Gathering Day 4

As expected the first half of this day was spent out in the glorious weather (70 to 80 degrees) at the Columbus Zoo. It was great for this Vermonter to get out and soak in the rays while seeing all the wild animals, although I did get a bit too much sun. It was 4:15 by the time I reached the game room.

Marty was between games so we agreed to play something and I suggested Through the Ages. He eagerly agreed, and we recruited Eric to join us. Our game proved that this doesn't need to be a protracted affair as we finished set up a bit after 4:30 and completed the game just before 7:00, for a bit under 2-1/2 hours of play time. The stars were in alignment for me and I had by far my best score ever. Definitely a keeper, and having demonstrated that it can be played quickly I'm even more eager to keep getting it to the table.


Next I stuck around and played the prototype Valerie is developing again. This time it was Valerie, Marty and Dale at the table. Afterwards we had a good discussion, including other published designers sitting in to offer their advice and lessons learned stories. This is the sort of input that makes the Gathering such an useful resource for all these developers and publishers.

After that lengthy review Becky and I ran into Mark and we went off searching for Stone Age, but instead found the one copy of Toledo present was unused and I knew Dale was looking to play. I went back and grabbed Dale and we were off playing this game. Becky and I were definitely advantaged by playing our second time, although Mark looked for a moment like he would be able to win (he ended the game), I was able to make a sword and deliver it in my last turn to snatch away the victory. It is a solid game, but I am concerned that players have too much control over game end, plus limited options to catch up in points, which could lead to a king-maker situation if a 3rd party ends the game.


Becky went off to bed and Mark and I had an expedition to find other players and then a game to play. We eventually sat down with Dave and Tory, but Dave had to run off after the first turn and Gary sat in on his position. The game we played was Stone Age, and the play reinforced my opinion of the game as a solid medium weight family game. I'd take it off a prize table and gladly play it, but not sure I like it enough to buy it.


As I was wandering around deciding whether to play another game or head to bed I was offered with a chance to play one more prototype by Greg, Stefan and Matt. The prototype demonstrated that there are still new directions to take civilization style games and was quite fun to play. It is a recent design and it will be interesting to see if it finds publication in its current form, and how quickly.

That is it for my part day of gaming, tomorrow it is back to the full grind!