Dune Spice Wars: Review

After spending several hours playing this game, I have to say that I was presently suprised. I thought it would be a game of massing and sending forces at the enemy like Warcraft or Dawn of War, but the game is much more of a combination of Stelaris and the Dune boardgame. There is politics (though basic when playing CPs) trade, technology, a balancing act between resources and trying to reach one of the many objectives, and a unique combat system. Early on, I found myself invading numerous neutral villages to utilize their resources toward my economic goals. Later, despite progressing well into the game, I never found myself with a huge army. I always had to balance where to send my troops at any given point with the conditions and many places I would get raided. In the deep desert, you lose supply, sandworms swollow units whole, and neutral raiders ambush you. Manpower or water supplies dwindle and you feel a need to keep expanding to prevent your enemies from one-upping you.

On top of everything, the setting is very cool for me because I got to role play as the Fremen and do suprise raids on the colonizing powers of the plan. While, I have yet to finish a game yet, I would love to end up in a 4 player game with freinds as I think the potential is really there (and this is only an early access game). Definitely recommend it for new players, though the first 30-40 mins will throw you right in as there is no real tutorial yet.

Larping as a Communist in Disco Elysium

Disco Elysium is a strange psychological thriller game where you wake up in a drunken stupor in the fake island nation of Martinique and cant remember who you are. Even stranger, there is a dead body hanging from the back of the hostel you are staying at. After playing for over 30 hours, I discovered I could be many things, a detective, a union supporter, and interestingly enough, a communist police officer. I know these things dont seem like they would jive very well, but thats the uniqueness of the game. You can engineer your psychology to match how you want to solve the mysteries inside as you travel through the rough streets of the urban decay of a post revolutionary nation.

You have to stake out positions like whether you should scab or even be a racist or fascist. Solving issues of whether a mercenary death squad member was a rapist or just an assassin, and throw your lot in with one faction or another to survive as well as to discover who you are. Meanwhile you are fed some of the most hilarious and dark dialogue of any game I have ever played. Facing off with snot nosed Scouse (Liverpool) hooligans, racists, tech enthusiasts, insect lovers, and karaoke fiends, there was definitely an eclectic bunch of characters. I would definetly recommend if you are looking for something very different from the action oriented games out there.

Review of A Game of Thrones (book 1)

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I finally began to read the book series after watching the show multiple times. To be honest, I was surprised at how much of the first book's dialogue and story made it into the show without changing, truncating, or shortening events. Books are always better than the film versions, but I am actually quite impressed at how minute was changed to adapt it to screen.


Some Spoilers:


Some of the interesting tidbits that were ignored or minimized in the show: the previous existence of a Clegane sister, the fact that Walder Frey is substantially older than in the show, the much more complicated Battle of the Whispering Wood, Robert Arryn (vs robin in the show), etc.

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Veneration for the Past

“Veneration for the past has always seemed to me reactionary. The right chooses to talk about the past because it prefers dead people: a quiet world, a quiet time. The powerful who legitimize their privileges by heredity cultivate nostalgia. History is studied as if we are visiting a museum; but this collection of mummies is a swindle. They lie to us about the past as they lie to us about the present: they mask the face of reality. They force the oppressed victims to absorb an alien, desiccated, sterile memory fabricated by the oppressor, so that they will resign themselves to a life that isn’t theirs as if it were the only one possible.” ― Eduardo Galeano

"The Trouble with Peace" review

The Trouble with Peace by Joe Abercrombie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think this is the best book in the Age of Madness trilogy. It reminds me a lot of the Heroes, but with better characters. A civil war is brewing....everyone knows it. Different groupings of the elite plan how to divide up power and make allegiances with foreign powers. What this book does well is set up a narrative that feels like it is gaining speed as it goes.

Ricka is a pure delight and I never tire of her wiseass retorts as well as those of the northman clover. In fact, much of the best scenes in this take place in the North. That being said, the political rumblings and bureaucracy of Adua give it contrast and this book is a tapestry of such back and forth.

Abercrombie continues to amaze and his books never feel stale or repetitions. Everything follows the historical trends and mythos of the prior books to a bloody end.

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Chinese Lunar New Year

I was able to eat a really nice Chinese New Year meal in Cambridge, MA. Three orders of soup dumplings, some buns, an interesting take on scallion pancakes, mapo tofu, chow fun, dan dan noodles, and some other things as well. :D We also did a Lunar New Year presentation and discussion at the Racial Equity Group at my work. Did you know there had been 2 different China towns in Providence in the past?

Snow and More Snow

New England is expected to have approximately 2 feet of snow tonight and tomorrow and some potential for even more. We ended up canceling our normal board game night and instead will be prepping to turn into Siberia for a weekend. To this end, I have enough food, water, entertainment, and if electricity goes out, books!!!!! Keep safe everyone and try not to venture outside this weekend unless you want some excercise shoveling or you have a decent tauntaun and believe that anything at all will be open.