A belated #Caturday photo I took last week when I noticed Hera alert at the back door, looking intently at something on the deck: a skink out sunning itself in the bright summer heat.
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Peter Schweighofer
@PSchweig86@dice.camp
mastodon 4.7.3Writer, Game Designer, Gamer, Husband, Dad.
Writing and playing roleplaying games for 40+ years, along with board and wargames, and a few designs for kids and newcomers to the hobby. Often exploring the confluence of games, history, and learning.
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Joined April 26, 2022
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Our 8 month-old cat Jago “splooting” on the bookshelf by the front window, probably checking out the birds under the watchful eye of #Godzilla, both appropriately positioned above shelves of #BoardGames, several of which are cat- or bird-themed (and one kaiju-themed).
For #Caturday my wife and I played #WingspanPocket, two games, each of us winning once. Had a little help from a margarita and our cat, Jago (Hera took a turn later batting at the tantalizing egg tokens). Just bought it yesterday at Huzzah! Hobbies, so we took our time learning the rules.
Last week we brought this fellow into our home, almost 3 month-old Jago, from the Cville SPCA shelter. Filled with energy and wonder, contrasted with frequent naps, he’s proving an orange ball of joy. He’s isolated in the guest room; his older sisters are warily interested in his presence.
#HobbyGamesRecce
Craft stores supply materials for a variety of adventure gaming activities, whether prototyping a #boardgame or crafting miniature #wargame terrain, but their selection has dwindled over the years as prices rise, fads dictate inventory, and tariffs limit variety.
https://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/08/craft-store-lament.html
#HobbyGamesRecce
Wargames remain abstracted representations of reality...even the geo-political reality of near-future confrontations. Our adversaries are playing our #wargames, but what do our civilian games reveal about our capabilities and assumptions...and do they reveal useful intelligence?
https://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/09/what-do-games-tell-our-adversaries.html
Our kitten Jago has been with us a little more than a month and is settling in, both in the household terrain and with his two older sisters. One of his favorite spots? Atop the shag-plush-covered cat tower, where he can survey the living room and watch the hummingbirds outside the window.
Took a day trip out to southern Maryland and had lunch at Capt’ Billy’s Crab House on the Potomac River waterfront. View of the docks and birds, tasty shrimp and crab. A relaxing moment among the incessant turbulence.
Good reminder in The Guardian about the Kindertransport, an event often overlooked in American history classes and our overall cultural memory of #WW2:
Also reminds me of Ian Wolter’s sculpture commemorating Kindertransport refugees arriving in Harwich.
https://www.ianwolter.com/contemporary/safe-haven/
Back when we treated refugee children with greater kindness than today.
I’m curious if anyone, especially in former communist European countries, recalls #WarsawPact institutions ever using #wargames to explore a possible invasion of West Germany? #WestEndGames classics like Air & Armor and Air Cav come to mind, though I know other titles exist in this genre.
Popular Science featured the Civil War Tails diorama museum; we just visited them while in Gettysburg in July. Amazing battle dioramas with tiny cat soldiers, detailed terrain, including the 11-foot long Little Round Top diorama. A must for #AmericanCivilWar #history buffs and #cat lovers.
Caught our kitten Jago in a rare moment where he wasn’t racing around, taking a break from playing with his crinkly zebra-themed toy. #Caturday #CatsOfMastodon
#HobbyGamesRecce
Our recent summer travels reminded me how much I enjoy exploring the #history of the French and Indian War through film, books, and, of course, #wargames.
https://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/08/watch-read-play-french-indian-war.html
#HobbyGamesRecce
We fear change...but it’s time for me to remove the comment function from the blog. Too much spam drowning out quality engagement, even when moderated. Here’s hoping comments and discussion moves to my social media presence. Which you’ve already found here. Hope to hear from you….
https://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/08/farewell-to-comments.html
My son, a high school junior, just dropped his “Algebra III” torment nexus class to take a class called “Discreet Math.” Which, of course, inspired me to wonder if they offer an “Indiscreet Math” class.
The course as described in the school’s “program of study” guide would have melted my brain in high school. Heck, reading it is melting my brain right now.
But he seems really happy that he actually understands the concepts so far, unlike the abstracted algebra. So everything's good for now.
#HobbyGamesRecce
Younger folks seem to prefer #PhysicalMedia, a trend I understand as a crabby old relic of the last century. The internet gives us access to such wonders, yet can withhold them and inflict a price for them. Our physical media is always at hand when we need its comfort the most.
https://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/07/the-comfort-of-physical-media.html
RIP Marjane Satrapi.
Her quote about our similarities with ordinary Iranians inspired me to read Persepolis, a frightening and somber account of state violence and ideology infecting society. It helped put the Iranian revolution and American authoritarianism in perspective.
Sic transit mundus.
Spent the weekend working on our wattle-enclosed moon #garden. Cut a tulip poplar for the gate posts, then mounted the gate frame and started wattling it with trimmed poplar branches. Still more work to do on the wattle fence, though the central window and side arches are framed.
Alas, strained my wrist trimming things with two pairs of the crummiest pruning shears. (One actually broke.) So not much #writing for me today as I give my wrist a break.
#HobbyGamesRecce
I’m late in offering ideas for #SummerReading...and game playing. Mostly centered on my own interests, they might cater to some shared topics with dear readers as they navigate the seasonal heat and humidity during brief breaks from work or more substantial vacations.
#Books
https://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/07/summer-reading-play-pile.html
My son’s high school lets out on Thursday. We’ve already discussed our summertime activities, including many centered around #GamesForLearning and #history, from day trips and afternoon games to a long-term historical game design project of his own choosing.
https://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/05/game-aspirations-for-summer.html
#HobbyGamesRecce
As an advocate of #GamesForLearning, I value games that inspire us to learn how better to cope with reality. Games help us learn to discern and evaluate facts we consider when we estimate a situation and plan a course of action for the challenges we face on various levels.
https://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/05/discerning-reality-in-fog-of-war.html
#HobbyGamesRecce
In experimenting with different approaches to #TTRPG adventure design I look back in history at the earliest days of #wargames for some inspiration about the idea of scenarios, or the “General idea,” laying the foundations for players to explore the situation on their own.
https://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/05/scenarios-general-idea.html
Spent yesterday at a re-enactment of the first Battle of Manassas (held on the spacious Brandy Station battlefield). Visited the US camp and chatted with some re-enactors, saw an artillery demonstration, and of course watched troops maneuvering and firing during the mock battle.
#HobbyGamesRecce
The passing of John Blanche and Marjane Satrapi caused me to reflect not only on their lives and contributions to tabletop gaming and graphic novels, but to consider how society marginalizes the media in which we find so much joy, diversion, and enlightenment.
https://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/06/in-grand-scheme-of-things.html
Spent part of today wandering the Manassas #AmericanCivilWar #battlefield, walking along the site of the Union artillery batteries on Henry Hill, refreshing my memory examining artillery exhibits, and overall enjoying a cool breeze on a bright day before the #VA summer heat/humidity sets in.
#MiniaturesMonday
Terrain for a #DragonRampant #LordOfTheRings miniatures #wargame for a con in Oct. 54mm orcs with bonfire and chopped tree stumps in front of my “roving” tree terrain (with unexpected menacing guest looming nearby). Uses the “flickering tea light in painted batting smoke” trick.
#HobbyGamesRecce
Like any media based on #history, games can portray broad events as well as more relatable personal stories. When using #GamesForLearning we can gain a more empathetic perspective of those who lived through that history and rose to the challenges imposed upon them.
[edited...]
https://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/05/the-personal-view-of-sweeping-events.html
PAXsims recently posted an interesting summary, with commentary, on the NYT piece on Why did Strait of Hormuz wargames go unheeded?
https://paxsims.wordpress.com/2026/06/03/nyt-why-did-strait-of-hormuz-wargames-go-unheeded/
Echoes of my Hobby Games Recce piece from February: “Exploring Outcomes & Inaction.”
http://hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/02/exploring-outcomes-inaction.html
Noble Knight Games is running its Massive Spring Sale! Already made an order for some summertime game materials at better-than-usual prices. Always feels good to give some used games new life...and splurge on some recent brand-new games.
Replying to
@StaceyCornelius@zeroes.ca There have been a few "escapes" and supervised encounters with his older sisters. They issue warning hisses, but nothing serious. So far Jago's very curious....
Replying to
@soypunk@friend.camp I'll have to look into that if I come across the Five Parsecs rules expansion book (Planetfall or Tactics?). I have a vague recollection Osprey's Zone Alfa had a good solo system, but that was years ago and I never stumbled across it.
Replying to
@soypunk@friend.camp Thanks. Just looking over Modiphius' Five Parsecs page is a bit daunting figuring out what's what and where to start (or find the right expansion).
Still hoping to hear from anyone on this subject, but so far the impenetrable Iron Curtain has not yielded any #WarsawPact Cold War tabletop #wargaming exercise intelligence….
May comment further in a future #HobbyGamesRecce blog post.