January 5, 2013 - Ascending Empires, Royal Turf

Location: Barton

Players: Brett (1096), Mark (1073), David (978), Samuel

Ascending Empires Result:
1) Samuel (23)
2) Brett (22)
3) David (21)
4) Mark (13)

Royal Turf Result:
1) Brett (3400)
2) Samuel (1850)
3) Mark (1350)

Ratings Results:
Brett (+20) = 1116
David (+0) = 978
Mark (-35) = 1038

December 26, 2012 - Goa, Royal Turf

Location: Barton

Players: Brett (1081), Mark (1072), Clay (968), Joe

Goa Result:
1) Mark (50)
2) Brett (43)
3) Clay (39)

Game Time: 2:50

Royal Turf Result:
1) Brett (2750)
2) Clay (1850)
3) Mark (1750)
4) Joe (1500)

Game Time: 1:40

Ratings Results:
Brett (+17) = 1096
Clay (+6) = 974
Mark (+1) = 1073
Joe = 967

December 24, 2012 - Goa, Ascending Empires

Location: Barton

Players: Brett (1066), Mark (1052), David (994), Clay

Result:
1) Brett (59)
2) Clay (49)
3) David (37)

Game Time: 3:20

Result:
1) Mark (32)
2) Brett (19)
3) David (19)
4) Clay (15)

Game Time: 2:15

Ratings Results:
Mark (+20) = 1072
Brett (+15) = 1081
David (-16) = 978
Clay = 968

November 30, 2012 - Taj Mahal

Location: Swanson

Players: Brett (1056), Mark (1024), Art (969), Joel, James

Result:
1) Mark (44)
2) Brett (39)
3) Joel (34)
4) Art (31)
5) James (22)

Game Time: 2:10

Ratings Results:
Mark (+28) = 1052
Brett (+10) = 1066
Joel = 1002
Art (-18) = 951
James = 952

November 3, 2012 - Age of Steam

Location: Barton

Players: Dan (1104), Brett (1040), Mark (1022)

Result:
1) Brett (112)
2) Mark (94)
3) Dan (81)

Game Time: 3:15

Ratings Results:
Brett (+16) = 1056
Mark (+2) = 1024
Dan (-18) = 1086

May 27, 2012 - Goa

Location: Barton

Players: Dan (1095), Brett (1059), David (1008), Mark (996)

Result:
1) Mark (43)
2) Dan (40)
3) Brett (35)
4) David (33)

Game Time: 3:40

Ratings Results:
Mark (+26) = 1022
Dan (+3) = 1098
Brett (-9) = 1050
David (-20) = 988

May 25, 2012 - Age of Steam

Location: Barton

Players: Dan (1082), Brett (1068), Mark (1000)

Brett looked good early.  Mark took control in the mid-game.  Yet Dan proved too good at the end.  This game highlighted just how good this game can be as it does not necessarily succumb to the "runaway leader" problem as was my initial concern.  Not only that, we all were making money early in this game which made it much easier to play from the get-go.

Result:
1) Dan (122)
2) Brett (108)
2) Mark (108)

Game Time: 4:30

Ratings Result:
Dan (+13) = 1095
Mark (-4) = 996
Brett (-9) = 1059

May 12, 2012 - Age of Steam

Location: Barton

Players: Dan, Brett, Mark, Art

Result:
1) Brett (103)
2) Dan (79)
3) Art (58)
3) Mark (58)

Ratings Result:
Brett (+19) = 1068
Dan (+3) = 1082
Mark (-13) = 1000
Art (-19) = 969

March 30, 2012 - Hansa Teutonica

Location: Barton

Players: Dan (1063), Brett (1052), Mark (993)

Game 1 Result:
1) Mark (37)
2) Dan (31)
3) Brett (30)

Game 2 Result:
1) Brett (47)
2) Mark (40)
3) Dan (36)

Ratings Results:
Mark (+20) = 1013
Brett (-1) = 1051
Dan (-19) = 1044

March 26, 2012 - Hansa Teutonica

Location: Swanson

Players: Brett (1039), Art (1013), Mark (992)

Result:
1) Brett (67)
2) Mark (43)
3) Art (39)

Ratings Results:
Brett (+13) = 1052
Mark (+1) = 993
Art (-25) = 988

March 24, 2012 - Hansa Teutonica

Location: Swanson

Players: Dan (1065), Brett (1023), Mark (1005)

Result:
1) Brett (70)
2) Dan (64)
3) Mark (54)

Ratings Results:
Brett (+16) = 1039
Dan (-2) = 1063
Mark (-13) = 992

March 10, 2012 - Goa

Location: Barton

Players: Dan (1052), Brett (1014), Mark (1004)

I had been wanting to play this for some time and I finally got a couple of players to be willing to return to this enjoyable game.  The three of us enjoyed the game, but it was obvious early on that Dan had a lead and was able to keep momentum from start to finish with the end result being an absolute runaway victory.  Mark and I have requested a rematch on a future Game Night.

Result:
1) Dan (54)
2) Mark (36)
3) Brett (33)

Ratings Results:
Dan (+13) = 1065
Mark (+1) = 1005
Brett (-14) = 1000

March 2, 2012 - Ascending Empires

Location: Barton

Players: Brett (1031), Mark (988), Todd

This was Todd's first time playing with our group and he played admirably by looking like a crafty veteran with some of his late-game moves.  Mark continued his dominance in this game.

Result:
1) Mark (31)
2) Todd (25)
3) Brett (23)

Ratings Results:
Mark (+16) = 1004
Todd (+1) = 1001
Brett (-17) = 1014

February 23, 2012 - El Grande

Location: Barton

Players: Dan (1038), Brett (1031), Mark (1002)

In a fun game in which each player took a turn leading, Dan gained control when it mattered most (at the very end).  At various points, it looked like Brett (early on) and then Mark (mid-game) might run away with it.  But Dan's defensive tactics proved successful in the long run.

Result:
1) Dan (122)
2) Brett (114)
3) Mark (112)

Ratings Results:
Dan (+14) = 1052
Brett (+0) = 1031
Mark (-14) = 988

February 11, 2012 - In the Year of the Dragon

Location: Barton

Players: Dan (1056), Mark (1015), Brett (1008)

Game 1 Result:
1) Brett (95)
2) Mark (91)
3) Dan (77)

Game 2 Result:
1) Brett (115)
2) Dan (106)
3) Mark (105)

Ratings Results:
Brett (+31) = 1039
Mark (-13) = 1002
Dan (-18) = 1038

January 20, 2012 - Tigris & Euphrates

Location: Barton

Players: Samuel (1090), Mark (1037), Dan (1033), Brett (990)

We dusted off an oldie tonight as Samuel had requested getting re-acquainted with this one.  We had a good turnout and the game went fairly quickly as we finished the game in just a tad over two hours.

Result:
1) Brett (9)
2) Dan (7)
3) Samuel (7)
4) Mark (6)

Ratings Results:
Brett (+27 ) = 1017
Dan (+8 ) = 1041
Samuel (-12 ) = 1078
Mark (-22 ) = 1015

November 5, 2011 - Brass

Location: Barton

Players: Mark (1063), Dan (1018), David (1013), Brett (1008)

A couple of firsts in this game: (1) it was David's first go at Brass, (2) Brett built his first ship and (3) we saw Mark have to give up an industry to pay expenses.  What was NOT a first was seeing Dan win.

Result:
1) Dan (128)
2) David (124)
3) Brett (114)
4) Mark (89)

Ratings Results:
Dan (+23) = 1041
David (+9) = 1022
Brett (-6) = 1002
Mark (-26) = 1037

October 15, 2011 - The Princes of Florence, Brass

Location: Barton

Players: Dan (1065), Mark (1033), David (1028), Brett (1014), Samuel (1005)

Tonight was the third day in a row of gaming at the Barton Gaming Palace.  Mark took a works-based strategy to victory, utilizing recruiting cards and jesters to complete six works.

Princes of Florence Result:
1) Mark (54)
2) Brett (51)
3) Samuel (48)
4) David (43)
5) Dan (42)

Our fastest game of Brass yet was completed in exactly 140 minutes.  But the real story was how close the final scores were after the rail period.

Brass Result:
1) Brett (169)
2) Dan (166)
3) Samuel (165)

Ratings Results:
Brett (+32) = 1046
Mark (+30) = 1063
Samuel (-11) = 994
David (-15) = 1013
Dan (-34) = 1031

October 13, 2011 - Brass

Location: Barton

Players: Brett (1054), Dan (1046), Mark (1009), Samuel (1009)

Mark sold cotton early and built ships late and at no time was that worried about links.  Dan was solid from start to finish with Samuel right at his heels.  I was just there complaining about my cards and my quality of play.  We've now played this game twice and I can say it's enjoyable as both a 3-player and 4-player game.

Result:
1) Mark (121)
2) Dan (114)
3) Samuel (110)
4) Brett (99)

Ratings Results:
Mark (+24) = 1033
Dan (+6) = 1052
Samuel (-6) = 1003
Brett (-25) = 1029

October 8, 2011 - Brass

Location: Barton

Players: Brett (1049), Dan (1046), Mark (1023)

This was the group's first play of Brass.  Overall, I was impressed and really enjoyed the unique aspects of this game.  I think we all agreed that it was "different" and engaging.  Things get pretty intense in the second half of the game which adds to the game length as the players carefully consider their final actions.

Result:
1) Brett (151)
2) Dan (140)
3) Mark (123)

Ratings Results:
Brett (+14) = 1063
Dan (--) = 1046
Mark (-14) = 1009