"Jihad" boardgame first game

I'm working on a boardgame for a while now.

It's not a very PC piece. Players are representing terrorist organisations. Events are based on real life events. Like "Enforcing modesty policy" - card that allows to score some additional support with brothers in faith... with a photo of Iranian police beating women who don't obey muslim code.
They have goals corresponding with their sponsoring countries agendas. Coalition forces are thier common enemy, however some mechanisms are turning this into more of a competition than cooperation. 

Game has 3 phases. Untill third turn players are on their own, than their sponsors start supporting them. Last part is US surge boosting coalition attacks frequency, and leading to terrorists demise. If no one reaches his goals until end of 10th turn, infidels will triumph, but last man standing will defend some of his influence on Iraq, winning the game without completing his goals. It's alternative victory.
It's aimed to make two-sided political allusions. Putting player in a position of terror organisation and using real life events and photos may make him think seriously about this topic. If some day this game is fun to play while provocating people to actually search for real, solid information afterwards - I'll call it victory. I hope it's visible why would I spin it all around to make players "bad guys".
That's first, more literary take, with southern chunk of Iraq and territorial domination in the spotlinght. I'll try more abstract option too. It's begging of this game's developement. First game. Version 0.02.

Anyway, first game was enjoyable, but it's rather to blame on good company.
Some mechanisms did work just fine, some need tweaking or even redesigning.

Left and Right, Liberty and Etatism

I've wondered what should I write on this blog before going in "business as usual" mode. I'm interested in politics and will probably post a lot about it both international and Polish. So it'd be apropriate to define myself and straighten some blurry lines before starting. Different people may line up different perks at some key labels. Let's just point word "liberal" in European and American context. US "liberals" are simply a new branch of socialism. Some decades ago people representing this label in US went far left, but name sticked. European liberal is pro-market supporter of individual freedom.

Left and Right:
I've stumbled on some division on dKos (know thine enemy? no, political opponents isn't always an enemy). One of "liberal" progressives out there defined right as side that thinks people are evil, while left thinks people are good. Right polices and disciplines them, left want's to cooperate with them. Look around - such extreme mischaracterisations in polictical issues are neither new nor rare. How is it that in his own country left tries to sacrifice free speech for the great goal of protection from harassment, name-calling and all bad things some rude bastard can say about you. If people in liberals eyes are so good, how come they need to regulate not only what they do, but also say? On the other hand right stays by people right to own guns. If people in conservatives eyes are so bad, how come they give them lethal arms?

My favourite division looks simplier - left is emotions, right is morals. Ofcourse it's hard to find anyone precisely obeying this rule in all of his choices! Also there's no party in the world on actual end of the scale. However it's quite functional common denominator and in most cases works.

Some other feature might be one's standing toward society. Not if he finds it good or bad, but how does he qualify people while facing problems in the society. Right will most times think of them as of subjects. They're who they are, you're looking for a solution for them.
Left may frequently make them objects. To archive some desired solutions, they will some times try to act on them.  Changing people is almost all the time in their manual to a better world.
It looks like I'm valuing left approapch lower - but don't buy into "power to the people" hype. People not being treated as subjects, are no no proof of some gigantic crime of the left. Both ways can lead to different sides. Lefty may stomp on free speech, or turn education to indoctrination - to get his sociological goals... but in people originated problem like drugs concentrating on changing them may actually far better than sending overseas strike teams to damage miniscule part of supply chain.

I belive that stopping at this single division leads to many problems. There's at least one more needed to be done to characterize politics with any accuracy.
Liberty and Etatism:
This one is simple. Liberty - individual freedom. Etatism - state in control.
There's hardly any connection between divison for left/right and liberty/etatism. Left - which with it's emotion-centrism is better at marketing - made misleading conotation that left is close to liberty, while right to etatism.
It's untrue.
There may be extremaly etatistic police state on both sides... however untill now we've only seen left leaning ones. USSR was far left, III Reich was a little left from the center. Hitler was charismatic leader, his rise was in huge part due to emotions fascism in Germany pretty much started similiarily to commies. Also Reich had definetely socialistic economy. It was the same spirit of economic solidarity... only ending at one race.
Also you can have liberal left and liberal right. Well, lets say liberty left and liberty right for the sake of milions of US readers I'll have in the future, going back to this post. Liberty left is to some extent US "progressives", however their attempt at free speech is pushing them further away from liberty.

I call myself libertarian and I'm leaning right from the center at one division and favour liberty to extreme extent at the other. I hope some day some country will shrink giving power back to the point of leaving only army, police (or even "polices's police") and highest instance of court of justice.
Everything else will go private and coercion and violence will be curbed - not only citizen vs citizen phisical power will be outlawed (as it is now in civilised countries), state's coercion will also get minimized.
Is it impossible? Liberal democracy might be called impossible by citizen of ancient Egypt. Why would one with an army give so much power back? It worked so far and hopefully more progress will be made, just after another wave of sympathy to autoritarian rule and etatism dies down.

Highest prise to The Wire

With 5th season starting in about 10 days I'll start my blog with prising this perfect tv show.

I'm with all consequence and without slightest dubt declaring The Wire the best tv serial to the date.
It has insane 98% score on metacritics.
It's so good it'll make your head spin.

The Wire is what television will become in next decade. In most positive of scenarios.
First and foremost it's conseqent and consistent to the point of boiling brain.
It's Song of Ice and Fire of television.   You can arguably dig some plotholes, but not without serious devotion and good shovel. Everything sticks in this one. Actions "feels just right" for certain characters. Story's progress is written with such mastery that it is gripping and enjoyable all the way through single episodes - while concieves stainless bigger picture. It's single outstanding novel brought to television, with 0 compromise to periodical nature of episodes. Take story from your favourite movie. Multiplay it 10 times in dimension. This is The Wire.
Technical side sings peans for HBO crew. It's simply perfect. It's hard for me to find right words to describe it's greatness. It's excellent in a way that you can't really see it - it's not documentary-like pictures, no life-like acting... you're just melting into this enviorment. Mastery.
Characters are whole new level. They're twice as strong as in classic serial - they're not "some person in funny/dramatic situation", they're more like people that actually shape all actions and situations. If you were to cut each character out of the show and examine - you'd find great acting, interesting back stories, progression with show plot and probably some more. However this is not best way to view them. They're best viewed on the background of this marvelous show as a whole.

The Wire is an epic poem to Baltimore. Seriously, I wouldn't mind center theme being garbage disposal with story told on this level of skill. But if you really need to know - it's biggest issue of current Baltimore. Drugs, docks, politics and schools were in first 4 seasons respectively, 5th and sadly final one will be about media.
Some characters and side stories transcend series, creating real spider web of a plot.

The Wire climbed mt Olympus, kicked Zeus arse, went on his palace roof, sticked a flag in the top, took electric guitar off the backpack and rocked so hard that ambrosia boiled.
There're some shows on Olympus slope already, some even reached god's estates... but any of them that want to look for The Wire - has to look up.

Awesomeness 10/10
Technical 10/10

Why even start blogging?

This one is simple.
I want to make my statements audible for whole world. How many people will actually listen to them is another story...
I already had numerous situations in which I wanted to post something, but never got to actually starting a blog to begin with. Right now another year is ending, seems like great time to start new project.

English is my second language. I've decided to run with it becouse of somewhat international interests. I hardly watch Polish television, while gobbling down whatever I find interesting in world's culture offer. While it's no problem to get PL subtitles for box-office hit, one'd never get his hands on 99% of anime sticking to this language. Also international portals, services, etc are more accessible with english. It'd be strange for me to write in Polish about game I've just finishied in it's original ENG version...
Additionaly, I'd like to write about Polish inner politics in English. We - Poles - are no longer under USSR rule and our economy started catching up with the rest of EU. Even though our international role starts to rise we've got lousy place in international media's heart (oh well... maybe heart-stone). So I'm substituting mother tounge with English, for patriotic reasons. I'd say one hell of a twisted patriotism this is.
I can also admit hopes that this blog will some day become famous and english will count as qadrupling the audience... but given my chances it's last reason.

HA! Here I should hide all hit's counter. You know... single digits on front page could look somewhat discouraging. Started ticking at 19.1.2008.

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