Absolutely Aces (56)

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Sunday evening, weekend is almost over, just enough time to get a flight in. Dealing…

Schlock gets Swoop 11, Break 5, Ace, Climb 6, Roll 8, bids Swoop 11.o

Kaff gets Swoop 9, Break 4, Joker, Climb 7, bids Scissors 3.

Out of play: Roll 10, Scissors 2.

  1. Schlock opens with Roll 8 taking Round 1.

Score: Schlock 9, Kaff 0.

Round 2

Schlock gets Scissors 2, Roll 8, Climb 6, Scissors 3, Break 4, bids Break 4.

Kaff gets Ace, Joker, Roll 10, Swoop 9, bids Swoop 11.

  1. Kaff opens with Joker, which is probably the wrong opener. It doesn't look like any other card is any better, Schlock is still going to block with the Roll 8 on Kaff's Ace.

  2. Schlock blocks with Climb 6.

  3. Kaff blocks with Roll 10.

  4. Schlock blocks with Scissors 2, Kaff escaped by giving up Roll 10.

  5. Kaff blocks with Ace.

  6. Schlock blocks with Roll 8, and that's the game as initially predicted. I should replay this last round to see if there is any other outcome.

Score: Schlock 18, Kaff 0.

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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.