DATELINE: GAME NIGHT

October 20, 2007

by Marty Hale-Evans

I've been talking to several people about wanting to record the games we play again. One reason is that I (and I think many of us) miss the newsletter and how it helped us keep up with each other even when we can't make it to game night. Another is that, with all the issues about game selection going on, I think it would be helpful to have some actual data about what gets played. In the absence of such information, everyone forms an opinion about what actually gets played at SC and why, which may or may not be accurate and generally shapes their attitudes about the issues, the solutions, game night and Seattle Cosmic; I think having information will help us see at least part of what's really going on and help us figure out how to tweak things when necessary. With that said, here's my first report of the new series; I hope other people will feel free to jump in with their own notes and discussion as well.

Attending Seattle Cosmic on this nippy autumn evening were hosts Dave Howell and Eric Yarnell, as well as Mark Haggerty and Marty. Play started roughly on time (I'm guessing), and after a call to assure that Marty would be characteristically late, the fun started with:

Warumono 2

proposed by: Mark

players: Dave, Eric, Mark

Unfortunately, I missed this, but reportedly Mark reacted with enthusiasm to his first play of the game. I hope to try it soon. (When I came home and was chatting about GN, Ron said he's hoping to play it too, so keep bringing it, Dave!) Next up:

Twisty Passages

proposed by: Dave

players: Dave, Eric, Mark, Marty

Dave, Eric, and Mark had just started this when I arrived, so they dealt me in. This card game was created by Dave using his nifty Fanucci deck; while some of us wonder if maybe some honing is still needed on the endgame, fun was had by all, and I eventually won. The next choice brought us to:

Outburst

proposed by: Mark

players: Dave, Eric, Mark, Marty

There was some foolish talk about making the teams be Marty vs. everyone else, but I pointed out quickly that this hadn't been the specified variant, and so was improper to propose now. Teams were decided randomly and ended up being Mark and Marty vs. Dave and Eric. After the agony of the topic "Teams That Never Made It to the Super Bowl" and the ecstasy of the topic "Planets," Marty and Mark finally pulled out the win by one thin point. Next on the table was:

Boggle (4+ letter words, 7 rounds)

proposed by: Marty

players: Dave, Eric, Mark, Marty

Although there were a couple painful rounds in which multiple players scored no points at all, Dave emerged victorious; Eric and I tied for second, but it was a fairly close game, with about 7 points separating first from second and second from third. In one sense, everyone was a winner by learning new and exciting words from dictionary wrangler Eric. At this point, Mark decided he needed to leave, so bidding him safe riding, the remaining players settled into:

Nexus Ops (under blacklight)

proposed by: Dave

players: Dave, Eric, Marty

While fiercely and squintingly fought, the final victor was Eric, with Dave right behind and me lagging, although comforted by the memory of my vicious sudden elimination of Dave's rubium dragon by my lava leaper. After some discussion about Nexus Ops game balance (which is actually good, but we can't resist tinkering with anything) and a little more general conversation, a genial and entertaining game night drew to a close around 12:45. Our near-miraculous record of no drive-bys was maintained.