Please browse-by and check out my occasional blog posts about ZoxSo, the Thinket, ChessHeads, Parchers, Sizzletoad!, ChessMate Pocket & Travel Chess Sets, and whatever else happens to drift into and past my thoughts from time-to-time!
Also, if you'd like to check out my Kickstarter project for "The Thinket" (now successfully funded), you can peruse the project page, view the video, and follow the updates during the ongoing fulfillment phase at:
And remember, the 2013 ZoxSo Open World Championship Tournament is being held at GenCon Indy for the first time ever this year. Check it out at: http://chessmate.com/blog/blog2.php
For now I will leave you with these pictures of the World Championship Medallions that are to be awarded to the 1st-Place and 2nd-Place finishers at the tournament (along with other fabulous prizes):
"Quantum-Ripple Generator," or mere stress-reliever?
Okay, okay... I should joke around less when describing products on my own web site, because oftentimes people will think that I'm totally serious when I'm not... well, not completely anyway.
First of all, I'll be blatantly self-serving here in mentioning the newest planned addition to the Thinket family by showing you this image of the Thinket Spectrum:
I'm hoping to have it up on my web site soon; perhaps in time for the holidays, even though they are almost upon us. But I must warn you that The Thinket Spectrum will be pricey, as the titanium coating and Opalite and Blue Goldstone heads add quite a pretty penny to the cost of production.
But I digress.
So, now I'd like to point out that all versions of The Thinket are highly effective stress relievers, and that the "Quantum-Ripple Generator" back-story theme of the device is presented mostly in a tongue-in-cheek manner on my web site ChessMate.com, as-well-as in the pamphlet that comes with the retail product.
For the most part, I invented The Thinket (it is patent-pending, by the way) for people like me who often "think with their hands" for lack of a better phrase. I also created it because it's a highly effective (and compellingly addictive) hand-held stress reliever that seems to be well suited to anyone who fidgets, or who has issues with learning and activity difficulties due to Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD,OCD, or simply anyone who becomes easily anxious.
In fact, the son of a friend of mine has Asperger's and he simply loves playing with The Thinket!
As for myself, I use it quite often and get a great deal of positive effects out of it in a variety of situations, both social and otherwise.
Why, not two weeks ago during a dental appointment I used The Thinket while a crown was being put onto a particularly difficult rear molar of mine, and it really helped let me tell you!
During that appointment my dental assistant told me that she thought The Thinket would be an excellent addition to the normal complement of accessories that they usually offered to anxious patients in order to calm them down. But she probably just told me that to calm me down!
The Thinket is also a nifty little hand therapy device for people who've had hand surgery, and it also works nicely as a finger strengthening device that is great for improving ambidexterity for people who need it (such as all manner of professionals like: investors, musicians, magicians, card sharps, rice grain painters, 3-Card Monte hucksters, and yes even finger-puppeteers, to name just a few examples).
Check out this new video of the Thinket Spectrum on YouTube:
Seriously though, I've had college students and technical-school students tell me that it helps to "set" their memory of data while studying technical texts, and ex-smokers have told me that it helps to calm them down somewhat when they're experiencing cravings.
I'd like to note here that, even though interacting with a Thinket will in fact alter your path in space-time, so will making your significant other angry at you.
As an aside I'd like to mention that, whenever I am playing speed chess (or my game ZoxSo) with a particularly difficult opponent who is giving me fits over the board, I take out a Thinket and fidget with it quietly and out of sight so as to absorb my nervous energy... in those instances it calms me down a great deal and I play a much stronger game.
Is it merely self-fulfilling prophecy psychology? Probably... but the fact is that it gives me a bit of an edge, and it really seems to work.
Anyway, one just has to hold The Thinket and fiddle with it to understand the beneficial effects that it very often has on a person. Mind you, I certainly realize that not everyone takes to this cool device, but a lot of people really do.
Oh by the way, lest I forget to mention it, The Thinket is Made in the USA!
So, Ciao for now, and... "Keep On Disbelieving On."
Nor is it about what we're trying to do for the Universe.
Today I'm not going to write about ZoxSo or any other game.
In fact, today I'm simply going to mention that last week I signed up for a Twitter account for the first time; the first time ever.
And so, partly in honor of that occasion, this post will be very short; not as short as 140 characters mind you but extremely short anyway, especially considering the lengths of my previous posts on this blog.
But I'm working on that.
Anyway, it occurred to me that I have way too many "projects" going on these days, and at some point one must wonder whether it's possible to focus sufficiently well on any of them.
With that in mind, the other day I "tweeted" the following:
"Sometimes I think I have too many different projects going on at once. But then I just start another one to help take my mind off of that."
You think I'm kidding huh? I assure you that I'm not. Would you care for proof in the form of a list of my ongoing projects?
Sorry, that's classified.
Well whaddaya' want? I told you this would be short.
On Saturday August 13th, Anand Mehta became the 2011 ZoxSo Open World Champion! Anand now goes on record as being the first person to win a ZoxSo World Championship Title.
This is particularly significant since, as I've noted quite often during the past few months leading up to this inaugural event, "How often does anyone get the chance to become the first recognized world champion of an ancient game?"
2011 ZoxSo World Champion Anand Mehta
Here's a run-down of the championship finale:
"On August 13th at the 2011 ZoxSo Open World Championship at Dragonflight, after a best 2-out-of-3 playoff match between Anand Mehta and Laura Sears, Anand emerged as the first ZoxSo World Champion!
As his reward for victory in this first of its kind event, Anand Mehta was awarded the 2011 ZoxSo Open World Championship Title, and received the fabulous ZoxSo World Championship Trophy as well as gift certificates for merchandise from The Game Matrix and Uncle's Games, and a few other assorted prizes. Congratulations Anand!"
Laura Sears, who finished as clear runner-up in this premier event, had literally mowed down the field during the first leg of the modified Swiss tournament with a 4-0 score, and was positioned to run away with the 2011 World Championship Title when she beat Anand in the first game of their play-off match.
However Anand, who had started the Championship slowly during the early part of the main event and then clawed his way back into contention with three wins in a row, rebounded in his play-off match with Laura by winning the second and third games to pull off a surprise come-from-behind victory! This first-and-second-among-equals result between Anand Mehta and Laura Sears sets the stage for an intense rivalry between these talented players for a long time to come.
As Laura has promised, "I'll definitely be back next year to play (read, seek revenge) in the 2012 ZoxSo World Championship Tournament!"
I must say that I for one was on "pins-and-needles" during the entire main tournament, and especially during the incredible nail-biter play-off-round match!
I cannot wait to see the next clash between these two great players, and I'm also curious to see who may emerge during future ZoxSo competitions to challenge their dominance.
Next-up: ZoxSo at PAX Prime which is taking place this coming weekend August 26 - 28th 2011 at the Washington State Convention center in Seattle, WA, where I and other "ZoxSo Masters" will be running ZoxSo demos all weekend for Uncle's Games. We will be free-floating demoers in the free-play areas throughout the table-top gaming areas, while Uncle's Games will be manning their game store booth in the Special Demo Area, Room 2A.
Look for us wearing "ZoxSo Master" T-Shirts at PAX this weekend, where we may hand you the following poem on a Golden Throne ticket, with the chance to enter a drawing and win a collectible ZoxSo prize:
On the popular web site BoardGameGeek.com, one of the gamers (GGWithrow, who said that in general he liked ZoxSo and thought it was a good game), made this comment in his post on one of the ZoxSo threads:
"One of the elements of this game that I find distasteful is how difficult it is to keep an enemy Zing from reaching the golden throne once they are one or two spaces away from it."
I thought about this for a bit on and off, and then earlier this evening I pointed something out in reply:
"You make an excellent point, GGWithrow!
And in so doing, you've aimed a spotlight directly at the two most important things to keep in mind when playing a game of ZoxSo: Keep your eyes on the Throne, and your opponent's Xing under lock and key!
Alright, alright... there is a third important thing to remember: Keep your own Xing as-snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug -- if you can.
I can't tell you how many times I've overlooked critical tempii, tactics, and new ideas during placement, only to look up and see my opponent's Xing (pronounced ZING, by the way) stepping briskly towards the Throne, unstoppable, soon to be crowned the new Emperor.
But alas, the fault was mine because I did not place as well -- nor follow up as well -- as my opponent.
So I say, 'Long live the New Emperor (until next game, that is...)!'
Well then, I hope to see you all at the 2011 ZoxSo Open World Championship Tournament at the Dragonflight Game Convention next weekend (Saturday August 13th) in Bellevue, Washington at the Bellevue Hilton.
Come and see some exciting games, check out the convention, spectate a little... and maybe even play in the main ZoxSo event yourself."
And so here, I must bring something up that I have brought up several times since beginning to plan this, the first ZoxSo World Championship:
How often is it that a player gets the chance to become the first recognized world champion of an ancient game?
Here are several photos of the 2011 ZoxSo Open World Championship Trophy, taken outdoors by my friend Maury Longmire.
This trophy will be awarded to the ultimate winner of the 2011 ZoxSo Open World Championship Tournament on Saturday August 13th at the Dragonflight Game Convention in Bellevue Washington.
Thanks to Joe Ulman for the beautiful wood design and workmanship necessary to complete this trophy!
Check out this event on Facebook! We hope to see you all at the Championship!
FIRST PLACE PRIZES INCLUDE: The fabulous ZoxSo World Championship trophy; the title of 2011 ZoxSo World Champion; gift cards from stores, The Game Matrix & Uncle’s Games; and a signed Deluxe ZoxSo set.
Gift card prizes will be awarded to the top-quarter of the field as well.
Entry into this premier event is free with your paid convention registration.
Spectators are welcome by registering for a free “Visitor” badge.
Raven Mimura -- www.RavenMimura.com -- our amazing ZoxSo artist, will make a special appearance for “signing and schmoozing” on the day of the big event.
ZoxSo rules are easy to learn, and there will be demos and Novice tournaments throughout Dragonflight to help you get better and to prepare for the main event.
Come enjoy playing against others to hone your skills!
