We had game night at Puerto Davo, who held his annual outdoor pizza party with an added nautical theme mostly provided by rum drinks. Excellent.
Pete and I joined Dave (you poor bastards who couldn't make it will have to wait another year) for a long happy hour and two games--one Seafarers of Catan and one regular Catan, with the harbor master variant.
We dined on pizza cooked in the wood-fired oven and a plethora of salty snacks, Dave's bartending, and assorted beers, including the usual house swill, Labatt Blue Light, and assorted non-alcoholic beverages.
I have to admit that the brick oven seemed rather small. As its lore has spread, in my mind it was much grander, a near-Wonder of the world:
But the pizza was great! Thanks, Dave!
The Seafarers scenario required 12 points for victory; the regular Catan game required 11 points. And remember, Seafarers counter-intuitively does not have harbor master.
GAME ONE
The order of placement and movement was Dave (blue), myself (red), and Pete (green) in the double-placement position.
The resources and numbers are set in the scenario, including the unseen resources in the empty zone, which included two sea hexes. I didn't like the brick and rock shortage. Sheep was good, but more in demand for the ships. Wheat really sucked. Note that when you discover a land hex, you get a free resource card for what is produced there.
The opening positions:
TONY rankings:
What happened?
- I was happy with my resources but worried about brick.
- Dave was the only one to start with a ship, giving him a head start on exploring.
- Pete was left alone on "his" island. Uh oh.
- Dave grabbed longest road; which Pete later took and which Dave tried to retake.
- I only discovered one land hex as Dave and Pete sprinted ahead of me on the flanks.
- A road building card let me grab a nice 9-10 build site.
- I took the largest army.
- Pete played a monopoly card which allowed him to reach 12 and claim the win. Congratulations!
The final map:
I followed with 11 points, including largest army. Dave had 7.
"Probability":
Eleven was as disappointing as I feared it would be. But otherwise I can't complain.
GAME TWO
The order of placement and movement was Dave (blue), myself (red), and Pete (green) in the always coveted DP position.
I was disappointed in rock. The rest seemed fine.
The opening positions:
TONY rankings:
What happened?
- Dave took and held the longest road this game, stretching across the map.
- Pete emphasized city building rather than road building by settling on the 8 rock despite being coastal, and was able to build three cities compared to the two that Dave and I each built.
- I was satisfied with my expansion, claimed harbor master first, and added a port point when I noticed Pete creeping up on it. Thank goodness he had a city on a plain coastal hex!
- Pete looked threatening but not an imminent threat--until he added a point on the board and flipped his two victory point cards to reach 11. Ouch. Congratulations Pete!
The final map:
I followed with 10 points, including harbor master (that's what the blank sea hex represents). Dave had 9, including the longest road. Close game!
"Probability":
Nothing was really too out of line here. At least in both games the robber was not the dominant number. But it was certainly active enough!
Miscellaneous
The Grim Reaper of Catan Award for rolling the most 7s and unleashing thievery on the peace-loving people of Catan goes to ...
Nobody!
Dave and I tied for first place, so last month's winner--Tony--continues to hold the honor.
And a meme!
Thanks to Dave for his always formidable hospitality outdoors in great weather. I look forward to next year's festivities!
As always, please feel free to comment below to share your game insights or outside observations.
Next month will be back at Casa Beej.
