Saturday, March 28, 2020

Recent Questions Answered.



What is Mind Sports South Africa?
  • Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) is a non-profit association that is the recognised national federation for board games, eSports, robotics and wargames. The MSSA is run purely by volunteers who are elected by the different member clubs at the Annual General Meeting. The Annual General Meeting is always held at the South African National Championships. As the recognised controlling body, the MSSA is the only authority for its codes in South Africa and is the only body that may legally award provincial and national colours. Thus it is the only body that can legally select teams to represent South Africa in international competition.
What is the MSSA Inter-school league?
  • The league is designed to legally bring competitive esports into the school environment, in which schools pit their best players against other schools in order to determine the best school in the country as done for waterpolo, swimming, etc.
How does someone get their national colours for esports?
  • In order to get national colours for gaming, the gamer must first and foremost be registered as a member of a member club. Then, the gamer must participate in an accredited MSSA eSports event. However, participation alone is not enough. The gamer (and his team) must then finish in the top three, or the top twenty percent of teams in such event. Thus if there are six teams competing, the teams that finish in first, second and third places will qualify for trials. If there are twenty teams participating, then the top four will qualify, and if there are fifty teams participating, then the top ten will qualify for trials. When the Management Board has agreed to hold trials, all gamers who have so qualified are invited to participate. Then it it is at such Trials – which is always a LAN – that the team is selected.
How are the official games determined?
  • The member clubs of the MSSA are responsible for choosing the games to be played at all MSSA events on an annual basis. The way in which this is done, is that the games choice comes up for review by the cub-committee, and all member clubs are requested to furnish their choices. Of course the Management Board may add additional games if they are required by the international federation.
What are the most popular esports games locally?
  • Popularity of the games in general can only be answered by the publishers and the retailers. That is not what the MSSA looks at. The MSSA concentrates on competitive gaming and providing an outlet for competitive gamers. Thus, there may be a game that is fantastically popular among the gaming community, but because the game may not lend itself to competitive gaming, the MSSA may not cater for it. 
How has console gaming grown in the country in terms of esports?
  • Console gaming has a number of advantages in terms of esports. Because of its ease of access, lower cost, and standard systems, it has brought gaming to many who do not have the finances for computer gaming, and to many who do not have the know-how in terms of computer gaming. To start console gaming, all the gamer needs to do is 'plug and play'. Thus console gaming has made huge strides in attracting many new gamers to competitive esports who otherwise would have felt intimidated by the set up procedure. In the past three years, numbers of console gamers participating at MSSA events have doubled.
What's the best way to become a professional gamer in South Africa?
  • In order to become a professional gamer, my advice is to start while you are in school. The gamer must first develop a passion for the game and for competing while, at the same time learning to be part of a team. It is important for gamers to then train properly for the game. Simply playing does not equate to training. Training involves examining every aspect of the game and pushing it to the nth degree. Remember, that mistakes made in practice are often carried through into competition matches. Thus it is important to practice perfectly.... Once a gamer has earned provincial and national colours, the gamer would have been exposed to the international circuit. It is then that the gamer is ready to start thinking about becoming a professional. However, to be a professional, the gamer needs solid sponsorships and needs to be part of a team of like-minded individuals. Often the professional gamer will have to put gaming above all else in order to secure any form of sustainability as a professional gamer. It should be noted that the professional gamer would also have to register with the tax authorities as a professional as any income derived while being a professional would be taxed in his/her hands. Of course, any expenses directly related to conducting himself as a professional gamer would then also be able to be deducted.
Why the decision to send players to IeSF and not to other privately owned events?
  • For a start the costs involved are very different, but so are the visions off the privately owned events and IESF. The privately owned events belong to companies that are essentially in business to make a profit. On the other hand, IESF is an association not for gain that is attempting to get esports recognised as a fully-fledged sport. IESF is trying to get esports accepted by the highest authorities in international sport. As an association, all member federations are responsible for the running of IESF and making the decisions that will determine the future of both the IESF and of esports in general.  Thus IESF is more in line with the MSSA's own objectives, and the MSSA has a vested interest in making IESF work. However, that is not to say that the MSSA will not send a team to the other events if it can afford to do so. 
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SYMBIOCOM (Aka SYN-FACTOR)


After helming one of the best interstellar Mary Celeste adventures in Majestic: Part 1 - Alien Encounter, the one-man design team of Istvan Pely got to work on some thematic sequels. Released 1998, the same year as Zero Critical (a future Chamber escapee I'm sure), Symbiocom shares a lot with his previous game in that you are searching a deserted space vessel seemingly abandoned in the deep recesses of space.

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Monday, March 23, 2020

Vaccine Researchers Gain Access To ‘Unprecedented Supercomputing Power’ - TechRadar

Vaccine researchers gain access to ‘unprecedented supercomputing power’

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Friday, March 20, 2020

People Behind The Meeples - Episode 214: David Van Drunen

Welcome to People Behind the Meeples, a series of interviews with indie game designers.  Here you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know about the people who make the best games that you may or may not have heard of before.  If you'd like to be featured, head over to http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/p/game-designer-interview-questionnaire.html and fill out the questionnaire! You can find all the interviews here: People Behind the Meeples. Support me on Patreon!

Name:David Van Drunen
Email:theartlion@gmail.com
Location:Toronto
Day Job:Freelance game designer, and homemaker.
Designing:Two to five years.
Webpage:theartlion.com
BGG:DavidVanDrunen
Twitter:@DAVanDrunen
Find my games at:https://analoggamestudios.com/product/gnomes-at-midnight/
Today's Interview is with:

David Van Drunen
Interviewed on: 12/4/2019

This week's interview is with David Van Drunen, the designer of Gnomes at Midnight from Analog Game Studios. In addition to designing games, David is also a very talented artist, using paints to create dynamic, energetic abstract paintings on canvas. Check out his work (both paintings and games) at http://www.theartlion.com/

Some Basics
Tell me a bit about yourself.

How long have you been designing tabletop games?
Two to five years.

Why did you start designing tabletop games?
It started with changing rules in games to 'fix them', and then to making up expansions in games I really enjoyed. After a while I realized I could make a game "from scratch" and designed my first game.

What game or games are you currently working on?
I like to work on a couple at a time, to bounce between them when I get stuck on one. Right now I'm designing a social deduction game called, "Royal Pie Fight", a real-time game called "Ding-dong Donuts", and a co-op game about grief.

Have you designed any games that have been published?
I'm fortunate enough to have "Gnomes at Midnight" published by Analog Game Studios.

What is your day job?
Freelance game designer, and homemaker.

Your Gaming Tastes
My readers would like to know more about you as a gamer.

Where do you prefer to play games?
In a home.

Who do you normally game with?
Mostly with friends, but also every time with my family when I visit them.

If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
Magic Maze, Tussie Mussie, Vikings on Board, Shadows Amsterdam, Seikatsu, Timeline...

And what snacks would you eat?
Pretzels and candy are best, (no oily, cheesy, sticky fingers).

Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
Softly a random mix of pop, soundtracks, and alt rock.

What's your favorite FLGS?
I frequent Snakes & Lattes, the College location.

What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
My current favourite is Keyforge, (specifically the 'Call of the Archons' series). Catan is my least favourite I'll still play because I've over played it and there are better games now. Worst: Tic-Tac-Toe, or as it should be called 'Go First and Win or Tie Again'.

What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
Favourite mechanic: Area Control, (I'm a bit of a hoarder by nature). Not really a mechanic but least favourite: Reading, (if I wanted to read a novel of text I wouldn't be playing a game!)

What's your favorite game that you just can't ever seem to get to the table?
Game of Thrones the board game. It taught me war games don't need chance or dice, but it's a big time commitment, and lengthy teach time.

What styles of games do you play?
I like to play Board Games, Card Games, Miniatures Games, Video Games

Do you design different styles of games than what you play?
I like to design Board Games, Card Games, Miniatures Games

OK, here's a pretty polarizing game. Do you like and play Cards Against Humanity?
No

You as a Designer
OK, now the bit that sets you apart from the typical gamer. Let's find out about you as a game designer.

When you design games, do you come up with a theme first and build the mechanics around that? Or do you come up with mechanics and then add a theme? Or something else?
Feeling first; 'wouldn't it be cool if'. From there it splits evenly between whether the feeling relates better to a theme or mechanic. For 'Gnomes at Midnight' it related to mechanics of how pieces move around a shifting board. My unfinished spy game based on the TV show Turn was theme first, and then I built how it would physically work.

Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
I entered HABAs box of bits contest. It's a great design exercise, (you have to make a game with a random box of their wooden pieces) and very different from my normal design process.

Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
I consistently enjoy J. Alex Kevern's designs, (World Fair 1893, Sentient).

Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
Anywhere! That's why I have notepads all around the house. I'll be watching a movie, reading a book, or just about to fall asleep and it will just hit me. If I want to coax it out, I'll watch a bunch of how to play game videos.

How do you go about playtesting your games?
First I run a couple games by myself acting out different play styles, (normal, timid, wacky) to see if I can break it. Then I'll try to explain it to someone; if I can't get them playing in 5 mins, then something's off. If it works then it's off to Designer Nights at Snakes & Lattes.

Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
All my designs are solo, that's why playtesting with many others is so key. I'm open to co-designing, but it's just so much easier right now to do it solo.

What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
Going from designer to self-marketer to pitch the game to publishers is tough.

If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
I'd love to do an "All you Need is Kill, by Hiroshi Sakurazaka" game. Or an "Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer" game.

What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
Start simple. My first design was a mix of Catan meets Risk, and it was too much. Also, avoid designing war games because most publishers won't touch it.

What advice would you like to share about designing games?
Get it playtested sooner rather than later. Learn how to decipher playtesters' feedback well. Get to the core of the feeling they are expressing. Keep asking yourself throughout the process, "why?". Why 10 cards not 9? Why cards not dice? Having a good answer for everything will help strip away the excess.

Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Published games, I have: Gnomes at Midnight
Games that will soon be published are: My 3D block stacking game will launch in 2020, publisher: Inside Up Games.
Currently looking for a publisher I have: Ding-dong Donuts (Real-time donut disaster!)
Games I feel are in the final development and tweaking stage are: Mystic Nomads (Rondel, area control, minis game)
Games that are in the early stages of development and beta testing are: Grief Game
And games that are still in the very early idea phase are: A stand-alone sequel to Gnomes at Midnight

Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker's Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
Yes, I'm around online. But mostly just browsing.

And the oddly personal, but harmless stuff…
OK, enough of the game stuff, let's find out what really makes you tick! These are the questions that I'm sure are on everyone's minds!

Star Trek or Star Wars? Coke or Pepsi? VHS or Betamax?
Star Trek because of all the issues it tackled. Water. VHS! because Betamax beta-sux!

What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
I really enjoy Sci-Fi movies and unique graphic novels, (Chew, Come Back to Me, Unknown Soldier).

What is something you learned in the last week?
I'm slowly learning where spices grow naturally in the wild, and some of the wacky harvesting required.

Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
Music: Alt Rock. Books: Sci-Fi. Movies: Time travel.

What was the last book you read?
Why the Dutch are Different, by Ben Coates. A cool look at the reasons behind my ancestral quirks.

Do you play any musical instruments?
I learned the clarinet in grade school, and have recently tried to get back into it.

Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I'm in the movie Crimson Peak, and have a brief interaction with Tom Hiddleston.

Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
I did a comedy gig at Yuk Yuks Comedy Bar once. It was crazy scary but it went well.

Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
"There are no accidents, only collisions." - my Young Drivers Instructor.

Who is your idol?
Anyone who stands up against bullies.

What would you do if you had a time machine?
Realistically I'd nit-pick everything trying to change it and then go back to ultimately undo the horrible butterfly effects.

Are you an extrovert or introvert?
Introvert.

If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
Captain Marvel, it'd be great to shoot beams out of my hands and fly around.

Have any pets?
I'm allergic to cats and dogs, so now I have a papier-mâché cat, who is very good at 'stay'.

When the next asteroid hits Earth, causing the Yellowstone caldera to explode, California to fall into the ocean, the sea levels to rise, and the next ice age to set in, what current games or other pastimes do you think (or hope) will survive into the next era of human civilization? What do you hope is underneath that asteroid to be wiped out of the human consciousness forever?
Smote from space is a fitting end to Cards Against Humanity. I hope Magic Maze endures to delight the future peoples. (Or maybe Trivial Pursuit to teach people about the past.)

If you'd like to send a shout out to anyone, anyone at all, here's your chance (I can't guarantee they'll read this though):
Thank you Ainsley for all your love and support! I couldn't do this without you, and it's been a blast! And to Richard of Analog Game Studios, thank you for believing in Gnomes at Midnight!

Just a Bit More
Thanks for answering all my crazy questions! Is there anything else you'd like to tell my readers?

"Be excellent to each other." Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.



Thank you for reading this People Behind the Meeples indie game designer interview! You can find all the interviews here: People Behind the Meeples and if you'd like to be featured yourself, you can fill out the questionnaire here: http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/p/game-designer-interview-questionnaire.html

Did you like this interview?  Please show your support: Support me on Patreon! Or click the heart at Board Game Links , like GJJ Games on Facebook , or follow on Twitter .  And be sure to check out my games on  Tabletop Generation.
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Thursday, March 19, 2020

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Superhero Dungeon Crawl


On first glance, Marvel Strike Teams looks like another variant in Wizkids' Heroclix line of games. It has many similarities, both thematic and mechanical, but a number of differences that make it an interesting game in its own right.

Like Heroclix, Marvel Strike Teams is a tactical superhero battle game. It uses a grid system for movement and range, and characters find their powers and abilities decreasing in effectiveness as they take on damage, which is a hallmark of the Heroclix system.

Unlike Heroclix, Strike Teams is a one vs. many style game, with one player taking on the role of a supervillain and his minions, and the others each controlling a single hero and working cooperatively to foil the villain's dastardly plans. It's also much more mission oriented, with victory centered on accomplishing certain in-game goals (such as rescuing hostages or finding macguffins rather than just trying to obliterate your opponent's forces. In spite of the superhero theme, the game structure is that of a classic "dungeon crawl," with heroes creeping through rooms and corridors in search of treasure and a quick exit.


The game is designed to be played campaign style over multiple game sessions, with both the heroes and the villains gaining experience and improving their abilities between games, another thing that sets it apart from the one-off battles of Heroclix and makes it seem more like a D&D-style dungeon crawler.

But the really innovative thing about Strike Teams is that it uses a diceless system for combat. Players instead use resource management and damage control to accomplish their side's goals during the game.

Each round, characters are given a certain number of action points, which can be spent to move, heal damage, use special powers, and most importantly, attack and defend. Action points can be saved up from round to round (up to a pre-set maximum), so game play is a balancing act between moving, attacking, and saving aside points to defend your character against attacks.

It's very different from most battle games (including Heroclix), which use random dice rolls to determine the outcome of combat. Sure, most of those games will include game mechanics to mitigate the randomness such as rerolls, bonuses, and extra dice, but there is always the chance that an attack will go badly due to random chance that is outside the player's control.

Monolith's Conan game is probably a closer comparison in terms of the level of strategic resource management and focus on scenario goals over outright fighting, but even it uses dice to resolve combat.

With only a handful of characters to choose from in the base game an one small expansion, Strike Teams lacks the epic scope of what Heroclix can offer with its thousands of different figures over multiple franchises. It's a pity there aren't more expansions planned for Strike Teams, because mechanically it's a much more interesting game.

Rating: 4 (out of 5) A terrific alternative to battle games like Heroclix, but unfortunately its lack of commercial success will limit this game to only a handful of characters and limited replayability.
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What The Heck Is Going On?

So, at this point, I'm a week late for a new episode. Don't fear, a new one is coming. Probably next week. I recognize that I've skipped weeks before and haven't ever said why, except perhaps in passing. Normally, it's because I'm off performing my two weeks of annual training for the National Guard. But not this time.

It's like this. I need to get my life to a better place. Mainly with my health, but also my relationship with my wife and kids. I have high blood glucose and I need to get it under control. I've drastically altered my diet and am exercising more. That means earlier mornings, which require earlier nights. That means less time for recording and editing and everything else that goes into making the podcast.

If you're reading this, I assume you're a regular listener. For that I thank you. I owe you quite a bit. For example, I owe you more and better content. It's coming. Exactly what form that is, I don't know.

But back to my main point.

I'm exercising more, eating better, working harder on my Cub Scout commitments (I'm Cub Master for the Pack my son is in), working harder in my National Guard posting (Senior Platoon Trainer NCO for Officer Candidate School), and wanting to do more "hobby stuff." All of this takes time. Unfortunately, all of these things take a higher priority than simply banging out a podcast when it comes due.

Now, there is some cross-pollination in there. It's especially evident when it comes to my National Guard pursuits and my hobby. For example, Henry Hyde will be publishing an article I wrote as a direct result of my recent military education. Additionally, I'll be writing about my experience in planning a staff ride for the Officer Candidates. More on that later. Furthermore, I'm planning more articles for Henry.

As for the hobby stuff, I want to spend more time with my kids. Luckily, they both want to paint figures with me and play more games. Anticipate that generating more content for the podcast and maybe more blog posts here. For example, the projects I'm actively pursuing include:
- A semi-secret Seven-Years War project
- My son's 40k Orks
- A Full Thrust project using Halo ships
- A microarmor game I'm developing with my brother Chris
- Rommel in 3mm
- The Commands & Colors Epic Fantasy (not BattleLore) project (and I might have a writing partner for this one now)
- The space station project I talked about previously for sci-fi skirmish (possibly Oldhammerish)

Lots of other stuff is ruminating as well. What can I say, I'm a gaming magpie from way back. In the meantime, I'm trying to read more history, historical fiction, self-help, US Army doctrine publications and even the occasional hobby magazine!

I'm a busy guy. Part of this little pause has been taken up with some thought, soul searching, prioritizing, planning, and figuring what the hell I'm doing next. Part of that is going to take me becoming more personally disciplined in how I go about things. I've never scheduled "free time" before, but I might have to start.

We're all busy. So, I hope you can understand why I might be late with the podcast. I hope you'll forgive me. One of these days, you might even think what I produce was worth what you paid for it.

That is all.
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Monday, March 16, 2020

[Hackaday] Robotic Eels Take Care Of Undersea Pipelines

Robotic Eels Take Care of Undersea Pipelines

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Sunday, March 15, 2020

Movie Reviews: Captain Marvel, Green Book, Juliet, Naked, Colette, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, Aquaman, Ralph Breaks The Internet, Mary Poppins Returns, Like Father

See all of my movie reviews.

Captain Marvel - It's not the toxic male mob intent on trashing this movie because it features strong women characters (some of color, no less) that gets me. It's the well-meaning but clueless regular men (and women) who don't get that a female superhero movie doesn't have to a) be exactly like a male superhero movie or b) feature a woman who has to listen to, love, or get saved or supported by a man.

"Vers" is a Kree, a humanoid with a past that she remembers in glimpses in her dreams. She is fighting as an elite Kree warrior against the "terrorist" shape-shifting Krulls, and told by her mentor and the world's AI that they gave her her special powers (shooting energy blasts from her hands and other things, that other Krees don't have) and will take it away if she can't control it. During a mission she is kidnapped by Krulls and crash lands in 1990s Earth, where she discovers many secrets about the past and the war she is fighting. Eventually she turns into Captain Marvel; this is late in the movie but not a big spoiler.

The naysayers who say that Brie Larson doesn't exhibit enough emotion didn't watch the movie. Okay, maybe she doesn't play CM as a vulnerable helpless naif, or make us feel her struggles too much, but she exhibits fear, doubt, confusion, happiness, joy, anger, and everything in between. She's just freakin' strong and powerful, she's generally in control, and she's angry. Captain Marvel has nothing to prove after being lied to and finally regurgitating the lies. She spent six years in a civilization that treats men and women equally and she doesn't know anything about being a second class citizen. She is a powerhouse and a warrior. And so, in a more human way, is her female friend Lashana Lynch, a pilot who skillfully flies a rescue mission and shoots down enemy ships.

The naysayers who claim that CM doesn't learn or grow also didn't watch the movie. Okay, the turning points were sometimes a tad rushed, but it's a Marvel movie; for crying out loud. Compared to other Marvel movies, this was Shakespeare. Everything about her confusion, her gradual uncovering of the truth, and her turning points are well presented in the movie and make sense. (How she got her powers - and lived - doesn't make sense, but then neither do any of the other Marvel superhero origin stories.)

One way to analyze if the movie works is to ask if the movie would still be good if the sexes were swapped. The answer is hell yes. But it's far better to have women as the lead characters, because so few movies like this do. It's high time that girls had some uncompromising, independent, unsexualized, strong role models.

Everyone involved in this movie did a great job. It has the most real character development and character relations I've seen in a Marvel movie since Iron Man. Within the context of Marvel, the plot flows seamlessly into the rest of the MCU (without the hanging threads that Wonder Woman left in the DCU, for example). CM is a real superhero, like Superman. A fun watch. Ben Mandelsohn also bring fun to most scenes he is in as one of the Skrulls.

Green Book - Based on a true story of a low-class Italian bouncer who drives a black, fancy piano virtuoso across the deep south in 1962. Mahershala Ali plays the somewhat ridiculous Doctor Donald Shirley who is invited as guest of honor in places where he is typically not allowed to sleep or eat. Viggo Mortensen is nearly unrecognizable as his driver, who starts off as a crude racist but ends up ... well, you'll have to see.

The story is okay, the acting and everything else is good. The movie creates a relatively safe space to encounter racism, with only a little violence and general racism. It's more a road movie and a culture class of refined vs uncouth. I don't know that the movie deserved an Oscar for best picture, but it was solid enough, if a tad predictable in some places.

The ending scene is unbelievable as Hollywood movies tend to be.

Juliet, Naked - A very good romantic comedy. Duncan (Chris O'Dowd) is a fanatic blogger who obsessively tracks information about one musician, Tucker Crowe (Ethan Hawke), who disappeared many years ago. Duncan is more interested in his hobby than his girlfriend, Annie (Rose Byrne), who ends up in contact with Tucker behind Duncan's back.

Like in many romantic comedies, it's hard to figure out how the girl ended up with the guy in the first place. Not that Duncan is horrible, but he's not a great match for Annie. The scenery is a small pretty, port town in England crossed with some scenes in London hospitals and studios. The movie is mostly laid back.

It's sweet and calm, with an original screenplay that goes in a familiar rom-com direction with some original, unexpected confrontations along the way. Well worth a watch.

Colette - Keira Knightley plays the eponymous writer in a now-familiar story of a woman writing under her man's name, who takes the credit, until she has had enough of that, thank you.

Keira is a firehouse in some movies (Pirates of the Caribbean, Begin Again) and out of place in others (Pride and Prejudice, The Imitation Game). Here she is closer to the latter, unfortunately, unable to give the role the kind of gravitas that would make a more interesting picture. Her character is too straightforward. The plot is too straightforward. Colette's lesbian encounters were not scandalous at the time, because no one knew about them, and they are not scandalous to us today, so that part of the plot doesn't really add much substance to the movie.

It's not bad, and it doesn't drag, but it wasn't very memorable.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - Actually a good movie. The critics somewhat miss the mark here. They didn't like that this was an interim chapter of a movie that sets up the next one(s). In this regard, it's something like HP 5 or 6, but without the tournament or shock ending. Basically, if there had been a shock ending, the critics would have been mollified. The problem is that we're not invested in the characters, so that kind of an ending wasn't really possible.

Queenie, Jacob, Newt, and Tina, as well as a host of other characters, all congregate in Paris (and some other places) to chase after the smarmy Grindelwald, who is assembling an army to attack muggles, and the reborn Credence who has some kind of part to play. Dumbledore is also involved in some short scenes that don't give us much information.

They abandoned sense regarding Queenie's character and reduced her to a plot point "good witch turns bad" using the flimsiest of plot elements: they shoehorned Jacob back into the movie as another plot element. That part was kind of a mess, which I bet JKR could have done much better in book form than it ended up being on screen. As for Newt and Tina, yeah, it's a little hard to figure out why Newt is the hero handing this mission, instead of a pack of competent, trained aurors, but whatever. I also give "whatevers" to a few of the other random plot elements.

It's still pretty fun, pretty magical, mostly makes sense, is well-paced, has some clever and thrilling moments, and takes its time doing world-building ...something which other directors could learn from (*cough* new Star Wars *cough* all comic book movies *cough*). I'm not saying I'm going to run out and see it again in the theater, but I'll happily watch it again when I re-watch the whole FBaWTFT series.

Aquaman - Actually ... meh. Lots of men with irrelevant supporting women. That's par for the course, mostly, but the men are not interesting. They yell, pose, and fight. The spectacle and effects are pretty and overwhelming sometimes, but it all comes to a lot of posing and fighting, and nothing interesting in the way of plot or characters.

Queen of Atlantis runs away, or gets washed away, and meets a human who runs a lighthouse. They have a baby, Aquaman, who grows up (in too-little screen time) who goes to claim his crown in the sea. To do this he has to find a magic trident, while being pursued by a human in a magic suit who is upset that Aquaman didn't save his criminal father from dying, as well as the current lord of Atlantis who wants to kill all the humans for dumping garbage in the ocean.

On the one hand, it's nice when the bad guys have reasonable motivations (taken too far). On the other hand, do we really want to be rooting FOR dumping in the ocean? Or oppression of black people around the world (Black Panther)? Or overpopulation (Avengers Infinity War)?

Visually beautiful, frenetic, and kind of insane is the best that can be said about it. It's like Thor underwater, with a laser light show. Not on my list of great comic movies.

Ralph Breaks the Internet - Ralph and Princess Vanellope are video game characters, as you know from the last outing of this franchise. They get sucked into the Internet, and try to find a (real world physical) component to fix Vanellope's arcade game (and then the money to buy the component), and then they get into fights and races with hot gaming chicks and computer viruses.

It mostly makes sense if you don't think about any of it too hard (take one small aspect of a real world concept, pretend that it makes sense for a video game character to deal with or manifest, repeat ad nauseum). It's entertaining. It tries hard to have relatable characters, but they are just flat pixels on which to give a few life lessons and say jokes. The room full of hip Disney princesses was fun, but I couldn't help feeling that even this scene could have been better. Actually, just following a bunch of updated, feminist Disney princesses, free from the constraints of their movie plots, would make a great movie.

It tries hard, but ultimately it's just okay.

Mary Poppins Returns - Emily Blunt makes a nice Mary Poppins. She lacks (deliberately) some of the warmth and sentimentality that Julie Andrews had in the original, but makes up for it with a no-nonsense strictness and charm that gives her a more otherworldly, appealing magical quality. Lin-Manuel Miranda is good as the sidekick with an accent almost as bad as Van Dyke's was.

In this story, The Banks children are grown up with children of their own. They are facing financial problems that will cause them to have to leave their house. If only that lost bank deed with the proper signature would turn up to save the day. In the meantime, where is light-heartedness and fun to be found any more?

It's hard to judge this kind of thing as an adult with grown children. The original Mary Poppins was not one of my favorites: I loved the songs, but the movie was mysterious and dragged on on occasion (what the heck was that whole plot about women's votes? (I asked as a child)). This movie was at least as good, with inventive animated sequences and songs that pay homage to the original without duplicating it or being too "modern". On the other hand, maybe modern songs would have been a better idea for modern kids, like in The Greatest Showman?

I liked it.

Like Father - Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer play their charming selves in this so-so romantic comedy without the romance; is there a genre for parent-child relationship movies?

Rachel (Kristen) is an overworking always-on-the-phone bride who is left at the altar by her fiance for bringing her phone with her to the altar. Her estranged father (Kelsey) who left when she was five showed up to the wedding and then again a few nights later. They get drunk and end up on the cruise she was supposed to have gone on with her ex-fiance. They fight, they try to bond, they fight, they bond.

It's all predictable, down to the expected karaoke scene, the just-when-it-looks-like-everything-is-going-well-they-fight fight, and the last minute change of heart. Kristen and Kelsey carry the movie with their talents, and the usual assortment of nice location shots and the not-too-odd irrelevant cruise guests along for backdrop. No surprises makes it a little dull, but there is nothing very wrong with the movie and there are some laughs.
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Thursday, March 5, 2020

CX2691, Joust!

Hello there, thanks for waiting for this episode that features Joust by Atari! It's one of my favorite arcade games and is done pretty well on the 2600 (spoilers), probably because it was in the capable hands of GCC. Next up is Star Wars The Arcade game by Parker Brothers, which has an extremely interesting provenance. If you'd like to contribute to that episode, please send your feedback to 2600gamebygame@gmail.com by end of day October 20th, and I'll put it in the show. Thanks so much for listening!

My Extra Life donation page, thank you!
List of Radio Shack in store catalog games for sale by Kevin Gatland
Joust on KLOV
Kevin Osborn's Bald Wisdom blog
Michael Feinstein's Fein Line blog
Patricia Goodson at Atari Women site
Joust on Random Terrain
Joust on Atari Protos
Joust prototype photos on Atari Compendium
Joust prototype recreated by Thomas Jentzsch on Atari Age
Source code used for Joust prototype reconstruction (Wayback Machine)
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Austrian Dragoons By Doug Mason, And A Bit Of News


I can't help but notice its been 7 weeks since I last posted here, I wish I could say that a lots happened wargames-wise in that time, but I'm afraid thats not the case. I've had little time for games or painting. My output has been insignificant; I've STILL got 4 lancers to finish for that regt, although all the horses are done and the rest are based and finished. On a positive note I am coming up to my annual quiet period in terms of work which is normally  a productive painting period, so lets hope so. 
One thing I did manage was to get Mike Ingham to part with these dragoon figures painted by Doug Mason. I did nothing to them other than touch up the bases, they are the Elite figures. This gives me 2 regts of Dragoons now, plus the 2 hussar regts, and 1 lancer. I have one regt of 36 Chevaux legere (why give Austrian cavalry a French name?) still to paint- this will give 6 regts and a total of 240 cavalry.
There are stiil the Cuiraissiers to consider,but they can wait.
In 2 weeks time I will be heading up to Scarborough for Gerry's birthday bash which he has kindly invited me to. While I'm obviously looking forwards to this, it's also a bit sad as it will be the last time I will get to play 25mm napoleonics up there. Its not been any great secret that ill-health is forcing Mike to shut down the holdiday centre. Gerry is now well underway embarking on his own enormous - and I mean enormous!-10mm project (He already has erected a brand new, purpose-built "bunker" with about the same amount of table space as the current centre!). He is looking to replicate what they had in 25mm in 10mm in a couple of years- should be fascinating, and is going to be upping the figure scale so what was a 36 man btn now has a mental 108 figures. The man is nuts.
Although some figures have been sold, the rest of the collection (which is still massive), including all the buildings and terrain is moving down to the Basingstoke area under the stewardship of Mark Freeth. I spoke to him this morning and he has new premises sorted, and is hoping to put his first game on in February! He said he should have a website up next week. He is going to be doing Napoleonics, plus ACW and Malburian, and has already rebased all the WWII stuff (!) for Flames of War. He has some new ideas and will hopefully breathe a bit of new life into the WHC. I wish him all the best, and am looking forwards to playing there (and its only an hour up the road!).




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PES Society Affiliates To MSSA

PES Society caters for all esports athletes interested in competing in the Pro Evolution Soccer game title.
Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA), the world's oldest national federation for esports, has just accepted yet another club into membership.

PES Society, based in Cape Town, and specialising in the Pro Evolution Soccer game title by Konami, has been welcomed into the ranks of member clubs. With the introduction of PES 2020 into International Esports Federation's 11th World Championships in Seoul, there is even a greater interest in the game title than before.

According to Sahil Ebrahim, "PES Society is a community of avid eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer players from Cape Town, South Africa with a passion for the game not matched anywhere across the globe.

PES Society has a handful of committed individuals who ensure that regular leagues and monthly tournaments take place and keep the ball rolling in the quest to put Pro Evolution Soccer at the top of the football gaming empire."

PES Society may be contacted on:

Email: info@pessociety.co.za
Web: www.pessociety.co.za
Facebook: fb.com/thepessociety

MSSA is confident that PES Society will have a long and fruitful association.

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