We played Railways of England and Wales last week while Evil Mike was in Texas. We meet at Mike Byrd’s house and had a great time.
On the first turn of the game, three delivery bounty cards were available. That meant that three players could get an extra four points right at the start of the game. It also meant that one player would be left out in the cold. Alone. At the back of the pack. Destined to come in last place. The bidding for who would go first would determine that loser.
I am that loser. Ben, Owen, and Mike all got their bounties with all the cash flow that goes with it. Me, I got nothing. On my first turn I also missed the obvious place to build track to set myself up for the bonus for delivering four different colored cubes. Owen didn’t miss it though and claimed that bonus a little later. The entire game I missed opportunities or had them taken from me one action before I could get to them. Enough about me, let’s talk about Mike. Mike was on fire during this game. (As I mentioned above, this Mike is not Evil Mike. Evil Mike is away on business. This is Mike the Younger. He rocks at these train games.) Mike took the lead and never looked back. (He certainly couldn’t see me. I was that far behind.)
Mike ended up winning. Yeah Mike.
The game only lasted and hour and a half, so we played another. This time things went differently. On the first turn, I got the only delivery bounty. On the next turn, I also got the next delivery bounty. Cash was rolling in like water. I was the Donald Trump of railroading! Still those pesky other players kept close behind my lead.
At the end of the game, I lost by one point to Ben. I couldn’t claim my rail baron bonus and he could. Life is unfair sometimes. Even to the Donald Trump of railroading.
Chaos Steve