Musings & Thoughts for Sunday, May 14, 2023, or: Weekend Update, Part the Second


Well, here we are, Dear Reader, on Sunday, May 14, 2023, aka Mother’s Day 2023. It’s almost 9 AM in the Tampa Bay area, the sun is out, and – for the moment, anyway, it’s cool outside; the temperature is 71°F/22°C. Overall, it’s the kind of day that, in my previous neighborhood in South Florida,Continue reading “Musings & Thoughts for Sunday, May 14, 2023, or: Weekend Update, Part the Second”

Old Gamers Never Die: Confessions of a Digital Armchair General


Childhood Dreams vs. Cold, Hard Reality When I was nine years old and my mom allowed me to dream about careers that were realistically out of my reach because I have cerebral palsy, one of my “I want to be X when I grow up” roles that I wanted most was “professional military officer.” EvenContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die: Confessions of a Digital Armchair General”

Musings & Thoughts for Thursday, June 9, 2022, or: Rainy Thursday, & How I Spent My ‘Hump Day’


Hi there, Dear Reader. It is early afternoon in Lithia, Florida, on Thursday, June 9, 2022. It is a hot, humid, and sometime rainy day in the Tampa Bay area. Presently, the temperature is 80°F (27°C) under rainy conditions. With humidity at 80% and the wind blowing from the west at 6 MPH (10 KM/H),Continue reading “Musings & Thoughts for Thursday, June 9, 2022, or: Rainy Thursday, & How I Spent My ‘Hump Day’”

Old Gamers Never Die: ‘M1 Tank Platoon’ Campaign – Mission Accomplished


As you know, a few weeks ago I discovered that Atari – which owns many of the original MicroProse Software company’s intellectual properties – and Interplay Entertainment had released many of the games I owned in the 1980s and 1990s on Steam and GOG.com. They were, of course, tweaked so they would run on WindowsContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die: ‘M1 Tank Platoon’ Campaign – Mission Accomplished”

Old Gamers Never Die: or, Look What I Found on Steam Today…. ‘M1 Tank Platoon’!


One of my favorite computer games from the late 1980s to early 1990s was M1 Tank Platoon, a Cold War-turns-hot simulation of armored land combat in late 1980s West Germany. Developed and published in October of 1989 by MicroProse Software, M1 Tank Platoon placed the player in the role of – what else? – aContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die: or, Look What I Found on Steam Today…. ‘M1 Tank Platoon’!”

Old Gamers Never Die: A Player’s Guide to ‘Crusade in Europe’ (Part Four of a Series)


Hello and welcome once again to another installment of Old Gamers Never Die: A Player’s Guide to ‘Crusade in Europe.’ “You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.” – General Dwight D. Eisenhower If you’re new to A Certain PointContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die: A Player’s Guide to ‘Crusade in Europe’ (Part Four of a Series)”

Old Gamers Never Die: A Player’s Guide to ‘Crusade in Europe’ (Part Three of a Series)


Pre-Mission Briefing In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. – General of the Army Dwight David Eisenhower Hello and welcome back to another installment of my continuing look at the classic 1985 game Crusade in Europe, which was re-released earlier this year by Atari. Designed byContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die: A Player’s Guide to ‘Crusade in Europe’ (Part Three of a Series)”

Old Gamers Never Die: A Player’s Guide to ‘Crusade in Europe’ (Part Two of a Series)


This is the second part of an occasional series on how to learn the basics of Crusade in Europe, a command-level wargame set during the Northwest Europe Campaign of World War II. Originally published in 1985 by the original iteration of MicroProse and re-issued earlier this year by Atari, Crusade in Europe allows you toContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die: A Player’s Guide to ‘Crusade in Europe’ (Part Two of a Series)”

Old Gamers Never Die, or: Operation Market-Garden, ‘Crusade in Europe,’ and Unexpected Victories


“Many historians, with an ‘if only’ approach to the British defeat, have focused so much on different aspects of Operation Market Garden which went wrong that they have tended to overlook the central element. It was quite simply a very bad plan right from the start and right from the top. Every other problem stemmedContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die, or: Operation Market-Garden, ‘Crusade in Europe,’ and Unexpected Victories”

Old Gamers Never Die: A Player’s Guide to ‘Crusade in Europe’ (Part One of a Series)


Background Briefing Earlier this year, Atari – which owns the rights to many of the original MicroProse Software’s library of games – rereleased the three games in the mid-1980s Command Series trilogy of wargames: Crusade in Europe, Decision in the Desert, and Conflict in Vietnam. Designed by MicroProse co-founder Sid Meier and Ed Bever andContinue reading “Old Gamers Never Die: A Player’s Guide to ‘Crusade in Europe’ (Part One of a Series)”