Calvin To Host SET Tournament and Game's Creator

October 21, 2004 == MEDIA ADVISORY

The creator of SET - a popular card game that promotes logical thinking - will
attend Grand Rapids' first-ever SET tournament, to be held from 10 a.m. to 1
p.m. on Saturday, November 6 in Calvin College's Commons Lecture Hall.

The tournament is open to children ages three to 18.

Marsha Falco, who created SET to aid her research as a geneticist, will train
the judges for the tournament, which will be hosted by Calvin, in collaboration
with the Gifted and Talented Resource Network, and is sponsored by the Michigan
Education Savings Program (MESP), which will provide gift certificates to age
group winners.

Falco created the first SET game in 1974 after using cards to memorize genetic
traits in German shepherd dogs. In 1991, her family began marketing the game.

"The Gifted and Talented Resource Network is getting a lot of calls because
people are hearing that Marsha Falco will be here," says Carol Rienstra,
director of community relations at Calvin and one of the people helping
organize the tournament. "There is a groundswell of interest in the
tournament."

SET's 81 cards are marked with groups of one, two or three symbols that are
categorized by shape (oval, diamond, squiggle), color (red, green, purple) or
shading (open, colored, striped). Players compete to find the most "sets" of
three cards that are either all alike or all different.

Kathy MacDonald, president of the GT Resource Network, says the game is
fast-paced and easy to learn, but challenging to master.

And, she says, Falco's trip to Grand Rapids adds a whole new dimension to the
upcoming tournament.

"I am surprised and thrilled that Marsha is coming," she says. "We're looking
forward to having her here. She really wanted to come."

Rienstra says the SET tournament collaboration is a logical next step for
Calvin and the GT Resource Network. The college has previously hosted summer
camps with the GT Resource Network in math, science, literature, computer
science and economics.

Check-in for the SET tournament will begin at 9:30 a.m. on November 6 at the
Commons Lecture Hall. For more information, or to register for the tournament,
visit www.GTResourceNetwork.org

Also see the SET website at http://www.setgame.com/set/index.html

Contact Carol Rienstra at 616-526-6175

-end-
Received on Thu Oct 21 13:41:10 2004