Facebook Games Finances, Revisited

In a previous post I detailed methods for determining the best way to invest your "money" in many of the game apps on Facebook. I worked out a few more details on how to account for some other costs I had not yet considered. That gets complicated though, so I think I will start with the conclusion and give the details later.

Here is the problem: You can buy "lots" that give you a permanent income, and you can buy 1, 5, or 10 lots at once for a fixed price for each lot. The price per lot goes up for every lot you already own, so buying 10 lots at once save money - if you can afford it in the first place. Is it better to buy lots one at a time, thus increasing your income a little much sooner? Or, should you save your money for the big purchase of 5 or 10 lots later on?

Here's the scoop: Again there are two (three Sir!) three things to consider: your current income, your savings or Cash-on-Hand to spend, and the amount of income you will gain (per lot) from a new purchase.

1) If you have NO savings, then the strategy is very simple. If the income gained from the purchase of 1 lot is greater than 10% of your current income, then you should purchase 1 lot as soon as possible. If the gained income is less than 10%, then you should save up to purchase 10 at once.

2) If you have some savings, but less than needed to purchase 5 lots, and the income gained from 1 lot is greater then 10% of you, then you should purchase 5 lots as soon as possible. If you have more than enough save for 5 lots, then wait until you can buy 10.

3) If the income gained from the purchase of 1 new lot is less than 10% of your current income, then you should always save up for a purchase of 10 lots.

4) If you won't be playing again for a "long" period of time, don't be afraid to buy anything you can, because it ALWAYS pays itself off eventually.

If you noticed (in 2) there is a fuzzy line between buying 1 and buying 5, you are correct: There is more to it, and ways to determine exactly what you ought to do and how soon you should do it, but it requires a lot of nasty calculation. The advice above is simple, requires only trivial math, and always works. I'll give those nasty details next time (but not tonight, it's late).

IO9 reviews Vade Mecum: the CthulhuTech Companion

From IO9.com:

What happens when ancient evils awaken in the year 2085? One seriously f-ed up RPG campaign setting. The world of CthulhuTech revolves around the Aeon War, an ongoing struggle between hideous aliens, otherdimensional horrors, freaky cultists and vast conspiracies. And they all have battle tanks and giant mechs. But the core rulebook wasn't enough to describe this dark future, so Vade Mecum: the CthulhuTech Companion delves even deeper into this world of sanity-destroying rituals and twisted technology.

LINK to more

Messing about with Google Documents

I can create forms, and maybe do something with them?



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http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pkUU00qOcikYQ4Oj8W7pUDg

Invasion of the Air-Eaters

BoardGameGeek recently featured a review of a game I own, but haven't played in a long time.



http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/2700343#2700343

RPGBomb.com Games Day Milwaukee!

RPGBomb.com Games Day Milwaukee!

Held at:
ADVENTURES IN GAMING!
9115 W. Oklahoma Ave.
Milwaukee, Wi 53227

Saturday December 6th, 2008
11am - Midnight*
Admission $5

Hammer's Slammers

Another game from my collection.



I don't think I had played this game since I was in high school, but my friend Leonard and I played a few games recently. This game is as I remembered it: Simple to learn and fast playing, with and an interesting variety of units to play - near invincible Supertanks, lightning fast Combat Cars, ferocious Mercenary Infantry, death-from-afar Artillery, and ... ... and a bunch of conventional units with the unfortunate job of trying to stop all those monsters. It sounds like an unfair fight, and it generally is. The mercenary units are the heroes of this game, but the scenarios are set up so that players must play very aggressively to meet set time limits. This results in fast paced battles with fierce close assault combats, much like the stories the game is based on.

Those stories deserve mention too. David Drake's Hammer's Slammers series are hard hitting tales of military science fiction told by a Vietnam veteran. In my mind the first collection of short stories is the best. Drake is not my favorite author, but his stories have stayed with me for nearly 30 years, and I can think of no higher praise than that.

A bit more information about the game. I contacted Mayfair games and verified that this game is no longer in print, and not likely to be back in print. A few copies can be found for sale. There is inaccurate information on several web sites (what a shock!) that Mayfair went out of business back in 1997, but anyone who has been playing their games already knew that. Thanks to Kim at Mayfair Games for replying to my questions.

I have something more in mind for this game; Its simplicity makes it a good choice to demonstrate some of the mathematics that applies to boardgames. I will be returning to this game periodically with examples that demonstrate the math at work in games.


=== Various links related to the post ===

Mayfair Games:
http://www.mayfairgames.com/

Detailed description of the Hammer's Slammers boardgame:
http://www.boardgamegeeks.com/game/4049

David Drake's Official Home Page:
http://www.david-drake.com/index.html
(Makes me wonder if there is an unofficial one)

Slammer's miniatures:
http://www.oldcrowmodels.co.uk/ocproducts.htm

Another Slammers game, in large scale:
http://www.hammers-slammers.com/index2.htm

Some large scale models (to go with the large scale game):
http://www.david-drake.com/hswargame.html

Fun with dice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bDgO3_vRXQ