March 31 1999 RussCon Report

There were 18 of us. 19 games were played, thanks partly to Jeff's new game Bluff, which is a delightful little variation of liar's dice. Marty was the Devil.

If anyone is interested, Clandestine is playing at the Cactus Cafe on UT campus in the student union Friday April 2 at 9pm. They're a good rockin' Celtic band with bagpipes, fiddle, guitar, drums, and ethereal vocals. Admission should probably be $7 or $8. I recommend getting there around 8:15; the January show filled up early.

I shall be dining beforehand at Veggie Heaven, on the drag just north of MLK, west of Dobie Mall, at 7:15 if you care to join me, Wendy, Jennifer, Crispy & Sonia, and I'll bet some other folks.

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Game Results:

Palmyra 4 James 3 Steve 1 Daniel -1 JonathanR -3
Elfenland 6 Jay 5 Alfred 3 Clayton 1 Marty -1 WendyWhe -3 RussW -5
HoneyBears 4 Jay 3 RussW 1 Steve -1 Marty -3
Can'tStop 4 RussW 3 Marty 1 Steve -1 Jay -3
Samarkand 5 JP 4 Daniel 2 James 0 JonathanC -2 JonathanR -4
Manhattan 4 Steve 3 RussW 1 Jay -1 Marty -3
Bluff 4 Alfred 3 JeffF 1 Brady -1 Jonobie -3
Bluff 5 Steve 4 Harry 2 JeffF 0 RussW -2 WendyWhe -4
Bluff 4 RussW 3 WendyWhe 0 Steve 0 JeffF -3
Bluff 4 JonathanC 3 RussW 1 Steve -1 WendyWhe -3
Medici 5 Doug 4 Marty 2 Alfred 0 Jeffles -2 Brady -4
Bluff 5 Steve 4 RussW 1 JonathanC 1 WendyWhe -2 Jeffles -4
Can'tStop 4 Harry 3 Brady 1 Alfred -1 Doug -3
Euphrates 4 James 3 JP 1 JonathanR -1 Daniel -3
Bluff 3 JP 2 Alfred -1 RussW -1
Bluff 3 RussW 2 JP 0 Alfred -2
Bluff 3 JP 2 RussW 0 Alfred -2
Bluff 3 RussW 2 JP 0 Alfred -2
Acquire 4 James 3 Brady 1 Doug -1 Harry -3

As you see, Bluff proved popular.

Congrats to Steve for winning his first game of Manhattan versus battle-hardened veteran skyscraper builders.

A special late-night 4-player Acquire was played in order to taunt Marty who had already left.

Jeff or Jeffles needs to bring Starbase Jeff again so we can try it!

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Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.:

I just got back from the 1924 film Thief of Bagdad, with RussCon Regulars Wendy, Tim, Alfred, and long-lost RussCon attendee Vas (who turns out to be friends with non-RussCon attendee Ronbo, also at the film). Marty, Squeaky, and Jessica were also there, and Tim's invisible girlfriend, but she wasn't really there. Or something. Anyway, it was a really fun film, and the 1001 Nights Orchestra was terrific. The Alamo Drafthouse silent film series rules.

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Evening's Soundtrack:

In the spirit of Easter...

Jesus Christ Superstar, Motion Picture Sound Track
Jesus Christ Superstar, Original Cast
Jesus Christ Superstar, A Resurrection
Laibach, Jesus Christ Superstars
Dave Willets, Songs from Jesus Christ Superstar

Speaking of music, Waterloo is having a 20% off everything sale this weekend. Russ-Bob says check it out.

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Rank ratings:
 0.6923 James (4 games played)
 0.6000 JP (6)
 0.3462 Steve (8)
 0.2857 Jay (4)
 0.2000 Harry (3)
 0.2000 Clayton (1)
 0.1818 JonathanC (3)
 0.1667 RussW (12)
 0.0000 Doug (3)
-0.0870 Alfred (8)
-0.2000 Daniel (3)
-0.2000 JeffF (3)
-0.2222 Marty (5)
-0.2308 Brady (4)
-0.6316 WendyWhe (5)
-0.7500 Jeffles (2)
-0.8000 JonathanR (3)
-1.0000 Jonobie (1)

New Win ratings:
 0.6154 James (4)
 0.4286 Jay (4)
 0.3333 JP (6)
 0.2308 Steve (8)
 0.2000 Doug (3)
 0.1000 Harry (3)
 0.0909 JonathanC (3)
 0.0556 RussW (12)
-0.1739 Alfred (8)
-0.2000 Clayton (1)
-0.2500 Jeffles (2)
-0.2632 WendyWhe (5)
-0.2778 Marty (5)
-0.3000 Daniel (3)
-0.3000 JeffF (3)
-0.3000 JonathanR (3)
-0.3077 Brady (4)
-0.3333 Jonobie (1)

Congratulations to James, who is the Devil this time. Vice-Devils are JP and Jay, should James not show up to claim his place at the dining table. I win the Dedicated Award overwhelmingly with 12 games played. Jonobie pulled off the rare and dangerous Reverse Brady Maneuver.

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Evan "Wrong Way" Axelrad:

Our favorite RoboRally competitor is visiting Austin on a special prenuptial tour! Congratulations to the happy couple, although I worry about these mixed marriages -- it seems the bride-to-be is not a gamer. Evan is here for 2 Wednesdays but shall not attend RussCon, the cheeky monkey. However, there is talk of possible gaming activity this weekend. Contact me or Ken if you're interested.

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What's the buzz?

Russ