I usually would not list this here, but I'm going to make an exception. One of our local game publishers, Dana Lombardy, has created a card game with Roger MacGowen on The Great War. It's absolutely gorgeous.  Take the time to check it out on Kickstarter: …

When I returned to board wargaming in 2000 I started buying up used games and magazines from our local game shop. Fortunately (or unfortunately), it was a time when people were bailing out of the area and selling off games “as cheap as chips.” A few dollars would buy an AH or SPI classic (punched) or a few magazines. You’d see they guys name and address (i.e. John Smith, 11 Elm St. Santa Cruz, etc..)  and I always wondered about the previous owners.…

Lately I’ve been thinking about the Twilight Zone episode “Time Enough at Last” where the character, Henry (played by Burgess Meredith), finally has the time to read all he wants as he is finally without interruptions (being the last man on Earth). Then he breaks his glasses….

 Labor Day weekend has traditionally been my weekend to play wargames at our premier SF Bay Area wargame convention, Pacificon. Cancelled this year because of…

I was wondering what people set up to play this week with the 75th anniversary of D-Day so very much in the news.

After some consideration I passed over Conflict Games’ Overlord for LnL:T Heroes of Normandy, especially the “Flash,Thunder” scenario which gives a good solitaire game.

What’s on your table? 

As a high school teacher, one of the things I've never heard (in 31 years) is a 16 y.o. female student describe a wargame as (and I quote) "The most awesome game ever...."  She was talking about Napoleon (the AH version) that she played at game club "pizza and games" night. (see my last blog....)  

How would one react?  Well, I just so happened to have a new copy of the CG version I'd picked up last summer at a store clearnace in Santa Clara (for $5!). So student "K" is now the proud…

A recent "game club pizza night" I hosted for my high school group found these two slugging it out, playing an old AH copy of Napoleon. By the end of the game there were a dozen other students surrounding the table witnessing the game's conclusion. I'm not saying that the "graying of the hobby" isn't a problem, but perhaps there's a bit of hope.…

I'll be among the dozen or so gamers running Command and Colors games at this year's Pacificon in Santa Clara, CA.  I'll kick it off with the traditional C&C:N game at 4:00 on Friday using 15mm miniatures and Kallistra Terrain, then Saturday at 1:00 it's C&C:A (using scenarios published in France's Vae Victis) and Sunday I'll be helping with the C&C: Great War.  Hope to see you there...

Dave…

Just a quick thought....   As I recall there was a game advertisement from the early to mid 70s (S&T?) calling wargames "paper time machines." "Relive the past," or some such promise lived in this full-page ad.  

A couple of months ago I managed to convince a fellow worker to give wargames another go; he was a lapsed gamer, having picked up the hobby in his youth (late-70s/early 80s).  He left the hobby after college.... work, marriage, kids....  the usual reasons I…

As my wife and I discuss retirement, we have considered returning to her roots in Oregon.

How much gaming activity is there in Eugene? Salem?

Thanks,

Dave

The Magnetic Game Board Conundrum….

If you’re like me, you’ve looked longingly at Marco’s magnetic game boards and wished you could somehow create one of your own. I’ve a busy work schedule and often don’t get much more time in than a few minutes here and there. A magnetic board would be ideal to keep the counters in position and store it away when the space was required for work.Unfortunately, those  lovely “counter Clips” now run  $129 for 50 half-inch…

If you have not had the opportunity to read German historian Norman Ohler's  Blitzed, the least you can do is trek over to the (free) BBC History Magazine Extra Podcast website and give it a listen. It will change your view on the invasion of France.

This late springtime brought another couple of wargame magazines: Battles # 10 and Paper Wars #82.  Both offered an interesting contrast, so I thought I’d just give my two cents on the matter.

First, Battles Magazine…..   What can be said about this chronically late, but always superb publication form Oliver Revenu.  Presentation is professional to the core; graphics invites the reader into each article. (I wasn’t intending to read the article on Pax…

Thanks for all the suggestions given by Consimers (That should be a word, right?).  We had another student game night the other week and I brought with me a pile of games. (I had just sold a house and had to downsize my collection by getting rid of the duplicate games.)

The most sought after and coveted game?  Can anyone guess? (Keeping in mind that these kids are 15/16 y.o. boys....)   Got it it your mind? I'll hit the return a few times; you just scroll down the…

A Year in Review (of sorts…)

Now that the year has passed I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on what worked for me this year, and what didn’t.  First of all, the big hits of the year, neither of which was published in 2015.

Hits and Misses: 

After viewing a couple of videos by Marco and Kev, I decided to give GBoH a go using the Simple GBoH rules. I’ve tried this before, lured by the beautiful components of this series, but this time, using the…

Well, better late than never….  A brief wrap up of 2014 gaming.  I have to say that there were quite a few surprises for me last year. The biggest of which was that I enjoy card-based wargames.  I have always avoided these due to a general dislike for card games as a kid growing up in Yosemite N.P., California. (They were the only games that were portable enough to bring with us to the back-country ranger station my father manned.) It all started with Spearpoint 1943 by CEG; it was…