MEET THE BAUMANN SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
SCHOOLS
Area
children compete in Magic
Card Tourney
by ALAN RAPHAEL
If you hold a tournament, they will come; and come they did.
More than 50 area children participated in a Magic card tournament at the Bedford Presbyterian Church Saturday.
Magic: The Gathering is recognized both inside and outside the adventure gaming industry. At the Mensa Games Competition in June 1994, Magic received a "Mensa Top Five Mind Games" award. The Mensa Society considers a vast number of games for this annual competition.
The event was organized by students at the Fox Lane Middle School. The students made all the arrangements for the tournament, including asking $3 of each participant.
The $168 raised will be donated to Midnight Run, which is an organization working with the homeless in Manhattan.
Mount Kisco resident David Hertz, father of a Fox Lane Middle School student, was one the adults assisting the kids.
He split the tournament into two groups. Type 1 consisted of players using older edition of cards; Type 2 used the more recently released editions.
A round robin system of play was used so each player had the opportunity to play the other members of the group. A best of three games format determined which players advanced to the next round.
'A good time'
All the players had to bring their own cards. Players utilized shoe boxes, small valises and plastic bags to transport their prize collections of cards.
They sat at long tables carefully arranging their decks to gain the best possible advantage over their opponents. They remained orderly, courteous and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the games.
"Everyone had a good time. A lot of parents had an opportunity to see for the first time exactly how the game is played. The kids had a wide variety of playing experience - we even had first and second graders here," said Mr. Hertz.
Pound Ridge residents Richard and Janet Watson have three children. "We find the game quite innocent. This game has the kids interacting with people instead of a video screen."
The tournament drew a large number of interested spectators including, parents, school board members and even a representative from the company that makes the game.
When it was all over, prizes donated by Scott Trumball, owner of the hobby store, Starbase, were awarded to the two winners.
The winner of the Type 1 competition was Keith Clarke, a middle school student from Pleasantville. The Type 2 competition was won by Tim Warden-Hertz, a sixth grader at Fox Lane Middle School.
Moratorium
Sue Clark, whose son, David, is a fourth grade student at Pound Ridge Elementary School, had started a before-school Magic card club for her son's classmates.
It was this club that sparked the controversy that eventually led to the moratorium. A Magic card club had also been an after-school program at the middle school as an extension of the enrichment program.
The students were upset when schools superintendent, Dr. Bruce L. Dennis, instituted a 30-day moratorium on the fantasy card game on school property.
The moratorium was imposed after Dr. Dennis met with several concerned parents from Pound Ridge who charged that the game was satanic and feared for their children.
Douglas Ferguson from the public relations division of Wizards of the Coast, flew in from Renton, Wash. "We've sold over one billion of these cards and this is the first time charges like this have come to our attention," he said.
"The game is a test of skill and strategy that involves math skills and independent thinking. It is not a role-playing game."
Paul D. Alcorn, co-pastor of the Bedford Presbyterian Church, became involved when several middle school students, most of whom regularly participate in the church's programs (including his son), asked if they could use space available at the church for the tournament.
Their intention was to provide an opportunity for those administrators, parents and community members who had questions about the game of Magic to come and observe the game being played, meet the kids who were interested in playing and have a chance to learn more about it before a final decision was reached