After a couple of weeks with just the three of us, numbers were back up again this week. Bekki and Colin were both there, and Marleena turned up later.
I though we might get to start with El Grande which I was looking forward to (Tony had bought it the last couple of weeks, and apparently it’s best with 5), but he didn’t have it with him.
Tony suggests Hare and Tortoise which I’m not hugely keen on (and his rules translation is very dodgy) or Princes of Florence, which I love but I know Bekki will hate – far too calculational and too much downtime.
So I suggest Puerto Rico, and then start unpacking it to seal the deal. We replace Large Market, Large Warehouse and University with Trading Post,
We are seated as follows: Colin, Bekki, Fee, Tony, Simon.
The game begins relatively normally, Colin picking Settler (I get Sugar) and then Bekki builds (I take a small sugar mill). Nobody takes a Small Market straight off – in fact nobody takes one at all for a long time, which was part of a trend that continued throughout the game.
There was less building during this game than I’ve ever seen in a five player. Normally towards the end of the game there is very little worthwile to buy any more. I think this time there was still a Harbour AND a Wharf left at the end of the game (or they were bought just before the end), as well as one of the 10 cost buildings.
Part of the reason for this seems to be that nobody is very keen to take Quarries or produce trade goods. I’m the only player to make any coffee all game!
As well as the obvious trading benefit this gives me, I also sacrifice one trading opportunity to ship my only coffee onto the largest boat. This completely blocks that boat for the rest of the game (I’m only making one coffee per craft and it ends the game with four coffee onboard), denying the others many shipping points. (We actually still end by running out of shipping points, but reducing the rate let me build much more than would have been possible otherwise).
I get a decent factory going (everything except Indigo, though its often less due to shortage of goods), and am able to buy and man both Guild Hall and City Hall before the game ends (we run out of shipping points).
I finish a couple of points ahead of Tony who had no large buildings, but plenty of corn combined with Harbor and Wharf gave him lots of shipping points.
Fee also has quite a few shipping points, but she had one of those games where she was just short of enough money to buy a large building (9 doubloons on the penultimate turn, that always annoys) and finishes third.
Bekki managed to buy a large building but had trouble shipping her sugar and indigo and finished fourth.
Colin had an okay position I though at one point, but finished last. I think he made the mistake of getting quarries but not having any coffee or tobacco to sell, so he didn’t get to actually use his quarries very much.
Marleena arrived during the game of PR (and made some very nice cups of tea for everyone), so afterwards we had about an hour and a half for a six player game. That’s too short for Elfenland, and I didn’t bring Alhambra for once. Still didn’t want to play Hare & Tortoise, but I had Citadels with me. It’s like Ohne Furcht und Adel but you can read the cards! (which vastly improves the experience, Bekki seemed to agree).
We didn’t try any of the alternative characters or buildings. I think I’ll have to make some character summary cards before we use the characters (it’s the one useful component the English version is missing).
Marleena had a strong start, getting some good income from being the Merchant and the King. She was the King for like three rounds in a row, and as I was sitting to her right that means I get to pick from just two characters each time, which isn’t great. But I got Warlord three times in a row, and had a red Building, so it wasn’t too bad.
Then Marleena got assassinated and soon after Fee had a strong turn where she built three one cost buildings with the Architect, and was then able to be the Bishop (who can’t be targeted by the Warlord) next turn, and got to eight buildings the turn after, again making her immune to the Warlord. She finished first.
Marleena was second and I think I finished third. I only built five buildings, but they were one of each colour for the three point bonus, and included the 8 point Dragons Gate.
I’m not sure what order Colin, Tony and Bekki finished in. I think they had problems with getting robbed and stabbed.
Pub Quiz next week. We are the reigning champions (more 30 point bonus rounds on stuff I know probably required for us to win again).
