Notes from Hades

T
he rush to get orders in last time was due to a trip I had to take. This was a two-week trip to Japan, so I couldn't push the deadline back one week as I normally would. The trip itself went well. The first week was spent in Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido. Unfortunately, I did not get to see much of the city, since this was one of those meetings where I was buys from about 8:00 am until 7:00 pm most days. Our hosts did provide us a gala dinner one evening, with entertainment provided by a local drum and dance troop. It was quite entertaining, and described by one of my colleagues as “traditional Japanese meets Eurovision”.

The second week, I was in Tokyo, and I was able to do a bit more sightseeing there. I flew down on the Saturday, so I had all of Sunday to explore. I went to the Imperial Palace, but unfortunately, the palace itself was closed to the public. The gardens around the palace were quite stunning. Later on, we went to Asakusa, which is a large shopping district near a Shinto shrine. I was able to pick up quite a few gifts there.

The real excitement of the week, however, was Typhoon Melor, which hit Japan toward the end of the week. It made landfall near Nagoya, and came up through central Honshu to the east and north of Tokyo. It affected us late Wednesday night and Thursday morning, but by the time it got to us, the winds were not that bad, and on Thursday, only a few bands of rain were left. Later that day, we went up in the Tokyo Tower (which I could see from my hotel room), and the winds were still enough to cause noticeable movement in the tower. The view was fantastic, however, since the rain had swept through and cleared away any haze. Mount Fuji was easily visible.

I actually got to experience Melor twice, since it caught the jet stream end hit California after I had come home. By the time it got to us, however, it was a fairly unremarkable storm.

Overall, Japan was very nice, and the hospitality was exceptional. I would recommend it to anyone.

Two games end this issue. First, Terrier ends on schedule with congratulations due to Dave Hooton. Hunter will start next issue to replace it. Secondly, Doberman finally ends with a last minute surge by Eric Brosius to take the victory. It will be replaced by Boston Terrier.

The next deadline is Tuesday, December 15 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

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. Starts next issue!

Dogbreath. History of the World. Have Chris Geggus, Dave Partridge, Andy Lewis, Kevin Wilson, Dave Anderson, Paul Bolduc, will take up to 1 more.

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

Boston Terrier. 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, Dave Partridge, Bob Robles, and Dave Hood, will take up to 1 more. Starts next issue!

Purebred. Machiavelli.This game will start after the second Machiavelli game ends. Have Ward Narhi, Bob Robles, Pasquale Giovine, Dave Partridge, and Walt O'Hara, Mike Scott, will take up to 2 more.

Golden Retriever. Seafarers of Catan. Have Chris Geggus, Dave Partridge, Dave Hooton, Mike Scott. Will take up to 2 more.

Wish List

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

Silverton. Will start after Hunter ends. Have Eric Brosius, Dave Partridge, Dave Hooton, will take up to 3 more.

Kremlin. Will start after Pateel ends. Have Walt O'Hara, Mike Scott. Will take up to 4 more.

Outpost. Will start after Basset ends. Have Eric Brosius, Andy York, will take up to 8 more.

Goa. Have Brad Martin, will take up to 3 more.

Puerto Rico. Have Chris Geggus, Andy York, will take up to 3 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 $2.50 per issue ($3.75 overseas). Web subscription is free.