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Reefer City:
Could you make it as a big-time dope dealer?
A panel ofjudges tried it and decided that it was
... fun trying.
By Bob Sebree
Angelique Copeland
Scot K. Meyer
Battalion Staff
Fred the Head feared a bust
coming on. Fred, being an intelli
gent head and sensing that the
market level was as high as he was,
dug up his stash of Mexican and
Panama Red (a stash, not to be
snorted at) and headed, as only
heads can, to Hippie Haven.
He made enough money on the
deal to invest in more chic contri-
band, such as Hash Oils and
Lebanese Blonde, not to be con
fused with Lebanese brunettes.
Alas, poor Fred didn't make his
conection and hit the Big Bust.
But fear not, Fred has a chance to
score again on the next roll of the
dice.
"Reefer City," is a new board
game that is advertised as being
designed for intelligent heads. By
intemgent heads, we don't mean
that you need a Ph.D. in narcotics
or needle tracks on your arms to
play the game.
The game's inventor. Cam Mar
cus, originated the idea in 1978
when he was a freshman living in
Chittenden Hall on the University
of Vermont campus. Marcus
noticed how popular games like
bacgammon and cribbage were at
the university.
After becoming bored with
these games, he and friends de
cided to buy a "Dealer McDope"
game.
All of the stores in the area were
out of it, and so was Marcus,
which may explain why he de
cided to invent his own game.
"It all started by doodling a tic-
tac-toe-like pattern. It looked like
the layout of a city," he said.
Once the game was in playable
form, Marcus and his friends de
cided to refine and market "Reefer
City."
"But what do I know about busi
ness/' he said, quite possibly
while swilling his mushroom tea.
"And where am I going to find the
money to start production?"
A couple of months of research
and $460 later, he founded Game
Makers, Inc., and has been trying
to get publicity for his game.
But publicity alone won't sell the
game. We took it upon ourselves
to do extensive, scientific research
to test the actual socio-economic
ramifications of the product.
Since experience is the best
teacher, we got together all the in
telligent heads we could find
(there were none, we had to settle
for just garden-variety heads) to
play the game.
Fortunately, the game has in
structions even a non-intelligent
head can understand.
Play starts at the square cleverly
marked "Start Here."
As the game proceeds the need
for intelligence becomes apparent
for those players who are still
coherent enough to care. They
must develop a sophisticated
strategy which will allow them to
play the market while carefully
avoiding getting busted. Dealers
must try to buy at low prices and
then sell as high as possible, high
reefering to both the players and
the prices. Dope prices vary, re
flecting highs and lows in both the
market and the individual players.
More than just a hip Monopoly,
the game is designed to reflect the
erils of dope dealing. Getting
usted is just one of the problems
potential dealers face with an un
lucky roll of the dice. They must
also watch out for a narc dog that
will smell a reefer and promptly
attack. Like all good dealers, you
should be paranoid enough to
know that someone is probably
watching you, and that one can
lose one's best connections to
other dealers.
But not all the squares contain
bad luck. And what seems like bad
news at first could turn out to be a
stroke of good luck. One square
says "fall in a sewer and find a
pound of Panama Red." Other
squares bear news like "Good har
vest collect $1000," and "Lite up
now," for which the instruction
manual suggests you use your im
agination.
Our panel of heads determined
that the game, which can be
ordered from Game Makers, Inc.
for $14.95 + 2.00 postage and
handling, is fun. We do not prom
ise that the game will prepare you
for a career as a big city dope deal
er. But it is fun.
3 8 $ 3
£ O O C/l U
--GTQ c o S*
? 7 S a.
o-s-