I had an email from Jordan Wiklund, who writes about cribbage at Cribbageland, and is currently at work on a book of the same name. In collaboration with the Walker Art Museum in Minneapolis, Jordan is running Cribbage in the Field, a "free, family-friendly, all ages cribbage extravaganza."
The event will feature local artisans and their custom cribbage boards, plenty of boards and cards, open play, and even a 5-foot-tall peg from the man who "carved the world's largest board through the ice of a Minnesota Lake." There will also be prizes and raffles, including a one-of-kind custom cribbage board (shown at the right) that currently resides at the Walker.
Location:Walker Art Center, Open Field / 1750 Hennepin Avenue / Minneapolis, MN
This isn't gaming news, but it touches on two beloved subjects here at Casa McD: superheroes and Lego. Starting January 2012, Lego will begin a multi-year deal to produce sets based on DC and Marvel comics characters.
A line tied to The Avengers feature film will include minifigs of Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Loki and Black Widow, while the the X-Men collection includes Wolverine, Magneto, Nick Fury and Deadpool, and the Spider-Man sets offer Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus. On the DC side, we'll be seeing Batman, Robin, Catwoman, The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Bane, Bruce Wayne, Superman, Lex Luthor, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman.
In the past, Lego has produced significant lines for both Spider-man and Batman, but this is the first universe-spanning deal to date. They're launching the new endeavor with a Lego Super Heroes Unite contest, which invites people to use their minifigs to create artwork and films highlighting the characters. Expect to start seeing sets in May 2012.
Wayne Schmittberger, my boss at Games Magazine, designed a new online contest based on Chinese Chess (Xiangqi). I haven't tried it yet, but it looks fairly brutal.
The goal is to use the opening setup shown above, and then "determine the number of different positions that can occur after the first player’s (Red’s) second move in a game of xiangqi, if both of Red’s moves are made with cannons. That is, after Red moves a cannon, Black replies with any legal move by any piece, and Red moves a cannon again (either the same cannon as before or the other one), how many different positions can appear on the board?"
Check out the site for the full instructions and details on how to enter the contest. The prizes are a year's subscription to Games Magazine. Deadline is July 1st.
NOTE: This is a republication of a post lost by the Blogger software. Originally posted 5/12/2011.
