cupodcast

Long Weekend

Added 2025-07-05 17:54:35 +0000 UTC

It’s the 4th of July weekend and my buddy Jon, co-host of the Extra Napkins podcast (plug!), is coming down for a couple of days. We need to get a couple of recordings in, but we also plan to stream some music and cook some food. I think burgers and maybe potato salad are on the menu. The weather is nice and I’m hoping the apartment grill will be free this evening. Most people in San Diego head out to the beach, especially in my neighborhood.

I played my first game of Alpha Strike this past weekend and had a great time. AS is the alternate Battletech ruleset that, instead of on hex maps, plays with terrain and tape measures. I learned a lot about good terrain density (we had too little) and proper play space (we also had too little). Despite these issues, the game was fast, fun, and the rules conveyed the theme quite well. I missed the granular crunchiness of Classic, but it’s easier to get folks into AS games due to the streamlined nature. This week, I intend to make some simple terrain and templates for hills, cliffs, water, and forests. The AS box set comes with a bunch of pop-out cardboard terrain, which is a nice addition.

I hope you all have a safe weekend and may your pets weather the fireworks calmly.

-Ian