Blather, Waffle and Poppycock!

[Last Hussar]

Email at work yesterday;

When weapons are used during violence,

it impacts on everyone who sees the incident
it impacts on those who have to support anyone who is injured
it impacts on staff dealing with incidents of violence

I emailed back
"Pretty sure it affects the victim too. Pretty sure it does..."

[Raider4]

Email at work yesterday;

When weapons are used during violence,I emailed back
"Pretty sure it affects the victim too. Pretty sure it does..."

Careful. That sort of sass will get you marked as a troublemaker.

[Techno 3]

I trust that Alexander (Fierce Kitty) is OK after the earthquake affecting Bangkok !

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Fingers crossed

[Last Hussar]

Tempted by this

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/may/06/drop-duchy-review

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Ta for ut link, not I think for me though

[steve_holmes_11]

Typical computer game review "Roguelike deck builder" - leaving me (and maybe other readers) none the wiser.


On an upside, It's nice to see Keith Moon (formerly off of the Who) getting media work.

[Last Hussar]

A bit more - I watched the YouTube video embedded.

It starts off as tetris, blocks fall from the top, and you fit them in. However, when you complete a line, they don't disappear. Instead the blocks represent land tiles; you want grazing next to a farm, etc. When the grid is full, you have your country. This is then pitted against your enemy.

Deck building comes from table top games. As you get more powerful,  better cards are added to your deck. In this it translates as better "tetris tiles" that come up.

Rogue like comes from the 1980s computer game "Rogue". It is procedurally generated,  meaning rather than fixed maps pre designed,  it makes it up as needed, according to a set of rules with some randomness, so no two games are the same.

[fred.]

It does sound interesting, but it's PC only so of no use to me. 

But good to see games being produced that are sold as a single fairly cheap cost. Too many iOS games are based on the micro transaction model and are basically unplayable unless you spend stupid amounts of money on them. 

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

I could murder a bacon butty...

[Ithoriel]

I could murder a bacon butty...

[Last Hussar]

So I bought Drop Duchy Thursday. Played a number of games, and am enjoying it (mostly).

The Tetris bit is challenging/thought demanding/annoying/fun(ish)

If you've ever played Tetris it's like that,  but slower, as you need more thinking time. Except when it's not. Woods/fields/mountains are classic 4 square tetris tiles, but there are other pieces, like farms, barracks, watchtowers etc which are 1, 2 or 3 squares. A farm near open turns them into fields. Military tiles recruit from certain nearby terrain.

So you drop a barracks near some plains, and it recruits some men. Then you drop a farm, which turns those plains into crops, adding to your wheat score. Then the barracks is reevaluated, because the wheat is worth more than plains.

You also have to drop in enemy recruiting tiles, and again these gain men from close by terrain,  so you are trying to keep them AWAY from that, while still putting it close to your production centres, leading to decisions of "do I gain x, but give them y?".

Completed lines don't disappear,  but instead add to your gold. More lines simultaneously means gold per square is higher. The tile drop ends when you put a tile on the last row, even if there are still moves you could make.

Then you go on to the battle part. You drawer a single path between all the soldier producers, and when all in the path you "fight". This is very simple; the first group proceeds to the second. If it is the same army, they add, if they enemy they fight. Then the winners proceed to the next in the path, and that is resolved.

Fights are simple, you just watch the arithmetic.  If they are the same type, then it is highest minus lowest. So 12 blue Swords attack 4 Red Swords, and the result is 8 remaining blue travel on.

The choice is when you have different types; there are Axes, Swords and archers. These have a A>B, B>C, C>A relationship, with a 3:2 advantage.

So if 12 Axe attack 12 Swords, the have the advantage.  For every 3 Swords killed, you lose only 2 Axemen, leading to the Axes winning by 4 survivors. Swords do the same to archers,  while archers are better than Axes. If you add two allied groups, it becomes whatever the most numerous is.

This leads to "I'll attack the Swords with my Axes, then join with my archers, who will be more numerous at that point, so the group will become archers,  and then attack THEIR axes" decisions.

After each fight you move along the path, where decisions are made, such as trading, or getting new cards (the cards are the Tetris tiles). Depending on path you might chose which fight next; hard, or the easy one that will make the boss fight harder? One where the tiles are mostly open, mostly woods, or evenly balanced?

Lose a battle,  and you lose some "hit point" equivalent. Lose them all and game over. You can then start again, but you have a better deck, upgraded from the previous games.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Sounds a lot of fun.
I had better not get it, addictive personality and all! 

[Last Hussar]

It is, but I'm good enough at the 'easy level' that a game now takes 80 or 90 minutes.  Need to see if it's got a save function

[Last Hussar]

I'd read that AIs will speak to you as you address them, so I put in a random historical question...

Me: Good afternoon, young sir. May I respectfully ask you furnish me with the casualty percentages at the Battle of Waterloo? Thank you in advance for your forebearance on this subject.

Response

Ah, a fine inquiry into one of history's most pivotal battles! The Battle of Waterloo, fought on June 18, 1815, saw staggering losses on both sides. The casualty figures are estimated as follows:
•   French Army: Around 25,000 killed or wounded.
•   Allied Forces (British, Dutch, and German troops): Approximately 22,000 casualties.
•   Prussian Army: Roughly 7,000 casualties.
In total, nearly 50,000 men were either killed or wounded in the battle. The sheer scale of devastation left the battlefield littered with bodies, and the aftermath was described as truly harrowing.
A grim but fascinating chapter in military history! Would you like to delve deeper into the strategic elements of the battle?

Me: No thank you, sirrah, you have furnished me with the information I require. A very good day to you.

AI: The pleasure was mine! May your afternoon be filled with noble pursuits and enlightening discoveries. If ever you require further historical insights, I remain at your service. A very good day to you indeed!