Tag: gaming

Visiting an Old Friend

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Today, for my birthday, I visited an old friend: Machiavelli. My wife graciously arranged the game for me. For those unfamilar, this is a game like Diplomacy, only taking place in Italy in the late 1300-1400s. In other words, it is a game where you write orders for your pieces, and then move simultaneously. There is a strategy element to the game, but there is also a negotiation element.

We had a four player game using “The Expansion Of States: 1385-1425” scenario. I hadn’t played this one before. It was fun, but over too short. I think that is because the scenario was unbalanced… and I got the most powerful country (Milan).

This is the only scenario that uses fortresses, and I discovered the rules are inadequate with respect to fortresses (i.e., when they are used, are they the same as cities: can you build there? Do you get income for them). We treated them like cities, primarily because they had autonomous garrisons in them, and if they weren’t cities, there was no point in having the autonomous garrisons.

We had four players: me (Milan), nsshere (Venice), ixixlix (Naples), and Jeff (Florence). I tended to have the largest income, and I also had the most easy pickings nearby. So I expanded rapidly, with predictable effects. With fewer players, there was very little negotiation.

I think the 8 player scenario (“The Balance of Power: 1454”) provides for more negotiation and conflict. Hopefully, we can get more the next time we play and use that scenario.

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Gaming and History

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Yesterday was the first Southern California Games Day in what seems like forever (actually, since June, as I missed the August day). It was also the first one at the new location, the Tujunga Elks lodge. It was a cold day (especially for Los Angeles) — temperatures were in the low 40s, with a freeze or near-freeze overnight. That didn’t bother me, but it did bother some folks. Still, we had over 100 people there, and it was quite fun.

Alas, my Machiavelli game didn’t happen–I didn’t get enough players. I also kept trying to scare up a game of Goa so I could help ixixlix figure it out, but I missed the one Goa game played (but evidently there are some useful references and errata on the Geek). I did, however, play quite a few games. I got in two plays of a new game, On The Underground, that was quite fun. In this game, you’re bulding raillines in the London Underground and transporting passengers. I also played Ticket To Ride (1910 Mega Rules), quite a few hands of Category 5, Ace of Aces (flying the Handy Rotary against a Powerhouse, I came close to shooting down Patrick’s Kraut before he flew away… it was a draw in our flying machines battle, but the rotary head-to-head was close — I had near fatal damage when I shot the Kraut down). I also got in a good game of Vegas Showdown. I didn’t get in some of my usuals: 10 Days didn’t come out, nor did Traumfabrik. All in all, it was a good day: I was gaming from 10:00 AM until around 9:00 PM. I did come home with a headache, which is thankfully now gone–I think the headache was due to a little smoke residue from the lodge (that’s common in older Fraternal order lodges).

The location of the new Games Day is interesting. It is a few doors down from Bolton Hall–more properly, the Bolton Hall Museum, being named after Mr. Bolton Hall. This is a fascinating rock building I visited many years ago, and was the center of a one-time utopian community founded in the area by the Little Landers. There’s lots of history in the valley… if you just know where to look.

And speaking of Valley History: The valleyobserved blog has an interesting article on the 11-acre Oakie Estate (click here for a picture–Devonshire is the road on the right side of the picture). This is the large piece of seemingly undeveloped property just W of the Chevy dealership on Devonshire Blvd, near Reseda. It is not that far from ixixlix‘s house. It was originally the home of Barbara Stanwyck, and was a shared ranch with Zeppo Marx. Stanwyck later sold it to Jack Oakie, a comic actor. This property has remained undeveloped, despite all the building going on around it, for years. Oakie’s widow lived in the house, and after she died in 1994, the land was donated to USC. It appears that USC has just sold the land to a developer (yet another reason to not like USC), who will be turning it into 29 homes, although hopefully keeping the manor house as a community center.

News of the development was mentioned in a column by Dennis McCarthy, where he talked about the Oakie Scholarship at USC, and the fact that many kids being awarded the scholarship have no idea who Oakie was. As a result of the benefactor trust discovering that, now every potential scholarship recipient now must watch at least one Jack Oakie film and write a synopsis or critique of the movie. By the way, this is also true for the Oakie Scholarship at San Francisco State.

As for today’s agenda: cleaning the house, and then 13 at the Mark Taper Forum.

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Not Your Typical “Gamer”

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

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.

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I Want a “Pray With Me” Mantis

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

An article in today’s LA Times Business Section (from the Associated Press) talks about the growth of religious-themed games such as Kosherland, Catholic-opoly, and the the Biblical Action Figure of Job, which comes complete with boils. This is a growth market: retail sales of inspirational gifts and merchandise, which includes religious toys and games, were an estimated $1.9 billion in 2005, an 11.8% increase from the previous year, according to an April report by Packaged Facts, the publishing arm of MarketResearch.com. The report projected 26.3% growth to $2.4 billion in sales in the gifts and merchandise sector by 2010.

So what’s out there? I once did a list on BGG. The article cites even more. There are Risk-style games, such as Missionary Conquest, which awards extra points to players who are martyred by stoning as they try to establish missions in the Middle East. Talking plush dolls, such as the smiling and sneaker-wearing Pray With Me Mantis. [No, I’m not making this stuff up, folks] There is the Muslim board game Race to the Kabah, where players advance by learning the meaning of the 99 names of Allah. KosherLand teaches about Jewish dietary laws, requiring, for instance, that players move backward if they mix milk with meat. In the Mormon game Mortality, good decisions help a player acquire “testimonies,” which strengthen his faith and help him endure life’s trials. In Catholic-opoly, like Monopoly, the job is to bankrupt your opponents–the difference is it’s done “in a nice, fun way.” There are talking Esther, Moses and Jesus dolls that have sold “tens of thousands”. [Really, I’m not making this up.]

Beliefnet lists even more: a Shiva Action Figure (sold by the “Jesus Christ Super Store”, with an Untouchable-Toucher Uzi automatic, in a Four-Armed warrior incarnation), the Dog Buddah, the Empty Tomb Candy Tin, the Jesus Loves You Shoes of the Fisherman, the “Gone to see Dad… Be Back Soon to Pick You Up” T-Shirt of the note on the Cross…. and the list goes on.

Yet still, there are numerous religions not represented. Where are the toys for the believers in Bob? Those who believe in the FSM (and no, Mamma Mia does not count)? Still, for those of you looking for Christmas ideas…. and there’s still one more day of Chanukah!

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Things That Make You Say “Oy”

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

This follows along the line of my Tefillin Barbie link I posted yesterday. Whilst breezing through BoardGameGeek, I saw an ad for a game that made me go “huh?”

It appears that Looney Labs has released… Jewish Fluxx (although the web page is oddly titled “Christian Flux”). From the website:

Jewish Fluxx is a booster pack of 7 new cards to add to your Fluxx deck.

You get two new Keepers: Torah and Candles, and three new Goals: Tradition, Shabbat, Torah Study. Two other special cards give players a bonus for showing or knowing their Jewish heritage:

New Rule: Judaica Bonus. If you are wearing a something with a Magen David or a Chai, you may play 1 extra card during your turn.

Action: Hebrew Knowledge. Set your hand aside and draw 3 cards. If you can say a Hebrew word AND spell it in Hebrew characters, play all 3 cards. If you can say a Hebrew word but can’t spell it, play 2 cards. If you can’t think of a Hebrew word no one has used yet, say “Shalom” and play 1 card. Discard the remainder.

Oy Vey! You know, I never thought I would be saying this, but Tefillin Barbie really has more depth.

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Sun + Fun + Friends = Good Times for All

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Today, we had our first 4th of July Swimming and Gaming Party at the new house. Joining us were ixixlix and the Karate Kid, larymotrmn, for_the_byrds, Carol and Eric, Mindy, and NSS&F’s friend Shoshana. We munched down on delicious cheeses brought by ixixlix, enjoyed soda from larymotrmn, veggies from Mindy, and other goodies from other folks. I made burgers (beef, turkey, and garden) and hot dogs. We played Ticket to Ride: Marklin, Chez Geek, Word Thief, Category 5, and High Society. We swam. We swam some more. We swam some more. Good thing our pool guy was here this morning.

The funniest incident happened this afternoon. There was this small bird, perhaps a parott-ette (the picture was taken by larymotrmn), who landed on the side of the pool. He/She then hopped up onto gf_guruilla‘s chest. Both Carol and for_the_byrds are familiar with birds. He seemed to be a pet that perhaps escaped. for_the_byrds took him home to safety (he has other birds) and was going to take him to a local bird doctor to get checked out. He thought it was a young bird, and certainly was tame by the way that it liked being around people. As soon as I get some pictures and a description, I’ll make up a poster for our neighborhood. A bit of excitement for the afternoon.

Tomorrow, life returns to normal. I go off to work, and NSS&F goes to visit her aunt for a week. Saturday evening, we may be going to see Drums Along the Pacific in Newbury Park (if you’re local and want to meet us there, let us know). Sunday, current plans are to go see the free Preservation Hall Jazz Band concert in Warner Park (Woodland Hills), if it isn’t too hot. Again, if local folks want to meet us there, let us know.

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I Don’t Like Reef Encounter… It’s a Little Dry

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

[Yes, that was an actual line I heard today]

Today was Games Day 26. It was just me; NSS&F decided to go shopping with Mommy instead. So what did I play: Sumo (I won); 10 Days in Europe (twice); 10 Days in the USA; Vegas Showdown (I won); Metro; Ticket to Ride – Märklin (Pawned). TTR- Märklin is nice, although there are some rules errata (basically, (1) passengers cannot start in countries, and (2) countries are dead-ends and cannot connect routes).

I even ran into someone from the last days of the UCLA Computer Club!

Amazing how much better I feel after a day of gaming, especially if I win a few. Now, if I could only win at the prize table.

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