The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design (Various)

In The Kobold Guide to Board Game Design, various industry insiders (including Richard Garfield, Steve Jackson, and others) present a series of essays on various game topics, grouped into four sections: concepting, design, development, and presentation.  A wide range of topics is presented, including things like how to get your game published.  Below are some thoughts I found valuable and worthy of presentation.

What is a game?
"A game is an interactive mathematical system, made concrete, used to tell a story."  In this definition,
interactive mathematical system = rules
made concrete = components
story = theme

Reasons for playing games
Broadly speaking, we play games for socialization, the challenge, and as a hobby.  Additionally, we want to be part of a story- participating in what happens, even if we aren't victorious.

Characteristics of games
Games should be or have:

• fun
• Part of this is having (and understanding) options without knowing for certain the correct solution.
• a compelling theme
• You should want to play.
• immersive
• Players are participating in a story and should feel as such.
• well-paced
• Using the story analogy, a game should have three acts and be paced appropriately:
• The first act draws the battle lines.
• The second is the meat of the game.
• don't kick a player out before the game is over, and don't overly reward the leader.  If players have certainty of defeat, the fun is diminished.
• The third is the push for victory.
• include 'inherent deceleration'- make it harder to win as the finish line approaches.
• intuitive
• Metaphor (theme) and mechanics (rules) should be present and harmonious.
• After all, a game without mechanics is a story or thought experiment.  A game without a metaphor is a math problem or puzzle
• interactive
• Players should be have some degree of influence in others' activity (but not too much)
• simple
• Which includes being easy to learn and quick to set up (called "immediacy of play").
• strategy
• Making meaningful decisions, potentially given limited information
• You want to have interesting decisions.  Ones that are easy to make, but not with obvious solutions.  (You can do this using randomizers like dice rolls.)
• luck
• Something beyond anyone's control, giving everyone a chance regardless of good (or bad) decisions.  This also mimicks the unpredictable reality of life, granting an element of the unknown that is both mystifying, maddening, and satisfying.
• replayable
• Even if you're quite skilled (which allows you to know the correct choice in a given situation), provide many paths to/strategies for victory.

Writing good rules
Rules are extremely important- and layout of the rule book is, too.  Michelle Nephew recommends the following layout:
Overview, Components, Setup, Gameplay, Card types (if applicable), Endgame or winning condition, Examples/hints/optional rules & variants, Glossary, Credits

General tips on designing and publishing
If you want to design a game, play lots of them.  The experience will hone your own design abilities and help guide your approach.

If you want to publish a game, you must be prepared for every aspect.  Make the prototype professional (without going overboard- it will get changed as part of the development process).  You should playtest MANY times in different audiences.  The rules need to be solid.  You should know your game, know your audience, know what publishers to approach, understand the publishing process, and more.  You should understand that it is not just your game- you will require a team of diverse perspectives to bring out its full potential.


Review
This book is a mixed bag.  There's a lot of good information in it, and I particularly enjoyed the discussion on strategy vs. luck.  On the downside, some of information presented is obvious.  The writing varies and is generally sub-par.  The book could be condensed to an essay (like I summarize above) without loss of content.  It's a quick read, so it's not bad . . . but I suspect (or hope?) there are better out there.

Rating: B-

Jesus & the Old Testament

image from here

Throughout Christianity's history, numerous people (within and without the Church) have argued that the God in the Old Testament (OT) is markedly different from the God in the New Testament (NT).  The claim, simplified, is that "God in the OT judged and punished; Jesus in the NT loved and forgave."  This has led some people- who believe in Jesus- to reject the OT altogether.  We see it first in history with Marcion, who felt Jesus' teaching was incompatible with the OT.  Marcion wanted to throw out the OT altogether, and there are Christians today who agree with him.  But what does the Bible itself say?

Jesus is the fulfillment of the OT (Luke 24:44-48).  It's therefore not surprising that we see Him appeal to it regularly during His ministry.  In the NT, we see the direct words of Jesus in the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).  Some versions of the bible put His words in red.  You can skim all four Gospels in an afternoon, and it is remarkable how many times Jesus refers to the OT.  He quotes specific passages, mentions personalities and events, and refers the collection as a whole (calling it "the scriptures" or "the law and the prophets," two of the OT's traditional divisions).  My list below summarizes these references.

Matthew

• Jesus quotes passages found in Genesis (1 time), Exodus (6 times), Leviticus (3), Deuteronomy (8), Psalms (5), Hosea (2), Malachi (1), Zechariah (1), Isaiah (3)
• Mentions “law and prophets” at least 3 times
• Mentions Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Elijah, Sodom, David, Jonah, Nineveh, Solomon, Isaiah, Moses, and Abel
• Says things like 
• “have you not read?”, “you know neither the Scriptures nor …”, “scriptures be fulfilled”

Mark

• Quotes passages found in Genesis (2), Exodus (2), Leviticus (1), Deuteronomy (2), Psalms (3), Isaiah(2), Zechariah (1)
• Mentions Moses, David (priest-food situation), Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
• Says things like
• “have you not read this Scripture”, “it is written”, “But let the Scriptures be fulfilled” (14:49b)

Luke

• Quotes passages found in Exodus (1), Deuteronomy (4), Isaiah (4), Malachi (1), Psalms (3)
• Mentions Elijah, Elisha, Moses, David, Jonah, Solomon, Lot, Noah, Abel, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
• Says things like
• “it is written” or “said” (6 times)
• 16:16- the law and the prophets were until John; since then the good news …
• Written in law- says Deut., Lev. Is correct
• “scripture must be fulfilled”
• Slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

John

• Quotes passages found in Isaiah (1), Psalms (2), indirectly Zechariah
• Mentions Moses and Abraham
• Says things like
• 5:39- you search the scriptures . . . it is they that bear witness about me
• As it is written, As the scripture has said, In your law it is written
• 10:34- is it not written in your law (and then quotes Psalms)
• The scripture will be fulfilled, The word that is written in their law must be fulfilled

It is clear that the OT is vital to Jesus.  And it should be- it points to Him.

As you'd expect, the apostles (Jesus' close followers and witnesses) echo this importance.  Time precludes me from an exhaustive survey, but throughout the NT, the apostles refer to multiple passages in the OT, including:

• Stephen's speech in Acts 7, which summarizes much of Jewish history
• Philip discussing a book in the OT and how Jesus is the fulfillment of it (Acts 8:26-40)
• Paul's reasoning in Acts 13:13-44, similar to Stephen's speech as it walks through OT history
• The Berean citizens, in Acts 17:10-11, examine the scriptures [the OT] to investigate apostolic claims about Jesus
• Paul's comment about scripture (the OT) in general in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:
• All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
• James' exhortation to be doers of the word, and not hearers only (James 1:22-25)
• Note: James may be speaking to the oral teaching about Jesus in addition to the written OT; but he's clear on the importance of the OT (see James 2:18-26)
• Peter quotes scripture multiple times in his letter (1 Peter 1:24, 2:6-8, 3:10-12)
• Aside: in 2 Peter 3:15-18, Peter mentions Paul's words as well as other scriptures.  Since there was now NT as a collection at this time, 'scriptures' meant OT.  But, it's clear from this passage that the NT apostles' words had authority and were to be treated as authoritative.

Conclusion
The Old Testament matters to Christians.  The Bible is a story, and ignoring the OT means we must ignore much of the NT also, as it completes and fulfills what began in the OT.  It's all or nothing.

The History of the Ancient World (Susan Wise Bauer)

The History of the Ancient World is volume 1 of Susan Wise Bauer's trilogy.  She covers from the earliest accounts to ~AD 300.  The bulk of the work is on nations/empires in Mesopotamia (including Sumeria, Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Parthia) and bordering the Mediterranean (including Egypt, Macedonia, Greek city-states, Rome). China and India are also given short treatments.  Other regions aren't covered at all, presumably because our sources for ancient history are limited (not everyone had written records or left enduring artifacts enabling us to reconstruct their past).

Like her second volume, this is a good overview.  It's mostly political, chronicling the rise and fall of empires.  Her writing is good, succinct, easy to follow, and peppered with amusing asides.  As with any history of this era, she has to speculate at times, but she does a good job balancing views and accounting for bias in the source material.  What I appreciated most, interestingly, is how she gave different events in the Old Testament a historical context.  This is another winner.

Rating: A

Risen

Happy Easter!  Today, Christians around the world celebrate Jesus' resurrection from the dead, three days after being crucified.  It's thus appropriate to watch Risen, the 2016 release which looks at the manhunt that [probably] ensued after this miracle.

During His ministry, Jesus claimed to be God and predicted His execution.  He also claimed that He would rise from the dead on the third day.  The Jewish leaders, knowing this, had His tomb guarded (see Matthew 27:62-28:15).    On the third day, the body disappeared.  Though Biblical accounts (and, as far as I know, no other narratives) don't discuss a manhunt for Him, it makes sense that one would occur- both Jewish religious leaders and Roman city administrators would want to avoid the potential havoc such a miracle could cause.  Risen is the film that speculates on what such a manhunt would look like.  The Roman in charge of the investigation can't come to grips with what he eventually sees . . . can it all be true?

This is a decent film.  Though unnecessarily cheesy in places (alas, a common problem with Christian films), it still has value in showing what those days after the resurrection could have been like.  And it does draw much material from Scripture- particularly the several apostolic encounters with Christ.

For Christians, Jesus' resurrection means everything.  As Paul says, "if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile" (see 1 Corinthians 15:12-19).  He is risen; we rejoice.

Rating: B

Welcome Back to the Dungeon

Today's game review is of the 2016 release, Welcome Back to the Dungeon.  For 2-4 players, it plays in 30 minutes.

Overview
Welcome Back to the Dungeon is the stand-alone sequel to (wait for it) Welcome to the Dungeon.  The goal is to take one of four adventurers into a monster-packed dungeon and come out alive.  Each adventurer has six pieces of equipment, each granting a special ability (like slaying certain monsters or giving you Hit Points- HP).  But it's unlikely that they'll enter the dungeon fully prepared . . . for each round, players will bid on who enters the dungeon by successively adding monsters or removing equipment.  Will you press your luck and enter, or let someone else chance it?

one adventurer with associated equipment tiles (image from here)

Simplified Gameplay
The game is played over several rounds.  For each round, choose one adventurer with associated equipment tiles and lay him/her out on the table.  Each round has two phases:

1. Bidding phase
In the bidding phase, you either:
   a. Draw a card (from the monster deck) and look at it; put it face-down in the dungeon pile OR in front of you; if you do the latter, take an equipment tile of your choice and put it on top of the monster
   b. Pass your turn (you no longer participate in the round)

Once every player but one has passed, the phase ends.

2. Dungeon phase
The player who did not pass enters the dungeon, starting with the equipment and number of HP indicated by the remaining tiles.  Reveal a monster one at a time, defeat it if possible or lose HP equal to the monster's strength.  Continue until either there are no more monsters (congrats- you get a success card!) or your HP is zero.

Then the next round begins.  The monster deck is re-shuffled, a new adventurer is chosen (the same can be used repeatedly if desired), and play continues until one player has two success cards OR everyone but one dies (if a player dies twice, they're out).

Review
This game (and its predecessor) gets good reviews.  It's a press-your-luck game, pure and simple.  During the bidding phase, you have to try to make the dungeon hard by adding monsters or removing equipment (so others don't get an easy win), but not too hard (so you don't die, if you get stuck entering it).  You know only the cards you've placed in the dungeon, so finding the sweet spot is an educated guess.

Though it plays fast and is enjoyed by many, I prefer games with more depth and less 'gambling.'  Once the player is determined, they (probably) don't have a lot of options to defeat the monsters they encounter, which makes the bidding phase dominate the game (perhaps that's intentional).  More variety on the dungeon phase would improve this experience.

Rating: B-

Ultimate Werewolf

Today's game review is of the 2008 release, Ultimate Werewolf.  For 5-68 players (yes, you read that right), it plays in 30-90 minutes.

Overview
At its most basic, your goal is to be part of the last team standing.  One person must be moderator and run the game; the others are each dealt a card with a role (werewolf, villager, seer, or other roles).  This card is kept secret unless otherwise stated.  The goal for the werewolves is to achieve parity (equal number of werewolves & non-werewolves); the goal for the villagers is to hunt down and destroy all werewolves.  Who will prevail?

Simplified Gameplay
The game is played in sequences of 'night' and 'day.'  The moderator runs each aspect.

During the first night,
- all players close their eyes
- the werewolves open their eyes, look around, and close their eyes
- the seer opens his/her eyes, looks around, points to a player; the moderator secretly indicates to the seer whether that player is a villager or werewolf
- the seer closes his/her eyes
- all players open their eyes, and a day begins

During the first day,
- all players open their eyes
- without revealing roles, people debate and (eventually) choose someone in the village to kill

Of course, werewolves will try to convince the villagers to kill one of their own; villagers need to off a wolf.  Since roles are secret, this is a psychological game, and one entirely up to the players discussing.  The seer has inside knowledge, but can't come across as too confident, lest the wolves figure out who it is and kill him/her in subsequent nights (see below).  [Other roles, not discussed here, add further flavor and variety to the game.]  If more than half the players vote to kill someone, that person's card is revealed, and they sit the rest of the game out.

During subsequent nights,
- follow the aforementioned night procedure, with the addition that werewolves choose someone to kill after opening their eyes and looking around

During subsequent days,
- follow the aforementioned day procedure, with the addition that the role of the person just killed the previous night is revealed

Play continues until one group has met its victory condition.

Review
Two things make this party game unique: the number of players who can participate, and the largely unstructured nature of the game.  The latter has a strong psychological and personality-based component; the right group of people will have a blast, but timid or shy folks might find this game stressful.  Basically, the day phases make or break the game: someone generally kicks things off by accusing someone else of being a werewolf and seeing how they react.  The dynamics of the ensuing conversations could be hilarious or boring based on the group.

While I enjoyed the times I played this, I don't think it will remain in my collection.  It's best played with significant numbers- a rare situation these days, with young children.  And other party games- like Bang!- are, in my opinion, more entertaining and less psychological.  It's a good concept, overall, but not my favorite.

Rating: B-

Elfenroads

The 2015 Elfenroads release is three games in one package: Elfenland, Elfengold, and Elfensea.  Today's review is of Elfenland.  For 2-6 players, it plays in 45-90 minutes.

Overview
You are a young elf about to undertake the rite of passage to adulthood.  Your goal: visit as many towns in Elfenland as possible.  The challenge: you'll have to use many different types of transportation (dragons, unicorns, giant pigs, elfcycles, magic clouds, ferries, rafts), as the roads connecting the towns cross varying terrain (plains, woods, desert, mountains, river/lake) and permit only certain 'vehicles'.  The card below shows which means of transport can cross which types of terrain, with associated costs to do so (for example, a dragon costs 2 cards to travel over woods, but 1 to travel over anything else).

taken from the rulebook, available here

Since the goal of the game is visiting as many regions as possible, this game is all about efficient transportation.  You'll use Travel Cards to pay to use roads; the method of transportation allowed on a road (and thus, the type of Travel Card you'll need to pay) is determined by which Transportation Counter is on that road on a given turn (see the next section for more information).  You can't traverse a road at all if it doesn't have a Transportation Counter on it.

the game map; image from here

Simplified Gameplay
The game is played in three rounds, where each round has six phases:

taken from the rulebook

In a given round, each player takes turns and:
1. Draws 8 Travel Cards
    - in the first round; in subsequent, each player draws back up to 8
2. Draws a Transportation Counter and keeps it secret
3. Draws 3 more Transportation Counters and keeps them face-up
    - players can draw from the five face-up Transportation Counters or from the face-down pile
4. Plans Travel Routes by placing Transportation Counters face-up on roads
    - only one Transportation Counter can be on a road; this indicates what vehicle may use the road
    - Transportation Counters must be legally placed (example: a giant pig can't be on a desert road)
    - players are not obligated to place Counters; they can choose to pass
5. Moves his elf boot to as many cities as possible
    - players can traverse only roads that have Transportation Counters on them
    - players traverse roads by paying the appropriate type and number of Travel Cards
    - players can visit more than one city if they have the Travel Cards to pay for multiple roads
    - example: if a giant pig Transportation Counter is on a road in the woods, the player can traverse that road by paying (discarding) one giant pig Travel Card
    - when a player visits a city, he/she takes his 'town piece' from that city
6. Finishing the round,
    - turn in all unused Transportation Counters except one
    - remove all Transportation Counters from the board
    - the next round begins (go to phase 1), unless three rounds have been played

game in progress; image from here

The player with the most town pieces at the end of three rounds wins!

Review
I have mixed feelings.  The game is by Alan Moon, who later designed the excellent Ticket to Ride.  I see similarities between the two (goals, varying transportation flavors & costs).  Elfenland is a touch more restrictive than Ticket to Ride, and perhaps not as satisfying.  Your drawn Travel Cards are random, and some (or all) of your Transportation Counters are, too.  Since you must "match" them to travel, that amount of chance can leave you in a bind through no fault of your own (though to be fair, you can make use of opponents' Transportation Counters, so that can offset the problem).  And wow, can opponents destroy your chances by placing one simple obstacle.  The map and theme are fun, though, and despite my reservations, something does keep drawing me back to this game.  It's also neat to have two more games (Elfensea and Elfengold) in the box.  Ticket to Ride is better, but this is pretty fun, too.  The game rules can be downloaded here.

Rating: B+

Canon

image from here

The below is a transcript of a talk I plan to give at an upcoming retreat.  The quotes below are taken from FF Bruce or Bruce Metzger; some general thoughts are credited to the same.  Their books- and summaries of them- are presented below.

The Canon of Scripture

INTRODUCTION
The canon of scripture refers not to divine artillery, but rather the collection of texts we receive and recognize as authoritative, the measuring stick of our belief and behavior. We call it the Bible- here's how it came to be.

OLD TESTAMENT
Remember that from the beginning, the Christian Church possessed a canon of sacred writings. In those days, it was referred to as the Scriptures or by its traditional divisions- the law, the prophets, and the writings. Today, we call it the Old Testament. This collection of Hebrew and Aramaic texts had been used for centuries and was well established by Jesus’ day. To Jews, these writings had authority. Jesus Himself “regularly appealed to the Hebrew scriptures [both specific passages and the collection as a whole] to validate his mission, his words and his actions.” Indeed, he is the fulfillment of them (Luke 24:44). And in debates, scripture was the common authority, acknowledged even by His opponents. So Christians accept the Old Testament because Jesus did.

Were the exact boundaries of the Old Testament canon established during Jesus day? We think so. Three books- Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs- were discussed at a council in Jamnia in AD 70, but the debate concerned their right to remain in the canon, and of course they did.

APOCRYPHA
Some Churches recognize an additional collection, called the apocrypha. This was because the Septuagint, a widely-used Greek translation of the OT, had come to include books not found in the original Hebrew canon. Because these extra books had become tradition, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches accept them. Because they were added later, most Protestant Churches do not.

NEW TESTAMENT
On to the New Testament. Christians, by definition, follow Jesus as Lord. Jesus left no written record, but His words and deeds were witnessed by a select group called the apostles, to whom He granted understanding (Mark 4:11, Luke 24:45), authority, and the command to teach others (Matthew 28:20). The apostles and some of their close companions would produce a new set of writings, which were collected and would become the New Testament.

Most NT books were written before AD 70* and received without dispute as authoritative. And yet, the early Church did not think much about a new canon, perhaps due to a strong cultural preference for oral tradition left by the apostles. Attitudes changed about 100 years later- in the second century- when heretics (like Marcion and Montanists) and popular movements (like Gnosticism) encouraged the early church fathers to start explicitly listing books received as authoritative. Though produced from diverse cultures and backgrounds, it is remarkable how similar their lists were. 20 of the 27 NT books were accepted universally; the remaining 7 (Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 & 3 John, Jude, Revelation) were accepted by some but not others. These were debated largely due to questions of authorship (apostolic or not?), though orthodoxy (agreement with accepted texts) and consensus among churches also played a role.

In 367, Athanasius was the first to articulate the NT canon as we have it today. Within decades, Jerome and Augustine’s concurrence would cement the collection. At that point the canon was considered closed and seldom discussed for over 1000 years, until the Reformation revisited earlier uncertainties about those 7 NT books. The reformers left it unchanged, however, because they recognized an important truth: The Church does not have authority over the Scriptures; the Scriptures have authority over the Church.

NT APOCRYPHA
As with the OT, there were other writings from this era that were ultimately not accepted as canon and called apocryphal. In general, these works are clearly inferior theologically and historically to the canonical accounts. Some have obvious problems like late authorship or false teachings (like denying the OT). Others are simply amalgamations of verses from canonical works. Some are even antagonistic, perhaps due to competing philosophical influences of the day. In short, these "books excluded themselves from the canon."

CHAPTERS & VERSES
As an aside, the books of the canon have been set for centuries, but the presentation has changed- chapters were added ~AD 1200, and verses ~1550. Though such numbering makes locating passages easier, some argue these additions encourage de-contextualization and misinterpretation.

CONCLUSION
Though grounded in evidence and history, the canon of Scripture is ultimately a statement of belief. As we believe individual books were inspired by God, so too we believe the assembling of the collection was from the Lord. As the Reformers found, doubting the canon can reveal the human tendency to put personal preference (and cultural bias) above the word of God. So “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8a), “for the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12a)


Resources

Two books set the standard in discussions of canon:

• Bruce, F.F. The Canon of Scripture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997. (Summary)
• Metzger, Bruce. The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance. Oxford: Clarendon, 2009. (Summary)

Two free online pdf documents are quick and valuable reads:

• Haykin, Michael A.G. The Canon of the New Testament. Originally published in the The Fellowship for Reformation and Pastoral Studies Vol. 29, No. 7.  March 2001.
• Keating, Cory. The Criteria Used for Developing the New Testament Canon in the First Four Centuries of the Christian Church. December 2000.

In many ways, the New Testament validates the Old.  See my blog post here for a summary of the argument.

*approximate dates of authorship for all NT books

Carcassonne

Continuing to look at popular board games, today's review is of the 2000 release, Carcassonne.  For 2-5 players, it plays in 30-45 minutes.

Overview
Carcassonne is a tile placement game.  Each tile has a piece of landscape on it- monastery, road, city, field (and sometimes, combinations thereof).  Through successive tile placement, players create and expand a region consisting of many roads, towns, etc.  Tiles must be legally placed, which means:
- they must be adjacent to existing tiles, and
- they must continue the existing landscape (so a road tile must be placed adjacent to an existing road,  a city segment next to a city, etc.)

The goal, of course, is scoring the most points.  Points are scored with meeples, which are small wooden people you can place on your turn.  Meeples can be placed standing up on unoccupied* roads, in unoccupied towns, on monasteries, or lying in unoccupied fields.  They score points as follows:
- road (complete or incomplete): 1 point for each road tile in a road segment
- completed city: 2 points for each city tile in a city (+2 points for each coat of arms in that city)
- incomplete city: 1 point for each city tile in a city (+1 point for each coat of arms in that city)
- monastery: 1 point for each tile surrounding the monastery (including itself)
- lying in fields: 3 points for each adjacent completed city

A 2-player game in progress; image from here

If you have meeples on roads, in cities, or on monasteries that are completed during the course of the game, you score points and get your meeple back immediately- so you can use it again later!  Completed means:
- roads: both ends terminate in an intersection (or loop) or at a city (or monastery)
- city: it is completely enclosed by a wall
- monastery: it is completely surrounded by 8 tiles


Simplified Gameplay
Each turn, you:
- draw and place a tile
- if possible and desired, place one of your meeples in a legal area on the tile you just laid
- if applicable, score meeples on any completed roads, cities, or monasteries

Play proceeds clockwise until no more tiles are in the draw pool.  Then, score meeples in incomplete roads/cities/monasteries, score them in the fields, and see who wins!

Review
Carcassonne is a good game.  I get why it, like Catan, is so popular.  It's easy to understand, full of depth, and plays quickly.  The only bad thing is the luck component- you're at the mercy of what tile you draw on your turn.  That aside, this is a winner.

Rules can be found here.

Rating: A-

*'unoccupied' means no other meeples are present on a continuous segment.  So if you expand an existing road, and a meeple is already on an existing road segment, you cannot place a meeple on the newly-placed road segment.

A Curious Engagement

image from here

Twelve years ago today, she said yes.  Then the pope died.  Read on for more.

On April 2, 2005, my girlfriend and I were visiting friends and family at our alma mater, Penn State.  The trip was special- it was always nice to see the place we had called home as recently as two years prior, but this time, I also planned to propose!

The plan was simple:
1. take a morning stroll through downtown
2. stop in the comic book store to pick up a new Star Wars Miniatures release
3. walk by the gazebo on west campus where we had often hung out
4. deliver an eloquent and beautiful message, finishing with ring presentation
5. welcome into my arms an ecstatic and breathless fiancee
6. enjoy an afternoon collectively lost in a romantic fog
7. meet family for dinner to enjoy a chorus of congratulations and ring adoration

Aside: why comic book store, you say?  Being quite excited, I felt a way to mask it was to talk up the new Miniatures release, and make her think my awkward behavior was due entirely to anticipation of that.  <she saw through it, of course>

My plans were dashed early on by rain.  Steps 1 & 2 happened without incident, but when we walked by the gazebo, she refused to go in.  It was raining and the gazebo was surrounded by wet grass . . . I understood.  But I pressed the matter; several attempts to get inside were rebuffed, so we kept walking.  "No big deal," I thought.  "I'll do it somewhere else.  I have plenty of time."

As the day progressed, I sought opportunities to propose.  There were none.  We went to the mall . . . the luggage section of Bon-Ton didn't seem suitable.  We went other places . . . no dice.  I started to get nervous.  We were supposed to be engaged by now, and the ring was burning in my pocket.  Plus, remember step 7?  My family knew I was proposing . . . if they didn't see a ring, they'd assume a negative response, might react poorly, and we'd probably all end up on Jerry Springer.  What was I to do?

I'm not proud of what happened next.  I managed to hide the ring in the glove compartment of my car (Gold 1 . . . long may you ride).  As we pulled into Olive Garden for lunch, I asked her to get something for me from said compartment.  She saw the ring, I stumbled through a proposal, and she said yes.  We strolled into lunch happy.  Then I explained my original plan.  My fiancee quietly reflected at first, but once back in the car . . .

"You should have made me go to the gazebo."  Of course I had tried several times, and noted as such.  Apparently, it wasn't enough.  "I would have gone if you had been persistent."  "I was persistent," I retorted.  The exchange continued in like fashion, with my fiancee claiming I could have convinced her, while I countered that her obstinance would have made that unlikely (to avoid complete discord, I don't think I worded it in quite that way).  We ended with a plan: we drove back to the gazebo and I proposed properly.  All was good . . . or so I thought.

Every woman wants a nice proposal, and I had messed up.  My fiancee, though not angry, was disappointed with my apparent inability to deliver a romantic experience (12 years later, this is still a  problem).  We continued our day as she thought on this.  Thankfully, we then learned that Pope John Paul II had just passed away.  (I was thankful for the distraction, not the event itself.)

That evening, we met my family for dinner, and all appeared well.  Then Sunday came.  The pastor opened his sermon with the following, which I can quote verbatim 12 years later for reasons that will be obvious: "If I had known how many times my proposal story would be told, I would have planned it much better."  Thanks, buddy . . . a day late on that one.

I am a blessed man.  We've been married for almost 12 years, have three wonderful (if belligerent) children, and she's more beautiful and amazing than the day we met (at least one of us is aging well).  But both of us wish we could get that day back- with same outcome, but better delivery.  It's not just what you do, folks . . . it's how you do it.  Delivery matters.