The Master of Go

Here's a great review from a game designer of a book from 1951 about a 1938 match of a relatively unknown game (in the United States at least). I know, it sounds esoteric and boring, but it's really about what happens when you make a slight change to the rules of a game, and how the game can forever be changed.

Updating match settings (patches!?!), claims of gaining the system (hacking!?!) and rage quitting - they're not new concepts no matter what online video gamers may think. Even if you don't know the first thing about the ancient Japanese game of Go (I don't) or ever intend to read the book, check out the review. It's pretty interesting.

The Master of Go | Die Gute Fabrik [via DrFierce]

Pinball Hall of Fame Is the Perfect Escape From the Wife's "Spa Day" in Vegas

What? The Nuge has his own pinball machine?? To which the Nuge replies, "Shut yer yap."

The next time you find yourself in Vegas for whatever reason, do yourself a favor and take an hour or two to visit the Pinball Hall of Fame. It's not glamorous, it's kind of dark, and it's just about the opposite of everything that you typically experience on the strip. What it does have however are pinball machines and classic video arcade machines - tons of them - and all of them are playable.

They have proto-pinball machines from the fifties, classic pinball machines from the seventies (Ted Nugent or Elton John pinball anyone?) as well as the newest pinball machines on the market. They've also got machines sized specifically for kids, all the classic video arcade games you'd expect, and even an extremely rare stand-up pinball machine prototype, of which only three were made. The "Hall of Fame" aspect is pretty thin - there are handwritten cards with information on each machine, but really it's all about playing.

And unlike just about everything else in Vegas, it's a non-profit so all of your hard-earned quarters are going to keep the place going, and then the rest goes to charity. Plus, there's a great dark English pub a few doors down (the Crown & Anchor) and a place to fire machine guns up the street (The Gun Store). It will pretty much make the perfect afternoon while the wife/girlfriend is at the spa.

The Pinball Hall of Fame in Vegas in Las Vegas is a short cab ride from the strip. Check it out at PinballMuseum.org.

Control Freak T-Shirt from Busted Tees

I'm not one much for clever t-shirts much anymore, but this is one worth considering. I've had seven out of the twelve in my life. Actually, I probably still have them all in a box somewhere (much to the wife's chagrin).

Control Freak, $20 from Busted Tees