Blast From The Past

I was recently looking for something in the back of my closet and came upon a game of Pente. For those of you not familiar with this board game, it was popular in the 70's. That is when someone gave the game to me as a present. I have always loved playing it even though sometimes years will go by when I don't play a single game. It's like a long lost friend every time I find the game.

The game consists of a board divided into small squares and two or four sets of small, glass beads. The object of the game is to get 5 of your beads in a row or capture 5 pairs of your opponents beads.

Anyway, after I found the game in the closet and not having anyone to play with I of course did the next logical thing and searched the net. Bingo Pente.org was found. I love this site. There is a group of regulars and some novices. The online game can be played two ways. One way is to play live against an opponent or against the computer using a java window. The other method is called a turn-based game where each player logs in whenever they feel like it and makes a move. I like both ways, especially since the java method won't work through the firewall at my job.

It's a very easy game to play and the people on the site seem willing to entertain questions from beginners. There is also a lot of online help available. Check it out.