All posts by Darren

Jeff’s Birthday Gaming Day 2025

TI, Twilight Imperium 4

Apart from last year, which was a special case (Jeff was celebrating a significant wedding anniversary with a cruise instead). The highlight of August is Jeff’s birthday gaming day.

These gaming days are usually a big epic game, such as Civilisation, Memoir ‘44 Overlord, or Twilight Imperium 3. Plus some equally epic food such as Jeff’s homemade Indian food.

This year it was once more the turn of Twilight Imperium 3 to hit the birthday celebration table.

Five factions sought to rule the galaxy but only one would be victorious.

Top left; Muaat (me), Top Right: Sol (Charlene), Middle Left: Creuss (Jonas), Middle Right: Mentak (Jeff’s youngest), Bottom Left: Hacan (Jeff)

I’d never played Muaat before so decided to go with them. Which meant I started with a War Sun. And yes there were many Star Wars Death Star references through out the day.

Looking back on the days play I wasn’t nearly as aggressive or expansionist as I could have, or even should have been.

For me the War Sun seemed to be a big red flag telling the others not to mess with me.

I think it was after round two when everyone but Jeff’s youngest got the War Sun technology thanks to a vote being successful that allowed those with a trade agreement to share technology.

This years melt in your mouth double cooked chicken curry

For a longtime during the game I remained on zero victory points. As the others claimed objectives of one kind or the other I was being left behind.

I had a bit of an alliance going with my neighbours the Cruess.

I was determined that I’d score one victory point so that I wasn’t completely embarrassed with scoring zero points.

Then in what was to be the final two rounds I had a made splurge of points scoring a total of three points, followed by two more in the final round.

That left me tied with Jeff and Charlene for second place or as we lovingly call it in Fenland Gamers, first loser. The winner was Jonas, who by claiming his tenth victory point end the game instantly screwing his brother out of scoring any more points and keeping him in last place.

Whether it’s third or fourth edition I do enjoy playing Twilight Imperium. Luckily October/November the second expansion for fourth edition comes out giving us an excuse to get it to the table again (as if we really needed an excuse).

I had a great day playing with friends, and helping Jeff celebrate another lap around our sun. A big thank you to Jeff for inviting me.

Games I’ve played in August so far

Gaming roundup

It’s back to the ol’ cardboard and plastic posts. Specifically just quickly going over what’s hit the table recently.

51st State Ultimate Edition: I finally got my hands on a gamefound edition of 51st State. I can’t believe the person I bought it from didn’t get the extra faction board add on.

Rebirth: Not going to say much about this because I have nothing new to say about this great game.

Raising Robots: After playing this engine builder that Marcin billed as similar/like Wingspan a bit disappointed, even frustrated. Yes it has a Wingspan like element to it but that seems minor. The engine you build is basically your opening hand. Getting new cards was frustrating and apart from an action that had you discard cards to get new ones, no other opportunities came to get them (although some robot cards allowed you to). Playing cards to your board other than your opening hand seemed less of the game. I felt the game was over complicated and not as fun as any of the Wingspan family.

Planet Unknown: an interesting game where you are placing tetronomes on your game board. Well basically that’s its core mechanic. Very Uwe Rosenberg like. It’s interesting.

Citizens of the Spark: nothing to add to what I’ve said previously. It’s fun.

Rebel Princess: our go to trick taker. Colin set a new record for most points gained in a round of 26 beating the previous record held by Marcin.

Rail Road Tiles: a newly arrived kickstarter, which looks really nice. This tile drafting/placement game is fun. We played a basic game as recommended by the rule book for the first game. Mechanically it’s not complicated. But with the objectives and expansions to still be added in the decision making of where to place tiles should get more interesting.

Gift of Tulips: not a bad area majority, market manipulation game. Along with post apocalyptic themed games this type of filler card game seems to be a favourite of Marcin’s. He has one or two of them. It was a fun game. Didn’t blow me away.

And that’s it for August so far.

Learning to fly

Z80 Assembly, ZX Spectrum, ZX Spectrum Next

“There is an art, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.” The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy

Sometimes I think this HHGTTG quote sums up learning assembly language whether it’s Z80, 6502, 68000, or any other processor. There is a knack to it, almost a frame of mind/thinking you need to achieve/enter.

I like to have something I’m aiming for while learning. It gives me a focus.

For learning Z80 assembly and the ZX Spectrum Next I have two things I want to aim for. However I’m only going to reveal one of them now.

This first target is to write a small Z80 assembly program to generate fractal music.

I first came across fractal music back in 1986 with a “short” program listing in a Commodore magazine for a game called Syncro by my favourite games programmer of all time Jeff Minter.

Luckily I didn’t have to type it in because it was also available as a download on Compunet (an official Commodore dial up bulletin board).

In Syncro you had three or four floors moving in different directions and speeds which you had to get numerous cippy’s (the creature first introduced in the Llamasoft game Ancipital) synchronised with. Whilst doing this in the background playing away on the SID chip was some fractal music.

It was nothing like anything else on the C64. The likes of Whittaker, Galway, and Hubbard were masters of the SID chip. What they did and the tunes they produced were incredible.

However this was something completely different. Mathematically driven.

In an interview Minter talked about the fractal music and the Byte article that inspired it.

I’ve tracked down a pdf of that issue of Byte (although I’d love a physical copy, which I once had) and printed out the article.

This article will also be my inspiration for my first assembly program that will not be a learning exercise from a book.

I’m all out of bubblegum

So as I wait for the kickstarter to complete and take my money (tomorrow as I write) and then the actual machine to arrive later in the year. I’ve started reading the books on assembly, making notes, and making a temp dev environment on my laptop.

That should mean when the Next finally arrives I’m in a good position to continue my journey.

ZX Spectrum Next – my next geek out?

life, the universe, and everything, Retro Computing, still alive, ZX Spectrum, ZX Spectrum Next

One project I recently backed on Kickstarter and about to finish and go into production is for the ZX Spectrum Next version 3.

I’ve been aware of the ZX Spectrum Next since its original crowdfunding a few years back. But I resisted backing that and the subsequent follow up campaign. The cost put me off if I remember correctly.

So what changed with this new edition to tempt me to part with my money?

When I saw that this version will also have the ability to be a Commodore 64 I was tempted. After all I had a C64 before I had a Speccy. For the record I loved both, and I think this was the start of my gaming philosophy of playing a game on the platform that had the best version.

However what got me to press that back project button was a third computer that it could also run as. That third machine was the Sinclair QL. The QL was a dream machine for me that I’d never own. It really was an object of desire for me.

And the thing about the ZX Spectrum Next is this is not some Raspberry Pi running emulators in a pretty case. It’s doing all this in hardware! Plus it upgrades the graphics, sound, can use sd cards, tape, WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, etc.

Not only that as a programmer it comes with NextBASIC (I’m assuming I can also tinker with Sinclair BASIC if I so desire), full C support, Assembly, and complete IDEs and toolchains. So I can write my own stuff for it.

“With every system shipped, a SD card is included packed with games, apps, demos, documentation, and development tools to get started right out of the box.” (from the kickstarter page)

I’m looking forward to tinkering with Z80 assembly on it. Back in the day I was a BASIC and 6502 assembly guy. Then it was BASIC/C/Modula 2/68000 when I made the jump to 16bit on the Atari ST.

To help me with my Z80 journey I found out that a company has reprinted Spectrum Machine Language for the Absolute Beginner that was originally printed by Melbourne House publishing (I had the C64 version). To go along with that I also got Programming the Z-80 by Rodnay Zaks. Back in the day the go to authors for assembly programming were Zaks and/or Lance Leventhal. I had Lance’s 6502 and 68000 books. I had one by Zaks as well but I can’t remember for which processor.

I also backed and received a copy of Hewson’s Helpline for the ZX Spectrum, ZX80 & ZX81 a few months back. This is basically a collection of his columns from Sinclair User. These are fairly technical articles answering readers questions with snippets of code in BASIC and assembly.

I’ve also ordered a copy of 40 Best Machine Code Routines for the ZX Spectrum by Hewson as well.

So armed with these books I’m hoping to write my first ever Z80 assembly programs for the Speccy. There’s just something about writing assembler that higher languages don’t give you. I’m kinda excited about that prospect.

Finally before I finish this post I should say there were two versions of this Next, classic black and magenta. I went for the magenta.

I’m sure there will be more on this subject once the project delivers later in the year.

Hide and Seek

Uncategorized

One game genre/mechanic I love playing is hidden movement games. But to be fair I don’t play them that often. I actually own only three games that feature hidden movement as the main/feature mechanic.

Out of those three I’ve played two of them. The third sits on my pile of shame.

I’ve played Letters from Whitechapel a couple of times. Plus the two player Mr Jack. Both owned by Jonathan and you might notice they share a common theme.

I’ve played on both sides of the screen. Do I have a preference? No I just love the experience both sides give. Whether it’s the planning, information sharing, deduction of those hunting. Or the adrenaline rush of slipping through the net as the one hiding.

After watching a YouTube video a couple weeks back for Mind Mgmt I was reminded how much fun these style of games are.

Before I knew it I was searching for a deluxe copy of the game, and buying it.

As I was doing that I remembered I had never bought the stand alone expansion/sequel to Spectre Ops that came out.

So while I was in a searching mood I also tracked down a copy of Spectre Ops Broken Covenant. Sadly the copy I found was going to have to come from the US of A.

I’m not sure how I stumbled upon Sniper Elite the board game but that to looked interesting. The Second World War theming was appealing. So I’ve kinda gone all in on this. The core game and expansion were bought together off eBay. The deluxe upgrade kit preordered from the publisher. And the new expansions plus a storage box “preordered” on Gamefound.

So in a matter of two weeks I’ve doubled (once they all arrive) the number of hidden movement games I own.

The full list will be as follows:
Fury Of Dracula;
Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage “Game.”; (new)
Nuns on the Run;
Sniper Elite: The Board Game; (new)
Specter Ops;
Specter Ops: Broken Covenant. (new)

Now I just need to get these games to the table.

An end of July gaming round up

Gaming roundup

I’m liking these semi-regular round ups of the games I’ve played. I may do a longer post on a particular game from time to time but that’s going to depend on how lazy I feel and whether I think the game warrants it, and I have lots to say about it.

This round up seems to be all new to me games or in the case of SWU decks.

Let’s get on with it.

Star Wars Unlimited: with the new set Legends of the Force being released came two new spotlight decks. The leaders for these two new decks are Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn. Like previous spotlight decks they are meant to showcase new mechanics in the latest set. I really liked the first spotlight decks of Han Solo and Boba Fett. They seemed evenly matched. Something I felt these two decks were not. I was playing the Qui-Gon Jinn deck, while Dave was playing Maul. I got my butt kicked by the Maul deck. We played five games. It wasn’t even close. I wanted to play multiple games to rule out poor card draw, bad decisions etc. I’d love to see the play test data for these two decks, and how they even thought these were evenly matched.

Vantage: the latest Stonemaier Games release. A game eight years in the making by Jamey Stegmaier. You can certainly see the influences on this game from rogue likes, to choose your own adventures, and games like 7th Continent. The game plays 1 to 6 players. But I don’t think I’d want to play it at the higher player counts. Marcin and I played this together using my pimped out copy (upgraded tokens, coins, and player boards). We had a blast playing the game. Yes in reality it’s a solo game with minimal player interaction. But I liked the shared story telling experience, the other player reading out from the storybooks, describing what you see on the bit of the planet you are on. It almost had a ttrpg feel. A shared story where you get snippets of information. The hype is real (if you like this style of game) folks.

Galactic Cruise: this game did seem to get a lot of buzz upon release. Worker placement, hand management. I liked when playing you can combo cards that you play.

Citizens of the Spark: card drafting with the strength of an action you take determined by the number of that card you have. I like that you are able to follow other players actions if you have that card, a bit Eminent Domain like. Well that’s the first game I thought of with that mechanic. This a nice quick game with a bit of take that. Well if you select the right cards during setup. Which reminds me you can tailor the type of game you want during setup. Which is very cool, and reminded me of the Sushi Go Party setup.

Innovation Ultimate: a civilisation card game. A game I really enjoyed that had plenty of player interaction and a bit of take that. We played the recommended first game, ie no expansions. This is definitely a game I want to play more.

Money: a quick bidding, set collection game. It was an enjoyable experience where I hadn’t really cottoned on to the scoring. That cost me in the end. But still very tactical on the bidding.

That’s it for this round up that technically should have been posted about a week ago. But work, tired. You know the story.

A new Diogo photo

#littlemonsters

Ok this latest photo of Diogo was sent to me at the weekend. But I’ve waited until today to share it with you. No reason except maybe laziness.

I’d love to be able give a home to the other dogs in the photo behind Diogo. But poor life decisions and not being born into lots of money mean I’m unable to.

I can’t wait until Diogo is finally here taking his place as a little monster.

Roydon Common and Grimston Warren

#walkingDolly, hiking/backpacking/camping, Walking

Even on my days off I’m still wide awake early. Well I have to be to give Nico his first dose of heart medicine for the day.

So after going back to bed for a couple of hours, and then having a relaxed first mug of coffee I decided Dolly and I were long over due a “proper” walk.

After getting our stuff together and in the car we were on our way to somewhere undecided. Yep what seems to be our norm, no set destination, decision made enroute.

All I knew was I wanted to avoid honey spots such as the coast, possibly Thetford. It’s the start of the school holidays and I just wanted to avoid the holiday crowds.

Dolly and I somehow found ourselves in the Roydon Common car park.

I set us the target of finding out what the mystery structure was that we have seen in the distance in Grimston Warren during previous visits.

We were going to cut out doing the upper fields and head straight to our target.

Our path across the common was the “high” path that Dolly and I originally tried taking back in February. However we had to turn back and use the lower one because of grazing ponies.

You’re not more than 20ft higher than the bottom of the common as it runs along the boundary of the nature reserve. But still you get a nice view across the common it as you walk the length of the common.

Bawsey Church ruin and QE Hospital wind turbine in distance

Being on the “high” ground meant that when we crossed the bridle way between nature reserves we remained on the “high” ground as we followed the edge round towards our target.

In parts it felt more like an animal track we were following with heather scratching my calves and probably whipping Dolly in the face. It was hard to tell with her walking behind me on this very narrow track.

But we did make it to our objective.

Sister tower in the distance
The Grimston Warren military observation tower

It turns out the mysterious structure that had teased us from a far was in fact a WWII military observation tower.

Less than a stones throw from the observation tower are a couple of information boards. One handily pointed out one or two of the structures I could see in the distance. Such as the ruins of Bawsey Church and QE Hospital wind turbine.

It was by these information boards Dolly and I stopped for a bite to eat snd and a brew.

My stove today was a newly arrived MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe. It worked really well with the Jetboil 1.5L cook pot. I like this combo.

Once again the caffeine fix was the British Army freeze dried coffee granules.

While Dolly had her usual walk treat of beef jerky, I had some ramen.

The MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe
Our brew stop

I did get a little fancy using a sea to summit folding bowl, and a Boundless Voyage titanium Chinese soup/ramen spoon! I also added some dried shrimp this time.

One thing I learnt from the information board was directly below us were the remains of a Victorian tram line.

From our vantage point it was obvious where the path of the tram line had been. I could also see what looked like possible remains of the line itself.

After packing away Dolly dropped down to investigate.

The two pieces we had spotted did indeed look like rusted tram line.

I can guess that the tram line went to Kings Lynn. But where did it go to? Maybe one day I’ll be curious enough to look into this bit of Norfolk history to find out.

Path of the tram line
Remains of a Victorian tramway

The remains of the tram line bought us out at the junction that Dolly and I took that lead us the bog bashing on our first visit here in February.

We headed back towards Roydon Common. Once there we took the lower path across the common with the “higher” path on our left.

About three quarters of the way long a deer ran out from the heather ahead of us, across the track, and into the heather the other side. I think the deer was a roe deer. Dolly was oblivious to this, or if she had seen it didn’t care.

Back at the car we packed away our gear, got in and headed home.

It was nice to be back out enjoying nature, the weather was perfect, we got to destress. Just what the doctor ordered.

Little Monsters Update

#littlemonsters, life, the universe, and everything, still alive

This is kinda a still alive post but focused more on those four legged little monsters that I live with.

First up I’ve been sent a new photo (see below) of our latest recruit from Peru, Diogo. Yes I know in the post announcing his recruitment he was called Durin. However I decided to rename him in tribute to Diogo Jota who died tragically along with his brother in a car crash at the start of July.

I’m a Liverpool supporter. Have been since the age of 7. OMG it’s just clicked that’s 50 years now.

The parting of our Forever 20 hit me harder than I thought. I think the only other two times the death of someone I never knew but they still meant something to me hit me hard was Steve Jobs and Elvis.

I remember being told at work by a friend of Jota’s passing. I was date coding yoghurts when he came up to me and asked “had I seen the news about Jota?” I was expecting him to tell me Liverpool had accepted an offer for him. Instead he told me he had died in a car accident. I really did find it hard to continue our conversation, it felt like I’d start crying any second. There was definitely emotion in my voice as I spoke. To say I continued the rest of my shift in a bit of a daze was an understatement. My fellow Liverpool supporters at work couldn’t believe the news. We were in shock. It was hard to express what we were feeling, even to talk about it without breaking down in tears.

So it seemed natural that I’d want to do something to remember Diogo Jota. Hence the renaming of Durin to Diogo.

Diogo looks a little pissed to me in this photo

The other little monsters news is that Nico had a heart scan Tuesday and the heart murmur detected is actually two faulty valves. He has been prescribed a heart medication that he needs to take every 12 hours for the rest of his life.

The good thing is that he wasn’t experiencing any of the health issues that can be related to his heart problem. But if they do start they can be treated.

UPDATE: since writing this post this morning I’ve received another photo from Peru of Diogo and just had to share it here.