10/02/2024 – Berkshire Gamers Session Report #24-40

18 for a request night at the UNO Community Center in North Adams
A sincere thanks to Sean for leading this session in my absence. The overwhelming majority of the session report below was written/provided by Sean.
Our October 9 session will feature our 3rd annual visit by Saratoga area game author, Peter McPherson. He has had 3 games published by AEG (Tiny Towns, Wormholes and Fit to Print). Peter is likely to bring a prototype in process and have copies of his games for sale. He will gladly autograph any copies of his games that you own.
10/2/2024 @ UNO Community Center
 
IN: Sean, Armando, Tim, Matt, Amy, Ethan, Tony, Rachel, Nicole, Gus, Reimi, Chris W, Rob O., Zach, Kelsey, Danny, Elliot, Lauren
 
ON OUR TABLES:
River Valley Glassworks 3x (led by Sean) 2024 drafting and pattern building game. This is a 30 minute family game, where players are collecting glass pieces from the river and lake to fill up their warehouse. VPs are scored at game’s end for both rows (only if unbroken from left) and one’s two highest columns. There are penalties for drafting glass that doesn’t fit in one’s warehouse. Beautifully produced and we’ll explore the 6 mini-expansions that came with the deluxe edition in future sessions.
Moon (led by Tim)  This 2023 release from the author of Villagers and Streets depicts a rush to construct lunar bases that are attractive places to live and work for the people of Earth. The most prestigious base will become the new lunar capital! The game employs the familiar “pick & pass” or “hand drafting” mechanism for players to select cards to add to their base. Each hand of cards represents a convoy of experts and equipment travelling between the players’ outposts, giving the player the choice of one new construction each turn.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/358386/moon

Splendor (led by Armando) 2014 award winning game of chip-collecting and card development. Players are merchants of the Renaissance trying to buy gem mines, means of transportation, shops—all in order to acquire the most prestige points. If wealthy enough, players might even receive a visit from a noble at some point, which will further increase their prestige. 
March of the Ants (led by Matt) in this game from 2015, players create a shared meadow by sending ants to explore it, revealing and strategically placing two dozen unique tiles. Populate new territory by breeding larvae and marching your ants onto collection sites. Forage for Event Cards like Strange Appetite, Cold Snap, and Fungal Outbreak to impact the entire board – or just one unlucky opponent. Mutate your colony with special Evolution Cards. Emerge triumphant by scoring Colony Points as your ants explore and control the Meadow.
Undergrove (led by Armando) You are a towering evergreen with an ancient symbiotic connection to the fungi in your forest. As new mushrooms appear, your options expand for converting nutrients and helping your seedlings. Using cube conversion, tile placement, area control, and a tiny bit of engine building, you’ll need to claim the most advantageous locations and optimize your actions to leave the best legacy in the forest. The player with the greatest number of successful seedlings, wins!
Cubitos (led by Tony) 2021 release from John D Clair ( Mystic Vale, Space Base, Ecos, Edge of Darkness). Strange combination of push your luck, special dice with abilities….all in a race. The game starts out slowly but increases tempo much like Dominion but with dice combos rather than cards.

Creature Caravan (led by Sean)  In this 2024 release, players build a card tableau of creatures while traveling through a magnificent and dangerous land. Players take turns simultaneously, placing dice on actions on their cards, moving their caravan on the map, and playing new creature cards. Players also compete to trade goods and rare coins in a shared market, search the mysterious white towers, and fight ember zombies as they travel. The game ends when one player reaches Eastrey. The player with the most points wins.
SCOUT (led by Ethan) A 2019 ladder-climbing game in which cards have two potential values, players may not rearrange their hand of cards, and players may pass their turn to take a card from the current high set of cards into their hand. When a player has emptied their hand of cards or all but one player have scouted instead of playing, the round ends. Players receive 1 VP for each face-down card, then subtract one point for each card in their hand. Play as many rounds as the number of players, then whoever has the most points wins.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/291453/scout

Sean

18 for a request night at the UNO Community Center in North Adams A sincere thanks to Sean for leading this session in my absence. The overwhelming majority of the session report below was written/provided by Sean. Our October 9 session will feature our 3rd annual visit by Saratoga area game author, Peter McPherson. He…

18 for a request night at the UNO Community Center in North Adams A sincere thanks to Sean for leading this session in my absence. The overwhelming majority of the session report below was written/provided by Sean. Our October 9 session will feature our 3rd annual visit by Saratoga area game author, Peter McPherson. He…

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