The five of them were seated around the table, each with varying degrees of interest scrawled across their faces. On the table was an unfolded game board with five matching pieces and set of dice that looked to be aged a few hundred years give or take a few decades.
The five had gathered out of mutual connections that led to the sum total of their current arrangement. Seated at the head of the table was Phil, the owner of the small house they were in an avid table top gamer. Tall and thin, he looked aged beyond his years with the grave look of forty hanging over his only twenty-nine year old body. To his left was his wife, Mary, who was equally aged and not much to look at. Her hair was dingy and complexion pale; the clothes she wore were plain and baggy.
Seated further down was Kelly who brimmed with more energy than the other two though it was more often expressed through her mouth than her body as was apparent in her rotund appearance. Her face was perky and cute; enough to lure any guy, but her belly pushed out past her chest and her walk was more of a waddle so while keeping a pleasant disposition she was frequently alone most nights; but not this one.
To Phil's right was Sara, an acquaintance through where his wife worked who was curious about table top gaming. She was in her mid twenties, cute with shoulder length brown hair, a decent body and open mind. Next to her was her friend, Tim, who before that night had never met anyone else. Tim was smart, of an average build and quick with a witty joke but slightly uncomfortable with the role-playing aspect of the games they had been playing prior to the setting up of the game that was on the table now. He was there before Sara did not want to come alone and he was happy to help.
"So where did you get this old thing?" Kelly asked, looking at green colored avatar that would serve as her token on the board.
"Well," Phil started, he was prone to long exposition, and “I was in the city the other day at the game shop when I happened upon this in one of their back rooms."
"He knows the owners so they just let him practically run the place." His wife chimed in.
"Right, well anyway, I found this up behind some other old boxes and hauled it down. Asked them about it and they could hardly remember when they got it so they assumed they just purchased it at some auction at one time or another. They parted with it for twenty bucks and now here we are." He chomped down on a bit of celery from the veggie tray in front of him.
"So how do you play?" Tim asked, intrigued by the age of the board.
"Not quite sure." Phil lamented.
"No instructions?" Sara lifted up the board to see if there was a paper beneath but there was nothing.
"Well I think we put the five pieces here on this big red circle on the outside then roll the dice to move along the spaces." Mary took Kelly's piece from her and, along with the other tokens, put them on the red starting circle. They all snapped into place on board, startling them all slightly.
"Must be magnets or something." Sara said.
"So we just roll to see who gets to the center first? That's pretty... simple." Tim didn't act all that impressed as it was just another compounded dullness to him from that evening.
"Looks like there is something over on this side." Kelly leaned over the table and pointed to a slat cut on the one side of the board. She tried to stick her fingers in but the hole was too small for her thick fingers.
"I guess we'll just play it by ear. Who’s first?" Phil asked, holding out the dice to whoever wanted to start.