Notes from Hades

T
his last month, I went to D.C., and I took the family with me. This is the first time that the boys have been to Washington, and they have been looking forward to it ever since we told them about it at Christmas. They were not disappointed. We went a little early, so we had the entire three-day Presidents Day weekend to play. We spent Saturday at the Air and Space Museum, Sunday at the American History Museum, and Monday at the Natural History Museum. They boys thoroughly enjoyed it all. And, on top of all of that, they had their first real experience with snow. Everywhere we walked, the boys insisted on tromping through the snow. During the rest of the week, while I attended my meetings, they went to Mount Vernon, the National Archives, and several other sights in D.C. Overall, a very enjoyable trip.

I want to say a word about how I do the zine around deadline time. As the deadline approaches, I do some pre-work on the games, setting things up so that I can process them quickly when the deadline comes. Any orders I have at that time get incorporated to the extent possible. As I'm processing the games, if I encounter an issue with someone's orders, I will typically send that person an email seeking clarification. This is an advantage of getting the orders in earlier rather than later. Several days before the deadline, I typically send out a reminder email. I also send out an email reminder after the deadline to all those players who have not yet submitted orders. I then process the games, starting with those games where I have all the orders. If I finish all of those games, I will typically work on those aspects of the zine that I can, such as this column. If I hear back from a player asking for more time, I will do what I can, without delaying the zine too much. It is only after doing everything else I can that I will NMR someone. Depending on how quickly I get the orders, the cut point can conceivably be as early as the day after the deadline. I try to be as fair as possible, and I treat all players equally, no matter how long they have subscribed to the zine. The only way to guarantee not to NMR, is to get your orders in by the deadline.

Greyhound ends this issue, with congratulations due for Dave Hood. I will be starting up Plantation Dog next time to replace it.

The next deadline is Tuesday, April 13 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

Dogbreath. History of the World. Have Chris Geggus, Dave Partridge, Andy Lewis, Kevin Wilson, Dave Anderson, Paul Bolduc. Starts this issue!

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

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, Kevin Wilson, Jerry Roalstad,. This game is full.

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

Plantation Dog. Puerto Rico. Have Chris Geggus, Andy York, Richard Weiss, Andy Lewis, will take up to 1 more. Starts next issue!

Rottweiler. Industrial Waste. Have Andy York, Dave Partridge, Eric Brosius, will take up to 1 more.

Wish List

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, Bob Robles. Will take up to 3 more.

Outpost. Will start after Basset ends. Have Eric Brosius, Andy York, Andy Lewis, will take up to 7 more.

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

Power Grid. Players will have the choice of 10 maps and several deck options. Will take up to 5.

Phoenicia. A game similar to Outpost set in ancient times. Have Cary Nichols, will take up to 9 more.

Age of Renaissance. This will use the EuroGames rules. Will take up to 6.

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.