Absolutely Aces (42)

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Sunday, last day of May, summer starts for real tomorrow, not that it will be much different than the year to date. I'm on quite a streak with these Absolutely Aces games. I don't know how many games I'll play in a row, but this week looks good, so pretty close to 50.

Last 7-10 days saw me ramping up pretty big on the caffeine. Too big. Yesterday was a disaster, even with a stout cup of oolong. I ended up taking two naps, and still managed to sleep really well, even past the alarm. Today a cup of strong-ish green tea. I might do a weak-ish cup of green tea tomorrow around noon, then hopefully be off the caffeine for a while. Whenever I hit it hard during the week, the weekends become very difficult.

Schlock gets Scissors 2, Roll 8, Ace, Swoop 9, bids Scissors 3.

Kaff gets Roll 10, Climb 7, Break 4, Break 5, bids Joker.

  1. Kaff opens with Climb 7.

  2. Schlock blocks with Roll 8.

  3. Kaff blocks with Scissors 3.

  4. Schlock blocks with Ace.

  5. Kaff blocks with Break 5 for Round 1.

Score: Schlock 0, Kaff 5.

Round 2

Schlock gets Break 5, Swoop 11, Climb 6, Break 4, bids Swoop 9.

Kaff gets Scissors 3, Climb 7, Scissors 2, Joker, bids Roll 10.

  1. Kaff opens with Joker.

  2. Schlock has to block with Swoop 11 to get it out of his hand, otherwise he's stuck with it.

  3. Kaff blocks with Scissors 3.

  4. Schlock blocks with Break 4, Break 5 for Round 2.

Score: Schlock 2, Kaff 5.

Round 3

Schlock gets Break 4, Swoop 9, Scissors 2, Roll 10, bids Climb 7.

Kaff gets Break 5, Swoop 11, Scissors 3, Ace, bids Joker.

  1. Kaff opens with Swoop 11.

  2. Schlock blocks with Break 4.

  3. Kaff blocks with Break 5.

  4. Schlock blocks with Roll 10.

  5. Kaff blocks with Scissors 3.

  6. Schlock blocks with Swoop 9, Swoop 11.

  7. Kaff blocks with Break 4.

  8. Schlock blocks with Break 5. Kaff predict score on Climb 7.

  9. Kaff blocks with Roll 10.

  10. Schlock blocks with Scissors 2, Scissors 3.

  11. Kaff blocks with Climb 7 taking Round 3.

Score: Schlock 2, Kaff 12.

Round 4

Schlock gets Ace, Break 4, Joker, Swoop 9, bids Roll 8.

Kaff gets Climb 7, Climb 6, Break 5, Scissors 2, bids Scissors 3.

  1. Schlock opens with Joker.

  2. Kaff blocks with Scissors 2.

  3. Schlock blocks with Ace.

  4. Kaff blocks with Climb 7 for Round 4 and game.

Score: Schlock 2, Kaff 19.

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What to play next?

Deciding what to play next is always a tough call when faced with a closet full of games, all of which were purchased with intent to play. Here's one I'm dealing with the decision.

  • Something New: this means both something new to me and a game which has been published recently, within the last two or three years.
  • Something Classic: I've acquired a number of games properly considered "classic" which haven't yet been played. The current example would be PanzerGruppe Guderian.
  • Something Again: mastery requires constant practice, which means playing games many, many times to allow nuance to appear.
  • Something Vietnam: as I'm on a Vietnam binge. I don't have all the Vietnam games ever published, but I can say that I have a lot of them, and probably more than most people.
  • Something Obscure: as it's fun to poke around in the dustier corners of game design.
  • Something Different: break away from the same old publishers and try a game from one of the new kids on the block. Or, conversely, dip into legacy with a classic tried and true.
  • Something Light: once in a while it's nice to actually finish a game all the way through in one sitting, in an hour or two.
  • Something Heavy: if possible, it's nice to set up something big and complicated which can be left out for days or weeks or even months, for a leisurely stroll through a very large or long game.

There are surely many more ways to choose, but the above method keeps me busy enough, helps me get both breadth and depth into my play, and provides me with a sense of progress.

The odd man out

When there is an odd man out:

  • Have a solo game ready to play.
  • Keep score or advise on a game in progress.
  • Referee a game in progress.