HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: sos@oz.plymouth.edu (Steffan O'Sullivan)
Subject: Re: Scrabble: Highest Score
Organization: Plymouth State College - Plymouth, NH.
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 93 16:33:15 GMT

Bruce_Harper@mindlink.bc.ca (Bruce Harper) writes:
>What's the highest score ever achieved in a single play?

I don't know the highest score ever achieved, but I once had an amazing
play that scored over 150 points - with lousy-scoring letters.  True
story:

There were three of us playing, and the person to my right had just
drawn a full hand with the last tiles in the bag.  Thus, we each had
seven tiles, with no more to be drawn.

She had just played down to the edge of the board, setting me up to use
a triple.  I managed to play an eight-letter word ("Doornail" I'll
never forget it!) that got both triple-word scores at once.  One of my
letters was doubled, so it came to 10, tripled = 30, tripled = 90, plus
50 points for emptying my rack = 140, plus the total of 14 tiles in my
opponents' racks, for going out.  I don't remember the exact score
there, but it was roughly 18-25.

Now, if I could have done this with some juicy letters, and if my
opponents had had some big scorers in their hands at the end of the
game, it could easily have been well over 250 points . . .

-- 
  - Steffan O'Sullivan		         sos@oz.plymouth.edu
From: rnlee@sdcc3.ucsd.edu (Profess'nal Agitator)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Junta question
Date: 12 Jan 93 15:07:47 GMT
Organization: MAWL - Mudd Alums Without Lives

After over a two year hiatus from Junta, I've forgotten some of the details.

Specifically, when a player dies and loses all his political cards,
how many does he start off with in the next round?  2, 5, or 6?

Thanx in advance,

Agitator
  #->

*Berlin*Depeche Mode*Oingo Boingo*New Order*The Smiths*Soft Cell*Yazoo*U2*
*Nitzer Ebb-Book of Love-OMD-Psychedelic Furs-10,000 Maniacs-//-Front 242*
*             R E M E M B E R   B E I J I N G               //   Only    *
*IBM PC - Who wants a politically correct computer?     \\ //   AMIGA!   *
*================================ Bring Back the Caltech \X/ Cannon!! ===*
*B-52's-Severed Heads-Tears For Fears-The The-Human League-Ministry-Xymox*
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
*Roderick Lee, HMC '91    "The Professional Agitator"   agitator@ucsd.edu*
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: john@psych.toronto.edu (John Rick)
Subject: Re: Need to identify an out of print game...
Organization: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 02:11:42 GMT

In article <1993Jan4.212709.14052@netcom.com> fred_s@netcom.com (Frederick Scott) writes:
>mccoy@ils.nwu.edu (Jim Mccoy) writes: 
>
>>The game was a sort of fantasy wargame, with players taking the role of
>
>You are thinking of "Divine Right".  (It's "The Ghost Riders of Khos", BTW.)
>
>lot of peoples' favorites but didn't get printed for very long.  I don't know
>what the going price is for a good condition used copy but suffice it to say
>they're very hard to come by.
>

I've seen Divine Right up for auction through this group about 3 times over
the last 2 (?) years. The first 2 times it sold for about $80 US, and on the
most recent occasion for about $65 US (I think these prices include S&H but
don't recall).



-- 
*** "Creation science...is not science because it depends upon a supernatural
*** intervention which is not guided by natural law.  It...is not testable and
*** is not falsifiable." - Justice Wm.R.Overton, U.S. District Court (Arkansas)
  =====>  Email: john@psych.toronto.edu -or- rick@lake.scar.utoronto.ca <=====    
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: greason@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov (Mike Greason (301)286-4529)
Subject: Re: 1830 questions
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.4-b1  
Keywords: 1830
Organization: NASA/GSFC-Laboratory for Astronomy and Solar Physics
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 12:12:00 GMT

In article <63308@mimsy.umd.edu>, rpfaff@umiacs.umd.edu (Ray Pfaff) writes...
>My gaming group finally got around to playing 1830 the other night.
>We liked the game quite a bit, but there were several questions that
>we had which were unclear in the rules.
>1. When you play the operating round, does each railroad play a token,
>set up railheads, ect. or do you alternate.  I.e. each railroad lays a
>token, when all are finished, each lays a railhead if desired, ect.

Each railroad performs all five steps before the next railroad begins to
operate.

>2. Do the split tracks (tiles which have one track on one side and 
>two splitting off (no cities on it) count as two seperate rails for
>the purpose of determining routes?  In other words can I have two
>trains running routes over that tile?

When determining routes, just pay attention to the black ink on the
tile, not the tile itself.  Only one train may traverse a segment of
black ink during a railroad's operating round.  For example, the
green tile with a slow curve overpassing a straight (using a bridge) 
may have two trains use it; however, the green tile with the two slow
curves branching in opposite directions may have only a single train
use it because there is ink common to both curves.  Sorry I cannot give
tile numbers---I don't have my copy of the game in front of me.

>3. When the first railroad buys a 4 train, does only that railroad's
>2 trains get removed, or do all the 2 trains on the board get removed?

The first 4 train retires ALL the 2 trains in the game.  Similarly, the
first 6 train retires ALL the 3 trains, and the first Diesel retires ALL
the 4 trains.  Yes, this does mean that the only time a 4 train may be
traded in for a Diesel is when the first Diesel is purchased.

Hope this helps.
						Mike
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 19:33:58 EST
From: <TMS139@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Games for sale
 <1993Jan11.183712.15993@ils.nwu.edu>

Sorry -- no address.  130 Atherton Hall, Univ. Park, PA 16802.

That was $30 for Russian Civil War.

Tim Snyder
From: cg533@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (James Eugene Alloway)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Godsfire game
Date: 4 Jan 1993 15:54:34 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


Anyoen out there have this game?  I would be interested in buying it
if the price is reasonable
 Gene
###]
From: cscoging@unpcs1.cs.unp.ac.za (Chris Scogings)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Fire in the East questions
Date: 8 Jan 93 10:48:05 GMT
Article-I.D.: unpcs1.cscoging.45.726490085
Organization: Dept. Computer Science, UNP
NNTP-Posting-Host: pc092.cc.unp.ac.za

I've just started a game as a Russian player and wonder if someone can 
answer one or more questions:

Q: If a German tank attacks a Russian tank in a swamp, is the modifier for
   the dice roll -6 ?   (-2 for swamp and -4 for full anti-tank)

Q: Force A and force B (both movement of 10) are going to link up for an
   overrun.  Force A uses 6mp to overrun and Force B (from further away)
   uses all 10mp to overrun.  Can Force A continue to move for 4mp ?
   Is there no "time coordination" of the overrun ?

Q: Russian bombers plus escorts move to a Russian occupied hex in the Russian
   air phase.  They are attacked by German interceptors.  Will surviving 
   bombers definitely be there for defense in the next German attack?
   Can the German interceptors be re-used as escorts in the German air phase?

Q: Does the "fragile divisions" rule mean that Russian 5-6 and 6-6 infantry
   divisions can not be built up from cadre or re-built after being 
   eliminated ?

Q: What is the general Russian strategy ?  Should you make a strong line and
   take enormous casualties or should you hold reinforcements back and let 
   the Germans take large chunks of Russia ?

All discussion and answers are most welcome.
Chris

Never try to teach a pig to sing
It wastes your time and annoys the pig
                               - Robert Heinlein
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: daveb@harlqn.co.uk (Dave Berry)
Subject: Re: 1830: stock round question              
Organization: Harlequin Ltd, Cambridge, UK
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 17:40:39 GMT

>Diane:
>>The 1830 rules explicitly prohibit selling, then buying the same stock in
>>the same stock round.  A quick perusal of the rules did not turn up any rule
>>that said whether you couldn't or could buy THEN sell a stock

Ian:
>Yep, so we've been playing it that you can (with some "interesting" tactical
>implications).  The original game in the series, 1829, forbade it though.

1829 doesn't forbid it either.  I'm not sure if you can buy and sell in the
same *turn*, but you definitely can buy a share in one turn and sell it in a
later turn of the same *round*.  One tactic with this is to buy the last
shares in the current company so that you can get the director's certificate
of the next, and to then sell those shares so that you can afford shares of
the new company.  Of course, your opponents may join in the fun, in which
case you have to time it right.  These games are all about timing.

Dave.
-- 
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: charbonn@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (gary charbonneau)
Subject: Re: Winning isn't everything
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 18:57:26 GMT

In article <C0r6FD.4Ey@news2.cis.umn.edu> thornley@milli.cs.umn.edu (David H. Thornley) writes:

>What do you do if you have absolutely no chance of winning
>yourself, or achieving a credible finish, but still can affect the play
>of the game, and are going to be in the game for several hours yet?
>I consider my time reasonably valuable, and intensely dislike sitting
>around losing for hours.
>
>DHT

I think that good sportsmanship may suggest one course of action in
a game that will be over in an afternoon.  If the game goes on for
months (for example, Empires in Arms), a different standard of 
rationality may apply.

- Gary Charbonneau
  charbonn@indiana.edu
  


Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: njs@cbnewsh.cb.att.com (nicholas.j.sauer)
Subject: Re: Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers
Organization: AT&T
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 17:01:06 GMT

In article <19056@mindlink.bc.ca>, Bruce_Harper@mindlink.bc.ca (Bruce Harper) writes:
> Does MB really own Parker Brothers?  Isn't that interesting - aren't there
> anti-trust laws to cover such things?

Yeah, but these laws are only used on you if your company name is Microsoft.

Actually, the situation is far worse than this.  MB owns PB and, MB is owned
by Hasbro who, in turn, is owned by Tonka.  Tonka is apparently some kind of
international megacorp now.  They also have a legal department that is into
grinding potential competitors into dust.  Chessex had real fun interacting
with them to reissue the Monopoly Stock Exchange.  Chessex decided to be nice
about the whole thing (even though the MSE is pretty clearly public domain)
and wrote a letter to PB/Tonka asking permission to reissue the thing.  They
immediately were served noticed by PB/Tonka that they were being sued for
even considering to reissue this product.  The only reason they were not
sued and are being allowed to reissue the thing is that Tonka's bean counters
decided it would ultimately be cheaper to just liscence Chessex to reissue 
the MSE rather than sue them.  What gauls me about this whole thing is that
Tonka can legally get away with shutting down a smaller company, when they
are clearly in the wrong, just because they have more economic (legal) 
firepower to bring to bear.  I suppose if things had gotten real ugly, 
Chessex could have found some schuyster and countersued for economic damages
caused be PB once it was established that the MSE was public domain.  The
whole thing just struck me as a really sick way to operate a free enterprise
system.

Nick Sauer
From: torbenm@diku.dk (Torben AEgidius Mogensen)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: 1830: Track construction
Date: 7 Jan 93 12:17:21 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, U of Copenhagen

lipson@dms.agames.com (Pete Lipson) writes:

> I thought you always STACKED the tiles, and thusly had no yellows left
>when you move 'up'.....

I'm sure this is wrong. I've played 1830 with many people, but you are
the first to have this interpretation of the rules.

	Torben Mogensen (torbenm@diku.dk)
From: thornley@milli.cs.umn.edu (David H. Thornley)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Up Front
Date: 7 Jan 93 17:58:22 GMT
Organization: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, CSci dept.

In article <C0G6M9.8D4@oracle.dseg.ti.com> harry@medusa.dseg.ti.com writes:
>I've looked at Up Front in the game shops, and I'm thinking about buying it.
>What do people think about it?
>Do you have to know how to play Squad Leader to play it?

No.  There primary connection between Up Front and Squad Leader is marketing.
UF is a simple card game with about one squad on a side.  SL is a complex
board game with single squads as counters.  Other than that, they're kinda
alike.

>Can it be played solitaire?
>
Yes.  You need to change the sequence of play slightly.  Normally, you can
allocate your squad actions separately, playing cards as desired.  At the
end of your turn, you draw replacement cards and look at them.  When playing
solitaire, you do not look at your replacement cards when you draw them.
Instead, you specify in detail the other side's actions, then you look at
the cards.  This provides a little limited intelligence.

Is it as fun solitaire?  No way.  It's kinda like Republic of Rome that way.
If you want to play a game with the same mechanics that has some of its own
challenges, you can, but it's much more fun with the proper number of people
(2 for UF, 4-5 for RoR).

DHT
From: al@calsci.UUCP (Al Petterson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: An interesting question (any game)
Date: 13 Jan 93 01:36:25 GMT
Reply-To: al%calsci@gvgpsa.gvg.tek.com (Al Petterson)
Followup-To: rec.games.board
Organization: California Scientific Software
News-Software: FSUUCP 1.1 Release 5

cracicot@us.oracle.com writes:

>Is it a reasonable game action (in game of your choice) to threaten
>someone as follows, then carry through if they call your bluff:

>"If you don't do/refrain-from action X, I will spend the rest of
> the game making you do as badly as possible.  I don't care how
> badly it wrecks my position."

In any competitive game retaliation for unfair acts (unfair from your
perspective) is fine.  I don't usually make this threat;  I just carry it
out (to a greater or lesser degree depending on the action.)

"The rest of the game" is normally a bit harsh.  But not changing your
tactics in response to another player's aggressive position, or not doing
your best to see that hir tactics -- intended for your detriment -- don't
benefit hir, is just stupid.

When I'm a minor player in the midgame in Diplomacy, I make it clear to my
larger neighbors that the _first_ to assault me gets nothing -- and the one
who goes the longest without assaulting me will take everything I own if I
can manage it.  I normally survive to the endgame as a result and have a
local reputation as a good Diplomacy player.

In Advanced Civ, if someone sacks a vulnerable city of mine, I do my best to
screw hir over during the ensuing trading -- going for the same trade goods,
refusing to surrender the last 1-2 cards of a set se needs for a monopoly,
whatever.  With people I game with often, this "personal rule" tends to make
it unprofitable to sack my cities.  And again, people don't sack my cities
much.

There's a balance to be struck, of course.  I sometimes err on the side of
massive retaliation.  But it makes people think twice about assaulting me,
because they _know_ I'll retaliate.  Not expecting retaliation is foolish.
But the retaliation should be in terms of the game only.

I've found that the presentation of this "threat" is crucial.  If one whines
while declaring vendetta, people interpret this reaction as immaturity and
poor sportsmanship.  But the same threat delivered matter-of-factly, with no
evident emotion and _no_ carryover outside of the game, is merely good
strategy.  Often it is best understated -- "You will not benefit from that
course of action" -- and even better after the fact -- "You will find that
decision to have been unwise", which I often say merely for dramatic effect
before demonstrating my opponent's folly.  The need to threaten is childish.
The use of appropriate retaliation is a basic lesson of strategy.
---
Stop throwing stones --
The night has a thousand saxophones.
So get out there and rock,
And roll the bones.
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: allan@sunk.hc.ti.com (Allan Poindexter)
Subject: Re: An interesting question (any game)
Organization: TI Computer Science Center, Dallas
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 06:12:56 GMT


In article <C0no8M.6Bs@cerc.wvu.wvnet.edu> hooverb@cs.wvu.wvnet.edu (Bruce Hoover,Armstrong) writes:


   Can anyone provide historical examples of a culture which was willing to
   face  cultural anihilation in order to dismay a foe?

Great Britain in 1914

Yeah I know.  You thought they won WWI.  Look again.  Great Britain
entered WWI the most powerful country in the world.  This put it on a
course that it would lead it to emerge 30 years later struggling to be
considered even a second class country.  It wasn't constrained to enter
the fray and would no doubt have been better off if it hadn't.  It did
so for primarily two reasons neither of which could be considered
"playing to win":

1.  It was peeved at Germany for attempting to achieve naval parity with
England.

2.  It thought Germany should be punished for violating Belgian
neutrality.

Or take the Middle East for most of recorded history.  Or Germany at the
end of WWII (defense was decidely stiffer against the Soviets than
against the West).

An attempt to justify "you may only play to win" in a game by appealling
to historical accuracy just won't work.  History is far too complicated
for that.  The motivations and actions of history would easily allow for
things far more bizarre than "do this or I'll kill myself to get back at
you".

dex


Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: townsend@capitol.com (Dave Townsend)
Subject: _Casus_Belli_ translations?
Organization: Capitol Disc Interactive
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 22:15:04 GMT


	I've got the issues of CB with 1792 and Caesar in Gaul.  Unfortunately,
	my French isn't quite up to the task of translating all the game
	material myself.

	Are translations available someplace?  Failing that, would someone
	like to share the work so nobody has to do it all?

	Presumably there are no copyright restrictions on translations of
	material that I/we already own, but I'm not a lawyer.  The rules are
	pretty useless without the game....

	--DaveT;


-- 
Dave Townsend, Capitol Disc Interactive			townsend@capitol.com
``With my imitation Gretsch guitar
    and my head full of songs and my eyes full of stars...''  R.Davies
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: sos@oz.plymouth.edu (Steffan O'Sullivan)
Subject: Re: New Mayfair Games
Organization: Plymouth State College - Plymouth, NH.
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 93 17:18:00 GMT

In article <8342@news.duke.edu> cjs@phy.duke.edu (Carl Schnurr) writes:
>In a recent catalog I saw that Mayfair Games is now importing (or
>has created) several games.  These include:
>
>Shark
>Murphy
>Aladdin
>
>Does anyone have the word on these games?

These are European games by Flying Turtle Games (are you sure it's
Aladin, and not Sinbad?).  Actually, Shark and Murphy are the only
titles I recognize, and I'm assuming the other is in the same line ...

Shark is an excellent Stock Market game, and Murphy is a globe-trotting
dectective hunt.  These are "family games" of the best sort: children
and adults can enjoy playing them with each other.  They would probably
get stale for purely adult players who are addicted enough to games to
be reading this group, though.  Fun games that a non-gaming spouse will
play with you occasionally, however, and that's an important
consideration to some folks.  If you have kids, take a look at these!

Just in case the other game *is* Sinbad, this is a game of Merchant
sailing in the Arabian sea, with pirates and Djinni and rocs and gems
and diamonds and thieves and stories to tell ... good game, lovely
graphics!

-- 
  - Steffan O'Sullivan		         sos@oz.plymouth.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: allan@sunk.hc.ti.com (Allan Poindexter)
Subject: Re: Any games in 1650 - 1750 Europe?
Organization: TI Computer Science Center, Dallas
	<edandavi.725871414@well.sf.ca.us> <1993Jan3.195420.6864@kth.se>
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 05:55:01 GMT


In article <1993Jan3.195420.6864@kth.se> nv89-pla@hemul.nada.kth.se (Peter Laan) writes:
   In <edandavi.725871414@well.sf.ca.us> edandavi@well.sf.ca.us (Ed Allen and Avi Rappoport) writes:

   >There is a good game on the campaigns of Marlborough that was in an issue of
   >The Wargamer several years ago.  It was a worthy successor to Frederick the
   (Stuff deleted)

   Does anyone know in what issue it was?
   I would realy appreciate it.


It's in number 61.

dex
Newsgroups: rec.games.board,rec.games.frp.marketplace
From: epass@nyx.cs.du.edu (Eric Pass)
Subject: Games for Sale
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix @ U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 93 15:54:51 GMT

I have the following items to offer:

1) The Third World War (GDW#473, 1984), very good condition, punched.
Advanced operational level sim of hypothetical WWIII in Europe.
Includes July 1984 errata sheet.

2) CounterAttack magazine #1 with game "Drive on Frankfurt", punched.

Make an offer or trade for a game of yours.

Hint: I'm currently looking for G.I.: Anvil of Victory (a Squad Leader
module) and Boots and Saddles (GDW) but will consider anything.

Also, I have the Octopussy module for the James Bond 007 RPG in
very good, unused condition    - - -    $5.00 + shipping.

If you're interested in any of these items, please Email me at
the address below.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Eric     (epass@nyx.cs.du.edu)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: tek@ficus.cs.ucla.edu (Ted Kim (Random Dude))
Subject: Re: Patton's Best Combat Calendar...WHERE THE @#$% IS IT??!!
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 93 06:14:27 GMT

In article <C0E5Mt.ov@oracle.dseg.ti.com> harry@medusa.dseg.ti.com writes:
> Then the rules refer to something called the "Combat Calendar."  ...
> If anyone has the Combat Calendar, or any information about it (i.e.
> It was in General # bla), I would really appreciate hearing from you.

Maybe AH made a mistake, in which case, write them about it and they
should fix things up. In my copy, the Combat Calendar is included in
the game. It is a blue sheet of paper. It may be on the back of the
record sheet pad.

-ted
-- 
Ted Kim                           Internet: tek@ficus.cs.ucla.edu
UCLA Computer Science Department  UUCP:     ...!{uunet|ucbvax}!cs.ucla.edu!tek
3680A Boelter Hall                Phone:    (310) 825-8524
Los Angeles, CA 90024             FAX:      (310) 825-2273