I'm such a freakin slacker

Yeah, it has been a bit since I last blogged. Busy moving from a house on Cap Hill to an apartment, putting things in storage, and trying the save the planet from the forces of evil. And, when I have the chance, playing a few sessions of Civilization IV.

I've always had a thing for strategic wargames. After seeing the movie Midway in 1975(or 76? can't recall..), I went home and made my own wargame up to refight the battle. Little did I know an entire industry already existed that did that sort of thing. I found out a few years later when I was introduced to Tactics II and Third Reich. I was like a junky after that...World In Flames (and the myriad of expansions), even gave the Europa series a shot (a game where it has the 1940 western European campaign...at regimental level...yeah, it's huge).

Then I discovered computers; first an Apple II then the Commodore 64. For a kid, this was just something freaking else. As my old high school AD&D group was breaking up (that whole, go in the Army, college thingy), computers allowed me to still play RPGs. It was cool to say the least. I was reading the history of computer RPGs the other day, and realized how simple those amazingly graphics were. Ultima II and III (I loved the monsters...I would kill a bunch, and the little treasure chest icons would create a wall...then have them chase me down a long tunnel of chests--I used to call this the "pardon me, but is this the line to die in?" strategy.

I still play when I can. Computer strategy games tend to relax me after a long day.

But I still miss the thrill of pre-VGA graphics, and the fun of sitting around a table on a rainy day trying to survive Tomb of Horrors.