The Week in Review

1. I managed to pull defeat from the jaws of victory in the History of the World game I was winning at GamesByEmail. Steve slipped into first place on the last turn and won with 194 points to my 189. Oh well, second place is better than I've been doing.

2. Patrick and I played the Battle of Akragas scenario in Commands and Colors: Ancients last weekend. This is probably the 12th time we've played this scenario -- Patrick always takes Syracuse, and I always take Carthage. While Carthage won the real battle in 405 BC, I've only seen them win the scenario twice (which explains why Patrick likes to take Syracuse). This time was no exception.

3. Dennis came over for dinner last Friday, and we played a game of Long Shot. Dennis guided Six Gun to a win and collected $290 for the victory. Andrew bought Last Chance, who came in second, giving Andrew $200. My favorite horse Wonder Bred and I both came in third with $190. Patrick finished with $165.

4. I downloaded the iPhone app for GMT's Battleline. I've only had the chance to play it once, but it's a nice implementation. The game is somewhat similar to another Reiner Knizia game, Lost Cities, but (at least at this point) I like Battleline more.

All the news that's fit to "print"

A few odds and ends to report:

1. With the World Cup announcements, Patrick and I were in the mood for some World Cup soccer. So, we pulled out the World Cup Card Game last week. As much as it pained me, I managed to lead France to a victory over Patrick's Brazil in the finals. England topped Italy in the 3rd place game.

2. The night after Thanksgiving, Dennis made it to Mom's house for dinner. And, now that Patrick's golf and soccer seasons are over, we were able to play a game of Long Shot. Dennis bought Slow Jenn, who won the race and gave Dennis the victory with $180. Andrew purchased Six Gun, who came in second -- as did Andrew, with $170. Last Chance finished third, giving Patrick a total of $115, and I came in last with $100.

3. I continue to play a number of games online at GamesByEmail. I'm 0-4 in History of the World games, but I'm winning one of the two that I'm playing now. With Epoch V almost over, I'm 15 points ahead of Tom (who has won more than his fair share of these games). I managed to win the one game of Risk we played -- defeating Al, Jeff and Drew. I (playing the UK)also teamed up with Steve (playing the Soviets) and Tom (playing the US) to win a game of Axis and Allies against Al (playing Japan) and Drew (playing Germany).

4. Labyrinth (which I pre-ordered back in February) arrived last week. GMT had a mixup on my credit card, so I didn't get it when everyone else did in early November. But, as usual, the office folks were apologetic and kind, and got it to me two days later. I've skimmed the rules, and I'm eager to give it a shot.

5. Speaking of which, it took a lot of willpower not to order GMT's new game Commands and Colors: Napoleonics. It's Richard Borg's new game using the Commands and Colors system that started with his game Battlecry in 2000. I have to admit that I hated Battlecry the first time I played it with Al, but I enjoyed subsequent games of Battelcry, as well as Memoir '44 and Commands and Colors: Ancients. What stopped me was thinking about the fact that I haven't played any of these games in over a year. So, I pulled out the Commands and Colors: Ancients rulebook last night; Patrick and I plan to play today.

6. Al (taking England and the Protestants), Andrew (taking the French and the Ottomans) and I (taking the Hapsburgs and the Papacy) played three rounds of Here I Stand using Wargameroom the night before Thanksgiving. It only took about two hours -- including the time we spent working out the computer kinks. Compare that to the six hours it normally takes six of us playing in person. The Ottomans were unstoppable, and Vienna fell in the second turn.

7. Finally, there will be a few games under the tree on Christmas, but I need to keep those a secret.