We had friends in town for my daughter’s birthday, so we ended up with multiple tables for games. Joe, Gina, Dana and Laura played Agricola on one, while Louis, Kevin, Nick and I started with Glen More.
Louis started off picking up whiskey, Nick was figuring things out and ended up with a butcher, and Kevin and I were working the Annual Fairs. Kevin missed out on the castle that provides bonuses for villages, and I managed to grab the Iona Abbey, giving me a bonus for each yellow tile. Nick ended up getting into the whiskey and taverns, but it wasn’t enough. Kevin and I were working the fairs as much as we could, but I ended up with just a bit more.
We followed that up by learning Samarkand. It was a little rocky at first, but we got things figured out. The right side of the map was quickly engulfed in trade agreements between white, purple and black. I had managed to pick up four cards right next to each other on the map and was the only person with family members close to those goods. I was able to quickly claim them and then merged the various families in the area. I ended up scoring the full eight points for six of my seven cards, and had a bunch of points in agreements as well. Kevin came close, but I was able get the win.
The other group had finished Agricola and things were winding down for some. Louis, Joe, Kevin and I were up for more, so we finished the night with Railways of the World on the Eastern US map. There were four service bounties available easy, but only two of them were easily complete-able. There was also Hotel Atlanta, but without much for deliveries available to Atlanta it wasn’t very desirable. I ended up going last, and Louis and Kevin positioned themselves for the two bounties. Joe connected to New York trying for the “four different goods” bonus. I decided to go for the Atlanta to Richmond major line, and while my baron rewards fewest bonds, I took the bonds needed to complete the route. On the second turn, I was able to upgrade my train and scored the bonus for the first three-link delivery.
That really set me up, and I didn’t need another bond all game. A couple turns later, the Service Bounty for Raleigh showed up, and I had the connections and completed it easily. I also built to Jacksonville and scored the service bounty that had been available from the beginning of the game. Upgrading to a level five train was all it took to finish out the game in the lead, as I was able to make four-five point deliveries throughout the area. Louis pulled close, but ran out of steam after delivering all of the five and six point deliveries in the Louisville area. Kevin managed to connect New York to Kansas City with the western link, but the debt was too much, and Joe just couldn’t get a lot going in the northeast.
It was the highest scoring game of Railways we’ve had in quite a while, but it also highlighted a few of the reasons we tend to prefer the Western map. Like the easy major lines, and the higher values for the service bounties. It was still fun, though and definitely one of our favorite games.
Until next time, happy gaming!
