Year One

One year ago today I published my first post on this blog. Today I'm going back through the past year and meta-blogging about my favorite posts.

September -

Lucky Dice versus the Water Test

My first post other than just "hello world". Rereading this, I didn't explain things very well, and I think I have improved in that aspect. More recently there was a better version of this Fair Dice test at The Scrapyard Armory.

October -

If Battletech were a Card Game

Here I first described the connection between Battletech and cribbage - most wargames and cribbage actually.

Not a favorite: Tater Titan!, a knock-off post which continues to gather many hits from Google image search. Go figure.


November -

Anatomy of a Black Hawk H - Part III

I love painting, I only wish I had more time for it. This mini is still waiting to be finished.

December -

The Mathematics of ... Candyland???

I thought this was a decent post. I put it up and went out shopping with my wife. When I got back home I noticed new several comments, and my web hits were exploding. Hello Blogs-of-Note. That was really big break, and roughly half the people who follow this blog signed-up shortly after this. I still get web traffic from Blogs-of-Note every day.


January -

Graph Paper Race

Encouraged by the attention I got from Blogs-of-Note, I wrote seven Math-in-Games posts, of which Graph Paper Race was (and still is) the most popular.




February -

Game Theory Week: Intro

My first attempt at a series of post all on one topic and all in one week. I discovered that series like this need a lot of work up front, and it helps to have a rich reserve of sources to call on. My other series (still in progress) are requiring me to create most of the material myself, and it's much harder.

March -

Battletech - One Versus All

Not my best month, because my life was very busy and my Dad was very ill. I had fun with this post though.


April -

Business Cards for a Games Blog

A good idea more than a good post. My Dad passed away a few days after I put this up, so April was a rough time for me. I've come to realize that I was writing in part as a release from the stress of worrying about his illness. Fortunately that is not the only reason that I write/blog; and this project has taken on a life of its own. I really think Dad would have gotten a kick out of this though, and I wish I could show him.

May -

The Origin of Battletech

Not a flashy post, but I like it because the history of games is interesting. This reminds me - it's time to follow up with John Curry and see if his new book is out yet.


June -

ORIGINS 2009: Day 3 - More Than Just Fun & Games

ORIGINS was definitely the June highlight, and this particular event really made the Con, the month, and maybe my year (still working on that bit).

July -

The Battletech Reader

July was a good month for me, with more ideas than I could write down coming out of my experience at ORIGINS. This particular post represents a different kind of success though, because it has lead to an ongoing connection with Steven Satak, and his creativity has spurred my own. Blogging is not just about writing to attract attention to yourself and speaking blindly to an unseen audience, it's about finding this kind of connection with other people that creates a conversation. Steven isn't the only one who deserves this credit (that will require another post), but serves as a good example of what I was looking for when I got into blogging. Thanks Steve!

August -

Playing Fair with the Chi-Square Test of Homogeneity

As I write this it was still August a week ago, so it seems a bit silly to "look back". This post brings things full circle though; I started and ended writing about fairness of dice, and that seems fitting somehow.

Next up: YEAR TWO