A Sunday sessions roundup

So, I've got 3 sessions' worth of games unreported. The Combat Commander games played with Mark and Badger are going to have to wait a bit. Meanwhile, I'll do a quick run through our last 2 Sunday sessions.

#1. Triumphs: complete, petty, or otherwise
Ivanhoe

Elsewhere on Saturday after showing what he's made of across the Combat Commander table, Mark was able to join us Sunday. I was keen to play Judge Dredd, so that I could return to my rightful place in the Chief Judge's chair, there mercilessly to lord it over Mark as befits ancient rivalries we share with our old Edinburgh mob.

Gav's impending late arrival meant that we had to turn to filler, so that Knizia's old favourite Ivanhoe appeared on the table as if by a law of nature. We fitted in 3 games while waiting for Gav. Andy particularly enjoyed the first: he won, which is rare. The next 2 games went to me.

Score
Andy 1
Donald 0
Mark 0
Me 2 (that's the "complete"...)
:-)

Fluxx
The overweening arrogance with which brave Sir John had displayed his prowess on the field of valour must've left a bitter taste in the mouths of his defeated rivals (or were they just sore losers, after all the thwackage that'd been dished out?); because there was no appetite for a 4th game of Ivanhoe. Fluxx, Looney Labs' cardgame of ever-changing rules it was then.

The game was its familiar self, with added confusion (prompted, in large part, by the impact of Stage 1 Hypomania on the short-term memory, attention span and concentration of yours truly). Mark won with milk and cookies while I was answering the door to Gav and our surprise guest, Antony.

Score
A master of cardplay 1
The pack 0
:-\

Judge Dredd
And so it was that we were 6 for our game of Judge Dredd. IIRC, that was first time I've played this game with the full complement of players - and all the added finkery that represents, since the 1980's. That, and ancient rivalries to boot? Hud me back, as we say!

I cannot right now think of anything to add to what I said about Judge Dredd back at the end of April so, without further ado, the judges taking to Megacity 1's streets of duty and corridors of power that Sunday were:

• Judge Mac: who else?
• Judge Drew: Mark.
• Judge Ment: Donald.
• Judge Jules: Gav.
• Judge Magenta: Andy (chosen for the colour of his playing piece; a name that Andy patently felt unhappy with).
• Just another rookie: Antony.

I had 2 goals in this game:

• Win.
• Else: keep Mark from winning (and that's the "petty"!).

In the end I was only able to succeed in #2, seeing Mark pushed to 3rd place, to wit:

1. Judge Jules: 44VP.
2. That nameless rookie: 35VP.
3. Mark: 33VP.

I was down in 5th place; on 25VP, a sliver behind Judge Ment's 26. You can be sure that Mark savoured his schadenfreude at least as much as I did my own!

Score
"Chief Judge Who?!" 1
Getting on with the job 0
;-/

Totals
Andy 1
Antony 0
Donald 0
Gav 2
Mark 1
Me 2
:-[]

NB. For those keeping track, Gav's score includes a game of Ivanhoe played while I was finishing the dinner. :-)

#2. Honours all round
So, to try and get this done and dusted: Dave and Donald made us 3 last weekend. Frazzled as I still was; and after fraught scenes the previous week as my condition had its impact on hi-octane 6-player finkage with newbs and novices everywhere; we opted to begin with some nice relaxing Settlers.

Settlers of Catan

Dave played an absolute blinder in our first game:

• Building the first city.
• Building 3 roads and a settlement to regain the Longest Road.
• Regaining the Longest Road again, and playing 2VP for the win: a record-breaking 1-turn 4VP dash to victory!

The second game gave us an odd board, with 2 brick regions on 2 and 12, plus 5 out of a total of 6 sheep regions in 1 giant block. Donald took this game with a quick dash thanks to the Longest Road (that 2VP leap again).

Chaos Marauders

Another vintage game from GW's halcyon days (1987 in this case), Chaos Marauders is "the manic game of Orcish mayhem". We played this quite a lot in Edinburgh's dog days, and I remember it fondly. So I was pleased to get my second hand copy out for the first time in quite a few years.

As ever with GW from this period, the production standards are top notch: the 112 full-colour patience-sized (ie. half the size of a poker deck) cards just have to be seen to be believed; being rich in detail, colour and sheer character. As ever, the gameplay is logical, and a lot simpler than the rules make it out to be. More than that, for all its beer'n'pretzel comedy value, Chaos Marauders is a surprisingly good introduction to the grim world of perilous adventure and mighty armies that is the Warhammer Old World.

More I have not time to add in this brief report. Except, naturally enough, to note that Donald won a crushing victory:

1. Donald: 1320VP
2. Me: 340VP
3. Dave: 170VP

Ivanhoe
Well, well, well: we ended up with 3 visits to the tournament field. Dave won 1; me 2.

Score
Promising rookie 2
Grizzled veteran 2
Frazzled goon 2
;)