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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · 2d

Operation Cerberus (1985) by Colin Bishop is the only game I know about the Feb '42 Channel Dash. The strategic layer is cosmetic; the game is rather a collection of minigames depending on what you attack with (plane, MTB, destroyer or even Dover guns!)
Review here: zeitgame.net/archives/19428

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · 9d

I published the end of my Gulf Strike AAR. I focused on how the game came to be, from the board game designed by SPI survivors who fled to Avalon Hill, to the port by @nyrath.bsky.social, a Renaissance man to which we also own among others the iconic look of the OGRE.
zeitgame.net/archives/19330

The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · 21d

Le livre avait une couverture grise, et il avait cette taille (« fait un geste avec les mains »)

Reposted by The Wargaming Scribe

allsee 🔜 halloween @allsees.online · 23d

everyone should checkout Messenger by Abeto. it's a free browser game where ur just a little delivery kid on a little planet!
messenger.abeto.co

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · 21d

Back to traditional cwargames with Avalon Hill's Gulf Strike (1984), with an unexpected US+Iran+Peninsular Arabs alliance against Iraq+USSR. Bad UI (2 icons for everything - check the 4th screenshot) & major design flaws make this early monster game mediocre. Read my AAR:
zeitgame.net/archives/19231

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Reposted by The Wargaming Scribe

Jason Dyer @jdyer.bsky.social · May 14

All the Adventures aims to give the history about and play every adventure game ever made in chronological order. The 1982 sequence has just concluded, and I've written a post looking back and collecting some notable games.

#history #adventuregame

bluerenga.blog/2025/05/14/a...

All The Adventures Up to 1982 in Review

It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to do one of these; my 1981 in review was posted December 20, 2021. The chart with plot types like Rescue, Escape, etc. just isn’t that helpful…

bluerenga.blog

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Sep 17

Paul Clansey's Alien (1984) is the first official game of the licence. Quite innovative and supported by excellent SFX, this Alien managed to create really tense moments; alas its many design issues and outright bugs will ruin most sessions.
AAR and context of the game:
zeitgame.net/archives/18838

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Sep 14

Just published: Reyes y Castillos (1984) - the first Argentinian game of my blog. It's terrible, but I learned a lot of things researching Argentina & Uruguay, so it's not a total loss. I made sure the 2 last screenshots included lunfardo (rioplatenese argot)!
Read more: zeitgame.net/archives/18350

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Sep 14

By the way if you search for « Alien » on my blog you’ll find two early Alien games you probably never heard off. One is super minor, the other is by Avalon Hill but was retired almost immediately for copyright infringement reasons (I believe).

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Sep 14

It’s coming in my blog before end of the week! I don’t share your assessment, but managed to contact the author and have pretty interesting context on how it came to be.

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Sep 12

Back with the article on computing & gaming in Uruguay. There was a weird Coleco ADAM presence, but Brazilian clones TK90S bagged close to 50% of the market. Uruguay also had a Spectrum peripherical that would make the Brits jealous Discover why:
zeitgame.net/archives/18891

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Aug 24

Hey, I covered this one (zeitgame.net/archives/9970) - Jon Freeman called it "Chess but fun". I also covered the (inferior?) sequel. Interestingly, Avalon Hill tried to copy the genre with Beast War but they tried too hard and the game was just too hard to jump into (zeitgame.net/archives/16937).

Game #102 : Archon – The Light and the Dark (1983) – The Wargaming Scribe

zeitgame.net

The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Aug 24

Well, I delayed the Uruguay article because I ordered a book on the T90K (a Spectrum clone that had a huge impact in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina) to understand how it was that successful. I have Swedish and Italian articles in the work but it will take some time before they’re out.

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Aug 10

Just out: my article on the beginnings of computing & gaming in Argentina, from the first computer (1961) to the end of the 80s. What was the first Argentinian game? Why isn't there any famous Argentinian company until the 90s (and even then very few of them). Read here: zeitgame.net/archives/18373

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Jul 27

In theory, Synapse's Air Support (1984) is a game for everyone with an arcade mode (combat-focused) and a strategy mode (where you move infantry around).
In practice, it's jack of all trades, adequate at none. It was also released at the worst possible moment. Read more:

zeitgame.net/archives/18753

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Jul 15

... today I cover another one: PSS' Air Defence, which has a few interesting features that the others don't have, but is so slow and so poorly-designed UI wise that it may be the worst one. Read my review:
zeitgame.net/archives/18677

The best one? So far SSI's Fighter Command, soon on my blog.

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Jul 15

In the "wargame subgenres that did not pass the test of time" category, there is "Air Defense", in which you allocate fighters to enemy bombing squadrons. This subgenre was particularly popular in UK (probably due to the Battle of Britain) - here are four examples below, but there are more (1/2)

Battle of Britain on ZX Spectrum (PSS, 1986)

Fighter Command on Apple II (and later C64) - SSI, 1983

Battle of Britain on ZX Spectrum (Microgames Simulations, 1982)

Pearl Harbour on BBC Micro, Microgame Simulations (1984)

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Reposted by The Wargaming Scribe

Jason Dyer @jdyer.bsky.social · Jul 13

Today for All the Adventures I have a most unusual post, as a game by Kim Watt (likely from 1980) was left in a non-functional state by the author and now is fixed and playable for the first time.

bluerenga.blog/2025/07/12/m...

Marooned: Playable (For the First Time)

Anyway, here’s this skinny blonde kid, around 6 feet tall, wearing silver Ray-Ban sunglasses, driving a royal blue Formula Firebird that says he’s Kim Watt! Can you believe it? Oh well,…

bluerenga.blog

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Jul 10

All I can say about War Zone (1984, CCS) is that it is a wargame. It is the most generic experience I can think of. No salient feature whatsoever, and no huge flaw, beyond its absolute blandness. Still praised at release because there were so few wargames then.

AAR: zeitgame.net/archives/18490

The map was 3x3 sectors, and you could only see the sectors you had troops here. Here is a reconstruction of an early turn.

The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Jul 7

Before Civilization, there was a Civ-like(ish): Incunabula (1984). It included most of the Civ-like staples: Research, Disasters, City-Building, choice of politics, trade and of course warfare. It missed dedicated combat units and stopped at the bronze age. Read my AAR:
zeitgame.net/archives/18543

Splash of the game, with the compulsory volcanic explosion

The research screen. Not all technologies are useful - more than half are just prerequisites. Others give real bonuses.

The strategic map with the various civilizations indicated by a letter.

Tactical map with a large city in the North (the star above the late) and a small city next to the right border of the screen (the arrow).

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Jul 6

« Grande Armée? Interessant. »
< Sors ses propres figurines de la boite et les déploie sur la table>
« Moi, je joue SPACE MARINES »

The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Jun 19

Turn 4 of Warlords

A short turn with only two impulses. This is bad for my rival Rastignak though: Morpheus manages to push him back from the border of his castle and retake a town, and I start my move against Dayyalu's former castle - wealthy yet isolated.
Rastignak was poised to win. Not anymore.

The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Jun 17

Turn 3 of the Warlords' (1978) AAR;I received only two impulses vs three for the other players this turn :(

Rastignak moves first AGAIN and garrisons Xity. I move away. He then beeline for Morpheus and defeats his main army in front of M's castle - but the turn ends there so Morpheus can rebuild.

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Reposted by The Wargaming Scribe

The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Jun 14

But the random turn order every impulse favours Rastignak, and he gets to garrison his city before I can launch my assault. I am not willing to attack a city with "only" a 3:2 ratio, and I take a poor territory instead. That's the last impulse of the turn.

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The Wargaming Scribe @wargamingscribe.bsky.social · Jun 14

It's time to buy new armies. Money that wasn't spent the previous turn can be used to buy army everywhere, money earned this turn can only be used to buy army in the castle. My revenue is 17, Morpheus' 18 and Rastignak's 25. This means immediate alliance with Morpheus...