A few weeks ago, I introduced Nolan to this really fun, really simple dice game from Cheap Ass Games called Button Men. Distilled to its essence, Button Men is a fast-paced brawling game where two players roll and try to capture dice from each other. Small dice are considered “skillful” and big dice are considered “powerful.” There are two ways to capture: have a higher number (more powerful: 17 on d20 captures 7 on d12, or 6 on d8 captures 4 on d10), or use two or more dice to match the number on one die (more skillful: 2 on d4 + 7 on d8 captures 9 on a d12, or 3 on d6+ 2 on d4 + 5 on d6 captures 10 on a d20.) Games take about 10 minutes to play. Normally, I don’t like games that leave too much up to luck, but in this case, the unpredictability of the game adds to the fun, as I hope to illustrate here…
I was so focused on the launch of Sunken Treasure yesterday, before I knew it, the sun was going down and I hadn’t taken more than 30 steps all day long.
I stood up, stretched, and looked out the window. The sky was starting to cloud up and a light breeze stirred the trees. My thermometer said it was 46.
I rubbed my eyes and saw the afterimage of my monitor. I pulled my hands across my face and through my hair. It had been a good day β sales of Sunken Treasure were better than expected β but I’d been pretty much locked in my office since rolling out of bed, and needed some human interaction without the Internet acting as intermediary.
I walked out into the living room and found Nolan sitting at our iMac, playing Diablo.
“Hey, it’s too dark and cold outside to throw the frisbee,” I said, “but at the dining room table, it’s perfect for throwing dice.”
He spun around in his chair. “Two minutes. Then you are going down.“
“Awesome.”
I walked back into my office, deliberately did not look at my desk, grabbed the bag of Button Men, and a bag of dice. I took them all out to the dining room, and untied the bag. I gleefully watched polyhedra spill out and clatter across the table.
“I hope that the simple act of watching dice fall always makes me this happy,” I thought.
I looked up, and saw that Nolan was intently focused on his game. I picked up the bag of Button Men and gently shook it.
The buttons clattered. He did not turn.
I shook the bag harder. Still, he did not turn.
I shook the bag harder still, cleared my throat, and stomped my foot.
I think he’s talking to you!
I noticed Nolan’s shoulders were twitching just a little bit.
You win this round, kid, but I’ll win when it counts.
“Dude! Come on!” I said.
He was smiling as he turned around and walked over to the table.
“I don’ t know why you’re in such a hurry to get owned,” he said.
It’s not about the game, it’s about playing the game with you.
“Quiet, you. Do you want to do this randomly, or…?”
He pulled a character called Mischa out of the bag. “Mischa rules,” he said.
“So I’ve heard,” I said. “Let’s see how Mischa stacks up against…” I blindly took out Chang.
Not all Button Men are equal, and there are times where you end up with a matchup that’s so lopsided, you’d feel like you were watching the Kings play the Sharks. (As a Kings fan, you have no idea how it pains me to write that.) This particular matchup had the potential to be massively lopsided, or very even: Mischa is a “skillful” character with moderate power: she rolls 2d12, d10, d4, and d6. Chang is pure strength: he rolls 4d20. (Button Men geeks are freaking out at me right now, because it’s possible to make Chang skillful, but this is already complicated enough, so just go with it guys, okay?)
Nolan gave me an incredulous look. “Chang?”
“Looks like it,” I said.
“Okay, instead of rounds, how about we play points?”
“Sure,” I said, “how much?”
“A quick game. Let’s play to 100.”
I grabbed a pen and a notepad. “100 it is.”
“What?” He said.
“What?” I said.
“You’re just looking at me.” He said.
“Oh. Um.” I realized that I had, indeed, been just looking at him. He’s getting older, and he’ll be off to college before we know it. He is such an awesome person, and we’ve grown so close, I find myself paying extra close attention to everything we do, like I don’t want to miss a moment or take a single thing for granted.
“Sorry,” I said. “I was just thinking about how Chang is going to tear Mischa apart.”
Or about how much I love you. One or the other.
He picked up appropriate dice from the table. I did the same.
“Ready?” He said.
I nodded. We held our hands up and shook. A moment later, our dice clattered out onto the table.
God, I love that.
In Button Men, the lowest roll goes first, so a player who rolls 1,2,5,6,18 would go before the person who rolls 1,3,8,14,20. In the case of a tie, the player rolling the most dice goes first.
We looked down at our rolls. Four d20s sat in front of me, a beautiful display of symmetry and perfection. A more eclectic collection of dice sat in front of Nolan, a beautiful display of polyhedra that excites gamers as it confuses mundanes.
“What did you get?” I said.
“I am so screwed,” he said. “I rolled 1,1,1,1,2. What about you?”
I looked down at my dice again, seeing numbers where before I had only seen objects. “18,13,11,6.”
He went first, used all his dice to capture my 6 (which was on a d20) and re-rolled. (Another function of the Button Men rules: when you use a die or dice to capture, you re-roll.)
I don’t know what happened next, and all I remember is how hard the two of us kept laughing as I rolled horribly and he rolled perfectly, but Nolan went on to win the round with 85 points to my 34.
I looked down at my button. “Dude, Chang, what happened, man?”
“Nolan is what happened,” Nolan said.
“Okay, let’s go again. Chang is more of a second round guy, anyway.”
“Mmmhmmm,” Nolan said.
“Are you humoring me?! Don’t humor me. Humoring Chang angers him.”
“Okay. I won’t humor you,” he said, humoring me.
I love it that you have my sense of humor.
I shook my dice-filled fist at him, and let them fall dramatically down to the table.
I looked at mine while he rolled his, and silenced a gasp.
“Oh man, this is horrible!” He said. “2,3,4,10,1!”
“Yeah, that’s a real shame,” I said. “Fear my mighty 1,2,3,4.”
He looked at my dice. “You did not roll a … oh man, you did!”
“I guess by ‘second round guy’ I meant, ‘he waits until the second round to completely choke,'” I said.
We looked at the dice together for a moment.
“That’s … statistically unlikely,” I said. “But at least I get to go first!”
I captured his 10 using all of my dice, and a moment later we finished the round much closer: I scored 54 and he scored 60. It pushed him past 100, though, so the game was over.
“Good game,” Nolan said as we cleaned up the game.
“Yeah,” I said. “Thanks for playing with me.”
This was the best ten minutes of a day that was already awesome.
“That was fun,” he said.
“It sure was.”
…the best.
For you Button Men geeks, a little extra information:
When we played, check out how our first rolls went (format: 1/10 means 1 on a d10 2/6 means a 2 on a d6).
Round one
Nolan: 1/10 1/12 1/12 1/6 2/4
Wil: 18/20 13/20 11/20 6/20
Round two
Nolan: 2/10 3/12 4/6 10/12 1/4
Wil: 1/20 2/20 3/20 4/20
Let me preempt any Hurr hurr hurr “4/20” comments, thusly: Shaddup.
You are a seriously, seriously, awesome dad.
wil…you rock. however, please remember just how much your boys love you and just how much their friends rag them when they see how sentimental you are.
signed,
a wicked stepmother
I really love when you share these heartwarming family stories. They’re possibly my favorite part of your blog–especially when they’re accompanied by something geeky that I may or may not have heard of.
Your story just proves that we have to appreciate out kids for who THEY are, not who we want them to be.
I love Wil-the-geek. And I would read your blog and your books even if that was the only side of you we ever saw.
But, it really is in your Wil-the-Dad posts that you truly shine as a writer and as a person. Thank you for sharing these moments with us.
This is one of those posts that I have no idea what is being discussed but I still find it awesome. I guess I’m not a gamer.
Thought 1: 46 is not cold.
Thought 2: Frisbee in the dark is fun. Get something called an Aerobie Pro (http://www.aerobie.com/Products/Pro.htm) (we called it a woosh) and tape a couple glow sticks to each side. For extra long lasting fun, stick the thing in the freezer when not in use.
Thought 3: For various reasons, my ‘gaming’ is more or less nonexistent. All that aside, when I get around to doing the whole Mom thing, I hope I find other cool stuff and Im as much of an influence on my kids as you seem to be with your boys.
At one time or another, all parents have that moment of clarity that their baby is growing up. You have captured yours perfectly. Your son will understand it all one day. Thanks for reminding me of what’s important.
The sound of polyhedral dice clattering across a tabletop will continue to be a sweet symphony to these ears. May you always roll 20s, dude!
Wil,
I’d have to agree with ZenMom. This would be an awesome blog if all you ever talked about was your addiction to Geek Culture and how you give in to your habits (all while writing about it so eloquently). But as a father, you’re a great example, especially to those people out there with “step-children”.
Now, onto what “I” really want. I want a walkthrough of Button Men. I’ve found the Manual Online, but it’s so FREAKIN complicated to read through. And you make it seem so simple. And I wanna play so bad! I’ve got all these dice! ALL THESE DICE!
Ahem. Sorry ’bout that. Don’t really know what happened.
Yeah, so I think I should go get Button Men to play with Mr. angie k. Also, thanks for sharing that geeky/touching moment.
Cheers!
That story is unadulterated Awwww and makes me glad to be part of the “sales better than expected” bit.
(Just so you know, Sunken Treasure is doing its job: I was thinking “Man, I should read some more of his stuff” when the “start with this book!” blurb popped up in my feedreader.)
I know you play for the face to face bonding, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the Online buttonmen web game.
In case you have some time to burn π
Finally!!! Something else to do with all my dice. π
I have a few Cheapass Games, but I never picked up that one. I’ll have to see if my local gaming shop (gotta support the local gaming shops) can still order it for me.
I’ll introduce it to the people who show up early to next week’s D&D session.
Given, I’m a big softy when it comes to these kinds of things, but I definitely shed a tear or two reading this. There is nothing more awesome or touching than a father/(step)son bond.
I great story that always warms my heart π
I had a 30 min spell like that last night π
My son is only 5 and I bought Wii music on the way home from work. I played it before he got back so I knew the basics already. He got in and asked what I was playing (we cuoldn’t go out playing football, from the UK and full of snow outside) so I told him Wii Music.
He wasn’t much impressed as he has seen it advertised on TV, until I played twinkle twinkle little star… then next thing you know his character is dressed up as a giant dog, and he’s barking away and i’m playing the drums π much fun was had all night! well untill it was his bedtime anyway – then I had to grow up π until tonight that is π
Today Wii music – the future Rock Band π
Thanks for sharing, dude.
I just want to say you sound really cool, Will, and you do us geeks proud. Can I be your new best friend π
What a great story about something so simple, yet so meaningful. It’s funny to look back now that I’m’ “grown up” and realize how many things I didn’t think much of at the time might have been defining father/son moments for my dad. It’s wonderful that you can express those moments so candidly.
Wow – you are a much better stepdad than I am. I mean, my stepson is a terrific kid and I truly do care about him, but I’ve just never been able to completely knock down that “he’s not mine” barrier. It’s not a very big or very solid barrier, but the fact that it’s there at all sometimes bugs me.
I know it stems from my own father who is a great dad, but just (due to his upbringing and the era of his youth) is not terribly “male-affectionate”, if that makes sense. Consequently, I am also not especially open when it comes to showing affection to my male friends and, again, my stepson. But, with my stepson I think it’s amplified a bit more because of that weird “step” barrier.
Plus he doesn’t like Button Men — so I’m probably somewhat justified in the occasional shunning, right? My daughter, on the other hand LOVES Button Men. ‘Course, she’s only three, so it’s really just the buttons and the dice she loves. But that’s a start!
<3 I am offended that typepad considers “<3” to be an empty field! But that’s all I got for you
I grew up in an abusive home, where one of my routes of escape was the final frontier, and Enterprise’s continuing mission to explore new life.
I’m happily married now, coming up on our 11th anniversary. We have no children, but I have 13 nieces and nephews! (OK, 12. The thirteenth is due next month). I’ve got a large extended family, too, so I have the privilege of looking at lots and lots of different families… and most of them are beautiful, and healthy, not the ugly things I grew up in.
I write all of this to thank you. There were a million and one ways you could have written about button men, or about playing with your son, or about how you wind down at the end of your day. Instead, you chose to give us a glimpse into the heart of a father who LOVES his son, and the little ways he shows it. Thank you for showing the hurt little girl who still lives in this 31 year old fan that families are as beautiful as she always wanted them to be.
My girls and 8 and 5. When I think about the kind of relationship I want with them as they grow up, I think of you & your sons, Wil. You set a wonderful example for the rest of us.
you’d feel like you were watching the Kings play the Sharks. (As a Kings fan, you have no idea how it pains me to write that.)
As a Sharks fan, I do, and I’m enjoying it. Muhhhwaaahahahaha!
Wonderful story — I firmly believe that all of life is mirrored in Buttonmen [partly because life is simpler than we think, and partly because buttonmen is more complex than people appreciate]. I definitely used buttonmen as a parenting tool throughout my older son’s childhood — both for learning arithmetic skills, abstraction, logical reasoning, conditional probability, game theory, and sportsmanship. (What else is there, after all?)
In fact, buttonmen even played a role in his Bar Mitzvah, complete with a summary of strategy taken from the Mishnah:
http://buttonmen.blogspot.com/2007/07/from-moshe-con-booklet.html#links
But geeze — keeping Chang with 4 20s when your son had Mischa with 44 sides? You’re not doing him any favor throwing games like that — what happens when he gets to college and they play swing and option dice correctly? for money?
That was such a great story Wil…another instant classic! Thanks so much for sharing. It’s those kinds of stories that get me excited to have kids one day.
I SO have to find this game. My daughter is 6 and just starting to get a feel for how games are actually played (you know, like using the rules). And she loves rolling dice, so this could be the perfect introduction not only to the geekly love of polyhedra but also to just a fun game that involves math and rules. π Sweet story. I think that there was a weird wind in my office – blew something in my eye. π
Awww… I wish I had someone to share stuff like this with.
These days, if I want to take a break from the computer, I either play guitar (using online tabs, which kinda defeats the purpose), or… I dunno!
It’s a solitary life.
I was sceptical of you as a writer when I first heard of it (I don’t know why, just one of those things. Wesley Crusher can’t be a writer he works for Star Fleet) but I now hang my head in sham for having doubted you. You are very gifted as a writer and as a father.
Bill and anyone else who’d like to try Button Men out – there’s an online Button Men isite; you can try the game out there. I’m on as joemcmahon – feel free to challenge me to a game and I’ll be glad to walk you through a few tutorial rounds.
I’ve had some great board game moments lately with my daughter.. she’s 7, almost 8, and we’ve played Settlers and Dominion, both of which she’s picked up on pretty quickly. But the best is where she’s playtesting one of the games I’m designing, and she’ll just come up with questions out of nowhere. Like I’m sure she’s forgotten all about it, then she suddenly asks me how it’s coming or gives me an idea. It’s just really stunning to see her becoming this whole other person day by day. So.. Yet Another Reason to Love Games.
I’d been waffling on buying Sunken Treasure, but when I read this post this morning, and found myself crying at the kitchen table, and then the post under it, and nearly spit milk laughing through the already-accumulated tears… well, it was clear I needed more Wil in my life. Book bought.
It was a moral imperative.
Wow. Rolling 1-2-3-4 _is_ statistically unlikely.
In fact, it’s statistically unlikely in three different ways:
First, the odds are 1 : 2^4 / 24. “One in twenty to the 4th over twenty four.” Tickles both my inner math and language geeks.
Second, when you work that out, it’s 1 : 6666.66… Which I’m sure I don’t need to explain the significance of, or the unlikelihood of.
Third, 1:6666.66, in turn, is .015 percent. When I lost my virginity, my partner was 15. Which may not sound at all uncommon or unlikely to you, until you remember that I have both an inner math and language geek, at which point it will suddenly seem very improbable indeed.
Seconded!
Wil, what an awesome story. The way you tell it makes me so excited to become a dad someday.
I love the heart warmies.
I know I say this every time you post one of these stories, but I just love them. Thanks for giving us that glimpse.
You’re a good dad. π
My son is currently 38″ tall, his favorite words are “no” and “why”, and he only eats white food. When I try to imagine what he’ll be like in five years – much less ten, fifteen, twenty – I get nothing back but a funny ache in my chest. However, if I have half the relationship with him that you have with your kids, I’ll be pretty happy. Loved your post.
How cute!
Just to say it, I got “Sunken Treasure” after less than a week and am so chuffed! What a great book! π
Wil,
Just for the record… Nolan rocks (and rolls) more than you. That 10 minutes just proved it π He owned you before he even turned around.
(great story… I wonder how Nolan would have written it up; you should ask him to. The true test of a father is to teach your children to beat you in every way possible, which would include writing)
oh holy cow. I had no idea it would actually list my user name as coming from aol when I picked that method at random to sign in. Ugh. Why couldn’t they offer a slashdot login (where my id is about a quarter of yours :-P)… sigh…
Hey Wil,
Is it bad that I now want to play this with my four year old?
He discovered my big bag o’ dice while I was reading this post…I hear them spilling onto the table, and walk in to see what I already know he’s up to.
I start babbling like the geeky mom I am when I see him holding a pewter d20, then start to tell him the story of how I met one of the creators of D&D(only I didn’t know it was him at the time), and got a surprise gift in the process.
Thanks for the new memories in progress you have given me and my wee one. I owe you!
–Lili