28 April 2023

Pat Mooney of Flagbearer Games joins the show to talk about Nations & Cannons, and specifically, their latest Kickstarter campaign, as Merle Robinson of the NSDM also tags in as a guest co-host.

So how do players fit into the setting?  What sorts of adventures do they find?  We talk about these, as well as the genesis of Nations & Cannons as an educational tool and their current crossovers into some optional light fantasy theatrics.  There’s a variety of products already available, and we’ll find out in a few weeks if Merle was able to successfully talk Pat into coming to Origins 2023.

Links that matter!

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Thank you for joining us for  Mentioned in Dispatches and checking out the official podcast of The Regiment of Strategy Gaming.

21 April 2023

Moe & Grant pop in to join Brant on a discussion of what we’re playing now, and what we’re looking forward to, whether it’s upcoming games, or events, or games at events!

Yes, we ramble a bit on this one, but that’s kind of our schtick, isn’t it?  We talk about Canadians wargaming the ACW and how awesome Bruce Maxwell is.  We cover some upcoming games we’re excited for and the events we’re going to hit for the rest of 2023 – like Weekend at the Warehouse, Origins, Compass Expo (both of them!), and the Armchair Dragoons Fall Assembly.

We’re winding down season 10, so catch us while we’re still recording before our usual Summer break!

We told you last week that nominations are open at BoardGameGeek for the Golden Geek Awards, including the podcast category.  There’s no chance in hell that Mentioned in Dispatches would ever win for Best Podcast because we’re not called “Meepled in Dispatched” or “Mentioned in Meeplepatches” or something, but it would be awesome to get a wargaming podcast into the final round of voting.

While you’re there, give some love to Hexy Talk, Beyond Solitaire, History on the Table, Homo Ludens, and Harold on Games.  We’d tell you to vote for Pushing Cardboard, too, but Grant isn’t in the list

If you can’t vote b/c you don’t have enough GeekGold to spend on it, shoot Brant a PM on BGG and he’ll send some your way.

Please trot on over to the iTunes page for our podcast and give us a rating – whatever you think is fair!

Thank you for joining us for  Mentioned in Dispatches and checking out the official podcast of The Regiment of Strategy Gaming.

14 April 2023 ~

It’s been forever since we had a chat with our guy David Heath of Lock ‘n Load Publishing but he’s here to talk about “tabletop AI” and solo assistants for tabletop wargames.  Think of this as a third piece of our solo gaming puzzle from this season, after talking solo wargames as a whole, plus digital AI, earlier in the Spring.

So what’s the difference between an “AI” and a “solo assistant”? We’ll make you listen to David’s explanation   We also discuss some of the new games they’ve got on the horizon, how a production screwup got you a giant box of goodies for a Kickstarter, support for Tabletop Simulator and other digital implementations, and why you never want to exit “early access” on Steam.  Let us know what you think!

Some of the other things we get to:

Please trot on over to the iTunes page for our podcast and give us a rating – whatever you think is fair!

Thank you for joining us for  Mentioned in Dispatches and checking out the official podcast of The Regiment of Strategy Gaming.

7 April 2023

We brought in a couple of guys that actually know about naval wargaming to tell us all about what goes wrong when wargaming naval warfare.  Chris Weuve and our guy Rocky have both spent many more days afloat than Brant has even spent on the beach, so we let them steer the ship31.  We even bring marines into the conversation (and then rapidly dismiss them. . . )

So let’s talk about how much the players get wrong, fighting to the last ship, gamey-ness on the tabletop rather than in the real world, and how much “doctrine” belongs in the game.  We’ll run the gamut from age of sail up to the modern day, but keep ourselves firmly in the water and avoid any ‘space navy’ discussions.

Here are some links to some things we talked about

Please trot on over to the iTunes page for our podcast and give us a rating – whatever you think is fair!

Thank you for joining us for  Mentioned in Dispatches and checking out the official podcast of The Regiment of Strategy Gaming.

31 March 2023

Buckeye Game Fest is coming up in a few weeks, and we brought in War Room Commandanté Ardwulf to tell us all about it, plus we dragged in designer-extraordinaire David Thompson for his take on his favorite convention, too.  We also talk about some of our other favorite smaller conventions, and have a special Armchair Dragoons convention announcement of our own at the end.  And yes, our Convention & Event Calendar is still chugging along.

While the convention itself opens up on Thursday the 27th of April, the War Room opens up on Monday the 24th, for a whole bunch of bigger games, like this year’s multiple games of La Bataille, and the Marshall Enterprises guys will be there, too.  OCS table?  Certainly!  Bunch of COIN games with The Player’s Aid?  Absolutely.  Tim from Catastrophe Games?  We tried to bribe him to stay away, to no avail.  Heck, even Russ from Cardboard Conflicts is going to be there!

You get the CABS library – 1500ish games – plus a good-sized main gaming room with all the other tabletop games of Euro/Ameritrash productions, and also the Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator (with a shorter waiting list and no extra price!), plus a great downtown location.

No, it’s not a ‘big’ convention, but that’s exactly why a lot of people prefer these – not too expensive, not too crowded, and not too insane.  Well, except for us.

To give you a sense of what you’re in for, here’s a look at our coverage from last year.

Also, this episode has a little more off-color language than usual, so maybe don’t put it on a speaker at work.

Please trot on over to the iTunes page for our podcast and give us a rating – whatever you think is fair!

Thank you for joining us for  Mentioned in Dispatches and checking out the official podcast of The Regiment of Strategy Gaming.

24 March 2023

Brant and Rocky are joined by special guest Sebastian Bae to talk about how the hobby wargaming world has approached contemporary / near-future conflicts with China and in the modern PTO.

Whether you’re flipping the map on its head, or trying to project near-future weapons capabilities, it’s a unique set of challenges.  How might political shakeups change the “start condition” of the conflict?  What role is played by strategic logistics?  How would you put a multi-player model in place without relegating some players to being tag-along siblings?  What assumptions are you bringing to your design, and maybe shouldn’t?

We’ve got some links for you!

Preview of a new wall map in work. Adapting a perspective I have used before but going for high-resolution, large-format, and a lot more detail. Struggling to find the right colors and balance for topography, population density, and lots of labels. pic.twitter.com/Orz7Nkohd8

— Rhodes Cartography (@RhodesCartogra1) February 18, 2023

Please trot on over to the iTunes page for our podcast and give us a rating – whatever you think is fair!

Thank you for joining us for  Mentioned in Dispatches and checking out the official podcast of The Regiment of Strategy Gaming.

17 March 2023

OK look, we all have rulebooks we love, and ones we hate.  Formats we love, and formats we hate.  Podcast guests we love, and…  well, you get the idea33.  So let’s talk about rules, and the rules that govern rules-writing.

Case system?  Conversational style?

We tackle all of these topics, as well as why you don’t want to be the person who gets a rule named after them, why you should always have blind playtesters34, and the breast & worst typos you can make.

Soon, I think, the @ADragoons will drop a podcast where I rant about the need for the better editing of rules. Perhaps I undervalue the present. Working my way through "Charlie Company" (2e), somebody's getting a belated kick in the painfuls. pic.twitter.com/nWyH1LWtVV

— Jim Owczarski (@TheGascon) March 13, 2023

Just for kicks, we did ask Chat GPT for the definition of a “rules lawyer” and this is what we got

A "rules lawyer" is a term used to describe someone who focuses more on the technicalities and specifics of the rules of a game, system, or situation than on the actual intended outcome or spirit of those rules. This term is often used to describe individuals who use their knowledge of rules to gain an advantage over others or to argue their case in a situation where the rules are unclear or contested. While knowing and following the rules is important, being a "rules lawyer" can be seen as negative because it often involves using technicalities to manipulate the system or win at all costs, rather than playing in the spirit of the game or situation.

Please trot on over to the iTunes page for our podcast and give us a rating – whatever you think is fair!

Thank you for joining us for  Mentioned in Dispatches and checking out the official podcast of The Regiment of Strategy Gaming.

10 March 2023

Brant, Bryan, Jim, and James all gang up to talk about different facets of artificial intelligence in wargaming, and other digital games.  How “intelligent” do you really want it to be?  A dedicated opponent?  A shadowboxer?

While talking through the options, we cover a variety of games and AIs, from Tiller to Panther to Elder Scrolls to semi-legal free-on-the-web adaptations of game.  We talk about indicators that we see in games of in/competent AIs and the level of details we would ideally want when playing.

Why are you gaming with an AI?  What do you expect from the AI?  How can those requirements be baked in up front?  And what do Pop-tarts have to do with any of this?  All that and more, right now on… {announcer voice} MENNNNNN-tioned in DISPATCHES! {/announcer voice}

Please trot on over to the iTunes page for our podcast and give us a rating – whatever you think is fair!

Thank you for joining us for  Mentioned in Dispatches and checking out the official podcast of The Regiment of Strategy Gaming.

3 March 2023

A full house on this episode, as Brant, Mike, Michael, and Wayne Hansen get together to discuss solo wargaming, and yes, we’re aware of the irony.

So let’s bring together the guys from My Own Worst Enemy and Solosaurus to join our guest and talk about the solo wargaming experience, tower defense games vs narrative procedurals, games that claim solo compatibility but really aren’t, and how much agency the player has in a game.

Please trot on over to the iTunes page for our podcast and give us a rating – whatever you think is fair!

Thank you for joining us for  Mentioned in Dispatches and checking out the official podcast of The Regiment of Strategy Gaming.

24 February 2023

Brant, Rocky, and Moe talk about where & how the theme matters in sci-fi wargaming, and at what point (if at all) you aggregate your forces too high to really “feel” like a sci-fi game.  We start off with Hammer’s Slammers and Star Fleet Battles and the recent Alien games and then wander around all sorts of laser guns, jet packs, transporters, and more.

So how much do the graphics matter?  How much do the toys matter35?  How much does the pre-existing media license matter?  How much do these endless questions matter?

What do you think?  Give us a shout in the comments at the end of the page, or in our forums.

Also, we didn’t make a big deal about it last Fall when it happened, but we did open up some additional slots on our various Patreon tiers, so if you want to hear yourself name-checked on the podcast, this is your chance.

Please trot on over to the iTunes page for our podcast and give us a rating – whatever you think is fair!

Thank you for joining us for  Mentioned in Dispatches and checking out the official podcast of The Regiment of Strategy Gaming.