Monday, November 3, 2008

Brakke Con Redux

Another trip to see the Brakke Clan is over and it was another good time. It's always great to see Todd and his family and this time we both were graced with the presence of Billy Baroo. Always a plus.

...And about 5 more people.

Playing boardgames with 7-10 people is a bit tricky because it can limit what you can do unless you break into 2 groups, which I think defeats the purpose. So this was a weekend of games that leaned to the "big" scale of things:

A 6 hour 8 player game of Arkham Horror, 2 games of Cutthroat Caverns, a Formula De race with 10 cars, etc. Games like Nexus Ops and Star Wars OT RISK, and Friedrich, never made it out nor did, oddly enough, Railroad Tycoon -- a usual Brakke staple.

We tried to break out a Touch of Evil but Todd learned a lesson in game hosting: someone MUST know the rules beforehand. Learning a new game out of the box with 7 people sitting around a table is a surefire way to get everyone to hate the game for eternity. As Todd started reading the rules after we had set the game up...our eyes glazed over and Todd became the enemy.

So next time we'll get to that one as well as StarCraft, which I brought, but did not dare bring out of the car. (I tried reading the rules in the car...didn't work.)

In all, a great weekend of games, bad food, and cat allergies. How often do we get to play a marathon session of Arkham? About once a year.

Well worth it.