Eroudeville Turn 30

Things are happening very fast right now. The tanks have fully driven off my artillery spotter that was in the church. That has left the fire mission incomplete! It’s hanging there until someone finishes the spotting. Even though other command units can see where the rounds need to go I can’t end this mission and start another one. I need to get that last radioman somewhere he can see the final few rounds. Otherwise, the US Infantry Right will have enough fire support to enact an assault of my Entrenchment.

The lead tank rounds the corner, and my anti-tank gun at the Entrenchment opens up. 

The .50 cal coaxial on the bow of the lead Sherman rakes the trenches while the two big guns square off.

There’s a flurry of rounds exchanged and the Germans get the first hit on target, landing one on the upper front hull. I receive a message that I’ve penetrated their armor, but they don’t slow down!

Eroudeville Turn 28

I promised a bit of an overview last time, so let me do that while I bring you fully up to speed.

Aerial view of the Eroudeville map. North is down.

Shuttles and Guns

"I used to be somebody."

Such amazing writing today in my Twitter feed that I had to gush a bit. At The Atlantic Ian Bogost wrote a piece that perhaps only he could write. As a child of the Shuttle program, both chronologically and literally (he was an instructor at Space Camp), he has seen the glory and man’s achievement in space hollowed out and monetized. So much less now the journey to the frontier, now merely the incremental income of tawdry sales to be made. No longer the four year mission of the Enterprise, but an enterprise to justify itself.

“Elon Musk will take over the task of shipping sewage pumps and waste processing units and air filtration systems to the [International Space Station]. Richard Branson will sell Justin Bieber and Mitt Romney tickets past the Kármán line. Eventually, inevitably, Mark Zuckerberg will slip a bill to the surly bonds of earth and start his own space enterprise, just to keep up with the Rothschilds.”

His point of view throughout the piece is wistful, sad, melancholic. But it is also biting, sardonic, contemptuous. You can almost imagine the Shuttles gathering around the high-topped tables in a dark, smokey bar, their fedoras tilted ever so slightly to cover their aging foreheads. And like sad Willy Lomans they rise, take up their coat and case, and shuffle off down the street.

Ian is there, alone in a corner unobserved, the only man who sees and is proud of them for what they wanted to be--not what they have been reduced to.

Across the internet at The Wall Street Journal Yannick LeJacq places Borderlands 2 into proper historical context. The game transcends the irony of the genre, and it should be recognized for doing so. His piece is deep and thoughtful, if not concise then as thorough an analysis as you'll find on a game of any type. I would have never guessed that Kill Screen would do some of their best work at WSJ, but there you have it.

Both pieces today are real treats for me, learning experiences in research and composition, tone and grace. Something to aspire to. Bravo gents.

Playlist: Sept 24 through Oct 1

Lots on my plate at the moment, but nothing particularly pressing. While I wait for Swampy's next turn in our CM:BN campaign (SPOILERS: He just got a tank platoon reinforcement!), I'm working on a few things for publication.

I've received a copy of Mayfair's latest reprint of A House Divided. I'm excited to crack it open and see how it plays. It's much more traditional than I'm used to. I'll be writing that up at ArmchairGeneral.com soon.

Also in the mail is Zombicide. I've heard good things, but I'm still put off by the $90 price tag. Also hoping to get another zombie themed board game in for review, but I'm keeping the identity of that title under my hat for now. Both games are for a review I'm putting together in honor of the next season of The Walking Dead TV show.

On my computer I'm still working my way through Black Mesa. If you've not downloaded this game yet you're doing yourself a disservice. It's a thoughtful re-imagining of HL1 and it's incredibly well done. Look for my thoughts, hopefully, on GWJ soon.

It's been a while since I finished a book, so I picked up Fiasco at the Naperville Public Library for $1. It should prove to be a nice companion to my passion project, learning to play GMT's Labyrinth well enough to teach it. I'm 50 pages into the book and I already want to punch Paul Wolfowitz in the throat.

Eroudevile Turn 22

For over a year now I've been playing a campaign of Combat Mission: Battle For Normandy with SwampYankee from the GWJ forums. That's not a typo. It's a slow game when you play by email. I'll fill you in on what's happened so far in a later post. For now, let's get you up to speed on our latest battle for Eroudeville.

In short, the Americans are trying to punch through my lines. From the northwest to the southeast their column of mechanized infantry is trying to dig deep into German lines. My job for the last two battles has been to stop them, and this engagement is no different. Except it's a huge battle, easily twice as long as any we've fought so far. We join the action with my scout teams along the eastern flank running a delaying action with MG support.