by Ben Bateson
A very satisfactory 5-hander this week, especially given that I was only expecting three and a half people to turn up.As ever, it started with the early birds, John was seated and ready when Becky and I turned up, and in search of a quick starter, we found Pompeji knocking around in my games utility box (also containing spare dice, baggies, the Start Player deck and our trademark jet-black gaming tablecloth). Bill rolled up just as the cards came out of the box, and we set about a four-player game.
I've had relatively favourable experiences of Adlung's little card game range, although I do wonder if some designs were adequately tested. Pompeji proved to be well-tested, but unfortunately almost inextricably irritating. Basically, you are limit to a 7x7 grid of cards, and score points for matching symbols and colours in rows, all with an entirely pasted-on theme (apart from the volcanoes, I suppose). The problem lies within the mathiness of the game, whereby each player was struggling to add up their own score, even with the 'helpful' 'assistance' of the others. My favourite feature, though, is the 'I want to play another turn RIGHT NOW' card, which is highly amusing to trot out when someone succumbs to AP. And that happens far too much for this to be considered a light game. John won this by a few points over Bill, with Becky pipping me to third by a solitary point.
Tony had, by now, turned up, and scratched his head at length while trying to decipher the rules. He had brought with him his latest Agricola Storage Solution (c), a rather ornate felt-lined wooden construction, which I have to concede is rather handsome. Much jollity ensued with Tony sniffing his own box at length while the rest of us encouraged the pub's resident dogs to dribble into it. But it was John's comment that Tony will only be resentful when someone upgrades to a clay box that brought the house down. Ah, the japery.
Boddle was also in possession of a mysteriously-unopened World Championship deck, and we christened it with a draft - not a wise move when resulting in everyone who didn't know the cards (translation: everyone but me) having to read each and every one of them thoroughly. Once we got started, though, Bill settled into aggressive animal-breeding (country man, you see), Tony settled his way into the Engineer-somethingelse combo which allowed him to pay free food for Improvements (a benefit which he laboured to point out to us every single time), Becky went with her usual grain-heavy strategy, along with some chickens that she routinely forgot about, and John grew up to 4 family members early then gave them nothing to do by mysteriously neglecting the Start Player space. I scattered stuff all over my farm by pulling out the Backyard Well and Raspberries early, giving my board the appearance of a rural litter tip. I also played out the Hedge Master, who is much more amusing when pronounced as would a Somerset LaRPer.
"Oi am the 'Edge Master, Master of these 'ere 'Edges"
Cutting a long story short(ish), Tony and I took double-figured bonus points off the cards for an amicable 35-point tie. My traditional response to 'how many sheep do you have?' of 'Nee-eee-eeh' met with much hilarity for some reason. Harrow jokes were made as usual. And John forgot the difference between a pasture and a stable. Twice.
All this farming shenanigans (not to mention the revered re-packing of the box) having taken us past 10 o'clock, we had only time for a finisher, and Bill obliged by pulling out his copy of Braggart. JP entered into the spirit of the thing for once, although Becky's revelation about covering herself in oil and wrestling with Amazons ushered a stunned silence over the table. Tony avenged his Agricola 'loss' with a so-big-it's-not funny victory.
The big problem with Braggart is that it's always over too quickly. So, Kyle, where's the Braggart expansion? We all conclusively agreed that we want more cards.