Pensacola Beach, Florida
February 21 – 24, 2002
Well, it was another incredible Gulf Games. I would have posted sooner, but I was recovering from Ted’s Opening Ceremony game. 🙂
Let me add to the chorus of praises for the hotel. Not only were the rooms large and the place spotless, the staff was both friendly and genuinely interested in the strange things going on in their conference room. It really added to the overall experience.
As usual, there were too many delectable moments to mention in a short note. But here are some highlights I’ll not soon forget:
– Opening up on Wednesday night with Forum Romanum and being thoroughly whipped by BOTH of the Douds boys (they’re tough!);
– Playing one of the best games of KK&K I’ve ever experienced, ending with a deal in which ALL six players got some money (including three who got chump change in response to lame threats);
– A marathon Crokinole tournament game with Charlie against Sarah and Vickie. They took the deciding game as quality finally prevailed, but there were some great shots and unbearably tense moments;
– An hysterically silly game of Muli, featuring bogus Mexican accents and Greg doing an awful Michael Jackson version of ” Billie Jean” every time his mule got to “moonwalk” backwards;
– A great session of Intrige, the nastiest game ever, in which Charlie received bribes totaling $550,000(!) in a single turn (including $250,000 from Lenny, who STILL wound up on the island!);
– A chance to finally play Ty Douds‘ wonderful trick-taking prototype Victory & Honor—it’s a real brain-burner that is easily good enough to be published;
– Getting in my initial playing of no fewer than EIGHT games on Friday, including the three hits of the show: Mexica (new game), Vom Kap bis Kairo (new filler), and 5ive Straight (older game);
– A game of Andromeda in which the “Cosmic Ashtray” repeatedly awarded bases to Rob Wood, despite some amazingly bad odds—by the end of the game, he was stroking and cooing to the device like a newborn;
As usual, I am in awe of the Herculean job turned in by Greg, Vickie, Tim and all the rest. In particular the posters and game-related decorations churned out by Tim and Vickie keep getting better and better. The laid-back organization of these people is also remarkable. To keep running a get-together of this size without a hitch year after year is truly amazing.
Finally, I have to once again acknowledge the friendship and camaraderie exuded by everyone present. Gulf Games isn’t just about playing great games with skilled and enthusiastic opponents—it’s about laughter and smack talk and silliness and sharing these experiences with good, loving people. May this phenomenon of gaming continue until we are all old and gray and may it never lose its special family quality.