July 11, 2006 |
Again Game Night peaked at four attendees, as Dan ducked out first due to weather, then due to something else. Peter had in-laws in town, I believe. Once steadfasts Karla, Scott, Jim, and Jamie were unheard from, but we made fine do anyway.
| High Society |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Lee | 18 | 1 | |
| Mike | 14 | 2 | |
| Rakesh | 6 | 3 | * |
| Amanda | OUT | 4 | * |
Notes: We played High Society in the hopes of giving someone (like Jim or Peter) time to show up. Amanda spent almost all her money early on the 10 point island and a recognition card. She had no money for the bad things, though she warded off the thief, which Lee took (he didn't mind losing the big screen TV). Lee managed to get 9 points and a recognition card, and I was one card away from potentially getting 5 more points and a shot at victory, but the 2nd to last card was the 4th game end trigger.
| High Society |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Lee | 19 | 1 | |
| Amanda | 13 | 2 | |
| Mike | 9 | 3 | |
| Rakesh | OUT | 4 | |
Notes: After one rather poor showing in High Society, Amanda requested to play again, and we did, and she had a much better showing, but Lee again manipulated events to pull out the victory despite getting the IRS. I was at 9 points, and Amanda was right on Lee's heels, but the game end came a bit earlier, so Lee was able to hold us off. Rakesh had only $6 Million left, so we are all pretty safe.
| Mystery of the Abbey |
| Results | |||
| Player | Score | Place | First Time? |
| Brother Mike | 4 points | 1 | |
| Brother Rakesh | 2 points | 2 (Tie) | * |
| Brother Lee (Love) | 2 points | 2 (Tie) | |
| Sister Amanda | 0 points | 4 | * |
Notes: Last up, presented with a choice among Beowulf, Mystery of the Abbey, and Lord of the Rings, Rakesh said he wanted to play Mystery of the Abbey. For some reason, though, Brother Rakesh didn't quite understand the way the game worked, and so he didn't use the suspect sheet until his third or fourth turn.
The game progressed quickly at first, with three folks using Bibliotheca cards in the first round of the game. After Brothers Lee, Rakesh, and Mike all managed a bunch of early cards views and Sister Amanda looted the confessionals, we settled down to some Parlatorium cards and a lot of question-asking.
I was able to eliminate just about every Father and Templar pretty quickly. Then we spent one round speaking in Plainsong, which Brothers Lee, Mike, and Rakesh enjoyed, but Sister Amanda was freaked out.
After that, Brother Lee and I kept asking each other questions, and things slowed down. I drew a card from the Scriptorium and looted one from the Confessorium. The second round ended with some Templars revealed by everyone - which eliminated two from my list.
Brother Lee then tried to target Brother Berengar, a fat Benedictine. I always rebuff the "Have you eliminated So-and-so?" questions, so I took the vow of silence. The question asking became less direct and also less helpful. My questions were particulary bad, and Amanda actually forewent questions once.
Right at the end of the third round, Brothers Lee and Rakesh each made a revelation. Brother Lee said the suspect was Skinny, and Brother Rakesh added that the suspect was a Benedictine. According to my sheet, the only Skinny Benedictine still at large was Brother Julian. Soon after that, Brother Lee asked me about the two fat Benedictine Brothers - he still wasn't sure, but his question made me sure.
After the third round card hand-off, I was down to 5 suspects, two Benedictine, two Franciscans, one templar, and four were skinny. I had kept Beregar from Brother Lee, and I was also hiding a Franciscan Father. I had a card allowing me to make an accusation or revelation from anywhere, so when it looked like Brothers Rakesh and Lee were heading for the Capitulum, I rushed to the Scriptorium, got a useless card, then accused Brother Julian. No one had mentioned his name, but I could see he was on the tip of everyone's lips.
The culprit was Brother Julian, who was both Skinny and Benedictine, getting Brothers Rakesh and Lee 2 points each. The game worked well, though we didn't ask great questions after an early rush. I showed Sister Amanda my note-taking at the end, and she was like "Oh, so that's how you took notes." I try to keep track not only of whom I've seen, but who else has likely seen them. I also had some deductions that I was tracking (that had various levels of accuracy) on a second sheet that Sister Amanda was kind enough to hand out.
It was fun, and I was glad no one did the early "pick a guy and ask until I find him" question tactic.
We almost played another game, but all we had for short games was High Society and Draculix. Amanda really wanted to play 6 Nimmt! I promise I'll always bring it next time! Also, Rakesh averred that if he and Amanda could host every week they'd be in heaven!