Comments for rotational

Comment on Board games I have played by n0wak

n0wak — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 19:39:50 +0000

I really do like Ascension a lot and play it often since it’s a nice, quick break — games take only a few minutes — despite its flaws. I do like the variety that the central board provides over Dominion but, yeah, sometimes you can get stuck because of it, like if you’re building a mana focused deck and the middle is, like, all monsters. In that sense it forces you to try to find a balanced approach strategy although, conversely, some cards are clearly unbalanced as a whole. We should start a game.

The absolute best and infuriating game is “Tigris and Euphrates” which is available on iOS too, but the implementation could be a lot better (unfortunately, a common trend).

Comment on Board games I have played by Rich Stanton

Rich Stanton — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:09:03 +0000

Very much agree with you on Dominion. I’ve played many games where the long-term depends on an evolving strategy that can be ballsed-up by different plays from your opponents along the way. The game allows you to switch tactics fairly quickly I think, and I’m not sure the ‘general strategy’ in any game of this type broadly changes – the way you’re using your hand certainly does, but one of the things I love about Dominion is that the cards are so adaptable to that. But can’t deny that when some cards turn up everyone’s rushing to acquire them.

The key thing about Ascension is that the middle board forces players to build strategies from it. That leads to its best and worst quality: when you can’t pick and choose your cards several turns in advance, the winner is most often the player who best understands the game. Of course, some of the time, one player just gets lucky with what turns up when and steamrolls through.

Enjoyed the post!

Comment on Words are wind by rotational

rotational — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:44:05 +0000

[...] update to last week’s ding-dong over Apple’s EULA for iBooks Author, which suggested that Apple would not allow you to publish [...]

Comment on Verbatim and the facts by Morning Discussion

Morning Discussion — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:13:15 +0000

[...] a different approach to video game interviews. It’s inspired by journalist Gay Talese, a proponent of ‘literary journalism.’ [...]

Comment on Verbatim and the facts by Infovore » Links for January 27th

Infovore » Links for January 27th — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 19:05:48 +0000

[...] Verbatim and the facts « rotational "Trust is the key to breaking [this cycle]. And I think Talese’s method shows us how we might gain it: by checking with our subjects and making sure we understand what they’re trying to express, beyond what they actually say. Because if our subjects are interesting enough to report on, they’re deserving of respect. And if we respect them, they will respect us. That’s a much more virtuous circle." I think Alex is right, you know. (tags: games journalism trust respect writing quotation ) [...]

Comment on Verbatim and the facts by Tweets that mention Verbatim and the facts « rotational -- Topsy.com

Tweets that mention Verbatim and the facts « rotational -- Topsy.com — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 11:49:36 +0000

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Alex Wiltshire and Mikey Mike, Ste Curran. Ste Curran said: RT @rotational: Gay Talese can teach us a thing or two about game journalism: http://t.co/AtI55FS [...]

Comment on Science fiction and man’s future by Marsh Davies

Marsh Davies — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 07:06:37 +0000

Paleo-future, huh? Coincidentally, I was wondering the other night what the earliest mentions of time-travel were – specifically with characters who either return to an earlier time or come from the future to the present. Although you could say that prophesy stands in for visitors from the future, judging by wikipedia’s list, this is otherwise a comparatively recent trope. It strikes me as odd, because the sensation of regret isn’t recent. Wouldn’t an obvious extension of your desire to have done things differently be to imagine a world in which you could return to previous moments? Maybe this goes to show just how profoundly deep and widespread was the belief in divine predestination, in which all events in the past and future are fixed by the intractable will of God.

Comment on Showing off by Science fiction and man’s future « rotational

Science fiction and man’s future « rotational — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:59:41 +0000

[...] conspicuously absent from my post on the need for a bit of magic in technology was Arthur C. Clarke’s famous edict, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable [...]

Comment on Time and Jonathan Franzen by Mrsneeze

Mrsneeze — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:22:48 +0000

I’m excited, but I can’t believe The Observer really takes the right-wing rag Time seriously anymore. And I still feel The Corrections was very flabby and it was pretty average when compared with the best Roths…

But, as you say, this is why I’m always drawn to American novels. The good ones tend to deal with bigger issues, society as a whole, compared with English authors – as much as I rate Barnes, Carey, Rushdie and Coetzee (and three of those aren’t exactly English/British).

The upcoming Super Sad True Love Story by another American author is also exciting me! As is C by Tom McCarthy, whom I’ve never read…

Comment on Link roundup – squid edition by bryn

bryn — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:25:29 +0000

I had not looked at your blog for ages. I love the layout. Bryn x