Easter Lemming - Civilization

2011-11-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

Designers' Notes for Eclipse | BoardGameGeek

There is a Finnish space strategy board game being developed which looks very good.

2011-07-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

You've been playing Monopoly wrong.

You mean there is supposed to be auctions on property?

Real Monopoly is Monopoly played according to the actual rules. Now as you read this I can just imagine you shaking your head and saying, "Right... Because getting rid of free parking is so going to revolutionise the game!"
But I'm not talking about the rule changes that everyone knows are house-rules. I'm talking about the rules changes that everyone thinks are part of the original rules. I could waffle on, but it'll save a lot of your time and my typing if I just present you with the relevant section of the rules:
BUYING PROPERTY...Whenever you land on an unowned property you may buy that property from the Bank at its printed price. You receive the Title Deed card showing ownership; place it face up in front of you.
If you do not wish to buy the property, the Banker sells it at auction to the highest bidder. The buyer pays the Bank the amount of the bid in cash and receives the Title Deed card for that property. Any player, including the one who declined the option to buy it at the printed price, may bid. Bidding may start at any price.
http://www.hasbro.com/common/instruct/monins.pdf

2009-11-06T23:12:00.000-08:00

Steam games for Christmas GIFTS.

Here is five.

Go to steampowered.com for these and other fine downloadable games at great prices.

I would check out the Portal search page and the simulation games.

Torchlight is generating a lot of buzz, particularly its solitary retro style.

2009-05-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

NEW, FOR ME, ONLINE GAMES

One new game that looks interesting but I have so many other things going on I Don't know if I will be able to check it out. Another game that is filling up a great deal of time.

The Great War of Prefectures plays like a cross between Risk and a Real-Time Strategy game, with Japan's prefectures (analogous to other countries' states or provinces) serving as the territories you fight over.

I am heavily involved in 2 games of CIVONY right now which is a mistake. This is a Chinese company rolling out online games, which explains some of the odd English here and there. Civony is new and rapidly expanding with its servers having difficulty keeping up. It is attracting both Civilization type gamers and massive multi-player online war-mongers so it gets an odd mixture with many people dropping out. This actually serves a useful function with their now nearly empty castles accumulating resources for the others to pillage.

2009-02-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

Wii Guys and Gals

On Hulu from SNL.

2009-01-13T01:29:00.000-08:00

Final Fantasy VII

One of the most influential video games.

An AMV using video sequences from FF7 to FF X-2 and music from Shrek - I need a hero (holding out for a hero) by British comedy actress Jennifer Saunders. This is a version of a Bonnie Tyler song.

Final Fantasy XIII is about to be released.

Video trailer here.

2009-01-08T21:50:00.000-08:00

Armageddon Empires

This should go with the game updates except that I haven't decided to buy it yet and this is a current moderately priced game. It is another PC version of a board game but it went straight to the PC first. That may be a good strategy for new games both for the developer and to find a market at a low cost.

Here is a review.

Here is either a free demo version and where to get the real version and other downloads.

I also saw on LiveJournal, that link may be friends only, that Paul has gotten BattleStar Galactica - the board game. It very much looks like Shadows Over Camelot, someone agrees, which I think is OK but not really my thing.

2009-01-07T07:05:00.000-08:00

Joss is back

Dollhouse

More Dr. Horrible.

2009-01-07T00:11:00.000-08:00

Updates

Meet the new Lara Croft.

Where do old electronic games go to die?

They often survive as free downloads on the Internet.

Check at downloadanystuff.org and the Wiki list of games released as freeware.

There is also C:Dos Abandonware and oldgames.nu or free game downloads. The last includes many manuals.

Perhaps better would be just this Google search for "abandonware game downloads" and look into the top sites. Squakenet looks like one of the best and directs you to other sites for info and downloads. Here are the links for UFO: Enemy Unknown aka XCOM: UFO Defense and Epic Warhammer. You might need to download the dosbox to play these on a modern PC.

Getting back to the picture - here is the original Tomb Raider 1996.

You do give up something in the old games - sweeter graphics.

I'm adding a couple of games to check out.

Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy

Wargame Construction Set 3

Armada 2525: Deluxe Edition or here.

There is a free version of The Political Machine 08.

What looks like the best space game worth paying for - Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor. This replaces my Space Empires V recommendation - except for the price as Space Empires is now available for less than $8.

I also highly recommend War! Age of Imperialism for $6 or similar at Amazon. (I picked up a great deal with the shipping cost much more than the game price right before Christmas.) Think of W!AoI as advanced Risk with pretty smart AI opponents. Make sure you download the update patch. I like Eagle Games board games and this PC version is better than the board game.

PCWorld has an article on some recent games converted to freeware.

2008-12-28T11:08:00.000-08:00

This is good news.

Also "the cake is a lie"

On steam - $4.99.

Also see this interview about audiosurf, the pc as a platform for games and steam as a means of reaching customers.

2008-10-18T14:26:00.000-07:00

The big list of decent free MMO games.

This is from Tamisan News which is a great site to keep as a LiveJournal friend or in your RSS feeds.

2008-05-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

Texas area cons that include gaming.

I am sure this is not all the gaming cons.

2008-05-07T01:13:00.000-07:00

Increase your vocabulary

Play a game

Feed the hungry

All at the same time

FreeRice.com

2008-04-17T00:55:00.000-07:00

Mad Libs turn 50

The name “Mad Libs” came to Roger and me out of the blue-plate special at Sardi’s restaurant in New York in the summer of 1958. At the table next to us, an actor and his agent were having coffee and an argument. From what we couldn’t help but hear, the actor wanted to “ad-lib” an interview, and his agent thought it was a “mad” thing to do.

Nuff said? Abandoning our eggs Benedict, Roger and I were off and running to a publisher, the same one that had published Roger’s best-selling humor book "In One Head and Out the Other." And within minutes we were in one door and out the other. Those good souls didn’t think it was a book but honestly believed it might appeal to a game manufacturer.

The game manufacturer in turn thought it was a book and sent us to another book publisher, which didn’t think it was a book! After we ran out of publishers and game manufacturers within a 50-mile radius of the city, Roger decided we should publish Mad Libs ourselves. What could it take? You design the book, find a printer, and place the order. So we did just that. It never occurred to us, until the printer called asking where he should deliver the books, that printers didn’t double as warehouses. However, Roger’s large Central Park West apartment could and did. Fourteen thousand copies of Mad Libs were delivered directly to his dining room, denying my good friend a decent sit-down meal for the three months and 17 days it took us to find a willing, one-time-only distributor.

Play a game.

2008-04-14T05:16:00.000-07:00

Have you tried Killer Sodoku?

UK London Times has an online difficult regular Sodoku and a killer Sodoku.

They have a good selection of games and puzzles.

2008-03-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

New Game of Death

A game in development has released a short excerpt for free or an expanded $5 mini-game. You play a very old lady who visits a graveyard and thinks about all those she knew and how they died while a sad European song plays. For the extra $5 she might die while there.

The Wired games blog has more.

2008-03-10T03:09:00.000-07:00

The Best PC Games You Never Played

Joe Martin takes time to argue for his favorites. Some are available free now.

Coming up is the fascinating Spore game, which he previews. Wil Wright of the Sims fame has a game where you are God and design and guide your creatures at a cellular level and by stages up to a galaxy spanning civilization.

2008-02-17T17:46:00.000-08:00

Thoughts on rather the V-2 was a mistake.

2008-02-06T23:56:00.000-08:00

Top 25 Linux Games For 2008

New prices and expansions of Galactic Civilizations 2

FreeCiv still improving.

2007-12-23T03:34:00.000-08:00

Board Game Gift Guide 2007

I have played many and want to play the rest. I even have a couple.

A few more games could have been added. like 1960: the Making of the President.

2007-09-07T22:53:00.000-07:00

How Starfire fell apart

Gaming this afternoon at Lewis's, a couple people mentioned they had run a Galactic Starfire game that was a lot of fun. I mentioned I hadn't played anything Starfire since the first 1970's edition.

I still had links in my bookmarks, I never throw anything away if I can help it, from when I was considering restarting playing Starfire with a newer edition five or more years ago. When I went to check the main Starfire site seemed almost but not quite dead.

Looking further I found this message and answer about copyright and trademark laws as applying to games and game aids. The gaming community evidently decided what I call the Weber versions of the game were better, after the person who now owned the game moved on to what he thought was a better system. In the disagreement that followed it looks like all versions are dying.

The Internet Archive still has some materials.

2007-08-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

Simple logic

Introduction to Picross. A square is either on or off and makes a graphic image. The only clue is a pattern above or to the right of the grid telling the length of the runs of on squares. This is now available on some game platforms and phones. Another Picross game, and another.

Somewhat related to Sudoku. The Washington Post has some of the best free Sudoku pages for a daily fix. BBC published an eight page Soduko mix of puzzles (pdf) available for download. Websoduko has a weekly similar feature. They also sell customized puzzle ebooks.

The top 50 Soduko sites.

2007-08-06T02:06:00.000-07:00

Tower Defense Games

Addicting Internet Timewaster games about building guard towers on your desktop to stop little creeps. Desktop Tower Defense. Wiki.

Here are all the free Tower Defense Games. Lots of other games also there. This Enemy Territory is popular.

Originally designed as an expansion pack for Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Enemy Territory is one of the highest quality multiplayer freeware games available. There are serveral classes to choose from including covert ops, medic, soldier and field ops. There are always servers up to play on. Dont miss out!

Top 5 Tower Defense Games from Just Whatever.

This was from SF editor Nielsen Hayden at Making Light, who has more on tower defense games.

2007-07-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

Galactic Wars

Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar gets an A+ from Sci-Fi Weekly. It appears to be the best 4x space game around now.

Star Wars PocketModel Trading Card Game, which I am assembling to play with my nephew, only gets a C+, but the review looks very rushed. It did not even mention that Booster Packs are just that - boosters and not the whole game. You should get the $15 box to start and add boosters. (I didn't because the boxes were sold out and I even had to wait a few days for the boosters to come back in.) A custom rules game with custom map already.

Space Empires IV is the classic space game of 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate) and has a demo and a new fantastic lower price as the updated 3D Space Empires V is out also with a demo and a great price.

Sid Meiers Civ 4 has a new expansion that is supposed to be very good if you can handle the requirements. My speed is borderline and my graphics card is subpar for it. Civ Fanactics overview. This is supposedly the largest expansion for a Civ game ever.

See also this list of Free Computer Version of Board and Card Games with Computer AI (Artificial Intelligence) Opponents. I need to check out the Excel Puerto Rico version now that I have a monitor that can handle it. Also check out abandoned by manufacturer and available as downloads computer games like Advanced Civilization at Abandonia. More abandonware links here.

While we're doing lists - Moon's best games of 2006. Twilight Struggle tops the list and I will get that soon (even if it has been decided that one side has an advantage that needs a minor rule change like bidding for sides or adjusting victory points.) I will not pay the $57 plus tax my local game store wants for it, however. I will check out a seller at BoardGameGeek or a discount online store.

2007-07-22T03:58:00.000-07:00

Nobody, but nobody, plays Ca$h 'n Gun$ like Texans!

Bang, bang.

As much fun as a trilogy.

2007-07-22T03:29:00.000-07:00

Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery

A great game or only a very good game?

I've played twice now, I'm not sure. Just out of the top 20 on BoardgameGeek. From a very positive review comments:

The leader (the only experienced player) won with 78, focusing on military and gaining first places in the new world. I came in second with 75 being the trade good king (and getting the big building for 15 vips, yay), third place was 73 with the Privateer and his 4 ships (plus the big building for 16 vips, ouch), 4th place was Cortez (with his free captain and free soldier in the conquest box every turn) with 72, (and had he not made the gamble to bring only 5 guys when he had 6 available, and flipped a card with 6 natives, he could very well have won) and last player had 67, he was the missionary, getting one free priest and the cathedral.

It was thus very interesting to see 5 wholly diferent strategies duke it out on the board.

2007-07-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

Harpoon 3

Review by James Allen: Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare is a good game for those players who won’t be scared off by the outdated graphics and initial learning curve. If you want flashy graphics, go play some mindless console game (which is every console game…HA!). If you want tactical depth and a range of scenarios, play Harpoon 3 Advanced Naval Warfare.

Matrix Games: Most accurate naval simulation available to the public.

Multiplayer Suport for up to 6 Players
Spectator mode for Multiplayer
Support for VCR record and playback
Over 120 pre-built scenarios

Complexity: Intermediate to Advanced
Field of Play: Strategic / Tactical
Historical Period: Modern, 20th Century
Unit Scale: Ship, Planes, Subs
Game Play: Pausable Real Time
Players: 1 to 6
AI: Yes
TCP/IP: Yes, 2-6 Players, Client and Server included
PBEM: No
Game Editor: Yes, Map and Scenario Editor

Screenshot, more.

Low PC requirements as this is an XP port of an older game with an extensive fan community.

A March 2007 update patch is available.

Winner July 2007 Origins Vanguard Award for innovative and unique gaming products!

Harpoon - Commanders Edition to be released in the next several weeks.

2007-07-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

Wizkids: Star Wars PocketModels

My Ranger nephew is wanting me to get at least a couple booster packs and the free starter kit to play him with this collectable card game when he visits later this month. I don't really like collectable card games, crack for kids and gamers, but I might make a small investment in this. Here is a link to the coupon.

A review, another "Best Light Filler Beer & Preztels Game EVAR, Dood!," from BoardGameGeek's page on this game.

2007-04-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

PeaceMaker - Play the News. Solve the Puzzle.

The Peacemaker Game where you attempt to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is now commercially available along with a free demo.

2007-04-09T16:25:00.000-07:00

John Cramer, SF Writer and Physicist, can't get time-travel funding from DARPA

It really sounds like the proposal was too cheap and unexciting for them. Or do they already have better time-travel knowledge?

2007-03-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

Hand-Drawn Video Games

Minimalist flash computer games are addictive and cute and hot.

2007-03-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

I write about some non-PC games in my politics blog today. Imperial looks real good and I hope to play soon.

2007-02-25T20:54:00.000-08:00

When Rummy tried to nuke Russia

In nuclear war games, Rumsfeld always tried to unleash the maximum amount of nuclear firepower possible. Someone (Kissinger, Baker?) playing the pretend Secretary of State outmaneuvered Rumsfeld as the pretend Secretary of Defense in underground bunker bureaucratic warfare and managed to save millions of theoretical people. Rumsfeld never forgave him.

2007-02-24T09:38:00.000-08:00

Twilight Struggle

2-Player game covering the cold war. Whoever causes nuclear war loses so it is a struggle for influence.

Link is to a description of the game for newbies.

There is a Java setup to play this online in wargameroom.com.

One interesting thing about the game, that isn't really related to how it plays, but more to the feel of the game, is it really does remind you of the feeling of the time - at least for me, as I can remember many of the events in the game (mostly the later Mid-War and Late War cards), but even the ones that happened before I was around remind one of famous events in the Cold War. Most things you can think of are there - there's the Space Race, Khruschev's "We Will Bury You", Reagan's "Evil Empire", Iran-Contra, Allende, etc. Most of the major events of the Cold War seem to be encapsulated into a card in the game - and that is very interesting. Also, the logic of the game FEELS like what the cold war felt like - the "domino" theory of geopolitics is definitely in the game, as to expand, you need to have at least a presence in a country, but once a country is controlled by your opponent, it's much more difficult to gain a foothold in the normal course of play - events change this, but even those tend to depend on having a presence (not always though - and those are powerful events).

Interview with game designers.

FunAgain Games - under $50. Also has a great review.

2007-02-22T02:55:00.000-08:00

Dinosaurs, babes, guns and an RV.

A satirical free first person shooter game about using a time machine to go back and blow up dinosaurs with has-been celebrities for a reality TV show.

Developed on Source - the same game engine Valve created to power Half-Life 2 - DinoHunters is an amazing 3D experience full of comedy, sex, nasty old lizards and the occasional country song.

2007-02-10T11:21:00.000-08:00

Smugglers of the Galazy gets a write-up.

Smugglers gambles on sci-fi fans - Houston Chronicle

Houston company and a fun game. More here.

2007-02-06T01:33:00.000-08:00

101 Free Games 2007 - The Best Free Games on the Web! from Games For Windows 1UP.com

2006-12-31T15:11:00.000-08:00

Account of a two-player Risk 2210 game.

I will have to check the rules on the neutral Luna deployment which I don't remember.

RISK 2210 is quicker and more exciting than regular RISK.

Don't get into a grudge match over Australia or something equally silly and you can conquer the world.

2006-12-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

The DREAD/MPDS (Multiple Projectile Delivery System) Centrifuge Weapon (Centrifuge Gun)

There are claims about a new silent deadly recoilless weapons system that does not use gun powder but centrifugal force and can operate in a non-lethal or totally devastating modes.

Military.com - DREAD Weapon System

Defense Review - DREAD Centrifugal Weapons System

Video

Update

Update

There is a lot of skepticism about the claims and the first articles are from 2004 and don't seem to have been updated much.

In Summer of 2005 the NRO posted some info and got ridiculed on left sites for not knowing physics.

2006-12-18T03:13:00.000-08:00

War on Terror - the Board Game

2006-12-03T15:56:00.000-08:00

Checking out Meez.com

2006-12-03T02:05:00.000-08:00

Political Wire: Political Video Game Upgraded

The upgrade to the addicting political video game President Forever has been released in time for the holiday season. Compete in either the Democratic or Republican primary and the general election “with 14 ready-made candidates in 2008” or as a candidate in a historic election. Highly recommended for political junkies.

One caveat: A few candidates included in the game are no longer running, such as former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D) and Sen. George Allen (R-VA), and there are some notable absences as well, including Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL).

Other good political video games are Political Tycoon, The Election Game and The Political Machine.

2006-11-18T13:43:00.000-08:00

Postmortem on developing Stardock's The Political Machine

This is an interesting game, particularly for $5 in discount bins. This is more a game and not a simulation although its database was quite current on partisan breakdowns of each state. I am amazed it was so quickly developed and major features added in the last 48 hours.

A short review is here.

It is reported they will do a 2008 version of this game which could also be fun.

2006-11-05T03:59:00.000-08:00

digg / Playable Web Games

The most current popular web games.

2006-11-04T15:52:00.000-08:00

1999 War Games Foresaw Problems in Iraq

The U.S. government conducted a series of secret war games in 1999 that anticipated an invasion of Iraq would require 400,000 troops, and even then chaos might ensue.

In its ``Desert Crossing'' games, 70 military, diplomatic and intelligence officials assumed the high troop levels would be needed to keep order, seal borders and take care of other security needs.

The documents came to light Saturday through a Freedom of Information Act request by the George Washington University's National Security Archive, an independent research institute and library.

``The conventional wisdom is the U.S. mistake in Iraq was not enough troops,'' said Thomas Blanton, the archive's director. ``But the Desert Crossing war game in 1999 suggests we would have ended up with a failed state even with 400,000 troops on the ground.''

There are currently about 144,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, down from a peak of about 160,000 in January.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Central Command, which sponsored the seminar and declassified the secret report in 2004, declined to comment Saturday because she was not familiar with the documents.

The war games looked at ``worst case'' and ``most likely'' scenarios after a war that removed then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power. Some are similar to what actually occurred after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003:

-``A change in regimes does not guarantee stability,'' the 1999 seminar briefings said. ``A number of factors including aggressive neighbors, fragmentation along religious and/or ethnic lines, and chaos created by rival forces bidding for power could adversely affect regional stability.''

-``Even when civil order is restored and borders are secured, the replacement regime could be problematic - especially if perceived as weak, a puppet, or out-of-step with prevailing regional governments.''

-``Iran's anti-Americanism could be enflamed by a U.S.-led intervention in Iraq,'' the briefings read. ``The influx of U.S. and other western forces into Iraq would exacerbate worries in Tehran, as would the installation of a pro-western government in Baghdad.''

-``The debate on post-Saddam Iraq also reveals the paucity of information about the potential and capabilities of the external Iraqi opposition groups. The lack of intelligence concerning their roles hampers U.S. policy development.''

2006-10-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

RISK 2210

Variants and expansions have been gathered by a Belgium site.

Normal RISK, RISK 2210, Invasion of the Giant Amoebas, Secret Mission Risk, and RISK 2210 Mars clones are available as one download in a free PC and network play package at Smiley Productions. A RISK GodStorm clone is also under development.

There are two more variants I would like to see included in an online package - RISK NWO(?), where your normal RISK cards have alternate abilities if you wish to play them that way; and Nuclear Risk, where you may request some of your normal RISK armies as nuclear weapons - usually represented by Cherios! House rules regarding invasions by sea and sea control are also out there.

Another RISK clone with many maps and much stronger AI but more limited variants is Lux Delux.

Of course, by the time you finish redesigning the game and add special pieces you might as well play Axis and Allies or World in Flames.

2006-10-09T22:48:00.000-07:00

Israel's Nuclear Weapons

1967 - 1999

2006-10-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

Iran's Point Defense Upgraded

Iran should have received the mobile TOR M-1's to provide point air defense. The S-300's to provide area defense are not there yet.

2006-10-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

Submarine Plans

Some drawings and plans from BC to modern times.

2006-10-06T17:13:00.000-07:00

Survey: two-thirds of online gamers are female

The third annual release of the Nielsen "Active Gamer Benchmark" study is out, and it contains some surprises. The study looked at so-called "Active Gamers" (those who play video games on a consistent basis) and found that there were currently 117 million such gamers in the United States. While the majority of gamers (70 percent) are male, the balance shifts dramatically when limited to online gamers, which comprised more than half of the total. The study found that nearly two-thirds (62 percent) of online gamers were women. This statistic challenges an earlier study issued by ComScore that had pegged the latter figure at 52 percent.

This percentage is not limited to 3D action games, such as CounterStrike or massively multiplayer online role-playing games like World of Warcraft, but includes all computer and video games that feature an online component. Still, the fact that females outnumber males in any kind of aggregate measure of gaming is a massive shift away from conventional wisdom. The traditional, male-dominated games industry may have to sit up and take notice.

This isn't the first time that the industry has considered the presence of female gamers. In the 1990s, studies showed that more women than expected were playing video games, and a few companies attempted to fill an untapped market by coming out with "girl games" that were deliberately targeted at a female audience. Most of these companies were unsuccessful, and their failure was typically used as an argument against any further targeting of a female demographic, rather than a reflection of the quality of the games themselves.

2006-09-26T02:33:00.000-07:00

F-14 Tomcat Makes Ceremonial Last Flight

Operational 1972 - 2006.

2006-09-26T01:48:00.000-07:00

Game designers

Viktory 2 is a game of world conquest with concepts that seem inspired by Settlers of Catan.

1. Do you enjoy "conquer the world" wargames like Risk 2210, Axis & Allies, Attack!, & Memoir '44?
2. Do you enjoy games with an element of chance, i.e. dice rolling to resolve combat?
3. Do you think it is okay to sacrifice some realism for increased simplicity of play?
4. Do you prefer fast paced games that can be finished in a few hours or less?
5. Do you prefer games where an aggressive strategy is not penalized?
6. Do you prefer games that have miniatures as opposed to chits?
7. Do you prefer games with customizable maps for greater replayability?
8. Do you prefer games that don't involve a ton of number crunching and complex rules?
9. Do you prefer games that a beginner can understand easily?

If you've answered "YES" to most of the above questions, then VIKTORY II is a game you should strongly consider.

The story of the making of Viktory II. I am fascinated by the dedication and process of making boardgames. I have made some card games and wish to make up new rules using my Sid Meier's Civilization the Board game set. This person lives up in East Texas and I hope makes it down for OwlCon.

Here is someone writing about the long process of producing his game 6 billion - the human conquest of the solar system. There was some debate about the underlying premises of the game. The game possibly could be converted to a spreadsheet like the Puerto Rico spreadsheet editions.

Here is a list of games that would be helped by spreadsheets. I would like to modernize Concensus and put it on one.

2006-09-25T23:28:00.000-07:00

Wired News: The Mythical 40-Hour Gamer

Is Clive Thompson a game wuss or does the gaming community split into hard-core and soft-core by how long you can play a game straight?

2006-09-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

Ã?Â» Anti-spyware spread by spyware

Recently a trojan that promotes anti-spyware and anti-virus programs showed up on my system. Neither AVG, Spybot S&D or Ad-Aware could find it. Finally, I downloaded a specific free trojan remover based on one message I got that seems to have taken care of it. AVG did discover a separate Trojan-downloader the next day.

I suspect the first trojan may have snuck in with one of these free recent game downloads I blogged about so a note of caution is in order.

2006-09-23T01:19:00.000-07:00

Free downloadable games with AI opponents

Boardgame Geeklist: Free Computer Version of Board and Card Games with Artificial Intelligence Computer Opponents

Check out Puerto Rico and San Juan. There are several versions of both. I have played several of the other games but not on the PC.

This list continues for several pages and includes comments and screenshots.

ADDED - while looking at the other pages I discovered one of my favorite games I can't get enough players for usually - Risk 2210 or Invade Earth as it is called here. There is also a link to the online version of Blokus.

2006-09-21T02:03:00.000-07:00

X-COM: UFO Defense

A fascinating atmospheric strategy game involving the Earth being invaded by several alien races and a team set up to combat, capture, learn, and reverse engineer new weapons as the war expands. Introductory video here. One of the classics of PC games.

It looks like it is now an abandonware game available here and an Windows XP patch here. You will also need a processor slowdown tool like turbo or dosbox.

An encyclopedic overview and strategies for the game is here. An X-Com utility for the game is here. There is still a forum for the game here.

A closely related sequel X-Com - Terror from the Deep concentrates on the underwater alien bases. It is even more atmospheric and plays off of the H. P. Lovecraft Cthulhu Mythos.

X-Com Apocalypse was the much less popular final chapter in the series. It is interesting in that it draws a bit of inspiration from the Illuminati Mythos. This war is a later separate alien attack from another dimension that must be defeated. DOS - free download. Conversions to get it to run now.

The creators also produced Laser Squad Nemesis, more of a turn based strategy game playable by email. An old game and cracks are available if you go that route but it is less than $10 as shareware.

2006-09-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

More free game downloads

SuperPower 2 Demo Only

Mission Risk 1998 Free Game.

Ceasar The award Winning game of building ancient cities is now freeware.

Titans of Steel Robot Mech war strategy game with network player mode.

Is this... The end? Mindless space shoot'em-up arcade style game.

Origins of World War I, a simple board game you build yourself from files on this page. A sequel to this, Origins of World War 2, became an award winning board game. Rules are pretty much each major power has influence chips they can play on countries and at the end of the game each side has different values for each country for their rank in amount of influence.

Free wargames. An example of one of these is Grav Armor, a 1982 microgame inspired by Ogre and G.E.V.. Pretty much simplified PanzerBlitz in the far future. A similar free game is Dirtside 2. There is a conversion called Full Metal Ogre that links the two games.

Many of the old games can be played by email with virtual counters and maps.

I wrote V_MAP so that war gamers around the world could play the games that they already own with other players. V_MAP is also a flexible tool for aspiring board game developers in that it can be used as a board game construction kit with minimal effort. To that end, gamesets never contain any rules unless the author have given me express permission to do so.

1ST ALAMEIN and The Russian Portfolio - free email using V_MAP or Cyberboard, or play as live board wargames of WW2 combat by Lou Coatney.

2006-09-18T14:50:00.000-07:00

Policy Conflict Games

Wired News: New Games To Tackle Middle East Conflict

In contrast to the gritty, street-level view of Palestine, ImpactGames' PeaceMaker takes a high-status approach.

Here you can choose to be the Palestinian president or the prime minister of Israel. Instead of Palestine's adventure-RPG style, PeaceMaker takes the 1,000-foot-view of a turn-based strategy game.

After you make your choices, PeaceMaker uses old news clips to piece together realistic stories out of the Middle East, showing you the consequences of your leadership -- positive or negative. Television conveys events passively, explains game creator Asi Burak.

"Here we show it as something you chose to do," Burak says....

Raph Koster, author of A Theory of Fun for Game Design and one of the creators of Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies, says that games with a political message are nearly as old as gaming.

In 1985, Balance of Power tackled Cold War brinkmanship under a thermonuclear threat. In 1988, Hidden Agenda allowed you to play a South American dictator, balancing the threats of insurrection and coup d'état against meddling U.S. and Russian influence.

Balance of Power was a great game modeling the Soviet Union versus American international politics that the typical warhawk gamers hated. If you started a nuclear war you lost, everyone lost. You had to play smart, not be a wimp but not let your emotions run away. The warhawks that played the game should have played it from the Russian side more - you learned their influence limitations.

I hadn't realized a sequel was made. The sequel sounds more like his original conception of the game based on the designer's book I have. He also talks about the development in another book which has the chapter online. Seems the 1990 edition was a pretty accurate simulation, which was also some views of the first edition. Balance of Power is considered a public policy game which I like.

The original Apple version is available as a free download as abandonware with the typical hacker idiot review.

2006-08-29T02:15:00.000-07:00

British Humour has its own wikipedia.

A history of Black Adder

In World War One, Black Adder realizes the best thing a soldier could aspire to is be a pilot.

Black Adder IV, Episode 4 - Private Plane

Flasheart . . . so I flew straight through her bedroom window, popped a box of chocs on the dressing table, machine-gunned my telephone number into the wall, and then shot off and shagged her sister.

[As George creases up, Bobby Parkhurst enters the dugout.]

Bobby Ahem. Driver Parkhurst reporting for duty, my Lord . . .

Flasheart Well, well, well. If it isn't little Bobby Parkhurst-- saucier than a direct hit on a Heinz factory.

Bobby I've come to pick you up.

Flasheart Well, that's how I like my girls--direct and to my point. Woof!

Bobby Woof!

[Flasheart removes his feet from Baldrick, grabs Bobby and puts her across his lap and begins to snog her. During the snog BA sarcastically checks his watch.]

Flasheart Ah! Tally ho, then! Back to the bar. You should join the Flying Corps, George. That's the way to fight a war. Tasty tuck, soft beds and a uniform so smart it's got a PhD from Cambridge.

[Flasheart gestures at Baldrick.]

Flasheart You could even bring the breath monster here. Anyone can be a navigator if he can tell his arse from his elbow.

BA Well, that's Baldrick out, I fear . . .

Flasheart We're always looking for talented types to join the Twenty Minuters.

BA . . . and there goes George.

[Flasheart rises from the chair, lifting Bobby in his arms.]

Flasheart Tally ho, then, Bobby. Hush, here comes a whizz-bang and I think you know what I'm talking about! Woof!

Bobby Woof!

[Flasheart and Bobby leave.]

BA God, it's like Crufts in here!

[Baldrick and George stand.]

George I say, Sir. What a splendid notion. The Twenty Minuters. Soft tucker, tasty beds, fluffy uniforms.

Baldrick Begging your permission, Sir, but why do they call them the Twenty Minuters?

George Ah, now, yes, . . .

[George moves across the dugout to get his card album.]

George . . . now this one is in my Brooke Bond `Book of the Air'.

[George returns to the cot and sits down.]

George Now, you have to collect all the cards and then stick them into this wonderful presentation booklet. Er . . .

[Baldrick sits down next to George.]

George Ah, here we are: Twenty Minuters. Oh, damn! Haven't got the card yet. Ah, but the caption says `Twenty minutes is the average amount of time new pilots spend in the air.'

BA Twenty minutes.

George That's right, Sir.

BA I had a twenty hour watch yesterday, with four hours overtime, in two feet of water.

[George, then Baldrick, rise from the cot and move to the table.]

George Well then, for goodness sake, Sir, why don't we join?

Baldrick Yeah, be better than just sitting around here all day on our elbows.

BA No thank you. No thank you. I have no desire to hang around with a bunch of upper-class delinquents, do twenty do minutes work, and then spend the rest of the day loafing about in Paris drinking gallons of champagne and having dozens of moist, pink, highly-experienced young French peasant girls galloping up and down my . . . Hang on!

2006-08-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

Free Game Demo

Joint Task Force Single-Player Demo.

Joint Task Force™ is a fast-paced tactical strategy game based on real world combat scenarios.

In the first mission you’ll neutralize a Somalian port with a small force of infantry specialists. In mission two, you’ll head deep into the Columbian jungle to smash a heavily armed cartel. In this more difficult mission you’ll have officially licensed military tech, including the Boeing AH-64D Apache helicopter and the General Dynamics M1A2 Abrams tank, as part of your arsenal.

This is a real-time fast-paced tactical strategy game based on real world combat scenarios. The Demo has two scenarios. It is a half a gig download.

2006-08-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

Australia to add two new battalions

Prime Minister John Howard has announced an extra 2,600 personnel for the army, saying Australia will face challenging situations in the next two decades.

The Prime Minister said two new battalions would be established in two stages, with one to be based in Adelaide and the other in southeast Queensland.

The cost to set up the battalions would be "something in the order" of $10 billion, the Prime Minister said, with the first battalion to be a mechanised unit and the other light infantry.

"This decision will ... as I understand it, take us back to a situation where we have the largest number of infantry battalions since 1973," he said.

"In anybody's language, it's a very significant boost to the Australian army and one that I think is needed, fully justified and will be widely supported by the Australian people."

Mr Howard said the first new battalion would be manned by 2008 and ready for overseas deployment by the end of 2010.

The new places are in addition to 1500 further personnel to be recruited under another army initative announced last year.

Australia has very interesting open debates about their defense needs and military decisions. A good discussion here on Ozzie reasoning.

In contrast to this my political blog caught the latest White House secrecy idiocy.

As long as I am making referrals to myself I posted a gaming post about a woman fantasy RPG in my general Notebook.

2006-08-22T01:45:00.000-07:00

Saudi Arabia buys 72 Eurofighter Typhoons.

The Eurofighter has a long history and is a generation 4.5 fighter. Saudi Arabia has a history of buying British planes since the 80's. Here in America we only here about the American purchases. The American F-22 and F-35 aren't quite available to export to Saudi Arabia yet and they choose this over the French Rafale. Their other option was upgraded F-15's, which are not as advanced and they are not a market for the Soviet Mig-35 which it looks like India will get.

2006-08-22T01:30:00.000-07:00

New (old) PC simulation war games

The Operational Art of War III.

Any battle at the operational level for the last 100 years or so. Unique movement and battle planning system empasizes that battles must be planned out.

Gary Grigsby’s World At War: A World Divided.

WW2 at the very high strategic level and into the post-war period. This is the sequel to the 2006 Award winning World at War.

Strategy Page - Gary Grigsby’s World at War is notable as the first step in recognizing PC games as legitimate entries into the ‘hobby’ game market. Gary Grigsby's World at War is one of the first, if not the first, PC titles to win a Callie award. This is a sign to retail hobby shops that it is alright to accept and embrace PC “board games” as an extension of their existing market. The Vanguards, such as the one given to Gary Grigsby’s World at War, are given to titles that are award worthy but do not fall into an existing category. Congratulations go to 2by3 Games – Gary Grigsby, Joel Billings and Keith Brors - for adding a great award to their long list of honors!

Harpoon 3: Advanced Naval Warfare adds multi-player mode to an improved Harpoon version.

2006-08-16T04:50:00.000-07:00

Microsoft to let players design own games

Microsoft wants to do for video games what YouTube has done for video: open it up for do-it-yourselfers.
The first step toward that goal, to be announced Monday, is the release of a free set of game-development tools called XNA Game Studio Express on Aug. 30. Prospective do-it-yourself game developers can download the program (from www.microsoft.com/xna) to their Windows PC and create games for PCs and for Xbox 360 systems.

Then during the holiday season, Microsoft will launch a "Creators Club" membership on its Xbox Live online service ($99 annually) allowing fledgling game developers to test their creations on their Xbox 360. Eventually, Microsoft plans to allow independent game makers to demo and sell their games on Xbox Live. "We want to be able to get consumer hobbyists to create games that run on Xbox 360 with an interface as simple as drag and drop," Microsoft's Peter Moore says.

XNA Game Studio Express, a streamlined version of Microsoft's XNA game development program, will serve as the programming skeleton that a game is created on. Also included will be GarageGame's Torque Engine, a program that makes it easier to fine-tune and run a game. While game development still requires a fair amount of computing know-how, a free game included in the package, Spacewars, can be easily modified and run by beginners.

Moore hopes the availability of easy-to-use programming tools will spark independent game development at many levels, from garages to universities. Already 10 universities have committed to adding Game Studio Express to game design curricula this fall. "We think high school science teachers will embrace this very quickly," Moore says.

Georgia Tech University video game design instructor Blair MacIntyre says his students will now be able to buy an Xbox 360 ($299-$399) rather than a high-powered PC to test their game prototypes. "Imagine how exciting it will be to be a student and be able to show your friends your class project running on their Xbox, hooked up to their TV in their living room," he says.

2006-07-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

Marines want a Space Plane

Getting a small force anywhere in the world in under two hours has always been the dream. The Marines may be pushing too hard to get a ship that can get them out too.

More and here. The Lexington think tank is skeptical.

It is pointed out in a status report that any platform to deliver troops also could be a hypersonic platform to attack bases with missiles or similar weapons anywhere in the world on short notice without the problems of long flight times or refueling.

2006-06-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

Fake Diamonds by Amy Sullivan

Fantasy baseball lamentations - is it really ruining the game?

There is a sentence in the article that badly needs editing.

2006-06-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

Special Forces To Use Strap-on 'Stealth Wings'

Very cool, very good pictures.

2006-05-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

FreeCiv version 2.0.8 and other Civ projects

Taking a break from Civ 4 and want the classics?

The free open-source Civ game now works well on Windows and has improved AI compared to previously. Much more like real Sid Mier's Civ.

It is still necessary to modify the default rules to prevent "smallpox" - nearly always building settlers and not developing cities, from always being the winning strategy. There are also two rulesets - Civ2 and Civ3 included in the Windows binary download to more closely match the Civilization games.

To make it a more development game and not who can churn out the most size 1 and 2 cities with the default rules change these settings when you setup a game.

unhappysize=1or2,
cityfactor=12-14
empire_size_inc=2
citymindist=3
fulltradesize=2or3
notradesize=1
angrycitizen=Y
borders=2or3
happyborders=Y

These play best on the small maps - earth72x36, earth80x50, random size 4 and below, can be changed for larger as long as you keep penalties for size 1 and/or 2 cities.

This causes players to develop infrastructure to manage unhappiness and prevents size one cities from helping toward progress. Technology slows down in the early years - no more end games before 1 AD. This does have the early Civ 3 feature where once you expand beyond your limit conquering cities gives no benefits.

Very worthwhile download, if you like Civ 1, 2 and 3 try FreeCiv out. The game keeps improving, is very customizable, has online play, and plays on old PCs.

Download FreeCiv. - Manuals and articles.

Graphics are not up to Civ 3, let alone Civ 4. Most online games are smallpox friendly because kill, kill, kill and conquer are more popular than keeping citizens happy and also makes for faster games.

Meanwhile progress on C-evo is very slow as one guy is doing nearly all the programming and wants it that way. This was an attempt to have accurate non-cheating A.I.'s which the game treated just like human players. This is very biased toward strategy not simulated random gameplay which I applaud but not the slow devlopment.

C-Evo

Another team is also making progress on better AI in a Civ type game which is a major limitation on strategic computer games now.

Clash of Civilizations

2006-05-28T03:22:00.000-07:00

Even More Classic Game Software

Mark Kinkead bought the licenses for the classic early PC strategy games Perfect General and Empire. He has converted them to modern code to run on Windows and be playable over the internet. Demos are available for free download and new enhanced internet editions are available for purchase.

If you look around the internet you might find free old versions of the games before his conversion and they should run on your machine. I have a Perfect General 2 that does after I downloaded and burned a CD for it. I also just found a very old style Empire conversion on a Russian site, not nearly as good as Kinkaid's new versions but free. This was developed in 2001 by Jimmy Maher in Texas.

2006-05-28T02:32:00.000-07:00

Electronic Game Addiction a growing problem

So far it is worst in South Korea, the electronic gaming capital of the world.

WP - When Escape Seems Just a Mouse-Click Away.

I just called Brent an evil mind dope pusher for sending me a link to FreeCiv which is now working on my computer. Not as addictive as straight Civ - the genuine hard stuff because FreeCiv is home-brewed and the recipe isn't refined, yet. Still, it is getting close to giving you the hit that Civ does.

2006-05-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Kyrie is my favorite laupe.

That is all. You may resume your life.

2006-05-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

Recent Email Offerings

IBM's $10 Billion Cold War Machine on Flickr

My brother sent me the link.

Brent sent me this link to Free Civ which I have posted before. I will try again and see if I can get it to work this time. You can play against others online.

2006-05-16T01:42:00.000-07:00

The first jet fighter flying again

A US group called the Stormbirds is assembling five new Me 262's to the specifications of the originals. Improvements for safety and reliability are hidden from the outside. Recently the second flying Me 262 took to the skies over Germany. Link from my brother Jim. The ME 262 Project.

2006-05-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

"Constant bearing, range rapidly decreasing!"

A complete Cold War naval wargame system is available for download as freeware. If you have the printing skills and time this is a fantastic value and site.

One interesting thing about the late 70's and 80's was the overall over estimates of the Soviet Union's military. This was reflected in most of the American wargames of the period. It is not that obvious in my brief playing of the original version of this game at San Jacinto College board game night this last Saturday. In the mid to early 70's there was also the dimissal of the power of missiles against ships in most games which Modern Naval Battles and Harpoon corrected.

In converting to freeware the rules have had minor updates, mainly spelling corrections and more ships available. The name of the game(s) has been changed to Cold War Naval Battles.

Cold War Naval Battles - Freeware Home

2006-05-13T04:24:00.000-07:00

Iran War - Week 1

Possible future or war-game scenario. Likelihood - 35%. Probability has been high for almost a year. Estimated attack date - June 06 to Spring 2007.

This Is the Way It Ends: Attack on Iran May Be Imminent. You can search for an Easter Lemming comment.

2006-05-08T01:12:00.000-07:00

US nuclear Forces - 2006

Our nuclear WMDs. Iraq and Iran have zero.

2006-05-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

Classic Micro Games and smaller than Micro

The Awful Green Things from Outer Space - a fascinating quick game of multiplying hordes of aliens. I thought it might have been better if there were humans in the crew instead of all aliens just for more empathy for the crew battling the awful green things inside their ship. A classic game still being made.

I would love to find the rules for Invasion of the Air Eaters to see if I can create a new game using my Sid Meir's Civilization boardgame. I found the countersheet and the map.

Fond memories of Ogre.

Role-playing rules to play while hiking - SHERPA RPG.

2006-05-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

Civilization IV: Warlords Preview

I still do not have Civ 4 as I doubt it will play well on my computer.

2006-04-26T01:50:00.000-07:00

Game Stuff

Gone Gaming has a collection of Game Koans

The number one board game at boardgame geek.

Puerto Rico for Windows download.

Free Computer Versions of Board and Card Games with Artificial Intelligence Computer Opponents and with Screen Shots

Download San Juan Card Game in Java with 3 AI opponents.

ADDED - Game strategy in San Juan, and here, and here.

2006-04-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

Baby, You Mean The World Of Warcraft To Me

Come on, honey, why do you have to be like that? You know that you're my Elven princess. My one and only. I would dare say that there is no one in all the realm who doesn't know of our love. I have sung your praises from the mouth of the Shadowthread Cave to the Stranglethorn Vale of the Eastern Kingdoms. I've introduced you to my comrades-in-arms in the Ulster guild, and they all accept you as kin.
And now you want to dissolve the greatest love ever to brighten my basement?

2006-04-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

The Play's the Thing

An article about increased popularity(?) of game nights in the Washington Post seems mainly a near-advertisement for Cranium and new DVD games.

2006-03-13T17:33:00.000-08:00

A lot of excitement over a new space civilization type game. GameDaily: Expert review for PC Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords

If you are the kind of person who likes empire building games like Civilization and sci-fi themes, then look no further. Galactic Civilizations II is the game to get. What we have here is a game that is so rich and comprehensive that they threw in the kitchen sink, the plumbing, and the neighbor's house.

It is also notable that an anti-piracy company tried to burn them by publicizing free downloads of the game after they refused to use their bad software.

Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords is a PC strategy game in which players takes on the role of leader of a space-faring civilization. Players direct their civilization's military, colonize planets, establish trade routes, fight wars, research new technologies, sign treaties, build up their planet's industry & economy, and ultimately battle to control the galaxy.

2006-02-13T01:12:00.000-08:00

Intro Article describing one scene for young gamers in Oregon. I am surprised the oldest, including the store owners, are only in their low 20's.

2006-02-02T05:18:00.000-08:00

Sudoku

2006-01-24T09:59:00.000-08:00

My favorite Waldrop story explains the last of the Dodo's in The Ugly Chickens.

2006-01-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

Howard Waldrop is one of the most interesting writers around. Here is his weekly Installment.

2006-01-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

Cory Doctorow's I, Robot seems to be up for awards. Read the story.

2006-01-24T09:34:00.000-08:00

New military technology at gizmag: Military.

2006-01-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

"The Crazy Years"

Naked "Survivor" Tax Trial Twists

As it turns out, original Survivor winner Richard Hatch has a few tricks up his sleeve.

The reality champ's defense attorney dropped a bombshell Friday at Hatch's federal tax evasion trial, alleging that Survivor producers struck a deal with Hatch while he was a contestant on the show, agreeing to pay the taxes on his million-dollar prize if he won.

The bargain purportedly came about after Hatch allegedly caught some of his fellow contestants cheating by having friends sneak food to them on the island. He told producers, who ultimately attempted to buy his silence, the story goes.

Another season one contestant who also asked not to be named said she frequently saw her competitors snacking on candy and Power Bars.

2006-01-22T08:54:00.000-08:00

defective yeti has a good review of Shadows over Camelot.

2006-01-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

Oddly Enough News Article | Reuters.com

AMSTERDAM - Dutch troops helping earthquake survivors in Pakistan have complained that while they are subject to an alcohol ban, Spanish and British soldiers laugh at their austerity and turn up drunk at their campfire.

"We were told before we arrived that alcohol was banned in this country or else very difficult to get hold of and we accepted this," one soldier told the Dutch daily De Telegraaf.

"The Spanish drive around with cars full of Heineken ... and the English laugh at us when they show up at our campfire drunk," another Dutch soldier said.

A Dutch defense ministry spokesman said it was standard policy to ban alcohol in Muslim countries in line with local custom and Dutch troops were being well looked after.

"Tens of thousands of people lost their lives in the earthquake and hundreds of thousands lost everything they had," he said. "Going without alcohol is a small sacrifice toward a very good cause."

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

2005-12-29T03:43:00.000-08:00

Wired News: Cyberporn Sells in Virtual World

2005-11-27T00:14:00.000-08:00

Poland risks Russia's wrath releases Soviet nuclear attack map

Poland's new rightwing government yesterday risked a damaging confrontation with Russia when it published a Warsaw Pact map showing detailed plans for Soviet nuclear strikes against western Europe.
Poland threw open the doors of its military archives to show how most of Europe would have been laid to waste in a nuclear conflagration between east and west. Dating from 1979, when presidents Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev were discussing detente, the map showed how Warsaw Pact forces would have responded to an attack by the Nato alliance.

A series of red mushroom clouds over western Europe show that Soviet nuclear weapons strikes would have been launched at Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium if Nato had struck first. Red clouds are drawn over the then German capital, Bonn, and other key German cities such as the financial centre of Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich and the strategically important northern port of Hamburg. Brussels, the political headquarters of Nato, is also targeted. Blue mushroom clouds, representing the expected Nato nuclear strikes, are drawn over cities in the eastern bloc, including Warsaw and the then Czechoslovakian capital, Prague. France would have escaped attack, possibly because it is not a member of Nato's integrated structure. Britain, which has always been at the heart of Nato, would also have been spared, suggesting Moscow wanted to stop at the Rhine to avoid overstretching its forces. The exercise, entitled Seven Days to the River Rhine, indicated Warsaw Pact forces aimed to reach the Franco-German border within a week of a Nato attack.

Commander Waldemar Wojcik, the head of Poland's Central Military Academy, said: "This was an exercise based on the assumption of a Nato attack. The doctrine of the day was that the Warsaw Pact countries were peace loving." He added: "I visited the Pentagon in 2001 and was shown maps that were the mirror image of this."

Other papers released covered Operation Danube, the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, and details of a massacre of Polish strikers in 1970 at Szczecin which led to the downfall of Wladyslaw Gomulka, the relatively moderate leader.

2005-11-21T01:06:00.000-08:00

MyPartyPost- Video Clip- Best Christmas Lights Display Ever

2005-11-14T17:31:00.000-08:00

Civilization IV Whom?

A conservative war-mongers view of Civ 4.

2005-11-14T15:43:00.000-08:00

Technical mishaps plague major new PC game: Is 'Civilization' doomed? | TG Daily

Is there no memory nowadays? - This was the same rushed deadline thet plagued Civilization 3. The programmers had to work for months for patches to correct problems Civ 3 was released with.

2005-11-06T04:54:00.000-08:00

Civilization 4: A Complete Game Walkthrough

My Technorati Profile

2005-10-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

IGN: Civilization IV Trailer, Videos and Movies

2005-10-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

IGN: Civilization IV Review

We here at IGN have been playing the game almost non-stop since we got our first playable versions. The first time we laid hands on the game we felt that Firaxis was doing something special with the series. As newer, more complete builds came our way, our expectations for the game only grew. After having spent a lot of time playing through the final version, we can safely say that Civilization IV is the best version of Civilization yet.

2005-09-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

Civilization IV Hands-On - The Middle and Late Eras of the Game - Civilization IV Previews for PC at GameSpot