My answer to this gaming question: What do you think is the best cast size for the games you’ve played? What are the factors that go into your answer: genre, play group, gaming system, etc.?

The short answer is 4.

The long answer is that I really think it’s up to each gaming group, but I prefer smaller crew sizes for most games. More than six players with one GM was a bit much for me. I think three-four is good for most groups, and I had a lot of fun doing the “Brave & the Bold” Greenpeace (Hippie Green Lantern in the ’60s, protoge of Alan Scott on DC “Earth 2.1”) & Doc Mid-nite (Daughter of The Original) team ups with Katt and GrayPumpkin. (GP ran, K & I were sort of the “buddy Picture” team… there was really solid dynamic there.) It was actually a spin-off of a larger scale silver age JSA, the Next generation campaign…. funny how JSA got popular again in the comics about 3 years after that game came to a close. Supers Games seem to bog down too much after 4 players… but that might just be because we were playing champions. It’s a good game, but combat can take a looooong time.

I’ll add another qualifier to my preference, I prefer a fairly gender-balanced crew… an all-boys squad tends to be more accepting of inappropriate behavior.. I think it’s good to have a balanced crew to keep the less mature a little more on the ball.

So, short story made long, 4 is as large as I really like, though I’ve been in 7-person groups before, usually the 7th person peters it out, at least in my memory. Now, if some of those players are non-entities, it doesn’t count as much… There was a woman early on… named Elaine. For the life of me, I can’t remember *anything* about her except that her voice had an unpleasant tone to it, and that when she spilled pretzels, she didn’t make any effort to pick ’em up, but instead just said “oh, the cat’ll get ’em”… and this wasn’t in her home, nor was it her cat. I cannot remember her characters for the life of me.

There was a girl that the Wu’s brought in via SFSFS (heh, I still refer to them as Syphilis, not as a result of the girl mind you) that I liked, Kelly, and I can’t remember her character(s) either. I do remember going to see Robin hood with her and the gaming gang… (but was it Costner or Mel Brooks?) and that Peanut butter M&M’s had just been introduced… that I house sat for the Dawsey’s while she was down from Smith, and that she ate apples with a knife, and the habit spread throughout the game group for a short span, before everyone went back to pretzel rods and Taco Bell.

Tony had only one character that I recall, Silver Hammer. Think Silver Surfer in black lycra bike shorts, and very easily intimidated. The only solid memory o mine of his guy was him flying away, straight up, when someone did a violent display of strength in front of him… I have to admit, it takes something to play a cowardly super-guy appropriately. (I think his PRE and EGO were both 8?) (Oh, and he played some Russian version of Ben Grimm in the JSA game, now that I think of it.)

Pam’s characters were always pretty well-defined, but she kept the character history fairly secret from the narrative and the other players. You’d only see the tip of the iceberg. As a result, I only remember some basics. Usually a martial artist with a sharp object, vengeance motivated (though sometimes, like the HHH game, I think it was adventure/fun ) I’m really glad that the Team name “Hadji Has(n’t) Hair” caught on more than “Tough Bologna”. That was a nice shortie.. Misfits heroes Zero, Spring (and again, I can’t rightly remember Pam’s Character… was it silhouette? I suspect it might’ve been, but that name always reminds me of a completely different K-Wu character.) That was a really Dark/insane game, with just weird on top.. maybe as close as we got to doing a Doom Patrol style game.

K-Wu generally played two types of character, with a few mild variations. Ninja/assassins (with either dark magic or transform into a dragon) or Buccaneer/Bandits. (usually the former). I think that my favorite character of hers was, “Mystery.” An amnesiac in a robot body (built by the GM-GP, down to the disads, I think.)

Doug often came up with good character ideas.. I liked the concept of the Aquarian a lot (A new-agey author/self improvement speaker with Dr. Strange mystic master powers.. looked like Carl Sagan, in a turtleneck and blazer, with a gold medallion around his neck.) I also liked his Frost in the Cyberpunk/Fantasy game… he does the laid-back old sarge well. Doug was always the best one to choose as “team leader” because he led by letting folks work together and do what they did best.

Dan’s only standout character to my mind is Man Of Iron. Very over the top, but it suited the genre.

Katt was sharp, because she didn’t play to the stereotypical dark assassin sneaky stereotype, but was actually able to be diverse and have a good time doing it. Kyoko, Blare, Ghost, Doc Mid-nite, all good, fun folk.

GrayPumpkin didn’t get to play that often, but he did a good job when he got the chance. I think he was a better GM than a player though… if only because he had more practice, and that I liked his plots a lot.

Who am I forgetting? Rik was an ok player, but he was more fun to just socialize with.

Rick was a social gamer, joined us to hang out with folks… a nice enough guy, but I fell out of contact with him when he moved out of state. I think he’s in Maine, now. I wonder how Merge the Basset hound is doing these days? I remember GP leaping into the trunk playfully and landing on a glass picture frame in the back seat. Come to think of it, I think maybe he was an import from the photo store? Now I wonder if that video tape of the fly through of the A-frame is still in existence, showing D’Art pictures of his brethren, and my accidentally breaking the scale with my hand. Rick was an aspiring comic artist. Funny that the other Rik is the one with a published comic book coming out sometime soon.

Continue with thoughts on –

Don Moody

Ed.. what was his last name? part of the Pam/Don/etc gaming cluster. He didn’t last long, if memory serves.

FAU gamers –

James (and by extension, Kim)

Mark

Javier

Steve Pulio

Brian Mcgoldrick

Renata

Robin

What was the point of that? I don’t know.. just a random brain dump. Ran out of time this morning, I’ll update it later.

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As far as computer games go, Vice City is interesting, but I don’t see it having a lot of long-lasting game play for me. I’ll probably trot it out if I’m feeling like playing bumper cars or shoot the civilian, but that’s about it. Nice graphics, and it’s very much stereotypical South Florida of the late 80s. Warcraft 3 & Age of Mythology is a lot more my speed.

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Mars Exploration Rover Moblog

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Chinese Year of the Monkey starts on January 22, 2004. (4701 by Chinese calendar.)

I was born in the year of the Monkey, too… (I’m an Earth Monkey, to be specific… three days later, and I’d have been an Earth Rooster.)