Friday, September 25, 2026

Good morning, welcome back to Wolmania.

Item 1: a link

This article is hilarious:

Hardcore war gamers and designers like their battles and campaigns to be simulated with scrupulous accuracy and in granular detail. Sometimes this comes at the expense of the gaming experience.

And there is one particularly notorious war game from 1979, the Campaign for North Africa, a board game so detailed, complex and cumbersome to play that it is thought that no one has ever actually finished it (including its creator).

Now two guys from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, are trying. James Purcell and Andrew Taeger have spent nearly two years just mastering the rules and practicing, and they are ready to start playing the game for real.

. . .

Much of the time “playing” Campaign for North Africa is spent not on battles, but on logistics. And the level of detail is mind-boggling: For every unit on the board, players have to keep track of its ammunition and its food and water.

Is the game detailed? Well, how much water evaporates depends on how hot the weather is for that turn. And Italian units need more water than other nations because, the rules say, they use it to make pasta.

. . .

There are also some rules that are simply puzzling. Aircraft are allowed to transport dead camels, but not living camels. “Yet nowhere in the rules does it explain where you might come across a living or dead camel,” Mr. Purcell lamented. The German general Erwin Rommel has his own game piece, and the rules mention that his truck has access to only AM radio. This seems to have no bearing on play.

Obviously, one's first inclination upon reading this is "hmm, should I try to get my hands on a copy of Campaign for North Africa?" But one is unlikely to do so.

Item 2: a list

The Four Noble Truths, Ranked:

1. Marga
2. Nirodha
3. Dukkha
4. Samudaya

Item 3: a media recommendation

Item 4: word of the week

Noetic

Some people like the sensuous aspect of eating food – taste, smell, that kind of thing. For me it's more of a noetic experience, using a meal as a way to delve deeply into culture and philosophy. Not saying one is better than the other! Good for you, getting super into tasting stuff. I guess I just operate on a different, more intellectual, level. But again, your way is cool too.

Item 5: an image

See ya!

Thank you for reading. Hope to see you back here again in spooky/decorative gourd season.