A very thorough and very positive review of The Napoleonic Wars has been published at The Wargamer. Quite a coup for GMT and the design team.

The redesigned Relative Range site is superb, with all sorts of game support material, including a free-for-download version of Ancients, and lots of stuff about Down in Flames and Up Front!. They will also sell you a 96-page digest of Up Front! articles and scenarios.

Talking of winning, we played a nice little game Euro called Web of Power at John's place last night. Very interesting but short enough to play it through twice with time to spare. It's loosely set in the world of medieval monasteries and involves competing for various kinds of networks and territories. Sort of El Grande meets Railway Rivals. I won the first time and tied with John second time. There's a clever little rule about scoring for territories that means it can be a lot better in cost/benefit terms to come second in several territories rather than first in a few. I think I twigged this before the others which gave me a head start in the first game.

Tomorrow I go to Bristol to start work on the Workshop course run by the Anvil Trust. This will take 12 weekends spread over the coming year, as well as time spent on reading and assignments at other times. It covers applied theology, apologetics, ethics, church history as well as other stuff. I'm excited but also quite apprehensive of the commitment in time, energy and extra travelling. I feel that this will be an important step for me - my Christian life has been coasting in neutral for a few years, and I want to use this opportunity to go back to the basics of my faith and have a long hard think - is this really true? do I still believe this? am I living up to it? where do I belong in the spectrum of church practice? how will this play out in the rest of my life?

Might mean less time for gaming, sadly. So if I don't turn up for, or invite people round for so many sessions over the coming year, this is the reason. It's not that I'm sulking because you never let me win........

This is a glorious day! Another volume of Uncle stories has been published by Red Fox. And if you don't know what I'm talking about here's a page at Infinity Plus that's sure to suck you into the cult: It's time to rip the lid off a secret cult lurking undetected in the sf/fantasy community ... a cult so obscure that most of its members don't know that it exists. These people are the fans of Uncle. I discovered this sinister cabal at a post-convention restaurant meal where half the writers round the table suddenly started talking excitedly about the Uncle novels. Neil Gaiman was so boggled to find his enthusiasm shared that he momentarily forgot to look cool.

Sorry (but not very sorry) if you think I'm banging on too much about the war against terrorism today, but this little article at Blogs4God is important. Terrorists, or Suicide Cult? (via Relapsed Catholic)

I truly think if we only approach the likes of the Taliban or Al Queda as terrorists, then we run the risk of merely addressing the effect without cutting out the cancerous cause - in this case, an evil, abusive suicide cult who hate their own lives as much as they hate ours.

Ha'aretz (via Americans for a Third Way):

For the first time since the outbreak of the intifada two years ago, the official journal of the Palestinian Authority last week published severe criticism of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leadership, and the Palestinian public as a whole - for rejecting the proposals that were put forward by former U.S. President Bill Clinton at Camp David in July 2000.

Christopher Hitchens' article A View from the Patriotic Left lays out the issues with plain-speaking intellectual clarity. The whole article is a must-read, not least for his radical questioning of our whole current structure of alliances in the Middle East. (via Nick Denton)

So, as civilians in this war, and therefore as primary front-line targets, we do not need to submit to any culture of trust or loyalty or deference. We have a right to know who is in charge and what policies are being debated and what measures taken. We do not have to agree with the choice of any old ally in this struggle, and we dare not assume that any step taken in the name of the "national security" mantra is automatically OK.

Let me give some illustrations of what I mean: First, I'll take the international front. The most annoying thing, in arguing with peaceniks last fall, was confronting their refusal to see that a wholly new situation had arisen. They would insist on translating the fresh, challenging information back into the familiar language they already knew, of Vietnam or Nicaragua or the West Bank. Well, the same was true of the president's "axis of evil" speech, which attempted to fit the new reality into the reassuring old list of "rogue states" or official enemies. In particular, it seemed insane to include Iran in the "most-wanted" category.

This site is a nice introduction to The UK Amateur Postal Games Hobby. This was how it all started for me - back in the early 90's, buying a copy of Diplomacy from a local toy shop, and finding a flyer inside for the postal hobby. It's been downhill all the way since then....

I just heard (on ConsimWorld) the awful news about the forthcoming "Master and Commander" movie with Russell Crowe playing Jack Aubrey - he's supposed to be a beefy Englishman for goodness' sake! But while investigating I found this superb gallery of Marine Art by Geoff Hunt, which is some compensation I suppose.

This morning's Independent has an excellent rant from Yasmin Alibhai-Brown who lashes out in all directions - including her co-religionists. But why don't we hear more Muslim voices saying this sort of thing?

I have had it with apologists who think that Muslims, whatever they do, only do these foul things because they are upset, humiliated, angry, despised and maltreated. There is no excuse big enough to explain the actions of cold-eyed slaughterers who descend on helpless Christians in Muslim states; the men who cut the throat of Daniel Pearl, the young Jewish American journalist; the grisly crowds in Nigeria who want to stone to death a young mother; the gang rape of children which is ordered as "punishment" by Muslim tribal leaders in Pakistan; the people who danced in the streets to see exploded bits of Americans and others.

I cannot stomach Muslim leaders and writers who jump up when there are signs of injustice against us (discrimination against Muslims is a serious problem, no doubt about that) but who never speak out to denounce outright the various discriminations which ruin the lives of non-Muslims, gays, and women in Islamic countries or in communities here.

The Americans have been playing Barbarossa to Berlin for weeks now, but my copy finally arrived today. I thought I would share with you the experience of opening the box. This is the central moment of a nimrod's existence, the supreme ritual. You are privileged to witness it through the magic of blogging: Hmm. Box is a little smaller and lighter than I expected.... It's shipped from UDG in Germany, not direct from GMT. Not sure if I like that..... Let's get my penknife out. Carefully does it.... Not very well packaged. But miraculously the game seems undamaged..... Yuk. The box illustration is bitty. Very bitty! What were they thinking..... The back is nice. Maybe I should open the shrinkwrap. Better wait till lunch-time. I'm so excited.... No, I can't do it. Breaking into the shrinkwrap is just too personal, too private. I can't possibly share this online.

The Romans, like others, as soon as they grew rich, grew corrupt; and in their corruption sold the lives and freedoms of themselves, and of one another.

Samuel Johnson

There, that was in my notebook. But that's as far as it goes....

Caterina has produced this list of online sketchbooks. My favourite is John Keegan's.

I keep a sketchbook/notebook myself (a nice Moleskine one), where I jot down quotes, observations, angst, Ceroc moves, holiday journals, and drawings. But I don't think I would ever consider putting it online for the world to nose through!

I heard this today attributed to Roger Scruton:

When someone tells you there is no such thing as truth, he is asking you not to believe him. So don't!

The normally deeply annoying Deborah Orr is today deeply satisfying as she lays into the farcical panic measures that have followed the tragedy at Soham:

What all of the fear about paedophiles, and the demands for registers, checks and warnings supposes, is that we can always be made safe from danger. The CRBs elaborate system can only ever warn about peodophiles who have already struck, and the same goes for Sarah's Law. But what those who place their trust in such systems really want is something more foolproof - a cast iron promise that our society is risk-free.

That cannot ever be achieved. But already extraordinary liberties are being taken by a government that actually seems to want to deliver this dream.

Nick Denton has provided this wonderful gallery of imagined cityscapes taken from sci-fi films from Metropolis to Minority Report. Dream.

Maybe I need a break from all this serious simulation stuff - Napoleonic Wars, Paths of Glory etc - maybe it's time for Marvel HeroClix!

This looks really cool actually. I want SpiderMan, obviously, having just seen the film. I like the idea of miniatures with little dials in the base to record hit points, damage etc. Much better than the usual pile of tiddlywinks.

I've just returned home from a few days walking in the Brecon Beacons. This morning I climbed a lovely mountain without encountering (or even seeing in the distannce) one single other walker. As it was a cloudless Sunday morning in the middle of summer I find this remarkable! Try finding an empty mountain in the Lakes today.

It says something (possibly quite sad) about me that I am blogging before I have even unpacked my bags.

While I was out there I did a little research on the Welsh language. Here's what I learned:

That it is it? = Is there anything else I can get you sir?

Have you payed? = Excuse me. Can I see your ticket please? Thanks.

Teas or coffees is it? = Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?

That's it then isn't he? = I agree with what you just said.

It's 2 pound = That will be 2 pounds please. Thanks.

(On a road sign) M4 Newport = M4 Newport Bristol & London

Chris Dickson posted some nice things about nimrods in Spielfrieks - which accounts for my recent surge in visitors. Thanks Chris!