Saturday with Hotel Game

I was not as tired as the days before, but I had some sugar issues with my face turning red and feeling warm. I had fruit with my dinner and forgot that it’s just simple sugar. I will avoid it from now on. I can just have a little bit.

Returning to the story, I rose after 7, surprised by how late, and made coffee, toast with peanut butter, and found a banana (that I had later in the morning). I had put away the laundry over the day yesterday, grabbing something to put away each time I walked by, and the dishes were in the dishwasher. Things seemed more orderly this morning. Excellent.

Deborah has a party with friends today, but we did manage to talk to each other all through the days between chores and driving. I also did church paperwork and paid bills. A boring morning and afternoon, but once in a while, you need one of those.

The rains came on heavy, and one of my gutters did overflow, but a different one than before. I will think about it and watch it. I may have Jeff run this one to the backyard French Drain. But it was only with hefty rain that I had an issue. I might be able to dam part of the gutter to stop extra water from going to this downspout. I was happy that none of the gutters overflowed like a waterfall. It may have been too much water in one place. I was soaked, and my walking shoes were soaked. I should have gone with my hiking boots.

I made an India-style dinner from a frozen. I was surprised that you had to take the food out of the plastic tray and bake it. I broke out the food blobs and put them in a glass casserole with a glass top. I baked my frozen lunch and then removed the lid, and let it finish. I watched the animated TRON series on Disney+, which I like. It was good —chicken tikka masala, with the rice slightly crunchy from the baking; I liked it that way.

I read more polite British Murder and really like how Cat Among the Pigeons is put together as a story. Hercule Poirot, Christie’s detective, does not appear until half the short novel, about 250 pages, is over. I am baffled so far. M. Poirot seems already smug in the story, but he, I think, has the same guess I have, more pages to follow!

I also wrote and organized more of my new Dungeons & Dragons adventure for Thanksgiving, harvesting from one I wrote back in 2012, shortening it, and amping up the danger to 9th level. I have focused on one of the insidious plans I created back in 2013 and the “ah ha” moment in the adventure. As this is a one-shot, one-evening adventure, it should feature a good story and a surprise for the players, evil DM laugh here.

I found my copy of the board game Grand Hotel Austria and the Let’s Waltz add-on. I opened them and then dropped them on the floor (!). No loss; discovered that the base game is missing one color and found it in the add-on. I fixed that. I reviewed the rules and set up, and checked all components. I then carefully reviewed the Waltz update and worked out how to play that and include it in the base game. The new rules, iconography, and extra components were deep, but seemed well incorporated into the base game.

I cooked chicken breasts, breaded and baked, for dinner. I used aluminum foil instead of parchment paper, and the breading on one side stuck to the foil. My sister, Linda, called while I was cooking and reminded me that I had told her to use slightly oiled parchment paper to avoid this mess. I had forgotten! It took forever for the chicken to defrost, and it was still partially frozen when I started baking. It was still good. Had I put a slice of ham and cheese on each, it would have been excellent with some mustard. Next time! I made couscous to go with it, and then had fruit. But this was too much sugar. Not again!

With boots on, I headed to Portland under the dark, boiling, wet skies. National Guard, are you sure you want to deploy in this! Bring extra socks and rain gear —maybe something borrowed from the navy! Travel was an hour, more than usual for a Saturday night, but folks were being careful, and the local flooding was in the future. Air VW the Gray found it was safe and easy, if not slow.

We set up a four-person game of Grand Hotel Austria. Please note that it is published in multiple languages and relies on rulebooks, lists, and iconography to function. This meant we had to refer back to the rules and charts to understand what some cards meant. We made one mistake that we corrected with sequencing.

Kathleen nearly lapped us. I was behind Richard with a few mistakes. I managed to salvage my turn after making a mistake that turned out to work out. Laura was last but played well. We agreed to play it again next week, which shows how much we liked the game.

Now this is a blood-from-your-ears kind of complexity, with the cute 3D-printed desserts and drinks and pretty boards, making you think it is a light game. This dessert-centric hotel game is heavy! I have even printed a turn marker that closely matches the game images. Also, as Kathleen showed, if you keep all the complexity working together, you can fly with huge points. Kathleen is a master engine builder and loves the look and feel of this game. The addition of the Dancers made the game more pleasant. The game no longer halts for you, as you have multiple options for your customers. Have no rooms ready in the hotel, give the customer some champagne and show them to the ballrooms! But do not approach Grand Hotel Austria unless you are ready for rules and sub-systems all combined into a menu of desserts, drinks, and dancing that is more complex and subtle than most board games. I was happy that I got The Phantom of the Opera as a customer (-2 points for dealing with the spook) and then sent him to waltz! Gaining 10 points for a goal. It was fun!

We tried a party game, but I failed to recall the name. I then returned home in the EV after missing my turn, reflecting on my mistakes and circling as the bridge I was taking was down for repairs. Light flooding and large puddles covered one lane, with an engine-flooded lane at some exits. The usual hazards here (again, Guard, please be careful).

I arrived home without issue, had a slice of bread with peanut butter with my meds, and soon was asleep.

Thanks for reading!