Beresford Quimbsy Sets Sail!
A Fond Farewell
A more than a few months has passed since our Captain Beresford Quimbsy set sail to the distant land of Scotland which makes it far past time I report in on it!
It was lovely to see such a large turn-out from the crew to wish him a fond farewell on his travels, with word getting out impressively fast that ‘pirate’ was the dress code.
What started as a one-off comment, half-jokingly suggested by our first mate James at the Summer All-Day Gaming, turned into a far beyond expectation gathering of Pirates.
A huge thanks to everyone who took this silly idea and turned it into a reality so we could give Beresford the send-off he deserved. Based on his reaction, I think he mightily enjoyed it!
And of course, a huge thank you to Beresford for creating this group 13 years ago and keeping it running all this time.
Turning up early every week to set up and giving us nerds a space to practice our hobby or even pick up a brand new one.
All being well, this group will continue for years to come, but it wouldn't be possible if you hadn't set it up to begin with.
Good luck with the next stage of your life and we wish you the best with the move! Keep in touch!
Games Played
And now onto the games played, and to quote Kev "There's a theme, I don't know if you've noticed"
Port Royale
This push your luck card game with a pirate theme is exactly my kind of thing, I love to go bust! Flip over as many cards as you like, but be careful not to get two merchants of the same colour! Different members of your crew will give you different abilities that will help you get certain things easier as in aid to get 15 Victory Points first. It was my second time playing this easy to pick up hard to master Game which is starting to become a theme among my preferred games, and is definitely something I would play again. The nice gimmick of this game is that the backside of every card is money, so you never know what will come up when you flip with certainty, because the card you are looking for could be in someone else’s money. Oh and be sure not to stock up too much cash, because the tax collectors will come around and cost you dearly.
Skull
This was also my second time playing this push you luck bidding game, which, it turns out, does allow for you to kill yourself on (don't ask how I found out). Effectively everyone has 4 cards, 1 Skull 3 Flowers, place a card face down or bid the number of total flowers you think you will be able to collect with touching a skull. If you touch a Skull, you lose a card. A quick simple, explain in 5 sentences, master in 5 plays game with plenty of replayability. With a little bit of Social Deduction and bluffing thrown in for good measure I would most definitely play this again in the future.
Loot
It was my third time playing this Pirate card game which admittedly holds a special place in my heart. Having made a few good friends the first time I played, Loot is only not on the to buy list because it's already on the bought list. My first time playing in single player mode, as you partner up with someone if the game goes above 5 players, this game is slightly more complex than an entry level game, but good fun nonetheless. Effectively you play the role of both pirate and merchant; playing merchant ships for others to attack and pirate ships to attack other merchants or defend your own. Play a card or draw a card it game ends when someone runs out of cards and the player(s) with the most gold win! Playing with up to 8 players so it a good game for larger groups, which I look forward to playing again.
Pirate Fluxx
Fluxx, but Pirate themed. The classic rule changing, goal and keeper swapping card game that can be played with unlimited players and takes as long as you allow it to, gets a Pirate coat of paint.
This one allows for plundering and piratety accents which makes it great for a group that has had a few drinks!
For those of you who have never played Fluxx, effectively all you need to know is that you draw a card and play a card, unless the rules say otherwise. You win by getting the two keepers shown on the goal card, unless someone replaces it with another goal card, or you have a creeper. Meanwhile, action cards allow you to do other effects which can help you win. Typically the winner was just dumb luck, but ultimately its not about winning, its about the amount of dumb stuff you can do each turn.
Spots
This continues to be my bring everywhere and play with anyone game. This time, playing with experienced players meant using a completely random set of actions completely changing the strategies, only proving the replayability of the game. Again, I own this one and am overjoyed with the purchase, definitely recommend picking this one up.
Tiny Epic Galaxies
A very complete and complex game that I would expect from a much bigger box. It was a bit late in the evening for me to fully understand the game, but it was good fun. 3 base mechanics, get more energy to buy more stuff, get more culture to copy other people's stuff and get more victory points to win. Colonising new worlds in this dice rolling game, I would love to play again with more brain power to come up with a better strategy. Tiny Epic Galaxies is a perfect title for this small game with grand scale and space colonising.