Gamers Alliance REPORT
Summer 2004 Vol. 2 No. 11
EDITORIAL
Shedding Light in the Dark Continent
In the 19th century, Africa was considered a mysterious continent, "dark" and unknown. Africa's mysteries were intriguing for many and many explorers ventured into the uncharted jungles to uncover her secrets. European countries including England and France carved out empires while exploring. "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" was the phrase that made reporter Stanley famous as he tracked down the doctor in the deepest realms of the continent. Quests for fabled treasures such as the "elephant's graveyard" kept treasure hunters busy. And, of course, African exploration was a fertile theme for games.
You had Source of the Nile, originally published by Discovery Games and later redone by Avalon Hill in the late 1970s and, more recently, Africa, a Reiner Knizia design published by both Goldsieber and Rio Grande Games (Summer 2001 GA REPORT), There was even a Dr. Livingstone, I Presume? game by Skor-Mor several decades ago! So while Africa became known to gaming, apparently gaming, at least OUR type of gaming, remains virtually unknown in Africa. Well, at least, I had a chance to shed some light on this amazing pastime of ours.
I was contacted by the producer of a talk show on Talk Radio 702 in Johannesburg, South Africa and invited to be a guest to discuss games! And, on July 17, 2004, I made some personal history as I was, in fact, on the air in Africa.
During my 25 minutes of on air time (I outdid Andy Warhol's promise of 15 minutes of fame by a good 10 minutes), I discussed our types of games with the host and several callers. Everyone knew Monopoly and Clue (better known as Cluedo there). One lady called in to tell me about a game she enjoyed called Go for Broke, a vintage "roll the dice and move" game where, instead of making money, you try to lose all your money to win! (The caller seemed to think that the game was unusual but nothing unusual here except for the fact that the game enjoyed a long successful run. Go for Broke was first published right here in the US by Selchow & Righter in 1965, staying in print for a number of years and was even republished in a new edition in 1985. The Games Gang brought the game back yet again in 1992!)
I spoke about games that did not use dice, that were geared to adults, that challenged critical thinking skills and were fun! I mentioned game designers like Reiner Knizia, Sid Sackson, Al Newman and some of their games and others. My surprise was that THEY were surprised! For example, when I mentioned The Settlers of Catan, published here by Mayfair Games and featured way back in the Fall 1996 GA REPORT, and spoke of how the game involved settling an imaginary island and building settlements, roads and the like, the reaction was strongly positive, something to the effect that, "The game sounds like fun, especially since WE [South Africa] were once a colony!" Once again, you have a receptive audience for gaming if they only knew these games existed! And that's why we have Gamers Alliance and GA REPORT - to spread the world, to share the pleasure and challenging experiences of gaming. By the time my 25 minutes was up, I knew that I had illuminated, if only a brief moment, the dark continent by shedding some light on a world of gaming that is there but unseen until now. And I look forward to welcoming into our fold new gamers from the "dark" continent.
In this issue of GA REPORT, we build palaces, explore a city beneath the waves, and try to keep our heads above water too! Larry Levy examines the game that defies pronunciation, Greg Schloesser gets his feet wet, Frank Branham goes to war and Mark Delano visits Saint Petersburg! And, of course, a whole lot more! Until next time, Good Gaming!
Herb Levy, President