Three Days: On D-Day Omaha Beach, Black Snakes, and the Miami Heat

Okay, I lived through it. Pool pump disassembled, fixed (allegedly), and reassembled. Pool cover pulled off, dried, and folded. Hose in pool, refilling, and Buddy (the poolbot vacuum) is sucking, which in his case is a good thing. All in all, I guess I spent about four hours cramped under the pool deck with the bumble bees, black snakes, and spiders of several unknowable species. My wife bakes a cake, and everyone goes gaga… and they say it’s a man’s world?!

Ha.

By the way, for those wondering, which is probably only a small fraction of my 14 readers, I’ve knocked out three of my ten playings of D-Day Omaha Beach. For those saying (in small Jim Gafagan voice—Shouldn’t he be working on his own designs?), the answer is not only yes, but hell yes. That is exactly what I’m doing. The issue is that I often, and certainly in this case, can’t talk about future projects, so I talk/write about what I can. But briefly on Omaha Beach… the counter and map graphics are infantile, there aren’t sufficient counters in the box (it’s short about 6-7 Free Action Taken counters per division), and the player aids look like the local elementary school secretary ginned them up. So why is this the #5 wargame on Boardgame Geek? Simple. It is a typically brilliant John Butterfield design. The rules are clear, concise, and damn near letter perfect. The playing is exciting (that’s right, it’s two notches above fun), yet subtle. I won’t write a review, but I will say that it is one hell of a solitaire game.

One more thing. Why does the NBA even have finals for its western and eastern conferences? Just move the Heat and the Spurs to the championship series, and let’s get on with it.

Another more thing. The worlds two greatest races are on today: Monaco and the Indy 500. I only hope for the day when we once again support real racing in the United States.

Final thing. Don’t thank a veteran tomorrow (I’m a veteran). Memorial Day isn’t Veteran’s Day. Do however, say a prayer for those service men and woman who gave their lives for each other and our country.

Mark H. Walker is the author of World at War: Revelation, a creepy, military action, with a love story, alternate history, World War Three novel thing. It's available from Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing right here. Just $3.99. Give it a try. What the hell?