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Joseph's report. Tonight there were four of us, a number I'm pleased to report is fewer than usual. Just as well because I'd brought along my latest purchase, Louis XIV by Rudiger Dorn (designer of Traders of Genoa, Emerald, Goa etc). My initial interest in the Sun King's epic reign was sparked many years ago as a schoolboy when I read in my textbook that Louis XIV was renowned throughout Europe for his Grand Balls. Clearly here was a man of some substance!

This latest Alea is the first of their mid-sized box series, and we were keen to see how this 2 - 4 player game played. We did however have to start off more or less cold with the 12 page rulebook which took a bit of working through, with initial confusion in a few places. Having now done so I'm slightly surprised that RGG issued the rules in this form: they aren't badly written, they're just too thorough and restate a number of things too often. This has the advantage of providing each section of the rules as a self-contained unit but we would have benefited from a more crisply written and shorter rules set.

Players attempt to fulfill missions by influencing nobles of Louis' court and thereby receive benefits at court and, ultimately, political victory. That's the theme which is pretty thin and in essence players place influence markers on a series of 12 double-sided mini-boards to win tokens which enable them to bring into play cards which are worth 5 VPs each as well as conferring special abilities in play (draw an extra card, place extra markers etc.). There are also 6 different types of shield to collect which are worth 1 VP each. At the end of four rounds most VPs wins. The game uses the idea of provinces and hoffs as in El Grande and a marker movement system broadly similar to Traders of Genoa and Goa.

So how did it play? Interesting and challenging but not great is my initial view after this first playing. Once we had the rules under our belts the play was smooth and without too much downtime although the focus seems at first sight to be more tactical than strategic, which is fitting for a courtly game. I came away with two main observations: (1) I felt a long way behind the leaders and the final scores of 44, 42, 41 (me) and 36 surprised me, and (2) this was a game that felt for me a bit like work rather than play.

The proximity of the scores may be evidence of a number of ways in which to win, for example I had fewer mission cards than the leaders but more shields, or a point may be a mile - repeated plays will tell. As for the work aspect, this is probably just a game that requires more thought than usual, although if I compare it to Tigris & Euphrates which demands concentration in spades Louis XIV didn't offer the buzz that this classic does. That said, it isn't possible to judge a game like this after one play and these are simply observations.

The acid test: am I pleased I bought it? At £25 the price is steep and sub-£20 would be nearer the mark in my opinion. However, the cards do have text and the game is demanding enough in its own right so English is essential - in which case you step up and pay the going rate. I am pleased to own it because I'm sure it's a good game but I think Derek Carver is spot on when he writes in Counter "I can't say it lived up to the hype even though we found it enjoyable enough (which is, I guess, all a game sets out to be)."

I can, however, see this one improving with age and my rating has much more potential upside than down. Joseph's initial rating: 7 or 8/10.

Appropriately enough for the hot summer we’ve had this year, the game is about sufficiently watering the fields. And not only watering them; the fallow ground must be cultivated too. To accomplish this, a number of tiles denoting various plantation types come into the game each round. The tiles are auctioned off such that each player gets one, and the tiles then placed onto the game board along with an ownership marker that also indicates how plentiful the tile’s yield will be. Whoever bid the lowest in each round gets to be the canal overseer and decide where a canal will be built that round. The other players may make suggestions to help the canal overseer decide, and back up their suggestions with money. The final decision is always wholly up to the overseer, though.

First up was Epaminondas played by Mike and Steve. From BGG:

One of Bob Abbott's masterpieces, sadly poorly known. It's a pure abstract 2 player game, white verus black, the board is somewhat similar to the one in Reversi or Othello. Brain burner game, apparently coming from another game called Crossings as stated by Sid Sackson in one of his books. An article on that game can be found here: www.abstractgamesmagazine.com/epaminondas.html.

It looked pretty dry but Mike was concentrating this time so he managed to bag a win!

Next we played another oldie, Tonga Bonga by Stefan Dorra from 1998. BGG's summary:

In Tonga Bonga , each player pilots a ship around a little group of islands with the goal of visiting four of the five remote islands and returning to Tonga Bonga Bay. Winning the race does not win the game, however. In addition to the payoffs for visiting each island (lower the more players who have visited it before you), money is also made on each turn when you roll your three dice and assign them as movement points to your opponents' ships. The better "salary" offered, the more likely you are to attract the best dice rolls to your ships - but then, you'll have spent more money. And most money is what wins at the end of the game. There is more than one balancing mechanism in play, with opportunities aplenty to hit the leader. It's a lighthearted dicefest, but with interesting decisions and no obvious best strategy.

Quite amusing and decent enough to pass the time but the first player (Joseph) seemed to gain quite an advantage and was able to visit 3 of his 4 islands first to claim all of the treasure without having to hoist hawsers and royal studding sails or flog his men too hard. Cap'n Mike managed to lose money each round although he was in close contention near the end for a win until his flying jib was swept away by Steve's broadside. Joseph however returned to Tonga Bonga Bay victorious and Steve and Mike were forced to strike their colours. Joseph's rating: pleasant with interesting bidding/movement mechanism but a bit too luck-driven - 6/10.

Players take on the role of merchants offering their wares from market stands. On a player's turn, he has five actions to choose from. Actions can be used to draw cards, play cards and activate buildup cards. In order to sell wares, the merchants must first lay the wares out, since customers will only buy where all the wares they want are being offered. And since market space is at a premium, players have to think hard about which wares to offer. By owning important buildup cards and properly using the assets of other village inhabitants, the merchants succeed in attracting especially many customers to their stalls, making bargain buys, and messing with their opponents' plans. The first player to reach a set cash level through buying and selling of wares is the winner. The game's attraction lies with the many special cards. Many different combinations are possible during the game, and each game plays out differently as a result.

It's the big screen, and you're playing in the big league. Well, nearly. Maybe this year you'll make it big... Nominations are due to be published any day now, and hey, who knows, maybe you will finally get that Oscar or Palme d'Or you so deserve. Or will you? They say girlie movies like you've been making lately are going out of fashion, that the modern public has a yearning for plotless action titles. Maybe it is time to invite that rotten art critic over for drinks, and convince her of the value of your masterpieces... or tune into the old boys network and really get the show on the road.
In 'Cannes - Stars, Scripts & Screens', each player takes the role of a small-time movie producer, trying to produce as many movies as possible. The game can be played by 2 to 4 people and takes 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the number of players and their gaming experience.

Eiszeit (ALEA). First time out for Joseph and Richard, this game of Mammoths and ice age tribes was fun with lots of decisions, although I suspect it may well have been at its best with three players – any more would have been chaotic and allowed little if any planning.

The game system is driven by cards (with a similar feel to the Torres mechanic) whereby players choose between cards that help them, and cost resources to play, and those that help others, and provide income. The cards allow men and mammoths to be placed and moved across 9 regions on the board. At the end of each of 4 seasons points are scored for men in each region.

The game had a flat reception when published a year or two ago but it was better than expected, at least with the three players. I wouldn’t rush out to buy it but would happily play it again. Joseph’s rating: 7/10.

Clans (Winning Moves). Another playing of this good filler over lunch, where huts of five colours are moved across regions, with each player secretly ascribed a colour for the game. Quite entertaining with each player invariably spending what seemed like hours considering a part of the board, only to declare it all too difficult to fathom and playing a straightforward move elsewhere. As with any game where you must guess the identity of the other players, we each settled on who was which colour and all got it wrong! Fun and surprisingly demanding for a light game, and one that punches above its weight. Joseph’s rating: 7/10

Tikal (Ravensburger). We hadn’t played this Mayan exploration game for some years and, for me at least, it was a treat to renew my acquaintance. We played the simpler exploration version rather than the more complex (and lengthy) auction version, which feels more realistic. Competition was fierce with Richard digging treasures up wherever he went, Steve uncovering temples to reveal dizzying heights (claiming both the nine and the ten tiles), and Joseph doing a bit of everything. A very enjoyable game that plays well with both experienced gamers and social players. Highly recommended, and if the action point system puts you off, spend the downtime suggesting odd moves to your opponents! Joseph’s rating: 8/10.

All in all a very enjoyable day with tasty pizzas kindly supplied by Richard.

Richard and Steve had a couple of games of Lost Cities whilst they were waiting for the rest of us. From the results, I presume Richard was Dr Livingstone, whilst Steve was Ken Livingstone!

Joseph arrived with a headache and unfortunately had to bail out without playing any games. This was a particular shame as he had been the inspiration behind the weekend. Hopefully, there will be another one soon.

The rest of us played Age of Steam, a railway gamer's game par excellence. The steep learning curve led to the players who had played least or not at all coming last. Deep strategy but a little dry was the verdict. A runaway victory for Richard, with Steve following way in his wake, Fiske and Mike puffing in shortly afterwards.

The other main game of the day was Goldland. This exploration game was much lighter than Age of Steam. The more you have in your backpack, the slower you move, but if you don't have the right items, you won't complete many adventures. Fiske was obviously prepared to feed the five-thousand, as he was carrying seven fish at one time. Fiske spent his time on fun adventures, but forgot he was playing a game and lost time picnicking in the desert. Avaricious Steve rushed to the temple and started counting his gold - gifting him the win. Mike was being a bit camp, and his camps gained him some bonuses - but not enough. Richard's mixed strategy powered him to second place, but losing his canyon bonus to Mike cost him the win.

Overall, an enyoyable weekend.

We started our Games weekend with Moderne Zeiten, which is a business game using zeppelins to move round the board. It sounds dry, but isn't. The tension mounts as another stock market crash approaches. Will your holdings be decimated, or will you stuff the other players? A great game, but I was handicapped by totally misunderstanding the scoring system, coming an abject last. Final order: Steve, Fiske, Richard, Joseph, Mike.

We then repaired to the Bent Arms, where we had an excellent pub lunch and a game of Hol's der Geier.

After lunch and a discussion on the next game, we set up Amun-Re. This is an excellent game of Egyptian Epochs, where one tries to placate the Gods. The final score after 3.5 hours was very close, with only four points separating the first four players. Final score: Mike 35, Fiske 34, Joseph 33, Steve 32 and Richard 30.

We then played a lighter game, Flusspiraten. In this race game, you try to row upriver, but can you rely on your piratical friends? Instead of rowing, they can try to push you out, or even club you unconscious! Joseph threw me out of the boat before I had even realised he had started his go, so his team were obviously villainous and not to be trusted, an impression strengthened when he threw Steve out as he was valiantly pulling on the oars! After one of my trusty men crossed the line, one of my others missed the rowlocks, pitching his unfortunate teammate into the murky water. The reputations of the respective teams was cemented when Steve commented that he would feel safer with me as oarsman than Joseph the sly. It was fun, but lasted too long at two hours. Final positions: Steve was closely followed by Richard, with Mike, Joseph and Fiske closely behind.

We finished playing shortly after ten, and discussed tomorrow's games...