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Ever since I returned to England from overseas, I've felt that my fannish flame was flickering perilously close to the point of gafiation - and I don’t mean that a girl-friend has become disenchanted with fandom. There have been, of course, moments- when the flame flared brightly again. One occasion was the Convention, another the London Halloween Party. But apart from those isolated instances, I found there wasn't very much going on around me to inspire me to keep on actifanning.
Fanzine publishing in London was almost non-existent. ORION was in a state of suspended animation. Hardly any of the other faneditors were doing more then distributing a few desultory sheets through OMPA. London fandom reflected the mood of a peacetime army - nothing to do, nowhere to go.
The SFCoL, once, as a jazz enthusiast would put it, a swingin' scene, had become a quiet little club to whom the drinking of tea from dainty tea-cups and nibbling biscuits was more appropriate than the exploration of fannish frontiers and science-fictional horizons. What caused the change? The disappointment at not getting the 1965 Convention? The calm before the forthcoming storm of a possible world-convention? Were they marking time, or had they called 'Time’!
Who knows?
Who cares?
Out of this lack of activity, pushing feebly against the cups of tea and desultory talk, came a fannish game. Jim Groves invented it, and demonstrated it to the club one afternoon. It was a simple game, based on interstellar colonisation and the old, old promise that once you've got some solidarity behind you, you can’t help but win the Moon - or the universe, in this case. One player having established a firm foothold on three or four valuable planets, there was nothing to stop him acquiring 90 percent of the Galaxy. Certainly, his opponents had little chance. Admittedly, the game was only in the prototype stage, but even if the flaws were ironed out of it, it would never become more than a simplified version of Monopoly.
Not for me, I told myself. I’d have to look elsewhere for a good fannish game to play. As luck would have it, I found one - and one cold winter's night, the fannish flame became a healthy blaze once more. It was a delirious night, and at its breathless end I was formulating plans for renewed fanac. I was going to publish that FIDO anthology I’ve been threatening myself with for two or three years. I was going to throw myself body and soul into convention committees, I was going to do a monthly news-magazine, I would revive SMOKE…
Well, at least that last resolution survived from the hundreds of good intentions. I formed, if only to print an account of that game,
Bruce Burn designed the game, but no less a person than Walt Willis inspired it. Walt Willis and the classic THE ENCHANTED DUPLICATOR.
The rules as given here constitute what you might call a first draft for the game. But for all that, they were found to be eminently workable - and that is due to the vast amount of work put into the game by Bruce Burn, One could see a pale blue glow rising above the three-storied abode called 5 Kingdon Road when the mighty mind was working at its top pitch. At such times Bruce was unapproachable - at least by any male fans. Femmes, of course, were never unacceptable.
Anyhow, that's enough of this preliminary waffle. If I go on, much longer, I’ll never get this damned magazine done.
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JOPHANS’S QUEST By Bruce Burn
OBJECT OF THE GAME
The object is, simply, to reach the Tower of Trufandom. This is done by of making one's way through various Hazards. During the course of the game these hazards present themselves not as simple ‘go back twenty squares' but as something far more subtle - contributions to a One-shot which is edited by a player and is published by all Players of the game. The game ends when the Editor reaches the Tower of Trufandom, although special Egoboo in the form of a prize or trophy should be given to the first Player to reach the Tower.
PLAYERS
Up to eight players may take part; Each player selects a 'Shield of Umor' to carry through the game, of different colours. An 'Editor' has a 4-coloured shield.
THE MATERIALS
The Board. The general layout is as illustrated, with more detail than shown, many of the squares on the route are coloured and have numbers on them. Others have such cryptic words as 'Spirit' 'Oneshot’, ‘Falls into Torrent’ and ‘Lethargy’ written on them. These constitute hazards of one sort or another.
Other materials are a dice, at least one typewriter, paper or stencils, 8 coloured spinners, like simple spinning tops, 8 different tokens, and numerous 'Spirit’ and 'Oneshot' cards, with three 'Profan' cards.
I'll give details of these cards and the meanings of the various hazards marked on the board after describing the game.
THE GAME
The board should be set up on a large flat area - the floor usually suffices in the absence of such luxuries as tables. The various 'Oneshot' 'Spirit' and 'Profan' cards are shuffled and placed in neat little heaps beside the board. The 'Shields of Umor' - the coloured spinners - and their corresponding tokens are placed in the vicinity of the start - 'Mundane’. A typewriter is placed nearby with a supply of paper or stencils.
Each player throws the single dice and the first one to throw a six selects a shield. After this initial selection of the order of playing, the-octagonal shields are used. Their edges are numbered 1 – 8 and the edge which touches the board when It stops spinning dictates the number of squares forward the player moves.
If a player lands on a square that bears his own colour, then he can either advance by his 'Advantage’ or spin for a second turn. The value of the 'Advantage' varies with the colour of the Shield, and is: Blue, 7 spaces- forward, Black 6, Yellow 5, Brown 4, Orange 5, Red 2, Green 1. The Editor's 4-colour Shield can give him an Advantage of 4 spaces or he can name one of the 4 colours and spin. If his shield spins and lands on his named colour-edge, then he can choose his move from the two numbers on his shield. If it lands on any other colour-edge then he forfeits the move. When the Editor Iands on the colour-space of any of the four colours that make up his own shield, he can Spin and if the right colour-edge comes down he can make a further move from the two numbers so presented. Only one move can be made in this way; no Player may make a series of moves from his Advantage-spaces.
Alternate Players moving from Mundane must choose between taking the aeroPlanograph or the Letter Press Railroad instead of following the main path.
For the Planograph: Move onto the previous space, which is the aerodrome, then for each following move you occupy a plane which is headed towards Sericonville. The Shields are not spun whilst on the plane, and a move from one plane to the next is all that is allowed by a player with each round. If you roll dice on the appropriately numbered plane - planes are number 1-6 and the dice must roll to the correct number - then you may proceed to 'Oneshot X', since it is assumed that you have jumped from your plane, landed safely upon your Shield of Umor in the Hekto Swamp and paddled back to the Main Path. If you reach the end of the line and crash in your plane, you must start again.
For the Letter Press Railroad: Give up your Shield, turn your token over and proceed to the last space, which is the Station. With the next throw, board the train, which is illustrated similarly to the plane. Miss a turn. Then move to the next train space, repeating this 'Hit and miss’ routine until you reach the Swamp Station where you re-select a Shield and continue.
For the Main Path: Continue spinning your shield for each move. The Editor may choose from either of the two possible moves that he might take each turn.
The Spirit of Trufandom spaces correspond to one of several areas - the White Mountains of Inertia, the Green Jungle of Inexperience and the other areas which are Red, until you get to the Canyon of Criticism which is Black. If you land on a Spirit square, you take the topmost card from the appropriately; coloured Spirit pack, and comply with its requirements, which are listed later on in this article.
When landing on a ‘Oneshot’ space, you must take the topmost Oneshot card, and complete the task Iaid down there before being able to throw again. If the typewriter is already occupied, tough luck - you must wait until it's free before starting your task, and you cannot move again until then.
Coloured spaces which have numbers in them - Advantage Spaces have no numbers - are penalty spaces for the player with the colour concerned. He stays in the space until he has spun the required number. When the Editor lands on one of his colours, he simply misses a go.
There are various other hazards, also marked with numbers which must be spun in order to escape from them. Some of those are:
APATHY. Continue circling in the Circle, of Lassitude and write a 15-line contribution to the Oneshot while doing so.
LETHARGY. As for Apathy, but write a 50-line contribution.
FALLS INTO TORRENT. Return to Oneshot-X.
THE BRIDGE. (2 spaces). Only one token can cross the Bridge at one time, so a queue must form if either of the Spaces of the Bridge is occupied.
KOLEKTINBUG. Write a ten line review of the last sf you read.
CLUB. Green, Red, Black, Blue and Editor. Outline the Section of Fandom you like-best and your reasons for such preference in 10 lines. All other colours can pass on.
SERICONVILLE. Detour through the City.
PROFAN. Take a card of Advice.
SUBBERS. All tokens must land on this Square before proceeding.
SYCHOPHAN. Write a 10-line eulogy of favourite sf/fantasy author, or of favourite sf fan.
MANNASCRIPT. Advance 10 spaces and write 15 lines, or advance 2 spaces and write 5 lines, or go back two spaces.
LOSE PATH. Miss a go or write a limerick (or both, if you're too slow.)
SPIN. Odd numbers miss a turn; even numbers jump ahead 4 spaces.
LETTERAXE. Write critique of any sf magazine or fanzine.
GIANT AWAKES. Spin a 4 or miss a turn.
GIANTESS. Move on 5 spaces.
LANDSLIDE. Spin 6 or go back 5 spaces.
PAUSE IN PARK. Write down any improvements that you think could be made to this game, or write out five interlineations.
The various Spirit and Oneshot cards are as follows;
6 White-backed Spirit Cards -
- cannot be caught in Circle of Lassitude.
- will increase move by two spaces in Mts. of Inertia.
- take the lead over the Mts. of Inertia.
- cannot take aeroPlanograph of Letter Press Railroad.
- move six spaces for six rounds, imperviously.
6 Green-backed Spirit Cards-
float in Torrent of Overinking.
- protection against 1 typo (another hazard).
- protection against all danger.
- advance three spaces.
- protected against Hekto Swamp.
- negates next oneshot card in the same section.
6 Red-backed Spirit Cards-
- second Spin if necessary.
- protection from Glades of Gafia, which are bunged full of penalties.
- proceed now to Profan.
- pass Subbers space.
- proceed to the next Oneshot space,
- pass Club Space.
3 Profan Cards-
- move now to the Space of the Subbers.
- backward through the City avoiding the Glades of Gafia.
- advance to Subbers and write 5 lines.
6 Black-backed Spirit Cards-
- advance seven spaces.
- negates one Oneshot space.
- advance to Advantage.
- protection against the Giants,
- protection against missing a turn.
- pass the Fanmangroves safely.
One Shot Cards-
- 3 at write 15 lines.
- 2 at write 10 lines.
- 1 at write 5 lines.
- halve next spin and write 10 lines.
- make out Quotecard for Game and post to Walt Willis.
- go back three spaces and write one interlineation.
- go back to beginning; of section and do 5 lines,
- proceed to Glades of Gafia and write 5 lines,
- write a 20 line seasonal fannish story.
- take over typing from current victim and complete task.
- proceed to the City (Sericonville Space).
- write one Limerick.
- Write a derogation of the person in the Lead.
- write an ode to femme-fans.
- write part 1 of a 10-line-each-episode round-robin.
- write part 2.
- write part 3.
I fear that in the absence of a detailed diagram of the board some of the before-going will be as easy to follow as Finnegan's Wake or an illiterate Patagonian. But the details of the mechanics of the game aren't so important as the fact that the sole object is to produce a one shot. And all the fun is got from doing this.
It sure was fun, the one time I played it. It was winter, and if the snow wasn't lying thick upon the ground, it ought to have been. Four of us played the game one Friday night, at 5 Kingdon Road:- Ken Potter, Barry Bayley - a side-kick of Mike Moorcock's who writes sf for Nova - Bruce Burn, and myself.
I started off in great form, as I remember. Beginner's luck, I suppose. It didn't last long. I had to pick up a Oneshot card, and even though I tried to hide it behind a beer bottle, they forced me to go on. So, dragging my tail between my legs, I went slowly to the typewriter - and spent the next ten minutes trying to get it to work. It had been sabotaged.
- George Locke.
(thanks to Greg Pickersgill for scanning/OCRing, and to Bruce Burn who let us know this existed.)
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