64 days to Edinburgh

[bugshaw]

I got back from Stabcon with a head keen to get busy and do something interesting this summer.

However, I got back from Stabcon with a bad back. Saturday's game of Twilight Imperium started at noon. Shortly after midnight I reached for a card, and put my back out badly enough that I couldn't walk to my room. People were very helpful, and fetched blankets for me as I lay on the games room floor and waited for things to improve. Unfortunately the hotel didn't have an emergency wheelchair I could borrow. I lay and listened as play continued for another hour and a half - this of a game that we'd been warned could take 4-8 hours, and since 5pm people had been "sure" that it would end after this round "or maybe just one more". We didn't reckon on the grudge match of the two leaders desperately trying to win and to thwart each other. I like the game, but in future I will warn people that after 8 hours I walk, regardless of where we've got to.

2am and I still couldn't walk. Someone got a table-top from the hotel, I slowly transferred myself to it, and four gamers carried me along the corridor on it! A few yards in, someone asked where my room was (A: very far away, like Bristol is to Stockport, and on the second floor) then offered a swap with theirs which was Much Nearer. Huge thanks to everyone who helped, fetched things, opened doors, carried bags etc, and if you remind me who you were I will buy you a drink next con!

Much less pain the next day, and today; I have a lot more mobility but I'm still very fragile and can't walk far/sit long/load a washing machine without it getting bad again. There must be something I can get working on to go with the "Get things done!:-)!:-)!" mood.

Comments

[mkillingworth.livejournal.com]

Sorry it hurt, but glad that it's better. I guess this means we won't see you tonight. :~(

[maviscruet.livejournal.com]

Thank god for that closer room. The 4th floor was never going to be an option.....

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Hate it when that happens. *hug*

[slev.livejournal.com]

I still feel guilty.
Have some e-chocolet.

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

e-nom nom nom!

It was a useful lesson in knowing one's limits, and I'm much better now.

[damerell.livejournal.com]

Which edition? 3rd Ed Twilight introduced a mechanic which guarantees the game terminates eventually.

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

3rd Ed. And yes, that was the last card in the deck after several rounds of picking two cards, choosing one to play and one to put back in the deck.

[damerell.livejournal.com]

But there's also the Imperial strategy card, no? Or did they play with one of the variants that eliminate or weaken it?

[I've no sympathy if they did - well, I have for you, but not for the people who decided to do that.]

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

We played with the expansion set to bring it up to eight players, but it was decided to not use the Imperial strategy card, to stop people, well, using that as a strategy...

[damerell.livejournal.com]

It's Monopoly all over again; introduce a house rule that causes the game to fail to terminate, wonder why the game fails to terminate. :-)

[bugshaw.livejournal.com]

slev has new rules now: no more than 2 first-time players in a game, and start with a preset board (partly for speed of setting up, partly to improve the balance of resources - I had little influence, he had little green resources.)

[damerell.livejournal.com]

We used to do the setup phase before people knew where their seats were, although the intended competitive setup's an interesting mechanic.