Kapoor Gets Prizes
One of the bygone traditions in Kapoor's bimonthly writing group is that if one workshops an entire novel through the group, little trophy prizes are given as reward and encouragement. Kapoor is told that in the old days, before printers were inexpensive and when photocopies were dear, writers would read their stories aloud to the group. The first completion prize given was a pie, because at a key plot point characters were pointing into the air and saying, "Up high! Up high!" - but hearing this read aloud many group attendees thought they were saying, "A pie! A pie!" For extra amusement value, the pie was presented suspended from the ceiling. "Up high! A pie!"
Kapoor's first prize, years ago, was a cuddly soft plush crow for completing A Murder of Ravens. This time they surprised Kapoor with two Gone to Earth related trophies: A box purporting to be the boardgame version of Pocket Empires (Goddess Edition, no less), and a Praluna action figure (well, it was Uhura with a name tag, really, but the thought's what counts).
The Praluna/Uhura figure was an interesting choice. The woman who presented it, a nice middle-aged white lady, had the impression that Praluna was black, even though Kapoor's only description of Praluna is her seeing herself in silvered elevator doors that reflect only an indistinct blur. Strangely enough, though Kapoor had first cast the pale Helena Bonham Carter as Praluna in his mind, he came to think of Praluna as having an African complexion when he was imagining a movie or book trailer. How did he get other folks on his mental wavelength without describing the character?
The Pocket Empires box got Kapoor thinking about designing a boardgame. One hundred sixty-nine tiles form the game board. Fifty-six of these are system tiles. Players explore, settle, build, and move on. When the last tile is explored, the player with the highest population wins. A space-empire Carcassonne that can be played in two hours. Unfortunately, The Game Crafter doesn't do tiles. Still, it's been a long time since Kapoor's thought of designing a board game. It could be a fun experience.
Kapoor's first prize, years ago, was a cuddly soft plush crow for completing A Murder of Ravens. This time they surprised Kapoor with two Gone to Earth related trophies: A box purporting to be the boardgame version of Pocket Empires (Goddess Edition, no less), and a Praluna action figure (well, it was Uhura with a name tag, really, but the thought's what counts).
The Praluna/Uhura figure was an interesting choice. The woman who presented it, a nice middle-aged white lady, had the impression that Praluna was black, even though Kapoor's only description of Praluna is her seeing herself in silvered elevator doors that reflect only an indistinct blur. Strangely enough, though Kapoor had first cast the pale Helena Bonham Carter as Praluna in his mind, he came to think of Praluna as having an African complexion when he was imagining a movie or book trailer. How did he get other folks on his mental wavelength without describing the character?
The Pocket Empires box got Kapoor thinking about designing a boardgame. One hundred sixty-nine tiles form the game board. Fifty-six of these are system tiles. Players explore, settle, build, and move on. When the last tile is explored, the player with the highest population wins. A space-empire Carcassonne that can be played in two hours. Unfortunately, The Game Crafter doesn't do tiles. Still, it's been a long time since Kapoor's thought of designing a board game. It could be a fun experience.