I rose at 6, even though the blog had been finished the night before. I had a 6AM game, and I would be rushed. But if I started early, I could text and chat with Deborah, and we did. While we spoke, I did my usual preparations by reading emails, updating Quicken transactions, and reading the news (another war was concluding with the fall of the Syrian government, but whether it would burn on as a civil war was yet to be understood). Coffee was the last of my current bag of Fair Traded coffee and would be followed with less liberal but interesting coffee from IKEA.
I brushed my teeth while Deborah spoke on my phone, which I carried around while getting cleaned up and dressed. We knew we did not have that much time together today as I had a long board game at Richard’s this morning: Twilight Imperium (version 4 with some of the add-on from Prophecy of Kings). I boarded Air Ford (Escape), having only heard a text from the Volvo mothership that the vehicle, once known as Air Volvo, was still undergoing diagnosis. F**k that was going to be expensive when the technicians finally worked out the issue. As I understand it, the sensors in the engine are producing erroneous results, causing a safety lockdown of the XC60 2018 model. I am enjoying Air Ford (Escape) at $200 a week, cheaper than buying a new one with a loan. It is increasingly likely that the Volvo will be donated to Oregon Public Broadcasting this year. I believe Enterprise Car Sales can get me the identical Ford Escape for about $24,000 or less.
The trip to Portland, where Richard resides, was uneventful, though I saw some surprising lane changes at the exits. I suspect it is extra-legal to change two lanes and exit simultaneously, but all the polite Oregon drivers slowed to allow the maneuver as if it were a usual thing. As I arrived at Richard’s place, I had to ring off from speaking with Deborah.
The usual good gamers were there, and Cody would win the game by two points over Richard and James, with me at the bottom and Chris making a good showing. The game Twilight Imperium 4 is a legendary board game. It is a SciFi 4X game with a strong political and economic engine. It was initially a re-themed version of the old Avalon Hill Dune board game, but with the randomness reduced, the original game is now again for sale with only minor updates (it was released with the new movie). The usual play time for this is 6-8 hours, and we played about 9:30-2:30, five hours. I was never in the running. It is a chance to play running an immersive experience as the evil emperor of a SciFi race.
(the scores…Five is covered by my marker…Chris on 7…Richard on 8…James on 9…Cody wins for 10)
I played more like a tourist than a hard-charging evil emperor like Cody, James, and Richard. I did not focus enough on gaining points (ten points to win) and preventing Cody from gaining points. However, as James, too far away from me to change the outcome, was tied with five more points than me and two more than Chris, I did not feel I could really impact the result; I could only play reluctant kingmaker. This is the challenge with these games; you have to play to the end even when you know 3/4 that you are out of the running.
I misplayed a few times as I tried to grasp the rules, and Cody and Richard were giving me bad advice as I realized they would do anything to win this one. James was also playing me. As I was wedged between Cody and Richard, I had few options, so I decided to inwardly focus and just play along. Cody took one of my planets and then attacked James, too. All to get those precious points while pretending to be my ally. And while it is hard to enjoy losing and getting last place in a board game, I still enjoyed playing it and found it a fascinating experience. Still, I warn you, dear reader, it is an ego-bruising and sometimes emotional experience to be lied to and taken advantage of for points, but that is the game; politics is ‘the art of the possible.’ Maybe watching the musical Evita would be good training for this one!
After the game, I passed on another game that evening. My brain fried a bit, so I headed to Broadway Grill instead. It was leaf collection in Portland, so all the easy parking spots were covered by no-parking warnings as the leaves were being collected and piled in the parking places. Paying for parking and walking four blocks in the heavy Oregon mist got me moving, and while it was damp, I felt good about moving again.
(the defeated would-be ruler of the SciFi universe at least gets a good sandwich)
At the Broadway Grill, I had a Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride beer and their famous Ruben sandwich with potato chips. I always took Susie here and thought back to when she was using the warm pool nearby, and I would drive her twice a week for months and then have lunch at the grill. I believe it was COVID-19 and some downtime for the pool for repairs and upgrades that ended that adventure, but I have only a fuzzy memory of it now.
The walk was good. I avoided the kitchen and flower stores and got to Air Food without incident. My trip back to Beaverton was uneventful and easy. I stopped by Guardian Games (Aloha) and picked up a few games, one of which was a Christmas gift.
I found Burning Banners, a highly rated fantasy-themed hex-based wargame. I have to try this out sometime. It includes magic and artifacts and reminds me of a recent yet-to-be-played Divine Right reprint, a late 1970s wargame also fantasy-themed. I have always wanted to return to this genre of game. I was happy to get one, but the high price tag ($118) surprised me. I could not resist.
Deborah was home, and we connected by Zoom and watched the last available episode of the Apple+ series Silo. In this episode, the IT director is running the Silo and manages to be extra-creepy, and Deborah is sure that if I offer chicken and mushrooms to her, she is not going to be able to eat it. Yes, the bad guy is IT–no surprise to me.
Deborah and I talked for a while afterward, but the time difference meant it was time for Deborah to sleep, so we said goodnight. I continued the rest of my night by making a late dinner of beef and broccoli from Trader Joe’s, but I made couscous to go with it, not rice. I found the Louise Penny-based miniseries, a favorite author, on Prime and watched the first episode, which was not bad. I read and did the dishes. I soon grew tired, showered, dressed in my PJs, and fell asleep.
I don’t remember my dreams, but they were pleasant, and I rested well, only waking to prove hydration at 3ish. I went back to sleep soon after that. I found that 7AM was here sooner than I had expected.
Thanks for reading.
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 