Well, I'm just in a posting frenzy...

We woke up this morning to the sound of freezing rain pattering against the windows. I stumbled to the computer and, lo, school was cancelled. Facing a forced day off, one can only guess at what I would do... Of course, I had intentions of cleaning, organizing clothes, etc., but it just didn't happen. Instead...

TTR ONLINE
I played games. It started with a visit to Ticket to Ride Online. I really enjoy this game, and their online site is great. The interface is really smooth, and the tutorial is very well done. I mostly end up playing against bots, as I don't usually set aside time specifically to play, and don't want to anger any other players. Today, I got ridiculous tickets, including LA/Chi, LA/NY, and Sea/NY. That's 59 points, the most I've ever made in tickets. Nebulousbot2, Dumbot3, and Directbot4 didn't stand a chance. No pride for this, but a nice little diversion in the morning.

TIGRIS & EUPHRATES
After running some errands downtown (time to pick up the comics, and deposit the paycheck!), I ran over to Critical Hit. Jerod had a lot of work to do, so of course, he agreed to play games with me... We busted out Tigris & Euphrates for it's inaugral run, and were joined in the threesome by Jeff Press, who graciously set aside his miniatures painting to fill out the game. This was the first play for all of us, and mistakes were made. Regardless, I was really impressed with the depth of the game, and how much each play mattered. Early on, Jerod misinterpreted the conflict rules, and I sent two of my own leaders back to my hand making a monument, which set me back a bit... Jeff seemed to get the best handle on the middle game, utilizing leader movement for some nice plays. In the end, I had balanced my victory acquisition the best, and also made some moves to get most of the treasures and force the game end. I pulled it out by 4 points over each of the others, 10-6. I'm very much looking forward to further plays of this game. I anticipate moving away from focussing on personal building, into more methodical, balanced area control/disruption.

SAN JUAN
We weren't done after that, though, and we busted out this month's payday acquisition, San Juan. Jeff had to leave, so it was just Jerod and I for the two player. Again, it was the first play for both of us. In game one, I went first, and Jerod had to chase me on building. I got a nice draw of cheap purple buildings that would keep my hand full, and had the 6 cost building advantage when Jerod picked the last building phase to force the end. One thing I didn't like here is that he could tell that I was going to win before he initiated the phase... he just didn't feel like he had a way back into the game, so it might as well end. I had a second 6-cost in my hand, which I played, and I would have built on my turn. He knew I would build, as I had lots of cards, and he needed to get his six-cost down, so... On to the second game. Jerod went first, and I made a big early mistake, picking producer when he had an aqueduct that I didn't notice. This allowed him to trade and net a large number of cards. This mistake really put me behind, especially as I was chasing him on building. I never really caught up until the third to last turn, when Jerod made the mistake of playing the six-cost building which gives victory for monuments, when he didn't have any. It wasted a building phase for him, really. On top of it, as I was governor next turn, I was able to build while he had no cards in hand, and even things up. For the final building turn, I had a good big building, and he didn't, allowing me to pull into the lead. Certainly not as deep a game as Puerto Rico, I enjoyed the ease and quickness of play, and I'm happy that it plays well with two. It should be a good game for Kristin and I.

BSW CARCASSONNE
Amazingly, I wasn't done there. Tuesday night is my regular online boardgaming night with friends who live around the country. This week, of course, Tuesday was Valentines' day, so we cancelled. Sean and I rescheduled for tonight, though Chris and Eric couldn't make it. We logged onto BSW for Carcassonne, and played an engaging two player. I've mostly played Carc on BSW, and it plays pretty smooth. The one complaint is that, sometimes, people miss-click, which can have a huge effect. No mouse slips tonight, and a pretty good game. Sean jumped out to an early lead with a road, cloister, and a big city. The farmer battle started right off the bat, and we were working to tie new agricultural engineers the rest of the game. Sean drew quite a few cloisters, and built steadily, but I kept up on points (5 behind when the game ended), and managed to draw a piece to give me sole possession of the great majority of the farmable area. I ended up winning by 32. Carcassonne plays pretty well with two, but I prefer it with 3-4 (using river with 3, and also inns & cathedrals with 4). I think we'll move on to St. Petersburg soon.

Congrats on making it to the end, and thanks for reading the lengthy post.

Peace.