Ministry of Truth

John is at it again. This week the mischievous scamp referred to the NoBoG blog as propaganda. Propaganda?! The fiend. Still, we all know not to trust a man who believes that the Earth is flat, steals eggs from endangered birds, and who head-butted an old lady in Morrison’s supermarket in order to get the last packet of tea cakes. Nothing but the raw and ugly truth to be found here.

Once again we were graced by three new intrepid game players - Elina, Matt and a mystery fellow, who I didn’t have the pleasure of meeting. They spent the evening with Nicky and Phil playing 6 Nimmt and In the Year of the Dragon. I know that Matt won ITYOFTD (I approve), but couldn’t say who won 6 Nimmt. Welcome guys. Hope you'll be back next week.

I was forced by Pete, along with Stu and James into playing Eclipse. This a new record for a game - hitting the table five weeks in a row. Exploring and blasting things in space is alive and well at NoBoG. Pete won this with a whopping score of 65, almost doubling my second place effort. Stu came third and James, who was making his first appearance for three years, was handed the wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, in the darkened corner the subversive John and his accomplice Rich played the dystopian Block Mania. A game of tactical combat set in the 2000AD Judge Dredd universe. Players take on the role of rival neighbouring tower blocks. The residents of each block would like to destroy as much of their rival block as possible and use whatever means they can to vandalize and destroy: spray paint, guns, flamethrowers and heavy lasers. This looked a lot of fun and it was nice to see a retro game from 1987 make an appearance. From what I gather, John crushed Rich; his anti-social behaviour standing him in good stead for the low cunning and mindless violence needed to win this game. See, no propaganda here – Otherwise I’d have written that the angelic Rich won.

Beer: While my fleets were being blasted into space dust by Stu, I was quietly sipping on a pint of Adnam’s Ghost Ship. Previously a seasonal summer brew, this golden blonde ale now seems available all year. Pale ale with citrusy hops and a bit malt, toffee and hint of wheat to balance it nicely. I’d had this bottled and thought it was OK, but the cask in the Ribs was really nice – tip top condition. 8.5/10.