At the beginning of the year I wanted to read 20 books in the coming year, get back to playing my guitar, and be more intentional with how I spend my free time to help meet the above goals. So how am I doing?
1. I am happy to say that I have finished 11 books so far this year, putting me basically right on pace to complete 20 by the end of the year.
2. I have been playing my guitar more, and have got most of my skill back. As of this writing it has been over a week since I played, but I had an emergency operation seven days ago, so I'm totally giving myself an out with that.
3. Not so great on the use of free time. Some days I am pretty good with getting done what should get done, and other days I play Football Manager on my computer most of the day and get hardly anything else done. That game is so addicting it is ridiculous.
Saturday, July 06, 2013
Hot Spot
The next random game from my collection is another MicroGame from Metagaming, Hot Spot. This game is a sci-fi wargame with the unique feature that the game map represents molten lava, and the only way to safely move your soldiers, tanks, and hovercraft around is to keep them on "crustals" (for the defender) or "attack platforms" (for the attacker). These can safely move around the map, kind of. At the beginning of the game the defender gets 18 hexes worth of crustals (they come in different sizes, and you can pick what you want), along with some infantry and hovercraft to put on them, along with the central crustal on the map that never moves. The attackers get infantry, tanks, and engineers, and five attack platforms to put them on.
The crustals have restricted movement rules, and they and the attack platforms are not invincible. In fact, if crustals and/or attack platforms move next to each other they have a 1-in-6 chance of taking damage. If a crustal or attack platform takes too much damage, it breaks up and sinks into the lava, along with all units on it. However, to attack the enemy you have to move next to whatever they are on, so there is lot of banging going on. Another interesting feature is the fact that all crustals are under the defender's control until an attacking engineer unit takes control. This means that even if the attackers destroy all defending units on a crustal, the crustal could totally be moving all over the place and they have no control over it until their engineer takes it over, which is a 1-in-3 chance per engineer.
The combat system is mostly standard, with the usual Combat Results Table used in games during the '70s and '80s, however it is impossible for the attacker to ever take damage, even when outnumbered. So, you should always attack, no matter what, because you always have a minor chance of doing damage to the other side's infantry.
This game is more enjoyable than some of the Metagaming games I have played over the years, but it really has to rely on its one unique rules feature for its enjoyment. Once players have played the game a few times, they will likely run out of interest in this little title.
The crustals have restricted movement rules, and they and the attack platforms are not invincible. In fact, if crustals and/or attack platforms move next to each other they have a 1-in-6 chance of taking damage. If a crustal or attack platform takes too much damage, it breaks up and sinks into the lava, along with all units on it. However, to attack the enemy you have to move next to whatever they are on, so there is lot of banging going on. Another interesting feature is the fact that all crustals are under the defender's control until an attacking engineer unit takes control. This means that even if the attackers destroy all defending units on a crustal, the crustal could totally be moving all over the place and they have no control over it until their engineer takes it over, which is a 1-in-3 chance per engineer.
The combat system is mostly standard, with the usual Combat Results Table used in games during the '70s and '80s, however it is impossible for the attacker to ever take damage, even when outnumbered. So, you should always attack, no matter what, because you always have a minor chance of doing damage to the other side's infantry.
This game is more enjoyable than some of the Metagaming games I have played over the years, but it really has to rely on its one unique rules feature for its enjoyment. Once players have played the game a few times, they will likely run out of interest in this little title.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Product Announcement
June 27, 2013
St. Louis, MO, USA
Subject: Product announcement - new version of Aaron W. Thorne product now available
Today, Thorne Industries is happy to announce the release of version 39 of our popular product, Aaron W. Thorne. First released in 1974, the early model had a lot of promise and potential, but also some bugs and glitches that have been resolved over the years through various updates, patches, and behavioral modifications. With the release of version 39, Thorne Industries is proud to declare that the product is now technically complete from an engineering standpoint, and we do not anticipate the need for further new versions in the future. The world never stops moving, of course, and neither do we, so we do plan to develop and release periodic bug fixes for the product, most likely on an annual basis for ease of scheduling. Thus, in roughly a year's time we anticipate the release of version 39.0.1 of Aaron W. Thorne. We at Thorne Industries trust that our valued customers will join us in celebration of this new version release and we look forward, as always, to working with you to solve the problems of tomorrow.
St. Louis, MO, USA
Subject: Product announcement - new version of Aaron W. Thorne product now available
Today, Thorne Industries is happy to announce the release of version 39 of our popular product, Aaron W. Thorne. First released in 1974, the early model had a lot of promise and potential, but also some bugs and glitches that have been resolved over the years through various updates, patches, and behavioral modifications. With the release of version 39, Thorne Industries is proud to declare that the product is now technically complete from an engineering standpoint, and we do not anticipate the need for further new versions in the future. The world never stops moving, of course, and neither do we, so we do plan to develop and release periodic bug fixes for the product, most likely on an annual basis for ease of scheduling. Thus, in roughly a year's time we anticipate the release of version 39.0.1 of Aaron W. Thorne. We at Thorne Industries trust that our valued customers will join us in celebration of this new version release and we look forward, as always, to working with you to solve the problems of tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Battle for Moscow
The next random game from my collection is Battle for Moscow. This game has had a couple editions, being first published in 1986 by GDW and republished in 2009 by Victory Point Games. In fact, the version that I have is an alternate printing of the 2009 version that was a free insert in issue 25 of C3I magazine in 2011. The game is a pretty traditional "hex and counter" game, where the counters indicate the combat and movement capability of the unit, as well as its type (armor vs. infantry). Combat is handled in the time honored fashion of totaling combat power of the attackers, comparing it to combat power of the defending unit, turning that into a numerical ratio, rolling a six-sided die, and then cross referencing the number rolled to the ratio on the Combat Results Table to determine what the outcome is. I have literally dozens of games that use mechanics like this, so this game took almost no time for me to learn, nor will it take hardly any time at all for anyone with wargaming experience.
The game itself is more interesting than I thought it would be. It depicts the German drive on Moscow in late 1941. The German player must sieze Moscow to win. Of course, it starts on the opposite side of the board at the beginning of the game, so the Germans have to get across the board and sieze it within seven turns, which is how long the game plays. The Germans start with their army at full strength, while the Russian forces are all at reduced strength. However, the Russians build up their forces rapidly, so the Germans need to do as much damage as fast as possible, and cover ground quickly. Turns 3 and 4 are "mud" turns, signifying the bad weather that occurred in real history, and German capability is greatly reduced during those turns, making things quite tight.
My favorite thing about this game is that the two sides play very differently. The German side has better units, and they all start at full strength. German panzers can also move twice in one turn, which is very nice, though not easy to take full advantage of. The Russian side starts with lousy units, but you can lose a whole bunch of units and you still win as long as you eventually strengthen your lines and keep the Germans from taking Moscow. This is greatly aided by the fact that the Russians can move by rail, which is the only way to move quickly during the "mud" turns. You don't have to destroy the Germans, you just have to slow them down.
Because of the small size of the game (roughly 40 counters in total, and the map fits on an 11 x 17 sheet of paper), and the fact that it has only four pages of rules, this is a nice game to quickly teach to others. It also plays pretty fast. Because of this, even though it isn't a really innovative game these days, it still has a place in my collection.
The game itself is more interesting than I thought it would be. It depicts the German drive on Moscow in late 1941. The German player must sieze Moscow to win. Of course, it starts on the opposite side of the board at the beginning of the game, so the Germans have to get across the board and sieze it within seven turns, which is how long the game plays. The Germans start with their army at full strength, while the Russian forces are all at reduced strength. However, the Russians build up their forces rapidly, so the Germans need to do as much damage as fast as possible, and cover ground quickly. Turns 3 and 4 are "mud" turns, signifying the bad weather that occurred in real history, and German capability is greatly reduced during those turns, making things quite tight.
My favorite thing about this game is that the two sides play very differently. The German side has better units, and they all start at full strength. German panzers can also move twice in one turn, which is very nice, though not easy to take full advantage of. The Russian side starts with lousy units, but you can lose a whole bunch of units and you still win as long as you eventually strengthen your lines and keep the Germans from taking Moscow. This is greatly aided by the fact that the Russians can move by rail, which is the only way to move quickly during the "mud" turns. You don't have to destroy the Germans, you just have to slow them down.
Because of the small size of the game (roughly 40 counters in total, and the map fits on an 11 x 17 sheet of paper), and the fact that it has only four pages of rules, this is a nice game to quickly teach to others. It also plays pretty fast. Because of this, even though it isn't a really innovative game these days, it still has a place in my collection.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Warhammer Quest on iPad
Warhammer Quest is one of my favorite board games of all time. It is set in the world of the Warhammer talbetop miniatures game, and is essentially a combination of board game and roleplaying game, though leaning more towards the board game end of the spectrum. Up to four players take on the role of a character, and go into a subterranean tunnel complex to complete quests and kill monsters. The game is quite random, with many things being determined through the drawing of cards, and some things being handled through dice rolls. The game can be frustrating when the random fates decide it is not your day, but I have always really enjoyed it.
Recently an iPad version of the game was released. I have been playing it quite a bit over the last couple weeks, and for the most part I like it. It matches pretty closely to the original game, but there are some fairly obvious differences. Primarily, the iPad game is too easy. I am not sure why this is, but when you play the boardgame your characters die. All the time. In the iPad game you have to be pretty stupid to have a character die. In the board game, you could either make melee or missile attacks, but not both. In the iPad game, you can wade in the middle of five orcs, stab two of them, and then fire arrows across the board at other orcs. It makes the characters really overpowered. Also, the original game has all sorts of horrible random peril happen to you while you wander the countryside between adventures. In the iPad game hardly anything ever happens to you. It is just too kind. Yet more evidence that America is becoming a country of wusses, I guess.
So, I like the iPad game, but it isn't mean enough. Games should be challenging, at least, and this one is just a walk in the park. I do like the themed quests, though. Those are a nice touch.
Recently an iPad version of the game was released. I have been playing it quite a bit over the last couple weeks, and for the most part I like it. It matches pretty closely to the original game, but there are some fairly obvious differences. Primarily, the iPad game is too easy. I am not sure why this is, but when you play the boardgame your characters die. All the time. In the iPad game you have to be pretty stupid to have a character die. In the board game, you could either make melee or missile attacks, but not both. In the iPad game, you can wade in the middle of five orcs, stab two of them, and then fire arrows across the board at other orcs. It makes the characters really overpowered. Also, the original game has all sorts of horrible random peril happen to you while you wander the countryside between adventures. In the iPad game hardly anything ever happens to you. It is just too kind. Yet more evidence that America is becoming a country of wusses, I guess.
So, I like the iPad game, but it isn't mean enough. Games should be challenging, at least, and this one is just a walk in the park. I do like the themed quests, though. Those are a nice touch.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)