The Big Picture has a nice collection of Easter shots. I really like the eggs in the first two pictures. While we’re on the subject of Easter, Amelia had a stroke of genius this year, suggesting we do the egg hunt in the dark, kids armed with flashlights. It’s at least twice as much fun as a daytime hunt, and even eggs in plain sight can take awhile to find. Give it try next year.

Usually the way pickup goes is this: first four players ready play box. The next two ready join in. Whoever shows up after that sets up Goaltimate and we play that. If we get up to 12, the late arrivals set up Ultimate. Used to be we'd just wait to have numbers for Ultimate before we'd do anything, and that would drive me nuts. Now getting there early just means you get to have more fun, and the latecomers do the work for you.

Anyway, we had a situation recently where we only had three ready to play so I started thinking about the three-person basketball game "cutthroat" and how you could do that with box. Here's what I cooked up:

• Somebody starts with the disc. They throw it to somebody. The thrower and the receiver are now on O, the other player is on D, and the disc is now clear (the O can score on their next pass). If they score, the O players each get a point. If they don't, the D player gets 2 points. Make it take it, play on immediately.
• On a turn, the D picks it up and throws it to somebody. Thrower and receiver are on O, disc is now clear, etc., same as above.
• If the very first pass of a possession (where the thrower is picking somebody to play O with) is incomplete then anybody can pick it up. If nobody wants to pick it up, it goes back to the thrower. No score, no penalty, try again.
• Stall is to three.
• Keep your own score, and call it out every time you get points. If you don't call it out, it doesn't count.
• First player to 11 wins.

The test drive of this game was a roaring success. Very fast-paced, couldn't stop laughing. Looking forward to the next time we only have three to start.

Oh, I didn't include it above because it's an unnecessary complication, but it grew kinda naturally out of our regular house rules, which I love. In our regular game, there is a fast break rule: if the defense catches it, there's no need to clear the disc, you can score on your very next pass. You can even throw such a pass from inside the box to another player in the box for the score (no Callahans). The way this manifests in cutthroat is that if the defense catches the disc, the very next pass can score. In effect, the thrower can choose who they want to give a point to. The game is already pretty funny during the transition, as the potential receivers try to make themselves desirable targets, while at the same time trying not to be woefully out of position in case the thrower goes to the other player instead. Making the transition throw a scoring opportunity in these cases turns the subtle jockeying into shameless pandering while still trying to protect against the back-stab.

Try it, you'll like it!

I previous posted a bit on our local box variant, and I've further refined it to incorporate the 1-pass-to-clear rule the Boston guys like:

...there still isn't a better warmup for an ultimate game than playing a good game of 3-3 or 4-4 hot box. And just to clarify for everyone, a goal requires TWO feet in the box, not one. We now play that to clear the disc only requires one pass away from the goal, so you can have two people literally play catch in and out of the goal to score multiple points in a row. It makes the game VERY fast-paced and exciting, requiring a lot more effort on the turnover to get back and cover the box because of the quick strike offense.

The wrinkle, and I really like this, is that if the defense catches it they can forgo the clear and score immediately. It's a great opportunity, as you generally catch the opposition all on the wrong sides of their men.

We still play one foot in to score, though.

A few guides to good, free, online games have cropped up. Probably because nobody gets anything done between Christmas and New Years:

• Casual Gameplay 2006 Nominees
• Jason Kottke's list
• Good Experience Games
• Finally, some offline action at Metafilter: Ink and Paper: Instant Party.

Post your favorite of the ones you try.

T-Nation is running a good article titled 50 Tips for Serious Athletes. The last tip suggests, "for team training, play games with your athletes." Included in the list is "speedball", which I'd never heard of. Sounds like fun though.

I can't remember how, but I stumbled across a reprint of a Stuart McGill (the back fitness and rehab guy, coincidentally recently mentioned by De Vany) article dealing with Low Back Exercise and "Superstiffness". It reminded me that I really want to get his Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance book. Looks like it's in it's third edition now. Maybe Santa will bring it to me.

The days are getting shorter and Thursday pickup is dwindling. As our Goaltimate kit was late in arriving last night, we played a few rounds of box, which reminds me of a rule variation y'all might like. Everybody has their own rules for how the disc is cleared after a turnover, either past a certain point/perimeter, or after X number of throws. The variation is "the fast break rule" and it works like this: you are allowed to score on the very first throw of your possession after a turnover. If that first throw is not a score (or if you opt to not even try) you then must clear as usual before you are allowed to score. One additional wrinkle: if the turnover occurs in the box, the fast break rule allows the score to be thrown from inside the box (so a player can pick up the disc lying in the box and immediately chip it to a receiver who's also in the box). No Callahan goals, but again, if a defender catches the disc in the box they can immediately throw it to a teammate also in the box for the fast break score.

Of course, if your house rules don't require a clear at all ("scrum rules", I like to call such games), this variation is meaningless.

Payphone warriors. Sounds like fun.

Two quick Ultimate variants before I hit the sack: Durango Boot and Schtick. Both of these might be fun to play in the gym, since the outdoor season is well and truly over here. Thanks to Seigs for the lead; I had never heard of these before.