Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, 10^th December, at the Horse and Jockey pub in Stanford-in-the-Vale.

As this is our last meeting before Christmas
we will be meeting early at 7pm for pizzas and Christmas festivities.

This week, the “Feature Game” will be Christmas Penguins followed by a range of Christmas and winter themed games like Christmas Tree, Snow Tails, Carcassonne: Winter Edition, Giftmas at Dungeon Abbey, Gingerbread House and Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries.   Christmas Penguins is a tactical dice game where players take the role of thieving evil penguins, trying to steal presents from Father Christmas.

– Image by boardGOATS

And speaking of Christmas…

Jeff wasn’t in a festive mood.  He was in a lot of pain, so he went to see his doctor to get the problem looked at.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 26^th Movember, at the Horse and Jockey pub in Stanford-in-the-Vale.  As usual, we will be playing shorter games from 7.30pm as people arrive, until 8pm when we will start something a little longer.

This week, the “Feature Game” will be Mississippi Queen which is an old game that won the Spiel des Jahres award in 1997, but has recently been re-released in a new edition having been out of print for many years.  In this game, players race their paddle steamers down the Mississippi, picking up passengers along the way. Onboard, the coal supplies are limited, so each ship’s acceleration and manoeuvrers must be carefully planned…

– Image by BGG contributor garyjames

And speaking of riverboats…

Jeff was on a boat with a priest and a rabbi.  The weather was hot and humid and the trio had been fishing there nearly all day without a nibble.  Eventually, the rabbi said he was thirsty, so carefully, he climbed over the side of the boat, walked across the water to the bank where they’d left supplies.  He took a cold bottle of water and drank thirstily.  A couple of moments later, the priest gave a deep sigh and said, “I’m not getting anything here either, I think I’m going to join him.”  And with that, he climbed over the gunwale and followed his friend.

Jeff had had enough too by this time, but didn’t fancy the hard work involved in rowing the boat back to the bank.  So, thinking to himself, “If God lets them walk on water, he’ll let me too,” he left the boat.  Inevitably, Jeff being Jeff, he sank like a stone.  Bedraggled, he climbed back in to the boat, raised the anchor, and dejectedly started to row.

On the riverbank, the rabbi turned to the priest and said, “I guess he didn’t know where the stepping stones are then.”

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 12^th Movember, at the Horse and Jockey pub in Stanford-in-the-Vale.  As usual, we will be playing shorter games from 7.30pm as people arrive, until 8pm when we will start something a little longer.

This week, the “Feature Game” will be The Voyages of Marco Polo, a game where players recreate the journey the seventeen year old Marco Polo took to China with his father and older brother.  The long and grueling journey led through Jerusalem and Mesopotamia, and over the “Silk Road”, reaching the court of Kublai Khan in 1275.  In the game, with each player takes the role of a different character with a special power.  The game only plays five, but we have the Agents of Venice expansion which adds an extra player.

– Image used with permission of boargamephotos

And speaking of travelling…

Jeff and Joe were driving through Wisconsin. As they were approaching Oconomowoc, they started arguing about the pronunciation of the town’s name. They argued back and forth until they stopped for lunch.

As they stood at the counter, Jeff asked the blonde employee, “Before we order, could you please settle an argument for us? Would you please pronounce where we are… very slowly?”

The blonde girl looked at him, and then leaned over the counter and said, “Burrrrrr-gerrrrrr Kiiiing.”

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 29^th October, at the Horse and Jockey pub in Stanford-in-the-Vale.  As usual, we will be playing shorter games from 7.30pm as people arrive, until 8pm when we will start something a little longer.

This week, the “Feature Game” will be the new European Birds, Wingspan expansion, fresh from the Internationale Spieltage in Essen.  As well as the European bird cards the expansion also includes some new purple eggs.  We’ve chosen this game expansion because it is very new flying off the Essen shelves very quickly, needs minimal teaching, and plays in a reasonable amount of time giving everyone plenty of opportunity to look at their new arrivals and perhaps play some of the other hot new games.

– Image by boardGOATS

And speaking of eggs…

Jeff walked into a bar with a fried egg on his head.

The landlord was puzzled and asked, “Why have you got a fried egg on your head?”

“Well,” replied Jeff, “You see, boiled eggs fall off…”

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 15^th October, at the Horse and Jockey pub in Stanford-in-the-Vale.  As usual, we will be playing shorter games from 7.30pm as people arrive, until 8pm when we will start something a little longer.

This week, the “Feature Game” will be the hot new game, Tapestry.  This is a beautiful civilisation game, with just four pages of rules that combine to form a surprisingly deep game.  Although it is not a quick game, there should still be plenty of time for the inevitable pre-Essen discussions.

– Image by boardGOATS

And speaking of tapestries and other needlework…

Jeff’s mum was cooking Sunday Lunch of roast lamb.  Jeff had contributed the joint, but his mother was not impressed with his purchase.

“That leg of lamb shrank by six inches when I cooked it,” Jeff’s mum scolded her son.

“That’s funny,” said Jeff, “You know that jumper you knitted me for Christmas?  It shrank by six inches, when you washed it.  It must have been from the same sheep…!”

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday 1^st October, at the Horse and Jockey pub in Stanford-in-the-Vale.  As usual, we will be playing shorter games from 7.30pm as people arrive, until 8pm when we will start something a little longer.

It will be the eve of our seventh birthday, so as is now traditional, the “Feature Game” will be Crappy Birthday.  This is a silly little filler/party game that we can mess about with while people are eating cake allowing us to play something longer once everyone has arrived and finished food and the inevitable Essen discussions.

– Image by boardGOATS

And speaking of birthdays…

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, 17^th September, at the Horse and Jockey pub in Stanford-in-the-Vale. As usual, we will be playing shorter games from 7.30pm as people arrive, until 8pm when we will start something a little longer.

This week the “Feature Game” will be West of Africa which is a game set in the Canary Islands where players cultivate goods, try to sell them as profitably as they can and then use the money to build settlements. Each player has their own deck of cards which they use to carry-out their actions, keeping the requirements of the other players in mind.

– Image by boardGOATS

And speaking of canaries…

The festive season was approaching and Jeff’s daughter was getting excited in the way only small children can.  One day, she asked, “Dad, can I have a canary for Christmas?”

Jeff replied, “No, you can’t, you’ll have turkey like everyone else…”

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, 3^rd September, at the Horse and Jockey pub in Stanford-in-the-Vale. As usual, we will be playing shorter games from 7.30pm as people arrive, until 8pm when we will start something a little longer.

This week the “Feature Game” will be Lords of Vegas. In this game, players represent powerful developers in the burgeoning 1940s Nevada city. Players earn money and prestige by building the biggest and most profitable casinos on “The Strip,” the town’s backbone of dust and sin. They start with nothing but parking lots and dreams, but from there build, sprawl, reorganize and gamble their way to victory or destitution.

– Image used with permission of BGG contributor ckirkman

And speaking of gambling…

Julia rushed home from the casino.  From the door she started yelling at her boyfriend, “Jeff, pack your things. I just won a million pound pay out from a slot machine!”

Excited, Jeff replied, “Oh yes, finally, we’re going on vacation? Should I pack for warm weather or cold?”

His wife looked at him and said, “I don’t care, you can go wherever you want to go! Go to the North Pole if you want, as long as you’re out of the house by noon!”

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, 20^th August, at the Horse and Jockey pub in Stanford-in-the-Vale. As usual, we will be playing shorter games from 7.30pm as people arrive, until 8pm when we will start something a little longer.

This week the “Feature Game” will be Ivor the Engine. This is a great little card-driven, sheep-collecting, train game featuring fabulous artwork from the late, great Peter Firmin.  Although it is not a difficult game to play and looks like a cute kiddies game, it has vicious little teeth that make it a fine little game.

– Image by boardGOATS

And speaking of trains, and sheep…

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, 6^th August, at the Horse and Jockey pub in Stanford-in-the-Vale. As usual, we will be playing shorter games from 7.30pm as people arrive, until 8pm when we will start something a little longer.

This week the “Feature Game” will be Century: Spice Road. This is a pretty, engine-builder card game, similar to Splendor, but with a few more bits.  In Century, players are caravan leaders who travel the famed silk road to deliver spices to the far reaches of the continent for fame and glory.

– Image by boardGOATS

And speaking of spices…

There was a world shortage of spices, however, Jeff had seen it coming and had stocked up. His brother Joe was pushing to sell before the market fell and so that people could have all of their favorite dishes once more.

Jeff looked at Joe and said, “What’s the rush? We’ve got all the thyme in the world…”