Uncle Chestnut Table Gype
Posted: 18 June 2011, 00:13
Board Game Arena is very happy to announce the availability of Uncle Chestnut Table Gype, an abstract strategy game from Paul & Christopher Nowak, for online play.
Uncle Chestnut Table Gype is an original game independantly published by its designers. It could be described as a combination of Chess and Chinese checkers with an extra element of luck, but that doesn't fully account for the game which has a very unique feel to it ! We are very happy to have discovered this game and would like to give a big thanks to Paul & Christopher for giving us the opportunity to host its online version, as well as for their availability to answer questions and help us test out the game.
In order to play, you will need the rules, the game presentation, and you will certainly enjoy reading the following interview with Paul E. Nowak :
Board Game Arena: Hello Paul ! We are very pleased to welcome 'Uncle Chestnut Table Gype' on Board Game Arena. This game, as your previous game creation 'Uncle Chestnut Card Gype' and your book 'The Inconvenient Adventures of Uncle Chestnut', draws strong inspiration from the universe of early 20th century english writer and journalist G. K. Chesterton, who is the basis for the fictional 'Uncle Chestnut' character. How did you discover G. K Chesterton, and what gave you such strong and long lasting passion about his work ?
Paul E. Nowak: The first time I seriously read Chesterton was when I was preparing entrance essays for college. It was Chesterton's unique perspective and the enormous scope of his work - he quite literally wrote about everything from babies to umbrellas to cheese.
Chesterton has had tremendous influence on many people, including J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K Rowling, C.S. Lewis, Gandhi, and Neil Gaiman.
BGA: Uncle Chestnut Table Gype is a winner of the Mensa Mind Games competition. What was it like taking part in such a contest ? Did it change the way you looked at your game, or at the board gaming world in general ?
PN: We certainly were not thinking of the retail market when we made our game or its unique packaging. However, winning the Mensa award opened that world to us, at least here in the U.S. Unfortunately we could not attend the event in person, but it was a very exciting weekend while we awaited any news.
The award was a huge boost in our confidence in our game, and we're looking at retail packaging options, distribution, and other ways to get word out. BoardGameArena is a huge help to us in that regard, since people really have to play the game to get a sense for the depth and fun that can be experienced.
BGA: Your game nicely combines placement strategies and sometimes careful, sometimes crazy gambling, making it both tactical and fun ! In your view, is there an equilibrium players have to seek in order to get a good chance at victory, or can extreme or plainly opportunistic strategies also pay off ?
PN: Table Gype, to us, teaches a lot of life lessons. It is essential that you look for opportunities to accelerate your pieces. To be able to take those opportunities, you need to help create them by getting your pieces out early. Keeping a few, or even one, piece behind can be the difference between victory and defeat.
BGA: There is a lot of speculation between fans of G. K. Chesterton about the origin of the prank game name 'Gype'. What is your favourite explanation ? Also, as 'Uncle Chestnut Table Gype' can be quite a mouthful (or keyboardful I should say), is there a short name it can go by for quick reference when requesting a quick, late night game on BGA ?
PN: 'Table Gype' or UCTG are good short-form references to the game. Or, since it is the only tangible form of the game in existence, Gype.
I have my own thoughts on the origins of the game, which I will be working into an Uncle Chestnut story for an upcoming book, but of the other speculations I liked one of the ones by a Dr. Thursday on the American Chesterton Society's blog where he guessed that Gype would incorporate everyday objects in unusual uses and simple rules upon which the entire game turned, or revolved.
BGA : Last but not least, the key medical question for our anxious players ! Do you or your brother and co-designer for the game Christopher occasionally suffer from Gype's Ear after too much Gype play ? What have you found to be the better treatment for this condition ?
PN: The fact that Gype's Ear as the affliction for over-zealous players is one of the few facts we know about the original game. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that H.G. Wells and Chesterton talked about the game a lot, and if they played it, it involved a lot of talking. One can assume that this would eventually cause one ear pain.
As for Chris and I, this happens more in the design phase for any game, especially if one of us is more passionate about the idea than the other. The only cure seems to be, unlike Chesterton and Wells, to get the game out in a physical form so others can enjoy it too!
BGA : Thank you ! Now, let's play Gype ! If you like this game, you can back Paul & Christophers Kickstarter project for the third edition of the game, or order your copy from Eternal Revolution.