My trip to Jyväskylä went well. My brother picked me up from the busy railroad station and gave me a lift to where my mother and Ismo live. Before he left, we played few games of Battle Line. Which was nice, especially as I won two out of three.

Balloon Cup was fairly popular game during the weekend, and I played it twice on Friday. First game I won easily as my mother was still learning the game, second was a bit tougher fight. After eight or so games I’m growing to enjoy Balloon Cup a lot. It’s not always that exciting, but a solid game that’s probably becoming a staple filler, when in need for something a bit heavier than Lost Cities.

But then it was time for the main treat: Puerto Rico. Ismo is a big fan of the game and probably the strongest opponent I’ve met outside BSW. So, it was obvious the games would be fun. Friday’s game had four players. I played my typical Guild Hall strategy, while Ismo played his typical City Hall strategy. He got two large buildings and won me with a three-point margin.

But young ones need entertainment as well. Oskari, who is about 10 is actually a pretty competent Puerto Rico player but Severi, who’s about 8 needs easier games. King Lui or The Food Game seems to be his current favourite. Or at least one of them. We played four rounds… There’s definitely a skill element there, as shown in the average scores of the players: Mikko 48.25, Ismo 55.25, Oskari 31.5, Raija 52, Severi 39. Strange though — Oskari can definitely concentrate when playing Puerto Rico, but in King Lui he made few obviously silly moves.

Then it was time for the kids to go to sleep. As the last game of the evening, I introduced Mamma Mia!. Well, we played four rounds… On the fourth game, my mother managed to make eight pizzas, which made her the pizza queen that evening.