Make sure you max your Spot and DIsable Device skills

[thebitterguy]

Via Publisher's Weekly's Beat blog, there is a gaming con being held for servicemenin Iraq.

When President Bush ordered troops to Iraq, he probably never imagined that he would be ultimately be responsible for what very well could be the very first D&D convention/game day ever held in a war zone. Ziggurat Con, being held June 9 from 1200 to 2100 hours at Camp Adder/Tallil Airbase, is open to all allied military personnel and civilian contractors in Iraq.

“Here in Iraq, we do many things on the different Forward Operating Bases to help keep our spirits up,” said SPC David Amberson, the Con’s organizer. “Here at Camp Adder/Tallil Airbase, we have lots of sports activities — baseball, football, dodgeball, kickball — and we work with many marathons across the US like the Boston Marathon. This is a great way to improve morale among the troops, but what about those who prefer Role-Playing Games?”

I suspect Saddam would have loved RPGs, judging by his novels, if only so he could have made himself seem divine to the citizens.

Comments

[tfbretz.livejournal.com]

Kickball has gotten a bit of a revival as an adult game in the states in the past few years. It's played with an underinflated playground ball, so it bounces oddly and doesn't fly as far when you kick it. It's mainly an excuse to drink beer.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

...I see. I'm just having a hard time imagining adults, even drunk ones, playing kickball and deriving enjoyment from it.

[tfbretz.livejournal.com]

I can kind of see the appeal. I really suck at baseball/softball. I'm OK at soccer, but at my age (43), I'm really too slow and beat up to keep up with the pace of the game. Kickball combines a game that's largely sedentary (brief bursts of activity broken up by longer periods of waiting) coupled with a fairly minimal skill set.

I haven't looked into it other than reading a couple of news stories, but it apparently plays heavily on nostalgia. There are "leagues" but no real set teams, as picking sides before each game is part of the experience.

Mostly, I imagine, it's just the nostalgia factor.