by A.J. Coltrane
GNOIF #3 recap: GNOIF Just Wants To Have Fun (Ladies choice of games)
Games That Got Played: Dominion; Gloom; Forbidden Island; Agricola; Ticket To Ride – Europe
Games That Didn’t Get Played: Mr. Jacket (Pocket); Ticket To Ride (Card Game); Starship Catan; Monty Python Fluxx
The big hit of the night was Forbidden Island, though both Agricola and Ticket To Ride (Europe) got a lot of post-mortem conversation.
We won the Forbidden Island game that I played in. The concept of the game is that the island is sinking, and that you and the other players team up to try to gather four treasures from the island before it completely submerges beneath the sea. The island is represented by 24 tiles, and in the game that I played we had two tiles that were still above water when we escaped the island.
The other group lost their game when a key tile sank early on, splitting the group in two. Eventually a critical treasure tile sank, ending the game. Had that tile not sank they would have won on the next turn!
Thanks to everyone who played
FlatbreadGarden 
We tried a new game at our last GNOIF. “Fortune and Glory” from Flying Frog.
Set in 1930s, it’s a sort of Indiana Jones treasure hunt where you travel the world dodging Nazis and mobsters while you sneak into ancient temples and reap artifacts, treasure, and (of course) glory. Trade on your glorious reputation to acquire gear and allies. Heap up your fortune to win the game.
Fun but (naturally, for our group) long–we tend to over-parse the language of each rule, especially first-time out with a new game.. Still, I’d recommend it because it has several layers of complexity, plus both competitive and cooperative play alternatives. Downside: it’s pricey, and I’m glad I didn’t have to put up the coin for it. Still, it’s a nice addition that we’ll play repeatedly.
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I’ll have to look for Fortune and Glory. We’ve been getting a lot of mileage out of Last Night On Earth, also by Flying Frog.
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Board game geek has a good rating on Fortune and Glory. Might have to check it out. Thanks for the suggestion.
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“Last Night on Earth” has had a lot of play in our group, too, but we were all waiting for a new shiny thing to distract our attention. Flying Frog has been a good creator. Lots of game variations, not so many rules as to numb the mind. After a few beers, I have to be able to remember how to play, after all.
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