Proud to have .. read a Book! "The Junior Officers Reading Club"

This makes a welcome change from my usual Audible listening to a book behaviour, actually opening and leafing through the pages of a physical book. I found it most enjoyable (see below, I also found it a different form of history from the norm, as you stepped inside the mind of a British Army infantry officer as his career built up to the expectation of combat and then experienced the elephant, albeit the new asymmetrical warfare of Afghanistan):   

This was a book from the pile of "many" paperbacks I have acquired over the years on this peculiar piece of history. "Their time" of reading has appeared to have now come. The Afghanistan list to date (in a sort of chronological order) is as follows: 

COIN:

• An ordinary Soldier by Doug Beattie (Irish Guards)
• 3 Para by Patrick Bishop
• 3 Commando Brigade Helmand by Ewen Southby-Tailyour
• Joint Force Harrier by Commander Ade Orchard RN
• Apache by Ed Macey
• Apache Dawn by Damien Lewis
• Task Force Helmand by Doug Beattie
• 3 Para, Ground Truth by Patrick Bishop 
• 3 Commando Brigade Helmand Assault by Ewen Southby-Tailyour
• Dead Men Risen by Toby Harnden (Welsh Guards)
• Sweating The Metal by Flt Lt Alex 'Frenchie' Duncan (Chinook)

Further recommendations list (still to get):

• Khandak Fighting with Afghans: Patrick Hennessey

Russian invasion of Afghanistan:

Still to get:

• The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan by Grau and Glantz
• The War in Afghanistan by Mark Urban (Google Book preview) https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/War_in_Afghanistan/D-i-DAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover

In the library: 

• War in a Distant Country Afghanistan: Invasion and Resistance by David Isby

Any further recommendations to the above greatly appreciated. So perhaps with this background knowledge I should be able to finally get into GMT's COIN "A Distant Plain" (another 'Bucket List' item). 

A Package from America: "Fire in the Lake" COIN Board Game - GMT P500

In the hedonistic (pre-Covid) days where the UK pound was much stronger than the dollar, so transatlantic shipping(*) from America was offset by the nice GMT P500 discount, I saw the jewel of the COIN crown was being reprinted so I jumped on that P500 train without hesitation. Now, my long term investment (years of waiting/forgetting) has paid off as the postman passed on a suitably (or dare I say delightfully) heavy parcel to me (see below, the box art is beautiful, the Huey is so iconic of Vietnam [got to make one of those in 1/72] and the scene below seems straight from "Apocalypse Now" - the red setting sun and steaming jungle):

(*) Note: Appreciation and kudos goes out to Second Chance Games as they partially offset this cost with their Euro Friendly Shipping arrangement with GMT.  

Inside the geography jumps up from a beautifully mounted map board (see below, a geography map straight from teh classroom, bended with some lovely photo art, class!): 

Then there are the meeples, the event cards, the rules, the bot instructions and the scenarios (see below, a long winter night or two will be spent around this one for sure): 

It is a thing of pure beauty to behold and a nice companion to "A Distant Plain". 

Labyrinth - Interview

Behold a mighty game (see below, Labyrinth):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9jCUoxAW9o&utm_source=GMT+Games&utm_campaign=b412aab6a8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_01_15_07_28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a53b26436f-b412aab6a8-16020641

This game is on my "wish list" but I also have to play "A Distant Plain"

An "Electronic" version no less:
https://www.playdekgames.com/?utm_source=GMT+Games&utm_campaign=b412aab6a8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_01_15_07_28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a53b26436f-b412aab6a8-16020641

GMT Board Game: "A Distant Plain" Third Reprint

This one has been on the "bucket list" for some time now - alongside Matrix Games. "Out of Print" and at ridiculous eBay prices prohibited my earlier attempts at getting it. However after signing up on the GMT P500 reprint scheme (one year later) I am the proud owner of said game (see below, see Board Game Geek listing: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/127518/distant-plain):

It is part of the Counter Insurgency (COIN) genre of games, asymmetrical warfare. It has also been promoted by various speakers over the years at the Connections UK Conference. More impressively it has been acknowledged as a respected and informed narrative on the dynamics of the conflict. The co-designers Brian Train and Volko Ruhnke alongside their keynote addresses at UK Connections 2018 gave de-construction insight to a military replay by active serving officers and governmental officials. So in the same vain that I "had to" get Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) because the 1st Royal Irish Commander Ivor Gardiner recommended it, this was a "bucket list" must for me! The hidden bonus is that it has "high" solitaire play (bots can run three of the sides) so there is no excuse in not getting it played over Xmas.

You Tube Videos explaining the game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJnCTsej-0o
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=a+distant+plain