&games

'Twas my grandma who used to say that. Now I know what she meant.

This week has been wicked busy for me, and it won't stop until Sunday.

No time to play games, even.

However, in my scant free time (most of which is during work) I've been working on something that I think will interest all of you gamers. I can't give out details, or rather won't give out details. Suffice it to say that I am excited.

I doubt I will post anything again until next week. Hopefully, I will have good news then.

CF.

The game resource list has ballooned. I need to separate game publishers into groups. I tried breaking it into: board games, war games, card games, minis, rpgs but there was just too much overlap.

Dividing it into Major, Minor, Tiny is impractical, because several tiny companies have produced more games than some of the Major companies.

The ideal breakdown would be by the size of print runs, or size of the desktop operation, but that would be near impossible to do.

Right now I am leaning toward "Companies Coldfoot likes", "Companies Coldfoot is indifferent to", and "Companies Coldfoot has never heard of". Unfortunately the last category would need to be broken down further to be practical.

Any ideas?

Here's the BGG link to the entire list. Here you can click on the address of each individual publisher and it will pop up in a new screen.


Game Publishers

3 a.m. Games........ http://www.3amgames.com/
3J Games............ http://www.freewebs.com/3jgames/
Alea................ http://www.aleaspiele.de/Pages/Title/
Alea Ludopress...... http://www.simtacludopress.net/Alea_default_ing.htm
Ape Games........... http://www.apegames.com/
Asmodee............. http://www.asmodee-us.com/
Atlas Games......... http://atlas-games.com/
Austrailian Design Gr. http://www.a-d-g.com.au/
Avalanche Press..... http://www.avalanchepress.com/index.php
Avalon Hill......... http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/welcome
AZA Spiele.......... http://www.aza-spiele.de/frameset.php3?sprache=e&start=ja
Battlefront......... http://www.battlefront.com/index.htm
Blackcat Studio..... http://www.blackcatstudio.net/
BlindLuck Studios... http://www.blindluckstudios.com/
Blue Guidon......... http://www.blueguidongames.com/
Canons en Carton.... http://fredbey.club.fr/CeC_US.htm
BTRC................ http://www.btrc.net/
CardChess........... http://www.cardchess.com/games/index.html
CheapAss............ http://www.cheapass.com/
Clash or Arms....... http://clashofarms.com/
Columbia............ http://www.columbiagames.com/
Compass Games....... http://www.compassgames.com/
ConsimPress......... http://www.consimpress.com/
Critical Hit........ http://www.criticalhit.com/
Cwali............... http://www.cwali.com/
Dancing Eggplant.... http://www.dancingeggplant.com/
Decipher............ http://decipherstore.fanhq.com/
daVinci............. http://www.davincigames.com/
Days of Wonder...... http://www.daysofwonder.com/
Decision Games...... http://www.decisiongames.com/
DG Associates....... http://www.dgagames.com/
DVG................. http://www.dvg.com/
Eagle............... http://www.eaglegames.net/
Eight Foot Llama.... http://www.eightfootllama.com/
Face 2 Face......... http://www.face2facegames.com/
Fantasy Flight...... http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/
Fiendish............ http://www.fbgames.co.uk/
Fiery Dragon........ http://www.fierydragon.com/
Flying Buffalo...... http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/
Games Workshop...... http://www.games-workshop.com/
Gecko............... http://www.cwali.com/
Gio Games........... http://www.giogames.it/
GMT................. http://www.gmtgames.com/
Grapac (Japan)...... http://www.grapac.co.jp/
Great White Games... http://www.peginc.com/Games/Games.htm
Grenier Games....... http://www.greniergames.com/
Grey Ghost Press.... http://www.fudgerpg.com/
Hangman Games....... http://www.hangmangames.com/
Hans im Gluck....... http://www.hans-im-glueck.de/
Hasbro.............. http://www.hasbro.com/
Heat of Battle...... http://www.heatofbattle.com/
Hero Games.......... http://www.herogames.com/
Histo............... http://www.histogame.de/e_index.html
HMS/GRD............. http://hmsgrd.com/
Holistic Design..... http://www.holistic-design.com/
HPS Simulations..... http://www.hpssims.com/
Imagine Image Multimedia.. http://www.imagineimage.org/webpage.htm
Identity............ http://www.identitygames.nl/index.php?lang=GB
Interformic Games... http://interformic.com/
Iron Crown.......... http://www.ironcrown.com/
JKLM................ http://www.jklmgames.co.uk/index.php
Jolly Roger......... http://jollyrogergames.hypermart.net/
Khyber Pass......... http://www.khyberpassgamesonline.com/
Krimsus KrimskamsKiste. http://www.krimsu.de/indexenglish.html
L2 Design Group..... http://www.l2designgroup.com/L2%20Design%20Group.html
Laughing Pan Productions. http://www.laughingpan.com/
Live Oak............ http://www.liveoakgames.com/
Looney Labs......... http://www.looneylabs.com/
Lost Batallion...... http://www.lostbattalion.com/
LudoPress........... http://www.simtacludopress.net/Alea_default_ing.htm
Markham Designs..... http://markhamdesigns.tripod.com/
Matrix.............. http://www.matrixgames.com/
Mayfair............. http://www.mayfairgames.com/
Minden Games........ http://www.homestead.com/minden_games/
Multi-Man Pub....... http://www.multimanpublishing.com/index1.php
Naval Warfare Simul. http://www.navalwarfare.net/
Neppa Games......... http://www.neppagames.com/
New England Simulations. http://www.carpatina.com/nes/
Omega Games......... http://www.omegagames.com/omega/do/home/home
One Small Step...... http://www.ossgames.com/products/products.html
Out of the Box...... http://www.otb-games.com/index.html
Operational Studies Group. http://www.napoleongames.com/
Optimus Design...... http://www.ssdc.com/
Pagan Publishing.... http://www.tccorp.com/pagan/
Perry Moore......... http://pweb.jps.net/%7eperrya/
Phalanx Games....... http://www.phalanxgames.nl/
Playroom Entertainment. http://www.playrooment.com/
Plenary............. http://www.plenarygames.com/
Pratzen Editions.... http://www.pratzen.com/index_en.php
Queen Games......... http://www.queen-games.de/
Quest Machine....... http://www.questmachine.com/
R Talsorian Games... http://www.talsorian.com/
Ragnar Bros......... http://www.ragnarbrothers.co.uk/
Ravensburger........ http://www.ravensburger.com/rag/com/usa/produkte/db/startsei...
Reaper Minis....... http://www.reapermini.com/
Red Sash Games..... http://redsashgames.com/
Rio Grande......... http://www.riograndegames.com/
Schutze Games...... http://www.geocities.com/schutze_games/
Shrapnel Games..... http://www.shrapnelgames.com/
Simmons Games...... http://www.simmonsgames.com/
Simply Fun......... http://simplyfun.com/
Simulation Workshop. http://simulationsworkshop.tripod.com/
Splotter Spellen... http://www.splotter.nl/nederlands/index.html
Steve Jackson...... http://www.sjgames.com/
Stratamax.......... http://www.stratamaxgames.com/
Third World........ http://www.wargamer.com/news/
TSR................ http://www.wizards.com/welcome.asp
Twilight Creations. http://www.twilightcreationsinc.com/
Uberplay........... http://www.uberplay.com/main.html
Udo Grebe.......... http://www.ugg.de/
White Wolf......... http://www.white-wolf.com/
Wingnut............ http://www.wingnutgames.com/
Winsome Games...... http://www.fyi.net/~winsome/
Wiz Kids........... http://www.wizkidsgames.com/wk_home.asp
Wizards of the Coast. http://www.wizards.com/welcome.asp
Worthington........ http://www.worthingtongames.com/
Ystari (France).... http://www.ystari.com/index.php
Z-Man Games........ http://www.zmangames.com/

Aurora Motors in Fairbanks, Alaska is the worst business I have ever had to deal with. If you ever buy a car from them, be advised you will be hating life if you ever have to bring it in for service.

I have had my car in the shop for warranty work for a total of approximately 6 of the last 18 months on 5 or 6 separate occasions.

After the second time we brought the car in they started hassling us for payment even though the problem is covered under the warranty. They have come out and said on multiple occasions that if we had chosen to bring the car to them for oil changes that they would be more likely to charge the warranty company for the work and stop hassling us. "Loyalty" they call it.

I can change the oil on my own, or bring the car to a place that has good customer service. Why would I choose to bring my car to the shop with the worst and most arrogant employees simply because I bought the car there?

I can prove 8 ways from Sunday that the oil was changed regularly (every 2000-3000 miles, which is better than most people), yet they insist that lack of oil changes is what is causing the problem.

After we prove we change the oil they change their story and blame lack of sparkplug maintenance. We point out that they changed the spark plugs less than 10,000 miles ago and charged us for it, and the car is still having the same problem. They say that the original time the car went for over 30,000 miles without a sparkplug change caused irreparable damage that can't be fixed (although they can't tell us exactly what was damaged). The car was in for the same repair 3x or more before they even thought about changing the plugs. Just a lame excuse? You decide.

So far I haven't paid for any warranty work. This time I think I will just pay three hundred odd dollars instead of arguing with the idiots in the service department. Fuck them. I will just pay a competent mechanic to track down the problem and get the car fixed once and for all. And, he will probably only have the car for less than a week, maybe 10 days if parts are ordered.

I don't need the hassle Aurora Motors provides. It is a den of pricks.

I've already talked to several specialists that have expertise in the problem my car is having. After hearing my story, a couple of the specialists think they know what the problem is. The kicker? The first kicker is that the problem was likely caused by an initial error by Aurora Motors, before the car had a problem. We even ran the scenario by the mechanic at Aurora Motors. He agreed that this initial error is what is probably causing the problem.

When we told the Aurora mechanic the story we lied, we said it was us who made the error, not Aurora. He couldn't even backpedal when we told him it was Aurora that made the mistake.

One mechanic in particular said he would sign a court document stating that Aurora caused the problem, if my story is true. Believe me, it is true.

The second kicker? If Aurora is responsible for the problem, the warranty would be inapplicable. The warranty company could come back to us, or Aurora for reimbursement if they paid for work caused by Aurora's negligence. I would then have to go back to Aurora to get the problem fixed if a simple fix by a specialist failed. Who knows what they would fuck up fixing the problem.

I would love to give more details, but I think there is a good chance this will end up in court. I don't back down when I am pissed-off, and right, and know that I am right.

The list of boardgame resources has been taking a lot of my time the last couple days.

I post it here mainly for my benefit. It was originally posted on Boardgamegeek. If you haven't seen it before, feel free to let me know about additions. Don't hesitate to give me your blog site if it is even modestly about boardgames.

I'm gonna be swamped for the next several days. Probably won't post again until the middle of next week, at the earliest. Won't even have time to play games.


Pod Casts

Boardgames To Go... http://boardgamestogo.com/
Geekspeak.......... http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geekspeak.php3
The Dice Tower..... http://www.thedicetower.com/dicetower.html

Game Publishers

3 a.m. Games........ http://www.3amgames.com/
3J Games............ http://www.freewebs.com/3jgames/
Alea................ http://www.aleaspiele.de/Pages/Title/
Alea Ludopress...... http://www.simtacludopress.net/Alea_default_ing.htm
Ape Games........... http://www.apegames.com/
Asmodee............. http://www.asmodee-us.com/
Atlas Games......... http://atlas-games.com/
Austrailian Design Gr. http://www.a-d-g.com.au/
Avalanche Press..... http://www.avalanchepress.com/index.php
Avalon Hill......... http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/welcome
AZA Spiele.......... http://www.aza-spiele.de/frameset.php3?sprache=e&start=ja
Battlefront......... http://www.battlefront.com/index.htm
Blackcat Studio..... http://www.blackcatstudio.net/
BlindLuck Studios... http://www.blindluckstudios.com/
Blue Guidon......... http://www.blueguidongames.com/
Canons en Carton.... http://fredbey.club.fr/CeC_US.htm
BTRC................ http://www.btrc.net/
CardChess........... http://www.cardchess.com/games/index.html
CheapAss............ http://www.cheapass.com/
Clash or Arms....... http://clashofarms.com/
Columbia............ http://www.columbiagames.com/
Compass Games....... http://www.compassgames.com/
ConsimPress......... http://www.consimpress.com/
Critical Hit........ http://www.criticalhit.com/
Cwali............... http://www.cwali.com/
Dancing Eggplant.... http://www.dancingeggplant.com/
Decipher............ http://decipherstore.fanhq.com/
daVinci............. http://www.davincigames.com/
Days of Wonder...... http://www.daysofwonder.com/
Decision Games...... http://www.decisiongames.com/
DG Associates....... http://www.dgagames.com/
DVG................. http://www.dvg.com/
Eagle............... http://www.eaglegames.net/
Eight Foot Llama.... http://www.eightfootllama.com/
Face 2 Face......... http://www.face2facegames.com/
Fantasy Flight...... http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/
Fiendish............ http://www.fbgames.co.uk/
Fiery Dragon........ http://www.fierydragon.com/
Flying Buffalo...... http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/
Games Workshop...... http://www.games-workshop.com/
Gecko............... http://www.cwali.com/
Gio Games........... http://www.giogames.it/
GMT................. http://www.gmtgames.com/
Grapac (Japan)...... http://www.grapac.co.jp/
Great White Games... http://www.peginc.com/Games/Games.htm
Grenier Games....... http://www.greniergames.com/
Grey Ghost Press.... http://www.fudgerpg.com/
Hangman Games....... http://www.hangmangames.com/
Hans im Gluck....... http://www.hans-im-glueck.de/
Hasbro.............. http://www.hasbro.com/
Heat of Battle...... http://www.heatofbattle.com/
Hero Games.......... http://www.herogames.com/
Histo............... http://www.histogame.de/e_index.html
HMS/GRD............. http://hmsgrd.com/
Holistic Design..... http://www.holistic-design.com/
HPS Simulations..... http://www.hpssims.com/
Imagine Image Multimedia.. http://www.imagineimage.org/webpage.htm
Identity............ http://www.identitygames.nl/index.php?lang=GB
Interformic Games... http://interformic.com/
Iron Crown.......... http://www.ironcrown.com/
JKLM................ http://www.jklmgames.co.uk/index.php
Jolly Roger......... http://jollyrogergames.hypermart.net/
Khyber Pass......... http://www.khyberpassgamesonline.com/
Krimsus KrimskamsKiste. http://www.krimsu.de/indexenglish.html
L2 Design Group..... http://www.l2designgroup.com/L2%20Design%20Group.html
Laughing Pan Productions. http://www.laughingpan.com/
Live Oak............ http://www.liveoakgames.com/
Looney Labs......... http://www.looneylabs.com/
Lost Batallion...... http://www.lostbattalion.com/
LudoPress........... http://www.simtacludopress.net/Alea_default_ing.htm
Markham Designs..... http://markhamdesigns.tripod.com/
Matrix.............. http://www.matrixgames.com/
Mayfair............. http://www.mayfairgames.com/
Minden Games........ http://www.homestead.com/minden_games/
Multi-Man Pub....... http://www.multimanpublishing.com/index1.php
Naval Warfare Simul. http://www.navalwarfare.net/
Neppa Games......... http://www.neppagames.com/
New England Simulations. http://www.carpatina.com/nes/
Omega Games......... http://www.omegagames.com/omega/do/home/home
One Small Step...... http://www.ossgames.com/products/products.html
Out of the Box...... http://www.otb-games.com/index.html
Operational Studies Group. http://www.napoleongames.com/
Optimus Design...... http://www.ssdc.com/
Pagan Publishing.... http://www.tccorp.com/pagan/
Perry Moore......... http://pweb.jps.net/%7eperrya/
Phalanx Games....... http://www.phalanxgames.nl/
Playroom Entertainment. http://www.playrooment.com/
Plenary............. http://www.plenarygames.com/
Pratzen Editions.... http://www.pratzen.com/index_en.php
Queen Games......... http://www.queen-games.de/
Quest Machine....... http://www.questmachine.com/
R Talsorian Games... http://www.talsorian.com/
Ragnar Bros......... http://www.ragnarbrothers.co.uk/
Ravensburger........ http://www.ravensburger.com/rag/com/usa/produkte/db/startsei...
Reaper Minis....... http://www.reapermini.com/
Red Sash Games..... http://redsashgames.com/
Rio Grande......... http://www.riograndegames.com/
Schutze Games...... http://www.geocities.com/schutze_games/
Shrapnel Games..... http://www.shrapnelgames.com/
Simmons Games...... http://www.simmonsgames.com/
Simply Fun......... http://simplyfun.com/
Simulation Workshop. http://simulationsworkshop.tripod.com/
Splotter Spellen... http://www.splotter.nl/nederlands/index.html
Steve Jackson...... http://www.sjgames.com/
Stratamax.......... http://www.stratamaxgames.com/
Third World........ http://www.wargamer.com/news/
TSR................ http://www.wizards.com/welcome.asp
Twilight Creations. http://www.twilightcreationsinc.com/
Uberplay........... http://www.uberplay.com/main.html
Udo Grebe.......... http://www.ugg.de/
White Wolf......... http://www.white-wolf.com/
Wingnut............ http://www.wingnutgames.com/
Winsome Games...... http://www.fyi.net/~winsome/
Wiz Kids........... http://www.wizkidsgames.com/wk_home.asp
Wizards of the Coast. http://www.wizards.com/welcome.asp
Worthington........ http://www.worthingtongames.com/
Ystari (France).... http://www.ystari.com/index.php
Z-Man Games........ http://www.zmangames.com/

Game Sellers

BGG Marketplace..... http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geekstore.php3
Ab-Zur-Kasse (Germany) http://www.ab-zur-kasse.de/index.php
Adam Spielt (Germany). http://www.adam-spielt.de/
All Games 4 You (Ger). http://www.all-games.de/index.html
Alternative (Aust).. http://www.alternativegames.com.au/
Au Coin Du Jeu (France). http://aucoindujeu.com/
Board Game Factory.. http://raeside.home.mchsi.com/index.htm
Bordspel (NL)....... http://www.bordspel.net/
AreYouGame.com...... http://www.areyougame.com/interact/default.asp
Boardgames.ca....... http://www.boardgames.ca/
Boardgames.com...... http://www.boardgames.com/
Boards and Bits..... http://www.boardsandbits.com/
Boulder Games....... http://www.bouldergames.com/news.asp
Cafe Games.......... http://www.cafegames.com/index.html
Cardhaus............ http://www.cardhaus.com/
Chaos Mail Order.... http://www.chaosmailorder.com/
Do or Dice.......... http://www.doordice.com/
Eliot Games (UK).... http://www.eliotgames.co.uk/
Fairplay............ http://www.fairplaygames.com/
Family Game Factory. http://www.familygamefactory.com/
Funagain............ http://www.funagain.com/control/main
Gamefest............ http://www.gamefest.com/
Gameforce (NL)...... http://www.gfmailorder.nl/
Game Geek........... http://www.thegamegeek.net/catalog/index.html
Games Paradise (Aust). http://www.gamesparadise.com.au/
Games in a Box...... http://www.gamesinabox.com/
Fun Games (Aust).... http://www.fungames.com.au/
Game Surplus........ https://www.gamesurplus.com/site/index.cfm
Games Lore (UK)..... http://www.gameslore.co.uk/acatalog/index.html
German Boardgame Co. http://www.germangames.com/
Hobby Games (Sweden) http://www.hobbygames.se/
Jocade (France)..... http://www.jocade.net/home.php3?uni=8&page=index&mode=null
Le Valet d'Coeur (Quebecois).. http://www.levalet.com/index.htm
Leisure Games (UK).. http://www.leisuregames.com/index.html
House Full of Games. http://housefullofgames.com/
Jogo Canada......... http://jogocanada.com/en/index.asp
Leisure Games....... http://www.leisuregames.com/acatalog/index.html
Military Sim (Aust). http://www.milsims.com.au/
Newspiel............ http://www.newspiel.com/
Noble Knight........ https://www.nobleknight.com/default.asp
Philibert (France)... http://www.philibertnet.com/
Play Me (Germany)... http://vnh2.hsk-net.de/cgi-bin/playme.storefront/
RPG Shop............ http://www.rpgshop.com/
Shire Games (UK).... http://www.shiregames.co.uk/
Spielenet (Germany). http://www.spielenet.de/cgi-bin/snet_u.cgi?dse=catalog/1146&...
ThoughtHammer....... http://www.thoughthammer.com/
Time Well Spent..... http://www.timewellspent.org/content/home.php
Toys Forever (NL)... http://www.toysforever.nl/
Warchest (Aust)..... www.warchest.com.au
Uncle Games......... http://www.unclesgames.com/
Unhalfbricking (Aust). http://www.games.unhalfbricking.com/
Vintage Game Store.. http://www.vintagegamestore.com/shop/

Related sites of note
Boardgame search.... http://www.michaelareed.com/boardgamesearch/
Brettspielsuche..... http://www.rosanski-online.de/suche/index.htm

Blogs and the like

aka Pastorguy....... http://akapastorguy.blogspot.com/
Austin Boardgamer... http://michaelchapel.blogs.com/
Billy Games......... http://coljenngamer.blogspot.com/
Chairman Mike....... http://deans-inter.net/nucleus/index.php
Chris Brooks........ http://www.chrisbrooks.org/
Chris Farrell....... http://homepage.mac.com/c_farrell/iblog/
Dan Becker.......... http://www.io.com/~beckerdo/
DietEvil............ http://www.livejournal.com/users/anyeone/
Dreifuss Gaming..... http://www.dreifuss.org/gaming.html
Game Blog........... http://www.melankolia.net/gameblog/
Game Ranch.......... http://www.rozmiarek.info/games/
Gamefest Blogs...... http://gamefest.com/news/blogs/
Gamers Eye.......... http://gamerseye.blogspot.com/
Games Journal....... http://www.thegamesjournal.com/
Gaming in Pearland.. http://www.seanandmelissa.net/gamer/
Inconsequential Ruminations. http://cheyne.net/blog/
Incunabula.......... http://www.leadpushers.com/incunabula/
JSGC................ http://jergames.blogspot.com/
Ludography..... .... http://ludography.blogspot.com/
Magic Rat........... http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Magic_Rat
Mandarin's Manor.... http://www.savageandsoldier.com/blog/
Matthew Gray........ http://boardgamestuff.com/blog/
Monte's Journal..... http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?montejournal
MR&TLU.............. http://tajmahalfred.blogspot.com/
netFranz............ http://www.netfrantz.com/
Nimrods............. http://www.nimrods.blogspot.com/
Northwood Games..... http://www.northwoodsgames.com/
Rick's Blog......... http://boardgameblog.blogspot.com/
Shanon Appelcline... http://www.livejournal.com/users/shannon_a/
Spiel Boardgames in the UK. http://www.spiel.co.uk/
Tao of Gaming....... http://gaming.powerblogs.com/
The Thought of Rain. http://rkalajian.blogspot.com/
Thinking Out Loud... http://ynnen.blogspot.com/
Trabsact Sagme...... http://sagme.blogspot.com/
Wags Chronicles..... http://wagsociety.blogspot.com/
&Games.............. http://andgames.blogspot.com/

Personal sites, Group sites, Misc

About: Board games.. http://boardgames.about.com/
Boardgame Designers Forum. http://www.bgdf.com/
ConSim World........ http://www.consimworld.com/
Discovergames.com... http://www.discovergames.com/
Dork Tower.......... http://archive.gamespy.com/comics/dorktower/
Great Bits.......... http://www.atlantagamefest.com/gb.html
Game Central Station. http://www.theswitchingyard.com/index.html
Game Kultur......... http://www.michaeldoyle.com/gameKultur.html
Game Store Database. http://server.boardgamestuff.com:8000/cgi-bin/gamestore.pl (Copy and paste the link)
Gamer Dad........... http://www.gamerdad.com/
Globetrotter Games.. http://globetrotter-games.com/
Halesowen Club...... http://www.vectordisplay.co.uk/BoardgameClub/june05.htm
Jerusulem Strategy Gaming Club. http://www.jergames.com/
Luding Games News... http://sunsite.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/cgi-bin/luding/HTML...
Miniature Page....... http://theminiaturespage.com/
Ogre Cave ........... http://www.ogrecave.com/
ProtoParts........... http://bgdf.com/catalog/
Rick Heli............ http://spotlightongames.com/
SimBase Scans (Countersheet scans).. http://www.isimulacrum.com/Scans.php
SOS Game Reviews..... http://www.panix.com/~sos/gviews.html
Starship Combat News. http://www.star-ranger.com/Home.htm
Tom Vasel............ http://www.thedicetower.com/tomvasel.html
Tricky Light......... http://www.trickylight.co.uk/
Unity Games.......... http://www.unitygames.org/
Yahu Gaming.......... http://www.geocities.com/yahugaming/
Web Grognards........ http://www.grognard.com/
Westbank Gamers...... http://www.westbankgamers.com/
Westpark Gamers...... http://www.westpark-gamers.de/index.html

Game News Frequently updated several times each week, at a minimum.

Game Wire........ http://gamefest.com/news/
Gaming Report........ http://www.gamingreport.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=NPNe...
Wargamer............. http://www.wargamer.com/news/

Magazines

Abstract Games Mag.. http://www.abstractgamesmagazine.com/
Against the Odds.... http://www.atomagazine.com/
Alea................ http://www.simtacludopress.net/Alea_default_ing.htm
Alea Iacta Est...... http://www.aleaiactaest.it/englishpage.htm
Counter............. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/the-labyrinth/games/counter/
FairPlay (German)... http://www.fairplay-online.de/magazin/magazin.html
Games Magazine...... No apparent website
Games International. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/premium.php3
Games Quarterly..... http://www.gamesquarterly.net/
Line of Departure... http://members.aol.com/jwerbaneth/lod/lod.html
PaperWars............http://www.omegagames.com/omega/do/military/paperwars/AutoFo...
Simulacrum.......... http://www3.telus.net/Simulacrum/main.html
Spielbox (German)... http://spielbox.de/
Strategy and Tactics. http://www.decisiongames.com/mags/st.htm
Vae Victis.......... http://www.vaevictis.com/

Older Sources

Brett and Board...... http://hjem.get2net.dk/Svellov/Front.html
Game Cabinet......... http://www.gamecabinet.com/

On Line Games

BGG E&T, R&B......... http://www.boardgamegeek.com/tigris/gamemgr.php
BrettspielWelt....... http://www.brettspielwelt.de/gate/jsp/base/
Little Golem......... http://www.littlegolem.net/jsp/login/index.jsp
Vassal............... http://www.vassalengine.org/community/index.php
You Play It.......... http://www.youplay.it/play/main.asp

Message Boards

NigglyBits........... http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/nigglybits/
RPG.net.............. http://www.rpg.net/
Rec.Games.Board...... http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.games.board
Spiel Frieks......... Find it on your own.

Game Designer sites

Richard Berg......... http://www.richardhberg.com/
Bruno Faidutti....... http://www.faidutti.com/index.php
Doris and Frank...... http://www.doris-frank.de/main.html
Friedman Freise (German) http://www.2f-spiele.de/index.htmReiner Knizia....... http://www.knizia.de/
Reiner Knizia....... http://www.convivium.org.uk/kghome.htm
Wolfgang Kramer...... http://kramer-spiele.privat.t-online.de/
Michael Schlacht..... http://spiele-aus-timbuktu.de/

Opponent/Group Finder


Access Denied ........ http://www.accessdenied.net/
BGG Gamer Database ... http://www.boardgamegeek.com/wgd.php3?action=findclosestform
BGG Gamer Finder ..... http://www.boardgamegeek.com/gamerfinder.php
Boardgame Meetups .... http://boardgames.meetup.com/

Finally. Got SoE to the table. It's been setting on my game shelf for 8 or 9 months. Played through one war (out of 3 that make a complete game), made enough mistakes that we started over, then played two wars (out of three) before we ran out of time. We only played with four players, but I look forward to playing with more as soon as I am able.

For a game with such a short rulebook, it is easy to make mistakes. The rulebook is not organized well, and there is some significant errata. All those extra wooden cylinders? They are for bidding purposes. Spain is considered to be adjacent to Italy (that is significant errata). A failed sea move causes unrest. And why, oh why, didn't they put lines to delineate between the North Sea and Baltic if navies can only be used in Baltic battles but not North Sea battles?

The game features a unique system of alliances. From war to war alliances change. The first player takes two tokens representing two players he would like to see go to war. He makes a bid. Going around the table, any player who wants to bid more can change the two counters. The player who makes the highest bid loses his bid and places the counters on the alliance chart where they remain for the rest of the war.

The second player now chooses from the remaining player tokens, makes a bid and play continues around the table in the same manner as before. The highest bidder places the two tokens on the alliance chart in the positions he proposed. When all player/nation tokens are in the alliance box the next war begins. Players can't attack members of their alliance, although they don't have to support them in conflict if they so choose.

One obvious strategy is to get your enemies into your alliance and your friends into the opposing camp.

The game also features a rather unique combat mechanism. Two dice are rolled in combat. The dice are subtracted from one another to calculate the value of the roll. For example, a roll of a 6 and a 4 would be 2 (6 - 4 = 2) a roll of a 3 and a 3 would be a 0 (3 - 3 = 0). Everyone in our group was puzzled trying to calculate the odds. I later found a chart that gives chances of rolling a given number using such a mechanism. Here it is, the odds of rolling a:

0 = 17%
1 = 28%
2 = 22%
3 = 17%
4 = 11%
5 = 6%.

Additionally, any roll that totals a 7 (either by the attacker or defender, winner or loser) causes an extra army to be lost.

SoE is a war game, but it has the feel of a war game that was designed by a guy with a background in German games, which it was. It is a good game, all in all. I really appreciate the thin rule book, which is unusual for a good war game. There are no exceptions to the rules to keep the game historically accurate, yet it has historical flavor.

I suspect we will play several more times in the next few months. If we do, it is a game that interests me enough that I will write a more in depth review.

The current version of Struggle of Empires, by WarFrog games, simply utilizes cardboard chits for game pieces. I understand that Eagle games is reprinting SoE. Eagle is notorious for cool plastic bits and great artwork. WarFrog has a well deserved reputation for poor rules. The game is good enough that the odds are 70/30 I will buy a copy of the Eagle version even though I own the original.

Good gaming
Coldfoot

I don't think that I mentioned that I met John the other day. John is a blogger who lives just down the road from me. He writes Life in Alaska, which I link to in the left-hand column. It is quite funny. He writes from the perspective of someone who moved to Alaska recently. I highly recommend you at least glance at it. I'll wait. Click on it.

The Lick it or Sticket picture from June 15 alone is worth your time, not to mention the Paris Hilton photo and the Alaskan-duct-tape-car-repair-job. It doesn't take much to amuse Alaskans, and the duct-tape-cars with the trash-bag-windows are a pretty common sight.

He is interested in playing some games if our schedules ever match up, Axis and Allies in particular. Now that I won't be driving a cab on the weekend it should be easier to get together.
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Valette, the blogger at squeegie.org, ( I link to it in the left-hand column under Fairbanksan with a camera) got a write up in our local rag. They concentrated on her other site, a pretty standard one that I don't link to, where she blogs about her life.

I think squeegie.org is a good photoblog, and she updates it nearly everyday.
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The Anchorage Miniature Gaming Club is revamping their website. Looks like they are emphasizing board games a little more. Although it is a miniature club they do play a few board games. I have played several with them.

If I lived in Anchorage, I think I could get into playing some miniatures (if I didn't kill myself first). Probably not Warhammer, but real battle reenactment stuff. I have enjoyed watching their games on a few occasions. I was one of the youngest people there and I'm getting grey hair.
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A couple months ago I made the switch from cheap paper money that comes with games to poker chips. It is the best move I have made in a while, if I do say so myself.

I found some poker chips at the game store that have the denominations written on them. This helps address the problem of different games using bills of different denominations, and remembering which colored chips have what value from game to game.

I'm not going to buy any myself, but I know at least one of you was contemplating making the switch but was concerned about remembering which chip was which denomination from game to game. Get a few with denominations printed on them, and some spare colors to fill in the gaps. That should make things easier.
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We've had a lot of rain this year. Blueberries and raspberries are plentiful. I've been picking quite a few with the girls. Dame Koldfoot's job is to turn them into jam.

Even found a sizable patch of strawberries, alas, wild strawberries are tiny and even a large patch produces few berries.

Looks like the cranberry crop will be good, too. Can't pick them until we've had a hard frost.

I remember picking cranberries last year. They grow very low to the ground, it is back breaking work. Wild, low-bush cranberries are much smaller than the ones you have with Thanksgiving dinner. Picked for several hours (by myself), came home, presented the berries to Dame Koldfoot, and she made up a batch of cranberry muffins. A batch of cranberry muffins. All that time spent picking and there was only enough for one batch of muffins.
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Good gaming, or berry picking, as the case may be,
CF

A few of my friends frequently play Napoleonic Wars. It is a straight forward, card-driven wargame with some interesting alliance and diplomacy mechanisms added to it. I was finally able to sit in on a couple games in the last few weeks. First, I played Russia. The game ended on the second round. At the end of each round of play, a die is rolled. If a certain number (6?) is rolled the game ends. The number is dependent upon a couple factors, I am not sure how they figure out the number. Players can each spend a card to increase or decrease the number needed to end the game.

As I was Russia, I was told that I needed to run an army up to Vienna to help out the Austrians, or they would cave in to the French easily. Apparently that is a common strategy, and it seemed logical to me. At the end of the round Austria was weakened, but was still in the game thanks to my army. Austria then proceeded to switch sides and joined with the French.

I now had a large army in hostile territory. I forget just how many ways I was screwed, suffice it to say I was screwed.

The second game I played Russia again. I tried the same strategy, but pumped up my forces a little before sending them off to help the Austrians. I thought it worked well, but my allies were insistent that it was a mistake to wait a turn to move my armies up. Didn't seem to be a mistake to me.

The game ended on a die roll at the end of the first turn. France won again.

My third game I played the Brits. I got diced. France had taken out most of my fleet on his first turn. The dice were not going my way at all. On my turn I took what was left of my fleet and went after what was left of France's. Nothing changed. Luck was not on my side.

The French were able to invade England on the first round. I played a card that took Napoleon out of the game, that gave the French pause, but they pressed the attack.

I had two fleets left and they were both sitting in the English Channel. I was pissed, and used them to go after a French fleet in port. I lost both fleets. I knew I should not have attacked when I did it, but the results were even more disastrous than I had imagined. My allies informed me that, had I kept the fleets, France would likely not have been able to continue moving troops into England.

I was advised that I should just capitulate. I should have. Had I surrendered I would have had kept another key (VP space), and retained a small army. But noooooooooo, I was pissed and fought to the death. I died. France forced Britain into submission anyway.

I spent the next round as a neutral player building up my depleted forces. Prussia sided with Russia, and Austria sided with France. Prussia controlled Turkey.

The game ended at the end of round two. Not on a dice roll, but because France had met some other requirement to win the game.

Fun game. Needs to be played with the right players, though. The rule book is difficult. The errata is voluminous. Definitely an interesting wargame, as long as someone else is teaching it to you.

Good gaming
Coldfoot

I got pissed and walked off my job today. The cab driving job that is. I only do that on the weekend, I have a couple other irons in the fire so I am not totally jobless.

Told the boss that if he fires a certain dispatcher I would come back. I told him a long time ago that if he gets rid of the bad dispatcher I would work more than just weekends. This dispatcher has run off at least 4 other long-time employees, that I know of.

Funny thing is, it wasn't even the dispatcher that irked me. It was his girlfriend, who also drives a cab. Can't separate the two, though. They are like Bill and Hillary, or Boris and Natasha. They come in a pair and won't be separated until one or both go to prison for drug-related charges.

Feels good to just up and quite a job. Everyone should do it at least once in their life.

I like driving a cab, though. It's probably just a bluff on my part. We'll see how I feel in a couple weeks.

I'll post something about games tomorrow. Possibly Napoleonic Wars.

1) Take a moment to pray for the victims and their families.

2) Write your congressman. Tell him to vote to abolish American nuclear weapons.

Surprised I would say that?

What good are they if we aren't going to use them? Our enemies know that we won't use them. They aren't even good for a bluff anymore. They are of no use, whatsoever. They are just expensive pieces of hardware that cost billions of dollars each year to maintain and build.

Start with Damascus. If terrorism continues hit Tehran, then Riyadh, then Islamabad. A few small tactical nukes in the so called "Sunni Triangle" would be a wise investment, as opposed to another dead American soldier or Iraqi policeman or English commuter. After the first one is dropped you would see North Korea change its tune.

Before one more terrorist strikes, either use the weapons at our disposal or dispose of them. We won't win a war on terrorism on the terrorists terms.

Don't fight a politically correct war. Fight to win. The U.S. stood by and did nothing when the World Trade Center was bombed in '93. We did nothing after the African embassies were bombed. Somalia (Blackhawk down), the bombing of Kohbar Towers and the USS Cole, in every instance the U.S. stood by and did nothing.

It wasn't just the Clinton administration that let terrorists have free reign. There was also the Iranian hostage crisis, the Marine barracks bombing, the Achille Laurel, and others. The 747 that went down near Long Island was deemed to be caused by an electrical failure, despite overwhelming evidence that it was brought down with a missile. Reason: The citizenry would have expected the administration to have done something had it been terrorism. An electrical failure wouldn't bring down poll numbers.

The west has a well deserved reputation for being weak. Until we fight to win we deserve that reputation and will make no progress against the fascist, Muslim terrorists.

Edit: Does anyone doubt that we would probably not retaliate with a nuclear weapon if the terrorists struck us with one? It would be too politically incorrect to respond even if we could trace the terrorrists back to a certain country.

Get rid of the useless nuclear weapons and use the money to buy more armored Humvees, and bullet proof vests if we aren't serious about winning the war.

Sunday morning saw us playing several games, none of which I remember. I taught a group to play In the Shadow of the Emperor just before lunch. The game was met with a yawn. I think 2 of the guys may have liked it, but the third left no doubt that he disliked it.

At about 1 p.m. we had to cut the game short in order to get to the rafting trip. If you should find yourself in Denali Park and want to do some whitewater rafting Denali Outdoor Center is a good choice. According to the website they also do guided mountain bike trips, kayaking, etc.

We went on the 2 hour trip. I understand that the 4 hour trip doesn't have any more rapids, it just starts further up stream and lasts longer. For those of you familiar with Alaska geography, we put in above the park entrance and ended in Healy. Healy is about a half hour drive from the park. We made it in a raft in 2 hours. The water is quite swift.

Short background note. Feel free to skip this paragraph. I hate hot weather. Anything above 62 F. is hot in my book. I moved to Alaska to get away from hot weather. Were it not for my wife I would move from Fairbanks to the coast because we get 30+ days each year of 70 degree weather here in Fairbanks. That is a little too hot for me. I can handle the cold. -50 is is no picnic, but it is better than +80.

Resume reading. The source of the Nenana river is about 90 miles upstream from Denali park. The source is a glacier. The water is cold, about 36 F. Dry suits were a necessary evil for the trip. The weather was sunny and warm when we put on the dry suits. They recommend you wear warm clothes under the dry suits. Fortunately, I was smart enough to ignore this advice.

For those of you who have never been in a dry suit, let me explain. They are intended to be water proof. They are thick rubber suits. They are very tight around the neck. They are very tight around the wrists. Boots are connected to the suit. The sun was shining, and I had a life vest on over the dry suit that was tighter than any life vest I have ever worn in my life.

I was dying from the heat. We then got on the bus to drive up river to the spot where we started the trip. It was a school bus. All the windows were up. No one else put down a window. I took the liberty of putting down my neighbor's windows without consulting them. I was ready to die from the heat and uncomfortable suit.

As we were getting our rafting-safety-lecture on the bank of the river I edged on out into the water. I was trying to at least get my legs wet enough to cool off. I splashed water on my face. No luck. I was seriously considering not getting on the raft.

I am glad I stuck it out and took the trip. We got sprayed pretty well in the first rapids. That helped a lot. It then started to rain. What a life saver. The rest of the trip was quite enjoyable... for me. The people from Arkansas nearly froze to death.

When we got back I was able to play Candamir: The First Settlers, the latest game from Herr Teuber. Another fellow had brought the game and I was eager to play. In Candamir players travel through forests, meadows and mountains collecting ingredients for herbal potions, and resources. Herbs can be used in various combinations to brew concoctions to help you on your adventures. Resources are used to gain victory points. The resemblance to Settlers is just about nil. There is a trading phase during each player's turn, but there is generally little trading, I would say trading is on a par with the Settlers Card game.

Candamir is one of the few German games I have played that I didn't first have to buy. I am glad. I thought the game's theme was excellent, I thought it was theoretically a good game. The only bad thing I can say about it is that it lasts too long, waaaaaay to long. I will not be buying it because of that. I won't be buying it anytime soon, anyway.

Monday was a short day. Check out time was 11 a.m. We broke camp and played another game of Shadows Over Camelot until noon. Most people left on Sunday night. Those of us who stayed until Monday were the same ones who arrived on Friday night.

This game of SOC was a four player game. One of the players hadn't played the first game, luckily he wasn't the traitor. Although the traitor did win we gave him a run for his money. Toward the end of the game it became apparent we loyal knights couldn't win, but the game was engaging enough that we kept playing with enthusiasm. I am rather impressed with Shadows Over Camelot. I find it to be much better than Knizia's Lord of the Rings.

LotR is a cooperative game in the same vein as SOC. The two are often compared. I never cared for the Knizia game. Other than the cooperative aspect, I find the two games to have little else in common. Yes, both game require card-play. So what? Settlers of Catan requires card play, as does Bridge. The two games have nothing in common.

I apologize for not having better pictures. I took a few pictures between rain showers. I kept hoping the next day would be a better day for taking pictures. It just never happened. These are some of the few pictures I took over the weekend.

Early stages of TI3. Note the start of a bald spot on the right.

View from the campground.

The Nenana River. The river we rafted.

Some of the cabins.

I'm the fat guy who can't keep my shirt tucked in. Hey... It was camping. I showered and brushed my teeth, I even walked down the trail a piece to fart. Screw the rest.

6 player Catan. The winner is wearing the shades.

Shadow of the Emperor

This last weekend was the inaugural Alaska game weekend, and it was a blast. We held it at a private campground near Denali Park. If any of you find yourself near Denali Park in need of lodging I can whole heartedly recommend Grizzly Bear Campground . We rented a few tent sites and one cabin with running water and a shower. The cabin was much nicer than most hotel rooms of similar price.

The weather was cloudy with frequent rain showers, but we were well equipped to deal with a little rain. Not only did we game in the cabin, one guy brought a portable tent-gazebo and it did a marvelous job of keeping us dry, as well as keeping the bugs at bay. The campground also has numerous shelters/awnings available that serve to keep campers dry and functioned very well as a gaming shelter.

I think 15 adults and 8 kids came and went over the weekend. Two guys could only be there on Saturday and several others were only there Saturday and Sunday. We picked up 1 person who was only there for the whitewater raft trip.

I had intended to bring a dozen or fifteen games. I brought closer to 40. Others brought more than they had planned. There was definitely no shortage of games.

Myself and a few others arrived on Friday afternoon. We played some 6 player Catan, and I'm the Boss as well as numerous 2-player games that first evening. A couple arrived late Saturday night. The female half of the couple isn't a gamer, although she likes Settlers, so on Saturday morning we played more 6-player Catan and King Me!.

We moved to the cabin just before noon Saturday, that is when many other gamers started to arrive. I participated in a 7-player game of "Shadows over Camelot" that afternoon. It was a learning game for all of us, but I was impressed. The traitor had some trouble figuring out how he was supposed to screw the rest of the group. His frequent questions made his identity known fairly early in the game, but it was still a good learning game. The loyal knights were able to win, although it was a real horse-race right up to the end of the game. It was much better than Knizia's "Lord of the Rings", which is the game that Camelot is consistently compared to.

I forget what I played after that, nor am I sure what other games were going on that afternoon, but we started Twilight Imperium 3 at about 6:00 that evening. We had one kid and a newbie playing, although they did well they slowed the game down a little. We had to call the game after 6 rounds at 1 a.m. We were playing the game outdoors in the tent-gazebo. Since it doesn't usually get dark in central Alaska until the end of August no one thought to bring a lantern. That night was particularly overcast and rainy. Although it was light enough that we could struggle through the game had we chosen to, it was almost too dark to read the text on the political and action cards. I was in good shape militarily, but I didn't have enough victory points to win the game. I had the "8" card taken away from me due to a political vote the one time I was able to acquire it. I think the kid tied with the newbie for the lead at the end of the game.

Tomorrow: Whitewater Rafting, Candamir, and Camelot pt. II. Plus some pictures if I can find the camera.

Had a freakin' blast. I was very pleased to hear others talk about doing it again next year.

I just got home. I need to unload my camping gear, take a shower in my own bathroom, take a nap and generally unwind.

Look for details in upcoming days. Hope you had a good Fourth of July weekend.