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.