1:00 PM
Podcast and Chat Board
Joe and Tom have deigned to incorporate some of my WBC ramblings on their weekly DICE TOWER podcast. This is my first AUDIO contribution to a podcast (though I have written in to a couple in the past)
DICE TOWER EPISODE 14
HEAR the soft, melodic tones of Hotspur, as he lovingly recounts his WBC experiences.
That chat board thing.... I found the link to it on Joe Steadman's BLOG. Seemed fairly cool, but I like the counter with visitors from other countries better. Anyway, it was only ten bucks to register both, so why not? In any event the advent of the "chat board"? has been a few posts from some very confused (or deliberately irritating, I can't figure out which) individuals. For the record, we don't have bukake pictures on this blog, never have and never will...
4:23 PM
Way back in the day I used to put a few boardgames up for sale on ebay, and the buying frenzy would commence... Nothing tremendously rare, just good games that had a steady demand, like AFRIKA KORPS and BULGE and such. Such things never went for the big, big money (like, say, putting EMPIRE OF THE SUN on ebay, or one the SPI monster games-- they usually netted about 100 bucks each). They did, however, ALWAYS generate a bid or two. Enough to make it worth my while. Nowadays, the days of the 100 dollar game sale appear to be over as we all seem to settle down and get used to Ebay price fluctuations.
I recently sold off a bunch of games (See more Closet Clearing, in August). I have NO complaints about the outcomes, but it was one of the first times I noticed several games getting ZERO bids.. and they weren't unknowns, either. Fortunately, I did re-post them and they did sell later (no bids on EAST FRONT TANK LEADER? Or you guys nuts???). I'm sure it was a timing thing, but it definitely seems like the bloom is off the rose for wargamers and Ebay. Games seem to be finishing at a lower price, and not selling at all (no bids) quite often.
Is there a solution? Dunno. There's not really a problem, if youre a buyer that is. If you are a seller, you might give BoardgameGeek's marketplace a try. I plan on it, eventually.
Till then, I'm getting ready for the next big round of closet cleaning, sigh...
I recently sold off a bunch of games (See more Closet Clearing, in August). I have NO complaints about the outcomes, but it was one of the first times I noticed several games getting ZERO bids.. and they weren't unknowns, either. Fortunately, I did re-post them and they did sell later (no bids on EAST FRONT TANK LEADER? Or you guys nuts???). I'm sure it was a timing thing, but it definitely seems like the bloom is off the rose for wargamers and Ebay. Games seem to be finishing at a lower price, and not selling at all (no bids) quite often.
Is there a solution? Dunno. There's not really a problem, if youre a buyer that is. If you are a seller, you might give BoardgameGeek's marketplace a try. I plan on it, eventually.
Till then, I'm getting ready for the next big round of closet cleaning, sigh...
3:35 PM
Tale of the Almost Was...
Fantasy Flight Games released an ingenious game design about three or four years back, called DISKWARS. In Diskwars, the game is truly contained in the pieces themselves. Each game piece is a Disk, a fantasy (mostly) creature, location, monster, etc. Players set up on a special Headquarters DISK that is close to the edge of the playing space. In the center (usually), there is some giant "objective disk" (a keep, a treasure, a dragon, etc). The cool part now commences. The pieces "walked" from the edge of the table to the center (and into fighting range of other disks) by flipping end over end over end... like a coin flipping, but it was using the flipping movement to MOVE on the table.
As you can see, the disks came in several different size ranges, making some of the more valuable (bigger) pieces move faster than the more common (smaller) pieces.
Combat was dirt simple.. ranged combat was handled by holding a certain amount of arrow markers about two feet above the target zone and dropping them. "Hits" were "Hits" in a combat sense. Magick worked pretty much the same way. And physical combat was a simple system of comparison of attack and defense variables, once the disks were within melee range. There were several exceptions and nuances, not the least important was speed factors and racial bonuses, but that's about it.
There were SEVERAL DISK SETS (sold as "collectible flats") and sorted by race-- the standard fantasy races.
The artwork was top-notch; Fantasy Flight has ALWAYS had talent working for them and they really kicked out the jams on this one. I loved this game system because it hits all the elements I appreciate in good game design; easy to play, easy to teach and learn, you can play it with youngsters (but us oldsters like it too), and just a treat to look at.
Unfortunately, DISKWARS was released right about the same time as the subject of the THIRD essay on "The Game is in the Piece", MAGEKNIGHT clickies. FFG put in a wonderful effort in supporting and expanding this line (and there really is a lot of this stuff available yet, in third party and aftermarket sales, if you are interested), but I think they saw the writing on the wall and now the game appears to be out of print. At least the official Diskwars site no longer appears to be up.
FFG also, sadly, didn't help their product by releasing a VERY SIMILAR product right on the heels of DISKWARS called VORTEX, also collectible, also fantasy oriented, also tile based.. though that's a subject for a later essay.
See also: Doomtown, Legend of the Five Rings diskwars, the New Diskwars Computer Game.
12:40 PM
By arrangement with designer Chris Ferree, The (Virtual) Armchair General is calling for playtesters for the soon-to-be-released Waken The Storm, the Official Fantasy Variant of the world-famous The Sword And The Flame. |
text Copyright THE MINIATURES PAGE and Bill Armintrout
picture Copyright The Armchair General
Man, I am all over this like stank on a pig.
Fantasy is one of those genres I would like to do, but I have little interest in overpriced, overhyped and underdeveloped rules from a certain publisher who has strong ties to its own house miniatures... (coff coff coff).
Fantasy, "done right" would be a blast to play-- the available figures are literally through the roof. Personally, I've always wanted to do a "Sword and the Flame on Barsoom" one of these days, but haven't had the time to pursue it. I think this TSATF conversion might be just what the doctor ordered.
10:42 AM
Fun with everyday objects!
The location: a cheap Mejican resturaunt that doubles as a nightclub after 8 PM. Fortunately, we are only here for the food, which was excellent. Me, I got a beef-like product, Drey-chan picked up an entire big salty fishy thing. I can't hang with food that looks back at you, myself.
Hey, check it out! TONGUE TACOS! They taste so good, they speak for themselves! .. and chicks, they did the tongue taco too! (snicker)
Sorry this is so hard to read... the faulty lighting and crappy 1.5 megapixel camera are to blame!
The engineer in me is interested in the fancy exposed wiring and smashed atmospheric lighting. The exposed wires go sooo well with the "random water drips from the ceiling", I just HAVE to tinker...
The results.. they were shocking.
Just to gross me out, the Lady H. gives her dinner (which as a head attached to it) a big sizzling kissie...
The Lady H. Doesn't let cheap sentimentality get in the way of devouring her meal. The fish is reduced to bones in short order.
Just check out that dance floor. Why do I get the distinct impression that Waiter Pancho would rather be boogying to a salsa beat than schlepping fish with heads on them for ungrateful gringos?
10:28 AM
Sorry about the dearth of posts lately. My laptop got the bug and won't boot up these days. I try not to post from work ...
10:35 AM
Map Googling
GOOGLE's new "Google Maps" service is fairly impressive. I just ran a bunch of sales on Ebay (see "Even More Closet Cleaning" below). I was pleasantly surprised to see everything I put up for sale get bid upon except for two items, SOLDIERS by West End Games, and SPI's older WW2: EUROPEAN Theater of Operations. Anyhoo, as the requests for invoice have flooded in, I've been putting the addresses in to GOOGLE MAPS. The resulting map/satellite image is very cool and can zoom (in many locations, but not all) to a high degree of magnification. It's kind of neat to see that the guy you are selling a package to lives RIGHT HERE:
I've eradicated any data from this picture that would compromise this guy's privacy.
It's kind of neat to think that the package is going to a real, specific "first house on the left" on a real, specific street that I can see.
I mean, I KNEW that it was intellectually and all, but it's neat to actually SEE from a "God's eye" perspective.
3:43 PM
There some interesting buzz going on at Wizard of the Coast's company sanctioned bulletin boards. Apparently, some of the die-hard clickie fans are starting to complain that the alleged random distribution of booster packs is not very random at all, and some of the customers are claiming that they are detecting a pattern in the composition of their boosters.
It might just be grousing, but I've always wondered how RARE these rareities really are. I don't do clickies, but I DO like Whizkids' PIRATES OF THE SPANISH MAIN (see one of my REPLAYS and a SHORT REVIEW on the old Xanga Blog). I'm getting a little bummed at how many of the same old ships show up time after time. The other day I was delighted to see PIRATES boosters on sale at Target. I bought three packs and discovered every single thing in that purchase was a duplicate!!!
In any event, you might want to CHECK OUT THIS THREAD on the Wizards.com site. They are mostly discussing STAR WARS collectible miniatures, but the discussion really is about collectible games in general.
Oh, and if you want big, big laffs, check out "The Star Wars Toys that Never Were"..
It might just be grousing, but I've always wondered how RARE these rareities really are. I don't do clickies, but I DO like Whizkids' PIRATES OF THE SPANISH MAIN (see one of my REPLAYS and a SHORT REVIEW on the old Xanga Blog). I'm getting a little bummed at how many of the same old ships show up time after time. The other day I was delighted to see PIRATES boosters on sale at Target. I bought three packs and discovered every single thing in that purchase was a duplicate!!!
In any event, you might want to CHECK OUT THIS THREAD on the Wizards.com site. They are mostly discussing STAR WARS collectible miniatures, but the discussion really is about collectible games in general.
Oh, and if you want big, big laffs, check out "The Star Wars Toys that Never Were"..
6:49 AM
I thought I'd do a series on games where the physical pieces determine the mechanics-- by that the physical relationship of the pieces to each other, how they move (usually miniatures style) is actual rather than representational. To begin, we have:
Diceland is a series of Paper Dice combat games published by CHEAPASS GAMES. I bought only the OGRE set, so my comments are based on that, though I hear all games have similar mechanics with some custimization due to theme.
The pieces, as you might have already have figured out, are octahedral paper dice. In OGRE, you have one big-ass die (the OGRE) versus several teeny and medium sized die (the other guys). The game is licensed by SJG and designed to imitate the classic microgame of the same name.
The game has some innovative touches. You actually TOSS items on the table from a pre-determined height to bring them into play,and that's kind of an important thing (like.. dice, gitit?). The initial toss indicates your position and angle to the target. The point of the angle on each triangular tip of the dice side is WHERE YOUR WEAPON IS POINTING (clever, neh?)
If the target is within a certain range and in sight line to the end of the triangle, combat may ensue. This is a simple comparison of attack versus defense, and the defense loses (gets killed). That's the part I find a tad too simplistic. Of course, on the OGRE, it's the "system" that dies, not the whole, entire tank.
Movement is pretty cool... you push on a yellow dot at the edge of the point of the triangle, and the the side of the dice piece rolls over, moving the die forward or backward.
I've played the OGRE versus the other guys as a solitaire game, and the OGRE whomped them. I think there are not enough other guys to kill the OGRE in the mix that ships with the game. On the other hand, there are now singles available directly from Cheapass.
In general, I enjoyed the game and would like to see a GEV version done, but I suspect the sales have been flat or we might have seen it already.
The game itself is fairly innovative but I would tinker with the mechanics (naturally!!!) to make the combat closer to OGRE/GEV. At the price, DICELAND OGRE is certainly affordable and it won't break the bank to check it out.
Image from BoardGameGeek
Diceland: Rollin' tetrahedrons..
Diceland is a series of Paper Dice combat games published by CHEAPASS GAMES. I bought only the OGRE set, so my comments are based on that, though I hear all games have similar mechanics with some custimization due to theme.
The pieces, as you might have already have figured out, are octahedral paper dice. In OGRE, you have one big-ass die (the OGRE) versus several teeny and medium sized die (the other guys). The game is licensed by SJG and designed to imitate the classic microgame of the same name.
The game has some innovative touches. You actually TOSS items on the table from a pre-determined height to bring them into play,and that's kind of an important thing (like.. dice, gitit?). The initial toss indicates your position and angle to the target. The point of the angle on each triangular tip of the dice side is WHERE YOUR WEAPON IS POINTING (clever, neh?)
If the target is within a certain range and in sight line to the end of the triangle, combat may ensue. This is a simple comparison of attack versus defense, and the defense loses (gets killed). That's the part I find a tad too simplistic. Of course, on the OGRE, it's the "system" that dies, not the whole, entire tank.
Movement is pretty cool... you push on a yellow dot at the edge of the point of the triangle, and the the side of the dice piece rolls over, moving the die forward or backward.
I've played the OGRE versus the other guys as a solitaire game, and the OGRE whomped them. I think there are not enough other guys to kill the OGRE in the mix that ships with the game. On the other hand, there are now singles available directly from Cheapass.
In general, I enjoyed the game and would like to see a GEV version done, but I suspect the sales have been flat or we might have seen it already.
The game itself is fairly innovative but I would tinker with the mechanics (naturally!!!) to make the combat closer to OGRE/GEV. At the price, DICELAND OGRE is certainly affordable and it won't break the bank to check it out.
Image from BoardGameGeek
3:50 PM
Tom Vasel, the shy, retiring half of the duo at THE DICE TOWER podcast, emailed me to request that I provide some form of audio snippet about "my trip to WBC" for use with the show.
I replied that I'd be glad to do it, hambone that I am, but I really was only there for a couple of days (see MY WBC FLYBY below), I don't do the tournament thing, and I'm not one of those competitive types. Tom indicated that my contributions would STILL be okay, for all of that.
So I went out looking for an audio editor, preferably for the nice price (freeware). Bingo, I think I've found.. THE THING... that I was looking for.
AUDACITY is a GNU-license special:
It's a heck of a lot more complicated that I am comfortable with right now, but I did manage to edit out some pauses and extraneous clicks and such with it using no instructions whatsover. That's GOOD software..
Anyhow, tune in to the Tower for episode 13 and you'll hear a lot of blather from your faithful correspondent. Or maybe not if they have any sense.
I replied that I'd be glad to do it, hambone that I am, but I really was only there for a couple of days (see MY WBC FLYBY below), I don't do the tournament thing, and I'm not one of those competitive types. Tom indicated that my contributions would STILL be okay, for all of that.
So I went out looking for an audio editor, preferably for the nice price (freeware). Bingo, I think I've found.. THE THING... that I was looking for.
AUDACITY is a GNU-license special:
Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to:
Record live audio.
Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WAV sound files.
Cut, copy, splice, and mix sounds together.
Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
It's a heck of a lot more complicated that I am comfortable with right now, but I did manage to edit out some pauses and extraneous clicks and such with it using no instructions whatsover. That's GOOD software..
Anyhow, tune in to the Tower for episode 13 and you'll hear a lot of blather from your faithful correspondent. Or maybe not if they have any sense.
6:33 AM
I didn't go to the movies much this Summer, genre or otherwise. I saw the new Batman movie (which was great!), and for the life of me I can't remember going to see anything else (that's pretty pathetic for a Summer "blockbuster" season). Fall will be quite different.
Serenity: loved the show when it was out, bought the DVD expanded series, now am eager to see what else Josh Whedon has up his sleaves for this universe. The only thing I'm worried about is the dynamic of "8 people trying to get by on the edge of the frontier" appears to be lost somewhere... the titular ship seems to be in the thick of things in the feature length sequel. I hope this doesn't kill the storyline.
The Brothers Grimm: One of my favorite visual filmakers living today (Terry Gilliam) visits one of the premier sources of childhood phobias and angst. What's not to love?
Mirrormask (see two posts back!)
Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro: gekijô-ban: a very grisly little Japanese horror, quite disturbing looking. Probably going to get a limited release here in the states.
The Lion the Witch and the Warddrobe, or "Narnia 1": I hope filming this great series isn't just a bald-faced attempt at cashing in on ground laid by Peter Jackson's success. Especially when you consider the main culprit is Disney, and the director did Shrek... still, I have hopes, the trailer indicates it will be faithful to the book.
Corpse Bride: Tim Burton has his hits and misses, but generally I like or love what he does. BIG FISH was fantastic, the PLANET OF THE APES remakes, eh..... Corpse Bride rejoins Burton with the "animatronic puppet" style that he did very well in in the movie Nightmare before Christmas. I think Tim does better with original material especially of a darker, fantastic nature; I have high hopes.
Harry Potter 4: The last one made up for the two previous ones. It was quite dark in places. I also have hopes for this one...
King Kong: Mixed feelings on this. Dunno if it really needed a remake, but I love the director's work (duh!!!) and I think that setting it back in the 1930s might be the factor that ends up being this movie's saving grace.
Looks like I'm gonna go broke going to the movies this Fall!
Serenity: loved the show when it was out, bought the DVD expanded series, now am eager to see what else Josh Whedon has up his sleaves for this universe. The only thing I'm worried about is the dynamic of "8 people trying to get by on the edge of the frontier" appears to be lost somewhere... the titular ship seems to be in the thick of things in the feature length sequel. I hope this doesn't kill the storyline.
The Brothers Grimm: One of my favorite visual filmakers living today (Terry Gilliam) visits one of the premier sources of childhood phobias and angst. What's not to love?
Mirrormask (see two posts back!)
Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro: gekijô-ban: a very grisly little Japanese horror, quite disturbing looking. Probably going to get a limited release here in the states.
The Lion the Witch and the Warddrobe, or "Narnia 1": I hope filming this great series isn't just a bald-faced attempt at cashing in on ground laid by Peter Jackson's success. Especially when you consider the main culprit is Disney, and the director did Shrek... still, I have hopes, the trailer indicates it will be faithful to the book.
Corpse Bride: Tim Burton has his hits and misses, but generally I like or love what he does. BIG FISH was fantastic, the PLANET OF THE APES remakes, eh..... Corpse Bride rejoins Burton with the "animatronic puppet" style that he did very well in in the movie Nightmare before Christmas. I think Tim does better with original material especially of a darker, fantastic nature; I have high hopes.
Harry Potter 4: The last one made up for the two previous ones. It was quite dark in places. I also have hopes for this one...
King Kong: Mixed feelings on this. Dunno if it really needed a remake, but I love the director's work (duh!!!) and I think that setting it back in the 1930s might be the factor that ends up being this movie's saving grace.
Looks like I'm gonna go broke going to the movies this Fall!
11:27 PM
John Buck, a real sweetheart of a guy, sent me a care package of euro card games for playing with the chilluns, and that is just what I did.
We took CORSARI (aka Corsairs), by Rio Grande, to the pool with us. Garrett, Annie and I played.
It's a great little set collecting game that reminds me strongly of VAMPIRE by Reiner Knizia, with cooler hand management. Basically you are trying to collect sets of single colored pirates that become "Prisoners". You want to "Set Sail" (score) by taking a crew of two colors (that don't have any matching numbers). All the rest are "Stowaways" which count against you.
We played a few hands of Corsari and the kids weren't totally distracted by it, but the scoring mechanism was a bit of a challenge for Garrett (age 7). Anne understood it immediately and though
t it was at least as good as VAMPIRE, which all of us like very much as quick pickup game.
The cards are not quite up to snuff as physical components. Just a little bit of dampness on the towel caused one of the cards to separate a bit. Other than that, it's a great little game and I really enjoy it. Once we get the scoring sequence down pat, we'll be playing this one more often.
We took CORSARI (aka Corsairs), by Rio Grande, to the pool with us. Garrett, Annie and I played.
It's a great little set collecting game that reminds me strongly of VAMPIRE by Reiner Knizia, with cooler hand management. Basically you are trying to collect sets of single colored pirates that become "Prisoners". You want to "Set Sail" (score) by taking a crew of two colors (that don't have any matching numbers). All the rest are "Stowaways" which count against you.
We played a few hands of Corsari and the kids weren't totally distracted by it, but the scoring mechanism was a bit of a challenge for Garrett (age 7). Anne understood it immediately and though
t it was at least as good as VAMPIRE, which all of us like very much as quick pickup game. 
The cards are not quite up to snuff as physical components. Just a little bit of dampness on the towel caused one of the cards to separate a bit. Other than that, it's a great little game and I really enjoy it. Once we get the scoring sequence down pat, we'll be playing this one more often.
11:36 AM
MIRRORMASK, really crappy distribution
I've been catching the occasional preview of a small art-house flick called MIRRORMASK (Sony Pictures) lately. The moview looks to be a visual treat; a cross between Jim Henson muppets and Eastern-European animation. Indeed, the Henson company has their hands all over this one, and the writing talent can't be beat; Neil Gaiman of Sandman fame. In short, the kind of picture that you would expect Sony to make a big ring-a-ding-ding deal over.
I was astonished to see what a CRAPPY DISTRIBUTION DEAL this picture actualy received.
The nearest locale to where I live has it showing at one theater, on one screen: Landmark E Street Cinema 8 in Washington, DC. That's not even an "art house" venue like Fair City Mall or Shirlington!
I wonder what this portends... is the industry losing faith in fantasy and SF themed movies? I would hope not.
9:58 AM
Revisiting the Kelo case of 23 June
Susette Kelo was among several residents of New London, Conn., who sued the city after officials announced plans to knock down their homes to make room for a riverfront hotel, health club and offices.
As you might know by now, the Supreme Court sided with the developers and city of New London (where I lived as a child, btw). Majority: Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsberg and Breyer. Dissenting: O'Connor, Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas.
Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said, "The city has carefully formulated an economic development that it believes will provide appreciable benefits to the community, including -- but by no means limited to -- new jobs and increased tax revenue."
In Dissent, Justice O'Connor wrote: "Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random," The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."
This case touches upon private property rights and the rights of municipalities to seize property for "the public good". In the past, the U.S. has narrowly defined the public good as schools, highways, railroads, infrastructure items, etc. This is the first case I know of where commercial developers have made a case that putting up a shopping mall is defined as a public good.
So we've now entered into a new phase of living where commercial real estate developers can seize our property, right? Check out the sequel:
The city now says that since it won the case, the homeowners actually have been living on city property since 2000 when it first began condemnation procedures against them, so they must pay back rent – to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. -- Worldnetdaily.com
That's right... New London CT now states that the owners of the properties owe THEM back rent because they have been living on the properties since 2000.. now mind you, most of these people will be reimbursed for the property value of their homes as they were assessed back in 2000, not in 2006. That means that they will be paid significantly under the amount they could get if they sold their properties now, in the real estate market of 2006. And if New London gets its way, they probably won't see a dime because of the back rent due. I've never seen such a case of malicious prosecution in my life.
Shame on you, New London CT!
Of course, there's some grim satisfaction in all this. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, too. Citizen groups have banded together in two municipalities to seize the vacation homes of Justices Souter and Breyer:
Effort to take Breyer's home moving ahead
Movement builds to seize Souter's home
Right on!
Maybe this will work or maybe it won't, but it should send a message to the people that make decisions that effect the lives of all Americans-- they are not above the laws they set for us to have live with.
Hopefully this is a decision that can be overturned... we've done it before, we can do it again!
Susette Kelo was among several residents of New London, Conn., who sued the city after officials announced plans to knock down their homes to make room for a riverfront hotel, health club and offices.
As you might know by now, the Supreme Court sided with the developers and city of New London (where I lived as a child, btw). Majority: Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsberg and Breyer. Dissenting: O'Connor, Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas.
Writing for the majority, Justice John Paul Stevens said, "The city has carefully formulated an economic development that it believes will provide appreciable benefits to the community, including -- but by no means limited to -- new jobs and increased tax revenue."
In Dissent, Justice O'Connor wrote: "Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random," The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."
This case touches upon private property rights and the rights of municipalities to seize property for "the public good". In the past, the U.S. has narrowly defined the public good as schools, highways, railroads, infrastructure items, etc. This is the first case I know of where commercial developers have made a case that putting up a shopping mall is defined as a public good.
So we've now entered into a new phase of living where commercial real estate developers can seize our property, right? Check out the sequel:
The city now says that since it won the case, the homeowners actually have been living on city property since 2000 when it first began condemnation procedures against them, so they must pay back rent – to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. -- Worldnetdaily.com
That's right... New London CT now states that the owners of the properties owe THEM back rent because they have been living on the properties since 2000.. now mind you, most of these people will be reimbursed for the property value of their homes as they were assessed back in 2000, not in 2006. That means that they will be paid significantly under the amount they could get if they sold their properties now, in the real estate market of 2006. And if New London gets its way, they probably won't see a dime because of the back rent due. I've never seen such a case of malicious prosecution in my life.
Shame on you, New London CT!
Of course, there's some grim satisfaction in all this. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, too. Citizen groups have banded together in two municipalities to seize the vacation homes of Justices Souter and Breyer:
Effort to take Breyer's home moving ahead
Movement builds to seize Souter's home
Right on!
Maybe this will work or maybe it won't, but it should send a message to the people that make decisions that effect the lives of all Americans-- they are not above the laws they set for us to have live with.
Hopefully this is a decision that can be overturned... we've done it before, we can do it again!
1:13 AM
4:39 PM
AK 47 Republic
Nigel and Nick were at it at the Game Parlor last night. AK47 Republic is basically a two person game, or at least at this scale it is. I dropped by to buy some bases and watched for a while.
I've started a small AK-47 Republic army with Peter Pig soldiers. I can't hold a candle to the depth of material that Nigel Clarke has done with this rule set, which I rather like.
11:39 AM
I had opportunity to catch the recent remake of The Stepford Wives last night on Tivo.
What a joyless, pathetic, emasculating movie this was.
The new movie does nothing better than the 1975 original and many things far, far worse. Ira Levin's creepy novel was scary because it made the readers ask themselves. how far would you go if you could? and How do you define a "perfect marriage?"
The earlier movie (1975, starring Katherine Ross) was effective and actually scary because they made it clear that behind all the posturing about women's lib and men feeling threatened or marginalized by their mates, etc., the men of Stepford were really, truly killing their wives and replacing them with androids. Plain and simple.
In this remake, no such thing occurs. Instead, we have a lame attempt at a comedy-- the men's club is far less scary (just a gang of nerdy dweebs, actually, led by the redoubtable Christopher Walken). The women aren't killed, just ... altered.. by a chip implant in their brains. The whole story is brought into the realm of political correctness by having one of the "wives" be a gay male. The wives aren't replaced by robots, even though there IS a robot of the main female lead at one point. This is never explained. Why are they referred to as robots, when they are just brainwashed?
The sappy, happy ending totally ruined it for me. It's the worst remake of a classic movie (that didn't need to be remade) that I've seen yet.
I like the occasionally morally ambiguous story. In real life, the good guys don't always win and we don't always have a politically correct, pat answer for life's problems. The original movie ended in just such a fashion,which is one of the reasons I still like to watch it. The remake will be in the budget DVD section within the year.
To top things off, Kidman doesn't get naked, either.
I was so happy to see CHOPPING MALL on shortly thereafter.
What a joyless, pathetic, emasculating movie this was.
The new movie does nothing better than the 1975 original and many things far, far worse. Ira Levin's creepy novel was scary because it made the readers ask themselves. how far would you go if you could? and How do you define a "perfect marriage?"
The earlier movie (1975, starring Katherine Ross) was effective and actually scary because they made it clear that behind all the posturing about women's lib and men feeling threatened or marginalized by their mates, etc., the men of Stepford were really, truly killing their wives and replacing them with androids. Plain and simple.
In this remake, no such thing occurs. Instead, we have a lame attempt at a comedy-- the men's club is far less scary (just a gang of nerdy dweebs, actually, led by the redoubtable Christopher Walken). The women aren't killed, just ... altered.. by a chip implant in their brains. The whole story is brought into the realm of political correctness by having one of the "wives" be a gay male. The wives aren't replaced by robots, even though there IS a robot of the main female lead at one point. This is never explained. Why are they referred to as robots, when they are just brainwashed?
The sappy, happy ending totally ruined it for me. It's the worst remake of a classic movie (that didn't need to be remade) that I've seen yet.
I like the occasionally morally ambiguous story. In real life, the good guys don't always win and we don't always have a politically correct, pat answer for life's problems. The original movie ended in just such a fashion,which is one of the reasons I still like to watch it. The remake will be in the budget DVD section within the year.
To top things off, Kidman doesn't get naked, either.
I was so happy to see CHOPPING MALL on shortly thereafter.
10:34 AM
Yo! Help a brothah out, old school, YO
Click HERE for current sales on Ebay.
+++ GULF STRIKE & expansion by Victory Games
+++ CANDIDATE a Richard Winter game from Avalon Hill
+++ TYPHOON! by GMT a Vance Von Borries design
+++ ACQUIRE 1960s era 3M
++ ARAB-ISRAELI WARS by AH
++ COMMANDO by SPI RPG/War game
++ KRIEG! grand strategy WW2 by DG.. plus BONUS stuff
++ Mech War 77 by SPI a Jim Dunnigan
+++ EASTERN FRONT TANK LEADER by West End Games
+++ FireFight by SPI Jim Dunnigan design
+++ GUERILLA by Avalon Hill
Soon to be adding: WW2 by SPI, and LEE VERSUS GRANT by VG
9:11 AM
Now that's something you don't see every day.
I love the party/deduction game WEREWOLF, which is a game you can create and play for free or with nothing but scraps of paper, even though there are several commercial versions available to play with. I like the Da Vinci games version the best out of the commercial games, and have actually made a set of cards myself that you can find HERE
Joe Steadman has been pushing playing WEREWOLF on the podcast (Dice Tower) that he and Tom Vasel do routinely from their evil headquarters in South Korea. So I thought I'd give it a try. Among the listings for game openings on the PBEM forum on Boardgamegeek, I noticed this one:
WEREWOLF: THE MUSICAL
With this description.
Well, I love a challenge, and this sounds wonderfully twisted. I hope I can get other people to sign up with this post!
I love the party/deduction game WEREWOLF, which is a game you can create and play for free or with nothing but scraps of paper, even though there are several commercial versions available to play with. I like the Da Vinci games version the best out of the commercial games, and have actually made a set of cards myself that you can find HERE
Joe Steadman has been pushing playing WEREWOLF on the podcast (Dice Tower) that he and Tom Vasel do routinely from their evil headquarters in South Korea. So I thought I'd give it a try. Among the listings for game openings on the PBEM forum on Boardgamegeek, I noticed this one:
WEREWOLF: THE MUSICAL
With this description.
All posts must be in rhyme, or must be quotes from song lyrics. Song lyrics may be scrambled to make them fit what you want to say (Example - Melissa's 'Just hoping no one knows / that I've been turning to a werewolf'). Keep it PG however. Anyone posting ANYTHING that is not in rhyme, their vote will not count for that day. They still must vote, but it will not count.
PMs do not need to be in rhyme. You may PM the moderator at any time. You may NOT PM other players unless you have been specifically told that you may.
Lynch time is 7PM BGG time, with nightfall following immediately afterwards. Daybreak will be the next morning between 5 & 7AM (depending on when I get up & get to my computer). You may sing, and vote, during the night.
In case of a tie for the lynch, the longest held vote will be the deciding factor.
EVERYONE MUST VOTE EVERY DAY. If you do not vote, you will be removed from the game and replaced with an alternate.
Night actions may be PMed to the mod ahead of time. Anyone who has a night action & does not get their order in by 5AM BGG time is out of luck.
ROLES & NUMBER OF PLAYERS - Number of players is determined by how many people sign up. A few days before the game starts I will close the list & accept only alternates after that. I may add more roles if a lot of people sign up.
MINSTREL - good role - more than one in the game - this is the role of villager for this game.
BANSHEE - evil role - more than one in the game - The cry of the banshee foretells someone's death. Banshees get to decide as a group every night to kill someone. Banshees are allowed to PM each other.
BARD - good role - The bard's extensive training allows him to peer into the hearts of men. Once each night, the bard may PM the mod and request to know whether a player is a minstrel or a banshee.
PLEASE SIGN UP IN THIS THREAD - also please vote for the start date. Would you prefer Aug 29, Sept 5 or Sept 6?
If you already signed up in the previous discussion thread, I have your name below.
Credit and mucho props to Perfectsim411 for coming up with the idea & allowing me to run with it. Credit also to Mr. Skeletor for coming up with the rhyming part
1 - Melissa
2 - Mr. Skeletor
3 - xlorp (maybe)
4 - spielguy
5 - silverpenny
6 - greek2me (Aug 29)
7 - johnny
Well, I love a challenge, and this sounds wonderfully twisted. I hope I can get other people to sign up with this post!
6:49 AM
Conquest of the Empire
Well, I'm listening to the Dice Tower #12 and it's pretty clear that I'm not going to have CONQUEST OF THE EMPIRE show up from Korea any time soon, drat!
(background: Joe and Tom were giving away Conquest on the Dice Tower show-- see the link to tune into their excellent podcast)
Actually, I intend to get this one soon. When the game came out in the first place back in the 80s, I was lusting after it, but it was in print for such a relatively short time that I missed my chance. That whole line of "plastic piece games" put out by Milton Bradley way back in the day (Shogun, Fortress America, Conquest and Broadsides and Boarding Parties) have been going for the cost of a major organ on Ebay for a long, long time. The good news is that Eagle Games (rapidly becoming one of my favorite publishers) is putting out CONQUEST OF THE EMPIRE again. And it's surprisingly affordable at sixty bucks.
Original Conquest from Milton-Bradley.. routinely going for about 80+ bucks on Ebay.
Ooooh... ahhh... check out those pieces!! They are head and shoulders above the old ones in the original game. We seem to be going through something of a plastic piece game rennaissance these days. Maybe I'll do a blog posting on all the plastic board/miniature fusion games I own one of these days. A considerable amount, actually!
So I'm not really whining, guys.. congrats to Wallace Freedle. I'm looking forward to getting this one through fair and honest means.
4:33 PM
Shopping for School Attire
Figure 1: Tasteful, elegant, somewhat outdoorsy. The perfect outfit for the active sporting gent.
Figure 2: The pack, perhaps, is out of balance and draws focus away from the wearer's face. Definitely a mistake.
Figure 3: Clearly, here we have a cut and dried example of the practical outweighing any fashion aesthetic. Reduce the pack and get a straw hat, the experts say.
Figure 4: As a feminine fashion accesory, the Mega Pack was doomed to failure.
Fortunately, our fashion victims had a ready made diversion available to them, so they might seek consolation in rugged activity.
11:20 AM
Building a Coding Spec
or trying to...
I've received some enthusiastic feedback from the lads over at The Miniatures Page for the networked/handheld gaming idea lately. The more I think about it, the more I realize that this idea can be done, and it can be done relatively easily and perhaps it won't be that expensive. So I got to thinking about how a program to assist in "wired gaming" would look like. What follows is more of a coding spec than anything else. I've mocked up a screen using a nifty looking product called PDA TOOLBOX that looks like it will integrate with VB Scripting and coding.
Functional Description
The verbiage that follows is an attempt to describe an application that will maintain a list of command "shorthands" that will be used to build a command that will export to a memo that can be beamed from one handheld device to another.
Basics: Environments, Language, Target Users, Deployment platforms
This specification is an attempt to capture the lowest common denominator for deployment.
Platform: an older, obsolete* handheld PDA. My target platform will be the Palm III or V handheld, for cost reasons. They still can be purchased on ebay, usually for under 15 USD. Depending on your budget, you might be able to obtain one for every player in a game using this sytem. The Pocket PC has many attractive qualities, not the least of which is easier integration into the Windows environment, but older Pocket PCs tend to be pricier in the after-market than old Palm Pilots. With that said, there is NO reason this design should not easily port into the Pocket PC development environment.
Platform OS: Palm OS 3.1 or higher. the lowest possible OS is desired.
Platform IR: Each handheld MUST have the capability to transmit memos as a function of the OTS operating system. Most PDAs do this as a firmware capability.
Color Scheme: Mono
Memory: The application should not really take up much more than 40K on a guess, and supporting files should not exceed 10K for database files.
APPLICATION SPEC
There are two elements to the app, which I'm calling BROADSWORD just to give it a working name.
1) The Battle Language Dictionary (BLD)-- the GM defines the command set, using an established tabular format.
1A) The BLD can be typed up, one line per data item, in an ASCII text editor in Mac or Windows. Columns depict the Command Shorthand (three letters), Type (four letters) and Plaintext description of the command.
1B) The GM defines the BLD based upon whatever ruleset he or she is using.. Fire and Fury, Command at Sea, Legions of Glory, whatever. In some instances the GM might have to adapt the rule set heavily to boil actions in the rules down to a very brief command shorthand. See the graphic for some ideas for a BLD:
1C) The BLD is converted to standard Palm database or txt file (PDB) on the windows or mac computer. The BLD is then hotsynched to the handhelds being used to play the game.
2) BATTLEFIELD COMMAND PARSER (BCP)
2A) the primary user is the player now. He or she initiates the BCP as a Palm application by clicking on it twice.
2B) the BCP reads the BLD.pdb file that was synchronized by the GM earlier. The fields for the BLD should show up as a scrollable table in a window.
Here is a picture of a notional screen for the "Command Builder". It was built quickly with a development product called PDA Toolbox.
2C) The table in the window below is the BLD. As the user picks command shorthands from the scrolling list, they display in the Command Builder window on top. When they are finished, the Player can tailor it by directly editing it in the window.
2C) when finished, the player presses the "Export to Memo" button, then switches to the memo pad that comes with Palm pilots as firmware. He makes any final changes, and then (using the native beam function builtin) he transmits it to whatever player needs it.
That's it so far!
* Note: As far as I'm concerned, any technology that continues to provide a useful function in an efficient manner is never "obsolete". I use the term in the marketing sense of the word here.
10:12 AM
Latest Rio Grande newsletter
I saw MANY of these being played at WBC (see below). Of the bunch listed here, I like the looks of ROMA and FJORDS. I don't have much more experience with the others as I didn't have enough time to try everything.
I didn't see the KING ARTHUR game by Knizia or the Dragonriders game, but I'm intrigued by the description that Jay Tummelson gives below.
Rio Grande Games News
The past few weeks were busy ones for us. We did have some shipping delays, which caused some scheduled July releases to slide into early August, but those games have now all beeen shipped and should appear in stores this week.
We released (or re-released) Tikal, Torres, That's Life (the multi-lingual version of Verflixxt!), Fjords, Tichu, Tamsk, Palazzo, Trans America, Niagara, Australia, and Carcassonne: King & Scout, and the following games from Queen Games: Lucky Loop, Indus, Rat Hot, Turbo Taxi, Roma, Architekton, and Inka.
After the surge in the last few weeks, we will take a short breather, but expect to release the following games in September: Bausack, Sac Noir, Alhambra, and Alhambra: the Vizor's Favor (the first Alhambra expansion).
In October, we will release Dragonriders, Oltre Mare, Metro, Clans, El Grande, Goa, Power Grid maps for France and Italy, Carcassonne: the River II, and several other games to be announced in the near future.
As mentioned in our previous newsletters, we have acquired a small supply of Power Grid replacement decks for you completists out there. These decks have have the new version of power plant 29. We will offer them at the conventions we
visit this summer, as long as the supply lasts. They can be obtained by donating $5.00 to Heifer International (www.heifer.org). We will collect the donations and send all monies collected (we keep no portion of the $5.00) to Heifer so they can send animals to needing families around the world. At Gulf Games and World Boardgame Championships, you donated $240, enough (with a little added on our own) to send enough to Heifer for a llama and a goat. We will also have them at Gencon, and CHITAG.
Tikal
Each player is the director of an expedition intent on exploring Tikal in search of the secret paths that lead to the temples and precious treasures that have remained hidden for over 1000 years. A player receives points during four scoring rounds for eac h recovered treasure and for each temple that he controls. But, both temples and treasures can change hands. The expedition that earns the most points exploring Tikal wins the game.
$44.95; RIO132; 6 per case; 2-4 players, aged 10 +; length 75-90 minutes; authors: Kramer & Kiesling.
Torres
A series of devastating tornadoes in the recent war has left all the king's castles in ruin. His sons will rebuild his castles and he promises the throne to the one who can rebuild the tallest and largest castles. Two or more princes may work together on a castle. The king will tour the castles to judge the progress of each son. After his the third tour, he will choose his successor.
$44.95; RIO133; 6 per case; 2-4 players, aged 12 +; length: 60 minutes; authors: Kramer & Kiesling.
Oltre Mare
The Mediterranean Sea is the lifeline for merchants living in the lands on its shores. In Oltre Mare, players represent competing merchant families plying their trade throughout the region. As the players move their ships from port to port, they try to loand and deliver large cargos of the seven major trading goods of the day: spices, silk, silver, sugar, wine, wood, and corn. With experience, each has learned what the market limit for each good is, and will try to fill his ship with just this much of each cargo type to gain the most from his investments. Of course, players must always be on the lookout for pirates, who will board careless ships, stealing both cargos and reputations. The most successful player will earn the most money - you are merchants, after all), and win the game!
$39.95; RIO275; 6 per case; 2-5 players, aged 10 +; length: 60 minutes; author: Emanuele Ornella.
Dragonriders
Climb aboard your trusty steed and lift off for the race of your life! The players race their dragons on a course in a deep and winding canyon. You have some magic to use to aid your cause, or hinder your opponents, but the real test is your skill at maneuvering your dragon through the course to reach the finish line ahead of the others. Players choose their speeds on each round secretly, but then must move at that speed, even if other dragons or canyon walls are in the way.
The movement system gives players more maneuverability at lower speeds than at higher, so you cannot turn your dragon on a dime unless you are going very slowly - an important consideration in those hairpin turns!
The track is made of two-sided tiles, so players can design their own races and change them every race to keep things fun and exciting!
$49.95; RIO276; 2-6 players, aged 10 +; length: 60 minutes; authors: Klaus-Jürgen Wrede & Jean de Poel.
Gracias & King Arthur Card Game
I am working now with Ravensburger to produce multilingual version of these two games.
Gracias is a collecting card game from Richard Borg and Alan Moon. In this game, players try to collect as many cards from each color as possible, but not the most. When scoring, the players with the most cards in a color get no point for the color. So, finally, a game where fisrt loser is the winner!
King Arthur is a three tiered card game from Reiner Knizia. Players start with knights and can draw a new knight card each turn. They then send their knights out to challenge enemies of King Arthur: dragons, enemy knights, monsters, and evil beings, which are each worth 1-5 victory points. Later, players can convert sets of these victory points to adventures cards, worth even more!
Jay M Tummelson
Rio Grande Games
www.riograndegames.com
PO Box 45715
Rio Rancho, NM 87174
2:11 PM
Courtesy of ARMCHAIR GENERAL's website, I followed a very interesting link to the Warfare Headquarters Download center (now part of StrategyZone Online). If you are into wargames, particularly board and PC based (like HPS, Steel Panthers, etc.) or really like GBACW and ASL, then this site is for you!
1:05 PM
A Sad Day in 1977
Even Silent Cal mourned the King..
On this date, 28 years ago. Elvis Aaron Presley was discovered unconcious with his pants down to his knees in the upstairs bathroom at Graceland mansion in Memphis, TN. Apparently he had been unconcious for hours. Medical help was summoned but he was pronounced dead shortly after.
Rock Idol Elvis Presley Dies at 42
By Larry Rohter and Tom Zito
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, August 17, 1977
(© 1977 The Washington Post Co.)
Elvis Presley, who revolutionized American popular music with his earthy singing style and became a hero to two generations of rock 'n' roll fans, died yesterday in Memphis, Tenn. He was 42.
Shelby County Medical Examiner Dr. Jerry Francisco said last night an autopsy indicated Presley died of "cardiac arrhythmia," which he described as a "severely irregular heartbeat" and "just another name for a form of heart attack." He said the
three-hour autopsy uncovered no sign of any other diseases -- though Presley had in recent years been treated at Baptist Memorial Hospital for hypertension, pneumonia and an enlarged colon -- and there was no sign of any drug abuse.
Presley’s body was discovered at 2:30 p.m. Memphis time by his road manager, Jerry Esposito, in a bathroom in the singer’s multimillion-dollar Graceland Mansion. He was rushed to the Baptist Memorial, where he was met by his personal physician,
Dr. George C. Nichopoulos, and pronounced dead.
Dr. Willis Madrey, a specialist in liver disease at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, said yesterday that two years ago Presley’s doctors sent him a sample of Presley’s liver for analysis. "It showed no significant abnormalities." Madrey said, "nothing of any help at all in evaluation."
"I had understood he was having some gastrointestinal problems his doctors were trying to evaluate," Madrey said. But "well over a year ago," Madrey added, he saw one of Presley’s doctors and was told "he seemed fine" and "the only problem he had medically was obesity."
Ginger Alden reportedly Presley’s fiancee and members of his staff were all at the mansion yesterday at the time the singer was found unconscious, Nichopoulos said.
America Remembers you, Elvis!
10:51 AM
Noticed this from "SaintRigger" on TMP today.
| Hey guys and gals. I finished up a batch of the Battlestations minis sculpted by Tom Mason for the battlestations game (Which is brilliant – so check it out! battlestations.info) These guys are lanky in comparison to the other 15s I've done, but thats cool because it really gives them that fun pulp sci-fi feel. I've included a 28mm figure in one of the pictures to give a sense of scale (and one day I might finish painting that too) Anyways – check 'em out and let me know what you think. Saintrigger's Gallery link |
A few selected piccies:
Nice Paint Job, Saint Rigger! I'm not crazy about the human figures at all. They are too tall and too skinny. They look like a cartoon.
Still, I have to love those aliens. I could only find BIPED life at Stargrunt Minis (when I bought my human crew).
I'm only linking to a couple of piccies here, as Saint Rigger has done an excellent job of both painting and cataloguing his efforts. I posted this note because I've recently bought (and really like) BATTLESTATIONS! and am tracking developments of the miniatures line and further expansion sets. Follow the link above for the straight skinny!
