Blog Archives
sWARGAME WEDNESDAY: The Last One Percent is a Killer!
Wednesday , 5, October 2016 Wargames Leave a commentOver at The Players’ Aid, Grant A. Kleinhenz has a great interview with designer Harold Buchanan. This nugget in particular is of especial interest to aspiring game designers: Grant: What was the hardest part about the design for Liberty or Death? Harold: Finishing the game! Mark Simonitch said: “The last 20% of the game takes […]
WARGAME WEDNESDAY: Avalon Hill’s The Arab-Israeli Wars – Part 3: The Chinese Farm (or That’s a Wrap)
Wednesday , 28, September 2016 Wargames 2 CommentsBefore calling it quits on this one, my dad wanted to do one last big tank vs. tank battle. The Chinese Farm scenario in The Arab Israeli Wars is one of the largest in terms of piece-count. Two contingents of Israeli armor and mobile infantry move in from the south and east against a string […]
Alexander over at The Players’ Aid has a rave review for Columbia Games’ Richard III: I cannot state emphatically enough how refreshing it is to play this game. The aesthetic is great, I also love the period and setting – I’ve never played another war game from this period. The time of play is a […]
SUPERVERSIVE: Unlikely Bastions of Superversion
Tuesday , 20, September 2016 Computer Games, Games, Superversive, Uncategorized 14 CommentsThe first and only video game I ever got in trouble for playing was Squaresoft’s Chrono Trigger. You see, early on in the game, there’s a chapel in the woods that has been taken over by monsters, and in order to keep the charade up and hide their dastardly deeds, several snake-women disguise themselves as […]
WARGAME WEDNESDAY: The Arab-Israeli Wars Pt 2: Kalkiliah
Wednesday , 14, September 2016 Wargames 1 CommentAfter the sound drubbing I’d given the Egyptians, I thought I would hand my dad a gimme by playing as the Jordanians in 67 battle of Kalkiliah (Qalqilya). We were both very wrong in our prediction of how this battle would turn out. Set-up primarily as an infantry battle with some Israeli Tanks coming in […]
According to the mainstream narrative, wargamers are alternately either losers that have never really left mom’s basement or else monsters that are keeping women out of gaming. Imagine my surprise then to see something completely new on this point: the wargamer as romantic lead! I am positively beside myself. The Wargamer woos me. He invites […]
WARGAME WEDNESDAY: Pursuit of Perfection: Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game
Wednesday , 31, August 2016 Wargames 2 CommentsA new series! I’m taking a break from overarching principles of wargaming to look at specific Wargames and what they do well. This examination stems from a belief that a perfect Wargame has not been made and the best is yet to come. I’m something of a game designer, which means I spend way too […]
WARGAME WEDNESDAY: Milking the Brand, Monster-Size WWII Games, and Geomorphic Maps
Wednesday , 24, August 2016 Wargames Leave a commentWe have a bumpercrop of great posts on wargaming posts for you here this week! At the top of the heap is The Player’s Aid, weighing in with an exclusive interview with COIN Series creator Volko Ruhnke. If GMT going overboard with all these new COIN titles? Volko responds: Calling a design “COIN Series” at […]
SCENARIO DESIGN: Wizard Kings and the Pillage Rule
Friday , 19, August 2016 Game Design, Wargames 5 CommentsWhen I dashed off a few notes about the fantasy battle game my son and I were playing to death, I was really taken aback by the response: a good half dozen people reached for their wallets…! In order to help people get the most value from their brand new copy of Wizard Kings, I’m […]
WARGAME WEDNESDAY: Avalon Hill’s The Arab-Israeli Wars
Wednesday , 17, August 2016 Wargames Leave a commentThe Arab-Israeli Wars takes many of the core mechanics of Panzer Leader and Panzer Blitz, incorporates some of the various fixes implemented to them, adds some various long-range artillery and air-power rules, and sticks it in the deserts of the Middle East. We warmed up to The Arab-Israeli Wars with one of the smaller scenarios, […]
On the Table: Wizard Kings from Columbia Games
Friday , 5, August 2016 Tabletop Games, Wargames 7 CommentsI have gotten a tremendous amount of play out of Wizard Kings since picking it up a couple of weeks ago. As I’ve posted pics of this on social media, I’ve gotten feedback from people that are underwhelmed by it, so let me explain real quick here what’s going on with that and why this […]
Set up a scenario out on the table, and you have a scenario. Replay it a few times and it becomes familiar as you grow to understand that scenario. Tweak it, and you begin to understand the pieces which are present. Take control of the pieces and learn to use them after identifying them… Now […]