Derailed

So, like most of the cube’s crew, I’ve not been updating recently.  My excuse?  I only have so much energy that I’m willing to put in on work that I don’t absolutely have to do.  I am, as of this posting and some time before it, waaay over that line.  Being a nerd (which is socially acceptable now, I guess) and enjoying table top gaming (which still isn’t) I have been woefully deprived of a favorite past-time of mine since moving up to Kansas City.  I rather enjoy having a built in excuse to hang out with a bunch of my friends and bullshit each week.  Bonus: add in some escapism and the chance to blow off some steam through interactive fictional violence, and gaming is numero uno on the list of things to do in my free time.  Tragically, since the move, gaming buddies have been a bit scarce.  Then, a few weeks ago, Brenna and I went to Weston for no other reason than we were on the right highway and had nothing better to do.  We ended up in the pub for dinner and called Jessie to see if he’d like to join us.  He did, and lo and behold, he also missed the opportunity to game once in awhile.  So after some consideration He, Brenna, and I decided on a fantasy game and that I would GM.  Normally I despise GMing, but agreed because it would at least mean we get to play once in awhile (and that after this campaign I could say it was someone else’s turn).  Surprisingly, I have found myself thoroughly enjoying my role, and spending quite a bit of effort on prep work for the game.  Most recently I have spent most of my time not sleeping or working on designing a true old-school style dungeon, complete with traps, puzzles, montsters, and of course loot.  I’m still not done, but last night they began the dungeon, and seem to be enjoying themselves.  So, while I am still working on this thing (thirteen pages of notes and maps as well as over twenty quick refrence monster cards so far) my spacklecubingmay continue to suffer, please bear with me.  But to appease my (very small) audience, and postpone falling into no-post limbo, I have decided to put forth something that I had been thinking about, apropos of nothing.  Here it is:

Minor league teams tend to have more awesome logos than their major league counterparts.

My opinion, and my evidence, tell me what you think.

I have pieced together the rules from various sources into a set that I think will be simple and easy to use without sacrificing the natural complexity and strategy of the game.  I propose that these be used as the official house rules in our games from now on.  Also if they remain posted here they will be easily accessible during the game.

Columbia Amateur Mahjong Players House Rules

Introduction to the pieces:

Coins or dots:

Each coin or dot represents a copper coin with a square hole in the center.

Bamboo or sticks:

Each piece of bamboo or stick (except for the first) represents either a hollow tube of bamboo filled with one hundred coins, or a string of one hundred coins capped by bamboo on each end.  The “One of Bamboo” piece is usually depicted as a bird.

Characters:

Each Character represents ten thousand coins, or one hundred strings of one hundred coins.

Wind Tiles:

Dragon Tiles:

Season, Flower, and Labor Tiles:

These tiles are considered optional, but the Season and Flower tiles will be used as part of these house rules.

Tiles One and Nine of each suit are known as “Terminals”, while tiles Two through Eight are  “Simple”.

Winds and Dragons are known collectively as “Honor Tiles”.

Set up:

First each player draws a wind tile.  This determines thier chair.  The chairs are arranged like this:

All 144 used tiles are placed upside-down on the table and shuffled.  Then each of the four players takes 36 tiles and builds a wall 18 tiles long by two tiles high.  These walls are then arranged in he center of the table in a square.  The player who is in the East position rolls two dice, then counts around the wall in a counter-clockwise direction using himself as “one” untill reaching the sum of the dice roll.  This determines the wall that will be broken.  The player whose wall will be broken then rolls two dice and counts along top pieces of the the wall from right to left untill reaching the sum of the dice.  This determines where the wall will be broken.  That player then seperates the wall at the indicated position.

The Dead Wall: The dead wall is the first 14 tiles to the right of the break.  It is always 14 tiles, so even though tiles may be taken from the dead wall, it is remains counted off asthe first 14 tiles to the right of the break.

Dealing tiles:  Each player, starting with East and continuing counter-clockwise,  takes the first four tiles from the left of the break, or “live wall”.  This happens three times untill each player has recieved 12 tiles.  Then the East player takes two tiles, and the remaining players each take one tile.  When play begins with the East player, he or she will have 14 tiles and everyone else will have thirteen.  If any players have drawn a flower or season tile, that tile is placed face up to the side and a replacement is drawn from the dead wall, again with East going first and proceeding counter-clockwise.

Playing the game:

The East player decides which of thier 14 tiles they will discard.  Then places the discarded tile into thier “pond”, the area inside the wall closest to themselves.  Play moves counter-clockwise to South, who takes the first tile on the “live wall”.  South then chooses a tile to discard, places it into thier own pond, and play continues to West, then North, then returns to East.

When a player discards a tile, another player may claim that tile to complete a “Pung” of three identical tiles or a “Kong” of four identical tiles.  Only the most recent tile that was discarded may be claimed.  A discarded tile may be claimed to complete a “Chow” of three tiles of the same suit in sequence (2-3-4 of coins, 6-7-8 of bamboo, etc), but only by the player who was next in the sequence (South may claim a completed chow only if using East’s discard).  If multiple players wish to claim the same discard, priority goes to the following in order:

1. Claiming a tile to complete Mahjong

2. Claiming a tile for a Kong

3. Claiming a tile for a Pung

4. Claiming a tile for a Chow

In the event of two players both claiming a tile to complete Mahjong, the player next in play sequence has priority.

When a player claims a tile, the completed set is revealed, then put to the side for later scoring.  The player then chooses a tile to discard, places it into thier pond, and play resumes from that players right.  This may disrupt the play sequence and skip one or more players.

If a Season or Flower tile is drawn, that tile is immediately revealed and placed to the side for scoring later.  A replacement tile is then drawn from the dead wall.

If a player completes a Kong, the completed Kong is revealed and placed to the side for scoring later.  If the Kong was completed using a tile drawn from the wall, one of the tiles is placed atop the others face down to indicate a “Hidden Kong”.  If the Kong was completed using a discarded tile, then that tile is placed facing up on the other tiles to indicate a “Revealed Kong”.  In either case the player then draws a replacement tile from the Dead Wall to remain at 13 tiles.

A player that only needs one tile to win is in “Tenpai”.  A player in Tenpai that has not drawn a tile from the pond at any point during the current Hand may declare a “Reach”.  That player will then place a token or marker worth ten points into the pond.  That player must, from that point on, only discard the tile that they drew that pass.  If that player draws a tile that completes Mahjong and ends the Hand, they regain the 10 points and gain a bonus on the score for that Hand.  The player may claim the winning tile from the pond.

Winning:

When a player has a Hand complosed entirely of Chows, Pungs, and/or Kongs along with one pair of matching tiles, they have achieved Mahjong and won the Hand.

Scoring Rules:

Each player begins with an agreed upon amount of points depending on how long the players wish the game to last, usually between 500 and 5000.  After a player has declared Mahjong and ended the Hand, players add up the points in their respective Hands.  The winning player recieves points from all other players equal to his Hand’s full value.  The non-winning players each recieve a number of points equal to the value of thier hand from all of the other non-winning players.  Players may choose to compare hands and only give the difference in value between them.  The game ends when one player is out of points entirely or an agreed upon number of Rounds have occured.

Basic Scoring:

Additional Scoring:

Any player’s Hand may be doubled in value if it contains any of the following:

A Pung or Kong of the player’s own Wind

A Pung or Kong of the Hand’s Wind

A Pung or Kong of Dragons

A Season or Flower Tile coresponding to the player’s seat

The winning Player’s Hand may also be doubled in value by containing any of the following:

A Hand containing only one suit

A Hand containing only Terminals and Honors

A Hand containing no Terminals or Honors

If the Winner had declared a Reach

If the winner declaered a Reach and declared Mahjong before a full pass (each player draws and discards once) has elapsed

If the player was the dealer for that Hand

All basic scoring is completed before figuring doubled values.

A Hand may be doubled more than once, taking the basic score, doubling it, and then doubling the result.

In addition, a Hand that completes Mahjong using only Chows and containing no Season or Flower Tiles is worth 20 points, and may then be doubled if it contains only one suit, has no Terminals or Honors or the player declaered a Reach.

Advancing to the next Hand or Round:

The game traditionally has four Rounds, each consisting of four Hands.  Each Round corresponds to a wind, as does each Hand within it.  The order is always as follows: East, South, West, North. This makes a complete game a minimum of 16 hands.  After a hand has been won, the dice are given to the player to the dealer’s right, making the next hand of the same Wind as the new dealer’s chair.  If the Hand was won by the dealer, then he or she remains the dealer and the Wind is unchanged.

Tab in. The first statement, leading into the topic slowly. Broad generalization of things possibly relating to topic, with the intent to come back to these points later (this will not happen). Narrowing the subject matter without defining it outright. Introducing the first point, not related to those pointed out previously. Examining the given information from a particular perspective to give it the desired bias. A claim based on this observation, without which it would seem suspect. Using this claim as a foundation upon which to build towards the desired outcome. An unrelated detail that somehow backs up the first point. An editorial comment made to seem more legitimate by being bracketed by facts. Second detail used to bolster previous statement. Lead-in to second point before the first becomes belabored. The second point, delivered in such a way to seem factual. The first in a rapid series of facts meant to unbalance and impress the reader. The second in a rapid series of facts meant to unbalance and impress the reader. The third in a rapid series of facts meant to unbalance and impress the reader. An opinion or half-truth disguised as another fact. Discussion of second point using the facts and half-truth to make the statement seem plausible. Further discussion, leaning away from fact and toward the preferred bias to invite the readership to think in a like manner. Indicate image inserted to distract reader from critical thinking and display skewed statistical data in favor of intended point of view. Reference to data in image as proof of statement number two. Additional editorial comment to strengthen point of view. Hard sell idea by proposing it as only logical choice or making disparaging remark about opposition. Point number three is used as a follow-up because it has the most factual basis, putting the reader in a state of mind to think that all of the argument is backed by facts. Casually mentioned fact backing up third point. Fluff statement to make previous fact seem more casual. Observation of topic containing a fact that supports the proposed opinion. Evidence of truth of observed fact. Opinionated statement containing no facts but based on observation of topic. Reference to or quote by an authority on topic, taken out of context. Implication that quoted authority shares opinion on topic. Reminder that the quote is from a noted authority on topic, and not to be distrusted or disbelieved. Segue into unrelated fact that may or may not have any bearing on topic. Vague or seemingly unrelated fact. Clarification of how previous fact is the lynchpin of current opinionated statement (though not of the argument as a whole). Plead to reader to see enlightenment in previous assumption. Another fact to shore up statement’s defense. Connection from current course into an opening to change subject slightly. Fourth point, leading the reader onto safer territory to make the argument easier to accept as a whole. Softball majority opinion to ease reader state of mind. Piece of trivia, almost a real fact, that backs up the fourth point. Easy to digest observation, leading to opinion centering on fourth point. Slow detachment from basic argument into closing statement. Reiteration of overall opinion couched in safe terms for maximum agree-ability. Statement of position of sincerity.

General thanking of audience for time and consideration.

     No really, its because of Magnetman. No idea what I’m talking about? Well, I was jealous of all of my interesting friends having interesting things to say on the internet. But then I actually read what they had to say and thought “Hey, you don’t have to be interesting at all! I can do that”. So I turned to Cyrus, who was far more willing than anyone else I know to put in all the necessary work to create and maintain a website, and I said “Cyrus, Blog me!”, and he was all like “Okay” in that anti-climactic way that just ruins any moment where you were all decisive and even went as far as to make a declarative statement about something. But true to his word I have been given in this space the means to express my every unwanted opinion to the world. Powerful and heady stuff this internet. But first I face two dilemmas: What to title my new electronic soapbox, and what colors to use for it’s scheme? The first is easy. There is a terrible gag that is said when someone forgets what they were about to say that goes “Train of Thought Derailed, Film at 11”. As this neatly describes my entire thinking process, I figured it would work handily as my Header. But a color scheme, oh a color scheme! What should I do? One just doesn’t go around thinking of these things all the time, you know. Then I thought “Magnetman, now there’s a fellow with a magnet on his head”. After additional thinking it occurred to me to use his color scheme as my own. “But wait!” you say, “Magnet man is primary red and white, and here you’ve used some darker red and some darker white” (although those of you with a college education may have said “grey” instead). Aha, you’d be right, he is and I did. But if you recall, when using Magnetman’s power, Megaman turns dark red and grey. Since I am stealing from him as well, I figured it was appropriate. So there. Magnetman is great and some manner of his greatness is now reflected here where it will dwell until such time as I stop posting and Cyrus becomes annoyed enough to remove me from his fancy Interpage. Magnetman himself will of course live on in our hearts and minds as a bastion of all things awesome and an eternal reminder of that awful ICP song via this image.

     That will not dampen my appreciation of him one bit however, nor of my fondness for the game from whence he came. Megaman 3 combined some of the best character design, game play, and level of difficulty of the entire franchise to date.   Not to mention the absolutely terrifying europeon box art.

  It’s one true flaw being only that Magnetman, the heart and soul of the eight master robots, was placed at the very bottom of the grid. The bottom! Surely he should have held the place of honor above Megaman, but somehow it was given to Snakeman instead. While I have no beef with Snakeman and believe that outside his deplorable performance on the Megaman animated series he was a fine, upstanding villainous robot, with canny mind and steel bite, he was upper left grid material at best. Then we get to Magnetman’s stage music. Second best in the whole game, beaten only by the truly magnificent 8 bit rhythm of Sparkman. Originally I thought to myself that it was okay that Magnetman didn’t have the best music, because then his stage would be so great that people would play it over and over, restarting the game just to wander through those fantastic scenes of floating magnet carriers and appearing/disappearing block jumping puzzles one more time, only to be confronted once again by Magnetman himself. No one would ever get through the game! But then I found out just how clever Magnetman is…he was waiting for the video game music remix craze to hit, so that his tune could be put to a western theme. Brilliant!

Magnetman: Even appropriate for Valentine's Day

    Sadly, the fellow who did the remix wasn’t quite up to the challenge of realizing Magnetman’s genius. But just the thought of Magnetman’s steel-shod boot crunching into the dust of a lonely street of a Nevada town in 18XX,  accompanied by the slight jingle of spurs welded directly onto his heels. Panning up would reveal a flash of red and white as his duster jacket stirs in the hot wind. Those cold, mechanical eyes perched beneath a ten-gallon hat with a comically placed magnet in front. It would be a scene to make Leone proud. That is Magnetman’s true vision, and that is to what I pay this homage of color, a beacon of red and grey like a magnet missile blazing away into the sky.

   Man, this is just not the time to be doing this.  Sore, tired, not thinking clearly at all.  I’m quite surprised that I’m able to type at the moment.  But it needs to get done so I guess I’m going to do it now…my first post that is…this, here, that I’m typing right now.  Sooo…yep.  Here it is.  I’m sure that this would be brilliant and thoughtful and catch the attention of readers worldwide if I weren’t on the wrong side of a disrupted circadian rhythm following a long night of extreme physical exertion.  No, wait.  I’m sure of no such thing.  My erratic mind and lack of writing skill would chatter out some meaningless nonsense that would cause most readers to lose interest immediately and junior high level English teachers to cluck their tongues disapprovingly.  So this is what I will be offering you, a chance to sit back and shake your head sadly at the largely incoherent thoughts that stumble forth from my head and land frightened and confused in this strange new electronic world.  Enjoy.