Dogspot

My Girlfriend has invented a game to beat me at while we walk home from town. If you want to know the rules of the game (and she insists that you should know), read on.

This has nothing to do with RPG's

"Dogspot: Keeping Gaming Real

Although Patrick’s blog is updated regularly with his nerding shenanigans he has so far neglected to mention a game we play often. When I tackled him on the subject he said he would not be writing about it, so I decided to write about it instead. If you are reading this now it means that I have successfully found the leverage needed to persuade him to post it on his blog.

Dogspot is a game that gets down to the heart of what it is to compete. Dogspot needs no dice, and there are no scores for Charisma. Having a strength of 8 will not help you in this game. No one referees or leads. Its just you, the other player, and whatever dogs you happen to pass.

Dogspot is like life: you don’t set out a time and date to play it, Dogspot plays YOU. It can be invoked at any time, although generally it is played when walking somewhere. All it takes is for a hound to come into view and one person to raise their arm, point, and clearly and loudly say “Dog!”. The game is on, and once invoked the game cannot be finished until you have reached your destination.

The rules of Dogspot are few and simple. Dogspot can be invoked at any point as long as a dog is visible. Dogs can only be spotted once per round, but if you are aware of a regular location of a dog (for example the Sharpei in the newsagents on London Road) it can be spotted each round. A point is earned every time you are the first person to point at a dog and say “dog!” loudly and clearly. A round of dogspot ends when you reach your destination. The person who has the most points (ie spotted the most dogs first) wins the battle. 

There is little opportunity for strategy in Dogspot. Dogs don’t have to be spotted. Dogspot can be invoked at any point, or not invoked, so if your partner in dogspot has not invoked the game and you are towards the end of your journey, and you think that may be the last dog you spot, you could wait to invoke it then. But that strategy carries risks, and can only be used rarely.

There are no points deducted. No testing for doping. No handicaps of any kind. If you’re blind without your glasses you better be wearing them. The other player suddenly has night vision goggles? You should have thought of it first. Lost your voice? Tough monkeys. Dogspot is not a game for whiners. Dogspot is raw. Dogspot keeps gaming real. "