OK this blog is supposed to be about boardgaming. So here is something about my recent gaming experiences:

1) Saturday morning visited my *local* games shop five miles down the road in Aldershot, with my parents' Christmas cash burning a hole in my pocket. It was really great to browse through a game shop in person, not online. Finally settled on two pieces of Knizia Egyptiana - Amun Re and Scarab Lords. They both look very pretty and intriguing, although the quality of the components in Scarab Lords is a little flimsy and cheap compared to what we normally expect from Euro games.

2) John, Dave and Steve visited on Saturday afternoon, all the way from Salisbury. We played Zendo, which went down well. Even John, who is allergic to anything from Looney Labs, was requesting "just one more round". No idea who won. Then it was Illuminati, which I have never been a fan of, probably because I have never grasped the rules properly. So I requested an exhaustive rundown from John before we started. Sure enough I enjoyed the game a lot, and my Network even came within a hairs-breadth of winning before John's Cthulhu snatched the prize. Then I cooked dinner, and we finished with a quick game of Carcassone.

3) Since Christmas I've been slowly getting ready to play Europe Engulfed - counting counters, sticking stickers, and reading rules. This game looks absolutely gorgeous. It takes up two tables, I've got it all set up for 1939, and I'm just about ready to run through a few turns. Just need an opponent now (Dave?)

4) On Sunday attempted to visit the Alder Valley Games Society at the Union Building in Aldershot. Met a guy in the carpark who thought I was a fellow ex-para there for some kind of reunion! Do I look like an ex-para??! We spent a happy 15 minutes trying to find a way into the building. Eventually managed it, paras were there, but no game society. Maybe next week?