Open Mic: All Day Singin' & Dinner on the Grounds

This time around, we'll deal with a more "church-y" kind of questions... as always, if you'd like to see all of the Open Mic questions, you can check them out here.

Some background is necessary for this question: the selection of congregational music is an issue for almost every church - regardless of whether they are liturgical/high church or a bunch of "holy rollers" meeting in a storefront. At the church I pastor, we've been transitioning from a "classic" Southern Baptist style (mostly hymns sung from a hymnbook with piano) to a more "contemporary" style (with a variety of choruses, hymns & songs sung backed up by a band.)

For those of you without church background, consider this a peek behind the curtain. (The Great Oz has spoken... he he.) The discussions that occur are not dissimilar to discussions about the relative merits of FLGS vs online stores or (shudder) space operas & "hard" sci-fi.

Why can't we sing some of the old gospel songs out of the hymn book?

This answer is going to sound a bit flippant - but it's not meant that way.

There is nothing stopping you from singing & enjoying whatever kind of worship music you like. Thanks to CDs and video, you can listen to any style of music that is meaningful to you. You just may not get to sing the music you like during every NewLife Community worship service.

Again, I don't mean to sound snide or flippant in that response - you see, the music we do on Sunday morning is not my preferred worship style, either. (The best worship band I've ever experienced was at The Origins Experience in 2004... they played a blend of funk, rock, and R&B with solidly Scriptural lyrics that absolutely spoke to my soul.) I play CD's in my office during the week that resonate spiritually & musically with me.

My first suggestion for anyone who's a part of NewLife is that they should find ways to hear the music that ministers to them, whether or not that happens during the worship service they attend.

But the heart of the question is, I think, "Why don't we sing the songs that I connect with on Sunday morning?" Which, honestly, is a very good question.

The music that Aaron choooses (under my leadership) is chosen with three things in mind:

• lyrics that honor God & reflect the truth of Scripture
• accesibilty to non-Christians & new believers (can they understand what we're singing about and is it in a style that appeals to them?... keep in mind that the median age of our congregation is 29.)
• connection with the theme of the message for that morning

When a hymn out of the hymnal does those things, we're more than happy to use it. I'm equally happy to use something offbeat than no one has ever heard of IF it will help people connect with Scriptural truth.

Aaron & I are emphatically NOT "anti-hymn" - every Sunday morning during Senior Adult Sunday School, I enjoy singing hymns with the folks. We've also done Hymnsing services - where we've spent 90 minutes (or more!) enjoying those older songs together. They are important parts of our heritage of faith.

My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary... Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us. Martin Luther

But, long before most of us were alive, they were the "flashy new songs" that were replacing the "good old songs" of the faith. (In our denominational background, the vast majority of what we call "hymns" are actually "revival songs", written in the late 19th & early 20th century. ) We need to sing with hearts turned toward Christ... whether it's the latest song of praise (like "Blessed Be Your Name") or the oldest hymn (like my personal favorite, "A Mighty Fortress is our God".)

Heck, just read Psalm 150.

Open Mic: Knock, Knock, Knockin...

There is only one thing I know am going to do in my life. I don't know if I'll be a success, a failure, married, single - but I do know that sooner or later, I'm going to die. The finality of that is kind of like God's little joke. No matter how cool you think you are, you will decompose. Most people live most of their lives ignoring death. Anything that will remind us, we remove from sight. This obsession with immortality is a bizarre thing. What that tells me, though, is we must be immortal. Rich Mullins, quoted in An Arrow Pointed To Heaven

For this edition of "answering the Open Mic questions", we talk about Heaven. (You can see all of the questions at the comments on the original post here online...)

I know that this post is going to be tough going for those of you who are skeptical about Christianity and/or the afterlife. I welcome your questions...

Are there different levels in heaven?

The idea of multiple levels of Heaven:

• a "super-Christian" level for Billy Graham, Mother Teresa & pastors who are not addicted to board games (wink, wink)
• a "regular Christian" level for your average, everyday follower of Jesus
• a "skin of your teeth" level for thos who declared their faith in Christ but then lived like they'd never heard of the Bible (this is probably where board-game obsessed pastors go...)

...shows up in a lot of places. Interestingly enough, it's not Biblical.

The single passage that might be interpeted to suggest a "leveled" Heaven (why do I feel like I'm talking about D&D or World of Warcraft right now?!) is from one of Paul's letters:

I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don't know-only God knows. 2 Corinthians 12:2 (NLT)

It's important to note that Paul is probably referring to a common way of denoting "the heavens" during ancient times:

• the first heaven (terrestrial) - the skies
• the second heaven (telestial) - outer space
• the third heaven (celestial) - spiritual Heaven

Please don't mistake the use of the words in parantheses for agreement with Mormon thought on these issues. (My theological disagreements with the LDS church will have to wait for another day - but suffice it to say that they use those words very differently than I do.)

Are there Hostess Twinkies and other wonderfully fattening things in Heaven?

Unless we work really hard to over-spiritualize the multiple references to feasts in heaven (Isaiah 25:6, Luke 22:18, Matthew 8:11, Revelation 19:9, Luke 14:15, etc.), we're going to be enjoying food & drink in Heaven.

Obviously, I can't answer with absolute certainty about Twinkies - but 1 Timothy 6:17 tells us that God "richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." I'm leaning toward a pro-Twinkie (and pro-ice cream!) Heaven.

I heard this saying: all kids go to heaven. Why or why not?

In this short space, I don't think I can do a discussion of the "age of accountability" justice. Instead, let me simply state that I believe that people who are mentally unable to comprehend what it means to follow Jesus Christ with their entire lives are given the grace of God because, well, He's gracious. No act by the child or their guardians is required - if it was, that would interfere with the whole Ephesians 2:8-9 "not of works" thing, right?!

I want to recommend two excellent books to you on the subject:

• Heaven (Randy Alcorn) - which, frankly, is the best book on Heaven I've ever read
• safe in the arms of God (John MacArthur) - which deals specifically with children & death

What will our relationships with other be like in heaven? Will we know others as we did on earth? (i.e. husbands & wives)

This is probably one of the toughest questions to answer - for a couple of reasons:

1. The answer is based, primarily, on one passage of Scripture... I try, as much as possible, to not base my theology off of isolated verses.
2. I don't think the answer I have to give is completely satisfying - to me or to many other folks. I think it's true, but it doesn't answer the question exactly the way I want it to.

But let's get one thing out of the way first - despite some folks teaching otherwise, we will know each other in Heaven. I'll recognize my grandfather & my uncle who died long before I was born & all sorts of other. (Man, I can not wait to hug Arly Ruth & Bro. Beach...) You can check out Isaiah 66:22 and Matthew 26:29 to see this in action.

Of course, there's really two questions when we talk about husbands & wives, right?!:

1. Will there be marriage in Heaven?
2. Will there be sex in Heaven?

The answer to the first question is going to sound a little weird - I believe there will be marriage in Heaven, but it will be the marriage between Christ & his bride - the church.

For this reason a man will leave his father & mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:31-32 (NIV)

To quote Randy Alcorn in his excellent book, Heaven: "The one-flesh union we know on Earth is a signpost pointing to our relationship with Christ as our bridegroom. Once we reach the destination, the signpost becomes unnecessary. That one marriage - our marriage to Christ - will be so completely satisfying that even the most wonderful earthly marriage couldn't be as fulfilling."

Now, it's easy for me to type those words... but I have a pretty wonderful marriage right here & right now. I am deeply, crazily, hopelessly in love with my wife. It's difficult for me to imagine what life would be like without her as my most important relationship... and yet, if I really believe in the existence of God, it seems right that my marriage to Shari would pale in comparison with knowing Him completely.

Like I said earlier, this isn't a teaching I'm particularly fond of... but you have to deal with the what's in the Bible rather than just censor out the parts you don't like. So, whatever answer we come up with has to deal with what Jesus said in some form or fashion.

At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. Matthew 22:30 (NIV)

The second question - the "sexy" question - I'll just let my hero, C.S. Lewis, answer:

I think our present outlook might be like that of a small boy who, on being told that the sexual act was the highest bodily pleasure should immediately ask whether you ate chocolates at the same time. On receiving the answer "No," he might regard the absence of chocolates as the chief characteristic of sexuality. In vain would you tell him that the reason why lovers in their carnal raptures don't bother about chocolates is that they have something better to think of. The boy knows chocolate: he does not know the positive thing that excludes it. We are in the same position. We know the sexual life; we do not know, except in glimpses, the other thing which, in Heaven, will leave no room for it. from C.S. Lewis' book, Miracles

"I Found Jesus"

"I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player... I take full responsibility for my actions... not for one second will I sit right here and point the finger and try to blame anybody else for my actions or what I've done... I'm upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God. And I think that's the right thing to do as of right now... Once again, I offer my deepest apologies to everyone. And I will redeem myself. I have to." excerpts from the AP transcript of Michael Vick's statement following his guilty plea in U.S. District Court to a dog fighting conspiracy charge

A friend of mine called me last week & asked me what I thought about Michael Vick "finding Jesus"... my first reaction, not having heard the press conference, was two-fold:

• The reality of any conversion experience is only completely clear between God & the person who is surrendering to God - so, no matter how cynical I feel about someone who just entered a guilty plea saying that he "found Jesus", I am not the final arbiter of who gets to follow God & who doesn't. In other words, only Michael Vick really knows if he was blowin' smoke or confessing faith (Romans 10:9-10) earlier this week.
• I'm not sure Michael Vick understands what he's gotten himself into by claiming Christ. At its best, Christianity calls us to be be accountable to each other... up to & including the quality of our behavior.

I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn't make yourselves at home among the sexually promiscuous. I didn't mean that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort. Or with crooks, whether blue or white-collar. Or with spiritual phonies, for that matter. You'd have to leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn't act as if everything is just fine when a friend who claims to be a Christian is promiscuous or crooked, is flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can't just go along with this, treating it as acceptable behavior. I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don't we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house. 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 (The Message)

Of course, once I had the opportunity to read the transcript of the press conference, some other things stood out:

• The guy owned his own junk - say what you will, but that's pretty weird in our "my parents/teacher/posse/etc. made me do it" culture.
• On the other hand, the "I will redeem myself" line is a little worrisome - it sounds as if he plans to earn his way back into the goodwill of the public...and possibly God.

Please understand: I don't know this guy. While I've admired his football playing skills, I've never been a big fan of Michael Vick. Anything I'm writing today is based solely on what I've read & seen on TV.

As one commentator (Mark Bradley) put it, it's easy to dismiss his stated faith in Christ because "a disproportionate number of religious conversions occur when the convert is about to become a convict." That's the pull I feel in my heart - a nagging desire to write this guy off, not simply because of his criminal behavior, but because of my own cynical reaction to a public declaration of faith in a difficult time.

But Jesus calls me (and the rest of us) to something deeper - to pray for Michael Vick & his faith in Christ, to refuse to gossip & backbite & slander, to hope for the best rather than imagine the worst. That doesn't preclude us calling him on the carpet for being "out of line", of course.

And if that's true for the way we treat a football superstar, it should be the same for the guy who lives down the street from us.

You must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives. Jude 22-23 (New Living Translation)

This article originally appeared in the 9/02/07 issue of the Grapevine, the newsletter of NewLife Community Church.

Labor Day c/o Seth

Thanks to Anne Jackson & her blog over at Mad Church Disease, I got a chance to read an incredible post by Seth Godin today entitled Labor Day. Man, this thing has got stuff to say to anyone who's "taking what they're giving" (hi, Huey!)... and it particularly resonates with me as a pastor, since risk-aversion is a common malady in my line of work. Go read it, already!

None of the people who are racking up amazing success stories and creating cool stuff are doing it just by working more hours than you are. And I hate to say it, but they're not smarter than you either. They're succeeding by doing hard work.

13 Things

Earl Creps is an interesting guy - and an insightful dude as well. He lives in Springfield, MO, which gives him instant street cred in my life, as my mom & dad met at SMS before it was MSU or even SMSU. He's both a consultant/professor specializing in the emerging church and a dyed-in-wool Assemblies of God guy... which means we speak similar languages but don't necessarily "do church" the same way.

With all that said, he writes a mean blog... and his book, Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders, is on my "must-read" list.

So when Earl decides to say nice things about the denomination I grew up & live in, it's a weird & wonderful experience. For all of you "recovering Southern Baptists" (hi, Jim Hancock!), here's an encouraging from Senor Creps: 13 Things I Like About The Southern Baptist Convention.

A short excerpt:

9. Southern Baptists believe in the Bible: they just never let up about this Bible thing. They teach it, preach it, put people in small groups to learn about it together, and put a huge effort into making the scriptures the center of life transformation.

Open Mic: Sex, Lies & Videotape

It's time to start answering some of these questions (you can see all of them at the comments on the original post) here online...

Will there be sex in the end times? This question is actually the punchline to a joke/story told by John Ortberg, pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church (in the Bay area), who once suggested playfully to his wife (who ran the GenX-targeted service at their previous church) that there are three topics that can always keep the attention of college-age students:

• sex
• the end times
• will there be sex in the end times?

Oddly enough, this punchline can be nicely broken into two questions:

1. What will the end times be like?
2. Regardless of when it occurs (in the midst of Armageddon or not), how should I conduct myself sexually?

Honestly, I'm not sure I have a good answer to the first question. The passages that deal with what I've been blithely referring to as "the end times" are written in apocalyptic language - meaning the authors used gobs of symbolism to communicate their message of impending judgement & redemption. Which means that it's difficult for us to piece together a detailed "battle plan" - in fact, it's rather like reading a Faulkner novel... you know the words mean something but you have a devil of time making sense out of them.

A lot of you have been exposed to the Left Behind series of books by Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins... it's important to note here that their view of the end times (called "pretribulation premillenial dispensationalism" in heavy duty theological terms) is not the only way that evangelical Christians interpet those particular passages. (There's a particularly compelling book by Hank Hanegraaff called The Apocalypse Code that argues for a much different way of looking at all of this.)

With all that said, I can sum up the "feel" of the Biblical texts with the cliche, "It's gonna get worse before it gets better." This, taking a look at the world around us, should surprise no one. The other thing that comes through loud & clear is what one of my professors in seminary called "panmillenialism" - "it's all going to pan out in the end."

Then I saw a new sky (heaven) and a new earth, for the former sky and the former earth had passed away (vanished), and there no longer existed any sea. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband; Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away. (Revelation 21:1-4 AMP)

I've written a good bit about question #2 over the life of this blog - you can check out the following articles if you're interested:

• Minefield - sex is God's idea
• Minefield Spawns A Question - forgiveness is a beautiful idea
• 9 Years Ago - my personal story about pornography
• Minefield, Part Deux - pornograhpy is a bad idea
• The "M" Word - cuz talking about pornography w/out talking about masturbation is like talking about The Captain without talking about Tenille...

Under what conditions can a believer not tell the truth... or if ever?

Do not tell lies about others. (Exodus 20:16 CEV)

You know, I'm not sure I can get much more clear cut than that... but in case I haven't, let's try another argument on for size:

Followers of Christ want to be like Jesus, right?!

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV)

So, if they want to be like Jesus, let's look at what Jesus/God is like:

This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God - who does not lie -promised them before the world began. (Titus 1:2 NLT)

God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed. We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us. (Hebrews 6:18 CEV)

And that takes cares of the basics.

But, you say, what about Rahab? What about the Hebrew midwives? What about people in Europe hiding Jews from the Nazis?

I stumbled upon an excellent series of blog posts from Skinniyah on his What's The Skinny? blog entitled Lying & The Bible... he does a bang-up job in part 2 of answering the questions about Rabab & the Hebrew midwives.

As for Nazis... well, let me put it this way. For most of us, the whole issue of "should I lie?" is not wrapped up in saving people's lives from a facist regime. I've come to believe that a lot of the "intellectual discussion" on this topic is pretty much a smokescreen to cover our collective butts.

Name five great flicks I might have missed in the last few years.

OK, this isn't really a question I got - I made it up so I could use the title "sex, lies & videotape." So sue me.

• Holes (It's a Disney film about teenagers that really resonated with me... wowsa. I probably ought to read the Newberry Award-winning book it was based on.)
• Jump Tomorrow (An indie/Sundance-y romance without a cynical bone in it's body... I defy you to not fall in love with the characters.)
• In Good Company (Not a slapstick comedy but an exploration of it means to be a man... Dennis Quaid & Topher Grace both create characters I want to know in real life.)
• Stranger Than Fiction (This is not really for fans of Will Ferrell, as he does very little SNL-ish kind of stuff... instead, he is the key figure in a witty & wise film about life & meaning. It's also slower than you'd originally guess, but it's worth the wait.)
• Zathura (It looked like it was going to be a rip-off of Jumangi... and instead, it was a film with great storytelling, less running from CGI effects, and some thoughtful moments about the consequences of our actions. The success of this film makes me very happy Jon Favreau is directing the upcoming Iron Man movie.)

Hobby Games: The Best 100

Thanks to Shannon Applecline, the table of contents for the new book, Hobby Games: The Best 100, are now online - and the meme has begun!

I own this game:

• Acquire
• Battle Cry
• Bohnanza
• Carcassonne
• Citadels
• Cosmic Wimpout
• Diplomacy
• El Grande
• Fluxx
• Formula Dé
• The Fury of Dracula
• Lord of the Rings
• Puerto Rico
• The Settlers of Catan
• Ticket to Ride
• The Warlock of Firetop Mountain
• Wiz-War

I've played this game (but don't own it):

• Amun-Re
• Axis & Allies
• Blood Bowl
• Button Men
• Cosmic Encounter
• Descent
• Dynasty League Baseball
• The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen
• A Game of Thrones
• Gettysburg
• A House Divided
• Magic: The Gathering
• Ogre
• Once Upon a Time
• PanzerBlitz
• Paranoia
• Pirate's Cove
• Plague!
• Power Grid
• Shadows over Camelot
• Terrible Swift Sword
• Thurn and Taxis
• Tigris & Euphrates
• Tikal
• Vinci

I used to own this game:

• Car Wars
• Circus Maximus
• Civilization
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Illuminati
• Junta
• Kingmaker
• RoboRally
• Space Hulk (probably the only one in this category I wish I still owned)
• Squad Leader
• Talisman
• Traveller

I've never played this game (but I want to!):

• Britannia (but I do have Jimbo's copy sitting in my game room)
• The Great Khan Game
• Tales of the Arabian Nights
• Twilight Struggle

I've never played this game (and don't care if I ever do):

• Amber Diceless
• Ars Magica
• BattleTech
• Call of Cthulhu
• Champions
• Dawn Patrol
• Empires in Arms
• Empires of the Middle Ages
• Fire and Fury
• Flames of War
• Ghostbusters
• Hammer of the Scots
• Here I Stand
• Johnny Reb
• Kremlin
• Legend of the Five Rings CCG
• Lensman
• London's Burning
• Machiavelli
• Marvel Super Heroes (Jeff Grubb version)
• Metamorphosis Alpha
• My Life with Master
• Mythos
• Napoleon's Last Battles
• Naval War
• Pendragon
• Renaissance of Infantry
• RuneQuest
• Shadowfist
• Shadowrun
• Silent Death: The Next Millennium
• Stalingrad
• Star Fleet Battles
• The Sword and the Flame
• Toon
• Unknown Armies
• Up Front
• Vampire: The Eternal Struggle
• Vampire: The Masquerade
• War and Peace
• Warhammer 40,000
• The Warlord

That's 17 owned, plus a very high 12 that I'd owned and got rid of, and 25 I've played... lots of these are rules for miniatures combat, role-playing rules, and wargames that were released after I got out of wargaming.

Roll Or Don't

Need a new way to waste time while you should be working? I hereby present to you Jim Cobb's most recent version of his freeware game, Roll or Don't, which is essentially Sid Sackson's Can't Stop.

Jim is a friend from Gulf Games & a very nice guy, even if he has to play board games with Stven & Ward every week.

Not Exactly On The Cutting Edge of Boardgaming

I finally got to play some of the "new" crop of games this last week - actually, I got to play stuff that was new to me. Here's my eeny-teeny-tiny capsule reviews of them:

Colosseum

Man, I wanted to like this one. I'm a sucker for Days of Wonder production (got to admit, the wooden pawns dressed up with togas & laurels are pretty darn cool) - this game is no exception. I love the look of the board, the clarity of the graphics, and the general theme of the game.

But I found myself caught on an interesting dilemna in the game: if I played "to win", I needed to concentrate & crunch the numbers & consider all the possible scenarios that my fellow players might try, while if I played to have fun, I needed to attempt to ignore this and play "by the seat of my pants." All of the game information is open, so it's possible to do all the figuring necessary - but doing so slows the game to a glacial pace.

That leaves you with a game that is unsatisfying either way - which, well, blech. I rated it a "5" on BGG, which roughly translates as "I'd play it again but I took it off my wishlist."

The actual game was enjoyable... and close. At the end, I was tied for the lead with another player only one point behind the two of us. We had the same amount of cash, so the "more stars" tiebreaker finally decided the game in his favor.

We did have one rules question: can you bid based on the potential cash of your medals or do you need to cash them in? We decided "cash them in".

Zooloretto

Take the bland "agony" card game of Coloretto (much beloved by people other than me) and add a delightful theme, a wider range of tactical choices & nice graphics, and you have the Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year in Germany) winner, Zooloretto.

This isn't a spectacular game - it didn't wow me - but it's solid as a rock & fun to play. If you're an expansion junkie, there are at least 3 expansions released online by the designer already.

I rated this one a "6" on BGG, which roughly translates as "I'm happy to play this and might pick it up if I found a good deal on it."

Before The Wind

If Helen of Troy had the face that launched a thousand ships, then this game had the unfortunate moniker that launched a thousand fart jokes - but, flatuence-inspired humor aside, it's a decent game. (And that's a lot to say, considering it was published by Phalanx, whose Hector & Achilles is still stinking up my trade pile.)

It's yet another "shipping goods" game - but with really nice art & some interesting game mechanics. You have to acquire goods, then take yet another action to place them in your warehouse, and finally take a final action to move them onto the ships.

I'm not sure I'd enjoy this game with 4 players, but it worked just fine with 3 players. This is not a game to play with serious card counters, as they'd wipe the floor with you.

I gave this one a "6", which roughly translates as "I'd play it again, but only with people who play quickly."

Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge

I'm realizing that I still have some wargamer tendencies... and the A&A battle games (D-Day, Bulge) along with Memoir '44 & Battlelore do a terrific job of scratching that itch.

Bulge is long (3.5 hours) in comparison to D-Day (2 hours) but it has a similar feel. Now, I'm not saying they're the same game - far from that! What I love about this series of games is that they "feel" historical... you may or may not make the same decisions as in the actual battle, but it becomes pretty clear why the commanders did what they did 60+ years ago.

Bulge features a new combat system using strips to dole out damage - don't ask me to explain. It'll take too long. Just trust me that it's a good thing - it encourages combined arms attacks & defense, which makes good sense.

There's also a supply system that's vital to recreating the problems that the Germans faced in making their offensive work. This was the one place in the rules where I desperately needed the FAQ - I could not figure out how trucks worked from the rules as printed.

Even with losing my first game (the Germans reached 24 points on the final turn - sigh), I rate this game a "7" on BGG, which roughly translates to "I enjoy this game, I'm glad I own it, and will gladly play when I can carve out 4 hours."

Taluva

With terrain pieces that look like refugees from Java, I was worried that it was going to make my brain hurt as badly as Java. (I shudder even thinking about that... game. Brrrr.) But Taluva is actually a Carcassonne-ish placement game... or maybe it's more like Fjords. I dunno.

Either way, it plays quickly & cleanly with nice wooden bits & the aforementioned chunky terrain tiles.

I rated this one a "6" on BGG, which roughly translated means "I'd play it again but I don't need to own it."

On The Underground

I really like connection games... and On The Underground is a doozy of a connection game. We played with 3 players, which means that each player is managing three colors of subway lines in London.

I fell way behind early, but caught up a good bit near the end as the passenger ran to the western area of the board (which I controlled).

A couple of questions to make sure if we played correctly:

1. When the passenger moves, he moves to ONE express station and then to ONE normal station, right?! If he doesn't have an express station, he just moves to a normal station?
2. We were all out of track with about 2/5ths of the deck still to go... we just kept running the passenger until the deck ran out - is this correct?

Assuming we got the rules close to right, I'm going to give this one a "7" on BGG, which roughly translates into "a sweet little connection game that works differently than any of the other connection games I own."

Disney Magic Kingdom Game

Anyone who reads the blog knows I'm a bit nutso for the Disney parks, so I've been looking at this kids game for a long time. With our trip to see the Mouse looming in less than four months, I finally broke down & bought it (thanks to a coupon for 20% off).

It's a pretty standard roll-n-move, but with some nice twists. Each players has 5 attractions they have to visit, one in each section of the park. (It's Transamerica for the 6-year-old set!) Planning your route is key, as is wise use of the autographs (which allow you to cancel an event card.) It's not going to set the gaming world on fire, but the decorative board pieces are very cool & the gameplay quick & enjoyable. (Braeden made us play 4 times the first day I got it.)

I'm going to rate this one a "6" on BGG, which roughly translates into "an enjoyable roll-n-move that I'm glad I own, esp. for my boys."

Me, Too...

If you've been reading stuff on church growth & health in the last few years, you've run into a guy named Ed Stetzer... well, Ed's just started blogging recently and his post about his surprises after 30 years of following Jesus feels like I could have written it. He manages to reference Sweet Comfort Band, church camp, his astonishment at being in ministry (me, too!) and our need for community... and this gem:

4. I thought it would be easier to be a Christian. Honestly, that is what they told me—if I gave my life to Christ it would be happier and more fulfilled. Well, I am not sure it always has been. At times, I believe it would have been easier to not be a Christian. I can’t say I have been happier as a follower of Christ, though I can say I have often felt that “peace that passes all understanding” (Phi. 4:7).

Read the whole thing at Ed's blog.

Pseudo Gulf Games

Fresno, CA, isn't near any gulf that I know of - heck, the largest body of water near our home is an irrigation canal - but that didn't stop the Jackson family from enjoying a wonderful weekend visit from the Vander Ark clan. They were roughly 1 week into their month-long "family adventure" when they arrived on Saturday evening (and if you'd like to check out more details, along with some great pictures, you can take a gander at their Road Trip 2007 blog.)

David (and his family) & I first met at Gulf Games Nashville in the summer of 2001. We've kept in touch since then, and they have become not only gaming buddies but good friends. I can't express enough how much his support over the last 9 months has meant to me.

So, when I get to hang out with Dave, Theresa (his wife), and the kids, I'm one happy camper. As were my boys - Braeden skipped a birthday party with a friend to play with Sam & Bryce, and Collin was loving on all of them before they left like he was losing a family member.

They got to experience a "full" Sunday at NewLife Community Church as well - complete with Sunday School, Sunday morning worship, and Cool Summer Nights.

Lots of game playing went on as well - this comes as no surprise to anyone who knows our families. Here's the highlights:

Saturday

• That's Life! - we played with the Verflixxt nochmal expansion, which I think is a lot of fun. I'm not sure the extra player pieces are necessary, but Flixxy & the worms are both nice additions.
• Das Faultier - the first of two games of this sloth anti-racing game this weekend, great fun was had by all (and I won!)
• Halli Galli - Allison begged to play this... this is the one time we let her.
• Twitch - I taught Allison & the boys this oddball speed game from WOTC... and Sam edged me out at the end for the win. Well done!
• Giro Galoppo - This is one of the hidden gems of gaming... it LOOKS like a kids game (and works just fine that way) but can be played with lots of doublethink & meanness by older kids & adults.

Sunday

• Das Faultier - a 2nd game to teach Dave the joys of sloth-sleep!
• Emerald - Braeden managed to pull out a win against Dave & I... sigh.
• Gulo Gulo - Allison & I went head to head (I lost) in this dexterity game
• Wallamoppi - OTOH, I beat Allison at this other dexterity game.
• Ticket to Ride: USA - my first chance to play with 1910 cards (we played the Mega version) and I loved it... even if Dave beat us
• Die Siedler von Catan: Das Würfelspiel - a simple dice game that I really like for 2-3 players... I still want to try the "advanced" scoring system that Teuber posted on his website. (Yes, the word "Catan" is there because it's based in the Settlers world.) I beat Dave by building three cities.
• Coolympics - weird dexterity game that Frank Branham recommended to me... too tough for kids (and most adults)!
• Magical Maze - now called Goblin's Gold, this is a maze game with a hidden maze that you navigate via a magnetic figure... pretty nifty
• Niagara - we played with both Diamond Joe & the Spirits expansion... Braeden won this game as well against Allison, Dave & myself
• Mamma Mia! - Allison requested this... and I did REALLY well. Man, I don't get to play this one nearly as much as I like.
• Rabatz auf dem Riesenrad - Teuber kid's game with great components...
• Tier auf Tier - even Collin (my 2 yr old) got to play this bit-o-licious animal stacking game
• Goldener Drache - very cool racing game from Wolfgang Riedesser (the same guy who did Ave Caesar), complete with dragon's tail tile racks!
• Schildi Schildkröte - I didn't get to play this Haba gem with the rolling turtles, but the point was for Dave & my boys to play... Nick & Braeden won the 111th Turtle Olympics
• Kiki Ricky - Ravensburger silliness (essentially a King of the Mtn dice game with an egg-throwing chicken to knock you back) that's been a hit with every kid who's played it - Sam won.

Monday

• Heroscape: I'll Dance On Your Grave is the scenario we played (probably the best 1 master set 4 player scenario I know - it's a 6 round free-for-all.) Each of us had 300 pt teams: Nick had Deadeye Dan & a passle of Vipers, Sam had the Marcus, Roman soldiers & archers, and Guilty McCreach, I had Sir Dedrick, the Knights, Cormac & the Vikings, and Braeden had Deathwalker 8000, Krug & the Deathreavers (aka "pesky metal dogs"). Sam was wiped out late in round 5, yet Braeden survived the death of both big guys and played a pivotal role with the Deathreavers. After all the fighting, Sam & I ended the battle trying to kill each other - Sir Dedrick vs Marcus. Final score: Mark 100, Sam 100, Braeden 40, Nick zero. (And a great time was had by all!)

Open Mic

In August, I'm going to doing a message series at my church called "Open Mic" - essentially, I'm opening the floor for questions & letting people ask about what's really on their heart: stuff they're afraid of, things they've always wondered about Christianity, how our church works, doctrinal dilemnas, silly things, whatever...

One of the ways I'm opening up for people to do that anonymously is through this blog. If you'd like to ask a question, all you need to do is hit the link "comments" below (it may have a number in front of it - don't worry about that). Then type your question into the box, click the "anonymous" button, input the spamcatcher word (sorry!), and click "publish".

For those of you who read the blog & would like to ask questions (but aren't a resident of the Fresno area), I'm happy to take your questions, but I'd really like you to let me know you don't live in Fresno. I want to give priority to the folks who are likely to attend these services.

Start typing!

UPDATE (Monday, July 30): The questions are trickling in... and you're welcome to add to the list. So far, I'm going to end up talking about priorities, sex, dinosaurs, & the 7 deadly sins, just to name a few.

UPDATE (Monday, August 6): A big batch of questions just came in (you can read them in the comments) and you're still welcome to add your questions to the pile. I'm really looking forward to this...

Shattering the Illusion

I don't remember my great-uncle Carl's face - it's kind of a blur. What I do remember is his aging hands doing amazing magic tricks... close-up magic with coins & silks, stunning bits of trickery with cups & balls, and (most vivid in my head) shuffling & fanning cards with fan decks.

Much later when both Uncle Carl & Aunt Beulah had died (I need to write more about Aunt Beulah later - she was a hoot!), Uncle Carl's magic books & some of his equipment was bequeathed to my dad & I. Dad confiscated the marked decks (probably an excellent idea - your average elementary school kid doesn't need a professionally marked deck) and then let me loose on the 10+ books on magic.

Frankly, the magic books were both exciting (it's really cool to look at the diagrams of some of the big stage magic tricks) and disappointing. What talented magicians make look so dang easy is full of hard work - sleight of hand requires not only hands (I had those) but also skill (which I don't have) and practice (which I wasn't willing to do).

I wonder sometimes if my life as a "professional Christian" (aka senior pastor) doesn't have some of the same flavor to folks in my church & community. From the outside, my life looks pretty nifty - each week I get up and speak with confidence about Biblical truth. I show up in people's hospital rooms to listen & pray. I counsel individuals over the phone and in person, dispensing wisdom & grace.

From the outside, I realize that it all looks as smooth as a Las Vegas magic act (without the white tigers). But from my side of the stage, I can see all of the flaws.

Another thing I learned from those magic books? Magic is primarily the art of distraction. You use patter (what you say) and motion (the way your hands & body move) to pull people's focus away from the trick. Sadly, "professional Christianity" can work the same way - it's "all too easy" (thank you, Darth Vader) to distract congregation & community members from the messiness of following Jesus with a well-timed Scripture quote or by bowing my head like I'm deep in prayer. And, because I'm a guy whose job title sounds ultra-spiritual, people buy the illusion.

This, by the way, isn't something (for the most part) that you're taught in seminary. Just like magicians, you learn the secrets from other practitioners. Nobody tells you to fake it... but when you see enough folks doing just that - layering on spiritual-looking behavior with a trowel - you get the message loud & clear.

But if I'm honest... if I'm really willing to do what I was called to do, as opposed to the cultural training I received or my own worst inclinations, my job is a bit like those TV specials that aired on Fox a few years back with titles like "Breaking the Magician's Code". (OK, all you magic aficiandos out there, don't get all freaked out about this... I'm NOT saying the specials were a good idea.) The trick of being a pastor is to stop using patter & motion to distract people from my imperfections. Instead, my objective needs to be pointing them to Jesus rather than covering my own rear end.

Even as I type this, I realize that this isn't simply about "professional Christians" - plain ol' everyday regular Christians deal with this stuff, too. The temptation to hide who we are is overwhelming sometimes... so much so that we come up with a laundry list of rationalizations to deal with it:

• if they saw what I was really like, they'd think badly of Jesus
• if they knew what I was thinking/feeling, they wouldn't listen to me when I preach/teach/share/pray/whatever
• if they get a glimpse of how messy my life is, they'd think that Christianity is bunk & doesn't really help anyone

I have to remind myself that:

• I am not Jesus. Anybody who mistakes me for Him is not paying close attention.
• My feelings/thoughts are not the same as my actions. People pay attention to me better when what I do lines up with the character of Jesus, not when I use the smoke & mirrors of spirituality.
• Despite what some preachers/teachers say, the Bible does NOT promise us a mess-free life. In fact, people who follow God often find themselves at the bottom of a well (Joseph, Jeremiah), in trouble with the government (Elijah, Peter & John), or killed for telling the truth (Jesus, Stephen).

Most of all, I have to hit the rewind button in my brain over & over again to play back one of the most important concepts in the Bible:

I am not trying to please people. I want to please God. Do you think I am trying to please people? If I were doing that, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10, CEV)

It's time to shatter the illusion - so that the real mystery can be revealed. It's time for us to let people see the supernatural power of God at work in our messy lives, rather than the "magic" of our own attempts to appear spiritual & together.

I Couldn't Stop Myself

For the most part, I try to stay out of the "yelling matches" that sometimes get started in the community forums of Board Game Geek. I managed to resist staying out of this one an extra day or two by posting here on the blog (a post entitled In Depth.)

But that wasn't enough - so, just a few minutes ago, I posted this to the discussion. And now I've put on my fireproof underwear... sigh.

Like it or not, folks - religion matters. If any of us had any question about this, the thread itself is proof that religion matters to people. (125 posts when I began typing post #126...)

Even those of you who have taken an anti-religious stance have indicated by your continued presence & participation in this discussion that religion makes a difference. If religion doesn't matter, I don't understand the need to insert yourself into conversation about a particular world religion & board games. If it does makes a difference, well then, welcome to the chat room!

We may disagree on whether the difference that religion makes is positive or negative - there is clear evidence of both results - but you can not examine recorded history without stumbling across the influence of a variety of world religions & belief systems.

I am currently reading an excellent book on religious literacy that would primo reading for everyone involved in this discussion: Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs To Know - And Doesn't (by Stephen Prothero)

Prothero is not trying to convert anyone... he's advocating that since religion plays a major role (acknowledged or not) in so many areas of our society, it is prudent/wise for citizens to have a rudimentary knowledge of religions.

I am NOT talking about Christianity specifically here. Many of you know that I am an evangelical pastor, but I'm not attempting to argue (in this forum) for the legitimacy of the truth claims of the Christian faith.

Here's my dream:

• I'd like to have interesting debates with atheists who've actually read the Bible instead of repeating chunks of Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens.
• I'd like people who claim to follow Jesus to learn not to react like someone has set their hair on fire when they are disagreed with.
• I'd like to play board games with anyone who can understand the concept of a social contract & a modicum of good manners, whether or not we agree on the historicity of the Bible.
• I'd like to discuss history & religion with people of various backgrounds, secure in the knowledge that I won't be treated like an ignorant hillbilly because I choose to believe in something they don't.

Note: there are people in the gaming community who help to make my dream a reality. I'm thankful for their friendship.

May their tribe increase.

In-Depth

Just wanted to pass along a couple of nifty links to those who are playing along at home... in other words, folks who finished reading Book #7 of Harry Potter or folks who are involved in a discussion of board gaming & church groups over on the Geek.

Group #1: Wonder who that V. girl was that popped up at the end of the book? Curious about what kind of life the survivors of "the Deathly Hallows" manage? Check out this nifty compiliation of information straight from J.K. Rowling, courtesy of the nice folks over at Beyond Hogwarts.

Group #2: It probably wasn't the best thread title ever (Are there any Christian Gamer Associations functional?) but I understand the impulse behind it. Over time, however, the thread degenerated in a variety of ways:

• I probably didn't help by questioning the whole tendency of Christians to congregate & create hermetically sealed bubbles of "Christian culture".
• There was some discussion of appropriate behavior & inappropriate games (as I'd predicted.) One guy in particular has been very clear that he has the right to use the "f-word" around anyone he wants. (I'll give him that - I'll also suggest that if he uses that right liberally, I'd probably exercise my right not to invite him to play board games at my place.)
• And, of course, a couple of atheists decided to drop in. I'm not knocking them for doing that - the digital frontier is open to all pioneers - but when that kind of thing goes down, some of my fellow followers of Christ can get pretty snippy and, well, fearful. (And in a few cases, rude. Dial it down, guys... seasoned w/grace & truth, right?)

So, here's my recommended reading for anyone who finds themselves wanting to over-generalize about the antagonistic nature of non-believers: Thom Rainer's excellent book, The Unchurched Next Door. It's a giant-sized helping of perspective, topped with a double portion of encouragement.

Card Games & Paint Spatters

By now, pretty much everyone who reads this blog is aware that I'm somewhat obsessed with my hobby, collecting & playing board games. (Those of you who've seen the game room are sniggering at my use of the word "somewhat" in the previous sentence - stop it.) One part of my enjoyment of the hobby is online conversations about board games with other folks who share my enthusiasm.

One of those conversations yesterday (on Spielfrieks) took a very interesting turn. We had been talking about a new "take that" card game (the best known "take that" game is Milles Bornes) which has weak gameplay & even weaker card art. That got some folks wondering about the ugliest card art they'd ever seen... which then led someone to bring the cliché that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". And then I felt compelled to tell my story:

I'm reminded of our visit to the Art Institute in Chicago... after hours of perusing art by Seurat, Rembrandt, Cézanne, Van Gogh and others, we found ourselves in the lower reaches of the Institute, in the "Contemporary" section.

After looking rather askew at a Jackson Pollock (I understand intellectually that I'm looking at something "fraught w/meaning", but it still looks like paint spatter to me), we turned to see a small African-American woman in a guard's uniform standing beside.

"I painted that," she said... and smiled.

My wife & I laughed and turned to look at an abstract nude of an obviously overweight woman to our left.

"That's my mother-in-law," she said.

I don't think I ever appreciated art quite as much as I did that afternoon.

Matthew Frederick responded:

One afternoon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, after having spent a week straight touring the city with my daughter, I plopped down exhausted on a bench to wait for her to finish with something and come find me.

I'd felt exactly as you do about Pollock, that it was just paint splatters, and that though in theory I should see something or be moved, there just wasn't anything there for me. Turns out I was sitting across from a huge Pollock, but I pretty much ignored it. Suddenly, though, WHAM, I could see it. Motion, and flow, and depth. The painting was simply stunning. My brain had finally worked it out.

To this day I can immediately find depth in Pollock paintings, but my brain's never quite worked out improvised jazz. Similar to the Pollock, I know it's a matter of my brain "getting it," and perhaps someday it will. I'll never forget my sudden awakening to the painting style, though, and the realization that there are some things that I just don't get yet, but that doesn't mean there's nothing there.

(Not saying that you're saying there's not... just a memory and an observation.)

To which I responded:

Actually, Matthew, you've just given me one of the best sermon/message illustrations ever. That's the way I feel when I try to explain the grace of Jesus Christ to someone - like I'm talking & talking andthey're looking at me like I'm trying to describe a Jackson Pollack painting.

And then there's that moment when they "get it"... sweet.

With some more time to think about it, I've come to a trio of interesting conclusions about art & faith:

1. I think we feel like it's our "Christian duty" to be able to explain everything there is to know about an infinite God... it's this impulse that leads televangelists to claim to know why God allowed 9/11 or a Christian friend to jump quickly to "they're better off in heaven" to a grieving friend. Since we can see, as Matthew put it, the "motion & flow & depth" of a life that orbits around Jesus, we want desperately for other people to see it, too.
2. According to the Bible, our primary obligation is to live a life of "motion, flow & depth" - to do what Jesus did. (Romans 8:29) We should be "prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15), but that verse doesn't imply that we should explain the ways of God. Our responsibility is to tell our own story... (BTW, explaining the ways of God is gonna be pretty darn difficult when the Bible claims that "his ways are higher than our ways" (Isaiah 55:9).)
3. Finally, notice how Matthew ended up in front of the Jackson Pollack painting. He wasn't planning to be there - but someone (the curator) had placed a bench where he could take his time to soak it in. Another part of our job as followers of Christ is to metaphorically put up paintings & place benches so that people can have the opportunity to examine Jesus... the chance to have one of those moments where the "motion, flow & depth" becomes clear... a moment where they can clearly experience the grace of God. Our churches need to be that kind of place - where people weary from life can come in, sit down & see what it looks like when people in love with Jesus give themselves to Him 100%

So... what are you thinking? What's God saying to you out of my silly conversation about board games & art?

This article was adapted from an article originally published in the 7/26/07 edition of the Grapevine, the newsletter of NewLife Community Church.

If you'd like to join the aforementioned gaming discussion group, spielfrieks, here's a great article (from my buddy, Larry Levy) on why it's so diddly-dang hard to get into an "open" group... and how you can join the conversation!

Four Years Ago Today

That's right - I've been in Fresno for four years now.

On Friday, July 25th, I got up early in San Jose, drove south through Gilroy (which was in full garlic mode, as it was Garlic Festival Weekend), and headed across the mountains to the Central Valley with my stereo blaring Rich Mullins' Here in America and Derek Webb's She Must & Shall Go Free. (That 2nd album makes for real interesting listening when you're on the way to pastor a new church... well, new to you.)

That was the day the moving van arrived - we won't talk about how totally messed over we were by our moving company - and it was also the last day of Vacation Bible School. My first official act as pastor was to attend the closing night carnival.

Shari & Braeden (Collin wasn't around yet!) didn't arrive for two more weeks... giving me time to (sort of) get everything moved in, buy a new TV, eat out a lot of meals with folks from the church (while only getting food poisoning once), and generally start to set a routine. (The picture is from the day they flew into Oakland... we took Braeden to Alameda to the beach to let him play in the water.)

Four years down the road, I can't tell you how much I appreciate the folks here at NewLife Community Church... as we've struggled with Braeden's Kawasaki syndrome, Collin's birth & feeding issues, Shari's emotional struggles and the craziness that comes when you lead a church into faith-testing decisions (hiring a 2nd staff member, starting a building campaign, beginning a new innovative worship service), these folks have been with us all the way.

Thank you... it's really been a gift from God for us to be here. We hope you feel the same.

Stumbling, Thanks to Firefox

I feel like a traitor.

A little history to explain:

• When I first connected with the Internet, I did so through CompuServe, back when the whole "World Wide Web" wasn't so worldwide & the folks at CompuServe primarily channeled you through their glorified BBS systems... and then, attempting to stem the tide, finally let users onto Usenet.
• My first real browser, when I graduated to actually using a browser, was Netscape Navigator, which I dearly loved. But when we changed from OS7 to, well, whatever we changed to, Netscape was pretty unstable in the new enviroment, leading me to...
• ...sell out to the Dark Side of the Force and begin using Internet Explorer. (The less said about this blighted period in my life, the better.)
• With our most recent computer upgrade, I had access to OSX and Apple's own browser, Safari - which I used (mostly) happily...
• ...until I visited my folks earlier this month and got to try out Firefox on my mom's Mac G5. The features were roughly comparable to Safari - but the thing that got me to turn traitor was that Blogspot (who host all of the blogs I write) supports Firefox & only has a patchwork editor in Safari.

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

The other thing that Firefox has given me is StumbleUpon, a weird little Web-cruising add-on that recommends sites based on your preferences. I've found some interesting things I'll be sharing you, starting with this picture with this post - Shari & I both laughed so hard at this we nearly cried. (Picture found at http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/pickover/pc/manwoman.html)

For Crying Out Loud, I Was 4 Years Old!

Me at Knott's Berry Farm in the summer of 1968... I mentioned this in a post earlier today.

Bunco Nite @ the Fresno Gamers

When four out of the six games you play in an evening rely on a sweet touch on those six-sided cubes, you know you're in for a wild ride.

We started out with Dancing Dice... a pleasant diversion of a dice game that has two important features/bugs:

• everybody plays at the same time (feature!)
• everybody rolls their dice behind a little screen, making it insanely easy to cheat (potential bug!)

The solution? Don't play with people who cheat. Simple enough, eh?

Braeden (my six year old son) beat 3 adults at this... partially by rolling "Boogies" 3 times in a row - and partially by scoring the only Gala I've ever seen in my 10+ plays of the game.

Next up, a non-dice game: Burg Appenzell. I finally got to play this 4 player & it was as good as I'd thought it would be. I have a minor quibble with the sliding part of the game (the works get gummed up sometimes, I think because of the curved edge finish of the tiles), but otherwise I love the components & the gameplay. Steve Case pulled out a win... but Steve G & I were only one kind of cheese behind him.

Rum & Pirates followed, a game with a lot of dice-rolling but still a good bit of tactical play. Due to the board placement (the HQ was in the center, with all three pubs near the outer edge), we managed to drink all the pubs dry, plunder all the treasure chests, and two of the five players (John & Steve G) managed to recruit their full crew from the Pirate Unemployment Office. John's larger crew was probably the margin of victory, as he was only 8 points in front of my smaller & yet surprisingly effective crew.

Then John broke out his brand-spankin' new copy of Heroscape Marvel: The Conflict Begins - and even though we had five players, we just divided into two teams (John & the 2 Steve's were the good guys; Richard & I were the villains) and played the "amulet" scenario. (I don't remember the name - but it uses the abandoned warehouse set-up.) It's an 8 round "last man standing" game, with the added oomph of the amulets - the character who picks up the amulet gets the special powers of any character it kills. After Abomination spent 4-5 rounds just chipping the paint on Iron Man's suit, we finally got Thanos into range. Since he was the amulet holder on our team, his killing Iron Man was a very good thing - it gave him a double attack that we soon turned on Spiderman & the Silver Surfer.

A capsule review from a long-time player & collector of Heroscape: this is a MUCH less effective starter set for this series than the original Heroscape. I think this will need expansions quickly - and esp. terrain, to allow some kind of interesting movement. (As it was, we all got into position & rolled dice to attack each other.) It's not a bad game, mind you - just an incomplete one.

The Steve's had to hit the road, so the three remaining gamers got in two more games.

The first was (surprise!) not a dice game - though a number of folks feel like closed fist bidding is just as random. It was the quick little auction game O Zoo Le Mio... which offers an interesting combination of blind auctions, tile-laying & cute bits in a 30 minute package.

Admittedly, the game (as published) does have a bit of a "rich get richer" problem, which would be inexcusable in a game that runs 60 minutes +, but isn't quite as big a deal with a 1/2 hour playing time. (There are some fixes listed on the Geek - I've actually never tried any of them, as it doesn't bother me that much.) You just have to win enough early auctions to stay with the pack in income, and then the later rounds become a very interesting mess of decisions on when to bid or over-bid.

Richard's Villa Gorilla had a hard time early on, which, as mentioned, translates into a tough time throughout the game. So John's AquaShark and my Crocodome battled for supremacy, with my park snaking out the victory in the final round.

Our last game of the night was To Court The King... a brilliant dice game that I've likened to a cross between Yahtzee & Magic: The Gathering. You take turns rolling dice to make certain combinations (all evens, pairs, X of a kind, straights, etc.) in order to acquire cards which give you special powers (more dice, the ability to re-roll certain dice, add pips, etc.) The objective is to eventually roll 7 (or more) of a kind and claim the King & Queen, which sets a "last licks" endgame into motion.

I'm a huge fan of this game with three players... and this playing showed the game off. John was the one who finally grabbed the King, forcing me to go first. I managed to roll 9 sixes, which knocked Richard out (he only had 8 dice). John, with nine dice, proceeded to roll 8 sixes - and then booted on his final roll. A-mazing.

17 Hours, 18 Kids, 4 Bathroom Stops

Last Tuesday, I (along with 5 other adults) took a crew of 18 4th-6th graders to Knott's Berry Farm. It was a very long day - we met at 6:00 am, left Easton at 6:20 am, arrived at Knott's around 10:30 am, played until 5:00 pm, stopped to eat dinner, and then (3 bathroom stops later), arrived back in Easton around 11:00 pm.

Still, long day aside, it was a lot of fun. I've been going to Knott's since I was a very small child (there are pictures of me sitting next to the saloon girl statues at about age 4) and I have pretty vivid memories of:

• riding the Log Ride for the first time
• being beaten to death by the Corkscrew (which isn't there anymore)
• riding Montezuma's Revenge over & over
• being frightened by the miners in the Calico Mine
• singing with my high school choir in the Birdcage Theatre
• riding with my girlfriend on the Parachutes (which are also gone)

We rode most of the coasters (Ghost Rider, the big wooden coaster, was closed) and way too many of the "queasiness" rides (like Wipeout, which, as advertised, wiped me out). Xcellerator is a great (if short) "gun" coaster that fires you out of the station at 80 mph then over a 200 ft hill where you pull negative G's. Silver Bullet is a hanging coaster with a smooth ride & a lot of inversions. The aforementioned Montezuma's Revenge is a forwards/backwards loop - but it still packs a wallop for a 30+ year old coaster. The Jaguar is no big deal, but it's got some nice curves and some good air on a couple of the bumps.

The newest coaster is Sierra Sidewinder... a small-ish (100 ft high) coaster that primarily has banked turns & short drops. What makes it so wild is that each 4-person car in the four car train spins independently as you ride - it's like crossing a small coaster with the Tea Cups at Disneyland. (That's the picture at the top of this post.) I was surprised that the spinning didn't bother me much - it wasn't constant - and a couple of times it allowed us some wild views. (We went through one of the banked circles facing straight down at the ground - yowsa!) They also took video of the ride - which they'd sell to you for $20. (No thanks...) This is the first ride of this type in the U.S. - of course, Disney just opened Crush's Coaster at Disney Studios Paris, which uses this ride system on an indoor ride with some pretty cool special effects.

Speaking of Disney, Knott's is missing two main things in comparison to my beloved Disney parks:

• decent theming - while parts of Ghost Town are very nice, the majority of the park is like a state fair set in concrete... and it's esp. sad in light of what used to be. The Roaring 20's theme was used for the "back" of the park to great effect in the early 80's - and now most of that is gone, eaten by a hodge-podge of rides & stands. And don't get me started on Fiesta Village - with the obviously Viking "Dragon Ship" ride.
• pleasant cast members - our last five-day visit to the Disneyland Resort yielded one cranky cast member and a plethora of delightful experiences. 7 hours at Knott's on a less-crowded summer day with good weather, and I only saw 3 or 4 crew members smiling at guests.

Knott's does have a price advantage - it's a very cheap park for kids ($18 normally/$15 for group tickets) and their price break for adult folks in groups ($45/$23) is really good. They are also the easiest amusement park to work with for group reservations I've found ever.

So, here's what I walked away with:

• We'll probably keep taking kids to Knott's... it's the most hassle-free amusement park trip we can do to a decent park.
• I like the big coasters... but I'd rather have the total package (Disney).
• I came home & looked up whether my G4 Mac can handle the system requirements for Rollercoaster Tycoon 3... which it can't. Sigh. (Being a park which I think needs help made me want to design my own.)