yabbut, the dagenham east crier has on more than one occasion publicly denounced the headstone lane whimperer, which precludes the general public from entering ladbroke grove until, at the least,kensal rise has been played in three directions by less than two professionals.
tramstops are allowed into the game by the order of lord belmont the mild, so long as they never outnumber the hairs on an objectors back (cgpy:49:6:001:1001;tjop.)
I don’t think our friend bob-loblaw has anything useful or constructive to contribute to this game. I respectfully suggest that, since he is obviously going to continue to post his rather bizarre observations, the rest of us just ignore him and get on with the game.
Martini Enfield - excellent play and analysis, if perhaps a little on the heavy side for what was started as a beginner’s game. And I hope you won’t mind a minor nitpick… although it is often referred to as a ‘Webley & Scott’ play-off, the player actually spelled his name ‘Whebley’, with an ‘h’.
Agreed. I may start my first pitting if he continues to show such disrespect. Either play properly, or don’t play, but do NOT mock us!
Ironically, I must add my own nitpick. While you are correct in the spelling, it is not ‘his’ name. It was not the (at the time) second quarter-master George Whebley who participated in the '42 play-offs, but rather his sister Mary. That was the only time she played publicly, so it’s not surprising that most people don’t know about it. (I realise I sound like a trivia geek, but that knowledge won our table the pub quiz at my local!)
You fell into my trap. An amendment in the 1997 version of the aforementioned *Hobson’s Elementary Rules * clearly states that Father’s Day counts as a public holiday (Appendix 3 IIRC). So, I am now free to transfer to the DLR without penalty. I will do so, making my next move Tower Gateway. Of course this means Mornington Crescent in two, if I’m not mistaken.
you may accuse me of not playing seriously, but if that really were the case, do you think i’d throw a chiswick without an adequately planned defense?
i mean, shaun “shawn” o’shaughnashawn might have lost the 1997 antarctic national three-for-all with a similar ploy, but she might well have won outright if his cards had completely burned during the intro.
but since my magicoins are teleproof, i am assured at least a passage into bow church where… as advanced gamers know; everything restarts, scores inverse, & the undead re-dead.
Hi!
I’m trying to follow along with my copy of the rules, which I inherited from my grandfather (he came over in '28, but the book is dated 1964). I’m aware of the fact that the game is “essentially applied topology”, as MacGuivre stated, but other than that, I am completely lost. Can someone get me up to speed?
I sit corrected! You are absolutely right of course - although I admit I double-checked with a quick skim through Routledge’s! Amazing.
Almost, but not quite. If you go back to Appendix 3 and read all of the footnotes you will see that the ‘public holiday’ ruling is only to be invoked in cases where arbitration has been requested. Since your sly opponent(s) have carefully avoided calling for any such arbitration, the rule cannot be applied. Sorry. If you recall, at last year’s regional heats for the Brooke-Taylor Shield, Flay was the strong favourite at Table 2 until he fell foul of a similar ruling pertaining to whether the ‘&’ of ‘Totteridge & Whetstone’ constitutes a consecutive vowel.
Welcome to the game, Sunspace. I’m glad that you are referring to a copy of the rules, as this will save a lot of explanation. That having been said, I’m afraid your copy is seriously out of date! You would be well-advised to get a more up-to-date copy, and preferably Hobson’s MC Tournament Play, Seventh Edition (2005), which is what we will be using for most of the rulings in this game. Rather than wading through a lot of theory, there’s really no substitute for actually playing the game and learning as you go. You are welcome to ‘dip your toe in the water’, so to speak, and join in at any time. We don’t bite! And those of us with a little more MC experience will be only too happy to help out here and there if you feel the need for some guidance or clarification.
I’m not much of a player–casual pick up play and time spent with the aunties you know, but I’ve had great luck with two default positions: Farringdon or West Brompton.
It looks like the last legal (although barely) play was Blue Mood’s play of Tower Gateway.
That being the case, I will move to Willesden Junction and see what all you staid, stiff-upper-lip types do when a guy gets aggressive early in the game. I can hear you scrambling for your transcripts of the NATO/Warsaw Pact Peace Games of 1959 right now.
Here’s a hint- similar to the way the Taiwanese are so good at Scrabble because they’re unencumbered by linguistics, the Poles were also somewhat dominant at Mornington Crescent, unencumbered by ever having commuted.
To quote Vaslav Nowotny in the early stages of his match against Wilshire “Scooter” Vickers-Cleghorne (loosely translated form the Polish):
“Mind the gap, bitches!”
To which, Mary Whebley replied, “mind THIS gap, bitches!” right back to the Poles.
This is the real reason she never played again. For verification, see her unauthorized autobiography: From Wimbledon to Westminster and Back Again: One Woman’s True Tale of Life in the Male-Dominated Sport of Mornington Crescent, due out in paperback this summer.
Lynne-42 and the other novices… don’t be put off by Happy Scrappy Hero Pup’s aggressive tone. It’s all just part of the game. A little bit of posturing banter never hurt anyone! That having been said, it is a very sharp and well-considered move, and HSHP evidently has more than one well-known trap in mind! (For the sake of fairness, I won’t say any more.)
Sorry for appearing such a noob, but has this rule changed at all since HMC merged with the Inland Revenue to become HM Revenue and Customs?
Thank you!
I was trying to find Hobson’s on amazon.ca, and the don’t have it. Amazon.co.uk did have it, but for some reason they wouldn’t ship it to Canada. My grandfather’s book is Abridged MC Rules for Family Play, Commemorative Edition by Whilliger and Smythe, published in Toronto in 1964 (there seems to be some obscure connection with the TTC), for which a Hobson wrote the introduction, but it’s only a 32-page pamphlet. I get the impression you are talking about thousand-page tomes! Can anyone point to some online resources?
Anyways, I’m going to attempt a move.
:: peers at map, scratches head ::
Um… Bank?
Edit: I didn’t see HSHP’s move. drat. Highbury & Islington.
This will teach me to sleep in on a Sunday! Now all you blighters are moves ahead of me in development. Oh, well. Nothing to be done for it except: Goldhawk Road!
That’s right. You heard me. Let’s see if anybody is up to the subtle nuances of the Randall Variation (1947). I just discovered the account of this masterful battle last week in a quaint little bookshop/laundry/armorer’s shop in Fresno. The author’s name is missing from the manuscript, but I believe it was penned (crayoned, actually) by Lord Isabard Chelmsford himself! Can anybody confirm this?
I’ve never played before, and I’ve only read up on the rules online, so forgive me if I’m a bit slow. Can I double back to Burnt Oak this turn?
Only if you’re willing to incur Lord VVinston’s famous mistake (back in Wondsor, 1972). You really should read up on this game’s nuances.
I know some will find this whimsical, but I’d favour a Shunt directly to Goodge Street, even if it does leave Jigg’s Whip on in some continuations. Over-reliance on so-called “scientific” play has stunted many a talented “one-touch” player’s development, and the game’s the poorer for it.
Well, the thread title did say beginners were welcome. How am I supposed to learn if everyone’s too uppity to let me play?
Well… I guess you’re kind of right. But, for heaven’s sake, I thought I was a bloody beginner! I live in Mexico, for heaven’s sake! English is my third language! If I know about that mistake, how could anybody who has the faintest idea of the game not know about it?