Against the Odds Magazine, ATO Magazine

02/09/2025

One for the "Big Day."

So what would you bring INSTEAD of Scrabble?

02/09/2025

Good news!
A nice museum has finished its yearly maintenance.

The Fort Pitt Museum is officially open to the public once again!

Throughout January, we took some time for routine maintenance, making a few exciting updates along the way. Visitors can now enjoy improved lighting in our exhibitions, new flooring in the Trader’s Cabin, and a refreshed Fort Pitt diorama, which brings 18th-century Pittsburgh to life in miniature.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at Grace carefully cleaning each tiny piece of the diorama— ensuring every detail is just right for your next visit!

We’re back and ready to welcome you daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stop by soon and experience the birthplace of Pittsburgh!

02/08/2025

We certainly use the "ConsimWorld Forum" for updates, discussion, and all manner of interesting discussions.

You can find our page on the CsW Forum here: https://talk.consimworld.com/WebX/.ee6df75/60622

And we want to point out that they are doing a 'fund raiser' to keep up the good work.

https://preview.mailerlite.com/r1s2d7r6r2

CSW is celebrating its 29th Year in serving the wargame community. Your support is needed more today than ever, as we have not held a fundraiser drive in more than two years. 

02/07/2025

Friday Funny.

02/06/2025

We are on a “found” roll.

The onky Brazilian warship sunk by enemy action in WW2.

A German submarine torpedoed the "Vital de Oliveira" in July 1944, killing some 100 of the 270 crew members onboard

02/05/2025

We call them "Byzantines" now. They always called themselves "Romans." They maintained a powerful empire for centuries, even reclaiming some of the land from the "Eastern Empire."

So why did they fall?

https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/eastern-roman-empire-decline-0021805

02/04/2025

We wish there were a 'share' function on the story. It is about a silent auction of the remaining game collection from Mark Ruggiero, who fought a heroic battle with cancer that inspired gamers all over the world. Mark kept playing games and supporting game companies, up to the end. He actually did back our "Stalingrad Verdun on the Volga" kickstarter, with a support level that included two more ATO games. (We sent his parcel as soon as we had any copies available-- even before the staff copies. We were happy to know he received them and had a chance to look at them. They all seem to have been sold already, so that is good too.)
Here is a link to the Board Wargamer, where you sill find the information and link to a long list of games on BGG. You'll need those instructions!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/WarBoardGamer/permalink/3114184538720344

02/02/2025

We aren't sure about the rumor that we enjoy "found" stories about historical sites. But here is another one.

Sumptuous private thermal bath found in Pompeii.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-in-pompeii-discover-private-spa-where-dozens-of-guests-bathed-in-luxury-2000-years-ago-180985863/

02/01/2025

Turning Point Simulations sometimes picks up our posts when they are linked to their games, so we will do the same.
They proudly announce a new Pocket Battle Game, bringing a new wrinkle to the very popular "Rattenkrieg" ("Rat War") game. But they also point at OUR Pocket Battle Games too, plus the news that you can get our "collections" on the Black Swans page.

NOTE THAT Ratwar 2 is not shown on the page, but it IS available at check-out.

01/31/2025

Friday Funny
Still the reigning monarchy today.

01/29/2025

While it's propaganda, it captures a very real "concern" about how united the "allies" were against Hitler's Germany. And we have a game that captures this!

German propaganda leaflet aimed at French troops in 1940. The leaflet shows a French troop drowning in blood while the British soldier abandons him, 1940

01/28/2025

We are not sure what the "(Japanese)" means in the title, for the VoiceOver is certainly English.

Nice walk through and actual play of our "Winds of War" game.

https://youtu.be/U_WIqbKIPYI?si=bD4gB7Vaizh3rtCQ

Yes, it's entirely true that Richard Berg designed this game as the result of a "challenge competition" to play "stump the designer." And he won. It's a remarkably interesting game about a little-known facet of WW2... the Japanese bombarding the US mainland with paper balloons!

https://www.atomagazine.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=104&category=11

01/27/2025

It's an interesting look at "last gasp" offensives.

“Operation Spring Awakening represented N**i Germany’s last major attack in World War Two. Here are some of history’s other doomed final assaults.” MANY REMEMBER Adolf Hitler’s December 1944 assault on Allied troops in the Ardennes as...

01/26/2025

Beautiful sight!
We have all the magazines in house now, for the really 'big piece" Stretch Goal on our Kulm Kickstarter.
You can still get ALL the Stretch Goals, including these beautiful and OOP magazines. BUT ONLY FOR A COUPLE MORE WEEKS!
https://www.atomagazine.com/Details.cfm?ProdID=195

01/25/2025

While "C3i Magazine" C3i Magazine Fans is primarily a support vehicle for GMT games (lots of additions, tweaked counters, extra scenarios, etc.) since it usually includes some sort of "complete game" we find ourselves as competitors in the "Magazine Game" category of the Charles Roberts Awards.

But we've always been pleasant and even cooperative with each other, and this is a time when the most important thing is Humanity. The MacCowan family lost their home (and home office) in the Palisades fire and there is a fund raiser to try and help get some things back and the "next issue" published.

We pick up the lead from "Pushing Cardboard" and offer the direct link.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-recovery-of-rodger-mae-and-steven

01/24/2025

Friday Funny.

We all know the movie!