The Casertana Issue
Variable Pig The Casertana Issue
The “Presenting at a Trade Show in a Pandemic” issue, featuring the 186th issue of “Polar Pig, the 55th issue of on-the-shelf vol. XVI, “The Celestial Steam Locomotive” 8, and Here Be Dragons 41.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 2
Variable Pig (Casertana)
POLAR PIG 186
Welcome to another issue of Variable Pig, the second of 2021. It’s been a quiet few weeks since the last issue so this will be a short editorial. The good news is that Jacqueline and I have finally become eligible to receive the vaccine in Pennsylvania, although we still have to make an appointment. This may take some time as vaccine supplies still seem limited. It is almost exactly one year from when I returned from a business trip to Mexico, straight into lockdown.
February has been very cold and snowy, with 24” of snow falling in early February. Fortunately, our newly repaired snow-blower was returned the day before, although it took three efforts during the storm to keep the drive clear. We had a number of smaller falls during the rest of the month, and the weather stayed cold, so the snow remained. This week has seen the first spring-like days and the beginning of the thaw.
Work has been busy and interesting. I have had two papers published in the technical trade journals in recent months which is very satisfying. This month’s cover features a picture I took of my computer screen during a practice run for my paper at the annual Waterborne Symposium, usually held in New Orleans. This year, the conference was held using Gather Town online environment. It was pretty cool to have my avatar walk among the virtual tabletops and student posters, set in an 80’s video arcade style reproduction of a hotel conference. One nice feature was the video and audio links that activated in proximity to other avatars allowing you to interact with other attendees, either individually or in groups. It was an interesting experience – definitely not as good as the real event, but enjoyable.
Jacqueline and I did return to England for Mum’s funeral last week. Planning the trip was even more nightmarish than before. The rules for Covid-19 testing both before and during a trip to the UK are relatively clear, although the test-to-release and mandatory 2- and 8-day tests still do not seem coordinated. However, booking the tests was difficult and time-consuming.
Heathrow airport was awful. We arrived on a quarter full plane to be confronted by two, long snaking queues to get through customs. It took over two hours to clear customs and I heard later delays were even longer. The delay was caused by the need to check each person’s passenger locator form, Covid test results and sign up for the mandatory 2- and 8-day tests. While I accept the need for this, the passenger locator form requires the booking reference for the Covid tests and also includes a QR card that could be scanned. Jacqueline and I tested negative all four times, but I think Heathrow was the most dangerous place for infection I have been since the pandemic started. The cynic in me wonders whether this was intentional – to make travel to the UK so unpleasant that no-one would wish to do so, regardless of reason. If so, will they be able to repair the damage once they decide that the tourist industry (and other’s) need people to visit again.
Fortunately, the rest of our stay was much better. We self-isolated for six days in a rented apartment in the centre of Ipswich, only leaving once for essential shopping after Asda failed to deliver the groceries Jacqueline had ordered in advance. We tested to release (successfully) the day before Mum’s funeral and used this for our required test to return the US. The funeral itself went very well – the Humanist Minister did a very nice job coordinating the service and Dad gave a long and detailed eulogy about Mum’s life, without any notes. It was nice to see many of my Aunts and Uncles again, albeit socially distanced, plus my brother’s eldest children that we hadn’t seen for ages.
That’s all for now – enjoy the spring and hopefully the new normal is approaching.
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Letters
David Cowie Sorry to hear about your mother. Martin Walker Condolences on the passing of your mum. Best wishes to your family. Bob Pitman Sorry to hear about your Mum. Allan Stagg My condolences to you and your family on the loss of your Mum - it was a pretty awful Christmas for you all. Thanks to everyone for your kind and thoughtful emails which were very much appreciated.
Andy York Turning to VP, so sorry about your mother. I'm glad you were able to get back to see her before the end, and to spend a little time with the family. Chris Hibbert I'm so sorry to hear about your Mom's passing. It's good that you were able to visit a few times near the end. This pandemic is making dealing with aging and death much harder for all of us. I was very fortunate that we were able to get back to England in time to see here. Jacqueline did not get to see her father when he was rushed to hospital; he died while she was still in the air flying over.
Murray Egan Very sorry to read of your mom passing in December. So sorry mate. Your description of the trials for your dad, brother, and yourself sound horrible. Can't even imagine the restrictions of seeing your mom during Covid. Together with the quarantining and fall of your mom whilst in hospital. It’s been a tough few weeks and we are now trying to plan our return to England for Mum’s funeral which is even more complicated unfortunately.
Michael Pargman When my mother passed away, quite unexpectedly, I was standing on the slopes in the French Alpes when I got the phone call... She was living in a nursing home two hours’ drive from Stockholm the last couple of years. Me and my brother drove to see her about every third month for a couple of years. Sorry to hear about your Mum. It must have been difficult when you so far away and not expecting anything.
Murray Egan I can't even imagine..... My mom died suddenly when we were still in Holland and it was a blur/scurried trip to get back to the US and generally the worst time of my life, but that said there were none of the COVID restrictions that you had deal with. My deepest sympathies and know that we are praying for you and your dad/brother. How is your Dad doing? I hope that he is still doing well. I hope that you and Sue are still doing well and surviving the return of the Polar Vortex. We had 2 feet of snow dumped on Allentown last week and it hasn’t melted much since then. Fortunately, the repaired snow blower was returned the day before.
Steve Ham I hope you are well. I'm so sorry to hear about your Mum. I’m almost two hours’ drive from the family home and I found it difficult to balance everything in my Dad's final days, which were quite drawn out. Even in the best of times trying to work things out from the States would have been difficult. Dad's funeral was at the end of January last year and in hindsight the timing couldn’t have been better as my Mum was always the more outgoing and she really gained a lot from having a lot of old friends around. Sadly, the pandemic meant that I could not see Mum last year. We have tried to visit at least twice a year, but this was not possible last year. I phoned regularly, but as the year went on, I mainly spoke to my Dad. I suspected that Mum’s condition was declining, but it was hard to know and Mum and Dad would not talk about it, until the confusion just before her hospitalization. The pandemic was awful for Mum as she could no longer go out and do the things she liked. Mum and Dad lived a fairly simple life, but they still liked to explore England by bus and train and eat out at the local restaurants. All of which were curtailed by lockdown along with Mum’s regular bridge games. She could not even see her brothers or friends during lockdown. It’s hard not to think that Covid accelerated her decline, even if she was not infected.
Steve Ham I was nominated to write and say the eulogy which went well enough, so it was nice to read your Mum's story, your parents seem to have enjoyed very full lives. Michael Pargman I'm sorry to hear about your mother, but you did a good job telling about her life. And it's a good thing you managed to get there to see her at the end. Bob Pitman They gave you a well-travelled childhood didn’t they. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 4
Mum and Dad did enjoy a very full life together and loved travel.
Steve Ham And did you share with us that you're actually Dutch? I was born in Holland; my birth was registered at the British Consulate as a citizen of the UK. I think I could apply for Dutch citizenship but have not done so (the EU membership is still appealing though).
Bob Pitman Regarding your Mum, a funeral or remembrance gathering is a good full stop, a place to share an ending and it’s definitely been missing for my Mum. I found this radio 4 program useful, maybe you might as well. It’s about “good grief”, its cleverly toned to not be too deep but rather celebratory which I think is a good way of getting through the full stop. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08j8yhw Thanks very much for the link. While Mum did not want a funeral, I do think it will help.
Steve Ham I hope all the sorting out goes well and that you can support your Dad and brother as much as possible. Bob Pitman Hopefully the formalities around a person’s passing are sorting out. Mum is still, a year on, awaiting some kid of remembrance before we decide on anything more permanent than the cremation box in the extension. Commiserations to you and yours, Thanks Bob. I hope that you are able to make some arrangements for your Mum soon. My Mum didn’t want a funeral and had planned to donate her body for medical research, but unfortunately this wasn’t possible, so Dad has had to arrange an unexpected funeral in March.
Mike Townsend How is your Dad getting on? Must be hard to be such a long time away at a time like this. At least when my Mum died my sister was able to come over from New York and we could get the whole family together and do a proper send off. Do you have any plans for the funeral yet? Dad is doing well. He’s been busy trying to sort out Mum’s funeral and other activities like cancelling her pension and transferring bank accounts. Fortunately, he is in good health. Mum’s funeral is now planned for March 5th and we have battled through the bureaucracy to come back. This zine has been finished while self-isolating in an apartment in Ipswich.
Murray Egan Good luck on getting back to the funeral. Again, no helpful advice to give but know you are in our prayers, Thanks Murray – I needed the prayers battling through the unhelpful websites and bureaucracy.
Allan Stagg There is a rush to book holidays at the moment, contrary to Government advice. People are tempted by the lure of the sun, and the hope that vaccinations will permit a return to normality. We'll see..... I can understand the appeal of a holiday somewhere warm, but Her Majesties Government is definitely making it challenging. I could never find any information explaining how the mandatory 2- and 8-day tests affect the test-to-release program, so a 10-day visit to the UK requires four Covid tests costing about $650 per person. We will need another if we stay longer that 11 days, as a negative test is required to return. I understand that the Government is trying to minimize international travel, but it is definitely not easy to follow for those who have a reason to travel. There is also, in my opinion, a serious element of trying to close the stable door after the horse has bolted, especially as the most infectious variants now come from the UK. Meanwhile, I think the Labour party would like to ban all travel to the UK regardless of reason.
Mike Townsend That's just crazy costs for testing. They keep talking about using Lateral Flow tests which I think are pretty well instant and much cheaper. Problem I guess is the accuracy. as you say this overkill PCR testing can't be sustainable. So, is that 4 tests that have to be done to travel here? Do you also need some on the return? I guess the private labs must be raking it in currently. The cost of all the Covid testing is fairly prohibitive. We spent over $1,000 to get all the tests done. You are correct – it now requires four tests to visit the UK.
Mike Townsend Your explanation of the Covid testing debacle is about as I understand it. I really don't get why you need the extra test for the test-to-release scheme and how that works with having another test after 8 days when they already released you! Variable Pig – (Casertana) 5
The airlines have been lobbying the Government for at least 6 months to set up a testing system for travellers. It seems that the Government now makes it so arduous that they try and put off anyone from flying from / to the UK without actually just putting in a blanket ban. I checked again and the Covid testing debacle is still as I understood it. The two mandatory tests are delivered by post and self-administered. Booking requires completion of a classic online form – you must fill in all the lines on the address, even if there is nothing in your address to fill in but without this, you cannot save and proceed. Fortunately, the post office was able to cope with having Suffolk listed before Ipswich in the address. No wonder the airlines are lobbying – the costs for testing and quarantine on top of the flight costs themselves are prohibitive. It’s the constant changing and challenges to find information that is so frustrating.
Bob Pitman I don’t think the US is on the red list, so you escape the Governments hotel bill if you need to come back here! While we’re not in the red list (10 days in hotel would be too much), the new testing requirements are rather confusing. As far as I can tell, test to release after 5+ days is still possible (paid for privately), but we will also be required to be tested after 2 and 8 days on the NHS. I’m not sure how this is supposed to work if we are released after 5 days (will be 6). The 5+ day test to release has to be arranged privately so I booked this (with some difficulty) at Stansted airport. We will take this after 6 days so hopefully we can also use if for our return.
Mike Townsend I think currently they are not planning on imposing the two-week hotel rule on travellers for the US, however, it's all a bit random currently. Fortunately, we were spared this, although I think that would have been too much. We booked flights and an apartment in Ipswich for the trip, same apartment rental company but a slightly bigger apartment in a different location. We had our first negative test taken at Newark airport two days before departure to the UK. I had thought this would be easy to book through the local pharmacies, but they would not accept bookings for travel reasons. Of course, you have to complete a number of online forms before you are told this There is a mobile test unit at ABE Airport, 15 minutes away, but sadly they don’t offer the PCR test yet.
Mike Townsend Having said that China is even tougher with 3 weeks compulsory quarantine in a hotel of Government choice followed by 1 week of your choice - I know a couple from BMW who are doing that right now. Personally, I think there was / is no way we can contain all these mutations. They will get out. Our best hope must lie in a rapid vaccination program on a Worldwide scale. I should get my first vaccine by around April as I am in cohort 8 out of the initial 9 before they "vaccinate" the youngsters. Have the rules for travel to China changed much since the pandemic started?
Mike Townsend China likes to tweak the time you have to spend in isolation in a hotel of the Government's choice. It went down to two weeks and now it's back up to three. On top of that you then have 1 week in a hotel of your choice. Also, it's really hard to get a Visa (I think all the UK Visa Centres are closed). Of course, lots of tests during this time too. So, it's not looking promising for me to get over there anytime soon. I'm thinking maybe even not this year now. It sounds pretty grim trying to visit China right now. I haven’t looked at the requirements for any other country and certainly don’t expect to go back to Asia any time soon. I’ll have to ask my colleagues how the vaccination program is going there. I think I have my regular call with them on Thursday. Were you able to get to South Africa and how did it go?
Mike Townsend South Africa got cancelled about a week before we were due to fly. I think what killed it was that the people we wanted to see face to face would have been pretty reticent to meet us (many had not been in the Office in person since last March / April time). Even worse than that, there was a ban on alcohol in place! Glad to hear that your South Africa trip was cancelled and no real surprise for the reasons. We have had no ftf customer meetings since March and are not expecting any before the summer. I attended a virtual trade show this week. Of course, I think when summer does arrive and people have more freedom, there will be a lot of pent-up vacation claimed.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 6
Brad Martin On the Covid front Australia has gone almost two weeks without any community transmission, although a trickle of infections has been detected in people in quarantine after returning from overseas. No vaccinations have commenced yet. We have some from Europe coming in February (unless the EU grabs them first), but an Australian company is manufacturing 30 million doses here. That should be enough to cover everyone by October. Then we just have to wait and see if we require an annual vaccination. The pandemic has largely been out of the news recently, so I’m not entirely sure how bad it is. Our neighbour who works at the local hospital said that the hospital is managing and still has capacity, but it does now require planning again. At least, the vaccination program has started. Hope you get yours soon.
Andy York Regarding C-19, I had another close friend in West Texas come down with it (teacher/school administrator). Very light symptoms, just staying isolated for two weeks with no other interventions given. Around here, things are trending down with restrictions loosened up since I last wrote. No statistics available due to the winter emergency that has disrupted testing/vaccinating/tracking, so reports haven't been coming out. Sorry to hear about your friend and I hope he continues to recover. Hannah has just been diagnosed as having Covid, having been infected by a patient at one of her blood drives. It has laid her low for a few days, but she seems to be recovering.
Allan Stagg Covid-wise people in my age group (over 65s) are apparently going to be offered vaccinations from Monday. Julie will have to wait a little longer - she has her 63rd birthday tomorrow, so is not in the next group. And Sam, who is teaching at the local school, may get more priority than her, especially if there is a push to reopen schools early. Good luck for getting your vaccinations soon. My Dad just had his first jab recently. I know quite a few people in PA that have been vaccinated, mainly in the medical or similar professions. Some of my older friends have also started to get vaccinated, but we still have no idea when our turn will come.
Steve Ham Not much happening here in lockdown, though the vaccination programme has gone well, which will be a relief for Boris, and everyone optimistic that the shackles will come off after Easter. Let's hope so. The vaccination program does seem to be going well so hopefully a less restrictive, new normal might emerge soon.
Bob Pitman Still a while away from my vaccination (numero uno) but maybe in the next month, at least the US now has enough vaccine bought (not clear if that’s supplied as well) for the entire nation. The Kent variant, Boris’s gift to the world, (after his failure to lockdown in a timely fashion and gave the virus a pool of people to experiment on and mutate in who everyone and their cat knew were failing to observe lockdown) looks likely to become the dominant variant globally. Jacqueline has now been informed that she can sign up for her first shot, but I’m still waiting.
Bob Pitman I think they are working their way through the 80+s and (if I remember correctly) they have about 20% of them left to do. That’s group 2 and it seems to have taken about a month and a bit to get to there. Given that the demographics of age groups mean there is a smaller cohort for the 80+s than there is of the groups 3, 4 and 5s (75+, 70+, 65+) I would have thought it was at least 2 or 3 months away. I get into group 6 by dint of the asthma (16-65 in an at-risk clinical condition group) and then group 7 for age (60+) where both Noel and I fit. I’m not sure if having had it once puts me further down the group 6 /7 list on the assumption I might have some of the immunity (assumed to be 5 months long currently and long gone). So the answer is probably getting called in in April May time maybe if the roll out keeps getting supplies at the current rate. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-care-home-and-healthcare-settings- posters/covid-19-vaccination-first-phase-priority-groups Thanks for the explanation about the vaccination. It seems fairly logical and certainly easier to understand than here. I have signed onto the list with our local hospitals, but I still have no idea as to possible timing. I would be very happy if it were April or May.
Bob Pitman I’m quite concerned that it’s a one world problem and we are treating it with a first come first served solution. The UKs borders remain very porous for an island nation, the lock down is variably observed and that gives the virus opportunities to get into pools of population and develop new mutations or for new variants from elsewhere to get into the population. It’s not even as if we are sure that having the inoculation makes you unable to be a carrier. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 7
I think vaccinating the people most exposed to getting Covid and the people most at risk of a bad outcome from getting it should be vaccinated but it needs a more even global distribution for those people, we already see the competition for the jabs here over the last week. I am optimistic that many of the vaccination problems will be solved once the supply becomes more reliable and consistent. While I know nothing about vaccine production, other industrial production processes often start off with problems that are then solved. Larger scale production usually helps.
Bob Pitman I am reasonably pleased that the misinformation merchants and anti-vaxxer/anti- maskers are being squeezed out of the places they bath in and gain the oxygen of publicity from – mostly in the aftermath of the Capitol assault and attempted coup. Maybe the QAnoners did have it part right in that they were inviting the extremists, their enablers, and their shadowy directors to expose themselves so they could be taken off the board... the exact opposite of the Trumpeteers delusional twisted conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, the BBC is still inviting its circus troupe of “shock-jock” idiots onto programs to give air to their niche stupid ideas, Toby “Lobotomy” Young, Gauleiter Farage, Rabid Hartley-Brewer and a bunch of elected (and non-elected “Lords”) persons who have benefitted from an expensive education but are fatally gullible... our fish are happier or, so we are told. I think the BBC is still obliged to show differing viewpoints as part of its charter.
Bob Pitman As far as recovery goes I was doing really well until early January and then it seems to have backslid a little, cold damp air seems to have retriggered some of the Covid damage so some degree of gasp-a-thon is back and bothering, not sure if it’s just the conditions or whether (as I have been told) the Covid damage asserts itself in surges over a prolonged period in which case this will pass and maybe roll back in sometime later but in shorter durations. There again I have had a morning drippy nose and not everything these days is a life-threatening virus, I could just have developed a slight cold, going out in the cold in thermals and exercising reasonably hard tends to get you damp for the hour or two outdoors. Apart from occasional visits to the shops for food etc we aren’t exposing ourselves to much risk, so a minor cold is fairly possible. Sorry to hear that you’ve been struggling a little recently. Jacqueline is also asthmatic, and she often suffers this time of year with the cold, dry air. Hopefully, it’s just a cold.
Allan Stagg One other medical issue in our household is that one of our cats went in for a big operation. After the op she had to wear a jacket to stop her cleaning the surgical scar. The first jacket was too small, so she was given a bright red one which was meant for dogs. It did its job, but she looked so embarrassed while wearing it that I thought she would die of shame! I hope your cat is healing well. Fortunately, our are still healthy and permanently hungry.
Michael Pargman In the beginning of January I had a small surgery to remove a birthmark from my lower leg, as a precaution. It all went well, but then another six weeks without exercise. This time has just passed, and I hope I can begin playing tennis and padel again. Hope your leg is still healing well. I will be ready to play tennis again in the summer, assuming lockdown has eased.
Chris Hibbert It's good to see that you're able to bowl again. We're still locked down. None of my normally regular forms of exercise are available: ice hockey, volleyball, and indoor climbing are all off-limits. There was a period of two or three weeks when we got to play volleyball a few months ago. I’m somewhat surprised that bowling has continued, but the alley is open albeit with only half the lanes in use at any time. We only bowl every other week to keep the alley from getting too crowded and it seems to be working well. Mask wearing has generally been good although it has started to decline. I’ve been bowling really well this year with my average over 160. I scored 561 this week.
Bob Pitman Still running, still believing I am getting better (although the damp cold weather doesn’t help – the dry cold is mostly fine). Glad to hear that the running is going well. My walks have been curtailed by the snow and bitter cold, but hopefully I can restart soon.
Chris Hibbert I was just looking in the front of the notebook I've been tracking my weightlifting in. I've done it every three-four days since last March (other than the trip to Arizona in October). I'm doing twice as many pull-ups as when I started and lifting 2x - 3x as much weight as a year ago. Sorry that your sports are all curtailed. Our badminton games stopped when the gyms closed, and we didn’t have a tennis season. It sounds like you have kept an effective exercise regime going though. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 8
Andy York On the baseball front I'm sure you've seen the significant restructuring that MLB did to the MiLB, and we've exchanged a couple notes. Today MLB announced the starting dates for the AAA season - you start on April 6 and we do on April 8. I haven't seen the detailed schedules for each team that were supposedly sent to the teams today. But, whether those games will have some/many attendees and whether I'll go before I am vaccinated, I don't know. I still haven’t found much detail about the restructuring that isn’t locked behind a paywall, but the Iron Pigs have announced that there will be a new season. They are offering a lottery for the ‘ticket pods’ but I think I will roll our season ticket over to next season and hopefully buy tickets for the odd game this year.
Andy York I'm case you hadn't heard, announced yesterday (MILB Season start delayed until beginning of May) Thanks Andy – your email arrived just after my friend (whom I share the season ticket with) forwarded a mail from the Pigs announcing the delay. Sad, but I do hope the season can still go ahead.
Mike Townsend We are discussing playing some games on BGA and rolling into the Superbowl on Sunday with a supporting Zoom Conference Call. What positive side effect of this is that geography is not a barrier! So, would you be interested in joining us during the course of the day? We are thinking of kicking off at around 2:00 pm UK time and have the potential of two Zoom meetings to have two games going at the same time. Not sure how the game itself will work with Zoom and possible nasty feedback from 12 TVs, but certainly worth trying. Thanks very much for the invitation. It was a lot of fun and great to see everyone again. Sorry we didn’t get more time to chat. EPGS use discord for their online game meets, which seems to work very well with larger groups,
Mike Townsend I've heard of Discord and seems to be very popular amongst the more serious online board game fraternity but never tried it myself. I would be intrigued to know what it offers over something like Zoom (given that we use people's work accounts so no time limit). I’ve only used Discord once. It’s similar to Zoom, but more complex. There is a main meeting area and separate “tables” for games. This way you can meet people to play games with, then move to a “table” so your conversation doesn’t disrupt others and then return when your game has finished. I played Puerto Rico, Lucky Numbers and Off the Rails with EPGS the day before our meeting.
Mike Townsend I think a fair few of us will watch at least the first half of Superbowl. I have postponed / delegated my morning meetings and so should be ok to last it out. Some rumours that some may even have some Tequila secreted away. I don't think I have, although I do have a lime! I wasn’t very impressed by the Superbowl. It was a terrible game as Kansas really didn’t get going. There were signs before the Superbowl that Kansas was vulnerable as they were a little lucky to beat the Browns.
Mike Townsend Yes it was good to see you even if it was only briefly for some games. I was gunning for the old man in the Superbowl and so happy enough with the results. I had a feeling that the Chiefs were a bit vulnerable and relied far too much on Patrick Mahomes and two receivers to win games. They seemed to just lose it during the game though with so many silly penalties really not helping. Brady seems to be a real calming influence and still has an amazing arm. 4 of us watched Superbowl with a muted Zoom Call going on for heckling, celebrations etc. Worked ok and Neil and I got a few Tequilas too! I hadn’t seen the Buccaneers much this season, as I usually watch the AFC games, particularly with the Eagles so crap this year, but the Chiefs were definitely off the pace. Hope all is well with you and the family.
Mike Townsend Rachel is at Cardiff Uni and Adam at Reading. Bit rough on them really as they can't do all that great studenty stuff (like what we did) but will still end up with the mega debt like what we didn't! Carolyn and I are both working from home. Hope you have a great day. Glad to hear the family are all doing well. It is sad that Adam and Rachel can’t enjoy the full student experience, but hopefully they can get back soon. The student debt issue is a concern, although the debts are much greater in the US. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 9
I think Penn State charges about $15K per semester and that’s a State University; private colleges are much higher. Our US readers will know more.
Bob Pitman Bozo has told us that schools will not be back until middle of March... but his mixed messages of the last year and a half mean that lots of people are guessing that he is trying to be pessimistic, so they are saying this half lockdown will end in a few weeks or end of Feb or something. Still seeing idiots that won’t wear masks to protect other people claiming some allergy or asthma so they can wander without - as an asthmatic anyone who actually has asthma is being very careful and taking every precaution including masks so they’re idiots are not asthmatics, my sister apparently chased some anti-masker out of the shop she was in and he claimed he didn’t want to wear a mask because it meant he was being treated like an animal?! That’s straight off some misinformation Social Media platform. Our local off-road walks and river walks are crowded with people outdoors so no masks and often I suspect not in family groups! I run out on quite routes where (thankfully) I don’t see many people at all but with all the rain they are becoming quite swamp like in places and I really need trail shoes rather than my “slicks” runners for mud and gloop surfaces but with shops closed so no fitting sessions I’m unlikely to get any soon. So, I may be driven onto the more crowded places. The change in US Government is having some effect. I was Easton Farmers market on Sunday when the police came along and moved asked an unmasked man to move along from the market. I think the man may have been homeless and he wasn’t causing any problems – he may even have helped me when one of my grocery bags split. However, it was interesting to see how quickly it was resolved. It was also fairly unusual to see someone unmasked at this market – I like shopping there for this reason, plus it’s outside.
Brendan Whyte After a week of temps in high 30s we’ve had several days of rain and max of 19-23. Interesting summer… Sub – zero daytime temperatures for most of this week with breezy conditions. It warmed up a little today (around 0C), so I could take a walk, but we have another big snowstorm forecast for tomorrow.
Bob Pitman Some of your long distance trails would be great to have a go on (I vaguely recall the Bill Bryson Walk in the woods film)... these days I am vaguely comforted having “what 3 words” or similar on my phone in case I am alone and trip or worse somewhere off the beaten track... the ability to be able to tell emergency services where I am to within a 3 meter square is one of those fall backs I am starting to think about as the years roll on! My friend who I run with fairly often was complaining of “palpitations” this week, luckily it was cold and latterly wet, so we haven’t disappeared off into the wilds, but it’s a warning to prepare for the worst but hope for the best! I only recently heard about the What 3 Words app, but it sounds pretty good.
Andy York Much of the same here, temps in 80s tomorrow. I’d take it – big snowstorm forecast for tomorrow night.
Brad Martin Not much happening down here. Except that I'm getting fed up with the hot weather! I’d take some hot weather right now. It’s been bitterly cold all week, with daytime temperatures below zero (centigrade) and strong breezes. It warmed up a little today, but we are expecting another big snowstorm tomorrow. Fortunately, our repaired snow blower was returned on Friday.
Tom Howell Not so cold here. There has been snow in the forecasts, but I've only watched the snow line go up and down the ridge across the lake. I almost wish it would get cold here, snow or not, so the humidity would go down which would make my walks more pleasant. We are now expecting a major snowstorm again starting tomorrow night and extending to Tuesday morning. It was however, a little warmer today – nice enough for a good walk.
Andy York Saw that, stay warm! Only reached 77° today.... The evening news had some reports of the poor conditions up there. Keep warm! Plenty of exercise with the snow blower and shovels helped to keep warm.
Mike Townsend I hope that everything is going ok for you. All good here – just digging out after 2 – 2.5 foot of snow fell on the Allentown area over the last two days. The snow is higher than our patio table.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 10
Mike Townsend That's a lot of snow! How quickly do they clear the roads? As you may distantly recall in Blighty 2 inches is regarded as a huge dump and stops the Country pretty well solid. The snow is still here. We’ve had over a week of mostly sub-zero temperatures so there has been little melt, although we do now have a great collection of icicles from our gutters. We’ve also had a few more, lighter snow flurries (3 inches on Thursday), but hopefully it will start to clear at the end of the week.
Allan Stagg February already! Thankfully, we have missed most of the snow and/or rain that has hit other parts of the country, but it has been very cold here for the past week. We definitely didn’t miss the snow. The big storm last month decided to park over Allentown and delivered about 2 feet of snow over two days. I went out with the snow blower 3 times just to keep the drive clear. Since then, the temperatures have stayed mostly below zero, so the snow has barely melted and just compacted, and we’ve had two or three minor snowfall and another storm expected on Monday. Good luck avoiding the snow – there is more coming your way.
Bob Pitman No real news from here it’s quite chilly but so far the beast from the east 2021 edition has mewed rather than roared. We had a dusting but not enough to make a snowball. Another plus – the evenings are getting lighter... 17:00 and still light. Summer is Coming! It’s cold and white here. We had a big snowstorm two weeks ago and a number of smaller ones to follow, and it hasn’t warmed up enough for significant melt.
Michael Pargman We've had three weeks of cold weather and some 20 cm of snow, but this weekend most of it has melted away. But the light is returning, especially in the afternoons. February has been cold and snowy for us. There should have been good skiing in the Pocono mountains north of us.
Murray Egan Greetings from a very brisk Chicago, and so we are now in our 3rd straight week (or is it 4?) of below freezing. As I look at the forecast, I see that on Monday it climbs to a balmy 34F...I will be so jacked to go outside and actually see some of this snow melting...may even celebrate and wear my fur thong. Snow everywhere. You may be warmer than Texas currently and better prepared. It warmed up to a tropical 36F yesterday which meant many of our beautiful icicles melted, although the gutters are still blocked by ice dams. It was so warm, I wore my mankini.
Andy York Yep, today was the coldest day ever recorded in Austin and, in the morning, should have the 5th lowest temperature ever and a shot at lowest. In the midst of a possible six contiguous days below freezing, by far a record but might hit 33° Wednesday afternoon. Good to hear that you’re doing well. Take care on the roads as the other drivers may not have your experience.
Andy York But, no worries. Much worse days growing up in Michigan! All's well with me. Thanks for checking! Hope you're all safe and warm. We were expecting ice rain but fortunately we missed that. That said, I think it may be warmer here than Texas right now.
Andy York Good to hear! Regarding VP, I was planning to do them tonight, but no internet unless I want to type one-fingered into the phone. Hopefully by Wednesday all will be right again. Cable/internet are still out, this morning water was shut off (too many burst pipes in the complex). At least still have power... Sorry to hear that. It sounds pretty bad in Texas according to the news. At least we’re used to winter weather here in PA – another snowstorm expected tomorrow. Stay safe and I’ll look out for orders when the situation improves.
Andy York Cable/Internet finally returned today with the electric grid coming back online. From what I heard, returning one of the nuke plants in south Texas over the course of the day yesterday was a critical piece in getting enough electricity into the grid. Just lucky I was in an area that is apparently on a critical grid, other parts of my complex weren't.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 11
I’m glad to hear that you have some of facilities back. The news reports about Texas have not painted a very good picture recently. Have the water leaks damaged any of your apartment?
Andy York Water is still out, the City should have the complex reconnected Monday (that's the current target. Then, the complex will have to see which buildings can be restored. The Northside had a number of buildings with flooding and still don't have reliable power. At least one of the buildings where I'm at (Southside) lost power, haven't heard of any flooding. Well, some of the irrigation system did break. Quite a few places are in much worse shape, so I count myself fortunate. City-wide we're under a boil water notice due to dipping below critical pressure (as are hundreds of other water systems around the state). Until the pressure is back up and water samples are cleared by labs we'll stay that way. In the complex, we've been told that once we're out of the freezing weather they will determine what breaks exist and where it can safely be restored without flooding more of the apartments. I hope that the water problems are also resolved soon.
Andy York I won't write much about the adventures as it's too soon to get a good handle on things. But, by Saturday we should be out of the subfreezing weather for good. During the day tomorrow should start thawing, but it'll refreeze overnight. Many records were reportedly set but haven't been able to verify. The only one I know for sure was just on the news - longest contiguous time below freezing at 144 hours. It would have gone about another 24 hours, but it briefly rose to 33 degrees mid-afternoon today. We had more snow today – just another couple of inches on top of the 4 – 5 inches we got on Thursday. However, I don’t think much was expected today and the roads were a mess. Hopefully, it will warm up a little tomorrow.
Mike Townsend We did not really get any snow here in the past week or so, but it has been very cold with a mighty wind chill. Today the weather has changed to wet, mild, and windy. The snow is still here, although at least Pennsylvania is better prepared than Texas and the Southern states. We had three more lighter storms this week. I used the snowblower again on Tuesday but was able to push Thursday and Friday’s falls away with a shovel. There is a rumour that it might warm up a little next week, which will be a relief to our frozen gutters, although we will miss the icicles from the overflow.
Mike Townsend Certainly warmed up here with temperatures well into double figures (Celsius). Texas got it really bad - I guess they have minimal equipment to treat the roads and clear the snow as it's such a rare event there. I guess that Texas is the most polluting state in the US - so I hope they appreciate the irony. It’s warmed up here… to a positively balmy 1C! At least some of the ice has melted but there is still a blanket of snow everywhere. The regular falls have kept it looking clean, which is nice. The situation in Texas and the Southern States has been pretty bad. Texas has made most of the news as the most populous state, but many others have been affected. I don’t know if Texas is the polluting state on a per capita basis, but their intentional isolation from the rest of the US power grid does seem to have been a major contributor. Andy will probably explain more once Austin returns to normal.
Mike Townsend Loving the front cover from last year's issue. Was quite an impressive "trick" and certainly the memory sticks in the mind. Like you I can't 100% remember the exact occasion behind it though. As far as I recall we were in that small bar on the first floor next to the Cholo bar (but I can't remember its name - was it the "Mandela Bar" or "Franks Bar" or maybe something completely different?) Glad you liked the front cover. I still have a few photos from Warwick but not many – I think I have one from the first fireworks party at 33 The Mount with Geoff Wilby and Jon Carter.
Mike Townsend It's kind of a shame that we don't have so many photos from the Warwick days. Will be interesting with Social Media if memories are preserved better. Most of them seem to be about instant gratification and therefore maybe stuff like this would just get lost in all the banality of pointless posts that no one is interested in. I have a few of the Crets, plus my stag night. Cameras weren’t as common then and no cell phones; I’m not sure what camera I even had back then. I know I got an Olympus OM10 in my second year Ph.D. as I took it to Ireland with the Crets. Of course, with regular cameras, there were also few ‘selfies”, so I don’t have many pictures of me from then. I took most of the pictures on the early Crets holidays, so I don’t feature in many of these.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 12
Michael Pargman I had a calm Christmas and New Year, spending it with my brother and his family. At midnight we went down to our quay, where people had gathered for fireworks. There were less people than normal, but it seems like people who saved up from not spending money on travels and other stuff, instead put some of it on fireworks, because we had a very nice display. Your Christmas and New Year sounded nice. I remember living our first year in Holland when the fireworks started at midnight, it sounded like a war there were so many. It is special as so few fireworks were set off early and everyone waits until midnight. We had a lot of fun later going to these events. In the UK, fireworks are traditionally set off on November 5th (Guy Fawkes night), although they are usually going for days earlier. We used to host fireworks parties in Stalybridge before we moved away. Mike and Carolyn took over the tradition.
Mike Pollard Have had a look through the other games on offer, but nothing appeals at present. I'd go for Diplomacy, Gathering, Machiavelli, Game of Thrones, Downfall, War of the Rings, Macao, or Dracula..... Sorry, there’s nothing on the waiting lists for you but hopefully that might change. Diplomacy has never caught on in this zine and I haven’t played the others. You win the world renowned, non-existent prize for first set of orders this issue.
Geoff Kemp Thanks for that, excellent issue. Can I be added to the Railway Rivals – Burkina Faso list please. I will need a paper copy of the map if possible as can’t download anything at the moment. Stay Safe Richard Smith Most VP players print their own RR / BB maps or mark them up in a graphics editor, but I do print them for people on request. As I can't get into the office at the moment to use the A3 printer (at the British taxpayers' expense) the last few I've done have been two A4 half-maps sellotaped together. Most recently I made some half maps for Honduras https://variablepig.org/maps/rr/hondurasrr.html I will sign you up. I’m hoping to finish the map sometime soon, although I may finish the next issue first.
Tony Critchley Bit of a blast from the past I know. I hope you and your families are well. Good to hear from you – all is good here, although I will be happier once the snow melts.
Tony Critchley I'm hoping that you may be able to assist. I remember the "Rules Bank" for various games that was on the website you could download VP from. The main website can be found at Variable Pig Postal Games Magazine and the Grand National rules can be found at Grand National Postal Rules (variablepig.org). There is a game running currently in the Pig if you want to show examples of a running game. I’m not sure what you’re trying to teach, but one of the key elements for successful players is understanding the trouble numbers (when you can gamble) and how the non-player horses can guide safer plays (at least while they’re still running).
Tony Critchley I'm working in a school now and wanted to use the Grand National game as a way of educating. I've not been able to find the rules anywhere so wonder if one of you could perhaps provide a copy, or point me in the right direction? As an aside, David Watts developed Railway Rivals as an educational tool when he was still teaching geography.
Tony Critchley Many thanks for your reply. I'm hoping it can teach a variety of things as the intention is to run it as a competition between classes. So that can include teamwork, strategy, and logic amongst other things. Sometimes something brand new to students can have a better appeal because it's something different. Whether it will work is a different matter! Richard has uploaded quite a few games rules on the website, including a number of simple puzzle games that you might find useful for teaching. By Popular Demand is quite a nice game for large groups.
Tony Critchley I lost access to the VP site after being made redundant and suddenly finding myself without a laptop - the work one had all my favourites on it and suddenly I didn't have it! Sorry to hear about the redundancy but congratulations on the new teaching job. I hope that it’s going well. You are very welcome to re-join the Pig if you wish and have enough time.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 13
Brendan Whyte My help..? I can’t remember what I did… Sorry, danger of the copy paste I use to create the emails. I forgot to delete the note about help for the games that I sent to Bob and Tom. I did change the other parts though.
Michael Pargman Sorry about late orders. Last week was very hectic at work with loads of stress and I just lost track of everything. No problem – work has been really busy this year.
Dane Maslen My intention was to take a break from working on DG to resume doing these orders. When I took the break, it was with some horror that I discovered that I wasn't resuming doing the orders but starting on them from scratch. Ah the challenge of both playing in and producing your own zine.
Brendan Whyte DtC is now in its envelopes… I just need to get to the PO on Monday to buy stamps. Thanks for the warning about DtC – I will look out for it.
Brendan Whyte VP arrived yesterday, 4 days after the deadline. Lucky I got orders to you prior to seeing the zine! Richard Smith That's nearly four weeks which is even worse than UK to USA which seems to have been about two weeks ever since COVID struck. There was a delay in printing VP185 (multiple reasons including printer trouble) - the PDF was up on the Pig website on 25th Jan and paper zines in the post-box on 29th. That’s pretty slow, although at least it arrived. A fair few DtC’s went missing en route to Pennsylvania last year.
Bob Pitman I think the news broke tonight that the Republican senators have put Trumps base continuing support ahead of the party and country by acquitting Trump. No surprise there, they are apparently dumb enough to carry on down the road the Tea Party set out for them. It ends with the Reichstag being burned down next time, my guess is that if they’d had a handy can of lighter fuel and lighter this time then they would have been in there with the far right trying to get Trump a State of Emergency to cancel the election and put the Militias on the street. The problems with the Republican party (like the Tories) have been kicked down the road a bit but are still there... at least Biden might try and fix the Republican party before it becomes a threat to the United States again! No surprise about the impeachment vote, other than a number of Republicans did actually vote in favour. To be fair, those representing Red states probably were voting in accordance with the majority of their electorate. The country itself is heavily divided and this has just highlighted the differences.
Bob Pitman Not sure that representing your constituents’ views during a trial is the way to go! I don’t know the legal status of a Senate trial, but I am guessing that it’s like olden days here (pre-Supreme Court) that the House of Lords was the legal highest court in the land and had some trials appealed up to it. In either case the “evidence” should guide the decision rather than what your constituents think surely. Not saying they had great evidence as he seemed to choose his words carefully on video but hopefully one of the other trials will stick a pin in him and have him measured for an orange jump suit! I’m not sure of the legal process here, as I think impeachment is a legislative or Government procedural process, not a legal process, so elected Senators voting in line with their voters still makes sense to me, even if I disagree with the outcome.
Bob Pitman Speaking of which if you have a 4-hour slot to kill and the ability to stream it “the Comey Rules” is worth a watch, it’s about the FBI director, Jim Comey, that wound up doing the investigation into the Hilary emails. The Trump caricature is (hopefully) a bit cartoonish but otherwise a great watch. I’ve not seen this offered yet.
Richard Smith Just after buying the new printer, I also decided I needed some new dice (initially for the cricket game) and ordered a polyhedral set from the internet. They're good quality with a small size D4 and percentile D10s (one with 10s one with units) in various colours. Not sure I really needed 140 though - oops! Nice picture – not sure if you need them but new dice are always nice. I can’t remember when I last bought new dice – maybe in Japan.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 14
Bob Pitman I got some new records (very decorative vinyl patterns and excellent music) which is upsetting Noel – she has vowed there will be no more storage space for my vinyl. I suppose I could give up my collection of Pig zines to gain some space, but I am pretty sure there’s some wiggle room somewhere ;-) Good luck. I don’t think I have bought a vinyl record since the 80s or early 90s.
Carolyn Townsend I hope you are well, and that Hannah is getting better. Hannah has recovered well and is now back at work. She was definitely laid low for a few days though.
Bob Pitman Shock horror our hybrid has sat unstarted on the drive for about 3 weeks during the cold weather, when Noel went to go out last week the battery (that starts the petrol engine) was dead. The big electric drive one was fine but without recharging the small battery the car was going nowhere. I discovered that we should be using a “smart” charger for this car... any car that turns itself off at the lights needs something other than my old dumb charger. It only took a few hours, and the car was fine, just a combination of no use and freezing temperatures and now I know the key detection and alarm systems remain active. Ah, the joys of new technology.
David Cowie Many months ago, someone sprayed EARTH IS FLAT on a sign on the motorway. A couple of weeks ago, someone else changed this to EARTH IS PEAT. I suppose that mostly wrong is an improvement on entirely wrong. At least they had some sense of humour. Thanks for the peat reference which allows me to use possibly the weakest link ever to the final letter…
Bob Pitman I am still trying to like Whiskey... Laphroaig seems to be OK, but this experiment might go the way of all my previous attempts to like whiskey... a mostly full bottle stored in the drink’s cabinet. I like whisky, mainly single malts, although I’m not a fan of the really smoky or peaty malts like Laphroaig. I much prefer the highland malts like Cardhu or island malts like Highland Park or Isle of Jura. And on that cheery note, it’s a wrap.
* * * * *
By Fairly Popular Demand
Round Two
Chris takes a huge lead.
Something Commonly Found in …
1. A supermarket: Basket (3 scores 0), Milk (2), Cash Register / Till (2), Shopping Cart / Trolley (2): Freezer, Cashier, Beer, Shelf, Aisle, Toilet Rolls, Checkout Chic, Vegetables and Food all score 1. I’m not very confident about my answer although it was the first thing I thought of. 2. A church: Altar and Bible (both 3, score 0), Pew(s) (2), Pulpit (2): Hymnal, Wine, Bench, Window, Bell, Organ, Stained Glass and Font all score 1. Possibly the toughest question this round for some 3. A laboratory: Test Tube (4 scores 0), Lab/White Coat (2), Bunsen Burner (2): Bench, Centrifuge, Reagent, Wrist Strap, Microscope, Coat, Beaker, Scientist, Brain and Chemicals all score 1. This should be easy for me, but the first thing I thought of was fume hood which I suspect would barely register. pH meter and balance likewise. 4. A park: Grass / Lawn (4 scores 0), Slide (2): Bench, Trail, Lawn, Pond, Bird, Footpath, Ducks, Dogs, Joggers, Flasher, Playground and Trees all score 1. This one is open to interpretation so will probably be low scoring. 5. A museum: Display Case / Cabinet (4 scores 0), Dinosaur (2), Statues / Civil War Statues (2), Sculpture, Quiet, Guard, Gift Shop, Donation Box, Paintings, Fossils, Relics, Skeleton and Books all score 1. Also, tricky as it depends on the type of museum. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 15
6. A stadium: Turn Stiles / Gates (2 scores 0): Concession Stands, Toilets, Noise, Stands, Atmosphere, Beer, Seats, Ball Boy, Flood Lights, Exit Signs, Running Track, Fans, Kneeling Teams, Seats, Football and Jumbotron all score 1. The way in should hopefully score well but not too well.
Congratulations to Chris Hibbert, Richard Smith and Brendan Whyte who scored 7 from a maximum of 11.
Player Supermarket Church Laboratory Park Museum Stadium
Chris Hibbert Cash Pew Bench Bench Sculpture Concession 7 Register Stands (20) Steve Ham Freezer Bible Centrifuge Slide Quiet Noise 4 (14) Murray Egan Milk Bible Microscope Slide Dinosaur Stands 6 (13) Andrew York Cashier Hymnal Reagent Trail Guard Jumbotron 5 (13) Steve Guest Beer Wine Wrist Strap Squirrels Gift Shop Toilets 5 (13) Richard Toilet Rolls Font Bunsen Joggers Statues Fans 7 Smith Burner (12) Brendan Checkout Pulpit Brain Flasher Civil War Kneeling 7 Whyte Chic Statues Teams (12) Bob Gingell Shelf Window Lab Coats Grass Paintings Seats 6 (12) Michael Shopping Bench Coat Lawn Display Beer 5 Pargman Cart Case (12) Martin Till Altar White Coat Pond Donation Turn Stiles 5 Walker Box (12) Arthur Owen Milk Pulpit Test Tube Grass Relic Atmosphere 6 (11) Roger Basket Organ Bunsen Footpath Fossils Flood Lights 5 Trethewey Burner (11) Jacqueline Vegetables Pews Test Tube Playground Skeleton Seats 5 Reader (9) John Walker Basket Bell Beaker Bird Display Ball Boy 3 Cabinet (9) Brad Martin Food Bible Test Tube Grass Dinosaur Football 4 (8) Mike Pollard Aisle Altar Scientist Dogs Display Running 3 Case Track (8) Allan Stagg Basket Stained Test Tube Ducks Display Exit Signs 2 Glass Cabinet (8) MY Trolley Altar Chemicals Trees Books Gates 4 CHOICES (10)
Players Comments
Mike Pollard Disappointing scores for me last round! I might as well have stuck with my first set of answers, when I thought we were going for the most popular. Round 2 looks really difficult to judge, so many options and few stand out choices.
Brendan Whyte 6. Something commonly found in a stadium - knee bending teams of white people trying to appease the BLM mob.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 16
Bob Gingell Test tubes, park benches or trees and floodlights seem likely to be too popular… The fun answer for supermarkets should be toilet roll.
Richard Smith My answers to 1 and 6 are a nod to the pandemic.
Allan Stagg For 6 I was tempted to put empty seats and/or artificial crowd noises, as both are common at the moment.
The questions for round 3 are.
1. Something commonly found in a police station. 2. Something commonly found in a railway station. 3. Something commonly found in an airport. 4. Something commonly found in a harbour. 5. Something commonly found in a stately home. 6. Something commonly found in a university.
* * * * *
Lyric Quiz
Game Sixteen – Round Three of Five
1) “You've got venom in your stomach, you've got poison in your head / You should have stayed at home and talked with father / Listen to the lies he fed” (80s) “He Knows You Know” by Marillion Jim Reader
2) “When they see us coming / The birdies all try an' hide / But they still go for peanuts / When coated with cyanide (50s) “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” by Tom Lehrer Jim Reader, John Hopkins, Jacqueline Reader, Steve Guest
3) “Your poison letter, your telegram / Just goes to show you don't give a damn” (70s) “Since You’ve Been Gone” by Rainbow Jim Reader, John Walker (song only), Jacqueline Reader, Steve Guest, David Cowie
4) “Desolate loving in your eyes / You used to make my life so sweet / Step out like a god found child / I saw your eyes across the street” (80s) “Church of the Poison Mind” by Culture Club Steve Guest
5) “I wanna taste you / But your lips are venomous” (80s) “Poison” by Alice Cooper Jim Reader, John Walker, Jacqueline Reader, Steve Guest, Martin Walker
6) “No rhythm in cymbals / No tempo in drums / Love on arrival / She comes when she comes” (80s) “Poison Arrow” by ABC David Cowie, Martin Walker
7) “She's pretty as a daisy / But look out man she's crazy / She'll really do you in / If you let her get under your skin” (50s) “Poison Ivy” by The Coasters Jim Reader (song only), Brendan Whyte (song only), John Hopkins, Steve Guest (song only), David Cowie (song only)
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 17
8) “I got the poison / I got the remedy / I got the pulsating, rhythmical remedy” (90s) “Poison” by The Prodigy David Cowie
9) “Well, I've opened up my veins too many times / And the poisons in my heart and in my mind” (70s) “Flaming Telepaths” by Blue Oyster Cult Jim Reader (singer only)
10) “A flight of stairs is like swimming the Atlantic / When you're poisoned, deaf, dumb and blind / I take my poison / I guess I poisoned my life / Been doing poison / I wish I'd poisoned my wife” (70s) “Poison” by Motorhead
The theme this round was poison.
Comments
John Hopkins And the theme is Poison. The obvious link between songs 5 and 6 is that I don’t know either of them.
John Walker 3 Since you've been gone - Free? Theme Surely it can't be as obvious as poisons.
David Cowie 8) "Poison" by The Prodigy. The lyric that I recognised the fastest.
Richard Smith I will probably do a YouTube playlist for the Poison songs (and add the Legends of Tomorrow clip I mentioned as the closer) - will send the link when it's ready. I also intend to do one for the bassist’s quiz (to include with the answers).
Steve Guest Theme: Poison
Dane Maslen This time it's a big fat NUL POINTS on the main set of lyrics, but I think I can get some of the bonus ones.
Chris Hibbert 7. witchy woman ??
Allan Stagg One final thought concerning Joni Mitchell - which of her songs would you consider qualifies her for the 'One- Trick Pony' Club? I would remember her for 'Both Sides Bow', Woodstock' and 'Big Yellow Taxi'. It does help that I have her first 8 LPs...... Regarding Joni Mitchell, I forgot “Both Sides Now” which I don’t remember as a hit. I loved her version of “Woodstock” but I think Matthews Southern Comfort had the biggest hit with this, leaving “Big Yellow Taxi” as the hit. I’m probably mistaken.
Richard Smith https://tinyurl.com/48rvjc3d Not too long, a nice blast :-) Some of the vids are a bit cheesy but entertaining such as Marillion and ABC (typical 80s). Hard to find a really good vid for the BOC track and spoilt for choice for Poison Ivy so went with the original. I tacked on the aforementioned video clip from Legends of Tomorrow which I think is rather good even though I'd never heard of Bell Biv DeVoe. Still a bit shocked to see Culture Club on the list… ABC were underrated, but I don’t recall the Motorhead or Prodigy songs. Oddly, Flaming Telepaths came up on my iPod on Friday which has been on random shuffle in the car for a week or so. It was song 178. It’s a good song but always loses a little to Astronomy that follows. Rainbow was, of course, easy for me. “Since You’ve Been Gone” and “All Night Long” (a good candidate for the least PC song ever) were the big hits, but “Eyes of the World” was the best song they did with Graham Bonnet.
Scores Variable Pig – (Casertana) 18
This round was sent in Richard Smith who scored the average (4) for this round. There was no connection between songs 5 and 6 – I forgot to delete this from the previous round. I scored 11 despite not being able to name song 8 although I could place it on an album (Secret Treaties) and name the songs before (Harvester of Eyes) and after it (Astronomy).
Steve Guest 10 (39) David Cowie 7 (32) Richard Smith 4 (26) Jacqueline Reader 7 (25) John Hopkins 0 (25) Martin Walker 4 (25) Brendan Whyte 1 (20) Dane Maslen 0 (17) Murray Egan 0 (12) Jim Reader 11 (11) John Walker 4 (14) Michael Pargman 0 (7) Chris Hibbert 0 (0)
Game Sixteen – Round Four of Five
Score 1 point each for the artist and song title for each song below. There is also a bonus point for identifying the common theme to the songs below.
1) “Wimoweh, wimoweh, wimoweh, wimoweh” (50s) 2) “I remember when rock was young, Me and Susie had so much fun, Holding hands and skimming stones” (70s) 3) “Stolen from Africa, Brought to America, Fighting on arrival, Fighting for survival” (80s) 4) “I see de dance people had a ball, 'Coz she really want to skip town, Get back, Gruffy, back, Scruffy, Get back you flea infested mongrel” (2000s) 5) “Never stop and they never die, They just keep on pumpin', How they multiply” (70s) 6) “The Indians send signals from the rocks above the pass, The cowboys take position in the bushes and the grass” (70s) 7) “Baby, I'm preying on you tonight, Hunt you down, eat you alive” (2010s) 8) “Dog goes woof, Cat goes meow, Bird goes tweet, And mouse goes squeak” (2010s) 9) “Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past, You must fight just to keep them alive” (80s) 10) “In the desert you can’t remember your name, 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain” (70s)
Bonus Round
Phil Spector died in jail in January and while I do not condone what Phil Spector did, nor the many claims about his abusive behaviour, the music he produced was truly memorable.
1) Yeah, he looked so fine, Yes, I'll make him mine, And when he walked me home “Da Doo Ron Ron” by The Crystals John Hopkins, Richard Smith (song only), Jacqueline Reader, Steve Guest (song only), David Cowie, Murray Egan, Dane Maslen
2) Well, he walked up to me and he asked me if I wanted to dance. “Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals Brendan Whyte (song only), John Hopkins, Richard Smith (song only), Jacqueline Reader (song only), David Cowie, Dane Maslen
3) And it gets stronger in every way, And it gets deeper, let me say, And it gets higher day by day “River Deep, Mountain High” by Ike and Tina Turner Brendan Whyte, John Hopkins, Jacqueline Reader, David Cowie, Dane Maslen (song only)
4) And time goes by so slowly, And time can do so much, Are you still mine? “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers Variable Pig – (Casertana) 19
Brendan Whyte, John Hopkins, Richard Smith, Jacqueline Reader, Murray Egan, Dane Maslen
5) It makes me just feel like crying (baby), 'Cause baby, somethin' beautiful's dyin' “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” by The Righteous Brothers Brendan Whyte (song only), John Hopkins, Jacqueline Reader, David Cowie, Murray Egan, Dane Maslen (song only)
6) They're singing, 'Deck The Halls', But it's not like Christmas at all “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love John Hopkins (song only), Jacqueline Reader
7) And when the broken-hearted people, Living in the world agree, There will be an answer “Let It Be” by The Beatles Brendan Whyte, John Hopkins, Richard Smith, Steve Guest, Murray Egan, Dane Maslen
8) The night we met I knew I needed you so, And if I had the chance I'd never let you go “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes John Hopkins
9) But just because he doesn't do, What everybody else does, That's no reason why I can't give him all my love “He’s A Rebel” by The Crystals Brendan Whyte (song only), John Hopkins,
10) Just to see him smile, Makes my life worthwhile “To Know Him is to Love Him” by The Teddy Bears John Hopkins, Richard Smith (song only)
Steve Guest 3 David Cowie 8 John Hopkins 19 Richard Smith 7 Brendan Whyte 9 Jacqueline Reader 11 Dane Maslen 10 Murray Egan 8
Comments
John Hopkins I think that Spector has been unfairly vilified. Assuming he did commit the murder (and there is a possibility that he did not), he gets far more criticism than many who have none of his prodigious redeeming features. He produced practically every worthwhile pop song for over a decade.
Richard Smith I've had a go. Three where I got the song but couldn't dredge up the group from my 3 pounds of Tofu...
Jacqueline Reader 2 and then he kissed me Martha Reeves and the Vandellas 8 I only wanna be with you
Steve Guest Jeez, and in the bonus round #1 is the Ronettes (I think) and #7 is the Beatles. Brain must have been out to lunch.
Dane Maslen 2) Or is this by THE CRYSTALS? 3) By the FOUR TOPS? 5) By the EVERLY BROTHERS? I was originally going to go for the Righteous Brothers (with the worry that I'd picked the wrong brothers), but having subsequently identified 4, that seems unlikely.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 20
Work Rest and Play
Game 15 – Round Two
Arthur judges the day perfectly, sneaking in the most work and play, while Roger rests and Ian misses out.
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Roger 50-45-5 50-49-1 Ian 97-2-1 50-45-5 Arthur 48-48-3 51-43-6
Roger: 0 x 1 x 1 = 0 Ian: 1 x 0 x 0 = 0 Arthur: 1 x 1 x 1 = 1
Rules for this game can be found at https://variablepig.org/rules/workrestplay.html
Tea Dance
Game 8 – Round Two
The Conservative Party roars into the lead under the inspired leadership of Steve, who secures both groups of punters once more.
Bids Bids for 2 Bids for 5 Total Men Total Grand Remaining Man Woman Women Total Labour Party 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 3 + 1 2 - 1 0 0 0 Roger Trethewey Conservative Party 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 8 - 1 9 + 1 3 6 18 Steve Ham Liberal Party 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 2 9 0 0 0 Arthur Owen
Please submit your bids for 2 men and 5 women next round. There are groups of 3, 4 and 5 men and 2, 3 and 4 women to come. Rules for this game can be found at https://variablepig.org/rules/teadance.html
* * * * *
6 Nimmt! 14
Round Two
Correction: The value of the cards in column 3 of hand 3 is six not 5 as shown in last turn’s report.
John ordered cards in hands 3 and 4 that he did not have, so the GM adjusted these to the closest value card in his hand. Carolyn also ordered a card in hand 4 that she did not have, so this was also adjusted by the GM to the closest value card in her hand.
Dane collects a couple more points, although more strategically, as lots more points are shared out amongst his rivals. Four players remain unscathed.
Rules for this game can be found at Postal Rules for 6 Nimmt! (variablepig.org).
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 21
HAND 1 HAND 2 HAND 3 HAND 4 34 54 85 11 36 32 45 69 7 27 49 31 44 67 34 41 6 26 104 42 30 43 66 95 33 38 98 4 98 25 103 41 29 58* 102! 2# 41 58 91$ 51@ 31 36 95% 2^ 59& 24 102@ 38 7 1 1 1 10 10 3 1 7 3 3 9 2 6 3 4
Bob Pitman plays 32 in Hand 1, 67 in Hand 2, 82 in Hand 3 and 26 in Hand 4. Score = 0 Steve Ham plays 31 in Hand 1, 88 in Hand 2, 7 in Hand 3 and 42 in Hand 4. Score = 0 Brad Martin plays 89 in Hand 1, 69 in Hand 2, 11 in Hand 3 and 49 in Hand 4. Score = 0 Bob Gingell plays 34 in Hand 1, 95 in Hand 2, 6 in Hand 3 and 51 in Hand 4. Score = 0 John Walker plays 50 in Hand 1, 51 in Hand 2, 41 in Hand 3 and 98 in Hand 4. Score = 6 Arthur Owen plays 90 in Hand 1, 89 in Hand 2, 98 in Hand 3 and 59 in Hand 4. Score = 7 Tom Howell plays 30 in Hand 1, 36 in Hand 2, 95 in Hand 3 and 104 in Hand 4. Score = 7 Carolyn Townsend plays 58 in Hand 1, 46 in Hand 2, 38 in Hand 3 and 36 in Hand 4. Score = 12 Kev Lee plays 102 in Hand 1, 91 in Hand 2, 4 in Hand 3 and 103 in Hand 4. Score = 22 Dane Maslen plays 2 to col. 4 in Hand 1, 85 in Hand 2, 2 to col. 4 in Hand 3 and 27 in Hand 4. Score = 34
# Dane takes column 4 of hand 1 for 1 point (101) * Carolyn takes column 2 of hand 1 for 12 points (43, 44, 45, 49 and 50) ! Kev takes column 3 of hand 1 for 11 points (72, 73, 88, 89 and 90) @ John takes column 4 of hand 2 for 6 points (3, 4, 35, 36 and 46) $ Kev takes column 3 of hand 2 for 10 points (75, 78, 86, 88 and 89) ^ Dane takes column 4 of hand 3 for 1 point (93) % Tom takes column 3 of hand 3 for 7 points (37, 40, 47, 81 and 82) & Arthur takes column 1 of hand 4 for 7 points (46, 47, 48, 50 and 51)
* * * * *
Breaking Away 11
Round Eleven
They’re dropping like flies now at the back as Pegwell extends his lead at the front.
COOL PARKRUNNINGS (John Walker) 10 points ALPHABLOCKERS (Roger Trethewey) 7 points A. Pegwell 13, 2, 3, 15 A. Art (5) 6, 15, 3, 1 B. Whitstable 9, 13, 14 B. Butch Dropped C. Margate 15, 3, 4 C. Cliff (2) 3, 11, 3 D. Canterbury (10) 3, 3, 3 D. Diane Dropped
CLANGERS (Steve Ham) 24 points BANDS (Chris Hibbert) 19 points A. Major Clanger (8) 4, 9, 4, 9 A. Talking Heads (11) 3, 11, 3, 13 B. Mother Clanger (8) 15, 14, 3 B. Romeo Void (6) 8, 11, 9 C. Tiny Clanger (5) 3, 12, 9 C. Pretenders 3, 15, 13 D. Soup Dragon (3) 10, 6, 3 D. Blondie (2) 3, 8, 9
FANTASTIC FLYING PELONTASTICS (Bob P.) 7 pts SKY SPORTS (Arthur Owen) 11 points A. Father Christmas (3) 12, 14, 3, 6 A. EFL (11) 3, 3, 3, 3 B. Harry Potter (4) Dropped B. Racing Dropped C. Mary Poppins 15, 3, 3 C. Cricket Dropped D. Dumbo 9, 15, 4 D. Boxing Dropped
Rules for this game can be found at https://variablepig.org/rules/breaking.html
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 22
Square Replacement Riders 107 3 Pegwell - - 93 3 EFL, Tiny Clanger, Margate, Canterbury, Soup Dragon, Blondie 92 9 Major Clanger, Romeo Void, Dumbo 91 12 Father Christmas 90 13 Talking Heads, Whitstable, Pretenders 89 15 Mary Poppins 88 15 Art, Mother Clanger 87 - 86 - 85 3 Cliff 84 - 83 - 82 3 Harry Potter, Butch 81 - 80 - 79 - 78 3 Racing 77 - 76 - 75 3 Diane
* * * * *
Bus Boss (Easter Island) BB389IDP
Round Nine
PIT GREEN MOA MARS Brad Roger Bob John Blue Green Purple Orange 22. Ahu Akivi (33) - Akahanga 5 9 16 (63) - 8 + 8 + 4 - 4 23. Ana Te Nui (54) - 15 15 Anakena (43) + 6 - 6 24. Hanga Roa (23) - Ana 15 15 Heu (35) - 3 + 3 + 3 - 3 25. Hanga Roa (21) - Ahu 10 10 10 Vinapu (13) - 4 - 2 + 4 + 2 26. Ana Kai Tangata (14) - 15 15 Caverns (Sp5) - 3 + 4 + 3 - 4 27. Rano Raraku (61) - Vaitea 7 16 7 (45) + 6 - 6 28. White Virgins Cave (53) - 20 10 Beach (Sp2) + 1 - 1
Last Turn 209 212 175 197 Points from Races 58 39 76 37 Builds - 6 Points Total 267 261 245 234
MOA: Tahai - Ahu Te Peu MARS: No builds GREEN: No builds PIT: No builds Variable Pig – (Casertana) 23
The fifth set of races is. 29. Poike (52) - Tahai (25): 30. Orongo (11) - Ahu Nau Nau (42): 31. Ahu Tongariki (56) - Ana Raakal (65) 32. North Coast (36) - Volcano (Sp3): 33. Rano Raraku (62) - Hanga Roa (24) 34. Important Moai (Sp1) - Terevaka (46): 35. Hotels (16) - Ahu Akivi (32) Enter up to five races. The build order for next round is Bob, John, Brad and Roger.
Bus Boss (Easter Island) BB391IDP
Round Nine
TEAR NAH BIRDMAN Kev Martin Richard Green Red Blue 15. Ana Raakal (65) - Hanga 20 10 Roa (21) - 3 + 2 + 3 - 2 16. Hanga Roa (22) - 15 15 Petroglyphs (Sp6) + 3 - 3 17. Rano Raraku (62) - Puna 7 7 16 Pau (31) - 1 - 1 + 1 + 3 + 1 - 3 18. Ahu Te Peu (34) - Hotels 10 20 (16) - 3 + 3 19. Rano Aroi (41) - Rikiriki 30 (12) 20. Ahu Mahatua (51) - 15 15 Important Moai (Sp1) 21. Poike (52) - Anakena (43) 15 15 + 5 - 5
Last Turn 179 172 158 Points from Races 47 73 90 Builds - 8 - 11 - 9 Points Total 218 234 239
BIRDMAN Ahu Tongariki - Poike NAH Hanga Roa – Tahai – Ahu te Peu TEAR Hotels – Vaitea
The fourth set of races is. 22. Ahu Vinapu (13) - Hanga Roa (24): 23. Rano Raraku (61) - Ana Kai Tangata (14) 24. Ahu Akivi (32) - Ana Raakal (65): 25. Hanga Roa (23) - Ahu Nau Nau (42) 26. Petroglyphs (Sp6) - Ahu Tongariki (56): 27. Ahu Tongariki (55) - Ahu Te Peu (34) 28. Vaitea (45) - Caverns (Sp5) Enter up to five races. The build order for next round is Kev, Martin, and Richard. Town 14 is Ana Kai Tangata.
Bus Boss (Lehigh Valley) BB400LHV
Round Two
VRE Fullerton - Catasauqua - Northampton; Allentown - Lanark Brad Martin BANK: 108 – 12 = 96 Blue
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 24
ROGER Cherryville - Northampton - Catasauqua - Fullerton Roger Trethewey BANK: 108 – 12 = 96 Green
TEAR ABE Airport – Bethlehem – Fountain Hill – Hellertown Kev Lee BANK: 108 – 12 = 96 Black
GLEE ABE Airport - Bath; Allentown - Fullerton - Turnpike Exit Bob Gingell BANK: 108 – 12 = 96 Purple
The build order for next round is Roger, Kev, Bob, and Brad.
Bus Boss (Lehigh Valley) BB401LHV
Round Two
PPL ABE Airport – Easton: Fullerton – Lehigh Valley Turnpike Exchange Jacqueline Reader BANK: 108 – 12 = 96 Red
PUB Palmerston – Walnutport: Fogelsville - Lehigh Valley Turnpike Exit - Fullerton Richard Smith BANK: 108 – 12 = 96 Black
TOKEN Northampton – Catasauqua – Fullerton - Allentown Martin Walker BANK: 108 – 10 = 98 Orange
LV Northampton – Youngsville - Chapman Arthur Owen BANK: 108 – 11 = 97 Blue
???? Hellertown - Fogelsville Ian Owen BANK: 108 – 11 = 97 Green
The build order for next round is Richard, Martin, Arthur, Ian, and Jacqueline.
* * * * *
Fair Means or Foul 6
Round Five
Correction
I forgot to update the score track last round – this has been fully updated.
Auction House
Lord Owen is thrilled to pick up a Rococo Mask (A 1760) cheaply and the auctioneers are happy that they can pocket the 4K check.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 25
Castle
Constable Martin was again on duty and he duly nabbed Wicked Walker who joins his brother in jail. Baron Brendan chose to exhibit once more with a somewhat reduced display of CDE (1831), and he again came away missing one item, the Porcelain Pipe with Dancing Figure (D 1831).
Brendan Whyte Brad Martin John Walker Arthur Owen Cheques 1, 13, 24 2, 11, 14, 23 3, 10, 15, 22 9, 16, 21 Thieves 4, 9 3, 10 (2), (11) 1, 12 Location next turn Auction House Auction House Auction House Castle
2/1 3/2 4/2 5/3 3/2 4/2 4/2 2/1 3/2 4/2 4/2 3/2 4/2 2/1 AO BM BW 5/3 3/2 4/2 5/3 3/2 4/2 2/1 3/2 4/2 3/2 4/2 2/1 5/3 Finish
Please can you send in orders for your action and location (auction house or castle) for next round; the location can be made provisional upon the outcome of the next round. At the auction next month are a German Pewter Chamber Pot (F 1660) and a Laughing Cow Cheese Poster (B 1934). In Jail is John Thief 2 and John Thief 11.
Rules for this game can be found at https://variablepig.org/rules/fmof.html
* * * * *
The Golden Strider 5
Round One
A cautious start means that no runner receives the maximum bonus. Bill Player takes the early lead.
P S Runner Cards P D M B R O 1 3 Bill Player 4/0, 5/0, 6/0, 7/0, 8/0, 4/1 5/0 - 3 2 4 - Ian Owen 2 2 Lone Ranger 3/0, 5/0, 6/0, 8/0, 8/0, 3/1 3/0 - 2 1 3 - Arthur Owen 2 2 Mo Phal 2/0, 6/0, 6/0, 7/0, 9/0, 9/1 6/0 - 2 4 9 - Steve Ham 2 2 Terry Knott 4/0, 4/0, 7/0, 7/0, 8/0, 10/1 7/0 - 2 5 10 - Chris Hibbert 2 2 Kenyan Hills 4/0, 5/0, 5,0, 7/0, 9/0, 9/1 4/0 - 2 2 9 - Bob Pitman 2 2 Silver Strider 5/0, 5/0, 6/0, 7/0, 7/0, 9/1 6/0 - 2 4 9 - John Walker 7 1 Kelly Watson 5/0, 6/0, 6/0, 6/0, 7/0, 8/0 5/0 - 1 4 8 - Richard Smith 7 1 Holly Jockeystix 4/0, 5/0, 6/0, 7/0, 8/0, 8/0 5/0 - 1 4 8 - Allan Stagg
Rules for this game can be found at https://variablepig.org/rules/golden.html Please send your opening moves for next round.
Question
Bob Pitman A Pig Question!! Golden Strider, it’s a 70-space race... is it a standard race or a steeplechase? I read through the rule sheet again and got myself twisted around by the “typically 60-65 square” and the Steeplechase being 70! We are playing a standard game. I had forgotten about the Steeplechase variant – maybe next time. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 26
Grand National 3
Round Four
Correction The 8th fence is the Canal Turn where the trouble numbers are lowest number of jump points and the lowest number of jump points plus 1; the horse that plays the highest number of JP receives a bonus of + 30 JP and not the highest and lowest number of jump points played by horses; the horse that plays the highest number of JP receives a bonus of + 30 JP as reported last round. I do not think this affected anyone’s orders this round so continued the race without a holdover.
The race leader fell, but another horse from the Townsend stables moved ahead in a tie with Global Pandemic. It’s very close at the front with six horses vying for the lead.
Player Horse JP at Fence Eight Starting JP JP after Fence Eight JP at Fence (Canal Turn. TN is Seven (Plain: TN lowest and lowest is lowest JP) JP+ 1) Comments Penalties Mike Townsend Hopping Mad 8 8 439 423 Natalie Amery Global Pandemic 10 12 445 423 Roger Trethewey Creeper 7 9 438 422 Roger Trethewey Crawler 8 10 438 420 John Walker Horse 10 10 440 420 Chris Hibbert Zaisan 10 11 441 420 Michael Pargman Rival 8 9 435 418 Richard Smith Rubbish Tip 10 11 439 418 Michael Pargman Rapid 7 8 431 416 NPC Slow Riser 12 12 440 416 Dane Maslen Ankle 8 11 434 415 Chris Hibbert Zocala 9 10 432 413 Steve Ham The Next One 9 10 430 411 John Walker Human 8 8 425 409 Steve Guest Overproofed Rum 10 10 428 408 Richard Smith Hello Sweetie 11 10 429 408 Dane Maslen Red Bum 7 10 421 404 Steve Ham The Last One 10 11 423 402 Steve Guest Spiced Rum 12 12 426 402 NPC Mediator (3d8) 11 20 423 392 Allan Stagg Neddy 10 14 415 391 Allan Stagg Dobbin 11 13 409 385 NPC Aquarius (2d6+9) 16 14 410 380 NPC Lounge Lizard (12+d6) 15 15 407 377 Arthur Owen Red Rum 14 17 408 377 NPC Chaos Theory (5d6-1) 16 18 411 377 NPC Mr Consistent 16 16 404 372 Ian Owen Jules the Mule 15 13 398 370 Natalie Amery Emergency Measures 12 44 +30 JP from canal turn -30 426 400 NPC Metro Gnome 19 14 401 368 Arthur Owen Blue Gin 15 18 398 365 Ian Owen Little Donkey 16 17 382 349 NPC Fade Away 20 20 348 308 Jon Carter Mad Hatter 4 5 Stumbles fence 7 and falls fence 8 20 407 Mike Townsend Crazy Frog 6 6 Stumbles fence 7 and falls fence 8 10 424 Jon Carter March Hare Falls fence 5 NPC Middle Man (Median) Falls fence 4 Brendan Whyte Beta Test Falls Fence 2 Tom Howell Tripp Falls Fence 2 Brendan Whyte Alpha Male Falls Fence 1 Tom Howell Oops Falls Fence 1
The 9th fence is Valentine’s Brook where the trouble numbers are the highest and lowest of jump points played and the 10th fence is plain where the trouble number is the lowest number of jump points played by a horse.
The following horses, played by the GM, will also start the race, and move as described below.
MISTER CONSISTENT (16 at each fence) MEDIATOR (3D8) LOUNGE LIZARD (21 at the Chair, 12 + D6 at each other fence) FADE AWAY (23 at the start then reducing by 1 at each odd numbered fence thereafter) Variable Pig – (Casertana) 27
SLOW RISER (9 at the start then increasing by 1 at each odd numbered fence thereafter) METRO GNOME (19 at odd numbered fences and 14 at even numbered fences) AQUARIUS (36 at Water Jump, 2D6 + 9 at all other fences) CHAOS THEORY (5D6 – 1)
Rules for this game can be found at https://variablepig.org/rules/grandnational.html
* * * * *
Hare and Tortoise 6
Game Six – Game Start
Bouncing Bunny got the game off to a quick start, dashing ahead to the first lettuce square. John W took the opposite approach, crawling forward one space and jugging the hare – he will miss his first move next turn. Big Bertie moved forward 4 spaces and was quickly overtaken by Rascal who was the second to jug the hare. He had more fortune and gained 10 more carrots. John M soon raced past him while the last to move was Tommy who became the third to jug the hare (as his first-choice space was taken) and he lost half his carrots. Bouncing Bunny finished the round eating the game’s first lettuce.
Player Start Square Finish Square Carrots Lettuces Next Turn Bouncing Bunny 64 54 10 2 6 Brad Martin Eat Lettuce 64 63 64 3 (1) and 7 John Walker Big Bertie 64 60 55 3 2 Kev Lee Rascal 64 58 54 3 3 Arthur Owen 64 56 29 3 4 John Marsden Tommy 64 61 30 3 5 Ian Owen
Please send your moves for round one (plus a name for your racer) next time. Please also remember to include provisional orders for your moves in case your target square(s) is blocked. Rules and the map for this game can be found at Hare and Tortoise Postal Rules (variablepig.org)
* * * * *
Maneater 5
Round Two
Game One Ian Blue swam ahead of Arthur Yellow blocking his way as a shark fin headed their way.
Game Two Ian Green fell afoul of the same problem as Red Kev blocked the gap between the rocks, but the shark was moving away.
Game Three There was more in-water aggro as Red Ian blocked Arthur Green near the rocks. Blue John retreated back out to sea,
Game Four More déjà vu in game four with Red Arthur and John Green the protagonists. There was some confusion about positions on the west side of the board allowing the shark to draw close. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 28
Game Five More blocking, this time on both sides of the board.
Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 SHARK John 178 Roger 153 Kev 152 Ian 164 Arthur 87
RED Roger 25 Kev 63 Ian 63 Arthur 63 John 63 SWIMMER GREEN Kev 63 Ian 76 Arthur 76 John 76 Roger 76 SWIMMER BLUE Ian 200 Arthur 177 John 155 Roger 178 Kev 200 SWIMMER YELLOW Arthur 190 John 200 Roger 225 Kev 201 Ian 190 SWIMMER
Rules for this game, including the map, can be found at Maneater Postal Rules (variablepig.org). Please send moves for each game next turn.
Correction
Kev moved his yellow swimmer to 201 in game 4 last round, and not to 180 as published in the report.
Question
Roger I should have started at 177, not 179 (177) – 188. This is incorrect – start positions for the blue swimmer was originally listed as 166 but corrected in turn 1 to 168 and moves for all blue swimmers adjusted.
* * * * *
Puerto Rico
Game Ten – Round Five
Correction I made a number of mistakes in the Mayor Phase last round. I forgot to update the number of settlers on the colony ship – there should have been 6 settlers on the ship. Chris filled one space on his tobacco storage and both his tobacco plantations manned. Allan also moved a settler from one of his corn plantations to a tobacco plantation. All players were notified by email. Thanks very much to Chris and Allan for letting me know the mistake so quickly.
Player Doubloons VP Goods Buildings Plantations John Walker 4 0 - Large Indigo Plant (√, x, x) Indigo (√, x) Small Market (x) Quarry (√, √, √) Hospice (x) Kev Lee 6 2 - Small Sugar Mill (√) Indigo (√) Small Market (√) Sugar (√) Small Indigo Plant (√) Coffee (x, x) Coffee Roaster (x, x) Corn (x) Chris Hibbert 1 2 - Construction Hut (√) Corn (√) Tobacco Storage (√, x, x) Tobacco (√, √) Small Warehouse (x) Quarry (√, x) Allan Stagg 0 6 - Hospice (√) Corn (x, √, √) Tobacco Storage (√, √, x) Tobacco (√, √)
John takes the Trader (+ 1 doubloon) and trades his indigo for 2 doubloons. No-one else can trade. Kev takes the Captain (+1 doubloon) and loads his sugar to the 6 ship for 2 VP. Chris and Allan fill the 7 ship with corn scoring 1 VP and 3 VP respectively and the 7 ship is emptied. Chris takes the Builder and builds a Small Warehouse for 1 doubloon. Allan passes, John builds the second Hospice for 2 doubloons and Kev builds a Coffee Roaster for 6 doubloons. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 29
Allan takes the Settler and takes a Tobacco Plantation manned from his Hospice. John takes an Indigo Plantation, Kev takes a Coffee Plantation and Chris takes a Quarry using his Construction Hut.
The play order for the sixth turn is Kev, Chris, Allan, and John. There are 6 colonists on the colony ship. The 6 ship holds 1 sugar, and the 5 and 7 ships are still empty. The trading house holds corn, indigo and sugar. The plantations available this turn are tobacco, tobacco, tobacco, coffee and indigo. There are + 1 doubloon bonuses on the Mayor and Craftsman roles + 2 doubloon bonus on the Prospector.
Building Cost Victory Points Available Tiles Available Small Indigo Plant 1 1 3 Quarry 3 of 8 Small Sugar Mill 2 1 3 Corn Tiles 2 of 8 (3 discard) Small Market 1 1 2 Indigo Tiles 5 of 11 (2 discard) Hacienda 2 1 2 Sugar Tiles 6 of 10 (3 discard) Construction Hut 2 1 1 Tobacco Tiles 0 of 8 (1 discard) Small Warehouse 3 1 1 Coffee Tiles 5 of 8 Large Indigo Plant 3 2 2 Large Sugar Mill 4 2 3 Goods Available Hospice 4 2 0 Corn Goods 9 of 10 Office 5 2 2 Indigo Goods 10 of 11 Large Market 5 2 2 Sugar Goods 8 of 11 Large Warehouse 6 2 2 Tobacco Goods 9 of 9 Tobacco Storage 5 3 1 Coffee Goods 9 0f 9 Coffee Roaster 6 3 2 Factory 7 3 2 Colonists 53 remaining from 75 University 8 3 2 Harbour 8 3 2 Victory Points 96 remaining from 100 Wharf 9 3 2 Guild Hall 10 4 1 Residence 10 4 1 Fortress 10 4 1 Customs House 10 4 1 City Hall 10 4 1
* * * * *
Railway Rivals
RR Game LXXXII – RR2448HN – Honduras Map – Round One
HORN 1a) 6. (Choluteca) - W26 - - - W25 - W4 - W23, Richard Smith 1b) 3. (W23) - W22 - W21 - X20, Blue 1c) 5. (X20) - X19 - X18 - W18 - V18 - TEGUCIGALPA. BANK: 20
BIEN 1a) 6. (Catacamas) – H43 – G44 - JUTICALPA - - - E45, Christian Bien 1b) 3. (E45) – D45 - C46 - B45, Orange 1c) 5. (B45) - A46 - GUAIMACA – Y15 - X14 - W15. BANK: 20
ROGER 1a) 6. (Puerto Cortes) – O5 – O6 - O7 – EL PROGRESO, Roger Trethewey 1b) 3. (El Progreso) – P8 - P9 - Q10, Green 1c) 5. (Q10) – R10 – S11 – T11 – U12 - V12. BANK: 20
CENT 1a) 6. (Santa Barbara) - L11 – M11 – N10 - O10 - P10 - P11, Martin Walker 1b) 3. (O10) - - - O9, Black 1c) 5. (P11) – P12 - P13 - Q14 – Q15 - Q16. BANK: 20 Variable Pig – (Casertana) 30
The map is available at https://variablepig.org/maps/rr/hondurasrr.html . The second set of die rolls are 2a) 4, 2b) 5 and 2c) 3.
RR Game LXXVI – RR2378PE – Pern Map – Round Eleven
DRAGON BIEN BEAR PERN Bob Christian Kev Arthur Purple Orange Black Green 29. Eastern Islands (Sp6) - 9 16 5 Ogren / Green Fields (32) + 5 - 1 - 5 – 1 + 4 + 1 - 4 + 1 30. Keroon (46) - Lewis / 20 10 Plateau (26) - 3 – 1 + 3 - 2 + 1 + 2 31. High Reaches Weyr (15) - 30 Half Circle Sea Hold (65) 32. Igen Weyr (52) - High 10 20 Reaches Hold (13) - 3 - 1 + 3 + 1 33. Plains Hold / Keroon 30 River (54) - Telgar Weyr (35) 34. Benden Hold (63) - 10 20 Ruatha (25) + 1 - 1 35. Southern Continent (Sp4) 30 Route too long - Big Bay Hold / Far Cry (43)
Last Turn 386 194 187 196 Points from Races 95 58 32 25 Points Total 481 252 219 221
The sixth and final set of races is. 36. Nerat (66) - Crom (33): 37. High Reaches Weyr (14) - Campbells Hold / Southern Telgar (44) 38. Fort Hold (24) - Bitra (56): 39. Balen / Peyton (12) - Star Craft Hall (Sp3) 40. Telgar Weyr (36) - Ista Hold (42): 41. Fort Weyr (21) - Miners Hall (Sp2) 42. Benden Weyr (62) - Fork Hold / Valley Hold (55) Enter up to five races and good luck everyone. Note that we are using Bus Boss scoring for this game.
RR Game LXXVII – RR2379PE – Pern Map – Round Eleven
APT DRAGON F’ARTED THREAD Andy Judy Bob Richard Black Gold Red Blue 23. Keroon (46) - Fort Weyr (21) 30 + 6 - 6 29. Ista Hold (42) - Nerat (66) 30 + 6 - 6 - 1 + 1 30. Telgar Weyr (35) - Eastern 9 5 16 Ring Islands (Sp6) + 3 + 6 - 3 - 1 - 6 + 1 31. Telgar Weyr (36) - Half 20 10 Circle Sea Hold (65) + 3 - 3 – 1 + 4 + 1 - 4 32. Ruatha (25) - High Reaches 10 20 Weyr (15) 33. Miners Hall (Sp2) - 10 20 Southern Boll (23) - 2 + 2 + 4 - 4 34. Igen Weyr (52) - Ista Weyr 15 15 (41) + 6 - 6 35. High Reaches Weyr (14) - 11 5 10 4 Plains Hold / Keroon River (54) - 3 +6 – 1 – 3 +1 + 3 - 6 + 1 + 3 - 1 Last Turn 199 222 252 247 Variable Pig – (Casertana) 31
Points from Races 29 58 79 74 Builds - 5 - 6 + 1 - 1 Points Total 229 280 325 305
APT: No builds DRAGON: No builds F’ARTED: (High Reaches Weyr) – J9 – K9 – L9 – M9 - Sattle THREAD: (Fork Hold) - - - L39 - M39 - N38 - Last Hold
The sixth and final set of races is. 36. Far Western Continent (Sp5) - Benden Weyr (61) 37. Benden Weyr (62) - Igen Hold (53) 38. Big Bay Hold / Far Cry (43) - Southern Continent (Sp4): 39. Lemos (45) - Balen / Peyton (12) 40. Nabol (31) - Fort Weyr (22): 41. Lewis / Plateau (26) - Igen Weyr (51) 42. Tillek (11) - Telgar Hold (34) Enter up to five races and good luck everyone. Note that we are using Bus Boss scoring for this game.
RR Game LXXVII – RR2380PE – Pern Map – Round Eleven
WR GREEN RIDE FOOR Natalie Roger Brad Martin Blue Green Brown Red 29. Tillek (11) - Keroon (46) 20 10 - 4 + 7 + 4 - 7 30. High Reaches Weyr (14) - 9 5 16 Star Craft Hall (Sp3) + 6 - 5 - 6 - 3 + 3 + 5 31. Fort Hold (24) - Big Bay 9 5 16 Hold / Far Cry (43) + 1 – 1 - 2 - 1 + 1 - 2 + 2 + 2 32. Fort Weyr (21) - Miners 5 9 16 Hall (Sp2) - 1 – 3 + 2 + 1 + 3 - 2 33. Benden Weyr (62) - Nabol 16 9 5 (31) + 4 - 4 + 2 - 2 34. Igen Hold (53) - Crom (33) 20 10 - 1 + 1 35. Half Circle Sea Hold (65) - 10 20 Fork Hold / Valley Hold (55) + 7 - 4 - 7 + 4
Last Turn 155 249 231 327 Points from Races 33 66 48 61 Builds - 1 - 1 - 1 + 1 + 1 Points Total 188 312 280 389
WR: No builds GREEN: (F26) - E27 RIDE: No builds FOOR: No builds
The sixth and final set of races is. 36. Ruatha (25) - Sattle / Gar (16): 37. Harper Hall (Sp1) - Igen Weyr (52) 38. Campbells Hold / Southern Telgar (44) - Bitra (56): 39. Telgar Weyr (36) - Lewis / Plateau (26) 40. Balen / Peyton (12) - Benden Hold (63): 41. Benden Weyr (61) - Lemos (45) 42. Telgar Hold (34) - Southern Continent (Sp4) Enter up to five races and good luck everyone. Note that we are using Bus Boss scoring for this game. Please note that all weyrs, except Ista Weyr (41) are mountain towns.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 32
RR Game LXXVIII – RR2403OT – Otago and Southland Map – Round Nine
* NNA offered a JR to MAR in race 15. OTB2D3DM GREEN MOA MAR PINOT NNA Brendan Roger Bob Michael Steve Jon Blue Green Brown Red Orange Black 15. Palmerston (46) - 10 10 10 * Matuara / Kaitangata (32) + 5 + 1 - 5 – 2 + 2 - 1 – 2 - 2 + 2 + 2 16. Lumsden (23) - 10 20 Waimate (51) + 2 - 2 17. Ida Valley / Ophir (61) - 0 15 15 0 Port Chalmers (44) + 7 - 4 -7+ 4 – + 2 - 2 2+2 18. Kurow / Waihao Downs 15 15 (52) - North (Sp1) 19. Tuatepere (14) - 10 20 0 0 Roxburgh (62) - 6 – 6 + 6 + 6 - 6 + 5 + 6 - 5 20. Bluff (11) - Mossburn 10 20 (22) + 5 - 5 21. Gold (Sp6) - Clinton 0 20 10 (33) - 5 - 1 + 5 + 4 + 1 - 4
Last Turn 110.5 74 123.5 153 105 52 Points from Races 31 34 41 39 28 37 Builds - 6 - 8 - 8 +3-1 -1 – 1 - 3 – 3 - 1 + 1 – 1 - 1 + 1 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 Points Total 135.5 93 155.5 197 136 89
OTB2D3DM (Y9) - Y8 - - - Y7 - Y6 - Y5. GREEN (D53) – D52 – D51 – D50 - D49: (D50) – C49 - B49: (D51) - E50 - E49 MOA (N26) - - - O26 – P27- Q27 - R28: (Mataura) – Z14 - Y14 MAR No builds PINOT No builds NNA No builds
The fourth set of races is. 22. Fruit (Sp6) - Riversdale (24): 23. Lawrence (36) - Invercargill (12) 24. Dunedin (43) - Ida Valley / Ophir (61): 25. Clinton (33) - Kurow / Waihao Downs (52) 26. Mosgiel (42) - North (Sp1): 27. Middlemarch (56) - Tuatepere (14): 28. Roxburgh (62) - Tapanui (26) Enter up to five races and built up to 6 points.
RR Game LXXIX – RR2405BO - Bolivia Map – Round Eight
Questions
Dane: I have a vague recollection of having encountered some GMs that discard a race if it is not entered when reoffered. I've taken a look at your house rules and concluded that it doesn't look like you are one such GM, but I've provided orders to enter race 3 if you are. I do continue to offer races that have not been run throughout the operating stages.
Chris: Is there a limit to how much of another player's track I can use? Regarding your RR question, the maximum payment to a single player is 10.
Green: (W30) – V30 – U31 – T31 - S32: (Santa Ana del Yacuma) - N13 – M14 – L14 – K15 – J15 – Rurrenabaque. USELESS: (Trinidad) – R17 - S17: (I20) - - - Caranavi; (Yapacani) – T22 - - - U22 - V21. Phrygia: Aiquile - - - Q29 - - - Q30 - Q31: H68 - H69 - I70 - I71 LLAMA: (G18) - G17 - G16 - G15 - G14 - G13: (O22) - - - O21 - O20 - O19 Variable Pig – (Casertana) 33
GREEN USELESS PHRYGIA LLAMA Roger Dane Chris Richard Green Red Purple Blue 3. Cobija (11) - Magdalena 20 (23) + 8 - 8 8. Uyuni (61) - San Jose de 20 Chiquitos (54) + 7 - 7 9. Villazon (63) - El Alto (32) 10 20 - 1 + 1 10. Guayaramerin (13) - La 20 Paz (33) - 4 + 4 11. Brazil South (Sp2) - Santa 10 20 Cruz (43) + 2 - 2 12. Montero (41) - Apoio (15) 0 20 10 0 - 7 + 1 - 8 + 7 + 8 + 1 - 1 - 1 13. San Ignacio (53) - Santa 20 Ana del Yacuma (22) + 8 - 8 14. Paraguay (Sp6) - Yacapani 2 10 (26) - 3 + 3 - 1 + 1
Last Turn 54 72 91 143 Points from Races 30 52 68 32 Builds - 10 - 10 - 10 - 10 - 1 + 1 + 1 - 2 + 1 – 1 + 2 - 1 - 1 + 2 – 2 + 1 Points Total 73 116 147 166
The third set of races is. 15. Peru (Sp3) - San Matias (55): 16. Puerto Heath (14) - Brazil North (Sp1) 17. Yacuiba (66) - Sucre (45): 18. Caranavi (16) - Villa Montes (65) 19. Puerto Suarez (56) - Cochabamba (36): 20. Cochabamba (35) - Rurrenabaque (21) 21. Trinidad (25) - Santa Cruz (42) Enter up to four races and built up to 8 points.
RR Game LXXXI – RR2451OR – Oregon Map – Round Two
IWW 2a) 4. (Eugene) – N7 - A47 - Corvallis; (N9) - M10, Brad Martin 2b) 4. (M10) – OAKRIDGE: (Grants Pass) - C7 - B7 – ASHLAND, Blue 2c) 4. (Ashland) - A9 - - - A10. BANK: 32 + 3 + 6 + 1 (ROGER) + 1 (HEART) = 43
ROGER 2a) 4. (B49) – B48 – CORVALLIS - B46 - C46, Roger Trethewey 2b) 4. (C46) – TOLEDO: (K48) - L47 – ASTORIA: (B49) - A49 , Green 2c) 4. (A49) - N9: (Portland H50) - - - I51 / Washington State. BANK: 26 + 3 + 3 + 6 – 1 (IWW) = 37
ORE 2a) 4. (B56) – MADRAS - D56 - E57 - F56, John Marsden 2b) 4. (F56) – G56 - H55 – THE DALLES: (H55) - I55, Orange 2c) 4. (I55) - - - I54: (Pendleton) - J66. BANK: 32 + 3 + 6 = 41
HEART 2a) 4. (D48) – C48 - CORVALLIS - A48 - N7, Steve Ham 2b) 4. (A53) - - - A54 - A55, Purple 2c) 4. (A54) – N14 - M15 - Bend - M17. BANK: 29 + 3 – 1 (IWW) = 31
The map is available at https://variablepig.org/maps/rr/OregonRR.pdf. The third set of die rolls are 3a) 3, 3b) 3 and 3c) 6.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 34
Question
Roger Just to confirm there are no specials in this one? There are no special races on this map. This was one of my earliest maps and I wasn’t used to adding specials.
Roger And suppose I wanted to build (Portland H50) - I51 into Washington the cost would be 3 because of mountains? No river. The cost from Portland into Washington State is 3, which is to cross the Columbia River that separates Oregon and Washington State from the coast to K65. I have not included any hills in the border states, but I can understand the confusion. The original map was coloured with hill hexes in brown and state borders in red, but this distinction is lost in black and white. The cost from H52, Hood River (which is a hill town), I54 and I57 to Washington is 5 (for coming out of a hill and over a river). It is normal terrain costs to enter Washington from hexes L65 to L72. Note that there is also the Snake River that runs along the Northern Oregon / Idaho border from L72 to Ontario, so this costs 3 or 5 to enter Idaho, and normal terrain costs south of Ontario. There is no river along the California and Nevada borders so normal terrain costs apply.
RR Game LXXX – RR2450CH – China Map – Round Two
ROGER 2a) 5. (Hong Kong) – F23 - G24: (Henyang) – Q20 - P20 - CHANGSHA, Roger Trethewey 2b) 4. (Changsha) – R20 - S21 - T20 - U21, Green 2c) 5. (U21) - V20 - - - Wuhan; (P20) - P21. BANK: 32 + 6 – 3 (PEAR) = 35
TEA 2a) 5. (Beijing) - S60 - S59 - S58 - R57 - Q57, Richard Smith 2b) 4. (Q57) - TATUNG - R55 - S55 - S54, Yellow 2c) 5. (S54) - S53 - S52 - S51 - PAOTOW; W68 - W69. BANK: 26 + 6 + 6 + 4 (EIGHT) = 42
PEAR 2a) 5. (Nanchang) – U24 - V23 – V22 – V21; (Foochow) – N30 Kev Lee 2b) 4. (V21) - - - Wuhan – X20, Pink 2c) 5. (X20) – Y20 – Z20; (S24) – S25 – S26 - S27. BANK: 27 + 3 (ROGER) – 8 (CH) + 4 (再没有名字) = 26
CH 2a) 5. (X24) -W24 – W23 – X22 – X21 - WUHAN, Bob Pitman 2b) 4. (Y31) – HANGCHOW: (Wuhan) – X20 – Y20 - Z20, Red 2c) 5. (Hangchow) – W30 – V30 – U30; (Z20) – A61 – B60. BANK: 26 + 6 + 6 + 8 (PEAR) + 1 (再没有名字) = 46
EIGHT 2a) 5. (W66) - W65 - V64 - U64 - U63 - T62, Steve Guest 2b) 4. (T62) - T61 - S61 - S60 - S59, Orange 2c) 5. (S61) – Beijing - Q60: (Y71) - Z71 - Z72 - Z73 / all Manchuria. BANK: 32 – 4 (TEA) = 28
CB 2a) 5. (F60) – F59 – CHENGCHOW – F57 – F56 – F55, Arthur Owen 2b) 4. (F55) – E55 – E54 – E53 – E52, Black 2c) 5. (E52) – SIAN: (F60) – E60 – D59 – C60. BANK: 32 + 6 + 6 = 44
PANDA 2a) 5. (Kweiyang) – M10 - N10 - N11 – O12 - P12, John Walker 2b) 4. (P12) - Q13 – R12 - S12 – S11, Blue 2c) 5. (S11) – S10 – CHUNGKING – T8 - U8 – U7. BANK: 32 + 6 = 38
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 35
再没有名字 2a) 5. (L28) - L29 – L30 - M31 - N30 – Foochow, Jon Carter 2b) 4. (Foochow) - P30 - - - Q31 Brown 2c) 5. (Q31) - R31 - S31 - T31 - T30 - U30. BANK: 19 – 4 (PEAR) – 1 (CH) = 14
The map is available at https://variablepig.org/maps/rr/chinaRR.pdf. The third set of die rolls are 3a) 5, 3b) 6 and 3c) 5.
* * * * *
Robo Rally 5
Round Eight
Corrections:
1. Baymax should have registered at A20 last turn in phase D. The robot status table has been updated to show this. 2. Dalekbot ordered to use the 280 RT card twice this round. The GM substituted 2 cards to ensure his final moves remained as planned.
Mario Androidi has a bad round, as he gets shot and pushed around by multiple opponents. Big Data powers down and successfully stays out of trouble, while many of his opponents pick up more damage. HBZS#1 is getting close to his 3rd flag.
Press
The Zirzla Prayer “Don’t let Big Data turn left, Don’t let Big Data turn left… Don’t let Big Data have a 1F, LT and 3 or 2F…”
Phase A
Robot Card Start End Final Actions Dalekbot 800 3F D19N A19N A19N Robbie 790 3F B26S E26S E26S Cannon Fodder 510 1F B24N A24N A24N Mario Androidi 500 1F H16N G16N G18N Conveyed to G18N. Shoots and shot by Baymax HBZS#1 400 RT D20S D20W D20W BluBOTtle 390 LT K17N K17W K17W Baymax 070 LT A18W A18S A18S Shoots and shot by Mario Androidi Big Data - B21W B21W B21W Power Down
Phase B
Robot Card Start End Final Actions Mario Androidi 840 3F G18N D18N D18N Shoots and shot by Baymax Baymax 740 2F A18S C18S C18S Shoots and shot by Mario Androidi BluBOTtle 570 1F K17W K16W K16W Robbie 430 BU E26S D26S D26S Dalekbot 280 RT A19N A19E A19E Shoots and shot by Cannon Fodder Cannon Fodder 150 LT A24N A24W A24W Shoots and shot by Dalekbot HBZS#1 120 RT D20W D20N D20N Big Data - B21W B21W B21W Power Down
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 36
Phase C
Robot Card Start End Final Actions Dalekbot 660 2F A19E A21E A21E Shoots Cannon Fodder Baymax Pushes Mario Androidi to E18N. Shoots Mario 620 1F C18S D18S D18S Androidi Robbie 600 1F D26S E26S E26S HBZS#1 460 BU D20N E20N E20N BluBOTtle 380 RT K16W K16N K16N Cannon Fodder 210 LT A24W A24S A24S Shot by Dalekbot Mario Androidi 050 UT E18N E18S E18S Shot by Baymax Big Data - B21W B21W B21W Power Down
Phase D
Robot Card Start End Final Actions BluBOTtle 780 2F K16N I16N I16N Baymax 580 1F D18S E18S E18S Pushes Mario Androidi to F18S Robbie 490 BU E26S D26S D26S Mario Androidi 270 LT F18S F18E F18E Conveyed to F20E. Shot by HBZS#1 Cannon Fodder 230 LT A24S A24E A24E Dalekbot 060 UT A21E A21W A21W HBZS#1 030 UT E20N E20S E20S Shoots Mario Androidi Big Data - B21W B21W B21W Power Down
Phase E
Robot Card Start End Final Actions HBZS#1 810 3F E20S H20S H20S Pushes Mario Androidi to I20E. Shot by Baymax Cannon Fodder 770 2F A24E A26E A26E Shot by Dalekbot Robbie 650 1F D26S E26S E26S Mario Androidi 640 1F I20E I21E I21E BluBOTtle 630 1F I16N H16N H16N Baymax 530 1F E18S F18S F20S Conveyed to F20S. Shoots HBZS#1 Dalekbot 010 UT A21W A21E A21E Shoots Cannon Fodder Big Data - B21W B21W B21W Power Down
Status Report
Player Robot Location Damage Lives Archive Flags Registered Lost Andy York Dalekbot A21E 2 0 K21 1, 2 Steve Ham Cannon Fodder A26E 6 0 K21 1, 2 Bob Pitman HBZS#1 H20S 2 0 D27 1, 3 Chris Hibbert Mario Androidi I21E 7 0 K21 2 Bob Gingell Baymax F20S 3 0 A20 1, 3 Michael Robbie E26S 2 2 D27 1, 3 Pargman Brendan Whyte BluBOTtle H16N 0 0 K21 1, 2 Richard Smith Big Data B21W 0 0 B2 -
A reminder, the movement order is as follows. Robots move according to the card for the phase. Higher priority cards go first. Express conveyor belts move one square. Express conveyor belts move their second movement. Normal Conveyor belts perform their one movement. Pushers push one square if active this lihase. Gears turn 90 degrees. Crushers crush if active this phase. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 37
Board-mounted AND robot-mounted laser beams damage robots. Checkpoints touched. After the fifth phase, all robots on checkpoints or repair sites are repaired.
* * * * *
Sopwith T-365VP
Round Twenty-Five
Pilot Starts Moves Ends A:D:P 2 Gossamer Heron 22) O13SE 22) LS – LS – LS, fR 22) O16SE 1:7:8 Chris Hibbert 23) O16SE 23) LS – LS – RT 23) P18SW Start: A1 24) P18SW 24) RT – A – RS 24) O15W 25) O15W 25) A, fA – A - RT 25) 3 Cameltoe (ACE) 22) H6SE 22) LS – A – A 22) J9SE 13:5:12 John Walker 23) J9SE 23) A – A – A 23) M12SE Start: A10 24) M12SE 24) A – O – O 24) N13SE 25) N13SE 25) RS, fA, fR – I - RS 25) 5 The Ode-ace-ious One 22) S19 22) Repair 22) S19 11:1:15 John Marsden 23) S19 23) A – A – RT, fR 23) R16NW Start: S19 24) R16NW 24) LS, A (fA, fR), O (fR) 24) Q14NW 25) Q14NW 25) LS, fR – A - LT 25) 1 Avey Ate Her Shot down Brendan Whyte turn 15, 6 Start: J1 points 4 The Mystery Pilot (ACE) Shot down Brad Martin turn 10 Start: J19 11 points 6 Red Baron Shot down Arthur Owen turn 4 Start: S10
Some comments before the round.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 38
Gossamer Heron This is the tightest knot I've been in in Sopwith. What a choice! Either John M or I (or both) could get knocked out this round.
The Ode-ace-ious One Highly risky!!
Phase A Cameltoe slips into trouble, taking fire at close range from both the Gossamer Heron and the Ode-ace-ious One, although he returns the favour with interest to the latter.
Phase B Cameltoe pushes his battered crate into another perfectly executed Immelmann turn to swiftly return to the fray as his opponents start to move away.
Phase C The Gossamer Heron continued to fly away but Cameltoe is in hot pursuit, while the Ode-ace- ious One heads for hopeful safety.
2
3
5
SPACEFILLER QUIZ - Name the Bassists - ANSWERS
Just like bass players (usually) get little attention, there was only one entrant for this, Brendan Whyte with 8/40. You can enjoy these great tracks (air bass playing optional) on YouTube here https://tinyurl.com/yzy8cpwu featuring John Deacon (Queen), John McVie (Fleetwood Mac), Paul McCartney (Beatles), Chris Novaselic (Nirvana), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), Flea (Red Hot Chilli Peppers), Bernard Edwards (Chic), Chris Wolstenholme (Muse), Mark King (Level 42), Paul Simmonon (The Clash), Phil Thornalley (The Cure), Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), John Entwhistle (The Who), Geezer Bulter (Black Sabbath), Orion - Cliff Burton (Metallica), Justin Chancellor (Tool), Stanley Clarke (Stanley Clarke), Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report), Sting (The Police), Geddy Lee (Rush) Variable Pig – (Casertana) 39
Here Be Dragons Issue 41
I have designed a silly little darts game, which should be a bit of fun
Overview – the game is for two players, who compete in a standard game where they must reduce their score to zero. They start on 501 and finish on a double. I have assumed everyone is familiar with the game of darts and the scoring. If not please ask.
Set up – Each player starts with 8 triples, 2 bullseyes, 1 concentration and 6 accuracy counters.
Player Orders – Each turn, players tell the GM where they are aiming their three darts, they also play three accuracy counters for their opponent. When a player has reached a score of below 171, they may send conditional orders or halt their turn after one or two darts have been thrown.
Accuracy counters – these are 1=clockwise, 2=anti-clockwise, 3=outward, 4=inward and two 5 & 6=no adjustment. These are refreshed every third turn.
Concentration counter – along with their throw a player may opt to play a concentration counter. This counteracts a clockwise/anti clockwise counter. This counter is refreshed after every six darts a player has thrown. There is no requirement to play this counter and runs out after six darts. So, you can only ever have one concentration counter.
Adjudication – The GM will adjust each player’s throw according to the accuracy counter i.e. if a player has aimed for a triple twenty and their opponent has selected accuracy counter 1 (clockwise) the dart will land in a triple one.
Special rules – Players have unlimited doubles; they may also select their aim to be above the double. If this is combined with an inward accuracy adjustment the dart will go in the double.
In the event that a player aims for an outer bull, the accuracy adjustments will be as follows:
1 = D6 2 = 6 + D7 3 = 13 +D7 4=bullseye 5 & 6 = outer bull.
Two games are played simultaneously, so there is the potential of the match being a draw. This rule would be changed for any tournament matches.
Report – This will show the results of the last darts thrown, the remaining accuracy counters, triples and bullseyes, along with any remaining concentration counters.
Flavour – players may select a nickname for themselves and some walk on music.
Example orders: Aim for three triple twenties, play accuracy counters 1, 2 and 3.
Any questions?, if not Let’s play darts. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 40
Tactical Sumo 2 - Battle of the Owens
Ian (3) conserves his energy for the strenuous battle ahead and starts thinking how best to employ the couple of tactical plays that he has in his locker. Arthur (6) spots Ian’s mind is not in the present and decides now is the time to strike. Whoosh, before Ian can respond, he is out of the ring. The crowd cheer the masterstroke, by the experienced campaigner.
4 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 AO 10 IO My plan when designing this game was to have a game where card combinations were king. The game does sort of work on that level, especially an Oshi Dashi game. The downside is the brilliant original Tony Reeves’ game gets somewhat lost and players need to keep track of their tactical cards. I therefore propose a hybrid of the two games, which will bring it back, much more to the original and have all remaining cards left, shown in the report. So, to the proposed rules for Strategic Sumo are:
The game is for two players and normally lasts for 6 turns. The ring is represented by a linear track seventeen spaces long. A counter is placed on the central space of the track at the start of the bout and is moved left or right depending on the outcome of each round. If the counter is pushed beyond the end of the track then the bout is over as one contestant has pushed their opponent out of the ring. Each player begins the game with 6 cards values 1 to 5 inclusive and 1 kachi-age card. This can be played on any turn. This will add 1 to the players number card. i.e. if they play a four it will count as a five.
Players simultaneously reveal their choice of card. If the cards are equal no movement occurs. The player selecting the larger value card pushes the token a number of spaces equal to the DIFFERENCE BETWEEN the 2 card values MULTIPLIED BY THE LOWER of the 2 values. E.g. The biggest result possible is 9 spaces, so it is possible to win on the first turn. A player would need to play a 5 with their kachi-age card and their opponent a 3 in order to achieve this.
Instead of playing a number card, there is the option of playing a tactical card. Only one tactical card can be played in this version. There is no need to declare it at the start of the game.
1 Yori (body push) – The player advances 1 space 2 Gino-Sho (Fighting technique) – No movement occurs 3 Nodo Wa (Thrust to throat/a risky strategy) – The opposite side of the dice to your opponent’s number is played. i.e. 1/6, 2/5 & 3/4 (This card only has an effect against a number card). 4 Inashi (Dodge) – The player gets a kachi-age card. A player can only ever have one, so their original card would have had to have been used in an earlier turn. 5 Kanto (Fighting spirit) – The last card you played (-1) is repeated. e.g if a 4 was played a 3 will be used. A player wins the bout by pushing the counter off the end of the track (Oshi dashi) NMR In addition to selecting their own card in each round of Sumo players may also indicate a preferred card from their opponent’s hand to be played
Oshi Dashi variant - the winner is determined by the first player to push his opponent out of the ring. The cards will be refreshed after they have all been used.
If anyone wants to give it a go or can suggest any tactical cards, please feel free to let me know.
NRICH Central 2 of 10 - A couple more join the fray. How will this upset well thought out plans?
Numbers played Steve = 52 61 Richard = 66 99 Ian 11 40 Arthur 19 26
Total = 374 / 8 = 46.75 No problem for Steve, who gets his second point.
Blind Tribute We now have enough players to start. Players have a total of 50 points, which they can use over the 5 turns. Richard, Ian and Arthur need to provide a number (from 0 to 9 inclusive) they wish to play against each opponent. Example orders for Arthur would be 0 V RS 5 v IO. This would leave him 45 points for the next 4 turns. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 41
on-the-shelf vol. XVI, no. 55 13 March 2021 Brought to you by Tom Howell: off-the-shelf at olympus.net. Welcome to on-the-shelf, volume XVI, number 55. The Snakes and Ladders ends in a well earned victory for Richard Smith. Congratulations to Richard. You folks up for another one? I have an equally challenging board already mapped out; something you might categorize as, “the same thing, but different”. The Machi Koro and Love Letter games continue. Game Openings: Breaking Away! Jim Reader, Roger Trethewey, Richard Smith, Steve Ham, Chris Hibbert. One more wanted. These guys are getting bored waiting for one more team to arrive! Snakes & Ladders: All new board! Similar, but different, challenge to the last one. Where in the World is Kendo Nagasaki? New players welcome anytime. Game goes 10 rounds, unless won earlier. Round 1: Bob Gingell Mary Seacole (1805-1881) Sevastopol (44.583332, 33.516666) Steve Guest Richard Osman (1970- ) Baikonur, Kazakhstan (37.616667, 63.316666) Chris Hibbert Robert Maynard Pirsig (1928-2017) Balti, Moldova (47.7667, 27.9167) Dane Maslen Michael Balls (1938- ) Pelotas, Brazil (-31.771944, -52.3425) Bob Pitman Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008) Aswan, Egypt (24.088889, 32.899723) Jim Reader Paul Zoungrana (1917-2000) Mount Lidgbird, (-31.55, 159.083328) Lord Howe Island, Australia Richard Smith Kevin Bacon (1958- ) Two Egg, Florida, USA (30.852778, -85.076385) Martin Walker Taylor Swift (1989- ) Madras, India (13.083333, 80.266667) Brendan Whyte Anne Bancroft (1931-2005) Beverley Hills*, USA (34.081, -118.397919) * specifically: 607 North Palm Drive Public response to player with closest guess: As have you, I have performed more than one occupation within our respective fields. Round 2: None of you are closer than any of the others to Kendo’s hiding place; and none of you are any farther than any of the others. Some of you might want to diversify the locational part of your guesses. Bob Gingell William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Yekaterinburg, Russia (56.833333, 60.583333) Steve Guest Jared Kushner (1981- ) Yekaterinburg, Russia (56.833333, 60.583333) Chris Hibbert Donald Roller Wilson (1938- ) Yekaterinburg, Russia (56.833333, 60.583333) Dane Maslen Red Rum (1965-1995) Yekaterinburg, Russia (56.833333, 60.583333) Bob Pitman Sebastian Coe (1956- ) Yekaterinburg, Russia (56.833333, 60.583333) Jim Reader Tang Yin (1470-1524) Yekaterinburg, Russia (56.833333, 60.583333) Richard Smith Charles Babbage (1791-1871) Yekaterinburg, Russia (56.833333, 60.583333) Martin Walker David Bowie (1947-2016) Yekaterinburg, Russia (56.833333, 60.583333) Brendan Whyte Tim the Yowie Man (unknown- ) Yekaterinburg, Russia (56.833333, 60.583333) Public response to player with closest guess: One of you is faster afoot than I; but he's also faster afoot than all the rest of you. Restated: One of you is of a different species than I; but he’s also of a different species than all the rest of you. Round 3: Bob Gingell Kathrine Switzer (1947- ) Kathmandu (27.7, 85.333333) Steve Guest Alfred Bester (1913-1987) El Tigre, Venezuela (8.89, -64.26) Chris Hibbert Donald Roller Wilson (1938- ) Chiang Mai, Thailand (18.795279, 98.998611) Dane Maslen Billie Jean King (1943- ) Amarillo, Texas, USA (35.199165, -101.845276) Bob Pitman Alfred Wainwright (1907-1991) Wales, Alaska, USA (65.612222, -168.089172) Jim Reader Andy Green (1962- ) Puerto Natales, Chile (-51.733333, -72.516667) Richard Smith Steven Wilson (1967- ) Santiago de Compostela, Spain (42.877778, -8.544444) Martin Walker Tony Blair (1953- ) Hanoi, Vietnam (21.033333, 105.849999) Brendan Whyte Carl Lewis (1961- ) Yekaterinburg, Russia (56.833333, 60.583333) Public response to player with closest guess: You are between two and two-and-a-half times my age.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 42
Round 4: Bob Gingell John Lennon (1940-1980) in Singapore (1.283333, 103.833333) Steve Guest Hari Kondabolu (1982- ) in Long Apu, Malaysia (3.133333, 114.816667) Chris Hibbert Sidney Crosby (1987- ) in Singapore (1.283333, 103.833333) Dane Maslen Emma Watson (1990- ) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (11.55, 104.916667) Bob Pitman Mark Zuckerberg (1984- ) in Corregidor Is., Philippines (14.385556, 120.573059) Jim Reader Michael Strahan (1971- ) in New York City, NY, USA (40.7127, -74.005898) Richard Smith Miley Cyrus (1992- ) in Manila, Philippines (14.583333, 120.966667) Martin Walker Justin Timberlake (1981- ) in Singapore (1.283333, 103.833333) Brendan Whyte Black Caviar (2006- ) in Gaborone, Botswana (-24.658056, 25.912222) Public response to player with closest guess: Wrong gender Round 5: Bob Gingell Scarlett Johansson (1984- ) in Jakarta, Indonesia (-6.2, 106.816667) Steve Guest Imelda Therinne (1982- ) in Jakarta, Indonesia (-6.2, 106.816667) Chris Hibbert Brooke Sweat (1986- ) in Taiping, Malaysia (4.85, 100.733333) Dane Maslen Emma Watson (1990- ) in Hiroshima, Japan (34.385277, 132.455276) Bob Pitman Ed Sheeran (1991- ) in Sukhothai Historical Park, Thailand (17.021111, 99.703611) Jim Reader Pete Davidson (1993- ) in Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia (3.583333, 98.666667) Richard Smith Miley Cyrus (1992- ) in Kuching, Malaysia (1.561111, 110.341667) Martin Walker Madonna (1958- ) in Jakarta, Indonesia (-6.2, 106.816667) Brendan Whyte Phar Lap (1926-1932) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia (1.455556, 103.761111) Public response to player with closest guess: You found my birthplace. Round 6: Bob Gingell Vivien Yeo (1984- ) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia (1.455556, 103.761111) Steve Guest Sarah Lian (1983- ) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (3.147778, 101.695278) Chris Hibbert Agnes Monica Muljoto* in Palembang, Indonesia (-2.986111, 104.755556) Dane Maslen Joko Widodo (1961- ) in Palembang, Indonesia (-2.986111, 104.755556) Bob Pitman Kristin Kreuk (1982- ) in Anak Krakatoa, Indonesia (-6.101944, 105.423056) Jim Reader Elizabeth Jimie (1992- ) in Pontianak, Indonesia (-0.020556, 109.341389) Richard Smith Agnes Monica Muljoto* in Christmas Island (-10.483333, 105.63333) Martin Walker Michelle Yeoh (1962- ) in Ipoh, Malaysia (4.597222, 101.075) Brendan Whyte Nur Fasha Sandha Hassan** in Muar, Malaysia (2.05, 102.566667) * Muljoto (1986- ); ** Hassan (1984- ) Public response to player with closest guess: You are a couple of years older, and your occupation makes you more publicly visible than I. Round 7: Bob Gingell Tunku Aminah (1960- ) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia (1.455556, 103.761108) Steve Guest Richard Osman (1970- ) in Singapore (1.283333, 103.833333) Chris Hibbert Gin Lee (1987- ) in Selat Panjang, Indonesia (1.00, 102.7) Dane Maslen Putih Sari (1984- ) in Bogor, Indonesia (-6.596667, 106.797218) Bob Pitman Quek See Ling (1986- ) in Batu Pahat, Indonesia (1.852222, 102.937222) Jim Reader Natasha Seatter (1993- ) in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei (4.890278, 114.942222) Richard Smith Sheila Permatasaka (1984-) in Bandar Lampung, Indonesia (-5.45, 105.266667) Martin Walker Naomi Osaka (1997- ) in Bandar Lampung, Indonesia (-5.45, 105.266667) Brendan Whyte Barack Obama (1961- ) in Parapat, Indonesia (2.657778, 98.939167) Public response to player with closest guess: I'm more of an artist, some might say an academic.
Will Richard spot this empty space and substitute an off-color joke herein?
I took out a loan to fund my exorcism, but I’ve been unable to keep up the payments so I’m going to be repossessed! Variable Pig – (Casertana) 43
Round 19 Snakes and Ladders Just for Richard Well! It certainly wasn’t my intention that Richard would win this thing, just that I thought it would be the kind of challenge that he would like. He says he did not figure out the board layout, although he did have starting and ending squares of most of the snakes and ladders correctly mapped. Some of you indicated to me that you had done the same, at least partly. +------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | R11 | R12 | R13 | +------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | Richard | 3 | 7 | 29 | 34 | 40 | 59 | 63 | 64 | 67 | 73 | 75 | 80 | 81 | | Martin | 5 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 51 | 55 | 44 | 45 | 51 | 54 | 59 | 62 | | John | 36 | 39 | 45 | 50 | 51 | 48 | 51 | 55 | 56 | 62 | 64 | 69 | 71 | | Bob | 36 | 3 | 29 | 33 | 39 | 59 | 64 | 67 | 81 | 88 | 78 | 84 | 89 | | Steve | 5 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 19 | 51 | 56 | 44 | 29 | 33 | 39 | 59 | 64 | | Judy | 4 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 19 | 51 | 44 | 49 | 75 | 54 | 44 | 49 | | Chris | 3 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 51 | 22 | 10 | 16 | 19 | 51 | 55 | 60 | | Roger | 3 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 51 | 75 | 70 | 75 | 81 | 84 | 67 | 59 | | Brendan | 1 | 6 | 29 | 32 | 36 | 59 | 43 | 48 | 51 | 75 | 81 | 67 | 70 | +------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ +------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | R14 | R15 | R16 | R17 | R18 | R19 | +------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | Richard | 88 | 89 | 88 | 94 | 99 | 104 | | Martin | 81 | 67 | 81 | 88 | 81 | 95 | During turn 19, there were | John | 74 | 78 | 88 | 89 | 88 | 94 | | Bob | 70 | 59 | 62 | 81 | 82 | 88 | | Steve | 70 | 74 | 75 | 78 | 80 | 88 | no trapdoors activated. | Judy | 75 | 91 | 87 | 81 | 82 | 84 | | Chris | 84 | 88 | 81 | 82 | 67 | 81 | | Roger | 70 | 74 | 80 | 81 | 84 | 81 | | Brendan | 71 | 73 | 70 | 75 | 70 | 71 | +------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
• Here it is. Snakes in red, ladders in green. I thought from the beginning that multiple trapdoor activations would be required for anyone to correctly map the layout. There were precious few trapdoors set and fewer triggered. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the student to calculate when and where trapdoors operated. Congratulations to Richard on climbing past the magic 100 square.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 44
Round 9 Machi Koro 鎌倆 ( Kamakura ) Major Establishments prove popular with Steve and Roger; Richard stays agricultural. Round Nine: Player Turn Roll Results Builds Richard 10 6 No income. Produce Market Steve 10 5 Roger and Richard receive 1 coin from their Business Center forests. Roger 11 4* Steve receives 1 coin from his Corn Field and 3 TV Station coins from his Flower Orchards; Roger receives 3 coins from his Convenience Store. Richard 11 6 No income. Wheat Field
* rolls two dice Status Table Player Coins Buildings Landmarks Roger Trethewey 4 Wheat Field, Sushi Bar, Bakery (2), Café (2), City Hall, Harbor, Train Convenience Store, Forest, TV Station, Furniture Station Factory, Soda Bottling Plant Richard Smith 0 Wheat Field (2+1), Ranch, Bakery (2), Café, City Hall, Harbor Convenience Store, Forest, French Restaurant, Mackerel Boat, Produce Market Steve Ham 10 Wheat Field, Bakery, Corn Field, Flower Orchard City Hall (3), Flower Shop (5), Business Center Player order for round ten will be Steve, Roger, Richard, Steve. Remember: if you get to your buy phase with no coins, your City Hall will give you one. I will assume you are rolling a single die (d6) unless you have a Train Station AND tell me you want to roll two dice. Otherwise, rules as per the game rulebook. Not much change in the Market Place: the Business Center is replaced by a Business Center and the Wheat Field is replaced by a Forest; another Ranch and Bakery are added to those already on offer. For round ten, please tell me which establishment you wish to purchase from the following market place: Market Place (numbers in parentheses are the quantity on offer), {numbers in brackets are the cost}: Café (2) {2} Ranch (2) {1} Sushi Bar (2) {4} Bakery (2) {1} Forest (1) {3} Restaurant (1) {3} Cheese Factory (2) {5} Produce Market Hamburger Stand (1) {1} Food Warehouse (1) {2} (1) {2} TV Station (1) {7} Business Center (1) {8}
off the Reference Shelf CDs The Enigma Game, by Elizabeth Wein Long Time Coming, by Michael Eric Dyson A Mist of Prophecies, by Steven Saylor The Bedlam Detective, by Stephen Gallagher Camino Island, by John Grisham
DVDs The Vietnam War, film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick <- highly recommended for those of us who lived through it.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 45
Love Letter – Game 3 – Tempest John gets doubly spied upon; two Princes flush out two Princes; the distaff faction makes an appearance in duplicate; whilst four guards go a-hunting, but come up empty-handed. Round Six cardsleft R5 Jim John Richard Bob R6 Jim John Richard Bob 3 Hand 1 (B) (G) (G) (C) Pr (S) Hand 1 to play OUT (K)(Pr) 4 Hand 2 (G) (C)(G) (H) S (G) Hand 2 to play 4 Hand 3 (S) (C) (G)(G) (G) H Hand 3 to play 3 Hand 4 (S) H (S) (Pr)(B) (G)(G) Hand 4 to play 3 Hand 5 (G)(B) (G)(H) (B) Pr (G)(Pr) Hand 5 OUT to play 3 Hand 6 (H) (C)(Pr)(B) (G) S (G) Hand 6 to play 4 Hand 7 (H) (H) (S)(G) (G) C Hand 7 to play - Hand 8 (B)(C) (B)(Pcs) (G) (H)(G) Hand 8 OUT OUT OUT WIN 3 Hand 9 (G)(G) (Pr)(S)(H) (B) C H Hand 9 OUT to play 4 Hand 10 (H) (G)(H) (S) G (C) Hand 10 to play 3 Hand 11 (B) G (G) (G)(Pr)(G) (S)(K) Hand 11 to play OUT 4 Hand 12 (H) G (G) (G)(B) (S)(G) Hand 12 to play OUT 4 Hand 13 (H)(C) (G) G (S) (H) Hand 13 to play
Pcs = Princess, C = Countess, K = King, Pr = Prince, H = Handmaid, B = Baron, S = Spy, G = Guard Hand 1: Richard plays the Prince against Jim. He turns over the Prince and draws a new card. Hand 2: Richard plays a Spy on John and looks at his hand. Hand 3: Bob plays a Handmaid. Hand 4: Jim plays a Handmaid. Hand 5: Richard plays the Prince against Bob. He turns over the Prince and draws a new card. Hand 6: Richard plays a Spy on John and looks at his hand. Hand 7: Bob plays the Countess. Hand 9: Richard plays the Countess. Hand 10: Richard plays a Guard against Bob and guesses that he has the Prince - He does not. Hand 11: Jim plays a Guard against Richard and guesses that he has the Handmaid - He does not. Hand 12: Jim plays a Guard against Bob and guesses that he has the Baron - He does not. Hand 13: John plays a Guard against Jim and guesses that he has the Prince - He does not. Handmaids currently protect: Hand 3: Bob; Hand 4: Jim; Hand 5: John; Hand 6: Jim; Hand 7: Jim & John; Hand 9: John & Bob; Hand 10: John & Jim; Hand 13: Bob. Tokens held: Bob 1, Jim 0, Richard 0, & John 0. In My Neighborhood I was waiting in line to check out a couple of items at the library when an older gentleman wearing a clear plastic face shield joined the line behind me. I told him he looked like someone getting ready to do some welding. He told me I looked like someone getting ready to rob a bank. I told him it was on my list for the day. At least, that’s what I call withdrawing funds at the ATM. He proceeded to complain about a Credit Union based in another county which has a branch here. Said he couldn’t say anything good about it. I had just received in the mail one of their slick advertisements. I suggested he check out the local Credit Union, which is the one I use. About then, another guy joined the line and the conversation switched to double masking, but I didn’t get to hear much of it as it was my turn at the book exchange window.
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 46
Track no. 8 The Celestial Steam Locomotive A new and totally different subzine with nothing to do with blancmanges [email protected]
28th February 2021 This issue's picture is the unboxing of my new laser printer. One still photo obviously doesn't work as well as a video clip, and fails to convey the frenzied excitement ☺
There was of course a touch of sarcasm in the previous sentence. Laser printers are not on many people's Santa list. After churning out nearly 50,000 pages over 10 years (that's a lot of pigs) my old Samsung needed replacing. After wading through lots of online reviews and tech specs I decided on this one https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laser-printers/1409557/xerox-versalink-c400dn-review
This quote from the above review "Xerox’s VersaLink C400DN is at the top end of what any sane person would consider a home printer" kinda sums it up nicely. Setup was a bit fiddly but the print quality is really spiffy! Cost per page is nice and low with "compatible" cartridges (which may or may not invalidate the warranty).
On the games front, I got 5 people interested in give Only Connect a go, so that's starting now (all readers can play). Setting the questions required considerable care - it must be possible to get the answer with a bit of lateral thinking but not instantaneously from a search engine.
I'm also considering running the Discovery variant of Railway Rivals after spending a bit of time improving the rules (https://variablepig.org/rules/discovery.html) based on the ones Christian Bien sent out. I haven't had time to test out and tune the exploration hex limits so may hold off on that one for the time being. I'm still hoping to run Feudality and/or Brain Robbery but need more takers.
Finally, a sports news update: The first event in Crystal Ball has completed and India have won the cricket test series against England. There was controversy over the pitch and England's team selection but it was great to have test cricket back on terrestrial telly (and on its way to the Planet Flungo).
Richard
If all of the world’s empty ink cartridges from one year were placed end-to-end, it would circle the earth three times. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 47
CRYSTAL BALL 2021 - THEY'RE OFF!
No Sport Event Date Richard Arthur John Steve Martin 1L Cricket India v England tests Feb-Mar India 2 England Draw England India 2 2L Rugby Six Nations winner Feb-Mar France Wales France France Scotland 3L Golf US Masters winner April McIlroy McIlroy Thomas Johnson Cantlay 4L Snooker World champs Apr-May Trump Trump Trump O'Sullivan Higgins winner 5 Football Euro 2020 winner June England ☺ France Belgium France France 6 F1 British GP winner July Verstappen Hamilton Hamilton Hamilton Hamilton 7 Olympics UK Gold medals August 22 23 40 14 14 8 Olympics US Gold medals August 44 47 60 0 22 9 Tennis US Open women's Sept Halep Williams Osaka Osaka Osaka 10 Athletics London marathon M October Kipchoge Kipchoge Kipchoge Kitata Kipchoge 11 Baseball World Series winner Oct-Nov Dodgers Dodgers Dodgers Yankees Yankees 12 Boxing Fury v Joshua TBA Joshua Joshua Fury Fury Joshua TB Cricket Total runs scored in Nov 366 381 320 332 315 World T20 final Score 2 points for picking the winner, 1 for runner up except for the two-horse races events (1 and 12) where it's 2 points or nothing, and draw is an option. For the medals 2 points if within 2, 1 point for within 5. Events are void if not completed by 31st December 2021.
Note that in a slight change to the rules you can now have up to three changes (to events not marked L) during the game at a cost of 1 point each, see https://variablepig.org/rules/crystalball.html
So we have five predictors duking it out. Arthur Owen, John Walker, Steve Ham, Martin Walker and me. The good news is that so far none of the listed sporting events has been cancelled, though the completion of the Six Nations rugby will be delayed. Fury v Joshua date coming soon, I hear.
Golden Strider Tarnished V2 - ROUND 7
The revised (much simpler) rules were printed in Variable Pig 177 and are available on the Variable Pig website at https://variablepig.org/rules/golden.html#tarnished
Arthur Owen, Jim Reader, Steve Ham, John Walker and Bob Gingell are our athlete managers each of whom has two runners in this race which is 64 squares long.
P S Runner 1 26 Stan Ozolol 2 25 Glen Buterol 3= 24 Nutkin 3= 24 Ann Droid 3= 24 Twitchy 6 23 Mr. Jones 7= 22 Will Do 7= 22 Mr. Smith 9 16 Al Berto 10 15 S A Lazar
The pace is still moderate and 8 of the 10 runners tightly bunched. As this is a postal race, some runners may become eligible for COVID vaccinations before the end. Closely monitored by the stewards, of course.
Managers are reminded that all runners holding a /1 card must now play it. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 48
King of Tokyo - Round 13
Postal rules (3-4 players only) and link to F2F rulebook are available at https://variablepig.org/rules/kingoftokyo.html .
Rumble Report It's hotting up for the run-in with several monsters in danger of death. Bout 1: Cretosuarus isn't far off winning by killing his opponents, both of whom have a chance to heal up and / or fight back to avoid being polished off in round 16. Bout 2: Brexitator gains more VPs and enters Tokyo, armed with an extra roll next time thanks to a can of Red Bull. Bout 3: Cyclops gets even more VPs but no health points restored, although he might be able to reduce future damage thanks to Camouflage. Bout 4: Cretosaurus heals in preparation for a potential onslaught from Megakiity1 who does not yield after being nibbled.
Turn 13 Bouts Table Bout 1 Bout 2 Cretosaurus gains +2VP for remaining in Tokyo Brexitator rolls 2, 2, 3, 3, C, E Cretosaurus rolls 1, 1, 3, C, E, H Brexitator rolls [3, 3] 3, C, H, H Cretosaurus rolls [C, E] C, C, H, H Brexitator rolls: [3, 3, 3] C, C, E Cretosaurus rolls [C, C, C, E] 1, C Brexitator gains 3VP for 3 3s Cretosaurus inflicts 4 damage on all opponents Brexitator inflicts 2 damage on Cyclops who yields Cretosaurus saves 1E for later Tokyo (+1VP) Brexitator buys Energy Drink for 3E Bout 3 Bout 4 Cyclops gains 2E from Battery Monster Cretosaurus rolls 1, C, E, E, H, H Cyclops rolls 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, H Cretosaurus rolls [E, E, H, H] 2, 2 Cyclops rolls [3, 3, 3] 2, 3, C Cretosaurus rolls [E, E, H, H] C, H Cyclops rolls [3, 3, 3, 3] C, E Cretosaurus inflicts 1 damage on Megakitty1 who Cyclops gains 4VP for 4 3s does not yield Cyclops inflicts 1 damage on Cretosaurus who does Cretosuarus heals 3 points not yield Cretosaurus saves 5E for later Cyclops spends 3E on Camouflage
Status Table (italic monster in Tokyo, bold turn is next up) Turn Bout 1 V H E Bout 2 V H E Bout 3 V H E Bout 4 V H E 13 Cyclops 12 3 4 Cretosaurus 8 6 5 (Kevin Lee) (Jim Reader) Cards: Cards: Solar Camouflage Powered 14 Cyclops 5 1 6 Cretosaurus 4 5 0 Megakitty1 4 2 1 Cyclops 7 4 8 (Kevin Lee) (Jim Reader) (Bob Pitman) (Kevin Lee) Cards: None Cards: None Cards: Armor Cards: Energy Plating Hoarder 15 Megakitty1 0 2 0 Cyclops 5 5 1 Brexitator 7 6 3 Megakitty1 2 7 0 (Bob Pitman) (Kevin Lee) (John Walker) (Bob Pitman) Cards: Jets Cards: Rapid Cards: None Cards: Healing Burrowing 16 Cretosaurus 6 6 1 Brexitator 12 7 1 Cretosaurus 3 6 1 Brexitator 10 4 2 (Jim Reader) (John Walker) (Jim Reader) (John Walker) Cards: Even Cards: None Cards: None Cards: None Bigger
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 49
Card Descriptions [Owned by Monsters] Name Type Cost Description Armor Plating Keep 4 No damage when taking exactly 1 damage Battery Monster Keep 3 6E in reserve, move 2 into bank before turn Energy Hoarder Keep 3 get 1V for every 6E in bank at end of turn Media Friendly Keep 2 +1E when buying cards Solar Powered Keep 2 +1E if no E at end of turn Burrowing Keep 5 +1C on roll when in Tokyo, when yielding new monster gets -1H Jets Keep 5 No damage when yielding Tokyo Rapid Healing Keep 3 Spend 2E any time to get 1H Spiked Tail Keep 5 +1C if at least 1C rolled Even Bigger Keep 4 +2H when card bought, can have up to 12H as long as card owned Camouflage Keep 3 Roll die for each H lost, if H rolled do not lose that H Energy Drink Keep 3 Spend 1E to get extra dice roll
Turn 14 Bout 1: Cyclops (Kevin) to play. Cretosaurus (Jim) is in Tokyo. Cards 1-3 on sale, 4-6 reserve. # Name Type Cost Description 1 Tank Discard 4 +4VP -3H 2 Alien Origin Keep 3 Power cards cost 1E less to buy 3 Energy Hoarder Keep 3 Gain 1 VP for every 6E in hand at end of turn 4 Acid Attack Keep 6 Add 1C to roll 5 Poison Quills Keep 3 +2C if 222 or better in numbers 6 Fire Breathing Keep 4 Neighbouring monsters lose 1H if at least 1C rolled
Turn 14 Bout 2: Cretosaurus (Jim) to play. Brexitator (John) is in Tokyo. Cards 1-3 on sale, 4-6 reserve. # Name Type Cost Description 1 Extra Head Keep 7 You get 1 extra die 2 Made In A Lab Keep 2 Can buy cards from reserve 3 Flame Thrower Discard 3 All other monsters -2H 4 Jet Fighters Discard 5 +5VP -4H 5 Nuclear Power Plant Discard 6 +2VP +3H 6 Nova Breath Keep 7 Claws wound all rival monsters
Turn 14 Bout 3: Megakitty1 (Bob) to play. Cretosaurus (Jim) is in Tokyo. Cards 1-3 on sale, 4-6 reserve. # Name Type Cost Description 1 Shrink Ray Keep 6 Give 1 Shrink Ray token to each monster you wound. At the beginning of their turn monsters roll 1 die less for each token. Rolled Hs may be used to remove tokens instead of damage. 2 Giant Brain Keep 5 1 extra dice roll per turn 3 Evacuation Orders Discard 7 All rival monsters lose 5VP 4 Tank Discard 4 +4VP -3H 5 Freeze Time Keep 5 Roll 1,1,1 or more to get extra turn with one less die 6 Apartment Building Discard 5 +3VP
Turn 14 Bout 4: Cyclops (Kevin) to play (+1VP). Megakitty1 (Bob) is in Tokyo. Cards 1-3 on sale, 4-6 reserve. # Name Type Cost Description 1 It Has A Child Keep 7 If you lose all H, lose all VPs and restart on 10H outside Tokyo 2 We're Only Making Keep 3 When you lose 2H or more gain 1E It Stronger 3 Frenzy Discard 7 Take another turn after this one 4 Gourmet Keep 4 2VPs when you roll 111 or better 5 Rapid Healing Keep 3 Spend 2E any time to gain 1H 6 Gas Refinery Discard 6 +2VP all other monsters -3H
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 50
ONLY CONNECT - GAMESTART
Several people said they were up for this so let's get quizzing! The rules are included in VP 185 and (slightly improved) available on the VP website here https://variablepig.org/rules/onlyconnect.html
Remember each player has three shield tokens for the whole game (over three postal turns), Use them wisely!
Pictures are drawn by me (the proud owner of a grade C art O-level)
Connections
We are in the first postal turn so there are two clues for each question and you get 3 points for a correct guess as the connection between the clues. If you guess wrong you are excluded from that question unless you play a shield. So your options are: Pass, guess, and guess with shield.
1) mission impossible; step 2) maya; mana 3) niece; con 4) picture round:
TBA TBA
Sequences
In this round you must deduce what comes fourth in the sequence, starting from just one clue in the first postal turn, A correct guess bags you 5 points, but if you are wrong you are excluded from that question unless you play a shield. So your options are: Pass, guess, and guess with shield.
1) 4: TVH 2) darling 3) picture round:
TBA TBA ?
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 51
Connecting Wall
Wall Dawn Don Cargo
Gravity Sunshine Shoot Moon
Dominion Ian Interstellar Comet
Market Here Brush Pig
The first group everyone must guess includes "Pig". One point for getting the correct four tiles, and one for the connection. Shields cannot be used on the wall until the third postal turn. Next turn the four in the first group (and the connection) will be revealed and a new start square chosen at random.
Missing Vowels
For each of the three questions, you can pass, guess, or guess with a shield. In this case the shield means you do not lose a point for being wrong. To make it harder the theme has had its consonants removed.
Theme: OUAIA
1) RNLS 2) JCBZM 3) STVBK
COSMIC CELEBRITY CRICKET - SEMI-FINALS PART ONE
Semi-Final 1
Teams: The Commentators Nightmare versus Winter is Coming Venue: Old Fartford Pitch Conditions: Old Fartford is currently a "nice pitch for batting" all bowlers -1 Weather: Hot and dry (spin bowlers +1) Toss: Winter is Coming won the toss and elected to bowl first Umpires: B. Johnson and D. Trump
Commentators Nightmare: C Rueangthanarot (c), T Limwannasathian, P Chamratsamee, E Tavlaridis, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrngogogoch, C Mudiyanselage (w), Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, Azpilicuetagaraycosaroyarenberecolarrea, Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä, Pekwachnamaykoskwaskwaypinwanik, Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta
Winter Is Coming: J Lannister, J Snow (c), C Lannister, S Baratheon, Bronn, T Lannister (w), A Stark, T N King, T Hound, D Targaryen, P Baelish Variable Pig – (Casertana) 52
Most of the Flungonians seemed to be supporting Winter Is Coming, but this may be because series 8 of Game of Thrones hasn't quite made it to their planet. Rueangthanarot and Limwannasathian put on a tidy opening stand of 93 finally broken by a fiery delivery from Daenerys. Chamratsamee and Tavlaridis tried to up the scoring rate but both fell cheaply. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrngogogoch was dropped by Stannis leaving things slightly in the Nightmares' favour with 10 to go...
Ball by Ball Over Bowler Balls Notes 1 Hound 1 . . . . . 2 Baelish ...... Maiden 3 Hound H . 1 . 1 . H = possible lbw Hound (23) vs. Lim (25) -> 17 rolled = not out 4 Baelish 3 2 . 1 . 1 5 Targaryen 1 . . . 2 4 Lim gets a four 6 Stark . . . . . 6 Rue hits a six 7 Targaryen . . . 2lb . . Maiden 8 Stark . 2 . . 1 . 9 King nb . 1 3 . . . 10 Baelish 4 . . 2lb 1 H H= possible catch Baelish (23) vs Rue (24) -> 19 rolled = not out 11 King . . . . w . . 12 Baelish 4 . . . . . Rue gets a four 13 Targaryen . 3 . . . 2b 14 Stark . . 1 . . 2 15 Targaryen . 1 . . . 1 16 Stark . 1 . . . . 17 King . . H 1 1 1 H = possible catch (w) King (20) vs Lim (25) -> 19 rolled = not out 18 Hound . . . . . 4 Lim gets a four 19 King . . . 4 . 4 Rue gets a four and another 20 Hound 2 . . . . 1 21 Baelish ...... Maiden 22 Stark . . . 4 . . Rue gets a four 23 Baelish 4 6 . . . . Lim gets a four and a six 24 Stark . ar4 . . 1 . 25 Targaryen . . 1 H . 4 H = possible bowled Targaryen (26) vs. Lim (25) -> 10 rolled = out! Cham gets a 4 26 Hound 4 . 1 . . 1lb Rue gets a 4 27 Baelish . . H1 . . H2 H1 = possible catch (w) Baelish (23) vs Cham (23) -> 5 rolled = out unless wk drops -> 4 rolled Lannister (T) holds the catch = out! H2 = possible catch Baelish (23) vs Tav (22) -> 15 rolled = not out 28 King ar4 4 . 1 . H 50 for Rueangthanarot (all run 4 to bring up 50 followed by boundary) H = possible catch king (20) vs Tav (22) -> 2 rolled = out unless dropped by… Bronn -> 6 then 5 rolled -> catch held = out! 29 Baelish 1lb 2 . 2 6 H Llan hits a 6 H = possible catch Baelish (23) vs Llan (21) -> 12 rolled = out unless dropped by… Baratheon -> 5 then 4 rolled -> catch dropped = not out 30 King . . . . 1 1
Scorecard Rueangthanarot not out 58 Limwannasathian b. Targaryen 43 Chamratsamee c. T. Lannister b. Baelish 4 Tavlaridis c. Bronn b. King 0 Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrngogogoch not out 11 Extras nb 1 b 2 lb 6 w 1 10 Total (30 overs) 126-3 Fall 1-94, 2-104, 3-113 Both teams have 2 reviews left
Bowling: Hound 5-0-15-0 Baelish 8-2-36-1 Targaryen 5-1-17-1 Stark 6-0-22-0 King 6-0-26-1 Variable Pig – (Casertana) 53
Semi-Final 2
Teams: Whovian Supervillains vs. Strictly Cricketly Venue: The Jabber Pitch Conditions: "uneven bouncer" fast bowlers +2, medium +1 Weather: "normal" (no modifiers). Toss: Whovian Supervillains won the toss and elected to bowl first. Umpires: R Rinder and N Owens
Strictly Cricketly: N Kaplinsky (c), J Halfpenny, C Hollins, M Ramprakash, A Dixon, T Chambers (w), L Smith, C Flack, J McGuinness, O Oduba, J McFadden
Whovian Supervillains: T Master, T N Consciousness, T G Intelligence (c), Azal, Davros, T Rani, B Guardian (w), Sil, Weng-Chiang, Rassilon, Omega
The Strictly team went on the attack from the start but the run rate tailed off a bit after they lost a few wickets. Two runouts will be seen as sloppy by manager Walker, though Natasha may well have been put off by The Master changing from Roger Delgado to John Simm and overacting in front of the stumps. The catch by Davros to remove Halfpenny may or may not have been legal but Judge Rinder is always right.
Ball by Ball Over Bowler Balls Notes 1 Sil . . 1 . . 6 Halfpenny hits a six 2 Weng-Chiang 1 3 . 4 . 4 Kaplinsky cracks a four, and another 3 Sil ar4 2 4 . . . Halfpenny scores an all run four and a boundary 4 Weng-Chiang H1 4 1 3 H2 . H1 = possible run out, The Master throws at stumps -> 1 v 6 = out! H2 = possible bowled Chiang (25) vs. Hollins (24) -> 1 = out! 5 Rassilon 1b 4 . . . 1 Ramprakash hits a four 6 Omega 3 . . 2 . . 7 Rassilon . 4 6 1 . . Ramprakash hits a four, then a six 8 Omega . . . . . 1 9 Davros . . H1 H2 3 . possible stumping Davros (22) vs. Ramprakash (23) -> 15 not out possible bowled Davros (22) vs. Ramprakash (23) -> 20 not out 10 Weng-Chiang . . . . 4 . Ramprakash hits a four 11 Davros ar4 2 2lb . 2 . 12 Weng-Chiang . 3 . 1 4 2 Ramprakash hits a four 13 Sil . 4 1 H . . H = run out chance, T N Consciousness -> 1 v 1 = out! 14 Omega . H1 1 . . H2 H1 = possible catch Omega (24) vs Halfpenny (25) -> 1 = out unless dropped by … Davros 4 rolled = out! H2 = possible catch Omega (24) vs Dixon (21) -> 14 = not out 15 Sil . . 4 4 . . Chambers hits a four, and another 16 Omega 4 ar4 . 1 . 3 Dixon gets a 4 17 Rassilon . . 1 . . . 18 Weng-Chiang ...... Maiden 19 Rassilon . 4 3 . . 1 Dixon gets a 4 20 Weng-Chiang . . . 4 . . Chambers hits a four 21 Davros . . 4 1 . . Dixon gets a 4 22 Omega H . . . 1 4 H = possible lbw Omega (24) vs Dixon (21) -> 8 = out unless umpire unsure -> 4 = out! Who review -> 4 = out! Chambers four 23 Davros . 1 . . . . 24 Omega ...... Maiden 25 Sil . nb . . . 2 2 26 Rassilon nb . 1 . . 3 . 27 Sil ...... Maiden 28 Rassilon . . . . . 4 Smith gets a four 29 Davros . 4 . 1 1 . Chambers hits a four 30 Weng-Chiang 4 2 . . . 1 Smith gets a four Variable Pig – (Casertana) 54
Scorecard Kaplinsky run out (Master) 10 Halfpenny c. Davros b. Omega 40 Hollins b. Weng-Chiang 5 Ramprakash run out (Consciousness) 38 Dixon lbw b. Omega 21 Chambers not out 25 Smith not out 20 Extras nb 2 b 0 lb 3 w 0 5 Total (30 overs) 164-5 Fall 1-29, 2-37, 3-96, 4-96, 5-135 Reviews remaining: Whovians 1, Strictly 2
Bowling: Sil 6-1-34-0 Weng-Chiang 7-1-45-1 Rasillon 6-0-33-0 Omega 6-1-24-2 Davros 5-0-23-0
Orders for the final 10 overs from all managers see - https://variablepig.org/rules/cccricket.html
RAILWAY RIVALS - HS2 PRIVATE SECTOR (RR2446HS2) - ROUND 3
The HS2 line near London has yet to be built and this appears to be down to Swampy and a couple of his pals protesting (see picture).
Meanwhile, TGV and SHIRT both make it to Bristol, the latter almost reaching Manchester via a tunnel under the HS2 reserved area (see notes later).
BUM's eastern line now connects the important cities of London and Cambridge, and also *cough* Spalding. BUM is now joined in Leeds by ZIPPY who also reached Manchester (but not via HS2).
SHIRT 3a. [6] (Gloucester) - G29 - G30 - - - D31 - BRISTOL Michael Pargman 3b. [6] (Wolverhampton) - - - - - Stoke (-4 tunnels) Blue 3c. [5] (Stoke) - - - - - I8 BANK: -2 +3 -4(tunnels) -1(interest) = -4
TGV 3a. [6] (Gloucester) - G29 - G30 - - - D31 - BRISTOL Jim Reader 3b. [6] (E31) --- - C30 - - NEWPORT Yellow 3c. [5] (F24) - E24 - HEREFORD; (Coventry) - - - P19 BANK: 39 +3 +6 +3 -3(correction) = 48
ZIPPY 3a. [6] (I4) - J4 - - L3 - M4 - - Leeds Natalie Amery 3b. [6] (F17) - E17 - SHREWSBURY; (Crewe) - G13 - H12 - STOKE; (M4) - HUDDERSFIELD Green 3c. [5] (Preston) - E3 - - G4 - BURNLEY - I4 BANK: 24 +3 +6 +6 +6 = 45
BUM 3a. [6] Z29 - - - London; Z24 - A58 - CAMBRIDGE; Y24 - Y23 Arthur Owen 3b. [6] Y23 - - - PETERBORO - - Y18 - SPALDING Red 3c. [5] EM Interchange -- NOTTINGHAM - - - V13 BANK: 38 +6 +3 +3 +6 = 56
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 55
Notes
- The legend is ambiguous about tunnels - if the cost comes from rolls or balance. I'm not sure what my original intention is but I'm going with balance (Jim and Michael both ordered on this assumption). - I awarded TGV 6 instead of 3 last time for Hereford (half-town on this map) - correction applied. - A map showing the latest builds is available at https://variablepig.org/maps/rr/ingame/RR2446HS2.jpg
Rolls for Round 4: 4a) 4 4b) 4 4c) 3
RAILWAY RIVALS - HONDURAS (RR2449HN) - ROUND 1
In a clean start GTN is set to be first to the capital Teguicalpa.
LLUVIA DE PECES beats RONDAS to Tela and also builds the ferry to Roatan (cost 6 but gets 6 back for connecting the location).
BRR builds west from Catacamas, to the dismay of the 5 passengers wanting to go to La Mosquitia.
On the in-game map I used yellow for Jim's line forgetting he was supposed to be silver (arrr!).
GTN 1a. [5] (Choluteca) - --- - W24 Bob Gingell 1b. [4] (W24) - - - W21 - X20 Black 1c. [4] (X20) - - X18 - W18 - V18 BANK: 20
LLUVIA DE PECES 1a. [5] (La Ceiba) - - - W6 - - U5; buy Roatan ferry (ROATAN) Jim Reader 1b. [4] (U5) - TELA - S5; (W6) - - W8 Yellow 1c. [4] (W8) --- - YORO BANK: 20 -6 +6 +6 +6 = 32
SHIRT 1a. [5] (Santa Barbara) - L11 - M11 - - - P12 Michael Pargman 1b. [4] (P12) - P13 - Q14 - - Q16 Green 1c. [4] (Q16) - - LA PAZ - - S19 BANK: 20 +6 = 26
RONDAS 1a. [5] (Puerto Cortes) - P4 --- CHOLOMO - P6 Arthur Owen 1b. [4] (P6) - EL PROGRESSO; Choloma --- O6 Red 1c. [4] (Cholomo) - S4 -Tela BANK: 20 +6 +6 = 32
BRR 1a. [5] (Catacamas) - - - JUTICALPA - E44 - D44 Brad Martin 1b. [4] (D44) - --- B45 Blue 1c. [4] (B45) - A46 - GUAIMACA - - X14 BANK: 20 +6 +6 = 32
Ingame map showing the latest builds at https://variablepig.org/maps/rr/ingame/RR2249HN.jpg
Rolls for round 2 are: 2a) 4 2b) 6 2c) 4
Variable Pig – (Casertana) 56
Railway Rivals Xanth 2.0 (RR2375XA2) - GAMEEND STATEMENTS
A map showing the final lines is available at https://variablepig.org/maps/rr/ingame/RR2375XA2.jpg
ROGER (GREEN) Congratulations are due to Michael for a very well planned performance. He had the south sewn up, although Arthur did try to get a hold there. From the start I thought that I would proceed without resorting to magic, and it did work until I started losing my trains on a regular basis. When I found the secret tunnel I was well pleased, but I was not able to capitalise on it. Anyway it was a very interesting and amusing map, so I would play it again. Thanks go to Richard for keeping us in control.
I haven't actually "done the maths" for a no-magic option for Xanth. You can build line that avoids the elements, and mystic portals are only needed for a few races, but I think you have to purchase a stock of dragon repellents. The clarification that "the train driver casts the spell with the sound of leathery wings in his ears" rather than having to do it before the race means you only waste the 4 gold if you don't finish in the first two (and of course you can order to not cast the spell at all if your line is not competitive).
MICHAEL (BREXIT) I'm happy that I managed to win this game, despite going through the first couple of rounds without understanding the rules at all.
For round 2 I had understood the importance of Good Magician, and that I had to build there. But I didn't dare to do it immediately, since I still didn't understand what spells I would need and how many.
For round 3 I had finally understood what the one-way bridge really meant, and that I had to get access to one of the other bridges too. I started to plan for how to go across the Main bridge when Green found the Invisible bridge, which made things a lot easier for me.
Since I was late to the North I knew that it was impossible to get into the NorthEast without going through the elements, so I just did it.
I'm very happy with my network and from round 9 when I took over the lead I never really doubted that I would win. It felt like I most often had the shortest route and more races to enter than I was allowed. I decided early on that I should have an abundance of spells so that they should never be the reason for not entering a race. That, together with having a semi-monopoly on two of the isles, made things easy.
Roger on the other hand, took the brave decision to not even build into Good Magician and never buy any spells. I think that was a mistake. In fact, I spent 67 points on spells and still beat him with 60+ points.
Steve had a difficult situation with no real territory of his own, but in the end Roger's lack of spells made it possible for Steve to pass him. Also, Roger kind of gave Steve 2nd place by running race #38. If he hadn't entered that race he would have beaten Steve by one point.
Arthur paid almost 50 to others in parallel builds, but least it was about the same to each of us. Besides building too much parallel builds, he then went on to not use his builds - like not entering race #19 where he would have had the same distance as me.
Thanks to all players for the game and a big thank you to Richard for GM-ing. And I want to give Richard extra credit for his reporting. I really appreciate him publishing the distances of all entrants. That makes things much more clear and easy to follow.
I think the map is a little small for 4 players but in the interests of variety it's good to have a few tight ones. In the main I think the layout is good and the magic areas and spells work well, despite generating many FAQ queries. There is a case for one or two more spells and a few other tweaks. I'll wait for comments from the three-player game before taking action. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 57
Railway Rivals Xanth 2.0 (RR2390XA2) - Round 11
Race 19 saw all three companies having to go round the long way due to the one-way bridge. This gave the Gap Dragon extra time to get into position for a train-swallowing, with STORK's driver using magic to deflect its slavering maw to BIEN's train.
The rest of the races saw all three companies making a decent profit, with races 29 and 31 being very close, others not (STORK rolled 5 and 5 in race 34). BADPUN still has the biggest gold pile by a mile.
BIEN STORK NAKED BADPUN Christian Bien Jim Reader Bob Gingell Orange Green Black DR=0 EP=0 MP=0 DR=2 EP=2 MP=1 DR=2 EP=1 MP=2 19) Isle of View (Sp4) - South Village (53) 0 [27] 10 [28 + DR] 20 [24] [Gap BIEN and STORK] -3 +8 -6 -2 +3 -8 +2 [buy EP] TRAIN EATEN 29) Good Magician (43) - Noname Key 10 [23] 20 [23] (66) -2 [buy DR + 2EP] +2 30) Mount Parnassus (62) - South Village 10 [16] 20 [12] (53) +1 -1 31) Ogre-fen-Ogre (16) - Magic Dust 20 [24] 10 [25 + DR] Village (52) [Gap BADPUN] -1 +2 +1 -2 32) North Village (24) - Mundania (Sp1) 20 [13]
33) Goblins (31) - Castle Roogna (45) 10 [23] 20 [17 + EP] [Gap OK] -1 +1 +2
34) North Village (25) - Black Village (12) 10 [12] 20 [10]
35) Flies (34) - Isle of View (Sp4) 20 [19] -3 +3
Last Turn 218 211 378 Points from Races 62 68 86 Builds 0 0 -2 +2 Spells 0 -12 -4 Points Total 280 267 460
Notes: The (undiscovered) invisible bridge is at W14-W16 All questions so far are summarised in a FAQ at https://variablepig.org/maps/rr/xanthrr.html.
Builds: BADPUN: (Z28) - A64 [+2]; (S18) - Com-Pewter's Cave (cost 2) A map showing the latest builds is available at https://variablepig.org/maps/rr/ingame/RR2390XA2.jpg
The sixth and final set of races is: 36) Gap Village (36) - Castle Zombie (51) 37) Troll Bridge (14) - Mundania (Sp2) 38) Isle of Illusion (Sp3) - Nymphs (64) 39) Elves (32) - Griffins (23) 40) Com-pewters Cave (42) - Vortex (56) 41) Isthmus Village (11) - Faux Pass (41) 42) Centaurs (26) - Ivory Tower (65) Enter up to 4 of the new races, no builds, hope it's magic for you! As ever I will accept game end comments with the R12 orders or next ish when the final result is known. Variable Pig – (Casertana) 58
Railway Rivals - Bolivia (RR2406BO) - Round 8
With race 1 now possible, EVO and CHE both had 24-point lines with CHE edging the dice rolls. In race 8, MONOPOL had the best line to Argentina but had to pay 6 to second place GREEN to get it.
Race 9 was a dead heat between CHE and MONOPOL, and race 10 a chugover for EVO as no rivals could reach Guayaramerin (at the time). Race 11 saw EVO and CHE once again with equal lines and this time EVO came out ahead.
Race 12 was very profitable for GREEN, with his Brazil connection, though the race was certainly short enough for MONOPOL's cheeky entry to spog the 20 (but they didn't).
In race 13, GREEN chose CHE over EVO for a joint run, and then GREEN and MONOPOL tied race 14. EVO had to pay a fee to GREEN to connect to Santa Cruz but that line looks like it could be profitable.
EVO GREEN MONOPOL CHE Bard Martin Roger Trethewey Jim Reader Bob Gingell Blue Green Yellow Red 1) Trinidad (25) - Cobija (11) 10 [24] 20 [24] +5 - 3 -5 +3 8) Magdelena (23) - Argentina 10 [31] 20 [28] 0 [35] (Sp4) -2 +6 +1 +2 -6 -1 9) Villa Montes (65) - 15 [22] 15 [22] Cochabamba (36) 10) Guayaramerin (13) - 20 [37] Potosi (46) 11) Uyuni (61) - 20 [25] 10 [25] Rurrenabaque (21) +3 -4 -3 +4 12) San Jose de Chiquitos (54) 20 [9] 10 [12] - Brazil S (Sp2) +7 -7 13) San Matias (55) - Peurto JR not accepted 10 [38] JR 10 [38] JR Heath (14) 14) Santa Cruz (43) - Oruro 15 [19] 15 [19] (34) +5 +2 -5 -2
Last Turn 110 104 96 78 Points from Races 58 62 47 53 Builds -8 -5 +1 +1 -8 +5 -1 -1 +1 -8 +1 -1 -8 -1 Points Total 157 162 135 122
Builds:
CHE: (F10) ------L7 [-1 EVO] (cost 8) GREEN: (T32) - S32 [-1 MONO]; (Santa Ana del Yacuma) - O13 - N12 - N11 --- M11 - L10 [-1 EVO] (cost 8) MONOPOL: (T31) - - V32 [-1 GREEN]; (P17) - - N16 - - - San Borja - J17 (cost 8) EVO: (N24) - O24 ------V27 [-5 GREEN] (cost 8) A map showing the latest builds is available at https://variablepig.org/maps/rr/ingame/RR2406BO.jpg
The third set of races is: 15. Sucre (45) - Brazil N (S1) 16. Aiquile (44) - Yacuiba (66) 17. Guaqui (31) - Riberalta (12) 18. Santa Ana del Yacuma (22) - San Ingacio de Velasco (53) 19. Puerto Suarez (56) - Tarija (64) 20. Yapacani (26) - El Alto (32) 21. Apolo (15) - Chile (S5) Enter up to 4 new races and build up to 6 points of track Variable Pig – (Casertana) 59
SPACEFILLER CROSSWORD ANSWERS t1 = particles; t2 = prog rock groups (from album titles); t3 = infectious diseases; t4 = Italian car makes
Across 1 [t3] Couple bin a bug spread by fleas (7,6) - BUBONIC PLAGUE - (couple bin a bug)* 8 [t4] Crazy horse blacksmith (7) - FERRARI - (farrier)* 9 Organisation in Dr. Who in which one makes jumpers? (4) - UNIT - sounds like you knit 11 Sound from gold by rainbow star (5) - AUDIO - Au + (Ronny James) Dio 12 Sid goes back to underworld city (3) - DIS - Sid reversed, Dante's Divine Comedy 13 [t1] Fitness centre with frenetic routine (8) - NEUTRINO - fitNess + (routine)* 15 [t1] Picture nitrogen symbolically with this? (6) - PHOTON - Photo + N 17 Odin's wife as played by Russo (6) - FRIGGA - Rene Russo played the goddess in Thor movie 21 [t2] They were clutching at straws (9) - MARILLION - Clutching At Straws album 24 Rock down under (5) - ULURU - Previously Ayers Rock 25 ___ Sharples, character from UK TV show Coronation Street (3) - ENA - from 1960 to 1980 26 In UK parliament, voters against a motion (4) - NOES - as opposed to ayes 28 [t2] Like a zine editor they published images and words (5,7) - DREAM THEATER - Images and Words album 31 Supply with drug joke (5) - EQUIP - E=drug, QUIP=joke 34 Note about (2) - RE - double def 35 World domination game (4) - RISK - Caldicott rolled a 2 and a 3... 36 Band seen at wedding (4) - RING - RING=band 38 [t1] Pounced, we hear (6) - LEPTON - sounds like leapt on 40 [t3] Cause of death: Injected by endless bleach (5) - COVID - C.O.D. with VIm inside 41 Yellow substance made from curried bream (5) - AMBER - (bream)* 43 ___ Speedwagon, US rock group (3) - REO - they took it on the run, baby 44 Mountain goat wrongly thought to be a deer on Millionaire (4) - IBEX - contestant and host both sure it was a deer 45 [t3] Little teletubby gets a kiss (8) - SMALLPOX - SMALL=little, PO=teletubby, X=kiss
Down 2 Biscuit made from oxygen and 43 (4) - OREO - O + REO (cookie rather than biscuit in US) 3 ___ Khan cricketer turned prime minister (5) - IMRAN - he's still PM 4 [t2] Tried in absentia? (9,4) - PORCUPINE TREE - In Absentia album 5 Spanish architect who liked clashing colours? (5) - GAUDI - sounds like gaudy 6 Inventor of light bulb, allegedly (6) - EDISON - Davy? La Rue? 7 [t2] They made moving pictures (4) - RUSH - Moving Pictures album 8 [t4] Let there be Latin (4) - FIAT - FIAT LUX = Let There Be Light 10 Trent's industrial unit (3) - NIN - short for Nine Inch Nails, Trent Reznor's rock group 14 Pasta sauce made from student magazine and uranium (4) - RAGU - RAG + U 16 ___, ___Novel by Piers Anthony (4) - OGRE - Ogre, Ogre was one of many Xanth novels 17 Countdown from Europe (5) - FINAL - Cheesy but good rock song 18 Panic ___, movie starring Jodie Foster (4) - ROOM - 2002 movie 19 [t4] Shakespearian lover preceded by a t1 in the auditorium (4,5) - ALFA ROMEO - Alfa sounds like Alpha, a particle ROMEO=Shakespearian lover 20 [t1] Deep space barman with charm? (5) - QUARK - barman in Star Trek DS9 TV show and charm is one of the four quarks 21 [t4] Maria set off (8) - MASERATI - (maria set)* 22 Spectral colour seen in Puerto Rico (6) - INDIGO - Colour in spectrum, resource in Puerto Rico game 23 Nerds dressing up in jocular play (4) - LARP - hidden work, short for live action role play 27 Famous TV dog, who was often told to get down (4) - SHEP 29 Container for t'emails? (3,3) - TIN BOX - a Yorkshireman's email arrives in t'inbox :-) 30 Letter best stripped (2) - ES - bESt 32 Life force or geeky TV quiz (2) - QI - double def 33 The Man From ___, 1960s TV show (5) - UNCLE - Starring Robert Vaughan and Davis McCallum 37 [t3] Helpers (4) - AIDS - cryptic def 39 Cover returning fool (4) - TARP - prat reversed 42 Black ___, official who opens UK parliament (3) - ROD - knocks on the door with staff
VARIABLE PIG (CASERTANA)
Polar Pig #186 on-the-shelf vol The Celestial Steam Here Be XVI , #55 Locomotive #8 Dragons #41 jim_reader”of”hotmail off-the-shelf”of”Olympus richard530smith"of"btinternet hbdragons”of”btinternet .com .net .com .com
Jim Reader is the editor. Richard Smith does the printing and distribution from the UK and maintains the Variable Pig website https://variablepig.org. The site holds back issues, game rules and RR/BB maps. There is also a Mailing List primarily to notify readers of new issues, which is now hosted on the VP web server. To (un)subscribe go to https://variablepig.org/mailman/listinfo/piggers_variablepig.org.
PIG WAITING LISTS
PUERTO RICO – Brad Martin and John Marsden. 1 – 3 more wanted for new game (Polar Pig). RAIL BARON (Colorado Map) – Jon Carter, Arthur Owen, Brad Martin and Ian Owen. 1 more wanted. (Polar Pig) BROTHERHOOD – Richard Smith, Mike Townsend, Brad Martin and John Walker. 2 more wanted (Polar Pig) RAILWAY RIVALS – Jim’s new Burkina Faso Map. Richard Smith, Bob Gingell, Christian Bien, Brad Martin, Roger Trethewey, Judy Ferguson, Arthur Owen, Geoff Kemp and Michael Pargman. 2 more wanted (Polar Pig) DICE FORGE – New Game. Kev Lee, John Walker and Richard Smith. 1 more wanted (Polar Pig) BREAKING AWAY – Tom Howell, Arthur Owen. 4 more wanted (Polar Pig) ORIGINS OF WWI – Arthur Owen, Brendan Whyte, John Marsden (on-the-shelf) BREAKING AWAY – Jim Reader, Richard Smith, Steve Ham, Chris Hibbert, Roger Trethewey. 1 more needed (on-the-shelf) WHERE IN THE WORLD IS KENDO NAGASAKI? - anyone can join in (on-the-shelf) THE GREAT BRAIN ROBBERY – reoffered boardgame conversion. Bob Gingell 3-5 more wanted (Celestial SL) FEUDALITY – new boardgame conversion – Jim Reader, Bob Pitman. 1 or 2 more wanted (Celestial SL) ONLY CONNECT – several people expressed interest so let’s get quizzing! Gamestart Inside (Celestial SL) NRICH CENTRAL – anyone can join in (Here Be Dragons) BLIND TRIBUTE – Richard Smith, Arthur Owen, Ian Owen Gamestart Inside (Here Be Dragons) RACECRAFT – Richard Smith, Arthur Owen 3-6 more players wanted (Here Be Dragons) LET’S PLAY DARTS – new! Jim Reader 1 more wanted (additional games possible) (Here Be Dragons)
THE DEADLINE FOR VARIABLE PIG (JEJU BLACK) is Friday 9th April 2021
The Jeju.Black ((Korean: 제주흑돼지; RR: Jeju heukdwaeji) is a breed of domestic pig from the island of Jeju in the south of Korea, It is a small, black pig with a narrow snout and unfolded ears. The pork from the Jeju Black is said to have a unique taste and is a key ingredient for many local dishes. It is smoked over burning hay, which gives it an unusual flavour and a chewy consistency. Jeju Black pig - Wikipedia