Getting started

Library

The most recent rules. (Post #5; cardschat.com)

23 Mar 2004 set of rules. (Out of date, but containing some cool variants/history. This is probably where most people hear of Ambition.)

Anatomy of the hand. (11 Sept 2004; still relevant-- no major rules changes. I intended to do more essays like this, but then the homework and the grad school apps invaded.)

Troll crossing. (27-28 Jan 2005. This is provided for amusements' sake; at least I found it funny when I first read it. Ambition is attacked by anon troll, defended by loyal-- in some cases, new-- friends.)

About Me

I am indeed Mike Church, a 21-year-old mathematics major at Carleton College. On the side, I do writing-- poetry, short story, faux-news. One of my 2,000 dream jobs, in high school, was one day working for The Onion.

I was an avid Magic player in middle and early high school. Some of the design in that game is beautiful, but the implementation is awful. Who can earnestly like a game where who has the most money is a decisive factor in available strategies and game outcomes?

Among my favorite teas are English Breakfast, Darjeeling Bop, and Cherry Vanilla. My favorite macro beer is probably Newcastle Brown Ale or Yuengling, but the Appalachain Brewing Company (PA microbrew) makes some amazing stuff.

My favorite band, currently, is probably the Finnish rock group HIM; they've produced some of our generation's best music and are huge in Europe, yet unheard-of in the U.S. (Figures, huh?)

I developed Ambition in late September 2003, to play with friends during the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics program (which I highly recommend). It grew out of Hearts, but I could quickly see that it was an entirely new game, and developed it as such. My aesthetic mission with Ambition was to create a trick-taking game where hand-luck played as small a role as possible. I believe I have been successful; Ambition's very instructive; every time you strike, you know you made a strategic mistake, and normally where that mistake was made. I taught the game to some Budapest expats and Hungarians who, apparently, still play the game.

In March 2004 Ambition was published in Japan's Nikoli magazine. Since then, Ambition has traveled to (at least) the following countries: Australia, Canada, France, Hungary, Japan, United Kingdom, United States. I could not achieve this without ample support and assistance, so I issue thanks to all of you who have helped me along the way.