iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Before I sign off for a while it’s worth noting my son and I will be running games at the Call to Arms game convention in Williamsburg, VA, Oct. 9-11. Battle of the River Plate, Lord of the Rings 54mm Dragon Rampant, and a Pulp Egypt scenario. Hope to see you there. www.calltoarmsva.com

calltoarmsva.com

CTA in 2026, Call to Arms 2026

CALL TO ARMS 2026 is a go! OCTOBER 9th-11th in Williamsburg, VA We are staying at the Days Hotel - 3032 Richmond Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23185...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Excited to return to the Battle of Great Bridge reenactment event Dec. 5-6, 2026. Once again I’ll outline the #history, discuss adapting it to an easy #wargame, and guide participants re-fighting the battle on a terrain diorama. #GamesForLearning www.cityofchesapeake.net/810/Battle-o...

hot of a folding table with a miniature wargaming diorama set up. Sting along brads in the wooden frame create a grid of squares for playing a game. Stands of paper soldiers occupy key locations, crossing a bridge and assembled behind barricades. Table draped with blue cloth, with two folding stands with signs about the battle and game.

Close-up of the wargame table, showing string grid squares and paper ranks of British soldiers, grenadiers in front, marching down a road and across a wooden bridge. Flocked foam terrain rises out of a glistening model swamp.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

#HobbyGamesRecce I fear I am giving in to the common stereotype of the gamer who tinkers and rewrites rules to suit his own urges. Am I justified in wanting to design yet another miniature #wargame rule set to encourage kids and newcomers to use #GamesForLearning about #history?

hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com

Rules Tinkering & Redesign

“ History is the interpretation of the significance that the past has for us.” — Johan Huizinga Papercraft Romans awaiting a playtest bat...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

#HobbyGamesRecce I deployed my craft-store sailing ships to give Feral Wizard’s Battle Box: Age of Sail rules a try in a slightly larger format than offered in the Kickstarter. The rules rely on some basics but add a satisfying tactical depth suitable for kids or casual fans of naval #wargames.

hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com

Playing with Battle Box: Age of Sail

“ If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” — Seneca I’ve dabbled in many historical wargaming periods ...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

A belated #Caturday photo I took last week when I noticed Hera alert at the back door, looking intently at something on the deck: a skink out sunning itself in the bright summer heat.

Two year-old long-haired cat, with white and gray coloration, sitting alert and staring out the window on French doors.

A long-bodied skink, a reptile with long brownish stripes running the length of its body, sunning itself on a worn wooden deck.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

For #Caturday my wife and I played #WingspanPocket, two games, each of us winning once. Had a little help from a margarita and our cat, Jago (Hera took a turn later batting at the tantalizing egg tokens). Just bought it yesterday at Huzzah! Hobbies, so we took our time learning the rules.

An orange and white kitten sitting contentedly between a margarita and the Wingspan Pocket game box, with the bag of egg tokens near his paw, on a reddish-brown wood table.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

#HobbyGamesRecce Wargames remain abstracted representations of reality...even the geo-political reality of near-future confrontations. Our adversaries are playing our #wargames, but what do our civilian games reveal about our capabilities and assumptions...and do they reveal useful intelligence?

hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com

What Do Games Tell Our Adversaries?

“ In our leisure we reveal what kind of people we are.” — Ovid Members of the Chinese PLA Navy play Sebastian Bae ’ s Littoral Commander:...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Took a day trip out to southern Maryland and had lunch at Capt’ Billy’s Crab House on the Potomac River waterfront. View of the docks and birds, tasty shrimp and crab. A relaxing moment among the incessant turbulence. captbillys.com

Old overweight white guy with a whitening beard in a t-shirt, brimmed hat, and glasses gazes from the patio deck of a seafood restaurant over the Potomac River, with a wooden dock in the background with tiny specks of gulls and cormorants sitting and flying around. In the distance, in a thin, long, horizontal line of greenery between the bluish-brown river water and the blue sky is the coastline of Virginia.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

#HobbyGamesRecce Craft stores supply materials for a variety of adventure gaming activities, whether prototyping a #boardgame or crafting miniature #wargame terrain, but their selection has dwindled over the years as prices rise, fads dictate inventory, and tariffs limit variety.

hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com

Craft Store Lament

“ The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative min...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Wife caught our 8 month-old cat Jago “splooting” on the bookshelf by the front window, probably checking out the birds under the watchful eye of #Godzilla, both appropriately positioned above shelves of #BoardGames, several of which are cat- or bird-themed (and one kaiju-themed). #Caturday

Orange-and-white tabby cat splayed on a bookshelf looking out the large living room window at a hummingbird feeder and small trees where the birds sit. A large Godzilla figure sits to the left. Below them on shelves are boxes of board games, including one featuring kaiju, and several about birds and cats.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Still hoping to hear from anyone on this subject, but so far the impenetrable Iron Curtain has not yielded any #WarsawPact Cold War tabletop #wargaming exercise intelligence…. May comment further in a future #HobbyGamesRecce blog post.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I’m curious if anyone, especially in former communist European countries, recalls #WarsawPact institutions ever using #wargames to explore a possible invasion of West Germany? #WestEndGames classics like Air & Armor and Air Cav come to mind, though I know other titles exist in this genre.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

#HobbyGamesRecce We fear change...but it’s time for me to remove the comment function from the blog. Too much spam drowning out quality engagement, even when moderated. Here’s hoping comments and discussion moves to my social media presence. Which you’ve already found here. Hope to hear from you….

hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com

Farewell to Comments

“ We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” — Epictetus Frequent readers know I’ve often wondere...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Popular Science featured the Civil War Tails diorama museum; we just visited them while in Gettysburg in July. Amazing battle dioramas with tiny cat soldiers, detailed terrain, including the 11-foot long Little Round Top diorama. A must for #AmericanCivilWar #history buffs and #cat lovers.

popsci.com

10,033 tiny clay cats reenact the Civil War at a Gettysburg museum

Fort Sumter, ironclad ships, and more come alive at the Civil War Tails at the Homestead Diorama Museum.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

My son, a high school junior, just dropped his “Algebra III” torment nexus class to take a class called “Discreet Math.” Which, of course, inspired me to wonder if they offer an “Indiscreet Math” class.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Spent a relaxing afternoon lounging at our favorite local #winery, 5 minutes from our house. They were making pizzas with fresh ingredients from their garden, plus celebrating their 10th anniversary. I also enjoyed a pear cider and Irish red ale. www.mountainrunwinery.com

Doofy, overweight old white guy with a whitening beard and glasses dressed in a tan brimmed hat and t-shirt, sitting beneath a corn crib barn at a table with a freshly baked pepperoni pizza in front of him and a glass of Mountain Run Winery Irish red ale. Corn crib woodwork in the background.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Caught our youngest, Jago, lounging on a living room chair rather languidly last week, taking a break from VA’s oppressive heat and humidity. #Caturday

Orange-and-white (arguably “orange creamsicle”) young cat lounging on a red-upholstered chair, his head and shoulders on a pillow, a back leg and tail languidly draped over the front edge of the seat cushion, looking at the photographer as if saying “What…?”

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

This long-awaited gem arrived in yesterday’s post. Congrats to @jeremycorbyn.bsky.social Before I knew it I’d already started flipping through it and reading the opening chapter!. Filled with inspiring ideas for teachers and students designing #GamesForLearning. www.routledge.com/Designing-Hi...

Book cover with "Designing History Games for Classrooms: A Practical Guide for Educators” by Jeremiah McCall, with the title in black at top and a graphic of a hand moving a piece on a hex board scattered with game components like cards, dice, and pieces.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

#HobbyGamesRecce Hot and humid August is back-to-school time here in backwoods Virginia, when we return to academic routines and I assess where I stand with game projects requiring my attention. Some #history and #GamesForLearning development when my other obligations allow.

hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com

Back-to-School Estimation

“ I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.” — Winston Churchill My son returned to public school today, a ...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

If you want to honor those who served in the #WarsawUprising (Aug. 1 – Oct. 2, 1944) in #WW2 I strongly recommend following @ww2girl1944.bsky.social who's been posting daily photos and stories of those who died. A solemn remembrance of personal sacrifice in the context of larger historical events.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Listened to this day-by-day podcast when it premiered two years ago. Heartrending. Inspiring. Heroic. History many in America rarely heard. The overall story and individual experiences. From three amazing experts. Listen to just one episode a day for the full, prolonged effect. #WW2 #history

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Reposted by Peter Schweighofer

Alina Nowobilska @ww2girl1944.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

It was #OTD at 5pm in 1944 that the brave citizens of Warsaw rose up against their oppressors. Thousands of men, women and children took up arms to free their city from German hands.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

#HobbyGamesRecce Younger folks seem to prefer #PhysicalMedia, a trend I understand as a crabby old relic of the last century. The internet gives us access to such wonders, yet can withhold them and inflict a price for them. Our physical media is always at hand when we need its comfort the most.

hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com

The Comfort of Physical Media

“ Your library is your paradise.” — Erasmus JRR Tolkien's painting of Smaug on his gold, with “ invisible ” Bilbo. A host of recent news...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

“This is an administration that stumbled into a war showing less acumen than that of a boy playing at war with cardboard soldiers.” An interesting look at how an old #wargame demonstrated strategic reality...and how hubris and ignorance turned its back on that reality.

robotjazz.blogspot.com

The Strait of Hormuz Was on Page 8‑L

As I think about this unmitigated disaster that is Donald Trump’s illegal war of choice with Iran, one thing above all others keeps stunni...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

If you work in the secondary education space (and beyond) this amazingly affordable workshop can help you develop ideas for integrating #GamesForLearning in your classroom. Plus a new book to offer further inspiration and guidance from a pioneer in the field.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Took a short vacation to PA to indulge our interest in #history (and cats). Roamed #Gettysburg battlefield in the unbearable July heat. Marveled at amazing battle dioramas at the Civil War Tails cat diorama museum. Explored #FortLigonier and its French and Indian War frontier fortifications.

Doofy looking old white guy in beard, glasses, t-shirt, shorts, and a brimmed hat looking off across the field from Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg, PA, standing next to an American Civil War cannon in front of a low stone wall.

A diorama of Pickett’s Charge reaching the Union lines on Cemetery Ridge, with the soldiers modeled as uniform-wearing cats. Lines of opposing cats clash near the Copse of Trees that served as the focal point of the assault. From the Civil War Tails cat diorama museum in Gettysburg, PA.

A diorama of the 20th Maine’s stand on Little Round Top, with the soldiers modeled as uniform-wearing cats. The flag notes the angle where the unit refused the line against advancing Confederate cat-soldiers in the distance down the hill. Colonel Chamberlain rallies the troops with his raised saber. From the Civil War Tails cat diorama museum in Gettysburg, PA.

Doofy looking old white guy in beard, glasses, t-shirt, shorts, and a brimmed hat looking off over the ramparts of Fort Ligonier, with a French and Indian War-era cannon pointed out an opening in the wooden stockade wall and lush forest in the distance beneath a sky white with haze from Canadian wildfires.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

#HobbyGamesRecce Summer vacations offer a chance for history buffs to undertake a form of “staff ride,” reading books, watching movies, and even playing games...and then visiting related locations to better appreciate first-hand the places and people of our past. #History #Wargames #GamesForLearning

hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com

Vacation Staff Rides

“ There are many truths of which the full meaning cannot be realized until personal experience has brought it home.” — John Stuart Mill T...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Heading outside this morning I noticed a presumably male mantis (given the size) crawling across our shed wall. He seemed in a hurry, but I managed to get a few photos of him. #VA #Wildlife #Insects

Green mantis, a long stick insect with spiny forelegs and a triangular head dominated by two large eyes, crawls across a dark red and white-trimmed shed surface.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Spent Thursday at the National Air & Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center visiting with old friends: amazing aircraft we’ve learned about and love seeing in person. Identification and links to more info in the Alt Text…. #NASM #aviation #history #WW2

Doofy looking old white guy in beard, glasses, and a brimmed hat standing on the right gestures with his hand toward the left where a Vought F4U-1D Corsair hangs from the museum hangar ceiling, a gull-winged blue fighter plane with a bubble canopy cockpit and white US star and bars insignia on the fuselage and wing. The theme to Black Sheep Squadron courses through the man’s nostalgic mind….

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/vought-f4u-1d-corsair/nasm_A19610124000

Doofy looking old white guy in beard, glasses, and a brimmed hat on the right looking to the left into the front of a shark-mouthed Curtiss P-40E Warhawk, a brown WWII fighter plane hanging from the museum’s hangar ceiling.

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/curtiss-p-40e-warhawk-kittyhawk-ia/nasm_A19650242000

Doofy looking old white guy in beard, glasses, and a brimmed hat standing centered on the front of an SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft, a triangular cockpit above his head flanked by two massive black jet engines.

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/lockheed-sr-71-blackbird/nasm_A19920072000

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

The day after we saw the Lysander at the NASM Udvar-Hazy Center @claremulley.bsky.social posted this amazing ITV News video about the plane and its role at Newmarket field where #SOE agents in #WW2 left for their perilous and often deadly missions in occupied France. Gorgeous flight footage.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Couldn't/wouldn't make it to the Freedom 250 "spectacle" on the Mall in Washington DC for July 4? @laurajedeed.bsky.social offers an eyewitness account highlighting all the ironic humor and disorganization you'd expect.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

#MiniaturesMonday Terrain for a #DragonRampant #LordOfTheRings miniatures #wargame for a con in Oct. 54mm orcs with bonfire and chopped tree stumps in front of my “roving” tree terrain (with unexpected menacing guest looming nearby). Uses the “flickering tea light in painted batting smoke” trick.

Photo of several orcs near a burning, smoking bonfire near a lush forest. 54mm painted orc figures near a bonfire made from cut-up model tree armatures around a flickering tea light topped with painted batting smoke. A flat terrain piece on the right shows chopped tree stumps. Trees in the background consist of wood/plastic trunks and green-dyed loosely felted roving, except for the angry resin ent figure on the right, advancing with menacing branch-claws on the destructive orcs.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

#HobbyGamesRecce The passing of John Blanche and Marjane Satrapi caused me to reflect not only on their lives and contributions to tabletop gaming and graphic novels, but to consider how society marginalizes the media in which we find so much joy, diversion, and enlightenment.

hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com

In the Grand Scheme of Things

“ The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.” — Cicero Several weeks ago I was reminded how minuscule our adventure gami...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Spotted Chucky (the varmint, not the murderous doll) munching in/on the back yard yesterday. Photographed him from the window, as he’s extremely shy and runs off if I venture out onto the deck quietly. #VA #Wildlife

Photo of a woodchuck munching on the grass, a variegated brown-furred mammal with short legs, low to the ground, in a yard of green grass and weeds.

Photo of a woodchuck head up, looking out from the grass, a variegated brown-furred mammal with short legs, low to the ground, in a yard of green grass and weeds.

Photo of a woodchuck head up, looking warily toward the photographer. The creature is a variegated brown-furred mammal with short legs, low to the ground, in a yard of green grass and weeds.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Went out into the gardens yesterday before the rain and photographed some of the flowers in bloom: a Rose of Sharon (hibiscus), a lily of some kind, and another flower I don’t know (my wife plants them and knows their names…). #VA #Flowers

A lily with different levels of purple along its petals and a brighter yellow interior, against a background of distant garden greenery.

A pinkish-purple Rose of Sharon blossom (hibiscus), full frilly petals against a background of distant garden greenery.

Two blooms consisting of stalks with many small trumpet-like blossoms, in shades of orange, pink, and yellow, darker toward the top, against a background of distant garden greenery.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Just went to bookshop.org to preorder my copy of Designing Historical Games for Classrooms by @gamingthepast.bsky.social (and helped support my favorite bookstore). Can’t wait to read it! #GamesForLearning #HistoryGames

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

#HobbyGamesRecce I return to my #WatchReadPlay series with a look at resources to inspire and engage interest in the Battle of Midway, a search-and-engage contest between carrier groups and aircraft that arguably turned the tide of #WW2 in the Pacific theater. #GamesForLearning #Wargames

hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com

Watch, Read, Play: Battle of Midway

“ The plump silhouettes of the American Dauntless dive-bombers quickly grew larger, and then a number of black objects suddenly floated eeri...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Belated photo from last week’s day trip to Drewry’s Bluff on the James River south of Richmond, VA. Site of a battle against the ironclad USS Monitor and other ships trying to force their way to shell the Confederate capital. Photo with an 8-inch columbiad in the earthwork fort’s remains.

Historic plaque about the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff showing a painting of the columbiad cannon firing down into the river at the USS Monitor ironclad and other ships, blocked by sunken debris at a bend in the James River. Beyond through the trees one sees the river where the Union ships deployed in attacking the fort.

Old overweight bearded white guy with glasses wearing a brimmed hat and gray t-shirt leans on a hiking stick in earthen ramparts and beneath the black iron barrel of an 8-inch columbiad cannon, barrel looming above him and the gray-painted carriage below it.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Nate over at the Breakup Gaming Society page offered some positive comments for my work at Hobby Games Recce, “earnest and professorial, as indispensable as lichen on a rock, patiently spreading and enriching the landscape.” A reminder it costs nothing to show gratitude to creators we admire.

breakupgamingsociety.com

Crate Digging: June 2026 — Breakup Gaming Society

My fave finds in music, board game blogs and related things like this Carcassonne heavy metal shirt I now want.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

PAXsims recently posted a summary, with commentary, on the NYT piece on Why did Strait of Hormuz wargames go unheeded? paxsims.wordpress.com/2026/06/03/n... Echoes of my Hobby Games Recce piece from Feb.: “Exploring Outcomes & Inaction.” hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com/2026/02/expl... #wargames

paxsims.wordpress.com

NYT: Why did Strait of Hormuz wargames go unheeded?

Today’s New York Times features an article on why decades of wargames and warnings about Iran’s ability to close the Strait of Hormuz went unheeded by the Trump Administration. Four pos…

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

RIP Marjane Satrapi. Her quote about our similarities with ordinary Iranians inspired me to read Persepolis, a frightening and somber account of state violence and ideology infecting society. It helped put the Iranian revolution and American authoritarianism in perspective. Sic transit mundus.

Black-and-white of Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian woman holding a cigarette, curling shoulder-length black hair framing her face, staring at the viewer, a barely discernible smile on her lips. A quote beneath her reads: “The world is not divided between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we don’t know each other, but we talk together and we understand each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me. And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same.”

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Spent part of today wandering the Manassas #AmericanCivilWar #battlefield, walking along the site of the Union artillery batteries on Henry Hill, refreshing my memory examining artillery exhibits, and overall enjoying a cool breeze on a bright day before the #VA summer heat/humidity sets in.

Overweight aging white guy with a white beard and glasses, wearing a light tan hat, dumpy T-shirt and shorts, and leaning on a hiking stick stands near a Union Parrot rifled cannon on Henry Hill, with green grass all around, bright blue sky above, several other artillery pieces down field, and a two-story farmhouse in the distance.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Caught our kitten Jago in a rare moment where he wasn’t racing around, taking a break from playing with his crinkly zebra-themed toy. #Caturday

Orange and white tabby kitten stretched out on the floor, with a zebra-fabric covered crinkly toy at his feet as he rests between bouts of the zoomies.

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

#HobbyGamesRecce As an advocate of #GamesForLearning, I value games that inspire us to learn how better to cope with reality. Games help us learn to discern and evaluate facts we consider when we estimate a situation and plan a course of action for the challenges we face on various levels.

hobbygamesrecce.blogspot.com

Discerning Reality in the Fog of War

“ Many intelligence reports in war are contradictory; even more are false, and most are uncertain.” — Carl von Clausewitz Games remain ex...

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Peter Schweighofer @schweigbskysocial.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Proof that heroes walk among us...inspiring us to seek opportunities to spread profound kindness.

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