Friday, January 16, 2026

Let the Games Begin!

OAFS Photo
Just before Christmas, The Nuke called and asked me, "So Dad, what do you want for Christmas?"

Now that is always a good question, what do you get for the man who has everything? And I really do, I have everything I need and most of what I want. The kids used to get me an Amazon gift card but they felt that that was too impersonal, and there's always the fear that I'll buy something like socks, or underwear. (Guilty as charged, hey, there's a certain joy in getting new socks and underwear as an adult.)

Well, I had to think about what I "wanted." Though The Nuke does work in DC, world peace isn't something she can do on her own. (Yes, I ask for that every year, knowing full well that our species glories far too much in violence to make that a reality.)

Now I have lists on Amazon, not necessarily lists of of what I want but lists of things I ran across and thought, "Hey, that's cool."

A lot of what I think is cool are boardgames with military history as a theme. (So Sarge, what about that whole "world peace" thing, ya damned warmonger you. Well, cardboard/plastic counters don't bleed. And this is history, that stuff has already happened and ... Damn, I don't know, certainly seems to be a conundrum, doesn't it?)

Anyhoo, I told The Nuke of these lists and she said, "Oh, I could get you something off your list, just make it public."

So I did.

Next thing you know, Christmas morning, The Nuke, LUSH, and The Missus Herself have gifted me with damned near everything on my primary list. An embarrassment of riches dontcha know?

OAFS Photo
So now I have all these new games to learn. And opponents, I suppose I need opponents, being somewhat weird, I do play solitaire in these games, a lot. I guess when I was marked down in grade school for "plays well with others," those teachers saw something.

I do play occasionally against The Missus Herself, but she's a vicious opponent, beating me nearly every time. So I think I'll just drag the simpler games along when we go to Maryland. They dig boardgames down there.

As do I.

So ...

I gotta go, someone has to read all those rules!

Ciao!



14 comments:

  1. Ah.......GMT Sarge, you lucky duck, looking at Wolfpack myself. Looks like quite the Christmas haul there, paper time machines.....:)

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  2. Sarge, with all your varied interests it seems like retirement was the logical thing to do them all!

    That Battles of Julius Caesar looks pretty tempting (I just re-read his Civil War; I forgot he is a pretty good writer on top of everything else).

    If you are looking for reading to supplement "Banish All Their Tears", I highly recommend Blenheim: Battle For Europe by Charles Spencer. Very well written and taught me a great deal about early 18th Century politics in Europe.

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    Replies
    1. Another book to add to my list! (He's the younger brother of Princess Diana, for so she shall always remain to me.)

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  3. Sarge,
    Just a question, are these games single player, do you need opponents there, or are they online? Or all three.
    juvat

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    Replies
    1. They are playable solitaire to some degree, all are better with actual human opponents. They're all boardgames, not online.

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  4. I keep lists of things on Amazon just to keep track of things, things I "might" want. I had to make it clear that these are not things I necessarily wanted, well I tried to make it clear. I ended up having to make that list private.

    Is there any way (group?) to play those games with others on-line?

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  5. Looks like fun. For myself, I've never gotten more complicated than "Battle Cry" or "Risk."

    Computer games? First edition of Lucasfilm "Battle of Britain." When we upgraded computers i had to get the next version. Which, for me, had "improved" the game to be unfun. Pong, Space Invaders,that's about my speed.

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  6. No conundrum- those that ignore historical wars are doomed to repeat them! You're preparing for peace that way!

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    Replies
    1. Si vis pacem, para bellum.

      Yup, that's me. 😎

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