Fudge is a daunting thing. I first read it in 1997, and I didn’t get it. But after a few more years of reading, and reviewing, and writing and editing, and thinking about what I’ve liked in games, I finally understood what Fudge was for. And then I set out to use it to make my perfect game.

The first key truth I wanted in EZFudge was: have the rules on the character sheet. The second was: only four attributes, a two-by-two matrix of physical and mental, power and finesse. The third was: skills needed to be “fuzzy,” to leave room for player creativity. They needed to be really broad, but also flavorful. So I stole classes from class-based games and renamed them skills.

The first version of EZFudge was a character sheet and an essay of how I used Fudge to make EZFudge. A later version added the proper definitions so it could stand alone as a game. Then I tried adding rules modules and setting modules. And then I tried putting those all together in one book. And then I realized my game had no appeal for certain portions of the gamer community, and I tried to make some changes that would make those people happier.

After ten years — ten years! — of fiddling around with it, I finally realized that I was writing for a totally fictional, totally apathetic audience. No one was downloading my EZFudge stuff to speak of. No one cared. So who was I writing for? Well, for me, of course, and for anyone I might want to play with.

At that point, the finish line hove into view. See, I already know the design inside and out. I don’t need to write for me. All I need is a little book to explain a few things, a demonstration setting (again, for a setting I know inside and out), and the game supplies. And that’s when the first key truth transformed itself: have the rules OUTSIDE the book (not on the character sheet, but on reference cards).

So, EZFudge is the chimerical hybrid of these game elements that I love:

• Fudge (Grey Ghost Games) — make no mistake, EZFudge is a Fudge-powered game through and through
• Broad player-defined skills (cliches) from Risus: The Anything Game (Cumberland Games & Diversion)
• Area-based combat maps and terms from Marvel Super Heroes Roleplaying Game (TSR)
• Player-centered combat sequence from Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game (TSR/WotC)
• Weapon, Spell, Power, Equipment Cards from Plainlabel Game System (Microtactix)
• Landscape customizable gamemaster screens from Savage Worlds (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)

Let’s look at that demonstration setting again. It’s Star Trek. Why? Because I know the original series well, and think EZFudge is better suited to reproduce that feeling than any published Star Trek game that has ever been. Look at the history of the Star Trek games:
1978: (Heritage Models) Barely an RPG at all, more of a venue to push more miniatures sales.
1982: (FASA) This ran for years, and I bought plenty of it, so I must have thought they’d done something right at the time. Or maybe it was just the only game in town. In retrospect, I think the character creation system was too slow (still entertaining, but); the skills list too long; and the combat rules far too detailed (but hey, FASA cut its teeth on BattleTech, so what else would you expect?).
1998: (Last Unicorn Games) — very pretty books, but still not really capturing the intangibles for me.
2002: (Decipher) — Still very pretty books, a much less encumbered rules system, but again still way too much for my tastes.

Part of the problem is the perceived necessity of “teaching” Star Trek. I have the luxury of expecting people who want to play with me know enough about Star Trek to keep up; a licensed publisher has no such slack.

Another part of the problem is the enshrinement of Star Trek as a “science fiction” setting, an assignment with which I disagree as too literary. Star Trek is space adventure television, no less but no more. Occasionally very good television, with good science fiction ideas, but usually just television. That’s why my section headers evoke TV show production, rather than game rules or inside-setting terms. And in such an environment, broader and simpler is a better way to capture the feel of the show. (The original series, at least.)

Finally, there’s the entire “evolution” of the Star Trek universe across the decades. This is a really subjective complaint, but I think the drive from NextGen on to be “realistic” and “consistent” made it a very different world from the universe I fell in love with. So “Final Frontier” focuses phaser-like on the original series … and does not use many of the popular add-ons. I’ve even rejected the Franz Joseph technical manual and blueprints, something I wouldn’t have believed I’d do. My key sources are the episodes themselves and the series writer’s guide. “Final Frontier” episodes should feel more like comic books than novels — colorful, fast moving, episodic.

That’s EZFudge.

You won’t find those links yet. The first item to become available will be my final version of EZFudge, at the end of May 2012.

And then … the only thing I’m sure will be offered is “The Goldilocks Machine,” a journal of my treatment for and recovery from severe clinical obesity. Since the treatment is still in early stages, this book won’t be ready for a couple years. But I’m feeling it’s important to capture all the things I’m learning, and doing, and the outcomes.

There will also be a memoir, probably not for sale. That’ll be me telling my life story to my wife and children … and grandchildren, should things get that far. It’s going to be a multi-volume thing, with the first volume taking me to age 19, and the second to 41. A third volume will happen when I think I’ve got enough perspective to write the thing.

• I acquired a cheap webcam for the Mac desktop. It works. Long distance video chat will be easy. We might even be able to record videos … time to put that QuickTime Pro license to use.
• I was hoping to do Google Hangouts, but neither it nor FaceTime run on the desktop.
• We must replace the Mac desktop this fall. Yes, with a new and modern Mac desktop. iMac if we can afford, another Mini if we can’t.

Mobile Computing

• The Lady has acquired a new MacBook Pro. She won’t be having compatibility issues for a while.
• The Lady’s iPad 2 will be bequeathed to the Teen Beast and updated with software to help the Beast’s communication issues. Plus Zombie Dice. Nnnngh. Brrraains…
• We have six months left on our AT&T mobile data plan contract. I intend to cancel that as soon as possible.
• I’d really like a medium-size wifi tablet device for my mobile computing needs. Prices suggest the Kindle Fire as the probable solution.

Mobile Communications

• The webOS smartphones will only be used for voice, text, or (me, for now) light non-web apps. If AT&T can be so persuaded. If they can’t, we will have to consider all our options.

Other

• The Lady now has hearing aids. This has already improved her hearing substantially, though her brain has much adapting to do. My wife, the Borg.
• The first generation Nook reader will probably end up in the care of the Princess. I’m not really doing anything with it anymore.
• I bought a new heart rate monitor. Naturally, after it arrived, the missing pieces of the old heart rate monitor reappeared. So, now I have two. One is at work, to help me mind my zones during mid-day walks. The other is at home.
• I’ve decided to leave the hiking staff in the “unfinished” colors. Yes, I’m lazy. Also, I don’t want to have to do color-matching exercises on the staff and the cap, which are woods of very different character. So, all I need to do is sand it, initial it, seal it, and assemble it. Can be done this weekend, I bet.

Round 2 Models has now acquired the MPC marque and will be putting it to use on a line of ready-to-fly and easy-to-build flying model rockets revolving around licensed properties. The first licenses will be KISS (yes, the arena rock band) and … wait for it … Star Trek.

I hasten to note (reasonably happily) that these are not the Estes flying models of the Enterprise that were such trials to build and fly well (every bit of Skill Level 4). No, they’re just basic 3F/4F+NC, but they’ve got pretty themed decals and specially printed parachutes. They look like fun, and they’ll hit the streets (and the skies) in the fall.

Do I like an extra hour of sunlight in the evenings? Not really, no. For me, it means an extra hour before I can contemplate opening windows to let cooler air into the house. And when that time finally comes, I’d rather be in bed asleep.

Do I like to save energy? Sure, but I don’t think DST is saving me any. My AC has to run longer in the evenings, prime energy time… and urbanite that I am, I still have to go places and do things for specific amounts of time. That doesn’t improve my energy portfolio. Thanks to the wacky package of laws our Congress passed last decade, they’ve been moving the DST start and stop dates around, and supposedly there will be a report on energy benefits. I’m betting they won’t find any.

Then there are the health concerns. Plenty of studies show that people whose sleep is disturbed have adverse health effects. And I’ve observed that the first few days after a transition to DST, people are miserable, groggy, and out-of-sorts.

Summing up, I’m finding no compelling reasons to stick to this World Wars-era “austerity” practice. Let’s be masters of ourselves, be responsible for our own needs, and not draw on a clock practice of dubious benefit as a crutch. Daylight Saving Time has got to go.

“Equinox” means “equal night”. So you’d think on the equinox, people would experience days and nights of equal length. And people near the equator do … but for people like me, around 40 degrees North latitude, the 24-hour-period of equal day and night length was … yesterday. Oops. So that was the equilux … which as you’ve probably worked out means “equal light.”

By the time the equinox comes, days here will already be 10 minutes longer. And they’ll be ten minutes longer (again) when the fall equinox comes … it’ll be about four days later that we get to equilux.

So, don’t let the TV weatherman jolly you on about how Tuesday we have equal lengths of day and night. Some people will, that day — but most of us missed it. I nearly did.

(Where? Where I should have thought to look at the beginning, of course: the Boy Scout store.)

The to-do list:
– sand down the rounding on one end. Insert a short 1/4-20 hanger bolt.
– Acquire a small wooden ball (or something) at Michaels crafts. Sand a small flat spot onto it. Drill a hole in the flat spot and attach a shallow tee nut.
PRESTO! My staff now has an attractive knob at the top, which can be removed to let the staff be used as a monopod.
– wind several feet of parachute cord around the upper third to provide a more comfortable and flexible gripping area.
– attach a rubber furniture foot.
– Somewhere in this process I need to stain the wood bits so they match better. And put several coats of protectant on it. Not sure if that’s before bonding the grips or not.

So, for far less money (but a bit more time) than even the plainest store-bought staff, I’ll have one perfectly suited to my needs, and reasonably good-looking to boot.

Sounds rather plain, you say? Well, by now, you know my fondness for plain and simple. But I’ll still have plenty of space on the staff to attach medallions recording my special accomplishments. That’s far better, to me, than any other sort of non-functional decoration.

The entire family but me had some nasty viral crud in mid-February. Either my flu shot did its real job, or I just got lucky — I wasn’t affected.

The Regeneration continues. My walks are up to 1 mile, twice a day, at a speed of about 3.3 mph. My weight continues down at a fairly steady 2 pounds/week. By April, I should finally be able to use the Wii Fit board myself, and see what sort of interesting new activities I can add to my mix.

As the weather improves, I’m stocking up on hiking gear. I bought a pair of trekking poles, but … they just don’t look right to me. I want a proper hiking stick. Cheap, if I can make that work. Short day hikes will begin in April, eventually working up to 10 miles by fall.

My results to date are entirely typical, but your results may vary.

During the first week of January, I began logging my eating. I was working with a calculated value of 3,100 Cal to maintain my body weight. It turns out, for a week in which I maintained my weight, I took in an average daily value of 2,600 Cal. Ergo, the calorie value to maintain this body weight (for me) is 2,600 Cal, NOT 3,100. (My eating habits have been so strange for so long, my body’s learned to do what it needs to with only 2,600 Cal.)

To lose 1-2 pounds a week, I have to create a calorie deficit of 500-1,000 Cal per day. I aimed for a dietary deficit of 1,000 calories, giving me a target of 1,600 Cal per day consumption. Funny, that’s right in the range of calorie levels recommended as the prescriptive medical treatment for severe clinical obesity. Imagine that.

What about exercise? No way can I use exercise alone, or even mostly, to make that daily deficit. I am exercising, trying to get in 30 minutes of moderate activity daily, but it’s not for the purposes of weight loss. It’s for the purposes of long-term health improvement (which, in its way, will help with weight loss).

Let’s look at that 1,600 for a minute. If I hit it on the spot, bang, 2 pounds lost. Even if I go over a little bit … still losing. And if I’m exercising, that gives me additional daily margin to work with.

It turns out I’m finding a 1,600 Cal/day diet … easy. Fun, even. And over the second, third, and fourth weeks of January, I’ve averaged a weight loss of 3 pounds/week. This is a little bit faster than the medical authorities recommend. I’m not going to be concerned about it at this early stage. If it persists, or does not average back to 2 by the time of my annual check-up, I’ll take it up with my doctor.

Three more weeks to go in this section of the Regeneration program. But I’ve already turned the clock back on my weight almost three years.

The regeneration continues…