Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Buckeye Game Fest, Oct 1-4
The Columbus Area Boardgaming Society (CABS) is hosting their tenth annual Buckeye Game Fest (BGF). This 4-day event is being held in Columbus, Ohio from Thursday, October 1 at Noon till Sunday, October 4th at 5p. Gaming goes twenty-four hours.
Last year's event was so successful (220-paid admissions) the con has been moved to a larger venue, which is an indoor water resort (Fort Rapids) on the south side of Columbus, just off I70, I71, and I270.
Hotel = FORT RAPIDS - http://www.fortrapids.com
GUEST ROOM ACCOMMODATIONS AND RATES:
# Check In – 10/01/2009 Check Out – 10/04/2009
# Queen/ Queen $79 King w/ Sofa $79
# All rates are subject to current city and state taxes of 6.75% and current accommodation tax of 10.00%.
# Accommodations rates quoted for guest rooms by the Hotel are exclusive of water park passes.
# All Columbus Area Boardgaming Society guests may purchase individual day passes at a discounted rate of $19.95 per person per day.
# CUT-OFF DATE: The “cut-off date” for accepting reservations into this guest room block is 9/17/2009. Reservation requests received after 5:00 p.m. local time at Hotel on the cut-off date will be accepted at Hotel’s prevailing rate, based on availability.
# INDIVIDUAL CALL-IN: Please advise Columbus Area Boardgaming Society attendees to call Hotel for Reservations at 614-868-1380. To receive the contract rates, the attendees should identify the group as Columbus Area Boardgaming. All reservations should be made by 9/17/2009. After this date, we will release the remainder of your guest room block. Additional reservation requests will be honored on a space and rate available basis. Early departures and no-shows will be charged one night’s room and tax. *Check-In time of 4:00 p.m. and Check-Out time of 11:00 a.m.
# GUARANTEED BY INDIVIDUAL: Rooms are guaranteed for late arrival to an individual's credit card or by advance deposit. A guaranteed reservation assures a room for your attendees regardless of their arrival time. Any guaranteed reservations not canceled 72 hours before arrival date will be billed to the credit card . v
# AUCTION: We will again feature an awesome auction on Saturday. Last's year's auction was a huge success.
# DEALERS: GMT Games, L2 games, and RC Hobbies (a great, discount game dealer) are planning to attend and we are looking for more! Troll and Toad has also talked with CABS about also attending.
The BGF is a family-oriented boardgaming con with no CCGs, LARP, or RPGs. Everyone is welcome, especially wargamers . Both 2-player (e.g. the Combat Commander series, Twilight Struggle, OCS, TCS, SCS, & Avalon Hill classics to name a few) and multiplayer wargames (e.g. Here I Stand, The Napoleonic Wars, Struggle of Empires, etc) are heavily represented, as are other multiplayer board games.
The cost to attend is only $25 prior to September 24, then the price rises to $35.
For more information and a registration form:
http://www.buckeyeboardgamers.org/buckeyegamefest.htm
Last year's event was so successful (220-paid admissions) the con has been moved to a larger venue, which is an indoor water resort (Fort Rapids) on the south side of Columbus, just off I70, I71, and I270.
Hotel = FORT RAPIDS - http://www.fortrapids.com
GUEST ROOM ACCOMMODATIONS AND RATES:
# Check In – 10/01/2009 Check Out – 10/04/2009
# Queen/ Queen $79 King w/ Sofa $79
# All rates are subject to current city and state taxes of 6.75% and current accommodation tax of 10.00%.
# Accommodations rates quoted for guest rooms by the Hotel are exclusive of water park passes.
# All Columbus Area Boardgaming Society guests may purchase individual day passes at a discounted rate of $19.95 per person per day.
# CUT-OFF DATE: The “cut-off date” for accepting reservations into this guest room block is 9/17/2009. Reservation requests received after 5:00 p.m. local time at Hotel on the cut-off date will be accepted at Hotel’s prevailing rate, based on availability.
# INDIVIDUAL CALL-IN: Please advise Columbus Area Boardgaming Society attendees to call Hotel for Reservations at 614-868-1380. To receive the contract rates, the attendees should identify the group as Columbus Area Boardgaming. All reservations should be made by 9/17/2009. After this date, we will release the remainder of your guest room block. Additional reservation requests will be honored on a space and rate available basis. Early departures and no-shows will be charged one night’s room and tax. *Check-In time of 4:00 p.m. and Check-Out time of 11:00 a.m.
# GUARANTEED BY INDIVIDUAL: Rooms are guaranteed for late arrival to an individual's credit card or by advance deposit. A guaranteed reservation assures a room for your attendees regardless of their arrival time. Any guaranteed reservations not canceled 72 hours before arrival date will be billed to the credit card . v
# AUCTION: We will again feature an awesome auction on Saturday. Last's year's auction was a huge success.
# DEALERS: GMT Games, L2 games, and RC Hobbies (a great, discount game dealer) are planning to attend and we are looking for more! Troll and Toad has also talked with CABS about also attending.
The BGF is a family-oriented boardgaming con with no CCGs, LARP, or RPGs. Everyone is welcome, especially wargamers . Both 2-player (e.g. the Combat Commander series, Twilight Struggle, OCS, TCS, SCS, & Avalon Hill classics to name a few) and multiplayer wargames (e.g. Here I Stand, The Napoleonic Wars, Struggle of Empires, etc) are heavily represented, as are other multiplayer board games.
The cost to attend is only $25 prior to September 24, then the price rises to $35.
For more information and a registration form:
http://www.buckeyeboardgamers.org/buckeyegamefest.htm
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Brief Summery of WW2 from a teenager...
Germany invades Czechoslovakia.
Britain & France tell them to stop that bullcrap.
Germany invades Poland.
(Russia also invades Poland from the other side: everybody forgets this.)
Britain & France declare war. This is the 'official' kick-off.
Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, & Romania all join the German side. (Everybody forgets the last three.)
Axis forces go through Europe like vindaloo through a colostomy.
Nazis exterminate Jews, gays, gypsies, & the disabled. (everybody remembers the jews but forgets the rest.)
UK holds out.
Russia & the USA don't do jack.
Entire divisions of Danish, Belgian, Dutch, Norwegian, French & Serbian volunteers join the Axis armies & SS. (everybody forgets this & to listen to them now, they were all in the freaking resistance, which must have been MASSIVE.)
Axis forces invade Russia. Suddenly the Russians don't think it's funny any more.
Japan joins the Axis & bombs Pearl Harbor.
Suddenly the US doesn't think it's funny any more.
The USA tools up the world, 'cause it's got more factories than everybody else put together, & they're out of bomber range.
Axis runs out of steam in Russia, cause Russia's enormous & bloody freezing.
Allies invade on D-Day... 5 landings: 2 British, 2 American, 1 Canadian. (everybody forgets the Canadians.)
Hitler ends up smouldering in a ditch. Russians find the body & confirm he only had one ball. Seriously.
The US decides invading stuff is a pain in the ass and invents the atom bomb instead. Drops two buckets 'o sunshine on Japan.
Russians steal half of Europe.
UK's spent almost every penny it had.
US starts telling everybody how it was all about them, & 64 years later is still doing so.
Britain & France tell them to stop that bullcrap.
Germany invades Poland.
(Russia also invades Poland from the other side: everybody forgets this.)
Britain & France declare war. This is the 'official' kick-off.
Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, & Romania all join the German side. (Everybody forgets the last three.)
Axis forces go through Europe like vindaloo through a colostomy.
Nazis exterminate Jews, gays, gypsies, & the disabled. (everybody remembers the jews but forgets the rest.)
UK holds out.
Russia & the USA don't do jack.
Entire divisions of Danish, Belgian, Dutch, Norwegian, French & Serbian volunteers join the Axis armies & SS. (everybody forgets this & to listen to them now, they were all in the freaking resistance, which must have been MASSIVE.)
Axis forces invade Russia. Suddenly the Russians don't think it's funny any more.
Japan joins the Axis & bombs Pearl Harbor.
Suddenly the US doesn't think it's funny any more.
The USA tools up the world, 'cause it's got more factories than everybody else put together, & they're out of bomber range.
Axis runs out of steam in Russia, cause Russia's enormous & bloody freezing.
Allies invade on D-Day... 5 landings: 2 British, 2 American, 1 Canadian. (everybody forgets the Canadians.)
Hitler ends up smouldering in a ditch. Russians find the body & confirm he only had one ball. Seriously.
The US decides invading stuff is a pain in the ass and invents the atom bomb instead. Drops two buckets 'o sunshine on Japan.
Russians steal half of Europe.
UK's spent almost every penny it had.
US starts telling everybody how it was all about them, & 64 years later is still doing so.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
You go Buzz
I am still astonished that people deny the moon landings...
What is that old game that depicts the race to the moon?
Digesting scenario-style wargames
There are a lot of characteristics differentiating wargames from other game types, but one common one is the scenario-style wargame.
Usually tactical in scope, this kind of wargame presents a game system in its rules, while the actual contests are a series of "scenarios" that are generally presented separately. This sort of presentation is rarely seen in other kinds of games, which usually have just one basic situation.
And not all wargames are "scenario-style" games in the way I mean, even if they use the word scenarios to describe varying ways to play the game. In many games there are variations in the game presented, but these would often be better called "variants" than scenarios because they are essentially riffs off the same theme. Sometimes they are fairly minor variations that add a unit or two or subtract some based on some historical decision or event. Other times they are fairly major departures, such as starting a day earlier or with a completely different order of battle. Still, in most cases they don't change the game into something completely different, and mean that a lot of analysis and planning can be transferred as the player tries to determine what to do.
On the other hand, with scenario-style wargames every scenario is really, in effect, a different game. The order of battle, victory conditions and often even the map is unique to that scenario.
This can be a bit overwhelming, I think, especially for gamers who haven't played many wargames. The whole question of what-to-do can be hard to wrap your head around.
So you're sitting down for a scenario-based tactical wargame you've never seen before, you're still digesting the rules and you have to figure out what to do -- knowing that early missteps can be fatal. You have five minutes to scope out the game before your opponent starts shifting about in his seat.
Professionally trained military staff officers and commanders have years and training and experience to help them, but a casual wargamer needs some easy-to-remember and use framework for organizing his thoughts.
Here I think borrowing, in simplified form, the US Army technique of METT-T is helpful. It's basically five bullet points or checklist items that can help size up the situation in five minutes and help the player start executing a plan instead of just pushing troops forward and hoping for the best.
METT-T stands for Mission, Enemy, Terrain, Troops and Time Available.
Mission, of course, is the most important and yet still often forgotten. In game terms, Mission is usually expressed in the victory conditions. It does little good to slaughter enemy troops left and right if your mission is to escort a supply truck off the map and you let it get blown up. So the very first task is to determine what the mission is and what has to be done to accomplish it.
Enemy. Study the enemy's order of battle. A wargamer has much better information about his opponent than a real-life commander. Use it. Consider whether there are any gaps in capability you can exploit. Is the enemy relatively slow? Is the enemy poorly equipped in some way? Does he have a shortage of anti-tank weapons in a World War II setting or lack cavalry on a Napoleonic battlefield.
Terrain. Examine the terrain. Are there places where the enemy will find slow going or good defensive positions? Does the terrain create choke points where a small force can delay a larger one or is it wide open and put a premium of mobile forces?
Troops. Study your own forces. What capabilities does it have? Does it have special abilities that can be exploited or weaknesses to be avoided. In all cases the interrelationship between enemy forces and friendly forces is relative. Having a light tank available might be insignificant in a big armor battle, or the key to victory in a small firefight against a pure infantry force that has no supporting armor of its own.
Time Available. Time is never neutral. One side always benefits from things slowing down, one side always wants to speed things up. It's vital to understand whether time is on your side or not. Related to that is the question of initiative. Generally the tactical situation will dictate which side starts with the initiative, but losing the initiative when you had it or gaining it when you didn't will have a huge impact on who wins. Make sure you understand exactly how much time you have. A well-designed scenario will be set up to leave one move short of victory with average play.
All five aspects of METT-T are intertwined, which is why it's not a simple checklist. You can't simply think about the Mission and then forget about it while you consider the Terrain or the Time. Your mind needs to roll through all five over and over again as you analyze the scenario. Just because you have a large number of hoplites means that hoplites are your main strength, if the enemy has even more hoplites. It may turn out that your real advantage is that small number of slingers -- or the swamp covering half the battlefield -- or the fact that the enemy's objective is a long march away.
Most military planning tools are too specific, detailed or technically demanding to be of much use on the wargame battlefield. But I've found METT-T to be a useful way to frame my thoughts when I'm sitting down for an unfamiliar battle.
From
Usually tactical in scope, this kind of wargame presents a game system in its rules, while the actual contests are a series of "scenarios" that are generally presented separately. This sort of presentation is rarely seen in other kinds of games, which usually have just one basic situation.
And not all wargames are "scenario-style" games in the way I mean, even if they use the word scenarios to describe varying ways to play the game. In many games there are variations in the game presented, but these would often be better called "variants" than scenarios because they are essentially riffs off the same theme. Sometimes they are fairly minor variations that add a unit or two or subtract some based on some historical decision or event. Other times they are fairly major departures, such as starting a day earlier or with a completely different order of battle. Still, in most cases they don't change the game into something completely different, and mean that a lot of analysis and planning can be transferred as the player tries to determine what to do.
On the other hand, with scenario-style wargames every scenario is really, in effect, a different game. The order of battle, victory conditions and often even the map is unique to that scenario.
This can be a bit overwhelming, I think, especially for gamers who haven't played many wargames. The whole question of what-to-do can be hard to wrap your head around.
So you're sitting down for a scenario-based tactical wargame you've never seen before, you're still digesting the rules and you have to figure out what to do -- knowing that early missteps can be fatal. You have five minutes to scope out the game before your opponent starts shifting about in his seat.
Professionally trained military staff officers and commanders have years and training and experience to help them, but a casual wargamer needs some easy-to-remember and use framework for organizing his thoughts.
Here I think borrowing, in simplified form, the US Army technique of METT-T is helpful. It's basically five bullet points or checklist items that can help size up the situation in five minutes and help the player start executing a plan instead of just pushing troops forward and hoping for the best.
METT-T stands for Mission, Enemy, Terrain, Troops and Time Available.
Mission, of course, is the most important and yet still often forgotten. In game terms, Mission is usually expressed in the victory conditions. It does little good to slaughter enemy troops left and right if your mission is to escort a supply truck off the map and you let it get blown up. So the very first task is to determine what the mission is and what has to be done to accomplish it.
Enemy. Study the enemy's order of battle. A wargamer has much better information about his opponent than a real-life commander. Use it. Consider whether there are any gaps in capability you can exploit. Is the enemy relatively slow? Is the enemy poorly equipped in some way? Does he have a shortage of anti-tank weapons in a World War II setting or lack cavalry on a Napoleonic battlefield.
Terrain. Examine the terrain. Are there places where the enemy will find slow going or good defensive positions? Does the terrain create choke points where a small force can delay a larger one or is it wide open and put a premium of mobile forces?
Troops. Study your own forces. What capabilities does it have? Does it have special abilities that can be exploited or weaknesses to be avoided. In all cases the interrelationship between enemy forces and friendly forces is relative. Having a light tank available might be insignificant in a big armor battle, or the key to victory in a small firefight against a pure infantry force that has no supporting armor of its own.
Time Available. Time is never neutral. One side always benefits from things slowing down, one side always wants to speed things up. It's vital to understand whether time is on your side or not. Related to that is the question of initiative. Generally the tactical situation will dictate which side starts with the initiative, but losing the initiative when you had it or gaining it when you didn't will have a huge impact on who wins. Make sure you understand exactly how much time you have. A well-designed scenario will be set up to leave one move short of victory with average play.
All five aspects of METT-T are intertwined, which is why it's not a simple checklist. You can't simply think about the Mission and then forget about it while you consider the Terrain or the Time. Your mind needs to roll through all five over and over again as you analyze the scenario. Just because you have a large number of hoplites means that hoplites are your main strength, if the enemy has even more hoplites. It may turn out that your real advantage is that small number of slingers -- or the swamp covering half the battlefield -- or the fact that the enemy's objective is a long march away.
Most military planning tools are too specific, detailed or technically demanding to be of much use on the wargame battlefield. But I've found METT-T to be a useful way to frame my thoughts when I'm sitting down for an unfamiliar battle.
From
Monday, July 20, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Counterclipping - yes or no?
What if something happens while separating the counters from their frames, or what if you buy a used and punched game? What if you always see these ugly paper remains on your otherwise beautiful counters? Then your only chance is to do some counter cosmetics - and I proudly present a classic flamewar theme:
Counterclipping - yes or no?
Wargamers are divided into three factions here:
- Group A rejects any counter treatment. Counters are used as they come out of the frame - period. Wargamers of this faction tend to a very careful counter separating and punching process. In general, no cosmetic treatment is necessary; little paper lappets are accepted. On the other hand, some gamers from this faction couldn't care less about their counters (in fact, this is only a minority - the average consim player has an almost religious relationship to his games ;)
- Group B accepts the necessity of cosmetic treatment if counters are punched out without much care, because untidy counters spoil the aesthetic impression of a game (and, by the way, one could encounter problems with grabbing a counter with tweezers). This is why this type of player cuts the paper lappets with a sharp nail-clipper after punching and gets a satisfying result.
- Group C thinks counter punching is only the initial act. This act is followed by a religious ceremony: clipping the counter's edges. The following pictures give a good impression of counter clipping in perfection:
 |  |
Here you see clipped counters in perfection: clean and regular. Very few material was removed from the counters, thus conserving its die cut form (if you don't have much talent or time, counters tend to become hexagonal, in extreme cases even circular). The reason for this radical treatment by the "Total Clipping Faction" is that counters fit more easily into the map board hexes, which enhances the optical impression and allows easier gameplay.
Alas, some problems are related to this counter treatment
It's very difficult to provide a regular treatment to all counters - you need time, a quiet hand and sharp eyes. Some games have 2000, 4000 or even 6000 counters - and you can imagine how long it takes to clip them all! This is no problem for the followers of this religion, though. They are looking forward to clipping the game for months and spend evenings and evenings clipping their counters.
If you fail in clipping some counters, the final picture will be quite irregular - which spoils the intended aesthetic effect.
Finally, in some games you could encounter rules problems: some games define a LOS being blocked by a counter. If you change the counter's appearance - the original form intended by the designer -, you could spoil a game. You may also face trouble with your opponents who prefer playing with unclipped counters.
As a result, we cannot recommend this radical method of counter treatment to an inexperienced player with average handcraft abilities.
By the way, don't be confused: both methods of counter treatment (group B and C) are called "Counter Clipping", but - as mentioned above - there is a great difference between only clipping the paper dips with a nail clipper and trimming all the counter edges. Sometimes eBay sellers offer a game with "clipped counters", simply meaning the minimal treatment which actually increases the game value. On the other hand it can be a bad surprise if you buy such a game, hoping for only minimal treated counters, but getting a game with radical clipped counters. In extreme cases, these counters can have a circular form when someone without any talent tried to clip the counter's corners...and the eBay seller only shrugs and says: "But I told you that the counters were clipped...."
(From http://www.homefrontcenter.de/English/artofcounterclipp.html)
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Some old police pictures
I found these on an old camera I had. I must of forgot to delete them.
This was a double DOA. Each were teens, but no worries the Keg was strapped in.
(they were not)
(they were not)
The mom dies in this one... rattle trap on a dirt road.
Slow down and you won't lose control
Left two toddlers alive and strapped in
Slow down and you won't lose control
Left two toddlers alive and strapped in
This was a neat place for a suicide note...(sarcasm)yes, he did OD right there on the side of the road.
Found one beer can next to the car...the dead driver was farther away from the car then the can was.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
GMT wants...
Combat Commander Battle Pack #3: Normandy
($25.00) - Will be charged at a later time
Washington's War
($42.00) - Will be charged at a later time
For the People, 2006 Edition
$55.00
Twilight Struggle Deluxe Edition
($38.00) - Will be charged at a later time
($25.00) - Will be charged at a later time
Washington's War
($42.00) - Will be charged at a later time
For the People, 2006 Edition
$55.00
Twilight Struggle Deluxe Edition
($38.00) - Will be charged at a later time
Storm Troopers... what a let down
Who Are They?
Soldiers of the Galactic Empire, as featured in the Star Wars franchise.
Why Were They Feared?
Stormtroopers started out strong. The way they stormed that Rebel blockade runner in Star Wars was pretty sweet. And the way they overran that Rebel base in The Empire Strikes Back was the epitome of cool (OK, so they let most of the rebels escape from Cloud City, but the rebels had inside help from known scoundrel Lando Calrissian, so we could let it slide). By that point, it seemed like Stormtroopers could do no wrong. But then something happened, something... awful.
What Went Wrong?
After convincing us that they were the baddest dudes in henchmen history, Stormtroopers suddenly went all France on us. Somehow, a frigging army of Stormtroopers was outwitted, outmaneuvered and just plain outfought by a bunch of overgrown merkins whose most advanced weaponry was flint-tipped arrows. But that's not even the worst part. The worst part is that these weren't just any Stormtroopers. No, these were, in the Emperor's own words, his best troops, for goodness's sake.
Who were his worst troops?
Of course, no one wanted the Stormtroopers to win. Yes, we loved them the way only impressionable adolescents can love something, but we knew they were evil, and we wanted them to get their comeuppance in the end. But not like this. Losing as ignominiously as they did on Endor didn't just diminish the villains, it also diminished the heroic men and women who defeated them.
A Typical Stormtrooper's Last Thought:
"I can't see a thing in this helmet!"
(this is not mine, reposeted from Cracked.com)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
10 Days in the USA
I sent this email out a few days ago:
Hello,
We bought 10 Days in the USA and 10 Days in Asia just recently at
Origins. Sadly, our copy of 10 Days in the USA has 17 cards that have
been cut wrong. They are to wide and will not fit in the insert. It is
not only cosmetic but ruins the game because it is mostly the states
that are in the second half of the alphabet that are ruined. Making it
easy to guess which state is which.
Please do not let this one instance of a breakdown of quality
assurance smudge your company's name.
Thank you,
Joe Steadman
I received this response today:
Hi Joe,
We apologize for any troubles the cards may have caused.
I will send replacement cards out today, via Priority Mail.
Thank you in advance for your understanding.
Derek McCoy
Sales Manager
Out of the Box Publishing
Good for you Out of the Box!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Top 10 Origins
Monica's and Joe's top ten games played from Origins... not in any particular order.
Dominion
Bobby Lee
Techu
Battlestar Galattica
Hammer of the Scotts
Combat Commander
Atlantic Storm
Omega Virus
Werewolf
Shadow Hunters
Dominion
Bobby Lee
Techu
Battlestar Galattica
Hammer of the Scotts
Combat Commander
Atlantic Storm
Omega Virus
Werewolf
Shadow Hunters
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