Game night on Friday was a big success! Enough people showed up to play games that early on we had trouble finding a game that we could all play. Luckily John showed up (yet another player!) with Cosmic Wimpout, which is a fine as-many-as-will dice game.
I started the game well, scoring 105 points on my first turn at the dice. More people showed up during that first round, and by the time the dice got back to me, we had been joined in the game by D- and his mother (he played, she helped), for a total of 11 players (7 adults, 4 kids). The next few rounds went well, with most people wimping out or scoring in the 20′s and 30′s. Finally, on the 4th round or so, Scott managed to roll 5 sixes on his first roll (600 points, if he could keep it), and had to keep rolling, and rolling, and rolling to earn the points he’d gotten so far. By the time he was able to stop, he was up to 780 point! No one could beat that, and he won the game.
After the ice was broken in that first game, we split up into smaller groups to play other games. I taught Vic the game Zendo and played a few 2-player rounds, while others played other games. I hear Munchkin was played by one group. Everyone had fun.
Finally, as the evening wore on, and people started to leave, Vic, Marty, Jenn and I decided to play Once Upon A Time…, a fairytale story-telling game. Our first story turned out to be a long, rambling tale of a woodsman trying to get his axe repaired and getting pulled into a mission of rescuing princesses from flocks of gryphons, going on long sea journeys, and getting stranded on deserted islands. There were many unexpected twists and turns, as all the players took control of the story from each other, each trying to get the story to go the way they needed to. I had two very lucky plot twists go my way, and ended up winning that round. The second story we played was about an exiled prince and princess trying to extract revenge on the foul usurper of their kingdom, who eventually ended up returning as a pair of incestuous dragons. That story got a little out of control at the end.
For those who are interested in what Once Upon A Time… is like, coincidentally it will be featured on Tabletop, Wil Wheaton’s YouTube show about tabletop board games, this Thursday 5/2. He promises it will be a game of Once Upon A Time… played by professional writers, which should be entertaining.
We weren’t the only ones to use the Ithaca Generator space that night for games. Three intrepid souls (Mark, John, and a third I didn’t catch the name of) were there to participate in Ludum Dare, a worldwide 48 hour “write a computer game from scratch” contest/event. While the Ludum Dare participants waited for the 10pm kickoff, they discussed strategy, and what ideas they had for the possible themes. At 10, the theme “Minimalism” was announced. I hope the Ludum Dare participants let us know where we can find their games, so we can check them out.
Friday night was great, and I hope to see you back for the next Game Night, on May 10th.
—Buddha
