Archive for the ‘Wargaming’ Category

I guess it doesn’t stay in Vegas…

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

Well Norm’s gonna send the guys from Vegas after me if I don’t start blogging again.

My favorite gaming board – Consimworld – has recently launched a social network. I’ve registered there, so I’ll post wargaming stuff on that site, although sporadically. Consimworld Expo is coming up soon (week after Memorial Day), so hopefully I’ve have material to post about.

On the music front, I’m undergoing an intense 3-month preparation for a do-or-die audition for the church worship team come August. If successful, I intend to spin amateur musicianship off into its own blog, making this a God-blog only. For God-blogging I have a couple of topics in mind.

Posted in Blogging in general, Wargaming | 1 Comment »

Where have all the generals gone?

Monday, October 1st, 2007

It’s been awhile since I did a gaming post. Part of the problem is that fall is my wargaming off-season. No particular reason, other than the flurry of activities this time of year pushes gaming off the agenda. I did have a wargamer friend in from Seattle two weeks ago and we broke out For The People II, Mark Hermann’s excellent strategic-level American Civil War card-driven game. Click here for a well-done review of the game. We didn’t have much time to play and actually spent more time looking at an online game he is playing.

Now by off-season, I mean no ftf play. During this time I usually leave one game setup for solitaire play. Aging’s effect on memory is actually helpful for solitairing card games. Once I play the Union turn, it may be a day or two before I play the Confederate turn, and by then I will have forgotten what cards are in the Union hand. Heck, sometimes I forget after 20 seconds. :p

Posted in American Civil War, Wargaming | No Comments »

Colossus

Monday, September 10th, 2007

A few posts back I talked about the classic boardgame Titan and how its being republished. I discovered a desktop Java program called Colossus which provides online or solitaire play of Titan. I’ve only played it solitaire as a time killer when the brain is fried, but the AI opponent is not bad. Very solid strategically on the Masterboard, though it lacks a little on tactical defense. Still good enough to make winning a challenge and great for learning Titan or trying it out to see if you will like it. If you’ve never played Titan, but try Colossus and find it intriguing, be warned that ftf Titan will play much more slowly and human opponents will be tougher in tactical combat.

Posted in Computer Gaming, Wargaming | No Comments »

So Many Games…

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

Changing gears here a bit, GMT’s magazine C3i came out this week with new stuff for the best two new wargames of 2006 – a new scenario (#103) for Combat Commander: Europe (two-player, WWII tactical infantry combat) and a 2-player variant for Here I Stand (3-6 player, card-driven game on the Reformation). Also the game club is meeting this week and on the agenda is Dune, Titan, MECCG, and perhaps Here I Stand and Combat Commander. So an after-action report is coming up.

Still in the pipeline here is a look at Republic of Rome and Hannibal : Rome v Carthage (HRC), both being republished. However, I can’t talk about the latter, or Here I Stand, without first giving my talk on card-driven games (CDGs). Also since I try to accommodate both the grognard and the uninitiated here, I like to give background if I can’t find a good link to one elsewhere. (more…)

Posted in Wargaming | No Comments »

Titan

Monday, August 6th, 2007

An oldie but goody in my board game collection is Titan from Avalon Hill. It’s being “reprinted” (perhaps redone) and released by FFG. This is one of three classics on my gameshelf that are being redone. The others are Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage and Republic of Rome, which I’ll talk about in weeks ahead.

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Posted in Wargaming | 1 Comment »

ftf

Monday, July 23rd, 2007

ftf means face-to-face gaming, as opposed to PBEM (play by electronic mail) or online games. Went to the game club on Saturday for some ftf action. Didn’t get enough players interested in Dune. Instead, played two Euro-style games - Winds of Plunder and Prince of Florence – some MECCG, and the card game BANG!

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Posted in Wargaming | No Comments »

The Spice of Life (or at least gaming)

Monday, July 16th, 2007

When it comes to games, I prefer the two-player variety to be an intense, well-played match of skill. After all, I am the poster child for intense play at the Consimworld Expo website. With multi-player games I prefer a casual, more social style. Our local game club meets this weekend, and there are noises circulating in email about playing Dune, a multi-player game (based on the Frank Herbert novel) that is best enjoyed if not played casually.

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Posted in Wargaming | 1 Comment »

Twilight Imperium III

Monday, July 9th, 2007

This weekend I played Twilight Imperium III for the first time with four local gamers. One playing is not enough to give the game a second look review, but in looking around for a first-time review I did not find one that comprehensively described the latest 3rd edition together with the Shattered Empire Expansion. So here it is.

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Jeb Stuart (not) at Gettysburg

Monday, July 2nd, 2007

One of the fringe benefits of owning wargames is that some have rather nice maps. Some wargamers take game maps with them on tours of historic battlefields. I like to use them to supplement reading. Take for example Shelby Foote’s famous The Civil War: A Narrative. This trilogy is an excellent read, but suffers from an annoying deficiency that many classic military histories have – lack of adequate maps. Now you can find excellent maps of ACW battlefields in single-volume books like The Conservation Fund’s The Civil War Battlefield Guide to use as a supplement to battle narratives, but to follow operational-level deployment and movement, something else is needed.

 

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Posted in American Civil War, Wargaming | 2 Comments »

Howdy.

Sunday, July 1st, 2007

Welcome to WordPress my blog. This is your my first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging! Roger.

OK here it is! After much pondering, I’ve done it. A blog. How many hits do I have? Did I make any money yet?

Actually, I don’t know how to check/do either yet and I really don’t care (much). That reminds me, I better get those anti-spam add-ins done. Onto some real content.

Today is July 1, 144 years after the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.  Since tomorrow (Monday) is boardgaming day (please see About this blog), it would be appropriate to cover something related to a Gettysburg boardgame. First, I should clarify to readers that although I play variety of types of boardgames, the predominant type is historic wargames, aka conflict simulation or just consims.

Gettysburg is the only American Civil War battlefield I have visited (yet), unless you count Picacho Peak. I want to get back there soon, especially since the park is relandscaping to the topography as it was in 1863. Also I was there for only one day and didn’t have time to check out the Culp’s Hill area. More tomorrow.

Thanks to my friends Norm and Karen for advice on starting this blog.

Posted in American Civil War, Blogging in general, Wargaming | 2 Comments »