JeffCon 2024 Recap

JeffCon 2024 was once again held above the picturesque Lake Kachess, providing a beautiful backdrop for an exciting weekend of gaming. Six enthusiastic attendees gathered for the event, bringing with them a variety of board games to enjoy and explore.

Games Played:

• 7 Wonders: Architects
• Antike II
• For Sale
• High Society
• Lords of Waterdeep
• Ready Set Bet
• Reign of Cthulhu
• Santiago
• Star Wars: Unlimited Trading Card Game
• Trade on the Tigris
• Wandering Towers
• Welcome To...

A newer tradition at JeffCon is the Gaufre d'Or voting, where all participants cast their votes to select the best game of the event. The game receiving the most voting points is awarded the prestigious Gaufre d'Or, earning a place of honor in JeffCon history, often becoming a staple in future gatherings. 

This year's winners were:

Antike II - Gaufre d'Or Winner

"Antike II" is a civilization-building game where players control ancient civilizations, aiming to expand their territories, develop technologies, and achieve historical milestones. The game uses the innovative rondel mechanism for action selection, ensuring strategic planning and resource management. Players score points by building temples, creating cities, and achieving specific goals, with the player accumulating the most points winning the game. It was one of the longer games at JeffCon, involving quasi-alliances and learning as we went. A second playthrough would likely be quicker as known rules would change strategies.  

Trade on the Tigris - Gaufre d'Argent Winner

"Trade on the Tigris" is a trading and negotiation game set in ancient Mesopotamia. Players represent city-states trading goods, developing technologies, and expanding their influence. The game involves real-time trading, strategic planning, and civilization building. Players aim to accumulate the most wealth and influence, with the winner being the player with the highest score at the end. It’s a fun game with many different elements, and the five-minute trading round was particularly enjoyable, adding a more random factor to the game.

Santiago - Gaufre d'Bronze Winner

"Santiago" is a negotiation and tile-placement game set in the banana plantations of the Caribbean. Players act as plantation owners, bidding for plots of land and negotiating for water irrigation. The game involves strategic planning, negotiation, and tactical tile placement, with players trying to maximize the value of their plantations. The player with the most valuable plantations at the end of the game wins. The interesting mix of tile placement and bidding made for a fun time, and the screw-over factor was high!

In addition to board games, JeffCon 2024 featured a thrilling draft for the Twin Suns format of the "Star Wars Unlimited Trading Card Game." The draft allowed players to build unique decks from a selection of cards from the first two sets of the game, Spark of Rebellion and Shadows of the Galaxy. The Twin Suns format involved constructing a 40 card deck and playing it against all others. This format emphasized versatility and in-depth knowledge of the game, providing an engaging challenge for all participants. The winners of each Twin Suns game received a special JeffCon Champion promo of The Mandolorian card, sure to become a treasured keepsake.

Overall, JeffCon 2024 was a memorable event filled with games providing opportunities for strategic thinking, negotiation, and enjoyment, set against the serene beauty of Lake Kachess.

JeffCon 2023 Recap

JeffCon 2023 was back at Lake Kachess this year, and it was another great weekend of gaming for the (full) six attendees! The group tried out a mix of new and classic games, creating lasting memories and enjoying the time together.

Games Played:

• The Builders: Antiquity
• Eight Minute Empires: Legends
• Big Money
• Vaalbara
• Ra
• Eclipse (2nd Edition)
• Western Legends
• Yucatán
• Unfathomable
• Steam Barons

Eclipse (2nd Edition) - Gaufre d'Or Winner

Eclipse is a strategic space civilization game where players take on the roles of different interstellar civilizations, exploring the galaxy, expanding their empires, engaging in diplomacy, and battling other factions. The game features a unique mix of resource management, area control, and combat. As players build their space fleets and develop their technologies, they must balance alliances and rivalries to achieve their objectives. The game offers depth and complexity, making it a favorite among strategy enthusiasts. The group thoroughly enjoyed the epic space-themed gameplay and found it to be a worthy recipient of the Gaufre d'Or.  I liked how the different abilities of the factions drove the action forward, giving some variety to the game.

Steam Barons - Gaufre d'Argent Winner

Steam Barons is a board game set in the 19th-century where players become railway magnates, connecting cities with steam-powered trains. The objective is to build tracks, establish profitable routes, and deliver goods efficiently. As the railway networks expand, players face challenges such as competition for routes and limited resources. Steam Barons combines strategy, economics, and route-building mechanics, providing a satisfying gameplay experience. The intricate gameplay and the thrill of creating an efficient railway network earned Steam Barons the Gaufre d'Argent.  I enjoyed the stock market action and the decisions it posed.

Ra - Gaufre d'Bronze Winner

Ra is the classic Reiner Knizia auction and civilization-building board game set in ancient Egypt. Players bid on tiles representing various aspects of civilization, such as monuments, pharaohs, and disasters. The key is to strategically gather tiles to form sets and maximize their points. However, players must be cautious as some tiles can have negative effects, adding an exciting risk-reward element to the game. Ra is known for its elegant design, engaging auctions, and timeless appeal. The group had a fantastic time with this classic and awarded it the Gaufre d'Bronze for its engaging gameplay and strategic depth.

Overall, JeffCon 2023 was a resounding success, with Eclipse, Steam Barons, and Ra shining as the top three games of the weekend.

JeffCon 2022 Recap

Due to COVID, just five of us could attend our annual long weekend of gaming the summer of 2022. Despite that, “JeffLessCon”, hosted in Sequim this year, was a good weekend of fun where we tried out a mix of old classics and new games. Games played included:

• Blitz Bowl (using a five player mat)

• Cartographers Heroes

• Cheaty Mages!

• Fantasy Realms

• For Sale + For Sale: Advisors

• Foundations of Rome

• Furnace

• Long Shot: The Dice Game

• Lords of Waterdeep

• The Mind

• Race for the Galaxy

• Smartphone Inc.

• Space Base

• Tournament at Camelot

• Unmatched: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

• War Chest

The Gaufre d' Or went to Lords of Waterdeep. Although it has been around for some time, it was the first time we had played it. Each player takes on the role of a secret lord of Waterdeep, a powerful figure in the city who has the power to recruit adventurers and send them on quests. The goal of the game is to earn the most victory points by completing quests and building buildings. The game is easy to learn and has a great mix of strategy and luck. You must carefully manage your resources, build buildings, and recruit adventurers in order to complete quests and gain victory points.

The Gaufre d' Argent went to Foundations of Rome. Foundations of Rome is an excellent city-building board game that puts you in the shoes of an architect competing to own land and build magnificent structures. The artwork and miniatures are incredibly detailed, and the game itself is easy to learn. The gameplay was fairly straightforward - players select from purchasing a new lot, building a new building in the shared city, or collecting income. The scoring system is unique, as players can gain glory not only for their own buildings, but also for those of their opponents. Foundations of Rome is a good game and one of the better city-building games I’ve played.

The Gaufre d' Bronze went to Marvel Champions. Marvel Champions is a fantastic deck-building game that really captures the feel of a Marvel superhero team-up. Each character plays differently and has their own unique abilities, which makes for a lot of interesting decisions. The villains are tough, but not unbeatable, and the different modules keep the game fresh. We found the rules a bit daunting at first, but then the game kept pace, if not a little long with four players. I’m still enjoying deck-building and playing it solo.

JeffCon 2021 Recap

We just arrived back from our annual long weekend of gaming at Lake Kachess.  JeffCon was a four or five night event this year, as we extended our long weekend even more due to missing last year's JeffCon due to COVID.

We once again brought a mix of old classics and new games to try out. Here are some of the new (or newish) games our group (of six attendees) played this year:

• 1812: The Invasion of Canada - Not an 18XX game, but a light wargame by Academy Games that has the British Redcoats, Canadian Militia, and Native Americans fighting the American Regulars and American Militia along the northeast US-Canadian border.  I enjoyed the movement mechanic (using cards).  Like many Academy Games, it uses blocks for forces and custom dice for combat.  We played the two turn introductory scenario, and enjoyed it's straight-forward nature.
  
• Dune - This was the first time playing the Gale Force Nine remake of the forty year old classic, (originally released by Avalon Hill back in 1979).  I was concerned that the game mechanics may show their age, but I was mistaken - playing this was one of the highlights of the weekend.  Each player is a faction working to control the planet Arrakis. The game board is split into a number of territories, five of which are strongholds.  The normal winning condition is to control three of the strongholds alone, (or four held by an alliance of two players).  There are faction-specific victory conditions as well.  It is asymmetric, unbalanced, allows for creativity and treachery - and it all works.  In our game, the Bene Gesserit player won using their unique victory condition, which was a surprise to all of us -- especially that player's ally!  Six is the perfect number of players for this game - I wouldn't want to play it with any less.
• What A Tanker! - We played a 6mm tank battle using the Too Fat Lardies ruleset for the first time with six players - two teams of three tanks.  I finally got to use my 6mm desert scenery.  The dice rolls were fun, random, and many times brutal.
  
• Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar -  This worker placement game has a unique game mechanic as players place their workers on giant connected gears.  The gears rotate and take the workers to different action spots.  It requires planning ahead and prudent resource management.  This was our second play, but first time playing with five players.
  
• Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps - We played this Aliens-themed co‑operative survival board game, which to me seemed like a mix of Space Hulk and Star Wars: Imperial Assault.  We played the introductory scenario where we needed to rescue Newt and escape the board.  The game has a card management component that I was not expecting, but helps provide a sense of pressure and constraint.  Our mission was mostly successful and we learned much strategy for future sessions.
• Ethnos - This was our second time playing this game, but it was the first time playing with six players.  This fantasy-themed area control and card matching game scales well with the number of players.  I went with the "Halfling strategy" once again, which put me far head in victory points after the first two rounds.  But in the final round, I pressed my luck and ended up not banking any Halfing armies, and lost to a player using the "Orc strategy".  The game rewards flexibility and taking advantage of the opportunities that arise.
• Pyramid Cards - This now relatively hard-to-find card game was released way back in 1977.  It is a trick-tracking game, with five suites in its 52 card deck, (each deck has 5 suits numbered 2 through 12, along with 2 wild cards). We used two decks and played a modified ruleset where players predicted the number of tricks they would win.
• Road Kill Rally - This risk-management racing game was a blast to play.  Each player takes one car, modifying and customizing it using accessory cards.  Then the death race is on.  Points are awarded for kills, destruction, and finishing the race in the top three positions.  Points are lost for wiping out.  Card management is a key piece of the game, as your hand of cards is used for measuring the fitness of your car.  I really enjoyed the trade-off between speed and safety on turns.  I enjoyed it more than our games of Gaslands, although it is more constrained and lacks the customization of a miniatures game.
  

JeffCon 2019 Recap

Our (seventh annual) JeffCon weekend up at Lake Kachess was last week, and we once again brought a mix of old classics and new games to try out. Here are some of the games we played this year:

• Greed Incorporated - This business game had a number of aspects that I enjoyed, and it reminded me of a 18XX game without the railroads.  Each player runs one or more companies and attempts to make their financial statements look as good as possible.  If you don't increase your earnings from last turn, some of those in leadership positions will get "the boot".  Which isn't all bad, as there is typically a hefty exit bonus involved.  Those nice bonuses provide cash that players use to buy victory points and win the game.  I enjoyed the business part, but the victory points seemed to add a unnecessary layer of complication - I would have preferred to have the winner be the player with the most cash at the end of the game.
• Isle of Skye - We played this old favorite with the new Druids expansion, which adds another buying round that can help out players recover from a bad start.  I enjoyed it and was able to win the game with a enclosed scroll which provided a huge bonus at the end for all my completed areas, (for which I had many - mainly from the new purchasing round). 
• High Society - This was a fun bidding game and I joined the group late in one of the later plays.  The player with the highest score wins unless they have the least amount of money left over.  This rule allowed me to end up winning the game with the second highest total....
• Star Wars: Destiny - Last year I introduced the group to Star Wars: Destiny using a home-brewed co-operative game.  Since then, we have played a large number of two-player matches against one another.  I still find the game to be quick and enjoyable and also have had fun constructing my different decks.  We ended up doing a draft, which took a number of hours, but provided a ton of rounds of matches.
• Diamonds - This trick-taking game was similar to Hearts, but adds a "suit action" that allows you to take an action after winning a hand.  It was simple and a good late evening game.
• KeyForge - I was able to finally try out a game of KeyForge, the card game by Richard Garfield which was announced at last year's GenCon.  Every card is part of a “house", and each house has different qualities.  Each unique deck is composed of cards from exactly three houses, all mixed together.  I really enjoyed the game and I'm excited to try out the other decks I've collected over the last year.
• Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay - For the first time in over two decades we ran an RPG.  We used old V1 rules and characters, and as GM I enjoyed presenting my Old World scenario which took place in a small hamlet and a nearby mining camp.
• Battlestar Galactica - This old classic hadn't been played in awhile and so it took us some time to get back into the swing of things.  Once we did, we all enjoyed the suspicion, intrigue, and fun accusations it provides.  The Cylons won suddenly after it had appeared that the humans would have a smooth pathway to victory....

JeffCon 2018 Recap

We recently returned from our (six annual) JeffCon up at Lake Kachess.  We once again brought a mix of old classics and new games to try out. Here are some of the games we played this year:

• Five Tribes - Although we had previously played Five Tribes more than half a dozen times, in our game we realized we had missed a critical rule that totally changes how the game is played and approached.  Previously we had played that you could end by placing a meeple in an empty square as a valid action, (which meant you could activate the ability of a meeple without a meeple of a matching color in the square).  The actual rules make the game much more mancala-like and I'm excited to find out how the game will play differently when the game is played as intended.
• Kingdomino - I still find the Spiel des Jahres winner to be fast and fun.  I achieved my highest ever recorded total of 82, accomplished with a twelve space / six crown forest and a five space / two crown desert.  I was very fortunate to fly under the radar and be able to grab every forest crown domino....
• Star Wars: Destiny - We introduced the group to Star Wars: Destiny using a home-brewed co-operative, four-player game.  Roberge and I also played a number of two-player matches against one another.  The overall group was turned-off by the collectible aspect of the game, but we emphasized that the starter sets and common cards provide a fully realized experience, (and we've had no desire to ever buy a booster pack).  I find the game to be quick and enjoyable, and also have had fun constructing my different decks. 
• Stockpile - We played Stockpile once again, this time using the bond, commodity, and tax cards.  This added new aspects to the game that were needed to make it more enjoyable and different, as I think the original game is wearing a little thin after so many repeated plays.
• Werewords - I brought up Werewords and we probably played it a dozen or so times due to its tiny playtime of roughly 5 minutes.  It is a game of Twenty Questions with some Werewolf-like roles and elements thrown in.  Most of the fun is the discussion and accusations after the timer has run out.
• Unlock! The Tonipal's Treasure - We started this Unlock! game late in the evening and most of the group got through about half the mystery before heading to bed.  Juice and I finished it up and were able to complete it without needing more than a few clues, (although there was one clue where we were totally and completely lost).  We completed the final puzzle with just four seconds remaining on the clock, which made for an exciting finish.  I liked the adventure and would like to try out more of the Unlock! games.
• 1889: History of Shikoku Railways - This 18XX game was brought up by Sund and took most of one afternoon and evening, but was well worth the time invested.  Most of the time was spent on learning the rules and getting all six players through the first few turns.  Once everyone was up to speed, the game pace quickened.  I liked all the decisions and choices to be made, along with the stock aspects and route mapping.  I would like to try this (or another 18XX game) now that I'm up to speed on the rules.

JeffCon 2017 Recap

Last week was our (fifth annual) JeffCon up at Jeff's cabin at Lake Kachess.  Again we brought a mix of old classics and new games to try out. Here are some of the games we played this year

• Kingdomino - This latest Bruno Cathala game was my top new game.  This Spiel des Jahres winner is fun, fast, and provides good choices for players to make.  It is a simple take on dominos, with players each building a 5x5 grid which scores points based on the number of crowns in a connected area, times the number of similar types in that connected area.
• Machi Koro: Bright Lights, Big City - This was my prior day's purchase, as it was on sale at Target.  We had played the original game with expansions a few days before.  It is a fun, simple game, but the red and purple stealing cards seemed to drag on the end-game a little further than needed.
• Cyclades - This is an old favorite, but this was the first time playing on the six-player map, with three teams of two.  I found that it changed the game by adding more conflict and more combat-focused, which I didn't enjoy.  The expansion added Kronos, and another way to initiate a battle.  The proximity of land-based neighbors made the game feel more like a wargame than a balanced builder.
• Star Trek: Ascendancy - We played this for a second time, which provided a similar fun experience to the first game we played.  I'm looking forward to the long-delayed expansions.
• Star Wars: X-Wing - We played a six-player deathmatch, with pre-defined squads of 30 points each (each player using only one ship).  The table was two mats long and we played to 10 points, (with 3 points for a kill and 1 point for a hit).  It was a fun way to experience the game, as it has been awhile since I have played it.
• Risk: Legacy - We are now three games into our campaign and we just opened our first card pack.  As it is a Risk game, it has some drawbacks in mechanics and the payoff has been lacking.  Although the first few games have been fairly dull, we are hoping the legacy aspects bring some variety and fun to future games.  
• Stockpile - This was the highlight of Jeffcon gaming last year. This stock trading game is still fun with its great bidding mechanism, but I'm starting to tire of it the more games I play.  There appear to be few choices to make other than during bidding and the price movement of stocks are very random and unpredictable.

JeffCon 2016 Recap

We held the annual JeffCon up at Jeff's cabin at Lake Kachess last weekend.  We always bring a mix of old classics and new games to try out.  Here are some of the games we played this year:

• Colt Express - This was the 2015 Spiel des Jahres winner and I was excited to play it.  I wasn't expecting a pre-programmed move game, which I typically don't enjoy.  For what it is, it works well.  I enjoyed the random nature of the game, but also found it incredibly frustrating.  Part of the fun is the 3D cutout train, but I found it hard to see what was inside each car and would have preferred a normal board.  
• Deception: Hong Kong - This is a social deduction game where the players need to pick a pair of cards out from a huge supply.  One of the players is assigned to be the murderer and selects two of his or her cards to be the targets.  There is a overseer who presents clues to the team so they can pick out the cards.  It was fun (and we were successful in finding the items most of the time), but the game could be much faster and straightforward than the rules as written.
• Isle of Skye - This is a game I already reviewed.  I still enjoy it - good length of time, and hard decisions to make.  My only complaint is that if you make some bad decisions on bid prices early, it can be hard to recover.  However, the game does have a built in benefit if you are behind, which really helps.  On turn one, I had two great tiles, but each were purchased after my time to buy, so I ended up with no new tiles.  I did get extra cash, but was still playing catch up for the rest of the game
• Dark Moon - I was hoping this could be a faster-playing Battlestar Galactica, but so far, it has been hard to replicate the fun associated with the old classic.  It feels a little clunky, but I'm hoping to get a full game as we needed to cut the last game off early.
• Stockpile - This was the highlight of Jeffcon gaming this year.  This stock trading game is fast, fun, with good decisions.  It has some clever mechanics, and a great bidding mechanism.  It might replace Acquire as my favorite stock trading game.  The bidding phase makes the game really fun and interesting - there is bluffing and hard decisions to make.  My only suggestion would be a bidding mechanic for the character selections - I think some of the roles are more powerful than others.