Archive for the ‘gaming’ Category

If it’s 6 a.m. and I’m not blogging Morning Joe…

Posted: March 11, 2009 by datechguy in gaming
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…it’s because I got home late from game night. We finally had 6 guys so we played the Anniversary edition of Axis and allies. Very long game and we didn’t finish. We will try to pick it from from next week. The Russian Bear is teetering, Both the US and England have developed Shipyard improvement and German paratroopers are now wreaking havoc. Even Italy is making it’s presence felt.

The new version is very interesting I like the addition of Italy and the re-done Map. It’s a first rate game but I don’t think it was worth the $100 Ken paid for it. Although I’ve got to admit the pieces are awesome. The tanks and ships correspond to the nation that produces them. For example for the British their fighter planes are spitfires, for the Germans their artillery are 88’s etc etc etc. It’s a lot of chrome but you pay for it.

Talisman City an easy adaption

Posted: March 1, 2009 by datechguy in gaming
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Was over a friend’s house who had the old talisman game including Talisman City and Talisman Dungeon.

Since the new set doesn’t yet have these expansions I wondered if there was a simple way to adapt them to the current game.

Since both the city and the Dungeon use their own cards on their own boards that solves one problem.

There are several spaces where your character can be augmented: The Magic Emporium can make you the High Mage. The King can appoint you Sheriff, you might end up as the King’s Champion or the Master Thief. Simply keep your figure and add the additional card.

On the board there are of course no items that can give you fate. You can handle this three ways:

You can ignore fate altogether

You can at the enchantress’ location use the Timescape roll as a way to increase increase fate.

You can on any roll of 6 on a single die or twelve on two dice and roll another die on 5 or 6 gain one fate.

The final problem is how to add the Dungeon Door cards and the patrol and the ferry, again there are three ways to handle it.

Blank or alignment cards can be used and converted to watch ferry or patrol cards.

Bag of Gold cards can be altered to add at least one each of the three cards to the deck.

Shuffle the dungeon, patrol and ferry adventure cards into their own mini deck. Each time you draw a standard adventure card roll three dice. On a Roll of 3,4 or 18 draw from the mini deck

Hopefully the talisman people will quickly come out with a proper city expansion but until then this will do.

City rules are here.

While writing this post I was pleased to discover that Fantasy Flight Games will shortly be releasing a Talisman Dungeon expansion:

talismandungeonWill you have the strength to take on the Lord of Darkness? Do you have the skill to avoid the traps filling the corridors within the dungeon? Be sure to check back as our own expeditionary party has journeyed to this haunted dungeon, and if they return, will be bringing back tales of the horrors found within the halls of the Dungeon.

Some other great shots at Talisman Island just keep scrolling. Hopefully the city expansion is not far behind.

When we last left our intrepid heroes…

Posted: February 27, 2009 by datechguy in gaming
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…My old friend the rightwinggamer fills us in on his D&D campaign:

The Campaign: A home-brewed world which grows adventure by adventure. No real map to it as I didn’t really feel like it, and it sort of changed in scope as I continued. So far the players claim to be having fun, and I hope that is the case. It is a Polytheistic world, which means many religions, and in some cases, it’s a farce of many different games, since the idea isn’t really sticking to the rules, or being so deep that we must obey, but having fun. Elements of World of Warcraft, Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends, and several other influences have filled the game.

He is playing version 3.5. I’m an old foggy and still prefer version 1.0 or 2.0 if I play at all. In the last adventure I was running we saw the consequences of Christianity being introduced into a D&D world but that campaign has been suspended for a year. But enough of the past, if you are interested in a current D&D adventure read on.

Sunday Random thoughts

Posted: February 22, 2009 by datechguy in baseball, employment, fun, gaming, personal
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I have a job interview tomorrow. The big grey beard is now gone so perhaps the extra 10 years it seems to add to me being shed will help.

Also got a letter from somewhere that I interviewed back in December. Was expecting a straight rejection but instead was informed the position was placed on hold. With endowments drying up I expect a lot more of this.

Today is Washington’s Birthday. Powerline reminds us of a person who actually deserved the amazing praise a nation gave him looks like.

Was at the dollar store day before yesterday picked up The Stark Truth a book on the most over and underrated players in Baseball history. It appears to be the best buck I’ve ever spent on a hardcover book.

Today’s sermon at Mass was one of the most solid I’ve heard in a while. It was on how Christianity is the religion of positive affirmation not waffling. You are obliged not to waffle on belief and morality. Christians and Catholics sometimes forget this.

Romano’s Market has finally entered the 21st century as their web site has gone up written by the young lady at the register who is majoring at Com Si at a local college.

Speaking of Romano’s they are getting ready for the annual St. Patrick’s day Corned Beef rush. That little place will go though thousands of pounds of corned beef and they work like dogs to get it all ready.

Next door to Romano’s is the Ole Time Luncheonette. I mentioned this place before, it actually opened it the middle of the power outages and the ice storms. The last three days they have been packed. The two ladies and their husband that run the place are there seven days. Drive 25 miles to get there and work hard. I sure hope this keeps up. They deserve it.

And their Fish and chips is the best in town. Just in time for Lent.

Speaking of Restaurants, one of my favorites the Boarder Bar and Grille in Leominster. I was informed by a friend that their appetizers (with minor exceptions) are half price weekdays between 3-6 p.m. and after 9 p.m. as well. As they are rather filling I think this will be the way we manage to hit the place every now and then with money tight.

Do you know the sound the plastic container of Hershey Syrup makes when my son is trying to squeeze the last bit out is exactly the same as the sound of my cat coughing up a hairball? We never had that problem with the old cans.

This story at Gateway Pundit about Witchcraft being the fastest growing religion in the country reminded me of this quote from the Screwtape letters:

I have high hopes that we shall learn in due time how to emotionalise and mythologise their science to such an extent that what is, in effect, belief in us, (though not under that name) will creep in while the human mind remains closed to the Enemy [God]. The “Life Force,” the worship of sex, and some aspects of Psychoanalysis may here prove useful. If once we can produce our perfect work–the Materialist Magician, the man, not using, but veritably worshipping, what he vaguely calls “Forces” while denying the existence of “spirits”–then the end of the war will be in sight.

My witch friends (and I mean that literally) might dispute this; but a lot of people are making large mistakes that they will regret for the rest of their deaths.

And if you like Screwtape and John Cleese you just have to find his reading of the Screwtape letters on tape. He is perfect in the role. We sampled it on this post. Four of them on youtube here.

Speaking of error not two days after my son decided on Fitchburg State College we were surprised to get a letter from the Bishop of Worcester recommending Anna Maria. In view of my visit I was astounded and have typed a response. I’ll post it in full after it is mailed and received. I will give you a taste:

We were very excited when Sam was accepted at Anna Maria and even more excited when they offered the largest (in dollars) scholarship of any of the nine colleges that have accepted and attempted to recruit him. We looked forward to the visit to the college and felt pleased that it would expand both his faith and his educational horizons.

Then we actually visited the college.

The rest they say is history.

We are coming closer and closer to the opening of the baseball season. We are also two weeks away from the World baseball classic. I think I must be the only guy who thinks the latter is worthwhile.

The Red Sox open against the Devil Rays. Two years ago that wouldn’t be much of a deal. Now this has a chance to grow to a mini-Sox Yankees as these teams just plain don’t like each other.

And wasn’t that series in the playoffs just first rate?

Played a game called In a Pickle. It was cute but I wouldn’t recommend it with 8 as it is rated for 6. It’s not a bad party game but I don’t think I’d buy it.

And I have a bigotry against games that de-emphasize winning in the rules.

I don’t think I will ever get sick of watching Ken Burns series “The Civil War.”

I don’t think I will ever not be sick of reality TV. If I wanted reality I get plenty of it every day.

And finally we’ve had days of the media nonsense attacking the New York Post on a cartoon that has absolutely nothing to do with race. Now the NAACP has gotten involved and are talking real nonsense. There was a time when the NAACP was the one of the most respected organizations in the US. Their hyperbole shows that those days are long gone.

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