My People Connection: Make new friends at fun events

The Fine Print:

Let's Make a Deal premiered on December 30, 1963 (and continues to this day with online, touring, and international versions). It's a very strange game show, requires neither knowledge of trivia nor the ability to answer cleverly. The host offers contestants a series of deals, and contestants choose what to keep and what to give up. That's it. However, the show has affected our culture in more ways than a lifetime supply of Rice-a-roni.

Monty Hall, the show's co-creator and longtime host, was famous for encouraging players to try to win the fabulous prizes waiting in the wings. In roleplaying games, the term "monty hall campaign" describes adventures run by gamemasters who like to dole out incredibly powerful weapons and artifacts to low-level characters.

Agonizing over whether to keep what you've won or trade it all for the unseen prize behind door number three is a classic quandry in the vein of Frank R. Stockton's The Lady or the Tiger. A mathematical puzzler involving three doors and changing odds was dubbed the Monty Hall paradox in honor of the show. The paradox demonstrates how probability can be counterintuitive; you can read about it here.

Finally, though an audience of potential contestants dressed as pumkins or raggedy anns has become a part of the Let's Make a Deal mythos, costumes were not supposed to be a part of the show. To catch the host's eye, hopeful participants started wearing funny hats or carrying signs into the studio. Very soon, the dress code devolved into garish and absurd getups, to the delight of the show's producers. Let's Make a Deal may be one of the first times the American public proved its willingness to dress and act like idiots for a chance to win money, or better yet, appear on television.

Game Night

About once a month, we meet up on a Sunday night and break out a bunch of board games. Some of these are fairly well-known games (Taboo, Pictionary, Cranium), but a whole bunch are games you've likely never heard of (Settlers of Catan, Apples to Apples, Carcassonne) unless you're a gaming connoisseur (or "game geek," as some of us prefer to be called).

Each game night has a sort-of-theme that we stick to until we feel like playing something else. Sure, playing games borders on the wholesome, rainy-day activities. But they're FUN. And, well, if you don't have a competitive nature, or don't think you can win, we'll understand if you don't want to come play with us.

August 15th: The Art of the Deal

Countless games are won and lost by the fickle whims of fate. Even the cleverest strategies can be undermined by an unlucky roll of the dice, or when the card you need is hiding at the bottom of the deck. This game night gives you a chance to renegotiate your situation.

Beat your opponents not with military might, but with shrewd savviness. Master the politics of persuasion and wheel and deal your way to victory.

Why would anybody bargain with you, when all you're trying to do is win the game and make them lose?

I don't know. But it's your job to convince them.

It's Game Night: The Art of the Deal! Click to RSVP!

Here's a preview of some of the games that'll be out on the table at the next Game Night.
(for more info on a game, click on the picture)

Welcome to High Society, where wealth may not buy happiness, but it can get you mansions, jewelry, and your own basketball team. End the game with the best stuff and win. The price? Whatever you can afford to outbid your opponents. The catch? Whoever has the least money at the end automatically loses.
3-5 players.

You'll be shouting "I'm the Boss!" in this freewheeling game that supports both frantic flurries of deals and cold, reptilian negotiation. Win by earning the most money--but you can't do it alone. How much will you cut your opponents in for, before they cut you out of the deal completely?
3-6 players.

Hoity Toity (aka By Hook or By Crook, aka Adel Verpflichtet) is a deliciously clever game of double bluffs and triple-crosses. Earn prestige by displaying antique collectables...or make your opponents think you're displaying antiques to lure out their thieves, so your detective can capture them. But if no one played a thief, your detective is useless and a mediocre collection of antiques is judged the best...serves you right, you snobby aristocrats!
3-6 players.

Basari and Edel, Stein, & Reich are actually two versions of the same game with slight rule and theme variations. In both, earn the most money, gems, and points by convincing your rivals not to stop you. Basari takes place in a middle-eastern bazaar, while Edel et. all moves the action to a nineteenth-century trading house. Sometimes the most advantageous move isn't the best: if two people choose the same action, they have to bid for the right to do it. If three or more people choose the same action, they all miss a turn! Can you second-guess your opponents before they second-guess you?
3-4/3-5 players.

For Intrigue, I'm going to break from our usual game descriptions and quote the entirety of a funagain review, posted by an anonymous gamer: "This game is pure negotiation. Take bribes. Promise deals. Then keep the money and backstab everyone. This game has the most screwage for the buck of any game I've ever played. If your group doesn't like backstabbing and broken promises, run, don't walk away from this game. But if you like screwage as much as I do BUY IT NOW."
I couldn't have said it better. 3-5 players

Welcome to medieval Genoa, a bustling city brimming with financial opportunity. There are buildings to buy, goods to ship, and messages to deliver. In this game, you can make money during another person's turn...if you can convince them to move their playing piece to the right space on the board...and bribe them to ignore your opponents, who'd be happier if they moved in a different direction. You're all The Traders of Genoa--think you've got what it takes to outnegotiate your rivals?
2-5 players.

All this and more on August 15th...space is limited, so RSVP soon!