re: [I] the great panjandrum (was: Woody stuff going begging...)
ppint. at pplay
- hi; in abt-h, IKE responded:
> ppint. at pplay wrote:
>
>> - the panjandrum in action possessed the virtue
>> of providing excitement at a reasonable range;
>> their fitting out with radially-orientated ply-
>> wood paddles secured to their circumferential
>> hoops, and perhaps the turning of these latter
>> into sealed pipes possessed of a positive buoy-
>> ancy, would have extended their alas abbreviated
>> progress into a truly amphibious career.
>
>Ye-e-e-es. The question is whether this could _possibly_
>be regarded as a Good Thing. Had the directional control
>been a little more, well, directional...
- as to the latter, this would have been readily
provided by a centrally-mounted boom projecting
rearwards, and downwards, to touch the ground in
the manner of an aeroplane's tail-skid; further,
this would also have furnished the panjandrum's
designers and operators with a means of storing
energy in a spirally-wound ribbon-spring, or by
the employment of a dynamo or alternator (which
last could easily've provided electrical motive
force, for the display or red, white and green
running lights for the illumination of the pan-
jandra at night, in standard naval and aeronaut-
ical form and usage) _and_ a means of arming and
delaying the detonation of the explosive charge
until a settable time, or distance, had elapsed,
or been traversed; as to the former, see below.
>
>> - two* _sets_ of panjandra, each painted in differ-
>> ent colours, a reliable individual ignition system,
>> and the marking out in an appropriate square, or
>> hex-based grid system of the bonneville flats, and
>> IKE would have an impressive game fit to challenge
>> the recomplications of yinsh, dvonn or tamsk - once
>> he's adjusted the initial rule-set in the light of
>> exhaustive play-test results.
>
>"A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."
- and the beating of swords into ploughshares be re-
garded as a practice desirable, and to be commended,
should not the transformation of the panjandrum from
a weapon of war into a playing-piece in a war game,
and one that need endanger none that do not choose
the hazard, as one would need to travel some consid-
ereable distance to become a bystander of any such
war game, logically be found to be equally desirable?
>
>> - love, a ppint. ppondering what reaction this game
>> would receive on boardgamegeek...
>
>"Run away!", one trusts.
>
- "oh ye of little faith..." - would there not be at
least critical review of the standards of production,
construction, materials used & decoration of the game
components, detailing of any perceived lacunae in the
rules, whether real or imaginary, and at least one re-
spondant complaining that the game was not fully com-
patible with steve jackson games' car wars, battle
cattle, frag, and/or the live-action game, killer...?
- love, a ppint. wondering whether there mightn't be
a commercial future for the great panjandrum game
[follow-up set to abt-h; please observe, or drop abt-h if overriding]
--
"The Wikipediasts want to believe that they're working on an
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and it offends them if it doesn't (yet) include a detailed history
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- Mike Schilling on rasfwr,ff 17:37 GMT 14/6/07 (6/14/07 for merkins)
Larry Moore
> [n.b. cross-posted to afp as being of likely interest to some there]
> - hi; in abt-h, IKE responded:
>> ppint. at pplay wrote:
How very like an overheard elevator (lift, to rightpondians,)
conversation:-)
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