Curious? Want to know more? Here is a great video explaining how the game works:

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving enjoying time spent with family and eating good food. The weather was fantastic. It's too bad that autumn is such a short season; it really is a great time of the year.

The Feature Game for October is going to be a little known but really good area control game called Kreta. Players use different character cards to bring in and move pieces around the Greek island of Crete so as to give them influence in the provinces on the island. Each player has an identical set of characters, and each character controls certain pieces which have different abilities and limitations in the game. By smart use of characters and clever timing, players try to have the scoring occur when they have the most influence in a region so as to gain more VPs than their opposition.

Kreta is a special game for me. It was one of the first area-control games I ever played but more importantly, it was the vehicle that led me making some great friends. Of course, as always, this is just one of the games that will be available to be played.

• Kreta
  
  
  

!!! If you have a game you'd like to play and draw some attention to, feel free to volunteer for future Feature Game slots. Just drop me a note at feature_friday@hotmail.com.

Feature Friday meets at Southside Pentecostal Assembly (41 Birchwood Rd) from 7pm to midnight. There is parking and an entrance at the back of the building. A snack table will be set up so feel free to contribute a drink or something to munch on. And feel free to bring along friends (and to forward this invite).

Hope you'll be there,

Allan

So your interest is piqued. But what actually happens in a Brass: Birmingham game? How do you play?

Even if you've played it before, I recommend checking out at least one of the next two videos if you think you'd like to try it out. It'll help a lot in getting up and running.


17min Learn Brass (skip the first 90 seconds):



Longer but a very good job of teaching the game (33min):




Some basics on some strategies you might try (5min):

So what is the number one game in the world really like?

If you are curious about Brass: Birmingham, here a quick general overall review (4min):

Hi everyone,

Labour Day is here (and done) and that means summer is over and we all are looking to get back to a more 'normal' routine. Due to September 1st being a Friday, our games evening will come a bit quicker this month - the 3rd Friday is in less than 2 weeks.

The Feature Game will be the #1 Ranked game on the Board Game Geek website, Brass: Birmingham. This is a sequel to Martin Wallace's fantastic game Brass: Lancashire (one of my favourites). Brass: Birmingham continues the story of competing entrepreneurs in the region surrounding Birmingham during the English industrial revolution, between the years of 1770-1870. As in its predecessor, players will seek to develop, build, and establish industries and networks in an effort to exploit low or high market demands. Familiar industries such as cotton mills, coal mines, iron works, canals, and railroads make their return in addition to new ventures of potteries, factories, and breweries. All this is played out on a gorgeous map which is sure to add to the experience of both new and old players alike.

• Brass: Birmingham
  
  
  

!!! If you have a game you'd like to play and draw some attention to, feel free to volunteer for future Feature Game slots. Just drop me a note at feature_friday@hotmail.com.

Feature Friday meets at Southside Pentecostal Assembly (41 Birchwood Rd) from 7pm to midnight. There is parking and an entrance at the back of the building. A snack table will be set up so feel free to contribute a drink or something to munch on. And feel free to bring along friends (and to forward this invite).

Hope you'll be there,

Allan

Hi everyone,

"I'm late!! I'm Late!! I'm LATE!! For a very important date!!" to quote a crazy rabbit.
So yes, despite my tardy posting, Feature Friday August Edition is still taking place. THIS Friday is the 3rd Friday of the month and that means is a games evening. Hope you're still able to join us.

The Feature Game will be Pillars of the Earth. This game is inspired by a well known novel of the same title. In the game, players are seeking to out contribute each other in the building of a medieval cathedral through the recruiting of artisans, workers, and materials.  It's an older game now but is still considered by many to be one of the best examples of a game with the 'worker placement' game mechanic. It is a good looking game that is relatively easy to learn and offers some challenging game play.

Take note that we will be meeting in the old gym portion of the building.

• Pillars of the Earth
  
  
  

!!! If you have a game you'd like to play and draw some attention to, feel free to volunteer for future Feature Game slots. Just drop me a note at feature_friday@hotmail.com.

Feature Friday meets at Southside Pentecostal Assembly (41 Birchwood Rd) from 7pm to midnight. There is parking and an entrance at the back of the building. A snack table will be set up so feel free to contribute a drink or something to munch on. And feel free to bring along friends (and to forward this invite).

Hope you'll be there,

Allan

Hi everyone,

For July's edition of Feature Friday, take note that we will be meeting in the old gym portion of the building as the church has begun some repair work in the room we have been meeting in.

This month's feature game is Valley of the Kings. Take on the role of Egyptian nobles at the time of the pharaohs, preparing for death and burial in the Valley of the Kings. Players want to fill their tombs with food, canopic jars, statues, amulets and other treasures, and to do so they acquire cards that are laid out in the shape of a pyramid; purchase cards at the base of the pyramid, and it "crumbles" to bring cards higher in the pyramid to the base where they can be bought. The pyramid resets each round with new offerings. You score only for cards that you remove from your deck and stash in your tomb, so if you keep using valuable cards for their effects and don't entomb them before the game ends, you could lose out on big points! Whoever collects the most valuable artifacts in her tomb wins.

• Valley of the Kings
  
  
  

!!! If you have a game you'd like to play and draw some attention to, feel free to volunteer for future Feature Game slots. Just drop me a note at feature_friday@hotmail.com.

Feature Friday meets at Southside Pentecostal Assembly (41 Birchwood Rd) from 7pm to midnight. There is parking and an entrance at the back of the building. A snack table will be set up so feel free to contribute a drink or something to munch on. And feel free to bring along friends (and to forward this invite).

Hope you'll be there,

Allan

Hi everyone,

June is here and although it's not 'official' summer has come along with it.

June's feature game is Puerto Rico, another that has been popular ever since it was released and still ranks in the top 50 games on the BoardGameGeek website. In Puerto Rico, players assume the roles of colonial governors on the island of Puerto Rico. The aim of the game is to amass victory points by shipping goods to Europe or by constructing buildings. Players grow crops which they exchange for points or doubloons. Doubloons can then be used to buy buildings, which allow players to produce more crops or give them other abilities. Buildings and plantations do not work unless they are manned by colonists.

• Puerto Rico
  
  
  

!!! If you have a game you'd like to play and draw some attention to, feel free to volunteer for future Feature Game slots. Just drop me a note at feature_friday@hotmail.com.

Feature Friday meets at Southside Pentecostal Assembly (41 Birchwood Rd) from 7pm to midnight.  There is parking and an entrance at the back of the building. A snack table will be set up so feel free to contribute a drink or something to munch on.  And feel free to bring along friends (and to forward this invite).

Hope you'll be there,

Allan

Hi everyone,

I'm back. Last month's game day was a bit unusual in that it was the first time I was "hosting" while not even being on the continent. I had a surprise opportunity to spend a month in Greece during April. I want to thank all those who attended in April and especially to Dwayne, Caleb, and Elijah for stepping in and keeping Feature Friday going while I was gone.

For May's feature game (next week already!) it'll be the 2005 classic train game Railroad Tycoon. Rebranded as Railways of the World in 2009 (after the license to the name expired), this game continues to be very popular with expansions still being released.

Players take on the role of the Train Barons in a young United States during the early days of the Age of Steam. Each player begins with a locomotive (the venerable John Bull, the first locomotive to run in North America) and a vision (your Tycoon "mission" card). From there, you will build your budding railroad network into a vast empire. Connect New York to Chicago, earn the most money, develop bigger and faster locomotives as you seek to tap into the vast resources of the North American continent!

• Railways of the World
  
  
  

!!! If you have a game you'd like to play and draw some attention to, feel free to volunteer for future Feature Game slots. Just drop me a note at feature_friday@hotmail.com.

Feature Friday meets at Southside Pentecostal Assembly (41 Birchwood Rd) from 7pm to midnight.  There is parking and an entrance at the back of the building. A snack table will be set up so feel free to contribute a drink or something to munch on.  And feel free to bring along friends (and to forward this invite).

Hope you'll be there,

Allan

Hi everyone,


It's April and that means spring and the classic rite of spring - MORE hockey. Yes, the NHL play-offs are upon us and the annual dash for temporary immortality and Lord Stanley's Cup is on. So why not join briefly in the spirit of the season and play a game with a hockey theme?


Power Play is a deck-building game in which you to look recruit the best attackers, the best defenders, the best skills, and the best maneuver cards. Each card you add to your team will build upon the strategy you have chosen. Soon your team will act like a well-oiled machine and you'll be ready to take a shot on goal. If you can beat the goalie, you score a point! The player who scores the most points wins. Games typically end with "hockey scores" like 4-3.


Power Play is quick game so once you've won the "cup", be sure to "celebrate" into the off-season by enjoying some R&R and play one of the many other games that will be available.

• Power Play
  
  
  
  
  

!!! If you have a game you'd like to play and draw some attention to, feel free to volunteer for future Feature Game slots. Just drop me a note at feature_friday@hotmail.com.


Feature Friday meets at Southside Pentecostal Assembly (41 Birchwood Rd) from 7pm to midnight.  There is parking and an entrance at the back of the building. A snack table will be set up so feel free to contribute a drink or something to munch on.  And feel free to bring along friends (and to forward this invite).


Hope you'll be there,


Allan