How to save the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Board Games Club? (Part 2)

As reported in this previous post, the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Board Games Club (NPBGC) was due to be dissolved on 1 April 2014 due to a lack of members and the fact that the Ngee Ann Library has a board games room (BGR), so a separate club seemed superfluous. Well, it seems that the club has been given a reprieve, but they have had the following draconian measures imposed on them:

1. The club now gets to use the BGR as their base of operations: a large, fully renovated room with custom-built tables and chairs, display shelves full of games and a sound system;
2. Club members get paid a good wage to man the counter of the BGR;
3. The club can now use the library's much larger budget to buy games, including multiple copies of games in order to hold competitions

This is the price for poor running of the club. Let this be a lesson to you all.

All kidding aside, it's not just a bigger room, money and more games. Ultimately, their reprieve is only for one year, and by 1 April 2015 they have to get their membership numbers up to at least 40 and increase the number of game loans from the BGC by an unspecified amount. It is also their job to schedule the members to man the counters at all times.

The biggest issue is the membership numbers, which is why the upcoming CCA Fiesta that introduces all the CCA's in Ngee Ann Polytechnic to freshmen is so important. This is their best chance to attract new members, to introduce the hobby and show everyone that board games is so much more than Monopoly or chess.

The decor in the Board Games Room does not help

The CCA Fiesta this year will be held from 22-24 April 2014 at the Sports Complex. Each CCA will be given a small booth, and the trick is to somehow attract the attention of eager young freshmen and distinguish themselves from over 100 other CCA's. The NPBGC committee has been working hard to come up with a plan. The last I heard, the current plan is to use a combination of visually appealing games and prizes to lure the attendees in, a few short games that they can try out to get an idea of what board games is about, and then to lead them to the BGR where the meatier games will be on display. Hopefully, this will be enough to get some students to sign on the dotted line.

This is the crucial first step in the revival of the club. Any readers out there, if you happen to be around during this period, it would be worth your while to drop by the NPBGC booth. If you don't know much about board games, here's your chance to find out. Oh, and bring a friend, or two, or twenty. The NPBGC is understaffed but enthusiastic, and boardgaming is a worthwhile hobby that really needs to be more widespread.

Will this be enough to save the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Board Games Club? Stay tuned!

Three little updates

It's been three months since I last posted a blog entry. Just so that my loyal readers don't think this blog is dead (um, any loyal readers out there?), I'm just going to tell you about three little things that have happened in my life recently. In descending order of significance:

3. I've been made Assistant Course Manager

Ngee Ann Polytechnic has been reviewing the organizational structure of the various schools, and there have been a few changes made. As a result, I have been given the new post of Assistant Course Manager for the Diploma in Information Technology, which means that I get to work with the Course Manager to improve the diploma and influence how things are run. This comes hot on the heels of my appointment as Section Head and Cluster Chair, so I'm going to have to print new business cards again. :)

In the short term, this new appointment doesn't mean much. I have a few more day-to-day responsibilities, but otherwise it's business as usual. In the long term, sooner or later (and it may very well be sooner) the Diploma in IT is going to have to go through a review. Modules may be revamped or replaced, teaching methods may change, and the entire course structure could be turned on its head. As the ACM, I will have a decent amount of influence on what changes will be made.

So if you're a Dip. IT student who has some ideas or opinions on the course, I will be happy to have a chat. Your ideas might very well benefit students in the future.

2. I've won the School Teaching Award AY 2013/2014

Woo-hoo!

Every year, NP recognizes the outstanding lecturers in each school. Students are first asked to nominate deserving lecturers. From these nominations, a number of them are shortlisted and asked to prepare teaching portfolios. A panel then goes through the portfolios, and then the award winners are determined based on the portfolios and other criteria (including peer recommendations and student comments). Well, this year the panel has seen it fit to confer the award on little ol' me. :D

This is a big deal to me. Egotistical me has always thought that I'm a pretty good teacher, but I have never won any sort of teaching award. After a while I start wondering whether it's all in my head. Maybe I'm an awful teacher, and the students who say that they like how I teach are just humouring me (or buttering me up for better grades). To finally win an award for teaching serves as a validation of my teaching philosophy and methods, so yeah, I'm inspired to continue teaching in the way I think is best. For those of you who hate how I teach, well, pbththththhth!

By the way, this blog played a big part. Like I said in my first ever post, I started this blog partly to supplement my teaching portfolio, and the portfolio I submitted included lots of links to various posts on this blog, silly jokes and all. Turns out the STA panel has a sense of humour. Who knew?

1. My wife is preggers

We're expecting our second child in September, so there's that.

So many questions!

When I teach, I punctuate my lessons with questions. Lots of questions. And I really mean a lot of questions.

Riddle me this: which of Schneiderman's 8 golden rules does this UI design violate? Muahahahah!

I'm sure I'm a pretty annoying lecturer to some students, because every few minutes I'll ask a question to the class and there would be this awkward silence as nobody has any idea what the answer is. Meanwhile, I would be standing in the front of the class with what probably looks like a self-satisfied smirk on my face and a holier-than-thou attitude, giving obscure hints and clues (usually in the form of more questions) until someone timidly ventures the right answer. I would congratulate the student on his brilliant deductive work and continue with the lecture, and then a few minutes later it would happen again.

I feel that asking questions is one of the best ways to keep a class engaged (or at least awake). They don't all have to be complex, thought-provoking head-scratchers. Even asking "any questions?" is helpful to give the students time to digest the new and possibly complex material just covered. Ideally, there should be a mix of easy and tough questions in every lesson to keep students at all ability levels engaged. 

Whom you pick to answer your questions is important. In every class there are a few students who are always eager to answer the 'cher and offer their views, but most of the class tends to be unwilling to answer questions, possibly due to the fear of answering incorrectly or just general shyness. In the first few lessons, I would try to involve as many students as possible when asking questions, but after a few weeks I can tell who are the ones who are happy to participate and who would shrink into a little shivering ball if I call on them to answer out loud.

And I don't force it, and I don't penalize those who are not answering in class. There are some modules that allocate perhaps 10% of the assessment to "class participation". Some lecturers interpret this as the willingness to speak up in class, and so they would not award these marks to those who do not actively answer questions. Personally, I think this unfairly penalizes the introverts, and let's face it, many students who pick IT as their career path would rather talk to a computer than human beings. Some of my best students never answer my questions in class; instead, they wait until after class to approach me privately if they have any queries.

My best classes return the favour by asking lots of questions themselves. These classes are a joy for me to teach, because (1) I get feedback that they are learning and thinking about the implications of what I'm teaching, and (2) I have a reason to stay alert rather than just droning on about something I've taught many times before. And when the questions come from both parties, what results is a conversation. Suddenly, the tension of a lecturer-student relationship dissipates somewhat, and the entire class generally becomes more open to the exchange of ideas.

This is always my worry in a quiet class

By the way, there will inevitably come a time when students ask a question to which you do not know the answer. Some lecturers make up an answer, and cross their fingers that the students never find out that they are talking out of their rear ends. Others pull the "go Google it yourself" or "you will find out when you work in the real world" stunt, which are non-answers posing as answers. My advice is to just own up and reply, "good question, let me find out and get back to you," and actually find out and get back to them. Far from thinking that you're incompetent, in my experience students will respect your honesty and appreciate your effort in following up on the query. Students are smart enough to know that nobody (not even a PhD) knows everything about everything. They are also smart enough to know when somebody is talking out of their rear end.

Any questions?

Image sources:

batman.wikia.com

www.9gag.com

memegenerator.net

Game Innovation Programme 2014

Applications for the Game Innovation Programme 2014 at SUTD are now open. This is an excellent 3-month stint where you get to go through the full game development process to create a high quality game as part of a multi-talented team. The official webpage is http://gamelab.sutd.edu.sg/gip/

For more of my thoughts on the programme, take a look at my blog post on last year's programme.

Application deadline is noon on 28 February. Don't leave it to the last minute, since registration requires you to complete a test and submit a portfolio.

How to save the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Board Games Club?

So the Ngee Ann Polytechnic Board Games Club (NPBGC) will be dissolved on 1 April 2014 (no, this is not an April Fool's joke). The club committee received an email from Student Development and Alumni Relations (SDAR) about a month ago notifying them of this decision. In case you are unaware (and it's apparent that most people are unaware), the NPBGC is a student CCA and special interest group that deals with board games.

There were two main reasons cited for this termination. Firstly, the club has not met the minimum membership of 30. Secondly, the Ngee Ann Library has a board games room (BGR), so the club could be disbanded and board game players can just use the room instead. Obviously, this is absolutely preposter... completely ludicrou... somewhat unjustif... pretty reasonable, actually.

The club currently has only 20 registered members, which is amazing for a school CCA where the main activity is to play games. Most of the school population plays games on their mobile phone or laptops in their spare time, and yet the club could not get more than 20 people to sign up? As for the second reason, there is a case for keeping the NPBGC separate from the BGR. Although the room is well-utilized, students only visit it for maybe an hour at a time in-between lessons. Therefore, only the relatively shorter games are played in the room. A separate board games club would allow its members to try out the longer, more involved games, so the NPBGC and the BGR have different objectives.

One problem faced by the BGR is that the students there only play games they already know because they don't want to spend their precious time learning a new game that they might not enjoy. Consequently, they end up playing games such as *gasp* Monopoly (well, they start a game, anyway), Game of Life or Jenga. In fact, Jenga is their most popular game, and the library has 3 copies of it to keep up with demand (!). This is despite the fact that the library has stellar games such as Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride available. What the BGR really needs is someone who is willing and able to introduce and teach games to the students. Sounds like a service the NPBGC members can provide, doesn't it? Except they don't.

The fact is that the NPBGC has dropped the ball big-time. Their mandate really should be to promote board gaming as a hobby, and they haven't been doing that. Unlike other clubs and CCAs, the NPBGC is suffering from a bad rep due to mistaken identity: everybody thinks board games = Monopoly (or Chess, or Scrabble, or Snakes & Ladders). A student who is thinking of joining Badminton or the Computer Club has a pretty good idea of what they would be getting into. Unfortunately, students who would really enjoy board games don't even consider joining NPBGC because they think they'd end up playing Monopoly every week, and nobody's that masochistic.

It doesn't help that NPBGC members tend to be introverts, in that they are happy playing with the same small group of a dozen or so people every week. They form close friendships, but do not look to expand their circle of friends. As introverts, they don't feel inclined to evangelize. Well, facing the imminent closure of the club, they'll have to.

So the NPBGC has 3 months to save itself. As a very interested third party, I've talked to the club committee at length and came up with a few suggestions:

1. Recruit Members using the BGR

Let's start by providing a service to the BGR and increase membership in the process. Schedule each NPBGC member a couple of hours a week to go to the BGR; they should wear a badge or something to make it all official. While there, he should see what kind of games the students are borrowing and suggest a different (possibly better) game that may interest them. He should teach them the rules, and facilitate so that they get the game right.

If this works well, he can then explain that there are dozens of other games available, and maybe give an overview of the different options. If there is time, he can suggest another game. Once the students' interest is piqued, ask them to put their information (name, school and email address) on the sign-up sheet. This should be a no-commitment expression of interest so that they don't run away like scared rabbits. Later on, emails should be sent to inform them of the club Facebook page and meetings. With luck, some of these students will turn up to meetings, see the cool variety of board games available and sign up as members. Voila!

This really should work, because the visitors to the BGR are students who are already willing to play board games in their spare time. Better still, they were willing to play bad board games, so theoretically they should jump at the chance to play good ones. Last Halloween, the NPBGC held a board gaming event at the BGR and it was pretty well-attended. There was even a group of students who enjoyed King of Tokyo so much that they came back to play it some more after their lessons. Unfortunately, the NPBGC did not get their information. That's a golden opportunity lost right there.

2. Hold an Awareness Event at a High-Traffic Venue

Some of the events held by the NPBGC had no hope of succeeding because of the selected venue, such as a room hidden somewhere deep in the library or a classroom in some random building. Publicity for such events is almost non-existent, and even when I was aware of an event I sometimes had trouble finding it. What the club needs to do is to make a big, colourful, eye-catching banner, and then just play some games somewhere with lots of traffic (such as the tables between the Convention Centre and Munch). Try to pick games with cool components and themes to attract on-lookers.

The key is to have a couple of members whose job is to explain the gist of the game to curious students, and also to suggest other games to them. Have some simple little games like Toc Toc Woodman or Rattlesnake and some easy-to-explain games like Las Vegas and No Thanks on hand just in case, along with the usual meatier games. While the passing traffic is unlikely to have half an hour free to learn and play a game right at that moment, inform them that the NPBGC will be there to introduce and teach games all day, and to come back when they have the time. As usual, try to get as many people to use the sign-up sheet as possible.

The idea behind this event is volume. I suspect there are students who could take one look at a game of Ticket to Ride or Settlers of Catan and immediately see the strategic possibilities. These are the students who might be intrigued enough to find out more about the hobby.

3. Produce Something Useful

It's not obvious how the NPBGC aids student development. One could argue that club members learn skills like strategy, tactics, negotiation and social skills simply by playing games, but it's a weak argument since there is no proof.

One way to prove that playing board games helps student development is to have members write articles. It could be a game review, a strategy article, a session report, a top ten list, whatever, but it has to show that the members aren't just rolling two dice and moving a pawn without passing Go. I would also vote to revive the NPBGC blog because the Facebook page requires a request for membership (did I mention that board gamers tend to be introverts?). Post the articles to the blog or even to www.boardgamegeek.com. I know the library would be happy to host articles on their website. For the more media-inclined, creating a video review and posting it on Youtube might be an interesting project (preferably something a bit more polished than this admirable effort).

There are other ideas, such as a game session for disadvantaged kids (like what Paradigm Infinitum does for the Chen Su Lan Methodist Children's Home), but such major events can't be organized in a short time. Still, it's an idea worth considering in the long term.

4. Learn Games, and Learn How to Teach Games

Saving the most important to last, all NPBGC members should learn more games. Read more rulebooks and get used to figuring out how a game works by reading the rulebooks alone. Watching online instructional videos would help too. Most of the NPBGC members rely on the senior members to explain the rules to them; some of them have never picked up a rulebook. Very few have ever tried to explain a somewhat complex game to someone else, and even fewer have the ability to do it successfully. An unfortunate side-effect is that some good games that the seniors have not learnt are left to collect dust because nobody is willing to crack them open and learn them using the rulebooks.

I personally feel that the ability to learn and teach games is one of the most important skills that a student can pick up from the NPBGC. This is not an easy task; the best game teachers will be able to reorganize the rulebook and use examples of game situations to illustrate concepts. It's like schoolwork, except that it's games, and after you explain a game to someone you get to play it and have fun! How cool is that?

Incidentally, I have a bit of a reputation as the go-to guy for board games in Ngee Ann Polytechnic, and a few colleagues from various schools and departments have asked me if it was possible for the NPBGC to help facilitate a staff bonding session for them. Unfortunately, I had to be honest and tell them that in my opinion, the NPBGC members are not ready to facilitate such an event, mainly because there are not enough members who are able to teach games properly. On the other hand, if enough members practice and become adept at teaching games, I would be delighted to recommend them for such staff bonding events. CCA points ripe for the taking!

Hopefully, if the above suggestions are taken up, the club will be able to increase their membership sufficiently and prove their worth in order to reverse SDAR's decision to dissolve the club. I really hope this works, because I'd miss being able to chill out and play games with like-minded students as equals, and to heckle and taunt them mercilessly while saving (or destroying) the world.

If you are an NP student reading this, why not pop by and take a look? Mondays from 6 to 9pm at Room #73-02-05. Save the NPBGC! 

A love story

I would like to tell you a story. It's a love story based on real events. You may have heard most of it before, and I may not have all my facts straight, but the sentiments are real. It's not Hollywood blockbuster material - there are no car chases or explosions - but I feel that it is a story worth telling.

Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Mildred, but all her friends called her Meow because she's just the kind of person who would embrace a nickname like that. She was born 40+ years ago in Singapore with a couple of physical problems. Firstly, she was born with extremely poor eyesight, with tunnel vision so severe that she is legally blind. Secondly, her kidneys weren't quite working properly.

On the other hand, she was blessed with an even temper, a keen intelligence and a gentle but slightly wicked sense of humour. I imagine that she had a pretty normal childhood where she did not let her physical problems get in the way. I'm sure she went through the normal teenager issues of making friends, trying to get good grades and basically growing up. She does, however, get annoyed rather easily at what she considers improper behaviour. For example, she once recalled to me that when she was 18 and studying for her 'A'-levels, she got distinctly irritated at her neighbour's bratty 7-year-old boy who was playing next door and making so much noise.

Time passed, and Meow continued to grow up. At some point she picked up a Master's degree from the United States, spent some time teaching English as a second language to non-native speakers, and just lived a normal life with grace and integrity. Oh, and that bratty neighbour's kid? His name is Drew, and he grew up too. After spending much of his schooling life in Australia, he returned to Singapore in his late teens or early twenties, and got reacquainted with Meow, the girl next door. I don't know the details of how they got together, but I imagine they bumped into each other around the neighbourhood, and a couple of casual conversations later there were sparks flying and angelic choirs in the background.

I met Drew in the army when I went back for 3 months to complete my disrupted service. We shared an interest in pop culture, computer games and the tendency to make completely unrealistic, grandiose plans, so we became friends pretty much immediately. We also talked about relationships sometimes (hey, guys do that too). Drew probably didn't realize it, but whenever he talked about the girl he was dating, who was 11 years older and blind, even then he was giving off subtle cues that he loved her and treasured her; he knew that he was on to a good thing and he was not going to let her go no matter what. Eventually we introduced everybody to each other, and that's how Meow, Drew, my then-girlfriend and now-wife Bernice, and I first became friends. But to be honest, we weren't really close at that point.

Time continued to pass, and life continued to move on. A few years later, Drew and Meow got moved to Sydney and got married. Having never been to Sydney, Bern and I took a holiday there and met up with them to just have a nice, relaxing time with nice people and pleasant conversation. It was so much fun spending time with them that we did it again the next year. And the next. I recall helping them move apartments once (and by "we" I mean me). This involved Drew and me lugging a full-sized bed and mattress into a small elevator, down the street, and into another small elevator, whereupon we realised that we should probably have unscrewed the legs of the bed first. When they moved to Perth, we naturally continued our yearly pilgrimage, staying over at their house like the couple of leeches we are.

It was just fun. We spent hours and days just sitting around the living room and chatting about issues big and small. We ate Domino's pizza and Hog's Breath mega-cut steaks. We embarked on TV series marathons, watching back-to-back-to-back episodes of Veronica Mars into the wee hours of the night. We played board games. We chuckled over how Meow had to fight to stop herself from scarfing down all of my mom's home-made pineapple tarts that we brought over from Singapore (she did love her food). Nothing unusual or earth-shattering happened, it was just a nice time with nice people. And we kept coming back, taking that flight from Singapore every year, because finding genuinely good people to spend time with is a rare and wonderful thing, a thing that we treasured dearly.

I wish the story could have continued like this indefinitely, but as time continued to pass and Meow's kidney problems worsened, something had to be done. A few years ago she was finally able to get a kidney transplant. She had prepared for this pretty much all her life, and all the necessary steps were taken to ensure a successful transplant. After the operation, for about a year, everything seemed great.

And then something happened. Meow developed a rare complication that prevented her body from absorbing nutrients by eating, which would cause her new kidney to eventually fail. Medical opinions were sought, experts were consulted, but the diagnosis remained. There is no cure. It was nobody's fault. It was just something that happened.

Over the last year, she grew weaker and weaker. She had to throw up every few hours, and was permanently hooked up to a machine. It was a miserable existence, one that nobody should have to go through. And yet, when we visited her earlier this year, for what turned out to be the last time, we were able to chat for a few hours. It probably took a lot out of her, but she didn't let it show.

It seemed like old times.

Mildred Ann Koh passed away on Sunday morning, 10th November 2013. Time has stopped passing for her much, much too soon, but it was a meaningful and worthwhile existence. She touched the lives of many by simply being a good person, living her life with kindness, helpfulness and integrity. In Drew, she had a husband who loves her completely and utterly, but for the rest of us that had the fortune to know her, we all love her in our own way.

I will not remember her as the blind one, or the sick one, or the one who had the audacity to marry someone 11 years her junior. Those are facts, but they are not the facts that define her; if she was none of these things, Bern and I would still be flying over every year to spend a good time with good friends. Instead, Meow is the nice one, the helpful one, the kind one, the sensible one, the one with the sense of humour, and the determination, and the unwavering principles.

I will miss her gentle chiding of Drew when he does something absent-minded. I will miss playing a silly board game with her and laughing as she tries to figure out what that blob of clay is supposed to represent. I will miss her intelligence, her insights, her laugh, her smile. I imagine that she is looking down at us right now with perfect eyesight, sipping a cool drink and munching on sushi with chocolate cake for dessert, chuckling at how awkward the morning service was and how uncomfortable I look wearing a suit. The world is a slightly less pleasant place without her around. I will miss her. We will all miss her.

Farewell, Meow. Rest in peace.

[Transcript of eulogy delivered on 19th November 2013]

The ICT Board Games Challenge 2013

Every year, ICT has a staff retreat where all the lecturers, managers and support staff spend a day or two away from the office so that everybody can get to know each other better in a casual setting. This year we went to Malacca for two days. The first day was spent seeing the sights in Malacca, including visiting a Baba Nyonya museum and a hike up a heritage trail. On the morning of the second day, I organized the ICT Board Games Challenge 2013, where five teams competed for fame, glory and some modest prizes. But mainly fame and glory.

Five games were played in the competition: For Sale, Las Vegas, Liar's Dice, Sneaks & Snitches, and Incan Gold. The competitors were divided into 8 teams of 5 members each. There were three teams from the IT department, two from FI, one from MMA, one from A3DA and one comprising admin and IT support staff (ISG - I have no idea what this acronym means). Each team sent one representative per game. For each game, there were two semi-finals with 4 players each, and the top 2 players in each semi-final advanced to the 4-player final. The exception is Incan Gold, which was played as a single 8-player game.

Players scored 5 points for 1st place, 3 points for 2nd place, 2 points for 3rd/4th place and 1 point for participation. Ties were broken with a coin toss where required.

The venue was Ballroom 2 in Hotel Hatten (where we stayed for the night). It was set up in a traditional ballroom configuration, and the room and tables were probably too large for board games, but everyone was happy to stand around or lean forward. I spent the entire time running around explaining rules, updating results and setting up pairings, so unfortunately I didn't have time to take pictures or monitor the matches closely. But here's approximately what happened.

For Sale

For Sale is played in two phases. In the first phase, players attempt to get valuable properties using a bidding process; you either raise the previous bid or take the lowest-valued property on show and take back half your bid. In the second phase, the players try to sell the properties for as much money as possible. The player with the most money at the end of the game is the winner. For more information, check out its boardgamegeek link or this video review.

The first semi-final was actually a 6-player game and was won by Connie, who was a first-time player. Unfortunately, she was not part of any team, so for the sake of fairness I had to advance the ones in 2nd and 3rd place (Wan Lee from IT01 and Choon Peng from IT02) to the final. Not exactly tournament conditions, I know, but the players didn't mind. The second semi-final was won by Mike (FI02) with $80K, with second place shared by Chee Chian (IT03) and Gabriel (ISG) with $74K each; Chee Chian advanced to the final after a coin toss.

The final was a close affair, where the rounds with high-valued properties saw some aggressive bidding and counter-bidding. The final scores were really close: Chee Chian ($69K), Choon Peng ($63K), Mike ($61K) and Wan Lee ($56K). So the winner of For Sale and title of Supreme Speculator went to Cheng Chee Chian.

For Sale is an interesting game that is deeper than it looks. It's one of those games where you might want to try different strategies, and experience does count (other than Mike, the other finalists have played the game several times before). Although there are chances to banter ("raise my bid, I dare you!"), it tends to be a quiet game with interesting decisions rather than a laugh-out-loud affair. Still, the participants did seem to enjoy themselves.

Las Vegas

In Las Vegas, there are six casinos numbered 1 to 6, each with a number of bank notes assigned to it. Each player rolls initially 8 dice, allocates all dice of one number to the corresponding casino, and retains the remaining dice for future rolls. This continues until all dice are allocated. At the end of the round, the player with most dice at each casino gets the highest valued bank note, and so on. Here's the catch: if you have an equal number of dice as someone else, neither of you get anything. More on Las Vegas at its boardgamegeek page and this video.

This game was by far the noisiest game in the competition, probably because Terence was there facilitating and instigating everything (if you know Terence Choo, you know what I mean). Everyone got into the spirit of things, making alliances, pleading, threatening and cursing (or cheering) dice rolls in the midst of uproarious laughter. Arguably the most popular game in the whole event.

The first semi-final involved Terence (IT02), James (MMA), Phil (A3DA) and, filling in for someone who was absent due to illness, our director Angela for the FI01 team. Despite the possible risks of beating the person who signs their paychecks, the game was won by Terence and James at $470K each, followed by Angela at $360K and Phil at $340K. Like they say, all is fair in love, war and board games (I'm paraphrasing). The second semi-final was close affair where the identity of the winner was in the balance until the last round, possibly the last roll. It was ultimately won by Fabian (IT03) with $420K, followed by William (IT01, $400K), Mei Lan (ISG, $390K) and Marcus (FI02, $290K).

The final was worthy of a HBO mini-series. The previous alliance between James and Terence in the first semi-final proved illusory. Deals were made and rapidly broken. The players used all the tricks of the trade, including but not limited to threats, guilt trips, and prayer (Terence shook his dice and declared his desired results as if he was asking for divine favour). At the end, the winner was determined by a combination of strategic placement and luck of the dice. One pivotal play in the last round occurred when William rolled a 2 on his last die, which created a tied situation with James with 5 dice each (James literally banged his head on the table when that happened). This allowed Fabian to roll a 2 on one of his remaining two dice to claim the big money. Final scores: Fabian $540K, Terence $360K, William $290K and James $230K. The winner of the Las Vegas competition and King of Casinos is Fabian Ng.

Liar's Dice

Liar's Dice is the dice version of the card game Bluff. Everyone rolls their dice and the first player makes a bid, e.g., "six 3's", which means that he believes there are at least six 3's out of all the dice rolled by all players; 1's are wild, so "six 3's" really means "six 3's or 1's". On your turn, you could raise the bid (e.g., "six 5's", "seven 2's" or even "three wilds"); when you raise, you could also reveal one or more dice and re-roll the rest. Alternatively, you could challenge the bid, whereupon everyone reveals their dice and whomever lost the challenge loses a die. The game then restarts with the next round. The last person with dice remaining wins. Liar's Dice is an old game with many variants, which you can read about on its boardgamegeek page.

Was it a coincidence that 3 out of the 8 competitors were female, and all 3 made it to the finals? There were certainly plenty of jokes made by the guys about the inscrutability of the female mind and how women were better liars than men. Anyway, first-time players Christina (A3DA) and Siti (ISG) made it through the first semi-final. The second semi-final went the full distance with all four competitors having one die remaining. After the smoke cleared, Joanne (MMA) and Andy (IT02) survived to reach the final.

In the final, Christina was the first one out, but Siti was unstoppable - she still had four dice when both Andy and Joanne had only one remaining. Joanne challenged Andy's "two wilds" bid and knocked him out when Siti revealed no wilds among her four dice. Siti then won comfortably by bidding "three 5's" that Joanne had to challenge, and there were indeed three 5's among her four dice. The Liar's Dice champion and Luckiest Liar is therefore Siti Nur Shahidah.

Sneaks & Snitches

In Sneaks & Snitches, you play the role of high-class thieves. There are a number of locations each with some items worth stealing. During each turn, all players simultaneously decide to place one snitch and one sneak at two different locations. A snitch at a location stops all sneaks. If your sneak is at a location without snitches, you get the items at that location. If there are multiple sneaks, though, they hinder each other and the players get a lesser reward. At the end of the game, the players with the most of each type of item get points, and the one with the most points is the winner. Think of this as the board game version of the Iocaine powder scene in Princess Bride. Find out more from its boardgamegeek page or this video.

This is probably the quietest game in the competition. During the game, you can see the players looking intently at the items dealt to each location, trying to outthink and outbluff everyone else. When the placements are revealed, there may be some muted groans or fist pumps ("yesss..."), but it seems almost to go against the spirit of the game to show any sort of exuberance. We're high-class thieves, after all.

The first semi-final was a 3-way tie between Steven (IT03), Susie (MMA) and Anh (ISG) with 7 points each. The qualifiers had to be determined randomly, and unfortunately Susie lost out. The second semi-final was really close with 2 points separating all the players. It was won by Swee Noi (FI02) with 7 points, followed by Ching Yun (IT02) and Anita (A3DA) with 6 points each; the coin toss put Ching Yun through.

In the final, Anh was not available, so her spot was taken over by Si Hao. Steven just could not get anything going, and he was never in the running. At the end, I believe Ching Yun with 6 points was just one cube away from tying with Swee Noi and Si Hao with 8 points each. Once again, a major decision was left to chance. A couple of die rolls later, Si Hao claimed the win. So the Sneaks & Snitches champion and the Sneakiest Scoundrel is Ho Si Hao. Special thanks to Weng Choh for overseeing the game across the entire event.

The main issue with Sneaks & Snitches as a competitive game is the tendency to produce ties. All three games required a coin toss of some sort to determine important placings, and the rule book does not suggest any tie-breaking rules. Next time, I'll figure out some tie-breakers (if there is a next time).

Incan Gold

In Incan Gold, you play the part of an adventurer exploring an Incan temple, much like Indiana Jones. Cards are revealed one at a time. A card may depict pieces of treasure that is divided equally among all the players, with the remainder staying on the temple floor. It could be a valuable but indivisible artifact. It may also depict a hazard such as a fire trap or giant snake; the first such hazard is harmless, but if a duplicate of a hazard is drawn, then everyone still in the temple leaves empty-handed. Before each card is dealt, everyone decides simultaneously whether to leave or continue. If you leave, you get to keep your treasure along with whatever is on the temple floor, but you might get even more if you continue exploring...or will you get that second hazard? More information on this excellent push-your-luck game can be found on its boardgamegeek page or this video.

Unfortunately, I did not see much of the Incan Gold gameplay. After a trial game to introduce the new players to the rules, the players went ahead and played the final. The winner was Henry (MMA) with 25 points. Come to think of it, Henry has played this game several times and usually does well, so he has a knack for judging risk and reward (or maybe he's just a lucky fellow). Both Victor (IT03) and Kee Chuah (FI02) had 17 points, but Victor got second place on tie-break with one artifact to zero. 4th place went to Borko (A3DA) with 16 points. The Incan Gold winner and title of Exceptional Explorer goes to Henry Thet Swe.

Incidentally, I did see Anna, Borko's 10-year-old daughter, trying out a game of Incan Gold. She was also enjoying herself watching the antics over at the Las Vegas table. It's never too early to develop the next generation of board gamers. :)

After all the points were tallied, the team that won the overall championship and the title of Team of the Year is IT03, aptly named Champion Material with 16 points, which included the winners of For Sale and  Las Vegas. Second place went to the ISG team with 13 points, comprising the winners of Liar's Dice and Sneaks & Snitches.

On the whole, I feel that the (inaugural? annual?) ICT Board Games Challenge 2013 was a reasonable success. I think all the people who come regularly to the monthly staff bonding tabletop gaming sessions enjoyed themselves as usual; some may even have taken a bit more out of it due to the competitive element. There were a few people for whom this event was their first exposure to board games, and hopefully this has piqued their interest enough so that they will attend the monthly sessions in the future.

I understand that there is a proportion of the staff for whom board games just isn't for them, and I respect that. I just hope that everyone was at least able to see what board games are about (i.e., board games is not Monopoly) so that they can make an informed decision as to whether to participate.

You can see the final results here (sorry about the formatting; we had to increase the font size because the projection screen was on the small side).