Windward, Game 3

While my regular RPG gaming group is on a hiatus for some indeterminate time (I am 80% certain we will regroup, but with additional soft rules in place), I am still playing with another friend. We played our 3rd game of Windward today. I started off strong, then through some good strategic playing as well as luck, he pulled ahead. Far ahead for most of the game. He played the achievement cards well! He got to notoriety points to win, but the game allows all remaining players get a last turn. As we had added the achievements, I had 3 pieces of luck: 

1. the wind was going in a good direction for me, allowing me to get the just turned over "move 15 spaces in a single turn" achievement
2. I actually managed to get 2 red cresters in a pair of turns, and process them (their teeth are worth 4 notoriety apiece)
3. I actually had a fuel card, that allowed me that one extra move to get to the port and trade in everything

So I actually came out ahead at the end despite thinking I had lost 2 turns earlier. Now - we both forgot that this was his last turn, and rather than trade in gas for more notoriety, he opted for canons. I think had we remembered, it would have either been a tie or he would have won.

The funny thing was that, as I was setting up the game, I read the battle cheat cards. And realized we had not been doing battles correctly the first 2 games! There is a bit more strategy than luck: the attacker and defender both have to allocate any canons before rolling the dice. But both sides can hold off using cards and any other bonuses until after the rolls. That changes things a good deal. Regardless, we had a good time. Next game we may try one of the expansions that came with the 2nd Kickstarter: pirates with their own trading post and money, the white crester, scouts and the drifts. A few more variations have yet to be played. We're hoping one of his kids will want to play as a 3rd player would also change the dynamics. And who would not want to hunt flying whales in a fictional world? And I am also glad I backed that 2nd project, as it came with game trays so that the setup and takedown is very fast now: I can get the game set up in 5 minutes or so and take down 5-10 minutes. Though everything, despite being a much larger box. does not quite fit into the big box. The original board does not fit but we use the neoprene one. So that works out okay honestly.

I also backed the latest 0Hr Kickstarter for some retro-style posters. And realized that we could also play a game of Zombicide:Invader on some of the maps I have. We may try that for some variety. And I still have the Scythe game we may want to try as well at some point.

To be honest, I do have some mild social anxiety. I'm okay with 1 person at a time, but several at a time, even if I've known them for years, seems to put some pressure on me. Playing games is worth it to me, and I also know that is all self-induced but knowing that does not really help me. I have no idea why I am on edge when there are people around me, and I fear it is getting worse as I get older. I am hoping we can move past this last issue with the group, but only time will tell. I am hoping it does not end up like my whitewater kayaking: eventually the fear overcame the fun for me. I did almost drown one time, so that fear was warranted! But the guy I was boating with was a lot better than me and wanted to do harder falls. One final trip where I was just getting tossed all over the place and knowing there was pretty dangerous fall ahead unless you hit it just right, was my last trip. While gaming is not life or death, for whatever reason there is that same fear in there, at least in turns of how I am reacting to it. Yeah, I am strange.

And the turkeys were all over the backyard - counted at least 15!