10/12/2022 – Berkshire Gamers Session Report #22-40
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11 Gamers for a Retro Gamenite – games of the 20th Century
Which ones have become classics and which are way past their expiration dates and only have nostalgic value decades later?
Our October 19 session is by request.
I have recently received/acquired copies of: Wormholes, Framework, Mondrian: Colors in Motion, Planted, Downtown Farmers Market, Habitats, Basketboss, Psychic Pizza Deliverers, Networks and more
What did you miss the first time around?
Email K-ban with your requests.
Our October 26 session will feature scary games – Hallowe’en, Ghosts, Monsters, Zombies, Witches, etc. Our table leaders are scouring their game collections and preparing a curated experience for all who attend.
IN: Steve & Sandy, Sean, Wendy & Quinn, Tim, Armando, Drew, Amy, Danny, Rob
ON OUR TABLES (listed in chronological order, as that makes it easier for the Mr Peabody and his Boy Sherman to operate the WayBack Machine)
Mille Bornes (led by Tim) 1954 card game (reimplemented 1906’s Touring) that hasn’t aged all that well, however very nostalgic.
Pass the Pigs (led by Sandy & Wendy) 1977 but played with the XXL Party edition. Toss 2 pigs instead of dice and earn points. Oink!
Can’t Stop (led by Sean) 1980 Sid Sackson designed push your luck dice game.- the original Parker Brothers plastic stop sign edition. It still works but games like Quacks of Quedlinburg have taken that genre to new levels. Sid’s best selling game (but not his best design IMHO)
Survive: Escape from Atlantis (led by Drew) 1982 cutthroat British game, where players seek to evacuate their pieces from an island that is breaking up, while remembering where their highest-valued pieces are located to maximize their score. Still fun if you favor ‘take that’ mechanics. There is also a re-themed space version.
Die Osterinsel (led by K-ban) 1994 game of statue racing. Draft cards to earn stones that either add to your statues weight or move statues. Funky victory condition where first place only wins if their statue has more stones than 2nd place does. Showing its age but unique enough to be entertaining.
Quandary/Flinke Pinke/ Wildlife Safari/Botswana/Thor/Loco (led by K-ban) 1994 Knizia design that started as a German card game. We played using the non-themed Milton Bradley Edition with chunky tiles. Painfully simple game that has had plenty of incarnations. It still works well due to its elegance, despite its lack of complexity.
Big Boss (led by K-ban) 1994 Wolgang Kramer pays homage to Sid Sackson’s Acquire on a linear board with automobile firms instead of hotels and the ability to build up as well as sprawl. Mergers make most of the difference towards victory. Shares multiplied by their ending value comprise the majority of your earnings. Great chunky 3D buildings. So the progression for chain building games went from Acquire to Big Boss to Big City to the current Foundations of Rome.
Settlers of Catan (led by Amy) This Klaus Teuber juggernaut has sold 32 million copies in 40 countries. Simultaneous play, trading, multiple ways to get to 10 VPs – this game started the German/Euro game boom. We played on the original 1995 German edition.
25+ years later it is still going strong as ‘Catan’ with dozens of expansions and historical scenarios. Anyone want any Sheep?
Lost Cities (led by Drew) Excellent 1999 2-player Knizia card game that should be among the 2-player games in your collection.
Conclusion – we are currently living in a golden age of game design. The game designers of the late 20th Century were the founding fathers for modern gaming.
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K-ban
11 Gamers for a Retro Gamenite – games of the 20th Century Which ones have become classics and which are way past their expiration dates and only have nostalgic value decades later? Our October 19 session is by request. I have recently received/acquired copies of: Wormholes, Framework, Mondrian: Colors in Motion, Planted, Downtown Farmers Market, Habitats,…
11 Gamers for a Retro Gamenite – games of the 20th Century Which ones have become classics and which are way past their expiration dates and only have nostalgic value decades later? Our October 19 session is by request. I have recently received/acquired copies of: Wormholes, Framework, Mondrian: Colors in Motion, Planted, Downtown Farmers Market, Habitats,…