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Fundraising Game Auction
I apologize in advance for this off topic and sort of whiny post.
If you follow my FB or Twitter stuff then you already know that yesterday my house was broken into and I was robbed of a great deal of cash as well as my iPad and a few other little things. I am no stranger to theft and loss - over the years I have had wallets stolen (out of my jacket, out of my car, out of my backpack) as well as bicycles (3 in a 6 month period)... but the value of this particular loss was about an order of magnitude larger than all the rest combined, and because much of it was cash, it won't be covered by insurance.
It's been a bummer to say the least, and to make matters worse, it happened while I was out negotiating a deal on a car...
In an effort to recoup some of that money (which was to be my down payment), I have decided to host a game auction on BGG. I have an awful lot of games, many of which I never play. With the exception of a few favorites, I think I'll put them all up and see if I can get any interest in any of them. I could really use the money!
So if you are interested in buying a game and helping me out, stay tuned - I'll probably put up that geeklist in the next couple of days.
And to be at least a little bit on-topic...
RECENT GAMING
I have played an awful lot of Lords of Waterdeep lately. With two caveats, I find it's a very solid game and I like t very much.
Caveat #1: Remove Mandatory Quests - The Mandatory Quests are a bummer pretty much all the time - often you don't want to draw it, because it does not net you anything, and it sucks to have a Mandatory Quest played on you, because (especially if it's in the last round or two) it can keep you from scoring a large VP Quest that you've spent multiple turns building up to. Nobody I know likes those cards, so I simply leave them in the box when I play.
Caveat #2: Remove the Lord which rewards buildings - In some games I think it's fair and balanced, but with a Quest, a Building, and several Intrigue cards which allow a player to build even if the building space is occupied, in some games I think that Buildings are too available, making that Lord too easy to dominate with. So I simply leave it in the box to ensure a more fair game.
I just got Castles of Burgundy and I've played it a number of times already. I enjoy it more as I play more and discover strategies and tactical tricks. However, I do think it takes too long, and much like Martin Wallace's London, I'm surprised at the degree to which you cannot plan your turn ahead of time in this day and age.
2 comments:
Seth, so sorry to learn about the burglary! Please post a link to your auction in case some of us can't find it.
I've only played Lords of Waterdeep once, but in our game, the Mandatory Quests were essential for keeping everybody in the game and knocking down the runaway leader(s). I was first a perpetrator, then a victim of Mandatory Quests, and I think they complicate the question of pursuing major quests in a positive way from a gameplay perspective.
I might agree with you, though, about the Lord who gets bonuses for buildings. That's a player who can build up a lead without anyone realizing it. In our case, that turned out to be the winner of the game. I suppose in retrospect, when you see somebody focus so much on building, that's the one you need to hold back. But as you say, if they also have the ability to take an action that someone else has taken, they can be unstoppable.
Best of luck with your auction.
Please do post a link to your geeklist when you put it up so I make sure to see it. Would you have a "donate" option as well in case there weren't any particular games I had an interest in?
I hope you can recover a good chunk of the funds you need. The feeling of invasion after a theft psychologically is unnerving and unexpected if you haven't had it happen to you before. Good luck!
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