I really loved your board game, and thought when I opened your paper to glimpse it that great minds think alike. I have a similar game in mind, "Stateball," that will be played like fantasy baseball but will auction state's economies, then follow them statistically, as in, "You can have California and Puerto Rico, sucker, I'll take Alaska and Delaware."
But anything can happen, good or bad, and even California and Puerto Rico might end up a worthy draft pick, however cheaply acquired.
Ralph W. Reed
Amherst
I read Mark Roessler's article and interview with great interest. I discovered role-playing games in an article in Time magazine in 1978 and began playing within the next year, while I was in college at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. I thought Roessler's point about his new friends having other interests, bolstered by Ethan Gilsdorf's admission that he "[gave] up fantasy gaming and focus[ed] on adult pursuits…" to be in stark contrast to my history in gaming.
I had some of the same pursuits in college as Gilsdorf, but I also had become hooked on role-playing games as a way to relax and turn my mind to other things once I was done with my studies. After graduation I continued gaming for several years until I moved away from the people I had been gaming with—oddly enough, back to the Pioneer Valley. I found an old friend from school and he invited me to game with him and some other people I used to know. I've been gaming steadily ever since, no matter what I've done for work or school. I have also joined several Live Action Role Playing (LARP) games in the Boston area and travel there on a regular basis to participate in them.
I have purchased an existing game store, Off The Wall Games in the Hadley Village Barn Shops. Because of this I have discovered just how varied the gaming community is here in Western Massachusetts: men and women from all ethnicities, economic and cultural backgrounds and ranging in age from 10 and under to people in their 50s and 60s. It is a great way to have family time which isn't too structured, except by the rules of whatever game you are playing. It is also enjoyable teaching a game to parents and children if they need a little help. I also have several veterans come in and play Warhammer and Warhammer. Games are a wonderful way to bring people together and have fun in a non-violent and low-tech way.
J. Adam Bailey
Hadley
Correction: The sleep workshop to be led by Siegfried Haug and Katherine Walsh begins Oct. 14, not Oct. 16 as reported in the Oct. 1 Wellness column (for more information, call 413-455-6583).
