Well… kinda. I use my Powerbook as a display for video game consoles. It’s the easiest way for us to continue playing new releases on our North American systems while living in France (we’re damn sure not gonna miss Super Mario Galaxy or Smash Bros. Brawl). How it works exactly is the topic of this week’s Off the Grid, although the picture below is kind of a giveaway.
This piece actually marks the hopeful end to a bit of a dry period for Off the Grid. The move to France disrupted my normal flow of reviews, and I’ve spent the last week or so attempting to arrange for more review copies of games to be sent to my new address.
It’s going to be harder to review games here, in part because fewer companies are willing to ship review copies abroad. The larger problem, however, is the lack of players. It’s just me, Bonnie, and at the moment nobody else in this country that I’d feel comfortable subjecting to board games they’ve never heard of. At the moment, that limits me to games for two players. I guess I’ll have to start making French friends if I want to play anything more substantial than that.
I’ve been working on a game that uses a deck of playing cards, and have been keeping track of a number of simple stats and factoids about the cards during the design process. I thought I’d be nice and share.
There are 52 cards in a deck (not counting Jokers):
- 13 spades (black)
- 13 clubs (black)
- 13 diamonds (red)
- 13 hearts (red)
That means there are 26 black cards and 26 red cards.
Of the 13 cards in each suit:
- 3 are face cards (Jack, Queen, King)
- 10 are number cards (Ace through 10).
In total, a deck of cards contains 12 face cards and 40 number cards.
Counting by color, there are:
- 6 face cards of each color
- 20 number cards of each color.
We can add the values of number cards together to come up with total sums:
- Total sum of each suit: 55
- Total sum of each color: 110
- Total sum overall: 220
Lastly, here’s a good rule to keep in mind:
- If you’re going to leave the country for six months, bring at least one deck of playing cards with you!
I must have six or seven decks back in Pennsylvania. Now I have to go out and buy a French set. Just remember:
- Jack is Valet
- Queen is Dame
- King is Roi
Photo from itzjere on Flickr. Thanks!
It’s not exactly a runaway feedback loop, but it’s close. As I explain in my Off the Grid review, players earn points in Cheapass Games’ Enemy Chocolatier by owning neighborhoods. Once a player is earning points, he does so every round, with no guaranteed way for other players to stop him. The points end up snowballing (especially as that player continues to purchase new properties as his points steadily increase), and often the game’s outcome is apparent two-to-three rounds before it actually ends. As much as I like the game, I have to admit that it’s not fun to know you’re going to lose. There are definitely ways to hack and tweak the gameplay, but I’ve been a bit too busy to think them up myself.
I’m in Georgia this week, no doubt lying out on a floating dock, dreaming about Scottypedia (which is now technically possible thanks to my awesome hosts!). In recent news, Bonnie was on national television, and I’m starting as a full-time Joystiq blogger next Monday. We’re also moving to the city, but that’s a whole ‘nother post.