The Gamers Arms

Hi all - I am sorry to say I have sad news. Todd Cathey, or Solitaire as he was known on here and Preys World before that, has died.

For those who didn't know, Todd has been battling with colo-rectal cancer for a long time now, battling with the vile healthcare system in the US as much as the disease. As you would expect from an ex US Marine, he fought both tooth and nail. He has been through hell, from the conversations I have had with him on social media and in person on Discord. When we spoke most recently he was cursing the internet at the hotel he was living in and had said that he hoped to be moving to another with better wifi soon, and was looking forward to joining us playing Helldivers, sadly that was to be our last conversation.

Todd has been a regular co-op gamer with me for I am guessing the best part of 20 years, maybe longer. We immediately hit it off and have played loads of games together, most commonly tactical shooters but not exclusively. I can't tell you how many hours Todd, myself and many others including Dave/Prey/Lenny Solidus, Raid, El Gaucho, Eeny, and I am sure others have spent online chatting and gaming, but I viewed him as a genuine friend as I do many of you despite our never having met in person (although we had planned to meet once he beat the cancer). Sat writing this with tears flowing freely.

Rest easy now brother, keep overwatch on me from up there.

Oh no! Awful news, at a loss what to say. Seemed like one of those genuinely nice guys we don't have nearly enough of in the world.

RIP mate

I'm sorry that I never got to know him better than the conversations we had here on the forum, but I think it was clear to everyone what a wonderful person he was and what an eventful life he'd led.

RIP Todd.

I was recently wondering where Soli and a few other regulars had disappeared to, it had been so long since he last posted anything. That's terrible news, I just hope he wasn't in any pain He was a top gent and will be genuinely missed.
RIP Todd

Oh man, RIP Todd.

Can't believe it's getting on for fifteen years since our first GRAW heydays. He really was such a lovely bloke.

I hope so too man, he had had enough pain to last a lifetime with the chemo and surgery he had been through. He is free of it now, which I guess is a blessing of sorts.

Damn, RIP Todd.

Well Fuck. RIP Todd x

RIP Todd.

Although I never played online with him, I recall the odd chat with him on here & PW over the last 20 years or so. Was always a very friendly chap.

Cancer takes too many too young.

Yeah, this came as a total gut punch this morning. Todd was such a fantastic guy to game with, and I had the utmost respect for him going from soldiering into medical care. Just a couple of weeks back we'd been making plans to get him into Helldivers with us, and I really thought things were looking up for him.

Hope he got to see Dune 2

He really was the nicest guy you could ever talk to and in a way that just shone through in his posts. Never knew him as well as the coop crew but well enough to feel it. RIP big dude.

Man...I don't know what to say. This hits hard. I know there was a lot more going on than he let on, because he was that guy, he sucked it up and put as best a face on it as he could. The least who deserve it in this world seem to get it the worst.

This might be a strange thing to ask but has any other former people either on here or Preys World died?

Not that I recall hearing about, but given the relative anonymity of a forum it's possible. I only found out about Todd because we were friends on FB, and I used to check in on him there when he was really struggling with the cancer via DM. I hadn't heard from him in a little while after dropping him a couple of DMs recently and happened to look up his FB page this morning only to see a message left on there by a friend of his, which was how I found out.

Todd was one of the most genuine and caring blokes I ever had the privilege to call a friend, 20 years somehow elapsed in the bat of an eye. Transparency came so easy to him, and not a single one of us ever took that for granted, I will dearly miss his infectious laugh and a near relentless caring nature that would never ever dwindle. We all thought the world of him, as did everyone here.

During PW for someone so far away from the rest of us to become one of its many community and group pillars, as he did so effortlessly when many had come and gone, he was always present. Arranging together so we could all get on a session wasn't always easy, yet he would do everything he could no matter what difficult circumstance he had to face to make it finally happen, it always made me even more proud and thankful to have him around. He would call us his British buddies, and I never stopped enjoying hearing those particular words from him.

Todd and I planned for weeks to get together and play a session on the series that we had spent literal decades playing side by side. Joining Discord he would always immediately make you feel kind of special, such a lovely lovely guy. Hearing all about his journeys made me feel very much like a hermit, to know someone lived their life that fully while remaining so completely down to earth and against so many personal challenges is what made Todd himself truly special. The messages he would send me in Discord were the absolute sweetest things you could ever read - even in the last few months considering what he had gone through, and I held nothing but admiration love and respect for him and forever shall.

We played together for close to 6 hours that day as he kept telling me how much he'd missed it regaling me with echoes of sessions I'd not recalled in years and how much he enjoyed getting to attend cool game conventions over in the US due to his PW alignment, surprise packages with goodies from him were always a significant treat and so very very appreciated. We talked non-stop which isn't exactly something I do typically any longer, just the two of us at the time - and as much as he was struggling and having to take lengthy breaks during that would see me sat in one spot for 30 minutes protecting his character - I didn't care, would anyone? I knew what it meant to him, I would have gone 12 fucking 16 hours if he'd asked without a second thought. I'm so intensely glad we had that session together now.

Rest now Brother.