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HelCon II — Friday
I started the HelCon II experience on Friday. The event began Saturday, but I since I was coming from a longer distance, arriving on Friday was a good idea so I could meet Tommy and Laura sooner. Evening was well spent at the Ryytty residence, filled with games, food, sauna and idle chatter. They had…
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Costikyan on Chess
Something quick before I start on the HelCon session reports: Greg Costikyan has written an excellent article on Chess and game design. All I can say is read it — it’s worth the while.
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Media influence
My game website is a journalist magnet. During the last month or so, I’ve been interviewed twice for a magazine (Kotiliesi and ET-lehti — first is probably a bit like Ladies Home Journal and ET is not about extraterrestrials; it’s targeted mostly for older (say 50+) women) and yesterday I was contacted by someone from…
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The Games Journal
New issue of The Games Journal. This issue features untypical Essen raport from Mark Johnson, continuation from previous articles (Jonathan Degann’s second installment in his series of game theory is particularly sweet), letters and reviews of Mystery of the Abbey and Isis & Osiris.
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Board game club meeting
Our board game club had a meeting yesterday. Lots of games were played, which was good. I started the afternoon with Web of Power. It’s one of my favourites, but I haven’t played it often this year. I should, I should… The game was rather exciting in the end. My score depended a lot from…
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Discovery
I bought Discovery on an impulse few days ago — it was there in front of me at the right moment. I had heard good things about it (well, one recommendation was from a Tactic employee, but still) and it definitely looked interesting — so why not. It sure is interesting. The components are neat:…
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Funkenschlag test game
I played a solo test game of Funkenschlag today and found out the following: * The game is quite fun. It’s a bit like Age of Steam, but without the mandatory expenses. Gaining money is also easier. If you don’t get money, you can’t expand, but it isn’t a slow fall towards bankruptcy. * I…
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PitchCar
I wrote a review of PitchCar in Finnish. I also wrote a review in the Geek, but that’s not yet available. See the PitchCar Geek page, maybe it’s there when you read this. Anyway, I think it’s a brilliant game. It looks spectacular and is great fun to play. It should work with just about…
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Games played today: Attika and Go
I played some more Attika today on BSW. This time it was a three-player game, which I managed to win by building my 30 buildings first. It was a much longer game than the two before — 70 minutes as compared to the 20 minutes games I played earlier. One of my opponents played for…