Help! I Have A Crush On My Rival!?: Prompts 4 and 5

 (See previous prompts here.)

PROMPT 4 - THE TEAM-UP:

Card Draw: South 1st Joker, another Joker and the game is over . . . maybe.

Second Card: 4 Clubs [black] Lose 1 potential.  Down to 0 potential. Not surprised, considering how the story is going.

Prompt: Your Rival is with some people they seem keen to impress. Who are they? How does your Rival throw you under the bus to try to look good in front of them?

* * *

No point denying it.  The day did not have a good start.  My gesture fell flat and I was embarrassed that I didn’t know Gwen was a diabetic and tried to kill her. Not to mention, I wasted $5.85. I dumped the latte down the toilet--it didn’t seem right drinking Gwen’s latte, and I certainly wasn’t giving it to Erik. Now I stood, sadly looking at myself in the men’s room mirror.  Gwen must think I’m an idiot.

Apologize.  That’s all I can do. Right? What's the worst that can happen?  She laughs. Get real, Lance. She wouldn’t do that. She blows me off and never wants to speak to me again. Perhaps too extreme. She forgives me.  Yeah. I’d like that.

Walking out of the restroom, I saw Gwen, Wayne, and Morgan sitting several tables away. Wayne was one of my best friends. He was the guy who looked like he had eaten one too many burgers or slices of pizza. His black hair was barely combed and his shirts often sported a stain or two from that morning’s breakfast, not to mention a sprinkling of crumbs. He may not have been the neatest boy in the bunch, but he could always be counted on for whatever you needed.  A regular loyal mess.

Then, there was Morgan.  One word comes to mind when I think of Morgan:  Vampire! One might think that description was true if it wasn’t for the bright, Saturday morning sun shining through the windows. The girl was your typical modern goth.  She wore all black, with matching lipstick and nail polish. Her short blonde hair was dyed black at the ends. Rounding it all off was her proverbial silver nose ring.

The three were putting away the game they had started earlier when I went to the restroom. (I must’ve been in there longer than I realized.) I waited to see if they were going to leave the table. I didn’t mind saying anything in front of Wayne, but if I could avoid Morgan, that would be preferable. She and Gwen always stuck together, and I pictured them laughing about that “silly dweeb” later on. (Yes, even though we’re years out of high school, I still imagine girls calling me a dweeb.) Besides, Morgan was one of the biggest gossips I knew. Before the week was over, all her thrall would know what I’d done.

To my dismay, they had another game lined up.  However, despite my reservations, I didn’t want to wait. I walked over before they got too involved.

“Gwen. I just wanted to apologize.  If I knew you were a diabetic, I wouldn’t have . . . “

“It’s okay, Lance. It’s no big deal.” Gwen had already forgotten about it.  It was obvious that it didn’t mean much to her, since she didn’t even acknowledge my attempt at a kind gesture. I did what I had come to do. Now all I wanted to do was leave.

“Lance,” Wayne piped up. “We’re about to play a game of Vocations.  You want to join us?”

I was going to politely decline, but then I saw Morgan and Gwen give each other a concerned look at Wayne’s suggestion.  Suddenly, I felt like I didn’t want to give them the satisfaction.

“Sure, sounds fun.”

Morgan and Gwen slumped a little in their seats.

*  *  *

Vocations was little more than a beefed up Life.  It was more “casual” than the usual Saturday fare, but sometimes you just want to roll your dice and move your mice, in a manner of speaking.  We had all established our professions and I was about to instigate a hostile takeover against Morgan, when Gwen leaned over to her and whispered.

“Here comes Art, now’s your chance.”

While I was wondering what chance Gwen was talking about, Art strolled up to our table to see how we were doing. We all said we were doing fine before Morgan asked about the Holiday Bowl.

“You’re taking suggestions for the Bowl game, aren’t you?”

“Yes, we are,” Art responded.  “Did you have a suggestion?”

Morgan shot Gwen a fleeting glance before continuing. “I was thinking we might want to play a game that had a little bit of everything: deck-building, questing, a game board.  Maybe something like Wyvern’s Retreat?”

The blonde and red-head shared another quick look. Amazing! They were teaming up . . . and right in front of me, as well.  Surely, Art wasn’t going to fall for this.

“Gwen mentioned that game as well,” Art said.  “I’ll have to check and see what everyone else thinks about it.”

He is falling for this! I couldn’t let this go on unchecked.

“But we’re not making any decisions yet,” I said to the girls, putting on my virtual Game Board hat.  I’m sure we’ll have a lot of other good games to consider.”

“Certainly,” Gwen agreed. “Which brings up a point, Art.  All suggestions will be considered equally? Right?”

“Well, everyone wants to suggest a game,” Art admitted.  “But the suggestions we receive from people who have been playing here a while and have good, thought-out reasons . . . yeah, they all get equal consideration.”

“I wanted to make sure.  Last week, Lance suggested I withdraw my suggestion until next year.  I think it was because he wanted less competition against his choice. I was worried he might dismiss any other games that were suggested.”

Gwen smirked.  Morgan looked aghast (though I was pretty sure she was feigning surprise).  I was seething and shot daggers back. 

“Really?” Art asked.  I could sense his eyes scrutinizing me.  “I’m sorry, Gwen.  I don’t want anyone to be discouraged that we might play favorites.  I see you’re in the middle of a game, but Lance, if we could talk before you leave today.” 

“Yes, sir,” I said, not knowing why I got so formal all of a sudden.

Morgan giggled as Art walked away.  (Like I said . . . vampire.) Wayne remained silent, as he did throughout the entire episode. Gwen sat back satisfied, yet challenging.

I suddenly stood up, making sure to strike my thigh against the table and send the game pieces sailing off onto the floor.  I stomped away, followed by the questioning gazes of the other gamers in the room.

* * *

PROMPT 5 - THE OFFICE

Card (Direction chosen by random): Jack of Clubs [black] Royal cards do not change potential, but do give you new advantages in the game.  Red Royals give you a “Save,” which will be explained later.  Black Royals give you an “Insight.” Insights give you the advantage to negate a black card. You may use 1 Insight when you draw a black card to avoid losing any potential.  Whether or not you chose to answer the prompt is optional.  This draw of a Jack of Clubs adds one to my Insight.  Insight: 1

Prompt: One of your Rival’s associates mentions that they’ve been talking about you a lot lately. Why would that be?

*  *  *

At least Art had the sense to take us to a back office. I didn’t need . . . want him to chew me out in front of the others.  After admitting to him that Gwen was telling the truth, I stared at the wall while Art sat on the edge of a desk and proceeded to tell me why what I did was wrong, that it was not how he wanted the Game Board to be viewed, and that he was this close to revoking my membership. 

“I know,” was the only apology I could give. 

When Art finished, he said he’d write it off as a warning and suggested I say nothing more about the Bowl to anyone, but just listen politely if someone has a suggestion.

“What’s going on with you?” He suddenly asked, shifting the conversation.  “You’re a good guy.  Everyone likes you.  If you’re not careful, you’re going to blow a great opportunity.”

What opportunity?

“Opportunity?”

“Yeah, with Gwen.” Huh? “She's been looking for friends since she’s been back.”

“She always has Morgan.” I stated what I thought was obvious.

“Yes, but she’s also been about you?”

I tensed.  Fear? Excitement?  “She has?  What has she been asking?”

“It may not have occurred to you, but there are a lot of new faces around here since she left. Yes, there’s Morgan, me, you, Wayne and a few others.  But almost everyone she used to hang around with has either moved, went away for school, or simply stopped coming.  I think she’s had a rough time lately, and now she’s looking to regain some of those fun times.”

“Is that why she stayed and hasn’t gone back to college?”

“Don’t know. She hasn’t told me much about her personal life and it’s really none of my business.”

His admission gave me a wave of relief. “What does this have to do with me?”

“Haven’t you been listening?  She doesn’t know the new people.  But she knows you.  You used to play with each when she lived here? Right?”

Again, Art and I hung around different groups of people.  He didn’t really know what our past relationship was like.  “Yeah.  A little.”

“Perhaps she considered you a friend, but now she’s noticing that you are avoiding her.  And those times you haven’t, you apparently haven’t been the nicest person to her.  She asked me if I knew of any reason why.  Had she done something wrong?  Did you have something else going on in your life?”

I was stunned.  “I had no idea.”

“She wants to be your friend, Lance.  You’re always so friendly to everyone else.  I don’t know why you’re treating her differently.” He rose from the desk and headed for the door.  “Think about it. That’s all I’m asking.”

Art left me sitting alone.

Help! I Have A Crush On My Rival!?: Prompt 2 and 3

(See introduction here.)

Prompt 2 - The Compromise:

Random Starting point, counting from lower left: Use Google to generate a random number - 4

Card: 2 Hearts [Red] (How appropriate, though probably early) Gain 2 potential.

Prompt: The two of you have a shared goal, for once. What’s challenging both of you enough that you can form a temporary truce? How do you overcome it? How well can the two of you work together when you have to?

* * *

The rest of the morning was a blur. I simply couldn't concentrate. I just kept thinking about the conversation between Gwen and Art.  Art wasn't really considering Gwen game suggestion, was he?  And why didn't he and Elaine tell me they were inviting her? I am a member of this Board.  I should have a say! And … and … well, I just didn't want to think about it anymore.  I wanted to play. 

However, that didn't go very well either. I lost every match and I was twenty minutes into a game of (ready for this?) Wyvern's Retreat, the Devil's (and read that “Gwen’s”) Kool-Aid before I knew what I was doing. It was no surprise. I couldn't help but keep looking over to where Elaine and Art were having their meeting with Gwen.

I really wanted to know what they were talking about. Were they still talking about the Holiday Bowl? Or were they now discussing her joining the Board, and if so, shouldn't I be a part of that? And why did Art … I mean, the two of them need to talk to her for so long.

It was almost noon, and it was obvious that I was finding no enjoyment today. I was ready to head home, but as I headed for the door I saw Gwen several steps ahead of me leaving as well.  In a snap decision, I decided I wanted to try and fix this situation now, instead of stewing over it all week. I didn't want to know about the Board, that was a horror I preferred not to think about as long as possible.

“Gwen!”

“Hey, Lance. What’s up?” My heart skipped a beat when Gwen turned around.  She didn’t exactly smile, but her eyes were curiously kind.

Okay, I think I better explain something before you get the wrong idea.  The way I described our relationship earlier, I suspect you think Gwen and I were the definition of antagonism, every meeting a battle for dominance.  That’s not exactly true.  Gwen was confident, determined, and competitive, but she wasn’t evil! Truth be told, I was the one who was rude, obnoxious, and dismissive.  In fact, right now, Gwen was probably wondering what was so important that I would even want to talk with her.

“I heard you talking with Art this morning about the Holiday Bash.  I thought we might be able to work together to choose the best game.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“As I’m sure you know, this is my first year on the Game Board. I’ve worked really hard for this, helping out when I can, running errands.  I even got a job here and am able to do a little during the week, when Elaine and Art can’t.  What I’m trying to say is, I’ve been wanting to be as useful on the Board as I could so that I might have a say in what the year’s final tournament would be.  So . . . maybe you could not push your game anymore and let me have it this year?  Then you can talk up Wyvern’s Retreat as much as you want for next year.”

This time Gwen did smile . . . a wide “You can’t fool me” smile.

“That doesn’t sound like working together,” she said.  “That sounds like you getting your way.  Let me guess, you want a trading card game?”

“Andromeda Factions,” I admitted.

“C’mon, Lance.  You know a trading card game isn’t a great choice for the Bowl.”

“Whattdya mean?”

“Not only can each individual title be niche, no one is starting off on an even playing field.  Depending on how much you play, and let’s face it, how much money you are willing to spend, or even have for that matter, one player may have a strong deck with all sorts of advanced cards while others decks may have weaker base cards and whatever trades its owner was able to make. It doesn’t seem fair.”

“We could make it sealed deck, where everyone gets random boosters and have to make their deck from that?”

“Still, it makes for a better, more inviting tournament, if all the players have access to the same items as everyone else.  That’s why self-contained games are best. Besides, that's not how this works.  Anyone can offer suggestions to the Board, and since I’m friends with Art . . .”

My heart suddenly skipped another beat.

“. . . I thought he might give it more than just a passing thought.” Then her eyes narrowed, and her tone became very matter-of-fact. “Nice try, Lance, but I don’t really know what you are worried about.  Like you said, you’re on the Board.  I’m sure you’ll do all you can to sabotage me.”

Ouch!

“I wouldn’t do that!”

“Sure,” Gwen responded, not sounding convinced. “See you next week, Lance,” she said, turned, and walked away.

===============

Prompt 3 - The Olive Branch:

Not sure which way I want to move, so I’ll roll for it: 2 (east)

Card: 6 Clubs [Black], Lose 1 potential

In a moment of feeling especially cordial toward your Rival, you make a small gesture of friendship toward them. (Example: Sending them a holiday card, or inviting them to a meal with you and your friends.) Your Rival seems to ignore your overture completely. How do you feel?

I have an idea of what to offer, but I’ll make a couple of rolls on RPGSolo’s Complex Questions for inspiration:  Aggressively / Enormous  Innocently / Nondescript 

Okay, that couldn’t have been two more opposite descriptions, but the enormous and innocent confirm some of my original idea, so I’ll go with it.

RPGSolo’s Oracle: How did Gwen respond to the discussion about the Board?  Was she interested in joining?  (Unlikely, because she just returned home and the invite is out of the blue.  Not something she was expecting and unsure what her future plans are.)  No.

*  *  *

“I'm sorry I didn't get back to you on Saturday. What did you want to talk to me about?”

It was Art. He was calling to apologize for not talking to me on Saturday.  I accepted the apology, even though I was the one avoiding Art after hearing his conversation with Gwen. I gave him my Andromeda Faction pitch over the phone, though it was admittedly less enthusiastic than I had planned. He brought up some of the same points Gwen did, but started brainstorming about ways to make it work without any prompting from me.

“One more thing,” I asked, daring to broach Gwen’s invitation. “Were you going to talk to me about Gwen joining the Game Board?”

“Oh. That. The thought only came to me last Friday night. I called Elaine to get her opinion, and she wanted to wait till the morning and talk to Gwen before considering an official invite. I probably shouldn't have said anything to Gwen until Elaine and I were able to speak with her together.”

“Shouldn’t I have been included in that conversation?”

“You’re right.  I’m sorry,” Art apologized.  “The last invite was you, and of course the only one I had to discuss it with was Elaine.  I still think of Elaine as the head of the Board and she’s the one to give any final blessings.  Besides, I didn’t think you would mind if we asked Gwen.

I was hurt that he didn’t think of me as an important member of our trio, but I couldn't really fault him. I thought of Elaine the same way, and Art and I had different friends when I was in high school, so he wouldn't have known about Gwen’s and my rivalry.

“As it turns out,” he continued, “it's not going to happen. Gwen's not interested.  She just got back to town and is not sure about her plans for the next several months. To her credit, she also thought it would be unfair to others who have been here a while.  I can’t lie, I was disappointed. Hopefully, she’ll reconsider in the future.”

Because you think she'll be good at it, or because you want to spend more time with her?

I'm not sure why I thought that, but I brushed it away.  I had one quick, final thought, one that required me to ask Art another question.

“Do you know if Gwen drinks coffee? I don't remember if I've seen her with one?”

“Hmm, I think I've seen her come in with a cup from JavaBeans, but I'm not positive.”

Despite Gwen’s and my conversation last Saturday, I wasn’t ready to give up on changing her mind.  More importantly, however, she thought I was a saboteur and I had to do something about that.  And third, I hadn’t been as friendly toward her as I should have been.  Maybe I could take care of all three with one big gesture.

*  *  *

I can’t say I’ve ever been to JavaBeans myself.  Why pay over five bucks for something that can just as easily brew in a pot at home yourself?  But everyone seemed to rave about their coffee and this was a special circumstance.  I could have just picked up a plain coffee, but I really wanted to make an impression, so I asked the kid at the drive-through to recommend a really fancy drink.  The vanilla latte sounded nice, and I had it topped with whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkles. 

The coffee shop was across the street from the “Dice & Deck”, and as I was paying, I saw Gwen walking across its parking lot.  What perfect timing!

As I walked into the store, I noticed Gwen wasn’t holding a coffee cup.  I didn’t think about it until then, but I could have looked really stupid, offering her a coffee when she already had one. Lucky break there, until I thought, What if she doesn’t have a coffee because Art was wrong and she doesn’t like coffee? Before I started second-guessing myself too much, I approached her and extended my olive branch.

“Good morning, Gwen.  I was in the drive-through of JavaBeans when I saw you walking in the store.  I thought I do something nice and pick this up for you.”

Inwardly, I chastised myself.  When I was stopped at JavaBeans? I didn’t have a coffee of my own.  What if she noticed? 

“What’s that?” she asked instead, wrinkling her nose.

“A vanilla latte with whipped cream and cinnamon sprinkles.  I wanted to get you something good.”

“Ugh,” She looked disgusted.  “I can’t have all that!”

“I’m sorry . . . I didn’t . . . I didn’t know you were . . . “ As I stammered, I couldn’t help but drop my eyes to look at her body.

“Please!” Gwen rolled her eyes.  “I’m not watching my weight.  I’m a diabetic. That’s too much sugar for me.  You can have it.” She glanced around. “Or give it to Erik.  I think he likes that stuff.”

She didn’t even say goodbye as she walked away to join Morgan and Wayne, who were setting up a game at a table in the back.

I stood there dumbfounded, holding the latte, whipped cream beginning to melt down the side.

Shit!

(Read next prompts here.)

Help! I Have A Crush On My Rival!?: Introduction and Prompt 1

INTRODUCTION:

If I haven't mentioned it already 😉, I've been distracted from my main role-playing game by a journaling game.  I am now far enough along in that game to start making posts.  If you're just here to read a good story, feel free to skip down to Prompt 1 and avoid all this background stuff. However, if you want to know why I became interested in this game and learn some of its mechanics, please read on.

The game I'm playing is Help! I Have A Crush On My Rival?! I think the reason I found this game so compelling is nostalgia. When I was in high school and discovering my enjoyment of creative writing, I wrote a lot of “crush” stories. Of course, they typically had a twist or involved bizarre circumstances: a murdered cheerleader; a demon unleashed into the world; a boy trapped in a coma because he preferred his dream world to the real one; chasing an evil warlord across time in a Highlander rip-off; or dead characters living in purgatory. I didn't have a successful dating life back then (frankly, I had no dating life) and maybe those stories were my chance to live the relationships I longed to have. (Considering the subject matter I previously listed, I must've had some real strange ideas about what would make the perfect date. 😳)

Today, I'm happily married to my “Crush,” having a great life, and wouldn't want to be with anyone else. Even so, I have a certain affinity for stories that explore new relationships.  Perhaps that is why I find Hallmark movies and other rom-coms more enjoyable to watch than many other men. Though my reasons for writing - not just demented romances, but all kinds of stories - might have changed over the years, I still love to imagine and document what another life might be like, whether it's a young woman developing her skills as a thief, new partners surviving in a post-apocalyptic Pennsylvania, a clown hunting giant chickens, a band of mercenaries exploring a mysterious island, or a young man beginning to have some curious feelings about their greatest gaming opponent.

Help! I Have A Crush On My Rival?! by Dice Problems is available on itch.io, and is based on the Carta game system.  Carta games are role-playing games that require a standard deck of playing cards.  The game “board” is made by arranging a certain number of random cards in a pattern, typically a grid.  A card is revealed and matched with a corresponding prompt for that card, which explains what happens to your character or how the game proceeds.  The game continues as the player moves from one adjoining card to another, following their prompts.  The game is over once they reveal the designated “end game” card or are eliminated in the process.  The developer using this system sets the theme and goal of the game, and may tweak and/or add new mechanics.

In the case of Help! I Have A Crush On My Rival!? its theme should be obvious. Also, it pairs the Carta mechanics with the task of creating a journal.  Each card prompt describes a situation or event for you to write about as you move the story along.  One of the mechanics this game uses is “Potential,” a scoring system that determines how successful an outcome your story will have.  When you turn over a red card, you gain Potential.  A back card looses you Potential.  Once you’ve revealed both Jokers, the game ends and you have to complete your story in a manner that reflects your amount of Potential.  There are a few other mechanics that can assist your character, but I will discuss those whenever they occur in the game.

Now, disclaimer upon disclaimer:

Help! is available on Itch.io as a “Name Your Own Price” game.  This means that while donations to the developer are encouraged, the game is fully available for free.  For that reason, I feel comfortable sharing the full wording of each prompt so the reader can fully appreciate how it influenced the story.  If you are interested in playing the game or reading it for yourself, I encourage you to download your own copy and donate, if that is something you feel led to do.

My story is not meant to be a deep, serious work of literature.  It’s a fun, casual game. As such, expect it to be full of romance and rom-com tropes.  I’m not looking to rework the genre or necessarily do something unique, different, or game-changing.

With the exception of a few classic games, all the titles I have used are original and, to the best of my knowledge, not real games (at least at the time of this writing).  That being said, while the titles are original, descriptions of each title’s gameplay might resemble, or outright mimic, a real, existing game.

The board and game progress is being tracked, and the cards were “shuffled” in Google Sheets. Screenshots will be included to monitor my progress.  If you have any questions or comments about how or why I am using this method, feel free to email me at tevsnextidea@gmail.com or leave a comment.

For graphics, I have decided I was going to use AI generated images for this story.  The main online tools I used were the generators that can be found at perchance.org. Whenever a different AI tool was used, it will be noted. Any edits or cleanup were done by me using GIMP.

While the images are generated, the text is not.  All the writing is a product of my own creativity, as directed by the prompts, with occasional help from a random name generator, here and there.

Thank you for bearing with me.  Now let’s get to the game.

*     *     *

PROMPT 1: THE DICE & DECK

Before you even flip a card, the game asks you to answer the first prompt.

PROMPT: You’ve been thinking about your Rival a lot. They’ve always gotten under your skin,  But something has been different recently. You’ve started to think you could like this person, despite yourself. What incident gave you this hint of possibility? How do you feel?

*  *  * 

Gwen Anders!  What is she doing here? 

It’s the monthly game tournament at the “Dice & Deck,” and the featured game is  Australia: The Northern Territory.  I thought Gwen didn’t like worker placement/resource gathering games.  Honestly, they’re not my first choice either, but I was sure that, at the very least, I could compete without have to worry about playing against her!

But I’m ahead of myself.  Maybe I should rewind this story several years.

My name is Lance Walsh and I live with my family in Winter Shores. I’ve grown up on Family Game Night, where my parents, sister, and I would play games like Clue, Monopoly, Sorry, and Uno.  Party games were fun, but as I got older,, about the time I was a freshman in high school, I discovered games that were more complex, strategic, and involved.  However, after trying a few at home, it was clear that they would never be accepted into the regular rotation of games.  Even at school, finding opponents among my friends was difficult.  So when I heard that there was a group of like-minded individuals who met every Saturday at the “Dice & Deck” comic store for the sole purpose of learning, playing, and competing in all sorts of games, I knew I had found my home away from home.

I thought I had a vast knowledge of games, and that was true at home and at school.  However, after my first weekend, I realized my knowledge was basically infantile.  Over the next several months I was introduced to all kinds of different games: board games such as worker placement, roads and rails, deck builders, war games, area control, and resource management; boardless games such as social deduction and role-playing; and what would become my personal favorite, trading card games.

I’m not ashamed to say that I pretty much sucked those first few months. I lost most games. I was eliminated in the first round of the few tournaments I played.  But I wasn’t deterred, and before too long I found myself winning more games than I lost, at least of the titles I played regularly.  I was even able to make it through the first round of the tournaments I entered. I continued to improve until by my sophomore year in school, I was one of the top players in my age range and able to hold my own against the college aged kids and adults. Nothing was going to stand in my way of a promising gaming future at the “Dice & Deck.”

That was, until Gwen Anders walked through the door.

It was just after Christmas break when this girl I had never seen before visited the store.  She appeared to be about my age (I later found out she was also a high school sophomore) and instantly drew everyone’s attention.  I may have been because she was a girl -- a rarity at the time, since over 80 percent of the players were male -- but if so, I wasn’t sure why.  She wore a plain, white t-shirt and jeans and her auburn hair that was cut short. Think Molly Ringwald from Sixteen Candles, but not as girly. In fact, she was much a tomboy, unshed baby fat making her a little pudgy. As for the other boys in the group, if any were hoping for more than just a game, they would soon find out that they would be out of luck. Gwen was looking for competition, and nothing else.

Trying to be friendly, I reached out to her the first day. I asked if she wanted to play a game of Turf Wars, a deck battling game that I was rather good at. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she refused -- the game was about battling lawn insects --- but she agreed. Gwen admitted to me that she had never played Turf Wars, however, it was clear she knew the basics of this type of card game. I won, but Gwen had caught on fast and it wasn’t the cakewalk I expected it to be.

She returned the next week, we played again.  This time, however, she won.  Actually, that’s not exactly correct.  You could say she annihilated me, winning in a mere five rounds.  I was impressed and told her so, especially since I had been victorious the previous week.

“You must’ve had beginner’s luck,” she announced, then walked away to find another opponent.

I must’ve had beginners luck!?  Me!  Who did she think she was, calling me a beginner?  She didn’t even know the game.  I’ve been playing for the last three months. The arrogance!

Turns out, she wasn’t just blowing smoke.  Over the next couple of months, regardless of the game, Gwen either beat me easily, or, in the few instances I was able to squeak out a victory, it was thanks to a lucky roll of the dice or draw of a card.  In other words, unless the game involved some random mechanic, she couldn’t lose.

It all culminated in our first tournament together.  As usual, I felt confident going into the tournament.  It had been months since I failed to make to at least the semi-final round.  However, by the luck of the draw, Gwen and I were seated at the same table. Needless to say, she knocked me out of the tournament in the first round. She didn’t even have the courtesy to say, “Good game.” She just smirked at me as I left the table dejected.

After that, I adopted a new strategy when it came playing against Gwen: avoid doing so as much as I could!  That turned out to be rather easy, as she was interested in playing RPG themed board games, while I preferred the trading card variety.  We happily maintained that relationship -- members of the same group but living separate lives -- for the remainder of our sophomore year and all of our junior year.  However, when our senior year rolled around, our rivalry blossomed.

The Saturday gaming group at the “Dice & Deck” wasn’t just a random group of like individuals coming together every week to play games. Okay, maybe it was, but this seemingly random group did have some organization, and overseeing it was the “Game Board.”  It was our board of directors, but for games.  Get it?  “Game Board?”  Anyway, the Game Board consisted of anywhere from three to five members who would organize the group and plan out the various tournaments throughout the year.  The biggest and most anticipated tournament was the end-of-the-year Holiday Bowl, where one game would be picked and everyone would participate, hoping to be crowned to Champion of the Year!

While there was no age limit to be a Board member, no one younger than a college junior  had ever held the position.  However, if you were a long-time, regular Saturday gamer, the Game Board took your opinions seriously. If one was lucky, they may have some sway with the Board over what games were played at the various events.  By the time I was a high school senior, I was hoping to have earned some of that sway.

Over the past year, I nade it a point to build friendships with several of the Board Members. Bowl recommendations didn't bein until October. But that didn't keep me from making it known that I was hoping to play a trading card game in the year end tournament.  Gwen, who had also been around for a while,  must have had a similar idea, because he spent a lot if time talking to the board, as well. There was a big difference berween us, however. We both may have had the Board's ear, but Gwen had the influence!  They didn’t just listen to her, but, in my opinion  went out of their way to make sure that the Holiday Bowl would decided by playing her suggestion, a war-themed board game, 1945: War in Europe.

The tournament was a disaster, at least for me.  I was outed in the first round and, not surprisingly, Gwen made it to the final table.  even One of the older members took the top prize, but it didn't change Gwen's bragging to me for the next several weeks.  It was all too clear, as long as Gwen was around, my tournament success would be effectively limited.

Lucky for me, however, Gwen had ambitions for her future that could not be accommodated by our small local college.  After high school, she left for a larger university a few states away.  What was more important, however, was that her presence would no longer haunt me from across the game board. Except for the occasional weekend here and there when she returned home on break, Gwen was gone from the “Dice & Deck” forever, and I could begin to regain dominance over my fellow gamers.

Too much?  Okay, maybe I just wouldn't lose as much.

Unlike Gwen, I had no real direction in my life. I stayed in Winter Shores and enrolled in the local community college. But, while my career plans may have stagnated, my gaming goals continued to increase. In addition to playing games, I made it a point to befriend the members of the Board and help out wherever I could.  When they needed someone to set up for tournaments, I was there.  If new players needed help be introduced into the group, I made sure they found a good mentor or opponent. I’d pick up snacks, make posters, anything that benefitted Saturday Game Day..

Then, about six months ago, at the start of my second and final year of community college, it happened!  I was officially asked to join the Game Board as an official member.  They had lost a couple of members this past year and were down to only two: Elaine, who was in her thirties and considered the mother of the group, even though several of the regulars were older than her, and Art, who was in his last year of college and only been on the Board himself for a little over a year.  I eagerly jumped in, but bade my time before making my recommendations for this year’s Holiday Bowl.  I didn’t want to sound desperate, after all.

After graduating from college, I spent more time at the “Dice & Deck” than was probably healthy.  In fact, I spent so much time, I was offered a job.  The game store was pretty much my home and the Saturday group my family.  Summer was nearly over and plans for the Bowl would begin soon. I was living my best life . . .

Until she came back!

Gwen Anders returned in early August.  She had grown a bit over the past two years, having trimmed up from her pudgy high school look.  Instead of her old tomboy haircut, her auburn hair was much longer and tied it back in a ponytail.  She still wore jeans and t-shirts, which usually featured a game logo, but she added a black leather jacket to her ensemble, even though the weather was still warm.

I expected her to stick around for a couple of weeks, play a few games with the group for old time’s sake, then head back to college.  Except she didn’t.  I don’t know why she didn’t go back, but I certainly wasn’t going to ask her.  I didn’t relish the idea of my rival’s return, but as long as I didn’t have to play against her, it might be okay.  And if ever we met in a tournament, I had to have improved the past two years. Hadn’t I? Regardless, I was cordial to Gwen when I had to be and avoided her otherwise.

Which brings us to where the story began, Gwen surprising me by participating in the Australia: The Northern Territory tournament. I’m happy to say, Gwen did not knock me out the tournament this time! However, that was because I was eliminated in the second round without ever being say at her table.  How did Gwen do?  I think that’s best left a mystery.

Eventually, the first Saturday in October rolled around, and I was eager to get to the “Dice & Deck” early.  This was the day the Board officially began discussing plans for the end of the year Holiday Bowl. This is what I’d been waiting for, the day I would officially present my pitch for Andromeda Factions, a sci-fi themed trading card game that I discovered last year.  I'd discussed the game a time or two with Elaine and Art, and not sensing any objections from them, I believed I had a great chance of convincing them to feature Factions at this year's final tournament. 

I arrived at the store ten minutes after it had opened. There were only a few cars in the parking lot, but I did see Art's and rushed in to speak with him before the other's began to arrive. I headed to the back of the store where the gaming tables were located and saw that Art wasn't alone.  I nearly gasped when I realized it was Gwen!

I thought this couldn't be good, and my fears were confirmed when I got close and could hear their conversation. Gwen was asking Art to consider Wyvern's Retreat for the Bowl.  Please, not another board game. And certainly not hers!

“Art,” I interrupted.  “I was hoping we could talk before everyone starts arriving?”

Art held up a hand to cut me off.  “Sure, Lance.  I'll be with you as soon as I'm done with Gwen.”

To Gwen, he said, “Thanks for the suggestion. It's early yet, but I'll be sure to have Elaine talk to you. That might also be a good time for her and I to talk to ou about something elsa we've been discussing. The Game Board has grown thin this past year, but the number of people coming to play every week is increasing.  Elaine and I really want to build the Board back up to five members again, and since it looks like you'll be staying in Winter Shores for a while, we were hoping to get your thoughts about becoming a Board member yourself.”

I was shocked! Did I hear right. Elaine and Art were offering Gwen a position on the Board. I was puzzled. I'm on the Board. Why didn't they ask me? Then I got angry. Gwen's hasn't been around for two years. What right did she have suddenly getting a say in the group’s business?

But then, I felt something totally unexpected.  I was a little jealous. Not because of Art's invitation to Gwen, or even the possibility that he would choose her game over mine.

No. My jealousy came from the simple fact that Art was getting to talk to Gwen.

(Read next prompt here.)

More on Magapha

Hey, all.  As you can tell, I've been on a break for a while from writing my Cyenannore adventure.  This has mainly been due to a big interstate move I made recently, as well as my leisure interests expanding into areas that don't lend themselves very well to story posts. (You can read about some of those in my latest DIY article.)

Still, Cyenannore hasn't been totally off my mind.  I recently posted an article on my Half Air site that went into the reasons and background for the Megaphan religion that I introduced in the last chapter of Cyenannore.  If you are interested in learning some of the behind-the-scenes of how I came up with the ideas for this religion and why it was important for me to introduce it in my story, you can find that in my article I Invented A New Religion . . .

Also, in case you are interested, I've additionally been sidetracked by journaling game I purchased a while back from itch.io. Check back later to find posts from that game and my continuation of Cyenannore: A Kage Gordain Adventure.

Doing It Myself

I’ve done a lot less gaming these past couple of weeks, tabletop gaming in particular, because I’ve been on a little bit of a Do-It-Yourself kick. There were a couple of projects I’ve had planned for a while. However, since I was already in a crafting mode, those couple of planned projects turned into several more unplanned projects.

CUSTOM CARDS

This actually started a couple of months ago.  One of the games I play is the Lord of the Rings Living Card Game. As I was approaching a natural stopping point of the official content I already owned, I began to explore some of the custom content that had been made by the fans.  I’d looked at a bunch online, but never converted any to a physical form because I wasn’t sure of the best method to do so, regarding time, material, and finances.  Finally, I decided to just print them out using card stock and using sleeves to integrate better with the official cards.

CARD STORAGE

More recently, my DIY surge was a result of wanting to organize the card I owned for another deck building game Aeon’s End.  Aeon’s End has several expansions, all of which can be combined to be used together.  However, the organization system that came with each expansion was only enough to hold what originally came in the box with little extra room for additional cards, especially if you kept growing your collection. My plan was to convert the boxes I had into a system that organized all the most commonly used cards, playmats, and other pieces in one place.

I started with the box from the Aeon’s End: Legacy expansion.  I chose this one for obvious reasons; it was the largest.  I removed the original plastic tray that came with the game. It took up a lot of space and rendered many portions of the box being unusable. Next, I gathered the material to make the dividers that would hold the cards and objects in place.  Most of it was waste packaging from Amazon and Walmart orders.  My main reason was that it was cheap, but if you want to be more environmentally conscious, you may consider it recycled packaging. After penciling out the various sections of the box, I cut dividers from the stiffest cardboard I had.  Next, I lined the edges of the box with sturdy foam packaging to give support to the dividers.  Finally,I glued everything in, sorted the cards and game pieces, and neatly returned all the currently active cards and game pieces to the finished box.

There were still some cards and other items that I didn’t need on a regular basis. I put those in a box from another expansion in case I ever wanted to add them back into the game or, in the case of items that could be discarded, had use for them in a future project.

LIFE COUNTERS

Since I was on a roll, I decided to make some life counters.  Did I need them?  No. I have official versions that came with various games, plus, I’d made some homemade counters a couple of years ago that have yet to be used. Still, I really wanted to try a different pattern than the ones I’ve used in the past.  A piece of card stock, a sheet of laminate, and a few paper fasteners later, I had made my best homemade counters to date.

CARD BOX

Before I tell you about my final project, I need to take a moment and talk about tarot. I do not put any faith in tarot readings or fortune-telling.  In fact, as a Christian, God is clear that such things should be avoided (Deut. 18:10-13). So, it should be no surprise that I do not own a tarot deck. The problem with that, I am finding, is that more and more independent game makers are using the tarot deck as their randomizer of choice for their journaling and story-based games.  I didn’t want these games to pass me by, so I had to re-evaluate my decision to use or not use a tarot deck.

As a mature Christian, I am aware that all scriptural commands, encouragements, and warnings   need to be examined within their context.  While the tarot deck isn’t specifically mentioned in scripture, many practices and objects associated with the occult are.  However, where the Bible warns us against certain activities in one place, similar activities appear to be acceptable elsewhere. For example, decorating wood with gold and silver is frowned upon in Jeremiah 10:2-5, while admired in 1 Kings 6:18-22.  What’s the difference? Comparing these two passages, it’s clear that the difference is intent: One is to create a false idol; The other is to build a temple that honors God. The reason something is done or and object is used gives it meaning, good or bad.

Understanding this, I was okay using the tarot deck as a creative writing tool, but I still didn’t like the idea of buying an official deck. Luckily, I found several alternatives. One was to use a digital deck. Another was to consult a chart that equated dice rolls or standard playing cards to drawing a particular tarot cards.  All of these are fine (not to mention portable, which I love), but sometimes you like the tactile feel of dealing out physical cards.  To fulfill that desire, I decided to make my own.

Cheapness and simplicity were my main goal for this project. To start, I found several free, printable tarot decks online. I found a nice greyscale version (cheaper than printing color) that was formatted to match the size of a standard playing card. Instead of card stock, I opted to print the deck on cheaper plain copy paper.  To give them a card feel, I slid them into sleeves and used standard playing cards as a backing, both of which I already owned.  The particular sleeves I used had true opaque backs so the different patterns of the decks wouldn’t show through. 

 

Now that I had a rather thick deck of 78 cards, I needed some way to store them.  I could just put them in a ziplock and call it a day, but that would look messy and not stack well on my shelf.  So, naturally, I decided to create a custom box. (So much for simple.) Since the deck was an odd size and I wanted to use only one sheet of card stock (saving money again), I had to create my own custom pattern.  However, I did get inspiration and ideas from other patterns I found online, such as this one. To give the box some character, I found some nice artwork and Photoshopped it (or GIMPed, in my case) to flow nearly seamlessly around the box.  I wasn’t sure how it would turn out when I started, but in the end I was rather proud of the final result.

Now comes the questions I keep asking myself whenever I do one of these projects: Am I ever going to use these creations?  With the exception of the Aeon’s End box, probably rarely to ever. Do I feel that my time working on them was a waste?  Not really. They are fun to do, stimulate the brain, and get the creative juices flowing. Even though they are done and I have resumed actually playing games again, I’m already contemplating what project I can do next.

There’s only one problem . . .

Those creative juices really leave a big mess.