Melee Dig
an enhanced card game for the new meleenium
This is a modified version of classic Dig, which itself is a descendant of the game Crazy Eights and is played in obscure parts of Lancashire, England.
The object of the game is to play all your cards onto the discard pile, primarily by matching the suit or rank of the top discard. A standard 52-card pack is used, ranking from 2 up . . .
Posted in: games
The Basics of Poker
a guide for casual players
This article is aimed at poker novices and casual players: maybe you've watched a few episodes of televised poker and you want to know why the players did what they did, or maybe you play in an occasional home game and wonder why you rarely win. Absorb the ideas in this tutorial and you'll improve markedly. For those of you who do . . .
Posted in: feature article
The Darkness
'The Narrow Road to the Deep North', by Richard Flanagan
Although its subject matter makes it heavy going, there's no doubt that every fan of literature should read this. Flanagan's novel won the Booker Prize last year, and most of it is truly excellent. The heart of the story is set in the Siamese jungle in 1943, and describes in remorseless, horrendous detail the forced labour of . . .
Posted in: review
Street Ethics
Film review: 'Carlito's Way'
This is a magnificent (and somewhat underrated) film, directed by Brian De Palma. More nuanced than Scarface and The Untouchables, it's also better acted. All the main cast are fantastic: Pacino, seemingly relishing his role, is much better here than he was in his previous film Scent of a Woman; Penelope Ann Miller as disenchanted old . . .
Posted in: review
Things Fall Apart
Book review: 'Harvest', by Jim Crace
Beginning 400 years ago and continuing until the advent of the First World War, a series of Enclosure Acts moved under private control British land that was previously available for common use. The laws were so named because they involved enclosing open fields with fences, giving legal ownership to a single deed holder.
An inevitable . . .
Posted in: review
On Snooker
pressure, skill and daft songs
It is a Sunday evening in early December 2014 in the northern English city of York. In front of a rapt audience and several million TV viewers, two men are playing the deciding frame of the final of the annual UK Snooker Championship (the second of three snooker 'majors'). The winner will receive 150,000 in addition to the title of UK . . .
Posted in: feature article
Cover image credit: http://hdwallpapers.in/
