GAMING NEWS: A Bactrian Day of Bad Games (17 May 2006)!

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday was the Wednesday get-together again although we missed out on the the big Kahuna... Mr. Michelsohn. Dick was out buying a new car and now he's got it... something to rival Kurt's little supercharged sports number... a Toyota Prius... in red! Mazel Tov, Dick!

The above photo is of the Dick in camel form. He's a were-camel, don't ya know? Watch out for his full moon...

Dick dropped me a note:

Hiya Maks,

Thanks for the note. I picked up my new car last night and had to re-install all the 'stuff' that makes a car driveable. Like hairbrush, towel, emergency blankie, tie-down straps, crankable flashlight, Midnight Oil CD, etc. Its a new Toyota Prius - reduced gasoline costs, reduced insurance premiums, tax credit, refundable warranty program - all the right options for someone who believes gas is not going to get cheaper.

I'll look forward to seeing your blog report on last night's action. I thought about you all last night... but not for too long... you know how new toys can capture your attention. And it's red.

See you soon,
Dick.

When I showed up a little after 5:00pm, Kurt and Dave were neck-deep into a game of Dave's latest acquisition: Carolus Magnus, which looked pretty interesting. Dave also felt that he'd set the theme for the evening, which would be "A Night of Bad Games" and so it was. I modified the theme a bit to include a reference to that paragon of camelian virtue, Kurt... hence the Bactrian reference.

The above photo is of Kurt in natural form... that toothy smile must be why he is so camera-shy. Some people can be soooo self-conscious!

The above photo is of lovely, Sheila, who faithfully guarded Kurt's car all night... or at least until he left to go home and watch cheap soap operas. Kurt says "a real woman knows how to spit." And boy, can Sheila spit with the best of 'em!

The last member of Kurt's family (that anyone has heard of that is) is Kurt's stepson, Stephen. He's a cute little bugger, isn't he?

Camels on the half shell:
- Mrs. Crystal (in a guest appearance): Camel Display Model, widely known for her two-humped figure.
- Msr. Dave: Camel Cultist Mesmerist & former Camel Jockey.
- Mr. Dick (absent): former Camel Jockey & Camel Kiss'in Outlaw.
- Ms. Donna, The Curse of: Sorceress & Short Order Cook.
- Dr. Kimbo: Camel Whisperer & former Camel Jockey.
- Kurt, Sheik Ibn Ali: Camel Racing Sponsor & One Camel Humper (Or was that one-hump camel?).
- Maks (me!): former Camel Jockey & Coiffeur Expert.
- Mr. Mike O'Brien: Camel Masseuse & Washing Boy.
- Todd: Robotic Camel Jockey Technician.

In a sad move, many camel jockeys are being driven out of the sport by... robots. To learn more about the future of camel racing, read more about robotic camel jockeys here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4430851.stm

And for those of you who are both Beach Boys fans and capable of handling a little R-rated humour, check out this humorous video about "the camel's toe." It's sort of like that old Kipling story about the "monkey's paw"... only more visceral:

http://www.mushy.co.uk/movies.htm

Scroll down a bit and look for the movie called "camel toe."

Oh! And we played a few games:

======
1. Carolus Magnus

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/481

Players:
- Dave: Winner!
- Kurt: L.

Dave proved once again in this interesting game that he can consistently win when he's the one explain'in the rules to the others. However, Kimbo points out that if we're too lazy to read the rules for ourselves then we deserve what we have coming. The game had beautiful tiles and pieces and both Kurt and Dave seemed to think that there was good game play inherent to Carolus Magnus.

Kimbo enjoyed playing with the chit sprues. He can spin them from his finger at very high speed. Amazing, Kimbo!

And, oh yeah, Dave won. Mazel Tov, Dave!

======
2. Rocketville

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/21239

Players:
- Dave: 17 WINNER!
- Kimbo: 16 l.
- Kurt: 4 L.
- Maks: 14 l.

Rocketville gained notoriety over at BGG for some of the most obnoxious ads ever created so it was with great trepidation that the gang decided to try out this game... that and Dave was given a free copy.

We pretty much discovered what the hype had been about the game... it sucked. Gameplay was very random with little skill or choice in the game. It was pretty much a random card pull with an occasional decision to try and trump others.

Mazel Tov, Dave on your win!

======
3. King Arthur

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/15167

Players:
- Dave: 28 l.
- Kimbo: 48 WINNER!
- Kurt: 39 l.
- Maks: 24 L.

King Arthur was pretty interesting for one of Dave's "bad games." It was very card-based, but with two separate actions per player turn, there were a lot of choices to be made. Near the end of the game, Kimbo pulled a dirty trick, he publicly exclaimed that the game was lost to him, which, of course, in the weird world of strange game karma, guaranteed that he would win and he did!

Mazel Tov, Kimbo!

======
4. Who's The Ass?

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/11104

Players:
- Dave: 15 +3 + 11 = 29 WINNER!
- Kimbo: 53 + 4 + 0 = 47 L.
- Maks: 68 + 0 + 0 = 68 L.
- Mike: 50 + 16 + 39 = 105 The ASS!
- Todd: 0 + 39 + 16 = 55 L.

Near the end of the evening, the natives became restless and only Kimbo held the answer to our problems in his hand... no, not alchohol, but... Who's The Ass?. It was quickly agreed upon so we set out to play a few rounds and determine who the biggest ass was... (since we already knew the camels among our numbers). When I took the photo above, I was pretty pleased that I was going to get a dignified and tough shot of Mike... instead I got a mug shot. Sorry, Mike! We can't all be beautiful all of the time... What's that old saying... you can fool some of the people some of the time...

Todd used his best "snake juice smile and guile" to secure an early lead. After that, it was knife fight with Todd and Mike being clearly out of the game. Kimbo pulled out all his tricks, but he forgot to publicly exclaim that the game was lost to him so... he lost. Maybe that trick only works once a night or so?

And... in the end of ends, Dave pulled it off AGAIN. Mazel Tov AGAIN, Dave!

======

I left around 7:30pm and so did one or two of the others so I imagine that it was an early night at A-1 Comics.

And guess who took the best picture of the evening? Todd!

Nice picture, bro! That's the smile you use when you sell used cars, right?

Seriously, yesterday was a pleasant evening out with friends, the kind we all like to have.

Have a great week!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
This is what I look like in camel form. Sorceress Donna was a bit upset with me for the nickname I gave her a few weeks ago during the Clue / Save Dr. Lucky episode. Here I prove both that I need to get haircuts more often and that a good looking camel, um fellow, like me can impersonate Elvis with the right amount of gumption... and pomade.