a very good reaction here. I'm not sure how many people knew about it beforehand, so it's also a pleasant surprise for them. It's a pure abstract by Knizia, sort of like double-hexagonal dominoes. You score based on the size of the patterns you create. Instead of pips like dominoes there are colored icons, each with their own score track. Your final score is the lowest of all your colors, just like Euphrat & Tigris.
After that, it was time for bed. (2am, quite a bit earlier than many folks around here!)