January 20, 1999 RussCon Report

There were 16 of us. JP was Devil, and he used his infernal powers to force mere mortals into playing Pits (a game using an Ordinary Deck of Playing Cards popularized at the annual Go Congresses.)

But the game never ends when your whole world depends
On the turn of a friendly card

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Reminder: SETTLERS TOURNAMENT THIS SUNDAY!

Be at my place noon (or later if you're a lazy bastard). Bring your copy of Settlers. Have fun! Remember this is continuous self-grouped format. Come play as many games as you like when you like. Remember you must play at least 3 games to be eligible for a prize!

Snake eyes
Seven eleven
Don't let me down boys

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Game Results:

Pits 5 JonathanR 4 JP 2 Clayton -2 WendyWhi -2 Daniel -2
Elfenland 6 Harry 5 JonathanC 3 Jay 1 RussW -1 Marty -3 Alfred -5
Samurai 3 James 2 Tim 0 Laurie -2
Goldrausch 5 Daniel 4 JonathanR 2 JP 0 Clayton -2 WendyWhi -4
LastChance 5 JP 4 Daniel 2 Clayton 0 WendyWhi -2 Clayton -4
MedievalMerchant 4 James 3 Jay 1 Alfred -1 Tim -3
TrainsportAustria 5 RussW 4 Marty 2 Harry 0 JonathanC -2 Laurie -4
Cheops 5 Marty 4 JonathanC 2 RussW 0 Harry -3 JP -3
Medici 5 Tim 4 James 2 Laurie 0 Daniel -2 JonathanR -4
Can'tStop 4 Brady 3 Marty 0 Doug 0 Tim -3
Cheops 3 JonathanC 2 RussW 0 JonathanR -2
Can'tStop 3 RussW 2 JonathanR -1 Doug -1
Loewenherz 3 Daniel 2 James 0 JP -2

I continue my awesome prowess at Trainsport Austria. Truly I have undergone a miraculous transformation, for I am now the King of Austria!

I was happy to play more Cheops. And the girl in a turban is a girl, damn it.

Can't Stop is a great game for producing a continual barrage of taunting Jedi mind tricks and double-dog dares. Rarely does a game produce such smack talk.

Daniel's Elfenland 3-turn victory of recent fame has now been matched by Harry, who pulled off a 3-turn victory in a virtuoso display of his skills both as a brilliant strategist and as a low-down dirty liar. (I mean that in the most complimentary way possible, since Harry is a genuinely swell guy even though he may be a mayonnaise-eating Republican.)

Games people play, You take it or leave it
Things that they say, Just don't make it right
If I'm tellin' you the truth right now, Do you believe it
Games people play in the middle of the night

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Laser Quest:

Those of us who dwell in the twilight intersection of the RussCon and Kinesoft subcultures played Laser Quest earlier that day. I really enjoyed it. (And I ranked 6/17, 8/18, and 2/18 -- pretty good for a first-timer with the handle "Turnbased".) Since it seems many of us enjoy it, we talked at RussCon about organizing a RussCon group Laser Quest event. If we get enough folks, it should be pretty cost-effective and we can have the place to ourselves for a while to play 3 missions. Let me know if you're interested!

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Evening's Soundtrack:

Due to multiple technical difficulties, especially a blown speaker, my primary stereo was out of service, so it was back to the mini 3-disc system. The evening's theme was not difficult to detect:

The Alan Parsons Project, Eve
The Alan Parsons Project, I Robot
The Alan Parsons Project, The Turn of a Friendly Card

These are, of course, all CDs by bands which JP believed had made no albums other than Ammonia Avenue. Some people were, however, fooled by extraneous CDs left lying around.

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JonathanR's Nickname Status Report:

The desperate search continues. Slimy failed to stick. Other candidates were tested, but they all bounced harmlessly off, seemingly without JonathanR even noticing. It's as if he possesses a mysterious protective force field. The boys in the lab are baffled by this strange phenomenon. They vow further research into this difficult problem.

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As promised last time, I have switched over to the new win rating system. In commemoration of this event, Brady has apparently pulled off the rare and dangerous Brady Maneuver for old times sake! (Long-time RussCon attendees will recall that for several weeks in a row Brady would come late, play and win one game, and be the Devil next week. This led to the rule requiring you to play more than one game to be eligible as Devil.)

Rank ratings:
 1.0000 Brady (1 game played)
 0.6364 James (4)
 0.3333 JonathanC (4)
 0.2941 RussW (5)
 0.2500 Jay (2)
 0.2222 Daniel (5)
 0.1875 Marty (4)
 0.1538 Harry (3)
 0.0556 JP (5)
-0.0625 JonathanR (5)
-0.1667 Tim (4)
-0.2000 Doug (2)
-0.5000 Clayton (4)
-0.6000 Laurie (3)
-0.6667 WendyWhi (3)
-0.7500 Alfred (2)

New Win ratings:
 1.0000 Brady (1)
 0.2727 James (4)
 0.2308 Harry (3)
 0.1765 RussW (5)
 0.1667 Daniel (5)
 0.0833 Tim (4)
 0.0625 Marty (4)
 0.0000 JP (5)
 0.0000 JonathanR (5)
-0.0667 JonathanC (4)
-0.2500 Jay (2)
-0.2500 Clayton (4)
-0.2500 WendyWhi (3)
-0.2500 Alfred (2)
-0.3000 Laurie (3)
-0.4000 Doug (2)

Brady came out on top, but by his eponymous rule, he is ineligible for Devilhood. James is the Devil! And I am next Devil down the totem pole.

I, Daniel, JP, and JonathanR share the Dedicated Award.

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People who need people:

JonathanR needs a ride to the Sunday Settlers tournament. I'm guessing he can get a ride with Jay, who's theoretically giving Alfred a ride at 11:30am at Dobie Mall... but backup plans can be handy just in case. JonathanR's email is xxxxxx@xxxx.xxxxxx.xxx, and his phone is xxx-xxxx.

Michael, a gamer from Go Club, wants to come to RussCon but has no car. He lives on East Riverside near I-35. Daniel's tentatively volunteered to ferry him. Anyone else who also wants to share such duties should call Michael at work xxx-xxxx 8:00-5:00. Gaming history buffs will be interested to know Michael used to work at SPI, back in the Good Old Days. Ah, it takes me back... my first wargame purchase was from SPI. Those Were The Days.

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You can't stop now!

Russ