15 at Purple Dragon Games on November 3
A welcome for first visits by Christopher and Elliot

Ten 2-player games were played as we paired off upon arrival.
The next time we schedule a pair-off we will add longer (45-60 minute) 2-player games for those who can start promptly at 6 PM

I will be away for the November 10 session with Sean leading in my place

We don’t try to play a game once and move on (it just seems that way sometimes)  A reminder to request any game you missed and were intrigued by – shoot K-ban an e-mail and we’ll line up a table leader and make sure someone brings the game again.
If there’s a game you want to lead, e-mail me and we’ll arrange.

If you liked a game and want to own a copy, kindly buy it from Purple Dragon Games. If not in stock at the store, ask Niko to order a copy for you.
We play for free at Purple Dragon Games – so support the store whenever possible.

As we head towards our 20th session together, I am very grateful for the friendships forged through this new group. You are all truly a joy to play with and Wednesday evenings have become a high point of my week. Thanks to all our enthusiastic table leaders who make our Berkshire Gamenites possible and to all our friendly gamers who seem to be enjoying our discovery of modern game design as a wonderful journey. The best is yet to come.

IN: K-ban & Sandy, Sean & Wendy, Quinn, Emmett, Armando, Drew, Tim, Dwayne, Danny, Sofia, Amy, Elliott, Christopher

ON THE TABLES:

The Game : Face to Face – led by K-ban – 2017 2-player sequel to the brilliant 2015 cooperative SdJ finalist, The Game. This one is a tense competitive duel – get rid of all your cards into ascending and descending piles…..but sometimes you have to help your opponent to manage your hand.
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/236461/game-face-face  (so hard to look up a game on BGG called The Game)

Patchwork (2x) led by Wendy and Dwayne – one of the best 2-player games to be found…..and now so with many editions. Wendy brought in the Halloween themed edition, while Dwayne used the original. Uwe Rosenberg design. Uwe has been plumbing the depths of pentominoes in different tetris-like puzzle designs (Cottage Garden, Indian Summer, Spring Meadow, Patchwork Doodle)
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/163412/patchwork

Morels – led by Sean 2012 2-player game about collecting and selling mushrooms.  Sean is certainly a funghi for bringing this to our attention. The same author designed a 2-player game on Agility competition for dogs….Drew is preparing to lead Agility at a later session..
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/122298/morels

Cathedral – led by Drew – a trip in the Way Back Machine to 1978 for a wonderful  2-player 3D abstract puzzle game of city building.
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7/cathedral

King Domino – led by Tim 2016 German Game of the Year (SdJ) – tile drafting and puzzle laying for 2, 3 or 4. Should be in everyone’s collection for when family visits for the holidays….easy to teach and play.
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/204583/kingdomino

Glasgow – led by Wendy – 2-player quick city builder
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/301716/glasgow

Mandala – led by K-ban 2019 2-player card game played on board made of cloth – visually stunning and the depth grows with each play.
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/264241/mandala

En Garde – led by Sean – Knizia 2-player fencing game (aka Duell)  using only 25 cards, yet surprisingly satisfying and quick
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/169/en-garde

Ankh’or – led by Armando, 2019 . 2-3 player quick playing resource management game with structure construction
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/271530/ankhor

Time Square – led by Drew 2006 Knizia 2-player design (re-worked as Royal Visit) of attack and counter attack
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/22245/royal-visit

Mariposas – led by Dwayne – 2020 follow up to the mega-hit Wingspan by Elizabeth Hargrave (try her 18-card 2-player Tussie Mussie on flower arrangement that’s surprisingly good). First game in our 19 sessions that went over like a lead balloon despite favorable reviews. I’ll trade it for something else for the group to try.
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/297978/mariposas

Space Base – led by K-ban  2018 gateway space game from John D Clair (Ecos, Mystic Vale, Cubitos). Build your fleet by purchasing with your gold, boosted by your income and be the first to get 40 VPs. The beauty of the design is earning rewards both as active player and passive (when others take their turns),
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/242302/space-base

Ticket to Ride – led by Quinn – Alan R Moon’s classic 2004 gateway game of train routes through drafting and melding cards and fulfilling destination tickets…..first time for Tim.  I’ve got all the expansions…..anyone want to try them?
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/9209/ticket-ride

Furnace – led by Tim – 2021 engine builder from the Russian game designer of SmartPhone Inc (Sean preparing to lead that one for a future session).
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/318084/furnace

Crossing – led by K-ban…..very silly quick game of gem set collecting…..at the count of 3 all point to one of 5 mushrooms displaying gems or to an opponent’s stash of the same. Player selections can cancel out and stashes can be protected from filching at the cost of losing a turn. This is a fun opener or closer with the right crowd.
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172971/crossing

—
K-ban