While I had planned to release my time appropriate Hong Kong Campaign (70th commemoration) free to the community this Christmas my computer had other thoughts. A broken hard drive put me out of action for the last week! So now I am behind.

However, I see that DoW is now also shipping the CB#2 around this time, overshadowing any contribution I would have anyway (coincidence? It was supposed to be out earlier…to add insult to injury, some people obviously have copies…mine have yet to arrive and I worked on it!). At any rate, it also appears that JDRommel has released another flood of scenarios in time for the holiday season so it seems that my efforts simply aren’t required.

In light of everything, I am disheartened to say the least. The only bright spot has been the support and friendship I have received from Richard Borg himself along with some encouraging comments from my friends in the community.

Maybe one day, I’ll get back to finishing this campaign for public consumption, but being self-employed now, I have more direct concerns to attend to. Sorry if I’ve disappointed anyone.

I wish you all a Happy Gaming Holiday. Best wishes in 2012

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted…summer was busy and I hope everyone had a good one. Now that autumn is setting in, I’m getting back into the games…well…sort of. I also had to move my server (so some things might not be working…getting to them).

I did a Tide of Iron campaign that I hope to share more info about soon and of course, the Memoir ‘44 Campaign Book #2 (which was actually earlier this year). I worked on the Pacific campaign and got to work directly with the man himself, Richard Borg. While all of the scenarios are of his creation, I got to stitch them together in the Island Hoppers campaign. Working with Richard was a dream, it was an absolute pleasure and honor! I’m sure it will be a great book for Memoir ‘44 fans.

Unfortunately, it appears that it will be my last effort with Days of Wonder. I was hoping they would publish my Hong Kong campaign (70th anniversary of the battle coming) but was told they won’t be able to get to it…too busy promoting someone else’s work I suppose. They also won’t let me commercially produce it, so I’ll likely release it for free around that time instead. It will be my last effort to that end.

I have to admit, I’ve also really fallen out of love with M’44. I think the Online version had a lot to do with that. The dice seem so incredibly streaky and while I agree the percentages even out the game sure takes a turn for the worse when played that many times. As for their AI, it certainly gets better dice from the stats I’ve collected than us human players. But I digress…the Online really changed something about the game for me…that coupled with DoW’s reluctance to engage me will see my scenario designing efforts going elsewhere. I met some great people through the game and think the community is one of the best online, so I will miss you all.

To be fair…I’ve also found another love. One that makes almost all of my board games seem rather flat. It’s one of the best WWII games I have ever played and have simply been engrossed with it for the last couple of weeks. If you are interested, have a look at Battle Academy…simply brilliant! Check out the demo. And it’s not a pay for play model (hint, hint). They have a great PBEM aspect so if you get it and want a game, look for me, Brummbar44 or drop me a line. I would be happy to play.

This post couldn’t be complete without one more thing. Here is a Breakthrough scenario for your enjoyment (make sure you use the breakthrough deck…it’s not the same without it) Memoir ‘44 – Breakthrough Operation Totalize scenario.

Happy Gaming!

Just a quick note to those who subscribe to the site, you’ll be getting (or have already received) an email about subscribing. This allows me to do two things, shake off the spammy subscribers (a lot of .ru’s out there!) and send out some exclusive content to those who are truly interested (M’44 Breakthrough scenario coming soon). Thanks.

It took longer in the making than I thought and required some help but in the end, I think it was worth the effort.

I am happy to announce the Dire Heroes – Gas Attack at Ypres Vassal module is now available.

This module has the basic game set up as well as an advanced set up that is used in conjunction with the Dire Heroes bonus content. I hope to expand it soon with the help of my good friend, Bayernkini.  We are working towards new scenarios and a Design Kit module that will allow players to use new units, terrain and rules.

The Dire Heroes ruleset is required to play.  Fortunately MagCloud now offers PDF’s so you can get it for $5 from my page there – Dire Heroes.  Now, if you order the print copy, MagCloud includes the PDF for free!

You can find out more about the module by clicking on the help menu while the game is loaded and choosing the –Dire Heroes Info — item which will take you to this page – Dire Heroes Info.

Oh, and it’s a Play by Email specific module so if you would like to battle, drop me a line!

(Memoir ‘44 fans, you can play this game using a base set of Memoir ‘44…and don’t worry, I have some M’44 stuff coming your way…oh, and Tide of Iron too!)

Update – Apr. 2011 : StuG III card now available.
While I’ve been busy on a number of projects lately (Dire Heroes for Vassal, a Dire Heroes battles book, some scenarios for..well, you get the idea) I thought I would post an idea I had about the various vehicles that are available in Tide of Iron.  I always felt that the manner in which they are presented on the player aid that comes with the game could stand out better.  Here I show a wheel/gear for movement (first number) a shield to show armour, range and damage vs. infantry and range and damage vs. armour.  This way, players can easily see the stat they are looking for at a glance.

The cards are double sided with a bit of historical information on the back along with an optional rule that players can decide to play with or without (if both agree…all optional rules are in effect).

Get the sample cards here – Commonwealth Units - Tide of Iron - Commonwealth unit stats cards.

While these example cards are for units already in existence, the idea here is to add cards that don’t currently have official rules. I’ve kept these cards printer ink friendly.