Category Archives: Designer Blogs

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The World Turned Upside Down, Again! Battles of the American Revolution Tournament at WBC 2022

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After Action Report

Part I

Twenty one players joined the BoAR tournament at the WBC this year.  While that number is a bit lower than our average draw it was nevertheless a respectable showing for a down-year overall.  And, with six Heats plus a Quarter Final, Semifinal, and Final we played a total of 42 games representing 218 playing hours.  That’s not too shabby. 

Among those twenty one players were four of the top-ten A.R.E.A. rated players, a player who had been on the A.R.E.A “Inactive List” for a while, and three players brand new to BoAR tournament play.  My AGMs Rob McCracken & Dave Stiffler and I want to thank everyone who played this year whether you joined for only a single Heat or played in the entire event. 

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The Other Infernal Machine: The Tale of the Union Navy’s USS “Alligator” (formerly the “Submarine Propeller”) Part 4 – The Raid and its Aftermath: June 1862 – July 1862.

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Image is of a typical elevated railroad bridge in Virginia during the 1860’s. The R & P High Bridge was destroyed by Union artillery fire during the siege of Petersburg, 1864 – 1865] {Image courtesy of Library of Congress}

During his preparations for the Appomattox River Raid, the commander of the US Navy raiding force, Commodore John Rodgers had become concerned about the river route his task force would take. The primary target was the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad’s High Bridge over the Appomattox River at Petersburg, Virginia. Also targeted was the R & P’s bridge over Swift Creek. Destruction of one or both bridges would sever the Confederate capital of Richmond’s connection with the rest of the Confederacy.

Success of the River Raid, combined with a successful assault on the Confederate capital by Union General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac meant that the Civil War could be over within the year.

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Zheng He Playthrough with Geoffrey Engelstein — Part 4

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Welcome back to this playthrough of the first voyage of a campaign game of Zheng He! This is the fourth and final part. I won’t be explaining many rules here, so starting here might be a bit confusing. I’d recommend checking out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 to catch up on the voyage and brush up on the rules.

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Pragmatism, Tension, and the Power of Cooperation in Mr. President

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I’ve gone to some lengths to try to keep Mr. President from reflecting a partisan point of view, as I have no interest in being part of any game that would further the deep divisions we already have in this country around party loyalties, personalities, and platforms. What I have tried to do is present you, the new President in game terms, with the reality that you have both a party affiliation and an opposing party to deal with. My problem-solving methods usually lean toward the pragmatic, so I tried to take the same approach with a game about the President, sometimes called the “Problem Solver in Chief.”

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Zheng He Playthrough with Geoffrey Engelstein Part 3

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A reminder of the situation at the end of Turn 5

Welcome back to our playthrough of the first voyage in Zheng He: Admiral of the Ming Fleet. This is part 3 of 4 and will make a lot more sense if you read parts 1 and 2 first.

We have played through the first five turns of the 22-turn voyage. I’m going into a lot of detail about the rules and my thought process, but during actual play, once you know the rules, each voyage takes about 30-45 minutes to complete.

We are located in Malacca and are running very low on cards in hand, so we will need to Resupply as our first order of business.

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The Other Infernal Machine: The Tale of the Union Navy’s “Submarine Propeller” Part 3 – The Appomattox River Raid: June 26-28, 1862

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Strangling the Rebel Capital

Rebel battery position on Drewry’s Bluff defending Richmond from US Navy attacks from the James River. Image taken in 1865. {courtesy the National Archives}

Ever since the Union navy had retaken Norfolk, Virginia, Union gunboats had been prowling the James River to within seven miles of the Confederacy’s capital city of Richmond. 

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Zheng He Playthrough with Geoffrey Engelstein Part 2

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This is the second of a four-part playthrough of a voyage from Zheng He. The prior article covered the basic rules of the game, setup, and the first turn. We had just arrived in the port of Champa, in modern-day Vietnam. 

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The Other Infernal Machine: The Tale of the Union Navy’s “Submarine Propeller” Part 2 – The James River and Richmond: 1861-1862

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The James River in Northern Virginia

As the longest river system in the Virginia Commonwealth, the James River has its origins out west in the Appalachian Mountains. It meanders 443 miles through the northern Virginia countryside before emptying into Chesapeake Bay.

The James River – Present Day – the Richmond skyline in the distance] {image courtesy richmond.com}