I won a game! I actually won a game…. this is no big deal and should not be considered a rare occurrence,  It happens regularly.  I’m just saying.

We had a large group so despite the safety labels we retrofitted Netrunner Infiltration to be seven players with the use of a Descent model an iPhone and some techniques I’m not allowed to speak of and off we went.

Infiltration has proven to be a great game, the alarm has proven to be a pain the hoop but the game is great.  We set the proximity alarm at -1 to get a longer game and for once we rolled a whole lot of 1s at the end of the turn.  All was going great…. and yes you guessed it it all kicked off and the alarm jumped like crazy and it was keystone cops to the exit.  While all this was going on I decided to (borrowing a buddies expression), “bide my time and strike while the iron was hot” 🙂

I stayed near the exit.  I stole everything I could and let the rest tear off onto the wondrous second floor of the complex.   In fairness as noted, it’s a pretty crappy high security complex if we can waltz into it every week and it only gets easier each time.  A few bright sparks hung back like someone trying to steal home and unusually three as opposed to zero or one of the experienced professional cyber criminals actually made it out alive.  Well done team

I was one of the lucky once and will not speak of the terrible faith that befell the ones caught, but will point and laugh loudly at the drop of a hat.

I won on points, one point, but that’s all it took.

A quick round of Dalmuti and… there are some people out there that have never played the great Dalmuti.  Honestly.  they don’t know some of the nick names for some of the card combos.  Which I cannot repeat for libel reasons here.  One of them was at games last night.  Not sure how he slipped through the net.  It’s on the standard 200 question form that gets filled out by all gamers who apply to play on thur nights.  If you haven’t I’ll run through it with you if not just jump onto the P200 section.

 

Dalmuti is a game by Richard Garfield, he of Magic the Gathering, Roborally etc.  It’s a fairly simple game with a couple of nice twists and it’s best played with a group of six plus.

The game is not a million miles from gang of four which is not a million miles from Tichu which is the worlds greatest card game. no doubt.

The Dalmuti deck consists of a descending set of cards  12 cards of value 12,  11 or value 11, 10 of 10, right down to 1, 1 card.  So in case I didn’t explain that, there are Six cards with a six facing on them and so on.  There’s also two jokers.  More of them later.

The lower the value of the card the better and as you guessed the rarer.

A first player puts down a set of cards, say 3 twelves, the person to their left can either player THREE cards of lower value say three eights or whatever or pass.  Once everyone has passed the person whom played the last lowest set gets to start out the next round.  It can be any number of the same cards to start, even just a single card.  The idea is to get out as quick as possible.  the first person out gets to be the Dalmuti (the head honcho) and gets a couple of the best cards from the last player whom got out  (the lesser pion)  There’s also a lesser dalmuti that gets one card from the greater pion and the round repeats, forever in some cases or you can score the game.  On top of that after a win, all the players have to reoriante themselves musical chairs style in order of their exit position from the last game.  The Greater Dalmuti remains where they are, the lesser beside them and so on down to the cock-a-roach at the end that is the lesser pion.  Some people have house rules that the lesser pion shuffles.  Some that they don’t get a seat.  We have a hat 🙂 a jesters hat from a shop I will not speak of.  We photograph you when you wear the hat and sent it to your employer.  It’s a house rule.  or maybe not

The two jokers are wild cards or 13 on their own and if you start with both you can claim the Dalmuti’s lofty job straight off.

Great game, great warm up warm down, well worth having in your collection.  Get it now

P200:

After some debate we decided to split up and one group went away with Nations (a great great game) and we had a lash of the often overlooked but much loved Canal Mania.

Canal Mania is a lovely game, it’s basically a railway game with canals. it’s NOT and this had to be repeated, it’s NOT ticket to ride but it does share a couple of it’s traits.  I think it’s a far superior game.  It has a couple of mechanics going on.  Building canals just like you’d build rails in ticket to ride.  Picking ‘track’ sections from a communal pile. Check.  Completing missions from one location to another.  Check.  Cockblockery.  Check.  But is also sports a very nice shipping goods mechanic, a set of engineers that change how you play your hand.  The ability to steal the first player spot and a couple of other nice bits.  I think it’s a far far better game but then again…. I’m not a fan of ticket to ride.  I find it as boring as all hell.

This game reminds me of a very old GW game I can’t remember that you drew lines with markers on the map.  It’s a little long but it’s worth the effort.  I didn’t win, but I didn’t care I was still glowing from Infiltration.

More of that next Thur

huzzah!

Vic