Destin, Florida
October 21 – 24, 1999
Wow! What an event! I could go on and on with adjectives describing Gulf Games 4 …. superb, outstanding, wonderful, sensational, etc., etc., etc. These events just keep getting better and better.
GG4 actually began for me even before GG3 in New Orleans back in February. I had already begun negotiations with various hotels and had the themes in mind. Nearly ten months of preparation, planning and organizing finally culminated in an incredible event shared with some of the best people I can imagine. I will never, ever forget it.
PRE-GULF GAMES
ON THE TABLE: Pepper, Zirkus Flohcati, Buried Treasure, Pickin’ Chickens, Loopin’ Louie, Olympia 2000
I arrived in Destin shortly after 1:00 PM on Wednesday afternoon and the first folks I met in the parking lot were our own dynamic duo, Tim and Vickie Watson. Tim & Vickie are the folks behind so many things, including the fabulous decorations, shirts, food displays, name badges, magnets, etc. Their creativity and energy never cease to amaze me. Most of those nice touches that everyone commented on and enjoyed can be traced directly back to Tim and Vickie. From the bottom of my heart, “Thank You!”, Tim & Vickie.
Along with Michael Bland, we spent the afternoon decorating and preparing the meeting room. It was simply stunning. Tim and Vickie had crafted extra-large game pieces which we hung from the ceiling. It was fun trying to identify all of the components, which included pieces from Mamma Mia, Totem, Money, Elfenland, Union Pacific, Carabande, Mole in the Hole and many more.
We were also in awe over the shirt design, which incorporated our Back to the Beach theme with a host of hidden game pieces. This same design was used on magnets, plaques and wall hangings. Incredible.
With the arrival of Ty Douds and family, along with his brother Kenny and son Calvin, we all headed for McGuire’s Irish Pub for a delicious dinner and some wonderful, laid back socializing. Surprised by the unexpected cold weather, several of us purchased some long-sleeved jerseys and were encouraged to ‘kiss the moose’, a strange McGuire’s tradition which I captured on video.
We then gathered around the hotel indoor pool for some lighter family style games. Ty, Shay, Kenny and Ariel Douds, Tim and Vickie Watson, Michael Bland and I enjoyed a game of Pepper, this time using the ‘real’ rules. I managed three full hands without collecting a pepper, which was enough to secure the victory:
Greg: 0 + 0 + 0 = 0
Tim: 2 + 0 + 0 = 2
Vickie: 6 + 0 + 0 = 6
Michael: 0 + 0 + 11 = 11
Kenny: 6 + 0 + 7 = 13
Ariel: 0 + 15 + 0 = 15
Ty: 21 + 0 + 0 = 21
Shay: 0 + 12 + 22 = 34
Next I introduced Kenny, Mike, Ty and Tim to Zirkus Flohcati. This game is growing on me. No, I don’t think there’s much strategy or depth to the game, but it is becoming more fun. Teamed with Zane Douds, I captured my second victory on the strength of forming a gala show:
Greg / Zane: 74
Tim: 66
Michael: 66
Kenny: 49
Ty: 49
The Douds opted to retire for the evening for some much needed sleep, while the rest of us headed back to the meeting room for some more decorating and a few games.
First was Buried Treasure, the Sid Sackson re-release of the former DAS Superblatt. This was my first full playing and I found the game thoroughly enjoyable. Amazingly, I ran my record to 3 – 0 by proving the best pirate over Tim and Mike.
Greg: 16 + 15 + 21 = 52
Mike: 13 + 16 + 13 = 42
Tim: 13 + 11 + 8 = 32
Ratings: Mike 7, Tim 6.5, Greg 6.5
We were then joined by Vickie for a few silly games of Pickin’ Chickens and Loopin’ Louie. Both of these were to prove popular during the course of the convention.
The final game of the evening was OLYMPIA 2000, again played by Tim, Mike and I. I eeked out a narrow victory:
Greg 24, Mike 23, Tim 21
DAY 1 – THURSDAY
ON THE TABLE: En Garde, Hornochsen, Zirkus Flohcati (2x), Buried Treasure, Midnight Party, Kohle, Kies & Knete, Robin Hood, Landlord, Ra, Don Pepe, Der Fliegende Hollander, Pool Position, Bluff
EN GARDE
Mike and I were the early risers on Thursday morning, so I introduced him to this neat Reiner Knizia fencing game. Mike adapted to the strategies quickly and we were neck-and-neck throughout the game. Tied at 4-4, Mike forced me into my side of the board and won a positioning victory:
Mike 5, Greg 4
HORNOCHSEN
Tim Watson entered the game room so he joined Mike and I for a game of Hornochsen, a Take 6 hybrid by Wolfgang Kramer. I was fortunate to score a few positive rows, while both Tim and Mike were forced to take appalling negative points.
Greg 12, Tim -13, Mike -6
Tim had informed me that Craig Berg of Kitchen Table Gamers fame had arrived along with his family and fellow KTGer Michael Adams and his son Marc. I quickly went down to the restaurant to introduce myself. While chatting with the Berg’s, I noticed that I had put my shirt on backwards! Embarrassed, I excused myself to correct my error. Gee … it was only the first day and my brain was already gone!
The Bergs and Adams’ joined us in the gameroom shortly thereafter. Let me tell you … nicer folks would be tough to find. I don’t think I ever spotted any of the Bergs without a smile on their faces. Heck of a set of dimples on Cassie Berg, too! What a great family … I’m thrilled they are now part of the Gulf Games family.
ZIRKUS FLOHCATI
I grabbed Michael and Marc Adams and introduced them to Zirkus Flohcati. Both Mike and Marc proved masters at forming melds, each forming seven. Mike had enough high scoring cards remaining in his hand to keep his lead over me and Marc.
Mike 107, Greg 96, Marc 92
Magnus Lundgren and Sus Henrikson, all the way from Sweden, then arrived. I had corresponded with Magnus for nearly two years via the internet and even executed a nice game trade with him, bringing me Vikingatid, Ostindiska Kompaniet and Batalj. I was thrilled when Magnus was able to arrange his United States vacation to coincide with Gulf Games. It was a great pleasure to finally meet and socialize with him.
I excused myself for a bit to go pick up Jon Pessano and Rich McKiernan from the Ft. Walton airport, which was a lot further away than I had anticipated. Still, I arrived on time to greet them.
BURIED TREASURE
Upon our return, I engaged Jon, Magnus and Vickie in another game of Buried Treasure. Jon nudged out Vickie for his first victory:
Jon 40, Vickie 39, Greg 25, Magnus 21
Ratings: Vickie 8, Jon 7, Greg 6.5, Magnus 6
MIDNIGHT PARTY
Others began filtering in, including Peter, Kim and Timothy McCarthy, along with their newborn son Colin. I coerced Kim Berg to join Ty Douds, Kyle Berg and I for a game of Midnight Party, yet another Wolfgang Kramer game. I held a strong lead following two rounds, but Kim proved very adept at avoiding Hugo the ghost in round three and captured the victory:
Kim – 30, Greg -45, Ty -58, Kyle -65
KOHLE, KIES & KNETE
The call then arose for a game of a personal favorite, Sid Sackson’s Kohle, Kies & Knete. The real estate brokers were Peter McCarthy, Ty Douds, Marc Adams, Calvin Douds, Kenny Douds and myself. I’ve played this with Peter and Ty before back at GG2 in Panama City in what is now a legendary game. Knowing full well that Ty is an uncanny card-counter, I knew that he would easily be able to track the amount of money each player had. He is a formidable player in KK&K.
My strategy was to get in on as many deals as possible, but for small amounts so as to hopefully go unnoticed by my opponents (other than Ty, of course). Ty continually kept warning everyone of my tactics, but I would always cut Ty in on deals wherein I was the Boss to keep him happy. The tactic worked as I won a very narrow victory, thanks in large part to the game ending early on a lucky die roll.
Greg 29, Peter 26, Ty 25, Marc 18, Kenny 17, Calvin 11
ROBIN HOOD
Ever since Brent Carter taught me this Klaus Palesch card game, I have been enamored by it. I don’t see why it wasn’t received better and why the one review I’ve seen of it (in Counter magazine) was mediocre at best. I find the game thoroughly entertaining and challenging. We do play that four cards are placed face-up in the drafting row, which does give a bit more control.
The ‘merry men’ (and one woman) were Peter McCarthy, Craig Berg, Michael Adams, Kim McCarthy, Marc Adams and myself. I managed to lay two valuable cards near the very end of the game and capture the victory:
Greg 36, Kim 31, Mike 28, Peter 26, Craig 23, Marc 10
Ratings: Greg 7, Craig 7, Peter 6, Mike 6, Kim 6
ZIRKUS FLOHCATI
Part of the Nashville gang then arrived, with Mark Jackson and Jimmie ‘Buster’ Williamson entering. I grabbed both of them for a game of Zirkus Flohcati. We were joined by Ty, Vickie and Tim. Mark managed to score quite a few melds and form a gala show, which was just enough for him to capture the victory:
Mark 59, Tim 57, Buster 46, Greg 46, Ty 45, Vickie 42
Ratings: Vickie 7, Mark 7, Greg 6
LANDLORD
Chip and Carla Triplett were next to arrive, along with their newborn baby Matthew. Chip was in attendance at GG3 in New Orleans, but this was Carla’s first time. I quickly enticed both of them into a game of Landlord (known as Wucherer in German) along with Tim, Magnus and Sus.
This was a very close match and not terribly violent. One researcher did continuously move from apartment to apartment, particularly between Magnus and I. The Lunatic never made an appearance as I held him from the beginning of the game, but no one ever attempted to murder one of my tenants.
Magnus and I ended the game in a tie:
Magnus 42, Greg 42, Sus 36, Tim 33, Carla 33, Chip 32
RA
Sheldon Smith, whom I had met at the the Gathering in 1998 and again in 1999, then arrived, along with GG2 veteran Frank ‘King of the Bizarre Games’ Branham. Sheldon joined in a game of Reiner Knizia’s Ra with Peter, Sus, Mike Adams and I.
Ra has never been a favorite of mine. Indeed, I find it to be one of Knizia’s weaker games. I usually perform horribly at the game, and this one was no exception as I was completely swamped:
Sheldon 47, Peter 45, Sus 32, Mike 27, Greg 15
DON PEPE
I played this game at Ty’s house back in July and found it mildly amusing. The theme is, once again, mobsters. Players represent mobster families gathered together around a large table to discuss business … illicit business, of course. Problem is, each family is out to kill the members of the opposing families. This is accomplished by card play which can cause family members to be shot, stabbed or blown apart by exploding birthday cakes.
The game is extremely dependent upon the luck of the draw and there is little, if any, strategy involved. It’s amusing, but wears thin quickly.
Still, I had a fun time playing with this group: Jon Pessano, Lenny Leo, Buster, Peter and Marc Adams. The fun mobster accents added to the fun.
Buster proved the best gangster:
Buster 19, Peter 16, Marc 9, Lenny 8, Greg 7, Jon 1
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLANDER
I’m one of the few who seem to thoroughly enjoy this game. I think the various mechanisms work well together, and the choice of when to switch stock shares, grab the supply of horseshoes or try to match the ‘magic’ number in order to move the Dutchman is always tough. And since I’m a fan of negotiation games, the deal-making involved in moving the Dutchman can also be entertaining and challenging.
I seemed to be in a very good position in this game, but, unfortunately, on the very final turn was left out of the negotiation in determining the movement direction of the Dutchman. Peter McCarthy moved him onto one of my companies, the result being an 84 point swing to my detriment. That was the difference in the game:
Lenny 86, Sheldon 79, Peter 71, Greg 26, Marc 25, Mike Adams 24
POOL POSITION
More folks arrived: Ben and Marcia Baldanza, along with Derk Solko, Ken Girton and George Michaels from Texas. All were first-time Gulf Gamers, and I was thrilled to have them join us.
Ben had brought along some interesting games I hadn’t yet played. I was anxious to learn Pool Position, which Ben graciously taught to Derk, Sheldon, Lenny and I.
The game concerns a funny European tradition of attempting to get the chairs closest to the pool. This apparently is done by placing one’s towels on the chairs. In the game, players bid cards (ala Raj or Hols der Geier) for the right to place their towels and to remove opponent’s towels. It has an interesting mechanism wherein the player who places the highest valued card goes first, but uses the value on the second highest value card played. Thus, the player who plays the lowest valued card goes last, but uses the value on the highest value card played. Very interesting and made for some interesting plays.
The game has a distinct Auf Heller und Pfennig feel to it. There are rows and columns with increasing values the closer to the pool they are. In order to place on the highest valued rows, however, one must conserve points from previous rounds. Once a row is filled with towels, the attendants begin moving towards the chairs. While this is occurring, players may use their point values to remove opponent’s towels. When the attendants reach the chairs, however, the row is now safe and no further towels may be removed.
The game is definitely mathematical and can be prone to players continually adding the totals of each of their opponents in order to calculate the best plays. Fortunately, this didn’t occur in our game. At various points, each of us was perceived as the leader and had towels removed. I had managed to get most of my towels in the higher valued rows which made them difficult to remove and clung on for a victory:
Greg 48, Sheldon 44, Lenny 43, Derk 40, Ben 37
Ratings: Sheldon 5, everyone else 6
BLUFF
I closed the evening with a game of Bluff (aka Liar’s Dice) with Tim, Derk, Ben, Lenny and Henry Hunger, Lenny Leo’s long time friend and first time Gulf Gamer. It was too late to take many notes, but I managed to oust my opponents for a victory.
The time being 3:30 AM, I opted to retire for the evening for a few hours sleep.
DAY 2 – FRIDAY
ON THE TABLE: Robin Hood, Victory & Honor, Himmel Sturmer, David & Goliath, OLYMPIA 2000, Jump, Cloud 9, Take it Easy, Lowenhertz, Rette Sich Wer Kann, Was Sticht
ROBIN HOOD
Another game of Klaus Palesch’s Robin Hood, this time teaching Mark Jackson, Magnus, Chip, Mike Bland and Buster the fine art of stealing treasures. Obviously I taught Buster too well as he performed a brilliant late game move in capturing three treasures on one turn to capture an impressive victory:
Buster 38, Chip 30, Greg 28, Magnus 28, Mike 28, Mark 11
Ratings: Greg 7, Mike 7, Chip 7, Buster 7, Magnus 6, Mark 6
VICTORY AND HONOR
I joined the Nashville crew of Mark, Buster and Chip for a playtest of Ty Douds’ very impressive prototype known as Victory and Honor. I won’t go into the details, as this is Ty’s baby. I will say that this is a very good game which involves several different mechanics and strategies.
The game was a bit long, but we gave some valuable input which helped reduce the time and improve the game. A later playtesting with a different group using our suggestions proved very successful.
Mark stomped the rest of us:
Mark 274, Chip 201, Greg 198, Buster 148
I sure hope Ty pursues this as it has great promise.
HIMMEL STURMER
One of Frank Branham’s rare games, but this one was decidedly less bizarre and more tame than most of his collection. Players race hot air balloons along a track, attempting to get the three balloons pictured on their card (which is kept secret) to the finish line first. Other players may also have one or more of your balloons pictured on their cards, so you will get some help. Those who don’t have one of your balloons pictured, however, will attempt to move them onto spaces which force them backwards or freeze them in place.
A very, very light game, but we did have fun playing.
The racers were Buster, Mark, Sus, Frank, Craig and I. Buster was the first to get his three balloons across and claim the victory.
DAVID & GOLIATH
I only managed one hand of this excellent card game as I departed to help my wife Gail, who had just arrived along with my daughter Lindsay and niece Karie, unpack and bring the luggage to our room. Michael Bland took over my hand and maintained my 3rd place standing through the end of the game:
Craig 226, Sus 173, Greg / Mike 127, Mark 103, Peter 92, Ben 78
OLYMPIA 2000
Lindsay and Karie requested a game of OLYMPIA 2000 and we were joined by Vickie. Lindsay consistently fielded the best athletes and ran away with the contest:
Lindsay 19, Karie 12, Greg 8, Vickie 7
JUMP
Ben and Mark brought forth this unusual game I hadn’t even heard of before. Two planes are moved forward or backward by the players by utilizing cards played in a similar fashion as Raj. Each plane is loaded with passengers and the idea is to time the jump of your passengers so they fall onto land closest to the beach. Landing in the water results in negative points.
This is also a very light game, but entertaining, especially when you see your opponents plummet helplessly into the ocean.
I managed some great, high-scoring leaps on the final round to capture the victory over Ben, Lindsay, Karie and Mark.
CLOUD 9
Aerial games seemed to be the order of the day for me as the next on the table was the new FX Schmid release Cloud 9 by Aaron Weissblum. Mark did the teaching honors (always a dangerous thing!!) and we were joined by George Michaels, Karie, Timothy McCarthy and the team of Gail & Lindsay.
I don’t recall the exact mechanics, but remember that one rolls dice and then everyone tries to guess whether the player has the cards necessary to match the colors rolled. If they feel he doesn’t, they can bail out of the balloon and settle for the points at that level. Or, they can take a chance that the player does have those colors and remain in the balloon as it rises even higher, thereby scoring more points. Of course, if one remains in the balloon and the player can’t play cards matching the dice roll, the balloon descends with no points being scored for those who opted to remain aboard.
I found the game nothing more than a guessing game with little strategy or excitement. Plus, if someone scored few or no points early on, it was very, very difficult to catch the leader. Not a very good game, in my opinion.
Karie won this one as George opted to bail early on the final balloon ride.
WELCOME PARTY
A tradition at Gulf Games is a welcome party so that everyone can get to meet and socialize. The party is usually spiced with some neat contests which force folks to mix and get to know each other. This party was no exception.
Ted ‘Party Monster’ Cheatham was, sadly, unable to attend due to his recent move to the hills of West Virginia, so Mark Jackson assumed responsibility for the party and assembled a super contest. Each Gulf Gamer, including wives & children, was asked to respond to a series of questions: other hobbies, scariest moment, funniest moment, notable achievements, etc. Answers were placed on a Bingo-like grid and everyone was given a copy. The idea was to scurry about attempting to find the people who matched each of the responses, but one could only ask each person one question before moving on to another person.
It was loads of fun as everyone hurried about the room trying to find the correct individual for each answer. I bet poor Frank Branham was asked 50 times whether he was the one who hadn’t had his hair cut in 5 1/2 months! (It wasn’t him … it was Marc Adams). Some other interesting trivia: Did you know:
Sus Henrikson worked in a convent AND a mine?
Ben Baldanza was featured in USA Today launching a helpless mouse in a homemade model rocket?
Kim Berg fainted 3 times at her wedding (is it any wonder?) :o)
Chip Triplett met his wife Carla on the internet?
Lenny Leo was a founding member of a pseudo-punk rock group named H. Royd and Low Life?
Marcia Baldanza painted the tabs of zippers to pay for college?
Sheldon Smith played football in college with Stone Phillips.
Sus was the first to score a ‘bingo’ and win the contest. It was loads of fun … thanks to Mark for a great contest.
We then all engaged in a massive game of ‘ Take it Easy‘, with Mark acting as the caller. George Michaels thought he had wrested the ‘ Take it Easy‘ crown from Chip Triplett with a score of 197, but, unbelievable for me, I managed a score of 205 to capture the trophy and title. Tim and Vickie had crafted a clever trophy depicting a large ‘ Take it Easy‘ chip. It now is proudly displayed in my game room.
LOWENHERTZ
Following the party, the gaming resumed. Derk Solko requested a game of Lowenhertz, which he had never played. This being one of my favorite games, I readily agreed to teach and play. We were joined by Jon Pessano and Rich McKiernan.
I made my move a bit early in this game, hoping that the ‘King is Dead’ card would appear in the first two cards of the final set of cards. Unfortunately, it did not appear to the final card, which was enough time for everyone else to assault me and haul me back into the pack. This allowed Jon to spring into the lead and hold off a charge by Derk to capture the win:
Jon 51, Derk 48, Greg 43, Rich 39
Ratings: Greg 8, Derk 8, Rich 7, Jon 7
RETTE SICH WER KANN
George Michaels was gleefully holding this ferociously fun game in his hand seeking participants. He had no trouble recruiting Ty, Craig, Mark, Jon and I for what proved to be a viciously entertaining romp, but tarnished at the end with a kingmaking situation.
The game suffers from an easily countable tally near game’s end to see who is winning. Thus, it is prone to the ‘get the leader’ syndrome. This happened in our game as, following what was up till then a wonderful time, we were able to calculate who was winning and who would win if certain boats made it to shore. I was guilty of over-analyzing this and being a bit to vocal about the problem, and for that I apologize to my opponents. As it turned out, our calculations proved incorrect in that Jon Pessano was destined to win regardless of which boat reached the safety of land.
Jon 20, George 20, Craig 20, Ty 19 Mark 18, Greg 13
Jon won the tie-breaker as his boat was the first to safely reach shore.
WAS STICHT
OK … Ben officially goes on my list of ‘evil’ persons. He suggested this brain-twisting trick taking game at an hour when Loopin’ Louie would have been more suitable. Sheldon and Jon joined in … much to the eventual horror of Jon.
The game is actually played in two distinct phases. During the first phase, cards are laid out in a 9 X 4 grid (or it could be 7 X 4 … I can’t recall). One player (the dealer) secretly looks at the trump number and color. Everyone then takes one card from the first set of cards, and the dealer then states which card would have won the hand, keeping in mind what the trump cards are. This process continues until all cards are taken. The idea is for each player to discern what the trump cards are and assemble a beneficial hand. At 2AM, this is an ominous task, especially for poor Jon, who had never played trick taking games with trump suits before.
Once all cards are selected, the trump cards are revealed. Then, each player except the dealer must select one of his five ‘goals’ for that round. These goals could be any number of objectives, including ‘most tricks’, ‘least tricks’, ‘no blue cards’, ‘no tricks’, etc. The playing of a normal trick taking round begins and continues until all cards are played. Any player who matches his selected goal for that round is able to discard that goal. If the dealer matches an opponent’s goal which was not matched by that opponent, the dealer may then discard one of his own goals.
This who process is then repeated until one player has discarded all of his goals and captures the victory.
What makes the game even trickier (er … excuse the pun) is the procedure of what takes precedence in the trump cycle. Numbers always exceed color. So if the trump is 3 Blue, then a blue card will take the trick UNLESS a ‘3’ is also played. This has the effect of warping my mind, and at 2AM it downright fries it. Jon had a complete meltdown, but somehow managed to keep his composure and remain civil!
Oh, and did I forget to mention that in the trump deck there are cards which declare ‘no number trump’ and ‘no suit trump’. Thus, during the selection of cards phase when one is attempting to figure out what the trump suits are, it is quite possible that there won’t be one or both trumps. This occurred to us on the third round, totally distorting my brain.
It took 3 to 4 rounds before I began catching on to the logic required and how to play my hand. By that time, Ben and Sheldon were down to just two goals while Jon and I were struggling with five. Amazingly, I managed to complete three of my goals on the next three hands, but Ben and Sheldon were now down to one apiece. Ben completed his final goal to capture the victory.
I must say that for the first half of the game I was loathing it. Once the logic ‘clicked’, however, I began enjoying it. It’s not one that would ever, ever come out with my family or even at the Westbank Gamers session, but one which I wouldn’t mind playing once a year or so. It’s just too taxing to be one which I would enjoy more often.
With my brain thoroughly fried, my bed beckoned.
DAY 3 – SATURDAY
ON THE TABLE: Evil Geniuses, Lost Cities, Bluff, Pacal, Zum Kuckuck, Bretonboule, Piratenbilliards, Pepper, 5ive Straight, Mamma Mia, Zum Nach Westen, Shampus, Blockhead, Honeybears, Gothic Game, Robin Hood
EVIL GENIUSES
I stumbled into the game room, voice nearly gone and eyes bleary from lack of sleep. Tim arrived shortly thereafter and enticed Jon, Chip and I into a game of Frank Branham’s Pit-like prototype known as Evil Geniuses.
Again, I don’t feel at liberty to discuss the details as I understand Frank has a few game companies reviewing it. I will say that it is a ‘real-time’ game and is fast and furious like Pit. The game is clever, but my distaste for real-time games is well known on this forum. The more experienced Tim bested the rest of us:
Tim 15, Greg 11, Chip 11, Jon 7
I do wish Frank well in getting this one published.
LOST CITIES
Mike Adams strolled in so I introduced him to one of my favorite 2-player games, Reiner Knizia’s Lost Cities. Mike caught on quickly and was stomping me through the first two rounds. Fortunately, I managed a 96 point 3rd round and catapulted past him for the victory:
Greg: 11 + 65 + 96 = 172
Mike: 30 + 91 + 8 = 129
BLUFF TOURNAMENT
At this point it was time to begin our traditional Bluff / Liar’s Dice tournament. We completely filled six tables on contestants … the sound of shaking dice and slamming cups was deafening!
Being the defending champ, I was out to defend my title. My hopes at a two-peat were dealt an early severe blow, however, as on the second roll I lost 4 of my dice, leaving me with only one. Amazingly, I held on until the latter stages of the game, with both Shay and Calvin exiting before me. I was finally ousted from the contest, and our table came down to a shoot out between Mike Adams and Kenny Douds. Kenny prevailed and moved on to the finals.
The finals consisted of Kenny Douds, Marcia Baldanza, Vickie Watson, Chip Triplett, Marc Adams and Frank Branham. It was great fun to watch and came down to 1 dice apiece between Kenny and Marcia. Kenny won the final call and captured the impressive handmade Liar’s Dice trophy crafted by Tim and Vickie. Congratulations to Kenny, who must now defend his title in Chattanooga!
PACAL
Ben Baldanza showed me this interesting 2-player card game using the cards from a Take 6 deck. I don’t recall enough of the mechanics, but will say that I thoroughly enjoyed it, in spite of getting my butt severely kicked by Ben in both games.
ZUM KUCKUCK
At my request, Ben then offered to show a group of us this fascinating card game with a neat twist. I hadn’t heard much about it so wasn’t expecting too much. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. I have to say, in terms of new games played, this one was the highlight for me. Perhaps that’s because I really wasn’t expecting much and went in with no preconceived notions of greatness. It also helped tremendously that we had a superb group of folks playing who laughed throughout the entire match.
I was joined in the game by Sheldon, Ben, Marcia and Craig. One of my most hysterical moments of the weekend occurred while Ben was explaining the rules. Ben had just dealt cards to each of us and said, “look at your hands”. Unrehearsed and totally spontaneous, Sheldon, Craig and I promptly lifted our two hands and began looking at them. Ben dropped his head to the table in disbelief. It was one of those priceless gaming moments that I will remember forever.
I won’t attempt to explain all of the mechanics as with only one play under my belt, the mechanics are a bit fuzzy. The neat thing I do remember is that after each round, players pass their hand to the player on their left. Five rounds are held, so everyone plays each hand. Scores are kept on a grid so everyone can easily see how each player performed with each hand. This was the source of lots of good natured ribbing and loads of laughs.
After an abysmal start, scoring 0 points in the first round, I made a game of it, but still wasn’t able to catch the “Kuckuck King” Sheldon:
Sheldon 16, Greg 13, Ben 13, Craig 9, Marcia 4
BRETONBOULE
With the kiddies all away, it was the perfect time for Frank to bring out one of his strange games, Bretonboule. Well, this isn’t a game in the sense of the usual board or card games we all play and enjoy. It’s more along the lines of ‘interior yard darts’. Except instead of darts you use partially sand-filled ping pong balls which you attempt to toss into a wooden box which is on a slight vertical angle. The idea is to cause your ball to stop as close to the center of the box as possible. Well, unless you’re Craig, in which case the object is to simply get your ball INTO the box! :o)
After some practice throws, we split into four teams: Tim and Frank, Sheldon and Vickie, MikeBland and Chip, and Craig and I. We had a super time tossing the balls at the box and laughing at each miss and strange bounce. Poor Craig suffered the worst of it, as his wicked slice kept us in stitches. Ultimately, Sheldon and Vickie proved the masters.
I was involved in a second game, this time teamed with the master of the back-spin, Sheldon. The team of Frank and George Michaels bested us by two points to capture the victory.
Most of the group continued with another game while I stole away to play another of Frank’s treats, Piratenbilliards.
PIRATENBILLIARDS
This one was the ‘ Bamboleo‘ of GG4. Frank set it up early and often and it was continuously in use. It’s pretty basic stuff, but quite a fun parlor game. A wooden frame has a grid of squares with a canvas bottom. The entire frame is raised a foot or so off the table. Each player has a number of small, wooden billiard balls along one edge. The object is to smack the balls from underneath the canvas using a wooden mallet, causing them to hop from square to square, hopefully eventually reaching the opposite side. Each ball which reaches the opposite side scores two points. You can also capture an opponent’s ball by landing in a square it occupies.
The game takes a certain amount of finesse and practice. For some reason, I proved fairly decent at this one, besting Sus, George and Tim.
It’s a fun game … but I’m skeptical whether it is worth the $60 + dollars it costs.
PEPPER
The game room began crowding up again as folks returned from afternoon excursions. With eight of us, Pepper was a natural. Tim, Mike, Frank, George, Sheldon, Timothy McCarthy, Peter and I played three rounds, with Mike and George tying with a score of ‘0’:
Mike 0, George 0, Greg 2, Peter 5, Tim 14, Sheldon 22, Timothy 58 (Frank bowed out after one round)
5IVE STRAIGHT
Gail had brought this one along as Chip had made a comment on how much he enjoyed the game. Well, Chip wasn’t anywhere to be found, so I gathered Peter and Kim McCarthy, Sheldon, Tim and Mike Bland for a three-team game. Peter and I were best at guessing each other’s moves and captured the victory.
MAMMA MIA
I can’t recall who suggested this one, but obviously they hadn’t played with me before and be forced to endure my horrible Italian accent. Nonetheless, we had a spirited game laced with these accents. My performance in the game was, unfortunately, as bad as my accent:
Sheldon 5, Mike Bland 4, Kim McCarthy 3, Greg 2, Lenny 1
ZUM NACH WESTEN
Frank then corralled Marc and Mike Adams and I into this unusual train game. The idea is for players to discover track using their prospector, then orient the track in an advantageous fashion so that their train can speed along to its ultimate destination (Kansas City). Of course, opponents can send their prospector to re-orient those tracks, forcing you to spend valuable time maneuvering your own prospector back into position to repair the damage.
The problem with the game, in my opinion, is your prospector moves via the roll of a die and can only make one turn during the move. Thus, it often proves extremely difficult to get him onto the tile you need him to land on. Thus, the game can (and did) boil down to who has the luckiest rolls.
After a horrible beginning wherein we were playing incorrectly, the game dragged tremendously as we all struggled to get across the river. In fact, Mike never, ever made it across and spent the entire game doing basically nothing. Marc, Frank and I raced for Kansas City, and near the end it simply came down to a dice rolling contest between Frank and I to see who would win. Frank got the lucky roll first, thereby capturing the victory.
Not one of my favorite games of the convention.
SHAMPUS
I scooped this one off the prize table. It’s a strange dexterity game wherein players take turns removing tiny champagne glasses from a huge stack, hopefully not upsetting the lone red glass which rests atop the stack. The game was amusing and some of the removals seemed impossible at first. Gail, Frank, Sus, Craig, Magnus and I each took turns at removing the glasses. I don’t recall who finally upset the stack, but it really didn’t matter.
Although amusing, this isn’t one which will come out often. Plus, the set-up time is tedious and lengthy, so one play is about all you can expect in an evening.
BLOCKHEAD
Time for more gaming with the kids as Frank brought out Blockhead, the block stacking game from Pressman (previously Parker Brothers). We were joined by George Michaels and a host of kiddies, including Cassie Berg (well, OK … she’s not a kid, but a teen-ager!), Timothy, Zane, Ariel and Calvin.
Although Frank and George displayed remarkable patience with the children, they cut them no slack whatsoever. They both persisted in stacking those blocks at evil angles, but incredibly, the children adapted and managed to continue the stacking. Not really caring who would win, we all got into the spirit of seeing who could stack the blocks in the most precarious positions.
Eventually, the kids tired of the game and scattered to the four corners of the room.
HONEYBEARS
We (Cassy, Craig, George and I) convinced Mark Jackson into showing us Honeybears, the cute little bear racing game from the prolific mind of Reiner Knizia. Silly bear voices ruled the game as we had fun racing the bears along the track.
Although I can see some hand management skills involved, this one falls squarely into the ‘extremely light’ category for me. This would be one which is fine for my family and children, but I would be banished from the halls of the Westbank Gamers if I ever tried to bring this one out in that forum.
George proved the best bear racer:
George 110, Greg 101, Mark 100, Cassy 97, Craig 89
GOTHIC GAME
This one was played late at night at Gulf Games 2 in Panama City, and even Pastor Mark Jackson enjoyed the ensuing blood bath. Frank and Ken Girton gleefully paraded the game about, enticing participants. I joined in, wanting to see what all the fuss was about.
Mistake. BIG mistake. I actually was eliminated in the first five minutes of the game. Yep … the first three cards I turned over caused enough damage to kill me, this in spite of searching in rooms Frank had assured me I would locate needed weapons. No weapons were found … only quick, bloody death.
I’m sure if I’d survived a bit longer I might have enjoyed some of the bizarre and horrible traps and monsters, but as is I was completely taken aback by the sheer luck of this game. I’ll try it again just to see what I missed.
Not sure who won, but the other victims were Mark, Frank, Peter, Ken, George and Derk.
ROBIN HOOD
My final game of the evening as I introduced a new group of folks to what I consider a hidden gem. I’m still amazed that this game hasn’t gotten favorable response. Heck, most folks don’t seem to have heard of it at all.
The merry men this time were Sheldon, Mike Bland, Henry Hunger, Kenny Douds, Lenny and myself. Henry, who kept complaining throughout the entire game that he had no idea what he was doing, proved the most adept and captured a narrow victory:
Henry 40, Greg 38, Sheldon 34, Kenny 20, Lenny 17, Mike 13
With the hour approaching 4AM, it was time for bed.
DAY 4 – SUNDAY
This is the saddest part of Gulf Games … the final day. Folks begin leaving for home and the realizations sets in that 8+ months of planning, organizing and worrying conclude way too quickly in four days of incredible fun. I just wish it was four days of planning and eight months of gaming and socializing!!
ON THE TABLE: Calamity, Ted Goes to Gulf Games, 5ive Straight
I finally got in a game of Calamity, an insurance themed game that Mark Jackson kept insisting I just had to play. Although the game is strongly luck based in a ‘move around the board and see what happens’ fashion, it still was fun.
Players each move a common pawn via movement cards, which does give some control over movement. Not much, but some. The planning comes in the purchase of various insurance policies, ranging from low risk to extremely high risk (like insuring Condos and hotels along the Florida Gulf Coast!). At various points, there is the potential for loss and players must decide to ditch their policies or hold on to them, praying that the disaster hits their neighbor and not them. This boils down to simple dice rolls, but it was still fun watching opponents lose their shirts in natural disasters!
The game is also quick .. two times around the board. Player who produced the greatest profit wins. True to my profession (an insurance agent), I proved the best policy pusher and risk taker:
Greg 4,205,000; Kenny 3,135,000; Ty 2,900,000; Buster 2,400,000; Mark 2,230,000; Chip 1,690,000
TED GOES TO GULF GAMES
Mark then broke out his delightful prototype “Ted Goes to Gulf Games“. The Ted in question is none other than Ted Cheatham, who unfortunately wasn’t with us due to his move to West Virginia.
I won’t divulge the details of the game, but will say that we laughed our way through and had, as Ted would put it, a ‘hoot’.
5IVE STRAIGHT
Finally cornering Chip and Carla together, and with GG5 winding down, Gail and I brought out 5ive Straight. It was guys vs. gals as Chip and I ultimately succumbed to the charms of our wives.
Many hugs and back slaps were exchanged as folks departed for their homes. Many of us remained behind to clean the room and pack up decorations and games. By 4:30, everything was completed and dismantled and I hit the road for the journey back to New Orleans.
Gulf Games 4 is now history and an incredibly wonderful memory. I made many, many new friends and enjoyed some superb time with both new and old buddies. I’m still amazed that for four wonderful days folks from around the United States … and this time even the world … can gather together and experience more friendship, camaraderie and love than many folks ever experience in a lifetime. And what is even more amazing is that if not for the internet and our love of gaming, the vast majority of those in attendance would never have met. How much richer all of our lives are due to being brought together via Gulf Games. Long may it … and the friendship and love … continue.