Jack, Be Good
We all know Jack. He's the guy in our
gaming club that blows through new rules sets the way that Harry
Flashman dallies with beautiful across the globe. The rouge of the
current rule set is still on his cheek, while he is eyeing the next
hot thing to enter the game store. If any adult needs Ritalin, it's
Jack.
The Jack in my club will remain
anonymous, but everyone in our gaming community knows his reputation
as a rule set lothario. Jack likes to talk up the latest rule set or
historical period that is tickling his fancy at the moment. Everyone
around him, including yours truly, is like a baby bird, eating up
every idea he's pitching in our little mouths, knowing that his
commitment to the flame of the moment will be but a brief whisper in
the tick-tock of time. Jack proposes a test game for the following
weekend, saying that he will build everything for the scenario, and
of course the Cult of Jack enthusiastically agrees to show up.
Why do we poor saps keep falling for
Jack's dalliances? Because I am convinced our Jack is one of the
fastest builders in the Western world. “I will have 50 figures
ready for both sides by the end of the week,” he often says, and he
means it. Painting 100 beautiful minis in one week, no big deal for
this guy. He can also knock out a table-full of gorgeous, handmade
terrain in an hour or two. His tables are a visual feast for the
eyes. His scenarios are fun and challenging. They are balanced enough
so that everyone is on the edge of their seats until the last
casualty is removed from the table.
After the test game is finished is
when Jack is at his deadliest. He preys on the excitement of his
peers. Over a hot post-game meal, everyone at the table is talking
about the army they are going to build. Jack is talking about a new
fun scenario and the terrain he's going to build for that scenario.
We settle on a game to be played in a few weeks, enough time for us
slower painters to build up our forces.
I will always check in with Jack a
week before the game. My emails used to ask, “How many figs have
you built for the game next week?” Now my emails ask, “You are
still building for that game we are having next week, right?”
Sometimes Jack has mercy on his slow-to-build friends and assures me
that the game is still on. Other times, I could almost hear the
cackle from the other side of the computer screen, as he types, “That
game was so three weeks ago, dude. Let me tell you about my new
flavor of the month.”
Once, Jack and I were building opposing forces for ECW. We had set up the game, and got the club on board. Jack and I were at our local hobby store buying the last of what we needed to fill out our ranks. Jack had his Pike & Shotte Infantry box in hand, when I caught him glancing over at the new Victrix Warriors of Carthage box to his left. As Jack reached up his hand to pull the Victrix box off the shelf, I pulled out the stun gun I keep in my jacket pocket and told him, “As God is my witness, if you touch that box, .” Jack just turned to me and grinned. He's a kid in a candy store, and our hobby is in a new Golden Age. Who could blame him?
Very good post. 😀
ReplyDeleteI just found this blog and proceeded to read almost every post. Good stuff, but man I hope these are caricatures and not actual people!!
Thanks Stew,
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that there more than a grain of truth.