Session Report: February 3, 2003
Games Played: Call My Bluff, The Great Brain Robbery, Capitol

Thanks to Chris for hosting.

CALL MY BLUFF (0:20)
Players (listed in order of elimination)
Mark
Ralph
Vitas
Don
Chris
Chip (won)

This is a fun quick dice game. Don, who had not played before, was usually left
with the most difficult decisions. I enjoyed this game and would play it again.

THE GREAT BRAIN ROBBERY (0:40)
Lewis: 10
Vitas: 0
Ralph: 0
Mark: 0
Don: 0
Chip: 0

After about 10 minutes of setting up the game and explaining the rules, we set
off in search of brains. Early in the game, we all had expensive brains that we
couldn't use, so we ended up discarding them to move faster. There were a few
fistfights in the engine room, but Lewis managed to hang on to his brain long
enough to stop the train and end the game.
I liked this game with its zombie theme. Despite not being the quick 20-minute
game that we originally anticipated, it was light, relatively fast, and fun.

CAPITOL (1:15)
Ralph: 4 12 22 39
Marcus: 1 9 20 36
Chip 3 15 27 39
Chris 5 12 22 27

We spent about 15 minutes setting up and explaining the rules. I was surprised
at the amount of information that was transparent to everyone: Each player,
hypothetically, could know every card that was in each player's hand. I was
afraid that my poor memory would put me at a disadvantage, but it seems to me
that no one attempted to memorize everyone's hands.
I did, however, try to take note of which players took permit cards in which
areas, so I would have a better idea of what I needed to defend. Between that
knowledge and watching which rooftops other players used to cap off their
buildings, I felt like I had a decent idea of where the next threat was coming
from. The next time I play this game, I'll have a better idea of what to pay
attention to.
There was also some confusion about how the bidding system worked. Each player
decided ahead of time which cards would make up his bid, and placed a marker
card to separate the bid from the rest of his hand. Then all players
simultaniously revealed one card at a time. It seemed to us that when only one
player remained in with the highest bid, that player would win, and would only
have to pay the cards revealed.
However, the rule stated that the winning player had to pay his entire bid,
regardless of when the other players dropped out. This doesn't seem very
intuitive to me: if I decide that I'm willing to pay 20 dollars for something,
and the highest competing bid is 9 dollars, I should only have to pay 10
dollars.
Anyways, this was a very fun game, and I'd definately play it again. Between
this and Elfenland, I'm going to start seeking other Alan Moon games to try.
Ralph suggested Union Pacific, which I hope to try next week.

.chip