The More the Merrier

So it’s should be no surprise that more players means more enjoyable games, but I was surprised this past weekend to find a game that seems to be just for two players is actually better with four. First let me tell you what we played first.

First up was History of the World.


I have been trying to get my own copy of this game for awhile now. My friend Ed bought it awhile back but it is out of print now. So I bought a copy on ebay for over $100 bucks, but it was worth it. It is such a fun game. Think of it as a Historically based Risk type game where you control not just one army throughout the whole game but several different armies throughout history. The game starts in 3000 B.C. with the Sumerians and ends in 1914 with pre WWI Germany. That spans a lot of history and the game divides that time into 7 Epochs. Each Epoch has 7 major Empires from roughly the same time frame and the players are randomly given control of one of those empires. Then the goal is to try and expand that empire as much as possible in the one turn that represents that Epoch. Then you move on to the next Epoch leaving the remnants of your old empire on the board and picking up the mantle of another empire trying to expand.

So this past weekend the four of us got together and played.


It was Me, Brandon, Scott, and Jessica, and like the title at the top of the page suggests, it was very fun to play this great game with more people. In the past Scott and I usually only got to play it with Ed so we were used to 3 player games. But History of the World is designed to be played with up to 6 players so it was no surprise that we enjoyed it more with 4 people.

I have to say that Scott might not have enjoyed it as much as I did because he had his worst game ever. Based on his score through out the game he was constantly in last place. Even the fact that the last place player gets to draw Empire Cards first could not save him.

Here is what the board looked like at the end of the game;

Scott was Green and Brandon was Yellow. I was Blue, and as you can see I was able to take control of Northern Europe and a good portion of Southern Europe too. This was thanks to the fact that I drew the Romans in Epoch 3 and Spain in Epoch 6 and then finished up with the Germans in Epoch 7. But it did not win me the game. I came in Second. Jessica, who was Red, won the game with a hefty score of 239.


So the final scores were; Scott 160, Brandon 203, Me (Mike) 212, and Jessica 239.

I guess the big surprise and the reason for the title up top, is the 4 player game of Crokinole we played. Scott and I had played some 2 player Crokinole the day before, and it was typically one sided, in more ways then one.


Not only did Scott kick my butt, but as usual in a 2 player game of Crokinole, each players discs are mostly on one side or the other. This had never bothered me before until the next day when we all got together and played a 4 player game. It makes total sense to me now. There are 4 quadrants to shoot from, duh! And when you play in teams of two you and your team mate shoot from opposite sides of the board. This completely changes the dynamics of the game. Now there is nowhere to hide. Your discs can be shot at and knocked of the board from both sides now, and in turn the goal in the center is more accessible for your team, you don’t get blocked out as much. If you are wondering what I’m talking about I suggest that you read my last blog entry where I explain the basics of Crokinole.

Well the bottom line is that it is always preferable to try a game with more people, even though it is a lot easier to get small groups together. I am just very glad that Scott and I have found some fellow gamers that we like to hang out with and enjoy these games together. Thanks a lot fellow gamers!!