September Gaming at the JSGC

The following games were played at the Jerusalem Strategy Gaming Club in September. Most of these plays were during our semi-annual Games Day. As usual, this list doesn't include my personal plays outside the club.

Bridge x many: This is gaining in popularity at the club, perhaps as the players get stronger.

Casbah: An elegant idea which I wasn't sure actually worked. Need to try it again.

Caylus: A club favorite. I find it 20% too much times and complexity, and would rather play something else.

Cosmic Encounter x 3: A club favorite, we play Mayfair's version and multiple powers. The Avalon Hill version is a lesser game, but CE is now being reprinted by Fantasy Flight Games, or so they say.

El Grande: A club favorite, but played less than the other favorites as it's a tad long and Nadine tends to win.

Go: Adam's two-player game of choice, I'd be happy to play this more often, although not more often per session.

It's Alive x 5: A club favorite short game. They flatter me.

Leonardo Da Vinci: A Euro-eurogame, we only played a round, so we're not sure how it plays out.

Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation x 4: A club favorite quick two-player game.

Lost Valley x 2: I was enamored with this for my first few plays, but in my last play something went wrong. My development came to a standstill and there didn't seem to be anyway to get around it. I'm hoping that this is an unusual situation, and is not repeated. I still think the way to get around this is to start all players off with 2 gold nuggets.

Magic: The Gathering x 3: Still David and my favorite two-player game, also liked by some others in the group.

Mississippi Queen: A nice game that somehow manages to convey both elegance and clunkiness simultaneously. Happy to play again, next time with Cosmic Encounter powers :-).

Power Grid x 3: A club favorite, I'm only now beginning to realize why we need additional maps.

Princes of Florence: A club favorite, the most serene game we play.

Puerto Rico: The Game, period. The only reason it doesn't get more club play is that many of us play this several hundred times a year online.

Settlers Of Catan x 2: The classic introductory game for new players, still holds up.

The Menorah Game: It's Alive has supplanted it, but a few scattered people still like the original theme better (most of them in my group).

Winner's Circle: A neat non-strategic game, light fare for new gamers.

Yinsh: An excellent abstract game for two.

Zendo x 2: A somewhat formless induction game which plays a number of people, it's a nice occasional filler.

Yehuda