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Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2017 23:26:12 -0800 (PST)
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Subject: Fort Worth Gamers: gaming session 11/21/17
From: Michael Ward <mward258@gmail.com>
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Tuesday, 11/21/17 6 to 8:55 PM at the Hulen Mall food court, at 4800 South Hulen Street, in southwest Fort Worth, TX.

We only had four gamers at one table this quite cool and windy evening, as some
of our members were traveling for Thanksgiving, two days hence. We did have one newcomer, Robert, who appeared mid-session and watched us for a good while.



Our first game was my Midgard, which was new to Michael L and Duane. Not that that was an impediment to Duane. For by his fourth card play he'd scored 12 points for Alfheim (using a gold card), then scored 12 more there in the general scoring that followed a couple of minutes later. I had tried to warn Emanuel and Michael L that was coming, but they either ignored me or thought the significance minor. Instead Michael L was placing purple Vikings in other kingdoms (mainly Jotenheim) and Emanuel used his first three of four turns in round one to remove any black Viking I put anywhere with one of his red ones. Why he decided to land on me like a ton of bricks from the moment the game began I don't know.

So after we'd scored the first round (of three) Duane had about 30 points while
the rest of us were under 15 points. I'd made about 5 points (as I now only had one Viking on the board that Emanuel somehow failed to send to Valhalla) and was in a distant 4th place.

Round two - Emanuel continued to hammer me (that's right keep kicking the guy in a distant 4th place), until Duane began whacking him. Then he retaliated against Duane, spiriting some of Duane's yellow Vikings to Valhalla. This left Michael L free reign to run amok in many provinces. Only in the middle of round
two did I attack anyone. Of course that was Emanuel. To which with my first pin prick he cried ouch loudly; how dare I? What's the deal? By this point Michael L was thinking strategically and placing Vikings not for immediate gain, but to rake in kingdom tokens. The only advantage I'd had at the end of round one was the most kingdom tokens. But by the end of round two Michael L had tied me. Now I truly was in 4th place. Conversely to what Michael L was doing, Duane never did pick up on how to acquire kingdom tokens or their significance. That hurt him in final scoring. Yet at this time it wasn't affecting him. For he ended round two still in a comfortable lead (at about 50 points; at least a dozen ahead of his closest competitor). And I remained in 4th place.

In round three I did manage to score Mannheim with a gold card, but I only had two of its three provinces under my control. Even so, it helped. Yet I remained
in 4th place on the score track. At the end of round three the scores were: Duane 70, Michael L 59, Emanuel 54, Michael W 37.

Then it was time for us all to reveal our kingdom tokens sets. I was quite surprised Emanuel only had one set (of three) for 5 bonus points. Duane hadn't done much better; two sets for 10 more points. Michael L and I had remained tied in tokens. We both made 25 points for five sets each.

Final scores: Michael L 84, Duane 80, Michael W 62, Emanuel 59. Duration: one hour and 16 minutes. Emanuel was quite annoyed I'd jumped into 3rd place.. I think Duane and Michael L enjoyed the game.



Next up, my San Juan. Duane soon built a Goldmine. Then he defied the odds when
he managed to wrangle 4-5 cards out of it over the course of the game, when the law of averages said he should have gotten 2 at most. Duane also built a Chapel early and began socking away cards under it. I went heavily for production buildings, hoping to snag one of the two Guild Halls. That was my endless quest this game. I went through three reshuffles of the draw deck, later using a Library with the Councillor to search eight cards at a time. And I never found one! Obviously both Guild Halls had already been drawn by others,
and they were holding them for 2/3's of the game. So I switched tactics near the end and built a Triumphal Ach as I'd already built two of the three monuments. Very near the end Michael L and Duane plopped down their Guild Halls. Emanuel and I built Palaces near the end of the game. No one built the two City Halls.

Duane triggered the game's end when he constructed his 12th building. By that time Michael L had 11 buildings, Emanuel 10, and I trailed with 9. Duane had socked away 7 cards under his Chapel. Duane and Michael L both made 12 points for their Guild Halls. I also made 6 more points for my Triumphal Arch. As to Palaces, Emanuel made 5 with his and I made 6 with mine.

Final scores: Duane 36, Michael W 33, Michael L 29, Emanuel 26. Duration: 55 minutes. I was surprised I ended as a close second, considering I never found the Guild Hall I searched for most of the game. If I'd found it I would have won.



See BoardgameGeek http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ for more information on the games mentioned above. And if you're in the area on a Tuesday night feel
free to join us for a game.

--
Michael Ward
Fort Worth Gamers
And check out our MeetUp page http://www.meetup.com/FortWorthGamers/ .
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