WEIRD NEWS: Monster Island - The REAL Kraken!

Hi Guys,

I saw this news article and it made me think of Monster Island:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050928/ap_on_sc/japan_giant_squid

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

WEIRD NEWS: Australian Researcher: Heavy Metal Makes Lighter Planes!

Hi Guys,

I saw this in the news and thought it was interesting:

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68968,00.html?tw=rss.TEK

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

WARGAMING: "Elitist" Wargaming?

Hi Guys,

I recently read this post on TMP and it got me thinking.

Cabin4clw: OK here's the question. I've been gaming for 13 years and do
historicals such as AWI, ACW, WW-2 among others.

*** Am I an elitist because I don't want to play fantasy? ***

I used to play some but now all I want to play is historicals.

*** Am I wrong? ***

Hi Cabin4clw,

You may be an "elitist" in some manners of evaluating your outlook, but...

For me, a true "elitist" is really someone who treats other he doesn't consiuder part of his "elitist" group in a lesser manner.

So, if you are treating fantasy gamers in a manner lesser than the historical gamers you now associate yourself with then YES you are an "elitist."

If you are treating all of the gamers you know in an egalitarian manner, then you just have your own set of tastes regarding your hobby and that's both perfectly acceptable and very normal.

I tend to game with a local club that prides itself as a "historial gaming club," which is fine with me as long as they are willing to let a little fantasy and sci-fi sneak in some of the time... and they do. At the last group meeting (Roughly 50+ attending), we had a pulp fantsy game with zombies, and the like. It was fun and those interested played and those not interested stuck with the more historical offerings.

I've been planning to bring a "Star Wars: Battle of Hoth" game to the club for some time now and have tested the waters by asking various member if the club if they'd be willing to playtest the game wth me. The majority said they'd be happy to including the club president and several of the most die-hard historical gamers.

Live and let live.

Having said that, I do like the historical concentration of the club I locally game with. I can always go by a hobby shop to see fantasy and sci-fi games being played.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

HUMOUR: "Gamers gone mad!"

Hi Everyone,

I saw this the other day ago and wanted to share it:

Eric Burgess posted this at the SCGD group. It was a reaction tojokes that
Candyland was banned from the Games Gathering playing area.

-----

That Candyland ban is really for your own safety. Read this cautionary article that I was forwarded just this last week:

LOS ANGELES - Thirteen people were injured at a 'board game convention' over the Labor Day weekend when a passerby unknowingly brought a copy of Candyland into a room filled with self-described"hard-core" gamers. Although Candyland, published by toy giant Hasbro, is thought by most to be a harmless game of chance, gluttony, and childhood fun, the mere presence of the game, with its typically American draw-and-move mechanics, sent most of the 'gamers' in the room into convulsions.

Staff at the hotel hosting the convention rushed to the aid of thestricken gamers but basic medical attention and pleas of "it's just a stupid kids' game" did nothing to alleviate their suffering. Only when a quick-thinking younger player grabbed the offending game and tossed it out a window did the gamers start to recover from the hives, cold sweats, and nervous tics that broke out when Candyland was innocently revealed to the room.

Two of the gamers, who witnesses described as "WBC enthusiasts enjoying a rousing game of Flat Top", had to be rushed to nearby UCLA medical center before being released by doctors, who said they were"perfectly fine, if a bit silly". The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously issued a warning that the presence of games published by US mass-market companies can be harmful to so-called 'hardcore gamers'. CDC Game Division Head, Dane NiBrugha, is quoted as saying, "The public shouldnot assume that these gamers have built up an immunity to games like Sorry, the Game of Life or even Risk just because they played them as a child. Extreme caution should be exercised when bringing these sensitive individuals into contact with any game with roll-and-move mechanics, more than one die, or the rules printed on the inside ofthe box top."

The state legislature in Ohio is even considering a bill to criminalize bringing mass-produced US games to any convention where gamers in large groups may be at risk. Hasbro is opposing thel egislation, even as it has negotiated an exception for its borderline offering "HeroScape." The gamer community remains in strong support ofthe bill, having experienced a near scare at Origins this year involving someone walking around with "Chutes and Ladders." Although no one was injured in that incident, many at the convention expressed fear when they heard that the
individual was asking for players to try out the new variant he had designed.

I enjoyed it. I hope you do too!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

MINI WARGAMING: B-5: Call to Arms on Tuesday with Eric & Assorted Board Games on Sunday with Patrick!

Hi Everyone,

It's been a good "gaming" week for me so far.

---
THE PAST WEEK OR SO:

First of all, when I went down to visit Andrew Walters a week or so ago, he intoroduced me to a new game called "Kahuna" and lent me his copy of it. The game has been a run-away hit, with everyone I've introduced it too absolutely loving it: Eric (my friend), Patrick (another friend), Larry (my roomate and a friend), Vincent & Quinn (my nephews), Vince (my sister's ex-boyfriend) and many others.

"Kahuna" is essentially a control game with twelve islands that have a various number of paths leading into them. Players draw cards randomly that have the names of the islands on them. Then they place roads on different islands using the cards. A person gets control of an island when he places his roads on the majority of paths leading omnto an island (2/3, 3/4, 3/5 or 4/6 paths). When this happens, any of the opposing player's roads get wiped out. The game lasts three rounds and has a simple scoring scheme (Simple enough that my young nephews grasped it almost immediately and kept begging for rematches).

"Kahuna" is a lot of fun and I plan to buy my own copy when I have the funds to do so.

---
THIS PAST SUNDAY:

I went over to visit Patrick this past Sunday, a new friend, fellow boardgamer and huge kaiju fan. We played half a dozen games or so and had a number of interesting chats.

We played (to my incomplete memory):
- Rio Grande Games "Kahuna"
- Avalon Hills "Survival"
- Rio Grande Games "Samurai"

We discussed:
- How newspapers get stories...
- The Middle East...
- Writing...
- The Russian Gulags...
- History in general...
- Game design...
- Miniature game terrain design...

I had a very good time and we both enjoyed the games.

---
YESTERDAY (TUESDAY) at Hobby Monkey:

I showed up at Hobby Monkey for the ritual Tuesday meet. Eric showed up and this not being the Warhammer fantasy Roleplay week, decided to play a game of "Babylon-5: Call to Arms." Eric is a big fan of "Babylon-5: Call to Arms" and had a friend buy him a copy of the newest edition of the rules at GenCon, which I believe are still not generally available.

Chuck, our friend, recently left to visit Turkey and then he and his wife won a journalism award to study on the East Coast. Chuck is a great guy and we both miss him greatly. He also also part of the reason I starting playing B-5 with Eric being the other. Chuck, Eric and I were playing a "raider's campaign" with Eric playing defending Centauri and Chuck and I playing an allied raiding fleet of Narn and Vree. The Allied Narn and Vree fleets cleaned the Centauri clock every game.

Yesterday, we decided to try something different:
- Eric played an ultra-modern Earth fleet with all kinds of spiffy new Earth vessels inclding the Warlock advanced cruiser, which was only seen on the "B-5: Crusades" spin-off series.
- I played a Shadow fleet.

It was a great game and was very close even if Eric was rolling hot most of the game and I was rolling long chains of useless ones and twos. The Shadows are brutal and easy to play since they don't use special orders and are extremely agile. I essentially rushed my three Shadow ships forward gutting his ships one by one starting with the smallest ships first. Eric held on and used his numbers to keep his biggest and most threatening ships always moving last and lining up their big guns (the bore-sighted weapons).

The game ended up with Eric possessing three remaining ships with all three survivors being crippled, skeleton-crewed, gutted and otherwise "pounded upon." Eric did manage to destroy all three Shadow Ships and I congratulate him for the accomplishment. The Shadow ships are tough even if they can be beat. It was a good game and a lot of fun.

It also led me to discover one of the things I like about factions with a game:
- I tend to like sides that have minimal rules and special abilities. Simple moving and shooting work for me. I prefer staright-forward tactics and don't need to "cross the T" or something to enjoy a game and feel like a good general and/or admiral.
- The Shadows are great in the they are a pretty basic "move and shoot" fleet. They don't use special orders and only have one weapon system each. This was a nice change of pace from other fleets I've tried or seen used.

On a similar note, I like the Tyranid army from E-A because they don't have to worry about blast markers, which greatly eases play.

---

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

FILMS: "Sahara" & "Watcher In the Woods!"

Hi Everyone,

I've watched a few films over the last few days and enjoyed these two:

"Sahara" - A good adventure film featuring the very likable Steve Zahn. It's sort of a modern-day Indiana Jones adventure film.

"Watcher In the Woods" - My sister and I were chatting the other day ago and I reminded her of the scariest Disney movie ever made. She just had to rent it at that point. It's great film and it wasn't quite as scary as I remembered it (Tough being an old fogey!), but it did age well and still has some great scary moments.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.