Paranoia Night (Christmas Style)

Dear friends,

(This is an unofficial Board Games club event but I'm using the, as many of you are local gamers who might be interested)

WHAT: Paranoia RPG night
WHERE: Cullen's house*
WHEN: Sat. Dec 12th, 7 PM (after dinner)
WHY: Serve the Computer citizen.
WHO: 4-5 players who express interest. (E-mail me)


Some of you have played Paranoia with me in the past, and I found an old Christmas themed adventure that I had once worked on a few years back. I thought it might be cool to get together and do a 1 night mission. The date I am looking at would be Sat. evening, 7 PM on Dec 12th.



GETTING YOU THE MATERIALS (via e-mail)
I have recently scanned in the Players handbook into a PDF format. I would be happy to e-mail it to anyone who expresses interest in playing with us. We can even meet online for an hour if anybody has any questions or problems rolling up a character, although I think it is simple enough to follow the rule book that nobody should get lost.


WHAT IS PARANOIA?
For those of you who have never heard of this game, it is a RPG (Role playing game) in which different people make up characters and play them much like actors, using dice to determine random events or checks. Paranoia takes place in a post apocolyptic underground world, run by a massive super comptuer (who happens to be paranoid). PC's get 6 clones and as they die (and they will) different clones arrive on the scene to ensure the mission gets done.


WHAT YOU MIGHT NEED:
Pen/Pencil
Dice (we have extras)
Lap top. (Chat room purposes, Viewable maps, blog access, etc)
Prozac for your nerves & Tums for your stomach. :-)


WARNING:
The fun/horrific part of Paranoia, is that while the team must work together to complete the mission, they tend to work secretly to eliminate one another, but can never do this publically. This makes Paranoia a different sort of role playing, one which can make 'team-work' PC's upset or angry. So before playing, it is important to remember that this game is cut-throat and not personal, since you will be betraying your own teammates at the most inopportune time.


MISSION OBJECTIVE:
The Computer has requested the presence of 4-5 Trouble shooters for a one night Christmas themed mission. PC's clones (known as Team Scrooge) will report to XMAS sector and stop the holiday of Christmas (High Treason) from occurring. I would tell you more, but it would be treason for your PC's to know any of the cute details. It should be a fun filled night.


* (foot note) I'm happy to host, but if we get more southern players, if somebody closer or more centrally located wishes to host instead, I am flexible. I will go where there are players.

Recap from October/November's Session

Our recent Fall meeting was another successful gathering. Francois & Kim were gracious enough to invite us all into their (Halloween decor motif) new home for a wonderful evening.

In attendance: 8 members

Frank & Kim (hosts)
Colin & Erin (+Ellie)
Ed & Tammy
Cullen
Jack

-------

Recap of Games Played:

Munchkin: After a short tutorial, Colin worked his mojo and got everyone to team up on Frank, whereas we burned our best cards then had nothing to stop him from winning on the following round when he fought a Level 2 piss-ant.

Last Night on Earth: On the scenario, 'Out of Gas', Sherrif Anderson could do nothing wrong. Found both the keys and the gas for the vehicle by turn 5, wasting zombies with his .45 Desert Eagle left and right, while Frank's heroes did little but floundered and fumbled in misery. With little trouble the Sherif arrived at the truck and threw Nurse Becky (Frank) the keys.
Nurse Becky become infected and turned into a zombie hero the very next turn. Zombies Priestesses don't drive trucks very well nor do they hand back the keys, Billy showed up late only to die in the back of the bed of the truck, and Sherif Anderson's perfect game is ruined by having 4 Heroes die in the truck zone which gave Kim & Tammy (The Zombie Queens) and instant win. Talk about a change in game momentum, this game turns on a dime!!!

Ca$h & Gun$: Kim won a few times, and Frank was the cop AGAIN twice in a row! This means that if you include last time we played, Frank has been the Fuzz 5 out of 5 times!!! Finally Tammy was the cop, but we snuffed her out pretty quick.
Axis & Allies (Guadal Canal): Jack is Nippon, while Ed is the USA. Both sides outflank the other, and end up driving to the opposite ends of the boards, shelling each other's main islands (& airstrips) Jack manages to stay 1 victory point ahead of Ed, but both players swear it could have gone either way going into the last fleet crash.

Robot Rally: What a fun game this was! With 5 players, the robots were bumping and lasering each other like crazy. Converybelt nightmares and seizures trying to figure out which way to program your robot were really whacky and entertaining the entire time. I can't believe that game sat in my cottage all summer long without me having enjoyed it prior to last night. Boy was I missing out. Thanks to Colin for bringing it along.

Dominion: This game got started towards the end of the night. I'm not sure it finished or who won, as it was after 1 AM by that point.

------------
All told, we started gaming about 6 PM and didn't end until 1 AM. Frank and Kim made sausage & meatball sandwiches & of course Frank's cookies were to die for. The man missed his calling as a pastry chef. :-)

Next session will be held north of Pgh as we try and switch the location up. I believe Steve has offered his place to host? The concensus was to pick a weekend in late November, as December is holiday time & people's schedules are tricky. Perhaps later this month, or maybe shortly after Thanksgiving?

One idea mentioned was Sunday afternoon on the 29th? The Steelers play a 8 PM night game so there wouldn't be a conflict. We will leave Steve & Tracy to pick a date that works best for them?

Great times,
Cullen

Last Night on Earth Party @ the Foran's Homestead

We had a great turn out at Foran's place and played a really fun Zombie killer game called Last Night on Earth. Basically the town is overrun by the undead, and the Heroes usually have some sort of mission to complete before the Sun comes up. I've played half a dozen games, and it always seems to come down to the wire as to who might win. I like games that keep the player in suspense, and this one does deliver. Thanks to Rich for cooking up some burgers and supplying the food for the evening. It was a great time!




We also got a chance to play a Magic-like card game, brought over by Poppinfresh, called Dominion. It won all sorts of awards and seems to be pretty high up on the top 100 board games list found here. We played a short fast game, (Francois and Jeffro too) and the game was quite fun and we'd like to revisit it again at the next meeting.




We could use an October host? Maybe a LNOE haloween party? That might be really fun? We are looking for someone to maybe host?

Irish

Successful May Meeting!!

Thanks to all who attended our (south) Board Game Club get together Here is a brief recap of how things went last night.

In attendance were:
Colin & Erin (gracious hosts with Baby Elley)
Jody
Steve & Tracy
Filoni & Kate
Meer
Cullen
Mike Fair (new member)
Francois & Kim
Ed Yauger


Games Played:
Racing game (flick tokens) -good starter game-
Axis & Allies Guadal Canal (Japan won via Admiral Filloni)
Ca$h & Gun$ (Frank was the cop!!!! 3 times in a row!)
Ticket to Ride. (Hit of the night, Colin found a winner)


Next meeting will be in July. Hoping to find a place to the north again. Maybe we can keep alternating the location between north and south so that each group only need drive long trips 2-3 times per year? Just a thought. Any northern volunteers?

Until then,
Irish.

PS Thanks to Colin & Erin for purchasing the Pizza. They wouldn't take any money, which was nice of them to spring.

Good projected turn out...

So far I think we have the following people coming for Saturday's session:

Colin & Erin (Hosts)
Steve & Tracy
Rich & Tay Tay
Francois & Kim
Cullen
Mike Fair
Jack
2-3 friends of Colin's from the S. Hills?

Am I forgetting anyone?

Ed?
Jody?
Conor?

May 16th Meeting (at Colin & Erin's house)

We are on for our next meeting on Sat. May 16th, at Colin & Erin's place in Dormont. Directions will be forth coming. They have requested we move our start time up to 5 PM, so we can order pizza for dinner or something. If you are planning to attend, please let me know and I'll compile a list as the date gets closer.

Colin and Erin live in Dormont for those of you who may not know. Some of us will carpool who may have a 1 hr commute or longer. Again, please let me know if you would like to ride together with anyone.

Ok, I guess that's it.
Cullen

Update for May's Meeting

Colin and Erin have offered to host the next meeting in the month of May. They are going to get back to me and let me know what weekend works best for them. I hope to hear back from them in a few days.

Cullen

Our First Meeting

We had 11 people show up for our first Board Games Club meeting. All sorts of games were played, and I think everyone had fun. Colin brought the game RISK, (variant) which had different objectives which was cool. We also played a couple of games of Ca$h & Gun$, chess, and Axis and Allies too.

Steve and Jack played two rounds of Guadal canal, but Jack was able to win both times as different sides. There was also a group of us that played 2 games of the card game Munchkin. Sam won the 1st game, and the 2nd game was sort of a tie.

Our next meeting will take place in the month of May. but we really need somebody to offer to host the next session. If no host can be found, I have some other ideas as to where we might meet, but I want to offer the next session to whomever. Please e-mail me or post if you are interested in hosting. The Host gets to pick the weekend in May that best suits them.

Thanks again to everyone who attended. Also thanks to those who brought chips & various drinks. I had a lot of fun.

An oldie, but a goodie. Diplomacy

Another game I thought we might feature is Diplomacy. This game is one that can really test a friendship, as the back room deals you make might either cause you to win or lose it all. At first glance, the game seems unremarkable. A simple map of Europe, small army and navy markers for each empire, and at first glance sort of resembles Castle Risk. It can support up to 7 players total.

However, the biggest difference between this game and other strategy type games is this. NO DICE. There is no luck to this game, only guile. You must smooth talk, bluff, con, lie, or promise your way through turns.

Each turn comprises of two phases. A talk phase & a move phase. The moves are written down on paper after the discussion phase. So you can talk to folks, assuring them of one thing, but you may write down another. Thus, alliances form and break according to David Hume's 'balance of power Trieste' Usually forcing foes and friends to betray, or join and work towards stopping a common friend or enemy. The objective is to capture the most cities, while trying to keep the other wolves at the table from doing the same. Be prepared to pull the daggers out of your back.

A copy of a 5 minute guide PDF on the basics of the game can be found here. Or if you would rather get a bit more involved there is a full blown copy of the PDF rules. Invented in the 1950's, the Kennedys used to play this game in the White House. It's been around for a long time, but I wouldn't mind giving it a spin again.

Axis & Allies - Guadal Canal

One cool feature to having this blog, is it will allow us to post various types of games, rules, and ideas of things we might like to play. One game that has been one that Steve, Jack & I have been playing as of late is Axis & Allies - Guadal Canal.

While it is only a 2 player type game, I thought I'd make mention of it in case we have extra players on Saturday who might like to play it. Games seem to take about 2-3 hrs to complete, and don't last beyond 5 turns due to victory conditions.

The objective is to capture islands in the Solomons and build air-fields for victory points, which your planes can then land on. It does involve using a "battle box" (seen in picture) to roll dice which is kind of weird. It is fairly easy to learn how to play, and once you play 1 turn (which lasts about 20 minutes) you simply repeat the same steps. What's cool about the game is you have so many strategy options on how to open up your game. I'm sold that this is one of the best Axis and Allies titles to come down the pike.

Anyway, if you think you might be interested, Here is a link to Avalon Hill's Guadal Canal Axis & Allies page. There, you can find game information, and even a copy of the rules, should anyone wish to pre-read (PDF) them and play.

A copy of the game board in case you wish to refer to it.
(click to enlarge)


On a personal note; My Uncle Bill, whom some of you may have met in the past was on Guadal Canal, and wounded in New Georgia. That was one reason I was drawn to this game, as it's kind of neat for me to have known somebody who was actually there. Anyway, I'll have this game there Saturday night in case anybody wishes to play.

March 7th Update

Dear friends,

Here is an e-mail update for next week's board gaming club meeting. We currently have 8-9 members:

Jack Damico
Mike Fair
Rich Foran
Colin Symons (& Erin)
Rob Meer
Steve Leslie
Cullen Farrell
Jody Farr

While I understand not everyone can make it next week, I thought I would send out an e-mail to let everyone know who responded.
Our first club meeting will occur next Saturday, March 7th at my house in Worthington, at 7 PM. Those who have a long drive are free to crash on my couch if they so wish. I hope we get a few solid hours of gaming in.

I will have card tables and extra seats available should we need them. I will supply the soft drinks along with Chips & dip. BYOB or snacks as you see fit. Also bring whatever board/strategy type games you wish to play. I expect we will have about 5-7 people here for the evening, although a few may arrive a bit late. For those who can't make it hopefully we'll catch you at our May meeting. (Host for May TBA - Any takers?)

I have the following games at my disposal:

~ Panzer Blitz/Leader
~ Diplomacy
~ Ca$h & Gun$
~ Gettysburg
~ Munchkin (card game)
~ Axis & Allies (D-Day, Guadal Canal, Pacific)

Hope to see you then,
Cullen

Good News

I'd say we got a favorable response to the group:

The following folks have indicated that they would like to attend March 7th:

Griffin
Meersky
Jammer (I think, as he's now a blog follower)
Doc Bluey
Captain Jack
Eddicus Rex
Irish.

I'm still hoping to hear back from 2-3 people, but as for now we seem to have a quorum.
I'll shoot out an e-mail in the coming weeks with more details.

Good Start,
Irish.

Welcome to the blog: Membership Prospectus

REASONING:
In this day and age of video gaming, I’ve come to realize that many of my strategy/board games tend to sit on the shelf and collect dust. One thing those games provided was an occasion to get together with friends, drink some beer, and have some laughs (in person) which video games just simply don’t provide. Oh, and I’m always up for a good strategy based match.

In an effort to achieve the above, I came up with the idea of having a Strategy board game club. Below are some of my suggestions or ideas. Feel free to offer some ideas and suggestions of your own.


MEETINGS:
Meetings occur on average of every other month. As the average board game can vary in time it takes to complete, our meetings should probably start between 7-8 PM unless stated otherwise by the host. Depending on different gamer’s stamina interests or appetite for gaming, game sessions can last into the AM, so whoever hosts should be fully prepared to offer their place until the game session is done. Game sessions can be held on either Fridays or Saturdays of the Host’s choice.

If our number get high enough to justify meeting more frequently, then that is something that should be decided or discussed by the group members at a later date.

THE HOST:
Each member of the club should attempt host 1 event per year. As meetings would occur once every other month or so, this would give other members advanced notice (7-8 weeks) as to when the next meeting might occur. Attendance to these sessions is not an issue. Make what nights you can, when you can, but do not feel obligated to make every meeting as things come up.

March 09: Cullen
May: 09:
July 09:
Sept 09:
Nov 09:
Jan:10


OFF SITE HOSTING:
There are gaming shops that have tables for walk-in gamers. Ex. Rt 19 in the North Hills welcomes gamers to come and play in their back rooms. Oakmont’s gamer store does the same, and has an entire level of tables for walk-in gamers. Sometimes such venues may be needed in case a host were to cancel, or some such reason.

HOST’s JOB:
In order to host, there are a few things that must be agreed upon.

1) The host must have enough ‘table space’ for multiple games to run per session. Card tables and extra chairs may be a good idea, depending on that night’s attendance.

2) The host is responsible for soft drinks, chips, ordering pizza or grub, which the gamers should help pitch in for the costs. The host is NOT responsible for beer. This is a BYOB type event.

3) The host is responsible for coordinating their event. Contacting members ahead of time, checking to see what games wish to be played that particular evening, giving directions to the game location, sending out e-mails during the week, etc. Basically plays the role of the ‘event coordinator’.


GAMERS:
If you don’t host during a particular month, then you are a gamer. You supply the games, although the host can supply these too, if he wishes. Gamers bring the beer they wish to drink. Gamers can bring snacks if they wish, but might want to check with the host first.

GAMES PLAYED:
Strategy type gaming would be this group’s primary focus. That is not to say that the group might not play what is called ‘beer & pretzels’ type games such as Munchkin, Ca$h & Gun$, Magic, etc. However the primary focus should be tactical/strategic in nature.

Examples might include, but are not limited to: Axis & Allies (Various), RISK (Various), Panzer Blitz, Diplomacy, Twilight Imperium, Chess, Go, Runebound, Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, Warhammer miniatures, Battle Tech, etc. Members of the club are responsible for bringing the games they wish to see or play at these gatherings. It is NOT the host’s obligation to supply the games.


BRING A FRIEND:
If you have a friend who likes these types of strategy/board games, please feel free to invite or bring them along. There is no commitment other than time & driving to belong to this organization.


CLUB BLOG:
This will be useful for posting articles, game rules, or feedback over the course of the year. Online polls can be used too, which might help provide direction for what sorts of board games folks would like to play. I will set this up, and it will be viewable by everyone. You may need to create a Google account in order to post messages or comments on this blog if you don’t have one already.


MEMBERSHIP & EVALUATION:
A year from now the club members should reflect/discuss if this club has merit. If the group agrees the club is a worthwhile investment of time and fun, then at that time it should be extended. If not then it dies. Thus, by belonging to this club, you are only meeting 6 different times and places over a one year span. If the club does continue and a member does not wish to remain, he or she may of course quit at any time, although we’ll be sad.