Icy day in the neighborhood meant that school was out for the RockyMountainNavy Boys. Mrs. RMN also had a job interview lined up so I decided to take the day off. This gave me some time for gaming!
The morning saw a quick game of Command & Colors Tricorne: The American Revolution (Compass Games, 2017). Youngest RMN Boy and I played The Battle of Stono Ferry (June 20, 1779). I took the British who are a rear guard and set up in defensive positions (behind fieldworks and fences) with the impassable creek behind them. The Americans are a mixed lot composed mainly of Militia and Light Infantry. In C&C: Tricorne the real “killer” is not combat, but Retreat and Morale. If a unit is forced to Retreat, it must roll for Morale; if it fails the Morale roll the unit Routs and is eliminated.
Our game actually started out a bit slowly as I had not reread the rules in a little while and it took the first few turns to remember certain elements of the game. That said, the game played quickly. The Americans pushed forward their left flank and actually dislodged an Elite Infantry Highlander unit from their fieldworks and eliminated their supporting Light Artillery and a Provincial Infantry unit through Routs. Meanwhile, the American right aggressively moved out with two Light Cavalry charging directly into the British defensive position. In the ensuing Melee combat, the British were dislodged and forced to retreat…but with the creek at their back the retreat path was cut off. This quickly eliminated several more units. In the end, the Americans won 5-3. Total play time (including set up) was just over one hour.
Later in the day, Mrs. RMN was teaching so having a bit more time to fill the RMN Boys and myself pulled Queendomino (Blue Orange Games, 2017) off the shelf. I have not played Queendomino in a while so I took a few moments to skim the rules. The game experience was more enjoyable from the start (unlike C&C: Tricorne in the morning) and we quickly found the turn rhythm (Place-Tax-Build-Burn-Pick). Even so, our game took the full 25 minutes it is rated not because we were struggling with the rules but because we all had a touch of analysis paralysis. I started the game using a city building strategy but in the later half the dominos didn’t fall my way. Even though I had the most Towers and the Queen I ended up losing…again.
Mrs. RMN’s student today was the kindergarten girl and once she finished studying she badgered the RMN Boys and myself to play games with her. She saw Rhino Hero: Super Battle (HABA, 2017) and Rhino Hero (HABA, 2011) on the stairsteps and was interested. Both these games are new in the RockyMountainNavy house this week. We played one game of Super Battle and two games of the original Rhino Hero. Super Battlewas just bit too overwhelming for her because she didn’t really grasp the strategy behind the game. Rhino Hero was fun (our tower got up to something like 10 levels or more each time) and she did not make it fall, but again her bouncy-bouncy nature did not mesh well with the fine motor skill game. In reality she was anxious to get back to Animal Upon Animal (HABA, 2005) that she played last week. A few games followed with fun had by all even though her bouncy-bouncy nature got the best of her and she repeatedly knocked the animal pile over.
All in all a good family gaming day; a wargame for me, a family game for the Boys, and teaching good gaming to a young one.
Featured image courtesy @CapitalWeatherGang on Twitter.
Rocky Mountain Navy Gamer 