Steve Kendall gives us a brief history of the Ragnar Brothers and the games they’ve produced. Ponder why Angola may have had more successful innovations than any other single game. Hear about the playtest of a new epoch for A Brief History Of The World. Learn why Viking Fury / Fire & Axe is a more accurate depiction of the Vikings than that History Channel series with Gabriel Byrne. Find out about the careful word choices and interesting design decisions behind Promised Land. Get the…

I mailed the latest issue of Line of Departure today, so most subscribers should have theirs by early next week; those overseas will be getting theirs a little later.  But all are on their way.

The main thrust is on modern war, with articles on Firepower (Avalon Hill), Red Star/White…

Reposted so as to bypass imgur blocking -

First, before the howls of derision, let me say I did check to see if anyone had posted a similar blog here. I couldn't find one, so hence this blog. That doesn't mean to say there isn't one, just that perhaps I missed it...

Yesterday, I was waiting for a relative’s plane to arrive at an airport. As usual, her plane was delayed. So, looking to ‘kill some time’, I sauntered over to a nearby retailers, ignoring the drinks and chocolates, heading towards the book section. Half-heartedly,…

So I was wondering, does anyone ever get motivated to play a game based on weather? Whenever it snows I want to watch Battleground or the Band of Brothers episodes about Bastogne. As a consequence now I want to break out a Bulge title (wish I had Ardennes 44 right now) and play in front of a window while the snow comes down.

And now back to the "blog"…..

Part of my new year's resolutions was to spend some time writing on this social site, trying to pry myself away from the usual 60-65 work weeks.

I'd thought I'd start with two strong book recommendations, books about ,the history of this hobby gaming that we pursue.

This first is David Ewalt's excellent Of Dice and Men. Yes, it is the story of D&D , its creation and its creators, but let us remember that back in the 70s those "rpg's" were…

I recently read Donald Kagan's excellent history of the conflict between Athens and Sparta - 'The Peloponnesian War'. I was gripped by the critical events that became the tipping point in the long struggle: the siege of Syracuse. Today I came across a real gem that has somehow passed me by until now...

Yes, you guessed it. The game called 'Syracuse' by Vae Victis. Having seen a video summary of the game, I was then lucky enough to come across the rules in English and also a…

We're at Prezcon 2014, where we talk about the games we played, such as A Distant Plain, Theseus: The Dark Orbit, Coup, Cosmic Encounter, Napoleonic Wars, and the recent favorite A Study In Emerald. Plus, wargames that give a little extra historical something.

Direct link to podcast episode

The I've Been Diced! podcast and blog…

Does anybody know of any games that deal with the Greco-Persian War from a strategic standpoint. The upcoming Hoplite of GMT's GBOH system will deal with some of the battles. I know there are other games that deal with tactical battles from that war but are there any games dealing with the overall war?