Dude! Take Your Turn!
A Gaming Life
Book Review – Star Trek Legacies #1 – Captain to Captain
I’m a Star Trek fan from way back and have been reading the novels based on the various series and movies since I was a kid.
In 2016, Star Trek celebrated its 50th anniversary, with the series first airing in 1966. The iconic images of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the cast were something I grew up with. I didn’t see it first-hand, not having been born yet, but I watched it in syndication from an early age and have been a fan since 1981.
To celebrate the anniversary, Pocket Books and its Star Trek authors published a series of books called “Legacies.” The first book in the series, by Greg Cox, is called Captain to Captain.
Cox has always been a dependable Trek writer, not producing anything flashy but giving readers a solid plot, good characterization of the regulars, and some interesting stories.
Does Captain to Captain stand up?
Review – Smash Up
When you’re sitting down to watch The Walking Dead or some other zombie movie, what’s the first thing that goes through your mind?
No, not “ohhh, ain’t Darryl hot?”
The first thing that goes through my mind is that this show could use a dinosaur or a space alien.
Or maybe a Dumbledore.
For those of us with a similar mindset, Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) has us covered, with the hit game (with an ever expanding list of expansions) Smash Up.
Designed by Paul Peterson, with artwork by Dave Allsop, Bruno Balixa, Conceptopolis, and Francisco Rico Torres, this 2012 game lets you “smash up” (Ha! I see what you did there) two classic factions into a deck of cards that you will use to stomp your opponents.
The game plays 2-4 players.
Book Review: The Hot War #2 – Fallout – Harry Turtledove
I used to do book reviews for Curled Up With a Good Book, but I stopped for a number of years.
However, that hasn’t stopped me from reading. As I have eliminated news posts from this blog for the most part (I’ll explain why at a later date), I was trying to figure out what else may be of interest to my readers here.
Lately, I’ve gained the following of some wargamers and wargaming blogs, and it reminded me of my love for wargames and History (especially military history). Many of the games that we play are historical in nature.
Basically, book genres and game genres often overlap, with some books actually getting games made based on them (Pillars of the Earth, anyone?)
The thunderbolt that came from out of the blue after thinking about that was eye-opening.
Why not get back to book reviewing as well?
The first book review for the site is actually the second book in a series.
The Hot War #2: Fallout is an alternate history book written by Harry Turtledove.
Turtledove is known as the “Master of Alternate History,” and I can’t really disagree with that.
I do, however, have my problems with him.
But let’s see what the book is about before I deal with that.
Lest We Forget
On this Remembrance Day, we remember those who have fallen in battle throughout the years in order to safeguard our freedoms.
I’ve been lucky enough not to lose any family members or friends to war, but I am forever grateful not only to those who have fought and died, but also to their families.
The hardships they go through, either separation for months or years, or making the ultimate sacrifice of a loved one, I can never even imagine what that must be like.
My heart goes out to all of you.
And, more importantly, my thanks.
Review – New York Slice
Do you see a pizza dripping with cheese and toppings and start to salivate?
Of course you do.
(I believe that pizza-haters are a myth propagated by Big Diet)
So what game could be more perfect for a lunch-time gaming session than New York Slice?
New York Slice is a game designed by Jeffrey D. Allers with art by Stephanie Gustafsson and John Kaufmann, published in 2017 by Bezier Games.
The game plays 2-6 players.
The game is one of those “I split, you choose” games which I didn’t realize was a thing until I saw this one (though I know that it’s also been used before).
So how does it work?
Review: Tyrants of the Underdark
(Edit: This is one of my Top 5 Games Played of all Time, as of February 2019 anyway. Check out the other games as well!)
I’ve read a bunch of R.A. Salvatore’s “Drizzt Do’Urden” books set in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms setting.
I think I’ve read 40, but there are probably 40 more (Editor – That’s probably an exaggeration) and I’ve always enjoyed the world-building Salvatore has done with the series, almost even more than the characters.
Drizzt is a Drow (Dark Elf), a former denizen of the underworld that’s fittingly called “The Underdark.” He’s an outcast from Drow society because it is pretty much a cesspool of evil scheming and betrayal and they worship the evil spider-goddess Lolth.
Since Drizzt has his own game, why not play a game where you get to be a conniving betrayer who’s looking out for your family’s interest and trying to bring down the other noble houses among the Drow?
Now you can, with Tyrants of the Underdark (2016), the deck-building area control game designed by Peter Lee, Rodney Thompson, Andrew Veen with art by apparently nobody (I think it just spontaneously appeared on the cards in some miraculous event that should probably be canonized) and published by Gale Force 9 and Wizards of the Coast.
(Literally, the art credit on Boardgame Geek is “N/A”)
(Edit 3/9/18) – Steve Ellis did the wonderful box cover, as noted (by him) in the comments below. Thanks, Steve!
Should We Be Playing at War?
For my 100th post here on Dude, Take Your Turn, I wanted to do something a little different than what I’ve done previously. Tackle a bigger subject.
As I was thinking about what that might be, a couple of things happened.
First, as some of you may know, I’m a member (and now Patreon Supporter!) of the Stately Play web site, one of the best online communities and news sites for mobile and computer games (especially board game adaptations).
In one of the forums discussing the release of Afghanistan ’11 (a “sequel” of sorts to Vietnam ’65 by Slitherine), a member said the following:
“I can’t begin to imagine why someone would release a game like this. 1400 civilians were killed in the year that this game starts.
The airstrikes they talk about in the game trailer often hit civilian targets and 2011 also sees an increase in the use of suicide bombers and IEDs.
Its an absolute tragedy of a conflict and someone at Slitherine thought it would make a “fun” game? WTF is the matter with them?”
Then, I read a review from The Player’s Aid of a game called Colonial Twilight: The French-Algerian War, 1954-62 published by GMT Games.
This is a game about the war for Algerian independence from France and the insurgency that arose during the war. Terrorism is a legitimate tactic in the game.
In the review, Grant says the following:
“I love the use of Terror when playing as the FLN as it truly is the only real tool that you have to affect the Government and ultimately win the war. I say that I love using the Terror Ops but I really cringe each time I have to use them as it feels wrong, both morally and ethically, but this is one of the great design elements of the game. Making you think before you act. A lot of times in regular hex and counter wargames, I usually don’t think anything about bombing civilian centers or cities, as there really is no negative effects upon the psyche for doing so. But in Colonial Twilight, the game is so visceral and emotionally evocative, that I actually feel that I have to tread lightly when I am bombing cities as I think about the consequences of my actions through collateral damage.”
Both of these came in quick succession for me, and it made me realize that it would make a great topic for a 100th post.
Should we be playing at war?
(I’m not saying Grant’s statement is against playing at war, as obviously that would be misconstruing it since he is a wargamer. It just made the topic come to my mind)
New to Me – October 2017
Welcome to this month’s New to Me post, as discussed on an episode of the Boardgames in Bed podcast (not this month’s, but the concept of “New to Me” games)
It was looking like a lean month for new to me games in October. That changed on the final weekend, where I played two of the best new games I have played in quite a while.
That gave me a total of six new to me games, maintaining my Cult Leader status!
Why don’t we start with the good stuff and head downward?
Time of Crisis (2017 – GMT Games) – 1 play (owned)
This is a game that I have been wanting to play since somebody mentioned it on their “new to me” post on BGG a few months ago.
First Impressions – Custom Heroes
“Crafting” cards is becoming a new fad in boardgaming, though I think it’s mainly AEG who are doing it.
Games like Mystic Vale, where you can gain cards and then improve them, are starting to become more prominent.
Last night, I got the chance to try one of the latest card-crafting games, Custom Heroes. The game is designed by John D. Clair with art by Matt Paquette and the game is published by AEG.
This is more like a normal trick-taking game than most others in the same genre, in that you are playing cards to the table and trying to “win” the pile (not quite a trick, but I’ll explain), all the while buffing up cards with improvements that will change how they act.
Review – Valley of the Kings: Last Rites
In Ancient Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs where whoever died and built the best pyramid was seen to be the most dope ruler in all the land, sometimes it wasn’t just what was buried with you that made the difference.
Sometimes it was who you were buried with.
And these people didn’t have to be dead ahead of you either.
(I’ll stop and let you think about that for a moment)
It’s definitely not something you want to think too hard about when you’re playing the latest version of Tom Cleaver’s Valley of the Kings.
Valley of the Kings: Last Rites is the second standalone expansion for this wonderful deck-building series. When I say standalone, I mean it too.
While there are rules for mixing and matching the cards in the various expansions, I really have no interest in doing that. I like to play each set individually.
As noted above, Valley of the Kings: Last Rites is designed by Tom Cleaver with art by Banu Andaru and published in 2016 by AEG Games.
Dude! Take Your Turn! 