I arranged with Sharon and Thierry to pay Settlers a visit tonight. I was supposed to meet them at 7:30pm, but I was late. We were supposed to eat at Settler's, but at the last minute, my mum asked me to have dinner before leaving, which I obliged, and hence the lateness. Anyway, they were fully booked by the time we went there. It seems like you can't expect to go in there without a reservation on a Friday night. We have no choice but to make alternate plans. I suggested going to 木船 but they prefer to play board games. So it's Pitstop we go again.

The Pitstop guys challenged us to a game of Puerto Rico. It's a long game. Estimated time is 2 hours. There are a lot of aspects to the game that you have to take note and handle, and it's quite a well balanced game.

You have to do a number of things in the game:
You have to build facilities.
You have to obtain a plantation.
You have to get people to operate your plantation or facilities.
You have to harvest your plantation.
You may trade your harvest for money.
You have to export your harvest.

You harvests exports and facilities built are the factors that are taken into consideration to determine the winner.

[IMAGE: Lion dance]

As we were playing halfway, we heard the sounds of a lion dance troupe and we decide to pause our game and take a look at the lion dance performance. We watched from the Pitstop balcony. There were about 6 lions at first. They went inside the pub, which assume must have paid for them. After that, it's a dragon, and followed by a giant flag balancing act.

[IMAGE: Giant flag falls]

It's very hard to balance the giant flag. It must be tiring as well. I see them changing hands at least 5 times. There's once it dropped in the direction of the coffee shop downstairs. I can almost imagine the shock of the people sitting at the table in the path of the falling flag. The owner of the car beside that table must be having a panic attack as well. Luckily they managed to correct the fall and pull it back. After awhile, it fall again. This time it’s in the direction of the road. There's a lady in its path and she hastily runs to the other side of the road, as indicated in the picture.

[IMAGE: Game resumes]

After the performance, we went back to our game. We were barely halfway thru. Unfortunately, I have to leave before we finished the game. I had arranged to meet Arthur at Ice Cold Beer at 10:30pm, which I forgot until he sms me at 10:30 asking me where I am.

I hastily bid them farewell and went to find a cab. I couldn't get any and I see bus 190 coming so I board it. Unfortunately, Orchard Road is closed and it did not go into Orchard Road. I have to alight at Paradiz Center and walk to Ice Cold Beer. It's quite a distance and I am really really late. I reached it at 11:15pm. Had a few beers and chicken wings with Arthur and then it's home for the night.

Read what Thierry wrote about this here.