Saturday
Feb132010
Van Hemlock Episode 89
Jon Shute | Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 6:56PM 
We're back with another look into what games we've been playing in the last few weeks.
You can follow us on twitter as @vanhemlock and @jonshute or leave us a comment on iTunes. Or you can just enjoy the show.
Look out for the Twitter question on Fridays and have your say.
You can subscribe to the show through RSS or iTunes to receive the show as soon as it's published each week.
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Reader Comments (10)
The last few episodes seem to have disappeared from iTunes. So sadly, I can't download this yet.
Hiya! Was great meeting you! I am still playing catch-up... for some reason I had to go play a level 30 Mom this week instead of DDO! Thanks fro the mention! I do the "Know Your Role" segement on the DDO Cast: http://www.ddocast.com/ if you are intersted! Cheers!!!
For a sitcom set in Hell check out Old Harry's Game by Andy Hamilton, a very amusing radio 4 series.
Did my comment with many-a-link get eaten by the spam filter or did I make a schoolboy error and not post it after previewing it? 0.o
I suspect it got eaten and then burnt by the anti spam software thinking it had too many links to be genuine. It's not sitting in any list anywhere.
Came up with an answer too late for the Twitter question about games suggestions, so here it is anyway:
How about Mastermind (the board game with the coloured pegs, not the TV quiz show). It makes an ideal 1-player computer game, as the actions of the player who selects the sequence of colours is entirely deterministic (aside from randomly selecting that sequence at the start of the game, obviously).
For bonus points, you can use algorithms like the ones described in the Wikipedia article to compare the player's attempts with the computer playing against itself.
I made an implementation of this at some point in the early 90s, in QuickBASIC for the PC, which included a rudimentary AI so the computer could play itself. As I recall, when in computer v computer mode, the number of colours had to be limited, as otherwise the game would run out of RAM :-)
Hmm... In all fairness I must confess that me stating Advanced Squad Leader as a boardgame needing to be computerized was a bit dumb. Actually the Close Combat series, published by Microsoft was made on ASL rules. There are many more attempts, several of them quite good. /shame
But I still stand by the Block Wars suggestion. That game is hilarious.
Right-oh! Here's the gist of my comment with the links compiled in a handy google doc!
A bit late to answer the twitter question, but I've been doing some research into board games in the hope of purchasing a few. Haven't played any of these myself yet, this has been an adventure into a completely new avenue of gaming for me.
Here's some of the stuff I've found. Note that I'm generally going by the "buzz" surrounding these games rather than my own opinion of them. Also, there weren't that many links in the original comment attempt ;)
Keep casting pods, you guys never fail to entertain.
@brokendiet
Huge fan of Old Harry's Game. Was better when The Professor was in it, but still very good. Generally a fan of most BBC Radio 4/7 Comedy stuff - helps pass the days at work!
Just listened to this and thought I'd point out the even board game does exist. BGG has a page on it, http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/38703/eve-conquests and last time I was in a local games/comic I saw it and its MASSIVE and ways a ton, no idea whats in it but was very impressive to look at...