In the late 1980s and early 1990s when I was a young teen growing up in far North Austin, it was a popular custom for many boys in the neighborhood to assemble at the local Stop-N-Go after school on a regular basis for some Grand Champion level tournaments in Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat. The collective insistence of our mothers and fathers to get out of the house, get some exercise, and refrain from playing NES or Sega on the television only led us to seek out more video games at the convenience store down the road. Much allowance and lunch money was spent as well as hours that should have been devoted to homework among the 8 or 9 regular boys in attendance, often challenging each other to 'Best of 5' matches. I myself played Dhalsim and SubZero, and not very well, so I rarely ever made it to the 5th match. The store workers frequently kicked us out for the day only to have us return when they weren't working the counter anymore if not the next day.
There is something about that which has been lost in the present day. While people can today download the latest games on Steam or PSN or in the app store on your smartphone, you can't just find arcade games in stores and restaurants like you used to be able to. And so the fun of a spontaneous 8 or 10 person multiplayer video game tournament has been confined to places like bars, pool halls, Pinballz or Dave&Busters.
But in truth it was that ubiquity of arcade video games, how you could find them in any old 7-11 or Laundromat, which is what killed the original arcades of the early 1980s before the Great Crash of 1983 when home video game consoles started to catch up to what you saw in the arcade.
I was born in the mid 1970s so I missed out on Pong. I was kindergarten age when the Golden Age of Arcade Games took place in the early 1980s. There used to be a place called Skateworld on Anderson Mill Road that was primarily for roller skating but had a respectable arcade in its own right. It was there that I honed my skills on the original Tron, Pac Man, Galaga, Pole Position, Defender, and so many others. In the 1980s I remember visiting all the same mall arcades as others in my age group. There was Aladdin's Castle in Barton Creek Mall, The Gold Mine in Highland, and another Gold Mine in Northcross which was eventually renamed Tilt. Westgate Mall also had an arcade but being a north austin kid I never went there until later in the mid 1990s. There were also places like Malibu Grand Prix and Showbiz Pizza and Chuck-E-Cheeze, all of which had fairly large arcades for kids which were the secondary attraction.
If you're of a certain age you will remember Einsteins and LeFun on the Drag. They were there for a few decades going back way before the Slacker era. Lesser known is that the UT Student Union basement used to have an arcade that was comparable to either or both of those places. Back in the pre-9/11 days it was much easier to sneak in if you even vaguely looked like you could be a UT student.
But there was another place I was too young to have experienced called Smitty's up further north on 183 at Lake Creek in the early 1980s. I never got to go there but I always heard about it from older kids at the time. It was supposed to have been two stories of wall to wall games with a small snack bar. I guess at the time it served a mostly older teen crowd from Westwood High School and for that reason younger kids my age weren't having birthday parties there. It wasn't around very long, just a few years during the Golden Age of Arcades.
It is with almost-forgotten early arcades like that in mind that I wanted to share with y'all some examples of places from The Golden Age of the Video Arcade in Austin using some old Statesman articles I've found. Maybe someone of a certain age on here will remember them. I was curious what they were like, having missed out by being slightly too young to have experienced most of them first hand. I also wanted to see the original reaction to them in the press. I had a feeling there was some pushback from school/parent/civic groups on these facilities showing up in neighborhood strip malls or next to schools, and I was right to suspect. But I'm getting ahead of myself. First let's list off some places of interest. Be sure to speak up if you remember going to any of these, even if it was just for some other kid's birthday party. Unfortunately some of the only mentions about a place are reports of a crime being committed there, such as our first few examples.
Forgotten Arcade #1
Fun House/Play Time Arcade - 2820 Guadalupe
June 15, 1975

ARCADE ENTHUSIASM
A gang fight involving 20 30 people erupted early Saturday morning in front of an arcade on Guadalupe Street. The owner of the Fun House Arcade at 282J Guadalupe told police pool cues, lug wrenches, fists and a shotgun were displayed during the flurry. Police are unsure what started the fisticuffs, but one witness at the scene said it pitted Chicanos against Anglos. During the fight the owner of the arcade said a green car stopped at the side of the arcade and witnesses reported the barrel of a shotgun sticking out. The crowd wisely scattered and only a 23-year-old man was left lying on the ground. He told police he doesn't know what happened.

March 3, 1976

ARCADE ROBBED
A former employee of Play Time Arcade, 2820 Guadalupe, was charged Tuesday in connection with the Tuesday afternoon robbery of his former business. Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of Ronnie Magee, 22, of 1009 Aggie Lane, Apt. 306. Arcade attendant Sam Garner said he had played pool with the suspect an hour before the robbery. He told police the man had been fired from the business two weeks earlier. Police said a man walked in the arcade about 2:45 p m. with a blue steel pistol and took $180. Magee is charged with first degree aggravated robbery. Bond was set on the charge at $15,000.

First it was called Fun House and then renamed Play Time a year later. I'm not sure what kind of arcade games beyond Pong and maybe Asteroids they could have had at this place. The peak of the Pinball craze was supposed to be around 1979, so they might have had a few pinball machines as well. A quick search of youtube will show you a few examples of 1976 video games like Death Race. The location is next to Ken's Donuts where PokeBowl is today where the old Baskin Robbins location was for many years.
Forgotten Arcade #2
Green Goth - 1121 Springdale Road
May 15, 1984

A 23-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday to a January 1983 murder in East Austin and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Jim Crowell Jr. of Austin admitted shooting 17-year-old Anthony Rodriguez in the chest with a shotgun after the two argued outside the Green Goth, a games arcade at 1121 Springdale Road, on Jan. 23, 1983. Crowell had argued with Rodriguez and a friend of Rodriguez at the arcade, police said. Crowell then went to his house, got a shotgun and returned to the arcade, witnesses said. When the two friends left the arcade, Rodriguez was shot Several weeks ago Crowell had reached a plea bargain with prosecutors for an eight-year prison term, but District Judge Bob Perkins would not accept the sentence, saying it was shorter than sentences in similar cases. After further plea bargaining, Crowell accepted the 15-year prison sentence.

I can't find anything else on Green Goth except reports about this incident with a murder there. There is at least one other report from 1983 around the time of Crowell's arrest that also refer to it as an arcade but reports the manager said the argument started over a game of pool. It's possible this place might have been more known for pool.
Forgotten Arcades #3 & #4
Games, Etc. - 1302 S. First St
Muther's Arcade - 2532 Guadalupe St
August 23, 1983

Losing the magic touch - Video Arcades have trouble winning the money game
It was going to be so easy for Lawrence Villegas, a video game junkie who thought he could make a fast buck by opening up an arcade where kids could plunk down an endless supply of quarters to play Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Asteroids. Villegas got together with a few friends, purchased about 30 video games and opened Games, Etc. at 1302 S. First St in 1980. .,--.... For a while, things, went great Kids waited in line to spend their money to drive race cars, slay dragons and save the universe.
AT THE BEGINNING of 1982, however, the bottom fell out, and Villegas' revenues fell from $400 a week to $25. Today, Games, Etc. is vacant Villegas, 30, who is now working for his parents at Tony's Tortilla Factory, hasn't decided what he'll do with the building. "I was hooked on Asteroids, and I opened the business to get other people hooked, too," Villegas said. "But people started getting bored, and it wasn't worth keeping the place open. In the end, I sold some machines for so little it made me sick."
VILLEGAS ISNT the only video game operator to experience hard times, video game manufacturers and distributors 'It used to be fairly common to get $300 a week from a machine. Now we rarely get more than $100 .
Pac-Man's a lost cause. Six months ago, you could resell a Pac-Man machine for $1,600. Now, you're lucky to get $950 if you can find a buyer." Ronnie Roark says. In the past year, business has dropped 25 percent to 65 percent throughout the country, they say. Most predict business will get even worse before the market stabilizes. Video game manufacturers and operators say there are several reasons for the sharp and rapid decline: Many video games can now be played at home on television, so there's no reason to go to an arcade. The novelty of video games has worn off. It has been more than a decade since the first ones hit the market The decline can be traced directly to oversaturation or the market arcade owners say. The number of games in Austin has quadrupled since 1981, and it's not uncommon to see them in coin-operated laundries, convenience stores and restaurants.
WITH SO MANY games to choose from, local operators say, Austinites be came bored. Arcades still take in thousands of dollars each week, but managers and owners say most of the money is going to a select group of newer games, while dozens of others sit idle.
"After awhile, they all seem the same," said Dan Moyed, 22, as he relaxed at Muther's Arcade at 2532 Guadalupe St "You get to know what the game is going to do before it does. You can play without even thinking about it" Arcade owners say that that, in a nutshell, is why the market is stagnating.
IN THE PAST 18 months, Ronnie Roark, owner of the Back Room at 2015 E. Riverside Drive, said his video business has dropped 65 to 75 percent Roark, . who supplied about 160 video games to several Austin bars and arcades, said the instant success of the games is what led to their demise. "The technology is not keeping up with people's demand for change," said Roark, who bought his first video game in 1972. "The average game is popular for two or three months. We're sending back games that are less than five months old."
Roark said the market began dropping in March 1982 and has been declining steadily ever since. "The drop started before University of Texas students left for the summer in 1982," Roark said. "We expected a 25 percent drop in business, and we got that, and more. It's never really picked up since then. - "It used to be fairly common to get $300 a week from a machine. Now we rarely get more than $100. 1 was shocked when I looked over my books and saw how much things had dropped."
TO COMBAT THE slump, Roark said, he and some arcade owners last year cut the price of playing. Even that didn't help, he said. Old favorites, such as Pac-Man, which once took in hundreds of dollars each week, he said, now make less than $3 each. "Pac-Man's a lost cause," he said. "Six months ago, you could resell a Pac-Man machine for $1,600. Now, you're lucky to get $950 if you can find a buyer." Hardest hit by the slump are the owners of the machines, who pay $3,500 to $5,000 for new products and split the proceeds with the businesses that house them.
SALEM JOSEPH, owner of Austin Amusement and Vending Co., said his business is off 40 percent in the past year. Worse yet, some of his customers began returning their machines, and he's having a hard time putting them back in service. "Two years ago, a machine would generate enough money to pay for itself in six months,' said Joseph, who supplies about 250 games to arcades. "Now that same machine takes 18 months to pay for itself." As a result, Joseph said, he'll buy fewer than 15 new machines this year, down from the 30 to 50 he used to buy. And about 50 machines are sitting idle in his warehouse.
"I get calls every day from people who want to sell me their machines," Joseph said. "But I can't buy them. The manufacturers won't buy them from me." ARCADE OWNERS and game manufacturers hope the advent of laser disc video games will buoy the market Don Osborne, vice president of marketing for Atari, one of the largest manufacturers of video games, said he expects laser disc games to bring a 25 percent increase in revenues next year. The new games are programmed to give players choices that may affect the outcome of the game, Os borne said. "Like the record and movie industries, the video game industry is dependent on products that stimulate the imagination," Osborne said "One of the reasons we're in a valley is that we weren't coming up with those kinds of products."
THE FIRST of the laser dis games, Dragonslayer and Star Wan hit the market about two months ago. Noel Kerns, assistant manager of The Gold Mine Arcade in Northcross Mall, says the new games are responsible for a $l,000-a-week increase in revenues. Still, Kerns said, the Gold Mine' total sales are down 20 percent iron last summer. However, he remain optimistic about the future of the video game industry. "Where else can you come out of the rain and drive a Formula One race car or save the universe?" hi asked.
Others aren't so optimistic. Roark predicted the slump will force half of all operators out of business and will last two more years. "Right now, we've got a great sup ply and almost no demand," Roark said. "That's going to have to change before things get- significantly better."

Well there is a lot to take from that long article, among other things, that the author confused "Dragonslayer" with "Dragon's Lair". I lol'd.
Anyone who has been to Emo's East, formerly known as The Back Room, knows they have arcade games and pool, but it's mostly closed when there isn't a show. That shouldn't count as an arcade, even though the former owner Ronnie Roark was apparently one of the top suppliers of cabinet games to the area during the Golden Era. Any pool hall probably had a few arcade games at the time, too, but that's not the same as being an arcade.
We also learn from the same article of two forgotten arcades: Muthers at 2522 Guadalupe where today there is a Mediterranean food restaurant, and another called Games, Etc. at 1302 S.First that today is the site of an El Mercado restaurant. But the article is mostly about showing us how bad the effects were from the crash at the end of the Golden Era. It was very hard for the early arcades to survive with increasing competition from home game consoles and personal computers, and the proliferation of the games into stores and restaurants.
Forgotten Arcades #5 #6 & #7
Computer Madness - 2414 S. Lamar Blvd.
Electronic Encounters - 1701 W Ben White Blvd (Southwood Mall)
The Outer Limits Amusements Center - 1409 W. Oltorf
March 4, 1982

'Quartermania' stalks South Austin
School officials, parents worried about effects of video games
A fear Is haunting the video game business. "We call it 'quartermania.' That's fear of running out of quarters," said Steve Stackable, co-owner of Computer Madness, a video game and foosball arcade at 2414 S. Lamar Blvd. The "quartermania" fear extends to South Austin households and schools, as well. There it's a fear of students running out of lunch money and classes to play the games. Local school officials and Austin police are monitoring the craze. They're concerned that computer hotspots could become undesirable "hangouts" for students, or that truancy could increase because students (high-school age and younger) will skip school to defend their galaxies against The Tempest.
So far police fears have not been substantiated. Department spokesmen say that although more than half the burglaries in the city are committed by juveniles during the daytime, they know of no connection between the break-ins and kids trying to feed their video habit But school and parental worries about misspent time and money continue. The public outcry in September 1980 against proposals to put electronic game arcades near two South Austin schools helped persuade city officials to reject the applications. One proposed location was near Barton Hills Elementary School. The other was South Ridge Plaza at William Cannon Drive and South First Street across from Bedlchek Junior High School.
Bedichek principal B.G. Henry said he spoke against the arcade because "of the potential attraction it had for our kids. I personally feel kids are so drawn to these things, that It might encourage them to leave the school building and play hookey. Those things have so much compulsion, kids are drawn to them like a magnet Kids can get addicted to them and throw away money, maybe their lunch money. I'm not against the video games. They may be beneficial with eye-hand coordination or even with mathematics, but when you mix the video games during school hours and near school buildings, you might be asking for problems you don't need."
A contingent from nearby Pleasant Hill Elementary School joined Bedichek in the fight back in 1980, although principal Kay Beyer said she received her first formal call about the games last Week from a mother complaining that her child was spending lunch money on them. Beyer added that no truancy problems have been related to video game-playing at a nearby 7-11 store. Allen Poehl, amusement game coordinator for Austin's 7-11 stores, said company policy rules out any game-playing by school-age youth during school hours. Fulmore Junior High principal Bill Armentrout said he is working closely with operators of a nearby 7-1 1 store to make sure their policy is enforced.
The convenience store itself, and not necessarily the video games, is a drawing card for older students and drop-outs, Armentrout said. Porter Junior High principal Marjorie Ball said that while video games aren't a big cause of truancy, "the money (spent on the games) is a big factor." Ball said she has made arrangements with nearby businesses to call the school it students are playing the games during school hours. "My concern is that kids are basically unsupervised, especially at the 24-hour grocery stores. That's a late hour for kids to be out. I would like to see them (games) unplugged at 10 p.m.," adds Joslin Elementary principal Wayne Rider.
Several proprietors of video game hot-spots say they sympathize with the concerns of parents and school officials. No one under 18 is admitted without a parent to Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre at 4211 S. Lamar. That rule, says night manager David Dunagan, "keeps it from being a high school hangout. This is a family place." Jerry Zollar, owner of J.J. Subs in West Wood Shopping Center on Bee Cave Road, rewards the A's on the report cards of Eanes school district students with free video games. "It's kind of a community thing we do in a different way. I've heard from both teachers and parents . . . they thought this was a good idea," said Zollar.
Electronic Encounters in Southwood Mall last year was renovated into a brightly lit arcade. "We're trying to get away from the dark, barroom-type place. We want this to be a place for family entertainment We won't let kids stay here during school hours without a written note from their parents, and we're pretty strict about that," said manager Kelly Roberts. Joyce Houston, who manages The Outer Limits amusements center at 1409 W. Oltorf St. along with her husband, said, "I wouldn't let my children go into some of the arcades I've visited. I'm a concerned parent, too. We wanted a place where the whole family could come and enjoy themselves."

Well you can see which way the tone of all these articles is going. There were some crimes committed at some arcades but all of them tended to have a negative reputation for various reasons. Parents and teachers were very skeptical of the arcades being in the neighborhoods to the point of petitioning the City Government to restrict them. Three arcades are mentioned besides Chuck-E-Cheese. Electronic Encounters in Southwood Mall, The Outer Limits amusements center at 1409 W. Oltorf, and Computer Madness, a "video game and foosball arcade" at 2414 S. Lamar Blvd.
Forgotten Arcade #8
Smitty's Galaxy of Games - Lake Creek Parkway
February 25, 1982

Arcades fighting negative image
Video games have swept across America, and Williamson and Travis counties have not been immune. In a two-part series, Neighbor examines the effects the coin-operated machines have had on suburban and small-town life.
Cities have outlawed them, religious leaders have denounced them and distraught mothers have lost countless children to their voracious appetites. And still they march on, stronger and more numerous than before. A new disease? Maybe. A wave of invading aliens from outer space? On occasion. A new type of addiction? Certainly. The culprit? Video games. Although the electronic game explosion has been mushrooming throughout the nation's urban areas for the past few years, its rippling effects have just recently been felt in the suburban fringes of North Austin and Williamson County.
In the past year, at least seven arcades armed with dozens of neon quarter-snatchers have sprung up to lure teens with thundering noises and thousands of flashing seek-and-destroy commands. Critics say arcades are dens of iniquity where children fall prey to the evils of gambling. But arcade owners say something entirely different. "Everybody fights them (arcades), they think they are a haven for drug addicts. It's just not true," said Larry Grant of Austin, who opened Eagle's Nest Fun and Games on North Austin Avenue in Georgetown last September. "These kids are great" Grant said the gameroom "gives teenagers a place to come. Some only play the games and some only talk.
In Georgetown, if you're from the high school, this is it." He said he's had very few disturbances, and asks "undesirables" to leave. "We've had a couple of rowdies. That's why I don't have any pool tables they tend to attract that type of crowd," Grant said.
Providing a place for teens to congregate was also the reason behind Ron and Carol Smith's decision to open Smitty's Galaxy of Games on Lake Creek Parkway at the entrance to Anderson Mill. "We have three teenage sons, and as soon as the oldest could drive, it became immediately apparent that there was no place to go around here," said Ron, an IBM employee who lives in Spicewood at Balcones. "This prompted us to want to open something." The business, which opened in August, has been a huge success with both parents and youngsters. "Hundreds of parents have come to check out our establishment before allowing their children to come, and what they see is a clean, safe environment managed by adults and parents," Ron said. "We've developed an outstanding rapport with the community." Video arcades "have a reputation that we have to fight," said Carol.
Kathy McCoy of Georgetown, who last October opened Krazy Korner on Willis Street in Leander, agrees. "We've got a real good group of kids," she said. "There's no violence, no nothing. Parents can always find their kids at Krazy Korner."
While all the arcade owners contacted reported that business is healthy, if not necessarily lucrative, it's not as easy for video entrepreneurs to turn a profit as one might imagine. A sizeable investment is required. Ron Smith paid between $2,800 and $5,000 for each of the 30 electronic diversions at his gameroom.
Grant said his average video game grosses about $50 a week, and his "absolute worst" game, Armor Attack, only $20 a week. The top machines (Defender and Pac-Man) can suck in an easy $125 a week. That's a lot of quarters, 500 to be exact but the Eagle's Nest and Krazy Korner pass half of them on to Neelley Vending Company of Austin which rents them their machines. "At 25 cents a shot, it takes an awful lot of people to pay the bills," said Tom Hatfield, district manager for Neelley.
He added that an owner's personality and the arcade's location can make or break the venture. The game parlor must be run "by an understanding person, someone with patience," Hatfield said. "They cannot be too demanding on the kids, yet they can't let them run all over them." And they must be located in a spot "with lots of foot traffic," such as a shopping center or near a good restaurant, he said. "And being close to a school really helps." "Video games are going to be here permanently, but we're going to see some operations not going because of the competition," which includes machines in virtually every convenience store and supermarket, Hatfield said.

This article talks about three arcades. One in Georgetown called Eagles Nest, another in Leander called Krazy Korner, and a third called Smitty's Galaxy of Games on Lake Creek Parkway "on the fringes of North Austin". This is the one I remember the older kids talking about when I was a little kid. There was once a movie theater across the street from the Westwood High School football stadium and behind that was Smitty's. Today I think the building was bulldozed long ago and the space is part of the expanded onramp to 183 today. Eventually another unrelated arcade was built next to the theater that became Alamo Lakeline. It was another site of some unrecorded epic Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat tournaments in the 90s.
But the article written before the end of the Golden Era tell us much about the pushback I was talking about earlier. Early arcades were seen as "dirty" places in some circles, and the owners of the arcades in Williamson County had to stress how "clean" their establishments were. This other article from a couple of weeks later tells of how area school officials weren't worried about video games and tells us more arcades in Round Rock and Cedar Park. Apparently the end of the golden age lasted a bit longer than usual in this area.
At some point in the next few years the bubble burst, and places like Smitty's were gone by the late 80s. But the distributors quoted earlier were right that arcade games weren't going completely away. In the mid 1980s LeFun opened up next in the Scientology building at 2200 Guadalupe on the drag. Down a few doors past what used be a coffee shop and a CVS was Einsteins Arcade. Both of those survived into the 21st century. I remember the last time I was at Einsteins I got my ass beat in Tekken by a kid half my age. heheh
That's all for today. There were no Bonus Pics in the UT archive of arcades (other than the classical architectural definition). I wanted to pass on some Bonus newspaper articles (remember to click and zoom in with the buttons on the right to read) about Austin arcades anyway but first a small story.
I mentioned earlier the secret of the UT Student Union. I have no idea what it looks like now but in the 90s there was a sizable arcade in with the bowling alley in the basement. Back in 1994 when I used to sneak in, they featured this bizarre early attempt at virtual reality games. I found an old Michael Barnes Statesman article about it dated February 11, 1994. Some highlights:

Hundreds of students and curiosity-seekers lined up at the University of Texas Union to play three to five minutes of Dactyl Nightmare, Flying Aces or V-Tol, three-dimensional games from Kramer Entertainment. Nasty weather delayed the unloading of four huge trunks containing the machines, which resemble low pulpits. Still, players waited intently for a chance to shoot down a fighter jet, operate a tilt-wing Harrier or tangle with a pterodactyl. Today, tickets will go on sale in the Texas Union lobby at 11:30 a.m. for playing slots between noon and 6 p.m.
Players, fitted with full helmets, throttles and power packs, stood on shiny gray and yellow platforms surrounded by a circular guard rail. Seen behind the helmet's goggles were computer simulated landscapes, not unlike the most sophisticated video games, with controls and enemies viewed in deep space. "You're on a platform waiting to fight a human figure," said Jeff Vaughn, 19, of Dactyl Nightmare. "A pterodactyl swoops down and tries to pick you up. You have to fight it off. You are in the space and can see your own body and all around you. But if you try to walk, you have to use that joy stick to get around."
"I let the pterodactyl carry me away so I could look down and scan the board," said Tom Bowen of the same game. "That was the way I found out where the other player was." "Yeah, it's cool just to stand there and not do anything," Vaughn said. The mostly young, mostly male crowd included the usual gaming fanatics, looking haggard and tense behind glasses and beards. A smattering of women and children also pressed forward in a line that snaked past the lobby and into the Union's retail shops.
"I don't know why more women don't play. Maybe because the games are so violent," said Jennifer Webb, 24, a psychology major whose poor eyesight kept her from becoming a fighter pilot in real life. "If the Air Force won't take me, virtual reality will." "They use stereo optics moving at something like 60 frames a second," said computer science major Alex Aquila, 19. "The images are still pretty blocky. But once you play it, you'll want to play it again and again." With such demand for virtual reality, some gamesters wondered why an Austin video arcade has not invested in at least one machine.

The gameplay looked like this.
Bonus Article #1 - "Video fans play for own reasons" (Malibu Grand Prix) - March 11, 1982
Bonus Article #2 - "Pac-Man Cartridge Piques Interest" - April 13, 1982
Bonus Article #3 - "Video Games Fail Consumer" - January 29, 1984
Bonus Article #4 - "Nintendoholics/Modems Unite" - January 25, 1989
Bonus Article #5 and pt 2 "Two girls missing for a night found at arcade" (truly dedicated young gamers) - August 7, 2003

https://steam.cryotank.net/wp-content/gallery/slaythespire/Slay-the-Spire-01-HD.png
Slay the Spire (StS) has finally arrived to Android! For two years many of us dreamed for this legendary game to be accessible on their mobile devices, and finally the day has come. No need to talk about how awesome this game is, how it basically started a new genre of card-based dungeon crawlers (UPD: or roguelike deck-builders, if you prefer the term), and even about how well or poor it works on Android hardware in its current state (there will be lots of these posts during the days to come). What I wanted to talk about is the impact this game had on (specifically) mobile industry and how other developers were able to utilize this innovative formula in their own products.
Personally, I am somewhat glad that StS release was delayed that much. This allowed a lot of "clones" to be spawned, many of which I enjoyed playing. Some of them appear to be straight rip-offs, but others introduced many fresh ideas of their own, some even surpassing the predecessor's greatness. What the heck am I talking about and how is this even possible will be revealed to you, should you decide to stay on a bit and read through the article below.

General info

First and foremost, let's clarify the important thing: card based dungeon crawlers are not Collectible Card Games (CCGs). Even though they share the same ideas, and some of them (StS included) even have a feature to permanently improve starting cards, or a mode to play with pre-constructed decks, this is not the case for the genre in general. There is no place for multiplayer and PvP battles here: a turn-down for the most, but an undeniable advantage for the rest - only though-out puzzle-like single-player experience which we can pause at any moment and continue when the time is appropriate. Thus, there will never be troubles with downtime, matchmaking, ratings, overpowered builds and other PvP stuff, as there will never be a satisfaction of crushing your opponents with the power of your mighty intellect... The fun of discovering interesting synergies between various card combinations is still present, though.
With this being said, let's quickly look through the core features of the genre, which will be relevant for almost every game we review below: - we must explore a dungeon, which (usually, but not necessarily) consists of three floors with increasing difficulty; - we have limited control over the order in which to face the challenges; - there is a powerful boss in the end of each floor; - we battle using deck of cards, usually drawing new cards from deck to hand each turn; - there is a limitation on how many cards we can play during our turn; - we start with a weak basic deck, but get new cards as rewards for fighting enemies; - there is a possibility to permanently remove (weak) cards from the deck; - successful gameplay strategies revolve around utilizing the synergies between different cards; - there are several character classes, each with their own cards and tactics; - there are often additional items to acquire in the dungeon, providing bonuses and emphasizing specific types of play;
Before Slay the Spire (StS) came out, there was another card-based dungeon crawler called Dream Quest (DQ), which considered by many to be the first game of the genre (at least the first one to make a significant impact). Not sure if the former drew inspiration from the latter, but certain parallels can easily be drawn: in fact, all of the features mentioned in the list above are valid for DQ the same way as it is for StS. The rich plethora of card based dungeon crawlers (both PC/Console and mobile) originated from some combination of the two.
StS, however, can not be considered a clone of DQ, as it introduced a lot of original ideas and spawned its own line of descendants. It is always interesting to analyze each new title to see which of two games was the biggest inspiration, and to group them accordingly. For me the main criteria lies in the core difference in battle system: - in StS, enemies (usually multiple) show their intentions at the beginning of each turn, so we know what to expect and what to play against; - in DQ, the enemy (usually single) draws and plays cards the same way as we do, often using the same abilities and synergies we ourselves can use.
Introductions aside, let's finally get to the interesting part - the games! (Note: Games are listed in alphabetical order to not give any privileges to one over another. For my personal preferences see the comment section).

Dream Quest clones

Call of Lophis takes us on a grim journey through infested lands full of deadly monsters, dangerous traps, and one of the most ridiculous card art I have ever seen. It's surprising to see how dark fantasy elements combine with the humor and gags this game presents. From the gameplay point of view, there is enough card variety and interesting synergies, but it will take a long time to reach the interesting parts. Really: this game just does not know when to end, forcing new and new dungeon locations onto us with basically the same monsters and same approaches to dealing with them over and over. Its the boss battles which crank the difficulty up to over 9000, and if we don't have the right deck by the time we reach them, there is nothing we can do to pull it off. Plus there is some shady business going on with monetization schemes, where even paid version of the game makes us spend money to unlock additional classes and grind a lot to buy permanent improvements. Only truly dedicated players will be interested in dealing with all this nonsense. [...] UPD: Haven't checked on it for a long time - maybe the situation improved somehow.
Crimson Deep is still in early alpha and was not updated for a long time. But the development hasn't stopped, and there is a new major release approaching in the nearest future. It makes no sense to talk about the game till then: the version in the store is too raw to provide any significant gameplay experience, but it would be interesting to see where it goes in the end.
Dimension of Dream is probably the only game that has the same grid-based dungeon layout as DQ itself. This time with full 3D and a possibility to fight only limited set of enemies before facing the final boss (which allows to moderate difficulty as we go, either defeating tougher enemies with better rewards, or to save HP and fight only the easy ones). This game has one of the most interesting battle systems and 6 truly unique classes with deep complex strategies unlike anything we have ever seen (not only the cards themselves, but the order in which we play them greatly affects the outcome). Unfortunately, the English version was pulled from Google Play, leaving only Chinese version for Asian people to enjoy. UPD: Apparently, the game was re-released under different publisher with the title Dreaming Dimension, so there you have it. [...]
Meteorfall: Journeys offers the streamlined approach to dungeon crawling, where all our decisions boil down to Reigns-like "swipe left / swipe right" operation: picking the path, encounter resolutions, and even battles are simplified to utilize this binary choice mechanic. But don't worry: these specifics do not affect the gameplay, still providing enough strategic depth to appeal even to hardcore players. Add here a neat visual style, lots of character classes and their variations, cool card combos, and you get a true masterpiece, which is Meteorfall. [...]
Night of the Full Moon offers a fresh take on a fairy tale of Red Riding Hood, but adding darker elements to it (including werewolves, zombies, mad scientists and cursed cultists). It demonstrates an amazing production quality with top-tier art, beautiful audio support, and intriguing storytelling. Gameplay wise, we have the closest thing to DQ, safe for the grid-based dungeon maps, which were changed to just picking the encounter out of available three. Some people may argue that the game does not offer enough strategic variety, only suggesting a single best build for each class, but you will still get different runs due to the randomness of card and power-up drops. Another argument of it being too easy is completely nullified on higher difficulty levels. Wish the story would develop in a different direction, though. [...]
Spellsword Cards: Origins provides the gameplay similar to the Night of the Full moon, but focuses more on role-playing character development part. Aside from choosing a class, we also get to pick race with unique traits, and a school of magic, greatly affecting which cards will be available to us during the run. The problem here, though, is that monster encounters do not demonstrate a lot of variety, forcing us to fight the same enemies over and over, and the difficulty is rather high, with starting cards doing almost nothing and enemies quickly run out of hand with their devastating attacks, whereas good cards are hard to come by, and even then you will still be devastated on later stages. [...] UPD: Or maybe I am just bad at this game (welcome to comment section for valid strategy suggestions).

Slay the Spire clones

Blood Card offers a unique possibility to construct the dungeon ourselves, providing a pool of encounters of different types: regular monsters, elite monsters, events and shops. We pick a desired encounter from the pool, deal with it and then move on to the next one. Another interesting feature is that our health is defined by the number of cards in draw pile, which limits our tactical possibilities, but is compensated by the fact that we get multiple copies of cards as rewards for fighting enemies. There are a lot of interesting mechanics related to moving cards between various piles, as well as other neat features (like: the Death inevitably arrives in three turns and starts whacking everyone on the field with increasing persistence), but I'll leave them for you to discover on your own.
Card Crusade seemed like a cool idea of mixing classic "roguelike" dungeon crawling with its "deck-based" counterpart, where we explore the dungeon the same way as we do it in Hack, Angband, Pixel Dungeon and other similar games, but use cards to fight actual enemies. In reality though, this implementation just adds a useless abstraction, as the adventuring does not provide any tactical benefits and is only there to inter-connect battle sequences (heck, even breaking pots and chests does not give us any coin, of which developers themselves warn us at the very beginning!). The cards are not very interesting, with next to none cool synergies, and new classes (which should be unlocked by performing specific actions on previous runs) do not provide any major difference. [...]
Card Quest takes us on an epic journey through fantasy lands, where we will perform great deeds as one of the classic RPG hero classes (fighter, wizard, rogue, ranger), each with their own equipment and fighting disciplines. The interesting part is that the cards we use during runs are defined by said equipment, and if we find some new pieces during our adventure, we get to keep them for further runs. Also worth noting that defense cards are played not during our turn, but during enemy turn, which requires us to plan ahead a bit. This being said, the game is extremely hard - it will take a lot of unsuccessful tries to finally reach the end. But the variety of dungeons and possible builds will keep us occupied for long.
Dungeon Tales for a long time was the closest, yet simplified copy of StS mechanics (up to similar cards and gaming strategies), but without certain elaborate features, like upgrading cards or using potions. The basics are left intact though: we still build our deck along the way and face the powerful boss in the end. There are only two characters available yet, but each has a couple of viable builds, so it can keep us invested for quite some time. [...]
Endless Abyss is a close StS clone with very similar character classes (only two so far) and a lot of cards with exactly the same effects. Graphically the game looks very good, but angry monetization, lots of grinding, and forced ads make it almost impossible to fully enjoy. [...]
Heroes of Abyss is a predecessor to Endless Abyss with basically the same core gameplay, but very simplified dungeon crawling part. There is no floor map with choosing our path, nor there are elaborate adventure events: just a series of battles with the boss in the end. The spoils we get after each battle go into improving our starting deck and unlocking new difficulty modes with higher rewards. What makes the game unusual, is that we chose the preferred build right from the beginning with appropriate set of starting cards, without the need to rely on the randomness of card drops. It may be interesting to unlock and compare all the 6 available builds, but once the task is done, there is almost no reason to play the game further.
Heroes Journey provides a different setting for a change: this time we will play as space explorers, who crash landed on an alien planet. Thus, instead of familiar swords and bows, we will be wielding blasters and energy shields: the rest remains the same, up to the majority of cards straight up copied from StS. Unfortunately, this innovative idea was completely ruined by repetitive grinding and angry monetization, forcing player to make dozens of identical runs with the same small card pool, until something adequate is unlocked. Oh, and the game is long abandoned by the developers.
Pirates Outlaws is an amazing rework of original StS ideas in a pirate setting with some changes to gameplay mechanics, such as introducing persistent charges needed to play certain cards, and different buff/debuff statuses that replace each other. There are also some questionable features, such as ship stamina that deteriorates over the course of the journey and leads to game over if not repaired in time, or a quest system, where quests can not be completed in parallel, but instead picking the new quest resets your progress in the current one. Some may also argue that new classes take long to grind for, or expensive to pay for, but with permanent booster pack this should not be a problem. Anyway, the game is highly recommended for any StS fan. [...]
Rogue Adventure offers a twist to usual mechanic: our hand is limited by 4 cards, but each time we use one of them, a new card is immediately drawn to its place, thus we never run out of cards to play. Non-starting cards are common for all classes, but are grouped by type (or race), giving huge synergies depending on how many similar cards we have. Aside from this, the game offers diverse gameplay by providing a lot of different classes, each with its own unique strategies and dynamics, and some interesting items to work around. The developers constantly provide updates with bug fixes and new content, but be warned that new mechanics may break what you are already accustomed for.
Royal Booty Quest started as a straight rip-off from StS with the same classes and abilities, and even cards having the same names. And absolutely atrocious pixelated visuals, which were not possible to look at without eyes bleeding out. Over time, though, it developed its own unique mechanics and interesting card combinations, but the art style did not get any better. However, if this is not a problem, the game is enjoyable to an extent, but since it was not updated for a long time, I doubt it will keeps anyone's interest for long. [...]
Tavern Rumble adds an unusual strategic element - a 3x3 grid, on each units and enemies are placed. The core gameplay remains the same (we still see what opponents are planning to do each turn and adjust our own strategy accordingly), but the addition of the grid introduces another tactical layer: not only we should maximize the damage output, but also plan the layout for our troops to provide the effective delivery of said output, while at the same time establish enough defense to minimize the damage to ourselves. There are a lot of cards and classes to play around, different play modes and a lot of features that are still being constantly added to the game. Some may argue about simplistic pixel graphics or long repetitive grinding, but it is easy to unlock everything within reasonable amount of time, even without paying. [...]

Other Games

Of course, my criteria does not work 100% of the time, as some games are way too different from anything else to confidently enroll them into one of the categories. They either demonstrate traits of both, or implement entirely unique mechanics of their own (which I like the most), while still maintaining the basic dungeon crawling ideas (so a lot of the games you might think of will not end up in the list). What I have in mind is the following:
Dungeon Reels removes the cards from card-based dungeon crawler - why bother, right? Instead, it provides some kind of a slot machine, where each turn three rows spin independently to pick available actions based on what slots we have in our reel. Winning battles awards us with new, better slots to add, each with their own specifics and synergies. Enemies also randomize their moves with slots of their own, but the most satisfying mechanic is the possibility to spin a jackpot with three identical slots for some powerful effect. It is interesting to see this concept developed further, but the game has not been updated for a long time.
Iris and the Giant takes us on journey through imaginary world, inspired by Ancient Greek mythology. Each battle takes place on a grid, where various enemies advance in huge numbers. We play a card from our hand, usually dealing damage to nearest enemy, and then everyone who is still standing and can reach us deals damage in return. There are cards that target multiple enemies at once, as well as ways to play more than one card during our turn, so most of the time we will be deciding which card to play at which moment. The deck has limited size, and if it becomes empty we lose, so new cards should be constantly acquired. There are a lot of interesting mechanics to discover, but the game is very hard and luck based, requiring a lot of trial-and-error to finally reach the end. [...]
Phantom Rose Scarlet has the same basic core, but with completely innovative battle system, not seen in any other game. On each turn there are four positions for cards to be played in strict order, where two of them are randomly filled with opponent's cards, and the remaining two are left for us to fill. Instead of drawing the hand, we have our entire deck available right away, but playing cards puts them on a cooldown, which does not reset between battles, so we constantly face the strategic choice of playing our best cards right away or keep them for later. The game is in active development, providing new mechanics and further developing the story, which is quite captivating here. [...]
Void Tyrant is a bit of a stretch, but still a "card based dungeon crawler", in which we basically play BlackJack against our enemies by dealing card with numbers from 1 to 6 one-by-one from our deck until we stand or bust. Whoever has the highest value wins and deals damage to the loser. There are various supporting cards on top of this mechanic, allowing us to either jinx the outcome in our favor, or to perform various other metagame manipulations. The only downside of the game is the lack of content, as it quickly runs out of interesting things, and since it was not updated for a long time, it is unlikely that anything new will be added in the future. [...]

Conclusion

As you see, there is a lot to play besides StS, so even if you are not hyped by its long-awaited Android release, but appreciate a good intellectual dungeon crawler, you will find something to suit your needs. I hope, even with StS release, new games of the genre will continue appearing on mobile phones, and I will gladly review them and add to the list. If you know any hidden gems (or even trash) that was not highlighted in this article, please share the names and/or links in the comments. I am also open to any discussions on the topic, as I am obviously able to talk a lot about my favorite genre.
Good luck to everyone in all your endeavors.
P.S. I am well aware of games like Dungeon Cards, Card Adventure, Dungeon Faster, Meteorfall: Krumitz Tale, Card Thief, Maze Machina, Cube Card, Card Hog, Fisherman, Relics of the Fallen and other "grid-based puzzles", but do not consider them to be a part of the "family".

Sonic the Hedgehog: a popular video game franchise of a cocky, quick-witted, free-spirited blue hedgehog who is as fast as the speed of sound and fights the forces of evil with a colorful cast of companions. The New York Knickerbockers: a professional NBA basketball team that resides in Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, New York City. Now you might be thinking, “What do these two things have in common? A video game mascot and a sports team aren’t similar?” And you’re probably right, they just seem too different from each other. It’s not like they are polar opposites, but that they are just so different that it seems almost impossible for them to have similarities. They are in two totally different realms of existence. But if you are a fan of both, you start to see through the overlining aspects and can find some significant connections between the two. You come to find that a prosperous start eventually led to many miserable downfalls. You find that the ones pulling the strings and running the show are the ones that are driving these two franchises straight into the ground. You find that the loyal fans are given false hope and promises nearly every year. And you come to find that these two franchises timelines are somewhat parallel to each other.
Bright Beginnings
If we are going to talk about how it all started with these two, let’s do the Knicks first, since they have been around longer. The winter of 1891 was the year that physical educator James Naismith had an idea. It was too cold for the Massachusetts boys to go outside and get active. So, Naismith decided to nail up some peach baskets indoors, got a leather ball, made some rules and regulations, and then the rest is history. The game for young boys quickly became a trend. Recreational centers and schools embraced this new game and basketball became known to all. But playing on a school team wasn’t enough. Where do these kids and young men go with this talent? It was then decided that just like baseball and football, America needed a professional league for basketball. And so, on June 6, 1946, in New York, the Nation Basketball Association was born. And with it, a new team called The New York Knickerbockers (more commonly known as Knicks for short). Yeah, that’s right, the Knicks are as old as the goddamn NBA. The Knicks have seen it all in the NBA. The best, the worst, wins, losses. It was only until the 70s where the Knicks began to prosper for the very first time. With Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Dave DeBusschere, Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, and Dick Barnett, Phill Jackson, under Coach William 'Red' Holzman, New York got their very first championship. And even another 3 years later. They beat out guys like Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlin, and many more. After those years, the rest of the 70s were an “iffy” time for NY. Their records were great at first, getting into the playoffs and Eastern Conference semi-finals just to be eliminated each time. Then the 80s came around and things started to look up for them again. Their records improved, Bernard King was great but were eliminated in the playoff each time they got there. Then, after a terrible season, the Knicks were placed in the NBA Draft Lottery for the very first time in 1985. And got one of the greatest players and best-known Knicks of all time with the 1st round pick, Patrick Ewing. Then the 90s came around, which was also an electric and most memorable time for New York basketball. Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, Charlie Ward, Anthony Mason, the list goes on. Coached by the famous Pat Riley, it was an unforgettable time. Did they win any championships? No. But the Garden was never truly the same after that. And for the next 2 decades, it only seemed to change for the very worst.
During all of this, and World War 2, Service Games were making coin-operated slot machines for entertainment for the war effort. After the war, the company sent employees to Japan for expansion. The company began to grow worldwide. It was then shut down when the US government found illegal business practices (which was just some good ole tax evasion). But then one of the original creators, Martin Bromley, made other companies in order to take over its assets and activities, so nothing really changed. Service Games of Japan (more commonly referred to as Sega) was bought out by other companies as time went on, but never really seemed to leave Japan. From slot machines, to photo booths, to pinball machines, to eventually, the brand-new world of video game entertainment. Competition was fierce, games were created, their famous “Sega Genesis” console was made, until the faithful day of June 23, 1991, one of the most famous video game characters to ever exist was created. In the form of an 8-bit, blue, fast hedgehog named Sonic. It was the only character to out beat the worldwide beloved, Italian, plumber, and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) that we all know far too well at the time. The fast-paced and exciting gameplay was riveting. Players awed as Sonic raced to defeat Dr. Robotnik and his robot army to take over the world and stealing the mysterious and infinity powerful Chaos Emeralds was exhilarating for all. Sonic the Hedgehog was a staple of an iconic video game and video game character. And a staple of Sega’s success. The only logical thing to do now is to ride this success, and they sure did. With a multitude of sequels both canon and non-canon, spinoff shows, comic book series, merchandise, and some reboots, it seemed like Sega’s #1 mascot was at the top and continued to rise. But it only takes so long for something to keep rising in fame. Isaac Newton said himself, “What goes up must come down.” And if Sonic was on top, there is only one other place it can go.
The Roaring ‘90s
From the early 90s to the present day, these two have coexisted at the same time, but in different worlds. One related to video games, one related to live professional sports, both in the name of worldwide entertainment. Then the universe made their paths in time parallel to each other. When Sonic was created in 1991, The Knicks got Pat Riley to coach the team. Acquiring the originally undrafted John Starks, who was an electrifying scorer, as he went hand in hand with Patrick Ewing. They went as far as to beat the Pistons in the first round but fell short of succeeding forward because of some guy from the Chicago Bulls that I have never heard of, named Michael Jordan. I guess he was big deal but I’m not too sure. They had had an even better season the following year. Going from a 51–31 record to a 60–22 record. They made it to the Eastern Conference finals only to get swept by Jordan’s Bulls. For Sega, they released Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The story of the battle between Sonic and Robotnik continued. In this game, there was a player 2 option for a friend of a younger sibling. They introduced Miles "Tails" Prower, a young, yellow fox with a knack for mechanical engineering. He would be considered Sonic’s closest friend, almost like a brother. It was a commercial success as well. It was a good year for both Sonic and the Knicks, even though Sonic many have had a better one.
1993 and 1994 was also a prosperous year for both. For the Knicks, with a 57–25 record, defeating all the other teams in the playoff (including Jordan), and returned to the Eastern Conference finals. They would have made it to the NBA finals if it weren’t for the most hated player in New York at the time, Reggie Miller, and the rest of the Indiana Pacers. With two missed free-throws from Starks, an angry/stubborn Pat Riley, to a missed finger-roll layup by Ewing, the Knicks lost 97–95. But ‘93 and ‘94 was a memorable year for the Knicks, as well as for Sega. In the same year, Sonic CD came out in Japan. In it, they introduced Metal Sonic, a robot made by Robotnik to combat Sonic, and Rosy the Rascal (Amy Rose) a pink hedgehog saved by Sonic who is madly and blindly in love with him. Metal was a great adversary for Sonic because it always kept up with him. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 rolled out in ‘94. In it, they continued the story with the brand-new setting of the Floating Island (later to be named Angel Island). Robotnik goes there to repair his “Death Egg” that was damaged in the last game. He tricks the newly introduced character, “Knuckles the Echidna”, a strong, stubborn, and at times dense, who was the guardian of the Island into thinking the Sonic and Tails were the enemies. Knuckle became a quick and notary rival of the blue hedgehog, until the end of the game where Knuckle learns the truth and is then helps Sonic to defeat Robotnik. The game, including Knuckles, was loved by fans. They found success in the game. Their new console, the “Sega Saturn”, not so much. It was outshined and outsold by Sony’s new console, The PlayStation. It couldn’t meet up to what its predecessor, the Genesis, did in the gaming industry. Funny how the Knicks and Sonic mirrored each other that year. They were both on a fiery trail only to be halted by another. The Pacers for the Knicks, and The PlayStation for Sega. They were so close to ultimate success that year. Nevertheless, a pretty solid year for both. At this point, you can’t talk about the best games without mentioning Sonic. And you can’t talk about the best basketball teams without mentioning the Knicks.
The next couple of years were a stagnant few for the blue hedgehog and the New York team. For the Knicks, Pat Riley resigned and moved on to coach the Miami Heat. After firing the new head coach, Don Nelson, the Knicks gave the position to the assistant coach, Jeff Van Gundy. They acquired the big-man Larry Johnson and pure scorer and Allan Houston. The Knicks were eliminated playoff series after playoff series due to the Bull, Heat, and Pacers. In the ’98-’99 season, things started to get cooking. They traded greats like John Starks and Charles Oakley for Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby. While Ewing was aging and having constant injuries, the new players began to step up. They climbed over all the competition and became the first eighth-seeded playoff team to make it to the NBA Finals. Sweat, but short-lived because the powerful San Antonio Spurs beat them to win it all. It proved that the Knicks were still a top caliber NBA team. Being able to dominate the entire East, while striking fear in the West. Sega after 1994 were the same as the Knicks, as they found themselves in the same position and not progressing forward. Making many Sonic titles that felt more like fillers than actual pure Sonic games. The story didn’t progress, and the games were not innovative. New modern technology allowed for new 3D modeled games. The world of 2D was starting to take a seat, and everyone wanted the next best thing. In 1998, they released the “Sega Dreamcast”, in attempts to participate in that year's new upcoming set of consoles that ran 3D games. And with it, the next Sonic title was ready to shake the world, as it did once before. Titled “Sonic Adventures”, it was so critically acclaimed, that 2.5 million copies sold in total, making it the Dreamcast’s bestselling game ever. On Knuckles home of Angel Island, the Master Emerald (one similar to the 7 Chaos Emerald but much bigger and with even greater power and the one he was sworn to protect), is in danger of Dr. Robotnik new plan to release “Chaos”, an immortal and god-like being made out of concentrated energy who was sealed away buy Knuckles ancestors, in order to rule the world. Different characters have different abilities you can play with. We all know Sonic can run fast, but now we can see Tails fly, Knuckles climb, and Amy smash baddies with her large new hammer. It showed the world what Sonic can do in the world of 3D games. Also, the killer original soundtrack to add to the fast-paced excitement, truly made it more memorable. Great level designs mixed with wonderful storytelling and amazing game mechanics, it is widely accepted as one of the greatest Sonic game ever created. The Dreamcast itself didn’t have such a happy ending. Poor manufacturing rates in Japan caused not enough units to be shipped out to please the general public and the massive amounts of orders. Plus, Sony’s new PlayStation 2, Nintendo’s new GameCube, and Microsoft’s first-ever console, the Xbox, crushed the Dreamcast’s chances at full success, despite Sega’s confidence in it. Yet again, Sonic and the Knicks face the mirror and have the similar outcome. In the forms of a superb season with failed Finals expectations, and a stellar game with failed console expectations. So close to a perfect year. It doesn’t really matter now though. Everyone did what Prince said and partied because it was 1999. It was the start of a new decade. Sonic and the Knicks were ready to leave their wonderful pasts in the past. Indicative of an era, preprepared to look ahead into the unknown future. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, just what…...could possibly…… go……. wrong.
The Dark Decade
The year 2000, a brand-new start for all. Forget what happened last year. It now a decade behind you. At the start of a new year, everyone tries to make it his or her own. Before the clock struck 12 on January 1, the Knicks drafted Frédéric Weis from France, instead of the home-grown Ron Arrest. This was done without an official General Manager though. They did hire Scott Layden later on. Charles Dolan, who was the owner of MSG, the Knicks, and Rangers, stepped down. And on November 2nd, 1999, his son James Dolan became the head, a day which will forever live in infamy. 2000, the Knicks are back where they belong in the playoffs. Allen Houston and Latrell Sprewell had amazing seasons. They swept the Toronto Raptors and were quickly denied the chance to go any further, due to nonother than the bane of the Knicks himself, Reggie Miller, and the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks were ready to make improvements. What was their first move? Trading the legendary, home-loved, adored, big man himself Patrick Ewing to (ironically) the Seattle Supersonics. A great start to the new year. Trading away the best player in franchise history, especially after he wanted an extension on his contract. The Ewing Era was officially over. It would have been somewhat reasonable, if it weren’t for the fact that it was a terrible trade deal. Overseas in Japan, despite the Dreamcast launch, it did kinder up some good sales. They did keep up with the other console at first, but the high pre-orders mixed with the poor manufacturing rates made consumers unhappy. Another problem was they were expensive. Many disappointed people traded it in and used the money to buy another console. The delayed (but high selling) Sonic Adventure was good but just couldn’t save it from the slowly declining sales. Sonic himself in 2000 had a quiet year. “Sonic Shuffle”, a board-game-based game similar too Mario Party. It had mixed thoughts. The game was alright, but surely was no Sonic Adventure. Similarly, Sonic and the Knicks’ first year in the 2000s was so-so. Nothing too special but had a slight decrease in shine.
2001: After losing to the Raptors in the playoffs, the Knicks needed some time to regroup. During the offseason, Layden decided it would be a good idea to opt-out of the draft (missing many great players) to resign Allen Houston to a 6 year-100-million-dollar contract. Keep in mind, this was the biggest contract in franchise history at the time. Oh, and he got rid of Glen Rice (one of the guys acquired in the Ewing Trade). He replaced him with guys who also had beefy, long contracts for no reason. Larry Johnson retired, the Knicks new season started badly, and the promising Jeff Van Gundy resigned, and AC Don Chaney was promoted. He didn’t do much to help. To end off on an even worse note, the Knicks had themselves a 30–52 season and missing the playoffs. Fun fact: it was the first time since the 1986–87 season they did not qualify for the playoffs. On Sega’s end, the production for the Dreamcast was discontinued. They took a major step back and became a third-party developer, meaning they will only make games for other consoles and no longer make consoles of their own. They lowered the price of the remaining stock they had, and their net-worth decreased greatly. It just couldn’t keep up and hurt Sega more than it helped it. Just like a dream itself, the Dreamcast was sweet, short-lived, and then faded away. The Sonic game they released, however, would be a fan favorite for generations to come. They released “Sonic Adventure 2”, the official sequel to the first Sonic Adventure. It had extremely high reviews and Sonic fans adored it. It introduced any new characters and innovative game mechanics the series has never seen before. The game can be played more than once, due to it having 2 campaigns that overlap in parts and conclude at the same time. 50 years in the past, Gerald Robotnik (the grandfather of Dr. Robotnik) works on the “Ultimate Life Form” in “Space Colony ARK.” There, his granddaughter, Maria, is born with Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome making her unable to leave the ARK in fears of her dying. Gerald (who is actually a genuinely good soul) tries everything to cure Maria. He creates “Project Shadow”, a powerful hedgehog with immortality. He and Maria bond and become close friends. Then the “Guardian Units of Nations”, or G.U.N for short, saw that Shadow was too dangerous and raided the ARK in attempts to liquefy all information and personnel involved. Instructed to escape, Maria puts Shadow in an escape pod before being gunned down in the crossfire from G.U.N agents to kill Shadow. He escapes, is recovered by the government, put into stasis until Robotnik reawakens him 50 later to use him in his plan for world domination. Shadow, having amnesia, can only remember the last moments with Maria. Filled with hate and anger, he believes Maria’s wishes were to get revenge on humanity. He helps Robotnik acquire the Chaos Emeralds. Sonic is framed for doing so, and thus he and the rest of the team venture out to stop Robotnik once again. The character Rouge the Bat, the independent and flirtatious jewel thief made her first appearance. Playing multiple sides as she helps Shadow acquire the emeralds, works as an undercover agent for G.U.N, and even stealing part of the Master Emerald from Knuckle, making for some interesting and funny interactions. It ended as Shadow realizes that Maria wanted Shadow to give people another chance for a better future. His alignment changes as he and Sonic team up to defeat the final boss and save the day. Shadow was last seen falling to earth after the battle, and the day was saved. A great/complex story and a legendary OST with Crush-40 helping with it. gave the Sonic series a little bit of a mature look. Fans fell in love with Shadow’s serious and edgy personality. Quite possibly, the already amazing Sonic Adventures was matched with an amazing sequel. This year, Sonic and the Knick’s outcomes were quite different. Sonic seemed to get the better end of the stick. But this luck won’t last forever.
2002: an overall poor year for both. The Knicks extended Don Chaney’s contract. They had the seventh pick in the draft (which is solid at most), but instead of rebuilding through the draft, the front office made the terrible decision of packaging the pick the star Marcus Camby and Mark Jackson for veteran Antonio “the-dealing-with-knee-problems” McDyess. Did he play for them during the season? No. He ended up destroying his knee in an exhibition game and missed the entire season. Latrell Sprewell broke his hand on his yacht due to the rough waters. Or he punched a guy, not sure. Doesn’t really matter he missed the beginning of the season. “Fire Layden”, would echo through the garden because of his poor and rash decisions. Their season ended with a 37–45 record, missing the playoffs for the second year in a row. Over in the land of the Rising Sun, Sega executives were comprising a deal with pachinko machine developer, “Sammy Corporation” and Japanese video game company, “Bandai Namco Entertainment.” The president of Sammy had a history with Sega in the past, so it was likely for some agreement to go through. Namco on the other hand withdrew. Sammy was upset with Sega as they attempted to persuade Namco more. This prompted both companies to withdraw, and Sega gained nothing. In the States, some high business workers left Sega due to being unhappy with Japan's refusal to shift with the demand for more mature games. As for Sonic, they had to now make games for companies they once rivaled. They released the “Sonic Advanced” series (from 2001-2003) for the Nintendo “Game Boy Advanced.” It had mixed reviews. Fans enjoyed them while criticizing them for being too short, having imbalanced gameplay, and some bad level designs. The total net-loss even forced them to file for bankruptcy around this time. It could have been all over then. Things are starting to slowly dip for these two. No improvement, no noise in the world of games. The tides are starting to shift.
2003-2009: (let’s just group together these painfully terrible years altogether since they are all painfully terrible) the quicksand has now gotten a firm grip on the iconic red shoes of Sonic and the Nike Air Force 1s of the Knicks and was slowly sinking them down to their necks. Knicks continued to give girthy salaries to C tier players, were bad enough to get to the playoff but good enough to get high draft picks, Sprewell was given up for Keith Van Horn and an old Dikembe Mutombo. This was the last straw for Layden. Retired NBA legend Isiah Thomas became the Knicks president after the chants in the garden have finally been answered. He got right to work. He fired Chaney for Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens. Great. Then made a big move in releasing McDyess, NY legend Charlie Ward, and 2 future first-round picks for all-star Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway. After no real sign of rebuilding and a bad start, the Knicks miraculously snuck into the playoffs. Perfect. Except they got swept by the New Jersey Nets. That season was sort of like the Sega Dreamcast. High expectations and then shockingly short-lived. The newly acquired ball-handling wizard, Jamal Crawford wasn’t enough for the Knicks the next season. Wilkens stepped down and the Knick missed another playoff season. Larry Brown was the new coach, but Isaiah made the best of their draft picks and trades. They fan-favorites like Trevor Ariza, David Lee, and Nate Robinson (who was not fighting Jake Paul yet). They also got Channing Frye, Jerome James, and Eddy Curry, in hopes that they could acquire a reincarnation of Patrick Ewing. This move would have been almost 100 percent perfect. Maybe if they didn’t give them unnecessary contracts and lots of first rounds picks away. Maybe. Allen Houston also finally retired. It was good, since he was washed-up and still had a ridiculous contract, but at the same time sad, since he was the last Knick to come from a beautiful time period in the history of the franchise. So how was the overall team? Pretty trash. They couldn’t rack up a good number of wins, there was that whole feud with Marbury and Brown, the players didn’t form good chemistry, even Isaiah and Brown bumped heads. So much so, Isaiah fired him finishing with a 23–59 record. And then (if this didn’t sound like some crazy written soap opera) he literally hired himself as head coach. Isaiah had a tremendous amount of pressure on him. James Dolan (every time I say his name it just makes me ball my hands into fists) wanted improvement or he was gone. The new season was going well at first until the big brawl that took place against the Denver Nuggets where multiple players received suspensions for it. They did have that one play that David Lee did where he put the ball into the hoop at 0.1 seconds in double overtime, which was one of the most stellar plays in franchise history. It was quickly looked over when a former MSG executive sued Isaiah ad MSG for sexual harassment, which they lost. The old “Fire Layden” chants were turned into “Fire Isiah.” The season once again started terribly, and the Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics in 104–59 game.
Remember that mess of a deal with Sega and Sammy that never happened? Well, Sammy ended up buying 22.4 percent of Sega's shares anyway. That same year Sega shifted all focus on the arcade business side of the company in order to patch up the open wounds that the home-console development left on them. Sammy then completely took over Sega, becoming “Sega Sammy Holdings.” They now split the company into 4 special quadrants, Consumer Business (video games), Amusement Machine Business (arcade games), Amusement Center Business (Sega's theme parks and arcades), and Pachislot and Pachinko Business (Sammy's pachinko and pachislot business). Even though the main focus was on the arcade aspect of Sega, the video game branch was still at work, and so was Sonic. Comic books, TV spinoffs, and of course his favorite platform, games. Only a few really made any real impacts. For example, “Sonic Heroes.” 4 separate and interwoven storylines, the return of lovable and familiar faces, the long return of Team Chaotix (originally from a game back in 1995 which is a surprise), the ability to switch characters mid-level, and the continued story, it had high expectations from the last blockbuster game. Team Sonic races to defeat Robotnik’s new weapon, Rouge finds a though-to-be-dead Shadow and the robot, “E-123 Omega” who form Team Dark who set to defeat Robotnik while Shadow tries to uncover some of his past, Team Rose finds Amy, the comically slow “Big the Cat”, and the sweat young pure-hearted “Cream the Rabbit” who go off in search of Sonic, and Team Chaotix, a band of quirky detectives, “Vector the Crocodile”, “Espio the Chameleon”, and “Charmy Bee” gets a mysterious job offer that they can’t refuse. A fan-favorite for sure, but to the extent of mixed reviews. Fans loved it; others hated it. Overall, it was a serious game in the franchise, but a very, very mediocre one.
After some filler games, Sega saw all the popularity Shadow the Hedgehog has received ever since his debut. He was as famous as Sonic was (maybe even more at the time) and fans loved his personality, as it accompanied a lot of the angsty/emo/goth/rebellious/alternative-punk rock/edgy teen personality of the early 2000s. It supported what was about to come. “Shadow the Hedgehog”, his very own standalone game. Shadow laments his existence, trying to figure out who he really is. An alien armada invades the city. Shadow is confronted by the leader of the “Black Arms” alien forces, “Black Doom” and tells him of some old agreement made to bring him the Chaos Emeralds, in exchange for the truth of his past. Shadow goes on to slowly regain memories. This game is unique in the series, with its branching stories that affect how the game ends through what missions the player chooses. It has a good ending, a bad ending, or a true ending, in which Shadow learns he was created with Black Doom’s blood. Shadow is reminded of Maria to break from Black Doom’s mind-control over him and defeats him. This game is a major addition to the series. Unfortunately, it received a poor review. Some people thought Sega tried too hard to be edgy and dark and ended up making it somewhat cringeworthy. Now Shadow was being made fun of for this reason. They also ruined his character a bit. Going from a broken victim, blinded by hate and anger to realize that his promise to the person he cared about was to protect others and giving them a second chance, to a gun-toting, I-hate-everything-and-everyone-so-don’t-get-in-my-way, anti-hero, edge lord (Oh yeah he uses guns in this game). The next line of titles will be more mediocre than the next. Until one unholy game was created.
Only titled, “Sonic the Hedgehog” (more commonly known as Sonic 06), was the game for the new generation of consoles, the “X-Box 360” and “PlayStation 3”. “Silver the Hedgehog”, a pure, determined young hero is from the doomed future. Engulfed in flames from the monster “Iblis” he, and his close female friend “Blaze the Cat”, try to save their present. A mysterious person gives him the chance to go back in time to stop the sequence of events that will eventually lead to the futures doom. Desperate he is assigned to kill a blue hedgehog from the past in order to stop it. The villain, “Mephalis the Dark” manipulates the many heroes in the story to get to his goal. It turns out that the artifact Rouge steals contained him in it. He is released to get to his godly form of nonother than Iblis and tricks Silver into thinking Sonic was the reason for the future being destroyed. Sonic, Shadow, and Silver then team up to defeat him once and for all. This game……was absolutely horrendous. Buggy glitches, some bad voice acting, a nearly impossible boss fight to beat with Sonic and Silver, and one of the worst chopped up and overly complicated stories with an unbelievable amount of major plot holes and bad story planning. It is easily considered the worst Sonic game ever created. Sega and Sonic’s reputation will forever be stained by this awful game. The good that did come out of it was smothered by how terrible it was. Silver was a good character (and my personal favorite). Mephalis was actually a good villain that used manipulation (who also killed Sonic (he was the only one to do so)). Shadow’s character was fixed a little. But now, this colossal failure will scar the franchise for eternity. It doesn’t matter how fast Sonic runs; he will never live past it.
For the remainder of the decade, Sega put out more either bad or mediocre Sonic games. They go so far as to turn Sonic into a Werehog. A werehog! Literally a werewolf/hedgehog. They have no impact on the gaming world, as for the games during the classic era did. Sonic is drowning (and he actually can’t swim) and Sega is throwing him uninflated floaties in attempts to save their iconic mascot. The Knicks also ended up firing Isaiah Thomas and replacing him with Mike D’Antoni. They made many trades, including traded Jamal Crawford for Al Harrington, and then traded a bunch of guys that barely played or barely made in impact for others who will later do the same. These two failing and failing badly. The Knicks and Sonic are now the laughingstocks of sports and gaming. The once-powerful Knicks who once had a titan-like grip on the East, are now a small, non-serious threat to all. It was once mainstream to be a fan of Sonic, now it's mainstream to point and laugh at the cringy/bad games it produces. There seems to be no let-up. Every time they try to turn it around, they end up 10 feet from where they last were. These two got lost walking down a long dark tunnel and there is no light at the end. What will become of them? Hope is fading away by the second. I’m getting nauseous, I think I’m going to be sick.

mods please lmk if this violates the rules. i’m posting here because I write about the mob/casino and many relevant themes that are important elements of the Sopranos, in my opinion. I think they’re of the same medium and genre so wanted to post here. Hope that’s alright. Cheers! (11 min read) ————————————————————————
EDIT 2: TL;DR -
Casino is a story of sexual and financial intrigue, mob violence, union pension fund embezzlement, a “love” story, and the protagonist's masochist addiction to the pain and chaos his lover inflicts on him. It turns out that the sharp-minded genius who meticulously runs the casino, is no more rational than the gamblers who routinely frequent the casino, coming back to lose their money and hoping that the odds will magically shift in their favor.
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Every good filmmaker makes the same movie over and over again—Martin Scorsese is no different
Scorsese's Casino is a phenomenal story of the condoned chaos and "legalized robbery" that happens on a daily basis to gamblers who bett away thousands of dollars and return each day for more “FinDom,” but without any of the sexual sadism. The whole scam only persists because the house always wins: the odds are stacked 3 million to one on the slot machines, but the same shmucks return wide-eyed each day hoping for a different outcome, devoid of any rational re-evaluation required to maintain their grasp on reality, and the liquidity of their bank accounts.
Casino is a story of sexual and financial intrigue, mob violence, union pension fund embezzlement, a “love” story, and the protagonist's masochist addiction to the pain and chaos his lover inflicts on him. It turns out that the sharp-minded genius who meticulously runs the casino, is no more rational than the gamblers who routinely frequent the casino, coming back to lose their money and hoping that the odds will magically shift in their favor.
Robert De Niro plays Sam "Ace" Rothstein, recruited by his childhood friend Nick "Nicky" Santorno to help run the Tangiers casino, which is funded by an investment made with the Teamsters’ pension fund. Ace’s job is to keep the bottom line flowing so that the Mafia's skimming operation can continue seamlessly. De Niro's character felt like half-way between Travis from Taxi Driver (of course, nowhere as mentally disturbed) and half of the addictive excess, greed, and eccentric business-mind of Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street.
Ace’s attention to detail gives him a rain-man-esque sensibility; his ability to see every scam, trick, hand signal, and maneuver happening on the casino floor make him the perfect manager of the casino, and take his managerial style to authoritarian heights in his pursuit of order and control over what is an inherently unstable and dynamic scheme; betting, hedging outcomes, and walking the line to keep the money flowing and the gamblers coming back. I’m not claiming Ace is autistic, I'm no clinician, but his managerial sensibilities over the daily operations of the casino, from the dealers to the pit bosses, to the shift managers, are to the point of disturbing precision, he has eyes everywhere, and knows how to remove belligerent customers with class and professionalism, but ultimately is short sighted in “reading” the human beings he is in relationship with. Ace is frustratingly naive and gullible in his partnership with Nicky and the threat he poses to him, and in his marriage with Ginger.
Ace has no personal aspirations to extract millions of dollars for himself out of the casino corruption venture. Ace simply wants the casino to operate as efficiently as possible, and he has no qualms about being a pawn of the bosses. While Sam, “the Golden Jew”—as he is called—is the real CEO of the whole enterprise, directing things at Tangiers for the benefit of the bosses “back home.” Ace’s compliance is juxtaposed with Nicky’s outrage upon feeling used: he gripes about how he is in “the trenches” while the bosses sit back and do nothing. Note that none of the activity Nicky engages in outside of the casino—doing the work of “taking Las Vegas over”—is authorized by the bosses. Ultimately Nicky’s inability to exert control over his crew and the street lead to his demise.
In the end, capitalism, and all that happens in the confines of the casino, is nothing but “organized violence.” Sound familiar? The mob has a capitalist structure in its organization and hierarchy: muscle men collect and send money back to the bosses who do not labor tirelessly “in the trenches.” The labor of the collectors is exploited to create the profits of their bosses. The entire business-model of the Mafia is predicated on usury and debtors defaulting on loans for which the repayment is only guaranteed by the threat of violence. But this dynamic is not without its internal contradictions and tensions, as seen in Casino.
In a comedic turn, the skimmers get skimmed! The bosses begin to notice the thinning of the envelopes and lighter and lighter suitcases being brought from the casino to Kansas City, “back home”. The situation continues to spin out of control, but a mid-tier mafioso articulates the careful balance required for the skimming operation to carry on: to keep the skimming operation functioning, the skimmers need to be kept loyal and happy. It’s a price the bosses have to pay to maintain the operation, “leakage” in their terms. Ace’s efficient management and precision in maintaining order within Tangiers is crucial for the money to keep flowing. But Ace’s control over the casino slips more and more as the movie progresses. We see this as the direct result of Nicky’s ascendance as mob kingpin in Vegas, the chaos he creates cannot be contained and disrupts the profits and delicate dynamics that keep the scam running.
Of course I can’t help myself here! We should view Scorsese’s discography, and the many portrayals of capitalist excess not as celebratory fetishization, but a critique of the greed and violence he so masterfully captures on film. See the Wolf of Wall Street for its tale of money as the most dangerous drug of them all, and the alienation—social and political—showcased in Taxi Driver. Scorsese uses the mob as a foil to the casino to attack the supposed monopoly the casino holds on legitimate, legal economic activity that rests on institutionalized theft. When juxtaposed with the logic of organized crime, we begin to see that the two—Ace and Nick—are not so different after all.
The only dividing line between the casino and organized crime is the law. Vegas is a lawless town yes, “the Wild West” as Nicky puts it, but there are laws in Vegas. The corruption of the political establishment and ruling elites is demonstrated when they pressure Ace to re-hire an incompetent employee who he fired for his complicity in a cheating scam or his stupidity in letting the slot machines get rigged; nepotism breeds mediocrity. In the end, Ace’s fall is the result of the rent-seeking behavior that the Vegas ruling class wields to influence the gaming board to not even permit Ace a fair hearing for his gaming license, which would’ve given him the lawful authority to officially run Tangiers. The elites use the political apparatus of the State to resist the new gang in town, the warring faction of mob-affiliated casino capitalists. While the mob’s only weapon to employ is that of violence. The mafia is still subservient to the powers that be within the political and economic establishment of Vegas, and they’re told “this is not your town.”
I’d like to make the most salient claim of this entire review now. Casino is a western film. The frontier of the Wild West is Vegas in this case, where the disorder of the mob wreaks havoc on, an until then, an “untapped market.” The investment scheme that the Teamsters pension fund is exploited for as seed capital, is an attempt to remain in the confines of the law while extracting as much value as possible through illegal and corrupt means for the capitalist class of the mob (and the ultimately dispensable union president). Tangiers exists in the liminal space of condoned economic activity as a legal and otherwise standard casino. While the violence required to maintain the operation, corrupts the legal legitimacy it never fully enjoyed from the beginning. This mirrors the bounty economy of the West and the out-sourcing of the law and the execution of the law, to bounty hunters. There is no real authority out in the frontier, the killer outlaw on the run is not so different from the bounty hunter who enjoys his livelihood by hunting down the killers. Yet, he himself is not the State. The wide-lens frame of Ace and Nicky meeting in the desert felt like a direct homage to the iconic image of the Western standoff. The conflict between Ace and Nick, the enforcer and the mastermind, is an approximation of the conflicts we might see in John Wayne’s films. The casino venture itself could be seen as an analogy of the frontier-venturism of railroad pioneers going to lay track to develop the West into a more industrial region.
I would have believed that this was a documentary about how the mob took over control of the Vegas casinos in the 1970-80s … if it were not for the viewer being expected to believe that Robert De Niro could play a Jew; it's hard to believe a man with that accent and the roles he’s played his entire career could be a “CRAZY JEW FUCK!!” I kid! But alas, De Niro is a class act and the last of the many greats of a bygone era. At times, it felt like Joe Pesci lacked talent as an actor, but his portrayal of the scummy, backstabbing bastard in Nicky was genuinely remarkable, but I might consider his performance the weak point of the movie. It’s weird to see a man that short, be that much of physical menace. There are a number of Sopranos actors in Casino. I’m sure Vincent Chase watched the movie and said to himself, “bet, i’ll cast half of these guys.”The set design and costumes were gorgeous. The styles and fashion of the time were spectacular. Scorsese’s signature gratuitous violence featured prominently, but tastefully. The camera work, tracking shots through the casino and spatial movement was incredible and I thought the cinematography was outstanding, the Western-esque wide lens in the desert was worthy of being a framed still.
The Nicky//Ace dynamic is excellent and the two play off of each other well. The conflict between the two of them escalates gradually, and then Nicky’s betrayal of Ace by cheating with Ginger marks the final break between the two of them. Nicky’s mob faculties represent a brutal, violent theft that is illegal and requires the enforcement of violence by organized crime. Despite the illegal embezzlement and corruption at play with the “skimming” operation at work at the casino, the general business model of the casino stands in contrast to the obscene violence of the loan sharks. Ace operates an intelligent operation of theft through the casino, and his hands-on management approach is instrumental to the success of the casino. Nicky’s chaos pervades the casino, and the life and activities of “the street” begin to bleed into Ace’s ability to maintain order in the casino. “Connected” types begin frequenting the casino, and Ace unknowingly forces one particularly rude gambler to leave the casino, who happens to have mob ties with Nicky. The “organized violence” of the casino cannot stay intact perfectly, because the very thing holding it together is the presence of the mob. Nicky is in Vegas as the enforcer and tasked with protecting Ace but his independent, entrepreneurial (shall we call them?) aspirations lead him to attempt to overtake what he realizes is a frontier for organized crime to brutalize and exploit the characters of “the street” (pimps, players, addicts, dealers, and prostitutes) and the owners of small private businesses.
Nicky is reckless, “when i plant my flag out here you won’t need your [casino/gaming] license” Nicky thinks he, and Ace, can bypass the regulations and bureaucratic legal measures by sheer force of violence alone. But ultimately Nicky is shortsighted and doesn’t have a real attachment to the success of the casino. After all, he isn’t getting profits from it (or much anyway) and isn’t permitted to play a real, active role in its daily functions because of his belligerent, untamed personality. Nicky has no buy-in that would motivate him to follow the rules or to work within the legal parts of the economy, it’s not the game he knows how to play, and win. All that he is loyal to, or deferent too, is the bosses back home; for whom he maintains absolute, uncompromising loyalty to, but still holds intense spite for.
And now to the more compelling element of the narrative. Sam “Ace” Rothstein is positioned as remarkably intelligent, he makes informed decisions that aid in his skill as a gambler, he can read people to determine whether he’s being conned, he has an attention to detail—aided by the casino’s surveillance apparatus which monitors cheating—that is almost unbelievable. Ace knows when he’s being cheated, he knows how to rig the game so that the house always wins, enacting psychological warfare to break down the confidence of would be proficient gamblers, who could threaten Tangiers’ bottom line. But in the end, the greatest gamble Ace makes is his marriage to Ginger. Ginger is the seductive, charismatic, and flirtatious madame who makes her money with tricks and her sexual power. Ginger works as a prostitute, seducing men, and extracting everything she can, almost as a sort of sexual-financial vampirism.
Ginger is the bad bet Ace can’t stop making even when she destroys his life, her own, and puts their daughter Amy in harm’s way. Ginger is the gamble Ace made wrong, but he keeps going back to her every time, trying to rationalize how she might change and be different the next time. Ace is not a victim to Ginger’s antics. Ginger makes it clear who she is: an addict, alcoholic, manic shopaholic who will use all of her powers to extract everything she can from everyone around her. She uses everyone to her advantage and manipulates men with her sexual power in exchange for their money and protection. Ginger had a price for her hand in marriage: $1 million in cash and $1 million worth of jewelry that are left to her and her alone as a sort of emergency fund.
Ace’s numerous attempts to buy Ginger’s love—and the clear fact that no matter how expensive the fur coat and how grand the mansion, none of it would ever be enough to satisfy her—mirrored Jordan Belfort’s relationship with Naomi in The Wolf of Wall Street. Both relationships carried the same manic volatility and conflict over child custody was found in both films, with the roles reversed in the respective films. Ginger may be irredeemable and a pathological liar, but Ace can’t claim that she wasn’t clear with him; when he asked her to marry him, Ginger said she didn’t love Ace. Ace replied that love could be “developed” but required a foundation of trust to develop. That trust was never there to begin with. The love was doomed from the start to destroy the two of them; two addicts, two gamblers, lying on a daily basis to one another and themselves about reality to justify their respective existences, the marriage, and Ace’s livelihood. And as Ginger pointed out, “I should have never married him. He’s a gemini, a triple gemini … a snake” Maybe astrology has some truth to it after all.
Now I’m not licensed (but hey neither was Ace, and he ran a casino empire!), but Ginger has the inklings of a borderline personality: her manic depression, narcissism, drug and alcohol abuse, and constant begging for forgiveness all seem indications of a larger psychological disorder at play. In the end, Ginger runs away with all the money Ace left her and finds her people in Los Angeles, the pimps, whores, and addicts she fits in with, in turn exploit and kill her for 3 grand in mint coins by giving her a ‘hot’ dose.
Overall, Casino is an incredible cinematic experience. I highly recommend watching this and seeing it as part of Scorsese's anthology of commentary on our economic system and its human victims. I’d argue that Casino, Wolf of Wall Street, and The Irishman all fit together nicely into a trilogy of the Scorsesean history of finance and corruption from the 70s to the 90s.
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EDIT 2: TL;DR —
Casino is a story of sexual and financial intrigue, mob violence, union pension fund embezzlement, a “love” story, and the protagonist's masochist addiction to the pain and chaos his lover inflicts on him. It turns out that the sharp-minded genius who meticulously runs the casino, is no more rational than the gamblers who routinely frequent the casino, coming back to lose their money and hoping that the odds will magically shift in their favor.

Below is an attempt to put a succinct list of smart-money recommendations for people putting a build together with latest gen components. Additionally, to reference benchmarks and sources I found insightful to justify the recommendations. The intent is to keep this relatively brief without too much elaboration to avoid an essay and provide the references to let you explore particular topics at your discretion.
Finally, there is obviously no one-list-fits-all, so my advice would be to use this list as starting point and deviate from there to best fit your requirements.

CPU

Perhaps the most straight forward of them all as we are talking new gen components.
Value + Gaming: AMD 5600X
Premium + Productivity: AMD 5900X
Note:

• If gaming is primary concern, hard to justify beyond 5600X with current generation of games
• 5900X if performance in productivity tasks is the priority or simpler have the budget in your build to spec it.
• The 5800X I would avoid based on $/performance.
• Difficult to recommend a 3700X or 3600 unless can be found on good discount, which is unlikely given how 3600 prices have just been rising and rising last few months.

References:

• Hardware Unboxed: 5600X review vs 3700X/10600k
• Best & Worst CPUs of 2020

CPU Cooler (Air)

Air Budget: ID Cooling SE-224-XT (if available), or the Arctic Freezer 34 base
Air Midrange: Scythe Fuma 2 or Arctic eSports 34 DUO
Air Premium: Noctua NH-D15 & Dark Rock pro4 (refer notes)
Notes

• The AMD 5600X is 65TDP. You do not need a premium cooler on it. Only reason to get one is keeping noise down.
• For beginners, mid-range builds and those a who feel any unease with liquid in their system, stick to air. The developments in heat pipe technology and larger heat sinks mean they are on par with liquid AIOs, especially so on low TDP chips such as 5600X.
• I believe the AIOs (next section) are better value proposition than premium air coolers (e.g. NH-D15) for those who are experienced PC builders and aware of inherent risks with liquid which is less robust than air. If you want the very last 1% in outright thermals or sound performance, it’s AIOs and even more so for the larger TDP chips.
• AMD 5600X will do the job if not overclocking, however is very loud and I recommend aftermarket for a build of this budget.
• Especially the upper tier air tower coolers do not fit all cases. When specc'ing large tower cooler or SFF cases, make sure do compatibility check before purchasing. CPU cooler heights will be listed on case manufacturer website. Another check I do is search pcpartpicker and check for photos of completed build with selected case and cooler.

References

• Tech Buyer’s Guide perform the best CPU cooler reviews in my opinion and Hardware Scientist
• The Best High-End Air Cooler - 2020 Edition

CPU Cooler (Liquid - AIO)

Arctic Freezer Liquid ii – there is no contest $/performance.
Notes

• There is no RGB if that is a consideration and not the most attractive unit.
• I believe it performs so well primarily for its supplied P12 radiator fans. You see great performance increases on other units for example putting P12s on competitors radiators (refer to Machines and More video below)
• It is a relatively new product, so not much feedback on long term run, however nothing to be concerned about from the 1st year it has been on the market.
• The NZXT Kraken is the next go-to, more proven design and nice LED panels.
• Do not get a 120mm AIO, 240mm at least for these latest gen CPUs otherwise mid-range air will perform better.

References

• Gamers Nexus – Arctic crushing
• This the best performing 240mm AIO?

Motherboard

ATX & mATX: Asrock B550M Pro4
ITX: Gigabyte B550I AORUS Pro AX
Notes

• Why not recommend a full ATX board? The Asrock B550M has all the features and performance vast majority will need, all at a lower price point.
• Important: The Asrock B550M does not Mflash and currently not support Zen3 out of the box. Therefore unless have old AM4 CPU may not support Zen3 (5600X) CPUS
• I don’t see any need for X570 for vast majority of users, however the are popular in a lot of peoples specifications. My take is they are reserved for power users who have specific premium requirements and probably conducting their own research exercise. I have added some notes about the popular X570 boards in separate thread.
• Both recommendations don’t have USB-C if that is deal breaker for yourself.
• Gigabyte B550 has slightly higher CPU mount, so some extra research/investigation is required if you plan on putting a large tower cooler on it in an SFF case.

References

• A Hyper In Depth Guide to B550 boards by u/relevant_pet_bug
• Ryzen 5000 X570, B550, A520 Motherboard Featureset and General Usage Tier List
• Best B550 ITX Motherboards

RAM

One of the more complicated and overwhelming topics, but to keep it with theme of no non-sense:
Corsair LPX DDR4 3600MHz C18 (or Crucial if priced similar in your region)
Notes

• Majority of games only need 16GB. However, majority of games show improved <1% framerates with 32GB. With RAM prices and using latest gen parts I recommend 32Gb as worthwhile investment
• 3600mhz cl18 should be marginally faster than 3200mhz cl16 for gaming
• Don’t buy into the 4x stick of RAM to much. Just make sure you have 2x of the largest sticks you can afford and give room for growth with having spare slots is more important consideration for average user.
• AMD Smart Access Memory (SAM) is nifty but worth 1-2% performance at best – don’t let this impact your buying decision until the technology matures and delivers more real world gains. Note Smart Access Memory currently only works on Ryzen 5000 series CPUS, B550/X570 chipsets and RX6000 GPUs and allows CPU to access directly majority of GPUs VRAM.
• More advanced topic, but I am excluding OCing of RAM and assume running stock as we start getting into die suppliers etc.

References

• Frequency vs timings by AMD_Robert
• Benchmarks of 3200MHz vs. 3600MHz vs. 4000MHz with 5900X https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWffQbAHD0g
• Ryzen Zen2 core clock vs timings thanks to ncpa_cpl

Graphics Card

Gaming at 1080p, 1440p or on Linux: AMD 6800XT (still waiting for AIB reviews to come in)
Gaming at 4K, Ray Tracing, DLSS specific titles or productivity: ASUS TUF RTX 3080 (non-OC) or Founders Edition
Notes

• Based on MSRP(ish) – I won’t say anything more about availability
• It’s hard to recommend the 6800 with 6800 XT marginally more expensive
• RTX 3070 is still excellent card, however I sense the RTX 3060Ti will give it a good run for money for value and become the recommended card for those if 3080 is out of reach.
• Discussions about stock and availability – I feel your pain but has been discussed at length elsewhere.

References

• My personal favourite 3080 vs 6800 XT review
• 3080 AIB model comparison by u/JayKaBee44
• 6800XT on Linux and one of the most genuinely happy videos in the review world

Storage

Boot/Primary Drive: Western Digital WD Black SN750
Secondary/Gaming Drive: Western Digital WD Blue SN550
Notes

• I recommend going for a more premium SSD if you only have one drive (e.g. WD SN750) NVME M2 drive with DRAM cache. Perhaps a 500gb version and get a secondary device for cheaper if need the capacity.
• If you have the M2 slots, it’s hard not to recommend the WD Blue SN550 over 2.5” SATA drives.
• What a WD fan boy hey? Samsung are ‘better’ but not worth the premium for average user and gamer. Looks for sales around Black Friday, after Christmas etc. Storage is one of the items most often with heavy discounts.
• PCIE 4.0 is not worth premium for almost all users and offers negligible real world performance. Users constantly transferring very large files is only real use case.

References

• Another gem from Hardware Unboxed – all you need to watch on this topic!
• Does the WD Black SN750 1TB still hold up in 2020?

Power Supply

For the sake of consistency I will list my recommendations, but please read notes.
ATX: Corsair RM850x
SFF: Corsair SF 750
Notes

• Don’t be to a fixated with these ATX suggestions, refer to the PSU tier list in the references and go on what is available/deal. Corsair, EVGA and Silverstone all put out reputable products.
• Please do not cheap out on PSU despite how tempting it is to shave some coin here. A Gold rated unit with decent power rating from reputable brand is something I would be looking at if I’m willing to spend 3080 money on a build.
• Do a Power Suppler Calculator (link below) and give yourself 100W headroom (at least).
• 850W sounds a bit much for his build? Sure - however I believe it is worth the small price delta over smaller units to a) run well within its efficiency curve and fan-off operation for noise, and b) future-proof yourself for next gen parts (crystal ball I know)
• SFF it’s hard to recommend going with anything else except the Corsair SF line, with exception of been able to buy a 750 due to global supply shortage which is particularly hitting PSUs. The Cooler Master V line has mixed review, especially power variability on a few of the rails.
• A lot of people are running 5600X/3080 builds on 600W (Gold or Platinum rated) PSUs. Not recommended as per manufacturers, but the numbers say it’s doable and with a mild underclock on your GPU I would be OK with it.

References

• PSU Tier List 4.0 rev 14.1
• PSU calculator
• The ultimate PSU review resource Unfortunately no review since early 2019. Forums are still active

Case

Much more subjective, however as per PSUs, I will list some recommendations:
ATX/mATX: Lian Li O11 Mini or Fractal Meshify 2
SFF: Cooler Master NR200
Notes

• I would be very cautious recommending older or non-airflow tower configurators. Airflow around GPU is now the primary cooling concern (most recommended GPUs here are ~300W+ while a 5600X CPU has a TDP of 65W). Primary concern is ensuring airflow over the GPU, and older tower designs don’t have great airflow circulation underneath GPU
• The Lian Li O11 is an excellent platform and great looker with glass panels on two side, and priced well with the new O11 Mini is around US$100. if you are using an AIO, hard to recommend anything else. The full size O11 Dynamic for those who want to use a 360mm AIO on the side. Just note, the mini only fits SFF and SFF-L PSUs, the only notable drawback.
• Fractal Meshify 2 is another new design just hitting markets, and captures all the latest airflow design elements
• For anything about the NR200 and cooling decisions in this case, please just watch Machines & More’s videos outstanding videos
• If you think you might want to try custom water loops in the future, go for the O11 full size as has good 3x 360mm rad capability and a lot of nice case-specific distribution blocks.

References

• My recommendation how to configure a Lian Li O11 Mini for optimal performance
• Gamers Nexus Fractal Meshify S2 Case review
• Machines & More outstanding youtube channel on NR200
• Shout-out to gamblingthroaway for their excellent SFF build which is essentially exactly what I’m specifying from this research
• The Best ITX Cases - albeit very premium cases
• Best custom water loop channel on the youtube for those who are curious and want to see some next-level builds

Case Fans

5x pack Arctic P12
Notes

• 5x pack of fans for same price as single Noctua, and perform within a hairline of the Noctua’s.
• Use 140mm fans wherever you can
• Most case fans included are total rubbish and major source of noise, especially at idle. I would always be factoring a 5x pack of Arctic’s and replacing all fans.
• Only criticism of the P12s is there is some reported noise around the 1100-1200 rpm mark, but a 5x pack in good airflow case should be sitting below 1000rpm.

References

• The Best 120mm/140mm Case Fan Shootout
• Noctua vs. Arctic, Nidec - Ultimate 120mm Fan Re-match!

Monitors

Just watch this video. Tim is my go-to person on the internet for monitor advice.
27” ISP: LG 27GN950 or ViewSonic VX2758-2KP-MHD
34” UW: Xiaomi Mi Curved 34. Or Gigabyte G34WQC if you exclusively play fast FPS titles
Notes

• I believe most people over capitalise in their system and not enough in monitor and other peripherals. A well matched monitor will have bigger impact on your gaming experience than an extra handful frames per second.
• The budget 34” ultra wide (UW) price and technology at a point where I think it’s worth getting onboard for a more immersive gaming experience, unless you are into competitive e-sport titles. A more subjective analysis of UW vs 16:9 is linked in references below.
• Otherwise a nice fast ISP panel 27” if color accuracy or response times are more important. Or use monitor for photo/video editing and appreciate the better color reproduction capabilities at same price point as budget UWs.

References

• Best Gaming Monitors of 2020
• Gigabyte G34WQC Review
• Should you go ultrawide?
• Blurbuster forums - where the pixel peepers congregate

Other References

• https://www.logicalincrements.com/
• Only two youtubers I make my buying decision on: 1) Hardware Unboxed and 2) Gamers Nexus

Final words

Firstly, thank you to all those amazing people out there that take time to benchmark parts for our benefit, all I’m doing here is referencing all their great work in one spot. Thank you for any feedback and comments and hopefully this serves to help others.
​
Edit #1: Incorporated comments from windrixx on air recommendations for beginners.
Edit #2: Thank you so much for the award! First ever award and really appreciate it as makes it worthwhile putting the time to compile this guide. Hopefully this helps many more system builders in the future.
Edit #3: Some general updates on monitor section thanks to comments from Takumi46/
Edit #4: Added some comments and elaborated on my recommendation for X570s motherboards
Edit #5: Clarifications about Smart Access Memory thanks to comments from runoleon
Edit #6: Added note about Mflash on ASrock B550M.
Edit #7: Check final CPU cooler clearance in final case, especially for SFF. Thanks to Richtey3

A/N: I'm baaack!
Hey, guys! Sorry for the long delay between episodes, work's just been super busy. This is also a REALLY LONG EPISODE, as in the longest yet, at 19,860 words. Not a whole lot of action, and more exposition than I really wanted to shovel in, but there's a lot of character development going on in this one. I almost broke it into two episodes, but by the time I was considering doing that, I was almost done, and, well, I know how you guys like your long episodes. The next couple episodes are going to be slow on action and big on character and story development, as well. Don't worry, though, Act III is going to have plenty of drama and excitement by the end, before we roll into Act IV and the new offensive.
I'm not sure of the timeline of when I'll be posting Episode 14. I'm not expecting it to be nearly as long as this episode, but work's getting busy again and finishing up Episode 13 took up more of my vacation than I was hoping (by which I mean all of it; Episode 14 is still in the rough outline stage). I can't really make any promises right now, other than some nebulous time in the not-too-terribly-distant future.
Patreon link for readers on their phones who struggle with multiple-comment continuations.
And without further ado, the story!
​

Retreat, Hell – Episode 13

[First][Prev][Next]
“This is fucking bullshit,” Kimber muttered, standing in line with the rest of the company. Earth’s sun was just barely peaking over the horizon. Gahla’s was hidden by the portal. “I’ve marched more under Khatri than I did in all of fucking bootcamp.”
​
“The man does love his cadence…” Dubois whispered.
​
“Lock it up, here comes Captain Spader,” Bradford said through barely-moving lips.
​
Rinn flicked an ear in amusement. We only ever traveled by marching! He shifted his weight slightly, resisting the urge to adjust his “PT” uniform. Though I understand their complaints about this thing… He didn’t know where it came from. He had barely sat up in his bunk before someone threw it in his face.
​
“Company! Attenhuh!” First Sergeant Khatri called as Captain Spader fell in with their formation. Khatri was as awake and alert as Rinn had always seen him. Spader looked like he was pretending to not be as groggy as everyone else felt.
​
“Forward! March!” The company stepped into motion, and Rinn was glad they started with their left foot.
​
Two feet, he mused, Coin flip’s chance we’d both train to start on the same side…
​
“Yooo lef-righty-lo-ri-lo-righty-lo-ri-lef-ri-lef-righty-lo-ri-lef!” Khatri called out, setting the pace. His typical, angrily-grating voice took on a smoother tone as he called the cadence.
​
“Column left, march!” The lead rows pivoted as they reached the end of the square in front of their barracks, and with a “Column right, march!” Echo Company snaked onto the road.
​
Khatri took a deep breath, and belted out in a clear-but-still-angry singing voice, “Around her hair wore a yellow ribbon!”
​
“AROUND HER HAIR SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON!” The Marines echoed back.
​
“She wore it in the springtime, in the early month of May!”
​
“SHE WORE IT IN THE SPRINGTIME, IN THE EARLY MONTH OF MAY!”
​
As the cadence continued, voices that started groggy or croaking cleared as they fell into the familiar rhythm.
​
“And if you asked her why the hell she wore it!”
​
“AND IF YOU ASKED HER WHY THE HELL SHE WORE IT!”
​
Rinn joined in, copying the words in English rather than relying on the translation spell. He got a few smiles and funny looks as he yowled more than he spoke, but the sing-song shouting of the cadence masked the worst of it.
​
“She wore it for that young Marine who’s far, far away!”
​
“SHE WORE IT FOR THAT YOUNG MARINE WHO’S FAR, FAR AWAY!”
​
“Far away!”
​
“FAR AWAY!”
​
“Far Away!”
​
“FAR AWAY!”
​
“She wore it for that young Marine who’s far, far away!”
​
“SHE WORE IT FOR THAT YOUNG MARINE WHO’S FAR, FAR AWAY!”
​
Rinn found the rhythm of marching feet to be comfortingly familiar. Their pace was slightly different from what he was used to, but he adjusted in no time. He could have kept ranks in his sleep. He had done so many times before, in fact.
​
Even the cadence was familiar, in subject if not in tune and style. The melancholy longing of lovers separated by war.
​
Until it switched to a ribald irreverence the Royal Host officers would never have allowed.
​
“Behind their door her daddy kept his shotgun!”
​
“BEHIND THEIR DOOR HER DADDY KEPT HIS SHOTGUN!”
​
“He kept it in the springtime, in the early month of May!”
​
“HE KEPT IT IN THE SPRINGTIME, IN THE EARLY MONTH OF MAY!”
​
“And if you asked him why the hell he kept it!”
​
“AND IF YOU ASKED HIM WHY THE HELL HE KEPT IT!”
​
“He kept it just to blow that young Marine’s ass away!”
​
“HE KEPT IT JUST TO BLOW THAT YOUNG MARINE’S ASS AWAY!”
​
“Blow away!”
​
“BLOW AWAY!” The Marines sang back with gusto, apparently enthused by the thought of being blown away by an angry father for courting his daughter.
​
“Blow away!”
​
“BLOW AWAY!”
​
Or maybe it is just any violence and destruction they’re excited for…
​
“He kept it just to blow that young Marine’s ass away!”
​
Yes, that is most certainly it, he thought, as he enthusiastically joined in.
​
“HE KEPT IT JUST TO BLOW THAT YOUNG MARINE’S ASS AWAY!”
​
The march from the barracks to the PT field wasn’t long. Two songs later, and Echo Company was filing onto a rough, dirt road that ran in a big circle. It looked like it was supposed to be something, eventually, but it wasn’t even half-finished.
​
Their formation slotted in between the other companies in the battalion, who were still forming up and taking roll-call.
​
“Gotta admit,” Dubois muttered once they had stopped and been put at ease. “Raging cockbag that he is, First Sergeant just had us make the entire rest of the battalion look like a sloppy bag of dicks.”
​
As a few others chuckled at the thought, Rinn recognized in several of the Marines from other companies the familiar glare of one enlisted person hating another for doing more work in front of officers, where they could get bright ideas.
​
Once the battalion had finished falling in and forming up, several Marines stepped forward and led them through some light “warm-up” exercises.
​
“Alright, Devildogs!” The battalion Sergeant Major stepped forward. “Since this war isn’t being orchestrated by the Air Force, rather than building us a fancy PT track, our funding and resources have been focused on killing the enemy!” A chuckle rippled through the formation, along with a couple oorahs. “But fear not! Your favorite activity of the day is not canceled! We’re Marines! We adapt and overcome! Instead of running on a manicured track, we will be going on a sightseeing tour of our war effort, and do laps around the base instead!” The chuckles were replaced by groans. “And for extra fun, we will be competing to see which company can call the loudest cadence during their run!” The groans got worse.
​
“Battalion! Attenhuh!”
​
Rinn snapped to attention, and the companies were given the order to move out. Filing back onto the road, they started at a normal marching pace, but it wasn’t to last. An order was passed to Delta Company, at the head of their column, and they picked up the pace, opening a gap for Echo. Rinn’s ear twitched in mild concern.
​
“Echo Company! Forward, at a double-time, MARCH!”
​
The column immediately kicked into high-gear.
​
“Left! Left! Lefty right le-eft!” Khatri sang.
​
“LEFT! LEFT! LEFTY RIGHT LE-EFT!” the Marines chanted back.
​
“Left! Left! Keep it in step, now!”
​
“LEFT! LEFT! KEEP IT IN STEP, NOW!”
​
The long train of the battalion hoofed it down the road at what Rinn found to be an alarming pace. How long are we supposed to keep this up for?
​
“When my Granny was ninety-two!”
​
“WHEN MY GRANNY WAS NINETY-TWO!”
​
“She did PT better than you!”
​
“SHE DID PT BETTER THAN YOU!”
​
They were serious about the distance…. Rinn panted, determined to keep up.
​
“Oh-oh!”
​
“OH-OH!”
​
“Ah-ha!”
​
“AH-HA!”
​
“PT!”
​
“PT!”
​
“Good for you!”
​
“GOOD FOR YOU!”
​
“Good for me!”
​
“GOOD FOR ME!”
​
Rinn’s breath came in painful gasps, his legs burned, and he had stopped calling back cadence what felt like miles ago. I can’t drop out…
​
“He-ey Coast Guard!”
​
“HE-EY COAST GUARD!”
​
“Puddle pirate Coast Guard!”
​
“PUDDLE PIRATE COAST GUARD!”
​
“Get in your dingies and follow me!”
​
“GET IN YOUR DINGIES AND FOLLOW ME!”
​
“I am a US Ma-rine!”
​
“I AM A US MA-RINE!”
​
Anyo dropped out, staggering off to the side behind Ayan and Sayiash. Yeshai was still in the death march, somewhere with the battalion leadership up ahead, and he caught a glimpse of Tyetyeh. His head was down, bobbing from side-to-side, and foam was dribbling from his mouth, but he continued to drive on.
​
Nalmu looks about ready to die, but he hasn’t given up! Quite the difference from yesterday! The memory of the effeminate yipe he had made the day before, when receiving his “peanut butter” shot brought a brief smile to Rinn’s face, despite the stabbing stich in his side.
​
“Hey-oh Captain Jack!”
​
“HEY-OH CAPTAIN JACK!”
​
“Meet me down by the railroad track!”
​
“MEET ME DOWN BY THE RAILROAD TRACK!”
​
“Put a rifle in my ha-and!”
​
“PUT A RIFLE IN MY HA-AND!”
​
“I’m gonna be a shootin’ man!”
​
“I’M GONNA BE A SHOOTIN’ MAN!”
​
“A shootin’ man!”
​
“A SHOOTIN’ MAN!”
​
“The best I can!”
​
“THE BEST I CAN!”
​
The Marines thundered on. Rinn couldn’t tell if the pounding in his skull was his pulse or the sound of feet stomping the ground.
​
Davies fell out of their formation, staggering off to the side as vomit streamed from his mouth.
​
He passed Duke Yeshai sitting beside the road, panting and gasping for breath.
​
The next bend in the road, he saw Tyetyeh stumble out.
​
I refuse to quit.
​
“He-ey Marine!”
​
“HE-EY MARINE!”
​
“Where have you been!”
​
“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!”
​
“I’ve been to Korea!”
​
I’m going to die…
​
“I’VE BEEN TO KOREA!”
​
“Fighting for liberty!”
​
“FIGHTING FOR LIBERTY!”
​
“Dying for freedom!”
​
“DYING FOR FREEDOM…”
​
Darkness consumed him.
​
***
​
“You’re an idiot.” Bradford grinned at Rinn as he blinked at her, an IV in his arm. “Stubborn as all fuck, but still an idiot.”
​
Rinn sat in the back of an ambulance Humvee, a corpsman monitoring his vitals. He twitched an exhausted ear at her. “How can you keep running like that?”
​
“We train for it,” she snorted, rolling her eyes. “All the fucking time.” She gave him another grin. “Nothing like a twenty-mile run with a fifty-pound pack to start your day!”
​
He whimpered.
​
She chuckled. “It’s usually a lot less than that, but continuous running is what we evolved for. Chasing prey across the plains of Africa until it dropped of exhaustion.”
​
His ears sagged. “I don’t think we’ll be able to keep up…”
​
She patted his shoulder. “Probably not, but we’re kinda nuts about cardio, even by other human military standards, and we’re mechanized, so we don’t have to hoof it everywhere anymore.” She grinned, tapping him on his arm. “And! You were the last keshmin to fall out! You lasted a click and a half longer than the Duke and Nalmu, and they stayed in longer than Davies did.”
​
Rinn sat up, more than a little stiff, as the corpsman pulled the IV from his arm.
​
Ohh, he’s going to be feeling it in the morning… She gave him a sympathetic smile.
​
The corpsman wrapped a bandage around his arm, told him to take it easy for a while, but otherwise gave him a clean bill of health.
​
“Ready to get on with the rest of the day?” Bradford held out a hand and helped him climb out of the Humvee with a grin.
​
“You have entirely too much energy right now,” he said, giving her a glare and a grumpy ear flick.
​
She laughed, patting him on the back. “C’mon, we’ve got range day today, and you guys gotta go to the safety brief first.”
​
He nodded, stiffly falling in step with her. “Where is it at?”
​
“All the way over on the other side of the base!” She grinned.
​
He whined.
​
“Ha! Don’t worry, we’re taking a Humvee.”
​
“Thank the gods…” he said, his ears sagging in relief.
​
***
​
Thirty minutes later, Rinn was settling into a chair in a room that reminded him of a lecture hall, if one were to be built on the cheap in a couple of days.
​
They had stopped at the barracks along the way, to change into their regular uniforms, and for Bradford to shower. Rinn had opted to avoid the wet fur of a shower, but took a few moments to freshen up with “baby wipes” before putting on a clean uniform.
​
Only a few Marines joined the keshmin at this brief. Most of the battalion was attending a separate brief, or assigned other training for that day. Each Company was scheduled to take turns at the range over the week.
​
On the wall, an image was projected as if with magic. A few moments after they arrived, the scene shifted from a snow-covered forest to a sandy desert.
​
“What… How are they doing that without magic?” Yenyed asked, his ears focused on the image. “What miracle is this?”
​
“Bigger miracle is that the projector works,” Bradford said, settling into her own seat.
​
“This is an Air Force building,” an older Marine said as he walked past her, toward the front. “The projector in our training building doesn’t work.”
​
“Ah,” she nodded. “That explains it.”
​
“Let’s get started,” the older Marine said, stepping up to a podium at the front of the room. “I’m Staff Sergeant Rickles. I’m one of Echo Company’s Small Arms Weapons Instructors. I’ll be covering basic small arms instruction here, and after lunch I will be your Range Safety Officer for today. First things first, in the event of a fire, or other emergency in which we need to evacuate, we will go back out the door you came in, down the hall to the left, and muster across the street. If anyone gets lost or doesn’t know the way, I’m as flammable as anyone else, so just follow me. If we need to shelter in place, we’ll secure the door, and hunker down as best we can. If we come under significant attack, we’ll muster back with our units, arm up, and kill the enemy. Any questions?”
​
A glance around the room revealed none.
​
“Outstanding! Now that that’s out of the way, the first thing we’re going to go over are the Four Universal Weapon Safety Rules.” He clicked a small device in his hand, and the projection behind him changed. The desert disappeared and was replaced by a white screen with human letters. “So long as you follow these four, universal rules, whether you’re using weapons here at work, or your own personal firearms at home, you will never have a negligent discharge.”
​
He clicked to the next slide, showing a single line of human text, with the first word larger and underlined. He took a breath, then paused, eyes narrowed at the keshmin. “None of you can read this, can you?”
​
They all shook their heads in the negative, with reinforcing ear flicks.
​
He frowned, then shrugged. “You know what? Fuck it. It helps me. I’ll keep using the damn slideshow.” He straightened. “Anyway. Four universal safety rules. Rule Number One: Treat every weapon as if it were loaded.”
​
He paced a short distance back and forth, meeting eyes across the room, his tone loud and firm. “Ninety-five percent of all negligent discharges occur because people assumed the gun wasn’t loaded, even though it actually was. There are countless examples of people forgetting to clear their weapon, and then doing something stupid with their gun, or clearing the weapon and not realizing or forgetting they put a round back in the chamber, and then doing something stupid with their gun.”
​
He made a point of looking each keshmin in the eye. “So even if you have just personally verified your weapon clear and safe, always, always, always handle it as if there is a round in the chamber.”
​
He clicked the slideshow again, and more words appeared on the screen. “Rule Number Two: Never point a weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot. When your weapon fires, death comes out the barrel. That bullet is going to hit anything and anyone standing in front of the muzzle, and they’re going to have a real close and personal encounter with the Grim Reaper. So always maintain awareness and control of your muzzle! It’s real simple. If you don’t want something shot, don’t point your fucking weapon at it. Oorah?”
​
“Oorah,” Rinn said, along with the Marines, earning him a few ear twitches from the other keshmin.
​
“Rule Number Three.” The Staff Sergeant clicked his slide again. “Keep your finger straight and off the trigger until ready to fire. When you pull the trigger, the gun goes bang. If you don’t want the gun to go bang, keep your booger hooks off the bang switch until you’re ready to fire. Oorah?”
​
“Oorah.”
​
“Rule Four.” More words flew onto the screen. “Keep the weapon on safe until ready to fire. The safety keeps the weapon from shooting, even when your dumb ass pulls the trigger by mistake, because you weren’t following Rule Number Three. You want to maintain the weapon in as safe a condition as possible until you are ready for it to be unsafe. But don’t rely on the safety alone! Because shit breaks, and Old Man Murphy’ll make sure it happens at the worst possible time. That’s why we have the other three rules. Oorah?”
​
“Oorah.”
​
“So those are your four universal safety rules. Treat, Never, Keep, Keep. Once again, so long as you follow these four rules, you will never have a negligent discharge. You are required to follow these rules on the range. This is your first and only warning. If I catch any of you shitbirds violating these safety rules on my range, I will spartan kick your asses straight off it, and you can have the pleasure of explaining to your CO why you’re a fucking dumbass. Oorah?”
​
“Oorah.”
​
He clicked the next slide, glanced at it, then at the keshmin. “Do any of you have any idea how a firearm actually works?”
​
Rinn glanced at the other artificers, then slowly raised his hand, earning himself a look from Anyo. “They work just like a bean shooter, but instead of a little bean being pushed by the breath from your lungs, it’s a slug of metal being pushed by hot smoke and gas from burning powder.”
​
The Staff Sergeant made a “not bad” face. “In a nutshell.” He nodded. “Unlike your standard pea shooter, a bullet leaves the barrel of a gun at thousands of feet per second, faster than the speed of sound. If you get hit by one, it will ruin your day.”
​
Rickles then stepped them through the basic mechanics of firearms, their basic functions, and the cycle of operations. Most of the Keshmin leaned forward when Rickles clicked to a slide that showed the moving internal parts of a gun. Even Anyo quirked an interested ear.
​
Satisfied that they had a basic understanding of how a gun worked, Rickles shifted to marksmanship fundamentals, condition codes, and range commands. His instruction was thorough and efficient, and he had no problem demonstrating holds and carries multiple times.
​
“Alright,” Rickles said, clicking the projection black. “Now we’re moving into the hands-on portion.” He gestured at an array of small arms that had been laid out while he was giving his presentation. “We’re going to go over basic holds and carries, and dry-fire drills.” Rinn stood up and led the other keshmin to the table. Under Rickles’ guidance, they were all given a pistol, shown how to properly hold it, operate it, and went through several dry-fire drills. Then they walked through the same with a “rifle,” and a “shotgun.”
​
By the time they broke for lunch, Rinn’s head was reeling with information.
​
“Do they really expect us to remember all of this, or even use their firearms?” Anyo muttered to Yeshai, Ayan, and Sayiash as they filed out of the room.
​
“With respect, m’lord,” Rinn said quietly, “As every soldier in the Royal Host is first a Pikeman, every Marine is first a Rifleman. I’ve had to take up a pike when my mana crystals were exhausted before. Facing such a situation again, I would much prefer to pick up a rifle, instead.”
​
“Yes, well, some of us actually know how to conserve our mana crystals, Second Artificer,” Anyo sneered as he brushed past. “I don’t expect to be so wasteful.”
​
Rinn’s ears swept low against his skull as he glared at Anyo’s back. And some of us have actually fought in this war, he thought, biting his tongue to keep himself from saying so out loud. Anyo rolled his ears dismissively as he and the other lords walked away.
​
“Officers can be dickheads in any world, can’t they?” Bradford asked, stepping up behind him.
​
He snorted, waggling his ears in the affirmative.
​
“Meh, don’t let him get to you, he’s just a deluded asshole,” she said, punching him in the shoulder. “Buy you lunch?”
​
“We have to pay for our food?” he asked, quirking an ear at her and rubbing his shoulder as he fell in step beside her.
​
“Shh! Not so loud!” she mock-whispered. “Don’t give them any fucking ideas!”
​
He snorted again and smiled, keeping an ear locked on her. “Penny-pinching bean-counters are dickheads in any world, aren’t they?”
​
“Fucking assholes, the lot of them,” she smiled, giving him a wink.
​
*******
​
“I ain’t sayin’ I’m the best shot ‘round er nuthin,” Davies said, an unusual twang in his voice, “But I did grow up with ‘em. It’s in my blood, you might say.”
​
“Oh?” Rinn asked, quirking an ear at him as he scooped up some more mac and cheese.
​
Bradford sighed, rolling her eyes. Here we go again… She looked at Kawalski, who sat on the other side of her from Davies, and mimed his next words in near-perfect time.
​
“Skoo! I usually hide the accent, on account o’ it not fittin’ in well in the more developed places and all, but I grew up in South Carolina, yes-sir-ee! Damn near born with a rifle in one hand, and a rebel flag in t’other!”
​
“Oh, stuff it, Davies,” Bradford said as Kawalski snorted bug juice out his nose. Kimber started thumping his back as the lanky Marine choked and gasped for air. Rinn turned, an ear raised in alarm.
​
“As you’re so fond of reminding everyone,” she continued as Kawalski coughed, gasping for breath. “We’ve been stuck together since we left bootcamp, so I know all about your backstory.” He gave her a shocked look, but she waved him to silence before he could voice a protest. “Your family moved from Charleston to Massachusetts when you were three. You spent most of your life living south of Worcester.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You’re as much a southern rebel as I am.”
​
His shocked expression turned into a tight-faced, angry glare. Ha, haven’t seen him throw a dirty look like that in a while…
​
He worked his mouth like he wanted to say something, but the wind had been taken out of his sails, and he turned instead to glare down at his plate, scooping up a fork full of macaroni for cover.
​
“Ho, slow down on the carbs there, brah,” Stephens said, giving him a nudge. “You should eat more lean, trim yourself down a bit.”
​
“Yeah, man, you’ve let yourself go while on med hold.”
​
“Eh, now that he’s back with the battalion, the Corps’ll get him in shape again, soon enough.”
​
Davies scowled at his plate as the others piled on as much nutrition advice as he had piled food onto his plate.
​
*****
​
Rinn flicked his ear under the ear muffs he had been given as the Staff Sergeant finished a brief review of the safety rules they had been instructed on that morning. The acrid odor of gunsmoke twinged his nose, accompanying the staccato pop and rattle of human weapons. The hearing protection wasn’t perfect, but it did make the roar of gunfire bearable. He shifted the “safety glasses” again, searching for a position that kept them on his face while still being some form of comfortable.
​
The Staff Sergeant made sure they were all wearing their safety equipment properly, or as close to proper as keshmin could get wearing gear made for humans, and led them up to the firing line. They were surrounded by berms of piled earth, and sheets of wood supported by stacks of sandbags seemed to be the most significant construction.
​
Several Marines knelt in a line, working through various marksmanship demonstrations for rifle and pistol. Watching them, Rinn had to stifle a few yawns. The concussive thump and crack of human weapons was exciting and sometimes startling, but he had seen it before and watching other people shoot simple targets affixed to slats of wood was only so interesting. It would be more fun if they let us shoot their guns today…
​
After showing off their accuracy against paper targets, the Marines moved to effects demonstration. They set up blocks of “ballistics gel,” to demonstrate penetration and damage effects, and also demonstrated effectiveness against steel plates, then human body armor, and even a few captured elven armor sets.
​
Even Anyo was suitably impressed by the damage the human “rifles” could do.
​
Moving to another range, they were told the next demo was of handheld bombs.
​
“Heheh,” Bradford chuckled as they walked up to several dug-out pits. “Grenades.”
​
Standing well back, they watched as several Marines took turns tossing senki-sized balls at stacks of sandbags and frames of slatted wood. The sharp bang of the explosions thumped Rinn in the chest even from where they were standing, nearly fifty tails behind the Marines throwing the grenades.
​
Yeshai dipped his head. “These humans have impressive destructive power that even a common solider can throw around.”
​
“And that’s just what they can throw,” Bradford said, unslinging her rifle as the Marines “down range” evacuated their pits and moved behind them. At the Range Master’s command, she loaded a shell into the fat tube slung under her barrel, put the weapon to her shoulder, and fired. With a heavy thoomp! Another fruit-sized ball was flung from her weapon, traveling slow enough that he could actually see it. It struck the ground a hundred and fifty tails away, kicking up a cloud of dust from the loose soil. Three more thoomps, and three more shots blasted more targets.
​
Re-slinging her rifle, Bradford smiled back at the incredulous looks some of the keshmin were giving her while they waited for other Marines to retrieve the targets.
​
“These holes are miniscule,” Anyo said, fingering a tear in one of the heavy paper targets.
​
“A needle through the heart will still kill a man,” Yeshai said, examining a captured set of elven plate and chain. The plate had only been scratched and gouged by the explosions, but the chain had two holes torn through it. He wiggled his fingers in them, then pointed at the gemblade’s plate with a gaping hole in it. Bradford had scored a direct hit on that one. “And that is no needle.”
​
Anyo snorted, but flicked a grudging acknowledgement before redonning his ear muffs.
​
Moving on, they were led to another block of targets with another group of Marines. Rinn recognized one of the weapons that Kawalski always carried, distinctive in the belt of ammunition that trailed out of it. A few other weapons were present, similar but larger.
​
Rinn was impressed by the steady barrage of death and destruction just one of the weapons could spit out, even though he knew what to expect.
​
His companions, however, had not.
​
Anyo, Sayiash, and Ayan were technically present at the battle, but not on the front lines. Duke Yeshai and Shiyan were both active in the fight, but Tyetyeh was the only one of them still fighting a withdrawal when the humans arrived, and he said he held in place when Two/Five surged past. He had to suppress an anticipatory chuckle. They haven’t seen this before.
​
He grinned as the first machine gun, an “M249” like Kawalski carried, opened up. The Marine hosed his target with a torrent of bullets, and the other keshmins’ earmuffs all jerked as their ears tried to stand straight up.
​
Two more M249s started up, alternating fire as the first reloaded. Seconds later, and three of them were chattering back and forth, maintaining a non-stop stream of fire. As they expended the last of their ammunition, another collection of guns was set up. These were larger, heavier, and rattled at a slower pace with a deeper voice. Steel targets down-range rang as they were pelted.
​
A sergeant walked by, handing out twin-tubed artefacts dubbed “binoculars.” After a demonstration by Bradford, and with a little fiddling of his own, he managed to figure them out. He put them to his eyes and back down several times, studying the device.
​
“How do these work without magic?!” he asked, shouting over the machinegun fire.
​
“Optics!” Bradford shouted back with a grin.
​
“What?” He gave her a confused look, his ear twitching under his muffs.
​
“Curved glass!”
​
He glanced at the binoculars again, shrugged at the other keshmin, and put them back up to his eyes. It was only then that he noticed the dirt being kicked up behind the steel targets, and the flashes of sparks as the rounds punched right through them.
​
The “machine gun” demo finished up with what the Marines called “the Ma Deuce,” which was mounted on top of a Humvee. The Marine manning it cocked a lever, and it spit out a deafening stream of glowing bolts that punched through steel plates and shattered blocks of cement like a hot knife through butter.
​
The keshmin stared at the destruction in awe.
​
“This would completely change the nature of war…” Yeshai said, visibly shaken. He looked up as a pair of twin-engine “jets” rumbled overhead, on their way to conduct an air patrol. He looked as if he truly saw the aircraft for the first time. “And so would they…” He stared after them, lost in thought.
​
Anyo looked at the jets, then back to the cooling M2, and his ears swept back as he frowned.
​
“We’re not quite done,” Staff Sergeant said as another Humvee rolled up, this one with a fatter, stubbier gun mounted on top.
​
“What do you have for us, now?” Ayan said.
​
“In a word,” Staff Sergeant said, grinning as he opened the rear door of the Humvee to reveal several boxes. “Grenades.”
​
*****
​
“I don’t trust them,” Anyo said, glaring at the plate of human food in front of him. “And I question the wisdom of having any dealings with them. It strikes me as hiring a yishca to guard the flock against hiyens.”
​
Sayiash nodded. “Yes. It’ll eat the hiyens, then it will turn around and eat your flock, and then you.”
​
“Their weapons are terrifyingly destructive,” Ayan said.
​
“And they just keep going!” Sayiash added. “They ran until we dropped, and then just kept going like it was nothing!”
​
“Primitive humans hunted by chasing their prey until it dropped from exhaustion,” Rinn said. “They are merely well-adapted to endurance.”
​
“And that is supposed to be comforting how?” Anyo snapped, giving him a glare.
​
Tyetyeh and Yenyed both glanced at him, but kept their heads down, not saying anything.
​
Yeshai quietly ate his dinner, making no comment on the conversation.
​
Anyo shook his head. “With their weapons and their physical strength, there is nothing to stop them from turning on us and taking what they like once the elves are dealt with.” He snorted. “If they even decided to wait that long.”
​
“Their world is prosperous, much more than ours even before the war, and they have already started sharing with us!” Rinn objected. “With their weapons, they could have fortified the portal and never let the elves through, yet they readily chose to help us.” He had to consciously keep his ears low. He was wildly speaking out of turn, but Anyo had been disparaging the humans since they had all sat down in private, and nobody else was speaking against him.
​
“Yes, to help us, and then certainly to help themselves to our land and our resources,” Anyo waved a hand, his ears swinging back in disgust. “And us with nothing to stand against them.”
​
“We have magic,” Rinn said, glancing at Yeshai, who was still focused on his dinner. “They have none. No knowledge of it. Perhaps even no ability to wield it. There is much that they would be willing to trade for it, including much of their technology.”
​
“And what is to prevent them from taking it by force?” Anyo snarled, then snorted in disgust, his ears standing straight up. “You speak of matters of statecraft and strategy of which you have no knowledge, Second Artificer. You should leave such discussions to your betters.”
​
Rinn’s ears flared up in response, and he opened his mouth to retort before he realized what he was doing. He snapped his jaws shut and swept his ears low and back, staring down at his own half-finished meal.
​
Anyo glared at him for a moment, then flicked an ear in dismissal. He lifted his chin, turning away from the peasant that was beneath his notice. “The humans are too much of a threat to be trusted. If it were up to me, we would close the portal immediately, and sever all ties with them.”
​
Yeshai snorted, shaking his head. “That is not an option.” He set his fork down and leaned back with a sigh. “We have no choice but to trust the humans. If not for them, we would be dead. Nearly all our remaining strength was here, and the elves smashed through it like we were nothing. We were on the very cusp of defeat when they arrived, and it would have been total.”
​
Anyo opened his mouth to object, but Yeshai waved him to silence. “What portions of the Royal Host and our militias that survived could have delayed them long enough for a new Host to be raised, and the war would have carried on a few more years, but we’ve already lost half the Kingdom. Our treasury is spent. Millions are dead. Millions more are displaced and starving. The largest armies we have ever assembled have been whittled to nothing or smashed entire.”
​
He shook his head, his ears flicking through anger and frustration, and a brief hint of exhaustion. “We had lost. We would have dragged the war on like a twitching corpse, but our most optimistic projections gave us three, maybe four years, at best, before Ganlin, and all of our people were destroyed. The war was over in all but the dying.”
​
The young duke leaned forward. “And make no mistake. The humans have bought us a reprieve, and preserved the bulk of our remaining forces, but without them we would still lose. We need them in this war. We cannot survive without them.”
​
Picking up his fork, he examined the four-pronged instrument with an amused quirk of his ear for a moment before using it to stab a small, orange tuber. “Ahyat is right about their apparent willingness to help us and work with us.” He pointed the speared tuber at Rinn. “Regardless of their long-term intentions, they do not appear to have any interest in our extermination, unlike the elves. That, we’ll take. And for now, be glad for it.”
​
He popped the tuber into his mouth, crunching away at it for a moment before swallowing. He waved his fork in the air. “Put this discussion aside, the argument is irrelevant. The task before us is to build our relationship with the humans, cement their interest in our alliance, and learn from them as much as we can.”
​
Anyo and the other nobles nodded their heads in acknowledgement, though the sweep of Anyo’s ears made it clear he still was not happy about it.
​
Yeshai finished munching another tuber. “To that end, we must prepare our demonstrations for tomorrow. Tyetyeh, I am told that, though your technique is raw, you have channeled remarkable amounts of mana on the battlefield. It seems you would be our best demonstrator of brute offensive spells.”
​
“As you say, your grace,” Tyetyeh said, his normally brash attitude demure in the presence of such exalted nobility.
​
“And Ahyat,” Yeshai nodded at him. “It is my understanding that your particular talent for shield work has earned you a nickname among the humans.”
​
“Yes, your grace,” Rinn said with a nod, his ears swept low.
​
“Excellent.” Yeshai grinned
Continued in the comments....
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