Monthly Archives: February 2015
Birth of the Federation, an AAR, Part 11
CHAPTER XI: TOUPEES AND TERRIBLE ACTORS
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The third Excalibur-class Light Cruiser is well on its way, and is named…wait for it…the USS Enterprise.
I’m going to send the Enterprise north, but further than the small fleet I have built up around the Excalibur. The Enterprise will help project Federation interests to the new colony worlds out there.
GrogHeads Reviews 80 Days
80 Days is a highly addictive, highly replayable handheld game that combines steampunk and historical trivia into a fun and challenging game. GrogHeads is pleased to induct 80 Days into the Order of the Hex for its excellence in mobile addiction.
Jim Zabek, 18 February 2015
Developer: inkle Ltd
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Once in a while a game emerges that is so simple that the writing of a review of it is far more complicated than the game itself. 80 Days is one of those games. In a nutshell it’s a game for a handheld device where the player takes on the role of Passepartout, the valet to Phileas Fogg – the same person in Jules Verne’s novel Around the World in 80 Days.
As with the novel, the player’s goal is to make it around the world in 80 days, but the story has been updated. 80 Days is set in a steampunk world and this updates the game in a spirit that I would think Jules Verne would highly approve. The game is peppered with encounters with historical figures and is driven by the player’s interaction with the and others.
Tuesday Screenshot – Falling Stars: War of Empires
Hexes in Space!
LNLP, 17 February 2015
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The warm glow of space. OK, maybe not “warm”. But it’s space and it’s glowing. And once LNLP finishes with it, it’s heading your way!
bonus screenshot? click on!
Flash Review of Combat Mission Black Sea
Developed and Published by Battlefront Inc.
Reviewed by Boggit 14 February 2015
Black Sea is the latest addition to the Combat Mission series. It focuses on a speculative continuation and escalation of the present Ukraine crisis to a new flashpoint in the central Ukraine Dneipr river/Donetsk area set during the summer of 2017. NATO has now been drawn into the fight and with the release of this game we see US troops joining the fight between the Ukrainians and Russians. Conceived well before the current crisis in the Ukraine, this is another of Steve Grammont’s eerily prophetic modern Combat Mission games – the last one was Combat Mission: Shock Force set in Syria in 2008!
Ukrainian scouts cautiously advance. A barrage meanwhile slows any advances on their left flank.
As a flash review/first impressions feature, this article is based on my gameplay of a couple of the scenarios, and around half a dozen quick battles. It’s not exhaustive by any means, but I hope that I’ve covered things sufficiently to give some useful insights into what the game is all about. If I’ve missed something – it happens – well now you’ll know why. 😉
GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #64
It’s always GARPA, GARPA, GARPA!
Holdfast Korea 1950-1951 (Worthington Publishing)
$9500 of $2500, ends 3 March 2015
On the heels of their successful Holdfast Russia game, the boys at Worthington are back with a Korean War game that lets replay the first year of the war with the same basic rules system. Guard the Pusan perimeter, and outflank your opponent with an amphibious landing, conquer your opponent, and have the news break into a radio drama to tell the world about it. But first, get your pledge into Kickstarter, and if you and a friend team up, you can save a few bucks by pledging two copies.
