Christmas Eve gaming

One of the only things that beats gaming is really good food, like pizza. We started off the evening with pizza and pier fries. Do these exist outside of Maine? They are crinkle cut with sharp edges so they get crispy. An initial frying at a lower temperature cooks the potato all the way through. Then they are left to cool for a bit. When you order them, they are dropped into hotter oil so the outside gets crispy, while the inside stays soft. No ketchup for these things--salt and vinegar!

Anyways. There was one new gamer, so I brought along a selection of lighter games.

Carcassonne: The basic game, no expansions. I thought this would be a sure thing, but it received a mediocre reception. We might try it again some other time.

What else have you got?

Around the World in 80 Days: I was initially worried because during my explanation of the rules, it seemed that it might be too much for a new gamer. However, it played smoothly, and was a hit.

Ok, next!

Tower of Babel: I hadn't played this before, but I knew the rules well enough to teach it. The mechanics were pretty straight forward, but the reasons to choose one action over another were not. As we played, I could start to see the depth of the decisions in this game. Now I understand the reason for the 2.5 weight on BGG. The game played out quickly, but the new gamer said it wasn't "fun". Well, I think I really like this game.

As a closing game, I brought out one we had previously played.

Coloretto: Always a nice filler to end the night, or when you only have 30 minutes.