This time next week Dolly and I will be starting our first walk in this fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Which means my timeline on various social media platforms will be full of photos from the walks, and our progress. Obviously there will be posts on here as well.
In the last week or so I’ve dug out the OS maps for the surrounding area. Refreshed my memory of where I used to walk the wolf pack. Measured out the routes making sure we will clock up enough mileage each day.
I had retired these walks with the passing of Strider. I think initially when I visit each one they will bring up some strong emotions as I remember my beloved four legged companions (they weren’t pets).
I’m looking forward to introducing Dolly to brew time, and sharing stories of the wolf pack and Nan with her. Yes I’m one of those dog owners that talks to his dogs.
The current amount I’ve raised so far is £279. Which is a fantastic amount.
If you are in a position to donate and so inclined you can make a donation using one of these two donation pages.
Friday evening, must be a Fenland Gamers club night of some description.
This time it was a regular club night.
To which six brave souls braved the cold winter night. Storm Éowyn (so cool to have a Tolkien named storm) barely touching this part of the country. It seems being on the opposite coast of where it hit protected this bit of the fens from the worst of the storm.
In the warmth of the sports and social club gathered the six hardy souls. Beverages in hand we settled in to play some games.
Our first game of the evening was Spectacular.
For a six player game it was a fairly quick play.
The theme of building a zoo/safari in this dice and tile drafting game doesn’t seem that strong. The mechanics really don’t support or enforce the theme at all. Yes the art is there. But it felt like the theme really could be anything.
There is definitely feelings of other games mechanically. Or should I say it has similarities. I definitely got a Cascadia vibe with the tile placement and creating zones.
The drafting and placing tiles in your zoo/safari park reminded me of Moving Wild. Which I think did it better with the cards.
But having said the above it’s still an enjoyable experience. I’d definitely play again.
We had a lot of fun playing the game. Anthony I’m sure was trolling Marcin over the rules and how to play during the game. I was correcting Marcin over the incorrect for using dices throughout the game. Pointing out dice is the plural.
Dave just romped home with the victory.
Our second and final game of the evening was my recently arrived copy of Rebel Princess.
This really is a fun trick taking game.
There are no trumps. So it’s highest value in the lead suit that wins the trick.
Each player has a unique power they can use once each round. Which reminds me the game is played over five rounds, with the lowest score winning. How do you score points? You get points for each marriage proposal (basically prince suit cards or frog prince card) you have in the tricks you won.
Each round at the start you give a number of cards to the players next to you. Plus a special rule is revealed that changes the game for that round. Both determined by the same card.
These two factors of variable player powers, special rule cards give a massive amount of replay-ability.
There is a rule that if you get all the princes and the frog prince in a round instead of getting seventeen points which they add up to (the frog prince is worth five points) you get ten points instead as a reward!
This really is fun. You are trying to get rid of your prince cards whilst not winning a trick that has prince cards played. Which is harder than you think.
Theme wise it’s not that strong. But had me thinking Love Letter because of the shared emphasis on Princesses.
Rebel Princess might after just one play have become one of my favourite trick taking games. Yes it’s that good.
Dave also won this game. A clean sweep of victories for him.
With no more six player games we called it an early night.
It was a great night especially catching up with one or two friends who aren’t able to make club nights as regular as they would like.
I can trace that fondness to playing knockout whist with my dad’s aunt Joan as a teenager.
So it should come as no surprise that once I heard about the game Rebel Princess from a video that I would order a copy.
Not only did I order the deluxe version, but I also ordered the promo princess card for it.
That deluxe copy of Rebel Princess arrived last week.
So I’m waiting to get it to the table which will hopefully be this coming club night.
Thanks to a Facebook ad for an online retailer I have used in the past I ended up caving in and ordering my third version of Sushi Go.
This version is the 10th Anniversary Bento Box edition.
There are only 10000 copies of this particular version. After ordering I regretted I didn’t order a second, even third copy. Which I could then later on sell for an inflated price on eBay. But then I thought that’s just not me. I don’t want to exploit another person for personal gain.
Anyway my copy is due any day now. Once it arrives I’ll share on social media what number my copy is.
I did get the Heroscape Battle for Wellspring Battle Box as well earlier in the month too. I’m slowly building up from the Age of Annihilation Master Set and Lands of Valhalla Terrain Expansion.
I’ve still got to get this to the table. But I know I’ll like it having played the failed MtG spinoff years ago.
One that arrived this month and shockingly has been played to is Lure and its expansion Deep Waters.
Well that’s it for this month so far. Finspan is taking orders tomorrow and you know that it will be on its way to me.
Also there is a remote chance Tiny Epic A Game of Thrones might turn up. By remote I mean slim to not happening at all. It’s meant to have been posted from China (and I’ll rant about this once it finally arrives). So who knows when it will turn up.
And now the awkward end of the post. One day I’ll work out how to finish a post.
It seems the gaming has stalled this month. The difference between last night and the previous Friday was gaming took place a week ago.
Last night no one apart from me was free! Life happens as they say. I can’t be too disappointed because it meant I got extra doggy snuggles.
Nico and Dolly snuggling up to me
There was also a chance to game session today but it starts too late for me.
But the previous Friday gaming did take place with initially five of us, that grew to six while we played our first game.
Our first game of the evening was my recently arrived copy of Lure and its Deep Waters expansion.
I decided to go all in even for this initial learning game because the expansion added an extra die for each player and some cards.
This is an interesting game where players using their dice are bidding to go first in attempting to catch the fish cards in the middle.
So secretly each player selects a number of their dice (hidden behind their screen) with lure tokens and everyone reveals the amount they selected at the same time. The player with the lowest number of dice goes first in attempting to catch the fish. This reminds me of that old game show Name That Tune where contestants bid to name a tune using the least number of notes. With the lowest bid getting the attempt to name the tune using the number of notes they bid.
A player catches fish by rolling the dice they used for their bid. If the total of the dice and lure tokens is greater than the value on the fish cards, and they meet any other criteria on the fish (such as having a die with the value of 2 in the results, or all odd value dice) the player can capture the fish. In fact any of the available fish they qualify for.This means it’s possible for a player to take multiple fish, even all of them, leaving none for the other players. In this situation the other players get a lure token.
There are special dice that are not six sided. But if you use them you lose them for a turn. Kind of like a cool down mechanic.
I do like this mechanic. It makes a nice change to the bidding mechanic. You have to weigh up when to use your special dice, how many dice you need to capture the current fish, if you are going to use lure tokens.
(Shipp, 2024) provides a definition of “Theme in hobby board games is a subject in a setting (that may be unspecified) with at least one connection point to the mechanisms which results in an undetermined progression of events at both the mechanical level and the thematic level.”
So the question is does Lure feel thematic?
Obviously the art of the game helps convey the theme. Here the cards have drawings of fish on them.
There is no setting in the sense we can assume it’s a current day fishing trip of some sort.
But I do feel that there is connection mechanically and thematically with the dice rolling and catching fish. Not meeting any of the fishes criteria does feel like you failed to catch anything. Using your special dice feels like you are using a fancy special lure to catch a fish.
It’s definitely not the strongest of themes. But it’s there. It doesn’t feel pasted on.
For the record I won the game.
Our second game of the evening was Tiny Towns.
When Tiny Towns first came out there was some buzz around the game. At one or two points in the months afterwards I nearly pulled the trigger and bought a copy. I can’t recall why I never did.
But I was glad that Charlene bought her copy and we got to play it.
It’s interesting thinking about the game. I liked it. It was fun. But I felt that this game abstracted the theme a bit too much. To such a level this almost felt like an abstract puzzle game. It’s hard to make cubes thematic. And we constantly referred to the cubes by colour over what they represented. Maybe if they had used wooden tokens that were coloured and shaped like the resource they represented.
Somehow Diego won this game.
My final game of the evening was several plays of the trick taking game Seas of Strife.
This really is a good example of a themeless game. The art on the cards really has no connection with the mechanics of a trick taking game.
However because there is no theme does not mean the game isn’t fun.
The twist from your usual run of the mill trick taking games is that you don’t want to win the trick.
But after a handful of fun games it was time to head home.
It was a fun evening of gaming. Sadly thanks to life not repeated this week.
Shipp, S. (2024) Thematic integration in board game design. Boca Raton ; London: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group (CRC Press guides to tabletop game design).
It’s been a busy week so there has been a distinct lack of posts.
I’ve been on a two day union event this week at Wyboston. It was a great event and very useful and inspiring. The only draw back was the luke warm evening meal, and a white americano that just a hot watery milky drink.
This union event was also a big deal for Dolly. It was her first overnight with mum. I was wondering how Dolly would handle it, and also how mum would get on with three dogs sleeping on the single bed in the living room.
When I called mum Wednesday morning to see how they got on I needn’t have worried. Instead of the usual phone call while I’m away (for whatever reason):
Mum: did you sleep ok?
Me: yes
Mum: well I didn’t your dogs wouldn’t settle and wouldn’t let me sleep.
It went completely different. Mum actually got some sleep, and managed to find space to sleep with all three on the bed.
With this first test passed with flying colours. I’m not worried about the two nights away for the health and safety course in a couple of weeks.
I did play some games last Friday. And hopefully I’ll get to talk about them in the next post.
I’m continually left speechless and amazed by people’s generosity when I see how much that has been donated for this 28 Miles in February.
The current total is £279!
That is such an amazing amount.
I’ve said previously I thought that when I signed up I didn’t even think I’d get close to the initial £150 target.
Then when that target was passed I thought it’d be cool to hit £200. But now with £300 so close. I’m just wow. How is this possible?
I really am touched, and so proud of my friends and family who have given so much to something I’m doing in memory of Nan. We all know how close I was to Nan, and how much she meant to me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to express my gratitude to everyone for their generosity. The words “thank you” don’t seem enough. But at the moment they are all I have. Thank You.
If people are in a position to donate, and feel they would like to then I’m really appreciative of that, and very grateful for the generosity.
Returning to work on Wednesday after basically two weeks off was a bit of struggle.
I’d gotten used to the relaxed, gentle start to the day. Ok my waistline wouldn’t have taken much more of the breakfast routine. The ham I cooked not only gave mum and me a couple of meals (ham, egg, and chips). But also was a major part of my breakfast. Along with eggs, beans, the best black pudding I’ve ever had from Stornaway (part of an amazing hamper that was sent to me by Duncan’s parents), and sausage. So not quite the full English. But still bloody good.
Dolly feels like she has always been with me. She has fitted in that well.
Obviously Dolly has had to adjust to the work day routine. Which she has done really well. Better than me I think!
Mum did hurt her shoulder Thursday lifting Dolly onto her bed. Luckily mum seemed back to normal the next day.
I need to say a big thank you to all those that have donated so far. The initial target of funds to raise was £150.
This figure was a default when the charity set up the donation pages when I signed up.
I didn’t think I’d even get close to this total.
But the generosity of my friends and family I actually reached that target on the 2nd January.
The actual current amount raised so far is £168.
Which is amazing. I’m stunned.
I’m taking a low key approach to fundraising because I know how difficult times are for folks financially. I don’t want people to feel pressured to give money. I’d much rather people are made aware of the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK, the work they do, and the impact of Alzheimer’s and dementia has not only the individual with it, but also the loved ones around them (often acting as the carers).
If people are in a position to donate, and feel they would like to then I’m really appreciative of that, and very grateful for the generosity.
Friday was the first club night of the new year. Yes technically not a proper club night but a get it to the table night. But still it was attended by eight members. A very good turn out.
We played an eight player game of Shadows Over Camelot with its expansion.
I’d never played the game before and we were lucky and honour that Jeff had bought along his copy.
This is one of those classic games that is out of print. So copies especially with the expansion that go for silly money when they come up for sale.
Along with Battlestar Galactica it’s probably the most famous and highly rated hidden traitor game out there.
Although I think The Thing board game should be up there with them.
Being probably the inspiration of the other games mentioned. You can see some familiar mechanics. Such as the shuffling up of cards before revealing them. The ability of the traitor to reveal themselves and then create chaos. Unique character abilities, and other similarities I’ve not listed.
I do like hidden traitor games. They are like a co-op game but with an edge. Everyone is meant to be working together to achieve the collective objective. But did you fail that mission because some-one had crappy cards and had no other option, or was that the work of a traitor?
We had a great time playing the game, plenty of laughs and suspicion being thrown around with comments like “that’s just what a traitor would say”.
Plus the traitors failed, and King Arthur and the knights of the round table succeeded.
A great evening of gaming.
Sunday saw me up early and over to Charlene’s for some gaming. Apparently it was Ben’s idea to start at 10am.
So on the way I stopped and picked up a selection of croissants to have with a hot beverage.
We started off the days gaming playing Fromage.
Fromage was interesting because it’s got this cool down mechanic and rotating board that’s split into four quarters in a “worker placement” style game.
It’s fun. I like how you can only do something in the segment of the board facing you. Each segment is different, and focused on a particular mechanic like area control, or getting pairs.
I manage to trigger the end of the game, and sneak a victory by a single point.
While Charlene was tied up in the kitchen we had a quick three games of Strike.
What can I say it was quick and fun. It’s a great little filler.
With Charlene back, her daughter Annabelle joined us for a game That’s Not A Hat.
This a bluffing game where you need a good memory. Sadly none of us had that. We struggled to remember our own card let alone what others had.
But somehow I won not getting a single point when the others managed to get at least one before Annabelle triggered the game end by getting three points.
For me my day of gaming finished with a game of Distilled.
Distilled is interesting. It has a drafting element, only lasts seven rounds, unique player powers.
The distilling mechanic is interesting because the ingredients cards you have collected to make a recipe are shuffled together and the top and bottom are removed. From the remaining cards you possibly make the recipe, score points, earn money, and get the drinks label to gain a bonus.
You always get two basic ingredients each round during the draft. It’s now you also spend money to buy more powerful cards like better ingredients, or fancier bottles, and even employees.
You can have up to three employees that usually give you some sort of ability to use each round, and an end of game scoring bonus. You are kinda building a mini engine.
I took an early lead completing my signature recipe before the others.
We took a brief pause during play for pizza that Charlene generously provided. However that wasn’t enough of a distraction to stop the others catching me up on the points and overtaking me.
In the end Diego won by a single point beating Ben. I wasn’t even close.
A big thank you to Charlene for hosting, and her generosity of providing the pizza. It was a great day of gaming.
Here we are with my second new setup for making a brew whilst out on a walk or even a meal. But this is equally at home on a backpacking trip also.
The BCB Crusader Mk1 Cooking System isn’t the lightest cooking system by a long shot.
There are two versions of the cook system from BCB. The main difference between the two are the crusader cooker and cup. The Mk1 crusader cup has a capacity of 750ml, whilst the Mk2 has a capacity of a litre. I also think the Mk2 crusader cup is lighter. The crusader cookers are also very different. The Mk1 is much shorter and meant to be a solid fuel only stove. While the Mk2 is taller, more ventilation, and can use multiple fuel sources. Whether that’s solid fuel, alcohol burners, or even a fire.
I’ve gone with the Mk1 version because it is a shorter form factor compared to the Mk2.
A brand new Mk1 cookset from BCB comes in at £95. However you can pick used ones (army surplus) much cheaper. For your money you get the following: “Plastic Mug & Water bottle (Osprey / NATO), Crusader Cup Lid, Crusader Cup, Crusader Cooker, Zulu Belt pouch, Fireball Flint and Striker” (plus some solid fuel blocks).
It is possible to use a Trangia with the Mk1 Crusader cooker if you use an alcohol stove cross stand (see the photos below).
How the crusader cup would be used with the crusader stoveThe plastic Osprey water bottle, plastic cup, lid, and ferro rodThe Crusader stoveHow the Trangia can be used with the Mk1 crusader stoveEverything inside minus the TrangiaHow the Trangia can be used with the Mk1 crusader stove a better shotThe inside of the pouch showing the little pocketThe belt pouch The official plastic lid and the third party (eBay) metal lid
Ok the water bottle has a capacity of a litre, and its companion plastic mug has a capacity of 500ml.
Compared to the Boundless Voyage titanium cook set in the previous post this is heavier. For starters it has the water bottle and mug which the other set doesn’t have. Oh and the handy ferro rod. And to be fair you would need to have if using the other set. Otherwise I don’t think the difference in weight if considering just the cooker and crusader cup, although heavier is too big.
The advantage this has over the Boundless Voyage setup is you can use just solid fuel tablets with it, with no need for a meths burner. Saving a bit of weight there. Granted not a great deal. But still.
For the record I also have the Mk2 crusader cooker. So for me that is also an option. But also shows you can just buy the bits of this system that you want quite easily. It’s also possible to replace the plastic crusader lid with a third party (usually custom made, see photo above) metal lid.
What I like also about this setup is it’s literally bombproof. After all this is designed for use by the British Army. It’s meant to be able to take a lot of abuse.
Well that’s the brief look at the BCB Crusader Mk1. I think I have at least one other newish one to share in another post. So more to come.
This is the first in a series of posts where I will look at recent purchases that can be used as a cookset for backpacking/camping. These are cooksets for a single person, not intended for cooking for multiple people.
I think any of these cooksets covered in this and future posts would be great in a day pack for a walk, or possible backpacking trip.
Yet again a YouTube video got me ordering more gear.
This time it was the Boundless Voyage Titanium Cookware Set.
What do you get for your money? For starters you get an 800ml canteen cup aka a pot, a mesh storage bag, a lid for the pot, and what they describe as a wood stove. Like some of the canteen sets out there this cooker allows you to have a fire to do your cooking. However for me that would be a last resort.
The problem for me with using this type of cooker/stove with a fire is the scar it would leave behind. Not very leave no trace. Yes you could use something to place this on to try and avoid that. But I think it would still leave a mark on the ground.
Everything insideWood stovefolding titanium spoon, and a BCB Fireball Flint and StrikerGoshawk OP-100800ml canteen cup aka a pot800ml canteen cup aka a potGoshawk OP-100Wood stoveLidMesh storage bag
My preference for heat source would be a Trangia or some other alcohol/solid fuel stove. The stove then acts like a windshield and pot support.
The lid itself for the canteen isn’t very tight fitting.
What I like about the pot is that you have the handles on the side plus the handle to hang it with. Although to be fair I’m more likely to be using this handle to remove the pot off the heat than hanging it over an open fire.
I’ve not weighed it but it is listed as weighing in at 230g.
To this cook set I’ve added the Goshawk OP-100 alcohol stove, a folding titanium spoon, and a BCB Fireball Flint and Striker.
Plus at just shy of £38 (from Aliexpress) this isn’t bad value for a cookset.
This is a nice compact cook set that doesn’t take up much space. The only thing I’d need adding to this is a cup of some sort.
After seeing an Alzheimer’s Research UK ad on Facebook for a fundraising event. I thought I can do that.
But more importantly I have a personal link to this. Mind you I could make a personal link to one of the many Cancer, Mental Health, or Animal charities as well.
So why this particular one for Alzheimer’s Research UK?
I’m doing this one for Nan.
There is not a day I don’t miss her.
Nan was never diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia. But she had (most likely) dementia.
Luckily during those declining years before Nan passed away she still recognised myself and mum. However we still had to watch as Nan deteriorated physically and mentally.
In the early days of Nan’s dementia I would be asked daily if I had a car, and who the red one outside belonged to. Sometimes it would be more than once during the day I got asked it.
Often in the later stages Nan would regress to being a child wanting her parents. It was heartbreaking hearing mum tell her they were no longer with us. We even had to constantly remind her she was in her own home.
There would be times when Nan would get angry with mum for no reason and try to hurt her or spit at her. Nan had no strength to do any harm. But I would often just hug her and tell her that I loved her when she was like this. I think it helped her calm down.
The two attack chihuahuas were great companions for Nan. Although how Loki ended up with her dentures on more than one occasion I’ll never know.
In the final years I was unable to visit my son because the distance was too great to do in a day. It took two of us to look after Nan. Particularly to get her on the commode. So my only contact during that time was several phone calls a week with him. I even had to give up working for the final couple of years to be a full time carer.
I used to bake mainly for Nan. After a sourdough loaf came out of the oven I’d take it round to show Nan. The act of touching the warm loaf with her hands used to bring her some pleasure. As did holding a hot mug of tea. Although Nan barely had a mouthful or more of whatever I baked (getting her to eat was a struggle). I baked for her. I’ve not baked since she passed away.
So yes it’s hard having to watch a loved one going through such a horrible slow, cruel death.
And that is why I’m doing this challenge of walking 28 miles in February.
I’m doing it for Nan. For those also going through the same. And to help find a way to prevent others having to go through the same.
If you are in a position to support me I’d really appreciate any donation you can spare. Or if you are unable to you can still help by sharing this post on your social media places.
You can donate in either of these two places (links below)
There will be posts in the run up to the start of February about my prep, and how I plan to tackle the challenge. Then during February there will be progress updates.
Thank you so much for any support you can give and for reading this.
