Gipf: I play the game

October 6 , 2004
No new game in Essen...

When I started making things complex - in 2003, that was, when I announced that the 5th game was the 6th and vice versa - I had promised that the last game was going to be ready for the yearly games fair in Essen, Germany. Essen? 2004? Hmmm, I have a problem. The past year has been hectic - even more hectic than the hectic years before. I've been more than ever fully occupied with all the trivial, daily things one has to face when trying to run a business. There was no time at all to work on something new. Days passed by, weeks passed by - and that way months pass by, etc. Essen? That is only two weeks away! The game that must complete the GIPF series will not be ready. There's even no idea for it it yet...

So, the plan needed to be adjusted; the release of the last game of Project GIPF is postponed. It is now scheduled for October, 2005. Also GIPF Set 3, containing the YINSH-potentials and the potentials of the last game, may be expected by then.

We apologize to all the Project GIPF fan for this delay. For the time being, we hope that the restyled GIPF can offer a little comfort. It is ready and we'll have it with us Essen. And we are very happy with the result. A certain moment we thought that we had made a mistake by changing the material of the pieces, though. As you may recall from the previous update, we pointed out the fact that something could go wrong with the *tone* of the ivory pieces. Well, something did go wrong with it! Have a look at the pic below.

The new ivory pieces are the darker pieces. They are even more different from the existing acrylic pieces than all the samples we had received. At first we were very disappointed, but after having played a few games with the new pieces, we just enjoyed more and more the fact that they were in *bakelite*, indeed. The finish is perfect, the surface so smooth. The weight, the sound and the feel are just great! OK, they look a bit yellow-ish. And, true, some will find the difference a problem when adding potentials to GIPF, but... well... there's nothing we could have done to avoid it. Nor is there something we can do about it now. We have already settled for it - and meanwhile we're really please with the new pieces. All we can do is hope that many of you will like them, too. For us it is a sure thing now: bakelite has definitively become the standard material of the components the games of project GIPF are played with.

For a look at the new box, go to the GIPF section of this site. Cheers!

Scandinavian edition of GIPF

As already mentioned in the page with our *Contacts*, we have a distributor for the Nordic (i.e. Scandinavian) countries. The company is named "Ísöld" and the man behind it is Björn Birgisson. Björn has ambitious plans with Project GIPF. He does not just want to distribute the games, no, he wants to hit the North of Europe with a Scandinavion version of each game. Meanwhile the Scandinavian version of GIPF is ready. Distribution will start in the near future. The plan is to release a Scandinavian version of DVONN in the spring of 2005. Depending on how well the Scandinavian GIPF and DVONN will do, Björn will decide which game he will tackle next and by when it must be ready!

We are thrilled with the Scandinavian GIPF. It is the first time that a game of project GIPF has been completely changed into a special version for a specific territory. We find it very exotic and - no doubt! - it is a spectucular *première*! If you live in a Scandinavian county, start spreading the news. If you would not live in that part of the world, start spreading the news just as well!

Don't forget: the WC's are coming closer!

First the ZÈRTZ en YINSH World Championships in Essen, Germany, and one week later the GIPF and DVONN World Championships in Eindhoven. Quite often we get e-mails from people telling us that it is difficult to find opponents. Well, these tournaments are perfect occasions to meet other palyers; here you have the possibility to play against other people who like Project GIPF. Maybe you'll end up playing with one or a few of them more often. So: don't miss it! Be there!

For the details: go to the Agenda!