Grant Alberts had been making quite a bit of noise over the past few months about the BOGA “retreat”. On a whim, I signed up, and paid cash from pocket to cover lodging, food provisions, and overhead for a Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon gaming binge about an hour away from home. I binged this past weekend.

Getting there at around 3pm on Friday, I found a few people already there. I got checked in, brought a couple of Bags O’ Games into the party hall, and dropped off my luggage in the communal room I was staying in. This would be the first night I’ve slept in a bed in 10 months, and I wasn’t really looking forward to it.

Let me say that Friday was an absolute blessing. It was beautiful outside. The first thing I noticed driving in to Camp Carl were the horses. Then the disc golf goal. Then the rock climbing tower. It was a good 70F outside, blue skies. I don’t think you could have asked for a better day.

Once I’d gotten situated, I got into a game of The Manhattan Project with Bill and Michael. Bill, Matt, and I made plans to do some disc golf right after we were done, but for some reason the game lasted until 7:30pm (broken by dinner), and that’s when the Zombie Survival Game started. I was pretty bummed at that point, but I really just wanted to go enjoy the nice weather, and I’d be doing that anyway.

Zombie Survival, Round One

So we all gathered outside the game hall. Matt and I paired up, and went into the smallest group. Neither of us intended to be a survivor during the first game, since we both thought it would be more fun in the dark. As luck would have it, our group of 8 was selected as the survivors for the first game. But twilight came soon enough, and made things interesting.

The scenario for Zombie Survival, Round One was this: each of us was a survivor in a zombie plague. Two helicopters were seen flying nearby, but one exploded mid-air and sent debris flying. Debris we needed. Our objective was to get the supplies that had fallen to the ground, make our way to the nearby lab, and acquire the cure. We then needed to make it to the extraction point, where the other helicopter was waiting.

The 30ish other players were taken to another area, given blood stained shirts and foam hammers. Our team had 2 nerf handguns, 4 foam swords and 2 foam axes. We also had two eggs, which could heal us when downed. If we were not healed after taking a hit from a zombie weapon, we would become a zombie ourselves. I was given one of the guns.

We spent a lot of time discussing whether we should split up, what route we should take, etc. While the zombie could only move at a shamble, some of them had special powers. These were people dressed with zombie makeup and outfits, playing dedicated zombies for the evening. As survivors, we had no idea what their rules were. We did know that they could break the rules. Move faster, not go down in a single hit, some other special power: it was all up for grabs with them.

One of our group was elected leader, and we decided to move as a group. I ended up taking point, and we soon encountered our first shamblers. My companions would not, or could not, keep up. I think they got distracted killing zombies (which would simply respawn once killed) for no good reason. Soon, Matt and I had been separated from the pack. Divide and conquer. So it was just the two of us when a special zombie rushed out of the woods at us. I took a couple of shots at her with my pistol and she retreated.

Matt and I were driven to the edge of the lake. I only had a single shot left at this point, and had no idea where the ammo boxes were. Things were getting indistinct as dusk fell. We planned to use that to our advantage. Another special zombie found us at lake edge, and we took him down. I believe I spent my last dart on him. We hustled into the cover of the woods. It seemed like we were safe, for the time being. We rested a little, got our bearings, and moved along the hiking trails. The next thing I know, we’re outside of a building (out target at this point, I believe) with a ton of zombies just hanging out in front. We watch them for a while from cover, taking note of any roaming shamblers. As we’re crouched behind a tree on the outskirts of this field, a group of kids from another event approach us.

Matt enlists them. His plan is to use them for cover. He will walk with them as they roam right in front of this huge group of zombies. I realised that we were not playing Assassin’s Creed, and he stood a good foot above these 5 kids. We discussed it, and he went with them while I stayed back. As he was moving, I noticed that the zombies hadn’t noticed him yet. Since I was out of bullets, I decided to play a distraction. I ran out into the field, and then started strolling in front of the zombies. They were all looking at me. “Are you still alive?” one asked. “Yep, I’m still alive.” I said, smiling at them and continuing to stroll on my way. Nobody came after me.

It was at this point that we met up with the rest of the survivors outside the lab. They had found a cache of equipment and clues required to open the door to the lab, but there were more hints to be found in drops around the woods. They puzzle over the clues, and I keep a lookout for zombies. Eventually one of the moderators told them they’d solved the puzzle, and knew the password to enter the lab. We moved to the lab and went inside. I wanted to post outside to warn for zombie encroachment, but they ushered us all in.

We took a breather. Some cookies, fed our guns more darts, got another egg. And the cure. I took the canister and wore it bandoleer style. We agreed it was time for us to move. We had to make it to the extraction point, located in one of the yurts nearby. I took point again, and kicked open the door, moving back to see what was outside. A zombie lunged at me, and I fed it a dart from my gun. Another was on the other side of the door, and was staying back a bit. I moved on ahead with my newly acquired foam sword and ensured the zombie I downed stayed down, dropping the other zombie at the door with a melee attack. We made our way to the yurts.

At the yurts, we found a pilot ushering us inside. Matt didn’t trust him, and neither did I, since there was another “pilot” handcuffed inside the yurt. They talked, I watched for zombies. A horde was shambling towards our yurt. I enlisted another of the survivors to post with me at a choke point, and we started to hold them off. They were making inroads however, and the moderator told us to get inside the yurt and radioed to the other moderators to get those zombies out of here.

We were faced with a puzzle: one of the pilots always told the truth, and the other pilot always lied. One of the pilots was good, and the other a betrayer. We didn’t know which was which, and the good pilot could have been the liar as well. We had one question to ask them, to which they must answer “Yes” or “No”, and we needed to divine which pilot to bring with us to the extraction point. Eventually we got the riddle, and released the pilot we needed. He was to bring us to the extraction point. I had him take point, and covered him with my pistol. I still had the cure.

We made it to the landing pad, and held off the zombies until the horn sounded. We’d won.

Zombie Survival, Round Two

They’d originally planned 3 rounds, but due to time considerations, we cut it to two. A large group of players were survivors, but they were decimated and intimated by both the overwhelming darkness and special zombies. One of the special zombies had a Bleach-style sword and huge shield and was just laying waste to the survivors. In the end, only 3 of their number were left. I didn’t even swing at any of them.

Friday evening

I stayed up until around 1am playing games, mostly with Matt. Breakfast was to be served at 8am, so I set my alarm for 7:30.

Saturday and Sunday

I woke up a few times that night, in a combination of new environment, bed noises, and people coming in later than me. I woke up at 6:30ish, and knew I wasn’t going back to sleep. I was kind of tired. I found that our building had a nice common area with an attached kitchen. I wish I’d have brought some stuff to leverage that. I made myself some tea and charged up my phone.

Saturday was cold and rainy, kind of dreary. I played a bunch of games. Matt and I had decided to play Stone Traders, a game he’d made to mimic Traders of Carthage, in the morning. I read the rules before he arrived and set up the board in the corner. He’d said it played best with two. I was doing pretty well in the beginning, but he had some huge scoring rounds later on that just crushed me. I lost by a fair amount.

I ended up playing a number of two player games over the course of the weekend. Summoner Wars, Go, Epigo. One of the guys I played with actually lives in Medina, where I used to live and my old game group is. I connected him with Pat, who hosts the group, in the hopes that he’ll join them for some regular gaming.

Instead of eating lasagna, Matt (who is engaging in a ketosis diet) and I went to a local steak house, the only one with any reviews on Yelp!. At 5:30, they had a 45 minute wait. We just walked out, and went to the other restaurant in town that Yelp! listed. We both ordered a half rack of ribs, and they were tender and delicious. I would definitely eat them again, but ask that they go a little lighter on the sauce. While we were waiting for the meal, we played Akinator on my phone. It’s always great to introduce someone to the amazing Akinator. Matt did that girl from Hunger Games, I did the protagonist from Koi Kaze, and then he did a parrot from Alladin. The Amazing Akinator got them all.

More games, more fun. I played until 10:30, doing some Lords of Waterdeep and teaching Chuck and his daughter how to play Summoner Wars.

People really liked my Go set. The bowls, the stones, even the board! Unfortunately, though I’d brought out my big board and intended to bring it, it never actually made it into the car. Such is life. I only played 9×9 teaching games anyway. Which is okay with me, because I’m still very much a learner myself.

I went to bed at 10:30, and slept all night long. I actually took a nap shortly after shooting some hoops at the gym, which greatly revived my Saturday afternoon.

Sunday was another dreary day, though less rainy than Saturday. I played a bunch of games, ending it with Eketorp, which ended up taking way longer than we expected. It was kind of cool, and I wouldn’t mind giving it another shot one one of our Friday get-togethers at my place.

Overall

I had a good time, and will definitely attend next year, God willing. The zombie game was great, though it would have been much less great if the weather didn’t cooperate like it did. Next time, I’ll bring my own food to prepare in the kitchen. I may bring less games, since I only played a few of mine. I’d probably coordinate better with my friends, and will definitely suggest that they all come along. While I didn’t sign up for the zombie thing and really only played because it was going on and I’d overpaid anyway, I’ll do it again next time it comes around! That was the highlight of the weekend, for sure.

I just finished a short marathon of Koi Kaze. It’s one of my relatively few 10s, and I thought I’d revisit it. It retains that rating. This is a pretty spoiler heavy review, so proceed at your own risk.

Shame is a major theme in Koi Kaze. Our protagonist Koushirou is struggling. At the start of the show, he’s dumped by his girlfriend, who asks him if he ever really loved anyone. She was disappointed by how “easily” he took getting dumped by her. Later in the same episode, he receives a gift of a pair of tickets to a nearby amusement park. As he’s walking out into the street, he happens to see a teenage girl with whom he interacted earlier in the day. She greets him, and he offers the tickets to her. Ere too long, they’re both riding in a Ferris Wheel, and she’s telling him how she just got rejected by a boy at school. He confesses that he just got dumped by his girlfriend, and surprises both of them by tearing up in front of her. This creates an intimate moment between them, which is manifested when she reaches out to touch his head as he cries across from her.

This is their first encounter. It’s the basis for their relationship, their “first impression” of one another. And as they’re parting ways, this teenage girl’s father calls out to her. Koushirou recognizes his own father’s voice.

As I said, shame is a major theme in the show. Koushirou is plagued by “un-brotherly” feelings for his sister, who has come to live with them to be closer to the school she was admitted to. He hadn’t seen her since she was maybe 2 years old. The inner conflict that he experiences is very effectively portrayed. He’s got these sinful desires, and his mind is continually drawn to her. He’s short and gruff with her, and she thinks that he dislikes her. But glimmers of caring, and her own first impression of him, the memories of that intimate moment between two strangers, draw her to him as well. Which only makes it harder for him.

He does pretty much everything right, even though he sometimes stumbles. Eventually, he moves out of the house, just got get himself out of that situation before something bad happens. And it makes him miserable. But he’s turned his back on her, and his feelings, and started walking a different path. A noble course of action.

Things are rarely so simple, however. And when she comes to knock on his door, his guard is down, and he’s weak, and the last thing he wants to do is hurt her feelings. From there, his life begins to spiral out of control. Or rather, his course of action begins to align with the inclinations of his heart.

While shame is the major theme, perseverance in the struggle against temptation is very strong as well.

Many people will discount Koi Kaze simply due to the primary theme of incest. They do themselves a disservice. This is a very finely crafted work of art. It is both direct and subtle, and never in poor taste. It’s emotionally impactful, as you vicariously struggle with Koushirou. It’s touching, and hard to stop watching. There’s a reason I marathoned it.

Koi Kaze is part of a trio of shows that give me the same kind of feel, due to their pacing. Asatte no Houkou and Lamune are the other two.

Watching this again made me want to watch more of the shows that I’ve seen and rated very highly over the past few years that I’ve been watching anime. I think maybe Hikaru no Go, Maison Ikkoku, and Welcome to the NHK! are contenders for rewatch.

Back from an 8 mile hike in the Cuyohoga Valley National Part. Talk about mud! My Inov-8 trail runners worked well. I’m also glad I donned my Frog Toggs pants, because I had mud all the way up to my knees for some reason. It made for some interesting hiking.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I probably should start my own hiking meetup in NE Ohio. The prevailing winds here contradict the basic tenets of my group-hiking ideology. Firstly, the practice of keeping the group together is abandoned. We actually lost members during the hike today, and when I encouraged the “leader” to wait for them, she hemmed and hawed for about a minute before continuing on. I have no idea what became of them. Tenet #1: Keep your group together and accounted for at all times. If it spreads out, stop and wait for it to come back together.

From this tenet follows another which has been abandoned by the heretical locals. Tenet #2: Take rest breaks. This often coincides with Tenet #1, but you must be careful not to simply continue merrily on your way once the group gathers. While the people in the front have rested some, the people in the back (the slower ones) have not. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to ensure that everyone is well rested after a break. Your benchmark for a full rest is a normalized pulse rate. No one should still be breathing heavily when you resume.

Imagine, if you will, a group hiking environment where these two basic tenets have been abandoned. A culture develops where the hikers never stop. Instead of hiking in a group, you are left with a string of individuals, clustered occasionally by speed. It feels less communal, less friendly, and less respectful than what I’m used to. It is lacking in courtesy. It sets an implicit bar of performance that beginners cannot meet, and so ostracizes them.

Frankly, people who allow such a culture to exist have no business leading hikes. They are not leaders: they are simply administrators, possibly hiking at the head of a group.

On a more positive note, after the hike I visited the well reviewed Courtyard Cafe. Per the many suggestions on Yelp, I had the french onion soup, which totally hit the spot after a long hike in the cold, mud, and occasional rain. I also had the most excellent Courtyard Club sandwich, which reminds me of a custom creation I’d occasionally have at Biederman’s Deli in Plymouth growing up as a kid. It was a very satisfying meal. The place is a little more expensive than I’d expect (a full rack of ribs is $20), it’ll definitely be one of my go-to places as a hike in this locale.

To follow a long hike and a good meal, I took a nice hot shower. And now, I think, a nap =)