This feels like it was forever ago, I should endeavour to get the newsletter out a bit more often, eh? Been a fallow month for my writing on cinema (though I did make a point of promoting Harvest Brood as a top-tier Halloween viewing.)
exp. Capsule Review
Puzzmo has been kicking around for a year now, offering an alternative to the New York Times' stranglehold on digital newspaper games. I kicked Wordle a long time ago because I just don't think you can ethically engage with the NYT now, and I think that Puzzmo offers an ethical alternative (though Hearst Newspapers is involved?)
I haven't really engaged with Puzzmo since launch because I've tried to avoid filling my time with this kind of thing post-Wordle/post-stupid Marvel Snap addiction, but in October they (I think specifically Puzzle Editor Brooke Husic) put together a nice run of thirty mini crosswords that attempted to help build a budding crossword player's abilities. I've been more interested in crosswords since discussing them with Chris Remo/discovering Stephen Sondheim was a fan, and while I didn't remember to do the mini crossword every day, the ones I did I enjoyed, felt I learned something from, and didn't take an annoying amount of time out of my day.
The good news is that Puzzmo is continuing the minis, and so am I! While they aren't specifically teaching you how to do them now, I think they're still worth a shot for the crossword curious (you can reveal characters if you're completely stuck, for example.) The only issue I really have is that they have so many settings to make input suit you, but when you're "fixing" an answer it doesn't work the way I'd imagine—if you have a letter in a space but start typing in the space before that, it doesn't overwrite that space but jump over it. It's led to a lot of garbled answers, but I suspect the way they do it is intended for crossword masters playing for speed. Maybe I'll get there.
Zine News
Alright this is one of the zine fairs I was turned down for but I'm not salty. Even if you're reading this on Sunday there's still time! Get down to Cecil Community Center before 5 p.m.! I'm so not salty that I dropped off five copies of exp. 2600 for the community zine table that you can pick up for a bargain price if you're quick.
"This book is intended to serve as your companion through your own personal journey into fighting games ... only this book will help you navigate the process of becoming a fighting game player."
Alright, not a zine, exactly, but Patrick Miller has just released a sequel to his original From Masher To Master book ("No, you do not need to have read the first book to get the most out of this one. I highly recommend starting with this one first.") it's PWYC and if you have any interest in fighting games there's no one I would trust more to guide you. And it's reminded me that I should probably stick at least the digital version of Every Game I've Finished 14>24 on itch.io...
"Featuring 58 reviews! 2-new BASIC type-ins! Interview with Gabriele Amore! Elite BASIC coding tips!"
...and actually, maybe the zines too? I don't know how I've overlooked how thriving the zine/book space is on itch.io, and I also can't get over the labour of love that is BreakSpace, a Speccy mag with tons of content that's completely free!
"Thrills! Chills! Evil computers! Eldritch horrors! Ghouls! Goblins! Even penguins! Folks if this one doesn't make your hair stand on end you may already be a corpse."
Funland really out here putting the rest of us zinesters to shame with their consistency, and if you've been looking for a bargain, their Halloween issue has a demonic discount and is just $6.66.
And Finally…
I've been under a lot of stress the last month or so, and one thing I've been slightly embarrassed about is that I've given into nostalgia the disease, turning to playing Youtube videos of old Amstrad CPC games in the background as a soothing balm even if—to be honest—the videos aren't often very good. Just as I thought I was kicking the habit, here's ChinnyVision with the best video of the lot and he didn't even script it. A lovely personal trip through a selection of Amstrad CPC games that matter to him that, surprisingly, picks a lot of the games that mattered to me. Particular shout-outs to Trap Door, the (in my memory) superb port of Paperboy as well as some of the more well-remembered games like Sorcery+ (which terrified me) Chase HQ and Head Over Heels.
As I suspect you have no connection to the Amstrad CPC, it might be worth a watch if you'd like to know more. One day I'm sure I'm going to be digging into the CPC's bounty here, so you might as well do a bit of homework first.
Next week on exp.: A game makes me ugly cry.