HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rob@hoster.eng.ohio-state.edu (Rob Carriere)
Subject: Re: Star Trek III Combat Simulator
Organization: The Ohio State University Dept of Electrical Engineering
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 07:57:52 GMT

In article <rreed.1n0a@terapin.com> rreed@terapin.com (Rick Reed) writes:
>The big thing about STIII is that it's really a game
>of energy allocation, since there never is enough to power everything to full.
>From what little I understand of SFB, [...] This is in marked contrast to
>STIII indeed. 

As someone else has already pointed out, the concepts behind the two games
isomorph pretty well.

>BTW, what ship can survive the wrath of an Enterprise class's front firing arc?
> Most ships simply disappear when toasted by the 6 10 point phasers and 2 20
>point photons!  Pray that shield was up!

That's exactly my problem with ST3 [1]  In SFB, if you play an equal force
duel, you are typically going to need several attack passes to defeat your
oponent.  This has the effect of emphasizing skill and de-emphasizing luck.  A
second (IMO) game-breaking defect was the set of rules governing movement:
they made knifefights impossible, and severely hampered saberdancing.

SR
[1] Weasel-words/disclaimer:  I have very little experience with ST3, and what
    little I have was under the guidance of someone biased towards SFB.  If
    I'm wrong in anything I wrote here, would some ST3 expert please correct?
---


Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: jvv@cornerstone.com (John Van Valer)
Subject: Re: Auction Prices for Wargames at Gencon
Reply-To: jvv@cornerstone.com (John Van Valer)
Organization: Cornerstone Research
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 22:06:28 GMT


Well, I didn't attend Gencon or Origins, but I did hear that at Origins 
Divine Right went for $100.  I also picked up a partially punched copy of 
SPI's War in Europe from someone who purchased it at Gencon.  I paid $175, so 
I imagine it sold for about $150 at the con.

I attended Pacificon, a small N. California con, over Labor Day at some of 
the prices at their auction were:

War in Europe (very used)	$80
Conquest of Rome (?) (Milton Bradley) 	$50
Divine Right	~$80
Pacific Fleet (Japan/Hobby Games)  $75


A local game shop in San Francisco carries lots of used/collectible games.  
The two most expensive games they have are:

Objective: Moscow (SPI, mint)	$475
War in the Pacific (SPI, mint)  $450
Wacht am Rhein (SPI, mint)     ~$350

There were several folks at Pacificon who were looking for Objective: Moscow 
as well.  I can't believe the price and interest.  It wasn't that great a 
game and nobody seemed to care about it when it was out!  At least I still 
have my copy...

John VV

John Van Valer
From: torbenm@diku.dk (Torben AEgidius Mogensen)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Are there any PD multi-player board games available?
Date: 29 Sep 92 14:19:00 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, U of Copenhagen

Andrew.Stratton@cm.cf.ac.uk (Andrew F Stratton) writes:

>The title says it all really - I am not interested in chess etc,

Then what are you interested in? When looking for PD games, a good
place to start is to look for ancient or "classical" games. These tend
to be abstract in nature (chess etc.)  and mostly two-player. A few
(Ludo, Snakes and Ladders etc.) are multi-player, but my guess is that
the are too abstract/simple for you. You will probably be able to find
books at your library that describe classical board games.

 If you are looking for games in the RISK / Diplomacy style, my guess
is that there are few, if any, in the public domain. Those that are,
would tend to be games that somebody made at home and don't mind you
copying, as they don't expect to be able to publish them.

A few people have been posting descriptions of homemade abstract games
to this group in the past, but mostly two-player. The problem with PD
board games is distribution - it is difficult to describe complex
boards and pieces on a computer, and physical mail distribution would
tend to make the game not exactly PD.

	Torben Mogensen (torbenm@diku.dk)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: abick@sebastian.carleton.ca (Alan Bick)
Subject: Diplomacy question: Double support
Organization: Carleton University
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 16:47:02 GMT

Consider this situation, Germany is being double-teamed by France and
Russia and is forced back to Kiel and Berlin. If the following orders
are made what happens?

RUSSIA
A Sil - Ber
A Pru S A Sil - Ber

FRANCE
A Ruh - Kie
A Hol S A Ruh - Kie

GERMANY
A Kie S A Ber-H
A Ber S A Kie-H

   Assume no other players/units can either lend support or cut support.
Would both Germany units be dislodged? Would neither be dislodged? Or
would one player succeed while the other merely cuts the support.
   I've been told that neither succeeds but I can't believe that that
is the case. If France (or Russia) were to attack with only one unit
then the support from Kiel would be cut and the Russian attack would
succeed. So with both attacking with a force of two, they should (in
theory) cut the supports and both attacks should succeed.
   I really don't want to hear what people "think" should happen
because the people I've spoken to seem to be divided. If someone knows
EXACTLY what the rules say should happen, please let me know. Also,
(and perhaps more importantly) how would the JUDGE resolve this. I'm
about to start into a game and I'm sure a situation like this is bound
to happen.
   Please email your responses to me at abick@business.carleton.ca as
I may not see a reply here before the message is cancelled.

Thanks in advance,

Alan Bick
From: wilhelm@cs.cornell.edu (Wilhelm Uwe Georg)
Subject: *** New York ***
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept, Ithaca NY 14853
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 16:10:57 GMT

Hi folks,

quite a while ago, someone was asking the question:
"Where to go in New York"
I have the same problem... unfortunately I can't find
the files where I put the answers to this question :-(
Can someone help me and send me the answers to the 
original question or some new tips? 
(I'm looking for game-stores, sf-book-stores and other
intersting stuff.)
	adTHANKSvance, Uwe
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   /  /         ___    /     /            ___     ______,  Cornell University
  /  / /  /  / /__    /  /  / / /   /__/ /__ /   /  /  /   Computer Science
 /__/ /__/__/ /__    /__/__/ / /__ /  / /__ /__ /  /  /    USA
IrcNick: Jinxter    e-mail: wilhelm@cs.cornell.edu	   phone: (607) 253-5929
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: rbr@well.sf.ca.us (Bob Rossney)
Subject: Re: Icehouse pieces
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 07:17:28 GMT

In <6958@transfer.stratus.com> hship@sw.stratus.com (Howard Ship) writes:

>I have the "Origami" Icehouse set.  Although I think the game is very cool,
>almost none of my friends have been interested in trying it out.  Still,
>I am thinking about getting the expensive wooden set.  Has anyone else out
>there gotten this set?  Are the wooden pieces the same size as the paper
>ones?  Are they durable and/or worth the expense?

>-- 
>"I can't believe I had the Anti!"
>Howard_Ship@vos.stratus.com

The wooden pieces are about the same size as the origami ones.  The game is
pretty playable with them, though, and it's not with the origami set (unless
you do the fill-with-gravel number).  I think the game is pretty cool, but
I too have a tough time finding opponents.

Bob Rossney
rbr@well.sf.ca.us
Organization: Doctoral student, Mathematics, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 07:57:13 -0400 
From: Erik Lauer <el0g+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Titan rules question

poirier@ellerbe.rtp.dg.com (Charles Poirier) writes:

>A controversy arose during a battle in the Desert in a recent Titan game.
>I had a Ranger and wanted to move it four spaces, ending on Sand.  The
>terrain effect on movement reads "Non-flying non-natives are slowed when
>entering Sand."  Compare this to the effects of Bramble and Drift, which
>both read "Non-natives are slowed when entering."  I have always thought
>this to unambiguously permit what I wanted to do.  Not so, said one of
>my opponents, who cited an article in The General (Avalon Hill's gaming
>magazine) answering this very question.  This article supposedly says that
>flyers can *cross* sand normally, but are slowed if they land there.  The
>rationale is that there is a rule saying that a terrain effect only affects
>a flyer if it lands.  That is fine with me, but I say the terrain effect
>is just what it says it is on the terrain effects chart I quoted above.
>Nope, says the article, the terrain effect for sand is "badly worded".

>I am relatively incensed, not because this affected my game but because
>the ruling is so clearly wrong.  You Titan fans out there will help me
>decide how to treat this issue.

>1) Is this baloney or what?  Do you play that ALL non-natives are slowed
>	landing in Sand?

This is baloney.  The only terrain effect messed up is what happens if a
warlock rangestrikes at a dragon in a volcano.  The distinction is clear
and intentional.

>2) What possible distinction was meant to be drawn, by adding the words
>	"non-flying" to the Sand terrain effect?  To make a distinct
>	difference in the wording of one terrain effect, when in fact
>	there was no difference intended between any of the mentioned
>	terrains, would go beyond "bad wording" to "utter stupidity".
>	This is not a reasonable possibility to me.  There are no other
>	comparable "wording" errors in the rules, in my opinion.

The one you inferred.

>3) What are the odds that the question was answered by some bonehead newbie
>	goon at TAHGC who certainly didn't write the rules, and probably
>	never even played the game?  When an "official" ruling is clearly
>	bogus, do you feel obligated to obey it anyway?

I would guess the person played the game, but did not write the rules,
and had learned the game from people who did not play accurately.  You
can play the game however you want to, if the people you are laying with
agree.

>	Charles


Erik
---=
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: peter@techbook.com (Peter Sarrett)
Subject: Re: Second Wizwar expansion set?
Organization: TECHbooks --- Public Access UNIX --- (503) 220-0636
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 07:10:38 GMT



In a letter last week, Tom Jolly told me that a second Wiz-War expansion is in
the works, but probably won't appear for a few months yet-- at least until he
finishes his degree.

===============================================================================
Peter Sarrett          |   "You don't stop playing games when you get old--
peter@techbook.com     |    you get old when you stop playing games."
(503)579-0873          |                                        - O. W. Holmes
===============================================================================
From: waldrop@ucbeh.san.uc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Computer Backgammon
Date: 2 Oct 92 07:23:35 EST
Distribution: world
Organization: Univ. of Cincinnati

Can anyone recommend a good computer backgammon game for MSDOS machines?

Thanks,
  Larry Waldrop
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
From: mah@cs.UAlberta.CA (Dean S. Mah)
Subject: server and FAQ
Keywords: backgammon server, FAQ
Organization: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 00:38:04 GMT

   A lot have people have recently asked about a backgammon server and
   so far I've seen no replies.  Is there one? And is there a FAQ list
   for this group?


--
Dean S. Mah  (email: mah@cs.ualberta.ca) | Q: What do you do with an elephant
Department of Computer Science           |    with 3 balls?
University of Alberta                    |  
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada                | A: Walk him and pitch to the rhino.
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
From: epstein@rene.ma.utexas.edu (Paul Epstein)
Subject: cube action
Organization: University of Texas at Austin Mathematics
Distribution: rec
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 03:05:03 GMT

It seems to me that a crucial bit of information is missing from Michael
Zehr's inquiry about whether he was right to offer the cube in a given
situation.  Did he own the cube or was it in the middle?


Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
From: mah@cs.UAlberta.CA (Dean S. Mah)
Subject: Backgammon interface for server
Keywords: GUI, Xwindows
Organization: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 20:04:52 GMT

One more stupid question: is there a graphical interface running under
Xwindows for the backgammon server?


--
Dean S. Mah  (email: mah@cs.ualberta.ca) | Q: What do you do with an elephant
Department of Computer Science           |    with 3 balls?
University of Alberta                    |  
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada                | A: Walk him and pitch to the rhino.
From: tada@athena.mit.edu (Michael J Zehr)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Cube action
Date: 29 Sep 92 14:34:07 GMT
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology


13 14 15 16 17 18  19 20 21 22 23 24
             O  O   O  O  X  O  O   
             O  O   O  O  X  O  O   
                    O           O   
                                    
                  O                 
                    X  X  X         
                    X  X  X     X  X
                    X  X  X     X  X
12 11 10  9  8  7   6  5  4  3  2  1

0-0 in a match to 5, X on roll, cube action?

I looked at this and thought that any 5 or 6 (20 rolls) followed by a
dance (25 rolls) and I would lose my market.  Also, I thought there was
a good chance my opponent would drop.... So I doubled, rolled a 6-2 and
ran with 1 back checker, opponent rolled 43 to enter and hit loose, I
rolled 4-5 with which I hit and played 4-9 (figuring I didn't need a
third blot back, and expecting to win a race in the worse case) opponent
fanned, I rooled 11 to close him out and gammon him. ho-hum.  

But I question whether my double was correct.  As I said, my main reason
for doubling was I thought he would drop.

btw, I'm sure of all the pips in my home board, except maybe the spare
on my 6, and the points owned by each opponent, but I don't ecall
the exact placement of the spare checkers.  How sensitive is this
position to those extra checkers?

-michael j zehr
PS. Marty? are you on-line yet? we miss you....
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
From: erb@world.std.com (ed r baker)
Subject: Re: Ohio server
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 03:45:34 GMT

There is a problem with the Ohio server in that CR/LF sequences are displayed
as only LF's for some users.  There is no explanation for this, but it seems
to happen consistently to VAX and CUTCP (PC) users.  If you can first logon to
a Unix system and then Telnet to the server, you won't have a problem.

-Ed
From: lonadar@JUDY.INDSTATE.EDU ("", Lonadar the Wanderer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Long-Distance Backgammon
Date: 6 Oct 92 05:04:12 GMT
Reply-To: "Backgammon strategy" <BKGAMMON@indycms.iupui.edu>

I have now installed the LDBackgammon files and am looking for opponents.
Those interested can feel free to mail me their -start files.

Lonadar the Wanderer
lonadar@judy.indstate.edu
Organization: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
Date: Friday, 2 Oct 1992 08:46:58 PST
From: Tony Roder <TONY@SLACVM.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU>
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Re: Computer Backgammon
Distribution: world

PSL, a sharewared dealer, lists several; they are particularly taken with
the most recent one -- whose name escapes me.  Give them a call at
800-242-4775, and if you end up using it, let us know what you think of it...

-----------------------------------
Tony Roder, speaking his mind .....
From: vancleef@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Re: server and FAQ
Date: 4 Oct 92 02:32:13 EDT

In article <1992Oct3.003804.23501@cs.UAlberta.CA>, mah@cs.UAlberta.CA (Dean S. Mah) writes:
>    A lot have people have recently asked about a backgammon server and
>    so far I've seen no replies.  Is there one? And is there a FAQ list
>    for this group?
> 
> 
> --
> Dean S. Mah  (email: mah@cs.ualberta.ca) | Q: What do you do with an elephant
> Department of Computer Science           |    with 3 balls?
> University of Alberta                    |  
> Edmonton, Alberta, Canada                | A: Walk him and pitch to the rhino.

I am running a server on 'solana.mps.ohio-state.edu' on port 3200. Do
'telnet solana.mps.ohio-state.edu 3200' if you are new to this.

-Garrett
From: J.J@cbnewse.cb.att.com (J.J.1)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: back server
Date: 30 Sep 92 20:04:32 GMT
Article-I.D.: cbnewse.1992Sep30.200432.5244
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories


Would someone tell me how to get on the new Back server?
From: lonadar@JUDY.INDSTATE.EDU ("", Lonadar the Wanderer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Re:  Ohio server
Date: 7 Oct 92 03:56:15 GMT
Reply-To: "Backgammon strategy" <BKGAMMON@indycms.iupui.edu>

Yea, I couldn't make anything out of it either.  Oh well.

Lonadar the Wanderer
lonadar@judy.indstate.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
From: tada@athena.mit.edu (Michael J Zehr)
Subject: Re: cube action
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Distribution: rec
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 22:39:09 GMT

In article <1992Oct1.030503.9223@math.utexas.edu> epstein@rene.ma.utexas.edu (Paul Epstein) writes:
>It seems to me that a crucial bit of information is missing from Michael
>Zehr's inquiry about whether he was right to offer the cube in a given
>situation.  Did he own the cube or was it in the middle?

It was in the middle.  Also, I think I misplaced one of O's checkers.
There was a spare on the 2 and 3 points, not the 2 and 6.  So O has a
slightly less chance of being able to hit after X runs with one man.

-MJZ
From: vancleef@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Re: server and FAQ
Date: 4 Oct 92 02:49:23 EDT

In article <14096.2ace57ad@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu>, vancleef@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu writes:
> In article <1992Oct3.003804.23501@cs.UAlberta.CA>, mah@cs.UAlberta.CA (Dean S. Mah) writes:
>>    A lot have people have recently asked about a backgammon server and
>>    so far I've seen no replies.  Is there one? And is there a FAQ list
>>    for this group?
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Dean S. Mah  (email: mah@cs.ualberta.ca) | Q: What do you do with an elephant
>> Department of Computer Science           |    with 3 balls?
>> University of Alberta                    |  
>> Edmonton, Alberta, Canada                | A: Walk him and pitch to the rhino.
> 
> I am running a server on 'solana.mps.ohio-state.edu' on port 3200. Do
> 'telnet solana.mps.ohio-state.edu 3200' if you are new to this.
> 
> -Garrett
> 
> 
> 

A couple of things. I have been overwhelmed with lots of stuff going on
in my real-life affairs that I haven't devoted any time to upgrading
NetGammon to desirable standards as of late. Give me some time :) I
am currently preparing myself for a new real job in the midst of this
depression and it is consuming all of my time. I do want to
release the source for NetGammon to the general public, but I do not
have a reliable ftp site for this.

As far as integrating the German server to mine, I think that its a good
idea, but I dont see how it is practical, since all comptetions between
players would have to be recorded and some sort of analysis done to
establish ratings. You have to understand that both systems were
independently under development at the same time when we found out about
each other :)

I am proud to announce that the OSU server has been running since mid-September
and one (lame excuse :) reason for this to see how bullet-proof the
code is. Unfortunalety usage has been very low so it's hard to detect
bugs. BUT, when the server was very active at caltech it seems that
most of the problems were worked out. 

If anyone has the time I would welcome them to go over the code and
help develope game since my time is so strapped these days.

-Garrett
From: LIPSCOJA@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu (Andy Lipscomb)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Ohio server
Date: 4 Oct 92 17:39:48 GMT
Organization: Vanderbilt University
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.21

I just logged onto the Ohio server, but the display format I was seeing was
worthless:  no coherence in lines or anything.  Can anyone help?  My system is
a VAX/VMS with 80-column display.


Andy Lipscomb
lipscoja@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu
From: mrubin@cs.umb.edu (Mark Rubin)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: backgammon via e-mail
Date: 4 Oct 92 04:35:58 GMT
Organization: University of Massachusetts at Boston

Although I am an avid player of the BG servers I still must ask all
the BG netters out there if anyone wants to play BG via e-mail.
There is a real cool full-featured BG program for UNIX and VMS available
called "ldb" (long distance backgammon). It is screen oriented using curses.
It handles all the aspects of playing, putting the control email messages in
its own coded format which the player need not understand. All you have to
do is run the program which will read your mailbox, determine if there are
any ldb control messages and if so, will draw the board on the screen and
await your move. Lets have an ongoing game!! To get ldb just connect to an
ftp site that archives comp.sources.misc. I got mine at wuarchive.wustl.edu.
The directory is /usenet/comp.sources.misc/volume28/ldb. Hope to hear from
you.

-Mark
--
==========================================================================
|| Mark Rubin		|| Don't let your schooling interfere with	||
|| mrubin@ra.cs.umb.edu	|| your education.				||
|| UMass/Boston		|| 			-Mark Twain		||
==========================================================================
From: GELSON@brfapesp.bitnet (GELSON GOMES)
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon
Subject: Mastering INTERNET TOOLS
Date: 26 Sep 92 14:35:49 GMT
Reply-To: "Backgammon strategy" <BKGAMMON@indycms.iupui.edu>


         "Mastering INTERNET Tools, Seizing METANET Power" -
                    "The InterMeta Course"

     Begining on October 10, the InterMeta Course will describe
the History of the Metanetwork and cover the basic utilities used
to access the network, as well as to guide users through the
Internet's, Bitnet's, (and othernets') "databases of databases"
to access files and archives available. Some of the topics to be
presented in the InterMeta Course are how to (1)Remote Login,
(2)Use Electronic Mail, (3)Move a File, (4)Find Software,
(5)Locate a Person, (3)Deal with Network Problems. An index that
covers a selection of resources available on the Internet,
ranging from Card Catalogs to Archives for USENET news will also
be delivered.
     In addition, some sessions will help UNIX, VMS, VAX and DOS
users to interface their systems to the Net.
     Resulting from five years of researching and using the
Network, the InterMeta Course is being prepared by Gelson
Gomes, Ph.D. The InterMeta is the first experience of a Global
Scale Course utilizing a matrix of connected networks, the
Metanetwork.
     Dr. Gomes is a professor at the Federal University of Parana
and is conducting research on the Computer Industries of Brazil
and Taiwan. He got his Doctoral Degree on Science and Technology
Public Policy at The George Washington University (Washington
D.C.).
     The course will be ministered from Brazil; to help
recovering local communication costs, (PDN is very expensive in
Brazil) a flat $ 5 US dollars donation is requested.
     To enroll in the InterMeta Course, please fill in the
application bellow and E-Mail to: Gelson@BRFAPESP.
____________________________________________________________
       Mastering INTERNET Tools, Seizing METANET Power -
                     The InterMeta Course
____________________________________________________________
                        APPLICATION FORM

Name:
Institution:
Highiest Degree Earned:
City:               Country:

__ Yes, I am sending US$ 5 dollars
     (or the equivalent on my own currency)

Mail your check to:
Gelson V. Gomes
358, R. Alvaro Andrade - ap.1201
Curitiba PR BRAZIL 80610-240
Newsgroups: rec.games.backgammon