Freedom in the Galaxy
Anyone ever play Freedom in the Galaxy?
I’ve had this game since childhood but never got around to playing it. It has traveled the world only to be placed in storage for years at a time. A couple of weeks ago I decided to dust off the box and see what I had missed. What went missing over the years are about 30 counters out of the original 400. There is a Vassal version but for now, I’m procrastinating, deciding on exploring the Vassal game or research then make the counters I’m missing.
This post says it all about the game’s release:
“I’ve always had a soft spot for Freedom in the Galaxy, SPI’s 1979 blatant rip-off of the Star Wars franchise. Rumor has it that SPI produced the game first and sought the Star Wars license second. Maybe not the best idea to come out of that meeting.
The license was either denied or too pricey. SPI then seemingly spent about 15 minutes filing off the serial numbers and presto … Freedom in the Galaxy. You can see it’s so not Star Wars as the main protagonists are Adam Starlight and a princess named Leia, I mean Zina. Though Han Solo seems to have morphed from lech to lizardman, at least on the box cover.”
The game concept was interesting, a mix of characters performing missions and strategic military units. This post provides both a game review and walk through of a few turns of game play.
The 18th Volks-Grenadier Regiment
The Bulge series continues with a post on the 18th VG based on a Foreign Military Studies manuscript.
Guaidó Makes a Move in Venezuela
I haven’t made a Venezuela update in a while and seems Guaidó was set to gather more military support but had to get ahead of imminent arrest.
Best War Movies of All Time
Ranker.com is definitely a click bait site but I find this list of war movie lists helpful. Lists include Napoleonic War movies, WW1, Korea and a host of others. For the list “Best War Movies Ever Made” some of my votes on the next page.
Over 400 movies listed but here are a few I gave votes to. My criteria is subjective and I probably couldn’t explain it to you even with a gun to my head. I may down vote one movie for not being historically accurate but up-vote something semi-fictional but is entertaining, and so on.
Ranking is at the time I cast my vote:
1: Saving Private Ryan – no vote, despite the scenes on the beach there are a lot better movies deserving the #1 title.
2: Full Metal Jacket – no vote, same reason as #1 above and that’s despite the boot camp sequence.
3: Apocalypse Now – no vote, even though it is one of my favorite all time movies (original version, not director’s cut). It does belong in a war movie list but not #3.
4: Platoon – down vote.
5: Band of Brothers – up vote.
6: Bridge on the River Kwai – up vote.
7: Black Hawk Down – up vote.
8: Schindler’s List – down vote.
9: Patton – up vote – classic.
10: Braveheart – down vote. Feel bad down voting as it is entertaining but shouldn’t be in the Top 10 and not historically accurate.
13: Das Boot – up vote. WW certified.
14: We Were Soldiers – up vote. Close to WW certification.
16: Tora! Tora! Tora! – WW certified.
19: Letters for Iwo Jima – up vote
21: The Patriot – down vote and I actually enjoy Mel Gibson movies but could never get into this one.
23: Enemy at the Gates: Up vote
24: Inglourious Basterds: can I down vote twice?
25: A Bridge Too Far: WW certified.
29: Midway: up vote
33: Lawrence of Arabia: up vote. “People over 50 are 2x more likely to vote for Lawrence of Arabia”. Guess there is no hope for the future.
34: Hamburger Hill: up vote and it don’t mean nuthing that it’s only at 34.
38: Zulu – WW certified
45 Battle of Britain: up vote
48 Master and Commander: up vote and pretty much WW Certified.
67 Stalingrad – no vote but have never seen it. On the list to watch.
72 The Killing Fields – no vote for the best war movie list but a great film and recommended.
74 Gallipoli – definitely recommend this Mel Gibson flick. Up vote.
76 The Eagle Has Landed – up vote despite being an adventure flick set in war.
84 Pearl Harbor (2001) No thanks. I’m actually irritated on having to spend the energy on moving my hand and clicking the button to down vote.
95: Dunkirk – WW Certified
102: Apocalypse Now Redux – down vote.
105: Three Kings – down vote.
106 The Dam Busters – up vote.
111 Waterloo (1970 Soviet – Italian film!) up vote
121 The Sand Pebbles – up vote
128 Captain America: The First Avenger – wrong list dude. Down vote.
130 The Winter War – Finland vs Soviet Union. Up vote.
156 The Wild Geese – up vote
164 Anzio – up vote
208: Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan
216: The Battle of the River Plate – not vote but on the watch list
268: The Last Detail: up vote. Doesn’t belong on this list but good flick.
271 Kokoda: Australians and Japanese fighting in the New Guinea mountains. Never seen but on the watch list.
275: They Shall Not Grow Old – up vote
281: Lenningrad: the 900 Days – on the watch list.
282: The Avengers – I’ll down vote anytime I see it on this list.
301: The Wind That Shakes the Barley – Irish Civil War. Up vote.
312: 84C MoPic – on the watch list
377: Lebanon – Israeli tank crew in the 1982 invasion. watch list
Wargame Wednesday: SPI’s Freedom in the Galaxy & WW Links published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames
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