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Anthony Boydell
United Kingdom
Unspecified
Unspecified
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SFX>: Knock, knock
Me (opening door cautiously): Yes?
Reader: Mister Boydell?
Me (suspiciously): Yes?
Reader: Mister Tony Boydell?
Me: Yes?
Reader (expectantly): I'm here about your blog entry?
Me (relieved): Oh yes! (laughs) Right! (opens door wider; Tony is in his underwear) I'll just go get something decent on. (starts walking away, then turns) Want to come in for a moment?
Reader: Okay.
Me (suddenly serious): I won't be long...don't follow me upstairs, whatever you do!
(Tony points theatrically then walks upstairs. There is a long pause punctuated by scuffling noises. Readers mooch about the hallway straightening pictures, looking in the plant pots, and checking for dust along the Dado rail)
Reader (sniffing the air): Mmmm - lamb tikka masala?
Me (coming down the stairs in a business-like suit): Okay, then - let's go!
Once upon a time (a long time ago - March, 1967 to be precise) in a little town called Newport (South Wales), an un-fertilized egg took a trip on the tube where it met some sperm; not being ova confident, the egg waited for the little wrigglers to make the first move. The sperm, obviously interested in such a fine egg, begin fighting amongst themselves until one took the initiative…he and she became inseparable and got a womb together - then came the sudden split…
(Confidential Aside) Alternatively, for those of you who find such graphic biological descriptions un-nerving, here's a gaming analogy: Player A shuffled the 'deck' in preparation, player B (differently-gendered), almost won the toss and elected to go second (isn't that always the way, girls ?). Player A pushed his advantage home, and after a short burst of activity, declared that he was done. Player B then spent nine months cultivating her response, before bringing a meeple into play.
My name is Anthony (long for Tony) Boydell (my middle name is Dominic, but just keep that to yourself, ok ?). I was born on 12th November, 1967 and was, according to the finest medical minds available at the time (or at least, the only Doctor at the corner shop when my Dad went for some fags) six weeks premature - extrapolate this, if you will, and you will see that I should've arrived around Christmas some-time (the first born AND the Second Coming?). My (Italian) grandmother was convinced that being so 'early', I was about to perish and summoned a priest to administer the Last Rites (or the Sacrament of the Sick, as it is now known) - luckily for all of you, I overcame this first hurdle and am now 43 with a wife, five children, a fine pair of Mr Happy slippers, a bald patch and, some would say, FAR too much spare time on my hands.
(waits for some who would say to say)
My parents divorced when I was 14 and, apart from the rifle incident, that did me no harm whatsoever.
I went to college (Liverpool Polytechnic) to complete a BSc(Hons) in Computer Studies (this was the mid-1980s!) and emerged, fully-formed in to the grown-up world with 2-1 (second best you can get). During that time I read comic books, watched movies, played snooker, went to many 'gigs' and masturbated a lot.
A career in the British Civil Service loomed and, between 1991 and 1998, I enjoyed a rewarding career working in Cheltenham. During this time I discovered Magic: The Gathering and a new world of games courtesy of fellow CCG-player Mr Alan Paull (little did I know of his celebrity at the time). This period saw my first forays into design: The Black Overcoat Game (card-driven board game - anarchic but fun - tied into a long-running cartoon strip I was drawing at the time), Ecology (an eco-themed family boardgame about clearing up pollution and returning animals to their habitats), Coppertwaddle and Food Fight (which would become Bloody Legacy).
Leaving permanent employment in favour of (then) lucrative contract work, I spent a short period in Switzerland and then returned to the quivering anus of the UK (aka Swindon) - during this time, Surprised Stare Games Ltd was born!
I spent a couple of intense years (1999-2001) heavily involved in Magic: The Gathering - playing it and, with a little more success, writing about it (some of you may remember my stint on Star City Games).
Life, and I.T projects, moved along and as SSG attended its first few Essen Spiel's, a shift in my gaming focus occurred. Most probably this was tied to the ridiculous amount of time I was spending on trains - absolutely the best environment for thinking about game designs! It would be fair to say that Totemo and Fzzzt! were products of choo-choo based incarceration. I also got to play lots of different, 'harder' games with a group of more serious players - luring me away from the frivolous (well, almost).
Since the mid-noughties, gaming has been the significant chunk of my recreational time (though never at the cost of quality time with the family) and, with the addition of a shed, design a big chunk of that chunk. And this bloody BLOG eats up chunk chunks too.
Final Note - Rumour Mill:
Apparently, there's going to be a sequel to Twilight Struggle coming out in the Summer...it's called New Moon Struggle (bomp-tish!).
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