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Caitlin Clark never asked to become a political symbol. Trump’s allies have chosen her anyway
A congressional threat to bring the DoJ into the WNBA pushes Caitlin Clark into a role she has long tried to avoid: the central figure in America’s latest sports culture war
As part of its ongoing belief that the rights of white people are in peril and require government protection, the White House earlier this week released a 162-page report accusing the National Museum of American History of engaging in “anti-White activism”, declaring that exhibits at the various Smithsonian museums were prepared by “people who don’t want you to love your country”. Two days later, a group of nearly a dozen Republican lawmakers led by Texas representative August Pfluger threatened to send the Department of Justice after the WNBA unless it makes itself “accountable” for presumably not protecting embattled Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark against the physicality of game’s Black players. Pfluger implied hard fouls against Clark “may be racially motivated”, and threatened a civil rights lawsuit against the WNBA on Clark’s behalf could be an option.
The Pfluger letter represents the third time in less than a month the Trump administration and its loyalists have interfered in sports, twice using it as a front in its ongoing culture war, putting the Justice Department on high alert against anything it considers to be anti-white, anti-straight, anti-Christian. Enlisting Clark is pitting her against her own teammates and the culture of her league, but maybe the government believes she’s already there. newsbetting.cv
Continue reading...David Gaider, skaperen av Dragon Age, mener at moderne rollespill legger for stor vekt på å unngå at «spilleren ved et uhell ødelegger for seg selv»
Beslutningstaking er den viktigste faktoren som gjør at et rollespill føles annerledes enn en typisk action- eller eventyrspillopplevelse. Du bestemmer hvordan karakteren din ser ut, om du vil være helt eller skurk, hvilke følgesvenner du vil favorisere, og hvilke som kanskje til og med vil vende deg ryggen. De beste rollespillene lar deg gå hvilken vei du vil, men gir deg følelsen av at uansett hvilken situasjon du befinner deg i, er det en du selv har skapt. Ifølge rollespillveteranen og skaperen av Dragon Age-universet, David Gaider, er dette noe enkelte spill har mistet de siste årene.
I et intervju med PC Gamer om hvordan Dragon Age: The Veilguard ikke hadde nok spenning mellom gruppen og følgesvennene, forklarte Gaider at dette er en del av en bredere trend. «Den slags holdning ble stadig sterkere, selv etter hvert som Dragon Age utviklet seg. Denne tanken om at: ‘Å, vi kan ikke la spilleren ved et uhell rote det til for seg selv.’ Jeg tror det hang nøye sammen med: ‘Vi må ha et så bredt spillergrunnlag som mulig, så vi kan ikke gjøre det for vanskelig. Vi kan ikke la spilleren havne i en situasjon der de ikke klarer å fullføre spillet», sa han.
«Denne tanken om at vi ikke kan fjerne noen permanent fra en gruppe, at følgesvenner må være behagelige av rent spilltekniske grunner, strider mot det som gjorde BioWare-spillene mest populære. De tidligere spillene, alle anmeldelsene som kom ut, handlet alltid om de fantastiske karakterene. Så hvorfor ikke bare satse på det dere er best på, i stedet for å prøve å gå bort fra det for å gjøre andre ting mer allment akseptable? Hvis dere ikke lager et spill for publikummet som elsker disse spillene, prøver dere å gjøre dette spillet akseptabelt for en eller annen actionspiller som, hva, ikke liker vanskelighetsgrad? Hvem er det?» Gaider fortsatte.
Når man ser på Baldur’s Gate III, som uten tvil er det beste eksemplet på en nylig suksess innen RPG-sjangeren, er det tydelig at motstand og valg med konsekvenser står i sentrum av spillet. Selv om hovedhistorien er ganske lineær i måten du følger den på, vil samspillet med følgesvennene dine garantert gjøre hvert gjennomspill unikt, og få folk til å lage en ny karakter hundrevis av timer senere.
Wallabies extend losing streak after being blown away by France in Nations Championship
Australia soundly beaten after leading at half-time in Brisbane
Second-half blitz sees Les Bleus run out 42-26 winners
The Wallabies crashed to defeat to France in Brisbane to extend their losing streak to six – their worst losing run in a decade – and continue their winless start to the Nations Championship. As they had last week against Ireland, Australia squandered a half-time lead to be blown away by a scintillating France, leaving Joe Schmidt facing a terrible fade to black for his final Test next week as national coach.
Both teams were stinging from narrow losses last week and their desperation told in a frantic early tempo. Despite an early jackal and what appeared to be a 50-22 kick from Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, the referee scrubbed it all for a high tackle. France took the gift, kicking deep and rolling into Australia’s red zone before unleashing the 145kg Brisbane-born wrecking ball Emmanuel Meafou from point blank. France 7-0.
Continue reading...Russell T Davies erklärt den Grund für seinen Ausstieg als Showrunner von Doctor Who
Als bekannt wurde, dass Russell T Davies von der Rolle des Showrunners von Doctor Who zurücktreten und damit seine zweite Amtszeit an der Spitze der am längsten laufenden Sci-Fi-Fernsehserie der Welt beendete, fragten sich viele, was die plötzliche Trennung verursacht hatte. Gab es böses Blut zwischen Davies und der BBC? Wurde Davies aus der Rolle entlassen? Jetzt, zum ersten Mal seit seinem Weggang, spricht Davies erneut davon, Doctor Who hinter sich zu lassen.
Im Gespräch mit The Mirror erklärte Davies, es sei "Zeit, weiterzuziehen, das ist alles." Anschließend hob er hervor, dass er eine Reihe weiterer Projekte und Serien in Arbeit habe, die seine Aufmerksamkeit erfordern, was letztlich zu der Entscheidung beitrug, Doctor Who erneut zu verlassen.
"Ich habe gerade Tip Toe rausgehen lassen. Und dann gibt es die It's A Sin-Bühnenshow, die Tanzshow, die gleich rauskommt. Im Februar. Es ist ziemlich seltsam bei Tanzshows, bei Theatershows, weil sie viele Starts haben. Im Februar ist es in Manchester, dann im Juni nach Cardiff, im Herbst Sadler's Wells. Also startet es weiter. Ich bin aufgeregt."
Was die Zukunft von Doctor Who betrifft, so wurde das zuvor versprochene Weihnachtsspecial für 2026 abgesagt, und es ist derzeit unklar, wann die Serie zurückkehren wird und wer sie leiten wird, da die BBC sie derzeit anschaut, um zu sehen, was die Zukunft für das größere Franchise bereithält.
Want to start playing Warhammer 40,000 but feel lost? This is the perfect launch-pad
The Warhammer 40,000 Introductory Set is like a good science teacher; it's patient, generous, doesn't take itself too seriously, and delights in blowing shit up for educational purposes. If you're new to Warhammer (or wargaming in general), rest easy. You're in good hands here.
Rather than tackling a 40 year-old game that's now on its 11th edition head on, this beginner box takes a different approach – it breaks everything down into bite-size, step-by-step chunks that are easy to get your head around. The Warhammer 40,000 Introductory Set also provides everything you need to get started in this hobby, from paints to accessories. Although there are some compromises (clippers would have been a nice addition, and it could do with extra paints like white), it's surprisingly good value overall.
Warhammer 40,000 Introductory Set features & design
Players | 2 |
Ages | 12+ |
Complexity | Moderate |
Play time | 30-60mins per session |
True to its name, the Warhammer 40K Introductory Box Set aims to give you a taste for the game – and provide a springboard you can use to jump into full games. The box furnishes you with a small armory of content, and I'm genuinely impressed with what you get.
First up, you'll become the proud general of six Space Marines (five Intercessors along with a Lieutenant) and just as many Orks (five Boyz and a Boss Nob). These come in pieces that you simply twist off the sprue and push together - no glue required. Even if it's your first time making a Warhammer model, it shouldn't take much more than a half an hour per side. Everything slots neatly and logically into place.
Second, you receive a handful of paints along with a paintbrush to slap some color on your models. When combined with a range ruler, dice, a battlemat, and thin card scenery, your tabletop battles will start to look fancy.
Finally, you'll find a streamlined rulebook with an introduction to the game's mechanics in addition to some backstory that helps ground you in the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
In other words, it's a comprehensive starter pack. While I think a couple of extra key paints and clippers would seal the deal (the latter allows you to remove pieces from sprues without leaving plastic nubs on your models), I'm genuinely taken aback at how good this offering is.
Plus, the models aren't repeats - we've never seen them before. While it would have been easy to include the same Space Marine Intercessors and Ork Boyz featured in other sets (such as this edition's launch box, Armageddon), these sculpts are unique. Crucially, I'd argue that they're more dynamic on the whole. They feel like individuals with distinct characters, not unlike operatives from Warhammer's Kill Team skirmish game.
Gameplay
If you're concerned about being overwhelmed, don't be; although there's a lot to take in with 40K, the Warhammer 40,000 Introductory Set breaks it all down into bite-size chunks that drip-feed everything you need to know across multiple missions. Much like the Kill Team Starter Set, it does this with step-by-step actions that are given a light-touch narrative so you aren't just drudging through dry mechanics. There are plenty of examples that help contextualize what's going on too, so most should find they have a good grasp of what's going on before long.
Once these tutorials are finished, it's time for war. You're then let loose with all the box's models on scenarios that provide your first proper taste of Warhammer. This isn't the full Warhammer 40K, of course; it's a stripped back version so as not to overwhelm newcomers. However, this will give you the grounding you need to jump into 40K proper.
Are you going to hunger for something more once you've run a few matches? Absolutely. Those flimsy card terrain pieces leave something to be desired as well, because they're incredibly thin so could tear or bend under pressure. But as a first step into Warhammer 40,000, I'd say this Introductory Set nails the assignment.
Should you buy the Warhammer 40,000 Introductory Set?
In the end, whether you should buy the Warhammer 40K Introductory Set can be answered with a single question: are you undecided about whether you'll commit to Warhammer 40,000, or are you totally new to wargaming? If the answer to either of those is yes, it's the perfect on-ramp. It has everything you need to get going, and those bite-size missions ease you into the mechanics.
If the answer is no, though, you may be better off looking elsewhere. The full Starter Set provides Warhammer 40K's complete rules and features two full Combat Patrol armies alongside a table's worth of plastic terrain. It's excellent value overall. Meanwhile, the individual starter boxes for Space Marines and Orks get you a playable army with the necessary paints and quickstart rules. They're a money-conscious way of starting an army if you just want one of those factions, not both.
Buy it if...
✅ You've never played a wargame before, or it's been a while: If you're a greenhorn when it comes to Warhammer and wargaming at large, this is the ideal step-by-step guide.
✅ You don't know if you want to commit: Unusure about whether you want to play Warhammer 40K long-term? This is a low-stakes way to find out.
Don't buy it if...
❌ You're committed and already know which army you want to collect: For those who know that they're in it for the long haul and have selected their future army, this isn't the best fit. You'd be better off grabbing the full Starter Set or the individual Space Marine/Ork Starter Sets.
❌ You want something long-term: This is pretty focused by necessity, so won't keep you hooked for long.
This sample was provided by the manufacturer.