October 15 2003 RussCon Report

The Eight Divine Paths of Competition

The Metagods have in their mysterious and inscrutable logic chosen me as the metadevil and revealed to me the paths to boardgaming enlightenment. Whoever travels these paths and finds the most enlightenment will be anointed the next Metadevil.

The 8 divine paths are

1. The Race To Heaven

This is the path of the race, which are games where the players race their pieces across a board or other representation of a course. The pieces may advance by means of dice rolls, card play, a spinner, or a combination of these and other means.

2. The Casting of Lots

This is the path of luck and skill, where the games involve rolling dice and judging how far one may push his luck before the fickle gods of chance frown upon him. Losers may whine about bad luck, but the enlightened can divine the true path to victory because ultimately nothing is random and all things are dictated by the gods.

3. The Rise and Fall of One's Stock

This is the path of manipulation of stock share value, where the games involve buying, selling, and/or trading of stock. The value of those stocks rise and fall through the mechanisms defined by the rules of the game. Although those means may appear to follow the other divine paths, the players travel this road whenever share value of stocks are involved.

4. The Bid for Everlasting Glory

This is the path of competitive bidding, where the games involve bidding on items or collections and profiting thereby. The final score is directly tied to the value or composition of the items collected. Truly, the most glorious collections belong to the most enlightened bidder.

5. The Tile Wisely Placed

This is the path of placing tiles, where the games involve placing tiles to form a game board. A tile may be a card or tile or other piece placed to form the game board. Although the winning condition may not be directly determined by the tile placement, wise placement and use of the constructed board is the key to victory over the less enlightened.

6. The Conquest of Manifold Possiblities

This the path of territorial conquest and dominance, where the games involve capturing territory through the placement of pieces or advancing of armies. Such conquest may also involve attaining the positions of power and hence dominating the scoring possibilities.

7. The Tricky Hands of Fate

This is the path of winning tricks, where the games involve taking tricks of cards, often in partnership with others seeking similar enlightenment. A less enlightened partner may cost you the game, yet you advance along the divine path of mastery over the shifting winds of fortune.

8. The Exercise of Power

This is the ultimate path of enlightment, where the games involve a struggle between different powers and abilities granted the players. Though the winning condition may resemble a race or conquest of territory, judicious exercise of one's special abilities is key to victory and thus deeper enlightenment.

To gauge the degree of one's enlightened condition, the Metagods will compute one's enlightenment index by multiplying the number of unique game titles played from all paths times the number of paths one has traveled. Ties are broken by win ratings. Further ties are broken randomly, as the gods play no favorites among those most enlightened souls.

In order to ease the burden on the High Acolyte, before you leave please enter the total number of different games from all true paths you have played and the number of paths followed.

In order to clear the confusion of the pilgrims seeking the way of these paths, the Oracle of the Divine Way RussD and the High Acolyte to the Heavenly Path RussW may be consulted for their wisdom as to the true nature of the way. Be aware that some paths are false and thus do not contribute to one's estimation by the gods.

To begin your contemplation of your journey, consider the catalogue of games below.

The Race To Heaven
Hare and Tortoise, Mississippi Queen, Hedgehogs in a Hurry, Exxtra

The Casting of Lots
Bluff, Can't Stop

The Rise and Fall of One's Stock
Acquire, Union Pacific, Stephenson's Rocket

The Bid for Everlasting Glory
Medici, Modern Art, High Society, Raj, Ra

The Tile Wisely Placed
Carcassonne, Drakon

The Conquest of Manifold Possiblities
Durch Die Wuste, Blokus, Web of Power

The Tricky Hands of Fate
Tichu, Vampire, Frank's Zoo

The Exercise of Power
Cosmic Encounter, Das Amulet, Vinci