Tour de Europe - Day 1 - 3

At last, it is a time for the full account of our epic motorcycle journey through Europe. On Thursday afternoon with all our stuff packed we headed off to the docks in Helsinki. We would travel straight to Travemunde, with a half cargo, half tourist ship. I was expecting the journey to be exceedingly boring, since it would take about two hours. Most peculiarly however, the three activities the ship had to offer, eating, sleeping and going to the sauna were enough to fill the hours.

It was Friday evening when we arrived at Travemunde with our new friend whom we had met on the ship. Matti was also a Harley enthusiast and would join us for the first leg of our journey, seeing as we would be going the same way. Our destination from the dock was the Finnish Seamen's Church of Hamburg, where we would be spending our first night, the only night we had planned ahead. Although the journey there was, looking back, in no way scenic, I thoroughly enjoyed absorbing the sights and the atmosphere of a new country.

Continue reading Tour de Europe - Day 1 - 3

Pyry's Generally Heat

During the past week I was was wisiting my grandparents. They had a pc and I got a huge Generally heat. I made 14 own tracks during 3 days and most of them during the same day. For the first time I realised how to use paint to do tracks. So I when I started I was a noob but have a look at my Tornado track at the end of this post. I think that's my best one.

I'm very happy with all my new tracks. Now I have to make more of them. I will make a whole series of them. Pysethus Summer Run will be the name. When I got like 20 or 25 proper tracks, I'm happy. Then we have to test them someday.




This is another of my brand new tracks and I had to show it too.

Johannes Starts Magic

I recently started to play Magic, which Sakari has introduced me to and I enjoy playing the game. We first played a few games when we split Sak's cards into two, so it would be like 2 packs. But today we visited Helsinki with a bus and metro so we could go to Fantasiapelit and I bought myself a pack of red and white cards.

The person selling things at the shop was quite nice. He told me what every colour included. I decided to get a white and red pack. Sak also has one of those but my cards are still different from his. I also bought plastic sheeths for my cards, 2 die, and a black, plastic box for keeping everything in it.

We played a game as soon as we got home, and surprise surprise! I lost! Now I'm at Pyry's house where I just payed two games. I diddn't win any, but I was second in a 3 player game. I think that I will be playing Magic for a long time, but I need to improve alot.

By the way, here is a card that I would like to have one day:

Monday AOC Results!

The game attracted a total of four players, Tony was also expected to join, but missed the game due to an unfortunate lapse of memory and our failed attempts at communication. Nevertheless, Oliver, Simon, Pysethus and myself had a great game.

The game started with the usual frantic economic buildup. Relatively early in the game Pysethus made a landing in south turkey, below Simons city in the north. Meanwhile, Saitou was busy prepearing a large army and navy which he was able to do relatively early due to a new technology policy where only researchers vital to the attack are research. The target of the attack was Seleukos, rather than Pysethus, who was a neighbour but also a trading partner. Before attacking, Saitou made pact of peace with Simon, due to fears he was allied with Seleukos and that Seleukos would thus be able to use Simon's line of sight to spot the incoming navy.

Saitou split his navy into two attack groups consisting of 20 fast fireships and 10 cannon galleons each and sent them to secure either side of the landing zone, the easter are of Seleukos' city. The navy was far more powerful than needed, and little opposition was met, nevertheless the cannon galleons proved to be as useful as always against land targets. The landing force consisted of Paladins, Elite Throwing Axemen and Halberdiers, aswell as several ongaers and rams. Once again little opposition was met and defenses were quickly overwhelmed. Perhaps a combined effect from Seleukos' inexperience with the Goth's, their lack of substantial defences and the earliness of the attack.

Saitou was now left with the ruins of Seleuko's city, and an ever formidable, yet idle army. He gathered his forces and struck forward at Pysethus, who was also overwhelmed suprisingly quickly, possibly due to the fact that he was preoccupied in Turkey.

Pysethus had established himself well in Turkey, and with his main city gone, was already rebuilding his economy at alarming speed. Upon the completion of Pysethus' conquest of Turkey, he and Saitou formed an alliance and declared allied victory, neither having the energy to face each other.

Thus, the two civilisations lived happily ever after in perfect harmony, and so modern greece and turkey was formed. And thanks to the gallant efforts of these founding fathers, Greece and Turkey continue to live in bliss, with absolutely no squabbles whatsoever with each other... ever.

from the International Gaming Coalition

Pyry's painting thingies: Gnoblar

I decided to paint one gnoblar with my über showcase standard and here it is. It took 4 days to paint it. I'm quite happy with the result. It will be my entry in ropecon's painting competition.

Age of Empires II - Monday 16/7/97 (Game Details)

from the International Gaming Coalition

Yesterday I returned from my grande tour of Europe, eager to relieve gaming withdrawal symptons. So, I propose a game for next Monday. As I understand, most Finnish IGC members are not away on holiday at that time, however, further confirmation is needed.

If the game does not have a minimum of 3 players, it will be postponed/cancelled. The game will begin as usual at 16:oo Finnish time and 14:00 British time. Please make sure your game will not be disrupted by other plans. If this time is not suitable let me know and we can decide on another time.

Proposed game setting are as follows, may be changed due to popular demand.

Game: Random Map
Map Style: Real World
Location: Byzantium (Greece and western Turkey)
Resources: High
Population: 1000
Game Speed: Normal
Reveal Map: Explored
Starting Age: Dark Age
Victory: Conquest

This is the first time we are playing a real world map. If there is enough interest, I think it would be fun to run a campaign with a silly name like "IGC on Tour" where we play through a number of the real world maps, and declare the player with most wins as the winner. For starters I would propose a "Tour de Europe" with three games, Britain, France and Italy.

Let me know if you can play on monday and/or if you are interested in participating in this campaign!

Pyry's sailing trip part one

I am currently sailing with my parents and I am really bored. All I can do here is to listen to my mp3 and read books. I left my minis in the attic. I think it is good for me to take a short painting break.

Yesterday we were at our club's island Pentala and now we are going to a place called Elisaari. That is quite a big place. I have been there many times before. At least there is a small shop in the island where I can buy ice cream.

I wrote this whole thing because my dad has quite new cellphone and it has proper a keyboard and net connection and I had to try it out. I have already played ogame with that XD

Trip to Kantola

Yesterday we went to a cottage called Kantola, where my grandma was born, with our grandparents. The trip to the area was about 15 - 25 minutes and it was surrounded by farmyards.

First we stopped at a farmyard and walked through a path made by a tractor that led to a forrest owned by our mother. I got out of the car and I found myself knee deep in... grass. I made my way to the boot where my grandfather handed me a pair of oversized wellington boots, which were rather uncomfortable to walk in. As we got to one of the edges of the forrest, we jumped over a ditch to get in to the actual forrest. There were lots of other ditches, but we made our way into the opposite end. My grandfather kept cutting down the small branches to make a path for us. We inspected some trees and got back into the car. I was happy to get rid of the boots!

The next and last stop was Kantola itself. No one ever really goes there, and last summer it was completely unused. This meant that the road there, was also never used last summer, and it was flooded with grass. It felt nice driving through all of it. At Kantola, I looked in the atic and it was quite delapitated. Planks all over the floor, old rusty tools that were propably used in the 1950s, lots of bee hives and last but not least, dust! The last place I want to be in. I went downstairs and checked the living room, the furniture was still in good condition. I saw my grandfather and Sakari making a fire in a brick surrounded area (so the fire wouldn't get out of hand) and I decided to join them. I walked through lots of wild grass to get to the fireplace and I sat down on the chair next to it. We all ate sausages, and have you noticed that every camper eats sausages at a fire? After eating, I got to put out the fire. Splash. Water. The fire then started steaming for a while. Then we got into the car, and drove back to our grandparent's house.