More from the 2009 Gathering of Friends

The annual Gathering of Friends (a game convention in Columbus, Ohio, attended by about 375 people and hosted by game designer Alan R. Moon) is over and I'm back home in Pennsylvania. My first report from the 2009 Gathering included brief notes on the new games Cities, Diamonds Club, Fast Flowing Forest Fellers, Finca, Maori, Small World and Snow Tails. Here are some more quick notes on a few of the new games I played this year:

Automobile: Just two pre-production copies of this fairly heavyweight economic game from designer Martin Wallace were available and both were almost constantly in play. Players compete to establish themselves as automobile manufacturers in the early 1900s by building factories, hiring distributors and cutting prices. (And no, there is not a government bailout at the end of the game.) This is a fantastic game that I look forward to playing many more times.

Bonnie and Clyde: The Mystery Rummy series of card games designed by Mike Fitzgerald includes Jack the Ripper, Murders in the Rue Morgue, Jekyll and Hyde, and Al Capone and the Chicago Underworld. This game, while not nominally part of the series, fits right in with the best Mystery Rummy games. Despite some unfortunate graphic design choices, Bonnie and Clyde is a solid (if simple) game. I'd rather play Jack the Ripper, but I wouldn't turn down an offer to play this.

Der Hexer von Salem: This was the surprise of the event for me. Designer Michael Rieneck has put together a cooperative, Cthulu-themed game that manages to capture the spooky feeling of H.P. Lovecraft's novels and plays in about an hour. I hope someone publishes an English-language edition, because this is a tremendously fun game.

Fauna: This is another game I hope sees an English-language release. Players bet on their knowledge of various facts about a wide set of animals (such as their home region, weight, length or height, and tail length) to earn points, with a greater number earned for precise answers but some points earned for answers which are pretty close to being right. Designed by Friedemann Friese, this is an excellent game for families. (If you can find the German edition, Fauna is actually pretty language-neutral once you know the rules.)

Fluch der Mumie: Children will love this game (which literally translates to Curse of the Mummy), and not only because of its unique magnet-based mechanics. One player is the mummy; the others are archaeologists trying to collect treasure from inside his tomb. As the players move around the vertical board, the mummy player sits behind it and only occasionally learns exactly where the players are. If he captures the players often enough before they collect a certain number of treasures, the mummy wins.

Masters Gallery: I absolutely fell for this new game from designer Reiner Knizia. Based on the board game Modern Art (one of my picks for the best auction games), this is an excellent, quick-playing card game -- which is not at all about auctions, but is about making the most of your hand in each of four rounds. I'll be very surprised if Masters Gallery does not become one of my most-played games for 2009.

Valdora: I tend to enjoy games from designer Michael Schacht (Zooloretto), and Valdora is no exception. Players collect gold, silver and various jewels, then try to win contracts by delivering their goods to the appropriate locations around the board. The system of choosing contracts is a highlight of the game, as players flip through the contracts like pages in a book to find the best ones. (Naturally, you only have a limited ability to flip the pages...)

The Gathering of Friends is always among my favorite events, and this year was no exception. Alan, as always, did an excellent job of organizing everything, and I'm already looking forward to 2010.