Archives: Games

Ambush!

When I was first getting into solitaire boardgames a few years ago I kept hearing that one of the best of them all was Ambush! from Victory Games, so I dutifully tracked it down, set it up on the table, and after playing one mission decided it wasn’t for me.

Boy, did I miss the ball on that one. I think the reason I didn’t appreciate it was because I hadn’t ever been exposed to heavier boardgames, and I didn’t give myself a chance to get used to the play. Now that I’ve been getting into more and more detailed tactical games, I got to questioning my earlier judgment that Ambush! had been fiddly and tedious. Chris Hocking, whose taste I agree with upwards of 95% of the time, kept telling me it was a great game and how he couldn’t believe I hadn’t liked it.

I found myself in the middle of a shelf purge of games I wouldn’t be playing anymore, and with that gaming cash in the ‘ol e-wallet chanced to mention to a gamer I sold one of the games to that I wanted to track down Ambush! again. He had the game and most of its expansions and happily sold them to me. They’re just in fantastic shape (thanks, Glen!). You see, Ambush! has been out of print since some time in the ’80s and it’s unlikely it will ever be reprinted, so the used market is the only place to acquire it.

Lock ‘n Load Tactical

Sunday I spent an hour and a half with Lock ‘n Load Tactical: Heroes of Normandy. When I’m away from the game I worry that the play might grow stale, but all my fears are allayed the moment I start on a scenario. Now that I know the rules it plays so very fast, and I have a blast every single time. I’ve been saying it’s ONE of my favorite wargames, but I may just have to break down and declare the Lock ‘n Load Tactical system my absolute favorite.

Every scenario can be played multiple times, because every scenario is a little different, and multiple decisions and die rolls vary the outcome. Keep in mind that every game box comes with a ton of scenarios (I think that there are more than 30 in Heroes of Normandy) and then there are additional scenarios in the Compendiums, so you’re really getting your money’s worth when you buy into the system. Add in the solitaire cards and the results are even more surprising, and re-playable. Each box is a game full of multiple games.

Corsair Leader

I’m back in editing mode for the next little bit, so I’m running silent and deep for a while. But I wanted to point you towards a cool Kickstarter, Corsair Leader, where you’re flying Marine and Navy squadrons in WWII in the Pacific. The game looks like it’s going to be a blast, and is based off of the Air Leader engine I already know and love, so I was an instant pledge. I knew it was coming, so traded away some other games to build up the funds.

The link is here. I’ll have more writerly stuff to talk about in a little bit, specifically on how my agent, Bob Mecoy, is awesome. But the day’s already had a delayed start after a sink clog, so I need to sign off and get to work.

Treasures

All kinds of cool treasures are rolling in these days. It’s nice to have friends.

I’ll save more detailed descriptions for a day when I have a little more time (I’m determined to finish most of my new short story today).

First, though, the new Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea is a thing of beauty, a work of art. I spent thirty minutes last night just flipping through and soaking up all the artwork. If it’s not THE go-to sword-and-sorcery rpg at this point, it’s tied for first place. It just oozes the right vibe. In the next little bit I’ll post some pics.

Manic Monday

Whew. Well, as of about 20 minutes ago, the revised version of For the Killing of Kings is with my editor, or at least his in-box. I would liked to have read it straight through a couple of more times, but as I strive to be a man of his word I delivered the manuscript on the first day of the first full week of November. This draft would not have been possible without the editorial aid of a wicked and beautiful enchantress whom I have surely mentioned before.

In celebration, I’m wearing one of my favorite t-shirts, which, alas, is beginning to show its wear.

Today I’m going to spend some time putting the house back together after about a week of neglect, and that will include some last minute pre-winter garden work. Maybe this evening we’ll start watching the second season of Stranger Things.

I need to get back to work on issue 2 of Tales From the Magician’s Skull. And, partly because I’m a madman, but mostly because it took longer than I expected to address all the changes to book 1, by the first week of December I need to turn over the first draft of book 2. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.

Undisclosed Location

I’m writing from an undisclosed location, in the midst of a secret mission. Most of the assignment involves writing copiously every day, but I must also infiltrate fine dining establishments every evening and order the most excellent of their menu items. I’m occasionally in the company of a beautiful and wicked enchantress, but otherwise I’m ensconced in a haunted mansion, drafting prose.

As I was aware that there would be several transdimensional migrations during my journey here, I packed some old paperbacks to read. I like having short old novels to read during planar shifts. You can pack several little ones into your carry-ons, and if there are interruptions or you’re just plain tired it’s easier to keep track of short and therefore less convoluted plot lines.

First up was the first Brian Garfield western I’ve read, part of an Ace double, and incidentally the first of his six Jeremy Six novels, starring a laconic western marshall. And I have to say, after that first one I’ll be reading the rest. I’d heard he was a good writer and it seems it’s true. This was Mr. Sixgun. As with a lot of these old westerns and mysteries, don’t be deceived by the art or cover advertising. Also, like a lot of writers active in the ’60s and earlier, Garfield wrote under a bunch of pseudonyms, like the one shown here. He’s best known for the Death Wish novel and its sequels that spawned the movies.

Gaming Shelves

Last week Mormegil asked me if I had any shots of all those solitaire games I post about. I decided to take some. They’re not nearly as pretty as the shelves of books because they’re scattered over several closets. But I thought I’d share them anyway. Here’s a peak into the top and only shelf in my office closet:

Solitaire Gaming

My Kickstarter copy of the second edition of Nemo’s War arrived from Victory Point Games, but I’m not opening it for my birthday. It was a BIT late coming in from the Kickstarter (I originally thought it was going to be a Christmas present last year) but it’s there in a box waiting for its mid July debut in the household.

Anyway, on occasion of that, here’s the secret origin story of how I got involved in this whole crazy solitaire gaming hobby. You’ll note that I’ve since become aware of a whole slew of additional solitaire gaming companies, like White Dog and Hollandspiele and DVG and Decision Games, to mention just a few more. And there’s a great new updated Barbarian Prince download, which I detailed at Black Gate.

You’ll notice that I mention the tactile pleasure of sitting down with a board game. I’ve grown to appreciate that more and more. I spend so much time hunched in front of a computer already. I feel — without any kind of medical study backing me up, mind — that it must be exercising a different part of the ‘ol brain than working with a computer does, and I’m sure learning all the rules and mastering different tactics is good for stretching the gray matter. That, of course, is the side benefit, because the game play is FUN.

But if I keep blathering I’m going to completely lose track of the whole point of re-printing an article because I’ll have spent too much time typing this intro! I must spend a chunk of the day working on the secret sword-and-sorcery product before I get to writing, so I’d best get to it. Here’s what I knew about solitaire gaming back in 2011:

Rime

We’re not big video game players in my house. Every winter my wife and son break out some old video games — usually Zelda or Zelda like bright, friendly adventure/quest games from older platforms — and that’s about it. We’re not up on the latest graphic breakthroughs or gameplay techniques, so that if someone states that a game has “dated graphics” or has puzzles that are “too simple to solve” I’m generally not worried: A. even dated graphics usually look just fine to us, because they’re probably at least as good as the ones we’ve seen played B. people who regularly play games are more used to solving certain puzzles a certain way, and we haven’t seen them.

This winter, though, we didn’t play much. I guess we were tired of the same old games, finally. I wasn’t able to track down any new ones, and so the wife and son in particular were still wanting a fun diversion.

Pulp and Sundry

I do like to write quickly and to be able to report vast thousands of words written, but as I think I mentioned, for me at least that may not be the best way to approach drafting. At least not novels. I had SO MANY revision passes and revisits on the last book that I’m just trying to take my time with this new one. I suppose I’ll find out soon from my alpha reader if going slowly means fewer revision passes will be required. I think it might. If not, I may start losing more hair.

My short story outlining project went far better than I expected. I’ve already got outlines or thumbnail outlines for all but the final tale in the proposed new Dabir and Asim collection, and I do have a solid idea for that final one — I just have to write it down. After that I’ll convert all of them into detailed outlines and then, as time permits, I’ll start turning those into short stories.

Over the week I finally finished the last few stories in The Mammoth Book of Private Eye Stories, and Hocking and I have begun the exchanges that will eventually be transformed into an article. I also read an excellent short story collection by Australian writer Peter Corliss, and I’m sure Hocking and I will be talking about him eventually as well.