a chair, beer, and pretzels.

friday, december 15th, 2023.

Today has been a busy day off! We went antique shopping for the remainder of our Christmas presents. I think we found all the things we were hoping to! We also found this cute $26 lamp that now sits next to the reading chair we got back in June:

Tomorrow morning, I'll be riding around town with my friend on e-bikes before the rain rolls in. Then my partner, our little one, and I will go off to see another minor league ice hockey game. I'm looking forward to both!

beer & pretzel wargames.

Aside from the beer and pretzels I plan to acquire at the hockey game tomorrow night, I've been digging into some "beer & pretzel" games lately.

First up, Armoured Commander II:

Man, this is a fun little roguelike. I fell deep down the World of Tanks rabbit hole a number of years ago, learning more than perhaps any gamer should about the mechanics of tank armor penetration and all that jazz. Armoured Commander II lets me revisit the role of a tank crew in beautiful ANSI art graphics. After playing through the tutorial, I realize that this is the sort of game where the mechanics help you imagine a narrative, like reading a historical action novel or something. It's quite good so far!

Next up is Hex of Steel (apologies for the terrible screenshot):

Hex of Steel reminds me a lot of Panzer Corps, another of my favorite strategy games. I haven't gone full "grognard" yet and fallen into the depth of the Gary Grigsby or John Tiller wargames, so I definitely favor games with simpler mechanics.

Hex of Steel continues the paper-rock-scissors style of gameplay that Panzer Corps and the Panzer General series encapsulate. It's much more of a 30+ round slog, though. You're not so much breaking through with an overpowered "tip of the spear"— it's more of a sustained war of attrition for both sides. I do, however, appreciate that artillery and strategic bombing have a stronger impact than in Panzer Corps. Still, I'm not yet sure which of the two games I prefer!

Anyway, that's quite enough flapping about wargaming for today!

Until next time, be well. :)