Slobbovia
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Slobbovia was a postal Diplomacy variant played among science fiction and gaming fans in North America and Europe from 1972 to 1986.
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[edit] History
The game first started in Manitoba in 1969, among Venture Scouts as a live action role-playing game, set in a mythical land named Slobbovia (after Al Capp's perpetually frozen country that appeared occasionally in the daily comic strip, L'il Abner). The various regions of Slobbovia that appeared on the map were originally named after features around a local lake: Cabinia was named after a cabin, Rabbitania after a clearing where rabbits frolicked. In 1972, the game was adapted as a variant to the boardgame, Diplomacy, which had reached its peak of popularity and had a convention known as "press" (press releases from the countries in play for propaganda purposes, or just plain fun) that fit in perfectly with Slobbovia.
The game itself was simply a framework to write stories about the characters, institutions, and countries of Slobbovia. Contrasting starkly with Diplomacy, there was no way to "win" Slobbovia, and indeed, over-reliance on force ("Strumph") was looked down upon by the players. Players were free to name the countries they ruled, but importantly played as a specific character, and not the country. This character was usually (but not always) the focus of that player's "press" (stories). Many players also developed stables of auxiliary characters about which they wrote, and sometimes the "strakh" written about these characters was more involved and entertaining than that for a player's primary character.
The early years of the postal game were through the efforts of Charles C. Sharp, who operated as the sole gamemaster and publisher. When Sharp could no longer continue in those duties, the game went into hiatus for a short while before being revived as an amateur press association, APA-Slobbovia. Organized by Robert Bryan Lipton, an initial group of six fans took on rotating publishing/gamemastering duties until the game's ultimate demise. Publication under the APA was usually but not exclusively via use of mimeograph or spirit duplicator machines - it is an irony the game collapsed at the dawn of personal computers and the internet, which would have greatly eased publication burdens.
[edit] Variations from Standard Diplomacy Rules
[edit] Subrulers and Commanders
The rules of the game were altered to require the appointment of "subrulers" to a portion of the provinces of any country that got too big. Similarly, a player having more than a certain number of armies and/or fleets was required to appoint "commanders" to a portion of them. These subrulers and commanders were then free to revolt. This kept the game fluid and prevented stagnation.
[edit] Railroads
A player could also devote supply toward the construction of railroads, which allowed the movement of armies across continents. Once constructed, these also operated as joint stock companies; the builder would give shares to his allies, usually keeping the majority (and control) for himself.
[edit] Changeability of the Rules
Some of the rules variations were not present at the beginning of Slobbovia's play as a Diplomacy variant, but were introduced during the long life of the game. The rules provided that this could be done by a player vote. A prime example was the aforementioned railroad rules, which were introduced at some point in the middle of the game's lifespan and then voted out of existence a few years later.
The map itself changed over the course of game in a series of "Imperial Surveys". The initial set of provinces was expanded to include the southern continent of Valgoria (perversely in the Slobbovian tradition, it was located at the top of the map). A third Imperial Survey expanded the map to the east and west, and a fourth and final "survey" connected the east and west edges.
The above rules themselves, however, were subordinate to the real power in Slobbovia: "strakh", the ability of a player to tell a convincing story.
[edit] Strakh
The Slobinpolit Zhurnal was published usually every other month, and consisted of two parts: the strakh (stories) and the strumph (military and political moves that followed the rules of the game). A player who was from a weaker power, but who was consistently funny or a good storyteller, gained "strakh" (a combination of chutzpah, moxie, and style), which was intangible but often led to tangible gains on the board (by being granted commands of fleets, armies, or provinces that could then rebel). Besides press releases, there were poems, songs, illustrations (including complete comic books), and even "advertisements" ("I would never kick my peasant without my Furfenhager boots," for example). Slobbovia lasted for many years as new players would cycle in to replace those that had fallen away. Eventually the core players finally gave out and collapsed under the sheer weight and complexity of the game and storylines as they moved further away from their college days. 110 issues of the Zhurnal were issued.
[edit] Slobbovia and Shared Worlds
The game preceded Dungeons & Dragons as a role-playing game, though it had little impact in the general gaming world by comparison to D&D. It also was an example of the "shared world" format before it became popular amongst writers in science fiction and fantasy. The unwritten but usually respected rule was that a player could borrow other player's characters, but never kill them. Putting the other player's character in a situation that was inconsistent with the nature of that character was considered suspect, but the clever writer would not only go with the flow, but turn it to his advantage. This was at the very core of being "strakhful", and always earned the player great respect if he could pull it off.
[edit] Traditions
[edit] The Slobbovian Empire
Many traditions developed over the years, the greatest of which was the Slobbovian Empire. Whereas most countries were the creations of a single writer, the Slobbovian Empire consisted of a long list of Czars. The current Czar would usually name a successor, or run an election and turn over the holdings of the empire to the new character (sometimes under the same player's control, sometimes under another), plus the odd revolt. When the Czar fell under the control of a new player, it was usually an acknowledgment of the creativity and entertainment value of the player. Further, the more entertaining, the longer the reign. The Slobbovian Empire was aided by independent "prinzipalities" that were pledged to its defense, the two greatest in the latter days of the game being the Prinzipality of Venturia, ruled by the Vurklemeyer family; and the Jamulian Hegemony, ruled by the Zhukovski family.
Ruling Czars would often append the initials DGIOS to their name, for Dei Gratia Imperator Omnium Slobbovinsium. Retired (or deposed) Czars were given the honorific of "Count", while a former Czarina would become a "Countess".
The motto of the Slobbovian Empire was "Phage Pie Euphraino U Komrad", which translated to "Eat, Drink and be Merry."
[edit] The Holy Sativan Church
The other great tradition was the Holy Sativan Church - something of an "Opium is the religion of the masses". Characters (and maybe some of the players) communed with the primary deity of Slobbovia, Sativa, via smoking "holy communing sticks". The sub-pantheon of Sativa was in the form of five "major" saints (Waldo the Weird, Herman the Hashite, Frieda the Friendly, St. Blooper and St. Ethyl) and a plethora of minor ones. The role of the enemy god was the standard evil deity, known as Satin (not unlike Satan). The church was controlled by Da Grund Patriarch. He had several forces under his control, such as the Two-Tonic Knights, and the Highly Unctuous Narcs of Holiness (the Holy HUNH, who came to resemble in no small degree Monty Python's The Spanish Inquisition). These organizations were only two from a long tradition of the Church Militant; other orders included the Knights of St. Gerald (Geraldines), the Knights of St. Herman the Hashite (the Hashashine) and the Monks of Mafang Fubar, whose primary weapons were their unwashed bodies and clothing.
Similar to the DGIOS of the Czar, Grund Patriarchs might use the initials HMHDGP after their name or for official proclamations (His/Her Majestic Holiness, Da Grund Patriarch). A former Grund Patriarch was known as a "Klinkenhorc". The one woman to occupy the position, Theodora Seagoonsky (who was, of course, titled "Grund Matriarch" during her tenure) assumed the title of "Klinkenharlut" upon stepping down.
Once, and only once, in Slobbovian history did Da Grund Patriarch simultaneously attain the dignity of Czar. Gregor Gregovitch united the positions and took the title of "Caliph," an arrangement that did not last past his reign, belying the militant stance usual with the sect that bore his name.
The Church was divided into several broad "sects" which could more accurately be considered as schools of theological thought or philosophy, since no hierarchy attached to them in respect of their being sects. These included Georgianism, Gregorianism (after Gregor Gregovitch) and Mazukovianism (after Alexi Mazukov). The differences between their doctrines was generally obscure, in those instances where they could actually be discerned; the main differences tended to be attitude. A fourth sect was that of the Satinists, existing both in opposition to and, in latter days, as part of the Holy Sativan Church. The sects coexisted in a typically Slobbovian atmosphere that was a cross between toleration and passive mutual contempt. This same attitude ruled the dynamic tension between adherents of the more energetic and militant of the sects, the Satinists and the Gregorians, as they pursued their more extreme religious practices; for the former, performing human sacrifices, and for the latter, hunting down and executing Satinists.
Two Czars were Satinists. Alfred Aardvark, became a bogeyman to frighten both small children and Czars. Tostig Zhukovski ended his reign in a dramatic fashion by falling into a vat of molten bronze while mounted on his favorite horse (it is left to the imagination on how he is mounted, keeping in mind he was known as Tostig the Perverted). This also had the effect of conveniently providing his equestrian statue for the top of the imperial palace, the Gremlin.
Summoned forth from the Slobbovian version of hell, Alfred Aardvark, Tostig Zhukovski, and Sardonicus Satanicus were fused together as the three-headed Triptych Demon. The ultimate fate and purpose of the demon was an unresolved storyline caught in the final Slobbovian Ice Age (also known as the collapse of the Zhurnal).
[edit] Great Families
Great Families were families that contributed at least two Czars and a Grund Patriarch, and it was a mark of honor for a player to have his "family" (related characters bearing the family surname) achieve that status.
[edit] Aristrakhracy
The Great Families were drawn from the nobility, known as the Aristrakhracy, or Strakheinvolk. The ruling class did that for the most part: almost all the various nations were run by members of the Aristrakhracy.
[edit] Warfare
Warfare was written along the lines of interest of the individual writer. Dreadnought-era warships for naval battles was the usual for the written era of Slobbovia. The original live play was conducted in canoes, with traditional Slobbovian weapons called "pluglunks" (double-bladed paddles) deciding the battle rather than 10 inch guns. A notable defeat was inflicted on the iron warships by a fleet of Viking-style longships. The longship crews boarded with pluglunks during a heavy fog, and carried the day. This is an example of the Slobbovian dictate that older, simpler weapons were superior to newer, more complex, but less advanced weapons. Less advanced by Slobbovian mentality, at least. For example: a Boleski four-shot revolver was notoriously undependable, but a spear was extremely reliable. There was the case of the Corish 66-shot automatic which had several magazines; it was easier to throw it away rather than reload it.
Land combat was much more varied - rarely did it extend beyond Napoleonic organization and tactics, though chariots, knights, kataphracts, phalanxes, and housecarls ("housechurls", the household guards of the Zhukovski family, known for their churlish behavior) and other medieval/ancient sources made appearances (reflecting gaming cross-over by several players who also indulged in 25mm miniatures battles).
[edit] Technology
Technology in Slobbovia varied from the aforementioned spears to the aforementioned ironclads. Many players believed the simpler things were, the better, but there was a certain joy in perverse complexity, such as Novaria's national telephone system, which consisted of networks of tin cans and strings. (The Gremlin, the home of Slobbovia's Czars, had the telephone number of 1. Novaria's secret police, the Cagey Bees, never bothered with a telephone number; they were always listening anyway.) Pervasive forms of long distance travel included Zeppelins by air, and steam locomotives by land.
While the "least" (i.e. most) advanced technological developments generally prevailing were at about the level of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, there were also rumors of even more ancient and potentially terrible devices, such as the ballistic supercomputer buried deep under the Gremlin. Seeming to be what we'd now call an AI, nobody knew if it was still connected to ancient thermonuclear missiles, and an Imperial officer was always assigned to play chess with it to keep it from becoming bored so that nobody need ever find out.
And, of course, there was also magic.
[edit] Mongeef
The most popular sport in Slobbovia was mongeef, which was a lacrosse-style game played by 11-player teams on a court the size of a basketball court. There were three periods, each called "halves."
[edit] Races/Ethnicities and Names
There were several "races" that added to the complexity of the Slobbovian milieu, and more were added as the board was expanded over the years to accommodate an increasing number of players.
The older races included the Slobbovians, Rabbitanians, Venturians and Huns. Slobbovians were the original inhabitants of the original board, while the Rabbitanians were refugees from an undefined "fallen empire". Venturians, of which the Vurklemeyers were the leading family, were Rabbitanians who had embraced Slobbovian culture. The Huns were a nomadic people, not unlike their namesake. There were also Rumpletitsvicklians and Pameranians.
The newer races included Jamulians, Chardians, Valgorians, Pseudo-Wikings, Phumphans, Macians, Baratarians, Novarians, and Corese (not a complete list). These don't include the non-human sentients that were written about from time to time, either as main player characters or as auxiliary characters, such as sandwhales, hokas, and Elder Gods.
Most character names were of a mixed Slavic/Germanic nature (e.g. Dragomilov, Zhukovski, Vurklemeyer, Dinkendorvf). Among the exceptions: most Huns sounded like they were from Brooklyn and generally had only a given name (Oscar da Hun, Bernie da Hun, George da Hun, Alfred da Hun (although he would later adopt the surname Aardvark)), while the Corese were faux-French and the Baratarians were vaguely Spanish and/or Italian.
[edit] Sayings and Greetings
It is alleged that the only nice thing that can be said in the Slobbovian language is "Neurse Schivosk", invariably translated as "Merry Christmas", and more obscurely (but perhaps more in keeping with Slobbovian mentality) as, "May you have a less miserable time than you deserve during this midwinter festival". The Valgorian greeting of "Fecundar Strakh" means "May your strakh prosper", but within the Slobbovian language it translates to something rather more obscene. It is often used as a stealth insult by those from the southern continent because of the duality of its nature. One addresses a member of the Aristrakhracy as "Min Horc", a freeman as "Bhadjerk", and a peasant as "Hey you".
[edit] Legacy of Slobbovia
The cultural impact of the game of Slobbovia was the development of several science fiction/fantasy writers and game designers, including Greg Costikyan and Bruce Schlickbernd.
Several fannish memes had their origin, were further developed, or were introduced to a new audience in the pages of the Slobbinpolit Zhurnal. Crottled greeps, a legendarily indescribable foodstuff long known of in science fiction fanzines, became a Slobbovian staple. The concept of "retrograde progress" (bows and arrows are better than firearms, etc; see "Technology" above) proved popular. And then there were cronks: small, sub-intelligent beasts with a vocabulary of one word, "Birdie!", meaning "food": rooks, people, other cronks, the cronk's foot, etc.
