Month: July 2015

07/18/15

Why I Love Diplomacy

The venerable classic timelessly soldiers on.

by Brant Guillory

The original Diplomacy board game has a huge following, even among non-wargamers, despite being sold as a wargamer for its thirty-year lifespan. Why?

Well, it’s a wargame that abstracts battlefield prowess to the point that it’s almost irrelevant. Tactical ability is nothing – I repeat, nothing – in this game. It matters not how well you can anticipate the moment for the cavalry charge, plan the artillery bombardment, or outflank your enemy with your panzer corps. In this game, all armies, and generals, are created equal, and numerical superiority is the only relevant statistic.

In fact, the only ability of note is your ability to successfully negotiate your way through the intrigue of the game as the leader of a country. In this respect, Diplomacy has succeeded, and continues to succeed, in a class all it’s own.

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07/17/15

The Zombie Apocalypse, Part 2: What kind of Zombies are we talking about?

Just what are we dealing with here?

Jonathan Glazer, 17 July 2015

The available information on zombie outbreaks has, unfortunately, been unclear regarding the exact nature of the threat. Of course we all know they are humanoid in appearance. They look somewhat like us. They walk on two legs, if they have them, and they are not friendly. Beyond that, there is disagreement about some of the variables. Are they fast or slow? Early zombies, as depicted by George Romero were slow ambling creatures that gradually made their way to you only to rip you to shreds in the course of eating your innards. The idea was that as they decomposed, their ability to make athletic use of their muscles was seriously compromised. More recent depictions show them as fast moving predators that run at full speed and do not tire. I find this a terrifying concept. The British versions endorse this by introducing zombiism as a virus which causes the infected to virtually explode in a rage fueled by overproduction of adrenaline.

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07/16/15

Birth of the Federation, an AAR, Part 12

Chapter XII:  NO SNAPPY SUBTITLE

So let’s take a look at the intergalactic love-fest that is the human race. It’s been a while since the last update, and so that means as President of the…uh…Federation…something, it’s my duty to carry on the time-honored traditions of world leaders going off on vacation for weeks at a time, to play golf or something. I hate golf, unless it involves putting creds into stripper’s zero-G-thongs. (Hey – don’t judge. At least I’m honest, unlike most politicians.)

 

BOTF-12-001

Here’s the Galactic Map, showing our slice o’ the universe as of our last outing. We haven’t even explored a quarter of this vast, wide galaxy, and we’re 160 turns into this game!

I KNEW I should have stuck with the small map…

In any case, it is what it is.

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07/11/15

GrogHeads Reviews DVG’s Hornet Leader

Does Hornet Leader take flight?  Michael buzzes in to let us know.

Michael Eckenfels, 11 July 2015

In Hornet Leader (this version is the recent remake), the player controls a squadron of either U.S. Navy or Marine Corps aircraft through one of several campaigns, which include both real-world historical events and hypothetical ones (more hypothetical, though, than real-world). There’s tons of cards and counters you use to record, fight, and try to keep your squadron alive long enough to earn enough victory points to get a good enough rating for your campaign.

HL-Rev-001

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