Catching the iron horse from Timbuktu to Baghdad

As Cici and the girls were going to be gone all night at a friends house, I decided to try and find a few pals to game with. Two of the most enjoyable local gamers answered the call, Jeff and Jordan, and after some pizza and pleasantries, we sat down to some games.

Jeff claimed that Tombouctou was the last unplayed game in his collection, and really wanted to play it, so, after a brief rules explanation, we sat out on our caravans, attempting to outsmart the wily thieves that broke in at night and stole our wares. It is a very basic game, mainly composed of deduction, where players attempt to keep track of where the thieves are going to strike each night (not very smart thieves are they? Maybe we have inside men...). It is a simple game, and allows for a good amount of mental exercise in a neat package. Great bits, fully scalable from 3-5, and interesting decisions. The problem for me lies in downtime. As with many competitive deduction games, it can lend itself rather easily to AP--the rules even state that players are allowed to have pencil and paper to keep track of things. I just went with it, electing to attempt to remember where the thieves were supposed to be, and I ended up last by a small margin.

Side note: It is my personal philosophy that, the first time I play a game, I am mainly trying to learn it, inside and out, to see how the game plays and to try to understand it more in an attempt to discover if it is a game I would like. First time, I play to know, not play to win--most of the time. It is just too tedious to try and learn, understand, and compete all in the same game--well, at least it really can drag the game down.

Anyways, it was a good game, where Jordan (who did not take notes) ended up beating Jeff and I (who tied--Jeff took notes). It looks cool, plays pretty well, but, as a Queen game, really costs quite a bit for the game that you get (as opposed to Shogun, which costs just a bit more, and really delivers on the depth). It can be a longer-than-it-should-be game, as it does tend to really tempt the AP out of unwary people.

So, in a complete about-face in nearly every aspect, I brought in Wabash Cannonball in all its orphanic and homely glory. I have posted about it before--a step up from tic-tac-toe in its presentation, but superb gameplay. I ran through the rules, and away we went. This game went a bit quicker than Tombouctou, looked worse, and really ended up being a brain refresher for us. I just love the feigned co-op nature of the game, the pacing, the smooth flow of the game. Some games just get it--WC gets it, it makes sense. I led through 4 turns, really capitalizing on being the sole-holder of C & O stocks through the first 2 turns (it was a $10 payoff each time, but it was not divided at all). Jordan however, finally saw his high investment in the PA (red) railroad pay off in the last turn, passing me for the win. I just love this game, and cannot say enough about it.

So, the first and second games were fantastically different in nearly every way: bits, interface, and feel. For the 3rd game, we thought we ought to try to rid the world of all type of infectious menace known to common man--enter Pandemic. I had recently picked it up, played it once, found it a bit easy, so I asked Jeff to crank up the difficulty. As an ambassador for this game, Jeff has played it at least 20 times with all kinds of people. I was kind of worried that this might lead to Jordan and I taking back seats, and just going along for the ride--a concern in any co-op game. However, we all did work very well together, with Jordan finding several "better ways". Our team was composed of a scientist, a dispatcher, and an operations expert. After the 5th epidemic struck Baghdad, we really knew we were in trouble. No less than 12 cities around the world were holding at capacity for plagues, sicknesses, and assorted ailments. One false step, one slight miscalculation in our logistics, and we would be directly responsible for the untimely and historic dissolution of modern society. We were all tired, it was near midnight, we were all worried, we were all 3 on our feet, pacing, wringing our hands--it was going to be close. And when Jeff pulled up the final innocuous card, we rejoiced--I was a hiccup away from the research center in Baghdad, with all the research necessary to discover a cure for the Black Plague--we had won! I strolled triumphantly into the center, tossed the plans on the desk of the head technician, and accepted my place alongside Jeff and Jordan in the Worldwide Medical Hall of Fame--they actually moved Francis and Crick to let us have a front row display. President Bush, though it was long past bedtime, called and offered us congratulations, and we heard from both Obama and Clinton (who were attempting to pad their own causes). CNN, Fox, and finally Montel showed up (I immediately vetoed an appearance on Oprah). It was all a little overwhelming. The ticker tape here in Hanna City was falling on Main like the economy: fast, thin, and with no end in sight. We finally went our ways, and each found their own beds a little softer.

We had moved through the desert on camels, east across the country on the iron horse, and had flown worldwide all in one evening. It was a good game night.