Gameblog

Category: Less about games

  • Hot games for Q1/2007

    This was a pretty quiet quarter, with basically one hot game and bunch of other games with just one play each. Previous quarter was a tad more active. Combat Commander: Europe — The obvious one. I was enthusiastic, but now I’m a bit less so. Strong eight, still, but I’m really coming to think that…

  • Working on the book

    Almost two weeks of work done on the book, half days basically (I’m working in the mornings and during the day when the baby sleeps, few hours a day most days) and I’ve already covered over 80 games (these are not full-fledged reviews, but fairly short descriptions in most cases, page or so). The manuscript…

  • Board game book

    I’m currently working on a book on board games. I happen to know someone, who was just recently made the publishing manager of a Finnish publisher looking to expand their catalogue of non-fiction books, and he asked if I was interested in writing a book on new board games. Well, you don’t have to ask…

  • Gaming year 2006

    Once again the year is over and it’s time for the year-end report. Here’s 2005 for comparison… Good games published in 2006 Age of Steam: London and Sun, 1830’s Pennsylvania and Northern California — I’ve played one map from each of the Bézier expansions, and loved both. Interesting new concepts, excellent production quality — great…

  • Hot games for Q4/2006

    Here’s a list of hottest games for the fourth quarter of 2006 for me. This is based on number of plays, my enjoyment of the game and the novelty value, so new games tend to show up higher on the list. You can also check the previous quarter, with completely different games. Celtica — Surprise,…

  • Word Freak

    This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate links are marked with a €.I just finished reading Word Freak, Stefan Fatsis’ excellent book on the crazy world of competitive Scrabble. I’d heard lots of praise for the book, and no wonder: it’s one of the more…

  • Gipf collection complete

    With the today’s arrival of Yinsh, my Gipf collection is complete. It doesn’t include Tamsk (hard to get, not very interesting behind the time pressure) or Pünct (a connection game) or most of the extra sets (none but number two with the Zèrtz rings). Another collection was recompleted with the newfangled Buka Invasion set for…

  • Hot Games for Q3/2006

    Here’s a list of hottest games for the third quarter of 2006 for me. This is based on number of plays, my enjoyment of the game and the novelty value, so new games tend to show up higher on the list. You can also check the previous quarter, with completely different games. Memoir ’44 —…

  • 18xx

    Thanks, Alfred. After reading that, I’m not sure I can hold off from getting a 18xx game anymore.

  • War dreams

    I must confess. The guys at the Board Game Society forums have been talking about Advanced Squad Leader a lot, particularly the starter kits. Despite what I’ve said earlier about preferring these detailed strategy games on computer, I’m feeling a small pining for something like that. EastFront is another example of games that have been…