About Euro Game Retreat 2006

2006 Euro Game Retreat
by Edwin Wong

28 award winning euro games + buffet lunch, dinner, breakfast & tea breaks with snacks + the cool mountain air of the Awana Golf & Country Club + a great bunch of social/casual gamers = TONS OF FUN!

Yes, we did it! Our 1st Euro Game Retreat (well, not really the first, but the previous two were private events)!

We were happy to see gamers from different groups (mostly private) come together to meet each other, as that was the primary objective of the retreat. So, with new gaming friends found, we are already looking forward to the next retreat, where we hope to meet gamers from our neighboring countries as well.

The retreat kicked-off at 900am, with gamers randomly seated over 4 tables, and playing the “ice-breaker” game - Heck Meck.

All the winners then moved to Table#1, runner-ups to Table#2, etc, which would represent their starting table position. 28 games were then played over the next 1.5 days, banded by playing time, and graded by complexity (Table#1 would play more complex games than Table#4). After each round, the top two were promoted to the higher table, while the bottom two were relegated to the lower table.

Round#1 - Caylus (table#1), Antike, Tikal, Railroad Tycoon.
Round#2 - Samurai, Through the Desert, Ra, Ticket to Ride.
Round#3 - China, Saint Peterburg, Niagara, Thurn&Taxis.
Round#4 - Santiago, Cosmic Encounter, Pirates Cove, Settlers of Catan.
Round#5 - Torres, Elfenland, Pompeji, Cafe International.
Round#6 - Power Grid, Acquire, Elasund, Reef Encounter.
Round#7 - Tigris & Euphrates, El Grande, Puerto Rico, Primordial Soup (not played due to time constraint).

By 100pm the next day, everyone had learnt a few new games, made new friends, and looking forward to 2007 Euro Game Retreat!

The participants also had a rare opportunity to preview “Project X”, which is due to be released at Spiel06 next week. Look out for our review, which we will post seperately.