One thing that most universities have no lack of is inventions. Another thing that they have no shortage of is slightly off-kilter folk eager to try said inventions. What they didn’t have, until recently, was a good opportunity to try out the oft-deranged products of their fertile minds.
Enter Aetherball.
There is some debate as to who invented the sport, but for the most part, folk care less about who invented it than when the next match is. All it really is, at the end of the day, is an excuse to showcase various contraptions and see how they hold up under stress.
The rules are reasonably simple:
1) All equipment is allowed.
2) No lethal force, please.
3) No more than ten people per team
4) Score by getting the ball to exist in a quantum state of both existing and not existing.
Though it sounds impossible, there are many ways to achieve goals, such as putting it in a chamber with a perfect 50% chance of destroying the ball when opened and then not opening it. It is important to remember that there are many, many items scattered around an aetherball field, including malfunctioning steam engines, thumb tacks, and, in the case of the grand arena at Hautriesenburg, a small rift to three minutes ago. In essence, if there is something peculiar that nobody really has much use for, it can always find a home in the Aetherball ring.
November 11, 2008, 17:41
November 11, 2008, 23:17
November 12, 2008, 0:18
November 12, 2008, 10:05
It could also serve in a sci-fi setting, I expect, where quantum mechanics are well-known.
November 12, 2008, 12:46
As an alternative, perhaps something along the lines of 'keep-away'? For every minute you keep possession of the ball, you gain 2 points. First team to 10 wins (longer games can be played to 20, or even be timed, with the highest scoring team winning). I'll admit, the quantum state of existing and not-existing is an interesting variant of winning conditions, but I just find it too advanced for most steampunk settings.
November 11, 2008, 23:46
November 12, 2008, 11:42
How do you see scoring judged?
June 5, 2010, 17:48