Weekend Update, October 19, 2019

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Main menu screen from Strategic Command WWII: World at War. © 2018 Fury Software/Slitherine Ltd.
Hello again and welcome to another edition of A Certain Point of View. It's Saturday, October 19, 2019, and it's a cloudy afternoon here in my little corner of the Sunshine State.

Well, I had hoped to have a new review of either Strategic Command WWII: World at War, a World War II-themed turn-based strategy game that was released by Slitherine Ltd. last winter, or Douglas Brinkley's book American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race. 

However, while I have played World at War in dribs and drabs, I still don't feel confident that I can write a review that will do the game justice. I've played a few rounds as Germany (letting the game's artificial intelligence play Italy and Japan for me) in the scenario titled 1939 World at War; in one instance, I managed to play well into the summer of 1941 and the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union. Yet, even though I've played World at War a grand total of 49 hours (as recorded by Steam), I don't know every aspect of the game, such as the map size, the nuances of diplomacy in the game, or tips that I can pass on to readers who might want to buy the game and try it out.

Screenshot from the start of a game session played on Friday, October 18, 2019. Note that Germany's invasion of Poland is now underway. The version of World at War seen above is called "Iron Cross" and has a more military-map look than the "basic" version.  © 2018 Fury Software/Slitherine Ltd.

So, if you're looking forward to seeing a review of Strategic Command WWII: World at War, please be patient. I'll probably have it up by next weekend, but don't hold me to that.

© 2019 HarperCollins 


As for the book review, I need to carve out some reading time so I can spend more time with my books. I got out of the habit of finding a quiet place in the house and reading for several hours when Mom got sick and I became her de facto caregiver. Four years and one cross-state move after her death, and I am still sticking to the stay-at-my-desk-all-day routine that I began in 2010.

I have started American Moonshot, of course, but I usually like to read books at least two-thirds of the way through in order to do a credible review. I'm not even at the two-thirds mark of Brinkley's non-fiction book about the genesis of America's efforts to land a man on the Moon and return him to Earth safely; I'd be exaggerating if I told you I'm even one-third into American Moonshot. So, once again, stay tuned to this channel.


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