Notes from Hades

T
he last couple of months have been a bit hectic. There were two trips since the last issue. The first of these was to Basel, Switzerland. We had a meeting there hosted by the Bank of International Settlements. It is kind of a shadowy organization with an interesting history. It was originally founded after World War I to deal with the reparation payments of the Central Powers to the Allies. It has since become essentially the bank for national central banks. Central bankers from all over the world, such as Ben Bernanke, meet there every year, and it is through the BIS that major payments are made from one country to another. I didn't get to see much of Basel, but it did seem like a pleasant city.

The following week, I had a week of meetings in the DC area, specifically McLean, Virginia. I wasn't able to make it into DC itself, and frankly, the McLean area is not really anything special, but it was a good trip nonetheless. I did encounter something interesting on the flight home, however – Congressperson sightings. On my flight were three of the local House representatives. Maxine Waters, Linda Sanchez, and Gary Miller. Since it was the Friday before the Presidents' Day weekend, they were all heading home for the break. I overheard Maxine and Linda talking about the passage of the stimulus package in the house, and their certainty that it would pass the Senate as well.

As for the website, I am trying an experiment. I've put a PayPal donation button on the main page, in lieu of charging subscription or game fees for web-only subscribers. I put it up a couple weeks before the deadline, and I have already received a couple of donations (thanks!), so I am hopeful this will work. So, if you like what I'm doing and can spare the money, please consider tossing what you can spare my way.

Finally, Flea Collar, the Kremlin game, completed this issue. Congratulations to Chris Geggus on his impressive fourth Kremlin victory in this zine. That also opens up another game slot, so next issue we will start Pateel, the next Kremlin game. There is still one opening available, so if you are interested in joining let me know.

The next deadline is Tuesday, April 7 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Please do not call or fax orders after 10:00 p.m. Pacific time. My wife and I tend to retire early. Also, if you want to fax in orders, call first. We hang up on unannounced faxes.

Game Openings

Frontier Dog. Gunslinger .Scenario to be determined. Have Paul Bolduc, Chris Geggus, Mike Scott, and Andy Lewis, will take up to 3 more.

Pateel. Kremlin. Will start after Flea Collar ends. Have Ward Narhi, Mike Scott, Bill Scharf, Bob Robles, and Pasquale Giovine, will take up to 1 more. Starts next issue!

Hunter. Silverton. Will start after Terrier ends. Have Dave Partridge, Michael Longdin, Ward Narhi, Cary Nichols, Bill Scharf, and Dave Hooton. This game is full.

Procyon. Merchant of Venus. Have Dave Partridge, Bob Robles, Chris Geggus, Dennis Cain, Andy Lewis, and Andy York. This game is full.

Husky. Power Grid. Have Andy York, Michael Longdin, Dave Partridge, Dave Hooton, and Brad Martin, will take up to 1 more. Starts this issue!

Dogbreath. History of the World. Have Chris Geggus, Dave Partridge, and Andy Lewis, will take up to 4 more.

Basset. Outpost. Will start after Hound ends. Have Andy York, Cary Nighols, Dave Partridge, Dave Hooton, Eric Brosius, Andy Lewis, and Michael Lowrey, will take up to 3 more.

Bolognese. Machiavelli. Gunboat. This game will start after the next Machiavelli game ends. Have 5, will take up to 3 more.

Wish List

Industrial Waste. Have Andy York and Dave Partridge, will take up to 2 more.

Machiavelli. This game will start after the second Machiavelli game ends. Have Ward Narhi, Bob Robles, Pasquale Giovine, and Dave Partridge, will take up to 4 more.

New World. This will use the exploration variant, plus the Non-Player Nations variant in the event I get less than 6 players. Have Andy York, Andy Lewis, and Dave Partridge, will take up to 3 more.

Silverton. Will start after Hunter ends. Have Eric Brosius, will take up to 5 more.

In general, game ownership is recommended, but not required.

Note that a subscription to S.O.B. is not required to play in a game run by flier, but that a game fee will be charged to non-subbers.

S.O.B. is a zine of unusual postal games, and anything else I feel like including. Your publisher is:

Chris Hassler a.k.a. Cerberus

2000 S. Armour Court

La Habra, CA 90631

Phone: (562) 690-7827

Fax: (562) 690-7827

chassler@roadrunner.com

Subscriptions cost $2.00 per issue ($3.00 overseas). Web subscription is free.