Many years ago I was probably the only gaming geek on the Island whose mom attended more I-Cons than I did. She would go back when they had Dr. Who guests, but as Dr. Whos popularity faded in the US, she stopped going. Now into it’s 27th year (next weekend - I-Con April 4-6), I-Con is a science fiction convention held on the campus of Stony Brook University. Usually they’ll have somebody from Star Trek or Babylon 5, and lots of sci fi authors and sci-fi film makers, anime artists, sci-fi movies around the clock, science shows, filking, medieval re-enactment fighting exhibitions, and lots of gaming of all kinds. My friends and I would attend mainly for the gaming - non-stop role-playing and board games run by volunteers filling entire lecture halls with long-haired, dice-wielding miscreants. Trek guest is Jeffery Combs (who played, among many more unsung roles in heavy makeup, Weyoun on DS-9). Weekend pass is $55 if you didn’t hook up with a membership long ago. Anyone interested this year?

There was a time in my life when hanging out was synonymous with games. Video games, let alone personal computers were still in their infancy at the time and we had all grown up role-playing, so tabletop games were a natural extension of that interest. It didn’t matter where we ended up hanging out, there was usually some kind of game involved, though the games with all the little chits and cards were only busted out when we weren’t role-playing. There were lots of different classes of games, but a favorite was that of the “beer and pretzel” variety - games that evoked the spirit of role-playing in some way with none of the messy thinking. Games like Wiz-war, Space Hulk, and Talisman were turn-based games were you rolled the die, moved your piece (which was usually a painted model of some kind since you had a ton of them anyway), and worked out your encounters so the next guy could go. Then you were free to grab another beer or go and twiddle with the stereo for a few minutes. Though I can’t say that Talisman ever was a personal favorite, it was good to haul it out of the closet again to recapture that spirit.
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The 20 sided die evokes memories of all night Dungeons and Dragons gaming sessions. I never imagined them being rolled in ancient Rome! Gaming blogs were all over this story when it first broke in 2003 when Christies announced it was auctioning off a Roman 20 sided die. I guess I just don’t run in the crowd of folks that can afford to plunk down $18,000 for such a bauble, but I have to admit that it’s intriguing. Measuring 2 and 1/16 inch wide and covered in arcane symbols, Christies claimed the deep blue-green glass piece was made sometime around the 2nd century AD. The die was supposed to have been found in Egypt in the 1920s by the father of the seller. Most of the blogs I have found have the same information, all gleaned from the Christie’s website lot info (no longer on the web), and all mentioned that ’several polyhedra with similar symbols are known from the Roman period’, but I can’t find anything (quickly) to support this statement (yet?). The fact that a University professor in Maryland paid the aforementioned exorbitant sum for the die at auction does not provide enough evidence for me that it’s not just an early 20th century oddity passed off as an ancient die. If anyone has any information about other polyhedra of this type, or can point to a scholarly study of the piece in question, please let us know!