We opened the evening with a 5-player game of Peloponnes while we waited for Andy. As usual it played well, with a slightly unusual draw meaning that all the disasters happened late in the game. On the one hand we had longer to prepare, but on the other the last couple of rounds were pretty bloody. Probably the only downside to the game is that I don't find I pay much attention to the tactics of the other players. I played a very lopsided game with lots of terrain tiles and only one building. My recollection is that James went for a more building heavy approach and Kieron produced luxury goods as though his life depended on it. In the end I was able to keep a population of 11 alive through to the end and won the game. Final scores: (Population/Prestige) David 33/35, James 27/28, Kieron 24/28, Adrian 18/29, Stu 12/29.
I've decided to buy my own copy of the game, including the new Goats expansion!
Andy arrived mid-game, but needed to leave early so we started a second 5-player game - Priests Of Ra. So far, I've come last in every game I played of this, and as the game began it looked like I'd be continuing this feat. The opening epoch passed very quickly as we pulled out enough Ra tiles to finish it before most of us had placed any decent bids. I tried and failed a final Ra gamble (again). Kieron tried and succeeded (again). James won through being the only one to achieve steady scoring in all three rounds.
I'm still not sure about this version. Our familiarity with the original means that this one doesn't flow so well. Lots of stopping to check what things score breaks our ability to react and play on instinct. Maybe if this was the only version it wouldn't be a problem, but the original Ra is a tough act to follow.
Final scores: James 53, Kieron 49, Stu 27, David 27, Adrian 26.
Thanks to Adrian for breaking my last place trend (by one point).
Showing posts with label Priests of Ra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Priests of Ra. Show all posts
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
Priests of Ra - 1 February
Kieron set out his stall early this week, stating that David breaking his run of last places since Christmas last week didn't happen since Kieron wasn't around to witness it. This has me worried - maybe we all just blink out of existence whenever Kieron isn't looking at us. Maybe we should re-evaluate the the whole blog, considering that most of us may well be works of fiction. Maybe I need a lie down.
Ahem. Back to the evening in question. With Andy expected to arrive mid-evening we chose to start with a new twist on an old favourite - Priests of Ra. Gameplay is largely the same with the difference being the types of tiles and sets being collected. In this version you collect types of people (who disappear at the end of each epoch), buildings (that stick around) and pyramid building blocks (to be scored at the end of the game). Balance is provided by the accumulation of plague tiles that cause penalties at the end of each epoch. The main twist is that the people and building tiles are two sided, the person taking the tile out of the bag can choose which colour to reveal. Priest tiles allow the occasional tile flip.
A lot of comments on Boardgamegeek suggest it an unnecessary change to the original. It's a bit more child-friendly as with the exception of plagues, all point scoring is positive, and the tile flipping adds an extra dimension. You have to be careful when collecting your winnings though as it's easy to flip a tile by mistake as you gather them up. There's also a strange gap in the theme - you collect types of people (say farmers) and buildings (like farms) but there's no advantage to matching them up. Maybe it's something that was removed in playtesting, but the use of colour and graphics makes you think there should be a relationship.
As for the game - well it was back to normal for David. After failing make nearly all the bids in the opening round, he then pulled a Ra to end the epoch with 2 chits unspent. Kieron tried the same brinkmanship approach in epoch 2 and pulled out 2 full tracks of tiles. The final score told it all:
Kieron 90, James 69, Orhan 56, and David 30.
Maybe Kieron was right after all...
Ahem. Back to the evening in question. With Andy expected to arrive mid-evening we chose to start with a new twist on an old favourite - Priests of Ra. Gameplay is largely the same with the difference being the types of tiles and sets being collected. In this version you collect types of people (who disappear at the end of each epoch), buildings (that stick around) and pyramid building blocks (to be scored at the end of the game). Balance is provided by the accumulation of plague tiles that cause penalties at the end of each epoch. The main twist is that the people and building tiles are two sided, the person taking the tile out of the bag can choose which colour to reveal. Priest tiles allow the occasional tile flip.
A lot of comments on Boardgamegeek suggest it an unnecessary change to the original. It's a bit more child-friendly as with the exception of plagues, all point scoring is positive, and the tile flipping adds an extra dimension. You have to be careful when collecting your winnings though as it's easy to flip a tile by mistake as you gather them up. There's also a strange gap in the theme - you collect types of people (say farmers) and buildings (like farms) but there's no advantage to matching them up. Maybe it's something that was removed in playtesting, but the use of colour and graphics makes you think there should be a relationship.
As for the game - well it was back to normal for David. After failing make nearly all the bids in the opening round, he then pulled a Ra to end the epoch with 2 chits unspent. Kieron tried the same brinkmanship approach in epoch 2 and pulled out 2 full tracks of tiles. The final score told it all:
Kieron 90, James 69, Orhan 56, and David 30.
Maybe Kieron was right after all...
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