The latest offering in the rapidly overflowing strategy genre is hard evidence that strategy games need a real overhaul, and fast. Chess, a small-scale tactical turn-based strategy game, attempts to adopt the age-old "easy to learn, difficult to master" parameter made popular by Tetris. But the game's cumbersome play mechanics and superficial depth and detail all add up to a game that won't keep you busy for long.Checkmate!
via [ Sore Eyes ]
Shop Class.
I used to play chess with my dad on a cardboard chess board until I took a Shop Class.
In shop class when the instructor asked us what we wanted to make, out choices were either a lamp that had this horse trough in it so when you pressed the handle hte light would go on, or a step stool. My friend Bob and I were really into chess and thought the ohter projects were stupid. So we asked if we could make chess boards. We could! It was a great learning experience.
You take brown and white wood and cut it into strips. Then you alternate the white and brown and glue the strips together. When it dries, you cut the square block across the brown and white rows, leaving you with long strips with alternating white and brown squares. Then you flip every other strip around and glue it back together again. You secure it with vice grips nad wait for it to dry.
Then you send the board over to the Tech school where they plane it down for you. The next three weeks are spent sanding. After that you put a clear varnish on top.
At this point in time, school is almost over and the instructor helps you make up some trim for the sides. There's no time to spend three more weeks sanding the sides, so he helps you attach the sides to the chess board and asks you to make sure you sand them down during the summer and finish off the project at home.
The unfinished sides are still attached to my nice shiny chess board.