Stop calling me Derrick

Saturday games are rarer these days but all the more welcome when they do occur. This week the featured games were Fast Flowing Forest Fellers and Black Gold.


The day began with an enormous breakfast and several teas and coffees with the LOML and another ex-colleague (ex-boss actually) newly returned from an adventurous visit to the our late colonies. I was transported to New England for an hour or two over some excellent bacon.

I then managed to watch a little of the F1 qualifying but very soon had to head off to the station as we had decided to try and cram in a two-player game or two before eating.

I introduced Paultro to Fast Flowing Forest Fellers and he took to it like a lumberjack to water beating me, with my own last "feller" a single move behind. As it had been played in the proper flowing spirit we had time for a rematch and this time it was my turn to win. Paultro was quite taken with the fun of forcing your opponent into streams flowing in the wrong direction and with the speed and simplicity of the game.

After an excellent and huge meal (Mrs Paultro is a terrific cook) we were now four and settled down to Black Gold. I immediately liked the little oil wells with their plumes of oil and the general look of the boards and bits. I proved not to be a great success at the game though as it ended with a win for Paultro but with everyone but me having amounts of money in the 80 thousand area while I ended up with 66 thousand. I had very much enjoyed the game and its mechanisms though and will probably add it to my huge wishlist.

We wanted a quick filler to finish on and it seemed a good idea, with it fresh in the minds of myself and Paultor at least, to play Forest Fellers again. It didn't take a lot of explaining (so we thought) and we were quickly up and running. Paultro's missus (who had come a close second in Black Gold) had somehow failed to grasp that there was a difference between the male and female logger's cards though. She quickly put on a big lead with her lady logger but her gentleman lumberjack was far behind. This began to look increasingly odd to me and I watched her next move carefully which confirmed that she was using male cards to move the female logger.

Unfortunately, when this was pointed out she held it against poor Friedman's game, insisting that the pictures and wooden piece did not look feminine. I tried in vain to make the point that as long as the symbol matched the wooden piece it was irrelevant whether Mr Friese had put a frock on his log-riding lady. All ended amicably but I fear that FF's FFFF will not be too welcome on this table again. A pity because the others liked its quick simplicity and chances to sabotage other players. I think it deserves to be in the ranks of available fillers. Perhaps our lumberjack hater can be persuaded.