Eric's Mensa Games Night
Welcome. I occasionally host a strategy board games night for Mensa members.
Check the chapter calendar for date and time. We play games brought by
participants or selected from my library. My collection
is large enough that we can play two games a month for a decade without
repetition, so we always have variety available in addition to previous
favorites.
First-timers should print the map and directions
to my place. There is no good sign for the apartment complex or the
building, so I wrote directions to give you details.
To contact me about games night,
send email.
Want to know more? I have written a little bit about some games on my
games page, and you can also find information at
Funagain Games.
Games
Some other game nights lean toward party games or word games. This is games
night is for strategy board games. I mostly enjoy strategy board games lasting
from 90 to 120 minutes:
- These games include bidding, bluffing, building, collecting, combat,
exploring, farming, investing, persuasion, racing, strategy, trading, and
other forms of intellectual competition.
- They make use of every theme under
the sun, including dinosaurs, fish, jewels, magic, money, pirates, robbers,
utility companies, and trains.
- To various degrees, they involve luck, suspense, anticipation, planning,
and analyzing.
This games night is unlikely to get into trivia games, party games, word games,
role-playing games, or long war or economic campaign games.
 |
| Edel, Stein & Reich. |
 |
| Tigris & Euphrates. |
I have hundreds of games to choose from. Here is the complete list. Two of my current favorites are shown here.
On the left is a serious strategy game,
Tigris & Euphrates.
Basic plays in the game are to put down tiles, which make a kingdom more
attractive, or disks ("leaders"), which collect income from the kingdom. You
have to do some of each. A very nice feature of this game is that kingdoms both
merge and separate, and you have to support your leaders and carefully evaluate
the board. It is not just a game of conquest.
On the right is a lighter game,
Edel, Stein & Reich.
At first look, it is a simple game of choosing to take money, gems, or a bonus
card. However, when two players choose the same action, they have to negotiate
for it, and the negotiations force some interesting choices and judgment. It is
one of the better short games around.
 |
| Starting a game of Settlers of Catan. |
One of the several games we played in February, 2005, was Settlers of
Catan. Settlers is a classic strategy board game. Players
accumulate resources to build roads and settlements, trying for the most points
earned for their accomplishments.
 |
| Power Grid. |
In March, 2005, we played Power Grid. It involves building a power
supply network and buying fuel and power plants to supply power to earn money
to buy more. The game has an unusual auction mechanism, along with fluctuating
prices for fuel, and plays nicely. However, it can be a bit long, and it took
longer than we expected or wanted.
 |
| Hive. |
We do not play abstract strategy games too often, but I was pleased we had a
chance to try Hive. Each insect moves in a different way. The queen bee
moves one space. The soldier ant moves any number of spaces. The beetle can
crawl onto other pieces and into open spaces inaccessible to others. The
grasshopper jumps over pieces. The goal is to surround your opponent's queen
bee so it cannot move.
The game is a nice little thing; you get into some good strategy quickly, but
it is not overwhelming.
 |
| Quoridor. |
 |
| Abalone. |
Abalone is a bit of a classic for abstract strategy gamers, and the rules are
exceeding simple. You can move one, two, or three of your balls in a line one
space in any of the six directions, and two or three of your balls in a line
can push fewer of your opponent's balls in that line. The first player to push
six balls off the board wins.
Quoridor also has simple rules. The goal is to get your pawn to the opposite
row. You can either move your pawn or place a wall. You can move your pawn one
space in any of the four directions that is not blocked, you can hop it over
your opponent's pawn, and you can hop to the left or right of your opponent's
pawn if there is a wall behind them. You can put a wall by any two squares,
except you cannot completely block your opponent's path to their goal.
There is more information about some games on my
games page, but of course these are just a few of
the many games I have available for play.
Food
 |
| Dos Rios. And just a bit of brownies. |
I will almost always have something chocolate to serve. You do not need to
bring other food or snacks, but you may. I usually only stock water to drink,
so bring your own beverage if you would like something else.
Over time, we will see if other arrangements work better or if there should be
more substantial food for the evening.
Directions
Directions and a map to my place are here.
My apartment complex is on a major road, but it is not well marked, so it can
be hard to find the first time. So I recommend you print the map and
directions. As you are approaching, you cross over the Central Expressway, on
a bridge, not an intersection. Then there is a small road into one apartment
complex, followed by the driveway into my complex, Peartree Apartments.
You are not done when you enter Peartree Apartments. The buildings are poorly
marked, so it is hard to find the building numbers. However, my building is
the first one on the left just after you turn into the lot from Mathilda
Avenue. So just park in any uncovered space (the carports are assigned). My
apartment is on the ground floor at the far end of the building from Mathilda,
behind carport space 60.
If there are no spaces in the lot, you can go back out and park on Mathilda
Avenue (just avoid the green curb, which is for short-term parking), or you
can turn right onto Indio and park there. Do not go too far on Indio, or you
will be on the Central Expressway.
© Copyright 2005 by
Eric Postpischil.
