Blog Archives
sAt Castalia House there is some excitement over the rumored re-release of TSR’s classic fantasy board game, Divine Right. It seems that Excalibre Games has the rights to produce an update. I decided to check out the company and while looking over their catalogue noticed a couple of interesting titles. Today is a “two for […]
Air Assault on Crete endeavors to recreate the German’s audacious attempt at the theretofore unattempted, an entirely airborne military invasion by several battalions of Fallschirmjaeger, and the fighting retreat and evacuation of Allied personnel in the aftermath. This game is hard. Very hard. Part of why it is hard is because it is rules heavy […]
Reading Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin recently has re-sparked my desire to adapt classic war game rules to my favorite science fiction property. Wargames in the classical format set during the One Year War are virtually non-existent* in both tabletop and electronic format. Recently, the Gundam model industry made a foray into “serious” kits via […]
BATTLE ACADEMY and BATTLE ACADEMY 2 REVIEW
Wednesday , 23, December 2015 Computer Games, Wargames 4 CommentsThis week’s Wargame Wednesday’s post highlights the enjoyable Battle Academy series by Slitherene. Bottom line up front: easy to learn, easy to play but with enough complexity to keep even hard core gamers engaged. The scenarios, campaigns and force selection options will disappoint historical purists and the online player base seems small but despite that […]
Unplugging members of the Millennial Generation and introducing them to real world hex and counter wargames is good for them, good for you, and (let’s not engage in any false humility here) good for western civilization and all of humankind. This week let’s take that idea beyond the easy question of “why” and delve into […]
To continue the Wednesday series on wargaming we will explore the question of what is wargaming like as a hobby: What is a Wargame? How is it different from playing other games? Why is it separated from other sorts of gaming? Who are Wargamers? How expensive is getting into Wargaming?
Ye Olyde School: Donald Featherstone’s War Games through the Ages Series -Update
Wednesday , 25, November 2015 Wargames 4 CommentsI received my copy of War Games through the Ages Vol. 4 the day after the review was posted and would like to complete it here. I was not disappointed with this volume and glad the set is finally complete. Along with the lonewarriorswa.com review I also found the Diminishing Role of Cavalry chapter to […]
“Bull Run, while comparatively disastrous as a battle-field, was a grand success to the North in other respects. It sobered, for a time at least, the hasty reckless spirits who believed that the South would not fight, and who were so unceasingly thorning the President to immediate decisive action.” – Cpl. John D. Billings, Hard […]
Sharing a hobby with your kids and grandkids is a time honored tradition practiced without shame by everyone from fly-fishermen to game hunters to ball players…the local park even has a few hipster dads teaching their sons how to walk slack lines, wear man-buns, and walk with an air of inexplicable smug superiority. Compared to […]
Ye Olyde School: Donald Featherstone’s War Games through the Ages Series
Wednesday , 4, November 2015 Wargames 5 CommentsVox recently called for contributors to a Wargame Wednesday feature which will tie in with an initiative in support of a new game release from Excalibre Games. Excalibre specializes in old school, turn based, cardboard counter games board games. Many of these games were well received and remind me of the old Avalon Hill classics. That […]
Book Review: The Visualization of Quantitative Data
Wednesday , 25, February 2015 Book Review, Games, Tabletop Games, Wargames 2 CommentsREVIEW: The Visualization of Quantitative Data, 2nd Edition, Graphics Press, 2001 Edward R. Tufte, Author. People ask me, after I explain the layers of thought that went into the play aids I design, what kind of books I’d recommend. The first book is this one, by Edward R. Tufte. It concerns itself with the accurate display of statistical […]
Game Design: The Importance of User Experience & Interfaces
Wednesday , 18, February 2015 Games, Production, Tabletop Games, Uncategorized, Wargames Leave a commentRedmond Simonsen was an under-appreciated genius; he was cantankerous and was half of SPI when it founded, and one of the handful of people desperately trying to patch the financial holes when the iceberg of changing market conditions rent it asunder. Red worked as the marketing director, editor and in-house graphic designer for most of SPI’s […]