Folks have no idea what to do for the Grog on their lists? Here we come to save the day! ~

GrogHeads Staff, 04 December 2016

GAMES!

This year, we’re leading off with the games, and there’s some excellent ones to choose from this year. Leading off, we’ve got Mark Walker’s ’65 Squad-Level Combat in Vietnam, a gorgeous card-driven game with the biggest counters this side of… well, of Night of Man, another FPG offering. Refight the Vietnam War, one firefight at a time, and if you grab it now, it’s over $20 off!

GMT have been mining for COIN for a few years now, and the one of the most acclaimed of the recent releases is Falling Sky: Gallic Revolt Against Caesar, a battle of ancients that shows that counterinsurgency is hardly a recent phenomenon. It’s not “everyone gang up on the Romans” but with one faction clearly from the outside, it takes a skillful political mind on the part of the participants to navigate the campaign, rather than just managing resources and one obvious ally to beat up on everyone else.

A few games have been capturing the attention of our boardgame forumites. First up, Black Orchestra has everyone drooling over the gorgeous artwork, and the assassination of Hitler is always a popular subject. Plus, since it’s not an outright hex-and-counter-and-endless-charts pure grogfest, you can get your non-wargaming buddies (wait, you have some?!) to play with you. Second, Legion Wargames’ The Battle of Tanga 1914 takes the recent WWI wargame fetish to East Africa and gives counter-pushers (and -clippers!) a new venue to fight over. A beautiful map will look great on the table in the man-cave, as long as you can keep the nuclear cats at bay.

Digital gamer? Fear not! The Matrix Games Holiday Sale is here to sooth your game-buying needs. Some of their greatest hits are well-discounted for the holidays, and the sale extends into early January, so if you just end up with the Christmas cash, you know where to spend it!

Friend-of-Grog Henry Vogel keeps churning out sci-fi novels, suitable for young adults and those of us that wish we still were. The latest of the “Scout” series is Scout’s Law, and you can grab it for your Kindle and save a tree.

Another Friend-of-Grog who has been churning out books lately is EE Isherwood, whose Zombie series starts with Since the Sirens and continues for another handful of books that’ll have you planning to read until Summer, until you really get into them, and finish them in 3 weeks instead.

Finally, Jonathan Pembroke has graced our front page before with a short story, and if you dug it, you can check out his full-length novel Pilgrimage to Skara, and delve into a wild fantasy world with a great travel story.

GADGETS!

Of course the grown-ups want toys for the Holidays, too!

Need to sign an important document, like a lease, a will, a bail bond, or an execution? Show them you mean business with the Cool Hand Bolt Action Cannon Style Tactical Pen, and do it the write way…

Cracking a brew? Do it with style in the man cave with the SGT Pryer Green Army Man Bottle Opener. A hard cast will tackle any bottle you need, and who doesn’t love playing with army men?

Got stress? Of course you do. Scare it away with the various Infectious Disease Balls from Thinkgeek. Give ’em a squeeze and freak out everyone around you. Speaking of Thinkgeek, they also have some snazzy Star Trek Garden Gnomes for your interstellar gardening needs.

The prefect accessory for your conventioning over the summer is the Spellbook Billfold, which will carry your cash, ID, significant other’s credit cards, and plane ticket to Bora Bora for when you’re caught with your significant other’s credit cards. It’s not quite a wallet of holding, but it’s still downright snazzy.

Need to haul your loot around? The GoRuck GR1 is a combat-proven, bombproof do-everything ruck to haul everything you need to and from your gaming locations (unless you’re Michael and have 230948572309485720398 different as-yet-unplayed Star Wars Minis spacecraft). It’ll protect your laptop, add various pockets to sort your gear, include a hydration bladder, look outstanding. You’ve got a variety of tactical colors to choose from, and add a velcro patch to customize it.

And if the GR1 price tag is prohibitive, or you’re not afraid of everyone staring at you as you strut into The Gamer’s Armory like you own the place, you can always go grab yourself the limited edition Captain America Civil War Distressed Shield Backpack, and look like you just went 7 rounds with the other half of the Avengers.

What are you looking for on your holiday list? What are you snagging for your secret Santa wargame exchange? What are you treating yourself to? Tell us all about it!

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