Build Date: Wed Oct 8 21:40:23 2025 UTC
I'd rather shake it with a shoggoth.
-- Kat
Fight board-game hegemony!
2001-11-04 16:47:48
52 cards and a copy of Hoyle can keep a handful of sex-starved shipmates docile for days on end before they degenerate to strip poker. With that in mind, the intellectual freedom posse give you the "piecepack" in the hopes that it will do for board games what the standard 52-card deck does for card games.
But it is not without some struggle! The current reigning champion in this arena is Looney Labs with their incredibly popular Icehouse Martian Chess Set These sixty colored pyramids (four colors, three sizes, five pieces per color/size combination) have been combined to make countless new games.
But the original game these pieces were designed for was granted a patent, threatening freely redistributable implementations of the game!
Fortunately for right-thinking individuals the world over, one stalwart Icehouse game developer has rebelled, and is designing his own freely redistributable and modifiable game set specification. As one fellow Icegamer explained:
...I have extensive notes from playtesting that I intend to incorporate into the next version of the IceGammon rules, but may not get around to it for a while, as I have been focusing less on Icehouse games and more on piecepack games <http://www.piecepack.org/>, as the Icehouse specification is patented, whereas the piecepack specification is in the public domain, and I am more interested in working with a free game system (free as in free speech, not free beer; see <http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/>). Despite the currently small number of piecepack games, as opposed to the relatively large number of Icehouse games, more and more piecepack games are being released (one guy is writing a book of 100 piecepack games), and my belief is that the piecepack is at the cutting edge of game system development.
The good news on both fronts is that the Icehouse patent was never renewed after its initial 8-year period, so the piecepack may in future include Icehouse pyramids. Beaujolais to free software embracing and encorporating formerly proprietary technology! Our pointy-pyramid technology will bring pointy pyramids to those who could not otherwise participate in novel game development, and produce a community of like-minded game h@x0rz who will one day become the most sought-after personnel at board-game startups in the great boom years of 201x! THE IPOS WILL BE INCONCIEVABLE!
T O P S T O R I E S
California Glory Hole attracts huge crowds
A glory hole at Napa's Lake Berryessa is drawing huge crowds. According to Chris Lee, the general manager for the Solano County Water Agency, the glory hole hasn't been active since 2019, and only restarted operations on Feb 4. (More...)
Republican State Senator busted after soliciting a teenage girl
Republican State Senator Justin Eichorn of Minnesota was arrested for soliciting a teen girl on Monday just hours after he introduced a bill proposing "Trump derangement syndrome" (TDS) as a form of mental illness. (More...)
Parents claim measles is not that bad after having only one child die
The parents of a Texas girl who died from the measles are defending their decision not to vaccinate their daughter. "She says they would still say 'Don't do the shots,'" an unidentified translator for the parents said. "They think it’s not as bad as the media is making it out to be." (More...)
Delusional rich man tries to fire town staff
"I'm mayor now" said write-in mayoral candidate and founder of Pirate’s Booty Snacks Robert Ehrlich after losing the election for Mayor of Sea Cliff, NY. Then he tried to take over the Village Hall and fire everyone. (More...)
Musk claims Xitter security is staffed by idiots
Earlier this month Xitter experienced a massive outage. In an interview, Musk told Fox Business that he believes the attack came from "IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area." (More...)
The Future Ain't What It Used To Be
Ideas have taken horrifying shape and rooted into our modern reality. (More...)
C L A S S I C P I G D O G
Patient Joab's scientifick editorial discusses aspect of the space-time-beer continuum never before processed by sub-bush-robot minds!!! Too fabulantastic to contempulate! (More...)
Clowns Take on God in Mysterious Annual Ceremony
Last Sunday's (the 6th) Grimaldi Service at a small church in East London was a red-letter day for clowns worldwide. About a hundred old-school red-nosed clowns made the sombre trip to darkest Dalston to pay their respects to clowns who died in the last year and to thank God for the gift of laughter in a bizarre ceremony presided over by the eccentric Reverend Clown Roly, resplendent in a garish red lumberjack shirt with oversized gold lapels. (More...)
Our team of crack journalists went insane, and made the drive from Concord, California to Concord, New Hasmpshire on Interstate 80. Read the insightful observations of our intrepid travelers made on their journey into the heartland. (More...)
Grow better illegal mushrooms than lousy "Psilocybe fanaticus"
Disclaimer: PaoTzu's a1 illegal mushroom cultivation cookbook is meant for educational purposes only. Be aware of the techniques used by hardcore criminals! Protect your children! Read, learn, educate. Do not try this at home. (More...)
The Ancient and Correct Sake Ceremony
Many Americans have learned to appreciate the delicate, sophisticated flavors of Japanese food and drink, along with the beautifully refined rituals of Japanese dining. San Francisco, as a gateway between East and West, has especially benefited from the flowering of Eastern consciousness in America. It is hardly possible to walk down the street without stepping on somebody's sushi. (More...)
Still Up For the Party? America's Dance Floors Are Graying
Raving over 30 doesn't have to be embarassing anymore. (More...)
