Recently I sold my copy of Steam to a friend, and promptly bought a second-hand copy of Age of Steam.  I have to say owning Steam didn’t work out.  I believe I played it twice.  Once with the Bistro Players, which was a miserable play for me – nearly going broke and merely in the game due to the impossibility of completing a death spiral.  That particular play was also unfortunate as we played the advanced game, rather than easing into it with its base game. 

My second play was on a Monday night with the old guard gamers.  We did play the standard game, and it went over pretty well.  But we never came back to it – a decent game that failed to ignite enough interest to come back to it.  And on Tuesdays, Steam was never again considered.  So after nearly two years of ownership and just 2 games played, it was time to ditch it.

But then I turn around and grab Age of Steam…  This might sound nonsensical – and indeed it might be – but I have hopes that Age of Steam might actually be requested occasionally.  And truth be told, it was the game I originally wanted.  A rather ugly fracas between Martin Wallace and FRED was going on prior to the publication of Steam and the 3rd edition of Age of Steam – and like a bad car wreck, I couldn’t help but watch it.  I decided to support Martin Wallace and buy Steam.  Also pushing me into this decision was the fact that 2nd edition copies of Age of Steam were quite scarce, and commanding prices upwards of $100.

2 years later, I was able to buy a secondhand copy of 2nd edition Age of Steam for $30 -which seems like a reasonable price.  And while I could get a new 3rd edition copy for about the same price, I do like the spartan style of the Warfrog release.

Yesterday I assembled a copy of String Railway.  Looks amusing.  Each player gets five strings.  On your turn you draw a station card.  You lay it somewhere inside the border string (which defines the playing area) and then drop a string from your home station to your newly placed station.  Score points as appropriate.

But there is a bit more.  One person gets to place the “mountain” string.  Another player lays the “river” string. and crossing these features may cost or gain you points.  Also, you can visit another player’s station, which may make them points or lose them points, depending.

After five turns the game is over.  I’m guessing this game may take all of 30 minutes.  Should be good for a laugh.  I bought some nice string from Hobby Lobby to make the game.  This is the first time in my life I’ve ever ironed strings in the pursuit of my boardgaming hobby.

I’ve been gradually adding more and more games to my collection, and I fear its time for another purge.  But I don’t have much energy for it.  I’ve decided to list the games I am considering selling here on the blog.

http://thegamebistro.com/games-for-sale/

So far I have done nothing but list the games on the block.  If anyone is interested in a game or more just drop me a line.  I’m sure we can work something out.

Dragon Rage arrived in the mail this week.  I ordered it from Belgium.  A bit expensive, but I figured if I was to get one I would have to absorb the cost.  It is a small press game, and unlikely to be distributed in the USA.

I am attracted to this game, in part, because it was designed by Lew Pulsipher.  Lew designed Britannia - a game I own and have admired for many years.  Another impetus was my enjoyment of Stronghold - a game where the monster horde is besieging a fantasy city.  Dragon Rage has a slightly different theme – you have dragons attacking a fantasy city.  Since I don’t need to own Stronghold- I’ll just occasionally play on Alex’s copy – I thought I’d get this variation on a theme.

Dragon Rage actually predates Stronghold – it was originally released in a modest format back in the 80′s.  I never saw that edition.  (Although I do recall owning a different game from Dwarfstar, the original publisher.)  But I am much more likely to play a deluxe version such as the edition I have bought.  Looking over the game, I am happy with the quality of the components.  The counters are thick and nicely die cut, with rounded corners.  The board is double-sided, giving you two scenarios to explore.

I am still reading the rules, and here the game does show some of its age.  Lots of rules and I’ll need to pay some careful attention.  Trying to read this before bedtime has not been especially productive.  But I don’t mind old-fashioned detailed rules.  I just need to set the game up and really attempt to follow along with the game materials for it all to gel.

Dragon Rage is really the sort of game I ought NOT to buy.  I know going in that this game is never going to see a ton of use.  But I do enjoy following favorite authors, and I will enjoy presenting a game people would otherwise not get a chance to try.

Zack gave me a copy of New Orleans Big Band as a present this past game night! 

This is a game I’ve been curious about for a long time.  Turns out that Funagain has a copy for sale (at least as I write this).  So if you, gentle reader, need a copy for yourself, check it out!

I need to get the English instructions, but my basic understanding is that players compete to put together bands.  But the musicians are temperamental and do not always get along with each other.  So finding the right mix is a challenge.

I’m excited to give it a try!

I have recently completed 11 trades thanks to a holiday “Math Trade” over at BGG.  Here was the shuffle:

Departing the collection:

• Kreta – I never played that much of it.  I sort of liked it, but it seemed to have a problem with a runaway leader.
• Command & Colors, with some expansions – I determined this was redundant, and now I will solely concentrate on Memoir for this sort of game.
• Empire Builder – Not a game I really wanted.
• British Rails – Ditto, although I had played this one in years gone by.
• Lord of the Rings Risk – I’m pretty much done with Risk in all its forms.
• Caylus – Underplayed.  A game I would play if requested.  But I won’t miss it.
• Titan (AH edition) – I was kidding myself.  A game best left in the past.
• Amun-Re – Never really got me.  The club may miss this one.
• Washington’s War – Never played it.  Didn’t see when that might change.
• Inotaizu (spare copy) – Still have my playing copy though!
• Die Schatze von Ali Baba – I played it once in 5 years.  It was beautiful and flawed.
• Teutopolis - The only game of the bunch I might miss a bit.  But I still have Wettstreit.

Coming to Me:

• Liberte - Revisiting a game I tried once and found annoying.  I’ve come around on liking Wallce’s game more since then.  So I will enjoy giving it another go.
• 300 The Boardgame – Still sealed.  This may be donated to a prize table.
• Bean Trader (twice – oops) – We tried this years ago and it didn’t really click for us.  But I never got a second play, and I wanted another try.  The second copy was just foolishness on my part.
• Take It Easy – Added to my set for 36 to play.
• Formula De Circuit #33 – This will go over to Rick’s house where the rest of my Formula De stuff lives.
• Siesta - A game I once owned.  We have been playing a fair bit of this as a filler on Monday nights, and I have come to appreciate it.
• Jochen der Rochen – Probably slated to go to a prize table.
• Bargain Hunter – Sealed.  It might also go to a prize table.
• Hive - This is the older wood edition.  I doubt I play it much, but I will add it to my small game shelf.
• Seidenstrasse – Looks intriguing.  Reviews are not hopeful.  But I want to try it.
• 1860 – Railways on the Isle of Wight – The first edition.  I was going to get the reprint.  But the long delay and then the poor component remarks scared me off.  I am pleased to get the 1st edition, even if it doesn’t have the alternate map.

In addition to all that my copy of Rallyman recently arrived.  So its been a busy time of shipping and receiving.  While shipping is sort of expensive, it is a lot cheaper to swap games than to just buy.  Further, this at least doesn’t really add to the game library size.  In fact I did sort of aim on trading down, thinking that would allow my trades to go through, and relieve some of the bulge from my shelves.

I sold 6 games today for a song.

Bye Bye to:

Win, Place Show/Regatta/Speed Circuit – all old 3M games.  I don’t hate any of these, but they were not getting played, and my space for new games was pretty much nil.  We played Speed Circuit recently and I found myself thinking it had been surpassed.  If I want an old style race game like this, I will still have the old Parker Bros. Formula-One.  Win Place Show was fun the last time I played it, but it was not likely to get played again anytime soon.  Regatta was the least loved of the three, and I won’t miss it.

Unspeakable Words – the least said here, the better… ;^/

Carcassonne: The Castle – A 2p game and while decent, never the 2p game I would ask for.  Since I almost never play 2p games, it won’t be missed.

Sindbad - A provocative game that totally bombed the one time I got it on the table.  I liked the theme, but it was just a random run through the cards.

I sold the games in a very brief offer for sale.  The geek list on BGG was open and closed inside of 24 hours.