A Night of Romanopoly

Was at church (see BLC link) last night for some fun and games, and of course, lots of good food. Being potluck night in a country as diverse as ours, the spread was pretty interesting; ranging from Indian Thosai to some Chinese flavoured rice and to a serving of BBQ Buffalo Wings. Oh! And let's not forget the Berry's contribution of the Sicilian Chicken (and they're not even Italians). It would be unthinkably unMalaysian for it to be otherwise. Heavens forbid! Thank God for the infinitely unending crazy potpourri served up in this country.














For the first time ever, I was engaged in a hoot of a game called Romanopoly. Akin the more well known boardgame; albeit, with a twist, as this event was played out in "reality" with a full set of participants amidst the backdrop of a costumed Roman theme. It even had parallel similarities such as "Buying & Selling" in currency of 1 sen coins (ie. it was called trading, though IMHO, gambling would be a more appropriate word to describe the action), "Go To Jail" (ie. forced imprisonment) and "Bankruptcy" (ie. bonded slavery). I even made enough money from trading to buy me a slave. A very interesting experience actually. Hehehee... :)

Here's John in his costume. A part Roman, part Persian outfit. Have no idea what was Sienfeld's contribution in this though.











Poor Hoong Guit. The only person whom we could not bail out of prison. Despite much protracted negotiations with Airfoong, the Enemy Soldier (a real ugly character), she would not budge from her demand of 100 sen. It seems that man's greed knows no bounds. And so, ultimately, HG became the sole sacrificial lamb.



Besides those mentioned, there were two other main characters in the game; namely, Su Shen's role of the Empress, who generously dished out more currency to the public to feed the economy when her mood suited her (kinda reminded me of the mad Emperor who fiddled while Rome was set alight), and Ken Beng's character of the Slave Master (the best occupation ever invented by man), one who profited at every turn from engaging in the lucrative business of human bondage. The rest of us were only designated pilgrims. Overall, a wonderful night of fun and laughter in the company of my Christian brethrens. God bless all of you.