Thank you, my adoring public. It's been an honour to be your elected (if technically by only one person) Fan of the Week. When I'm feeling down and struggling to continue reading AARs, I will put on my imaginary tiara, look at myself in the mirror, and tell myself, “You were Fan of the Week. You are so much better than this.” At least that's what I imagine all those former Miss America winners do after they grow old and get tremendous amounts of plastic surgery. Oh right, this is supposed to be a serious affair. On to business then.
I guess a week has passed and it's time to pass on the crown, but first I see that it is a tradition to mention notable AARs for others to follow. Thanks to
blklizard's nomination, I became brutally aware that almost all the AARs I followed were updated irregularly, abandoned, or completed. Thus I went on a massive search for new AARs to follow. I’ve bookmarked a few dozen and will be trying to read them in the coming weeks, but it has given me the opportunity to find some incredibly interesting AARs I would have missed otherwise. I will mention that I tend to gear towards gameplay AARs or narrative ones that aren’t too text heavy. Screenshots are my friends. I'll make sure to mention a few ones that have recently started, since it's always nice to catch an AAR in its early stages and support the writer when readership is still light.
My first suggestion is none other than
blklizard's
The Great European War. I am not suggesting this because he nominated me, but simply because it is actually a good AAR. What I find most fascinating about it is the unique concept. He went and created a specific world in-game, but made up the history of each nation himself. The only thing from the actual game, EUIII, is the map. He recently finished all the histories and stats of each nation and will be moving onto the actual battles and war soon. Make sure to check it out.
My next suggestion is one I discovered in the CKII forum this week while searching for new AARs to read. It’s still in its early stages, so this is the perfect time to read it. I’m referring to
smrice’s
East Africa Adventure.
Smrice is a newcomer to writing AARs, yet there’s something incredibly appealing about his AAR. I think it might be the endearing quality of watching someone struggle with a small Ethiopian count on the fringes of the known world and yet continue to persevere. It is an excellent read and I recommend giving it a chance.
Another new AAR, this time for EUIV, is
JQuacker's
Vrede in Rykdom. This caught my attention due to the writer playing Holland due to personal ties to a noble house in the region, the van Quackenboschs. I liked the idea of this personal connection and the fact that it was semi-interactive too. Being able to voice one’s opinions on the direction the writer should take allows one to feel a greater connection to the AAR they’re reading, without the full commitment of an iAAR. Give it a look if that sort of thing interests you.
It should only be natural to now mention a Victoria II AAR. Yet again I stumbled upon another AAR this week that’s little over a month old by
Admiral Fisker called
Dengang Jeg Drog Afsted. It follows the writer's experiences with Denmark, a nation you don't see played very often in Victoria II. This AAR has a much more history book feel than my previous suggestions and I felt as though I was immersed in the tale of a nation. I highly recommend it for all Victoria II fans.
Now I would feel guilty if I didn’t use this opportunity to mention at least one
Avindian AAR, since I’ve read almost all of his and love them. Seeing as I've mentioned practically all of Paradox’s flagship games except for HOI3, this would be the time to include one.
Avindian has just started an AAR about the UK in HOI3 called
A history of World War II, by those who fought it. Now it doesn’t have many updates yet, so it’s too early to judge, but I’ve read enough
Avindian AARs to know it will be good. Or if you prefer iAARs, since I haven’t mentioned one of those yet, you should join
Sonderweg oder Anderweg? It is the first iAAR I’ve been a part of and probably one of the most interesting, entertaining, and craziest experiences for me on this forum. There has been everything from political scandals to putting a dinosaur on the flag (Long may the Archaeopteryx fly free over Germany!). We're always looking for new players, so join in if you're interested.
You've probably had enough of me blathering on about AARs I find interesting, now that I've practically written a novel about them. You're here to find out who I've chosen as the new Fan of the Week. While I was perusing the forums for new AARs, I made sure to keep an eye out for names that kept popping up again and again. I saw several posting in many different AARs, but one stood out above the others. I noticed that not only did he post in almost all the different game AAR forums, but he would also often provide thoughtful comment on AARs that had just started. As a first-time AAR writer, I can say that it means a lot to have someone comment on your AAR right at the beginning when you have almost no readers, since it gives you the inspiration to continue on. So without further adieu, I present
DKM as the new Fan of the Week. Congratulations.