Most people had arrived by about 8pm, so we started off with the “Feature Game”, For Sale. This is a quick, fun game consisting of two rounds: in the first players buy properties by auction; in the second they sell them again for the greatest profit possible.  There were the usual mix of bad calls and lucky gambles, but the win was well deserved.

– Image by BGG contributor 4100xpb

Since one of the players had to leave early, we decided to have a quick game of Incan Gold before she left. This is one of the first games we played back in October last year and is a light, “push your luck” game.  The idea is that players are exploring a mine collecting treasures as they go, but if the mine collapses before they get out, they loose everything.  Another run-away victory and, since she had won both games, the winner decided it was definitely time to leave and give the rest of us a chance…

– Image used with permission of BGG contributor mikehulsebus

So we all moved on to another bidding game, called The Speicherstadt.  This is an interesting game set in post-Hanseatic League Hamburg.  At its heart, it has a curious auction mechanic where players take it in turns placing markers to indicate which contract, ship or firefighter cards they would like.  The first person to declare an interest in a card then has first refusal, but the cost is proportional to the total number of people interested in the card.  If the first player decides it is too expensive, then the card offered at a discount to the other players in the order they declare their interest; the later the player, the larger the discount.  Although it wasn’t obvious a the time, this was won by a massive margin based on collecting the Counting Offices, fulfilling a couple of lucrative contracts and an unhealthy interest in fire-fighters…

– Image used with permission of BGG contributor henk.rolleman

The final game of the evening was Fleet.  This is another game that we hadn’t played before and also had financial management at its heart albeit with a fishy flavour.  Each round starts with players bidding for fishing licenses.  As well as allowing players to launch boats corresponding to the license type, they also provide their owners with a handy bonus.  Cards are multipurpose, as they can be played as boats, captains or used as currency. This game was also won by a large margin, appropriately by the fisherman with by far the largest fleet of boats.

– Image by BGG contributor mattmill

Learning Outcome:  Sometimes an interest in men in uniforms helps, although girls always love a sailor.