xliv [s]

Like I said, no more Super Bowl at Players so Cheryl took it upon herself to organize a similar event with better food for half the cover.



After two days of rain, the sun came out on Sunday. Of course the pool was in the fifties so I enlisted PBR's pool heater assistance. Starting at seven or so the night before, with a cover, the water was in the eighties by noon.

I also put down sod on the terrace.



B took some photos too.



L&L, boneless spicy wings, nacho cheese... a full stomach was easy to come by. Jedi Juice made its annual appearance, as did Kevin's sports book and squares.



We moved the tv outside so we could engage in outdoor activities while watching the game.

Halftime featured the presentation of the Medieval Gridiron trophy. Even the die hard Colts fans didn't let The Pick damp the event.

Much appreciation to everyone for coming out and Cheryl for organizing it.


Oh, and the day before was an Axis and Allies showdown at the avocado grove. We played 1942, no national objectives. Everybody rolled for a free tech at the start, most of them were worthless (Japan radar, Russia super subs). Germany did get mechanized infantry, so that was nice.



Connie (Japan) open by taking out the Indian and Hawaiian fleet with expected losses. She committed her transport to southeast Asia and built a factory on Burma.



I (Germany) sank the Quebec fleet and managed to capture well-fortified Egypt. I opened up the eastern front and exchanged territories with Rob (Russia) the entire match. Karelia did stay in German hands from round one until it was liberated by the British, but Moscow and Caucusus remained Russian.



Curt (UK) reclaimed Egypt with a daring artillery-infantry v. tank attack. He aggregated his fleet near Canada, then built a factory in South Africa.



Ryan (Italy) took both Egypt and Jordan, opening the Suez and a corridor to eastern Europe. Jon (US) responded to Connie's limited occupation of Hawaiian waters with a sub-plane attack. He reinforced Curt's defenseless carrier and began the battle for air superiority with his bombers.



Connie attempted a mutual destruction of the Pacific fleets, sending her 4,4,3,3,2,1 against Jon's 4,3,3,2,2. Jon managed to escape with a battleship and transport in what would be the first lucky (but not miraculous) break for the Allies.

She took India with ease and began the endless stream of tanks from Burma to the eastern front. Curt moved his ships around and prepared for a legitimate Africa defense while Ryan spread to Sudan, Persia, and the mouth of the Med.

I tried an ambitious blitz-air assault of Moscow in an attempt to put the Allies agaisnt the ropes. I knew it would be costly since tanks were my bullet sponges, but the odds were in my favor, as well as the benefits of a fallen capital. It was not to be, the Allies caught another break and Rob found himself with enought Luftwaffe wreckage to build a Lada for every proud Soviet.

After this the eastern front became a sad, empty wasteland where neither combattant could put up a significant attack or defense.



Connie sent her Indian fleet back to the Pacific to counter Jon's capture of the Solomons. It's interesting to consider what might have happened had she gone through the Suez to join Ryan's flotilla. The aggregated Persian forces were not enough to take Cacasus, though the lightly defended Kazakh was exchanged a few times.

I blitzed a tank through northern Russia to sap Rob's income and retook Norway, which had fallen to Curt's first landing. Ryan began reinforcing the eastern front, a move that would prove important later in the campaign.



Jon built a huge bomber force and lost very few, even while attacking solid defenders. He simultaneously sank Ryan's sizeable Mediterranian fleet and took Morocco. Ryan also found himself being threatened by a ground force in Africa. But he pulled a glorious end-around by taking South Africa (+ factory), leaving Curt with no way to reinforce.

Curt's fleet sunk the flighterless German ships and invaded Norway once again. Connie's fleet finally aggregated in the Pacific, putting Jon's battleship on the run. She landed troops in Alaska and began to threaten a eurocentric American campaign.



Rob took back a few territories to get his income into the twenties. Curt moved from Norway to Karelia and invaded France without the intention of keeping it. Ryan dropped reinforcements into Egypt and showed again that Italy can make a difference by taking out a lightly defended American bomber. More importantly he sent six tanks into Caucusus against a few infantry and a fighter (that never scored a hit), three tanks survived. This puts Rob in a bind since the majority of his troops are in Moscow, which he cannot lose.

Outlook...

Japan: Not threatened - as usual, Connie can continue to funnel tanks into Russia as that corridor has never been threatened. The Pacific is hers, unless Jon tries a counterattack with his remaining boats and lots of bombers. She needs more transports to put Jon on the defensive, but could easily take Siberia to prevent Jon's long distance bomber strikes.

USSR: Retaking Caucusus is possible, but far from easy or cheap. The income level of seventeen doesn't help either. Without a way to get help from allies, the situation is very difficult.

Germany: Mediocrity. I can retake France and defend Europe, but the east is up for grabs. That British fleet cannot be sunk without a huge effort, luckily they cannot land many troops at the moment.

UK: Curt has a very powerful fleet, though his landing craft are lacking. The foothold on Norway is important as Africa is a losing battle.

Italy: If Ryan can hold Caucasus, the Axis future may be bright. Africa is a few turns away, and that kind of income can make a difference. The captured factory is useful both for mopping up Allies and defending against an American landing.

US: America isn't hard to defend, but Jon would rather spend his money elsewhere. With four bombers in the UK, he can ensure Germany is paying twenty ipc per turn, but that's about it. He has to get into the ground game at some point, and it's no small effort to do so.

Precedents [s]

Renovation
I finished drywalling the 6x4 loft made accessible by the closet removal. It still needs to be patched, textured, and painted, but that's a breeze. What will it be? Storage space? Cat flat? Panic room?

I patched a couple areas on the lower terrace where the stucco had bubbled. Doing stucco sucks, so I gave thin set a try. The front wall had a couple spots where paint had peeled off, so I took care of that.



Dog
The pup may be getting over his fear of water. On our weekly run he charged through the stream crossing that recently swelled and washed away its footbridge. His display of courage emboldened Jes to do the same.

I've given him free reign of the garage now. The first day went well, the second day he learned to open the interior garage door (but didn't thrash the house).



On the third day he ate 31 (I counted) packages of Zack's Brainiac Snacks. Virtually none of it was digested. Curious how he got through so many, I gave him one and watched as he tore it apart with the grace of an intoxicated raccoon.

He's considerably smarter now.



Mass Effect 2
There are reviews everywhere, a few other thoughts:

• Darkness is totally the new pink. Empire did it. Batman did it. The sequel is much darker and seedier than the first. Fatalism dominates the mood throughout while there's an emphasis on moral ambiguity.
  
• Hooray for feedback. No planetary rovering (though it was great in doses). No endless buying/modding/selling equipment that only differs by level number. Load times have decreased appreciably.
  
• I'm worried that the number of primary characters will make their back stories either tedious or shallow. Thus far, however, I'm highly impressed that they brought back the best ME1er (Garrus). I wouldn't be the first to say the Doctor is awesome for his grim pragmatism and rapid, streamlined, multithreaded conversation style.
• The combat system is a definite improvement over the last, but falls a bit short of combat-centric games such as Gears of War and Army of Two.
• The mid-cinema interjections provide endless fun, but being ready for them is mutually exclusive with stuffing Funyons in my gaping craw.
  

More creatively, LittleThingies said,

My heart sank when i went to HMV at lunch and the guy told me they only received three copies of the special edition and they were all reserved. But he recognized me and started calling around. He managed to track down a store that had it. I went back after work and he had it waiting for me. Even God was seen to shed a tear of happiness that night.

I'm finishing up my PS3 game at the moment, hopefully will be done by tonight. I'm gonna spend all weekend playing this game in the dark, my phone will be off. My subwoofer arrives tomrorow, just in time for this game. When I was a kid and mommy told me there will be plenty of time for games when I'm grown up and making my own money. She must have been talking about THIS MOMENT.

SFS countered with:

Yesterday evening I paid CR an unexpected visit. The sight I saw was jaw
dropping: CR wearing grubby sweat clothes tucked away in a sleeping bag on
a bean bag chair playing D&D [Ed: SFS isn't "with it" anymore, he has never even been to Small Bar]. Next to him was unfinished hot pockets and cereal.

The smell accompanying the scene was "30 year old unemployed guy living in parents' basement."

As I left his house, I experienced envy for the first time in a long time.

DAMN YOU CR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super Sunday
Since Players has canceled the annual Super Bowl event, we've been forced to relocate to a residence.

Feathers in the Cap - Players

• Waitresses > 0
• TVs > 1
• Draught beers > 1
  

Feathers in the Cap - House

• Entry < $75 Catered food
• Heated(?) pool > 0
• Allowed to shoot dice > false
• Nearest bed < 40ft
  
• Couches > 0
• Wait-dogs > 0
  

Axis
It looks like there may be an Axis and Allies match coming up. I set up and snapped the 1942 scenario. Here is the board in higher res, with initial funds depicted here. There's been some discussion on possible house rules that might even the field and emphasize creative strategies.

• Curt suggested ipc bonuses for quick turns.
  
• I'm thinking a roll for free tech at the outset and perhaps a few turns in.
• East African pirates.
  

Heavy in the games [s]

I've finally made the jump to two fantasy leagues, but will maintain my own rule that

Thou shalt not speak of thine 'other fantasy league' whilst conversing about a league.

Unless it's really interesting.



Medieval Gridiron went with a paper draft this year, drawing managers from as far as San Francisco and New York just to participate in this archaic player selection method. Except Bret called it in.



The spiritual successor to the 071109 party, there was excellent food and enough drink to prevent dehydration in the sweltering September sun. Distractions included a closer-than-expected USC-SJ game, as well as some outdoor activities.



Like any good draft there was no lack of intense thought, debate, criticism, and spirited finger pointing.



Cheryl worked very hard to provide the decor and Big Board, for that I promised her plenty of imagery to document her efforts.



Sunday was the first full game of Axis, it took a mere nine hours to find a winner. Long story short:

• Germany (black) struggled with the eastern front, and finished the game at their original boundary. Its huge success was sinking the British invasion fleet twice, leaving the UK unable to move troops late in the game and producing less than twenty per turn.
• Japan (orange) kept America very busy (see Italy) in the Pacific. There were two large air/navy battles leaving each side with virtually nothing, however Japan managed to simultaneously shuttle troops to Asia. The game decision is half owed to the mechanized front approaching the Kremlin from Russia, China, and the newly-factoried India.
• Italy (maroon, around the Med) had a bit of a struggle in the Middle East. But since this area cannot easily be reinforced (especially with the British fleet at the bottom of the Channel) the Italians took Africa. The Axis stroke of luck came when the Italians landed a single artillery unit on an undefended Eastern US. The money did Italy little good, but draining the American treasury was a coup de grace.
• Russia (maroon, in Asia) managed eastern Europe very well. It retook both Karelia and Caucusus after losing them, and wasn't losing steam on their western front even as the end came. Unfortunately Japan made slow, deliberate progress across their eastern buffer.
• Great Britain (tan) landed in Europe a few times. Feinting into France won them some temporary production and would have also helped the US (via national objectives) had the Italians not been able to reclaim the country both times. Taking Norway sapped the German industry and put the pince on German Karelia, which was soon retaken by Russia. The Brits' fatal flaw, other than taking on the dice-rolling ice man, was to leave its fleet consolidated and open to air strikes.
• The United States (green) spent most of its resources trying to get back on level terms in the Pacific. While it did achieve parity in warships and clear air superiority, its long arm never managed to reach the south Pacific's prosperous islands. The Yanks fell victim to the Italian covert ops and lost its war money, preventing a push for Tokyo.
  

Second bout [s]

We had a full living room for the second Axis match. Sam spearheaded the evil effort with Germany, Curt took Japan, and Kristi helmed the Italian forces. Connie reprised her command of the UK, Rob played the Yanks, and I handled the Russian retreats.

The map above will link to a 1024-wide image (flickr max), or you can view the left, middle, and right portions for more detail. Why is there a bomber on Brazil, you might ask? Well Curt sent an otherwise-doomed transport into the south Atlantic but it was chased down by an American bomber.



Germany opened with an amphibious assault on Karelia - Russia's northern factory. It fell without much trouble, but was retaken by Russia's counter. The German subs and Norwegian fighter sunk the British battleship, but the air support provided for the seaborne invasion meant the destroyer in the north sea and ships near Gibraltar could escape to Iceland. The significance here was that Germany was left with no naval assets and could not repeat with flanking assaults by boat.

The eastern front was attacked as usual and did not suffer from the diverted air support. The following turns, up to the midnight recess, saw the buffer territories exchanged again and again. Russia concentrated on infantry but built enough tanks to blitz and counterattack. There were a few highly desirable targets that consisted of tanks and planes with relatively few infantry, choosing these battles may have had an economic impact in the long run.

Russia did not clash with Japan but the latest board capture shows an impending battle. The Soviets did seize the opportunity to blitz into Trans-Jordan when the Italian fleet had moved to the Indian Ocean to support an amphibious invasion of Africa. The successful offensive closed the Suez Canal and allowed a very small fleet to secure the Mediterranean for an American landing.

Her majesty's navy started turn one with a retreat to the safe waters surrounding Iceland. This was to escape the Luftwaffe and support the predetermined turn two invasion of Norway. This amphibious strike was a point of contention among the allied commanders, as France was then defended by a single infantry unit. There was no hope of keeping France as Germany was then producing well over 40 ipc per turn, but it would serve to draw forces away from the ugly eastern front.

The British went ahead and took Norway to keep the eventual d-day force out of fighter range. This may have been unnecessary as the Germans could not land troops in Norway and a stack of fighters would make an easy target. Nonetheless, it succeeded in clearing Scandinavia combined with a Russian advance on Finland.

London provided a second valuable landing in Europe. The Brits took advantage of a lightly defended Poland to land a few units and thicken the Russian buffer. On their following turn, the UK navy sent troops to Northwestern Europe and thereby forced Germany to commit forces westward. This amounted to about ten units at the height of Germany's productivity and likely saved the eastern front.

The US had limited engagement in Europe, but after significant coaxing did move units into an undefended north Africa.



The initial Japanese move seized much of the GSACS (greater southeast Asia co-prosperity sphere) and secured most national objectives. The US fleets off north and south America were left intact and regrouped on the first Yank turn. The Japanese offensive included an early capture of Australia that went a long way to depriving the British of funds.

China slowly collapsed as the Japanese forces advanced for Moscow, though the front fell short on land units.

The lack of Japanese reinforcement in China and the GSACS can be attributed to a pair of epic sea battles with the Pacific-minded Americans. The first was an aircraft-heavy attack on US surface warships and transports at Iwo Jima that devastated the invasion force but left quite a few untouched submarines that could not be attacked without a destroyer present.

The subsequent American turn completed the mutual destruction by sending its sub fleet to down the carriers and support ships moved nearby to receive fighters. The remaining Yankee sub made a reckless assault on a destroyer and transport off the Japanese home island and won out on fine rolling. This allowed an undefended transport to make a suicide landing on the Philippines and recover some national objectives. But the Pacific is very quiet.



Where does this leave us? Well Germany took the liberty of completing a turn at the end of the evening, passing the dice to...

Russia - A bit thin on units, the Soviets have to ensure Germany doesn't take and keep Karelia, on which only two units may be placed per turn. The Russians have 50 ipc, almost twenty more than any other turn, so keeping the victory cities secure shouldn't be much trouble. The difficulty lies in how many tanks Germany has on the board and two targets in the east. Japan's mammoth production means the Indian factory must be taken as soon as possible, however the tank in Chinghai cannot be allowed to blitz through the Motherland.

Japan - Cash is no problem for the Japanese, but using it is. There is no bridge from the home island to Asia and the Pacific fleet is in a bad way. The greatest hope lies in maintaining India long enough to build a few units and make a difference on the continent. The Americans are far away from the GSACS, even farther from China, so there is time to turn enormous production into domination.

UK - The Brits have a reason to smile, the Atlantic is safe thanks to the Suez lockout and the number of German fighters sacrificed to offensive action. Also the raiding bomber that rolled a six, four turns in a row was finally downed by aa fire. There are American fighters set to reinforce any European beachhead before Germany's counter and there are five excellent targets for landing. All that's left is for the US to liberate some GSACS territories to recover some production.

Italy - Things were going great for Italy until the Suez closed and the attempted retake of Trans-Jordan failed. A battleship and a cruiser is a formidable force, but once-great production is now gimped back to twelve.

US - The US has maintained the initiative in the Pacific for several turns, it finally has numbers. The key to converting its fleet and infantry into captured territories rests in the organized deployment of invasion waves so convoys aren't picked off by Japanese fighters.

1941 [p]

A&A finally arrived. It took two days to get from Texas to LA and ten days to get from LA to SD. That's a bit late to throw down with the sappers, but I might catch them on the north side. There are hints of Rob and Lanes, some other interest has been expressed, and Sam grew anxious has he and I set up the big board whilst verbally tweeting about recent events.


1. Defend Russia.
2. ???
3. Profit!

We will fight them in the living rooms... [p]

The crown jewel of my fledgling game collection is on its way, the 50th anniversary Axis and Allies set. Changes include re-revised rules, a very large board, cruisers, and Italy. There are optional research objectives, victory conditions, and start dates. I am preparing my fragile psyche for the brutal, taxing engagements that are to come. Each clash will demand cunning, flexibility, cohesion, and no small amount of luck. And they will be glorious.

War room accoutrements will no doubt include comfortable seating, caffeine/spirits, and time lapse image capture. A level of tension and investment can be achieved by anything ranging from antes to a half assed period-specific dress code (thankfully nobody wore pointy helmets in that war). If there are any closet Pattons (or outed Pattons, or 'just experimenting' Pattons) in the readership let me know and I'll put you on the contact list, everyone else shall have their fate determined by powers they cannot fathom.

Connie reclaimed her compendium of Settlers editions for a game night that included Ryan, Debbie, and Curt. Despite two newbies diving head first into Cities and Knights, after four and a half hours we were all tied at a mere eight points. After the dice circled once more we called it with three co-victors. Axis doesn't look so arduous now.

In other news I'm considering taking the sawz all to the master bathroom. It's a project that needn't be hurried, and I'm toying with the prospect of just tiling in the shower first, and adding vanities and a tub later.

More 'omg puppies'...