Category: Featured Posts

03/5/14

Book Review: To Sail a Darkling Sea

A Review of To Sail a Darkling Sea by John Ringo

By Avery Abernethy, 5 March 2014

To Sail a Darkling Sea is the second book by John Ringo in the Dark Tide Rising series.  A zombie apocalypse has been released in the modern world by an unknown group of individuals.  The Smith family, composed of an ex-military father, a mom with an engineering background, and two daughters under the age of sixteen are practical survivalists.  [Stop reading here if you want to avoid spoilers about book one].

At the end of book one the father had reconnected with the tattered remains of US national command authority.  The family spearheaded an effort to clean zombies off of ships in the Atlantic and gradually gather survivors.  The Smiths and a small number of others in the ragtag fleet were immunized against the Zombie plague.  The long run plan was to secure Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where there should be enough equipment to resume making the anti-zombie plague serum.  If serum production is restarted, then the members of the US Navy in uncontaminated attack submarines can be added to the meagre US military forces attempting to retake Earth from the zombie hordes.

The book starts with the “fleet” freeing small towns and ships in the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa.  The group traveled to this region to avoid the Caribbean hurricane season and engaged in the first land battles against the zombies, where they attempted to free small, geographically isolated towns on these tiny islands from the mindless horde. Continue reading →

02/28/14

GARPA 39 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

Our running late on a busy Friday brings you this week’s GARPA!

Board Games

SUPREMACY 2020 – Superpower Game of Nuclear Brinksmanship (Command Post Games)
$17,700 of $15000, ends 15 March 2014

An old classic reimagined for a new superpower age, Supremacy returns as the 2020 version with its ever-tense mixture of resources, nukes, conventional armies, technology, and back-stabbing fun.  Make no mistake, this is a high-strategic-level game that won’t have you pushing battalions and brigades around.  You track your missiles, and missile interceptors, along with navies and resources and nary a grunt in sight.  Stretch goals have already added international terrorists to the mix, and bring you a set of pieces to add Brazil as one of your superpowers.  Check it out and get your pledges in.

G39-Sup

 

G39-carcThe Adults of Carcassonne (Carcassonne Shop)
$7200 of $7000 goal, ends 9 March 2014

Ever been in the middle of a board game and thought “Man, I could use a drink!” ?  How about a game that answers “Sure!”  Tje Adults of Carcassonne is an unofficial expansion (though they are official “accessories”) that swaps meeples for shot glasses, and game tiles for mug coasters.  Yep, this is the pub-friendly Carcassonne for the drinking gamer.  Go ogle the fun at their Kickstater page, and get your gamedrink on.

Continue reading →

02/23/14

First Impressions: Mark H. Walker’s Lock’n’Load Heroes of Stalingrad

The Grumpy Grog says “This is a new line of attack on an old campaigning favourite.”

Developed by Lock n Load Publishing and published by Matrix/Slitherine

First Impressions by Boggit, 23 February 2014

Click images to enlarge

I’ve never played any of the Lock’n’Load games before, so this is a truly fresh look at this game. I am looking at this game with the beta update v1.04. The game is tactical in scope, and each hex represents about fifty meters across, each turn represents 2-4 minutes, and each counter is a single vehicle, an individual, or a group of soldiers: for example, a half squad, or a weapons team.

Starting the game for the first time, the player is set up at the introductory level. This is a particularly forgiving mode that can be changed in the main menu. I immediately changed it to “hard”, which runs the game under unmodified rules. “Normal” gives a dice bonus. Rash perhaps, but you’ll see no signs of weakness from me!

 

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The options screen gives a good choice of items to customise your game.

The main menu gives the usual options. Essentially it is the place to start a new game, load an old one, create missions and scenarios with the editor, and to play multiplayer. In multiplayer, the user needs to set up a Matrix/Slitherine account and you’re then taken to the Multiplayer lobby. From there you can create a new game for someone to play with you, go onto the forum, and can check-in on your own games. I’d seen this before with Field of Glory, and it is a very user friendly multiplayer system. I’m glad they didn’t reinvent the wheel on this one, as it works, and works well. The only downside was a very empty multiplayer lobby, but to be fair, the game’s just come out, so that should change with time. Continue reading →

02/20/14

Prosciutto – Hamming it up with the di Parmas… Part Twenty-Ace

We hit “blackjack” on UCG’s  long-running Crusader Kings II AAR …

as always, click images to enlarge

In Part 20 Oberto’s cousin and Marshall was unexpectedly given ‘his’ Duchy of Capua, he received many claims on neighbouring provinces, and marched on the Muslims to complete the Duchy of Salerno. In this new part Sicily is found to be falling apart and unhappy subjects rise up.

 

 CKii-Pic200

Oberto’s armies arrive in Taranto to kick out the Muslims. It isn’t much of a match and they’re soon defeated and heading South

 

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Taranto on its own doesn’t give up enough warscore for a victory. Oberto needs to take more Muslim land nearby to bump up the score. Heading South his scouts show the Emperor is already in Sicily, bravely keeping nine Muslims at bay!

 

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Whilst Oberto knocks down the walls of Taranto rebels in Capua decide they’ve had enough and start knocking down its walls.

Continue reading →

02/16/14

Grogheads Interview: The Command – Modern Air Naval Operations Team

Command: Modern Air Naval Operations is one of the most decorated wargames of 2013, including a hard-fought Usenet award, and both of its categories here at Grogheads.  It’s also been one of our most-talked-about games of the past year in our forums.  The guys behind the game took some time to chat with us about where Command came from and where they’re headed next.

 

So guys, let’s start at the beginning – what was the impetus behind Command, and why did you want to build your own game instead of continuing to build on existing proven platforms?

CMANO-smallCommand is a culmination of all our hobby experiences. Our interest was born reading & watching the great techno-thrillers of our youth (Forsyth, Clancy, Ludlum, Coyle, Brown etc.), absorbing all the political & military history and facets of the Cold War (which at that day seemed far from over) and playing some really great amazing games of the era (F-19, RSR, M1TP, SPI’s CentFront series, the Fleet series, Gunship, Steel Panthers, Fleet Defender, Tornado, Harpoon and loads more). Our involvement with Harpoon and AGSI helped cultivate it as we met each other through the Harpoon community and really started learning about modern warfare, talking with professionals and thinking about simulations. We started out as avid modders for Harpoon 2 and then 3 and had great success helping to grow the Harpoon community and helping AGSI develop their game (including doing the grunt work for their first pro deal).  All of this played a part in our own development and helped us build  a strong and skilled team that had a vision of the game they wanted to build and the energy and motivation to do it. So we reached a point where we really wanted to do our own thing  and as is now self evident we went ahead and did just that.

 

When you have to describe Command to someone who doesn’t know wargaming, what’s the “elevator pitch” for the game?  How do you hook a potential player with just 1-2 sentences?

If the guy is getting off at the next floor and I have only 5 seconds:

“Command is the ultimate modern air and naval wargamer’s sandbox.”

If we’re both heading for the loft and he’s stuck with me for just a bit more:

“Breakfast – you trade machine gun fire & rocket salvos with pirates & smugglers in the littoral.

Lunch – you plan and execute an Alpha Strike from a carrier.

Dinner – you launch a strategic nuclear attack over the North Pole.

Midnight snack – you spin your own historical or what-if anywhere on the globe, with practically any war machine in existence post-WW2.

All with high realism & accuracy. All in one game. Command.”

Continue reading →