Llama Boats

Mission accomplished - I formally introduced Boats to Smythkepe at this afternoon's Fighter Practice. Some played, others watched, and the overall reaction was good. It's great to watch something you're entusiastic about being accepted by your friends. Adding the 9-Man-Morris board to the flip side of the game board turned out to be a good idea, too. Now, I just have to crank out a couple more game sets so there will be enough to keep anyone from feeling left out.

The new set of player tokens I made last night turned out pretty well. They're still pretty rough, but I may be able to sand or dremmel out some of the tool marks. This group was officially dubbed "Llama Boats" this afternoon. I'll let you, gentle reader, judge the resemblance for yourself. Perhaps it would help to watch this a few times...

Belated Thank You

Though the event was weeks ago, and they'll likely never see this post anyway, still I would like to thank Their Majesties Radu and Broinnfinn for attending Smythkepe's Cracked Anvil Collegium IX. We have often felt ourselves to be somewhat ignored and dismissed by those who made decisions on both Kingdom and Principality levels. Sometimes that feeling has been justified, sometimes it has not. Nevertheless, Their Majesties' visit was most welcome, not only as representatives of the Kingdom of Gleann Abhann, but because they are neat people whom we like to have around. I hope they will one day visit us again.

Still Stuck on Boats

With a presentation due in class on Tuesday and a major paper due shortly thereafter, I haven't yet written down the rules for Boats. Excuses, I know. I'll try to post the rules within the next couple of days. I did, however, teach Rose how to play tonight. We played three games before her bedtime, and I'm sure I'll get roped into playing again tomorrow. Sounds like another good way to procrastinate working on my presentation!

After putting Rose to bed, I sat down with the Sculpey and made six more player tokens which are in the oven now. While they are still not works of art, my technique is improving. These look less like ducks and more like the Viking longships they are intended to resemble.

According to NOAA, it looks like tomorrow is still supposed to be rain-free. I do hope that by tomorrow afternoon things have dried up from today's storms so I can take the game set out to Fighter Practice.

Whoops! There goes the oven timer...time to check the new boats!

Boats Game Pieces

Here are pictures and a bit of explanation of each piece of a Boats game set. I’ll explain the rules of play in a later post.

Player Tokens



In the game set Master Beorhtlic brought to Cracked Anvil, the player tokens were shaped like Viking longships. Mine look more like duck boats. The important thing is that there should be a unique token for each player.

Three Dice



Movement die
- Marked with numbers or symbols 1-6
- Used to indicate the number of spaces a player token moves horizontally on the board during a turn

Weather Condition die
- 4 sides marked yellow, 1 side white, 1 side black
- Used to indicate the weather conditions during a turn
Yellow = fair
White = ideal
Black = stormy

Weather Movement die
- Marked with numbers or symbols 1-3
- Used to indicate the number of rows a player token moves vertically on the board when the weather is either ideal or stormy.

Game Board



The normal squares alternate blue and white. The first square if marked with a circle; squares on each end of a row are marked with arrows indicating the next square. Player tokens move in the direction of the arrows until reaching the fjord.

The green squares are islands. Because I used such a dark green (oops!), the islands are also marked with yellow dots indicating lemon trees (to prevent scurvy during long voyages) which make the islands more visible in low light.

The light yellow squares at the top of the board indicate the fjord, which is marked into six spaces. When a player reaches the fjord, weather conditions no longer have an effect, so the player only has to roll the movement die. Unfortunately, the player must roll the exact number of spaces remaining to exit the board. For example, if the player’s token is three spaces from the end of the board, he cannot move unless he rolls a 1, 2, or 3 during that turn. Rolling a 1 or 2 moves a player that number of spaces, rolling a 3 moves the player off the board.

Boat or Decoy?

The great sculptors have nothing to fear from me. I knew that when I started this little project, and I've certainly proved it with the result. I chose Sculpey as a medium because it was readily available in a package that included twelve different colors and two "sculpting tools." More tools - cool! I read the directions, hacked off a piece of the stuff, and started to work.

Sculpey has all the consistency of a Tootsie Roll that's been left in the car in June. Mushy soft, but not quite ready to liquefy. Perhaps, with time and practice, I will develop the skill to coax Sculpey into the shape of Viking longships. Right now, I'll settle for this:



Most of the boat doesn't look too bad. The real trouble came when I tried to shape the figurehead. My daughters, generous souls, call it a Swan Boat. Seamas thinks it looks more like a duck decoy. What do you think? Any ideas on how to make the next batch look more Viking?

"Boats" Bits

At Cracked Anvil a couple weeks ago, Master Beorhtlic introduced Seamas, Edrei, and I to a game called "Boats." Throw skill and strategy out the window...Boats is a neat little game that relies entirely on luck.

I've spent several hours today painting a game board and making player tokens. The tokens look more like swan boats (Seamas says "duck decoys") than Viking longships, and the board definitely looks hand-drawn, but this is going to be so much fun!

**UPDATE**
Seamas won the first two games...drat!

Now, though, I need to write down the rules so we can take the game out to fighter practice and inflict it upon the populace!

Wedding Congratulations

Congratulations to Lord Dante and Lady Ceara on your wedding today. May your lives be ever filled with happiness in each other. Hugs to you!

Chivalry off the Field

We make much of chivalry on the fighting field. If a fighter looses an arm or leg in battle, a chivalrous opponent will voluntarily give him- or herself a similar handicap. It’s a courteous, honorable, and (let’s be honest) expected act. But what about off the field? Isn’t chivalry just as important in other aspects of our SCA life? Below are three easy ways to set a chivalrous example for our next generation of SCAdians:

Be a Helper
It’s not necessary to volunteer for every disagreeable task or to run yourself ragged at an event. Simply open your eyes and ears to opportunities. Perhaps you see a young lord struggling to set up his tent. Perhaps you see a lady committing one of my personal failings – trying to carry too many things at once. Perhaps the kitchen crew could use a hand chopping vegetables or washing a few dishes. Do not fear becoming “stuck in the kitchen,” or anywhere else. Complete the task for which you volunteered, then feel free to ramble on.

Go to Court
Yes, it’s hot/cold outside and you’d really rather take a nap/shower before feast. I’ve been guilty of this myself. Depending upon the particular Crown and event, Court can be a torturous test of endurance. Go anyway. If you must, then take a small, quiet project to distract your mind from your seat – embroidery is great for this – but go. Attendance at Court not only shows respect to the Crown, but also to recipients of awards. Besides, it can be great fun to count the number of names the Court Herald mispronounces in the course of 30-45 minutes.

Pay Heed the Herald
Site Heralds are not shouting for the pleasure of hearing their own voices. When you hear, “Oyez,” pause your conversation, listen to the announcement, resume your conversation. ‘Nuff said.

Chivalry is an integral part of our SCA life and is important both on and off the fighting field. Our youth and our newcomers learn best from the example we set. Let’s be sure to set a good one!

Courtesy and Honor

Recently, I stood in the kitchen at work grumbling to myself about the lack of courtesy displayed by the unknown person who had emptied the coffee pot and not started another. Everything needed to brew a fresh pot was on the counter in plain sight and easy reach, yet the pot was empty. In fact, I mused, the fault didn’t belong entirely to the last person to visit the coffee pot - any of several people could have noticed the coffee level was getting low and brewed more. So why was I brewing another pot? I had already drunk my single cup of coffee for the day. If the people still drinking coffee couldn’t be bothered to brew another pot for themselves, why was I bothering to do so? Was it a matter of courtesy or of honor? What’s the difference?

Courtesy is an act you do for someone else, simply because you can. It’s “the nice thing to do.” Aside from the happy feeling that comes from doing something nice for someone, you receive little or no benefit from an act of courtesy. Honor is what causes you to do the act – even when you’d rather not.

The next evening, my Rhetoric professor was trying to make a point about metaphors. Since the concept was still on my mind, I was amused when she asked us to use metaphors to define “honor.” Here’s what I wrote that night:

Honor is…
• brewing a new pot of coffee when the current pot is low – and you’ve already had your cup
• walking to an inconvenient trash can
• doing those things you said you would do – without being reminded
• taking a telephone message and then delivering it
• doing “not my job” when it needs doing

Can you list some examples?