KoffeeKlub Evening 17th June

Completing our weekend of horror, KoffeeKlub will be meeting in Whitehead Primary School on Sunday 17th June 2012 7-11pm. Our featured game this week will be Last Night On Earth, by Flying Frog Productions.

As always everyone is welcome to join us for this and a few other supporting games. A small contribution of £2 for the school is requested.

See you there!

GamesReport: TTN Zombie Nerdtopia

Today the two Gary's met up with Sarah, Jackie, Posty and Chris from tabletopnorth at Nerdtopia in Belfast. First thanks to Nerdtopia for hosting and TTN for organising the gamesday. We had an epic game of Zombies with a couple of the add-ons shuffled in to add a little spice to the occasion. I know I'm biased, as founder member of TTN but they are really friendly bunch of guys and very welcoming. If you get a chance to attend one of their events you should make the effort. You won't be disappointed.

The Zombies game started very well though with six players it tended to be a little slow between turns. Posty and I skipped our first turns due to automatic cards in our opening hands, though we didnt mind as it allowed the others to put some city tiles down and allowing us to decide which way we wanted to head. The time between our turns was admirably spent in banter and less so in playing event cards on each other. The pain of losing a turn in a six player game can be extreme and when Chris played an minor card on GaryG the favour was repaid in spades when Gary made Chris lose the next turn.

I continued the viciousness a few turns later by placing a hospital and then playing a card which sent Jackie there and right into the middle of nine zombies. To her credit she was over the space of the next few turns able to fight through the lot coming out amongst the strongest players. Sarah focused her city building efforts on graveyard tiles only to have her character die from a zombie swarm after getting surrounded. The graveyard tiles are interesting and can be played as a separate game in their own right. They are a challenge though as we found out when I drew a card which filled every legal graveyard space with a zombie. We had about forty zombies pop into the game in one turn.

 My game revolved around finding items only to have them stolen by GaryG. Grr! I had a skateboard which allowed faster movement around the city a pick axe which I intended to clear out the graveyard with. I had to send GaryG all the way cross the city in retribution and an attempt to keep him away from the graveyard where he could have used my gear to great effect.

In a fit of madness Chris placed the helipad at the far end of the graveyard meaning that to win we had to fight our way heroically through the graveyard tiles. Most of us tried and failed to this, though GaryG stayed at the other side of the city and made a fair attempt to get to twenty five zombie kills and win the game. It was Posty who grabbed that honour with a legendary charge to the helipad. Epic.

Afterwards GaryG and I played a few games of Zombie Dice, and I really enjoyed it. I definately would buy this little pick up game. It takes minutes to play and is full of character. Thumbs up. KoffeeKlub and Tabletopnorth will be ganging up again at QCON next week. Say hello if you are around the tabletopnorth booth on the gaming floor.

GamesReport: 10-Jun-12 Thieves of Cadwallon

The KoffeeKlub welcomed back Chris McClung this week. Chris had been an occasional Arkham member before that centre closed its doors and he is a friend from the tabletopnorth club in Belfast however this was Chris' first visit to the KoffeeKlub in Whitehead Primary. He got a introduction to the style of  play that we refer to as 'friendly competition' but could be more accurately described as backstabbing and treachery.

We started with a game of Thieves of Cadwallon. Normally we like to start with a few pick-up games and GaryG had brought Bhonanza for that purpose. However after reading some reviews of the Cadwallon game on boardgamegeek we decided that if we could get done with our first game in an hour or so that we could get a game of Pandemic in afterwards. To this end we attempted to set up and explain the rules in super quick time and this probably led to some confusion of the rules and mistakes being made. In the end the game took us two and a half hours to play. Needless to say we didn't get a second game in.

We will write up a players impression post on Thieves of Cadwallon in due time, but I think it is fair to say that whilst we all enjoyed the experience there was a feeling that the game was flawed in design and didnt have the depth of play that would mark it as an instant classic. The component are lovely and the ebb and flow of the game was fun. There were ample opportunities to do over your fellow players which always goes down well.

The game started well for AndyA who amassed a large amount off treasure in a single room and faced of a number of assaults from the guards and from fellow players and took an impressive lead. This lead to AndyA being targetted by a series of attacks leaving him much weaker later in the game. Chris took the lead in the mid game with strong use of the arcana cards to slow opponent characters down and during attacks. GaryG and GaryB played the long game and gathered loot and ducats of the rest of the players.

When became clear that GaryB was planning to win the game by looting the Duke's treasury by use of scenario specific special rule all of the rest of the players ganged up to prevent this from happening but in the end through use of a character special ability GaryB was able to sneak a thief into the treasure and successfully loot the amassed coins. The game swung in the balance between the two Gary's and it was down to GaryB making a second attempt to loot the treasury in the dying turns of the game. Victory then depended on a successful roll of 4 or under on a six sided dice (GaryB rolled a 4). After the use of a teleportation arcane card the plucky thief was able to skip out of the quarter before the guards and other players were able to stop here. Victory was assured.

League results: After a game of Thieves of Cadwallon scoring 5 beans to the winner and 3 to the runner up: GaryB was awarded 5 beans and GaryG was awarded 3 beans.

League results: After 4 games of Bluff scoring 2 beans to the winner and 1 to the runner up: GaryG and AndyA scored 2 wins each totalling 4 beans each. GaryB was runner-up in all 4 games earning him 4 beans.

KoffeeKlub Evening 10th June

The KoffeeKlub will be meeting in Whitehead Primary School on Sunday 10th June 2012 7-11pm. Our featured game will be Cadwallon: City of Thieves , however there will be plenty of others games available. The KoffeeKlub June League continues this week and it is still all to play for. We ask only for £2 as a contribution to the school for the use of the room. As usual all are welcome.

GamesReport: 3-Jun-12 Guards! Guards!

Last night at the KoffeeKlub Guards! Guards! was on the table for the main game, but to warm ourselves into the evening, Bluff was brought out. Sadly my reign of terror came to a crashing end for the four games we played, I was the first out in 3 of them and second out in the last. Bingers lost out shortly after myself, but the big rollers, GaryG and TrevorH fought it out in every game with TrevorH winning all of them. Beginners’ luck I say.

League results: After 4 games of Bluff scoring 2 beans to the winner and 1 to the runner up: GaryG +6 beans TrevorH +6 beans, GaryB and AndyA +0 beans

Then it was time for the game from BackSpindle Games. With the game being based in Discworld and within the city of Ankh-Morpork . Spells have escaped from the Unseen University and as you have been deputised by the City Watch to go and return them. You have the powers of recruiting the many citizens of the city (whether they want to be recruited or not) into helping you by using them to run the spell back to the University. The four of us each randomly took a guild card then collected our tokens and volunteers. Bingers had the Alchemists Guild, GaryG was a member of the Assassins Guild, Trevor a member of the Fools Guild, and myself a member of the Thieves Guild.

We ran off to a flying start collecting spells and volunteers, but all of us were avoiding each other. As soon as we had found our feet, the childishness began. Attempts to give the pox to other players by having them touch an infected card. Hiding it under cards, sliding it under elbows, and trying to have them pass the cards. All tricks were tried yet failed. So sabotaging the spell runs were the next choice of play. GaryG stormed into the lead and followed quickly with TrevorH and Bingers, I brought up the rear. (No laughing!) Fun was had all round by everyone. The game ended prematurely with the two Gary's tied for the lead after a vicious bout of sabotage in GaryG's last round.

League results: After a game of Guards! Guards! scoring 5 beans to the winner and 3 to the runner up: GaryG and GaryB were awarded +3 beans for a tied 1st place and TrevorH and AndyA received +0 beans

As regular members of the KoffeeKlub we have experienced that a certain number of players can make or break a game. With Guards! Guards! you do need to have a target number of players to enjoy the game to its maximum. Four players is not a bad number to play the game but for better enjoyment, you really do need to have 5-6.

The KoffeeKlub June League has kicked off and GaryG stormed into the lead with almost all the beans already. Next week at the KoffeeKlub we have Cadwallon: City of Thieves and I for one am looking forward to playing it.

Andy Agnew

Tabletopnorth Horror Boardgaming 16th June 2012

Our friends over at tabletopnorth will be running a Horror themed boardgaming day at the excellent Nerdtopia 86 Stranmillis Road, bt9 5ad Belfast, United Kingdom on the 16th June 2012. The boardgames in action will be Zombies!!! and Arkham Horror.You do not need to be a tabletopnorth member to attend this event just come along, buy a coffee and join in the fun.

KoffeeKlub Evening 3rd June 7-11pm

Just a reminder. The KoffeeKlub will be meeting in Whitehead Primary School on Sunday 3rd June 2012 7-11pm. Our featured game will be Guards! Guards! by Backspindle games, however there will be plenty of others games available. We are starting a KoffeeKlub League from this week and so if you want the chance to be the first KoffeeKlub Player of the Month you should come a get a victory or two under your belt. As usual all are welcome.