Cthulhu. Again? It may be time for a restraining order…

As usual we've got Mythos. We've got beer. What more is there? Oh right, a little insanity! Fortunately for you, we've got that too.

WHERE? Guardian Games (back in the bar as usual, though we have a non-bar table reserved for minors)

www.ggportland.com

WHEN? Saturday, June 2nd

WHAT TIME? 1-5 PM (feel free to arrive late or leave early)

This will be the last big throw-down before the regional championship on June 23rd. Hope to see you there!

Sincerely,

Matt

Quick update:

A few of us are meeting at Guardian Games tonight (May 26th) at 7 PM for some multi-player action using the Cenacle rules. We have 1 spot open for a 4-player game.

If you haven't tried CoC multi-player using this variant, I highly recommend it.

I'll be at the June 2nd thing; I plan to carry on the tradition "winner buys the beverage".

- grant

grant_babb said:

And a great tradition it is! Especially for me as I get all my drinks for free. Being a loser never felt so good…

By the way, we had some fun 3-player games on Friday night.

Our opening match went to piszcadz with a strong showing from his deck combined with good play - not bad for his first multi-player game.

For our second match, piszcadz switched to one of dboeren's test decks (Chtulhu/Miskatonic), while I was using my Ninja Skillz deck (Mono-Syndicate skill reduction/Mr. David Pan). About halfway through the game he commented that he was just a "bump on the log" and was only able to play the role of spoiler between me and the other player. We both had 2 story cards while he hadn't won any.

And then things changed.

The Cthulhu half of his deck, occasionally slow to start but tough once it gets rolling, started kicking into high gear. He quickly went from zero story cards to 2 in his won pile, and was 1 turn away from securing a victory when a handy Panic! let me sneak in to steal the win. It just goes to show, never count yourself out as things can change on a dime in this game (and then swing back again the other way).

After Friday's matches, I can confidently say that Cenacle multi-player is my favorite way to play this game.

Three player games are the way to go for sure!

Hey Matt i had a question about tournament play.

When playing do read your cards abilities to your opponents when you play them or is it their job to ask?

MinionOfProvidence said:

It depends on the card. Generally, I only explain the consequence of what I'm doing, rather than read a card's entire text. For example, I play Deep One Assault, name my target, and tell my opponent it's destroyed. If at that point my opponent wishes to know more about the card's effect, I hand them the card so they can read it.

Remember, you only have 50 minutes to complete your round in a tournament setting.

You must announce your plays, you do not need to read all text on a card. I play a character, the proper thing to do is drain an domain with the proper resources, and announce the character by name that I am playing. If my opponent wants more information it is his duty to ask. If bringing the card into play causes some sort of change in the game state beyond that character entering play (say it had a force response or a passive) then it is my duty to announce the change in game state along with that I am playing the character.

I find most of the stuff is really easy just by remembering this is a game, and no matter how competitive it is supposed to be about the fun. Translation, don't be a ****** and don't let your opponent be a ****** to you. Everything else should be like a walk in a meadow of spring flowers.

Yes, Penfold has good advice here. I apologize if my answer came off as sounding curt. I was hard-pressed for time when responding.

First and foremost this is supposed to be a fun endeavor, even in a stressful environment such as our upcoming regional championship. As these are people you may be playing with for a while (i.e. a recurring league night at Guardian Games), good sportsmanship goes a long way to ensuring everyone has a good time during this tournament season and the next.

Behaving in a manner that is "hardcore" or "cutthroat" - basically looking for ways outside the game to gain an advantage - goes squarely against the tenor of our community. This doesn't mean you can't play full tilt. It just means you should act like a gentleman while stomping your opponent into the ground.

Also, because everyone in the Portland area is relatively new to the game and each other, you're going to see a lot of cards being played that you've probably never encountered, and likewise for your opponent. Therefore, it is entirely acceptable to ask to see a card or for your opponent to do the same.

Having said all that, what do I do?

Whenever I take an action - whether it targets only my cards/deck or that of my opponent - I "talk through" what I'm doing. I'll say things like "I'm exhausting this character to do X" or "I'm discarding X card to activate Y card's ability". That sort of thing. For the most part I do this for my own benefit. As a bantamweight, after about half a beer I'm feeling pretty good, so verbalizing my actions helps keep me focused and sitting in my chair.

Overall, I think you'll find your games go faster when you give a brief explanation of what you're doing when you're doing it. You don't need to go into extreme detail unless prompted, but a quick rundown of your action to keep your opponent informed is both expected and appropriate behavior.

On a related note, it's important to give your opponent an opportunity to respond to your actions. If you sling out a bunch of cards, don't be surprised if your opponent asks you to stop, go back, and give them a chance to play a card of their own.

Thanks for letting me try out your deck today! I enjoyed learning more about the game and will probably be joining you for more events in the future.

-Jonathan

Jonathan,

I'm glad you made the trip down to Guardian Games and had a good time, I enjoyed our games too. Unfortunately, I forgot to give you your free cards! I guess that's what happens when the beer kicks in…

If you come to another event, or show up at the tournament to watch (or play), give me a reminder and I'll make sure to have your cards with me. They have out-of-print domain and story card sets. You might have seen people using them yesterday. While totally unnecessary to play the game, the domain card sets are (visually-speaking) much better than simply flipping over an unused card.

A quick report on our 3rd "Cthulhu is Calling" day - by any measure a huge success. Games were played, beers were downed, and grown men cried. Okay, I'm not really a grown man, and I did all the crying. Moving right along…

We had 11 players total (our biggest attendance yet), 4 new people showed up who were all very cool (and they brought some tough decks too), and several more people preregistered for our regional championship taking place later this month. We're now up to 18, which is pretty crazy considering there wasn't a local CoC group less than 6 weeks ago.

We even had someone dedicated to providing moral support, though after hanging out in a game store for 4+ hours I think she's the one who will be in need of support!

Thanks to everyone who made the drive down to Guardian Games for an afternoon of slingin' cards. Good times, amigos, good times.

Yipe said:

I'll make sure to remind you when the "Mythos and Microbrews" begin. I'm not sure if I'll do the tournament, but I do hope to start joining you once the regular games start happening.

Sounds good. The first "Mythos and Microbrews" league night (or day) will be sometime in mid-July. After the initial session, my goal is to hold them right after the newest Asylum Pack hits the shelves, which is generally toward the beginning of the month.