When folks talk about gaming, they often mean role-playing. But that’s not me; I’ve never been a role-player. I did play in Superhero 2044 once in the UCLA Computer Club, but that was less role playing than a bunch of heroes running around the city not really interacting. I’m also not into video games at all.
I’m a board gamer. I started with Risk (who hasn’t), but rapidly moved to my favorite game of my high-school years, Diplomacy. Diplomacy was a deceptively simple game that takes place during the start of WW I, which each player playing a major power. This wasn’t a hex-grid game, but a game of writing orders and building alliances (and backstabbing). One had fleets and armys, and needed support from other players in order to capture territory. I used to play it regularly… and this was a chunk of time, as games typically take 4-6 hours.
In my college years, I moved from playing Diplomacy to playing Machiavelli. Machiavelli is a variant of Diplomacy that takes place in Italy in the mid-1400s. It adds an additional piece, the garrison (which could be in the city), as well as some element of finances. We rapidly had regular games in the UCLA Computer Club, with a large wall map (there was even a side game trading currency futures of the countries involved in the game). For a number of years, I moderated Machiavelli games at the Strategicon conventions, when they were run by DTI.
After I graduated college, the game playing was set aside for a number of years, until I rediscovered the newer German games, and the Southern California Games Day. Normally, at a Games Day, I’m playing the more modern German games (i.e., Ticket to Ride, Traumfabrik, Power Grid, Carcassone, etc.). I’m occasionally able to sneak in an older game, such as Sleuth, Speed Circuit, and sometimes Cosmic Encounter (I’ve got all 10 Eon expansions). However, I’ve always wanted to play Diplomacy or Machiavelli again.
I may get my chance. There’s a Games Day this Saturday, and I’ve put out a call for players. So far, I’ve got 3; I need 6-8 for an effective game. It would be really fun if I can pull this off.
P.S. Please remember that this is National Delurking Week. If you’re reading this blog, I encourage you to comment. I don’t bite… and remember, if you don’t leave a comment, you’re letting the terrorists win.
