Edition 2 Game Report: Tom, Ben and Andy S

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We've spent the last couple of months quietly making changes for what will eventually become War on Terror, v 2.0. We have a few aims with this next edition: 1) changing the rules to tighten up the looser aspects of the game and make it more strategically rewarding; 2) introducing some new cards and maybe the odd new rule to keep the game fresh and new; 3) changing the components to make the game lighter. This is our third test game so far ...

It's a school night and a late start. Never a good mix. We're playing with reduced amounts of pieces and money in an attempt to get this thing under 2kg. And there's a new 'piece'. The rumours of some kind of overseas base are correct; War on Terror now has Permanent Military Bases, denoted by two village counters - and boy are they fun.

It turns out to be one of the better games that we've played. There's the classic pattern of peaceful growth, followed by prosperity, followed by fear of losing that prosperity, followed by violence, followed by collapse, followed by a final push to win. This game even saw a 'failed win' as Tom thought he had it in the bag, but his inability to count up to four (developments) let him down and he ended up one point short.

Tom's near miss, opened up the game for Ben and Andy S. Ben was dying to turn terrorist to sample some of the new terrorist cards, but he was prevented by the fact that if he did turn, Tom would automatically win on the remaining points. So despite having been double-nuked by Tom, Ben had to limp on and rebuild his empire. This gave Andy S a chance to slip in under the radar when the entire game had been a two horse race between Tom and Ben... but that's how these things happen. A lucky mix of cards meant that a Regime Change, followed by a free City clinched the game. Andy S gets another win notched on the belt.

There are some lovely new cards, some of which we will divulge, but some we want to keep as a surprise. But we can tell you that moving terrorists around as an Empire is now much more fun. And the 'Democracy Export' card has quickly risen to be the most coveted card in the deck, not quite as devastating as Nukes, but they do have nasty, long-term effects.

War on Terror now has Permanent Military Bases - and boy are they FUN The little changes we've made seem to result in a more stable and tactical game, with slightly quicker round times. All of this is great news if it sticks. Another test game this week should tell if it's a one-off fluke or not.

If all goes well, we'll release the v2.0 rules and instructions on how to 'upgrade' your current game. We'll then be relying on you lot to fine tune our fat-fingered attempts at game improvement and then it's off to the printers ...

1968 and all that...

It's orange jumpsuit time again. We're joining a bloody interesting group of people gathering at Conway Hall (near Holborn tube) this Saturday, 10 May. '1968 and all that' is an international conference and bookfair, celebrating and reflecting upon the tumultuous and rebellious events of May '68 when virtually all of Europe was experiencing strikes, protests and variously successful bids for social change.

With over 47 talks, 7 films and a whole load of other stuff, '1968 And All That' is an event that should excite and nourish lobes you didn't know you had. How can you refuse? Even if you miss us during the day, it's worth it alone if you just turn up to hear these guys at 6pm : Adrian Mitchell - political poet & dramatist ( Here's Adrian in action back in 1965 at the Royal Albert Hall: 'To Whom it May Concern'), Alain Krivine - one of the leaders of the May 1968 revolt in Paris , Astrid Proll - a former member of the Baader-Meinhof Gang, Sheila Rowbotham - a British socialist feminist, and Eamonn McCann - an Irish journalist, author, and political activist.

It's free to attend, but you have to register by emailing them (instructions on their homepage). We're particularly looking forward to hearing Astrid Proll talk - as someone who has turned to violence in pursuing a 'higher cause' and has then lived to reject it, she offers a unique and rare insight into the nature of protest and activism.

So if you fancy whiling away the day, arguing with lefties and reliving the hopes and dreams of a distant, more optimistic age, then do join us. We'll happily shatter your dreams for you. And then we'll laugh at you for being so ideologically naive.

Cafe Press Censorship

Last week, the eagle-eyed among you may have noticed we added a Souvenir Shop to our navigation. This blog entry was to be celebration of that shop. A virtual ribbon-cutting, amid trumpet blasts, champagne cork-popping and rented 'beauties' adding the necessary sexy ingredient to get you all salivating for our new wares.

But, my friends, the inaugural unveiling ceremony has been soured by the lemon-tipped finger of suppression. For, no sooner had we finished work on the shop, than Cafe Press summarily censored one of our designs. No reason was given. It simply disappeared.

After 4 days, we were finally told why: "We find your image in bad taste and at this time we cannot have it on our site."

However, as we're sure you won't be surprised, Cafe Press can happily satisfy the needs of the most bigoted, racist, hate-spreading members of society. But an image that calls into question the widely-condemned (mis)treatment of 'prisoners of war' by America is quite clearly too near the knuckle for such a morally upstanding social network as Cafe Press.

We need your help! This is a clear-cut example of political censorship; a smothering of free speech that Americans hold so dear. Please write to Cafe Press (citing design #27364559) and ask them to explain in their own words why they object so much to our design but apparently endorse numerous pro-violence and pro-hate designs.

We find your image in bad taste and at this time we cannot have it on our site If you get anything other than a stock response out of the customer service team, we'd love for you to forward it on to us.

Thanks for your help and in the meantime, why not take a look at the other splendid War on Terror related and 'war on terror' related t-shirts on sale.

We salute Salute.

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Salute 08 was officially a success - we met loads of great people, chuckled and laughed, didn't notice we hadn't eaten breakfast until about three in the afternoon, didn't have time to eat breakfast until about four in the afternoon, saw a bunch of stormtroopers making kids do press ups, sold all the stock we took and nearly ran out of petrol on the way home, but didn't. Phew. We couldn't have asked for more.

The day got off to a corking start when we set the stand up in record time. And boy did it look good. Gone were the pornographic magazines and other bits of 'apocalyptic' rubbish we collected and displayed on our Vegas stand, instead, for Salute 08, we heralded in poster sized quotes about the game. The most common response all day was 'Are these for real?' All we could do was reply honestly that we couldn't make this stuff up if we tried.

People reported 'awesome' and 'epic evenings'It doesn't stop being surreal to meet people whose faces light up when they say they have played our game, and there were a lot at Salute 08. People reported 'awesome' and 'epic evenings', and then thanked us for making it and making it so well. It really flattered and tickled us.

Unfortunately for a lot of people we sold out our entire stock before the end of play. Our apologies once more go out to those of you who were left wanting. This success came despite Tom's sales tactics which hit an all time low when he was distracted by a passing remote controlled mini tank. His excitement was so infectious that the young customer he was talking to darted off through the gathered crowd to get a better view. Tom's defence was weak: 'Yeah but you don't see one of those every day and it did have flashing lights on it'

We must thank the organisers for letting us exhibit, and everybody who spoke to us at Salute 08 for their warm support and encouragement which blew us away. Nobody got upset and people laughed a lot. So when it comes to the war on terror, peace is an option after all.

Oh, one last thing, we now have it on good authority that The Office of Counter Terrorism have a copy of the game. Chaps, if your wondering how to defeat terrorism we've found the trick is not to fund it in the first place, but that's just from playing our game, what do we know?

Salute!

Daleks, guns, chicks in robes and lots and lots of modelsJust a quick one. We've been so busy preparing for it that we've forgotten to mention we're attending Salute Zero Eight, a one day war game convention at Excel in London, tomorrow!

It's a lovely trip on the Docklands railway from London, so why not drop by and say 'hello'. It starts at 10am. We'll have competitions running, including our now highly popular 'Hunt the WMD'.

Last year, it appears there were Daleks, Guns, Chicks in robes and lots and lots and lots more models (the miniature kind, not the leggy kind). Mix in a sprinkle of terror and if that sounds like your thing, we'll see you tomorrow.