It can be a bit of setup for a solo game, but I really enjoy it as such. I’ve definitely played more solo than with others (mainly because it didn’t quite catch my group). I have yet to win solo because I always roll the number of the card I need for Rugwort. I’d really like to get it to the table more often with others. It’s so satisfying when someone builds a spot with resources and you swoop in to place a worker on their tableau to steal them berries. Of course, someone else is always going to steal your berries. It’s always about the berries.
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That is a berry interesting factoid. I will keep it in mind. 
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Introducing my 5 year old to proper board games with ‘Ticket to Ride: First Journey’ which arrived today. Although the little git won so we’re never playing it again, obviously.
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After that we had a fun game of ‘Welcome To…’ which also arrived today. My town won so, er, Welcome To Wankle. I think that’s a Frank Capra film…
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Home of the Wankle Rotary Club (which is both a Rotary Club and a Mazda Owners’ Club)
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I much prefer the “Garfield variant” in which you only start with 2 energy, and each player has a private shop. I’m also inclined to fiddle with damage, perhaps making it so you cannot discard damage. Oh, and the different start positions instead of starting on the same spot seems really unbalanced.
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That gives me an idea, I was a bit tired of New Scunthorpe and New Scrapton…
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I haven’t tried the private shop yet (and it will probably be a long time until I get a chance to), but I’ve introduced the variant that you don’t discard the leftover cards in your hand, so yeah your damage definitely might build up.
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My variant is slightly different - only damage cards are not discarded. I’m not sure I like the variant in the rulebook that seems to make it too easy to save cards for the right moment.
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Just did a minute of silence for the old Las Played Game Volume 1…
And in all fairness, being 13.00 here in NZ, I guess I can extend it to the old forum…
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I ended up playing two-handed just for a little added coherence. I didn’t figure I’d be doing much in the way of savvy board/market manipulation anyway, so it was the 2x dummy players vs. the dummy playing two players.
I still have my game set up, but I’m checking in here because I’ve technically finished the game based on the strong suggestion that your first few attempts go to 8 rounds, rather than 12. I’ll start by saying I can understand why, but can’t agree with it. After 8 rounds both players have just barely had an opportunity to get going, and worse, they’re right on the verge of seeing the fruits of their labour! A final score now would be about 15-12 and almost none of that is from cash, which feels odd. I think a better suggestion would be to play a full round or two, then reset for a proper 12-round game. Sometimes you just need to grind out that 4-hour first play, and I think this is a textbook example.
It’s not that it’s an overly complex ruleset, either. Playing the game is actually a breeze apart from the reference cards, which feel lacking. But the game is very open and there is an awful lot to think about each turn, particularly when you have the leader role. Players and systems are all highly interconnected, timing plays a significant role, exploration and investment come with real risks… there’s just a ton going on with a reasonably lean ruleset.
I’m not sure what I think of it so far. I certainly won’t be able to form a proper opinion without getting a real 4 player game in, there’s just too much competition baked in (a very, very good thing), but something about the stock market feels a little contrived and it’s bugging me. Hopefully I’ll get over that. What I can say for sure is that it offers up something pretty unique in my collection. The closest comparison I can make is that it’s a little Catan with Akrotiri. Not a bad thing at all, that’s a combo I think I can warm up to easily.
Will see how much changes over the next 4 rounds!
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I still haven’t played crown of emara yet.
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Thank cardboard it’s not just me! 
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I have only played Twilight Struggle against the computer in Steam and I am incredibly terrified of the emotional toll that will come from the inevitable trouncing of actually playing another human.
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I didn’t lose to a turn 1 Europe control.
Turn 3 destroyed me.
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I’m on the app, same username.
I’m not good
It was a beautiful day today, sunny and 26(!) with a nice breeze, so we took to our balcony. We played a game of Maya over a cocktail. I won 133-124 but it was only thanks to rushing for the game end. We both denied one another a city, and she was getting close to claiming one uncontested, so I hurried through my tiles and scooped up some juicy vegetable patch points to pull into the lead. I dumped enough tiles to end the game before she got a chance to score (and win).
Always a nice time with this little gem.
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Yesterday was virtual games night again - this time on yucata.de (my group have got really into the ranking system on Yucata, because it uses roles instead of a numerical score).
I played my very first Stephan Feld game - Carpe Diem. I found it to be quite nice a relaxing tile-laying game, which was perfect for a Friday evening. All three players went for different strategies, but in the end the massive, sprawling villa won the day.
After that we went for a quick game of Machi Koro followed by Can’t Stop. Much easier on the brain than last week’s five-player Tzolk’in marathon!
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Time to revisit another classic: Avalon Hill’s Statis Pro Football 1985 edition and a match today between arch rivals the Los Angeles Raiders (boo!) visiting the Denver Broncos (hooray!). Haven’t played this for around 20 years but good time to test the action cards for one of my own projects.
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