So this is Christmas
And what have we done?
Ingenii’s over
Nectaris just begun…
There’s been a lot of vehement opinion and even, I daresay, some very real anger expressed at a few of the recent changes to the game. While this always serves to keep the conversation active in the Feed, it also has an impact on player retention — a topic close to all our hearts, I’m sure. After all, if new players stop coming and old players keep going away, our beloved game won’t last long.
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(Part of this was presented in Planets Con 2022.)
It’s long surprised me that nobody has yet written the authoritative Guide on how to lose a Planets game. Considering all the writing devoted to sure-fire paths to victory, this should be a shoo-in, an automatic next-best-thing for the ne’er-do-well writer just itching for something new to write about. And yet, nobody seems to have done so — until now.
Let’s remedy that lapse, shall we?
Sit back until you’re resting comfortably, have your flight attendant bring you a relaxing beverage, and brace for impact, people. You’re about to learn How To Lose.
Continue readingFixed Turn games in place of TopAdvance and AFoF will change League going forward, but will it be for good or for ill? Planets Magazine asked several players for their thoughts on the subject. This is what they said:
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One thing common to most of us who revel in virtual combat is that we tend to abhor the actuality of warfare. It seems to us a truism that the more we learn of war, the greater our wish to avoid it.
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For a while now, I’ve had a personal, private theory about why it is that the Evil Empire keeps losing. After all, on the face of things they do have the single best ship in the game, a wide variety of support carriers, free fighters, a hyperspace courier, and an innate advantage that gives them complete information about the static defenses of their rivals. On paper, there’s simply no reason for them to ever lose.
Except, of course, they do. A lot. And I’ve got a theory about why — one that’s made me unpopular a time or two.
Continue readingYou all know the story, but even if you don’t that’s OK, because I’m going to tell it again anyway.
Europe, 1914. Christmas week.
For months now, vast armies had battled across the face of the continent, each racing to outflank the other. Along the Western Front, the race had stopped for lack of room, and a continuous line of trenches ran from Switzerland to the North Sea. By Christmas, things had somewhat stabilized. Gas attacks and mass artillery barrages were still in the future, and the soldiers themselves still had great sympathy for the fellows in the trenches on the other side.
Continue readingTalespin and I are thrilled to announce the arrival, here at the official Planets Magazine shipping and distribution center (otherwise known as my dining room table), of the brand new trophies for the Planets Magazine Invitational series. Take a look:
Just imagine winning one of these for your very own, to display next to that Nobel medal, the Pulitzer, and your eighth-grade spelling bee trophy.
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We here at the Mag rely on your feedback to measure how well we’re doing, and there’s very little to match that joyful feeling of getting a free coffee. As always, you can make a PayPal donation to support the Planets Magazine, or click the button below to Buy Us A Coffee — and don’t forget to leave your feedback!
If you haven’t heard the term “Nerf Crystal” by now, you haven’t been listening.
The recent change in Standard and League games that has resulted from the removal of friendly codes and Safe Passage options from web fields has created a race without diplomatic options. Their ship list is inconducive to trading, being composed largely of overpriced minelayers and understrength warships — plus one 5-point terraformer. Now that they can’t trade their webs as currency, the Crystals have gone from one of the dominant races to something just slightly too sad to be considered a joke.
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There’s a hoary old tale that’s been circulating in American politics for generations. It starts with an elderly farmer, because in myth and parable those are our wise men.
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