Das Football Boot

You wouldn’t guess it from looking at him, but Roman, my Chief Foxer Setter, is something of a ludological pioneer. His parents were strict Bethelites, and growing up he wasn’t allowed to watch TV, read comics, or listen to pop music. Dice were forbidden, as were playing cards. Denied chance-spiced diversions like Monopoly, Mouse Trap, Newmarket, and D&D, he and his siblings began devising their own alternatives on the sly. They were ‘slow gaming’ and using ERNG* decades before the terms entered common parlance.

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Friday Foxer #87

Every Friday at 1300 hours, Tally-Ho Corner’s cleverest clogs come together to solve a ‘foxer’ handcrafted by my sadistic chum and colleague, Roman. A complete ‘defoxing’ sometimes takes several days and usually involves the little grey cells of many readers. Don’t be shy. All are welcome to participate.

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Operation Oryx: Turn 20

The T-80 the Soviet Union loaned to Podrabia in June of 1980 was for evaluation purposes only. Clause ‘C’ in the contract clearly stipulated that it wasn’t, under any circumstances, to be used in an actual war zone. The Kremlin will be mad as hell when they hear it’s currently motoring towards the armour boneyard that is Strupnic.

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Solo Foxer #86

Unlike the formidable Friday foxers, the Monday kind are designed with lone truth sleuths in mind. While Roman, my Chief Foxer Setter, would be very interested to know how long it takes you to defox today’s brainteaser, he requests that the comments section isn’t used to share solutions or drop hints.

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The Armchair General

Harvest time is power outage time here in rural Wessex. In August it’s not uncommon for Bramley End to have its electricity supply interrupted by combusting or carelessly driven farm machinery. Knowing this, I’m careful to have at least one analogue game option in reserve in case of emergencies. This week, when a field fire kindled by a dust-clogged baler sizzled overhead power lines on the edge of my village, I reached for The Armchair General, a WW2 history book with a novel twist.

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Friday Foxer #86

Every Friday at 1300 hours, Tally-Ho Corner’s cleverest clogs come together to solve a ‘foxer’ handcrafted by my sadistic chum and colleague, Roman. A complete ‘defoxing’ sometimes takes several days and usually involves the little grey cells of many readers. Don’t be shy. All are welcome to participate.

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Operation Oryx: Turn 19

The Pods’ reluctance to leave the highway has cost them dear, but this turn there are signs – small signs – that the invaders are experimenting with a new, more circumspect approach. While Muttley is busy finishing off the last of the cocksure T-62s, our Forward Observer Team atop the dovecot watches a trio of older MBTs trade elevated tarmac for low-lying cornfields and greensward.

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Solo Foxer #85

Unlike the formidable Friday foxers, the Monday kind are designed with lone truth sleuths in mind. While Roman, my Chief Foxer Setter, would be very interested to know how long it takes you to defox today’s brainteaser, he requests that the comments section isn’t used to share solutions or drop hints.

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