Gobblet and PÜNCT

Despite a weekend mostly without gaming. I have managed to play both Gobblet and PÜNCT since I bought them last week. Gobblet was against the kid. I found that if I made a stupid mistake he would beat me, but if I kept the game going for a while I could beat him. I just needed to present enough threats across the centre of the board that sooner or later he would get confused and reveal one of my swallowed pieces to set me up for the win. It's an OK game.

I got out PÜNCT last night against the brother-in-law. I didn't really know what to expect, and at first we made a mistake, allowing ourselves to place from the hand to on top of other pieces, which isn't right and isn't as interesting as the real rules. So I figured out that when I place a piece that is reaching for the edge, I need to align its pünct so that it can later be brought in to defend the centre of the board as well. I found that brother-in-law was good at getting into an attacking position, but I was good at defending. In one game I held him off and was able to cross the board in the confusion; in the next game I held him off until he made a stupid mistake; and in the third I missed a move he could make and he beat me. PÜNCT is a very different game from GIPF, YINSH and DVONN, and I'll have to play more. I think I like it, but probably not as much as GIPF.

By the way, I got to play Cathedral during the week. It's very very simple, and plays something like a puzzle that the two players are macking for each other. I cramped my opponent for room, and looked like blocking off a large territory for myself, but he invaded and made it a small territory. Still, it was enough to win. I'm not sure whether I'd play it too many times in a row, but the kid might play against me. I think I'd have to get Cathedral World, because it looks so nice.