150 Years Ago Today--The American Civil War's Opening Salvo

Today marks the day Fort Sumnter was fired upon, which plunged the United States into a 4-year long struggle that raged across the nation.

The American Civil War, or "ACW," as it's often abbreviated, is a popular conflict among board gamers and miniature wargamers.  Now that we've entered the 150th Anniversary of America's most bloody conflict, the American Civil War will take center stage at wargaming conventions across the country--maybe even across the world.

There's a plethora of ACW gaming sites available to gamers and history buffs.  Below are just two, for starters:
Charge!, an ACW on-line fanzine is authored by Scott Mingus:

http://scottmingus.wordpress.com/

While The Miniatures Page (TMP), a popular site among miniature enthusiasts, has a message board dedicated to the ACW:

http://theminiaturespage.com/acw.mv

Fort Sumnter Today:

Faux Pas in France

Several months ago, my friend Dean and I played a session of Disposable Heroes at our local game store, the Game Matrix.  This particular scenario had a task force of American troops (me), supported by tanks, attempting to seize control of a town held by the Germans (Dean).  The very last turn included what Dean called my "crazy drive-by" against a German squad hunkered-down in a ruined building.

I decided to add a humorous twist to a couple of the "Drive-By" photos.

Top 10 WA State Authors

The Pacific Northwest has a large writers community.  Maybe it's the dreary weather of the coast that keeps people indoors and energizing their creative outlets.  What ever the reason, The Seattle Times has taken note and recognized Washington State's top 10 selling authors:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2014724474_litlife11.html?cmpid=2628 

Book Review: Pirate Latitudes

For Charles Hunter and his crew of privateers, stealing treasure from a cruel Spanish overlord is only half the battle.  Keeping said treasure proves to be even more difficult.  The Caribbean, 1665 A.D., is the setting for the late Michael Crichton's final book, which was found on his computer in 2006 and published in 2009.

The reviews on Amazon.com are all over the literary treasure map:  86 x 5-star ratings, 111 x 4-stars, 74 x 3-stars; followed by 49 x 2-stars and 42 x 1-stars. 

http://www.amazon.com/Pirate-Latitudes-Michael-Crichton/dp/0061929387/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302462506&sr=8-1

I assumed this was a "B-movie" swashbuckler when I bought it, so I wasn't disappointed.  Oh, sure the story contained some historical and nautical clinkers; but for what it was, I enjoyed it.  So I'm giving this a firm 3.5-stars.  I'm not sure what the low-score reviewers were expecting. The speculation among them is this was his first draft. If so, I wish I could write first drafts like this.  As any writer will tell you, first drafts (and even second and third ones)--suck.  Toiling away at improving a manuscript is part of the ordeal in honing one's craft as a writer.
 
Was this Michael Crichton's best book?  No.

Could the story have used some basic fact checking?  Yes, definitely.

But overall, did the author tell a good story? Myself and 271, three to five-star raters seem to think so.

Redshift Chronicles Intelligence Brief #3: Pursuit of the Ivory Bantha

Stardate: Wonday, 065-130 ABY/Tarsan Intelligence Service (TIS)

Subsector: Shannekam

DST-3's Mission to Zenya, Preliminary Situation Report (Sitrep)

After the Merantan Affair, three new members joined DST-3:  Rican Vranos and Coden (both human), along with Thege Kli'Klotaz (a Durosian).  Ambassador Eleonora Heraud ordered the team to locate Damathon Cohain, son of TAg Market's CEO, Thasallah Cohain.  Damathon was reported to be on the planet Zenya, inspecting TAg Market's sea food processing facilities in the Tau Tau Archipelago. 

The team made a hasty lift-off from the Stedmonton Starport on 052-130 ABY.  (See Intel Brief #2, for the reason of the rushed departure). 

On Senday, 057-130 ABY, Shuttle #147 dropped out of hyperspace and entered the Zenyan System.  Within a few hours, the team discovered the wreck of the Ivory Bantha, a YT-1300 transport, owned by the Cohain family.  The ship was dead-in-space and tumbling within a small asteroid field near the 4th planet.  After after detatching from the hyperdrive ring, Cad So Billes successfully piloted the shuttle through the field and tethered their vessel to the hulk.

The team's soldiers, Vranos, Coden and Klotaz donned vacc suits and boarded the Ivory Bantha, via the tether.  While one member was stricken with space sickness due to the zero gravity conditions, they managed to engage and neutralize "two dozen" battle droids found on board.  Once the team reactivated the ship's power plant, they downloaded part of the ship's log. 

According to the partial data recovery, the Ivory Bantha was attacked by an armed, but unmarked, Type-A merchant vessel.  (The origin of this vessel is unknown since it did not emit a transponder signal).  After the  Ivory Bantha was crippled by a salvo of heavy blaster fire, battle droids stormed aboard, intent on capturing the crew.  Damathon and the surviving crew members activated self-destruct charges as they made their way to the escape pod. 

DST-3 determined the escape pod's course was set for a return to Zenya-3, the only habitable planet in the system.

Note:  According to TIS analysts, it is highly unlikely the members of DST-3 encountered two dozen battle droids they claim were on board the Ivory Bantha.  A more accurate account of this incident will be made, once the team returns to Tarsus and is debriefed.

As Shuttle #147 began it's final approach to Pierson Station, it was nearly intercepted by a flight of TIE fighters from the Zenyan Restricted Zone.  The TIEs were driven off by a flight of X-Wing fighters of the Tau Tau Autonomous District's Defense Force, before an actual interception with the shuttle could be made.  No weapons fire was exchanged during the encounter.

When the team made planetfall, they were met at the landing pad by Penelope Pelletin and Adoko, the administrators to TAg Market facilities and Pierson Station's starport, respectively.  Due to jamming activities originating from the Zenyan Restricted Zone, the early warning systems on Pierson Station did not receive any distress signal from the Ivory Bantha, nor detect the escape pod landing within the Tau Tau Archipelago.  After the team briefed the administrators on the situation, a search was quickly organized.

Two days later, with search and rescue (SAR) assets fully committed, Ms. Pelletin asked the team to conduct a search of Gadnek Island.  Since the island is considered sacred to the Tau Taus and is home to dangerous wildlife, a member of King Gethen's bodyguard was assigned to the team as a guide. 

Note:  DST-3's sitrep was transmitted via subspace radio, prior to their departure for Gadnek Island.  Since these signals take five days to reach Tarsus from Zenya, the results of the search efforts on Zenya are unknown at this time...

Redshift Chronicles Outtake #2: Ready for Action! (Maybe)

A Game From My Youth

A couple weeks ago, my friend Dan sold me his copy of Arab-Israeli Wars, (AIW) for $10.  I had previously owned this game, but it became a "casualty" in the turmoil of my previous marriage.  So I jumped at the chance to own it again.

My brother gave me my original copy as a birthday present when I was a teenager and we played this game--a lot.  However, my brother always insisted on playing the Israelis.  In all the games we played, I think I won two of them as the Arabs.

So I guess the game is as lopsided as the actual Middle East Wars themselves.  The game was published by Avalon Hill in 1977 and was based on their World War II tactical games, Panzer Blitz and Panzer Leader. 

Boardgamegeek offers some information on this game:

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3218/the-arab-israeli-wars#header 



There's even a Wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab-Israeli_Wars_(game)

Despite being out of print for for 34 years, used copies are often available on-line and can even be refurbished.  Old Soldiers Magazine, produces updated counters for AIW and other venerable games, wargamers still like to collect and play.  (Click on the Expansion Counters Set button).

http://www.oldsoldiersmagazine.com/ 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

The Best Form of Flattery

Wargamers love stealing...I mean copying...other people's ideas.

For instance, take a look at my Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy post from last year:



http://sternrakestudio.blogspot.com/2010/05/wretched-hives-of-scum-and-villainy.html 

Now enjoy a lively tale of a "bug hunt" based on the movie--you guessed it--Aliens, brought to you by the Fawcett Avenue Conscripts:

http://wpggamegeeks.blogspot.com/2011/03/just-another-bug-hunt.html 

Notice anything familiar?

I must admit, my cunning plan for building a "Sterilite Slum" wasn't original. 

I copied it from a wargamer who posted an after action review of his sci-fi wargame.  In his table top battle, he used unadorned Sterilite storage containers as buildings.  I'm afraid I can't remember who the artistic genius is, so I could give him due credit.  He may even be one of the guys on Fawcett Ave. 

Hmm. Or maybe Fawcett Ave guys, in turn, copied the idea from me? 

Oh well, regardless of who copied what from whom, inexpensive office supplies are an ever-popular source for a wargamer's construction projects. 

Mixing & Match Sci-Fi Gaming

(Image:  Book cover to T20 Traveller, by QLI/RPGRealms Publishing)

Wargamers are often like chefs.  That is, when it comes to setting up games for their buddies, they'll take ingredients from a published game, mix it with a second, or more products and--voila!--create something unique.  "Kmfrye2001," author of the Tempest in a Teapot blog, did just this by putting together a wargame set in the universe of Traveller, but using the Stargrunt II rules, to resolve combat.

(Image:  Book cover to Stargrunt II, by Ground Zero Games)

Tempest in a Teapot's After Action Review (AAR): 

http://tempestsinateapot.blogspot.com/2011/03/vland-in-can_05.html 

Notes:

Traveller, designed by Marc Miller and published by Game Designers Workshop (GDW), has been a popular science fiction role-playing game (RPG) since it was published in the late '70s. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveller_(role-playing_game)#Traveller_or_Classic_Traveller_.281977.2C_GDW.29

I've been playing Traveller--or at least, collecting the books--since I was a teenager, so it has been a part of my gaming life ever since I started got into the hobby.

There's been several variations since Traveller debuted in 1977.  For the past 3 years, Mongoose Publishing has been releasing revisions of the classic Traveller rules and supplements:

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/home/series.php?qsSeries=51 

Stargrunt II, by Ground Zero Games, is a popular set of sci-fi skirmish rules:

http://www.groundzerogames.net/mambo/ 

Second Stage Project

While I haven't completed the finishing touches on my first "miniature stage" yet, I decided to start on the second one anyway.  This time, I used a Clone Wars Battle Set box, from Wizards of the Coast, as my frame.  I followed nearly the same procedure I mentioned in All The World's a (Miniature) Stage post, except on this occassion, I changed the order in which I applied the different materials.

The first thing I did, was to slather on some glue to the box's sides and past the blue felt sky to it.

Next, I selected a distant mountain range for a backdrop, slathered glue on the back of it and pasted it against the sky.

After letting the sky and mountain range dry for 30 minutes, I carved-up another piece of the old army blanket I've been using and configured it to fit the base of my stage.

And--voila!  A framed shot of my new stage.

Uh-oh.  It looks like I left some glue to dry on the blanket.  (Sigh).  I'll try covering it up with some appropriate flocking later.

By installing the sky and backdrop first, the crease between the ground and the horizon isn't anywhere near as noticable, as in my first stage. 

The project dried completely within several hours.  When I examined it, I noticed that the bottom had curled somewhat, so the stage doesn't sit evenly on a flat surface.  I'm assuming the carboard on this box isn't as thick as the Hoth Box I used in my first stage project.  Since I intend to use this stage for smaller figures, like 6mm, I don't expect this to be a problem.  (I hope).