"Now the trumpet summons us again—not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are—but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle [...]"
- John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address
TWILIGHT STRUGGLE is a card-driven board game simulation of the Cold War. It has been called a game of
crisis management; dealing with them yourself, creating them for your opponent, and their proper timing. There is a extensive blog about the game,
Twilight Strategy.
This is that site's article on starting out play. This page could help you decide if it's for you. ("Do you enjoy games that are extremely tense and nerve-wracking?") Here's a YouTube video on how to play it.
And, although I suggest learning to play with a physical set, the online multiplayer wargaming client Warroom
has a Java Twilight Struggle client/server program available. There is also
a VASSAL module, but it currently doesn't work with VASSAL 3.2 or later. There's a lot more on the game after the break....
[more inside]
posted by JHarris
on Mar 24, 2013 -
48 comments
NEW from VIDEO Magazine, arising out of its popular "Arcade Alley" column, it's
ELECTRONIC GAMES Magazine!
(page of PDF links) Brought to you by editors Frank Laney Jr. and
Bill Kunkel, and filled with all the latest news on programmable home console games, computer games (with special coverage for the new ATARI 800 system), stand-alone electronic devices and arcade gaming.
[more inside]
posted by JHarris
on Feb 7, 2013 -
37 comments
In November 2007, a new board game called Yavalath was invented. The rules of Yavalath are simple: Players take turns adding a piece of their colour to a hexagonal board and win by making four-in-a-row of their colour – but lose by making three-in-a-row beforehand. Yavalath has proven reasonably popular as its simple rules allow interesting and surprising situations to develop due to its innovative win with four but lose with three winning condition. But Yavalath is really set apart from the many other board games invented in 2007 by one remarkable fact: Yavalath was designed by a computer programme. [more inside]
posted by rollick
on Jan 19, 2013 -
20 comments
Matthew Baldwin (MeFi's Own
* Defective Yeti
*): " ...That’s why I come armed to every social engagement with board games, to help facilitate that whole human interaction thing that people thought was important before smartphones gave us an excuse to avoid eye contact with others. It’s also why I give games as gifts—and why, for more than a decade, I have been helping others do likewise. And so,
my annual Good Gift Game guide, showcasing those board and card games from the last year or so that are easy to learn and teach, fun and engrossing to play, and that can be completed in 90 minutes or less." (
additional notes & more games for the 2012 guide)
[more inside]
posted by flex
on Dec 4, 2012 -
55 comments
Let’s play Žižuku! Vaguely similar in theory to the
Postmodern Text Generator, but practiced individually, rather than Markov-chain-generated text. The creator, Julian Baggini, describes Žižuku thus: "The rules are simple: pick on any widely received idea and find the most clever-sounding way to invert it, so as to create a paradox, or at least the semblance of one."
[more inside]
posted by exlotuseater
on Nov 17, 2012 -
21 comments
There seems to be a recent golden age of genuinely terrifying indie horror games that experiment with new ways to upset you.
Slender [PC/Mac, free], is based on the creepy
Slender Man mythos and has been garnering
rave reviews and videos of
terrified reactions as you try to escape the being that draws ever closer.
The 4th Wall [free or $1 on Xbox/PC] is a
even more abstract take on existential dread.
SCP Containment Breach [PC, free] features the very disturbing
Sculpture (even the picture in that link will creep you out) from the
SCP series, it follows another SCP game -
The Staircase. And there is more -
Which [PC, free] has you
stumble in the dark;
Ib [PC, free] places you in the shoes of
a girl in an abandoned art gallery, and
Candles [free, Win/Mac] is
all about atmospherics. On top of that, there are some cheap independent commercial games that generate great scares, such as
Lone Survivor [
online demo] and the
now-famous Amnesia: The Dark Descent [PC/Mac/Linux, $20], whose upcoming sequel
A Machine for Pigs, may have the best title of any game.
posted by blahblahblah
on Aug 15, 2012 -
117 comments
"
Lexcavator is an arcade/word game for Mac, PC, and Linux. The goal: guide your guy (@) deeper into an infinite of letters by clearing words from the board! Multiple game modes, detailed record-keeping, online global leaderboards—there's something here for everybody! Pay what you want (even $0, if you are so inclined)." [via
mefi projects]
[more inside]
posted by davidjmcgee
on May 10, 2012 -
13 comments
Pongs (browser game, Flash) is Pippin Barr's exploration of a tiny corner of the game design universe: 36 variations of Pong.
posted by nobody
on Apr 11, 2012 -
12 comments
Samurai meets Minesweeper! Defeat the Seven Daimyos and their Shogun, and restore peace to the land! As the Samurai, you will have to choose your battles carefully to overcome the enemies' forces... [more inside]
posted by smcg
on Feb 17, 2012 -
8 comments
William and Sly 2 is a gorgeous, ethereal fantasy exploration game wherein you play a nimble fox tasked with finding the scattered pages of your human friend's journal, while gathering mushrooms, finding keys to unlock mystery boxes, and freeing rune-bound spirits and pixies trapped in frost along the way.
[more inside]
posted by taz
on Jan 16, 2012 -
14 comments
Tinyhack :Tired of the graphical complexity of Nethack? Yearn for a game smaller than a favicon?
posted by leotrotsky
on Jan 2, 2012 -
33 comments
Here is a video playthrough of The Legend of Zelda without a sword. It is possible to get right up to the last boss without one, although it requires knowing a
lot of tricks. That is exactly what mev1978 does in his playthrough, without dying. And then he does it again in the second quest.
First quest (1:61:31) -
Second quest (1:13:18)
[more inside]
posted by JHarris
on Dec 26, 2011 -
33 comments
Red is a simple Flash game. Shoot the descending circles. Some are big and slow, some are small and quick. Shoot the power-ups to collect them. Soon you'll have a shield and some auto-turrets to help you clear the screen. But beware: it gets harder and more frantic as the wind increases. How long can you survive? A fun Missile Command/Asteroids hybrid. (Via
reddit)
posted by BitterOldPunk
on Sep 15, 2011 -
27 comments
Friday Downloadable Fun:
Pixelships is a freeware combination of Pokemon and Defender. Destroy, collect, and upgrade 160 pixelized spaceships in a series of randomly generated levels. The sequel,
Pixelships Retro, is now out and is available as shareware.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn
on Jul 7, 2011 -
10 comments
The recently retired Manny Ramirez was one of the most inscrutable players in recent history. Ben McGrath of the New Yorker attempted to figure out Ramirez's motivations in
this 2007 piece.
posted by reenum
on Apr 11, 2011 -
32 comments
