This is almost enough to make me wish I cared about chess: [link]

Diablo 2 is also a shopping game. They are more "World of Warcraft" than "Warcraft."

Our houseguest's departure for Baghdad got delayed, so we have a chance to pack her off with a copy of Tigris and Euphrates, rather than trying to send it to her later.

Telltale games, creators of the Sam & Max games, has announced that it will be developing an episodic series based on the popular stop motion cartoon, Wallace & Gromit.

[link]

We inaugurated the new gaming room yesterday. R won't let me post photos until it's totally done, but it's pretty cool. 5x5 table, comfy executive office chairs, a side table for food and drink, a dedicated sound system, and the Wall O' Games. Yesterday's games were:

• Nuclear War
• Betrayal at the House on the Hill
• Kingdom
• Mille Bourne
• Formula De

We had a couple people who had never played Nuclear War and were curious about it, seeing it on the shelf. Still fun. Still a pointed commentary. Seeing it with modern eyes, I note that the names of all the possible launch systems and deterrents are no longer part of pop culture the way they were in the 60s and 70s.

We've owned Betrayal for a couple years and had never played it. Avalon Hill/WOTC/Hasbro shot themselves in the foot with it by issuing it with a ton of mistakes; you have to download and print off about 150 pages of rules yourself, for instance. I have to say there was a pretty steep learning curve, but once we'd crested it, the entire group thought the game was pretty awesome, and we played it a couple times.

I still really dislike Formula De, but everyone else loves it. It was midnight at this point, so I did the unethical thing of taking a couple curves too fast and getting eliminated (by virtue of flipping my formula race car into the grandstands), so I could go lay down. It turned out to be a good choice, as Mal was up at four with a fever and a conviction there were dinosaurs in his room.

for those that care, my new Airport Extreme no longer seems to be misbehaving. Seems like it is linked to the base station in the bedroom. This means my Xbox is able to connect to the net again. So, for those that want easy pickings, let me know, I'll let you kill me real good.

Pete, did you get a burnout game yet? Since you woop my ass in FPS so much, seems only fair to return the favor.

Lastly, while playing 2k7 Baseball, I was trying to figure out how to get a mound visit in this version, when a heckling fan says "I see a faster delivery from national pizza chain". Um. Missed corporate sponsorship opportunity? Last minute back out? Very curious. Very funny. Thought I'd share.

Pete, did you get a burnout game yet?

I've no intention of buying Burnout. I enjoy the game within a party environment but I've no desire to own a copy.

I will probably be tinkering away at Team Fortress 2 right up until Gears of War 2 comes out.

Has anyone played Condemned: Criminal Origins ? I beat it last night (after another late night). It's an FPS that's unique for relying more on melee combat, so you're picking up pipes and 2x4s and crowbars and beating the shit out of people. It's also pretty scary and creepy. And your character, who is an FBI agent, is voiced by Greg Grunberg, so it's kind of like you're playing as Matt Parkman.

Also, I played around with GTAIV last night and had way too much fun blowing shit up. One time, I blew a helicopter in half!!

I think I might have set a record playing some Oblivion. My thief type character was at one time being pursued by a troll, two bandits, two minotaurs, a wolf, a scamp, and a warthog. She's not much of a toe to toe fighter, so I was utilizing the run away method since my character is an improbably fast runner.

By the time I made it to a town, only the troll and the warthog were left. I'm not sure if the others just fell behind or started fighting each other.

I think I might have set a record playing some Oblivion. My thief type character was at one time being pursued by a troll, two bandits, two minotaurs, a wolf, a scamp, and a warthog. She's not much of a toe to toe fighter, so I was utilizing the run away method since my character is an improbably fast runner.

Ok, a: you were pursued by a scamp? Was it scampering?
b: I'm sorry, did you say 'warthog'?

Wild boar, I think.