Tuesday 16th May - Cleopatra

Cleo-3
Originally uploaded by coljen.

So, tonight we were playing Cleopatra, I had been looking forward all week to this game. Having read differing reports about it I wasn't really sure what to expect. But be assured there is a game there under all the flash, and a good game too. I particularly liked the way the deck of cards is shuffled half up and half down gving a twist to drawing cards. Clearly management of your tainted cards are very important. When you see the result you will gather that this is a skill I haven't quite mastered yet.
Building is the name of the game and there are wondrous obilisks, sphinxes and gardens to build. But the order in which you build them can enormously affect the number of talents you get or give your opponents the chance to score more. The mosaics are quite an important part of the game (as I found out to my cost). If you can capture a sactuary or two it enables you to get rid of a number of corruption amulets at the game end equal to the number of squares in your sanctuary. I think Richard discarded 10 corruption in this way. I didn't manage to get any sanctuaries and this was a crippling factor in me being fed to the crocodiles. Of all the resources it seems that lapis lazula is the most precious. It is needed to build the throne and pedestal, the garden mosiacs and the door. Of these I think the garden mosiacs are the most important. So it is advisable to get lapis yourself and try to deny it to your opponents.
I thoroughly enjoyed playing and look forward to playing again. Even though I ended up crocodile bait.

Final Scores (Talents + Corruption)
Garry 41 (6), Richard 37 (1), Steve 36 (5), Colin Crocodile Bait - 44 (13)

You will see that although I had the most talants I was the most corrupt by some way. If your going to be corrupt you might as well be really corrupt. :)