Over the past few months, I've been introducing a group of co-workers to the world of German games.  Until last month, I had stuck to the "gateway games" like Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, San Juan, etc.  This time I decided I would bring a "heavier" game and see if anyone was interested.  Everyone was game (pardon the pun), and the night was a success.

 

Everyone warmed up with a quick game of For Sale.  This was our first play, but it took less than 30 minutes, including the rules explanation.  The beauty of this game is that the first half is pure auction, which rewards the best value.  Players all start with the same amount of money and bid on properties ranked from 1 to 30 (with 30 being the most valuable property).  Each player winds up winning a single property each auction, so at the end of the phase all players have the same size hand, with varying-valued properties.  In the second phase, a number of check cards are laid out, each one with a dollar amount ranging from zero to $15,000.  Players blind-bid in the second phase, playing one of the property cards from the first round.  The highest property played gets the biggest check.  At the end of the game, the most money wins.  Our game was rather unremarkable, save for Dave winning his first game!  We traditionally heckle Dave for being the only player to not complete a route in Ticket to Ride.  With his victory in For Sale, he was able to silence the critics for a night.

 

As I mentioned earlier, our main course for the night was El Grande.  Everyone was undaunted by the rules, and everyone grasped the basic concepts quickly.  Lawrence was able to secure an early foundation around his Grande in Galicia, and proceeded to score first place in the region in all three scoring rounds, as well as two "Score the Four" scoring cards.  This established him as the early leader, and let him cruise to victory.

 

 

By the second set of rounds, the players had begun to figure out the cycle of alternately bidding high and low to move men into the courts and then onto the board.  The placement of the King became more strategic than the early turns, and everyone really began to study their moves.  Unfortunately, as our gaming was on a weeknight, we decided to only play the shorter six-turn game rather than the full nine turns.

 

Lawrence won by a large margin, with me (Jeff) narrowly taking second over Reagan by 1 point.  Dan's blue legions and scored first place in a couple of the Southern provinces, and Dave brought up the rear with his paratroopers from the Castillo.

 

 

El Grande was a big success, with everyone agreeing that we should play it again with the full nine-turn game.  I look forward to the day when I can teach them Tigris & Euphrates.

 

After our El Grande game it was getting late, so Dan and Reagan headed home.  Dave, Lawrence and I stayed for a quick game of Guillotine.  This game always plays fast and chaotic, but it's too random for my tastes, even for a filler.  Next time I think I'll suggest 6 Nimmt or Coloretto.

 

Another game night is being planned for this Thursday or next, so I'll be looking over my collection for possible game candidates for our next office gaming night.  The photos from this session can be found in the Games gallery.