July 1 RussCon Report

There were a dozen of us. Devil JonathanB didn't show, missing out on the chance to rule the dining table.

Tim won Titan the Arena.
James won Entdecker.
Brady won Settlers.
Tim won Modern Art.
JeffF won Lord of the Fries.
Ken won Euphrates.
James won 3 player games of Loewenherz and Settlers.
William won Settlers.
Marty won Medici.
William won Manhattan.
Tim won Lord of the Fries.
Finally several of us started a late game of Honor of the Samurai which ended up lasting until 3:30am or 4:30am (I was so tired I don't even remember which). It was enjoyable, though, and Marty ended up winning in a very tense close finish. The game mechanic of being able to assume the title of Shogun any time you wish is interesting. It's analogous to seizing the ThroneWorld -- makes you an instant target -- but you don't have to be butch to do it -- you could just be reckless!

So James & Tim won 3 games, Marty & William won 2, Brady & JeffF & Ken won 1.

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I hope everyone had a fun 4th of July. At Nan's Toys in Houston, I found a copy of the old TimJim game Mystic War, so perhaps we can give that a shot.

I also heard the Houston Symphony at Miller Outdoor Theater and learned why the American-as-apple-pie "1812 Overture" of Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky is so associated with July 4. The conductor explained thusly:

If there hadn't been an American Revolution, there wouldn't have been a French Revolution. Then there wouldn't have been a Reign of Terror. Then Napoleon wouldn't have had the opportunity to rise to power and become Emperor of France, then attempt to take over all of Europe. He wouldn't have invaded Russia and gotten his butt kicked. Then Tchaikovsky wouldn't have written the "1812 Overture" 70 years later. And that's why the "1812 Overture" is so intimately connected with July 4!

Then again, maybe it's just the cannons.

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Congratulations to new parent JeffW who probably won't be around for a few weeks. There's a lot of that pregnancy stuff going around lately. It must be contagious, like pink eye.

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Rank ratings:
 0.7778 William (3 games played)
 0.3684 Ken (5)
 0.3182 Tim (6)
 0.2941 James (6)
 0.2353 Marty (6)
 0.0000 JP (4)
-0.0833 Brady (4)
-0.2273 JeffF (6)
-0.3333 Jay (3)
-0.4286 Clayton (2)
-0.5714 RussW (6)
-0.8571 RussD (3)

Win ratings:
 0.7143 William (3)
 0.5667 Tim (6)
 0.4970 James (6)
 0.1411 Marty (6)
 0.0000 Brady (4)
-0.0323 Ken (5)
-0.1579 JeffF (6)
-1.0000 JP (4)
-1.0000 Jay (3)
-1.0000 Clayton (2)
-1.0000 RussW (6)
-1.0000 RussD (3)

The graph of the partial ordering is fairly simple, though nonplanar:

 
       William
        /   |
      Tim   |
     James  |
     Marty  |
     |    \ /
     |     X
     |    / \
     |   /   \
     | Ken  Brady
     | / \   /
     |/   \ /
     JP  JeffF
      \   /
       Jay
     Clayton
      RussW
      RussD

So William is the Devil and gets to pick his game this week. Sensors indicate Cosmic Encounter on the dining table this Wednesday July 8... unless William arrives late, in which case Tim is the Vice-Devil, and always on time!

Russ