February 14, 2011: My Wish Has Been Granted

You may recall that last week I pointed out the trickiness of writing copy for a trio of very unrelated e23 releases. In conclusion, I wished for a couple of releases with a nice easy topic, like guns.

This week, my wish has been granted . . . quite specifically I must say.

The two e23 releases this week are GURPS Tactical Shooting and Space Gamer #58. The first focuses, as one might expect, on guns and shooting. The second usually covers a range of science fiction topics, but this issue looks at one game rather prominently: Car Wars.

And if any other game says "guns" more than Car Wars, I don't know what it is.

Tactical Shooting is authored by Hans-Christian Vortisch, well known in GURPS circles as something of a firearms expert. He's worked on GURPS High-Tech, GURPS Modern Firepower, and GURPS Special Ops, as well as several gun-related books for the d20 System. If you're looking to have a realistic sourcebook on shooting and shooters, he's the man to write it. And with Tactical Shooting, he has!

So what's in Space Gamer #58 that can measure up to that bar? How about the classic "Massacre at Midville," a short story by John M. Ford, and rules for how to blow up your Car Wars opponents outside the arena while staying inside the law? This issue contains the usual news and reviews, as well as letters and "Murphy's Rules."

Ah, things that go bang! They're fun in games, in movies, and on TV. They're even fun in real life (under controlled circumstances).

-- Paul Chapman