Tonight, we had six people. Usually, we split off into two separate groups of three (ignoring the amusing one and five suggestion). However we decided to play six player games. First up was Medici. It proved rather hard to find goods that other people were not fighting over. Usually it is something that three people want. I didn’t do to well in this game. And, to top it off, my last bid was a mistake that cost me a rank in the final score.
Ah, my favorite rondel game. We played both without the investor card and with initial purchasing of shares (rather than the pre-determined setup). This game was quite different than every other game that I have played of this. I initially had control of one country: Russia. I later took over control of another neighboring country: Germany. However, and this is what turned it into a different game, I lost control of both of those countries before I had the chance to take them to taxation (and get a bonus for my effort). Now that I am without controlling interest, I am in a good position. I sit back and watch which countries are likely to get the best multipliers. I then invest in them but only enough to avoid taking control of the countries. This allows me buy shares in countries before everyone else. Which is really powerful.
Thankfully, everyone was running their countries correctly. They were concentrating on making the countries pay out and not wasting their time on other useless options. Both Chapel and Mike were in the end-game stage of paying extra for the taxation/invest loop. This helps both make sure that your country ends up in the times five multiplier and gives more money for you to purchase other shares. Naturally, I also took advantage of their efforts.
In the end, I ended up winning the game while spending the vast majority of it not running a country. Which is a tough and satisfying accomplishment.