Eternal Sunshine #156

May 2022

By Douglas Kent - 911 Irene Drive, Mesquite, TX 75149

On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/270968112943024/ or on the web at http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/. Follow on Twitter at @EternalSunshDip. Also be sure to visit the official Diplomacy World website at http://www.diplomacyworld.net.

Sign up for the Eternal Sunshine Mailing List at https://mailchi.mp/45376bbd05df/eternalsunshine

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Quote of The Month – “After falsely accusing a highly decorated marine officer of conspiracy and perjury, Lieutenant Kaffee will have a long and prosperous career teaching typewriter maintenance at the Rocko Clubbo School for Women. Thank you for playing should we, or should we not, follow the advice of the galactically stupid!” - (Lt. Kaffee in “A Few Good Men”)

Welcome to Eternal Sunshine, the Dipzine for surly creeps and desperately lonely losers. Another month, another issue. I find myself with very little to say. I can’t think of anything worth telling you about. I still have my job, although I question how much longer that will be true. My car is still running, although I think it’s got some issues that haven’t been properly diagnosed. Sanka recently had her annual senior checkup including blood work (she gets checked twice a year, but I only have them to the blood work once a year because of how expensive it is). She’s 14 or 15 years old now, I forget which, but her health seems solid, and the test results all looked good. The repaired fence hadn’t been hit yet, but the deep trenches on the yard edge are deeper than ever (perhaps they’re taking even less care now that hitting the post is harder to accomplish).

The only thing that’s been actively happening is I continue to try and wean myself off of benzodiazepines, after being ordered on them in 2006. I didn’t really want to take them, but when I was on Supervised Release one of the conditions was “follow all mental health directives” which included taking whatever medication they wanted me to take, at whatever dose they demanded. Since early 2020 I have dropped my dose very slowly, and in late April I finally tried going to zero. I was unsuccessful, as my physical dependency has clearly not been eliminated. Benzos are notoriously difficult to get off of if you’ve used them for over three months, so I suppose you can imagine what 15 years does to you. Migraines, feeling my heart pound, lack of sleep (and poor sleep), and body aches were among my major symptoms, but worst of all were TMJ and increased vertigo. More than anything else, the pain in the jaw and cheek (spreading upward to my skull, and across along my teeth and jaw line) were the worst. I’ve tried heat, cold, and frequent massaging of the area, along with anti-inflammatories, and those help temporarily. I was forced to move back up to taking the tiniest dose I can measure, rather than none at all, and while the symptoms remain, they are not as debilitating. I’ll try to maintain this level until a month or so after the symptoms disappear, and then perhaps give full withdrawal another attempt.

Very little else to report. No dates; not even a hint of interest. Still watching documentary submissions for the film festival. eBay sales are in the crapper, which doesn’t truly surprise me with the shaky ground the economy is on and the general worry most people have. Upward mobility for people who were previously making minimum wage is a good thing, and a long time coming, but it also means even more pricing pressure. Oh well, nothing to do but keep plodding forward.

In zine news, we’ve thankfully got more Conrad von Metzke and more Andrew York this month, so you’ll get the quality content you pay for. Errr, I mean that you read this for. Game openings remain, check out the list and sign up for anything you want to play. No telling how many game openings will follow in the future. Could be more, could be less, or could be none.

I guess that’s it from me for now. See you in June!

Game Openings

Diplomacy (Black Press): Signed up: Kevin Wilson, Gavin Begbie, Rick Davis, Graham Wilson, need three more to start.

By Almost Popular Demand: Ongoing. Join in and play NOW!

Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki?: Ongoing. Join in and play NOW!

Also in Andy York’s Subzine – You can find his ongoing “Hangman, By Definition” and Facts in Five, plus openings for Breaking Away and Gunboat.

Standby List: HELP! I need standby players! – Current standby list: Andy York, Andy Lischett, Paul Milewski, Harold Reynolds, Jack McHugh, Brad Wilson, Graham Wilson.

Meet Me in Montauk

The Eternal Sunshine Letter Column

Kevin Wilson: Oh, definitely put the boulder in! The bigger, the sharper edged, the better. Tall too. Don’t just go for a bumper, go for a wheel well or quarter panel or something. Cement it on a stake in the ground too so it cannot be easily moved.

[[Aside from the drama that would create, my bigger issue is whether such a move would put some liability on me. It would be very easy to argue that I did no intending to cause malicious harm to someone who drove slightly off the alley paved road. There’s also the other issue: I think – but I haven’t fully checked – that the city maintains a claim of part ownership of a certain number of inches from any paved road onto any attached property. Not outright ownership, but collective claim status (allowing them to have utility lines, etc., placed under there without the ability to contest). I know there are some AT&T lines under that section of land, along the alley edge. There may even be gas lines. Placing an obstruction over those lines could be a legal issue, and this town LOVES to issue citations. I recall the sidewalks along the main street are 50-50 if they need to be repaired, unless it’s due to city or utility construction. I’d have to look into that.]]

Conrad von Metzke: So - nyaah! My car is 8 years old and has a mere 33,000 miles on it. That's because I live in a little tiny state (California) instead of a humongous space-hog of wasteland (Texas). Bet you're jealous....

[[It’s the commute that puts the miles on my car. I don’t really drive very often other than that.]]

On the matter of retirement from the hobby entirely, well - perhaps I'll modify that edict. Never mind that my typing skills have tanked, and my vision is on its way into the toilet (but will be upgraded next month, I do hope). (Aside: Typing skills example: I typed "into the toilet" back there and came away with three typos - one per word. And five typos so far in this explanation.) ((Whew. That's allw.)).

[[I’ll see if Guiness is interested…]]

Interestingly, I live in a simple tract home with three sides enclosed by wooden or vinyl "privacy fences" - none of them mine. Also, the auto passageways for all the houses don't verge on the fences, so it would take a real swerve to hit one of them. So far so good - except several years ago when some drunk (?) ran off the road and wiped out a neighbor's fence, and his car, and damn near the neighbor too. But otherwise we're merely an enclave of suburban ordinary boredom, nothing like. the war zone you describe at your place.

[[It’s a working-class neighborhood, certainly. Better than living in an apartment complex, that’s for sure.]]

So anyway - I ain't playin' nothin' no more, nor GMin' (and I wrote it that way so I could get four typos ON PURPOSE). Writing, on the other hand., seems to have crept back into the aging blood recently (which may result in an ocean of red underscores swimming in my eyes). I shall try mightily to keep you supplied with crud as the ol' creaky body and the ol' creaky fingers and the ol' incessant screw-ups allow. (How in hell can anyone misspell 'the' as 'tjif'?). My goal is simple: Live long enough so that when I finally do waddle off into that eternal emptiness, and you tell the readership that I've croaked, they'll say collectively as if a chorus, "Oh, somebody died? Who?"

Your servant as the red ink supply allows…

Andy Lischett: There are alleys in Texas? I've never been to Texas but picture it as some shiny skyscrapers surrounded by tumbleweed. Of course, there are residential areas, but even in Illinois alleys are extremely rare in neighborhoods built in the last 80 years, and I don't think of Texas as old or crowded.

[[Most of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area that has alleys may not be the kind of alleys you think of. They aren’t surrounded by tap buildings like city alleys. These are generally about as wide as one lane of traffic, and are behind most residential streets, giving access to rear-side driveways, utility poles, and things like that. A lof of the utilities are run along the alleys rather than along the main street. Pull up my address on Google Maps and you’ll see the alley behind it.]]

Although I can understand wanting to keep peace with your neighbor, they don't seem concerned with your property or your opinion of them. Although I wouldn't normally rat out someone trying to make a living for breaking a minor code, now that you have a new fence you might mention that the next time it is damaged - and not repaired - you will ask the city about trucks in your alley.

[[The rules are vague when it comes to part-time business when the house is still used as a primary residence. And with or without the business, the vehicles have a perfect right to travel the alleys, the same as anyone else. See my reply to Kevin above for other reasons that I am not going to escalate at the moment.]]

This sounds like one of your old Hypotheticals: You suspect that your neighbor is running a business out of his backyard, not zoned for business. This doesn't bother you until he repeatedly damages your fence with his trucks and denies responsibility. Do you turn him in?

While compiling game statistics from old issues of Eternal Sunshine, I also reread some of the Hypotheticals. Those were interesting.

[[I’ve thought about doing Hypothetical Questions again, and if I thought they’d get more than two or three responses I probably would.]]

Richard Smith: Whilst I do listen to music a lot (more hours per day than TV) I've never woken up with a song in my head. What I do get (now I'm getting on a bit) is that in the early hours my dreams get spoiled with scenes of looking for a toilet. I then wake up, have a pee (in the bathroom, for now) and go back to sleep.

[[Considering I usually have two songs in my head at all times, it’s no surprise that I wake up with one or more than one. But I don’t wake up with Handel’s Water Music or Splish Splash when I need to pee.]]

Graham Wilson: It was interesting to read about the fun you're having with your fence post and the neighbours with the questionable driving skills. Have you considered putting up a webcam? Assuming that you could position the camera in such a way that it captured the post the source of any vehicle which collides with the post, then you would have some ammunition in case it happens again. At the very least, it would make for an amusing posting on Youtube. If it happens frequently, you could stitch the scenes together and add the theme music from Benny Hill.

[[Sadly, there’s really no way I could place a camera that would properly capture that unless a) it was on the fence itself, or the old clothesline poles that are in the back yard, and b) required no power source whatsoever, as it would be a long distance from the house itself. At any rate, now that the pole has been moved back it appears they’re able to drive badly and still not get close to damaging anything…for now.]]

Andy York: Sorry for the difficulties with the neighbour and the fence. Sounds like you've taken the best path between confrontation and adapting. Hopefully that'll be the end of the situation for the foreseeable future.

[[They haven’t hit it again, although they are digging a DEEP ditch in the edge of the grass with their truck tires. That’s okay by me, no real harm done.]]

Like you I've had a few "surprises" from my car - cracked radiator, serpentine belt, oil leak - over the past year. The most vexing one was what appeared to be a spark plug/tune-up issue. Unfortunately, that didn't fix it and they had to find a new coil (at one point three folks were searching for it online). As the car could be driven, though without much power and the engine knocking, I went home until they found one and had it installed about 5 days later. Hopefully things will smooth out in the supply chains sometime in the near future.

[[I’m still not sure they’ve properly repaired things, but while I’m not satisfied with how the car is running, it continues to run and that’s the most important thing! Five days isn’t so bad, I read about a guy with a $55,000 truck where he needed a part to make it drivable and was told point blank “it’ll be a year.” As it’s a fairly new vehicle, there aren’t even any used parts in wrecker yards to cannibalize.]]

The Dining Dead – Eternal Sunshine Movie Reviews

Argo (Netflix) – I’d kind of skipped watching this film when it came out, mostly because I know a large part of it is completely inaccurate: it makes the entire operation a CIA thing, when in fact it was a Canadian operation all along with the CIA playing junior partner. But since it’s been years, I figured my protest had expired. For purposes of this I’ll stick with the plot, rather than the truth. Ben Affleck (who also directed) plays Tony Mendez, one of the most decorated CIA operatives in modern times. During the Iranian takeover of the American Embassy, six Americans secretly escaped and found refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador, instead of being held with the other hostages. In desperation to come up with a better plan than the Carter-administration State Department had for getting them safely out of the country, Mendez proposes a fake Hollywood production company be formed to film a fake movie, called Argo. The idea is to have Mendez fly to Iran as the producer, and then leave with the six being the rest of his scouting crew (screenwriter, associate producer, etc.), supposedly having arrived a day after him. Brian Cranston plays his boss at the CIA, and John Goodman and Alan Arkin appear as Hollywood bona fides who help make things look as legitimate as possible. It’s a pretty good suspense film all around, with effective recreations of the situation in Iran at the time (and no whitewashing of the way the Shah got into power or his brutal regime). I just wish I hadn’t known about the widespread inaccuracies in advance as that soiled what otherwise was a very good film.

Crone Wood (Tubi) – Another found footage-style film. This one centers on Danny (Ed Murphy) and Hailey (Elva Trill), as they eat breakfast together after meeting in a bar the prior night. They decide – at Hailey’s suggestion – to go camping together (in Ireland, in November) in the woods near where Hailey comes from, known as Crone Wood. Through some pretty obviously bad choices, writer/director Mark Sheriden manages to build some moderate level of suspense, and toss in some “first date” stumbles by Danny. At mid-point it all bogs down, and the plot twists were very obvious all along. The ending is also less than satisfying. I managed to get through it all because I enjoy found footage and I am a big fan of Folk Horror in general. It wasn’t bad, really, just disappointing since I had some hope going in. Unless you’re a fan of both genres, you probably won’t enjoy it. Some pretty scenery along the way, all things considered.

In a Stranger’s House (Tubi) – Another found footage film set in Ireland. Here a guy (Richard Waters, who also wrote and directed) gets a job house sitting. Like some other found footage films, he happens to be an aspiring vlogger and therefore is filming what he’s doing there. Little creepy things get more dramatic, until there’s the senseless ending with no payoff. I suspect I feel about this film the way people who don’t like found footage feel about Paranormal Activity. It started out moderately slow, and went downhill from there. I’d suggest not trying this one (although there were occasional 10-star reviews on IMDB for it, which reminds me everyone likes different stuff).

Older Movies Watched (that I’ve seen many times) – Time Bandits.

NOT TONIGHT, DEAR,

I HAVE A DEADLINE (5)

By Conrad von Metzke

THE CURIOSITIES OF CONQUEST

Go right ahead. Sign up for one of those postal Diplomacy games. I dare you. I’ve done it literally scores of times. After all, hope springs eternal – though very often that’s just an euphemism for delight in self-torture. Still and all, if you need, say, a cleansing self-torture, there’s naught better than joy and aspiration crushed under the bootheels of some lug from somewhere in one of those degenerate places, those sumps in the midst of nowhere, somewhere you’d never actually visit lest you be crushed under the bootheels, etc.

Amateur publishers, treating masochism as if it were a Sunday walk, take great pride and glee in running and printing the turns of such games, often with snarky commentary designed to make as many people as possible feel smaller and stupider than retarded ants. And the victims of such treatment eat it up! “Oh joy, oh glee!,” they frequently shriek, “I appear to have mucked up my orders, and the GM actually noticed, and actually commented, and actually made me feel six millimeters tall! Oh glee – I have ARRIVED in this hobby.”

In the entire history of postal Diplomacy, dating to Year One (which most of us call “1962”), there have been no more than a dozen who have become known for skill, brilliance and competent play to the point where they win a lot and have their names chiseled in stone into the Rock of Immortality. (It’s in Keokuk, Iowa. Don’t ask.) In contrast, there is an absolute minimum of 56,881 names on the “bozo” list, the seemingly endless rolls of oafs who put themselves out there to be crushed, squashed, mocked and pitied for what they actually believed was competent play, only to learn the hard way that “competent play” means that you actually accomplish something; learning to spell “Helgoland” is not quite enough.

Perhaps it would be best for you to have a Visual Aid, in the form of the narrative I shall now unveil in summary form for your appraisal and edification. It’s the phenomenal gifts I displayed in winning my very first postal game, well more than half a century ago – 1965F, if memory serves, though it may not any longer as there are days when I have trouble recalling which shoe goes on which foot. The game was 1965F, I think – in the ‘zine WILD ‘N’ WOOLY, run by either Dan Brannan or Steve Cartier (one of them being an alias, and I was never quite certain which was his real name and which the name he gave his creditors). I forget which country I was, but if it helps, it wasn’t Russia. It couldn’t have been, because about 1904 or so Russia stabbed and attacked me, and I was utterly doomed – except that just a turn or two later, Mr. Brannan/Cartier abandoned his ‘zine and left the game an orphan. He came back to life three or four years later, and resumed his games where they’d left off; but by that time the Russian player – chap named Bill Schreffler – had left the hobby, and by another quirk of fate, Mr. Brannan (or Cartier) had this odd house rule – No Replacement Players Allowed. Thus, Russia was dumped into anarchy; and whichever country I played, I turned about and mopped the whole floor and soared to a win. Thereby proving that sometimes, brilliance and longevity are synonymous; skill gets dumped by the wayside.

What this little tale means to you is whatever you decide it means. What it means to me is that sometimes it ain’t my brilliance, but someone else’s absquatulation, that brings home the bacon. Another way of saying this is that when you do finally get to the Grand Finale, by whatever means, truthfully, who gives a damn how you got there; you got there; savor it. Brag about it. Announce it in lights. Make it shimmer, and glow. Do they still do skywriting in your area? Can you afford a billboard? A display advert. In the newspaper?

And that, my friends, is my little tale of the inadvertent glories of 1965F, which has the odd distinction of being my first (of very few) postal game wins playing a country I can’t recall. ( Except it wasn’t Russia….)

Out of the WAY #44

by W. Andrew York

(wandrew88 of gmail.com)

Howdy!

Glad to be back for another month! And, surprise, there’s actually some non-game content - there’s a FnordCon convention review/commentary and three book reviews. On the game front, there was some movement on the Choices front, one more needed for that to launch. And I’ll keep Breaking Away open for a bit just in case. The Grey Press Gunboat also has two players ready for a match-up if you’d like some fun. I don’t know what else might sneak into this, but as it’s getting close to “leave for the Express game” time I suspect that’ll be it.

Speaking of the Express, they’ve been doing very well. For most of the season they’ve been at the top or tied for the best record in the Pacific Coast League (western half of AAA baseball). Last night they lost a forgettable game (so forgettable I left halfway through – being on the wrong side of a 13-0 score that ended up 19-0). So, now they are tied for League lead with Oklahoma City (Dodgers) who they are currently playing. Hopefully tonight they’ll get their second win of the 6-game series to go ahead again.

In Texas summer has arrived, spring we hardly knew ‘ya. Plenty of days in the 90s while skirting 100. So far, for May, it’s the hottest on record and between the 15^th and 19^th it is expected we’ll break existing highest temps every day including hitting 100 degrees about two months early. It is shaping up to be a hot, hot summer – some forecasters saying it is resembling the start to the 2011 summer. That year we had some 90 days at, or over, 100 degrees.

That about covers things at this end. I hope all of you are doing great and playing some games. Until next month…

==================================

Letter Column

(always welcome, send them in!)

(if something shouldn’t be included here, clearly mark it as a personal comment)

[Richard Smith] – Shame that the Breaking Away and Choice waiting lists have not filled up. These are both very popular in

other zines. [WAY] – if you didn’t see in the intro bit, the number of folks signed up for Choice went up 200% (or by 2

new folks). So, almost there for a game start. [RS] – I’m never sure when to remove games from the waiting list when

they don’t get enough takers – I have done this a few times in the Pig and I’ve just tried something else. [WAY] – same

here, I usually put a notice like last month’s, wait a couple months, then put another one in. If I don’t have any

movement after those two nudges it’ll likely be replaced. [RS] – Alas I don’t know what to suggest: inventing a new

postal game or converting a board game can pique interest but both require a lot of work and don’t guarantee success.

[WAY] – absolutely. The two I’m currently running weren’t all that difficult, though the initial ideas needed some fine-

tuning after it was actually played (play-tested?). I usually don’t go all in with a fully developed “new” project. First, I

do a proof-of-concept (how do I think I’d run it – sort of a flow chart) and then see if there are any bites. As it fills up, I

flesh out the process so that once it fills I can launch it within the next two issues. However, nothing on the table at the

moment.

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Random Review

Earlier in the month Steve Jackson Games (located here in Austin) had their fifth FnordCon, the first “live” one in two years (previous two years were hosted on Discord). This is a small convention, only about 50-60 folks plus their staff and the guest of honor – John Kovalic (artist on many Munchkin sets, plus other products, and Dork Tower cartoonist). There were a couple other game-related vendors that, mostly, seemed to be prior employees or participants in previous co-project efforts.

The first night, Friday, was only open play of their games with their staff and MiBs (Men-in-Black, their cadre of volunteers that attend conventions to promote and play/playtest company games) teaching, playing and facilitating (as was the case the entire weekend). So, I decided not to go over there (opposite side of town, probably at least an hour drive in rush-hour).’

Showed up first thing Saturday, checked in and provided required items (that I was vaccinated and had a mask). In return I received a LARGE game tote and a slew of products inside. This included three complete games (Munchkin Loot Letter, Castellan and Moops – it appeared different bags had different selections), a large pile of Munchkin cards, bookmarks and other products (Munchkin Bag of Zombies, a Munchkin Journal Pack, dice packs, Car Wars cards, figurines, etc.). Retail cost for this haul was likely more than the registration cost!

I actually spent most of Sat/Sun sitting in on the panels rather than game playing. Besides the usual “what’s in the pipeline” and game focused discussions, some of the more open panels (q&a style) delved into the supply chain issues they are now dealing with, the paper shortages, reality of today’s shipping environment and declining advantages of sourcing product from China, instead seeing what can be brought to America or shifted to Vietnam. This behind the curtain peak certainly made me understand how/why prices are going up, quality is sometimes declining (can’t find the higher-grade paper – delay or print?) and the odd nuances of shipping. Lots of good anecdotes and laughs.

Kovalic had one panel on his background and how he ended up where he did. Learned quite a bit about him that I wasn’t aware of (I’m a fan and support him on Patreon) and have a better idea where he’s coming from. He also did an impromptu drawing lesson for youngsters in the audience highlighting how he uses basic shapes (triangles, rectangles, etc.) as the basis of his characters. Had a couple chances to chat with him and he even draw a personalized sketch of his Igor character for me.

Did get the chance to play in a couple of games. The first was Melee, overseen by Steve Jackson. It was a 3 on 3 deathmatch. Each side ended up with a Longbow character, a Barbarian-style character and a Man-at-Arms one (which is what I had). It opened up with everyone matching up against their doppleganger, though the archers were more generous with their attention. I faced my opponent, he swung, fumbling his strike to drop his sword. I, meanwhile, was merrily swinging. On the other side the opponent’s Barbarian took one swing and took out the one on my side – he never got a swing with his two-handed axe.

The next round my opponent picks up his sword while I swing again. However, the enemy’s Barbarian now ends up behind me. Fortunately, my ally archer is able to put the guy down before he can strike me. Next round, my opponent swings, fumbles and drops his sword. Before he can recover it for another butterfingered attack, he goes down. I run at the enemy archer who gets a last ditch shot and severely wounds me, but now has to switch weapons while locked in melee. Before I get a chance to swing, the friendly archer just gets enough damage in to end the game. As an aside, a question arose that wasn’t covered by the rules and Steve immediately took the rulebook, said it was an official errata document and noted the question/answer for updating future editions.

Lots of fun, fast moving and everyone had a good time. The current Fantasy Trip offering (consists of a reissue/update of a much older release of Melee, Wizard and some other bits) plays old school, but still is a good and enjoyable game if you don’t take it too seriously – more of a beer and pretzels game approach rather than a serious match-up.

I also tried a familiarization intro with the new version of Car Wars. There was a pair of games (married?) and I running three disparately pre-designed cars – one a stand-off machine gun-based vehicle (mine), another close in flamer and the other a rammer car that had some ranged capability. As it was the first time for all of us, and it was a small arena, plenty of mistakes were made including my inadvertently driving between the other two (and in range of the flame thrower) while they ended up outside my machine guns’ arc – actually had my car set on fire. Did get in a couple shots but no one was that seriously damaged when the session ended. The person running the game then demonstrated how a collision would happen as that was the only major component of the basic game we’d not tried (excepting car design).

The game mechanics have changed considerably from the original ‘80s game. This really improves play and ups the pace as you rarely have to refer to the rules – the dice have the “results” by icons (different colored ones are called for as needed with appropriate icons). The cars and occupants are managed by cards that include all the relevant information (such as how many, and what color, each weapon needs) and a display for managing damage to the car and its card-based add-ons. However, the atmosphere of the original is still very much there.

The last thing I did was watch the end of the traditional “Steve against The World” where he plays up to 10 simultaneous Ogre games (he’s a single Mark III Orge versus a collection of tanks, infantry, howitzers, GEVs). His goal is to destroy the Command Post on the far side of the map and exit back off the side he entered. This time he only had four opponents.

Three games he handily won, with the defenders conceding with few, if any, forces operational and the Ogre functional enough to achieve the goal (though, in one, it would be a long game with the Ogre moving 1 space a turn). The fourth, the defender did lose most of his forces while ravaging the Ogre (only short ranged weapons left) and was either at 1 movement or nearly there. The defender did have one GEV functional so he could dart in, take a potshot at the treads, then dart back before the Ogre could fire at him. They decided to call it a draw as the Ogre most likely would have gotten close enough to the Command Post to destroy it but that the GEV would chew up the remaining treads, turning it into a pillbox, long before he could exit the board. Love this game!

The company was very open and all the staff were friendly, willing to chat and play games. The open gaming area had a very large selection of their games, including many that are out-of-print. They also brought in the pre-production mock-ups of games that are in the pipeline – such as Batman Munchkin that were open to all to look at or try.

Another very nice perk was many drawings and give-aways. They had multiple ticket draws with the person being able to go to a large selection of product to grab something. I chose, what I think is, a mint copy of the Triplanetary Kickstarter (sealed shipping box that I haven’t opened). Another time as we were walking out of a panel a person was standing there randomly handing folks items – I ended up with a Warhammer 4000 Munchkin Kill-o-Meter. Additionally, at registration, part of a table had a selection of free-for-the-taking Munchkin cards, bookmarks and other goodies.

They did have a small vendors area with their convention partners showcasing their games. The Steve Jackson Games area had a good selection of product, the ones that I checked were a bit below retail. They also had a “$10 each” bin filled with banners from previous game product roll-outs and other things. One person who bought one said when he got home it was something like 9’ x 3’ vertical – we joked he needed an upper story apartment so he could hang it off his balcony.

I’d highly recommend this convention for anyone interested in SJG games, learning more about game design/production or just a relaxed weekend. For those that couldn’t make it, they did have a Discord component that folks could join over the Internet. I can’t really comment on it as I didn’t look into it (believe you could attend that for free).

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Mini-Book Reviews

(finished since last issue)

Eric by Terry Pratchett (1990; 148p).

A rather thin book for the series, though it still delivered laughs, wit and a series of events that turn themselves upside down. I can’t say too much about the plot or events without exposing an early Pratchett surprise twist. However, in general terms, a person is trying “do it yourself” demonology in a Faustian take-off. However, instead of a proper demon he conjures up Rincewind – the bumbling wizard from the first book (with a few other appearances in-between).

Together they go on an improbable journey of mishaps, mistakes and surprises that delight. And, to add to the fun, The Luggage shows up and takes center stage in one of the experiences.

Of the books so far, this one probably provides more enjoyment if you have the backstory from previous books. However, the book alone will still provide a fine read regardless. [April 2022]

Sharpe’s Devil by Bernard Cornwell (1992; 322p).

The last of the Sharpe books, chronologically that is (there are five other books written after this one, but all deal with Sharpe’s early days in the army while stationed in India). The book opens with Sharpe, and the ever loyal Harper, taking one last adventure after their retirement.

A Spanish friend has gone silent while stationed in Spanish Colonial Chile and his wife has asked them to go to find out what has happened to him. Taking passage on a Spanish naval vessel bringing reinforcements to counter the indigenous uprising, the captain stops by St. Helena. This gives Sharpe a chance to actually meet his Devil – Napoleon Bonaparte.

Leaving the island, they arrive at a Spanish held port in-country and immediately are brought into the whirlwind of the uprising featuring a rogue Britisher becoming an Admiral in the Chilian navy in their fight for independence, while bringing heavy losses to the Spanish navy. Plus, the person they came to look for actually has gone missing, possibly being dead.

A fitting end of the Sharpe series (chronologically). It is easy to see how Cornwell has fleshed out Sharpe and honed his writing skills over the sixteen books. Also, he incorporated the real-world O’Higgins (a nom de guerre) and the events of Chilian Independence masterfully into the work. I knew little, if anything, about this chapter of history but now have an interest in learning more. Recommended. [April 2022]

Sharpe’s Tiger by Bernard Cornwell (1997; 385p).

The first of the five prequel novels, we meet Sharpe just being assigned to the British army in India. He has a dearth of combat experience, a cruel sergeant and the mind of a teenager. That mind, though, has been shaped by his years growing up, the skills and talents he learned while surviving in the underbelly of English city-life and the knack to make the best out of any situation.

He is part of a great British force moving toward Seringapatam, the center of the Mysore realm ruled by the Tippoo. Also in the vast army is a fledging Colonel Wellesley (the future Lord Wellington) on his first command – installed as second in command over more senior, and experienced, officers. The usual mayhem, turns of luck and danger for Sharpe lurk as the forces arrive and invest the city.

As in the previous books, Cornwell weaves Sharpe into the fabric of real events in a very plausible way. More surprising is, as these are prequels, everything in the previously written Sharpe books that mentioned India (experiences, contacts, etc.) was kept close in mind so there weren’t any contradictions (at least that I noticed). It certainly kept my attention all the way through while exposing me to aspects of the Raj that I wasn’t aware of (had a fair overview, but not many of the details).

Recommended. Though this could be the first book you read to get Sharpe’s story in a chronological manner, I would still suggest you read them as written. Two reasons for this – first, there were several times I had “aha” moments where something I’d already read now made more sense (why he felt a certain way or knew someone that you wouldn’t expect). Additionally, Cornwell’s writing skills have improved over the series – I expect it might be a slight let down to read the last five books written before reading the first book due to higher expectations of the narrative. [April 2022]

===================================

Babylon 5 Quote

In “Sleeping in Light” – Lorien: “Hope is all we have.”

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Game Section

Everyone Plays Games: Hangman, By Definition; Facts in Five

Game Openings: Breaking Away (Kent, Burgess, Smith; Firth - minimum 6 players needed)

Standard Choice (Smith, Maslen, Firth - minimum 4 players needed)

Grey-Press Gunboat – countries, and their capital cities, restricted to each player (no preference lists) (2 of 7)

Possible Game Openings: Breaking Away Variants; Suggestions accepted for other games to offer.

Standbys: Breaking Away (x1); Gunboat Diplomacy (x2)

Rules for Breaking Away. Breaking Away Variants and Choice available on the Variable Pig website (variablepig.org)

~~+++++++++++++++++++++~~

“Round Rock Express”

(No-Press Gunboat, Game #1)

MN: 2021Crb32

**Sufficient requests for a season separation were received, only Autumn/Winter 1903 are listed below.**

**Orders on hand for all. Submitted orders will be retained and used unless superseded.**

Autumn 1903

France retreats A spa-MAR

Winter 1903

Austria can’t build, plays one short; has F Gre, A Bul, A Tri, A Bud, A Sev, A Vie

England builds F LON and A LPL; has F Nwy, F Spa(nc), F Por, A Edi; F Lon; A Lpl

France removes f nth and a bre; has A Mar, A Par, A Gas

Germany builds A BER; but has no room for the second build, plays one short;

has F Bal, F Bel, A Mun, A Mos, F Swe, A War, A Kie, A Ber

Italy has F Eme, A Tun, A Ven, F Ion

Russia removes f bot and a boh; has F Bla, A Ukr

Turkey has A Smy, F Con, F Aeg

Supply Center Count

Austria: Bud, Tri, Vie, Ser, Gre, Bul, SEV = 7

England: Edi, Lpl, Lon, Nwy, POR, SPA, ~~bre~~ = 6

France: Mar, Par, BRE, ~~por~~, ~~spa~~, ~~bel~~ = 3

Germany: Ber, Kie, Mun, Den, Hol, Swe, War, BEL, MOS = 9

Italy: Nap, Rom, Ven, Tun = 4

Russia: StP, Rum, ~~sev~~, ~~mos~~ = 2

Turkey: Ank, Con, Smy = 3

Neutral: none

Next Due Spring 1904

Note – Split seasons are granted when 2 or more requests are received if 4+ players; 3 or less requires only 1.

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Hangman, By Definition

This is a five round game, with each round consisting of a variable number of turns. The winner will be the person who wins the most rounds, with a tie breaker being fewest total number of turns in those winning rounds. Second tie breaker will be the most number of letters guessed (by total count revealed, not by individual letter).

Each round will consist of identifying a word of at least six letters. Along with each word will be the first definition given. All words and definitions will be identified by blank spaces. Words and definitions are verified in a dictionary that was my high school graduation gift (slight hint to those who might want to find the edition).

The goal is to guess the word in as few turns as possible. Each turn, all players will submit one letter to be revealed. The letter submitted by the most players will be the letter revealed in the next turn. Ties will be broken by a randomized method. Additionally, each player should submit a guess for the word. Once the word is correctly identified (spelling is important), that round will end and a new round will begin. All players who guess the word in the same turn will share in the win for the round. If the word is not guessed by the end of six turns with no letter being revealed, no one will win the round.

Along with revealing letters in the word, letters will be revealed in the definition. There are no bonus points for guessing any part of the definition, it is only there to help players figure out the word. No guesses about parts of the definition will be confirmed or displayed except by the letter revealed in that round. The letters “E” and “S” can never be chosen as the letter to be revealed.

Game 1, Round Five, Turn 3:

Letter Votes: B – 1; I – 1; J – 1; R – 3; X - 1 Revealed: R

Words Guessed: (Firth) Barrow; (Kent) Eatery; (Lischett) Ravish; (Maslen) Patrol; (O’Hara) Japery;

(Smith) Bamboo; (Wilson) Garden

Solution:

Word: __ AR __ __ R (6)

Definition: __ __ (2) __ RA __ __ (5) __ __ __ __ __ (5) __ R (2) __ __ R __ __ __ __ __ (8)

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ (7) __ __ __ (3) __ __ __ __ A __ __ __ (8) __ __ (2)

__ __ __ __ __ (5)

Never Revealed: E, S Already Revealed: A, L, R

Words Previously Guess in this Game: Banger, Banner, Dragon, Letter, Magnet, Mirror, Pencil, Sketch, Theory, Veneer, Winter,

Wordle

Game Words Correctly Guessed: Infinitesimal (David-Gardner, Firth, Kent, Smith, Wilson);

Triclinium (Firth, Maslen, Smith, Wilson)

Chummy (Wilson)

Region (Firth, Kent, Lischett, Maslen, Smith)

Player Comments:

[Andy Lischett] – A pretty word that can have an ugly meaning.

[Kevin Wilson] – Th[is] may be a lucky guess but still too many 6-letter words out there. So, keep it simple. ‘Tis the season so…

+++++++++++++++++++++

FACTS IN FIVE

Rules: There will be five rounds, the cumulative high score at the end of the fifth round will be the winner. Anyone may join anytime with a starting score matching the lowest total from the previous round. Anyone missing a round will add the lowest score of that round.

Each round will consist of five categories and five letters. Each player submit may an entry for each category which has a key word that starts with each of the letters (twenty-five total entries). Key words are generally the first word; however articles (the, a, etc.) and modifiers (“red” in red bicycle for “R” in “mode of transportation” or “general” in General Lee for “G” in “Military Leaders”) are not key words. A word in the category may not be the key word (“bank” in “Bank of America” for “B” in the category “Banks”). For given names, the last name is the key word, if married it will be their post-marriage last name. However, in the case of commonly used stage names, that name should be used (in a category of female singers, ”Q” could be “Queen Latifa” and “Cher” for “C”). An entry may only be used once per round. Please clearly identify which individual you are using as your answer if there are multiple potential people with a given name. For instance, if the category is American Presidents, answering Washington is fine as there is only one; however, if you decided to use Bush you need to indicate whether you are submitting the father or the son. Unclear answers will be matched to score the least points. Using the Bush example, if one person submitted “Bush” and three people submit “George W. Bush” the latter would score 2 points and the former 1.

One point will be scored for each entry that unarguably meets the letter and category. An additional point will be added if anyone else also uses the same valid entry for the same category. Maximum possible score in a round is 50 with a lowest possible score of 25, presuming an individual submits a valid entry for each category and letter in that round.

Research is allowed, collaboration between players is not.

Game Five, Round One

Bolded - Scores 2 points for matching another entry; Crossed Out - scores 0 points; otherwise scores 1 point.

REMINDER - Last names are generally the key word, not first names.

Players A B H N O

Name of a Sports Magazine

Mark Firth Ath… Weekly Baseball Digest Hockey News Netball Universe Outdoor F&A

Doug Kent Alpinist Baseball Digest Hunting NA Whitetail Ocean Navigator

Andy Lischett Autosport Baseball Digest Hockey News Nat’l Speed Sport Off-Piste

Walt O’Hara Autosport Baseball Digest Hockey News NASCAR Scene On the Water

Kevin Wilson Am Rifleman Baseball Digest Hoop NASCAR Ill… OSM

Royal Title

Mark Firth Ameer Bokor Her Majesty Negus Otumfuo

Doug Kent Augustus Baron Huandgi Nizam Oba

Andy Lischett Archduke Baron Huandgi ~~Hobolis~~ ~~Homo~~ ~~Oji~~

Walt O’Hara Archduke Basileus Highness Negus Oba

Kevin Wilson Archduke Baron Highness Negus Nagast Oba (Yoruba)

Grammy Winning Song in 1990s

Mark Firth A Whole New World <> <> <> <>

Doug Kent Another… Bad Love Here and Now No Ordinary Love ~~Odelay~~

Andy Lischett Another… Bad Love Here and Now No Ordinary Love <>

Walt O’Hara Another… Blue <> ~~My Heart…~~ One Headlight

Kevin Wilson All I Wanna Do <> How Do I Live <> <>

Celebrated Living Religious Leader

Mark Firth Ali…Azad Ajahn Brahm Ted Harrard R M Nelson Joel Osteen

Doug Kent Ariya… Bartholomew I A U bin Hafidz Neofit Paul Osteen

Andy Lischett G Allencherry Bartholomew I M Herman Neofit <>

Walt O’Hara S R Alonso Sharon Brous Lubomyr Husar Mary Novak C Orsborn

Kevin Wilson <> <> <> <> Joel Osteen

Recognized National or State Holiday in the US

Mark Firth Alaska Day ~~Birthday MLK~~ Hanukkah New Year’s Day ~~OOTW Day~~

Doug Kent Arbor Day ~~Bunker Hill Day~~ Hawaii… New Year’s Day Oklahoma Day

Andy Lischett Arbor Day Battle N Orleans Hawaii… New Year’s Day ~~Oscar Madison Day~~

Walt O’Hara Arbor Day ~~Black Friday~~ ~~Halloween~~ New Year’s Day ~~Oktoberfest~~

Kevin Wilson Arbor Day Battle N Orleans ~~Halloween~~ New Year’s Day ~~Oktoberfest~~

Note – for allowed and disallowed answers, please feel free to correct me!

Notes on Mark’s Answers: Ath… Weekly is Athletics Weekly; Outdoor F&A is Outdoor Fitness & Adventure; Ali…Azad is

Ali Asghar Rahimi Azad [Islam (Iran)]; Mark notes for Ajahn Brahm [Buddhism]; R M Nelson is Russell M. Nelson [LDS]; Birthday MLK is Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr, and is disallowed as the holiday is variously termed, MLK Day, Martin Luther King’s Birthday or variations on that theme so it would fit a category of “M” not “B”; OOTW Day didn’t come up with anything from a cursory search as I suspect this was a humorous response – if not, please correct me

Notes on Doug’s Answers: NA Whitetail is North American Whitetail; Odelay is disallowed as it is the name of an album

instead of a song; Another… is Another Day in Paradise; Ariya… is Ariyavongsagatanana IX; A U bin Hafidz is Al-Habib Umar bin Hafidz; Bunker Hill Day is disallowed as it ceased being a recognized holiday in 2009; Hawaii… is Hawaii Statehood Day

Notes on Andy’s Answers: Nat’l Speed Sport is National Speed Sport News; Hobolis Homo is disallowed as the starting letter

“H” doesn’t match the category “N”, please note that if this was a typo and you meant “Nobolis Homo” it still wouldn’t match as that term, which is for a noble, is correctly “Homo Nobolis” which still has that pesky “H” in play; Oji is disallowed as the only definitions for that term that I found involved seduction and/or adultery, not anything associated with a royal title; Another… is Another Day in Paradise; G Allencherry is George Allencherry; M Herman is Metropolitan Herman; Battle N Orleans is Battle of New Orleans; Hawaii… is Hawaii Statehood Day; ~~Oscar Madison Day~~ is disallowed as Andy marked it as an intentionally made-up entry

Notes on Walt’s Answers: Regarding NASCAR Scene, Walt notes: driving a car in a series of left hand turns may not seem like

a s[p]ort, but a sizeable amount of people think so [WAY] – it is; [WO] - Another… is Another Day in Paradise (Phil

Collins); Walt notes with Blue (LeAnn Rimes) country; My Heart… is My Heart will Go On (Celine Dion) adapted for visual media, however, it is disallowed as it starts with “M” not “N”; One Headlight has a note (The Wallflowers) (rock); S R Alonso is Shantha Ready Alonso (creation justice ministries); Walt notes that Sharon Brous is a Rabbi; Lubomyr Husar has an added note of (archbishop, Eastern Catholic); Mary Novak has a note of (Lobby for Catholic Social Justice); C Orsborn is Catherine Orsborn (executive director for “shoulder to shoulder”); Black Friday is disallowed as I could find no recognition of it being a recognized holiday (most governments do close on that day, but the holiday is called a variant of “Day after Thanksgiving” rather than “Black Friday”); Halloween is disallowed as I couldn’t find anywhere that recognizes it as a holiday; Oktoberfest is disallowed as I couldn’t find anywhere in the US that recognizes it as a holiday

Notes on Kevin’s Answers: Am Rifleman is American Rifleman; NASCAR Ill… is NASCAR Illustrated; OSM is On Snow

Magazine; Kevin notes All I Wanna Do is by Sheryl Crow; Kevin indicates How Do I Live is by Trisha Yearwood;

Halloween is disallowed as I couldn’t find anywhere that recognizes it as a holiday; Oktoberfest is disallowed as I

couldn’t find anywhere in the US that recognizes it as a holiday

General Player Comments:

[Andy Lischett] – Tough categories. [WAY] – turned out to be, and not intentionally, as the more difficult it is for you to find

responses it is that much more difficult to adjudicate. [AL] – Hanukkah apparently is not a state or national holiday.

[WAY] – Actually, in Texas, it is considered an “Optional” State Holiday. That means a person can work another state

holiday where the office is open but with only minimum staffing (a skeleton holiday), such as Texas Independence Day,

and substitute Hanukkah for that holiday. And, that squeaked by due my personal knowledge, as the sources online

didn’t flag it as one.

[Kevin Wilson] – Hard topics this time. A couple I just gave up. [WAY] – see previous response to a similar reaction from

Andy. Also, there is not guarantee that there is a proper response to a category. In the original game the players have

only 5 minutes to fill out as much as they can from only their memory. So, it is expected that there will be a number of blank spots on the playing card. I can’t do that in real life, so having a blank entry is less likely, but by no means unexpected. [KW] – Not being much a music aficionado Grammy Songs was tough. I’m not very religious but do enjoy studying religions but that’s the systems, dogma, beliefs and practices, not so much the people so that one too was hard. Oh well. Perhaps others struggled a bit too.

Game Five, Round Two

Letters: H I K L S

Categories: Large Non-American Manufacturer; Celebrated American Singer; Living Fiction Writer (Novels);

Inventor/Discoverer; Crustacean

Current Standings

Scores by Category 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Now Previous Total

Doug Kent 6 8 8 7 7 36 + 0 = 36

Andy Lischett 8 6 8 6 8 36 + 0 = 36

Walt O’Hara 8 9 4 5 4 30 + 0 = 30

Kevin Wilson 6 10 2 2 6 26 + 0 = 26

Mark Firth 7 6 1 6 4 24 + 0 = 24

===================================

Deadline for the Next Issue of Out of the WAY:

June 8, 2022 at noon Central US Time Zone

See You Then!

Game entries, letters of comment and other material can be sent to:

wandrew88 at gmail.com; or by post to: W. Andrew York; POB 201117; Austin TX 78720-1117

Eternal Sunshine Game Section

Diplomacy, “More Than Ever”, 2021A, W 02/S 03

Austria: Andy Lischett – andy@lischett.com – Build F Trieste, A Budapest..F Adriatic Sea Supports

F Greece - Ionian Sea, A Budapest – Serbia, A Bulgaria - Constantinople (*Fails*), F Greece - Ionian Sea,

F Trieste Supports A Tyrolia – Venice, A Tyrolia – Venice, A Venice - Tuscany.

England: Paul Milewski – paul.milewski@hotmail.com – A Edinburgh Hold,

~~F English Channel - London~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat to Irish Sea or OTB), F Wales - London (*Bounce*).

France: Brad Wilson - fullfathomfive675@gmail.com - F Brest Supports F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - English Channel,

F Gulf of Lyon - Spain(sc), F Mid-Atlantic Ocean - English Channel, A Picardy - Burgundy (*Fails*),

A Spain - Marseilles.

Germany: Heath Davis-Gardner – heathdavisgardner@gmail.com – Build A Kiel..A Belgium Supports

A Munich – Burgundy, F Denmark - North Sea, A Kiel – Holland, A Munich – Burgundy, F North Sea – Yorkshire,

A Ruhr Supports A Belgium.

Italy: John David Galt – jdgalt@att.net - Retreat A Venice - Rome..Remove F Eastern Mediterranean..

~~F Ionian Sea Convoys A Tunis - Apulia~~ (*Dislodged*, retreat to Eastern Mediterranean or Aegean Sea or Albania or

Apulia or Naples or Tyrrhenian Sea or OTB), A Rome Supports A Tunis – Apulia, A Tunis - Apulia (*Fails*).

Russia: Simon Langley-Evans - slangers1964@gmail.com - A Armenia Supports A Sevastopol – Ankara,

F Black Sea Convoys A Sevastopol – Ankara, A Norway – Clyde, F Norwegian Sea Convoys A Norway – Clyde,

F Rumania Hold, A Sevastopol – Ankara, F Skagerrak Supports F Denmark - North Sea.

Turkey: Jack McHugh - jwmchughjr@gmail.com – ~~F Ankara Supports A Constantinople~~ (*Disbanded*),

A Constantinople Hold, F Smyrna Supports A Constantinople.

PRESS

PARIS: Need some marines on these fleets.

Deadline for F 03 is June 11^th at 7am My Time

Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki?

The Rules were in Eternal Sunshine #131, read them if you want a detailed explanation and examples. Basically, this is a guessing game, trying to guess the mystery person and their location (both chosen by me before the game started). Closest guess gets a public clue and notification they were the closest. Everyone else sees the clue but has to figure out on their own who was the closest that turn.

Turn 1