BAH64!
what once was lost now am found
A little more than a week ago sitting outside soaking up some of Dave’s big deck energy we began to reminisce. One of the stories was about a drinking game that sprung up and thankfully died. This was most likely due to the technicality that it held the most destructive power of any of the dumb stuff we get up to when left unsupervised. I was sad as all traces of the thing were seemingly lost but the stories gave me a new mission. For the last week I have searched every portable drive and online storage vendor for documented evidence of the game. This morning I awoke remembering an old thumb drive I glimpsed during the move.
This one's for you Ernie, Ron, and especially Dave. You know what you did.
I will begin with the mockup of the box top. I’m not a marketer by trade but this part at least is just about perfection.
And now for the origin story for the back of the box just before the instructions…
Deep in the bowels of Mid-Winter Classic Eve a game of Mexican had been rolling for at least three hours. Most of the early arrivals had slinked off to bed and even the hardcore were considering calling it a night. But then, much later than expected, Ron and Uncle Paul showed up and they were ready to play. Ron shamed the tired and declared “we can sleep when were dead” so the game continued… Stakes were raised as Sailor Jerry (possible corporate game sponsor) was brought in for everyone but Dave. It should be noted for the official record that he had been playing all night with a different evil brown liquor. This fact combined with his natural stubborn streak led to the founding of the game.
The dice for the Mexican contest were scavenged from a backgammon set and the asshole who found them brought the doubling cube along for the ride. When Bourbon Filled Dave (this is what I feel we should name the Hobo on the cover of the box) discovered the larger cube with the higher numbers on it - his brain got to work - and this awful new game was born.
Dave named this first iteration Guatemalan which was basically Mexican played with the new die that forced players to drink shots of Sailor Jerry. Ron has a special way of saying sailor that involves a lilting lisp and that started being said before every drink. Shit got weird fast.
No matter how much we complained and tried to get back on the good old just beer Mexican track Dave would not be deterred. He would see his new game played no matter what anyone else thought. During a particularly punishing round where yours truly was consuming his third shot in a row I shouted “THIS GAME BLOWS A HOBO!” and it all made sense. No longer having to pronounce Guatemalan or lisp out Thailor Jerry somehow made everything okay. Blow a Hobo 64 (the number is for for that stupid fucking doubling cube) or BAH64 was born.
An interesting side note: Everyone involved with the Alpha Testing of this game awoke the next morning with the feeling that an old dirty bum had snuck in during their slumber and done unspeakable things to their mouths so the name worked on a lot of levels.
Instructions as transcribed through a hungover fog the next morning in my iPhone notes:
Instructions based on gathered facts from last night: The game is simple and is loosely based on the dice drinking game known as Mexican. This version is played with a doubling cube from a backgammon set. The game is currently under development but the rules so far are as follows:
If you roll a 2 then you drink twice from your own personal drink reciting the name of the game before each drink
If you roll a 4, 8, 16, or 32, you announce your roll to the person you are passing to.
That player can either call bullshit if they think you did not beat or tie the person that rolled before you by picking up the cup.
If you lied or failed you drink.
If you told the truth or rolled under what you said they drink. OR…
They can scoop up the cube without looking in an attempt to tie or beat your roll. A tie means both players drink equally. If the player beats the roll they pass it along and the same rules apply.
If you roll a 64 then you shout out the name of the game and pick another player to do a shot.
That player can then drink their shot OR attempt to tie your roll which would mean that you both drink.
If the player challenge rolls and fails to tie your 64 then they drink two shots.
These are all the proposed rules I can remember. I record this for posterity with the firm hope that I never play this fucking game ever again.
