By Paco Garcia Jaen

In my attempt to visit as many countries as possible and met as many gamers as my brain will possibly be able to remember, this year I decided to take a couple of days and visit Conpulsion, in Edinburgh.

I could say that it was purely out of curiosity, but knowing that Phil Harris (@PhilipGHarris in Twitter) was one of the organisers and that Ian Lowson (@EmbraAgain in Twitter) was going to be there, for me it was a no-brainer. I just had to go.

Conpulsion is the oldest and biggest RPG convention in Scotland. It’s been going on for more years than I know – I think 26 – and it takes place at Teviot House, one of the many charming and truly stunning buildings property of the University of Edinburgh. As well as meaning that the building is quirky and full of history, it also means it’s very well catered for food, tables, space, more tables, drinks and more space. It is also situated in a very central location within the city, so finding it is not an issue, though parking nearby could prove challenging!

The convention has all a convention could wish for. A buy-and-sell area, a few traders, loads of role playing games, a fair few boardgames, some wargames and seminars, panels and debates.

About the traders. Don’t expect to find just the typical trader selling games. Nop! You can also find jewellery, dice bags and other funky stuff, like real and proper art drawn by real and proper artists.

Yes friends… don’t let me forget the artists who showcased their work much to the amazement of a lot of people, and contributed to the panels, withstanding the relentless questioning from the attendees.

The panels had a difference from most other panels I’ve attended to in the past in other conventions. They were very thematic and varied. I don’t mean varied just in the theme choice, but also in the panellists.

Kevin Beimers had no experience in role playing games. He’s a video game guy and has done some successful videogames for mobile platforms. His next game will be out in just a few months and his company is Italic Pig. You might be wondering what’s the point… the point is that he managed to help narrow the gap between videogames and role playing games with his input.

Sam Richards, from TweetRPG fame was also there and I will venture say he was the one giving the most original and some of the most insightful opinions and perspectives. Maybe because he was the only one there who has truly started something new like Tweet RPG. Worth keeping an eye on that lad, I tell you… he’ll get far if he can keep up the insane amount of work behind his Twitter based RPG adventures.

Having people with a very different skillset in a panel like World Building and Society Creation in games, means they can truly cast new light and help people see what the similarities between the two mediums are. And the organisers knew that. And it worked, really, really well.

They also knew how to pick their debates! Is printing media a thing of the past? Well… that was a conversation and a half.

I cannot recommend Conpulsion enough. It might not have the pull of Dragonmeet and the numbers of the UK Games Expo, but you know? That’s no bad thing.

Being able to mingle with artists like Paul Bourne, Scott Neil, Andy Hepworth and Paul Scott Canavan, authors like Iain Lowson, Stew Wilson, Sam Richards and Peter Cakebread, and videogames experts like Kevin Beimers and Luke Dicken is not an opportunity to be missed. Trust me.

Needless to say, the attendees were as friendly as you could expect and wish for. As well as the openness of the Scottish character (they even laugh in the streets!!!) they had the enthusiasm of any convention attendees and only so eager to make you feel welcome. A big plus indeed!

Despite the initial confusion with the building layout – it’ll take you an hour or so to get used to it – and a bit longer opening hours needed for the cafes to cater for everyone, a trip to Conpulsion is very well worth it.

For a TON of coverage of the convention, please visit our friends at Nearly Enough Dice. They interviewed a lot of people and recorded a lot of interviews!

By Ken St. Andre

I’ve been a bad blogger. I haven’t written anything for this blog since January 15, and here it the last day of March. My sponsor, GMS Magazine, tried to jog me into action a month ago, and it almost worked, but I got busy or lazy or both. It isn’t hard for me to get lazy–I was born that way. And I was working like crazy on Deluxe Tunnels and Trolls in January and February. I’m still working like crazy on that game, but I could have found time to say something about other games I’ve played or liked.

Saturday, March 30, 2013 was International Tabletop Day. I did get out and do some gaming, and I got to play two of my favourite games–variants of them, at least.

I thought it might be fun to list my favorite tabletop games. This listing is not in order–on any given day I might prefer one game to an other, but in general, I would sit down with people to play any of these games at any time.

Settlers of Catan (and its variants)

My biggest problem with Catan is they have shrunk it down and made it too small and constricted.  I want a board twice this size.  One of the better variants is Star Trek Catan which I played and should have won yesterday, but I made an error at the end and took a Star Trek officer who couldn’t help me at all.  Some day I’m going to get two or three copies of the game, mush them all together into one huge gameboard, play to something like 20 points instead of 10, and set up some quick combat rules for conquering the galaxy.

Ticket to Ride (and its variants)

This railroad-building game has the almost perfect play mechanic–only 3 things to do: draw, build, or choose destinations.  The scoring track around the outside of the board makes you feel like you’re in a race.  There is a fair amount of luck involved, but good strategy is what makes winning possible.

Ticket has several different variants. My favourite is the one for Asia.

Each variant has one or two things that make it different from the others.  It isn’t just a different map. The game designers have really done a great job with this series.

This is the version that I won yesterday. My strategy was to build across the top and down into China and Japan.

Risk! (and its variants)

When  you get right down to it, wargaming is all about conquering the world.  This is the version of Risk that I have, and I don’t get to play it nearly often enough.  I love adding a fantastic flavor to my wargaming.

Forget about the Ring. It’s Elves vs. Orcs vs. Men vs. Dwarves in a winner take all battle for world domination.

Judge Dredd

Way back in 1983 I got lucky and visited England and France for a couple of weeks, attending Games Day in London.  A friend got me into a game of Judge Dread (yes, I already knew about the comic), and I enjoyed it so much that I made a point of getting a copy of the game for myself.  I played it again a couple months ago.  The fun of the game is is the brilliant satire of popular culture and the modern world.  It’s also colorful and fairly fast to play.

My version of the game was printed in 1982.

A quick internet search will show you that there are a lot of different Judge Dredd games available now–many of them computerized versions.  I suspect that the brutal humor of the game carries it and makes it a blast to play no matter what version you’re using, but I’ve only played the old original from the 80s.

Munchkin (and its variants)

Steve Jackson Games is one of the three greatest game publishers in America.  Munchkin is basically a card game but you do need a fair amount of table to spread it out on.  With variants available to take advantage of different aspects of popular culture (Cthulhu, Conan, Munchkin Bites (Goth version), Munchkin Apocalypse, Booty (pirates), Star Munchkin and more), Steve Jackson has mastered the formula of finding a good thing, and then do it again and again and again. (Just like Catan, and Ticket to Ride, and Risk, and others).

Multiplayer, non-collectible, card game with fighting strength based on power conferred by various cards.  It has both humour and a relentless cutthroat dynamic that keeps every game fresh and fun.

I was going to keep today’s blog to five games, but I think I’ll mention one more.  I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a game with some trolls in it, so here’s my favourite trollish board game.

Trollhalla

Remember! Plunder first, then burn!

I admit I do have a weakness for games where you get to be the monster.

The world is full of wonderful games to play.  Heck, I was inventing another one last night.  If you have played any of these games, why not leave a comment, and tell the world how you liked it?

–end

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By Paco Garcia Jaen

I hate it when people try to take the piss. I hate it when they try to hide it under a veneer of “hey, I’m just like you!” bullshit. I have difficulties taking it, and therefore here goes this article/rant.

For the last few years we have seen, and quite a few of people applauded, comedy series that feature geek people. Big-Bang Theory, Community, The IT Crowd, The Guild, A Town Called Eureka…

Suddenly people are claiming that we geeks are “taking our place and being more accepted” because we’re getting more exposure on TV and the internet.

Bullshit. We are being laughed at!

Most of those series put geeks into stereotypes and then compare those stereotypes to “non-geek normal” people to exploit what make them “funny”.

With the exception possibly of Community (the series I am less familiar with), the rest blatantly and openly ridicule the role of the geek.

Let’s take a look at the average geek characters of the series. Let’s start with the young ones. They are all mega smart but socially awkward. Most of them have problems interacting with women, they are clumsy, have a poor sense of etiquette, have even poorer social skills. Geek women are portrayed as awkward and emotionally incompetent or dethatched and every single one of them has an “unique” approach to fashion.

The adults are more responsible, less socially awkward, they dress more like the average Joe does and they behave normally. Like you and me, that is. But they’re not in geeky jobs. If they are they’ll still have some awkward traits like poor social skills, a “unique” sense of fashion, or something in those lines.

Of course not every series is the same and not every character within each series is the same, but there are common points here and there. Let’s take a more detailed look to some of them. This are just the ones I am a bit more familiar with. It is not a comprehensive list, but just a list to illustrate my point.

The Big-Bang Theory

This is one of the biggest culprits. i don’t know if I should feel sorry or angry at this comedy/parody/mockery. The geeks are not just geeks, they are hyper-geeks. They have very obvious and impossible to avoid OCDs, PHDs and incredible jobs as scientists. And they don’t know how to behave in front of the attractive neighbour. They either have such low self esteem they don’t think they’re worthy so no bother interacting, see the woman as a trophy to hunt, become so awkward that they always mess it up or, simply, can’t even talk to her.

Exactly how pathetic is that view, comedic or not, of what geeks are like?

Yes, it’s comedy and yes, I can laugh at many things, but there is no balance and the series plays a lot with the “Aww… you poor thing who can’t get a girlfriend” attitude. What I don’t like is that series is allowing people who are not geeks to laugh AT me, not WITH me. And make no mistake, there are plenty of people out there who laughs at you.

The Guild

Where to start? Another comedy that takes the piss, blatantly, of an exaggerated view of what a guild of MMO players is like. But it’s not just that it mocks the players because they play, it mocks the players because they are geeks. They have dysfunctional lives and even have difficulties relating when not playing the game.

I am sure there are plenty of MMO players like that, but the majority of MMO players I know are seriously normal people who don’t behave anywhere near what you see in that series.

What annoys me the most about this series is that is produced by someone who openly and loudly claims to be part of the geek-society. And this is how you want the rest of the world to see the geeks you so much claim to love?

Seriously. If being a geek is such a cool thing, why not showing it? Why not writing the scripts so we are not nut-cases who need counselling or leave toddlers to fend for themselves near the microwave? Why not showing them just are you are in real life? Funny, clever, lovely, charming and a bit annoying. What is wrong with that? Because I really like it!

Oh, wait! because that probably won’t create the sense of ridicule that people need in order to laugh at us so they can feel better about themselves at our expense.

No thanks!

A Town Called Eureka

This one has a balance. Young geek, awkward geek. Older geek, responsible and mature geek.

Seriously. Did Fargo have to be THAT stupid? Did the chef have to be the fat bloke? Did the guy who run the place (don’t ask me for many names… not good with names) have to be the evil-up-his-own-arse genius? Did the sheriff with less-than-average-intelligence have to be the hero? Did the strong woman who can make a meal of said sheriff have to be the sidekick?

For a series with some very good plots and storylines, it sure has some of the shittiest character clichés ever.

And the funny bit?

We love it!

The geekosphere has taken on those series and we (and I use the term “we” VERY loosely here) wear t-shirts, use the series slogans, take on nicknames, buy the DVDs and idolatrize the actors and actresses.

Can’t we see we are being used and abused by a bunch of people who are there to make money?

They have found a niche that can be exploited for laughs and they don’t give a shit about us. They give a shit about getting the next production contract for the next series. And if they have to laugh at us for that, then so be it.

Of course not everything is bad and horrible and even I have to admit that some good has come out of it. We have gained more exposure in some circles and some people have felt empowered to “come out”, so to speak, and be themselves in the face of adversity. Plenty of people have identified traits with those of the characters and realised they’re not alone. The community has become more self-aware. And that is good.

In fact is very good.

But it’s time to stop now. It is time to start giving the world a more positive spin on geekdom. For starters expand outside science and gaming. There are sports geeks, make-up geeks, biology geeks, cookery geeks, car geeks…

Secondly, please be balanced in the portrayal of our idiosyncratic personalities. We are all like that, geeks and non-geeks. Why does the world have to be able to laugh at us more than at anyone else? Why laugh at anyone at all?

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By Paco Garcia Jaen

I have been a member of a minority pretty much all my life. Since I realised I was gay at a very young age – and I didn’t know what that meant at the time – I have been marginalised, ostracised, criticised, bullied and discriminated simply because I didn’t fit with the rest of the “boys”. Yes, life is pretty shitty when you are a gay man in the south of Spain. Things are better now, but in the 80s and 90s, it was a pretty horrific experience. Eventually I came out and that was a horrific experience in itself. I had to define my identity as a gay man and realise that being gay is not what defines me, it’s simply another part of me, like my arm, my nose or my love for spiders.

In time I started to wonder if being gay is such a big deal. When I came out I felt the need to reaffirm myself in front of people. I needed to validate my persona because I felt that, if people suspected I was gay but didn’t know for sure, they’d treat me differently. I also felt that if they knew, they’d make their attitude more open and obvious so I’d know where I stood how to deal with it. Of course I was right. I lived in an homophobic environment and people made their views very obvious. I was even driven out of an Utah based company because I am openly gay.

Now I just don’t bother telling anyone. If they have an issue with me being gay, then that’s their issue. If they make it my issue, then I make sure the issue goes back at them. I take no prisoners. The point, though, is that I don’t feel the need to tell people because I don’t think being gay is the most important side of me. It’s just another facet.

Being a geek is starting to feel the same about being, and being labelled, as “geek”.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem “being” a geek. It has helped shape the sort of person I am and I am very proud of that. And, quite frankly, I love being a geek because I love what it entails. I love the social aspect, the slightly esoteric hobbies, the idiosyncratic nature of our tastes, the passion that comes with being so attached to those hobbies, the community…

The positive aspects are much greater than the negative ones and I think that’s undeniable.

However plenty of people outside the “geekosphere” do deny that. Our image has become more and more popular in the last few years and, to some degree, it has improved somewhat, but there are still “ghettos” of geek society and people look at you weird, and judge you to be weird, if you confess to be a geek.

There are still some circles of people who will refuse to consider themselves geeks. There are others that will refuse to consider other people geeks. There are geeks who want to keep the hobbies for themselves and exclude women – and please, let’s not pretend those are not there – and there are geeks who desperately try to pretend they aren’t and hide it away.

The response I get from people when I tell them I am a geek “through and through” can be from the “Oh right… *steps back slowly*” to “What? You’re too normal… you might have geeky interests, but you’re no geek”.

Of course then there are the people around you who accept that you are a geek and have no problem with that, but apply to you the cliche and image they have of what a geek is. And then they assume that’s what you are and they treat you accordingly. Thus colleagues stop inviting you to go out for beers after work because “geeks don’t do that”. They will refuse invitations to go out because “Are you going to take me to a geeky place?”. They will not want to socialise with you because “I’m not interested in games”.

They don’t realise that I actually go out for beers without games and to normal pubs. I watch television, follow the news and read magazines and articles about politics, equality and many other interests. I draw in my spare time. I am a very accomplished photographer. I am a psychotherapist.

But none of that matters because I am a geek and a geek is not meant to be any of those things in their eyes.

Since I barely ever mention to people that I’m gay, I get a lot less of the “do you dress in women’s clothes” type of questions, and that makes me wonder what would happen if I didn’t have to make obvious that I am a geek. What if I were just me; geek, gay, photographer, psychotherapist, thinker, annoying, charming, meticulous, scatter-brain, writer… but didn’t tell anyone?

I have the feeling people would take geekdom for what it is, another facet of a human being who doesn’t have to be defined by any of those facets in particular, but by the combination and product of all of them.

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By Doctor Mike Reddy

Chimera CCG (the CCG doesn’t just stand for Collectible Card Game, but Comics, Collectibles and Games) is situated in Beeston in Nottingham, near the University. Originally sited at Ripley, before expanding to Beeston, Chimera’s owners, Andy and Heather Leach, eventually relocated “lock stock and ammo crate” to the current location, due to a more friendly environment, more affordable rates and a better ability to support its local community; including much more accessible free parking. Although it isn’t a typical “footfall” location, Andy confirmed, you have to seek Chimera out rather than accidentally discover it, as would occur if they were in a more central city location. The joy is that people do. Seek it out that is. Chimera has a loyal and growing community of players and customers, which I must confess (in the interests of transparency) includes my nephew, who introduced me to the store during a recent family visit.

On visiting the shop, one of the players I walked in with announces that it has changed a lot since last time she was in; the playing space and a large part of this quite spacious shop are reconfigurable, with some displays being movable to allow up to 70+ game players to be accommodated easily. Having said that, Chimera also run larger events at nearby locations, including hotels, etc, when greater numbers need to be supported for events. These competitions and tournaments are just an additional part of the service that Chimera provides to deserve it’s fan base. Andy is quite philosophical about the threat of the Internet. A Dork Tower cartoon, decorating the fridge near the counter, says it all. Without active support, the FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store) will never compete. Andy comments on the cartoon, “You get what you (don’t) pay for.”

He recognises that some customers will walk in, compare prices with the Internet and walk out intent to order on-line. What they don’t see, which is evident from the dozen or so players behind us, who occasionally come up to interrupt our interview with requests for snacks and drinks, is that Andy is here on a Sunday afternoon, having given up family time to provide facilities for them to play. He comments on the long hours, primarily due to the extended opening times to accommodate people playing games. Chimera does charge for some tournaments at the shop, but solely on the basis of all the revenue being returned as themed prizes for the events. Today, there is a Yu-Gi-Oh competition that a dozen competitors have paid £5 to take part in, but all that money will be ploughed into the prize that some lucky (skilful?) participant will walk away with. So, no obvious profit there, but a lot of happy players.

A few others, including my nephew and his girlfriend, are playing a non-tournament competition of UFS, with no charge. Andy’s shop was open anyway, but they all traipse up and buy food, knowing that this implicit support helps keep their ‘club’ open. Andy says he rarely sees customers bringing in their own food and drink, but that he is sanguine about it, even though he does see the community self-policing; people who do walk in with items that are for sale at the shop are reminded by fellow customers that they could have bought it there. So, the community clearly recognises and values the FLGS effect. For game shops to survive, they need to embrace this idea of service. Chimera does that well.

Chimera knows its customers well, and is slowly expanding its stock to improve its service to several distinct groups of purchasers. This growth is, like with many successful retail outlets, cash flow driven. Andy comes from a relevant background, and knows the obstacles and threats; he originally helped Virgin Game Stores get set up – I regularly wandered through the aisles of the Cardiff Virgin Store years ago, which is where I first bought my original Magic the Gathering (MTG) starter set (Still mint in box!) – but saw that the franchise failed because managers and buyers didn’t understand anything other than their own personal interests. That combined with mixing music, videos, etc, diluted what expertise there was, which led Andy to the realisation that such large ventures were unlikely to succeed. So, the principle customer, evidenced by the company name, was those interested in Collectable Card Games. Chimera has slowly built up stock of individual cards, something that few brick and mortar stores do, to better serve that market.

Comics, specifically from pre-order and subscriptions, but with a back catalogue of older titles, forms the second segment of Andy’s strategy to provide products that are wanted. Like being able to see and feel the quality of the MTG cards – much safer than purchasing blind off the internet, where many counterfeit and fraudulent copies abound – having the actual item in your hand, enables an informed purchase: Is it mint, dog-eared, or falling apart? Of course, this comes at a cost. Running a shop has bigger overheads. However, that is the price for personal service, even though many of the items for sale seem in line with costs elsewhere. The X-Wing Miniatures Game and extensions I spy to the right of the counter are, for example, about the same price as I see everywhere else, including on the Internet. They tempt me to make a purchase…

Board games are the third and newest addition to Chimera’s stock. While Andy says he doesn’t sell as many of these as CCGs and Comics, he recognises that they are a much needed addition to the store. Chimera does literally mean “a fabulous beast made up of many parts” after all. I ask him what is favourite game is, to which his eyes grow misty when he confesses Dungeons and Dragons is, and always has been, his favourite. Heather, his wife and partner in the business is a wizard at card games, such as Gloom and Fluxx, and also has a pedigree in the Games Industry, having worked for Alternative Armies, before working to run the shop and their family; maybe that is where the idea for the name came from, given one of their products is a fine Chimera figure…

ChimeraCCG is, then, a family business, not just a FLGS. And the Leach family also have plans for second hand games to be offered to customers, although Andy is aware that this is not without its problems; ensuring that all components are present and in good order is just the first obstacle. So, all in all a most pleasant experience, discovering that this FLGS is not as mythical as its name implies. Next time I am in Nottingham, I’ll hope to review the two other stores offering board, card and RPG games – Vague Connections and Mondo Comico – but they will be hard pressed to beat such an excellent example of a genuinely friendly local game store. To get a fuller idea of the size and scope of the ChimeraCCG store, click the image below.

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By The Piece Keeper

Here’s one of my favorite pieces from a few years back, for those who don’t go to certain other sites.  Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing.

All I did was drop a meeple. In a diner.

A yellow one. The meeple, not the diner. Not my favourite choice, but sometimes you have to deal with what you’re given. The diner was the typical chrome and neon; the meeple was a typical wooden figure from any of a hundred or so European boardgames.

I bent under the table and reached for the meeple, fingers groping the greasy floor as I absentmindedly began counting the wads of semi-fossilized pre-chewed gum now hanging from the bottom of the table like a fabulously detailed replica of the roof of Howe Caverns. Across the dingy grey and black checker patterned floor that was probably once white and black, I saw the door open and in she walked.

I had never liked high heels and fishnet stockings before. Thankfully, she wasn’t wearing high heels and fishnet stockings, so I wasn’t bothered. My fingers were still skating through the grime trying to find my meeple and by some trick of fate, she glided effortlessly to my table and slid into the slightly cracked maroon vinyl bench on the other side of the booth. The game was on.

There I was, hunched like Quasimodo, half under the table, one hand whisking for my missing meeple, the other grasping the table support for, well, support, and I was being afforded a perfect and private view of everything of hers perfect and private. She thought she was alone. Were I another kind of man, the man with a different kind of story to tell to a different kind of audience, I could have just stayed there and watched.

But I’m not that kind of guy.

So, I tried with glaring unsuccess to sit up straight without slamming my head into the gum festooned table. Running my hand through my hair and trying to pluck out the last bits of hardened Wrigley’s Spearmint, I looked her over. And over.

Her lips were painted redder than a cold war Russian stop sign. Her face a delicate triangle, a pale blush flower holding two glassy dark eyes under a cascading waterfall of black hair that would make Niagara jealous – and I don’t mean the game.

She looked at me in a surprisingly unsurprised fashion and tapped her long manicured nails to the formica table evenly.

“I,” I stammered, trying to collect myself, and failing like a man running after his chits after dropping the complete Advanced Squad Leader collection in a hurricane. “I was just under the table.”

“So I see,” she murmured as a tiny smile licked her lips as I wish I were at that moment. “I’ll get another booth.”

“No!” I shouted with the unsubtlety of a professional Pit player. “I mean, um, please, stay. Sit.”

She pondered this for a moment and gave a slight sideways nod.

The silence between us felt longer than the last game of Monopoly I had to tolerate. I figured I had better say something or lose her right there.

“I’m a dick,” I blurt out.

She didn’t even bat a perfect eyelash.

“Umm, I mean a Private Investigator. You know, they uh, they used to call us that… you know… dick…”

“Got a name,” she purred, “Dick?”

Never give your real name. Basic rule of the job. Think fast, the timer is about to run out.

“Derk. Derk Aldie, PI,” I said before I had a chance to reconsider. It was the first thing that popped into my mind. Well, the second, the first being whether or not she would say yes to a game of either Twister or perhaps Crokinole on a particularly low table.

“Well,” she sniffed indifferently, “Dick…”

“Derk.”

“Right. I’m looking for some action in this town. You know. A game. Maybe a partner for it. Although I’ve considered doing it with a group as well.”

What? Did I hear this right? I must have, because I could still hear the echo of her words in my mouth, which had opened to a decidedly unattractive gape.

She nodded to the waiter who poured her a dark roast which she never ordered as I tried to figure my strategy.

I did my best to be suave as I leaned one elbow on the table to gently rub my chin as if this were the oddest question I had ever heard, and not one that I had dreamed of being asked every time I close my eyes and picture someone like her actually speaking to someone like me.

Suddenly, she looked me dead in the eye in mid-sip. Had my furious passion for vegetables left a bit of broccoli lodged in my eyebrow? No, this wasn’t the usual look I got for broccoli in my eyebrow, this was something else.

“Is that,” she said in a hushed inquiry, “A meeple?”

I had totally forgotten my little wooden friend, and my meeple, for the last few moments. I had it between two of my fingers as I was rubbing my chin. In an exhilarated rush of excitement that she knew what I was holding, I gasped.

And I swallowed the meeple.

Actually, had I swallowed the meeple, perhaps things would have gone another way. More correctly, I inhaled it. It got lodged in my windpipe. It is very difficult not to look distressed when you’re choking on a yellow meeple. I’m sure you’re familiar with the sensation. I tried to keep my composure as the tears welled up in my eyes and my breathing stopped.

I’m fairly sure I looked like I was trying to figure out my next card in RoboRally as I began to flail spasmodically, turning first one way and then the other, attempting to dislodge the meeple from my craw.

There was a splash of hot black coffee… an indignant scream… At some point I remember seeing her being escorted out of the diner by one of the attending paramedics. It was hard to see as my vision was blurring, but I think I saw her peering in the back of the ambulance as we drove away.

So I go back there a lot. With my yellow meeple. I can only hope one day, she’ll return to me. Every night I dream her, every day she haunts me to no end. I can barely claim points for a river anymore without become all choked up. But I think that might be the scar from the meeple. She’s all I ever think about anymore. I know she’ll be back. She has to. She’s all I have.

All I did was drop a meeple.

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