This is the time of year that I held the mini-gaming convention that I organized annually: Betashyyykshire.

Because I am moving to upper New Engalnd in a few weeks, this is the first year since 2000 that the event will not be held, but I am thinking of all the excellent turnouts and good times. The event started out as a venue primarily for Star Wars CCG, Young Jedi, and Star Trek CCG players, hence "Betashyyk"--"Beta" for the planet of "Betazed" (Deanna Troi's home planet I believe--I don't know since I'm not a Trekkie) and "shyyk" for "Kashyyyk". [NOTE: Decipher split the world map into several "gaming regions" for the purposes of marketing and local championships. New England was in the Kashyyyk region for Star Wars and Betazed for Trek.]

Anyway, the inaugral event held in 2000 was a huge success. We had nearly thirty Star Wars players from all over the Northeast show up. Most were opining about the introduction of Episode I cards and the mechanics that would debut with Tatooine, and there were a lot of grumblings about podracing and (of course) Jar Jar.

Jar Jar's role in the Star Wars CCG was one of the reasons I loved the way Decipher handled the game. I mean, they took one of the most loathed characters (and perhaps the single reason fans shudder at the thought of watching Ep1) and made him better than (at that point) any version of Lando or even Boba Fett. In Decipher's mind, the joke was always on Star Wars fandom, especially the fanboys.

Unfortunately I don't think LFL ever got the good-natured jibes, or if they did perhaps thought that D was disrespecting them. I remember hearing the story that Decipher had to stop the Easter Eggs after the release of Jabba's Palace that were often very cool nods to popular culture (e.g. the chia-pet) and film/TV culture (e.g. the robot from Lost in Space) because LFL didn't believe it to be appropriate--even tho they put easter eggs in Episode I themselves.

*sigh* Hopefully LFL has more of a sense of humour these days, but back five years ago they didn't (or at least they stopped) and as Jar Jar would add, "That's why LFL no-likin' Decipher me-sa thinks."