Sunday, January 17, 2010

Bellamy Sports: Bellamy Volleyfoot

Bellamy Volleyfoot is the third Bellamy Sport, following in the footsteps of Bellamy Tennis and Bellamy Football.

Bellamy Sports came indoors with the advent of Bellamy Volleyfoot. The accolades for the name of this game go to Heidi. Also present at Bellamy Volleyfoot's inaugural game were myself, Paul, Narelle, Mick, and Leah.

This game actually has nothing to do with volleyball, and even less to do with football. So what does it have to with? Stuffed if I know, but it's a lot of fun!

For this game you need an even number of players (six is best), a soft miniature football and a largish living room, preferably with couches and a coffee table. Cushions or other similar sized objects serve as goals.

From there it's simply a matter of each team placing their goals in an open space (eg. on top of a couch or propped up against a wall), team members placing themselves in strategic positions, and then pelting the opposition's goal with the ball.

Prior to commencement of play, players' positions should be defined. No player may start within an arms width of their own goal, and a maximum of two can be just outside arms width. Any other player must be within their own half of the room, generally strategically placed beside the coffee table.

Players' starting positions normally involve buttock contact with a particular item of furniture. For example, player one's starting postion may be defined as having one buttock cheek on a rug, while player two's left buttock must be in contact with the couch. If one team is defending a goal on a couch, one player may kneel behind the couch, with their starting position defined as having both arms flat on the back of the couch.

Players may not move from their starting positions until the ball has left the hand of an opposition player having a ping at goal. Once the ball is flying through the air towards the goal, the defenders can dive in front of the goal in an attempt to stop the ball hitting it. There is no restriction on how much arm waving there is prior to a shot at goal (except, that is, for any player behind a couch whose starting position requires their arms remain on the couch).

If the ball misses the goal, then the nearest player grabs it, regardless of who had the last possession. If the ball comes to rest outside the reach of all players then anyone may leave their position to fetch it, but they must return to their starting position before playing on.

Team members may pass the ball between themselves as much as they like in an effort to gain an advantageous shooting position. When they do shoot for goal, the ball may not hit the wall above a goal and then drop onto it (if this happens it does not count as a goal). However, ricochetting into the goal off another player, the floor, a side wall or the coffee table still counts as a goal.

The first team to nine goals is the winner of the game. Teams then change places and play again. The first team to win two games is the winner.

That's Bellamy Volleyfoot. Don't forget to use a soft ball. It's also probably a good idea to remove breakables from the room before starting - this game can get particularly violent! Enjoy.
 

Saturday, January 16, 2010

2010 Games Quest

To my myriad of readers, my 2010 quest may not come as a complete surprise, given that I've already mentioned it a few times, and that it is that part of my 2009 quest that I failed to complete. Or even get off the ground really.

My goal this year is to produce a workable, playable, enjoyable board game. I'm not talking about getting it published - though that is a future goal. I'm talking about developing a working prototype with a board, pieces, cards, and rules.

Preferably I'd like to work at it and get it on the table for multiple play tests with interested/bribable folk.

I'm not starting completely from scratch, however. I do have quite a few pages of thoughts, ideas, scribbles and diagrams to work from. It's been slowly cobbled together over the last two or three years, and has already seen a number of changes from my original concept. No doubt it'll see some more as I discover what works and what doesn't.

Now I'm not going to give out any info about the game here. Not yet anyway. I'm intending to keep a diary of the progress that will one day see itself in the pages of this blog, and I may decide to post thoughts/snippets of the game here as I go.

Ultimately, I see this quest as the next step in my evolution as a gamer. Here's hoping I don't develop some hideous mutation and slide into extinction.
 

Sunday, January 3, 2010

2010 Games Record

I ended up playing 7 more games in 2010 than in 2009, but the plays of those games combined came to 46 fewer.
Summary for 2010:
Total different games played: 53
Total number of plays: 187

Games Played (Number of Plays) - from most played to least played:
Martian Fluxx (28)
Magic: The Gathering (18)
Time's Up! Title Recall! (14)
Are You the Traitor? (12)
Werewolf (11)
Zombie Fluxx (7)
Carcassonne (6)
Dice Town (5)
Geschenkt (5)
Killer Bunnies (5)
Dixit (4)
Man Bites Dog (4)
Munchkin Quest (4)
Pandemic (4)
Set (4)
Ca$h 'n Gun$ (3)
Dominion: Seaside (3)
Jenga (3)
Oriente (3)
Aquarius (2)
Bang! (2)
Colosseum (2)
For Sale (2)
Fresco (2)
Saboteur (2)
The Pillars of the Earth (2)
The Resistance (2)
Too Many Cooks (2)
World Without End (2)
Agricola: Farmers of the Moor (1)
Apples to Apples (1)
Bellamy Bunny-Oon (1)
Bluff (1)
Bohnanza (1)
Bugger (1)
Ca$h 'n Gun$: Live (1)
Catan Card Game (1)
Citadels (1)
Dominion (1)
EcoFluxx (1)
Fact or Crap (1)
Junta (1)
Knaves (1)
Lawless (1)
Lifeboats (1)
Mall of Horror (1)
Mamma (1)
Mississippi Queen: The Black Rose (1)
Munchkin (1)
Samurai (1)
Settlers of Catan (1)
Vinci (1)
Why Did The Chicken...? (1)


Games In Detail

3 January 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Plays #1 - #6)
Jeremy (White) v The Giggling One (Green/Red); Winners: The Giggling One (#1: 16-0; #6: 22-0), Jeremy (#2: 31-0; #3: 20-0; #4: 14-0; #5: 15-0) - Set: Magic 2010

10 January 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Plays #7 - #11)
Jeremy (White) v The Giggling One (Green/Red); Winners: Jeremy (#7: 37-0; #8: 6-0; #9: 18-0; #11: 46-0)The Giggling One (#10: 7-0) - Set: Magic 2010

16 January 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #1)
Jeremy def Bernd, The Giggling One, Christine, and Trent

16 January 2010 - Man Bites Dog (Play #1)
Bernd (610) def Jeremy (525), Nina (425), Christine (400), Ewan (395), Carl (395), Trent (370), Carla (365), Belinda (360), The Giggling One (325), and Erin (290)

16 January 2010 - Dice Town (Play #1)
Jeremy (42) def Erin (34), The Giggling One (27), Ian T (21), and Ewan (16)

16 January 2010 - Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (Play #1)
Ewan (9 carrots) def Jeremy (3 carrots), The Giggling One (no bunnies), Ian T (no bunnies), and Erin (no bunnies) - Magic Carrot: #9

16 January 2010 - Werewolf (Play #1)
Villagers - Belinda (Seer), Erin (Bishop), Carla (Mason), Ian T (Mason), Mark, The Giggling One, Carl, Christine, Trent, and Nina def Werewolves - Jeremy and Ewan (with Bernd as the Moderator)

16 January 2010 - Werewolf (Play #2)
Villagers - The Giggling One (Seer), Mark (Bishop), Carl (Mason), Ewan (Mason), Jeremy, Christine, Trent, Nina and Carla def Werewolves - Erin, Belinda, and Ian T (with Bernd as the Moderator)

16 January 2010 - Werewolf (Play #3)
Villagers - Carl (Seer), Erin (Bishop), Trent (Mason), Nina (Mason), The Giggling One, Ewan, Carla, Belinda, and Ian T def Werewolves - Bernd, Mark, and Christine (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

16 January 2010 - Werewolf (Play #4)
Villagers - Carla (Seer), Erin (Bishop), Mark (Mason), Belinda (Mason), The Giggling One, Carl, Christine, Trent, and Ian T def Werewolves - Bernd, Ewan, and Nina (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

16 January 2010 - Werewolf (Play #5)
Villagers - Bernd (Seer), Christine (Bishop), Jeremy (Mason), Trent (Mason), The Giggling One, Carl, Ewan, Carla, and Belinda def Werewolves - Erin, Nina, and Ian T (with Mark as the Moderator)

23 January 2010 - Ca$h 'n Gun$ (Play #1)
Deb ($95,000) def Jeremy ($90,000), The Giggling One ($90,000), Kerry ($65,000), Matt ($50,000), and Vanessa (Dead)

23 January 2010 - Ca$h 'n Gun$ (Play #2)
Vanessa ($90,000) def The Giggling One ($85,000), Matt ($85,000), Jeremy ($40,000), Deb ($30,000), and Kerry (Dead)

23 January 2010 - Ca$h 'n Gun$ (Play #3)
Deb "You Don't Need It Any More" ($105,000) def Kerry "It Does Not Even Hurt" ($90,000), Jeremy "The Specialist" ($80,000), Matt "6 Feet Under" ($70,000), Vanessa "The Unbreakable" ($50,000), and The Giggling One "Dragon Skin" (Dead)

24 January 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #2)
The Giggling One def Jeremy, Matt, and Vanessa

24 January 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #3)
Jeremy def Matt, Vanessa, and The Giggling One

24 January 2010 - Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (Play #2)
Jeremy (6 carrots) def Vanessa (4 carrots), The Giggling One (2 carrots), and Matt (no bunnies) - Magic Carrot: #12

25 January 2010 - Bohnanza (Play #1)
Matt (23) def The Giggling One (17), Jeremy (17, and Vanessa (14)

25 January 2010 - Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (Play #3)
Vanessa (3 carrots) def The Giggling One (7 carrots), Matt (2 carrots), and Jeremy (0 carrots) - Magic Carrot: #1

25 January 2010 - Bugger1 (Play #1)
Matt (160) def Jeremy (60), The Giggling One (50), and Vanessa (50)

31 January 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #4)
The Giggling One def Jeremy and Ian T

31 January 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #5)
The Giggling One def Jeremy and Ian T

31 January 2010 - Citadels (Play #1)
Christine (35) def Bernd (31), Ian T (30), Gordon & Polly (29), Jeremy (27), and The Giggling One (15)

5 February 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #6)
Jon def Christine, Bernd, David, The Giggling One, and Jeremy

5 February 2010 - Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (Play #4)
Jon (6 carrots) def The Giggling One (5 carrots), Jeremy (1 carrot), Ian T (no bunnies), and Mark (no bunnies) - Magic Carrot: #11

5 February 2010 - Dice Town (Play #2)
Jon (32) def Ian T (28), Jeremy (22), The Giggling One (17), and Mark (15)

5 February 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #1)
Bernd & Christine (42) def Jeremy & The Giggling One (37), Ian T & Mark (25), and David & Kam (16)

8 February 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Plays #12 - #14)
Jeremy (Blue/Black) v The Giggling One (Green/Red); Winner: Jeremy (#12: 3-0; #13: 18-0; #14: 19-0) - Set: Magic 2010

13 February 2010 - Bellamy Bunny-Oon (Play #1)
Tim, Madelaine, Brian, and Neil def Jeremy, The Giggling One, Leah, and Mick (4-5, 5-2, 5-4) - with Paul as the Confusoid

13 February 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #2)
Leah (48) def Jeremy (42), The Giggling One (38), Mick (36), Tim (30), Brian (25), and Madelaine (21)

20 February 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #7)
Jeremy def The Giggling One, and Belinda

20 February 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #8)
Belinda def Jeremy, The Giggling One, and Mark

20 February 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #3)
The Giggling One & Dan (39) def Trent & Mark (38), Christine & Belinda (22), and Ewan & Jeremy (21)

28 February 2010 - Mamma (Play #1)
Bernd (11) def Jeremy (8), The Giggling One (3), and Christine (-4)

28 February 2010 - Mall of Horror (Play #1)
The Giggling One (12) def Christine (5), Jon (3), Bernd (3), Kit (3), and Jeremy (0)

5 March 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #9)
Christine M def Bernd, Jeremy, Christine C, Peter, and Michael

5 March 2010 - Mississippi Queen: The Black Rose (Play #1)
Michael (1st) def Christine C (2nd), Peter (3rd), Bernd (4th), Jeremy (5th), and Christine M (left early)

5 March 2010 - Dominion: Seaside (Play #1)
Christine (46) def Jeremy (39), and Bernd (36)

6 March 2010 - Settlers of Catan (Play #1)
Jeremy (11) def Ian T (8), Christine (7), and Bernd (7)

8 March 2010 - Munchkin Quest (Play #1)
Jeremy (10) def The Giggling one (10)

13 March 2010 - Junta (Play #1)
Ian T ($17) and Christine ($17) def Mark ($12), Jeremy ($9), Dan ($6), and Bernd ($2)

20 March 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #10)
Wade def The Giggling One, Alice, Tom, Gypsy Anna (with Bernd), and Jeremy

20 March 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #11)
Jeremy def The Giggling One, Wade, Alice, Tom, and Gypsy Anna (with Bernd)

20 March 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #1)
The Giggling One def Jeremy, Wade, Alice, Tom, and Christine

20 March 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #2)
Christine def Jeremy, The Giggling One, Wade, Alice, and Tom

20 March 2010 - Oriente (Play #1)
The Giggling One (18) def Bernd (15), Tom (14), Alice (13), Christine (13) Jeremy (13), and Wade (5)

20 March 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #4)
The Giggling One & Jeremy (46) def Christine & Bernd (42), and Tom & Alice (32)

20 March 2010 - Bluff2 (Play #1)
Alice def Bernd, Tom, The Giggling One, Christine, Alice, and Jeremy

2 April 2010 - Catan Card Game (Play #1)
The Giggling One (13) def Jeremy (12) - with Barbarians & Traders expansion

2 April 2010 - Munchkin Quest (Play #2)
The Giggling One (10) def Jeremy (2)

2 April 2010 - Munchkin Quest (Play #3)
Vanessa (10) drew with Matt (10), Jeremy (9), and The Giggling One (8) - game called a draw after it got too late to continue

17 April 2010 - Set (Play #1)
Jeremy (7) def The Giggling One (6), Christine (5), Ian (2), Bernd (1), Ewan (1), Clyde (0), and Dan (0)

17 April 2010 - Set (Play #2)
The Giggling One (6) and Christine (6) def Ian (2), Dan (1), Jeremy (1), Ewan (0), and Clyde (0)

17 April 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #12)
Jeremy def Christine, The Giggling One, and Ian

17 April 2010 - Dominion (Play #1)
The Giggling One (30) def Jeremy (29), Christine (28), Ian (26), Belinda (25), and Mark (19) - Random mix of Base game + Intrigue

17 April 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #5)
Christine & Bernd (33) def The Giggling One & Jeremy (30), Belinda & Dan (17), Ian & Mark (16), Rebecca & Rachael (13), and Ewan & Clyde (11)

17 April 2010 - Werewolf (Play #6)
Villagers - The Giggling One (Seer), Dan (Bishop), Jeremy (Mason), Rachael (Mason), Ian, Mark, Clyde, Belinda, and Rachael def Werewolves - Christine and Ewan (with Bernd as the Moderator)

17 April 2010 - Werewolf (Play #7)
Villagers - Belinda (Seer), Rebecca (Bishop), Dan (Mason), Rachael (Mason), The Giggling One, Christine, Ian, Mark, and Ewan def Werewolves - Bernd and Clyde (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

18 April 2010 - Pandemic (Play #1)
Jeremy (Dispatcher) and The Giggling One (Scientist) were defeated (5 Epidemics)

24 April 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #6)
Jeremy (67) def The Giggling One (56), Leah (51), Brian (33) and Narelle (33)

7 May 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #13)
Jeremy def The Giggling One

7 May 2010 - Oriente (Play #2)
Mark (21) def Christine (20), Bernd (18), Carl (17), Dan (16), Trent (15), The Giggling One (14), and Jeremy (7)

7 May 2010 - World Without End (Play #1)
Jeremy (43) def Mark (31), Ian (30), and The Giggling One (29)

7 May 2010 - Pandemic (Play #2)
Ian (Researcher), Jeremy (Dispatcher), The Giggling One (Operations Expert), and Mark (Scientist) were defeated (5 Epidemics)

22 May 2010 - Too Many Cooks (Play #1)
Christine (22) def Ian (17), Bernd (17), Jeremy (3), and The Giggling One (3)

22 May 2010 - Bang! (Play #1)
Mark (Outlaw), Ian (Outlaw), and Jeremy (Outlaw) def Christine (Sheriff), Bernd (Deputy), and The Giggling One (Renegade)

22 May 2010 - Bang! (Play #2)
Ian (Sheriff) def Bernd (Deputy), Christine (Renegade), Jeremy (Outlaw), The Giggling One (Outlaw), and Mark (Outlaw)

22 May 2010 - Why Did The Chicken...? (Play #1)
Mark (6) and Jeremy (6) def Bernd (4), Christine (3), Ian (3), and The Giggling One (2)

22 May 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #7)
Bernd & The Giggling One (46) def Jeremy & Christine (44) and Ian & Mark (30)

4 June 2010 - Dice Town (Play #3)
Jeremy (36) def Jon (28), Christine (27), Mark (19), and Bernd (17)

4 June 2010 - Colosseum (Play #1)
Mark (94) def Christine (86), Bernd (84), Jon (82), and Jeremy (76)

12 June 2010 - Lawless (Play #1)
Jeremy (16) def Christine (14), Bernd (12), and Mark (10)

19 June 2010 - Man Bites Dog (Play #2)
Christine (515) def Steve (440), Ewan (435), The Giggling One (395), Jeremy (335), Ben (330), Fern (315), and Ruth (235)

19 June 2010 - The Pillars of the Earth (Play #1)
Jeremy (50) def The Giggling One (47), Ewan (44), and Ben (30) - with Expansion even though there were only 4 players

19 June 2010 - EcoFluxx (Play #1)
Ben def The Giggling One, Ewan, and Jeremy

2 July 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #14)
The Giggling One and Jeremy were forced to retreat!

2 July 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #15)
Christine def Jeremy, Splat, and The Giggling One

2 July 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #16)
Jeremy def Christine, Splat, and The Giggling One

2 July 2010 - Saboteur (Play #1)
Jeremy (6) def Splat (5), The Giggling One (5), Bernd (5), Ian (2), and Christine (2)

2 July 2010 - The Pillars of the Earth (Play #2)
Jeremy (50) def Bernd (46), Splat (43), Ian (42), The Giggling One (41), and Christine (37)

17 July 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #3)
Ewan def Jeremy, Bernd, Meryl, Melanie, and Miriam

17 July 2010 - Dice Town (Play #4)
The Giggling One (29) def Maka (29), Jeremy (25), Miriam (18), and Mark (17)

17 July 2010 - Dixit (Play #1)
Jeremy (48) def The Giggling One (44), Miriam (35), Ewan (33), and Mark (31)

17 July 2010 - For Sale (Play #1)
The Giggling One (60) def Jeremy (55), Ewan (49), Mark (46), and Miriam (36)

17 July 2010 - Werewolf (Play #8)
Villagers - Meryl (Seer), Ewan (Bishop), Christine (Mason), Miriam (Mason), Jeremy, Joel, Melanie, Dan, The Giggling One, and Belinda def Werewolves - Ian, Thamar, and Bernd (with Mark as the Moderator)

17 July 2010 - Werewolf (Play #9)
Villagers - Christine (Seer), Meryl (Bishop), Ian (Mason), Joel (Mason), Melanie, The Giggling One, Belinda, Bernd, and Miriam def Werewolves - Thamar, Ewan, and Dan (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

30 July 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #17)
Jeremy def The Giggling One

30 July 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #18)
The Giggling One def Jeremy

31 July 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #1)
Jeremy (81) def Vicki (79), The Giggling One (58), and Gordon (43)

31 July 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #4)
Jeremy def The Giggling One, Gordon, and Vicki

31 July 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #5)
Jeremy def The Giggling One, Gordon, and Vicki

31 July 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #6)
The Giggling One def Gordon, Vicki, and Jeremy

31 July 2010 - Zombie Fluxx (Play #7)
The Giggling One def Vicki, Jeremy, and Gordon

1 August 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #19)
Jeremy def The Giggling One and Gordon

1 August 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #20)
Gordon def The Giggling One and Jeremy

1 August 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #2)
Jeremy (85) def The Giggling One (81) and Gordon (68) - with The River

1 August 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #3)
Jeremy (84) def Gordon (64) and The Giggling One (61) - with The River

14 August 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #4)
Jeremy (133) def The Giggling One (96) and Paul - with The River and Inns & Cathedrals (46)

21 August 2010 - Set (Play #3)
The Giggling One (8) def Bernd (6), Christine (5), Jeremy (3), Ewan (1), and Dan (0)

21 August 2010 - Set (Play #4)
The Giggling One (6) and Christine (6) def Jeremy (5), Bernd (3), Dan (1), and Ewan (1)

21 August 2010 - Oriente (Play #3)
Bernd (19) def Jeremy (19), Dan (18), Christine (18), Ian (16), The Giggling One (12), Belinda (8), and Ewan (5)

21 August 2010 - Samurai (Play #1)
The Giggling One (2 majorities) def Bernd, Jeremy, and Christine (all with 0 majorities)

21 August 2010 - Dixit (Play #2)
Bernd (18) def The Giggling One (17), Christine (14), and Jeremy (13)

21 August 2010 - Saboteur (Play #2)
Ewan (8) def The Giggling One (7), Bernd (6), Ian (4), Jeremy (2), and Christine (1)

28 August 2010 - Lifeboats (Play #1)
Maike (28) def Mark (18), Christine (15), Bernd (15), Jeremy (14), and Ian (12)

3 September 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #21)
Jon def The Giggling One, Jeremy, and Mark

3 September 2010 - World Without End (Play #2)
Jeremy (44) def The Giggling One (43), Jon (34), and Mark (32)

3 September 2010 - For Sale (Play #2)
Jeremy ($60,000) def Jon ($49,000), The Giggling One ($49,000), and Mark ($40,000)

3 September 2010 - Geschenkt3 (Play #1)
Jeremy (43) def The Giggling One (55), and Mark (65)

3 September 2010 - Geschenkt (Play #2)
The Giggling One (38) def Mark (57), and Jeremy (75)

4 September 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Plays #22 - #24)
The Giggling One def Jeremy (in all 3 games)

4 September 2010 - Geschenkt (Play #3)
The Giggling One (10) def Jeremy (43), and Bernd (54)

4 September 2010 - Dixit (Play #3)
Jeremy (32) def Gypsy-Anna (30), Bernd (29), The Giggling One (25), Christine (21), and Ian (19)

11 September 2010 - Agricola: Farmers of the Moor (Play #1)
Jon (36) and Christine (36) def Ian (35), Bernd (32), and Jeremy (22)

18 September 2010 - Jenga (Play #1)
Joel def Gypsy Anna, Miriam, Bernd, The Giggling One, Melanie, Jeremy, and Christine (Loser)

18 September 2010 - Jenga (Play #2)
Christine def Gypsy Anna, The Giggling One, Joel, Melanie, Bernd, Mark, Miriam, and Jeremy (Loser)

18 September 2010 - Fresco (Play #1)
Jeremy (119) def Mark (102), The Giggling One (92), and Joel (72)

18 September 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #8)
Mark & Bernd (33) def The Giggling One & Christine (47) and Jeremy & Melanie (19)

24 September 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #5)
Jeremy (371) def The Giggling One (247), Mark (240), Christine (233), and Ian (169) - included The River II, Abbey & Mayor, Inns & Cathedrals, King & Scout, The Cult, The Princess & The Dragon, The Tower, and Traders & Builders

1 October 2010 - Jenga (Play #3)
The Giggling One def Gypsy Anna, Bernd, Kevin, Jeremy, and Christine (Loser)

1 October 2010 - Fresco (Play #2)
Jeremy (98) def The Giggling One (97), Ian (71) and Jon (68)

1 October 2010 - Geschenkt (Play #4)
The Giggling One (27) def Jeremy (54), Jon (60) and Ian (63)

1 October 2010 - Geschenkt (Play #5)
The Giggling One (41) def Ian (46), Jeremy (54), and Jon (73)

16 October 2010 - Fact or Crap (Play #1)
Jeremy (44) def The Giggling One (34), Christine (21), Bernd (20), Gypsy Anna (20), Joel (19), Miriam (13), and Thamar (13)

16 October 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #1)
The Giggling One (13) def Ewan (10), Thamar (10), Joel (10), Jeremy (9), Erin (9), Bernd (7), Christine (5), Ian (5), and Miriam (4)

16 October 2010 - Dominion: Seaside (Play #2)
The Giggling One (42) def Ewan (34) and Jeremy (30)

16 October 2010 - Dominion: Seaside (Play #3)
Jeremy (38) def The Giggling One (36) and Ewan (33)

16 October 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #9)
Jeremy & The Giggling One (49) def Bernd & Ewan (35), Carl & Christine (33), and Joel & Thamar (21) - with 46 cards instead of 40

22 October 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Play #15)
Jeremy (Blue/Black) v The Giggling One (Green/Red) - Winner: Jeremy (2-0) - Set: Magic 2010

22 October 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Plays #16 - #17)
Jeremy (Blue/Black) v The Giggling One (White); Winner: Jeremy (#16: 15-0; #17: 10-0) - Set: Magic 2010

22 October 2010 - Magic: The Gathering (Play #18)
The Giggling One (Blue/Black) v Jeremy (White) - Winner: The Giggling One (17-0) - Set: Magic 2010

22 October 2010 - Munchkin (Play #1)
Jeremy (10) def The Giggling One (6)

23 October 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Plays #10 - #12)
Jeremy & The Giggling One (78, 71, 78) def Matt & Vanessa (42, 49, 42)

29 October 2010 - Carcassonne (Play #6)
Ian (288) def Bernd (215), Jeremy (212), The Giggling One (162), and Christine (154) - included The River II, Abbey & Mayor, Inns & Cathedrals, King & Scout, The Cult, The Princess & The Dragon, The Tower, and Traders & Builders

5 November 2010 - Apples to Apples (Play #1)
Bernd (6) def Jeremy (5), Martin (4), Steve (4), The Giggling One (3), and Christine (1)

5 November 2010 - Vinci (Play #1)
Bernd (101) def Jeremy (92), The Giggling One (91), Christine (89), Martin (86), and Steve (80)

5 November 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #2)
The Giggling One (12) def Martin (9), Bernd (8), Christine (5), Jeremy (3), and Steve (3)

5 November 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #3)
Bernd (11) def Jeremy (10), The Giggling One (7), Martin (6), Steve (5), and Christine (0)

13 November 2010 - Aquarius (Play #1)
Christine def Ian and Jeremy

13 November 2010 - Aquarius (Play #2)
Bernd def Jeremy, Christine, and Ian

13 November 2010 - Knaves (Play #1)
Jeremy (20) def Christine (15) and Bernd (9)

20 November 2010 - Werewolf (Play #10)
Werewolves - Matt, Naomi, and The Giggling One def Villagers - Kerry (Seer), Daniel (Bishop), Bronwyn (Mason), James (Mason), Vanessa, Kim, Scott, and Lauri (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

20 November 2010 - Werewolf (Play #11)
Werewolves - Matt, Bronwyn, and James def Villagers - Vanessa (Seer), Daniel (Bishop), Naomi (Mason), The Giggling One (Mason), Kim, Kerry, Scott, and Lauri (with Jeremy as the Moderator)

20 November 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #13)
Jeremy & The Giggling One (56) def Daniel & Bronwyn (34), Matt & Vanessa (19), and Kim & Kerry (11)

3 December 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #27)
The Giggling One def Jeremy and Mark

3 December 2010 - Martian Fluxx (Play #28)
Mark def The Giggling One and Jeremy

3 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #4)
Christine (1) def Kit (7), The Giggling One (7), Jeremy (6), Mark (4), and Jon (3)

3 December 2010 - Dice Town (Play #5)
The Giggling One (33) def Kit (29), Jeremy (29), Jon (20), and Mark (18)

3 December 2010 - Too Many Cooks (Play #2)
The Giggling One (32) def Mark (17), Kit (17), Jeremy (9), and Jon (7)

3 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #5)
Jeremy (12) def The Giggling One (8), Steve P (5), Christine (4), Mark (4), Kirsi (3), Steve W (2), and Bernd (0)

3 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #6)
Bernd (10) def Christine (9), Steve W (8), Jeremy (7), Steve P (4), Mark (4), and The Giggling One (1)

3 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #7)
Mark (13) def Steve P (8), Steve W (6), Christine (6), Bernd (6), Jeremy (4), and The Giggling One (2)

3 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #8)
Steve W (13) def Bernd (12), Jeremy (8), The Giggling One (8), Mark (6), Steve P (3), and Christine (3)

4 December 2010 - Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot (Play #5)
Scott def Jeremy, The Giggling One, Vanessa, Matt, and Lauri - Magic Carrot: #11

4 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #9)
Jeremy (11) def Vanessa (6), Matt (5), Lauri (5), Scott (3), and The Giggling One (2)

4 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #10)
The Giggling One (10) def Jeremy (8), Scott (6), Vanessa (4), Matt (4), and Lauri (4)

11 December 2010 - Colosseum (Play #2)
Mark (95) def Christine (80), Ian (78), Bernd (77), and Jeremy (69)

18 December 2010 - Ca$h 'n Gun$: Live (Play #1)
Chris, Anson, and Martin ($340,000) def Gypsy Anna, Christine, and Sam ($315,000), and Bernd, Julianne, and Steve ($215,000) (with Jeremy as the Godfather)

18 December 2010 - Pandemic (Play #3)
Mark (Scientist), The Giggling One (Dispatcher), Jeremy (Researcher), and Martin (Operations Expert) were defeated (5 Epidemics)

18 December 2010 - Pandemic (Play #4)
Jeremy (Researcher), Martin (Medic), Mark (Dispatcher), and The Giggling One (Scientist) were defeated (5 Epidemics)

18 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #11)
The Giggling One (10) def Sam (8), Splat (5), Steve (4), Martin (2), Jeremy (0), Mark (0), and Chris (0)

18 December 2010 - Are You the Traitor? (Play #12)
Splat (10) def Anson (5), Bernd (4), The Giggling One (4), Steve (3), Jeremy (0), Martin (0), and Mark (0)

18 December 2010 - The Resistance (Play #1)
Imperial Spies Splat, Steve, and Anson def Resistance Operatives Jeremy, Martin, Bernd, Mark, and The Giggling One

18 December 2010 - The Resistance (Play #2)
Imperial Spies Jeremy, Anson, and Mark def Resistance Operatives Splat, Steve, Bernd, and The Giggling One

22 December 2010 & 26 December 2010 - Munchkin Quest (Play #4)
Jeremy (10) def The Giggling One (8)

25 December 2010 - Man Bites Dog (Play #3)
Jeremy (515) def Wynne (445), Chris (390), and The Giggling One (285)

25 December 2010 - Man Bites Dog (Play #4)
The Giggling One (540) def Wynne (420), Jeremy (390), and Chris (330)

25 December 2010 - Dixit (Play #4)
Jeremy (33) def The Giggling One (24) and Wynne (18)

25 December 2010 - Time's Up! Title Recall! (Play #14)
Brian & Leah (41) def The Giggling One & Tim (40) and Jeremy & Mads (39)


1. aka Up the River, Down the River and lots of other names.
2. aka Liar's Dice
3. aka No Thanks!

 

Saturday, January 2, 2010

2009 In Review

2009 was another very enjoyable year of gaming. I only began my journey into the world of "proper" board gaming in 2008, and two years in, I'm still going strong. And I have no intention of slowing down. Ever.

So, what happened in this little gaming world of mine that finds an outlet in this even littler blog I call Up the vacuum thingy? Well how about we start with the quest I set myself for 2009.
Here's what I wrote on January 1st 2009:

Part I of my Quest for 2009 is to play at least 15 games a minimum of 3 times each. Additionally, to qualify a game must either be on the 2008 New Games list, or be a game I am yet to play. Games I first played prior to 2008 will not count.
That goal, I am pleased to say, was successfully met. I finished the year having played 19 games at least 3 times. All of these were games I had never played prior to 2008.
These are the 19 games in question (and the number of times I played them):

Agricola (5), An Evening With Bram Stoker's Dracula (3), Ca$h 'n Gun$ (5), Carcassonne (4), Citadels (3), Democrazy (4), Die Macher (3), Dominion (24), Dominion: Intrigue (4), Fluxx (4), Loopin' Louie (3), Magic: The Gathering (7), Martian Fluxx (13), Munchkin (7), Pandemic (7), Set (7), Stone Age (6), Werewolf (34), Zombie Fluxx (57)
A quick note: while Dominion: Intrigue is an expansion for Dominion, it can be played as a stand alone game. I played it as a stand alone game 4 times, and mixed with Dominion 15 times.

For the complete record of all games played (and by complete I mean including every player's score) you can read my 2009 Games Record. Given it lists all 233 plays for 2009, it is quite lengthy. :-)

And 233 plays is pretty good I reckon. Nowhere near as hardcore as some other bloggers I read, but it's definitely in the "serious gamer" category.
Speaking of being a serious gamer, I did have a second part to my quest in 2009 that I wasn't so successful at achieving. Again, let's go back twelve months and recap:

Part II of my Quest was spawned from something I've been piecing together over the last year. To fulfil the Quest, I need to create my own board game, with a fully working game completed by the end of the year. It doesn't matter if it isn't of professional quality, as long as it is fully playable.
No game creation appeared in 2009 I'm afraid. I ended up abandoning this goal fairly early on, especially as there was the minor matter of a wedding in November to help organise. So I've deferred this goal to become my quest for 2010. I'll blog about that shortly.

Finally, a recap of the year would not be complete without a count down list. Last year I counted down my top ten games for 2008. This year, however, I've decided to take a slightly different tack:

My Top Five Gaming Experiences for 2009

#5 - Magic: the Gathering

This was a rather surreal moment in my gaming life, and occurred on Sunday, December 13. It is best explained in the post I made on the following day, and which I will summarise here:

The Giggling One and I were lying in bed. I was browsing the net on my iPhone as I am wont to do. I remembered hearing about the Magic: The Gathering game on the Xbox 360, and reminiscing about the games of Magic I used to play online led me to check out a review of the game out of curiosity.

I then decided to head on over to Wikipedia to check out the latest expansions. I had a chuckle reading the amusing code names each of the sets of three were given (eg. Control, Alt, and Delete; Live, Long, and Prosper).

The Giggling One asked me what I was laughing at, so I showed her. Then, just like that she said "We should get it."

I was a little taken aback. This was a game she had never seen before, but she had heard me mention it here and there. I've played plenty of games of Magic online, but I've never actually played the real, physical-cards-in-your-hand version of the game.

So, on a whim we went out that afternoon and bought two intro packs for the 2010 Core Set, as well as eight booster packs, and placed these under the Christmas tree as our presents to ourselves.

Needless to say, if you noticed the list of games earlier in this post, we've since played a few games. We also went back in to our FLGS and bought the remaining three intro packs so we now have a nice selection of cards in all colours.

I have to say I was just a little worried about buying the game, what with it being the (perceived) domain of the geekiest of geeks, and coming with the inherent must-keep-buying-more-cards risk. I like to think we're mature enough and smart enough not to fall into the just-one-more-booster-pack trap. We've spent more than the cost of a regular board game on it already.

Still, it's been worth it. Now that The Giggling One has got her head around the basics and understands how the cards interact, we've had some fun games, with plenty more to come.


#4 - Achieving the Quest

Well, achieving the first part of the quest at least. I've blogged about this more than once, but after playing as many new games as I could in 2008 (28, or 31 including expansions), it was time to concentrate on enjoying multiple plays of games.

While most plays of each game were in the single digits, I did get four games into double digits. Yes they were all light games, but 57 games of Zombie Fluxx is not only an achievement in itself, but a testament to just how darn fun the game is.

And interestingly, while I wasn't concentrating on playing new games, I still racked up an impressive 28 new games anyway. Which equalled 2008!

I'll still be logging all my plays for 2010, but won't have a specific play target. It will be interesting to see how my tally goes when I'm not aiming for a particular total.


#3 - Werewolf

When The Giggling One and I were first introduced to Werewolf, I wasn't too keen. It didn't sound like something I would be interested in.

And then, of course, we played it and loved it. It became a staple of HoGS games nights in '09, and as long as we had enough people we generally wrapped up the evening with a few games of Werewolf.

The highlight of the year as far as Werewolf is concerned was undoubtedly introducing it to, and moderating a game for, a group of fourteen (well thirteen plus The Giggling One) non gamers, nearly all of whom I hadn't even met before.

We played with three Werewolves, three Masons, a Seer, and a Bishop. After getting to grips with the first game, everyone was eager to play a second game now that they knew what they were doing and understood the nuances of the game. It was a nice way to end the dinner party, and not just for me.

And that's the great thing about Werewolf: it doesn't matter who you introduce it to - nearly everyone loves it. It's simple, requires just a deck of cards to play, and can be enjoyed with any moderate to large sized group.

It was rather fitting that Werewolf was the game that saw out 2009 for us, with three fun games played (again with Werewolf newbies) leading up to midnight. In actual fact, the third game was postponed part way through to bring in the new year, before The Giggling One began 2010 in style by successfully killing off the remaining villagers without being lynched.


#2 - HoGS

My gaming life would not be what it is without the Hobart Games Society. The group has remained fairly modest throughout the year, with anything from six to sixteen gamers attending the regular games nights.

The Giggling One and I tried to get along to as many as nights as we could, and attended the vast majority of them. Even with two nights a month (the first Friday of the month, and the second Saturday following the first Friday - ie. two weeks and one day later) I'm still feeling like I'm not getting enough gaming. :-)

I'm hoping things may change in 2010. Thanks to Bernd's drive, HoGS is on its way from being a casual meet up to becoming an official organisation. We now have a constitution and everything.

At December HoGS we had our first proper meeting where we began to formalise proceedings. A committee was formed with Bernd as President (and Public Officer), Mark R as Vice President, Christine as Treasurer, and myself as Secretary. Ian T and Ian B also joined the committee as regular members.

I've had my doubts over whether this would ever get off the ground, and we still have much work to do to grow HoGS into something bigger and better. One thing's for sure: we've got a great group of dedicated gamers to lead the way, and that's a promising start.


#1 - My Wedding

This was my number one moment for 2009, gaming or otherwise. Full stop.

The Giggling One and I tied the knot on November 14, 2009 in a beautiful ceremony at Fitzroy Gardens followed by an awesome reception at Barilla Bay. It will certainly be a day I will never, ever, forget.

There are two ties to gaming that this has for me, which is why this qualifies as my number one gaming experience for 2009.

Firstly: fudge. For the bonbonnières at the wedding reception we decided to give our guests small boxes containing fudge. But not just any fudge. Apart from being made using our good friend Brian's secret fudge recipe (he would not divulge the actual quantities of the ingredients even to us (though we got a good look as we helped him make it)), we gave the fudge a gaming theme.

As well as the hearts that The Giggling One insisted we have, we also cut the fudge into dice and meeples. The latter was achieved by finding a person-shaped cookie cutter and working it into the shape of a meeple using pliers. The dice were simple cubes to which we added icing for the dots.



Finally, let me reflect on the second tie my wedding had to gaming. That one is simple, and can be summarised in three words: The Giggling One.

Finding someone to love and spend the rest of my life with is amazing. To have that person share my love of games? I really can't find a word to describe just how majorly, wonderfully cool that is.

My gaming future is bright.