Checking In

So... an upcoming house move has momentarily curtailed my planned solitaire game quest for 2011. To be honest, I have kind of decided that playing board games solitaire is only slightly more entertaining than doing an income tax return, so perhaps for the best.

In the mean time, I've been wasting life's precious moments on the following:

• DoomRL: The latest version of the rogue-like incarnation of all things Doom. As previously reported, the turn-based nature of this game makes it feel quite similar to the FFG board game, i.e., rolicking good fun. Besides, ASCII splash damage from the BFG is fun to watch.

• Men of War: Take the hard core detail of Squad Leader and port it into a Russian-made RTS, crank up the mission difficulty to max, and you have Men of War. I love an RTS that demonstrates the difference between a 1941 Russian T-34/76 and a KV-1b. The scale is individual soldiers, guns, and vehicles. Give the demo and quick ride on Steam, and let me know if you ever want to try some co-op Comp Stomp.

• GMT's Fighting Formations: Since I've been snuggling the rulebook and playbook for this game in the spoon position each night for the past month, I thought it prudent to at least get it on the table and push the pieces around a bit. Yep, solitaire sucks, but, wow! What a finely crafted system. I can't wait to play a lot more.

• Shopping: Various fun things I've ordered: Ikusa, 1830, the new Twilight Imperium 3 expansion (of course!), Yggdrasil (love the theme), Arkham Horror Miskatonic (the system is starting to drive me insane though), Awful Green Things from Outer Space (pure nostaglia).

• Fighting Games: Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and the new Mortal Kombat. Good stuff! My reflexes are not what they used to be... and I never was any good to begin with. Let's play!

Alright... time to go pack some more boxes!