The rush of the improbable victory...

[Asmor]

Was playing To Court the King tonight at Game Club. Other players were Foxglove (just met her tonight, don't know if that's her real name, a nickname, or what), Lee, and Derek.

Lee's got the start player marker and has the nobleman and noblewoman, a killer combo that lets you add any number from 1 to 3 to any number of dice. In short, it sets up for huge combos. He takes the general on his turn.

My turn comes around, and I try to run for the king. I fail hard, and take the alchemist instead. I've spent so much time acquiring dice that the new alchemist and the noblewoman are my only manipulation cards, meaning I have a hard time actually forcing combos.

Thankfully, Lee's next turn is skipped as he passes the start player marker to Derek. I take the king and queen on my turn. On his turn, he takes the laborer of all things. But a die's a die.

Fox, Lee and I are all capable of throwing out nine dice now. Fox goes first, with seven 6s. Not bad, but not great.

Lee goes next, quickly popping out nine 4s. Derek can't even field nine dice, so it goes straight to me. I need to tie or beat nine 4s.

Luckily, I'd decided 4s were my best bet. I could bring in a 4, as well as a 3 which I could then increment to a 4 with the noblewoman.

I roll the bones. Terrible. Not a single four. I waste one of my cards pulling a 4 out to save, and then pull out my other dice to roll. I can still bring out a 3, one die of any face thanks to the queen, and I've got the noblewoman and the alchemist.

My next roll is almost as bad. I end up using the alchemist to turn a 6, 2, 2 into a 4, 3, 3. I bring in the 3 from my card and use the noblewoman on all of them. I bank four 3s in all this roll. Four more to go, rolling three dice and with a queen.

My next roll has a four, so I bank it. Finally, some small bit of luck!

Two dice, no four. I tap the queen and bring in a 4.

I need 2 more 4s, and I'm totally tapped out. It's up to fate now.

I roll the dice... One four!

So it all comes down to this. One die roll. If I get a four, I tie Lee and win. Otherwise, I lose.

With no small bit of trumping up and pointing out my odds and how I'm about to defy them, I raise my hands to the hair and slam them down on the table, cupping the die underneath them.

A small pause, pregnant with anxiety...

I raise my left hand a bit, letting Fox peek at the die. She stares impassively for a moment and then flies back in her chair exclaiming, "Oh my god!"

Stunned, I hesitate. Was she mocking me?

I raise my hands, and there sitting on the table is my ninth four.