Archive for September, 2024

The 5 Hows: Abalone

Sep

11

2024

This is a guide for how to play the game Abalone. I normally like to link to the official game website, but in this case I could not find a publisher who owns the game. So if you want it you’ll just have to search any place that sells used games.

1. How do I win?
Be the first player to push 6 of the other player’s marbles off the board.

2. How do I push their marbles?
By having a line of marbles with a greater number than their line (or singlular marble). Think of it like sumo wrestling or reverse tug-of-war – if you have the advantage of more marbles in a line than do they, you can push them. You take turns moving your marbles.

3. How do I move my marbles?
Each turn, you can select 1, 2, or 3 marbles at a time if they are in a row and consecutive. You may move that set of marbles one spot in any direction – down the row or to the side. You can’t move them down the row if they are against a row the opponent’s marbles with an equal or greater count (you can’t push a “heavier” opponent).

And that’s the five hows for Abalone. I was extra efficient and got the five hows done in three hows. But for those of you who want the full five, here are two more.

4. How do you start the game?
It’s kind of like chess, with all the black marbles on one side and all the white marbles on the other. Unlike chess, black goes first.

5. How do I best position myself to win?
The simplest strategy is to get your marbles in the middle of the board. You win by pushing the opponent off the sides/edges of board, so winning movement is toward the outside, which means you must start on the inside.

It is a simple game, like a combination of checkers and Othello. And sumo wresting. But it does take some thinking and planning your moves.

There, now go play Abalone.

On the right hand their mob arises; They push aside my feet and pile up their ways of destruction against me.

Job 30:12

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Ring Around the Collar

Sep

5

2024

There are many ads on TV these days for various drugs and treatments for various ailments. Back when I was growing up, pharmaceutical companies didn’t advertise to the general public. So I have no memories of those commercials from my childhood.

Nowadays, it seems like over half the ads are for some new drug that I’m supposed to ask my doctor if it’s right for me. Well, not for these next several weeks as political ads have taken over. But once the election cycle is done I’m sure they’ll go back to normal.

On one hand it’s annoying seeing the same few commercials. On the other hand it’s nice of them to pay for the TV content, and someone’s gotta have the ads.

All of this to say, whatever happened to Ring Around the Collar?

Back when I was a child, that was the major ailment was plaguing everyone. At least that is how it seemed, based on the number of ads that were out there claiming to get rid of ring around the collar.

I’ll have to play some of those old ads for my kids, so they know how rough we had it growing up, and they can be glad that they live in a day and age where they never have to worry about ring around the collar.

As a note for the detergent makers, if you want to drum up more business, you need to find a more modern equivalent of ring-around-the-collar. My proposal: Ring Around The Hoodie. If there’s a way that someone’s hoodie could be perceived as not good, that might scare up some extra sales of your product.

By a great force my garment is distorted; It ties me up like the collar of my coat.

Job 30:18

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