Mixed Signals

Straight-forward gaming

Like a lot of (or all? is this a defining trait?) geeks, I'm pretty obsessive by nature. I focus on things intensely, and work in sprints so I can concentrate my current obsession into productivity (by some definition of "productive"). I work in the tech industry, which also works in sprints, so I'v...

I'm reading the Stardrifter series by David Collins-Rivera, and reviewing each book as I finish it. The short story Hunter's Moon is a story about a special-ops mission performed for a mysterious client. This review contains spoilers.

Here's a question. How do you make paperwork exciting? One...

Interested in playing a wargame that isn't Warhammer 40,000? Wargaming is a complex landscape of gaming possibility, and it can be a little confusing to navigate at first, especially if you venture too far away from firmly established franchises. I do think that Games Workshop, the creator of Warh...

Interested in playing Warhammer 40,000? Don't make the mistakes I did! Whether you're playing Warhammer or something else, wargaming requires preparation before you can actually play the game. This is different than what you're probably used to, if you play other tabletop games. You don't just go...

My partner and I love a good "couch co-op" game, a video game where you and a friend can play together on the same computer rather than over a network. We recently played through Quest Hunter and its Strangewood DLC, and this my review of it. This review contains minor spoilers.

Cutting to the...

Last year, shortly after the 10th edition of the game was released, I played my first game of Warhammer 40,000 and recorded my process, the battle, and my thoughts. I have no fancy White Dwarf style photos to go with this post, but I think it's interesting to see a game through a new player's ey...

I've been painting exclusively with Citadel Contrast and Vallejo Xpress Color paints lately. The idea of a high contrast black is a little strange, though. There's no contrast to black, it's just all black. If there's something blacker than black, then the first black wasn't true black. And yet ther...

I've been thinking about why I enjoy games, and what kinds of games I tend to gravitate toward. The more I think about it, the more I find that it's probably an unsolvable riddle (but that in itself seems a little like a game). Either the gamer or the technical part of my brain has taken the bait, a...

I'm the developer and publisher of Skuffle Wammer, the universe's smallest wargame. It's designed to be played in 5 minutes or less, with the intent of being the tabletop gaming equivalent of a good stand-up-and-stretch at work. The play area is an A4 sheet of paper, you throw out some miniatures...

The Horus Heresy book series is set in the 30th millennium, just 10 short millennia prior to Warhammer 40,000. It's the story of how the Emperor of Man found his lost sons, the Primarchs, from all across the galaxy, and ultimately how one of them turned against him, causing civil war within the...

I decided that during 2024, I'd remix one game every month. Last month I created Rebel Blackjack. This month, I've created Magick jack, an extreme remix of Blackjack.

Colour pie

The colour pie in Magic: The Gathering (MTG) isn't often appreciated by people who don't play the game, but it's...

I'm watching the Interrogator animated series on Warhammer+, and this is my review of the final episode. There are spoilers in this post, so don't read on if you haven't seen the show and have a good memory.

Over the past two episodes, my interest in Interrogator was starting to falter a lit...

The D&D 5e book Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft includes an adventure called House of Lament. Last year, I ran House of Lament as a side quest in an Expedition to Castle Ravenloft game. This is my review of the House of Lament module as a Game Master. It mirrors my review as a player.

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I'm watching the Interrogator animated series on Warhammer+, and this is my review of the penultimate episode. There are spoilers in this post, so don't read on if you haven't seen the show and have a good memory.

So we know who's killed Bellona, Jurgen just has to exact his revenge. But the k...

I play an Adeptus Mechanicus army in Warhammer 40,000 and the new Adepus Mechanicus Codex recently came out. I've purchased it and read it from cover to cover, and this my review of it. In short, it's good. I'll talk about why in this blog post.

Before talking specifics though, it's worth explai...

I don't like sports. I tend to think of geek culture in general as being against sport, but that's a sentiment influenced strongly by my own social experience. If you think about it, sport and tabletop gaming share a lot in common. They're competitive, they're games, people play them for fun, there...