Games June 2026

June 29, 2026 8:36 pm

My campaign group continued our Kinfire Chronicles: Night’s Fall adventure with quests 21, 20, and 11. Victory on all three. Quests 21 and 20 were side jobs which earned us some money and weapons. 11 was a story-line quest. Our group has some good synergies set up and the battles were fun, but not trivial.

Played a game of Hardback with a friend. Close all the way and it came down the final hand of cards. I was leading and pushed my points over the end-of-game threshold giving my friend one last turn. He put together a great word and overtook my score by a few points.

Books June 2026

June 28, 2026 8:07 am

Twelve Desperate Miles by Tim Brady

The story of the SS Contessa, a merchant ship drafted into WWII mobilization, loaded with fuel and ammunition, and sent across the Atlantic to supply the invasion of North Africa.

The titular 12 miles was the trip up the Sebou river from the Atlantic coast to an air field.

It’s an interesting history, but I think it’s oversold. The cover text implies this ship was leading the convoy. It was, in fact, late and traveled alone across the ocean trying to catch up. And while the trip up the river was no-doubt harrowing for the crew; in context of the many horrible things that happened in WWII I’m not sure it rises to the descriptor “desperate.”

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

This is one of Jess’ favorite books, so I read it for her. It tells a story of a social worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Children sent to investigate an orphanage.

A story of acceptance in the face of societal oppression. And a personal journey of finding joy and meaning in life.

The Infinity Machine by Sebastian Mallaby

The latest read for the book group at work. This is a story about the current wave in artificial-intelligence research and development which we have all be subjected to whether we like it or not.

Extremely deferential to the people involved and if you were to read this book uncritically you’d believe by the end that the world is now full of sentient, artificial-intelligence systems quickly making humanity obsolete. I found it a bit cloying in its admiration.

Games May 2026

May 31, 2026 2:41 pm

Won a game of 7 Wonders at a dinner-and-games get together.

Completed quests 9 and 10 of Kinfire Chronicles: Night’s Fall with my campaign group. We were victorious on quest 9, but on quest 10 a giant moth creature got the drop on us and wiped out half the group’s health on the first blow. From there it was an agonizing struggle to stay on our feet until, ultimately, the moth creature pummeled my character into the ground ending our suffering in defeat.

Played a round each of Azul and Hardback at the board-game meetup. I lost Azul pretty badly, but I won Hardback.

Played Wondrous Creatures at another board-game meetup. This one was new to me. It’s a bit like Everdell, but more complicated. I focused too much on engine building and lost badly. But, in my defense, the person I was playing with had recently been obsessed with the game and had played it 5+ times in the prior 6 days. And he didn’t exceed my score by more than 50%. Definitely a game that one needs to play several times to get a feel for the pacing and strategic options.

Books May 2026

May 30, 2026 2:36 pm

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson — Book 3 of the Stormlight Archive series

This book took up most of my month of reading. Another massive tome in the series primarily covering a continuing series of failures trying to rally the nations to a common cause and solidify a defensive posture against the opposing forces. A shattering revelation about the voidbringers, but a glimmer of new hope before the end.

Dawnshard by Brandon Sanderson — Book 3.5 of the Stormlight Archives series

A side-plot novella taking place after the events of book 3 to flesh out some side characters and history.

Leaves us still asking, “What is the Dawnshard?”