RIP Ivan Hanley
David Grier
Scotland
Paisley
Renfrewshire
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Its always sad to announce the death of someone, its particularly tragic when that person was only 36 years old.
Ivan Hanley
Scotland
Glasgow
Strathclyde
Ivan Hanley was a much loved member of our gaming group who died suddenly on the 23rd of December and although its impossible to put into words the depth of sadness we all fell at his passing we, his friends, would like to commemorate him with this list.
I encourage anyone who knew Ivan to add a memory or dedication to him.
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David Grier
Scotland
Paisley
Renfrewshire
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When i joined our gaming group this was the first game we played and my first true taste of eurogames.... and it was Ivans choice.
This kind of game - 'heavy on the table talk' was a particular favourite of his. To say he like to mix things would be an understatement - but it was always with good humour, never nasty. I think his gentle banter is what i'll miss the most.
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Fraser Lamont
Scotland
Dunblane
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While adapting gambit 7 for the commonwealth edition, Ivan and I had a friendly competition to see who could provide the best question for the game. We went back and forth until Ivan eventually dropped this nuclear bomb:
"In feet, at what depth can a scuba diver no longer pass wind?"
This was the point I put up the white flag.
Such genius will be much missed.
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ian smith
Scotland
Glasgow
I Play Green
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I have many many memories of Ivan, all good - well apart from the way he used to turn entire tables against me in Manhattan, oh and that propensity to destroy entire regions in Shogun for no strategic gain, oh and then there was the ....
I was informed of Ivan's death by his girlfriend Linda on Thursday evening, I then had the daunting task of informing everyone else within our group of his tragic passing, it has been a horrendously sad few days. Ivan was member of two gaming groups, one here in Glasgow where he lived and another in Northern Ireland from where he hailed, We are both devastated by his passing.
Having said all that, what do I remember of Ivan, I remember him being a cock - a loveable cock, a gentlemanly cock, a humorous cock but a cock nonetheless - he was particularly cock-like during this game.
No matter how often I played with him and no matter how well or badly he perceived I was doing, he made it his job to decide which colour I was and then create a 6 way attack on that colour.
There is nothing more infuriatingly funny that having someone, in the opening round of a closed information game, shout - "Ian's Yellow, let's kill yellow", when I say there is nothing more infuriating, there is one thing and that would be him being correct in guessing I was Yellow, he was lucky that way too.
I will miss cooking him dinner every wednesday, I will miss saying polite things about his home brew, I will miss his ability to label a fellow players character in an instant and I will miss him most of all.
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Keith Jones
Scotland
Kilmacolm
Inverclyde
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I first made contact with Ivan when he was running his website in Northern Ireland. At that time Princes was only available in German but I had found some English translations which I'd converted to paste ups and sent him a copy. An occasional correspondence started but it wasn't until many years later that I got to meet him at Dicecon when we sat down with Gordon and Fraser to play Antler Island. The impression I came away with was of someone who simply enjoyed playing and loved the social as well as the competitive aspect.
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Peter Millen
United Kingdom
Greyabbey
Northern Ireland
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Before he moved to Scotland, Ivan founded Board Gamers Anonymous (BGA) in Northern Ireland. This was back in 2000, before BGG when rec.games.board was the medium, German Games came from Adam Spielt and we had to search for translations and paste-ups.
I loved this guy...generous, humorous cheerful and a fine gamer.
I particularly remember him in card games where as a Bridge aficianado, Ivan usually had an edge in actually weighing the position. Mu and Tichu were favourites of his, but I also remember some hilarious slam-making in a silly game like Rage.
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Mark Hall
Scotland
Glasgow
Scotland
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I only knew Ivan for a few months but he always provided great table talk and friendly abuse/banter.
Power Grid was the first game I played with him and the first game I played with primordial group, he was a great ambassador for social gaming even when I played purple, totally oblivious. I will miss him.
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John Robertson
United States
Shoreline
Washington
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I remember turning up for my first games night with the primordial group- the night started with getting an 'introduction' to Brass - a couple of hours later coming up to midnight with my head still reeling the various folk still around sat down to play Citadels. With a full complement Citadels is a suitably chaotic game which quickly becomes all about the table talk. Ivan taught the game and I picked up enough of the rules to appreciate the early power of the thief.
So round 1 I picked the assassin and killed off the thief - who turned out to be Ivan. A bit of set back for him and a little muttering ensued. Round 2 I picked the assassin again and killed the thief again - well you can guess who it turned out to be. His game suitably screwed Ivan proceeded to protest then politely smile with the twinkle in his eye that meant my game was about to change...
Ivan will be missed and I'm sorry that we didn't coincide at the same table more often or and I never got to try his soup.
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Anthony Boydell
United Kingdom
Unspecified
Unspecified
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Ivan participated in a number of fun, M:TG cryptic competitions that I ran in the early 2000s when I'd decided to give up the game and give away my cards. He had a great sense of humour and was bloody good at the quiz to boot!
RIP indeed...
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Behrooz Shahriari
United Kingdom
Glasgow
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I think this was the final game of the night when Ivan hosted the Wednesday night of gaming.
The finest cock-knocker ever.
2 memories:
- Shortly after I met Ivan, we were talking late into the night, just outside Ian's old place. There was no reason for us to just stand there, since we were both heading in the same direction but he regaled me with stories for the better part of an hour by the side of the stairs...
- The last time I saw Ivan, sitting in his car, he showed me photos picturing the Dundonian snow. It seemed he always had a good story to share.
He definitely had the mind for the complex stuff but took pleasure in the sillier stuff too. He was always entertaining, a great host, always a pleasure to be with and generally a fantastic bloke. I wish I'd had time to get to know him better.
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Stuart Hill
United Kingdom
GreyAbbey
Down
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I'm an infrequent attender at BGA (the game group in NI which Ivan set up). Any time I've played with the group has been a positive experience and I've good memories of gaming with Ivan.
I would like to pass on my sympathies to all who knew Ivan, most of you probably better than I. I can not imagine how his relatives and close friends will get over the shock of this sudden and unexpected passing.
Although Ivan enjoyed the 'German Style' games he, like many others, discovered them through various other games. I'm sure most of you will be surprised to see a war game appear in this list.
Some time ago when he heard I was collecting figures for Space Marine he passed on the figures he could find from his collection before he moved onto the 'German games'.
Stuart
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According to Ivan's contributions page, he created 44 gaming aids, receiving only 95 thumbs, and yet he only posted 2 threads and 28 replies. Not a talker, like so many around here...a doer.
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Gregor Moir
Scotland
Glasgow
Scotland
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I think my favourite memory with Ivan was playing this, after 4 pints, at dicecon in Glasgow. The jokes just kept worse and worse and I remember Ivan breaking down, laughing non-stop for five minutes with tears in his eyes.
To me that sums Ivan up; if you were playing a game and he was in it, it was more fun. I also had the opportunity to see him at work as a teacher and he was damn good at that to.
Take care big chap.
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Andy Hynes
United Kingdom
Glasgow
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This was the last game I ever played with Ivan, in September. His attendance at the Glasgow club had become less regular this year, because I suspect he was spending quality time with Linda. So it was great to get a chance to play this game with him.
Four of us were playing and Ivan was teaching the game to the other two (newbs). I have played this game many times and I'm rubbish at it. I must confess that in my hunger for a win my primary strategy was to take advantage of the newb's naivety and encourage them to beat down on Ivan from the very first turn. My strategy paid off but Ivan took it like a true gent in his usual good humoured style. Quiet possibly my only victory at this game.
I always loved playing games with Ivan. He was never shy at trying out a new strategy, sometimes disastrously, but sometimes they were pure genius. He always had a big smile and would chuckle and laugh throughout a game. He has provided our group with more phrases that have become part of our collective group speak than any other member.
And he always had a top pocket for his game money.
I'm sure he will be badly missed by everyone who knew him.
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14.
Board Game: Torres
[Average Rating:7.24 Overall Rank:184]
g colhoun
United Kingdom
Unspecified
Unspecified
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This was one of Ivan's favourites, his number one boardgame if I remember rightly. Good choice too, as it combines elegant mechanics with attractive appearance. One that deserves a place in any future memorial session.
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Nick Pitman
Scotland
Glasgow
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I am still struggling to come to terms with the fact that I wont see Ivan again.
He added to the gaming group in some many ways, some of which have already been mentioned...
- The Ivan-isms will hopefully stay in our vocabulary forever.
- He had an unnerving ability to be a cunning c--t while remaining charming and likeable at the same time.
- And to always remain in good humour when one was a c--t to him.
- He introduced us to many "old classics" - San Marco, Heimlich & Co., Lifeboats, Schoko & Co. to name a few.
- He pioneered the "top-pocket" secret money system.
He was also generally a kind and generous person. As I look around my house I cant help but think of the work he put in helping to strip wallpaper from the walls.
I am grateful for the time I spent with Ivan, but I am saddened by the fact I never got to know him better. Over the last year or so we had developed an infrequent but recurring run of 2 player nights. We learned Commands & Colors: Ancients together and played at least one game each time, although we were still content to experiment with the first scenario.
I wish we could move on to play Crimissos River (341 BC).
I wish he could have had the chance to finally make it to Essen.
I wish I could see him come through the door with an enormous bag of obscure games one more time...
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When playing in the company of the group, I have always been intrigued by whether a connection exists between the persona a player adopts in the course of the game and their true personality in the 'real world'. Playing against (and it was always against) Ivan confirmed that there was no simple correlation between the two. In a gaming situation Ivan was devious, manipulative, untrustworthy and thoroughly evil. Fortunately, he was also charming, hilarious and gallingly successful. Away from the table, the negative traits fell away, but the positive ones remained.
Inevitably, my choice of game had to be Leonardo Da Vinci, as it somehow gave rise to my nickname, Scock, and caused Ivan a great deal of amusement. Couldn't see what was so funny myself...
I'll think of him whenever I hide a few notes in my top pocket. Thanks for the tip, Ivan.
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Michael R
United Kingdom
Glasgow
Lanarkshire
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When I first heard of Ivan's death, I was shocked and saddened. I couldn't think of what to write as a tribute to him. Now a few months later, I find that rather than sadness every time I think of Ivan a huge smile crosses my face. I hope that is how he would have liked to be remembered. He was easily one of the funniest, friendliest, warmest people I have ever been fortunate enough to meet.
I've chosen Manhattan for the all games' rules he taught us, which were, unbeknownst to us, full of his own house rules.
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Minnesota
Glasgow
T'was Tichu my friend and I do recall trying to play Brass downstairs at the time and hearing Ivan yelling "Gimp!" at you with every card played - I think that may also have been the evening that "Scock" was born.
What a Man!
Scock was born on a different night.
Ivan blogged about the Tichu game night here: http://www.primordialgroup.com/Blog/default.aspx?articleid=1...
He also blogged about the Scock game night here: http://www.primordialgroup.com/Blog/default.aspx?articleid=1...
Glasgow
Or maybe Swimwear Competition (as in "In there like...").
Bill
Glasgow
I will keep the donations open for a few weeks to allow as many to contribute as possible.
Thanks in advance.