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News!
Spring 2008 Photos! Photo galleries from the Spring 2008 Ring Game are now available: click here to see them in all their glory. And for those of you who have been having trouble with the Java Applets on the "Galleries" page, you'll be happy to hear that I've removed them and replaced them with plain vanilla .GIFs.
Future Game Dates! The dates for the Second Age Game and the Fall Ring Game have been confirmed! The Second Age Alliance has an all-new web site for updates on picks meetings and the like, which you can find by clicking here! Click here for more info about the Fall 2008 Ring Game (October 18). Please note that the details on the pre-game campout are subject to change, depending on what (if any) hunting the DNR decides to allow in the park this year due to CWD. I'll post updates here as soon as I've got 'em.
Garage Sale! Ring Game vets JP, Galen, and Alex recently came into a treasure trove of weapons and armour, which they are offering to sale to any Ring Gamers who are interested. To help them out, I've posted photos of all the items available here. Check it out if you're interested in getting some "real" quality stuff at garage sale prices!
The original Live Ring Game rules! You may remember that in early February, I was furiously bidding on eBay to get a copy of the original "Rules for the Live Ring Game" from 1973, which was supposedly the original inspiration for our Ring Game. Well, I didn't win, but the person who did win was nice enough to send me a photocopy! Which I've now scanned and put online for your viewing amazement! Check out page 5, where the author writes "Although the rules in the booklet are designed so that they may be applied to such a large size game [50 to 300 players], such a game would only be feasible as a convention, and not as a privately-planned expedition. (It is, however, the hope of this author that someone might someday take the initiative to plan such a game.)" And here we are, about to start our 31st year of playing a "large size game" twice annually! Anyway, click here to gaze upon this amazing bit of Ring Game history!
T-shirts for sale! Well, if you were waiting to get your 30th Anniversary t-shirts, it would seem you've missed your chance. Some overzealous "content management" person at zazzle decided they were a "intellectual property infringement." I've asked them to reconsider, but I doubt that's going to happen. But, I decided to make lemonade out of lemons and kill two birds with one stone, all while mixing my metaphors. While I do appreciate those of you who have made donations to the site, I still need some additional cash to pay for the costs of hosting. So... I've designed a few new Ring Game t-shirts that are infringement-free (knock wood). Click here for a link to zazzle.com, where you can order one of the following in your size:
"What Would Bondo Do?" "Don't Do That" T-shirt.
Clan Dunlender: Fer Foch's Sake! T-shirt (rated R for naughty language)
Ring Game Map T-shirt. The classic Ring Game map, in color! On a t-shirt!
Ring Game character sheet. Never lose your character sheet again! Wear it as a t-shirt! (You are responsible for figuring out how to wear a costume and a t-shirt at the same time.
Dark Elves T-shirt. "We <heart> Chaos! (and Daddy)."
Dark Guard T-shirt. "Kill 'em all. Let Gandalf sort it out."
"I Ran Up the Mountain and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt."
More t-shirts will be added as I think them up. If you have a t-shirt idea you'd like to see, let me know, and I'll make one up. I get roughly 15% of the total cost of the shirts, which is earmarked for assisting with web site costs.
Video News! The DVD release party on June 2nd was a bit hit, but of course, I'm sure there are some folks who couldn't make it who would like to get their hands on the 2005 and 2006 DVDs. So, e-mail me if you'd like some info on how to buy a DVD!
Free Web Site! I've said it before, I'll say it again, this web site will never be a pay site. You will always be able to view everything on it completely free of charge. That being said, my finances are getting a bit tough these days, so I'm now accepting donations to help keep the web site going. Just click the "Make a donation" button above, and you'll be taken to a page where you can send some dough my way (you will need a PayPal account). Donations in any amount will be greatly appreciated!
Directions to the Park! If you need to know how to get from Madison to either Ring Game or the Second Age, click here! And I've now also created directions to Gov. Dodge State Park from Minneapolis/St. Paul, as well.
We want your old photos! The "Treasure Trove" is the latest addition to ringgame.net. And you can participate! What I'm looking for is any photos from long-ago Ring Games that may be floating around out there. If you have a bunch of pictures sitting in an album somewhere, get 'em scanned (JPEG format preferred) and either:
Compress them in a .zip file and e-mail them to me. Or,
Burn them onto a CD-ROM and snail mail them to me.
I will be sure to give proper credit on all photos, of course. I'm hoping to create a definitive archive of Ring Game images spanning the entire history of the game!
Join the "Friends of Gov. Dodge State Park!" In case you didn't know, there is an organization dedicated to education, recreation, restoration, and preservation within Governor Dodge State Park. Their goal is to assist park users (like us!) in their enjoyment of the park, and to help the local DNR where funding is limited. Click here for more information, including how to join! I encourage everyone to sign up to show your appreciation to the folks that make Governor Dodge such a great place to hold our game!
Here's the 4-1-1 for the Fall 2008 Ring Game!
FIRST MEETING: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5, 6:OO PM @ HUMANITIES
BUILDING,
UNIVERSITY
OF WISCONSIN-MADISON, ROOM 1111
6:00 PM Fascinating explanation of the game
7:00 PM Okay sometime after 7:00: First pick of Characters
SECOND MEETING: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 6:OO PM @ HUMANITIES
BUILDING,
UNIVERSITY
OF WISCONSIN-MADISON, ROOM 1111
6:00 PM Fascinating explanation of the game and second pick of Characters
and team meetings/stradegy sessions.
GAME DAY: Saturday, October 19, 2008!
Once again, the Second Age Alliance is co-sponsoring the pre-game campout! Woot! Thanks Beth! And, thanks to Beth, we got Camp Site H (the Mt. Doom campsite)! Woot! HOWEVER, if the Wisconsin DNR decides to allow deer hunting in the park that weekend to help control Chronic Wasting Disease, our reservation may get revoked and we'll have to try to do what we did last Fall. Check back here for updates. For now, we're going ahead with the plan to have the campout in Site H.
As always, any and all Ring Game players and hangers-on are invited to attend. If you're not planning on spending the night, you will have to be out of the park by 11:00 PM. And to ensure that everyone gets at least a few hours of sleep, we'll have the usual 12:00 midnight curfew. It's bring-your-own-everything (see below).
WHERE: Governor Dodge State Park; Group Camp Site H in the "Hickory Ridge" camping area (see map below).
WHEN: Friday, October 17. 3:00 PM 'til 11:00 PM.
WHO: Any and all Ring Game players are welcome to attend. Even non-playing hangers-on are welcome.
WHAT to Bring: Your own food, beverages, tent, sleeping bag, musical instruments (we're hoping for another jam on "Free Bird" again this year!), Peeps, toys, etc.
WHY: It's tons of fun. Really, almost more fun than the actual game itself.
HOW: Drive to park. Put up tent. Go to Site. Have fun. Sleep. Get up. Take down tent. Play game. Eat A&W. Go to party. Go home. It's just that simple!
For the fourth game running, the post-game party will be held at The Abode (1109 Erin St in Madison)--unless I hear otherwise from the Aboders in the meantime. As always, check back here for the latest information.