28 Miles in February: Why?

#28MilesInFebruary, charity

I decided to do something.

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)

Just Giving Page

Facebook Page

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.

5…4…3…2…1…Thunderbirds are go!

Game day

Monday afternoon saw Dave kindly play host to an afternoon of gaming with Jonathan and myself.

There was only one game on the agenda to play. That was the 2015 released Thunderbirds the board game. A game I have owned since it came out but never played!

Thunderbirds the board game is designed by Matt Leacock (yes he of Pandemic fame). The game itself is based on Pandemic but with some changes to make it more thematic.

If you own a copy of this game open up the rule book and their listed amongst the kickstarter backers is my name. Yes your assumption is correct I did indeed back this game on kickstarter.

At the time of the campaign it ticked a lot of boxes for me. I liked playing Pandemic, I was a fan of Thunderbirds. Why wouldn’t I back a game that combined the two?

As a kid I used to watch Thunderbirds whenever it was on tv. I was jealous of my friends that had one or two of the metal models of the shows iconic craft.

Although I did have the Thunderbirds/Captain Scarlet lp. I listened to that a few times over the years as I grew up. Thinking about it, that and the Snow White read along record may have been the start of my love of what would later be radio plays.

I have a vague memory of playing briefly the Thunderbirds computer game that came out in the mid eighties. But it doesn’t stand out as one of those gaming moments like say playing Revenge of the Mutant Camels, Ghostbusters, Jetpac, or Harrier Attack.

During the late eighties, early nineties I even went and saw the amazing Thunderbirds stage play. I think I saw it two or three times.

Even now I have all the original tv series and movies on dvd. I’m tempted to get the Big Finish audio plays. They have done a good job with Doctor Who. So I trust them.

But for me the live action movie (which was dire) and modern cartoons are just not worth the time and effort. I’m sticking with the superior original.

Back to the board game.

It’s brutal.

More so than Pandemic.

Due to the perfect storm that was drawn on the disaster track we barely had two turns each before it was obvious we were doomed and unable to beat the game.

So we reset and tried again.

Our second attempt we did better, even upgrading our characters (not me). But still eventually we got into an impossible situation that saw us being defeated.

Dave called in the big guns to help, Clack.

Our third game we lasted a lot longer. All of us at least getting our second upgrade if not to our third. The disaster track was under control. But still it was a war of attrition and the inevitable once again happened with the game beating us.

I loved the game. It captured the theme of Thunderbirds really well. The changes made to the core Pandemic mechanics really worked for me. The having to avert disasters by manipulating the board by getting certain characters, craft, equipment to specific locations to meet the disasters criteria. Much more fun and puzzle like than spawning cubes.

I think the production is better with the character pegs, model Thunderbirds craft, etc They really are needed to help with the theme.

With the events track when triggered making the game harder by switching off some ability or mechanic. The game gets even more brutal.

You don’t hear people talking much about Thunderbirds, especially those that enjoy Pandemic. It possibly is the most forgotten member of that family of games. Which is a shame because I think along with the Star Wars Clone Wars Pandemic it is one of my favourite Pandemic games.

Which is a big call considering this was the first time I have played the game, and was not even close to beating it.

But I like it. I am finding that I do prefer the spin offs to Pandemic more than I enjoy the original game (including expansions). I like the extras or twists that the spin offs bring to the table.

This is a brutal, but fun game. I can’t wait to play it again. And I haven’t said that about a Pandemic game for a long time.

Bgstats for December and 2024

annual awards, bgstat, by the numbers, stats

It’s a struggle to write this post or any really because most of my time is taken up with Dolly and helping her settle in at the moment.

However she is so well behaved, except when it comes to food. Dolly is such a fast eater. To give Nico and Loki a chance I have to take Dolly out for a little walk.

But she is such an amazing character. I’m really lucky to have her share her life with me.

This morning Dolly slept on my shoulder!

Let’s start off this summary post of gaming with December.

Like previous years this December was no different with few gaming opportunities due to all that seasonal stuff going on. Add on top of that the chest infection. What you end up with is very little gaming happening.

The surprise game of the month was getting an opportunity to play Thunderbirds the board game. But I’ll write that up as a separate post.

2024

I’m not going to compare the figures with 2023, but I played more games this year, and a lot more new games to me were played. Which did surprise me.

I think one gaming highlight of the year for me was getting back into Dice Masters. It’s still as much fun as I had remembered. Plus creating new ways to play with others such as building a cube and drafting helped find others to play the game with me.

Ok here is the full list of the 93 games I played in 2024.

My game of 2024

I played 72 new to me games this year. That’s the majority of the games I played in 2024.

Obviously I haven’t bought 72 new games this year.

Using the filters within the Bgstats app I was able to find out that 35 of those games were mine. Or I bought my own copy after playing someone else’s copy. Cubed is one such example.

The full list of new to me games is shown below.

So out of these games which is my game of 2024?

It was close. I nearly went with my most played game of the year Star Wars Unlimited. However I think that there has been one more deserving of the honour for me. That game is …

Strike.

Strike is such a blast to play. It’s been a hit with those I’ve played it with.

It’s quick to play, so much fun. There are great random dice roll moments. We’ve laughed a lot.

And it’s those reasons that Strike is my game of 2024.

I’ll just end this boring round up by wishing everyone a

Happy New Year

Well hello…

life, the universe, and everything, still alive

Dolly!

Yes I went there with the obvious.

Yesterday I got up early, drove down south to literally meet a lady about a dog.

The dog in question was a seven year old pug named, you guessed it, Dolly.

Naturally the owner needed to meet me and make sure I was going to give Dolly a loving home.

I think it’s stating the obvious to say Dolly’s owner was very upset having to find Dolly a new home. I’d be the same.

In the run up to this day I’d not said much about it. I was trying to manage my expectations and hopes. If it fell through I knew I’d be heart broken. I wanted to try and limit the amount of hurt.

But I passed the test both by the owner and Dolly.

Dolly did amazing on the way back. The M25 was horrendous as was the bit of the M1 that I take. I think the M25 from basically the M3 junction where I got on to the M40 junction took nearly two hours.

So when I got a chance to stop at a services on the M1 I did so. Dolly really needed a moment to answer the call of nature and stretch her legs.

When we eventually got home the boys were following Dolly around as she explored her new surroundings.

Considering how stressful the day was for Dolly she had a pretty good night. Only a couple of “accidents” downstairs to clean up. I woke up with Dolly cuddled up to me on the bed.

I know one thing Nico and Loki need to up their meal time game. Dolly is a food hover. And blindingly fast. They won’t be able to just eat when they want now. If it’s left Dolly will have it.

We are now learning how to live together as a pack, learn each others routines, get used to being comfortable together. It’s a good start so far. But it’s a long journey.

Welcome to the family Dolly.

The Big Day

life, the universe, and everything, still alive

I survived the last four days at work.

I think that’s the best way to describe them.

Obviously the days got busier as it got closer to the big day. They also got more challenging as my chest infection has not started to clear up. But my energy levels have gradually improved thankfully.

Instead of finishing at midday Christmas Eve, I took a two hour break and then did a four hour shift at a local express store. So I finished actual work at 6pm last night.

Having started at 5am that morning as I had my other shifts since returning from illness (except Sunday store opens at 7am then). Yesterday was a bloody long day and this may be stating the obvious but I was to say the least very knackered when I got home.

But now I’m looking at a nice break from work and not back until the 8th January. Which if the next bit of this post comes off is great timing.

My planned gaming session for this Friday might not being going ahead, and need rescheduling. Instead I may have to be making a journey to take a step closer to a possible major big news announcement.

Yes I know that’s a big tease. But I’m trying to manage my own expectations and hopes so if it doesn’t happen I’m not too heart broken over it.

Anyway it’s that big day every kid, big and small has been waiting for. Which leaves me just to say to every reader of this blog from myself, Nathan, my Mum, and the two attack chihuahuas Nico and Loki.

Merry Christmas

The Road to UKGE 2025 #5

life, the universe, and everything, still alive, UKGE

Holiday from work booked and approved – check

Campsite booked – check

Yes that’s right I’ve booked my pitch at the camp site.

I have paid the 30% deposit for an electric grass pitch. The rest of the payment goes out at the start of May.

Yes the price I paid is about the same as a Travelodge for the same period (minus breakfast and other optional extras like WiFi) if you managed to get a bargain deal of £35 a night. Which is very very rare these days it seems.

Despite the expo being nearly 6 months away. I’m starting to get excited about going.

On the life front I returned back to work Friday after technically 2 days off. I wasn’t recovered or even close. But well enough to drive safely.

I’m getting stronger but the chest infection itself is still there draining my energy.

Meantime despite my best efforts not to pass on to mum she now has it. Luckily thanks to the flu jab I think not as worse on the symptoms front. She seems much more functional than I was at similar stages.

The main aim is that we are both well enough to enjoy the big seasonal day.

A live just

life, the universe, and everything, still alive

A brief update.

Monday at work I started to feel what I thought was a cold coming on. So I bought the usual cold/flu capsules, and chewable high strength vitamin C tablets. Popped some capsules, and chewed a vit C.

But I got worse during the day once home.

This wasn’t a cold. It was a chest infection. I was coughing, being sick. I was shaking from feeling cold but my forehead was hot.

I gathered the strength to put the attack chihuahuas round with mum. Then collapsed on my bed. Fading in and out of sleep.

That was my Tuesday.

Wednesday wasn’t much better but I was able to start getting some diluted squash to drink.

A new twist to the symptoms is the lower left arm feeling bruised/sore. That happened after the heat returned to them.

Currently I’m trying not to talk or move so I don’t spark a coughing fit.

I hope this improves soon.

My last gaming of 2024?

Fenland Gamers, Game day, game night, Halo Flashpoint

I think that possibly this weekend saw my last gaming of 2024.

This time of year just so happens to be the busiest time of the year for those working in retail.

Which is why after Tuesday I am working 7 days straight without a break. Not only that but for 5 of those days I’m starting an hour earlier (5am) but also finishing an hour earlier (midday).

But on the plus side once I step outside of work Christmas Eve I’m off until the 8th January. Yeah a nice break.

With that earlier start I won’t be making the lcg/ccg/tcg evening Tuesday. Not the “get it to the table” night next Friday. I need to be getting to sleep a bit earlier than I usually do. Which makes evening gaming not an option. Or I could but I’d be shattered the next day.

This past Friday was the regular club game night. Although the discord event only showed 4 interested we ended up with 9 attending. So one of the better attended club nights of recent weeks.

We split into 3 tables of 3.

On my table we started off with a game of Ra.

I do like this auction, push your luck, set collection game. That’s why I backed the last kickstarter to get the Ra Traders expansion. Which I’m looking forward to adding to the game once it comes out.

Luckily I won this game of Ra.

Next we followed up with a couple of games of Cubed: Next Level Dominoes.

This was Colin’s game.

Yes it’s dominoes like but with colours and height involved when placing your tile. But in reality when playing I did not think dominoes.

It was fun, and the player with the lowest score at the end wins. How do you score? Each tile you are left with at the end is worth points depending on number of colours on it.

I didn’t win either of the two games we played.

Our final game of the evening was Splendor Pokémon.

Once again the losing streak continues. I was one more turn away from grasping victory when Colin triggered the end of the game with 18 points. My next turn if I’d had a chance to take it would have netted me 7 points and a total of 20 points. But alas I never got to pull off my power play.

Master Chief broken?

Saturday saw Dave and me playing Halo Flashpoint.

Our first game was a capture the flag game. I had the newly arrived Master Chief on my squad.

This game had a maximum of 8 rounds. With the highest score winning if neither player got to 3 points first. Which I won by a single point. And that was because I actually captured the flag and got it back to a scoring zone in the last round.

Our second game was using the oddball scenario. This is a 6 round game with the winner at the end with the highest score winning, or the first to 11 points.

Dave had Master Chief on his squad for this game.

Once Dave claimed the oddball with Master Chief it was nigh on impossible to get the oddball back.

Master Chief is sooo hard to take down.

I think he’s too powerful. That or I was rolling badly against him.

Definitely for organised play (coming early next year) he needs banning. Without the figure being easily obtainable he is just too much of an advantage to those that got him as the pre-order reward or in the limited supply paint kit.

With the points racking up fast with the oddball in Master Chiefs hands it was an easy victory for Dave.

So that was possibly my last bit of gaming for 2024.

The Road to UKGE 2025 #4

UKGE

With the tickets for the 2025 expo now on sale. You can buy them early. But I see no reason whatsoever to do so. There is no early bird discount. They won’t sell out. So getting them just before hand or even on the day makes no difference. You still have to queue.

In the last couple of weeks I put in my holiday request to cover the dates of the expo, and it has been approved.

This is the only holiday dates I care about. The rest of my holiday and when I take it off doesn’t really bother me.

But now knowing I have the time off work I can now go ahead and book my accommodation. Which as my previous posts have highlighted will be under canvas at a campsite within striking distance of the expo.

Yes I have a campsite in mind.

There are three more items I am looking at for making my car camping experience a bit more “luxurious”. The first is a cool box, an electric hook up cable, and a folding camp bed.

Yes I can get a pitch at the planned camp site with an electric hook up point. So I could charge my devices, etc. That would take the pressure off having to try and power my phone or OutIn Nano.

Also the cool box I’m looking at is electric, running off the mains or car cigarette lighter socket. The nice thing about this is I can also use it when I’m off on training courses staying in hotels.

The camp bed I’m looking at getting is either a Naturehike or OEX one. They are low profile and something I could use when visiting Nath so I’m not sleeping on his sofa. Or after he moves have setup in his spare room.

I like having car camping gear I can use elsewhere. It makes me feel I’m getting value and use out of my purchases.

I’m starting to get excited about the camping experience. I’m hoping that this will be my most chilled expo.

Halo Flashpoint: FPS Multiplayer on the tabletop

Halo Flashpoint

Halo Flashpoint brings what used to be (and still might be, but there hasn’t been a Halo game for three years now, although I think one is imminent) the biggest title/series for the Xbox series of consoles. Only rivalled by the likes of Call of Duty or FIFA.

Over two decades old we now have a tactical miniatures game based on the Halo franchise called Halo Flashpoint by Mantic Games.

Previously the only real attempt to capture that chaotic multiplayer deathmatch style of gameplay from the fps video game genre was the rather fun Adrenaline. I’ve not played Adrenaline for a while but it did a pretty good job and was great fun.

There are initial two editions for Halo Flashpoint. A Recon edition and a Spartan edition.

After watching some YouTube unboxing videos I went with the more expensive Spartan edition.

I also ordered an extra set of player dice.

The Spartan edition gave me more minis, a better quality map board, some 3D printed bits. I also thought it gave me Master Chief.

But alas it did not. What the YouTube box openings didn’t say was the Master Chief mini was a pre-order bonus. They gave the impression that it was standard. I felt lied to. Mantic Games should have been on to them to get them to correct the record. It’s false advertising.

Anyway as the photos above show I got to play the learning game and a full blown game with Dave at the weekend.

Halo Flashpoint is based on the Deadzone miniatures game also by Mantic Games. Which to me means very little because I have never played Deadzone.

For me Mantic has done the “perfect” starter set(s). You have everything inside either box to learn and play together game. Not only that like Battletech these are starter sets a new player can purchase at their FLGS, open up the box there and within 20 minutes be playing the game. This sort of approach makes the hobby so much more approachable for noobs to miniatures gaming.

I also like that there is the starter scenario and one side of the thick paper map is for this with everything a new player needs printed on it. A very nice touch.

I like that players take turns activating a unit. Reminds me of Imperial Assault, but also Battletech.

Movement, range etc is super easy to understand. The game works around cubes (it’s a 3D game!) No need to measure stuff. I like the line of sight for determining if you can hit a target. The headshot or exploding die is fun. Roll an 8 (or 7 in certain circumstances) and you get to roll an additional die. Last game I played with this mechanic was The Others. It’s a fun experience rolling extra dice.

Combat is fairly straightforward with any modifiers increasing or decreasing the number of dice you roll. For example being crouched will give you extra dice to roll when firing a long range weapon. However if there is a friendly unit in the target cube you are firing into you lose a die.

In our second game using more of the rules like weapon drops, and team building we did have to look up keywords that got introduced by the new figures or weapons.

This is a fun skirmish game. Dave and I had a blast playing it.