Grand Tantrix BBQ

So, was it mainly a BBQ day or a Tantrix happening? Hard to tell. To be fair it was both, and on both accounts a success.

	Mauro in a contemplative mood; but is it the food or the game?

Let's start with the BBQ. Just before I was about to head off to his place, a short walk away from mine, but an even shorter car journey, I called Rick, and asked him what food/drinks/stuff I could buy in the supermarket. Or did he call? Whatever, I went to the Waitrose down the road and bought as agreed... plus a bit more. Now, was it just the little extra foodstuff I bought on top which made us end up with a remarkable amount of uneaten food by the end of the day? No, although that did contribute. Was the food so bad? Absolutely not! Perfectly BBQ'd burgers, veggie options sizzling on a separate grill as well, loads of side dishes, to satisfy every palate... I will openly and proudly admit I've stuffed my face. It's just that Rick also bought (and prepared) plenty of food, and other guests also brought some, so we ended up with enough extra food to feed all of Rick's neighbours for a day (but I think he fed himself for a week instead).

The reason might also be that before the BBQ actually started, we fed on snacks for a while: a rather unhealthy diet, but we could just not stop playing Tantrix! Which brings us to the next part of my report...

So I drove from home to the local Waitrose to get the food and the extra food, then drove to Rick's place, then immediately drove back home, to get my diamond-studded Tantrix set, which I had forgotten in my safe; then, since I couldn't remember the combination to open the safe, I drove back to Rick's place with my normal humble sets, which, by the way, I had also failed to bring along on my first trip. It's like forgetting the rings on your wedding day, I suppose.

As soon as I made it to Rick's home in a way which was permanent enough for the occasion, I set out to pack a high number of table Tantrix games in the day, finding assistance from Ilona, fresh from Germany, who was as keen. As we played, more and more folks arrived, with some Tantrix players in their midst. Very soon, all available surfaces in the room, floor included, were being used to play Tantrix games, with some non-players also trying the game for the first time. Eventually, at about the time when we decided to quit eating snacks and going for the real thing, we were joined by Steven and Julia, and their abstruse, mysterious, puzzling and perplexing electronic tournament clock, "a thing with a mind of its own", I thought for endless minutes, until Julia made the thing work in, like, three seconds and a half.

At some stage, while two games were being played on the same table, the inevitable happened: the tiles from the sets got mixed up! The problem was sorted out quickly, and I wonder if that's was got us started to think of a possible Tantrix game with a twist (a different kind of twist, that is): a game played with two sets, each player drawing tiles from his own set. Rick and I set out to try this game version (owning an old Tantrix set, with different colour hues and no numbers on the back, helped a lot, but using the diamond-studded set would have been even better), and I can tell you that making sure that all tiles fitting a forced space had been played was no easy task: I can only guarantee I can count up to six, and I don't know about you readers...

The day went on, and at the end of the day (yeoda should love this), the time came when Mazzer played Pekko to sort out which team would go on in the WTTC, the amazing B-Brits or the A-Kiwis a-bashing, and I... I confess I haven't watched the game! Shame on me, but by the time the games were being played, a few of us had found this game of diamond-studded cards in Rick's safe, which Julia opened in about three seconds (not as hard as that d**ned clock to crack), and we started playing Fluxx, which I might as well recommend for some fun and entertainment, when you feel you're through with hexagons.

Eventually we got the news of NZ-A making it through to the fellow Brits' expense, and in a somber mood we kept playing Fluxx to cheer us up enough for wanting to catch the last train home, or in my case, to drive home before it got too cold for the car engine to start (yes, it's a Fiat).

And finally: I still won't remember the combination of my safe, could Julia please come over to my place and force it open?
Thanks.

Mauro

P.S.: a warning to all readers: some of the stories in my report revolving around diamond studded objects, safes, and somber moods are not completely true. Also, some of the diamonds are actually fakes.