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MeepleTown Board game obsession at its finest. Tue, 12 Jul 2016 20:32:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 meepletown Play On Con 2016 Recap Tue, 12 Jul 2016 18:37:56 +0000 Full disclosure: I am on the board of directors for Play On Con; however, I have no financial stake in the company and receive no compensation based on attendance or media coverage.  I write about it because I absolutely adore this convention and want to share it with others.

Last weekend marked the ninth annual [...]]]> samlogoFull disclosure: I am on the board of directors for Play On Con; however, I have no financial stake in the company and receive no compensation based on attendance or media coverage.  I write about it because I absolutely adore this convention and want to share it with others.

Last weekend marked the ninth annual Play On Con, held in (or near) Birmingham, Alabama.  Play On Con (or “POC”) is a family-friendly celebration of gaming, fandom, music, and community.  For the last four years, it has been held at the Alabama 4-H Hotel and Convention Center.  This location has allowed POC to evolve from a more traditional convention into “Geek Summer Camp”, adding outdoor activities like archery and canoeing to the already impressive array of boardgaming, RPG’s, concerts, game shows, and other interactive activities.  For the grown-ups there are also late-light parties and a few other adult-specific activities.

The four days of POC are always a chaotic blur of activity for me, so I’m just going to provide a few high points.

Dice, Cardstock, and a Game About Eating Campers

The POC Open Gaming hall boasts one of the largest libraries of board and card games in the Southeast.  This year the library had over 550 games available for attendees to check out and play — 24 hours a day.  The entire back wall of this unique gaming space is windowed, allowing players to look out over the beautiful Alabama woods.

In addition to free-form gaming, POC 9 also held tournaments for Sushi Go!, Splendor, and 7 Wonders: Duels, where players competed for prizes, trophies, and bragging rights.  The RPG rooms also ran throughout the weekend, with dozens of tables available for Pathfinder Society and Dungeon Crawl Classics players of all experience levels.

POC always has a surprise “hit of the show” that gets checked out of the library an inordinate number of times.  This year it was Bears!, a very light “press your luck” dice game.  Why?  I have no idea, but people seemed to enjoy the heck out of it in between heavier titles such as Orleans and Quadropolis.

concerts-promoConcerts, Shows, and a Brief Lack of Photons

Friday night heralded the return of chiptune pop-star Professor Shyguy, who put on his customary blistering, high-energy set.  He was preceded by The Green Seed, a local hip-hop band that specializes in songs about every geek topic from D&D to comic books.

On Saturday evening, a brief but powerful storm hit the region, uprooting trees and knocking out power to the area.  Unfazed by the sudden lack of electricity, the Costume Contest and Presidential Elections continued via flashlights and cellphones.

In the grand spirit of “The Show Must Go On”, the crowd trekked up the hill to the 4-H Center’s open-air chapel for the nighttime concerts.  Equipped with a headlamp and just enough electricity from a backup generator to run the sound equipment (but not the lights), “Piano Man” Sean Hagler began a set that was equal parts soulful and hilarious.  As he ended his set with the powerful last line of The Phantom of the Opera’s Music of the Night, the lights suddenly came back on — resulting in a cheer that could likely be heard for miles.  It was magical.

With power restored, con favorite Aurelio Voltaire hit the stage, singing songs and telling stories about life, death, sex, and Captain Morgan.  Mostly Captain Morgan.  Voltaire is a master of infusing dark topics with just enough humor to keep things light, and he was completely on-point this year.

CthulhuTicketRock Out With an Elder God

The nearby University of Montevallo has run several panels and “puzzle parties” in previous years to promote their Game Studies and Design program.  This year they stepped up their game to present Cthulhu: The Musical, a completely original breakout room where players had 30 minutes to solve a fiendish gauntlet of puzzles to summon an Elder God.

This event was wildly popular, with the (free) tickets disappearing within minutes of becoming available.  A highlight of the weekend was during the aforementioned power outage, where the group inside not only continued, but actually completed the room without lights!

POC-flyerAnd the rest…

The gaming track was rounded out by a continuous series of video game tournaments, ranging from the popular (Smash Bros. and Mario Kart) to the obscure (Ultimate Chicken Horse and Nidhogg).  Between tournaments, attendees could take advantage of the various game consoles, PC’s, and even a Dance Dance Revolution platform.

The Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator also ran nearly at capacity throughout the weekend, with crews of intrepid space explorers manning POC’s fully featured starship bridge — complete with custom lighting and sound effects.

That’s to say nothing of the events I missed.  I heard amazing stories of Beer Croquet, the Mini-Golf Rave, the Rock Band competition, Iron Bartender, and… and… and…

I’ve been attending conventions for over 25 years now, and there is absolutely nothing like Play On Con.  It’s not just the games or the concerts or the incredible array of events for a con this size.  The sense of community — even family — shared by long-time attendees and newcomers alike is enough to keep me coming back forever.  If this article entices even one of you to join us next year, I’ll consider it work well done.

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Review: Happy Salmon Mon, 04 Jul 2016 14:00:44 +0000 At Gen Con 2015, I met Nick Bentley from North Star Games. He talked to me about what was next for Evolution, and also about a “super secret game” that he couldn’t show me because it was “easy to replicate.” Then he began to talk about fist bumps and high fives, and he slapped my arm [...]]]> happysalmonboxAt Gen Con 2015, I met Nick Bentley from North Star Games. He talked to me about what was next for Evolution, and also about a “super secret game” that he couldn’t show me because it was “easy to replicate.” Then he began to talk about fist bumps and high fives, and he slapped my arm in a very strange way. Suffice to say I left that meeting a little dumbfounded.

But! Now Happy Salmon is here, and it’s one of the shortest board games ever made, with some of the cutest packaging ever made. Two questions remain: can you get your uptight Eurogamer friends to play it, and is it fun? Here’s a reminder of my scoring categories:

Components – Does the game look nice? Are the bits worth the money? Do they add to the game?
Accessibility – How easy is the game to teach, or to feel like you know what you are doing?
Depth – Does the gameplay allow for deeper strategies, or does the game play itself?
Theme – Does the game give a sense of immersion? Can you imagine  the setting described in the game?
Fun – Is the game actually enjoyable? Do you find yourself smiling, laughing, or having some sense of satisfaction when it’s over?

happysalmoncardsComponents: The game is really just a deck of cards, but it comes in a cute zip-up bag shaped like a fish. The game is fast and furious, the cards would get beat up – except that North Star went above and beyond with cards that are essentially plastic – not sure how to describe them, other than to say that they’re very durable. The MSRP of $14.99 seems perfectly reasonable, considering how nice the components are. No complaints!

Accessibility: This is a real-time game like Pit, but in this case you are trying to get rid of all your cards. You flip the top card of your deck and try to get someone to do that action with you – either a fist bump, a high five, a switcheroo (change places), or a “happy salmon”. If no one will do it with you, put it on the bottom of your deck and flip a new card. If you run out of cards first, you win. That’s literally it. I’ll add that I really appreciate them putting an alternate rule in the rulebook for the “switcheroo” for people with accessibility (in the physical sense) issues.

Depth: This game takes five minutes tops, and it’s more about goofing off than anything else. But there are a few strategic things you can do. If you can keep an eye on what other players are calling or not calling, you can be more strategic about skipping cards. You can also physically “sneak” and steal first bumps or high fives from other people as they go to do it!

Theme: I guess it’s fish-themed, due to the “happy salmon” move and the case. Though I don’t like fishing or eating fish, I appreciate the cuteness factor and think it’s important for making a game like this “look” fun.

Fun: I forced my game night group into playing this in between two longer Eurogames, and this may have been the most fun we had that night. It’s so off the wall goofy and stupid, and somehow sneaking this into gamers’ hands reminds them what it’s like to be a kid again. Speaking of, this is an automatic hit with kids or junior high groups. Anytime I’m chaperoning an event in the future, I’ll be sure to have this in my bag.

Happy Salmon is a stupid, goofy game that only lasts a few minutes – but it’s also an important chance to step back and laugh at ourselves, and that makes it awesome.

4 out of 5

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Review: Brix Mon, 27 Jun 2016 14:00:39 +0000 brixboxI teach mathematics at a small private liberal arts university. I find that mathematics draws students from all over the social spectrum, from the quiet, quirky types to the loud, outgoing class clowns. In the latter category, I happen to know a student who turned 17 just before beginning at the university, and who is obsessed with Connect Four. My Ph.D. in mathematics apparently means nothing, as I can’t beat him even though I know it’s a “solved” game (there is an algorithm that guarantees victory for the first player). But when I saw Blue Orange was putting out Brix by Charles Chevallier and Thierry Denoual, my interest was immediately piqued thanks to that student. The game is ostensibly a cross between Tic-Tac-Toe and Connect Four – but surely it could rise above that legacy? Here’s a reminder of my scoring categories:

Components – Does the game look nice? Are the bits worth the money? Do they add to the game?
Accessibility – How easy is the game to teach, or to feel like you know what you are doing?
Depth – Does the gameplay allow for deeper strategies, or does the game play itself?
Theme – Does the game give a sense of immersion? Can you imagine  the setting described in the game?
Fun – Is the game actually enjoyable? Do you find yourself smiling, laughing, or having some sense of satisfaction when it’s over?

brixplayComponents: This has to be the simplest game, component-wise, that I’ve ever seen. It is literally 22 copies of the same plastic brick. The bricks are nice and chunky rectangles consisting of two smaller squares stuck together, with every combination of blue and orange, X and O, appearing on the various faces. The box is an appropriate size and I was impressed to find that the plastic insert had a cardboard support under it (due to the bricks being so heavy). My only (unfounded) complaint is that I hate when box lids have see-through plastic windows, but that’s just personal preference – I don’t want people seeing my awful organization! The MSRP is pretty aggressive at $19.99, considering how big and chunky the pieces are. Nothing to complain about, and I love when components are simple and clean.

Accessibility: You know a game is simple when I can teach it to you right here. Players take turns placing and stacking blocks, making sure the area is no more than 8 units across the bottom. The goal depends on if you are playing beginner or expert, although it is always to make four in a row of your symbol or color. In beginner mode, either one player is Xs and one player is Os, or one player is orange and the other is blue (these game modes are equivalent). In the advanced mode, one player is the symbols, needing four Xs or four Os in  row, and the other player is the colors, needing four blues or four oranges in a row. It’s quite a simple game and you’ll be playing in minutes – but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to win.

Depth: This game is very much in the spirit of Connect Four, but with key differences. The first is that the connected blocks mean that you are always putting something on the board for the opponent as well as yourself. They also mean you can do stranger things, like “reach” two spaces away with a single block. The second is the freeform playing area, compared to the locked grid of Connect Four. But far away the most interesting difference is when playing the advanced mode, where one player controls the symbols while the other player controls the colors. This turns the game into a real brain-burner, and sets it apart from simply being a variant of known quantities. I view the beginner modes as ways to teach how the blocks work, and after that, I don’t see myself ever playing anything bu the advanced mode. It’s probably still a solvable puzzle, but one that will require some head-scratching to work out.

Theme: I like that Blue Orange went with blue and orange bricks.

Fun: I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my games of Brix. I generally don’t play a lot of luckless abstracts, but I enjoy how Brix has the fun look and the toy factor to go with it. It looks cool as the wall builds and even has a tiny dexterity element (if you knock it over, you lose). It’s nowhere near the level of strategy or involvement as, say, Onitama, but this is a far better game for kids while still interesting for adults. I look forward to many more games of it being played around the math department offices, and hopefully someday with my two-year-old, who for now just likes to stack the bricks. And hopefully I won’t be playing as much Connect Four.

Brix is a simple, clean abstract game with a beautiful, fun look and interesting gameplay – not much to complain about here!

4 out of 5

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Kickstarter Round-Up: Hero Realms, Rocky Road a la Mode, and the Duchess Mon, 13 Jun 2016 22:10:15 +0000 While we don’t cover Kickstarter much here at MeepleTown, sometimes, names we trust or games we’ve played appear on the site, giving us a bit of confidence we would not otherwise have. And today is one such day, so let’s get started!

herorealmsHero Realms

Though I never got around to reviewing the original game, you should know that Star Realms has become my favorite game. After years of playing Magic: the Gathering in tournaments and a few obsessive grad school years playing Dominion on isotropic, I found that Star Realms was a perfect blend of those two loves – deckbuilding, and one-on-one combat. My only complaint about Star Realms is really that I’m more of a medieval fantasy guy than sci-fi, and Hero Realms remedies that “problem.”

Not only that, but Hero Realms is entering some really cool design space that doesn’t make as much sense for Star Realms. Players can now get unique started decks that represent character classes, get unique “boss” decks for 1 vs. all play, and even enter a cooperative campaign mode. I remember trying to figure out how to make Magic: the Gathering into an RPG combat system as a kid, and now I get to actually play something similar. This is the first time I’ve ever backed a KS before even reading the campaign – I can’t see how Star Realms fans could be disappointed by this one.

rockyroadboxRocky Road a la Mode

In Rocky Road a la Mode from Green Couch Games, players are taking on the role of ice cream truck drivers, trying to deliver treats to customers around the neighborhood and gain more loyal followers than the other players. I had the chance to play a prototype of the game this week, with near-final artwork. The game is a slick, clean design, where players use cards from their hand for multiple purposes: to create orders for customers, to serve those orders, and as permanent VPs and bonuses. Actions and cards vary in power, but are balanced by a turn-timing mechanism very similar to the one in Thebes and Tokaido: if you jump ahead with a big move, other players will get several turns before you go again – but special tokens on the road give an incentive to make such bold moves. Although I have no idea why potholes give bonuses, the theme is really integrated well otherwise. The cards are very fun, bright and loud, as an ice cream truck game should be, and the iconography is clear. A solid game that would be a great game to play with younger kids who are really into the ice cream theme. Rocky Road a la Mode launches on Kickstarter next Monday, June 20th.

boardgametableThe Duchess

Lately, my friends have been freaking out about a certain Kickstarter – but not one for a game. BoardGameTables is bringing the most affordable, well, board game table, that they can do to Kickstarter, with a big perk being a $100 discount if you can get a group of four together. Even if $499 for the basic table is reasonable, I just haven’t had enough problems with my own dining room table to justify such a huge expensive. I mean, that’s 5 orders with free shipping at CoolStuff or Miniature Market! But if you’ve been considering a gaming table, I can’t see a better opportunity coming up than this one.

Hope you found something of interest, and we’ll be back with our usual content next week!

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Review: Stockpile Mon, 06 Jun 2016 14:00:05 +0000 stockpileboxDespite being a mathematics professor, I never found the applications of mathematics (physics, engineering, finance, etc.) very interesting. So it’s not all that surprising that heavily economic board games have never been high on my radar (Power Grid being the one exception). But then, Stockpile comes along, promising to be a quick, simple stock game, which would make it perhaps the first of its kind. I like quick and simple, but those don’t always mean good. How does Stockpile hold up? Here’s a reminder of my scoring categories:

Components – Does the game look nice? Are the bits worth the money? Do they add to the game?
Accessibility – How easy is the game to teach, or to feel like you know what you are doing?
Depth – Does the gameplay allow for deeper strategies, or does the game play itself?
Theme – Does the game give a sense of immersion? Can you imagine  the setting described in the game?
Fun – Is the game actually enjoyable? Do you find yourself smiling, laughing, or having some sense of satisfaction when it’s over?

Components: Stockpile is primarily a card-driven game, although it’s all connected to a very useful central board that shows stock prices going up and down. The artwork is wonderful – it’s evocative of the theme, but in a very fun and loud way, and the cards are high quality. I much prefer “card money” to paper money, and it was done well here. I think the MSRP of $50.00 is about normal, although I’m not sure I would want it to be higher. All in all, a very nice package with clean design and great graphics.

Accessibility: Stockpile‘s strength is that it plays simply and quickly, unlike many economic games. I found the basic game (where all stocks act the same) very easy to explain, and the advanced board wasn’t too big of a jump after that. The central mechanism has players bidding on piles of cards, and the bidding system is very intuitive (similar to the one in Cyclades / Amun-Re, but not quite the same). More importantly, stock games live and die on how well players can assess the value of stocks, and Stockpile shines here. It’s very clear to the players from the first turn how stock values work, and the excitement of the game comes from having partial information about any upcoming movement. I also really like the stock movement happens after payout for the current turn, so that it feels considerably less random. This could honestly be someone’s gateway game, and I like that a lot.

Depth: The “gimmick” of Stockpile is insider trading, represented by the fact that you know things other people don’t – you know how one particular stock will move, and you know one of the face-down cards in the stockpiles. Theoretically, the depth of the game comes from the bluffing aspect when you watch people maneuver around things they know – did they avoid taking their own face-down card because it’s bad, or because they’re being sneaky? However, in my experience with the game, it didn’t feel like there was enough opportunity to “watch” players use the information they knew to glean anything. The game doesn’t play itself by any means, and there are interesting decisions to be made, but there’s a heck of a lot of “well, if I had any idea that was coming, I would have certainly played differently…” I suppose this is mitigated by memorizing the (admittedly very few) ways that stocks can move up and down, but it’s frustrating nonetheless.

Theme: I was curious about this game more because of its positive reception elsewhere than because of my own interest in the stock market (which is none). I greatly appreciate that the game has a tongue-in-cheek approach to its theme, and the art pulls that off to great effect. And thematically, the secret partial information makes a lot of sense. The game can also have a lot of very wild swings in valuation, which makes thematic sense too. So, all in all I think the game does a fantastic job being true to its theme – it’s just not a very exciting one.

Fun: I liked the game, but I didn’t love it. People who actually enjoy this theme or want a simple introduction to the many stock-driven economic games out there should have a fantastic time with it. It’s definitely a clean, slick, elegant design. But for us, that didn’t translate to that “spark” of super-fun that games like Splendor and Codenames have given us. The game was still solid, and the best stock market game I’ve played (as someone who is typically not a fan).

Stockpile is an accessible, well-designed introduction into the world of stock market games. It’s not going to be a mega-hit like some of the recent gateway games we’ve seen, but it’s a fun game in its own right.

3 out of 5

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Educational Games Round-Up: Dr. Eureka, Fast Flip, Odd World Mon, 30 May 2016 14:00:35 +0000 Quite often, educational games aren’t just for kids, and board game publishers have made great strides in recent years toward making sure games are truly “fun for the whole family.” So, when I say the following three games are for kids, don’t think that means they’re no fun for you – in fact, I’ve only played these with adults! Here we go.

Odd World (Foxmind Games)

oddworldOdd World is a set-collection card game, with an interesting mechanism that involves both sides of the cards. The visible side on top of the deck (normally the “back”) will show two planets that might be on the other side (but only one of them it is). Using this partial information, players decide, without looking at the front of the card, whether to take it for themselves or give it to another player. Planets you’ve collected score points, but only if you have an odd number of that particular planet, otherwise they don’t score at all (hence the name). The game is over when someone has all nine planets (though they certainly may not win!). The cards look really great, the rules were clear and concise, and I like the tin packaging (especially for a game likely to get banged up in a classroom).

While Odd World involves a light amount of strategy and arithmetic, the real educational value in the game is teaching children the names and pictures associated with all nine planets. The game also tells you to sort the cards in front of you in order of distance from the sun, although I didn’t do that myself when playing with adults. The game was an okay way to pass the time, but the strategy was quite light since the game’s not-so-secret focus is elsewhere. This game fits in an elementary classroom exactly because the decisions are so simple and the game takes only a few seconds to teach. I don’t see adults getting excited about playing this one together, but I’d be elated to see it in any mid-elementary-school classroom (in fact, that’s where my copy went).

Fast Flip (Blue Orange Games)

fastflipFast Flip has you flipping over cards (whoa! what a surprise!) and then quickly trying to identify characteristics on the revealed card. The cards have numbers and front on the revealed front side, and on the back side (i.e. the top card of the deck) there is a number or a fruit. Depending on what’s on the top of the deck, you need to either identify how many of the specified fruit were revealed, or which fruit is shown in amount of the specified number.  There are several different variations on the official rules listed in the rulebook, but that’s the overall gist. Although the cards a little flimsy, the artwork is very loud, clear, and fun, and the I like that the cards are triangular, giving the game a unique aesthetic. The tin container is also a good idea.

I found that this game could be quite a challenge, even for adults. Clearly, the educational aspect is on spatial/eye coordination and a tiny bit of logic, and that’s something that people of any age will always need to practice more. There’s not really “strategy” to the game other than being faster than everyone else, but the game is enjoyable enough, and the fun theme and colorful artwork should make it appealing to a younger audience. Keep in mind that one rules variant involves stealing points from each other, which could be aggravating to some children.

Dr. Eureka (Blue Orange Games)

dreurekaRoberto Fraga has quite a track record with kids’ games, having been nominated for the Kinderspiel des Jahres (Kids’ Game of the Year in Germany) several times, winning last year for Spinderella. So, it’s no surprise that his game Dr. Eureka is the best of this trio.

In Dr. Eureka, players are “chemists” moving molecules between test tubes, although what they are actually doing is a riff on the classic mathematics problem, the Tower of Hanoi. Players race to be the first to complete a “formula,” a picture of which molecule belongs in which tube (in a specific order). Players can only move molecules between the tubes by tilting the tubes into each other, not by touching the molecules directly, although they can also turn a tube upside down and “count” it in that form. This adds a fun dexterity element to the critical thinking already needed to solve what are actually somewhat tricky algorithmic math problems.

I love it when board games challenge skills different than those demanded by the classic strategy games. This game requires spatial thinking, speed, and dexterity in addition to logical thinking skills. It will challenge both kids and adults in a variety of ways, but it’s also high-intensity and really funny. Trying to balance the balls without dropping or touching them is quite a challenge, and one that makes you feel silly (in a good way) and catches the eye of bystanders. Not only is this a great game for classrooms of any elementary or secondary level, it would be a great game for a college group as well. I teach mathematics at a university, and we had an ongoing speed challenge for the Towers of Hanoi – this will be a fun evolution of that next year. My only real complaint is that the “Dr. Eureka” theme misrepresents the mechanisms as something more chemistry-related, when this is a game for mathematicians through and through. In any case, I’m eager to play again.

Do you have games to recommend that have worked well in your classrooms? Sound off in the comments!

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Review: EXCEED Mon, 23 May 2016 14:00:45 +0000 In second grade, I went to a friend’s birthday party, and he had just received Street Fighter II for the Super Nintendo. Despite being a large group, we decided to watch each other play, with the winner getting to stay in the round. I was the only player who could throw Hadokens or any other projectile. Let’s [...]]]> exceedboxIn second grade, I went to a friend’s birthday party, and he had just received Street Fighter II for the Super Nintendo. Despite being a large group, we decided to watch each other play, with the winner getting to stay in the round. I was the only player who could throw Hadokens or any other projectile. Let’s just say I didn’t have many friends at school the next day.

Since then, despite realizing just how poor I really was at SFII, I have always enjoyed one-on-one combat games, not only in video form but also in tabletop card games like Magic: the Gathering and Summoner Wars. Recently, there have been many attempts to translate the likes of Street FighterMortal Kombat and their many cousins more directly to card format – Yomi, BattleCON, and many more. The EXCEED fighting system by Level 99 Games and D. Brad Talton (Pixel Tactics, BattleCON) is the latest attempt at doing so.

The idea behind EXCEED is to have an accessible-but-interesting system adaptable to different game worlds, allowing different characters from various areas of geekdom. This sounds great, but is the game system any good? Here’s a reminder of my scoring categories:

Components – Does the game look nice? Are the bits worth the money? Do they add to the game?
Accessibility – How easy is the game to teach, or to feel like you know what you are doing?
Depth – Does the gameplay allow for deeper strategies, or does the game play itself?
Theme – Does the game give a sense of immersion? Can you imagine  the setting described in the game?
Fun – Is the game actually enjoyable? Do you find yourself smiling, laughing, or having some sense of satisfaction when it’s over?

Components: First off, let me say that I have only played one of the four upcoming packs, which had four fighters: Satoshi, Mei-Lien, Baelkhor, and Morathi. The artwork on the cards was great, and the iconography was very clear and useful once we had the rules down. I also really like how the ultra attack cards were foiled. I wish the “fighting area” was a board and not just 9 plain-looking cards, but I think the $25 MSRP trade-off for four characters is worth it. My only real complaints is that the box comes in a somewhat low-quality tuckbox (which stunk to high heaven, but I’m told that’s an anomaly); I’d rather have a traditional, sturdy game box with a lid or magnetic case.

Prudish Comment: Take this or leave it. If you look at the Kickstarter page for EXCEED, many of the characters are scantily clad, for lack of a better phrase. However, the particular deck I was sent did not have this problem with any of the fighters. I do not think I’ll pick up the other decks for this reason, but if that’s an issue for you like it is for me, you can safely pick up this set and have a lot of fun with it.

Accessibility: The point of the EXCEED system is to have something simple enough to “graft on” many different types of fighters, but still complex enough to be interesting. In this, I think Level 99 has succeeded. It’s not a gateway game, but it’s an easy game to understand for veterans of games like Magic, Summoner Wars, Dominion, or any other card game with lots of text and abilities.  I also think this game is one of those where it’s easy to jump in and begin playing, even if you won’t necessarily be playing well. It’s fun just to explore the characters the first time and read some of the crazy abilities, especially on the “exceed” (i.e. powered-up) side of the characters – a fun throwback to many video game fighters.

Depth: A huge part of this game is learning the characters and their decks inside and out. At that point, the game becomes more about reading your opponent than figuring out the system that you are working within, and this is a very good thing. It’s a very well-done parallel to the same “mental paper-rock-scissors” happening in other card games and particularly in the video game fighters that EXCEED draws its inspiration from. For example, one character has an ultra attack that’s a ridiculously large amount of damage, but it only hits if he is exactly 3 spaces away from his opponent. Once you’ve lost to that once, you’ll know how to play around it. The subtle things, like keeping track of your opponent’s Gauge costs and the amount they have on hand, or the ranges and effects on their unique attacks, come with time. I could definitely see this becoming a lifestyle game for people in the way that Magic and many LCGs have done.

Theme: Although I don’t know the history of these characters, the art in the game and their unique abilities says a lot about them. I felt like each character had an overarching “theme” to their abilities and those came out very well during the gameplay. Level 99 has said they made sure to pay careful attention to having these characters play similar to their original form in Jasco’s Universal Fighting System, and though I haven’t played that, I can tell that these characters were carefully crafted and refined. The fighting game theme is linked about as tightly as you could possibly imagine to the gameplay.

Fun: I have unfortunately never played BattleCON, but I have played Yomi, Magic, Summoner Wars, Mage Wars Academy, and a slew of deckbuilders and two-player card games. This is the game that I feel best simulates my “glory days” of Street Fighter, Tekken, and Killer Instinct in a way that’s got the right level of accessibility and game length for me. Games only take 15-30 minutes, and I suspect they’ll be quicker as we get better at the game. I look forward to playing the game more and to see what other game worlds end up licensed to the system.

If you’re looking for a video game fighter simulated in a tabletop card game, and you want it to be accessible but deep, look no further than EXCEED.

4 out of 5

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Review: Between Two Cities Mon, 16 May 2016 14:00:50 +0000 btcboxStonemaier Games is known for two things: excellent customer service, and excellent game design. Both qualities originate from founders Alan Stone and Jamey Stegmaier. What happens when the founding duo takes a chance on outside designers? Between Two Cities is just that. Designed by Matthew O’Malley and Ben Rosset, Between Two Cities is a 20-30 minute filler game of tile drafting, with a twist: you build a city with both of your neighbors, but only the weaker city counts for scoring. Is a crazy twist and a great publisher enough to make this a great game? Here’s a reminder of my scoring categories:

Components – Does the game look nice? Are the bits worth the money? Do they add to the game?
Accessibility – How easy is the game to teach, or to feel like you know what you are doing?
Depth – Does the gameplay allow for deeper strategies, or does the game play itself?
Theme – Does the game give a sense of immersion? Can you imagine  the setting described in the game?
Fun – Is the game actually enjoyable? Do you find yourself smiling, laughing, or having some sense of satisfaction when it’s over?

btcartComponents: Between Two Cities comes in a small box, primarily because of its few components: for the most part, the game is just a giant pile of square tiles, with a few duplex tiles mixed in. These tiles are quite large, with great (though drab-colored) artwork and clear, distinct iconography. The game also comes with cards for scoring reminders, and randomizers for seating order. The tiles are so chunky and beautiful that the game really wowed me in this regard. $35 MSRP is totally normal for a game of this range, and you’re getting quality components for sure.

Accessibility: Actually playing this game is incredibly short and simple – you are simply picking two tiles at a time in the draft, and putting one on each side of you, making cities collaboratively with your neighbors. There aren’t too many weird restrictions – your tiles need to be oriented “upright” and your city needs to make a 4×4 grid – that’s it, really. The trickier part of the game is the scoring.

None of the individual scoring rules are that complicated, but together, they provide a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s easy to intuit among an individual hand what might be a good idea (well, past the first hand, which is a crapshoot). On the other hand, it’s also very hard to quickly add up how you’re city is doing, to tell if you’re truly balancing your two cities. Back to the first hand, though, the inability to “math it out” means that the game is not ruined by donwtime among players who would do so. The main problem is that unless we’re complete idiots, scoring the game takes almost as long as playing the game, and there’s no easy way to do it. If you can get past that hurdle, though, it’s a cinch to play.

Depth: One interesting byproduct of the game’s rule that you score your worst city is that the game generates quite a bit of discussion as you decide which of your two tiles goes where. I like that a traditional “Euro-ish” drafting game has this negotiation element to it. I also really appreciate the rulebook having an explicit rule for what to do in “power gamer” situations where someone wants to decide after someone else (you go in order given by the randomizer). We never had an issue with that, and I really enjoyed adding this “soft skill” to the mathematics of the game.

In the game, you only look at 7 different hands of tiles, and pick two each time. I found that I was never making particularly tough decisions, especially later on in the game. However, that’s okay – after all, the game only takes 20-30 minutes to play. I don’t necessarily think the game plays itself – sometimes, you have to decide between equally good or equally crappy choices – but sometimes, there’s just the good choice and the bad choice.

Theme: The theme of city-building is thin, but it’s there. It’s relevant in the scoring, not wanting houses near factories, but wanting taverns near businesses, etc. It also feels like you’re developing the cities you build as you do it, which is impressive given the short time frame in which the game has to generate the feeling. You’ll get more of the theme out of a game like Suburbia, but Between Two Cities does the best job that it can within its constraints.

Fun: The easiest game to compare this to is 7 Wonders, where you are also developing a city civilization through drafting, and both can accommodate seven people. However, Between Two Cities is a chatty game, while the competitive nature you have with your neighbors in 7 Wonders makes more for a quiet, determined attitude. Personally, 7 Wonders is my preference of the two, but it’s also very hard to learn by comparison. Between Two Cities is a fun game in its own right, and a great introduction to drafting games for new players – especially since they have two other players to rely on as they begin to learn.

Between Two Cities is clever, quick, simple introduction to both city-building and drafting games, making it an easy recommendation for family gamers.

4 out of 5

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Interview: Jamey Stegmaier talks Charterstone, Scythe, and Community-Building Mon, 09 May 2016 14:00:52 +0000 My first introduction to Stonemaier games was when a friend insisted I play Viticulture. Another overly complex, boring euro, I thought, but I entertained him anyway. What a masterpiece!Intuitive and thematic, despite being a medium-heavy Eurogame. Since then, Stonemaier games has established a strong following and rapport with Kickstarter backers, recently with a 1.8 million-dollar campaign [...]]]> jameystegmaierMy first introduction to Stonemaier games was when a friend insisted I play Viticulture. Another overly complex, boring euro, I thought, but I entertained him anyway. What a masterpiece!Intuitive and thematic, despite being a medium-heavy Eurogame. Since then, Stonemaier games has established a strong following and rapport with Kickstarter backers, recently with a 1.8 million-dollar campaign for Scythe, and now buzz is beginning for their first Legacy-style game, Charterstone. Many thanks to Jamey for the interview! (Beware: way at the bottom of this page are some Pandemic Legacy spoilers, with plenty of whitespace and warnings in between. Beware, though, before you scroll to the bottom.)

I assume you’ve played both Risk Legacy and Pandemic Legacy. What did you think as you played those games?

Indeed, I have. Risk Legacy was my favorite gaming experience of 2013, and I had a great time with Pandemic Legacy in 2015 (we played through the entire thing in a few weeks). I really enjoyed the sheer amount of innovation in both of them. I love the idea of starting with a simple ruleset and adding complexity with the various unlocks. I love the surprises. And even though I had my doubts, I found myself loving the idea of permanence in both games. To me, permanence wasn’t a gimmick—it was a carefully crafted feature to enhance the player experience.

You advertised Tuscany as a “Legacy-style expansion” to Viticulture and now Charterstone is a Legacy-style game. What does the “Legacy” phrase mean to you? How wide are the parameters of the definition?

There has been some debate as to whether or not Tuscany is actually a legacy expansion, which is understandable. The legacy concept in Tuscany is that every time you play a game (or every few times), the winner of the game selects a new expansion to unlock and permanently add to every subsequent game. It’s the opening of each new expansion that amounts to a permanent change to the game, hence the legacy element. However, there’s nothing preventing you from putting that expansion back in the box and not using it again, which is why some see it as not a “real” legacy game.

In those regards, permanence in Charterstone is truly permanent. You peel building stickers off cards and permanently put them on the board. You open tuckboxes with new content that will never go back in those tuckboxes. And so on.

So, to me, “legacy” amounts to a permanent change that persists from game to game.

charterstoneWhat separates Charterstone from other Legacy games? I know there’s nothing “destructive” – did you experiment with that at all? What elements will seem familiar to Risk Legacy and Pandemic Legacy players?

So, I want to emphasize here that I love Risk Legacy and Pandemic Legacy, and I’m incredibly excited about Seafall and Gloomhaven. Each of these games does some unique things, as does Charterstone.

In Charterstone, you’re building a village with other players, where buildings are the action spaces (it’s a worker-placement game). Each player has a “charter” that only they can build in, but you can place your workers in any charter. The buildings start out on cards that you can unlock/draw in various ways—when you have the resources to build them, you peel off the sticker and place it on the board. Hence the “additive” nature of the game. It doesn’t feel like a good fit to destroy things in a game that’s about building.

There is a plot of sorts in Charterstone, kind of like the plot in Pandemic Legacy. The difference is that Pandemic Legacy tells a specific story that you follow. In Charterstone, the order of the story is highly variable depending on what players unlock. There’s no sequence—players are in control.

The last thing I can talk about is what happens after you’ve unlocked everything in Charterstone. With Pandemic Legacy, Risk Legacy, and from what I’ve heard about Seafall, you play a campaign and then you’re done. I enjoy that sense of completion in those games, but in Charterstone, it’s a new beginning for your fully formed game board. From that point on, instead of playing as the same charter each game, you’ll randomly deal out the charters and play the game just as you would any other board game. There will still be plenty of variable elements to keep the game fresh each time you play (like the variable elements in Terra Mystica and Tzolk’in).

It seems that other Legacy games require serious “investment” among the players, both time-wise and emotionally. As I understand it, each game of Charterstone is designed to be pretty quick (20-60 min?). How do you balance that garnering type of investment and payoff against a game with a time frame indicative of a “quick filler”? Is Charterstone able to play both of those rules?

The playing time varies based on the player count and the number of workers you have (workers are unlocked throughout the campaign). I don’t think it will feel like a quick filler. The idea is moreso that you can play multiple games in a row if you want (and still have time to play other board games). Those playing times will probably be adjusted a bit as I collect blind playtest data, but that’s what I’m aiming for.

You’ve talked a lot about the “worldbuilding” done with Scythe. Is Legacy play the natural evolution of worldbuilding?

I think legacy is one aspect of worldbuilding. For example (no spoilers), in Pandemic Legacy, Rob and Matt designed a world where a specific plot happens, and players interact within that plot. That plot is the world they’ve built for players to interact in, and the players make permanent changes to that world—those changes become a part of the world.

In Scythe, Jakub Rozalski built the world that players interact with. It’s a world of mechs and farmers, of a mysterious factory and robust characters. You play the game within that world, and then you put the game away. When you open up the game again, you start over with the same world and play again. So players are coexisting within that world on a plateau—the world is not malleable.

scytheSpeaking of Scythe, it’s on its way out in the world now, right? How does it feel this time around, compared to the release of Viticulture and Euphoria? Do you have a mental “regimen” you go through to prepare yourself in these moments just before a game is unleashed upon the world?

It’s getting close! I’m writing this on May 5, when assembly is wrapping up in China. It feels similar to Viticulture and Euphoria in terms of logistics, as that’s mainly what’s on mind at this point. The pieces have been in place for a while now, but there are certain things that can’t be arranged until all pre-orders are final and you know the weight of all the components.

As for preparation for release, my sole focus is on my backers. I hope we sell the game to distributors and retailers so non-backers can discover and enjoy it, but my backers come first (as do pre-order customers). I want to make sure that the journey they embarked on with me last year ends with a moment of joy when they open the package for the first time.

It seems to me that your games continue to expand in scope with each release. How has your playtesting process evolved as you’ve moved from Viticulture, to Euphoria, to Scythe, to Charterstone? How do you even balance a Legacy game?

The process has changed extensively from game to game (Tuscany and Between Two Cities are in there too), with the biggest change being in the way I blind playtest. I completely underestimated the value of blind playtesting when I worked on Viticulture, so I did a lot more of it for Euphoria. Scythe is completely asymmetric game, so I knew I’d need a ton of blind playtesting (we ended having over 1,000 recorded blind playtest sessions).

Charterstone isn’t to the point of blind playtesting yet, but I think it will be smaller and more focused than Scythe, as I’ll need the same groups of people to play a number of sequential games. As for balance, part of it involves the same rules for balancing any game, but I think part of it is also creating self-balancing mechanisms. For example, in Pandemic Legacy, if you lose a game, you get to put more “funded event” cards in the deck the next time you play. If you win, you remove funded event cards. That’s a self-balancing mechanism.

Between Two Cities is your first “outside design” – how has that process gone, now that the game has been out there a while (and garnered some awards nominations)? Do you think you will continue to publish games outside of your own designs?

I can’t speak highly enough of how great Ben and Matthew have been. I got really lucky that they were the first outside designers I worked with, because they were so open to feedback, and they were able to get the game to the table hundreds of times—basically, they relied much more on data than intuition, which proved me, as the developer, wrong at important times (and proved me right at important times too). They’re awesome, and I’m excited to see what the next iteration of the expansion looks like (so far I’ve only seen an early version).

I’m definitely open to publishing games outside of my own designs. It’s gotta be a game I really love for me to spend the amount of time and money that we do on our games. I’m spending most of Gen Con hearing pitches from designers, so maybe I’ll find some games like that.

You are one of the Kickstarter success stories, and I think one of the most unique aspects is that I don’t think people view your company as a “KS company” or an established company that “just uses KS for preorders” (said in a derogatory way). Somehow, you’re viewed as an established company, but your KS campaigns are seen as “legitimate.” Am I correct in that assessment? Is this entirely accomplished through community-building (see next question), or are there other factors that you think led to this?

I’d like to think that. 🙂 Though, I’d like to think that all KS campaigns are legitimate. I try to be very intentional about using Kickstarter. If something isn’t a good fit for it, I don’t use it (like for my recent Moor Visitors and Token Trilogy campaigns, both of which were done in different ways, and neither on Kickstarter).

That’s an interesting question about how peoples’ perceptions of Stonemaier and the influence I have on those perceptions. It’s tough to answer, because I think those perceptions might vary broadly from person to person. I do have an overarching philosophy (make it about them) that helps to guide me when I make decisions. The basic idea is that instead of making decisions based on what I want or need, I try to make it about what’s best for the customer.

One way I’ve viewed your success is somewhat in parallel to my own job as a professor at a Christian, residential liberal arts college. Our culture is -very- focused on residential life and the idea of “intentional community” among faculty and students, meaning that we’re going to their games and concerts, eating lunch with them, etc. – in other words, supporting them holistically and not just academically. I view you as having the same work ethic, living in “intentional community” with your customers via social media (e.g. avid blogging, the -name- of your book, recent viral post about helping an Aussie customer). This conversation in academia, though, always becomes a tough one regarding the balance of home life and work life. To that end – how do you stay sane? How do you separate work life from home life? Or do you choose not to?

Yeah, I really like that example of intentional community. I hadn’t thought about applying that term to the way I interact with people in the gaming community, but it’s an apt comparison.

I have very little separation between work life and home life. I’m single, I work from home, and I work a lot (7 days a week, often 70-80 hours a week). But I’m also acutely aware of my needs, and having such a fuzzy/nonexistent line between work and home can often help me address those needs. For example, this afternoon I felt a headache coming on, so rather than working through it, I took a nap. Now I’m working again, and I’ll continue to do so until I go to bed at midnight. There are few office environments that would give me that kind of flexibility.

What’s the biggest challenges you’re facing right now regarding 1) development of Charterstone and 2) Stonemaier games as a company?

Charterstone: The real challenge in these early stages of designing Charterstone is the amount of work that goes into prototyping the game, only to have that prototype rendered unusable for future playtests. I’m working on some ways to prevent that from happening to the extent it currently does.

Company: This was hard to think of, as I’m really happy with the way things are flowing in my company right now. So I rephrased the question as follows to help myself: What’s something other companies have that I wish my company had? Like, say, Fantasy Flight. What do they have that I wish I had? The one thing that comes to mind is submission playtesters. That is, when I’m at the local playtesting stage, I have a number of people who—quite kindly—are often willing to playtest games of my own design. They’re friends. It’s harder to get those people to playtest games submitted to us. Very few games even get to that stage, but when they do, I wish it were a little easier to get them to the table (particularly games that require more than 2 players).

What are you reading/watching/playing/enjoying lately?

I’ve had the pleasure of watching 3 excellent DVD movies recently: Spotlight, Creed, and The Big Short. I’m also super excite to see Captain America on Saturday. In terms of new-to-me games, I’ve had some incredible experiences with Ora et Labora and TIME Stories (the latter isn’t new to me, but the latest module is). As for books, I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy. I really liked the conclusion to a trilogy called The Emperor’s Blades, and I’ve become a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson. I’m currently reading his book Elantris (but secretly I’m waiting for more Stormlight and Mistborn).

Just to have the dates right… is Viticulture now eligible in Germany for the Kennerspiel des Jahres this year? (I’m doing my prediction ballots soon…)

Indeed, Viticulture has been released in Germany. There are so many other great games out there that I can’t imagine it being considered for any big awards, but I’m very appreciative of Feuerland (and Uwe Rosenberg) for helping us release it in that way in Germany.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Well, I’ve been doing all the talking, so I’d love to turn it around to you for the last question. Could you tell me about your most memorable moment playing a legacy game? Full spoilers are allowed as long as you preface them.

And per Jamey’s request (he encouraged me to share), PANDEMIC LEGACY SPOILERS FOLLOW!

My biggest memory of Pandemic Legacy was simply the catharsis given by tearing a bunch of stuff up. My partner in crime was a little freaked out (he rarely trades or gets rid of games, so you can imagine), but I had him tearing up a few things by the end. And since we marathonned the whole thing in one weekend, we have some pretty cool pictures, like this one:

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Interview: Christopher Chung talks Lanterns: the Harvest Festival Mon, 02 May 2016 14:00:14 +0000 lanternsWhen deciding what to review here at MeepleTown (beyond our review copies), we try to keep an eye on games where the public opinion is different than ours, or the game is underrepresented. And that often means we don’t get around to reviewing games that are so dang good that they’ve taken the world by storm before we’ve had a chance to sink our teeth in. Such is the case with Lanterns: the Harvest Festival by Christopher Chung, a game that’s recently won a MENSA award and been in the running for several others, with a TableTop episode on the way as well. Rather than tell you what you already know (the game is great!), we decided to interview Christopher and see what other tidbits he could leave for us. A lot of the “standard” questions I might’ve asked were covered in this excellent interview with The Inquisitive Meeple, so you should view this as a sort of follow-up to that discussion. Here we go!

1. I know you’re a recent university graduate and dove right into game design. Are you hoping to pursue game design full time? In the mean time, can you tell us a bit about family life, day job, other hobbies?

It’s funny that it’s actually turned out that way, but as for pursuing game design as a full time profession? I can’t do it. It’s one thing to really be passionate about your design career, and kudos to those who have made it a full-time gig such as Josh Cappel and Eric Lang, however I’m not at that level yet. There could be a possibility that I may have success down the road but I don’t want the design process to drive me crazy, knowing that they’d be the primary source of my income, it’s not enough to help raise a family on nor do I want my games to feel like they’re work. Its hard work to make a game, but I always want it to be a fun passion first and foremost.

As for family life, I live with my relatives, and I just got out of a day job working for a mutual fund company. I’m definitely looking for a career in the financial industry, non-profit sector, or public sector, but in the meantime I guess I’m a full-time game designer! Other hobbies include video games, watching Twitch streams, watching sports and anime, dragonboat paddling, and reading. Now I’m getting back into going to a gym regularly and trying to shape up to be healthier!

2. You mentioned that Lanterns originated at Bento Mise, a co-working space for game and web developers. How often do you interact with designers and developers in other spaces (web, video game), etc., and how does that affect your board game development? What lessons could board game designers learn from those areas?

**Bento Miso**

I often go to Bento Miso for their “Play Games with Friends” dates that open up playtesting opportunities for my games, and that opens up some conversations about what we play, in either tabletop aspects or video games. In terms of affecting my board game development, I’ve definitely seen how they’ve produced their games in terms of working in team dynamics, best practices when developing games, and finding sources of income from them as most of them are full-time video game designers. I think we can take a lot from what a lot of successful independent developers have done in regards to creating accessible games that combine hidden complexities in an inviting package that gamers would enjoy. The barriers of entering in video game or board game development have never been lower today, and that makes for a lot of cross-pollination opportunities that wouldn’t have existed before, and we can always learn best practices from collaborations, finding publishers and audiences for our designs, and design parameters that come with games we’ve enjoyed before.

3. You’ve talked before about how key the change to decreasing scoring was for the strategic depth of Lanterns. I’ve also noticed that the piles of cards can run out very quickly and can lead to some interesting – and cutthroat – moments. How intentional was that part of the tension in the design? How do you decide what level of interaction and “meanness” fits a game?

That’s a very excellent question. I wanted the game to feel tense from the initial design, and although the game naturally carries a very peaceful feel to it, the joy of being able to really hinder your opponent was a very intentional way of adding a level of competitive feel that when missing, would almost make the game feel trivial. When I design, I want to focus on tense game features such as limited supplies, and short-term opportunity losses for long term gains, and I feel the level of interaction melds with the nature of the gameplay. Players will step up to the plate if they get to hinder their opponent’s plans.

4. I’ve read the story of your introduction to Foxtrot Games, but can you explain a bit about the connection to Renegade Game Studios and how that affects you?

Funny story is that I heard about Renegade Game Studios through Corey Young, who designed Gravwell and is a great friend of mine. When we were playtesting a game at GenCon, he had mentioned that Scott Gaeta from Cryptozoic was re-publishing Gravwell as part of Renegade Game Studios and they were a new company to look forward to knowing. Long story short, Randy of Foxtrot Games and Scott had come together to partner on the publication of Lanterns during the Kickstarter campaign and I couldn’t have been happier with the result. Both companies are doing excellent with their games (World’s Fair 1893 winning a Mensa, too!) and I would love to work with Renegade on a game in the future.

5. Lanterns has been out for a while now, and has been racking up awards and nominations. This is your first published game, and the first time to see the reactions – not only the awards, but the variety of comments and reviews, both good and bad, on BGG. How do you process these praises and criticisms, emotionally?

It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions really. To have your first game be in the limelight of some of the biggest awards of the year, and a soon to be Tabletop episode, it’s overwhelming, and I couldn’t possibly thank everyone for their support, but if you’re reading this and you love Lanterns, thank you! But with the good comes with the bad, and yes there have been really negative comments, and I try to not let them be in my head, because focusing on the positive is what I should keep on doing in game design and in life itself.

6. You’ve wrote eloquently on the idea of “Minimum Viable Game” and the great importance of simplicity and elegance in design, which Lanterns illustrates wonderfully. I can only assume that the success of Lanterns motivates an expansion or follow-up, and certainly we’ve already had a few promo tiles. How do you balance that game design philosophy against, on the business end, a desire to expound upon the game?

So in term of what we’ve accomplished of Lanterns’ success, the Minimum Viable Game really now plays a part in what we do, because from a business standpoint, I know that it makes perfect sense for us to design an expansion, and truth be told, a lot of fans of the game would probably want something to more to bite on, so fingers crossed that we can achieve what we’ve already highlighted in the base game with something that can bring a fresh take of strategy on the game.

7. This may be a strange question that others have figured out, but I have a strong dislike for Twitter because I simply find it too hard to manage conversations. What tips (apps, settings, etc.) do you have for budding designers (or reviewers) who want to start using Twitter to good effect for networking?

That’s fine if you do, it’s a very hard platform to keep track of where conversations go to, but for those who want to start using it, I highly do recommend so. I tend to pop my head in from time to time and jump into threads when I can, but often times I tweet nonsense or about game design. The latter got me a contract! I recommend getting Tweeten to manage your twitter feeds. I also have a column dedicated to Cardboard Edison cause they’re a wealth of knowledge that I constantly use!

8. During our games, a friend suggested to me that going first may be a small disadvantage, since the last player to go may even have enough cards to score by his first turn. Do you have any thoughts on strategy in the game and tips for new players?

I’ve had both argument of last person having an advantage and first player having an advantage, and quite honestly, the game is light enough that we did not feel a change in what we provided players based on their turn order really makes a difference in how the game felt to players in the end. Our playtest results signified that games were won by all players in relatively equal proportions. If there was a big enough disproportion we would’ve explored a change but luckily it didn’t have to come to that!

In terms of strategy, I often go for the 4 of 1 color Dedication tile if I can first. Yes it has the least amount of points provided starting out, but it’s the most efficient ratio of trading in cards for points at a 2:1 ratio versus everything else to start the game with. A good tip would also be paying attention to what your opponents have. Often times you can lay a tile down that gives your opponent what they need to make a combination on their very next turn. If you can help it, give them something they may not be able to use for another turn!

9. What games, movies, books, and music are you currently enjoying?

I’m in love with piano music right now. Marasy, Ludovico Einaudi, and Kyle Landry are few of the many new age composers I listen to every day. I’ve been playing quite a few board games more recently, when I actually have time to get together with folks, and I’m really loving Above and Below and Mission: Red Planet. I’m currently reading Console Wars by Blake Harris and I have an overdue fine on that so I better get on that straight away! And finally I just watched Big Hero 6. Great movie.

10. What’s next (that you can share)? Anything you’d like to add?

I’m currently working on a comic book-inspired game where players will be superheroes and choose panels on a comic book page to fight the evil-doers or rest, in which they will create tension that will hinder their success. The villain will be a semi-controlled AI where they will deploy henchmen to fight and they will fight as well however they may end leaving themselves open for the heroes to counter attack! I hope to be able to work on this more with my team and be able to pitch this by the end of the year. I’d love to be able to transfer this game to an existing comic book license. Hopefully we’ll a home for it because I know it definitely has a lot of potential!

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Tina Fey, Scream 4, and the pros and cons of “undercover feminism”

In this insightful article on the F-word blog, Lara Williams asks a truly provocative question: “can non-overt feminism be the most radical of all?”

She notes that “having watched both Scream 4 and the concluding episodes of French crime-drama Spiral this week, I was struck by how feminist both were. And yet, on closer inspection, I was pushed to find distinctly feminist tropes in either.”

And she goes on to conclude:

“Though casually progressive, both Scream 4 and Spiral are not overtly feminist. Yet in an entirely uncongratulatory and unpoliticised way, they represent true gender equality – the good and the bad in men and women. And isn’t that (or to me at least) what feminism is all about?”

I had similar thoughts when I heard that Tina Fey’s book Bossypants is the number one book in America.

Has a funny, feminist book finally captured the heart of America? Or has a book that happens to have a famous female author avoided the dangers and pitfalls of aligning itself with overt feminism?

The answer is unclear. Tina Fey’s feminism has been the topic of much discussion. But I’m less interested in the “is she or isn’t she” question than I am in the implications that the ambiguity around her politics, or at least her ability to eschew labels, has afforded her mainstream acceptance.

I have always felt that it’s important to be visible with my politics. If I don’t stand up for what I believe in, who will? But these latest pop culture phenomena beg the question: is there something to be said for the strategic value of “undercover feminism”?

I “came of age” (read: went to college) in a time when smug, certain, even snarky feminist blogging was novel, groundbreaking, and refreshingly assuring.

The content was smart and interesting, sure. The analysis was well-informed and spot-on. But what really drew me in, emotionally speaking, was the tone of the posts: consistent, on-message, and above all else, unflinchingly confident.

The tone of these blogs made me, in turn, feel more confident in my beliefs. It helped me come to feel that I was not alone in my politics, and ideologies, and perhaps better yet, that the people who shared my beliefs were so balls-to-the-wall, bad-ass, prominent, and unafraid, that there was no reason for me to feel timid or afraid either.

All that to say, the certainty of the feminists I encountered made me feel more certain, too.

I recognize that this is a strategy of movement-building. By drawing a clear, dark line in the sand marking where you stand on any one topic or issue, you make it easier for others to stand on your side with you. Such a strategy comes in handy when galvanizing a base of people to come together around shared values and visions. But what are the long-term consequences of displaying such unyielding confidence towards issues that are often complex and difficult? And is there also a role for less explicit feminism in the midst of all this?

I don’t necessarily have answers to these questions yet, but I do feel they’re important to explore (and would love to hear your thoughts in comments). It seems to me that in an ideal world, those who identify strongly with the feminist label (“overt feminists”) and those who may espouse feminist beliefs or ideals but don’t necessarily feel a need to identify (“undercover feminists”) would have a mutually respectful and beneficial relationship with each other, and not a combative one. After all, we share at least some commonalities of vision, even if we have differing strategies for achieving that vision. But my lived experience has shown me that this is more easily said than done. Instead of reveling in the overlap, we often find fault in the various and diverse expressions of feminist ideals, leading to infighting, ineffective activism, and general haterade. There has been more than one time when I’ve judged someone for not having the guts to call herself (or himself) feminist when I know they agree with me on most or all of the issues. I’ve come to believe, however, that I should have been thanking them, rather than judging them. Because the truth is that the success of Tina Fey’s book is good for women and feminism, just as subtly feminist themes in Scream 4 are, just as feminist blogging is. We all help pave the way and make the space for each other to survive and thrive. Which is why, overt or undercover, loud or quietly proud, folks with feminist values who are following their own personal path to self-realization are OK by me.

Brooklyn, NY

Lori Adelman is a writer and advocate focusing on race, gender, and sexual and reproductive rights. In addition to her work at Feministing, Lori is an Associate Director at Planned Parenthood Global. Lori has previously worked at the United Nations Foundation, the International Women’s Health Coalition, and Human Rights Watch, and has written for a host of print and digital properties including Rookie Magazine, The Grio, and the New York Times Magazine. She regularly appears on radio and television, and has spoken at college campuses across the U.S. about topics like the politics of black hair, transnational movement building, and the undercover feminism of Nicki Minaj. In 2014, she was named to The Root 100 list of the nation's most influential African Americans, and to the Forbes Magazine list of the "30 Under 30" successful people in media.

Lori Adelman is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Partnerships.

Read more about Lori

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isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2016-36
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publisher: CommonCrawl
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text:
Women's Golf Places Sixth At GVSU Invite

Women's Golf Places Sixth At GVSU Invite

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's golf team finished up the fall portion of its schedule by taking sixth place at the Grand Valley State Lady Laker Classic on Sunday (Oct. 23) in Allendale, Mich.

The Bulldogs moved up three spots from ninth place following Saturday's (Oct. 22) opening round and finished at 652 for the tournament.  FSU shot a 338 in the initial round followed by a tourney second-best tying 314 in the second round at The Meadows Golf Course.

Senior Erin Fuchik paced the Bulldogs as she placed tied for 17th overall in the field with a two-round total of 161 on rounds of 87 and 74.

She was followed by sophomore Jacqueline DeBoer, who fired an 82 on Saturday and an 80 on Sunday to finish at 162 and tied for 20th.  Bulldog senior Brooke Rodes also tied for 20th with a 162 as she carded a 76 on Sunday after an opening-round score of 86.

FSU senior Bryce Hetchler posted a 169, which was good enough for a tie of 36th place in the field.  She tallied a 85 in the first round and an 84 in round two.

Finally, sophomore Emily Rohdy tied for 39th overall at 171 as she posted scores of 85 and 86 in the first and second round, respectively.

Bulldog senior Blaize Baumgartner competed as an individual and finished tie for 20th at 162 with rounds of 86 and 76 over the two days.

Host Grand Valley State captured the team title with a 618 score followed by California (Pa.) at 629 and Ashland at 630 in the top three overall.  A total of 15 teams took part in the competition on the par 72 course with a length of 5,954 yards.

The Bulldogs are currently set to open their spring season on March 31 and April 1 in the Ohio Dominican Give 18 Fore Cancer Classic at Pataskala, Ohio.

View: Mobile | Desktop


text:
5 1/2" x 6 1/2"
19 pgs

What goes away on its own
Can come back on its own
Hollowed out and quiet tense
I conjugate privacy and sadness
The myth of language
And a second away from
Being an angel and a microphone
Represent what but nothing
I can do to throw the tow rope
The tall winter light solid crying
Solid singing in the modular
Bric a brac

And now and again it does seem
Important to be saying, to have said,
Participating as no, temperate and right
You can’t just get any kind of sand
Nowheres portfolio the saint van
As piece I deal for university
Exuberance ask turn it all map
Come to a heartbreak the rafters
Could hail, rings on the dresser clock
And together count 50
But it was for such a big one


text:
[FFmpeg-devel] MPADecodeContext on stack

Andreas Öman andreas
Thu Jan 22 08:22:54 CET 2009

M?ns Rullg?rd wrote:
> Michael Niedermayer <michaelni at gmx.at> writes:
>> On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 05:56:54PM +0100, Andreas ?man wrote:
>>> Hi
>>> MPADecodeContext is allocated on the stack at two places:
>>> libavformat/mp3.c
>>> libavcodec/mpegaudio_parser.c
>>> sizeof(MPADecodeContext) = ~23k
>>> This is, by far, the biggest stack consumer in ffmpeg.
>> i do not belive this entirely
> You believe correctly.  Here's a list of stack offenders on ARM:

Aw, seems i missed two things.

a) I only had decoders compiled in :)
b) My analysis only caught those where framesize <32k

More information about the ffmpeg-devel mailing list


text:
[FFmpeg-devel] [PATCH] Pictor/PC Paint PIC decoder

Michael Karcher ffmpeg
Sun May 30 11:46:36 CEST 2010

Am Sonntag, den 30.05.2010, 13:21 +1000 schrieb Peter Ross:
> +const uint32_t ff_cga3_palette[4] = {
> +    0x000000, 0x55FFFF, 0xFF5555, 0xFFFFFF,
> +};

I don't see that code using this CGA palette anywhere. As it is only one
out of 4 or even 6 possible palettes (which you all seem to handle), I
doubt it makes much sense to include this table.

  Michael Karcher

More information about the ffmpeg-devel mailing list


text:
Tyler Lockett Scouting Report

NFL Draft > 2015 Prospects > WR > Tyler Lockett

Tyler Lockett Scouting Report

Position: WR
Conference: Big12
School: Kansas State Wildcats
Year/Status: Senior
Jersey Number: #16
Height & Weight: 5'11 - 175 lbs.
Draft Prediction: Third Round
Drafted 3.5 in 2015 by SEA

2015 NFL Draft Prospect Scouting Report:

Tyler Lockett, WR, Kansas State

Coming in at just under six-foot, Lockett obviously doesn't have the sexy physical tools we often look for in receiver prospects, though he did post a solid 4.4 40 time at the combine. He has a third round draft grade, so you know he has to have more nuanced attributes that make up for a lack of size. And Lockett has a lot going for him outside of the physical tools. Scouts praise him as an excellent route runner with an excellent knowledge of the game, which makes sense being that his father played receiver in the NFL. Along with the football IQ, his character is a big plus. The size issue may limit him to the slot at the next level and could prevent him from being a punt returner in the NFL, which would be a shame because he led the nation in punt return average last year. But his limitations are not so significant that they'll prevent him from having a good shot to become an NFL regular. Teams looking for help at receiver might be well served to consider Lockett after the first couple of rounds.

Just think of Tyler Lockett as Percy Harvin without the attitude issues. Teams looking for an all-around mighty mite will see that Lockett can not only excel as a deep threat, but he's become a very efficient crack blocker and few in this draft boast his return skills ability.

The three-time All-American recently broke all of the school's receiving records, most that were previously established by his father, Kevin. His KSU record 236 catches rank 12th in Big Twelve history, and his 3,546 receiving yards took the sixth spot on the league all-time list. He is tied with his father for the Wildcats mark with 26 touchdown grabs.

He holds the conference record with a 29.1-yard average and is fifth with 2,152 yards on 74 kickoff returns. His four kicks run back for scores is fourth in NCAA history. He also set the school mark by gaining 100 yards receiving 15 times, including on four of his final five appearances during a 2014 season that saw him collect 106 passes for 1,515 yards and eleven touchdowns.

Lockett has a lean frame with adequate muscle definition, but is stronger than he looks. He has little room to add more bulk to his frame, but it could impact his best asset - timed speed - as he has more than enough quickness to elude in the open field, with adequate strength to fight for the ball in a crowd. He is not only explosive off the snap, but he shows very good suddenness when changing directions.

The Wildcat has that quick burst off the get-off foot and really hops into the route's progression. You can see on film his ability to uncover and free himself up when working in the short area. Even though he lacks great size, teams looking for an all-around mighty mite will see that Lockett can not only excel as a deep threat, but he's become a very efficient crack blocker and few in this draft boast his return skills ability.

The first four-time All-American in school history, Lockett displays a nice combination of quickness, change of direction agility and a rolling burst out of his break point. He does a good job of gathering and lowering his weight to make sharp cuts heading up field. He might not look strong, but he has the hand punch and placement to beat the press.

Lockett has outstanding quickness, agility and balance. He gets to top speed in a hurry and maintains acceleration throughout his routes. He has that quick second gear burst as a returner to take the ball to the house consistently (two touchdowns on punt returns, four more on kickoffs). With his exceptional timed speed he can accelerate away from anyone. He plays with suddenness, but has to improve his lateral agility a bit in order to come out of his breaks cleanly.

Lockett is an instinctive returner, but needs to vary his speed when running routes. He is patient letting the wedge set up on returns, but while he is explosive in the open field, his concentration tends to be a bit inconsistent. He is not the type who will ever worry when he hears the sounds of the defender's footsteps working over the middle, as he does a nice job of securing the ball on receptions before turning up field.

Lockett is alert working underneath, especially when the quarterback is going to deliver the ball, as he does a nice job of looking the throw in over his outside shoulder without having to break stride. On deep patterns, he has that extra burst needed to run by defenders and is very effective at making the over-the-shoulder grabs. He moves well left or right, but does just adequate hip snap on his lateral moves. The thing you see on film is his ability to get down the field rapidly.

Lockett can track, adjust and jump for the ball much better on long routes than he does when working in a crowd, but his crowd issues are do to a lack of size, not courage (has the heart of a lion). When he is up against the press, he tends to take false steps and cocks his arms before firing, but he has more than enough speed to compensate.

Sometimes, that speed gets him into trouble, as he runs so fast, he might miss a cut or look sloppy trying to plant-&-drive. Still, he is a quick accelerator who shows suddenness off the snap. Once he gets in the open field, few defenders can mirror him.

Lockett can instantly turn on a defensive back on a route, as he has that extra gear needed to pull away. When he sinks his hips, he transitions fast and accelerates through the cuts to burst away. He might not look fluid in and out of his breaks, but has the ability to separate thanks to a sensational second gear. He has the speed to stretch the field and separate, showing steady acceleration to uncover vs. man coverage.

The Wildcats receiver has the ability to go high or low for the throw. He times his leaps well, but will get bounced around a bit competing for the ball in a crowd, lacking the bulk to prevent from getting ping-ponged. He gets good elevation and keeps his hands outside the frame to make the acrobatic catches, but needs to show more courage working in traffic.

If given room to operate, Lockett will simply race past a defender. He might not have the strength to break tackles or the lateral agility to redirect, but with his acceleration, he is a dangerous threat with the ball in his hands. His burst makes him too elusive in man coverage, as he always makes the first tackler miss.

Lockett appears to be a quality return specialist who can contribute some as a receiver and not a receiver who can contribute some as a return specialist. He is very effective on quick slants and screens and tracks the ball well over his head, but with his lack of strength and inability to defeat the press, he might struggle to get a clean release and into his routes at the next level.

Still, even when he gets ping-ponged going over the middle as a receiver, the sound of the defender's footsteps never affects his concentration and he will fight hard for the ball until the whistle. He is an electrifying returner who could bring decent value in multiple receiver formations, as long as you don't ask Lockett to run lateral routes into a crowd.

Tyler Lockett Scouting Combine measurables

5-10/182 (4.40 forty)
30-inch arm length
8 3/8-inch hands
33.5-inch vertical jump
121-inch broad jump
6.89 3 cone drill
4.07 20 yard shuttle
11.14 60 yard shuttle

Scouting report provided by Scout.com's Dave-Te Thomas.

Last Updated Feb-26-2015 by Brett Talley

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Letter from the Producer, XXXII (07/23/2012) Follow

#1 Jul 23 2012 at 10:44 AM Rating: Good
3,177 posts

Hello again, all you XIVers out there! Yoshi-P here, back with my 32nd missive.

First up, I just have to say, bloody hells it’s hot! The whole of Tokyo is like a blacksmith’s forge this time of year, and I couldn’t survive without AC. I’m about to fly over to Shanghai, which is even hotter than Tokyo. While there, though, I can sweat it out in style with some fiery Szechuan cuisine! In case you’re wondering, I’ll be going for official version 2.0 business.

As I mentioned via press releases a while back, Square Enix has entered into a strategic partnership with SNDA, a major Chinese video game developer. With their cooperation, we’ll be bringing FFXIV version 2.0 to China, which boasts the largest online gaming community in the world. This is one market that no global online operation can ignore, ours included.

Official service in China is scheduled to commence a while after version 2.0’s global launch, and so I thought it’d be good to check out ChinaJoy, the nation’s largest video game expo. We’re not necessarily timing it with the event, but the new promo site will be unveiled very soon. Between the site’s kickoff, gamescom 2012 in August, and the FINAL FANTASY 25th anniversary event, we’ll be releasing a flood of info.

In order to convey FFXIV’s allure from a fresh perspective, we plan to release the info in stages—from lore, scenario, and characters, to the game system itself. Some things are bound to stir criticism, and I’ll be watching fan reaction with great interest.

As for my keywords, I’d like to tentatively go with rebirth, challenge, reform, and—last but not least—FINAL FANTASY.

Many considerations went into deciding our publicity policy, and all materials were picked for a reason. In the letters to come, though, I hope to be able to reveal more things to you—things I normally keep my mouth sealed about.

Patch 1.23, which marks the final stage of the current version, is scheduled to go live on July 26. With the events of the Seventh Umbral Era coming to a head, the team spared no effort on delivering a battle that has “FINAL FANTASY” written all over it. The greatest trial of the age awaits all you adventurers out there!

But wait, there’s more! In addition to the above, we’ll also be bringing you Skirmish, which is designed to be fuss-free battle content you can jump right into. I hope you all look forward to that as well.

Oh, and there’s the much-awaited summer festival. As I’ve already mentioned in a forum post, yukata will be up for grabs this year!

[Insert Yukata pictures here]

Um...right. As you can see, in keeping with Japanese fashion, the yukata are kinda...short. I must apologize in advance to those who prefer traditional full-length types. You see, some people on the team have certain...inclinations. /lol

To recap, the 1.23 series of patches is about to land, bringing with it the grand finale for the Seventh Umbral Era. On top of this, we’ll be releasing a slew of information as promotional activities commence for version 2.0. You won’t be able to keep your eyes off of FFXIV this summer!

Aaand that’s a wrap for today’s letter. See you next time and/or on the forums!

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Grover Eyeveen - Hyperion Server
Viva Eorzea Free Company/Linkshell Leader - Hyperion Server

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Review for One Wizard Too Many

One Wizard Too Many

(#) tricorvus 2011-08-30

That is one more GOOD chapter! Thank you for such an entertaining story! No criticism from ME. Damn good stuff. Please, more Ron-bashing. There's something about him that I cannot like. Do you have any stories or suggestions with Dumbledore-bashing? I like some every so often, and I can see that this is not one. And there's nothing wrong with that. I just fancy some sometimes and like any lead I can get. :D Keep up the damn good work! :D


text:
Categories > Anime/Manga > Pokemon

From Lucian, to Cynthia

by GalacticFTW 1 review

A poem Lucian wrote to Cynthia... no flaming...

Category: Pokemon - Rating: PG-13 - Genres: Romance - Warnings: [!] - Published: 2009-09-19 - Updated: 2009-09-19 - 60 words - Complete

From Lucian, to Cynthia:

Every time I look at you, you turn me on,

Your hair is as soft as the wheat that grows in the fields,

Your eyes look like two pools of mercury inside a thermometer,

Your body is as smooth as the sand,

Your voice as soft as the gentle zephyr...

I Love You So Much,

Sign up to rate and review this story


text:
FilmReviewFriday - Tweet-sized film reviews from Twitter

What is FilmReviewFriday?

FilmReviewFriday is a place for you to share your tweet-sized film reviews via Twitter. You can review any film, any time and say anything.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS feed!

How do I use it?

Sharing your review is easy. Begin your tweet with #FilmReviewFriday give it a score and a quick review. Like this:

#FilmReviewFriday Star Wars 8/10 Despite the prequels, this is still a classic. Empire is better though.

Start writing a review now!

5 reviews forGhostbusters (1984)

Watch the trailer Read on IMDB Buy from Amazon Rotten Tomatoes

Reviews for Ghostbusters (5)

Ghostbusters-Perfect Sunday afternoon film, fun, fast and loads of laughs. Bill Murray is superb 8.5/10

Ghostbusters-7/10-Not quite the classic it's put out to be, but amusing and creative nonetheless. Superb visual effects.

filmguy12 Reviewed by filmguy12
on 17th July 2010

Ghostbusters Still a fantastic watch 25 years on. Murray is brillaint and #RealSigourney looks amazing! Superb film 9/10

markymark34 Reviewed by markymark34
on 4th July 2010

Ghostbusters- Special effects look dodgy now in this fantasic 80s movie. Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd are superb. Must see, Slimer rules 9/10

Ghostbusters 10/10 Wacky scientists leave jobs for crazy startup idea. Simpleton+Ripley turn into dogs. Whats not to love?

davymacca Reviewed by davymacca
on 5th June 2009


text:
Public Joint Stock Company United Aircraft Corporation (UNAC.ME)

MCX - MCX Delayed Price. Currency in RUB
0.51+0.00 (+0.79%)
At close: 11:39 AM EDT
Interactive chart
  • 1d
  • 5d
  • 1m
  • 6m
  • YTD
  • 1y
  • 2y
  • 5y
  • 10y
  • Max
Prev Close0.51
Bid0.00 x 12000000
Ask0.00 x 2000000
Day's Range0.49 - 0.52
52wk Range0.23 - 0.63
1y Target EstN/A
Market Cap120.13B
P/E Ratio (ttm)-8.95
Avg Vol (3m)6,504,308
Dividend & YieldN/A (N/A)
Earnings DateN/A
  • Bloomberg5 days ago

    MegaFon Starts Offering Cash Card to Expand Beyond Phone Service

    MegaFon PJSC started offering banking cards to its customers as Russia’s second-largest wireless carrier seeks to expand in financial services amid stalling telecom revenue.

  • Reuters6 days ago

    Government 'to do its best' to privatize Rosneft in 2016: Russian Economy Minister

    Russia's government should do its best to privatize a stake in the nation's largest oil producer Rosneft (ROSN.MM) this year, Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said on Monday. "Taking into account the attractiveness of this asset and keeping in mind that this would allow us to resolve to a large extent the problem of the budget deficit, I believe a sale of part of Rosneft will be a priority project now," Ulyukayev told journalists on a visit to the Kursk Region in central Russia.

  • Reuters11 days ago

    Rosneftegas should make Rosneft privatisation recommendations by Sept. 1 - RIA

    State-controlled Rosneftegas, which owns 69.5 percent of Russia's Rosneft , should present by Sept. 1 names of potential candidates to participate in Rosneft's privatisation, RIA news agency reported, citing the economy ministry. The agency also reported that the economy ministry said that Rosneftegas should also propose its recommendations on the terms, price and the size of the planned stake sale. Earlier on Wednesday, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said that privatisation of Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil producer, is a key priority for the government.


text:
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Diane Miles (#47721859)
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Messages left for Diane Miles (188)[Leave Message]
Hoover photos
A belated but still heartfelt thank you for those excellent headstone photos. Thank you!
Added by janicet on Jun 24, 2016 12:50 PM
Henrietta (47274097)
Meade Graham # 161272943
You sent me the following message:

Just writing to advise you that the info I gave you to up-date Meade Graham's Memorial was based on his obit published in the Huntingdon Daily News on January 11, 1961, Page 2. Thank you, Diane

The obit does not state that he died in Danville. It does not say where he died. If you have a different obit than I do with different info then you could email it to me and I will update the memorial and remove your name from it.

Thank you.
Added by Henrietta (47274097) on Apr 23, 2016 7:38 AM
Angie Brown
Hi my name is Angie Brown . My grandmothers sister married a Michael Cirko in October of 1935 in Luzern co pa her name was Anna Carey . On the marriage record it states Michaels father was Wasil Cirko and his mom was Ellen Hollick . Do you know of these people ? And if you do my email is wolfsongsgirl@aol.com
Added by Angie Brown on Apr 09, 2016 1:51 PM
Michael Imler Dopson
Alfretta C. "Tottie" Frederick, Memorial# 126080263
Dear Ms. Miles, I am Michael Imler Dopson, (#48342552), here is an Obit for Alfretta's Mem.

Obituary of Alfretta C. Claar
Mrs. Claar, 68, of 3806 3rd Ave. died Sunday, April 4, 1993, at Altoona Hospital.
Known as Tootie, Mrs. Claar retired as a housekeeper from the Fountain Motel, after 12 years' service.
She was born Feb. 25, 1925, in Altoona, the daughter of George and Daisy (Aikens) Frederick. She married William Claar on June 12, 1948. He died Jan. 1, 1981(sic).
Surviving are a son, William H. of Altoona, and two grandchildren.
Also surviving are six brothers and sisters: George, Peter, Shirley Cobler, Pat Merritts and Betty Frye of Altoona, and Frank of Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Claar was a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.
Friends will be received from 7 to 89 p.m. Tuesday at Stevens Mortuary.

CLAAR -- Services for Alfretta C. Claar of 3806 3rd Ave. will be held at the convenience of the family.
Interment at Calvary Cemetery.
Friends will be received from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Stevens Mortuary Inc., 1421 8th Ave. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Mrs. Claar is also survived by a daughter-in-law, Tyane Claar.

Newspaper article - written on page Apr. 5, 1993
Blair County Genealogical Society
Altoona Mirror Obituary Collection

Burial: Calvary Cemetery
Added by Michael Imler Dopson on Feb 11, 2016 7:03 AM
Michael Imler Dopson
William Claar, mem.126080098
Dear Ms. Miles, I am Michael Imler Dopson, (#48342552), here is an Obit for your Mem. on William.

Obituary of William H. Claar
Mr. Claar, 56, of 3806 3rd Ave., died at 3:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 1, 1982, in his home, following an extended illness.
Mr. Claar was employed at the Blair Clay Brickyard and the Altoona Exxon Station.
He was born June 2, 1925, in Newry, the son of Sheldon and Eileen(sic) Claar, and June 12, 1948, married Alfretta Frederick.
Surviving are his wife, a son, William H. Jr. of Altoona, and a grandson.
Also surviving are two sisters and a brother: Mrs. Naomi Haines and Herman of Altoona and Mrs. Audrey Hauser(sic) of Duncansville.
Mr. Claar was a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.
He was a Navy veteran of World War II.
Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday in Stevens Mortuary.

CLAAR -- The funeral of William H. Claar of 3806 3rd Ave. will be held with a mass of Christian burial at 9:30 a.m. Monday at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.
Interment in Calvary Cemetery.
Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday in Stevens Mortuary, 1421 8th Ave., where a wake service will be held Sunday evening.

Newspaper article
Blair County Genealogical Society
Hoenstine Obituary Collection Vol. 130, p1

Burial: January 04, 1982, Calvary Cemetery
Military service: Navy - WW II
Added by Michael Imler Dopson on Feb 11, 2016 6:59 AM
Frederick Schneider/Elizabeth Caroline Mohr
Hi, Diane.

I see that you've got some information for this couple. I am interested, because I have a great grandmother, Helena Schneider Christ, whose father was listed as Fritz Schneider on her death certificate, and her mother was (Unknown) Mohr. She was born in Germany in 1854, and came to the United States via Castle Garden in 1882, with her small children. In 1900, the family moved from Montour County, PA, to Greensboro, Caroline, Maryland. They were back in PA in 1905, though her 17 year old son Michael was killed by a train in Maryland that year. I always wondered what would draw this family to Maryland, and why was her son left behind, when they had no known connection to the area... but it seems like Frederick could be why.

I found Catharine Snyder's death certificate, though I wasn't looking for it. Her father is listed as Frederick Schneider, and her mother as Catharine Mohr. I think there is a link here.
Added by LVPennGen on Dec 28, 2015 9:29 PM
Chris Buckreis
Mildred Ross
looking to trace the family tree back to its roots, this was my grandmother, her daughter, (my mother) was fern l daughtery
Added by Chris Buckreis on Dec 19, 2015 11:50 AM
RE- Bertha Riling
Diane, Thank you for the information,much appreciated
Added by Marianne on Nov 02, 2015 7:37 PM
Jack O'Connor
Lilly-Presbyterian Cemetery
Thanks for the photo !!

Added by Jack O'Connor on Aug 21, 2015 6:26 AM
Barb Kopshina
Thank you for the photo! Barb
Added by Barb Kopshina on Aug 17, 2015 10:08 AM
[View all messages...]

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Books of Note

Practical Common
LispThe best intro to start your journey. Excellent coverage of CLOS.

ANSI Common
LispAnother great starting point with a different focus.

Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence
ProgrammingA superb set of Lisp examples. Not just for the AI crowd.

Welcome to This site was created as a resource to those taking the plunge and learning Lisp. In fact, I, Dave Roberts, am also a newbie. In a sense, this site is a record of my personal journey, finding Lisp. I have tried to capture some of the various things I have learned along the way and organize them to help make it easier for anybody on the same journey. Over time, my hope is that the site will accumulate a lot of good material that will make it far easier for Lisp newbies to put together a productive Lisp development system and start completing real, significant Lisp projects.

For more background on me and why I think Lisp is so interesting, please see my first blog entry.