Had a very pleasant evening yesterday benefitting from Nick's hospitality, lots of food and drink, which I repaid by beating him at Hannibal. Nick played Carthage - the game got off to a leisurely start, we both spent the first couple of turns laying PCs. I think Nick let me off the hook by not being aggressive early on - perhaps he didn't have the right strategy cards - and by the time Hannibal got over the Alps there were two armies waiting for him and Scipio on the way with a third. In the end it was Scipio that got him, in a cliffhanger battle that left Hannibal with nowhere to retreat to. Bad luck Nick!

Simon came over as well, and after Hannibal we sat around and chatted for a while. Simon expressed his wish that we would stop playing different games all the time and just concentrate on one "to get all the nuances". Yes, Simon, I know what you mean, but which one do you suggest? How would you choose? There are just so many brilliant games out there to try, and life is so short....