Dibs: A Cure for Board-om
 |
Just in time for the holidays comes a new addition to the trivia board
game family: Dibs, created by Virginia Dukes Tolany ’93
and her husband Bill. Available in stores since September, Dibs puts
a novel twist on traditional games like Trivial Pursuit; every question
has at least five correct answers. But don’t assume that this
will naturally increase your odds of winning.
In Dibs, players take turns reading the questions, rotating clockwise
after each one. Before the game begins, everyone is dealt an equal number
of Dibbing Cards (hence the name). The reader announces the category
keyword at the top of the question card—categories run the gamut
from television to words to America to sports—and all players
submit one Dibbing Card, ranging in value from one to five. The reader
asks the question, and each player attempts to provide at least one
of the correct answers (sample question: Name one of the eight movies
in which Martin Scorsese directed Robert De Niro). Players answer the
question in the order of their Dibbing Cards: the player with the lowest
value card answers first. Players cannot use an answer that has already
been given by someone else in the game. After all players have guessed
and the reader reveals the answers, players with correct answers move
forward on the board the face value of their chosen Dibbing Card, plus
one space for each incorrect answer given by other players.
Sound complicated? That’s because it is, at least in the beginning—it
takes a couple of rounds to really get the hang of it. Also, for those
whose knowledge of trivia could fill a thimble, there are lots of little
bonuses to help you gain momentum. The board contains several “special”
spaces that allow you to move forward double the value of your Dibbing
Card on a correct answer, or jump ahead three spaces. There are also
a number of “special” Dibbing Cards, such as the “Bogart,”
which lets you steal someone else’s answer, or the “Hitch,”
where you earn not only your own points but also the total points of
another player.
Haverford’s crack team of board-game testers gave Dibs several
test drives over the course of two days and found it to be well worth
the time spent, fun and diverting and occasionally challenging. Granted,
some questions are eye-rollingly simple (gee, which movie do you think
spawned the sequel Grumpier Old Men?), but many do set the wheels of
your brain grinding with queries about countries with the lowest infant-mortality
rate and presidential candidates with the most popular votes in history.
Great for rainy (or sunny, or snowy, or simply overcast) afternoons,
Dibs will find plenty of new fans this season.
—Brenna McBride
by Adam W. Chase ’88
and Nancy Hobbs
The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running
The Lyons Press, 2001
 |
You didn’t have to be a member of the cross-country team at Haverford
to be a trail runner. Whether you were earning gym credit or just working
off a particularly large Sunday brunch, chances are you utilized Haverford’s
2.3-mile Nature Trail at one time or another before you graduated.
While The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running might be overkill for those
whose running was limited to campus, it provides an excellent overview
of the sport for anyone who enjoys venturing further afield. Co-author
Adam Chase ’88 is one such adventurer.
Chase has taken his passion for trail running well beyond the groomed
paths of the Arboretum, competing everywhere from Scandinavia to Nicaragua.
While he’s put together an impressive resume of adventure- and trail-running
performances along the way, Chase has also made a habit of sharing his
experiences with others. His writings have been published in the likes
of Running Times and Trail Runner magazines, and now in this comprehensive
book, co-written with Nancy Hobbs.
Chase and Hobbs cover a breadth of topics such as nutrition and stretching
that are appropriate for any fitness junky, to more trail-specific issues
like technique and wilderness hazards. Each subject is treated with a
distinct trail-running flavor, though. What other fitness book would espouse
the intake of Coke, cheesecake, and Spam sandwiches during a run? Just
keep in mind that the proponents of this diet are usually indulging 80
miles into a trail ultra-marathon.
The “Hazards of the Trail” chapter betrays the fact that Chase
has long since left the Main Line for the trail-running mecca of Boulder,
Colo., where runners need to know what to do should they encounter dangerous
wildlife. The fact that the authors describe how to handle grizzly bear,
bison, and mountain lion encounters reflects the thorough nature of the
book. Whether you live in the mountains or on the ocean, run on the snow
or hot sand, this book covers what you need to know. Sadly, the authors
neglect to inform
the reader on how to react when a crazed black squirrel crosses your path.
Should you find yourself eager for more information, a detailed appendix
of environmental and running websites is provided, but you’re unlikely
to need them as The Ultimate Guide should answer any questions you have.
—Marc Chalufour ’99, Managing Editor,
Running Times magazine