Thursday, March 1, 1984/The Battalion/Page 3
Aggie toymaker envisioned [Rains to speak at Muster
irst board game in a dream
C£
(TP
S'
isi
——^M.
n
By LYNN RAE POVEC
Reporter
gck Slimp conceived Lever-
a dream on a Saturday
won in December of 1975.
o days later, the Aggie
d completed a working
w l of the board game. By
«nd of 1983, the Milton
alley Co., which bought the
B from him, had sold all
5p0 that it produced that
s|year.
[laid down one Saturday af-
on for a nap, which I rar
er do, and dreamed the
” Slimp said in a tele-
q&e interview Friday.
mp, a 1965 graduate of
B, is founder, owner, and
dent of the Star Game Co.
lanassas, Va. He said his vi-
njwas so powerful that he
irked for most of the next 48
building a prototype of
aard, pennies and nails.
I pictured it fairly clearly,”
said, “but when I started
imake a prototype of it, I
tight I should make it big-
py the time the whole thing
lover, I had consolidated it
ck down to its original size."
Leverage is a combination of
eckers and Chinese checkers.
P board is mounted on a
I and balanced so that it is
i s either level, or fully in-
I | toward one player or the
■
I jhere’s no in-between
I I Slimp said. “It’s always
I | way down, or it’s at a lev-
’ * * ■< J|L
- ' . '
By TAMMY KIRK
Reporter
This year’s Texas A&M
Muster speaker will be Jack
M. Rains of Houston, presi
dent and chief operating offi
cer of 3 D/International.
Muster is observed each
April 21 when students and
former students of Texas
A&M come together to honor
comrades who have died in
the last year. It includes the
traditional roll call of the de
ceased when friends answer
“here.”
The speaker for the cam
pus Muster, the largest of the
musters held worldwide, is
chosen by a special commit
tee.
“Jack Rains is what we were
looking for in a speaker,” said
committee member Matt Hol
ley. “He’s a dynamic person
and highly recommended by
the faculty who critiqued our
top ten choices.”
Rains was chosen mainly
for his motivational speaking
ability, says Renee Ramsey,
committee chairman. Ramsey
says she feels Rains will be
able to reach the students and
relate to them with his enthu
siasm and still project the Ag
gie tradition or Muster.
Rains, Class of ‘60, grad
uated with a bachelor of busi
ness administration degree
from A&M. Although in the
Corps of Cadets for four
years. Rains did not take an
ROTC contract his senior
year, but he did join the
United States Coast Guard
three months after gradua
tion.
He then enrolled in the
University of Houston Col
lege of Law where he re
ceived his doctorate in juris
prudence in 1967.
Rains is a member of the
American and Houston Bar
Associations as well as the
State Bar of Texas. He was
chairman and director of the
Houston Chamber of Com
merce from 1981-1982.
Rains has been a speaker at
Texas A&M before. He spoke
to the Senior Class at its Se
nior Banquet in 1980, and to
the Texas A&M Commission
on the Visual Arts in 1981.
Rains was vice president and
director of the Association of
Former Students from 1975-
1978.
3D/International, the firm
Rains heads, deals with man
agement in architecture, en
gineering and graphic de
sign. Field offices are located
in Saudi Arabia, Mexico,
Singapore and the United
Arab Emirates.
-*»•
mflm
“Leverage”, a game designed by an
Aggie, is currently being marketed by
Photo by JOHN MA KEL Y
Milton Bradley. It is a combination of
checkers and Chinese checkers.
:al Red Cra
reporter ti
e child pro
ing crushe
in police
■r has a chil
veil tie it oi
car, becai
wreck!"
every pa:
car crasli
its in Leverage are won
>ing the board toward the
lent. To return the board
lilibrium, point pieces are
fed and awarded to the
iful player.
|layer has a choice of two
igies when playing Lever-
lie game is designed so
it can be won equally well
ing either strategy," Slimp
le approach a player may
We» > s to let a large number of
mbat forces be captured.
“ remove them from his
f the board, thereby de-
g the weight on his side,
oard will fall in the play-
baby will bt f favor; that is, his oppo-
side will drop.
fcwin the game at this point
player would then have to
Bible into the opposite
| zone while he was still
d in points.
be other tactic a player may
Vt is to overcome his oppo-
with what Slimp calls “a
lof forces and sheer firepo-
ndretti, bm
d don't kns
no matter
ot to have, I
/■
ild be a laci
loesn’t low
-n a six-nw
gift of life '
j, twisted i
care would
:orpse, laid
asket, net*
a the sand,
>se.
ep a baby f 1 ’
rjournals
"or The BaM
game-players who could see the
depth involved.
Slimp said he was disap-
pointed in the nationally-tele
vised commercial for Leverage
because he thought it missed
the sophisticated player.
“The TV commercial has a
little heavier thrust towards a
younger market,” he said.
Last year was the first year
that Milton Bradley had Lever
age on the market.
“My company,” Slimp said,
“actually went into production
of the game before we sold it to
Milton Bradley. It takes a lot of
promotional dollars to market a
game like this.”
Slimp said he had a choice of
bringing in more investor dol
lars or selling to a big firm such
as Milton Bradley. He also said
a couple of millionaires were in
terested in providing venture
capital, but “they were also in
terested in loo big a cut.”
Slimp said he went into the
toy and game industry full force
in January of 1979 when he
launched his company. Before
that he had worked as program-
/budget analyst for the U.S. De
partment of Defense.
BOB BROWN
UNIVERSAL TRAVEL
COMPLETE, DEPENDABLE DOMESTIC
AND WORLDWIDE TRAVEL
• Airline Reservations • Hotel/Motel Accomodations
• Travel Counsel • Rental Car Reservations • Tours
• Charter Flights • FREE Ticket Delivery
846-8718
• Agency is fully computerized-
410 S. Texas/ Lobby of the Ramada Inn/College Station
Once you've seen the
ZHm*stonBatkL^>
Your life may never be the same!
"Mixed
Repertoire
Tuesday,
March 20
Sleeping Beauty'
Wednesday,
March 21
MSC =8=
OPAS
ELEVEN
Tickets
available at
MSC Box Office
845-1234
Buy your
tickets before
Spring Break
'ou march down there,”
f> said, “and bang the board
i more times.”
nip said that Leverage is
le to learn, yet there is a lot
epth to’ v it. Originally, he
he envisioned Leverage as
aling to more sophisticated
SfllWH WRITS
PIANIST. TCACHgR
Serious students of oil ages
822-6856
Les 1
ONE EXTRA DAY THIS YEAR
TO ENJOY A FRESH HOT
CHANELLO’S PIZZA
DELIVERED TO YOU
AT HOME OR WORK!
LEAP PIZZA
2Q” supreme
Thick Crust FAVORITE
reg. 19 42
Incl. tax
Southside
TWO
LOCATIONS:
696-0234
SAVE $ 4 42 now $ 15 00
Incl. tax
Expires 3/15/84 only one coupon per pizza
Northgate — 846-3768
SPECIAL OFFER
LEAP PIZZA
^ A” SUPREME NOW
IO SAVE $2.41
Thick Crust FAVORITE r ® 91311
incl. tax
Expires 3/15/84 only one coupon per Pizza
One Week Only
P YCXCh Extra Cheese
■ 1““ ——— Upon request
Offer Expires 3/4/84 Good on any Pizza
LEAP PIZZA
$1.00 OFF
PIZZA OF YOUR CHOICE
Exp. 3/15/84 Only One Coupon Per Pizza
f
FAST FREE DELIVERY
NOW UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP!
MENU
\ cheese
pPPERONI
>BEEF
^E
HAM
MUSHROOM
GRN OLIVE
BLK OLIVE
ONION
GRN PEPPER
ANCHOVY
JALAPENO
A
UPREME - PEPPERONl SAUSAGE, GRN OLIVE,
MUSHROOM, GRN PEPPER, ONION
Norite -ham, grd beef, blk olive,
MUSHROOM, GRN PEPPER,
ONION
301 PATRICIA ST.
at Northgate
and
PARKWAY SHOP CTR.
Southside
chris bliss
a concert; for your eyes
march 3
rudder theatre
S:OOpm
As seen with:
The Tubes
Eddie Money
Gallager
Martin Mull
Asia
Split Enz
“High-tech juggler;
Chris Bliss is a
juggler but not
like any juggler
you’ve ever seen.”
Playboy