Slobbovia
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Slobbovia was a postal Diplomacy variant played among science fiction and gaming fans in North America and Europe from 1972 to 1986. The game was published in Slobinpolit Zhurnal (Слобинполит Журнал).
It was unique among postal games in that, through extension of the convention of "press" (referred to in the game as "strakh") prevalent in postal Diplomacy, characterization, plot development and good writing became as important as the actual gameplay itself, and actually influenced the latter.
The resulting "shared world," created through collaboration, cooperation and conflict, had a substantial, well-fleshed out infrastructure that developed its own rich set of traditions.
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[edit] History
The game first started in Manitoba in 1969, among Venture Scouts as a live action role-playing game, set in a mythical land named Slobbovia (after Al Capp's perpetually frozen country that appeared occasionally in the daily comic strip, L'il Abner). The various regions of Slobbovia that appeared on the map were originally named after features around a local lake: Cabinia was named after a cabin, Rabbitania after a clearing where rabbits frolicked. In 1972, the game was adapted as a variant to the boardgame, Diplomacy, which had reached its peak of popularity and had a convention known as "press" (press releases from the countries in play for propaganda purposes, or just plain fun) that fit in perfectly with Slobbovia. The game was chronicled in Slobinpolit Zhurnal (Slobbovian political journal). Common usage was to refer to it as Slobinpolit Zhurnal, but properly the name was a phonetic spelling using the cyrillic alphabet, Слобинполит Журнал. The stories were collected and printed, along with the adjudications for the game and mailed to the participants by a central gamemaster.
The game itself was simply a framework to write stories about the characters, institutions, and countries of Slobbovia. Contrasting starkly with Diplomacy, there was no way to "win" Slobbovia, and indeed, over-reliance on force ("Strumph") was looked down upon by the players. Players were free to name the countries they ruled, but importantly played as a specific character, and not the country. This character was usually (but not always) the focus of that player's "press" (stories). Many players also developed stables of auxiliary characters about which they wrote, and sometimes the "strakh" written about these characters was more involved and entertaining than that for a player's primary character.
The early years of the postal game were through the efforts of Charles C. Sharp, who operated as the sole gamemaster and publisher. When Sharp could no longer continue in those duties, the game went into hiatus for a short while before being revived as an amateur press association, APA-Slobbovia. Organized by Robert Bryan Lipton, an initial group of six fans took on rotating publishing/gamemastering duties until the game's ultimate demise. Publication under the APA was usually but not exclusively via use of mimeograph or spirit duplicator machines - it is an irony the game collapsed at the dawn of personal computers and the internet, which would have greatly eased publication burdens.
[edit] Variations from Standard Diplomacy Rules
[edit] Subrulers and Commanders
The rules of the game were altered to require the appointment of "subrulers" to a portion of the provinces of any country that got too big. Similarly, a player having more than a certain number of armies and/or fleets was required to appoint "commanders" to a portion of them. These subrulers and commanders were then free to revolt. This kept the game fluid and prevented stagnation.
[edit] Railroads
A player could also devote supply toward the construction of railroads, which allowed the movement of armies across continents. Once constructed, these also operated as joint stock companies; the builder would give shares to his allies, usually keeping the majority (and control) for himself.
[edit] Changeability of the Rules
Some of the rules variations were not present at the beginning of Slobbovia's play as a Diplomacy variant, but were introduced during the long life of the game. The rules provided that this could be done by a player vote. A prime example was the aforementioned railroad rules, which were introduced at some point in the middle of the game's lifespan and then voted out of existence a few years later.
The map itself changed over the course of game in a series of "Imperial Surveys". The initial set of provinces was expanded to include the southern continent of Valgoria (perversely in the Slobbovian tradition, it was located at the top of the map). A third Imperial Survey expanded the map to the east and west, and a fourth and final "survey" connected the east and west edges.
The above rules themselves, however, were subordinate to the real power in Slobbovia: "strakh", the ability of a player to tell a convincing story.
[edit] Slobbovia in Print
[edit] The Zhurnal and Strakh
The Slobinpolit Zhurnal was published usually every other month, and consisted of two parts: the strakh (stories) and the strumph (military and political moves that followed the rules of the game). A player who was from a weaker power, but who was consistently funny or a good storyteller, gained "strakh" (a combination of chutzpah, moxie, and style, the name of which was taken from a Jack Vance short story "The Moon Moth"), which was intangible but often led to tangible gains on the board (by being granted commands of fleets, armies, or provinces that could then rebel). Besides press releases, there were poems, songs, illustrations (including complete comic books), and even "advertisements" ("I would never kick my peasant without my Furfenhager boots," for example). Slobbovia lasted for many years as new players would cycle in to replace those that had fallen away. Eventually the core players finally gave out and collapsed under the sheer weight and complexity of the game and storylines as they moved further away from their college days. 110 issues of the Zhurnal were issued.
[edit] Other Publications
Besides the Zhurnal, there were several other publications pertaining to Slobbovia and its milieu.
Some were of a theoretically periodic nature. Neurse Schivosk was a forum for communication between the publishers who took turns adjudicating the game and putting out the Zhurnal, published by one of their number selected as the "Arkhivist." Budos Paraszt was its short-lived replacement toward the end of the Zhurnal's run, as the players sought a way to keep the game going.
There were also several unique stand-alone publications supplementing the regularly published Zhurnal. Boleski's Unkonkize Hiztory of Slobbovia was a history of Slobbovia written by one of the players, as his then-character of Cardinal Justinian Urbanus Boleski. It was deliberately written from Cardinal Boleski's point of view, reflecting what was established as his approach to the writing of history.
Also, at least one instance of a Novice Packet for new players was published.
[edit] Slobbovia and Shared Worlds
The game preceded Dungeons & Dragons as a role-playing game, though it had little impact in the general gaming world by comparison to D&D. It also was an example of the "shared world" format before it became popular amongst writers in science fiction and fantasy. The unwritten but usually respected rule was that a player could borrow other player's characters, but never kill them. Putting the other player's character in a situation that was inconsistent with the nature of that character was considered suspect, but the clever writer would not only go with the flow, but turn it to his advantage. This was at the very core of being "strakhful", and always earned the player great respect if he could pull it off.
[edit] Traditions
[edit] The Slobbovian Empire
Many traditions developed over the years, the greatest of which was the Slobbovian Empire. Whereas most countries were the creations of a single writer, the Slobbovian Empire was ruled by a succession of many Czars, the position passing from player to player as the game progressed. The current Czar would usually name a successor, or run an election and turn over the holdings of the empire to the new character (sometimes under the same player's control, sometimes under another), plus there might be the odd revolt. When the Czarship fell under the control of a new player, it was usually an acknowledgment of the creativity and entertainment value of the player. Further, the more entertaining, the longer the reign. The Slobbovian Empire was aided by independent "prinzipalities" that were pledged to its defense, the two greatest in the latter days of the game being the Prinzipality of Venturia, ruled by the Vurklemeyer family; and the Jamulian Hegemony, ruled by the Zhukovski family.
Ruling Czars would often append the initials DGIOS to their name, for Dei Gratia Imperator Omnium Slobbovinsium. Retired (or deposed) Czars were given the honorific of "Count", while a former Czarina would become a "Countess".
The motto of the Slobbovian Empire was "Phage Pie Euphraino U Komrad", which translated to "Eat, Drink and be Merry."
[edit] Other Nations
In theory, the Slobbovian Empire was a universal empire; the entire "known world" was by said theory subject to the Czar's authority. In practice, this concept evoked a range of attitudes ranging from some level of acceptance, to total disregard of or hostility to the Empire's suzerainty, to giggling disbelief. Some level of lip service being paid to the idea was the norm (particularly since acceptance of the concept was useful if one was aiming to become Czar).
In fact, there were a number of nations, some short-lived, others enduring, which existed on the board. Most were the creation of a single player, while some of the more durable and long-lasting came to be maintained and written about by multiple players, both cooperating and opposing each other in advancing the strakh of those creations.
Following are some of the more enduring, well-established, and/or interesting nations (a list that is, of course, not at all complete or comprehensive):
The legacy of the Rabbitanian Empire is as old as Slobbovia itself, dating back to the canoe and pluglunk era. As detailed below, the Slobbovians were either indigenous or the first settlers, followed soon after by the Rabbitanians. The latter, ruled by the Rabinsky family, were held to be refugees from a fallen "old Rabbitanian empire" and sought to reconstitute the Rabbitanian polity in the new lands. In this they found a rival in the nascent Slobbovian Empire. A flurry of exploration, discovery, claim, battle and conquest ensued between the two rival powers; in the end, Slobbovia came out on top. The Rabinskys mostly accepted this result and from then on pursued their political fortunes within the Slobbovian imperial framework, the head of the family, Genghis Rabinsky, at one point becoming Czar. From time to time, however, they made attempts to revive and maintain a separate Rabbitanian state. A notably successful attempt was the latter day Rabbitanian Empire established in the later years of the game by Aleksandr Illanov-Rabinsky.
The Prinzipality of Venturia and the Vurklemeyer Triarchy ...
The Valgorian Empire dominated the southern continent intermittently from soon after that part of the map was opened up by an Imperial Survey. It was founded by Gregof Vurklemeyer, a scion of a junior branch of the leading Venturian family. Gregof was succeeded by his son Chekov; by this time, the Valgorian emperors had altered their family name to Vurklehymer. When the Satinist Gorean hordes invaded, Chekov revealed himself to be a Satinist as well, and their ally. His most powerful subruler, Aleksandr Zhebatinsky, revolted and declared himself Emperor in Chekov's place. The resulting civil war resulted in Chekov's death and a chaotic Valgorian state, which Gandalf Zhebatinsky, Aleksandr's son, tried and failed to reorganize. The pieces were picked up by yet another nomadic horde, this time the Zincing Horde of Huns led by Atlatl, who became and ruled as Valgorian Emperor for a brief time ... up until the morning when everybody woke to find the Huns vanished ... with the imperial treasury. The rebirth of the Valgorian Empire came some years later, when the more powerful rulers of the southern continent, led by Jurgen Zhukovski and Ivan Dragomilov, put aside their differences to organize a new cooperative state, where each of these rulers would put at least half of their lands under the rule of the new Valgorian Empire. The Emperor, or "Nebuchadnezzar," of the revived Empire was Valjenkin, while Zhukovski, Dragomilov and those who followed their lead in putting half of their lands into the new Empire became Electors or "Balthazars."
The Hegemony of Jamul: Assigned as a sub-ruler to the Valgorian Empire in and around the environs of Jamul, Vasili Zhukovski was just another adventurer set on social climbing. Experiencing a vision of Saint Blooper, he eventually ascended to the title of Grund Patriarch of the Wholly Slobbovian Church, declared the Emperor of Valgoria a Satinist, and led a revolt, forming the Theocracy of Saint Blooper. Support swelled for the Theocracy while the Valgorian Empire went through convulsions that ended when Atlatl the Hun absconded with the treasury and left for Parts Unknown (an off-map province to the south). The Valgorian Empire collapsed "like a whoopee cushion." The side effect was that without an external threat, the rest of Slobbovia withdrew their support to the Theocracy. Seeing the writing on the wall for future support of the Church Militant and wanting to salvage what he still held, Vasili stepped down as Grund Patriarch and turned over the reins of government to his nephew, Jurgen Sekundar Zhukovski. Jurgen reordered Jamul under the personal suzerainty of the Zhukovski family, which Jurgen was the leader of as the Grand Dilettante (the Zhukovskis were notorious dabblers in everything, and masters of none). A long struggle commenced, for despite the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Valgorian Empire, the Slobbovian Empire moved in strongly, strangling native southern culture. The Dilettancy founded its power on the Strakh of the Zhukovskis and the money that flowed in from the Jamulian Southern Railroad, of which the Zhukovskis held the majority shares. Amazingly for Traditionalist technophobes, the Zhukovskis built the largest railroad on the face of Slobbovia. As more provinces "joined" (Slobbovian spin-mastering for "forced at spear point"), Jurgen sought a more grandiose and self-aggrandizing title, and reformed the Dilettancy as the Hegemony of Jamul, of which he added the title of Hegemon (retaining the title of Grand Dilettante within the Zhukovski family). Eventually, the Strakh he accrued was honored by making the Hegemony a Prinzdom of the Slobbovian Empire, independent but pledged to defend the Empire. The capital of the Hegemony was Zhukovskigard, located in Jamul. The actual seat of government was the walled citadel, appropriately enough known as The Zitadel (a conscious rival to the Slobbovian Empire's Gremlin). Eventually the strongest power on the southern continent, the Hegemony became a power broker and indulged in reviving a puppet Valgorian Empire. The actual province name of "Jamul" was taken from a small town near San Diego, California, favored by postal Diplomacy pioneer, Conrad von Metzke, who briefly was a Slobbovia participant.
The Goondom of Phumpha ...
The States of Confusion ...
Novaria was named after the fictional universe in L. Sprague de Camp's universe. Its capital was Port Novar. The nation had only two provinces, but usually was in a perpetual fight with the Jamulians (to be fair to the Jamulians, it was usually the Novarians who declared war first). This was a problem since the Novarian army had the fashion sense of the pre-World War II Red Army and its military prowess was on the same level as its fashion sense. Novaria had been a kingdom until the monarch went away on a long trip (in real life, the player had to take a leave of absence). A military coup led by Quisling Remise-Markov the 99th created the Qualified Republic of the Mouse, with the nominal head of state the Missing Monarch. Quisling the 99th's dictatorship led to social experiments, such as a new currency (there were 11 quislings to the marque and 7 pounce to the quisling, so there were 78 pounce to the marque) based on lead (until an alchemist found a way to transmute gold into lead). Novaria was also home to Furfenhager, S.A., maker of Furfenhager Boots.
[edit] The Holy Sativan Church
The other great tradition was the Holy Sativan Church - something of an "Opium is the religion of the masses". Characters (and maybe some of the players) communed with the primary deity of Slobbovia, Sativa, via smoking "holy communing sticks". The sub-pantheon of Sativa was in the form of five "major" saints (Waldo the Weird, Herman the Hashite, Frieda the Friendly, Blooper and Gerald; St. Ethyl and St. Foxie were also widely revered and rivaled the five "majors" in importance) and a plethora of minor ones. The role of the enemy god was the standard evil deity, known as Satin (not unlike Satan). The church was controlled by Da Grund Patriarch. He had several forces under his control, such as the Two-Tonic Knights, and the Highly Unctuous Narcs of Holiness (the Holy HUNH, who came to resemble in no small degree Monty Python's The Spanish Inquisition). These organizations were only two from a long tradition of the Church Militant; other orders included the Knights of St. Gerald (Geraldines), the Knights of St. Herman the Hashite (the Hashashine) and the Monks of Mafang Fubar, whose primary weapons were their unwashed bodies and clothing.
The monasteries of the Holy Sativan Church were called "fubars," the name being derived from the acronym "fouled up beyond all repair" in common usage in a variety of places, especially the U.S. military. Monks of Mafang Fubar, the most renowned of these, were the Slobbovian version of martial artists. Mafang Fubarian monks turned utter lack of personal hygiene into an offensive weapon in a style known as Mung Fu. A partial listing of techniques they employed: Scholls ya Nostrils (whipping a malodorous foot beneath the victim's nose causing unconsciousness); Beans Flatula (an area-of-effect attack similar to tear gas); Loins Gadafule (pronounced "god awful"), which involved swinging an unwashed loincloth harvested from a holy man, producing devastating effects on contact with a target. Depending upon the age and sanctity (foulness) of the garment, effects could range from burns to total molecular breakdown (disintegration). Mafang Fubar was located in Aardvark Wallow, a small and inhospitable province whose inhabitants consisted of the monks, cronks and, according to rumor, Alfred Aardvark.
Similar to the DGIOS of the Czar, Grund Patriarchs might use the initials HMHDGP after their name or for official proclamations (His/Her Majestic Holiness, Da Grund Patriarch). A former Grund Patriarch was known as a "Klinkenhorc". The one woman to occupy the position, Theodora Seagoonsky (who was, of course, titled "Grund Matriarch" during her tenure) assumed the title of "Klinkenharlut" upon stepping down.
Once, and only once, in Slobbovian history did Da Grund Patriarch simultaneously attain the dignity of Czar. Gregor Gregovitch united the positions and took the title of "Caliph," an arrangement that did not last past his reign, belying the militant stance usual with the sect that bore his name.
The Church was divided into several broad "sects" which could more accurately be considered as schools of theological thought or philosophy, since no hierarchy attached to them in respect of their being sects. These included Georgianism, Gregorianism and Mazukovianism (after three early Grund Patriarchs: Georgi Eskalaskin, Gregor Gregovitch and Alexi Mazukov, respectively). The differences between their doctrines was generally obscure, in those instances where they could actually be discerned; the main differences tended to be attitude. A fourth sect was that of the Satinists, existing both in opposition to and, in latter days, as part of the Holy Sativan Church. The sects coexisted in a typically Slobbovian atmosphere that was a cross between toleration and passive mutual contempt. This same attitude ruled the dynamic tension between adherents of the more energetic and militant of the sects, the Satinists and the Gregorians, as they pursued their more extreme religious practices; for the former, performing human sacrifices, and for the latter, hunting down and executing Satinists.
Two Czars were Satinists. Alfred Aardvark, simultaneously the greatest and most reviled of the Huns, became a bogeyman to frighten both small children and Czars. Tostig Zhukovski, ironically a scion of a family that originally came to prominence by battling the Satinist Gorean hordes, ended his reign in a dramatic fashion by falling into a vat of molten bronze while mounted on his favorite horse (it is left to the imagination on how he is mounted, keeping in mind he was known as Tostig the Perverted). This also had the effect of conveniently providing his equestrian statue for the top of the imperial palace, the Gremlin.
Summoned forth from the Slobbovian version of hell, Alfred Aardvark, Tostig Zhukovski, and Sardonicus Satanicus (late chief of the Goreans) were fused together as the three-headed Triptych Demon. The ultimate fate and purpose of the demon was an unresolved storyline caught in the final Slobbovian Ice Age (also known as the collapse of the Zhurnal).
[edit] Great Families and the Aristrakhracy
Great Families were families that contributed at least two Czars and a Grund Patriarch, and it was a mark of honor for a player to have his "family" (related characters bearing the family surname) achieve that status.
The Great Families were drawn from the nobility, known as the Aristrakhracy, or Strakheinvolk. The ruling class actually ruled, for the most part: almost all the various nations were run by members of the Aristrakhracy.
(Almost all of the players played members of the aristrakhracy, and their nations, in their press, had forms of government that were monarchical or aristocratic. The notable exceptions included La Republique du Cor/La Republique de L'Ouest, a bourgeois, oligarchic republic, Novaria, a parliamentary dictatorship, and the States of Confusion, which was sui generis. Among the exceptions could also be included those rare occasions on which the Church Militant indulged in strumphish acquisition of territory (Patrimony of St. Blooper, Geraldines), except that the upper reaches of the Church hierarchy were dominated by the aristrakhracy as well.)
Lifestyles of the Strakheinvolk, as depicted in players' press, resembled in large part that of the upper class and aristocracy of Europe during a time period that could be roughly defined as being from the Napoleonic era to that of The Proud Tower. There was a considerable amount of maneuvering on political, social and dynastic levels, with some peculiarly Slobbovian twists.
Two of these were the practices of polygamy (both polygyny and polyandry) and adult adoption. A Slobb was theoretically allowed up to five spouses, corresponding to the five Major Saints of the Sativan church. Serial monogamy was common among the upper classes, as well. Adoption of adults, resembling in part the way the practice was used in ancient Rome, was also used as a dynastic and political tool.
One of the most extreme examples of both practices could be found in the history of a single person, Constantine Ivor Schramatoff Gregovitch Strakenvich Vurklemeyer Rabinsky (Constantine ISGSV Rabinsky for short), who ruled as Czar Constantine I. He started as Constantine Ivor Schramatoff Gregovitch, the son of Jacquiline Schramatoff. Gregor Gregovitch was officially his father, until it became politically useful for both Constantine and Bodrog Strakenvich for Bodrog to claim that distinction and adopt him. Further political developments led to a similar situation with Ivor Vurklemeyer, the Red Prinz, who adopted him in turn. It was as a Vurklemeyer that Constantine ruled as Czar. Political machinations after his reign led to his adoption by Genghis Rabinsky, although this last maneuver failed to help him in his attempt to return to power. Worthy of note is the fact that not only did Constantine reign as Czar, so too did his mother and all of his putative fathers.
Even more extreme, in terms of marriage, was the case of Valjenkin Klutz-Patrick-O'Cuckoo, emperor of the revived Valgorian Empire on the southern continent. The maneuverings of former enemies Jurgen Zhukovski and Ivan Dragomilov and their respective allies resulted in a recreated Valgoria, on the throne of which they placed Valjenkin. Very shortly thereafter, he found that he was, through various treaties and agreements (some half-forgotten, others conveniently rediscovered) obligated to contract marriage with five different women. He did so, having children with all five and his mistress, resulting in a large number of potential, competing heirs when he eventually became unable to rule (i.e., the player playing Valjenkin left the game).
The Vurklemeyer family was most active in using adoption as a political and dynastic tool, using it to legitimize family members (i.e. Julian Ivorovitch Boleski-Vurklemeyer), absorb other great and near-great families (i.e. Anatol Temujinovitch Rabinsky Vurklemeyer) or, in effect, do both (the aforementioned Julian, at the time of his adoption, was also head of the Boleski family, which had produced two Czarinas (his mother and his aunt), as well as the noted historian and cleric Justinian Urbanus, his uncle). The second example, Prinz Anatol, himself used adoption as head of the Rabinsky family when a scion of that family was needed to serve on the revived Rabbitanian throne: Aleksandr Doyouski, powerful, well-placed, and on the rise politically, married into the Rabinsky family and was then adopted, changing his name in the process to Aleksandr Illanov-Rabinsky.
[edit] Military and Warfare
Warfare was written along the lines of interest of the individual writer. Dreadnought-era warships for naval battles were the norm during the written era of Slobbovia. The original live play was conducted in canoes; those battles were decided not by 10 inch naval guns but by the combatants' skill in wielding the traditional Slobbovian weapons known as "pluglunks" (double-bladed paddles).
A notable defeat was inflicted on ironclad warships by a fleet of Viking-style longships. The longship crews boarded with pluglunks during a heavy fog, and carried the day. This is an example of the Slobbovian dictate that older, simpler weapons were superior to newer, more complex, but less advanced weapons. Less advanced by Slobbovian mentality, at least. For example: a Boleski four-shot revolver was notoriously undependable, but a spear was extremely reliable. Then there was the case of the Corish 66-shot automatic which had several magazines; it was easier to throw it away rather than reload it.
Land combat was much more varied - rarely did it extend beyond Napoleonic organization and tactics, though chariots, knights, kataphracts, phalanxes, and housecarls ("housechurls", the household guards of the Zhukovski family, known for their churlish behavior) and other medieval/ancient sources made appearances (reflecting gaming cross-over by several players who also indulged in 25mm miniatures battles).
Military ranks and titles tended to reflect European counterparts, with Admirals at sea and Marshals on land being the highest ranks. Two ranks of a more nebulous nature were Oberhorc and Unterflunky. An Oberhorc was usually treated as a mid-grade officer (vaguely a captain or major) while an Unterflunky ranged from a junior grade lieutenant or midshipman to something somewhere below a common private.
[edit] Security and Secret Police
There were various security and/or secret police services controlled by (or controlling) several of the game's political entities. A series of organizations were nominally in the Imperial service. These included the Knights of the Krispy Kritter, which then chief of Imperial security Ivan Lebrunovar used to gain the Imperial throne; and the Czar's Caterers (which was a military regiment and gourmet catering service in addition to being the secret police), which the head of, Raoul Raskolnikov, utilized to supplant the KKK and gain the throne in turn.
The Holy Sativan Church advanced its aims as a Church Militant through such organizations as the Holy HUNH and the Hashashine. The Grund Flet (Imperial Navy), had as its security arm the Fubblegravf; at one point, there may have been two competing and/or opposing Fubblegravf organizations, one in Imperial service and one in Venturian service, although they'd never confirm that either way. Ivan Dragomilov personally controlled the Slobbovian Assassination Bureau. Novaria's secret police were the Cagey Bees, who wore black and yellow striped jerseys.
Spies traditionally announced their presence by swathing themselves in black from head to toe. While in this disguise, it was generally accepted by all concerned that the spy was invisible and was thus ignored by the spied-upon. This could to be taken to logical extremes if the subjects of the spying got annoyed enough at an overly bold spy, such as pretending not to know that one had just trod (rather heavily) on the spy's foot, or taking up target practice at an item the spy was standing in front of.
The above only touches briefly on the means through which the members of a properly paranoid and suspicious Slobbovian society spied on each other.
[edit] Technology
Technology in Slobbovia varied from the aforementioned spears to the aforementioned ironclads. Many players believed the simpler things were, the better, but there was a certain joy in perverse complexity, such as Novaria's national telephone system, which consisted of networks of tin cans and strings. (The Gremlin, the home of Slobbovia's Czars, had the telephone number of 1. Novaria's secret police, the Cagey Bees, never bothered with a telephone number; they were always listening anyway.) Pervasive forms of long distance travel included Zeppelins by air, and steam locomotives by land.
While the "least" (i.e. most) advanced technological developments generally prevailing were at about the level of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, there were also rumors of even more ancient and potentially terrible devices, such as the ballistic supercomputer buried deep under the Gremlin. Seeming to be what we'd now call an AI, nobody knew if it was still connected to ancient thermonuclear missiles, and an Imperial officer was always assigned to play chess with it to keep it from becoming bored so that nobody need ever find out.
And, of course, there was also magic. The paradigms covering this in players' strakh were as varied as the fantasy novels and stories the players might be reading at the time and the gaming systems used by those players who also played fantasy role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons. These might range from the logical magic of Harold Shea to Darkover starstones to the volatile and explosive antics of Monty Python's Tim the Enchanter, to give a few examples.
[edit] Sports
The most popular sport in Slobbovia was mongeef, which was a lacrosse-style game played by 11-player teams on a court the size of a basketball court. There were three periods, each called "halves." The ball, known as a "flamsch," weighed about fifteen pounds and was covered with iron spikes. While the players were barred from deliberately harming spectators, a mongeef match was usually a bloody and dangerous business for both players and fans.
[edit] Races/Ethnicities and Names
There were several "races" that added to the complexity of the Slobbovian milieu, and more were added as the board was expanded over the years to accommodate an increasing number of players.
The older races included the Slobbovians, Rabbitanians, Venturians and Huns. Slobbovians were either the original inhabitants of, or the very first migrants to, the lands defined by the original board. Rabbitanians were also early migrants to that region, refugees from an undefined "fallen empire". Venturians, of which the Vurklemeyers were the leading family, were Rabbitanians who had embraced Slobbovian culture. The Huns were a nomadic people, not unlike their namesake. Mixing between these original immigrants produced other ethnicities such as Rumpletitsvicklians, Pameranians, and Upper and Lower Marshaalians.
The newer races included Jamulians, Chardians, Valgorians, Pseudo-Wikings, Phumphans, Macians, Baratarians, Novarians, and Corese (not a complete list). This doesn't include the non-human sentients that were also written about from time to time, either as main player characters or as auxiliary characters, such as sandwhales, Hokas, and Elder Gods. (One player even played for a while with Cthulhu as his main character.)
Most character names were of a mixed Slavic/Germanic nature (e.g. Dragomilov, Zhukovski, Vurklemeyer, Dinkendorvf). Among the exceptions: most Huns sounded like they were from Brooklyn and generally had only a given name (Oscar da Hun, Bernie da Hun, George da Hun, Alfred da Hun (although he would later adopt the surname Aardvark)), while the Corese were faux-French and the Baratarians were vaguely Spanish and/or Italian.
[edit] Sayings and Greetings
It is alleged that the only nice thing that can be said in the Slobbovian language is "Neurse Schivosk", invariably translated as "Merry Christmas", and more obscurely (but perhaps more in keeping with Slobbovian mentality) as, "May you have a less miserable time than you deserve during this midwinter festival". The Valgorian greeting of "Fecundar Strakh" means "May your strakh prosper", but within the Slobbovian language it translates to something rather more obscene. It is often used as a stealth insult by those from the southern continent because of the duality of its nature. One addresses a member of the Aristrakhracy as "Min Horc", a freeman as "Bhadjerk", and a peasant as "Hey you".
[edit] Legacy of Slobbovia
The cultural impact of the game of Slobbovia was the development of several science fiction/fantasy writers and game designers, including Greg Costikyan and Bruce Schlickbernd. Edgar Award-winning author Sharyn McCrumb was also a player.
Several fannish memes had their origin, were further developed, or were introduced to a new audience in the pages of the Slobbinpolit Zhurnal. Crottled greeps, a legendarily indescribable foodstuff long known of in science fiction fanzines, became a Slobbovian staple. The concept of "retrograde progress" (bows and arrows are better than firearms, etc; see "Technology" above) proved popular. And then there were cronks: small, sub-intelligent beasts with a vocabulary of one word, "Birdie!", meaning "food": rooks, people, other cronks, the cronk's foot, etc.
[edit] End of the Great Ice Age?
Rumors of an impending blog entitled Slobinpolit Zhurnal - Helangon Edition are being circulated, allegedly by the Men in Black. The web-page is currently blocked, so verification may have to wait for a later date.
