Mark's Day Off (Off Topic... Just general gaming stuff.)

Hello All:

	I got an unexpected day off today, so I took the time to do a
little
bit of gamer-related shopping (mostly searching for B5 Wars minis). 
First I stopped off at a popular place called Napoleon's (Milwaukee's
oldest gaming store) and I looked around there for a while.  I don't
really like Napoleon's because the staff always seem to be just a tad
snooty for my taste, but I was in in the neighborhood anyway, soooo.... 

	When I asked about B5 Wars stuff the clerk game me a blank stare
and
asked if I meant "The Babylon Project."  After stifling the urge to beat
this geek within an inch of his life, I explained what I was looking
for.  In a sudden flash of recollection, the clerk told me that his
distributor (Chessex) told him that the game and mini's release date is
in August.  I told him that the minis had been already released and the
game was due out in a couple of weeks.	The clerk just shrugged and went
about his business of rearranging the Magic cards.

	Despite the dunderhead clerk, I decided to peruse the store's
"clearance" rack and I found a copy of Kryomek for $12.50.  I couldn't
pass this up. So I paid Einstein and went on my way.

	Later in the afternoon I stopped at usual haunt, Adventure Games
Plus,
to see if they had any luck tracking AoG merchandise down.  Unlike
Napoleon's, the staff at AGP is far more intelligent than the historical
wargaming fops of Milwaukee's East Side.  Like myself, the staff at AGP
is also concerned that they haven't got any B5 Wars stuff yet.	They
also deal with Chessex.  Hmmmmmm.... I notice a pattern appearing here.

	Anyway, I decided to browse around the store for a while when I
get to
the display of the Fantasy/Napoleonic miniature game Flintloque.  Now I
have never really been into historical wargaming myself, but my interest
in Napoleonic history has been growing lately.	It has mainly to do with
a series of BBC-produced movies based on some novels about an English
Lieutenant who came up from the ranks and fought with Wellington against
the French in Spain.... What was it called again?  Shaft?  Shake? 
Sherman? ;-) 
	When I ask a few of the patrons about Flintloque they told me
that it
was a very good and simple game.  I had seen it played a couple of times
and it did look very interesting.  So I decided to plop down 36 bucks
(Hey!  At least it's cheaper than anything GW would come out with) and
picked up the basic set.

	When I got home I had a chance to look at the rules and the
fiction. 
Wait a minute: Sergeant Harpy?	Major Wogan!?	REKHART SHARKE!?!?!? 
WOW!  Mr. Cornwall, meet Mr. Tolkein.  I think I'm gonna like this
game!  I'll try it out tomorrow night when the AGP Flintloque group
meets if I can digest the rules by then.

Later,
Mark S.