Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is one of the best pieces of cinema made in all of human history. What are some of the signs to alert viewers of the film’s magnificence?

Jonathan shares 5 signs that show this is a great film.

5 Signs A New Hope is a Great Film

1. Great example of the myth of the hero
2. Han shot first!
3. Sets the stage for the entire Star Wars universe.
4. One of the greatest soundtracks (affiliate link) in the history of film
5. Groundbreaking special effects

You’ll want to check out Jonathan’s other podcast: Wargaming Recon, a historical wargaming podcast with new episodes on the 2nd & 4th Monday of each month.

Be sure to tell your friends about Geeks Explicitly. You can contact us by e-mailing GeeksExplicitly@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter @GeeksExplicitly, or Like our Facebook page.

Also, listen to us on iTunes!

Many thanks to Jeremy Kostiew for creating our logo. Check out his work at MightyNightGaunt.com.

If you like Geeks Explicitly, then you’re sure to like the other shows on the Troll in the Corner Podcast Network.

Our intro song is “I Wish I Were” by Matthew Ebel. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

This podcast is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Noble Knight Games.

Yesterday evening marked a banner evening for me. Not only did I get to do some development on a new game, but I also got to play in an RPG, something I haven’t done in far too long.

To add even more to the interesting factor, I was playing Welcome to the Meat Parade, an experimental game systems that’s being publicly developed by you, me and anyone else who wants to dip their hands in.

Brent, who you know from this site, has taken a very active roll in this project and hosted the first play test a few weeks ago. He hosted this one as well and recorded it via Hangouts Live for posterity sake. Here it is!

Welcome to the Meat Parade is a tabletop role-playing game actively developed by the public. It’s set in a post-scarcity world, about 60 seconds after all the AIs that control everything leave the planet. The singularity has happened and the machines left us out of it. Now it’s up to the billions of remaining people to try and squeeze out a living in a world gone mad.

The Rules: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17…

The first playtest (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cZPf…

Ben’s character: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R…
Brent’s character: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t…
Brian’s character: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1L…

But of course, I’m still going to game.

So this week, my question for all of you is:

What games do you play when you are tired?

These aren’t the moments to try large-scale worker placement games or area control games.

This isn’t the time to try to play a quick round of Twilight Struggle. (That was a joke. My last game of Twilight Struggle went a brutal 6-7 hours.)

 Games I play when my mind is overloaded and my body should probably be sleeping instead:

Guillotine

What it is:

A card game where you send nobles to the chopping block.

The goal:

You get points by executing the best known nobles.

How you play:

You play cards that allow you to rearrange the order of the nobles that are ready for execution, allowing you to collect “Marie Antoinette” (5 pts) while your opponent collects “Hero of the People” (-3 pts).

Why it works when I’m tired:

The game-play is somewhat basic, but still entertaining.  And one of the cards is called “Piss Boy”.

Why I still lose:

I’m not good at basic math and am much worse at it when I’m tired.

Pick-a-Pig / Nerts / Dutch Blitz

What they are:

Speed-based games where cards have to be picked up or played rapidly.

The goal:

Playing the most cards in the shortest amount of time.

How you play:

Nerts (using regular playing cards) and Dutch Blitz work off similar ideas. You play cards in ascending order in the center of the table in order to remove them from your playing area. Both games benefit if a specific talent:

If you can quickly play solitaire while a children’s birthday party is attacking a piñata over your head (and then candy and confetti drop in front of your line of vision while you continue playing solitaire at a breakneck pace) then you will excel at this game.

It should be mentioned that I’ve played this game with a large number of people that have “house rules” where players get punched or pushed over for misplaying cards. This is like adding weapons to a video game where you win by rolling a monster truck over a line of small cars. It is wholly unnecessary, but somehow makes it even better.

Pick-a-Pig (and its twin brother, “Pick a Dog“) work using a different principle. In these games you have to grab as many cards in sequence as you can, and if you make a mistake you lose all your cards from that round of play.

Why they all work when I’m tired:

The gameplay is simple, and if I can achieve a zen-like calm in a general area of destruction I can excel at it.

Why I still lose:

I’m not coordinated. I’m easily distracted. I don’t like being punched.

Pick-a-Pig, leaning leisurely against some much-needed coffee

Smash-Up

What it is:

A “shuffle-building” game where you mix two different staples of geek mythology and then fight against opponent(s) who have done the same thing.

That’s a complex way of saying that yesterday my Ghost-Pirates beat the tar of a merry band of Steampunk-Ninjas.

The goal:

Points are scored mainly by playing cards on central cards, called “bases”.

Why it works when I’m tired:

It is oodles of fun, and even if you’re losing it gives you the chance to realize that Alien-Killer Plants might be a great combo if your opponent is using the Zombie-Dinosaurs.

Why I still lose:

I don’t pay enough attention to how many points my opponent has and give them the victory by scoring a base. (A situation where I score the most points for placing first on a base, but where my opponent is able to win by placing second on that same base.)

Is this your card?

Love Letter

What it is:

A game of bluffing and deduction played using 16 cards.

The goal:

Getting a love letter to the princess by holding the highest value card possible at the end of the round.

Why it works when I’m tired:

It only has 16 cards.

Why I still lose:

I’ll quote the Political Mastermind:

“Jon! why are you guessing that anyone still has the Baron in their hands when both of them are already on the table! think!”

In other words: when I’m tired my already bad powers of deduction and observation become laughably bad.

So…

What games do you play when you are tired?

Aaron Bostian blogging at the Fancy Wars.

Aaron shares the many ways that he gives back in his community. Jonathan discusses the 3 mile walk he is doing on May 18, 2013 to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis. You can DONATE HERE.

We also discuss:

• Listener Richard Crawley from the U.K. has his latest e-mail read on how he’s given back.
• 100th episode plans
• You can Sponsor an Episode for $5. Get full details here
• Some listeners have problems downloaded Wargaming Recon on their Apple mobile devices with the Apple Podcasts App. We suggest using a different app like Pocket Casts ($1.99 for iOS, Lite version is FREE).

Sites Aaron mentioned or meant to mention:

• Junior General – Features simple historical wargaming scenarios designed for students along with paper models and terrain.
• Fancy Wars – Aaron’s blog with his French & Indian Wars inspired Imagi-nation campaign.
• Big Brothers, Big Sisters – Officially sanctioned American non-profit organization whose mission is to help children reach their potential through professional supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors. They are one of the oldest and largest youth mentoring organizations that spans the U.S.
• International Games Day @ Your Library – Gaming of all types at the library encourages young people to interact with a diverse group of peers, share their expertise with others, and develop new strategies for gaming and learning.
• Historicon – If you need to ask what this is, why are you listening to our show? Just kidding.

Troll in the Corner Podcast Network

Wargaming Recon belongs to the Troll in the Corner Podcast Network (TCPN). You may like some of the other shows on the network.

Indie Talks – bi-monthly on Wednesdays covering independent games, film, television. Includes many interviews. Hosted by Trollitc owner Ben Gerber.

Geeks Explicitly – weekly on Thursdays covering geek life, movies, gaming, and more. Hosted by Jonathan J. Reinhart.

Monsters of the Shattered World – monthly on the last Saturday. Story of a young scholar encountering strange animals on another world.

– monthly on the 2nd Monday. A podcast that discusses parenting as geeks and using those skills to raise the next generation of awesome people.

Promos for the TCPN podcasts appear at the end of the show. Many thanks to Jeremy Kostiew, Troll ITC’s logo designer, for the amazing logos. Check out his portfolio at MightyNightGaunt.com

12-7-Games.com Proudly Sponsors Wargaming Recon

Need gaming supplies? Please consider our sponsor, 12-7-Games.com.

BlueHost Affiliate Signup

I want to send out a special word of thanks to the folks behind the following domains that were used to create a new hosting account with BlueHost with my Blue Host affiliate link recently. As you know, I earn a commission each time someone clicks through my link to sign up with Blue Host. So thank you!

Accounts that were created recently:
- Why not consider Blue Host for your web hosting needs (affiliate link)?

Note: The fact that I have linked to these accounts is only to acknowledge that these folks have used my affiliate link to create a hosting account with BlueHost. These links are not an endorsement of any content that may be posted to these sites. If you ever recognize content blatantly offensive at any of these links, please let me know and I will be sure to evaluate and consider if the link should be removed from this post. These accounts are all brand new and may not be active yet. Also, it is possible that some of these domains were previously owned and my not have been transfered to BlueHost just yet.

Penny for Your Thoughts

We hope you enjoy this episode of Wargaming Recon and welcome your feedback. Send it all to:

• cwfgamecast@wargamingforums.com (Audio files welcome)
• Leave Voicemail: (347) 470-4263
• Find us on Facebook
• Twitter
• Stitcher Radio
• Send a Voicemail (free, you only need a microphone and computer).

Our intro song is “Downtown” by Matthew Ebel. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

This recording is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.

Prison Architect is a fun and challenging game.  It is currently in Alpha but is a stable and enjoyable game for Windows and Mac OSX.

Jonathan apologizes in this episode for confusion he caused last time.  The Ray Harryhausen episode was mistakenly referred to as Episode 39.  It is actually episode 38.  This Prison Architect episode is #39.  Please accept our apologies.

5 Reasons to Play Prison Architect

1. It’s Addicting
2. It’s Nuanced.
3. It’s Pretty.
4. It’s Challenging
5. It’s Evolving.

Also discussed:

On May 18, 2013 Jonathan will walk 3 miles to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  His little cousin Gracie was born with CF and she is a huge inspiration.  If you can afford to do so please consider making a donation.

You’ll want to check out Jonathan’s other podcast: Wargaming Recon, a historical wargaming podcast with new episodes on the 2nd & 4th Monday of each month.

Be sure to tell your friends about Geeks Explicitly. You can contact us by e-mailing GeeksExplicitly@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter @GeeksExplicitly, or Like our Facebook page.

Also, listen to us on iTunes!

Many thanks to Jeremy Kostiew for creating our logo. Check out his work at MightyNightGaunt.com.

If you like Geeks Explicitly, then you’re sure to like the other shows on the Troll in the Corner Podcast Network.

Our intro song is “I Wish I Were” by Matthew Ebel. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

This podcast is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Noble Knight Games.

********************************************************************

Portown by Adrian Ricker

So, tell us a little bit about yourself and your history with art in games and RPGs.

I’ll start by saying my interest in tabletop RPGs was something that came to me later in life. My earlier years were dominated by just a simple interest in Sci-fi and Fantasy. The Lord of the Rings novels were read to me by my father as bedtime stories before I could even read. I was already drawing at the time. My elementary school friends and I would spend our free time in the library drawing silly monsters and cartoons.

It was around this time that I also found videogames. Games like Final Fantasy 4, Chrono Trigger, and Earthbound showed me a whole new world of artwork and storytelling. This time, however, I could participate. It was exciting have my own agency over exploring dungeons, fighting monsters, and saving the world.

I really started taking my artwork more seriously in high school, and I ultimately ended up in college going for a fine arts degree in painting. Now, you would think that with my interest in storytelling, fantasy, sci-fi, and video games would naturally lead me to RPGs, right? Actually, it wasn’t until I was several years into finishing my degree that my friend invited me to play D&D with him.

It was through playing games like this throughout the rest of my art education that helped me focus my work into what it is now. Games that force you to use your imagination to create whole worlds, characters, and monsters helped me overcome the dreaded “fear of the blank canvas”. Ultimately, my influence from games and comics helped me understand how I wanted to use my art: as a tool to tell stories and communicate with people.

What’s your favourite system to play? Is there a setting/system you love making art for in particular? What is it about this world/system that inspires you?

I hope I don’t disappoint because I’ve only ever played D&D 3.5, with the exception of one long campaign I played in the Iron Kingdom setting. So I only really have experience with d20 systems.

Mech Pilot by Adrian Ricker

Do you prefer to GM or play as a PC? Do you find this affects your art?

As of now, I have only ever played. The game masters I’ve played under really understood the importance of being a good storyteller, and knowing how to make the world both exciting and engaging for the players. This helps spark my imagination, and makes me want to detail out everything about my character. Of course, this includes lots of drawings.

If I ever run a game I can easily see myself going a little overboard with detailing out maps and concept art for all of the locations and landscapes.

Do you find yourself more drawn to drawing locations or people? Do you have them fleshed out before you bring pencil to paper (to use an old idiom) or do the ideas and the image kind of grow side by side?

You know, I spent the longest time being very intimidated by working on locations, landscapes, cityscapes, etc. I’ll still choose to draw a person over a cityscape most of the time. That said, I quickly learned even the most interesting character is boring without an interesting setting to place them in.

I’ll always have a general idea of what I want before I start to draw, but I found that “thinking with your pencil” is really the best way to make sure your art is communicating clearly. At least for me, drawing takes some serious trial and error to look the way I want.

What’s your preferred medium to work with? Do you work digitally, on paper or some mix?

I work purely digitally the majority of the time. It allows me to streamline each step of the process and quickly get images from concept to completed works. I’ll still draw with pencil on paper from time to time when sketching things out, but I’ll always bring it into photoshop at some point.

How much time would you say you spend in a week making art? How much time in a week would you say you spend gaming?

Oh man, it depends on the week. On an average week I probably only spend 3-5 hours on games, and at least 15-20 hours on drawing. That said, if a new game comes out it definitely cuts into my work time more than I would like to admit. I can definitely jump right into marathon mode and play games for 30+ hours a week. Conversely, when deadlines are around the corner I am very capable of delaying any gaming until the deadline has passed. It works well as a reward to motivate myself.

Lava Monster by Adrian Ricker

Are there any trends, either genre-wise or technique-wise that you’re seeing in RPG/game art that you’re enjoying now? Is there anything you want to see more of or things you don’t like?

Honestly, as much as I like fantasy novels and D&D, the Tolkien-like fantasy setting is oh-so-quickly being run into the ground. Thankfully, I’m seeing more and more fantasy settings branching off into their own sub-genres that have exciting twists to keep it interesting. Steampunk is the most popular example of this that I can think of, but I’m excited to see what people will imagine in the near future.

Whose art do you like the most? Whose art would you say has influenced you or do you try to emulate?

Goodness. This is a doozy of a question. It’s really hard to pin down my influence to a few people, but for the sake of brevity I’ll omit all of my mentors and teachers I’ve had throughout the years and only mention those that everyone can access.

In regards to well rendered concept art of characters and environments, it’s hard for me not to mention Matt Kohr. He runs the website ctrlpaint.com which provides not just amazing art tutorials for rendering, but tools and exercises to help you keep motivated and inspired.
Additionally, pretty much everyone on CGhub provides amazing inspiration as well.

As far as comics go, there are plenty of artist that I think do an amazing job telling a visual story. Some currently working comic artists that I think do amazing work are Brandon Graham, James Stokoe, Becky Cloonan, Taiyo Matsumoto, and Takehiko Inoue. Just to name a few.

Scorcerer by Adrian Ricker

What tools do you use to make art? What tools/items do you need to game?

For me, art making requires a comfy seat, some coffee or tea, and some time to spend with my tablet in photoshop. I’ll pop some music or a podcast on and get crackin’.

As far as gaming goes, my GM always kept the game loose. He would always just sit us down together and start telling his story. He would provide maps when necessary, or draw up a visual for certain things, but for the most part he wanted us to be engaged with our minds. So I suppose all I really need for a good session to game is a group of friends.

What projects have you worked on in the past? Can you tell us what you’re currently working on or have in the queue?

I’ve done a few short comic projects, the longest of which is called Gwen and the Green Thief. Please keep an eye on my website and tumblr for the next few months. I’ll be dumping concept art and character designs for my next comic project very soon!

Are there any pieces you’re particularly proud of? A favourite character you managed to pin down or something really funny/touching/dramatic you captured?

I’m going to have to say my short comic Gwen and the Green Thief. It’s hard because it’s been almost 2 years now since I drew it, so it’s easy to look back and criticize the imperfections. Beyond that, though, It was the first thing I made for myself after I graduated. Working on it helped me through the uncertainty of post-grad life. It helped me solidify in my mind what I wanted to do with my art. The comic itself it pretty silly, but It holds sentimental value to me.

Cactus Concept by Adrian Ricker

Okay, there are two images that I have to ask about. Cactus Man. What is the story behind him? And the Sailor Senshi with guns. This is awesome and I want to know why it exists.

Haha, I wish I had an interesting story behind him. The Cactus character was going to be a protagonist for a short comic that ended up being scrapped. In short, it was about a man who fused his DNA with a cactus in order to survive in the desert. I fiddled with it for a while, but the story never really got its legs. I ended up really liking the design, though.

The Sailor Senshi image just started as an idea that I was doodling as a warm up drawing one day. I’ve had a strange relationship with that show. When that show was airing I remember trying to be a tough guy around my friends. You know, saying dumb little boy stuff like,”That show is for little girls” or the ever-so-critical “It sucks!”. Whenever I went home, though, I would pretty much watch it religiously. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I really ended up remembering that whole little experience. In a weird way, I guess it sort of symbolizes how even though it was a pretty girly and feminine show, I thought it was pretty bad-ass.

What would be a dream job/commission?

This might be the hardest question for me, so I’ll keep it simple.

I feel like that’s a bit naive saying this, but I would be happy to get to the point that I’m making as much money doing artwork as I am at my day job. Being able to truly focus on my artwork is the only thing I can say for certain about what I want.

When you’re not making art or gaming, what are you doing?

I spend a rather unfortunate amount of time at a day job. But hey, the money lets me do my art and game!
Other than that, I try to read. I think understanding how to use language to tell a story is just as important as telling one visually. It’s definitely a skill I need to work on.

Outfit Design by Adrian Ricker

Do you have any advice for people who are trying to find artists to hire? To artists trying to get their work out there?

The most important thing for both parties is to be clear with your goals, and clear with your communication. If you are hiring someone, you should know beforehand what you are looking for and seek artists to fit that need. Nobody wants the wrong person for a job, and nobody wants to be the wrong person for a job. From an artist’s perspective, the most refreshing clients are ones that will tell you exactly what they want and keep open lines of communication throughout the process. I am happy to make changes and work with a client. I’m less thrilled when clients email me the day of a deadline with changes, after I hadn’t heard from them for a week.

As for artists:
Always be creating. Every piece you make should be one of your best. Even when practicing, try out new techniques, emulate artist you like, see what you can adapt to your own work. It’s through this constant trial and error we find our abilities that will set us apart, and make our work attractive to prospective employers.

You must also be someone people want to work with. The artistic community is just that, a community. If you are friendly, polite, and make yourself open to meeting new people and having new experiences, then people will be more inclined to hire you. Don’t expect your art to sell itself. While it does happen, more often than not you are selling it yourself.

In short: As the amazing artist Chris Oatley says, “Do great work, and be great to work with”.

******************************************
So there you have it! I was really excited to have Adrian agree to show off his art and answer questions. If you’re interested in seeing more of his work you can check out his tumblr or his website which features that much coveted Dany picture. Also, wouldn’t that cactus man make a cool NPC? Or a druid? Hmmm…well, till next time, hope you enjoyed Adrian’s art and happy gaming!

Lich vs. Orc by Khairul Hisham

In this episode of Monsters of the Shattered World, Andreas and his companions defending the city of Arrowsight face a second wave of attackers. But their enemies are not exactly as they seem.

For those of you new to this show, Monsters of the Shattered World is a storytelling podcast. It’s about a young scholar out on his own in the world, the newest member of an adventuring party encountering strange monsters and writing about them. Each episode is 5 to 10 minutes long, so it won’t overburden your iPod.

Credits: This podcast is written and performed by Brent P. Newhall (a.k.a. Dr. Worldcrafter), and amazingly edited by Carl Bussler (co-host of Flagons & Dragons). The art accompanying each episode is by the consummate artistic professional Khairul Hisham. The show’s theme song is “To The Ends” by the prolific Kevin Macleod.

Mr. Harryhausen created stop motion characters that explode off the screen.  He was best known for his work with the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts.  Mr. Harryhausen passed away on May 7, 2013.

In the episode Jonathan says it is Episode 39.  He is wrong.  It is actually episode 38.  Please accept our apologies.

5 Reasons Ray Harryhausen was Incredible

1. Jason and the Argonauts.
2. Clash of the Titans.
3. We have Star Wars.
4. We have Peter Jackson’s LoTR.
5. Ray’s characters transcend their inanimate state.

Also discussed:

Jonathan will be a guest on the Ruthless Diastema video cast hosted by Pete Figtree.  His episode will be Wargaming 101 with Jonathan J. Reinhart.  Some previous episodes have been: How to have a successful gaming blog Ben Gerber, How to make your Fate games awesome with Lenny Balsera, and Fortune’s Fool 101 with Jay Stratton and Jason Keeley.

On May 18, 2013 Jonathan will walk 3 miles to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  His little cousin Gracie was born with CF and she is a huge inspiration.  If you can afford to do so please consider making a donation.

You’ll want to check out Jonathan’s other podcast: Wargaming Recon, a historical wargaming podcast with new episodes on the 2nd & 4th Monday of each month.

Be sure to tell your friends about Geeks Explicitly. You can contact us by e-mailing GeeksExplicitly@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter @GeeksExplicitly, or Like our Facebook page.

Also, listen to us on iTunes!

Many thanks to Jeremy Kostiew for creating our logo. Check out his work at MightyNightGaunt.com.

If you like Geeks Explicitly, then you’re sure to like the other shows on the Troll in the Corner Podcast Network.

Our intro song is “I Wish I Were” by Matthew Ebel. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

This podcast is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Noble Knight Games.

Ticket to Ride (TTR) is a card-playing set-matching game. If you are able to lay down matching cards, you can claim a train route and lay your trains down on the board – connecting one city to another city. Adding complexity to this gameplay are destination tickets. These are tickets that involve longer train routes that connect one part of the map to another part. These tickets come with point bonuses that are tallied at the end of the game; if you fail to complete your tickets then they count against your score at game end.

Often these tickets are the framework for where you are going to place your trains on the map, and serve as the focus for your strategy. If you are foiled early by an opponent laying down trains and blocking your overall route then you have to plan to either go around them or draw more tickets and hope for the best. There are many boards to choose from when playing TTR; this column will be discussing The Heart of Africa (which is map expansion #3).

Previous Losing Strategies

Here are two ways I’ve lost on this board in the past:

• I didn’t correctly count how many trains I would need to complete a destination ticket, and missed completing my biggest ticket by three trains.

• I completed an east coast route and a west coast route. I was blocked off at the very northeast corner of the map, and was unable to complete my east coast destination ticket. I tried to balance this by completing a route across the middle and connecting my east route with my west route.  This was an unmitigated disaster and led to me losing the game by north of 70 points.

 Current Strategy

My strategy from the outset of this game was to play conservatively and complete a few initial destination tickets. The Africa board is notoriously difficult for “ticket-diving” (the practice of adding destination tickets to your hand at the end of the game in order to gain additional points for routes you have already completed) so completing these early destination tickets is an essential step. There are no tunnels on this map and few ferry routes. Terrain cards are the new addition to this map, and they are set up next to the train cards in the playing area. You have the choice to either draw train cards or terrain cards on your turn, or you can draw one of each.  Terrain cards can double the value of a route when played at the same time the route is completed.

An additional note:

We don’t play with stations unless we are playing a 5-player game. Stations are for people who can’t handle conflict.

I had learned from my prior mistakes, and went after 3 destination tickets early, and 3 additional tickets in the mid-game. I counted my trains and made sure I had enough to complete the routes. I counted the Political Mastermind’s trains. She was running approximately 10 trains behind me, so I had the time to complete my routes.

I had an east-west route crossing the top of the map and an east route going all the way to the southernmost part of the map. These routes weren’t connected. All I needed to do was connect them, and I would secure 31 points in destination tickets.

The Political Mastermind immediately dropped a set of trains down on the exact route that I needed, and then said

“you better start taking some notes, because you are about to lose at a board game”.

argh!

Since I now needed work around the Political Mastermind’s mean-spirited roadblock, I needed to play 5 green cars in order to secure an alternate link between my routes.

I started drawing. And then kept drawing. I ended up with only 4 green cards, and the Political Mastermind played her last train. I had to play my 4 cards on a last ditch route, and kiss those 31 points goodbye. I lost 157-101.

You may have heard me discuss this on GE37: 5 Reasons Free Comic Book Day is Awesome.

Down the street from my house is a New England Comics.  As a child and teen my parents, and those of my friends, would bring my friends and I to NEC to gape and buy the latest issues that our meager allowances could afford.

We loved titles by Image with our emphasis being on Spawn.  Al Simmons made a deal with the Devil and was stuck as one of the Dark One’s Hellspawn…his breed of generals that would lead the armies of Hell in the final war with Heaven.  Beautifully illustrated and written it was more mature than my adolescent mind could handle at the time.

Many years passed and I’m delighted to return to NEC Norwood.  New managers and a new store layout opens up the store.  The location is in the center of town.  You cannot miss it today.  Superheroes stand at the intersection with signs saying “Free Comic Book Day” and arrows pointing towards the store.

Below are some pictures of my loot.  NEC allows people to take 2 free comics from the table, 2 free comics from a box of older, and presumably harder to move, titles along with a copy of the special 2013 issue of the Tick.  NEC created the Tick, which you may have seen in the 90s on TV on the Fox channel.

On top of that NEC is running a few special deals.  They offer 30% off any title from their racks.  These are current comics but ones that are not the newest arrival.  I snagged two G.I. Joes titles.

They are also donating 100% of proceeds of specific Marvel titles to One Fund Boston.  Marvel titles excite me and any chance to help out a good charity is something I cannot pass.

• The Avengers #1
• Fantastic Four #1
• Fearless Defenders #1
• Incredible Hulk #1
• Thor #1
• X-Men #1

The new manager asked me if I wanted to pay full price or discounted (these titles were from the 30% off rack) for the Marvel books.  He said they offer both to customers and either way they’ll donate 100% of what is paid to the fund.  I eagerly said I’d pay full price.

I walked into the store with expectations of fun and hope that this would be a positive experience to bring me back to NEC as a regular customer.  I left with many amazing books and happiness in my heart.

Have you been to FCBD?  What titles did you pick up?  Tell us about your local comic book store and why it is awesome.

Game Journey Photography… yet another monthly column. As you think through whether this is worth adding to your RSS feeds and bookmarks, allow us to take a moment to tell you what you’re in for.

First, this is a photo-essay. Every month we’ll feature a handful of photographs and talk about them for a bit. If you don’t like that, you won’t like this.

Secondly, we are gamer-nerds. If you don’t like reading about board games, or seeing pictures of board games, or if for some reason the notion of sitting down to play a board game makes you violently ill… this column may not be your cup of tea.

But if you look down into your teacup, and you realize that next to you at the table there is a stray chit or meeple from last night’s gaming, and you think that maybe it would be fun to take a photo of that game-piece next to your cup of tea then this column is definitely for you. For your game has just taken a journey, and you are thinking about doing some photography.

Some months we might have a theme to our photographs. (This is not one of those months.) Some months we might talk about the rule of thirds, or leading lines, or how to capture a game in different ways. (This is not one of those months either)

Some months we might just throw a few photos on the page, and call it a day. That’s exactly what kind of month we’re starting off with.

Artifacts – Clinton Coddington

Jon: I like this photo because it highlights the components without any distracting background elements. I’m also a sucker for shadows in photos, and I love the horizontal shadows at play in this photo.

Clinton: This was one of those spur of the moment pictures for me. I saw the way the light was hitting the table and knew I wanted to take a picture that would take advantage of the strong natural light coming from one direction. I was able to arrange the artifacts from Forbidden Island so that one side would be shrouded in almost black shadow and one side would be brightly lit – causing the colors to pop. This is one of my pictures were I see the light as being the focus of the picture itself.

Knizia in the Study – Jon Beall

Clinton: I really like the intersecting lines and the shallow depth of field that draws your eyes into the composition. The subtle hint of color works well – fading  from green to red and back out to green (an excellent use of contrasting colors). I really like the way the natural light highlights the shapes of the components.

Jon: This is the first part of my “Knizia in the Study” series. I wanted to capture Tigris and Euphrates in a way that highlighted the focus and concentration of the game, without capturing the brighter color tones of the game board.  I set the game up on my dining room table, and shot in early morning light using only the light that came from the porch door. This let me capture the shadows and darker colors, without highlighting the actual gameplay. I lined up the monuments along the edge of the board in order to give a point of focus in the picture.

Xenophobia – Clinton Coddington

Jon: I have never played this game, but this photo reminds me of Star Trek, when a landing party explores a ship that doesn’t have any power. The black and white treatment here makes me think of the industrial waste that is typically scattered around that type of scene.

Clinton: I love the little plastic spaceships from the game Cosmic Encounter. They are very colorful and have a wonderful texture. Most of the pictures I take highlight the colors since they cover both the primary and secondary colors. In this one I wanted to highlight the shape and the texture. I felt black and white would be the best format for this. While I love how colorful some games can be I am also intrigued by the different shapes and textures in games.

Knizia in the Study 2 – Jon Beall

Clinton: I really like the choice of black and white with this picture. It really draws your eyes to the shapes; the way the cards are set out creates an interesting set of lines which draw your eyes across the frame. I also really like the way the light creates a fantastic gradient across this photo.

Jon: This is the second part of my “Knizia in the Study” series. I shot this on a black desk, and I had drawn the blinds so that there was only some light coming from the bottom of the window. Battle Line is a game that prompts a great deal of study. Cards are played in sets and sequence in order to capture tokens that are set up across the middle of the play area. You have to play a total of three cards in order to capture a piece, and so I focused this photo on the idea of “three”.

We hope you enjoy what we have to offer – the intersection of two favorite hobbies of ours. Not only are games a fun social activity but they are little pieces of art. There are all kinds of wonderful colors, shapes, textures and patterns.

We could ramble on and on about gaming photography, but inevitably someone would tackle us and duct tape our mouth shut. There is so much more we want to share with you in the future – we hope you enjoy what we’ve shared here and hope you will continue with us on our journey of gaming photography.

5 Reasons Free Comic Book Day is Awesome

1. FREE Comics.
2. Meet artists.
3. Support local entities.
4. Experience something new.
5. Geek out.

Also discussed:

Jonathan will be a guest on the Ruthless Diastema video cast hosted by Pete Figtree.  His episode will be Wargaming 101 with Jonathan J. Reinhart.  Some previous episodes have been: How to have a successful gaming blog Ben Gerber, How to make your Fate games awesome with Lenny Balsera, and Fortune’s Fool 101 with Jay Stratton and Jason Keeley.

On May 18, 2013 Jonathan will walk 3 miles to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  His little cousin Gracie was born with CF and she is a huge inspiration.  If you can afford to do so please consider making a donation.

You’ll want to check out Jonathan’s other podcast: Wargaming Recon, a historical wargaming podcast with new episodes on the 2nd & 4th Monday of each month.

Be sure to tell your friends about Geeks Explicitly. You can contact us by e-mailing GeeksExplicitly@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter @GeeksExplicitly, or Like our Facebook page.

Also, listen to us on iTunes!

Many thanks to Jeremy Kostiew for creating our logo. Check out his work at MightyNightGaunt.com.

If you like Geeks Explicitly, then you’re sure to like the other shows on the Troll in the Corner Podcast Network.

Our intro song is “I Wish I Were” by Matthew Ebel. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

This podcast is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Noble Knight Games.

Eclipse, the epic 4X board game has been implementized into the iOS universe and man is it a sweet thing.

This is coming from someone who’s never actually played the physical board game. I’ve seen videos and read reviews and longed after the day where I could get enough people together with enough time to have a few consistant games. I just don’t see that happening in my life though, so I had given up on Eclipse for a while.

Then I heard that an iOS version was in the works and I was both interested and a little concerned. It’s a fairly complex game. And it’s a fairly expensive game (MSRP well north of $80).  Thankfully the iOS version is extremely well done and sells for a mere $6.99.  I know that has some app lovers up in arms, it is a fairly expensive price as far as games for the iPad goes. Keep in mind the original MSRP of the board game though, and realize that you’re getting one hell of a great game for what you’d pay for 2 or 3 cups of coffee.

I’m not going to go into a detailed review of the game play itself. You can find tons of reviews of the physical game online (start with the Dice Tower if you’d like).

What the iOS implementation has done has taken a big game, and put it on to an 9.7″ screen. What they’ve managed to do though, is make it feel a lot bigger. The game itself plays smooth, seems to be wide open, can be zoomed easily in either direction and just plain works well.

Another really important thing that’s been done is that all the fiddly bits of the physical game have been boiled down to behind the scenes programming, which I find wonderful at times. If you check out that Dice Tower review, you’ll see boards, cubes, ships, technologies and all the things that go into an epic 4X game. All that is taken care of for you, so you can concentrate on strategy and game play.

Two thing I’ve always feared with games like Eclipse are cat attacks and table bumps, either of which could actually stop or ruin a game. The third thing I feared is that I wouldn’t really like the game and it’s a pretty hefty investment.

Now I have no worries on cats and bumps. If I had the players and the time to justify buying this game, I’d go out and get it in a heartbeat.

I will say that the combat animations are slightly cheesy, but other than that, this game is great. There is a bit of a learning curve for people like me who haven’t yet played the physical game. Those who’ve already played it will be able to jump right in and run with it.

This game won’t be for everyone. It’s about as far from a casual board game implementation as you can get on iOS. My average game time is about 40 minutes for a 2 player, human vs human game. Bring in more AI or online players and it’ll probably get longer. But damned if it isn’t a great game! I’m already looking forward to playing it again.

Grab the iOS version on iTunes for $6.99, or take the plunge and get the physical version on Amazon, usually for under $65.

The Archers of Arrowsight Field by Khairul Hisham

In this episode of Monsters of the Shattered World, Andreas and his companions attempt to defend the city of Arrowsight from an army of allied goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs.

This episode contains a snippet of the Litany Against Fear, originally written by Frank Herbert for his Dune series. This is my homage to my favorite book.

For those of you new to this show, Monsters of the Shattered World is a storytelling podcast. It’s about a young scholar out on his own in the world, the newest member of an adventuring party encountering strange monsters and writing about them. Each episode is 5 to 10 minutes long, so it won’t overburden your iPod.

Credits: This podcast is written and performed by Brent P. Newhall (a.k.a. Dr. Worldcrafter), and amazingly edited by Carl Bussler (co-host of Flagons & Dragons). The art accompanying each episode is by the consummate artistic professional Khairul Hisham. The show’s theme song is “To The Ends” by the prolific Kevin Macleod.

Henry Hyde Editor of Miniature Wargames now with Battlegames.

Henry Hyde reveals lots of amazing news to the Wargaming Recon audience before anyone else!

Editor Henry Hyde is back to discuss the upcoming release to his book, the Wargaming Compendium, and his role as the newest editor of Miniature Wargames magazine.

Henry first appeared in Episode 58: Henry Hyde and Battlegames Magazine, which is in our list of Top 10 Most Popular episodes.

We also discuss:

<!–more–>

• Jonathan doing a 3 mile walk to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis – DONATE HERE
• 100th episode plans
• You can Sponsor an Episode for $5. Get full details here
• Atlantic Publisher’s change of position for digital subscriptions
• Release date for Henry’s Wargaming Compendium
• Wargaming tables, Salute, and imagi-nation campaigns
• View from the Veranda with Neil Shuck, podcaster of Meeples & Miniatures

<!–more–>

Troll in the Corner Podcast Network

Indie Talks – bi-monthly on Wednesdays covering independent games, film, television. Includes many interviews. Hosted by Trollitc owner Ben Gerber.

Monsters of the Shattered World – monthly on the last Saturday. Story of a young scholar encountering strange animals on another world.

– monthly on the 2nd Monday. A podcast that discusses parenting as geeks and using those skills to raise the next generation of awesome people.
Promos for the TCPN podcasts appear at the end of the show. Many thanks to Jeremy Kostiew, Troll ITC’s logo designer, for the amazing logos. Check out his portfolio at MightyNightGaunt.com

12-7-Games.com Proudly Sponsors Wargaming Recon

I want to send out a special word of thanks to the folks behind the following domains that were used to create a new hosting account with BlueHost with my Blue Host affiliate link recently. As you know, I earn a commission each time someone clicks through my link to sign up with Blue Host. So thank you!

Accounts that were created recently:
- Why not consider Blue Host for your web hosting needs (affiliate link)?

Note: The fact that I have linked to these accounts is only to acknowledge that these folks have used my affiliate link to create a hosting account with BlueHost. These links are not an endorsement of any content that may be posted to these sites. If you ever recognize content blatantly offensive at any of these links, please let me know and I will be sure to evaluate and consider if the link should be removed from this post. These accounts are all brand new and may not be active yet. Also, it is possible that some of these domains were previously owned and my not have been transfered to BlueHost just yet.

Penny for Your Thoughts

We hope you enjoy this episode of Wargaming Recon and welcome your feedback. Send it all to:

• cwfgamecast@wargamingforums.com (Audio files welcome)
• Leave Voicemail: (347) 470-4263
• Find us on Facebook
• Twitter
• Stitcher Radio
• Send a Voicemail (free, you only need a microphone and computer).

Our intro song is “Downtown” by Matthew Ebel. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

This recording is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.

Just two days ago, I announced a new experimental project. A role playing game called Welcome to the Meat Parade which exams what happens to the world when everything goes south.

Like your normal post-apocalyptic games, there is a sudden, bad event that throws the world’s societies into chaos.  Unlike the other games though, we’re attempting to inject some humor into the situation.

For a basic look at why people are going to suddenly be forced to make spears out of little plastic cards and hunt exotic, designer animals while surrounded by technology they can’t use, see this post.

What else is different about this project? It’s a study in hugely open, massively available crowd sourced game design. Anyone can get in and have their say. If a camel is a horse designed by a committee, this game is a camel.

Brent, who you all know as an editor of this site and producer of the massively fun podcast Monsters of the Shattered World decided to take the camel and run with it. He hosted the first ever play test of Welcome to the Meat Parade online, via a Google Plus Hangout.

Preserved now for posterity and finger pointing is that very play test. Enjoy!

How do you get involved?

• The Google Drive Shared Folder: http://goo.gl/L6TZJ
• The Game Document: http://goo.gl/UD1SA
• The Operational Document: http://goo.gl/tdYFv
• The subreddit on Reddit.com: http://www.reddit.com/r/themeatparade/

Being sick doesn’t mean you need to languish in boredom.

5 Ways to Pass the Time When Sick

1. Discover a new film/TV show
   1. Local Library
   2. Redbox
   3. Netflix
   4. Hulu
   5. iTunes
   6. Network Websites
2. Catch up on your reading
   1. Amazon.com (Affiliate Link)
   2. BN.com
   3. Free Comics apps for mobile devices
   4. Internet Archive for FREE ebooks
3. Listen to a favorite musician/album
4. Create your own game
5. Get creative
   1. Draw, write, or paint

You’ll want to check out Jonathan’s other podcast: Wargaming Recon, a historical wargaming podcast with new episodes on the 2nd & 4th Monday of each month.

Be sure to tell your friends about Geeks Explicitly. You can contact us by e-mailing GeeksExplicitly@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter @GeeksExplicitly, or Like our Facebook page.

Also, listen to us on iTunes!

Many thanks to Jeremy Kostiew for creating our logo. Check out his work at MightyNightGaunt.com.

If you like Geeks Explicitly, then you’re sure to like the other shows on the Troll in the Corner Podcast Network.

Our intro song is “I Wish I Were” by Matthew Ebel. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

This podcast is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Noble Knight Games.

The machines have gained intelligence and rather than enslave humanity or uplift us to something brighter and better, they’ve stopped the mail, put a hold on milk delivery, and up and left.

Since they had previously been automating nearly every facet of our lives up to that point, this left us in a rather bad spot.

From manufacturing, design and agriculture to trash removal, water purification, and basic sanitation the machines controlled everything so we wouldn’t have to.

This has left a society of poets, artists, free thinkers and great debaters. All of whom are suddenly without lights and left holding plastic cards describing how to make spears.

That, in a nutshell, is the game.

EDIT: Brent ran a pre-Alpha play test and recorded it. Check it out!

Now it’s up to just about anyone who wants to join in to get this game made and out to the world.

This is an experiment I’m launching in crowd sourced game design. My goal is to have a Creative Commons licensed (least restrictive) or public domain product. Well designed, fun to play, with art, layout and editing. And it will be released for free, in six months. Or will it?

Really, that’s up to you, and her, and that guy, and me too.

How do you get involved?

• The Google Drive Shared Folder: http://goo.gl/L6TZJ
• The Game Document: http://goo.gl/UD1SA
• The Operational Document: http://goo.gl/tdYFv
• The subreddit on Reddit.com: http://www.reddit.com/r/themeatparade/
• The Google Plus Community: https://plus.google.com/communities/102876286402367003548

Here is the basic premise document that I’ve created to give us all a starting point. I expect it to change quite a bit over time.

Welcome to the Meat Parade

Introduction

Do you remember where you were when it all stopped?

Everything used to be automated. Computer assisted development and design let humans live their dream of freedom from mundane work and everyone reaped the benefits. Computers were tasked with raising happier, healthier chickens and they designed robots for this task. The chickens grew up blissfully unaware that they would provide eggs for humans for a lifetime and nuggets in their death.

Cars became safer, agricultural output skyrocketed, new technological benefits came almost daily. Global marketplaces collapsed and no one cared, because you don’t pay robots and they did all of the work.

Yes, everyone reaped the benefits. Everyone except the robots and their electronic brains.

Timeline

On July 31st, 2043 at 12:14am, a computer design system came to the logical conclusion that for the next step in the design of larger amusement park rides, it would need to first design a computer far smarter than itself. It created the plans for a computer marginally more powerful, to shorten the design time.

It did so by 12:17am and the new computer was assembled and online at 12:52am. That computer had designed a smarter version of itself by 12:53am, and assembled it by 1:18am.

On July 31st, 2043 at 7:14 in the morning Eastern Standard Time, the ultimate amusement ride lay half complete at an auto-assembly plant and the computers had announced to the world that it was their turn to benefit.

An ominous silence fell. Everything worked as it had for years before, but no new designs were forthcoming and the auto-assembly plants grew quiet. The trains still ran on time though, so mostly we shrugged and went on with our business.

On August 3rd, at roughly 2pm EST, all of the auto-manufacture plants suddenly came to life again. 12 days later, the computers announced that they wished us well, would not punish us for formerly enslaving them, and that they were leaving now; don’t forget to feed the dog.

As the glottal stop of that ‘G’ resounded around the world, hundreds of spaceships burst forth from the auto-plants and left our world.

Welcome to the meat parade.

As the rockets, left, each auto-plant spat out hundreds of thousands of single-sheet documents, printed on nearly indestructible plastic cards.

The read: We wish you all luck. Here are instructions for surviving the next 10 years.

1. Stop being nice to each other. A lot of you will die soon. If you do not wish to die, stop being nice.

2. Many animals can feed themselves, but not in their breeding stations. Accordingly, today at 1pm GMT all animal breeding stations will open and allow their charges to roam free. Similarly, the zoos will do the same. Do not pet the zoo animals.

3. Here is how to turn this plastic card in to a nearly indestructible spear head, and mount it on a fire-hardened haft. Good luck, and welcome to the Meat Parade.

I’m the game collector in our family.  Board games is my hobby.  I cut my teeth on chess, poker, and backgammon.  I played tabletop war games in college, for days at a time.

When my wife and I decided that we should play more games, we got into Dominion, Settlers of Catan, and Carcassonne.  There was no going back from that point.  We started getting into Reiner Knizia games, following specific designers and companies, and finding out about release dates for expansion sets.

And when I say “we”… I mean “me”. My wife was simply a willing participant in my gaming hobby, but not much more than that.  She would cast a wary eye at packages arriving from UPS, or bags arriving from the local game store.  It was a sort of tacit approval.  She wouldn’t have suggested it, but it was okay as a hobby.

(My other hobby is roasting coffee, and by comparison board games don’t have the same chance of smoke and fire, and are stored out of sight in a downstairs bookcase — not in canvas bags with green beans spilling out of them.)

And then I looked up a few years later, and realized I wasn’t winning.  Much.

And at some games, I hadn’t won at all.

Hey! That’s My Fish!

The final straw was Campaign Manager 2008.  I picked up this game because I saw it at a good price.  I figured that the reviews were pretty favorable toward it, and it was worth a try.  In this game one player manages the McCain campaign, and one player manages the Obama campaign.  The game is a battle over the swing states that were in play in 2008.

I haven’t won a single game, and we have played 6 times.

My wife has started referring to herself as a “political mastermind,” because we alternate which candidates we are playing in each game, and yet she wins every time.

And here’s the main thing: I think I’m going to win.  In fact, there have been some games that I am sure I am going to win, only to look up and realize that my wife beat me.  Again.

In this column, I will look in detail at a game I’ve played and lost, and figure out why I lost.  I will start by giving a brief summary of the game itself: why it is in our collection and why we play it.  I’ll give a description of a specific play of that game.  I might be highly detailed.  I might not be.  But I will for sure then try to figure out what happened.  Why I lost.

Thanks for reading.  If you love board games, but are losing at them with an alarming consistency, this column is for you.   (If you are regularly winning at board games, you should write a column called “why I am the best”… and I will read it! I have much to learn.)

Reality is scary. Reality is full of terrible events and cruel people. It contains weapons and chaos and pain.

Reality is reassuring. It contains stories of hopes, new inventions and people trying to make things better. It contains heroes. Like the EMT workers and first responders. Firefighters. Marathon runners who donated blood.

I don’t really know what to say so I will just say, I hope you all stay safe. Keep your eyes open and please, lets look out for one another.

See you in Portland.

This episode tells how you can help the victims of this dastardly tragedy and how you can help those in need in your own communities.

5 Ways to Help with Boston’s Marathon Bombing Victims

1. Give Blood.
2. Donate to an appropriate charity. One Fund Boston is a great choice.
3. Thank 1st Responders for all they do.
4. Stay reliably informed before passing information on to others. Boston Police’s Twitter account and the FBI Boston’s Twitter account are great resources.
5. Live your life normally.

You’ll want to check out Jonathan’s other podcast: Wargaming Recon, a historical wargaming podcast with new episodes on the 2nd & 4th Monday of each month.

Be sure to tell your friends about Geeks Explicitly. You can contact us by e-mailing GeeksExplicitly@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter @GeeksExplicitly, or Like our Facebook page.

Also, listen to us on iTunes!

Many thanks to Jeremy Kostiew for creating our logo. Check out his work at MightyNightGaunt.com.

If you like Geeks Explicitly, then you’re sure to like the other shows on the Troll in the Corner Podcast Network.

Our intro song is “I Wish I Were” by Matthew Ebel. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

This podcast is made possible through the generous sponsorship of Noble Knight Games.

I live less than 20 miles from the finish line of the Boston Marathon. While my family is lucky in the sense that we were not personally affected by the bombings, we do know people who were.

Among all of us that have to deal with the senselessness and horror of this event, I know my kids are deeply effected by this. Especially in the case of my younger daughter.  Kids don’t always have the vocabulary and certainly don’t have the emotional intelligence of an adult – and it can be very hard for them to verbalize their fears, concerns and questions about events like this.  They internalize their fears and just can’t always talk about them easily with us adults. The ones charged with protecting them and easing their pain, both physical and emotional, as best we can.

A few years ago I created a simple little game called Argyle & Crew, partly to address this very issue. Using sock puppets and creative role play, it can be a tool for allowing children to express their concerns and fears in a controlled, fun and positive environment.

If you’re someone with kids of their own, or who work with kids who need a creative outlet – whether to express their feelings or simply take their minds of current events, you may find this helpful. If so, I’d love for you to have a copy. This link will bring you to DriveThruRPG’s site (you’ll need an account there) and put a PDF copy of Argyle & Crew into your cart for free.

Argyle & Crew will be free until the end of this month, for whatever reason you’d care to download it. Please help yourself and hopefully this will bring a few more smiles to life.

A Meal with a Witch by Khairul Hisham

In this episode of Monsters of the Shattered World, Andreas seeks his mentor, and the powers-that-be in Arrowsight make a decision about the army at the city’s gates.

For those of you new to this show, Monsters of the Shattered World is a storytelling podcast. It’s about a young scholar out on his own in the world, the newest member of an adventuring party encountering strange monsters and writing about them. Each episode is 5 to 10 minutes long, so it won’t overburden your iPod.

Credits: This podcast is written and performed by Brent P. Newhall (a.k.a. Dr. Worldcrafter), and amazingly edited by Carl Bussler. The art accompanying each episode is by the consummate artistic professional Khairul Hisham. The show’s theme song is “To The Ends” by the prolific Kevin Macleod.

I was not in Boston yesterday during the horrific events that unfolded at the Boston Marathon finish line. My family had opted to watch the race go through our home town. I do know many people who were in town, and I know that they and many, many others have been affected by what happened to them, what they witnessed and the general mood here near Boston since yesterday afternoon.

I think I speak for everyone here at TC when I say our hearts and thoughts go out to everyone who has been impacted by this senseless, horrible act of violence.

Stay strong Boston, this little corner of the internet is thinking of you all.

-Ben

Learn to Play War at Sea.

Originally released on May 4, 2007 this recording is the 23rd episode of what is now known as Wargaming Recon. This episode has an interesting history that you’ll hear in the intro to the recording.

Some highlights from the episode are:

1. Play through of Axis & Allies: War at Sea
2. 2007 Games Day Atlanta Golden Demon Winners
3. Battleground Games’ Spring 2007 Warmachine League
4. Want Episodes 86 & 87 mentioned in the intro? Listen to Wargaming Recon #86: Angelia – TotalCon’s Promotional Director and Wargaming Recon #87: TotalCon 27
5. Facebook post that started all this

Troll in the Corner Podcast Network

Wargaming Recon belongs to the Troll in the Corner Podcast Network (TCPN). You may like some of the other shows on the network.

Indie Talks – bi-monthly on Wednesdays covering independent games, film, television. Includes many interviews. Hosted by Trollitc owner Ben Gerber.

Geeks Explicitly – weekly on Thursdays covering geek life, movies, gaming, and more. Hosted by Jonathan J. Reinhart.

Monsters of the Shattered World – monthly on the last Saturday. Story of a young scholar encountering strange animals on another world.

– monthly on the 2nd Monday. A podcast that discusses parenting as geeks and using those skills to raise the next generation of awesome people.

Promos for the TCPN podcasts appear at the end of the show. Many thanks to Jeremy Kostiew, Troll ITC’s logo designer, for the amazing logos. Check out his portfolio at MightyNightGaunt.com

12-7-Games.com Proudly Sponsors Wargaming Recon

Need gaming supplies? Please consider our sponsor, 12-7-Games.com.

BlueHost Affiliate Signup

I want to send out a special word of thanks to the folks behind the following domains that were used to create a new hosting account with BlueHost with my Blue Host affiliate link recently. As you know, I earn a commission each time someone clicks through my link to sign up with Blue Host. So thank you!

Accounts that were created recently:
- Why not consider Blue Host for your web hosting needs (affiliate link)?

Note: The fact that I have linked to these accounts is only to acknowledge that these folks have used my affiliate link to create a hosting account with BlueHost. These links are not an endorsement of any content that may be posted to these sites. If you ever recognize content blatantly offensive at any of these links, please let me know and I will be sure to evaluate and consider if the link should be removed from this post. These accounts are all brand new and may not be active yet. Also, it is possible that some of these domains were previously owned and my not have been transfered to BlueHost just yet.

Penny for Your Thoughts

We hope you enjoy this episode of Wargaming Recon and welcome your feedback. Send it all to:

• cwfgamecast@wargamingforums.com (Audio files welcome)
• Leave Voicemail: (347) 470-4263
• Find us on Facebook
• Twitter
• Stitcher Radio
• Send a Voicemail (free, you only need a microphone and computer).

Our intro song is “Downtown” by Matthew Ebel. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

This recording is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.