Nails with Chemo

Well I have now started what is hopefully my last cycle of chemotherapy . . . and, as usual, it is leaving me extremely fatigued.  I get out of breath just walking from one room to another.

One of the side effects of one of the chemo drugs is the potential loss of finger and toe nails.  Both of my big toenails are very loose and I'm obviously going to lose them.  And all of my fingernails feel fragile.

Do you realize how often we use our fingernails to pry things?  I didn't until now . . . I'm trying to be very gentle with my fingernails so hopefully I won't lose them.

Not much happening on the gaming front.  We finished the second battle of the Alpian Wars mini-campaign but I haven't had the energy to set up the next battle yet . . . and with this fatigue it may take a while yet.

Finally, I do want to thank all of you who have been so supportive throughout this seemingly never-ending medical experience.  Hopefully the next few weeks will see an end to it . . . and then I can work on regaining my strength and stamina.

-- Jeff

Mini-Campaign Blog

Greetings,

I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but today I created a blog that links to the ten "mini-campaigns" that various bloggers submitted last year:

http://minicampaigns.blogspot.ca/


There are ten "mini-campaigns" using various Grant "scenario books" as well as his "Table Top Teasers" which are posted here.

I envision this being a one-post blog so that it will be easily accessible for those who'd like to try playing out one of the mini-campaigns . . . and why not?  They are free for the playing.

-- Jeff

Stagonia Wins 2nd Battle

After losing the first engagement (The Battle of the Crossroads) in the Alpian Wars mini-campaign, Stagonia has rebounded to win the second conflict (Battle of the Bellevue Hills).

Position Prior to Alpia's Withdrawal

As seen at left, Alpia (on the left) outnumbered Stagonia . . . but they had lost over half of their force and still had to force the tree line . . . which General Rossi felt would not leave enough to then carry on with the invasion.

Stagonia will undoubtedly now try to gather its forces and attempt to push Alpia back out of its territory . . . and Alpia will almost certainly resist this effort.

I am very much enjoying this combination solo/email game with Ross Macfarlane giving orders for the Alpians and David Murdock doing likewise for the Stagonian's.

I would therefor suggest that some others who need or prefer to play solo games to consider recruiting some gamers from the "Net" to command the forces on your home table via emails . . . it certainly gives an interesting slant to things.

-- Jeff

Awards & Some Thoughts

Several of you have been kind enough to nominate this blog for a " Liebster Award". . .  first by Murdock of "Murdock's Marauders" and most recently by AJ of "AJ's Wargames Table" with a few more in between (although I sadly forget who due to my fatigued condition). 

I've not had the energy to deal with this; and, anyway, virtually all of the blogs that I read with any regularity have already been "Liebstered".  So my thanks to all of you who've nominated me but I'll pass on trying to select five blogs from so many fine ones.

Turning to wargames rules, I've been thinking about a few things.

One is the rate at which units should degrade or be destroyed.  For my tastes it seems that many rule systems allow this to happen much too quickly.  On the other hand, my "Tricorne Wars" rules prolonged this much too long.  So I have to decide just how quickly/slowly units under fire should be able to continue until they are ineffective.

Another issue is just how much "friction" do I want in a set of rules.  I know that I prefer more than most . . . I like the unpredictability . . . but how much is too much?  Much of this has to do with the "personality" of Brigadiers.  So far I like the system I used in "Tricorne Wars" more than those of some other rules I've read or played recently . . . some are too draconian for my taste.

Finally there is the "look" of units and whether to base them for figure removal or not.  As "the jury" I'm still "out" on figure removal; but on the "look" of line infantry, I know that I want them in two ranks . . . single-rank units look like skirmishers to me.  They might better represent the ground coverage, but they just don't do it for me.

What are your thoughts on these issues?

-- Jeff

Hoping 2013 will be Better than 2012

It is now after midnight here off Canada's west coast (i.e., Vancouver Island . . . not to be confused with the City of Vancouver).

So hopefully this "new year" will be an improvement on the one just past.  As most of you know, 2012 was very difficult for me.

On February 1st, I started hemorrhaging and for the rest of the year it was many hospital visits, tests, a cancer diagnosis, radiation, surgery, long hospital stay and now six months of chemotherapy (which continues with a new cycle starting Wednesday).

 As for gaming, the year was almost a total waste due to the medical stuff mentioned above.  There were, however, two bright spots.

The first is the "Mini-Campaign Challenge" that I issued early in the year.  This resulted in ten (10) responses.  Most use one of the Grant "Scenario" books.  The following is a summary page with links to all of the bloggers' original posts:

http://saxe-bearstein.blogspot.ca/2012/02/responses-to-mini-campaign-challenge.html

The other bright spot is "The Alpian Wars", an online "mini-campaign" I am currently playing out with the help of Ross Macfarlane (of Nova Scotia, Canada) and David Murdock (of British Columbia, Canada). 

While I am using Clarence Harrison's "Victory without Quarter" ECW rules for this 17th century dust-up between a couple of Imagi-Nations, Ross and Murdock email me their orders for their troops. 

This allows me to play at my own pace (the chemo really takes it out of me so I can't play very long at any one time) and enjoy moving the troops on the table top.  We are currently in the late middle part of the second battle.  Go to the link below to follow the action:

http://alpianwars.blogspot.ca/

My primary goal for this new year is, of course, to get and stay healthy.  Hopefully when the chemo cycles end in a couple of months I will be able to recover from the crushing fatigue that results from chemo.

As for wargaming, I got more  figures for Christmas (to go along with the metal mountain that I already have) . . . so some quiet painting time looks to be on the horizen . . . along with continuing with "The Alpian Wars".

I hope that all of you will be able to enjoy a wonderful New Year filled with pleasure, prosperity and (most of all) good health!

-- Jeff