Baseball Highlights 2045, 2 Players

Someone was running a demo of it on Tabletop Day so I got to play a few rounds. A fun, very light micro-deckbuilder that seems like it would be best if you play a bunch of games in a row and are paying very close attention to the cards your opponent buys.

Bang, 8 Players

There was still an hour before my next demo, so I figured I could help out and sit down to be the fifth player in a game of Bang. Then three more people came over. It's a good thing my next demo was late. Too long, too random, etc etc.

Glory to Rome, 3 Players

Fantastic game, I wish it were still in available. The goal is to build buildings that let you break the game harder or faster than your opponents. Glad I got to play, as it helped me wrap my head around Mottainai, which I've had for a few months but never played.

51st State Master Set, 4 Players

Turns out the US representative for Portal Games is a local. Got to sit down for a game of the upcoming remake of 51st State. I've only played Imperial Settlers but I've read the rules to the original 51st State and it's not just a reprint. It's closer to Imperial Settlers but it brings back the two-tiered production (goods and Contact Tokens) Goods are used to activate actions or trade for Contact Tokens, and Contact Tokens are used to Incorporate locations into your territory (grey tokens), make deals (blue), and raze locations (red). Distance is back. There are no faction decks and all of your opponent's buildings can be razed (3 red tokens to raze an opponent's Production building, four to raze a Feature and five to raze an action). The rule of three is gone and spoils / VP are instantly gained. The game ends at the end of a round someone reaches 25 VP. Redeveloping locations is back, but less necessary since the Rule of Three isn't, although it does still give you a VP. Leaders are not back, as far as I know.