Thursdays here in town are open Table Top Game Night at the local game shop. I’ve been the store a few times to browse the latest offerings, but the last time I went, just before the end of the year, I saw a sign for TT Game Night and asked about it.
Because, you see, I love table top games, but they just arn’t Mr. V’s thing, which means even though I have a small collection to play, I have no one to play them with!
Currently my collection includes: Mantis (by the Oatmeal), Munchkin, Photosynthesis, Ouch!, Arboretum, Here to Slay, and Unstable Unicorns. There are a few others, but that gives you a good feel for the group. And if Mr V was into this type of gaming, I’d have a much larger stack of boxes, let me tell you.
So when I saw that sign I realized there are a batch of people who enjoy these games like I do and here was the perfect excuse to go meet them all! Meeting new people is terrifying without my emotional support husband, but I DID IT.
I played two new-to-me games. The Princess Bride (a Battle of Wits), and 7 Wonders.
The first game is card-based and is all about that moment in the movie where Westly (the swordsman in black) faces off against Vizzini (the Cicealian who finds things Inconceivable!) The players are presented with a row of cups and a hand of cards representing wine or poison. You place wine or poison in the cups secretly, and bid for the cup of your choice hoping you’ll win the right cup that’s not full of poison! Or perhaps you’ve spent the last several years building up a tolerance to iocane poison because the trump card that makes you immune to your own poison is in your hand. Playtime was about 15 minutes, and a chunk of that was rules. I can see this going quickly with a group who’s familiar with it.
I, sadly, drank a cup of poison.
7 Wonders is a card game of supply and demand. You are provided with a world-wonder to build and you have 3 ages of your civilization to build it. There are 5 or 6 points-winning categories in this game, which means there are a lot of ways to win and building your wonder isn’t strictly necessary. There are also trade and war mechanics that are based on what your neighbors around the table have done with their civilizations, which makes for a lot of moving pieces to track.
With seven players (and the rules) this took about 45 minutes to play all the way through, but the sequence you’re playing repeats, so the first couple of rounds are slower than the last as you figure out the cards. This game comes with an alternate, harder difficulty for groups familiar with the play.
I built my wonder, traded with my neighbors, won ALL my military battles, and still only placed in the middle of the pack when the points were tallied at the end. Next time I’ll go for the science win!
Game night was, in short, a success. I met quite a few people and I’m definitely going back next Thursday to play again. I’m going to bring Mantis with me, since no one seemed familiar with that game, it plays fast, and you can include a lot of people.
I’m excited to explore more games and hopefully make a few local friends.
Do you play table top games? Which ones are your favorite? I have access to an entire store of games and I want to play the best ones!