J is for Judicious jugular slicing. If the Red Recon: 1944 trailer (see below) tempts, try the demo while you can. Available until Thursday, the single-mission taster for Varangs’ upcoming Commandos-like launches in Russian. Tap this menu button to access language selection.
E is for Exceptionally elastic engine. No-one could accuse Lado B da História of lacking ambition. The Brazilian YouTubers behind a library of short WW2 history documentaries are working on a wargame-cum-visualisation tool able to sim warfare of all eras. War Room: Tactical Sandbox’s tantalising trailer raises as many questions as it answers. How will this João-of-all-conflicts handle fog-of-war, weather, and line-of-sight? Will the AI be sufficiently lithe and sophisticated to offer realism and challenge in a multitude of time-frames?
Ask an AI about the risks of developing games with AI assistance, and it will probably mention ethical, PR, and legal issues, quality control implications, and the possibility of producing a plaything that’s short on character or fun. What it may not mention are the following hazards.
If there’s an appetite for it, Roman will set a weekly Romanesque brainteaser every Sunday from now on. The free web version of our hexy/lexy word game isn’t as smart or substantial as the full Monty, but is more convenient. Click here, and assuming you’re using a PC or tablet (thus far I’ve been unable to get it to work with phones) you should be playing within seconds.
A is for American Revolutionary War released. The bibliography for the game I’m working on, currently consists of four tomes. I’ll need to pull my socks up if I wish to out-swank ARW’s ‘recommended reading’ list. Mike Cox, the lead designer of Wargame Design Studio’s latest offering, name-checks over 150 books in his extensive design notes!
Today’s bijou brainteaser is both accidental and personal. Beyond the break is a century-old Box Brownie snap of one of my great aunts. Can you help me identify both the photo’s location and date?
As I’ve done it hundreds of times, you’ve probably done it hundreds of times too. You’re embroiled in a virtual battle and, faced by a particularly stiff challenge or tough adversary, find yourself scouring your force for ‘old hands’ – the units with the most experience. Experience = skill and resilience, right? The more action a unit has seen, the more effective it is in combat. Computer wargame designers rarely seem to challenge or nuance this ‘truth’. Perhaps they should.
For thirteen of the Allied soldiers involved in THC’s 2025/26 play-by-comment Combat Mission marathon, there will be no joyful homecoming, no grey hairs or grandchildren. Thirty-four others will carry physical mementos of the Battle of Nottingheim until the day they die. Bearing in mind the German casualty figures (40 dead and 106 injured) and the considerable challenges the Anglo-American force needed to overcome in order to gain victory, Allied losses were, I feel, remarkably light.