-
Saturday, day three: Crowds and games
Last day of the fair! Sunday would be a definite no, since we have to leave for the airport before the fair actually opens. At the breakfast, there were a lot more people than before — the first sign of the weekend action. Lots of guys I had seen at the Gigantoskop stand were there,…
-
Friday, day three: Games, games, games
Here’s what happened yesterday: Today was the day! I went downstairs to use the hotel laptop to send my reports, which I did, and then headed back to the room. I glanced towards the dining room, and who did I see? Reiner Knizia, of course, and he was just leaving. As he wasn’t eating, I…
-
Thursday, day two: Shopping for games
The morning started off quite well. We were having breakfast, when I suddenly noticed a familiar-looking gentleman in a salmon-coloured shirt: herr Knizia! I wasn’t quite brave enough to go talk to him, but maybe I’ll ask for his signature tomorrow, as I now have a game to ask it to. It would be neat…
-
Wednesday, day one: arrival
Good news! The hotel has a computer I can use, it has a DSL connection and it accepts my USB memory card reader. So, I bring you: live reports from Essen, Germany! (I apologize if I mix my Y’s and Z’s, as the German keyboards are funny that way.) My travelling companions Ismo and Raija…
-
Catan the Card Game
I played a game of Settlers of Catan Card Game yesterday with Johanna. I had to try it, since it was my translation. Believe me, the game plays much better with Finnish cards than with German cards. However, I was a bit bothered with some of the cards… Few of them could use better translations.…
-
Weekend of Industrial Waste (with some Dvonn)
I was visiting Jyväskylä last weekend. In addition to some surprisingly pleasing physical work (painting boards and a wall, building scaffolding), we played lots of games. During the years, I’ve introduced several games with variable success. Some have been huge hits (Puerto Rico and St. Petersburg are the most notable examples). Sometimes there have been…
-
Small game session: Louis XIV, Modern Art, Turbo Taxi
I met some guys last Saturday for a small session of games. I’ll be missing the next two board game club sessions for various reasons (mostly Essen), so it was good to get some games going. We started with Turbo Taxi, as we were one player short. Well, the missing player joined us after the…
-
Mhing and votes
Johanna handed me my butt, properly kicked, after a quick match of Mhing. She won four rounds, I got two, with score total of 160-64. She’s phenomenal! Finnish Players’ Picks -votes have been trickling in. 51 gamers have already voted. The results look both interesting and unsurprising. I guess it’s not a big surprise which…
-
Tea and Metro
Metro is of suitable weight and length to be played over a cup of tea, it seems. However, I’m afraid we’re not going to play the game again. Even though Johanna won the game hands down, she thought it was somewhat ho-hum. I agree — it can feel a bit pointless. It’s kind of fun…
-
Easier Antiquity
I played a game of Antiquity with Johanna today. This time I chose to play the easier introductory game, without pollution and famine. The game was much easier, but still interesting to play. Johanna picked up the game quite well and we soon got off to a good start. When it was time to build…