Shut the f...ront door

Boardgaming with SC and two of his other friends, D. and R., was followed by a spicy, boozy dinner at the Amazon Steakhouse and the late session of "The Iron Lady" at the Dendy Newtown, both with S. and LC.

Don't underestimate the importance of sending doomed Vikings to Valhalla in "Midgard", drawing cards in "Torres", or saving up until you can buy buildings with the exact money and thereby score bonus turns in "Alhambra".

Don't be afraid to try the homemade hot sauce at the A/S. It's flavoursome without being overpowering.

Don't expect a straight political biopic from "T/I/L". As much a story of soulmates and of how even the strongest personalities can be worn down with age, loss and the burden of responsibility, the style is more dreamlike than detailed, in keeping with the themes of memory and dementia. That said, Meryl Streep's portrayal of Margaret Thatcher is utterly convincing.


"The germ for 'Freeway' came at [the CES] in Chicago. To save a $10 parking fee, a guy had parked a mile from the convention centre, scaled a chainlink fence and dodged across 10 lanes of traffic on Lake Shore Drive. I saw him as he darted in front of the bus I was riding. I remarked aloud to my seat-mate: 'Now there's an idea for a videogame!' ... [Initially,] my game had two men competing to get from the bottom of the screen to the top through 10 lanes of traffic, as many times as possible in two minutes. Three days before the game was to be announced to the public at the next CES trade show, Activision CEO Jim Levy suggested: 'If you change it to a chicken, I could hire someone to wear a chicken suit and run around the convention to advertise the game. Besides, it would also fit the "Why did the chicken cross the road?" joke.' For that reason alone, overnight it went from being a man to an animal"
- David Crane on the genesis of his classic Atari cart, quoted in "Retro Gamer #97".