Baltimore and Uh-Oh -io

It's been a while since I blogged anything but last nights gaming session contained one of those moments of action that really must go down in history as a classic example of being unable to see the woods for the trees, despite having previously left the very woods, to look at the trees in greater detail.

So B&O started pretty much as always, Andy made a grab for Red, convinced of its game winning qualities. He made an equally similar run for the coal fields, sure that this time they would bring wealth, power and most importantly of all Victory!

Stephen opted for Green and plotted a slow grinding climb up the income and share value tracks, plotting each decision with precision and in a miserly manner resricting the company to single jumps up the profits track.

Michael saw as a first time player, the simple appeal of Pink and charged after is limited but wealthy early cities

I opted for Yellow - I Like Yellow, we have a history. The truth is we rarely see the game out together but I like how we start out. She's a good girl, she's eager to please, provides access to all the best early game cities but she doesn't have as much stamina as her sisters and her make up tends to run.

So usual high jinx ensued for a few rounds, each player opted to buy and then shortly sell a yellow share meaning that by the end of tech level 3, my darling company was way down the share track. By the same stage, Stephen had gradually milked Green for all he could get, Andy had greedily charged Red up the profits track and Michael had run out of Pink. As we ended what was likely to be the last OR in Tech Level 3, I realised that my company was spent - what it needed was an angel investor - someone able to commit the time and energy that would make the company profitable again, someone who would forgo the £180 dividend that I was grabbing, in order to get the Rolling Stock up to standard. Essentially what it needed was someone that wasn't me. What it needed was a stooge, a patsy, a person daft enough to have a single share in a company which looked much much sexier than it actually was. I painted my yellow company with the best shade of slut I could muster and entered the stock round, tense but excited.

Now - experienced B&O players amongst us have seen this very scenario before. Last time we played I dumped the very same Yellow Company on Stephen, just as it reached its profit peak, left him to run it for 2 rounds, withhold the dividends, upgrade the rolling stock, only for me to buy it back from the bank when he had fixed it's issues and I had spent its stock holding on a younger sexier model.

Well - goodness me - if Stephen didn't buy 2 yellow shares on the opening stock round that followed. Clearly there was only one thing for it, I dumped the company on Stephen, with a heart felt apology, pocketed £560, used the £300 dividend I had raped from Yellow in the last 2 OR's and started Blue with a 10 share £860 investment - Loverly! £860 that would buy me many links and 2 Tech 4 Trains - what a deal!

Stephen to his credit didn't flinch, he spoke of withheld investments, he spoke of 5 and 6 engine trains, he spoke of future profits and future promises, so compelling in fact was his argument, that within a matter of minutes, he had Andy on-board as a fellow investor. Andy was full of promise when he bought that first share, so sure that Stephen had spotted something in Yellow which it's jaded ex MD had failed to noticed... sadly for Andy, within half the time it took for him to come on board, Stephen bolted out of the door and the Yellow Company had a third owner within a matter of minutes.

Stephen was less apologetic towards Andy, who took the move with the good grace it deserved. Andy painted a smile on and spoke of dividend returns and of small steps up the share holder track, Andy convinced himself that £10 invested in Yellow was better than £10 sitting in the bank, which I suppose is true, if it weren't for the fact there were clearly better investment opportunities out there.

But what can the MD of a failing company do but talk up its options, gradually Yellow looked less like a lame duck and more like a lean mean gazelle, priming itself for an onslaught up the track. "Run it for next to nothing, once, reset the dividends and start again" he said. It seemed feasible, I had concerned similar options myself but had noticed that the onset of a 4th tech level would increase the maintenance costs of Yellow and as it had no cash to expand, it would likely go bust before it recovered. Still Andy prevailed: "Buy a 5 Train and get the last coal field"

Through all this Michael was fretting, he knew Pink was a spent force, he had already started Brown and was wondering what to do with all the cash he had burning a whole in his pocket - when suddenly out of the corner of his eye, he spotted 9 Yellow Shares in the bank box .... and selling for only £45 - surely a bargain he thought. "i could buy the lot" he said, then to Andy,"hang on, i don't trust you to not screw me over, I think ill just buy one"

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome the 4th and Finest Managing Director of the Yellow Company.

Mr Michael - hey what did I miss - Richardson.

That said, he did come second, in a game which scored.

Ian £2891, Michael £2441, Andy £2427, Stephen £2414.

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