Chris

The world seems to be on fire 😢, so more Unstoppable. Roux Silver on Expert. Still can’t quite manage the Become Unstoppable achievement. Tiny the Octophant seems awesome and goes great in this deck but once the threat level hits 4 she becomes kind of pricey.

Mannerheim Cross, BFP-155 (Leningrad Reds). I’m never sure how much ASL content to put in the newsletter - it’s such a specific and small niche that I try to include it only when there is something interesting and more general to say? Anyway, this scenario is fine. BV Finns are *nasty*.

Gah, so close. Unstoppable, Zephyr vs Harbinger on Expert. Tough break on the last reshuffle, with two Acolytes in the threat zone and not cycling. I think Zephyr is a more challenging character to play. I was proud of that Double Tap card though. Tough to run out of time with it in hand.

Playing Unstoppable, Kai Silver vs Duomo’ Menace on Expert. Comfortable win. Almost hit the Become Unstoppable achievement, which I haven’t done yet. I had pretty good luck on the card drafts.

imo, the problem is not the idea that protest is destabilizing. It is. But obviously a violent protest because your guy didn’t win a free and fair election is different from protesting a law enforcement department that is routinely violating the law, and we should be able to tell these things apart.

Iliad (Reiner Knizia/Bitewing) has definitely been growing on me as I’ve played it more.

YouTube video by DamiLee Why The Most Dangerous Border on Earth needs a Wildlife Bridge

This is what I originally intended to write about in the coda to this week’s newsletter - a powerful, far-reaching video about history and identity from one of my favorite YouTubers. It turned out to be just too hard though, I couldn’t do it. I highly recommend it though!

youtu.be/qew_l4SjRyo?...

Something for this Sunday’s newsletter … Columbia’s Alliance. Interesting game. It has me thinking about table-balancing and reading complex game state, things which came up in the context of Weimar and Arcs: The Blighted Reach.

I’m sympathetic there. I feel lucky to have decent opportunities to play these days, but I also do understand it can be a tough sell in 2025.

New to me more than new? But the Wargame Vault custom desert deck primarily. Also the Italians, but with some adjustments to make them more playable.

New newsletter is up! I rediscover the simple joys of Total Domination and New Frontiers. Plus some other stuff.
chrisfarrell317.substack.com/p/new-fronti...

Trying out some new stuff in Up Front.

YouTube video by Behind the Bastards Part Two: Dire Wolves, Dr. George Church & The De-Extinction Grift | BEHIND THE BASTARDS

I knew the while Dire Work extinction thing was very sketchy. I did not intuit the degree to which it was sketchy AF.

youtu.be/21IAqp6o6zQ?...

Newsletter is up! Got to play some Argent: The Consortium this week!

chrisfarrell317.substack.com/p/argent-the...

Ah, Argent: The Consortium. Such a fun game.

Playing some Dead Reckoning with the Letters of Marque expansion. Can’t believe this is the first time I’m breaking it out! Miss this game, hopefully again soon.

New newsletter is up! I get my hands on an early copy of Fate of the Fellowship, plus Purple Haze, Pax Haspanica, and more. This one was very challenging to write so I hope you find it interesting. Don’t forget to like and subscribe 🙂.

There’s so much in @cfarrell317.bsky.social latest blog entry that I had to go past the Purple Haze and Pandemic-LotR stuff to get to what wanted—a critical look at the “history” in Pax Hispanica. Worth it.

open.substack.com/pub/chrisfar...

I’m embarrassed now that I forgot to put Facebook in Myanmar/Burma on the list! Maybe I’ll edit the archived version. Thanks for the kind words and the plug!

New newsletter up! Weimar, Congress of Vienna, Fellowship of the Ring: The Trick-Taking Game, and more!

chrisfarrell317.substack.com/p/week-of-12...

Thanks! Can you suggest some accounts to follow here, for boardgames? I’m having a bit of a discovery problem.

I do my blog mostly for myself (and, truthfully, just out of habit) - it’s never been monetized and I have no interest in clout in the gaming community. So it wouldn’t kill me to just delete it. But I know people out there enjoy my takes and I’d prefer not to do that. Can anyone help me out here?

So, I have a gaming blog on Instagram that I’ve been doing for 12-ish years. It has a lot of content! Some of it is good! But with Meta going the way of X its longstanding toxicity is now impossible to ignore. The question is … where should I go? I’ve never found a satisfactory option. (cont)

Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin The magnificent Vienna Philharmonic returns to Cal Performances with three electrifying programs of symphonic masterworks.

I hadn’t thought about the Vienna Philharmonic in a while until a friend sent me a concert notice with a photo. Good lord, people. How, in the year of our Lord 2025, does one manage to organize a symphony orchestra that looks like this? Seriously? *Seriously*?

calperformances.org/events/2024-...

Just your occasional reminder that if you’re not following @jamellebouie.net (TikTok/Insta feed)and @lizdye.bsky.social (Law & Chaos podcast) in these trying times, you’re doing it wrong. Good luck, let’s just try to make it to the midterms.

YouTube video by vlogbrothers Populism, Media Revolutions, and Our Terrible Moment

Hank has been able to synthesize a lot of historical precedent with his intimate knowledge of the influencer economy. This piece is super-smart in my opinion and far more relevant than a bunch of pundits who are either trying to justify their own opinions or chasing clicks. youtu.be/d8PndpFPL8g?...