Labor Day (and night!) of Board Games

From left, Mike S, Jason, and Brian were my opponents in the venerable Avalon Hill board game, Britannia

Since Mike S drives over from Springfield nearly every Sunday, we thought it would be nice to return the favor and have the Sunday night gaming group visit him. We picked Labor Day afternoon for the occasion, with most of us arriving around 2pm. Most of the group made it, plus a nice handful of additions -- Mike's nephews Thomas and Daniel, his son Jason, and Jenny. We had planned on a cookout, but decided to do pizza instead, since it was supposed to storm.

Britannia was always one of my favorites, but needing exactly four players and a LONG time limited its playing

One of the main goals of the day was to "dust off" some of the old classic boardgames that take a long time to play. We figured we could start in the afternoon and finish at a reasonable time. As we had 10 of us total, I suggested a six-player History of the World and four-player Britannia. As it was, we decided to break out Secret Hitler, as it can play up to (exactly) 10 players. As usual, the Fascists won. I think every time I have played this game the Liberals have lost. Must be an accurate simulation!

This game is always a winner, and Jenny capitalized on her Sunday game night presence by winning it

Next, I polled everyone to see what they wanted to play. A number wanted to play Power Grid, so we did the six-player group as that, instead. Myself, Mike S, Brian, and Jason opted for Britannia. It took a good 20 minutes to go over the rules, as players were sorting their kingdom's pieces. For those that haven't played this Avalon Hill classic, it covers the history of Britain from the Roman invasions to the Norman attack. Players are given a series of nations or kingdoms to control. I drew Green, which meant I had the Welsh, Caledonians, Jutes, and Danes. Jason drew Purple, unfortunately for him, as it meant a newbie had to learn quickly playing the Roman invasions. Mike S was Red, and Brian -- the other new player -- was Blue.

Jason and Brian roll off as they struggle for control of Britain

It was great to play the game, again. I tried to give as many tactical hints as I could to the new players, but it takes awhile to get the flow of the game and understand ways to achieve your objectives. My goal with the Welsh was to survive the Roman onslaught, and Jason tried to make that VERY difficult for me, assaulting into my heartland. I had an incredible series of die rolls, though, and repulsed his attack. As a new player, he did not make a hard push north, which meant the Brigantes were barely touched, and the Picts were completely unmolested. The Picts, in turn, could then concentrate on the Caledones and the Scots when they arrived, pushing them back and marginalizing them.

It was a fun game - as Britannia always is, I feel. I had a comfortable lead the couple times we checked the scores. However, Brian made a surge at the end and overtook my by 2 points -- 119 to 117!

Night had fallen out on the screened-in porch where Daniel, Jenny, Keith, Thomas, and Joel gamed on

About halfway through our game, the Power Grid game ended with a Jenny win. They decided to set up Fortune and Glory, which surprised us, as we knew it was a long game. And so it proved, as they continued on for at least another hour after we had packed up Britannia. Fortune and Glory is fun, but there is just so much STUFF in the game. It takes forever to set up, and you constantly need to refer to the rules to see how to handle all the different situations that crop up.

We simply don't play Fortune and Glory often enough to be familiar with the rules to make it go quickly

As it was, we had a much longer day than we anticipated, and didn't finish till after 11pm (later than our normal Sunday evening gaming when we start at 7pm!). It was fun, though. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and it was a great way to wrap up summer.