Geekway to the West 2021 - Part II

 Geekway to the West 2021 - Part II

Whenever I lose a game, especially by an embarrassingly large margin, I always sorta have to do a quick check-in with myself. If that sounds stupid, it's because it is. Strictly ego. It's dumb, but I know who I am and how my brain functions. Anyway, I say that because I have to consider whether I am inclined to criticize or dislike a game because I lost. In Part I of this recap, I leveled an accusation at Genotype of not having multiple paths to victory, which usually means it's a game I won't revisit because it's a design I don't like. I had to debrief a bit with Chad after the game had ended to sort through whether I genuinely felt that way or was just feeling stung by the loss. In the end, I felt confident it was the former and not the latter. But at the end of the day, I had to do another check-in, because the beating Chad handed me in our final game of the day was worse than the last one.

Knowing this was our last game for the day and wanting to make sure we squeezed it in before we had trouble tracking down a copy to play on Thursday, we decided to check out a copy of Witchstone from the Play to Win library. The title of the game refers to an ancient, sacred stone around which the players have gathered. We build networks of spell energy and deploy our witches along them to gain points, resources, and boons. But we also each have a personal cauldron in which we place our domino pieces; these pieces dictate what actions we can take in a turn. The more of these pieces we link together in our cauldrons, the more actions we can take. And just like in any other game, the more actions a player can chain together on their turn, the more efficient and effective their gameplay will be. But I do know that it took me a hot minute to really get a handle on how I wanted to approach the game. The result? By the time I did figure out an approach, the way I had played the tiles in my cauldron didn't really offer much in the way of synergy. And to be fair, Chad also played a pretty tight game and once he got going, he didn't really slow down. The result? Chad lapped me on the Pentagram chat, and then lapped me on the scoring track. He had probably about 2.5x the number of points that I did.

I mean, the pain Chad dealt me was psychological and emotional rather than physical, but this meme speaks truth as well.

It. Was. BRUTAL.

Honestly, looking back, I can't even entirely explain what I did and what he did that led to such a mammoth disparity in our point totals. I do know that he crushed me on the Pentagram track and that he hit an explosion of energy that let his witches get all over the board. But I could play this game against him again and see the same outcome occurring. I'll score a couple more points because I have a better idea of it. But that improvement on my end will likely be pretty slim, and there's a decent chance that Chad actually makes a marked improvement, leading to an even bigger score gap. My mind sort of boggled by the end of the game as to how I had landed in such a deep hole. However, it is worth saying this: after I finished frowning in the wake of playing this game, I wanted to play again. Not immediately, mind you, but I found myself wanting to play again. I really didn't have a good handle on the game through most of it, but for whatever reason, I just find it charming, fun, and really interesting. It's clear there are a number of paths to victory, I appreciate that it's not a game in which players can completely block the actions of other players, but players also aren't just playing solitaire. And the more I think about the game, the more I want to play it again. Despite taking an absolute whooping, I would be happy to win this game and look forward to playing it again!

ONTO DAY 2!

At the beginning of Geekway, I downloaded an app called Meeple Meet, and it seemed pretty great. Basically, it allows people to list a game and how many players they are seeking, as well as the level of game expertise, whether or not they're willing to teach new players, etc. And I think that's awesome. We could also set up alerts for any Play to Win games we might want to sneak into. That was the alert I set, though I didn't end up taking advantage of it. However, I did list a game of Oath I planned on playing with Chad on Thursday, and left slots open for two other people. Both filled up quickly, both by guys named Mark. Hooray for new people with the same name so it's easy to remember! The morning of the game, one dropped, which left us with 3. Disappointing, but at least we could still play the game.

Mark showed up on time and ready to go, as he had played the game before. Seemed like a nice guy off the bat, so that was a relief. It's always a crapshoot to play games with someone I don't know: they can be great fun, the way Chad was the first time I gamed with him, or they can make for such a bad experience that I can't tell if I dislike the game or just really dislike the gamer. Or, you know, both. And if you've read my other posts, you know just how invested I am in enjoying the hell out of Oath.

So! HUGE relief that Mark ends up being a really nice guy who cottons onto the sense of humor that I and Chad share. And honestly, this game ended up being exactly what I had wanted it to be. I made the choice to move about, explore new Sites and draw from the deck. All of that left me with little capital to spend on other actions. So I'm behind early. Not only that, but Chad as Chancellor has drawn into a really nice Advisor combo that is getting him Favor and Secrets. It looks grim for the Exiles early. Mark is sort of doing his own thing for a turn or two, and I just don't know how to break out of the pattern I've created off the first two turns. Turn 3 is when things suddenly took a turn: Mark found a Relic that allowed him to rule any site ruled by Bandits. Owing to the fact that Chad and I had been exploring new Sites, everything was flipped face up without us having necessarily established rule over it. At which point, Mark revealed his Vision of Conquest. We have one turn to prevent Mark from winning as a Usurper, and not a lot of wiggle room for mistakes.

Now, I'm confident I don't have a shot in hell at winning this game. And I just went from aiming to screw over Chad to trying to screw over Mark. I will be the first to admit that I knew walking into this game that king-making was not only a reasonable and acceptable tactic, but one that the game designers expected. I think, in a bigger game, I'm more likely to do settle into the role when I'm unlikely to win. Or if Chad had specifically torpedoed me, then I'd all too happily torpedo him in retribution. But in this case, I just wasn't feeling that as part of the narrative. So I did what I could to prevent Mark from winning. But after I played my part, Chad ended up in a brutal Campaign against Mark that he simply couldn't win. He needed to rob Mark of rulership of one Site, and it just didn't happen. So the game came back to Mark and he won via a Vision of Conquest and was the first to contribute a chapter to my Oath chronicle! I had so much fun and I'm so glad I finally got to play, even though I was never really in the running to win. I cannot wait to get back to this!!

Just because I didn't sabotage him doesn't mean I wasn't happy to see him lose, is all I'm saying.

Mark had mentioned that he was glad to find our Oath game on the Meeple Meet app because he didn't have any solid plans for the rest of Geekway. So after playing Oath, we asked Mark if he wanted to play with us for the rest of the day, and he decided to join us, which was great! Next up, we decided to play Anno 1800 because it was high on Chad's list and we wouldn't get another chance to play it before the Play to Win ended. One of Chad's friends (Mike, I think?) happened by and joined us, so we got to play with 4.

Anno 1800 is evidently based on an Ubisoft game I'd never heard of before, and the premise of the board game is that each player has to create increasingly luxurious goods in the process of creating the most prosperous island. This is one of those games that wouldn't pull me in through its art or game description. Not necessarily because I would anticipate it being bad, but because it just wouldn't attract me through its theme or art (which is fine, but nothing I'd call special). Unless I later discovered that it featured some brand new game mechanic that was hailed as brilliant or a friend insisted I needed to try it, it's just not a game I'd prioritize. In this case, I'm really glad Chad was all about trying it, because I really enjoyed it! I wouldn't call it revolutionary or even one-of-a-kind. But the various mechanics all complement one another quite well, there's always something for players to do, and there are many different paths to victory. Also, the trade mechanic is excellent. I haven't seen it before, and while that certainly doesn't preclude it from existing, kudos to the designer (Martin Wallace) for implementing it to great effect here. In a lot of games, the argument can be made that there are "a lot of paths to victory," but if someone corners the market on something vital, then quite a lot of those paths are pruned away as options, and thus, there really aren't as many paths to victory as advertised unless someone picks the path that gets them a share of that market. In the case of Anno 1800, nobody can corner the market on anything. It's true that each tile used to produce goods is limited in number, so not everybody can buy them. However, each player can trade with any other player for use of goods. But unlike games such as Catan or Twilight Imperium, there is no hemming and hawing, no bargaining, no ability to embargo a player because they're a threat or I simply do not like them - the player who wants the good pays for it accordingly, and the player from whom they purchase receive some money and can still use that good for themselves because each tile produces goods when workers are placed on them for instant use rather than being able to stockpile goods. I don't do it justice here, but go ahead and play with the mechanic: I dare you not to appreciate its elegance and usefulness.

That said, there is absolutely a risk of analysis-paralysis here, so just think about who you're playing this with before it hits the table. As we were in the process of learning the rules and there are so many different things players can do, we did end up running longer than we anticipated. The advertised time on the game is 120 minutes, and I'm guessing that's about right. We would've played it through to the end, but we needed to return the game so we could get credit for playing it and possibly win it (since it was a Play to Win and Geekway was coming to a close). I'm guessing we were about 3/4ths of the way through the game when we stopped. I was winning by a little, but it also seemed clear to me that I wouldn't still have the lead by the end of the game. Chad and Mark had done a better job of building their engine than I had, so while I was currently reaping more benefits than they were, I'm convinced that they both would've leapfrogged me before the end of the game. It was quite a lot of fun, and I'd have been perfectly happy to have won a copy of Anno 1800, as I quickly decided that if I didn't win it, I'd go out and purchase it. It's a lot of fun, the design is elegant and smart, and I would love to have it on my shelf to play as well as introduce to others.

As the day was winding down, we wanted to get in another game, but the Play to Win library was closed as the Geekway organizers determined who won which games. We wandered through the Geekway library to see if anything caught our eye, and settled on Orleans. Mark and I both had it on our "To Play" lists, but add in the fact that Chad knew the game and could teach it to us, and it was easy enough to lock it in as our choice. Each player will recruit different types of followers who both give unique benefits as well as allow you to take various actions on your player board. Whoever has the most victory points by the end wins. I chose to go in pretty hard on Knights and Scholars, and they paid pretty strong dividends, as I was moving along several tracks (and thus receiving end of game rewards) before other players could beat me there. Ultimately, the head start on Mark and Chad that I got proved to be insurmountable, though Chad came close. Mark scored 80-something points, Chad finished with 107, and I won with 116. I can't say how sound the strategy normally is versus how it played out in this game, but I had the luxury of feeling pretty comfortable, no matter which followers I drew out of my bag. Drawing from a bag isn't always my favorite game mechanic, but the ones that feature it that I happen to enjoy are, in my opinion, excellent (Orleans and Quacks of Quedlinburg). The game itself looks kind of busy, and I don't know that I come to this game on my own. But I'm really glad I got to play it, as I'd very much like to come back to it again sooner rather than later!

And while it meant I would be leaving Geekway on a high note, man, it flew right by. I had to leave early to go pick my son up from his daycare, so Chad and Mark decided to find a two-player game. Since they were sticking around, they were good enough to keep an ear out in case I won anything from the Play to Win. I had already checked out the swag stand and gotten what I planned on getting, so I headed out to my car. As it turned out, I only have a dozen or so pages to read before I finished re-reading Cibola Burn (the fourth Expanse book) and I had some extra time. So I decided to finish the book before leaving to pick up my kiddo. I was several minutes in when I got a call from Chad: it turns out that I won a copy of Planet Unknown!

I literally went running back into the convention center. Yes, Chad could've easily grabbed the game for me and given it to me the next time I saw him, but I wanted it now.

And that's how my Geekway to the West 2021 ended. Out of the games I played over the course of two days, there was only one I wouldn't bother playing again, and I enjoyed more than I didn't. I learned a whole bunch of new games, some of which I learned I'd love to add to my collection, and I enjoyed good (though sarcastic) company. I can't wait until Geekway 2022! And if you happen to live in the St. Louis area, you really should consider giving it a try the next time it rolls around!