Past Time: K'Nex - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K'Nex

K'Nex

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A bridge made from K’Nex.

K’Nex (trademarked as K'NEX) is a brand name of a construction toy system invented by Joel Glickman, designed and produced by K'Nex Industries of Hatfield, Pennsylvania, USA. Currently Michael Araten is the president of the organization. The name is, presumably, a phonetic variation of connects, and is pronounced the same way. The toy's building system consists of interconnecting plastic rods and connectors, which can connect together to form all kinds of contraptions. K’Nex is a construction toy, and therefore in the same genre asLego, Fischertechnik and Meccano.

Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Early years 1.2 Today 2 K’Nex Pieces 2.1 Basic Pieces 2.2 Other Pieces 3 Display Models and Exhibits 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit]History

[edit]Early years

The concept behind K’Nex was originally conceived by Joel Glickman. While he was at a wedding, he started thinking of what he could do with his straw if he could connect it with other straws. He and his brother Bob Glickman discussed the idea and started the K’Nex company.^[1] The original building system kept very closely to the idea that Joel Glickman had: The K’Nex building system was simply Rods and Connectors which could be easily attached together to make different things. Other parts such as wheels and pulleys were also included to allow more flexibility in construction. The first K’Nex Box was launched in the U.S. market in 1993. Original models with moving parts had a handcrank to make things move. But soongears and motors allowed models to move on their own.^[2]

When K’Nex went to the big toy companies, such as Hasbro, and others, their idea was turned down, but they were referred to giant construction toy producer Lego. However Lego refused to even see their new toy. K’Nex is now distributed in Europe by TOMY.

[edit]Today

Until 2001, K’Nex did not make sets containing brand constructions (as Lego had with Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc.), but often based its sets around popular fads (such as mech warriors and RC cars). In 2001, K’Nex broke from this trend and introduced a line of toys using the BattleTech/MechWarrior ^[3] label, and later launched the OCC (Orange County Chopper)^[4] line of toys in 2006 and a line of Sesame Street^[5] building sets in 2008.

[edit]K’Nex Pieces

For a more complete listing of pieces, see Main Article: K'Nex pieces.

[edit]Basic Pieces

The basic K’Nex pieces used to make models are Rods and Connectors. When both of these are used together, they can create a wide variety of 3D objects and contraptions. All K’Nex Connectors and Rods are color coded.

• K’Nex Rods come in a range of lengths, each length having a distinct color. When the additional length of connections is taken into account, the ratio between successive lengths of rods is 1/√2^[6]. This simplifies the construction of right-angle isosceles triangles, and these triangles provide structural strength in models. Most types of K’Nex rods are only very slightly flexible, but there are extra rigid and very flexible versions of some of the longer rods.

• K’Nex Connectors also come in a range of types, each having a different number of slots. They can link the rods together in different ways. The first way is to insert the end of a rod into a slot on the connector, where it snaps firmly into place. Rods connect at angles which are multiples of 45 degrees. The second method is to snap the rod into one of the connector slots perpendicular to first method. The rods cannot rotate and will not move without deliberate force. The third way is to slip the rod through a round hole in the connector. The rod can slide and rotate freely while in the hole.

[edit]Other Pieces

There are many other K’Nex pieces, such as Wheels, Pulleys, Panels, Spacers, Gears, Bricks, and "Flexi-Rods" to name some. These give greater variety to what can be realized when being creative with K’Nex. There are various Motors that can make the models move. New K’Nex bricks were added into the K’Nex matrix in 2008 as part of K’Nex's 15th Anniversary celebration.

[edit]Display Models and Exhibits

Colossus is a former record holder for tallest K’Nex roller coaster. Not only was it the tallest, but it was also the fastest, reaching speeds of up to 65 MPH. However, it is still the tallest free-standing coaster.

K’Nex has toured the United States with exhibitions which have large displays of K’Nex. Many of these models are ones that sell or have sold, but there are many unique professionally made K’Nex models. These can can be quite large and built from tens of thousands of pieces. For example an 8 foot model of the United States Capitol building took 514,000 pieces to build, and is the biggest K’Nex model ever made.^[7]Unlike Lego bricks which can come in any color, K’Nex pieces are color-coded and therefore come in certain colors based on their shape. This fact presents a challenge when to make a model a specific color. In March 2009, Concordia University^[which?] engineering students erected a 43'3" model of the Eiffel Tower out of K’Nex.

Past Time: Patball - http://www.streetgames.co.uk/ball_street_games.php?article=206

Patball

Patball is a game played by generations in the school yards around the world. All you need to play is atennis ball (or ball with similar properties), a wall, and a hand (more hands makes for a more interesting game).

The basics of the game are to hit the ball with the front or the back of your hand against the wall. The ball must bounce on the floor before hitting the wall, and the aim is to hit the ball in such a way that the opponent cannot return it. In this way it is similar to raquet sports.

Once the ball rebounds off the wall the opponent can hit the ball on the volley (the ball does not hit the ground) or after one bounce. If the ball bounces twice the active player loses the point or in other forms of the game they could be eliminated.

The game can be played on your own, against one opponent in a scoring basis, or against multiple opponents in a knockout where shots are taken in rotation and the loss of a point results in being knocked out of the game.

Past Time: Oware - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oware#Online_play

Oware is an abstract strategy game and is the variant of mancala most widely considered suitable for serious adult competition^{[citation needed]}. Oware is the national game of Ghana, and the particular name "ɔware" is that given by the Akan speaking people there. It is played throughout West Africa and the Caribbean. Among its many names are Ayo (Yoruba), Awalé (Côte d'Ivoire), Wari (Mali),Ouri, Ouril or Uril (Cape Verde), Warri (Caribbean), Adji (Ewe), and Awélé (Ga). A common name in English is Awari but one of the earliest Western scholars to study the game, R.S. Rattray, used the name Wari.

Contents [hide] 1 Rules 1.1 Equipment 1.2 Object 1.3 Sowing 1.4 Capturing 1.5 Let the opponent play 1.6 Winning 2 Variations 2.1 "Grand Slam" variations 3 History and society 4 External links 4.1 Online play 4.2 More information 5 References

[edit]Rules

Following are the rules for the abapa variation, considered to be the most appropriate for serious, adult play.

[edit]Equipment

A foldable wooden board set up for play

The game requires an oware board and 48 seeds.

A typical oware board has two straight rows of six pits, called "houses", and optionally one large house at either end. Each player controls the six houses on their side of the board, and the score house on their right. The game begins with four seeds in each of the twelve smaller houses.

Boards may be elaborately carved or simple and functional; they may include a pedestal, or be hinged to fold lengthwise or crosswise and latch for portability and storage with the seeds inside. While most commonly located at either end, scoring houses may be placed elsewhere, and the rows need not be straight. When a board has a hinged cover like a diptych, the scoring houses may be carved into the two halves of the cover, and so be in front of the players during play. The ground may also be used as a board; players simply scoop two rows of pits out of the earth.

In the Caribbean, the seeds are typically nickernuts, which are smooth and shiny. Beads and pebbles are also sometimes used. In the West, some cheaper sets use oval shapedmarbles. Some tourist sets use cowrie shells.

[edit]Object

The object of the game is to capture more seeds than one's opponent. Since the game has only 48 seeds, capturing 25 is sufficient to accomplish this. Since there is an even number of seeds, it is possible for the game to end in a draw, where each player has captured 24.

[edit]Sowing

Example turn:

A	B	C	D	E	F

The lower player prepares to sow from E.

f	e	d	c	b	a

After sowing, c, d, and e are captured but nota.

Players take turns moving the seeds. On a turn, a player chooses one of the six houses under his or her control. The player removes all seeds from that house, and distributes them, dropping one in each house counter-clockwise from this house, in a process called sowing. Seeds are not distributed into the end scoring houses, nor into the house drawn from. That is, the starting house is left empty; if it contained 12 seeds, it is skipped, and the twelfth seed is placed in the next house. The diagram shows the result of sowing from house E.

Knowing the number of seeds in each house is, of course, important to gameplay. When there are many seeds in a house, sometimes enough to make a full lap of the board or more, they cannot easily be counted by eye, and their number is often guarded by the player who controls that house. This may be done by repeatedly moving the seeds in the house. A player may count the seeds when contemplating a move; in such cases the last few are usually counted in the hand to avoid revealing their number.

[edit]Capturing

After a turn, if the last seed was placed into an opponent's house that brought its total to exactly two or three, all the seeds in that house are captured and placed in the player's scoring house (or set aside if the board has no scoring houses). If the previous-to-last seed also brought an opponent's house to two or three, these are captured as well, and so on. However, if a move would capture all an opponent's seeds, the capture is forfeited, and the seeds are instead left on the board, since this would prevent the opponent from continuing the game. In the diagram to the right, the lower player would capture all the seeds in houses c, d, and e but not a, since it is not contiguous to the other captured houses.

[edit]Let the opponent play

The proscription against capturing all an opponent's seeds is related to a more general idea, that one ought to make a move that allows the opponent to continue playing. If an opponent's houses are all empty, the current player must make a move that gives the opponent seeds. If no such move is possible, the current player captures all seeds in his/her own territory, ending the game.

[edit]Winning

The game is over when one player has captured 25 or more seeds, or each player has taken 24 seeds (draw). If both players agree that the game has been reduced to an endless cycle, each player captures the seeds on their side of the board.

[edit]Variations

[edit]"Grand Slam" variations

A grand slam is when you capture all of your opponent's seeds in one turn. There are variations to the rule that applies, which may be one of the following:

1. Grand Slam captures are not legal moves.
2. Such a move is legal, but no capture results. International competitions often follow this rule.
3. Grand Slam captures are allowed, however, all remaining stones on the board are awarded to the opponent.
4. Such a move is legal, but the last (or first) house is not captured.

Various other rules also exist.

[edit]History and society

A game of awale.

Oware is perhaps the most widespread game in the mancala family of games.

Reflecting traditional African values, players of oware encourage participation by onlookers, making it perhaps the most social two-player abstract. Games may provide a focus for entertainment and meeting others. The game, or variations of it, also had an important role in teachingarithmetic to African children.

In May 2002, two scientists from the Free University in Amsterdam, Netherlands reported that they had used computers to solve the game of "Awari" using a brute force approach. Over 889 billion positions were considered, with their solution demonstrating that perfect play leads to a draw. However, some oware players have noted that this experiment was not done using the abape ruleset used in international competition, but rather with the Grand Slam variation.

Past Time: Patball

Another past time game i used to play was Patball. This required the player to hit a tennis ball up against the wall, with a bounce on the ground before it gets there. On the return, the opponent is only allowed the tennis ball to hit the floor once after it has hit the wall. If the tennis ball is allowed to hit the floor twice, that player loses a point. You can have multiple players in one game

Past Times: Oware

Oware is a board game that I used to play as a youth. It originates from the country that I am from which is Ghana. It consists of stones/seeds placed along the board. and the main object of the game it for a player to obtain more seeds than their opponent. This is only a two player game. and the way to obtain the seeds is to land on a group of four. You move the stones/seeds around by picking a group of stones/seeds, then by dropping one stone/seed into each hole. If there is still remaining stones/seeds on the last hole, then the user has to pick up that bunch and continue until the final stone is dropped into an empty bowl.

Past Time: Connect the Dots

Here is a past time, "Connect the Dots", a classic childens game that I used to play and enjoy. This has certainly sparked some ideas

Definitions

Gaming: - "the playing of Games especially those developed to teach something or to help solve a problem."

Game: - "an amusement or past time" OR "a competitive activity involving skill, chance or endurance" OR "fun; sport of any kind"

Mobile: - "capable of moving or being moved readily"