Sushi Saturday Gaming

I don't think that it gets much better than this. Ed and Mike came over bright and early (9 am) to kick off the day with Volldampf. Ed has been pondering this purchase for a while now, and I suspect that he will now jump the gun and pick it up. I now see why people consider Volldampf to be Age of Steam's more forgiving sibling, and it is deeper than the simple lack of the bankruptcy exit. The intrinsic 6 link locomotive that every player starts with, combined with the lack of having to pay for this ability lets you shoot up on the income track very early in the game. The cards for track auction does add a bit of randomness to the game, but given the much shorter playing time, I would highly recommend this game as a preview or intro to Age of Steam.

Next up was Tempus. I have fallen into this trap before, rating a game based on what I had hoped that it would be, rather than what it is supposed to be, and Tempus certainly fell prey to this from the gaming elite. Billed as the perfect civ lite game, Tempus just didn't meet the speculations. Further, I suspect that constant delays in publication just had people tired of waiting for the game. I have held Lokomotive Werks up to similar and unfair standards, hoping for the brilliant economics game that plays in 45 minutes. It's not fair and I should judge it on real standards not made up ones. Anyhow, Tempus reminds me a good bit of Small World. I am not sure if the 3 player scale is best for this game, but it played in around 60 minutes and we had a good time. As such, I will definitely try to get it out again soon.

After Tempus, I was able to introduce Ed to a quick 1/4 game of Fits before Dan came over and we went to Okinis for lunch. You can't beat it. Okinis is my favorite Sushi restaurant!! Their spicy salmon and spicy tuna wraps are brilliantly priced and the best I have ever had. Ed, Mike, and Dan at least voiced their agreement and I expect we will visit Okinis many more times on these gaming Saturdays.

After lunch, we spent the car ride home deliberating about the Age of Steam map that we would play, deciding on the Berlin Wall well before we got home. With 3 players, all of us new to the map, it did feel somewhat loose on Dan's half of the wall, while Ed and I duked it out in West Berlin. But it would have been a better game if either of us had simply decided to carve our own nook out of the wall and join Dan in his neck of the woods. Ultimately, Dan came out with the win, but it was a tight game, we all played well, and we all had a great time.

As Dan and Ed had to leave soon, I pulled out Through the Desert and we somewhat quickly taught the game to Dan, who was playing for the first time. This is a fun game, when it plays in about 45-60 minutes, and you can't beat the...well, you probably know what I am about to say. It's fun, strategic, and quick. I do find the plethora of options for placement somewhat mind numbing at times, but then I sit back, pick a caravan, and just work with it. This strategy tends to work well, if not in the final score, but in my enjoyment of the game....and for this one, that's all that matters.

Then Dan and Ed, went home and I called up Matt to go see the new Wolverine movie. It was great, came home, typed up this post, and ate waffles. Yep. It doesn't get much better than this.

Games Played:
Volldampf
Tempus
Fits
Age of Steam: Berlin Wall
Through the Desert