Game Day 11/30/2006

Game #1a

Leonardo da Vinci

Today, I stopped by the post office to pick up my latest lens rental. It is the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens. I have been dying to try this one for a while now. It is amazing in a number of ways. First, is the price ($1830 versus $340 for a f/1.8 lens). $1500 for a full stop bigger aperture. That is a lot of money for the next better model. Second, is the weight. This lens is 2 pounds (of glass) heaver. Of course, with the weight comes size. The thing seems like it barely fits on the camera. It looks like it is bigger than Dan Becker’s head! One oddity that I noticed right on the bat was that the focus ring wasn’t working. I had to Google to find that the lens needs to be powered on with a half-press before you can focus. Weird. Now I can see why Canon is introducing the 50mm f/1.2. Because the 85mm is not the right lens for 1.6 frame cameras like my EOS 20D. The 1.6 multiplier turns the 85mm into an effective 136mm. Which is too long for me. The 50mm would turn into an 80mm. I had to stand some distance away to take these pictures.

I uploaded both of these pictures to boardgamegeek. This one was denied and the other one was accepted. The reasons were:

  • Reason: The image was too blurry.
  • Reason: The image was too similar to another image already in the database.
  • Reason: The image was irrelevant to the subject.

All I can say is “Huh?!”. First, the image was not blurry. What some people don’t understand is that the depth of field for a f/1.2 aperture is razor thin. In this picture, the depth of field is less than 2 inches deep. Second, I doubt that Adam teaching a game is in the database already. And, third, how can a session of playing/teaching the game be irrelevant? Maybe the two chairs got in the way of the board. I should have moved them out of the way.

Game #1b

This game is still painful in the feeling of wasted inefficiencies you have after playing it. I tried to be better this game, but we just were not producing enough inventions. So I couldn’t plan ahead to have two inventions going during the last two phases. And that cost me the game.

Tichu

In the first Tichu game of the night, the heroic team could not get any points at all. We scored 30 points in seven hands! However, our four Tichu calls and three 1/2s gave us the win! On the first hand of the game, I call Tichu. I called it after Adam bombed with a two wish. Little do I know that Doug had passed bombs to both Adam and Jon. Fortunately for me, Jon bombed too early on a full house lead from me. Adam would have played Queens-full and I would have played Aces full, Jon should have bombed, and I would have been hosed.


11/30/2006 The scorecard for a game of Tichu

GT or T bet made or lost

This team scored more points than the other or one twoed

GT/T Team #1 GT/T GT/T Team #2 GT/T
AdamR & Jon MarkH & DougG
 
115
  T+ 85  
T+
315
    85  
  315     285  
T+
470
    330  
  470     630 T+
 
570
    730 T+
  570   T+ 1030  

I don’t know if I should call the second game a real game. Rehana shows up to take Adam home and we call last hand. Adam makes a Tichu call and most of the points for the win. I believe that our team could have come back for the real win! I demand a replay!!!


11/30/2006 The scorecard for a game of Tichu

GT or T bet made or lost

This team scored more points than the other or one twoed

GT/T Team #1 GT/T GT/T Team #2 GT/T
AdamR & Jon MarkH & DougG
T- -75    
75
 
  -60    
160
 
 
0
    200  
T+ 300     200  
  300    
300
 
  245 T-  
355
 
T+
440
    360