Grusome's Gaming Pit

Store Tournament Report – Edmonton, Alberta area - 22 March 2014

2014-03-24T14:22:00.000-06:00

Eight players showed up at Gamers Alley in Sherwood Park (just outside of Edmonton) to play in what might be the first Netrunner tournament in the area. Not sure why we are so slow in getting organized, as Calgary has had a few already. Hopefully this will be the start of a more active tournament scene.

This was not a store championship. Being that this was the first tournament in the area, we were a bit unsure if there would be enough interest. I think there was enough interest to warrant FFG prizes and perhaps store credit for our next event.

As there were no prizes, I decided to just play the maximum amount of matches, so the tournament was 4 rounds, no cut/elimination.

Identities

We had a bit of an unusual mix of identities. Shaper was most popular, representing half of all runners (2 Chaos Theory, 1 Kate and 1 Kit). Three players stuck with criminal, surprisingly all Gabe and one lone Noise.

On the Corp side all identities were represented. Weyland was strong with 4 BABW, two TWIY*, one HB:ETF and one Jinteki: PE.

Win Rate

The most interesting stat was the Corp win rate. Corps dominated the day, wining 59% of games (19 wins), the runners only successful 37% (12 wins) of the time (1 tie). Perhaps this enforces the strength of the Criminals, as even though Shaper represented half of the runners, they took only one third (4) of the runner wins with Gabe taking two thirds (8). With half of the players running Weyland and Corps doing so well, a full 52% (10) of winning Corp games were by BABW. HB, Jinteki and TWIY each saw three wins.

Although I was the TO, I decided to play, since with such a small field its painful to have a bye. It worked out fairly well, as the only time there was a dispute was over a card during my last game.

I did not expect to play, as we had an even number of players pre register. However, one additional player showed up and I wanted to keep the numbers even. I was ready to play just in case, but my decks were nothing special, both were decks I had played for the last few weeks. My Gabe deck included the usual criminal tricks, flexible breakers (Gordian, Ninja, Corroder plus Faerie) and lots of econ. For surprises I included one Sneakdoor, one Keyhole and one Nerve Agent to add pressure to the centrals if needed. My Weyland is a Punitive Counterstrike deck. It runs all 5/3 agents except for 2 Hostile Takeovers (Archer food), all Operations econ, a split between big and small ice (one Flare for surprise factor), along with Archived memories and Jackson. The plan is to set up a strong remote with lots of credits and force the runner to run it to steal the 5/3 and get PC'd, or allow the score. Simone did good work baiting a run or saving money advancing the 5/3's

Round 1 vs Kit/Jinteki:PE

I faced my regular sparring partner. He knows both of my decks well, although I made a few slight changes to Gabe the night before. I know his Kit deck well and his Jinteki has been making Gabe miserable, forcing a number of small changes. He chooses to run first and steals a 5/3 in the firsts or second turn with four cards in hand. I have a Punitive in hand with an Archived Memories but lack the credits to use it twice. He goes on to win but the game is very long. We scramble to play our second match. Gabe steals agendas and I have the match in hand but am stuck at 6 points. I need the win to split the match. With 3 seconds left in the game, I steal a Fetal from HQ to win.

Round 2 vs Kate/BABW

I don't remember this game well. I win the Corp match but I get only 1 prestige for the runner game as it goes to time.

Round 3 vs Chaos/TWIY*

I run first and have an incredible string of luck.First turn he ices HQ, installs in a remote. I happen to have Keyhole in hand, so I install it and hit it twice, getting a Beale and Astro. He ices R&D but I hit the remote and HQ, forcing the rez and Keyhole another 2 pointed out of R&D. The next turn I install Sneakdoor and access another agenda for the win. Four accesses, four agendas. I lose my Corp game. Chaos is packing a recursion deck and is drawing through it at a furious pace. She easily has enough econ to get into my remote and surprise siphons reduce my credit pool to the point where I cannot use PC.

Round 4 vs Gabe/HB

I run first and this is the tightest game of the day. He is playing HB with some fast advance. We go back and forth with agendas. Eventually we are both at match point when he drops a 3/2 his remote. I top deck an inside job to get by big ice (I think it was a curtain wall) to steal the win. His Gabe deck has a tough time. He only has single accesses and gets into HQ regularly but keeps seeing PC and gets frustrated. I have a Cleaners scored and am trying to set up the big remote with taxing ice with a 5/3 to set up the win/flatline. I have 3 PC's in hand and am just about to put in the 5/3 when he coincides the game.

Overall, a successful event. Things went smoothly and I think everyone had a good time. The next tournament should be even bigger.

Android: Netrunner - Fan Fiction - Mr Smith Goes To Weyland

2013-09-18T13:50:00.000-06:00

Smith surveyed the Security Operations Room. It was as he expected it. Rows of technicians hunched over their workstations, centered around a large screen at the front. All of them human and in no way similar to each other. Sometimes you could tell who you were working for just by looking at the staff. Everything looked state of the art. To be expected when working for Weyland Consortium. They had the money and were not afraid to spend it to protect their interests. A very young and inexperienced looking man approached him. He looked like the picture you might see next to the definition of Easy Mark in the Anarch hacking bible.

Dale: Good evening. You must be Mr Smith. My name is Dale. I am the junior Security Officer assigned to assist you.

Smith: Is this your first time, Dale?

Dale: I have observed a number of operations, but this is my first time acting as the junior security officer.

Smith: Is one of your family members someone I should know? You're not related to the Chief Security Officer here at Weyland?

Dale: I graduated at the top of my class and I can assure you I am fully trained and ready to provide advice on what tools we have available.

Smith: I hope you are. Without someone to watch over you, you are going to have to be very good if you want a long career at Weyland.

Dale: Yes, sir. We have all the usual tools at our disposal...

Smith: Skip that. I read the briefing. Tell me about the hacker.

Dale: Our contacts think it is someone from the criminal community, perhaps trained by Mr Santiago himself. This may be his first run against a major corporation, a sort of initiation.

Smith: Very well, then lets initiate him into Weyland. What do we have available for immediate deployment?

Dale: We have the usual amount of credits. For ICE, we have a Shadow and 2 Dracos. Research and Development has found a way to manipulate a hedge fund. Unfortunately, we have a Posted Bounty and a Project Atlas in the server that the top floor wants us to get through.

Smith: Save the commentary. We work with what we have. I know they taught you to fear agendas, as something to avoid. Remember this is all about getting agendas through. Without them, we wouldn't have a job. Let's initiate that Hedge Fund, get us more to work with, and place the Shadow on R&D and the Draco on Headquarters.

Intrusion Detected. Attention, Intrusion Detected

Smith: Somebody turn that down. What is the runner up to?

Dale: He is running our R&D

Smith: Rez the Shadow and find out what else he has been up to.

Dale: Sir, he is just going through the ICE. We have gained a few more credits. Should we put everything into the trace?

Smith: No, put nothing into it. This is just the first battle in a long war. I don't mind if he gets in there and rummages around a bit. It's unlikely he will find anything and we want to drain his resources to set him up for the kill.

Dale: It looks like he set up a contract with Armitage Codebusting and took a few jobs with them. He also went to his contacts for some more options. We have no idea what.

Smith: That's to be expected. Did he steal anything from R&D?

Dale: No Sir.

Smith: Good. We need more options. Get something out of R&D.

Dale: We have an Ice Wall and a Cerebal Overwriter coming out of R&D. We think he saw the Ice Wall.

Smith: Set up a new remote server and place the other Draco in front of it. He will probably assume it is the Ice Wall. I want to start to get ready to get some of these agendas out. Try and get a few more credits out of the accounting department.

Dale: Here he comes again. He spent some time on a few Armitage jobs, so he probably has the resources to get through. No, wait. He has someone on the inside! He is skipping the Draco completely!

Smith: Don't worry about it. Don't rez the Draco. Let him waste his resources and we keep the Draco as a surprise.

Dale: But sir, he will be able to dig in HQ. The information he gets he will be able to sell to his criminal contacts and he may steal one of our agendas.

Smith: Sometimes you have to take the chance. Rezzing Draco will not prevent that.

Access Imminent. Access Imminent.

Smith: I said turn that down!

Dale: He stole the Posted Bounty.

Smith: Collateral damage. That the first time you have had one stolen?

Dale: Yes.

Smith: Well, it won't be the last. Might as well get it out of the way so you can concentrate. Don't worry, it happens all the time. Despite what they told you in school, the big Corporations expect it. It's all part of doing business. Just don't let them take more than you put through.

Dale: Sir, he has also managed to put out a Decoy.

Smith: That may be a problem. That might change our strategy a bit. I want to get the Project Atlas through. He seems a bit reckless, we may be able to find and finish him off. What has R&D got for us?

Dale: A Green Level Clearance.

Smith: Good. Initiate the Green Level Clearance, put the Ice Wall on the remote in case he has someone else on the inside, and put the Project Atlas in that server.

Dale: Done sir. We got a link to some royalties from the Beanstalk from the Green Level.

Smith: Good. What is he up to?

Dale: He is doing another job for Armitage, increasing his options and it looks like running on HQ again.

Smith: Ok, there is nothing worth his time in there. Let him in.

Dale: Sir, he will again gain some info he can sell, and my find and destroy the Overwriter...

Smith: I don't care if he trashes the Overwriter. In fact, it will probably make him more cautious and do more damage then if we put it in a server. I know in school you all dreamed of causing some brain damage, but in the real world it rarely happens. This wastes his time and making him more cautious will be of more use in the long run.

Dale: He found and trashed the Overwriter.

Smith: Fine. What has R&D sent up?

Dale: A Snare.

Smith: Just what we need. Dale, advance the Project Atlas get some royalties from the Beanstalk. He seems to like to hit the HQ server. If he does it again, our chance of snaring him is 100%

Dale: He is running the remote! He has someone on the inside again!

Smith: Fine. Rez the Ice Wall. His man on the inside will have to get him through that. Then rez the Draco. That should stop him. Spend enough to raise its strength to level 4.

Dale: Why four, sir?

Smith. A lot of the runners seem to be using the Mimic program instead of Ninja to break sentry ICE. If I expected Ninja I would set it a level 1, save us some resources while still making him use his. Since we have a good number of credits, setting it to level 4 makes in impossible for Mimic to break it without support but still costs Ninja.

Dale: He is still going through. How strong shall I make the trace?

Smith: Put 3 into it, make it level five.

Dale: But sir, he has enough to get through it.

Smith: True, but it will cost him most of his credits. He knows this is Weyland so he must be worried about us tracing him with SEA Source and sending a missile his way. He needs to keep some credits to avoid that.

Dale:...

Smith: Nothing is certain in this job. Sometime you have to take a calculated risk. Remember, he saw the Cerebal Overwriter. He can't be sure this is an agenda. It might be another Overwriter, especially since he knows we could spend more to stop him but we are not.

Dale: He let the trace tag him and kick him out of the server. He isn't removing the tag, he is hitting HQ!

Smith: Don't rez. Let him in.

Dale: Shouldn't we rez to make him think there is something in there?

Smith: We have already not rezzed this ICE over a number of runs. He probably thinks it is something big, like a Hardian's Wall. We need to keep these credits for other things. I bet he accesses.

Dale: He's in. The Snare has him!

Smith: Activate it.

Dale: He lost all his resources. He is using the Decoy to prevent the tag, but we still have the Draco tag on him. He is pulling in 2 more resources.

Smith: Good. But we are not quite set up to take advantage of this. What does R&D have for us?

Dale: A PAD advertising campaign.

Smith: Not what we need. Advance Project Atlas so we can pick out something from R&D and let's get something from accounting again.

Dale: It looks like he is trying to get himself set back up from the Snare. Our contact reports he took some credits from an Easy Mark, collected a few more resources and set up his console, a Desperado.

Smith: Unfortunately, we have no credits. What does R&D have for us?

Dale: It's a Scorched Earth.

Smith: I was expecting to have to use the Atlas for that, but this works just as well. Do will still have a tag on him?

Dale: Yes sir.

Smith: Use the Atlas to pull another Beanstalk Royalties out of R&D. Use the credits from it to initiate the Scorched Earth.

Dale: It's done, sir. An apartment block in New Angeles has been destroyed. Our contact reports the runner was in it at the time, 99.4% certainty.

Smith: That's a confirmed kill. Good job everyone! Congratulations on your first kill.

Dale: Thanks....

****

This story is based on the Living Card Game Android: Netrunner and is based on an actual game played. Watch for the future adventures of Mr Smith.

Battlefield 4 Announced (with trailer)

2013-03-27T09:32:00.001-06:00

Battlefield 4 has been announced for fall 2013.

Here is the 17 minute gameplay trailer:

Android: Netrunner - A Study in Static Card Spoilers

2013-03-17T09:17:00.002-06:00

The next Netrunner Data Pack, A Study in Static, is due out this week, but the cards have been leaked on Board Game Geek. This appear to be legit.

Check out this post for the pictures of all the cards (scroll down a bit).

A easier way to view the Study in Static cards at CardGameDB.

First Deluxe Expansion for Android: Netrunner

2013-03-08T16:52:00.001-07:00

Update: More Card Spoilers in this thread.

The first expansion for Android: Netrunner was just announced in this Press Release from the Fantasy Flight website.

Called Creation and Control, this expansion adds three new Shaper and HB identities, such as this one for HB:

Custom Biotics and the Effects of Influence

Would your business plan benefit from extra influence with outside corporations? Haas-Bioroid’s Custom Biotics division believes that influence is the key to success. More open to the exchange of corporate data than other Haas-Bioroid divisions, Custom Biotics leverages its influence within the industry to gain access to the most powerful and efficient ice, upgrades, assets, and operations developed or implemented by NBN or The Weyland Corporation. However, the division’s work in fields that approach Jinteki’s areas of expertise have led to a tense rivalry, and the two are not currently exchanging data or ideas.

And "Kit", a new Shaper identity:

Rielle “Kit” Peddler, the Puzzle-Solver

Each piece of ice is built differently, but most fall into one of three archetypes: sentry, barrier, or code gate. Accordingly, runners learn how each of these strings of code tend to function and develop proper counter measures. Sentries are the most aggressive of ice, and runners typically develop icebreakers that permit them to slip past the sentries or “kill” them. Barriers stand between runners and their goals and must be broken or “jumped.” Finally, code gates work like miniature puzzles. They modify a runner’s approach toward a server, and unless a runner can “solve” the puzzle, the run is wrested away from the runner’s control. But what if you could see the underlying puzzle in any piece of code? Then, like Rielle “Kit” Peddler, you might be able to use fewer tools to successfully navigate corporate servers, thus limiting the amount of time spent building your rig and increasing the amount of time you spend running.

The expansion is to contain 55 new cards with three copies of each for a total of 165 cards.

In addition to the identities, that leaves 49 other new cards, twenty-seven of which will be neutral. Interesting additions to an excellent game.

Release date: Q2 2013

New Upgrade for HB from Creation and Control

New Shaper Program from Creation and Control

Noobs and Noob Play - Session Report - Android: Netrunner

2013-02-28T23:13:00.000-07:00

This session report is for two games played on 26 Feb 2013. Both players were new to the game and these are the first games using our own built decks and with a proper understanding of the rules. Each player has only one Core set and we each took a turn playing the Corp and the Runner.

First game: Kate vs NBN (Me)
Second game: Noise (Me) vs Weyland

I will describe the second game first as it was a bit of a blowout, while the first game was very close and could have gone either way a few times. At the end of this session report, I will also put out some lesson I learned so that you, gentle reader, will not make the same mistakes.

This is my first Noise Virus deck and it was built to run on R&D. My first draw is pretty good and I get Datasucker out there right away. By the first few turns I have all three of my Icebreakers out and 3 Cyberfeeders. Djinn comes out and I pull out Medium and start milling R&D. By this time I just running R&D and HQ, stealing agendas. Since Datasucker has nine counters on it, he refuses to rez any ice, knowing I will just walk through it. Archives has a Handrian's Wall up and there is 1 rezzed ice covering R&D, which I just walk through each time, breaking the 2 subs with Cyberfeeder. Medium is up to 5 counters and I steal my way to victory. Near to the end, the Corp sets up a remote and advances it a few times, but I don't bother running it since I am running R&D without a problem. I score seven points before he scores one. I find out the remote was a trap and the only two cards I did not see in Archives (there due to the Noise special and both there from turn 3) are both agendas worth a total of 3 points. I ask him why he did not clear out all the virus counters. He forgot about that ability. On my last run I stole 2 agendas from R&D to win, but I also reveal he had two Scorched Earths side by side. The game could have gone the other way. Although my initial economy was good (2 Sure Gambles and an Armitage out in the first 5 turns) after that my economy sucked. None of my 2 Magnum's came out and my last Sure Gamble I was unable to play as I couldn't build up the credits to play it. Not a good test of the deck, as the game could have been much different if he had cleared the vinus counters. Although I think I still would have won, as he was just too poor, had little ice rezzed and no agendas scored. In addition, I was holding 2 Parasites, saving them for a good target. With 3 Cybersfeeders in play even with no credits, I was still running once per turn at least. With a bit more economy (Magnum can't hide forever) and no viruses, I would have still been able to run R&D, it just might have taken a few extra turns.

The first game was a litany of noob mistakes. I am playing NBN with lots of taging ice against Kate. Not a good matchup for me. He has some virus programs, including a Crypsis and a Datasucker. Early on he gets his 2 Rabbit Holes up. That, combined with his reluctance to run, pretty much negates my ability to tag him. In fact, he doesn't even face a tag until the last run which wins him the game. After he gets his link up and it is obvious he is going to be very cautious when running, I start to advance agendas. I advance 6 agenda points but sacrifice one 2 point agenda to rez Archer. At this point my economy sucks again. No PAD Campaign has come up and 2 Closed Accounts have been useless. I have discarded a Sea Source and Psychographics due to my inability to get a tag on him. I had a Ghost Branch with 2 advancements in an unprotected server from the start of the game, hoping he would bite. He used Infiltration on it so I trashed it and replaced it with another Ghost Branch (I had six cards and had to get rid of it anyway). However, he plays 2 Bank Jobs and I forget about the unprotected remote. By this time he has stolen an agenda from R&D and one from HQ and we are tied at 4 agenda points each. He runs the remote and takes the tags and takes 7 credits each from the two Bank Jobs. This gives him the confidence to run my remote with 3 ice (one unrezzed). I am unable to rez my Tollbooth (not that it would have mattered). He goes through and takes the agenda for the three points and the win. This is very frustrating as I had Red Herring and Sansan City on the server. Red Herring doesn't matter as he has too many credits. However, he hits Matrix Analyze during the run and I spend a credit to advance Priority taking it to four. Sansan is unrezzed and I don't have the credits to rez it. If I had rezzed it earlier I would have needed only four to advance Priority and I would have won. Also, I had put through an Autoscript earlier that had 2 more tokens on it. If I had Sansan up for it, that third agenda counter might have made the difference.

Lessons learned:

Run early. Run often. - For the second game I pressed him right from the start. I worked out very well, although if he had remembered to use remove virus counters the game would not have been so one sided.

Finish him - At one point I had 4 agenda points and had Priority Req in the server. I could have been more aggressive in advancing it, but I wanted to let the game last and try some of the cool tagging tricks (like Closed Accounts and Psychographics). Soon after he was able to run R&D and HQ, get an agenda from each one, and win the game with the run on the remote. I had 2 credits and if he had not ended the game on that turn, I would have advanced and won on my next turn.

Other observations - When I first started playing I preferred the Corp due to its ability to lay traps. I was pretty frustrated after the first game. The runner would not run and the game lasted about 90 minutes. I see the advantage of being the runner and being able to set the pace.

Economy - I have to improve my economy. I have to look at replacing Sure Gamble. A four credit net is no good if you don't have the 5 credits. My NBN deck needs a few Melange Mining.

That said, it has been some time since I was this enthusiastic about a game. I highly recommend Android: Netrunner and I can't wait to tune my deck and try again.

Session Report - BSG Exodus - Aborted 7 Player Game

2013-02-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

This 7 player game was played on 16 February 2013. From the Pegasus Expansion we used Pegasus but did not use New Caprica. From the Exodus Expansion, we used the Conflicted Loyalties and the Cylon Pursuit board, but not the Ionian Nebula. We played without a Cylon Sympathizer.

The players, in turn order:

Baltar (President)- Nate
Anders (CAG) - Kyle
Helo - Cody
Cally - Dimetrios
Leoben (Cylon) - Tim
Dee - Mike
Tigh (Admiral) - Me

Just as in the show, I am one of the Final Five. Finding this out will result in the other player being executed.

This game consisted of a few new players, one of which had to leave just after the sleeper phase, so we called the game at that point. The game was shaping up to be interesting so it is a shame it could not be completed.

Turn 1 starts in typical BSG fashion. Baltar moves to Colonial One, draws a quorum card and plays Probation. Rescue the fleet comes up and we lose 2 population. Anders launches and fires at Cylon raiders. His crisis is Reunite the Fleet which we easily pass, even the destiny deck is on our side. He proves what a poor shot he is by missing the raiders. Cally repairs 2 vipers and we easily pass her crisis, Network Computers, again with destiny on our side. The Cylon raiders damage one viper but the jump track moves twice. Leoben does not move to the Cylon Basestar but uses his turn to check the crisis deck and draw more skill cards, none of them from the treachery deck. I suspect he has a "humans win" goal. Dee moves to the Lab and draws a card. With several of the new vipers still not repaired, I immediately suggest to the other players that Dee (a new player) may be a Cylon. Although new, we did suggest that the best move for Dee would be to repair, but she chose to go to the Lab. She does not deny being a Cylon, but it is too early to do anything about it, and I decide she bears watching. Her crisis is Mysterious Guide and the raiders shoot down Anders, putting him into Sick Bay. For his turn, Tigh XO's Anders to ensure he gets cards on his turn and he launches and kills a raider. The crisis is Food Shortage and President Baltar chooses to lose 2 food and I add him to my suspected Cylon list.

At the end of turn one, with no spikes to the skill checks, I suspect Leoben is pro human and only Dee and Baltar have done anything to bring suspicion on themselves. I do not mention to anyone about my suspicion about Baltar, as he is an aggressive player and any accusations I make will just be met with counter accusations and may tend to confuse the inexperienced players. With Baltar being the only other player with as much experience with BSG as me, I will continue to include him in private discussions about who is a Cylon and see what he says.

Turn 2 and Baltar continues to draw quorum cards. His crisis is Pressure Supply Ship and we lose 1 morale and gain 1 food. This seems the logical course as Baltar should be able to raise morale later with a quorum card. Anders is shot down and ends up in Sick Bay again, ensure that he will not get skill cards on his turn and partially wasting my XO. However, we jump and I pull two 2 distance destination cards and choose Mining Asteroid. Anders gets out of Sick Bay and launches. His crisis is Training Snafu which we pass. Helo gets to play this turn and he launches and escorts a civilian ship. He pulls Water Shortage and the president discards. The base star completes its jump track and jumps in. Cally repairs 2 vipers but we fail her crisis, Threat of Supernova (no spikes). A heavy raider launches and the Armoury on Galactica is damaged. Leoben uses Face of God, checks the crisis card and draws more skill cards. At this point there is a discussion on the likelihood Leoben is pro human, with my main point being that if he was pro Cylon, he would likely spend his time on the Cylon Basestar. Without supporting or denying, Leoben claims he has a certain strategy that he is trying out. Dee repairs the Armoury, and her crisis, rescue Mission, has us lose 1 fuel and 1 Raptor. However, we finish our jump track and I pull a 1 and a 2 destination card. It is an easy choice and I choose to go to a Barren Planet and the sleeper phase begins.

My sleeper card is not a Cylon. For my turn I move to the Pegasus engine room to increase the jump track. My crisis is Mandatory Testing, which will allow Baltar to check one of my cards. I decide to let this go and do nothing to help or hinder it, letting fate decide. I am a bit suspicious of Baltar, so if he picks the Final Five card, I may find out if he is a Cylon. Baltar picks the Final Five card and is executed. He also reveals that he is a Cylon. Problem solved and fate seems to be on the side of the humans.

Turn 3 begins and Baltar, encouraged by Leoben (whose actions and enthusiasm for hurting the humans are starting to make me question my pro human conclusion), moves to the Basestar location and places 6 Cylon raiders. Anders, keeping with his theme, fires at the Cylon raiders and misses, His Crisis is Mysterious Message and the Cylon Basestar fires at Galactica, hitting FTL and the Armoury.

At this point, Helo has to leave and there are no players to replace him, so we decide to call the game.

Leoban is reveled to have a pro human goal with a secondary goal of having two of our resources within 2 of each other. Baltar has been a Cylon from the start and the second Cylon is Dee, also from the start of the game.

It is unfortunate that the game ended, it appeared as if there were some interesting dynamics.

Blog Post by Jon Shafer Designer of Civ 5

2013-02-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Follow this link to a post by Jon Shafer from his blog about the design of Civ 5. This is a very open and self critical reflection of the good, the bad and the choices made in the development of Civ 5. Public honesty like this is a rarity.

Of course, this is serving to promote his Kickstarter for a new game in development, At The Gates, but is still a good read.

Android: Netrunner

2013-02-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

I recently decided to get into the card game Android: Netrunner. Card games are popular at my FLGS, with Magic: The Gathering being the obvious choice. Anyone familiar with the collectible card game scene will know that M:TG is so popular that it has laid waste to all the other collectible card games, some with very popular IP's, that have tried to compete with it. For those not in the know, if you want to play some type of collectible or limited card game, if it is not Magic, it might be difficult to find other players.

While I do play some Magic, (I have to, it is so popular) I don't like the way collectible card games are designed to milk the customer. Constant releases of cards, new decks every 3-4 months and the random nature of what cards you get make it more of a pay to win type of game.

In contrast, limited card games such as Android: Netrunner, give you all the cards you need to play in the base set. While there are a number of expansions released (4? small ones so far, but more planned), players have access to all the cards and therefore are on even footing when building a deck. The game is more about how you play and what you put in your deck than about buying lots of decks it get the "good" cards. The strategy aspect appeals to me. Also, because the base set has all the cards, you can use it to easily introduce new players to the game.

Based on the quick rise of Android: Netrunner in the charts on Board Game Geek, it seems that many people find this game appealing and Fantasy Flight has as winner on their hands. The person at my FLGS whom I introduced to the game and learned to play with so enjoyed the game (even though we had many rules wrong) that he went out and bought a copy.

I was going to write about Android: Netrunner but someone else has already done a good job of that, so, being the lazy person that I am, I am just going to link to his stuff about Android: Netrunner on Rogue Thoughts.

Running the Nets for Fun and Profit - An Introduction

Corps, Runners, and Deckbuilding

5 Tips for New Runners

5 Tips for New Corps

Icebreakers are for Chumps

Rototurret is Pretty Awesome

What Lies Ahead for Criminals

That should get you started. I will link to the rest of this Android: Netrunner stuff in a future post. Or you can go to his blog Rogue Thoughts. Once I get into the game a bit more I will start to post about my own experiences and strategies.

Happy Running.

Update: Additional Resources for Android: Netrunner

CardgameDB

A nice site with all the cards for easy reference

Hegemonic Kickstarter Update #14

2013-01-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

With 5 days to go, the Hegemonic Kickstarter has reached its $55k stretch goal.

If you enjoy 4x Space Board Games and want to be one of the first to play this game, head over to their Kickstarter page and make a pledge.

Hegemonic Kickstarter Update #12

2013-01-26T11:24:00.001-07:00

With nine days to go, Hegemonic Kickstarter has hit the $50k+ mark. This means that the Arbiter button will now be included. This is the first of the exclusive goals.

For me, the most important stretch goal was the $45k one, which is the layered board that prevents the movement of tokens on the player board. This is a big pain in Eclipse, so that goal is appreciated.

The next goal I am eager to see met is the Fringe Houses goal. this should add additional character to the game. This goal is met at $55k, and should be met quite easily.

The next goal I want to see is the locking hexes (you can tell, I don't like pieces to move). This is the $100k and the final goal. I don't think this is likely to be met in 9 days.

If you like 4x space board games, go give the Hegemonic Kickstarter a look. Except if you are in my game group. I am hoping for this to be another one of my "great finds".

Next Gen XBox and PS4 Spec Rumours

2013-01-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest rumours about the specs for next gen Microsoft and Sony. Theses are supposedly coming out of CES, so perhaps they have more wieght.

Next Playstation: 1.84 teraflops run time capability, 4 GB ram (1 GB for system OS, 3 GB for games).

Next XBox: 1.23 tereflops run time capability, 8 GB ram (3 GB for system, 5 GB for games).

Link to original article.

Mental Illness and Violent Video Games

2013-01-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

This topic has been in the media a lot lately.

This article is by someone who suffers from bipolar disorder and has played video games since the beginning.

Great article. Read the whole thing.

Hegemonic Kickstarter Update #7

2013-01-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest update from one of the games I am supporting on Kickstarter.

Yippy! We've made our next stretch goal of player aids added to the game! Thanks for the support. Now we need to push for the VERY important double-layered player boards to keep those damn tokens from sliding all over the place by mistake.

We're still waiting on the review videos but that should give this campaign a kick.

We are still projecting meeting at least 50K and maybe hitting plastic at 80K if everyone helps with the push.

While player aids are nice, I really hope they meet the $45K goal. I think the layered board is going to be the most handy stretch goal (although the plastic pieces and the locking board are also pretty neat).

If you are interested in Kickstarting Hegemonic there are only 18 days left.

Another Kickstarter - Battle for Souls

2013-01-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here is another Kickstarter project I have been considering throwing my support behind: Battle for Souls.

It looks interesting and there are some game mechanics that I find interesting for my own projects.

Using Kickstarter

2013-01-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been looking into Kickstarter. I am thinking about using it for a project I am working on, so I thought I would check it out first.

I decided to support a few projects, both of which are board games. Games are one of my areas of interest and the subject of this blog, so it would be natural for me to look in that area. I did not find anything in the area of video games I was willing to support.

The two boardgames I am supporting both look very complete and are, I think, a safe bet to be published. I am a little more cautious about video games. Even a well known video game studio, at the peak of its popularity and with all the money in the world, can screw up a great franchise at the last minute (I am looking at you Bioware and Mass Effect 3). So I will be very cautious about supporting video games.

I will update the projects I am supporting on an irregular basis.

One is already completed but there is still time to support the other:

Tomorrow: an apocalyptic nightmare

Hegemonic

Check them out.

Session Report - Eclipse: Rise of the Ancients - First Play with Expansion

2013-01-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

This 7 player game of Eclipse: Rise of the Ancients was played on 12 January 2013 and was our first play with the expansion, although every player had at least one game with the original. We used the simultaneous turn order and added a house rule of extending the game by one turn, making a total of ten turns. The players were:

Planta – Green

Orion – Black
Mech – White
Rho Indi Syndicate – Gray
Yellow – Draco
Eridani – Red
Exiles – Purple (Me)

The guy who bought the expansion originally put it on layaway last week because his wife said their budget could not afford it so soon after Christmas. As I predicted, he couldn't wait and took the hit with his wife, probably taking the money out of the kid's college fund or some other equally unimportant area, in order that we could enjoy this game. Needless to say, most of us were keen to give it a try.

We set up the board using the 9 player third ring, placing 2 of the new ancients to fill in the gaps of the two missing players. Starting with Planta and going clockwise around the board, the player order was as follows: Planta, Orion, Mech, Rho Indi, Exiles, Draco, Eridani.

Turn one starts out as expected. There are lots of explores and Planta and Orion (friends in real life) connect and ally immediately. A few techs are bought. Draco explores towards me (Exiles) and we establish diplomatic relations. Orion easily kills an ancient and uncovers an orbital (one of the new discoveries). Rho and Mech also connect and establish diplomatic relations, a bit of a risky move as Rho Indi can break relations without getting the traitor card. Rho also uncovers a Warp Portal hex close to his home world, causing some concern for the rest of us as they are a race built for aggression. Draco also discovers 2 Warp Portals in separate hexes during his explores. Draco and Rho are now easily connected for conflict. The turn ends with red having no contact with anyone else and Rho still isolated from Exiles (by design).

Turn 1 - Early Game

Turn two is also very typical. Mostly explore actions with some techs. Orion takes his newly built fleet of cruisers and defeats 2 Ancients, losing a cruiser.

Turn 2

Turn three sees mostly explore and research actions. Red decides to try his hand at one of the Ancient Dreads and is easily defeated.

I am starting to get concerned about my own position. I am stuck with a few ancients around me and I am losing the resources war, way behind my Draco neighbour. If I look too weak he might come after me. I am separated from Rho on my right by Galactic center so I have gained some time there. I have been gaining some techs to improve my fleet but I need to build ships, upgrade them and take on the ancients around me to get some resources. Time to think about getting into an alliance with Draco.


Early in Turn 4 - Note Rho is ready to hit Draco through his Warp Portal

Turn four and things start to get interesting. The races are gearing up for war. There are a lot of research and upgrade actions. Planta builds 2 dreads. Eridani attacks and destroys an ancient hive. Orion kills another ancient and Mech attacks and kills an ancient hive. Even I am able to take out an ancient close to me. Draco takes pity on me or perhaps sees my possibilities and agrees to cement our diplomatic relations with an alliance. But the big news is that Rho makes a move on Draco, moving his ships through his warp portal, splits his fleet evenly and hits both of Draco's warp portals. Draco responds by meeting the Rho threat head on at both hexes. Draco defeats Gray at one portal but loses one ship and retreats the other ship at the other portal. An even split, but Rho loses 2 ships to Draco's one.


Turn 4 - Movement is done, combat is about to begin

Turn five sees 2 quantum grids come out that are snapped up immediately by Draco and Mech. I wanted one but did not have enough research to get one even if they had lasted to my turn. However, I (and also Draco) did pick up an advanced robotics on an earlier turn. Planta starts to look towards victory and builds 2 monoliths. Eridani gets aggressive on the ancients, hitting two separate hexes, losing one but defeating the other one easily. Draco moves to take back the portal Rho took and wins it easily. The Draco/Exiles discuss bringing Eridani into their alliance. Although I think Eridani lowers our victory point total at this time, Planta/Orion are becoming a concern. If we don't move to stop them they will have the VP advantage. Also, Mech's ships are strongly upgraded with computers and shields, making them hit often yet hard to hit. If Mech were to ally with Planta/Orion we could be in trouble, especially with Rho nipping at Draco and/or potentially at the Exile's right flank. Eridani is in, but he is the junior partner and will have to fetch drinks for Draco and Exiles.


Turn 5 - Draco wants his Warp Portal back

Turn six is very quiet. There are no combats, not even with ancients. Everyone is adjusting to the new Draco/Exiles/Eridani alliance and the coming conflict with Planta/Orion. Some research action and lots of upgrading.


Turn 7 - Getting ready to move on GC and Warp Portal towards Planta

Turn 7 sees some combat but more positioning for the coming conflict. Exiles take Galactic Center and Mech hits and takes 2 of Orion's systems, including his Home world, probably trying to snatch some systems as he knows the Planta/Orion alliance will soon be fully engaged with Draco/Eridani.

Turn 7 - Moving to Battle

Turn 8 kicks off the start of endgame as Draco moves aggressively into Planta territory. Draco's ships are powerful, bristling with antimatter cannons and he has the antimatter splitter. Eridani comes along for the ride and even Exiles sends in a few ships. The battle for Beta Delphini, the biggest conflict seen so far in the galaxy, has begun. Planta, with the only missiles, fires his missile cruisers and kills 4 yellow interceptors, but the battle is one sided. The remainder of the Planta/Orion fleets, including 2 star bases, a dread, 2 more interceptors and 2 cruisers fall to superior forces and technology. Mech uses this opportunity to hit Orion again and he is reduced to one system deep inside Planta territory.

Turn 8 - The Battle for Beta Delphini

Turn 9 sees the focus shift to the Mech problem and the collection of victory points. A few undefended Rho systems are bombed while Planta builds 2 dreads and 2 star bases. Planta/Orion are reduced to 4-5 systems and now Mech has become the biggest threat. With the 3 way split of victory points in the Draco/Exiles/Eridani alliance, and the monoliths and systems Mech has, he may be able to win against Draco/Exiles/Eridani. Exiles research Artifact Key and gets 30 materials which are turned into monoliths. Mech also builds monoliths. Ships are built and moved into position for the final attack on Mech.

Ready for the Final Push

Turn 10 (Final Turn). Planta/Orion, reduced from their strong starting position, are happy to protect what they have and not make any trouble. Rho is a bit more feisty, having researched the cloaking device, he uses his ships to penetrate Exile space, tying up some Exile ships and forcing me to defend a number of orbitals and monoliths. Draco, assisted by Exiles and Eridani, pushes deep into Mech's key systems attempting to pin as many ships as possible, trying to remove influence on key worlds with monoliths.

The battles are well matched with Mech having the advantage in shields and computers but Draco/Exile/Eridani having numbers. Mech successfully defends 1 key system but loses the battle in two others. Victory for the Draco/Exile/Eridani alliance seems assured once bombing is complete. However, Draco/Exile/Eridani failed to note that Mech has Neutron Absorbers and their Neutron bombs are useless. They will have to use their guns to hit the population. Each of the two systems has at least 3 population cubes which must be destroyed in order for White to lose control of the system. The first system falls, its population antimatter cannoned by the Draco/Exile/Eridani war machine. The final system, worth 8 victory points and potentially the game, comes down to the accuracy of the gunners on the Exile cruisers. The shots are true and another system is cleansed of Mech life.

Final Scores

Rho    16

Planta   28
Orion    18
Planta/Orion Alliance Total      23

Mech     36

Draco    54
Exiles    67
Eridani 42
Draco/Exile/Eridani Alliance   54

The Draco/Exile/Eridani alliance is victorious.

Final thoughts:

The expansion is good, in my opinion very good. The new techs, alliances, additional races, etc, all fit well together and seem to be extensively play tested. They add a lot to the game yet don't go overboard or feel tacked on. We used a modified simultaneous turn order and, as long as everyone is honest and knows the game, it worked well and speeded up game time. It took us 6 hours for this 7 player game, which is below the average time length for us.

Thunderstone Impressions – After one play

2013-01-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to give Thunderstone a try the other day. Thunderstone is a deck building game similar in play to the most well known deck building game, Dominion. There is the similar game mechanic of buying cards and building your deck. Thunderstone is difference in that it has a fantasy theme, where players use their cards and heroes to go down into the dungeon and kill various monsters. Each monster is worth a certain number of points and the player with the most points when the Thunderstone is revealed is the winner. The artwork is good and the components of suitable quality, similar to Dominion.

While I enjoy the occasional deck building game, they are not my personal favourite. I tend to more strategically oriented games. However, I enjoyed Thunderstone. It plays very much like Dominion, but while I find Dominion games can become all about who can chain their deck in the most efficient manner, Thunderstone adds the element of having to choose between starting your turn in one of three areas, the Town, Dungeon or at Rest. If you stay in town you can do such actions as buying more cards and leveling up Heroes. The Dungeon is where you go to fight monsters. Rest allows you to get rid of a card. This separation of various key actions allows a bit more strategy to the game. In Dominion your choice comes to buying a card toward victory or to build your deck, or perhaps both. Thunderstone forces you to chose the buy action or the get victory point action. In addition, if you buy you must decide to between weapons, magic, light (to get in the dungeon) or heroes. This separation forces another decision onto players and prevents the game from becoming a churn-through-the-deck fest. To be honest, I prefer Thunderstone to Dominion because it increased the amount of choices a player has to make. This makes for a slightly more complex game. Or perhaps it's just because I happened to win this game.

If you enjoy deck building games and like the fantasy theme, give Thunderstone a try.

Please note that this first game was with the suggested starter cards. The base game has numerous other cards that can add other strategies. In addition, there are quite a few expansions available that add other cards.

A Few Good Boardgame Links

2012-12-09T14:22:00.001-07:00

Here are a few interesting links all related to boardgames:

3 Player Eclipse Session Report - A nice report with pictures.

6 Player Battlestar Galactica Session Report from Japan

Tomorrow: An Apocalyptic Nightmare - A Kickstarter board game project

Moral Conflict 1941 - What Axis and Allies should have been?

Halo 4 Release Party

2012-11-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

I am off to my first ever release party at my Friendly Local Gaming Store. I am not sure how these things work. It's a small store so there won't be any swag. The owner, Matt, will probably have something Halo related up on the monitors until midnight.

I am not sure if I will stay for a bit after midnight or rush home to try it out.

With a Metacritic score of 89, here are a few reviews to whet your appetite:

IGN gushing Halo 4 Review

Forbes less than gushing Halo 4 Review

GameSpot Halo 4 Video Review

GamesRadar video and written Halo 4 Review

Halo 4 Countdown

2012-11-05T08:09:00.002-07:00

It is less than 24 hours before the release of Halo 4.

I am going to my Friendly Local Gaming Store (FLGS) tonight for a pre-launch party and to pick up my copy at 12:01 am. This is only the second game I have ever pre-ordered. The last one was Mass Effect 3.

Let's hope Halo 4 game is more satisfying than that one.

Halo 4: The Story So Far

2012-11-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

This information has been taken from my reading of Cryptum and Primordium by Greg Bear and from Halo Nation. All errors are my own. Please feel free to make any corrections in the comments. I do not have any information about Halo 4 that is not in the public domain (with the exception of the leak copies of Halo 4 which I have not torrented or viewed) but this article may contain spoilers.

An Ancient Evil Awakens: This is the tagline for Halo 4. But what is that evil? Where does it come from and what has it been doing all this time?

One hundred thousand years ago, the Forerunners activated the Halo arrays, wiping out all intelligent life in the galaxy in order to deny food to the Flood. Approximately 10,000 years prior to this, the Forerunners defeat the humans in the Forerunner-Human war. However, the humans were winning this war until they were forced move significant resources to combat another threat. This other threat turns out to be the Flood. The humans defeat and find a cure against the Flood, but they are too weak to hold back the Forerunners.The Forerunners fail to gain the secret of the Flood cure from the humans, who hold it from them. After the war, the Forerunners discover a stasis capsule on Charum Hakkor containing the last of the Precursors, the race they defeated to become the leading race in the galaxy.

In preparing for conflict with the Flood, two competing solutions are offered. The Master Builder proposes the construction of a number of Halo arrays which will wipe out the Flood by killing all intelligent life in the galaxy, thereby denying it food. The Didact, the Forerunner military leader who waged the successful campaign against the humans, considers this plan a sin beyond measure against the Mantle, and proposes the construction of Shield Worlds (a shield world was seen in Halo Wars) around the galaxy to monitor and combat Flood outbreaks. When the Council chooses the Builder plan, the Didact is stripped of his power and goes into exile.

The Halo rings are built and one is successfully tested on Charum Hakkor. The Precursor is transferred to the Halo and interrogated. Mendicant Bias, the AI in charge of the interrogation, is convinced by the Precursor, who is a Gravemind, to defect to his cause. Mendicant Bias purposefully becomes rampant and assaults the Forerunner home system with five of the Halo arrays. The battle continues as the Mendicant Bias attempts to destroy the Forerunners and seize the Ark as they accelerate the completion of the arrays. The conflict is resolved with the arrays fired and the Flood defeated.

Halo 4 takes place on Requiem, a shield world. It seems obvious that the Precursor/Gravemind has survived and is imprisoned on Requiem and is able to escape, perhaps due to the actions of a Covenant splinter group or the humans on Infinity. We will have to wait until 6 November to find out.

Note: Any Halo 4 spoilers placed in the comments will be deleted.

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn - Part 5

2012-11-02T07:55:00.002-06:00

The final part of the live action video.

Or follow the link:

Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn - Part 5

Halo 4 News

2012-11-01T16:00:00.000-06:00

This article discusses the first few reviews of Halo 4.

From a score of eight to 9.8 out of 10, it seems the critics like it. Phrases such as "awesome", "out-Bungie Bungie" and the words "343" and "nailed" in the same sentence.

Video with Jen Taylor, the voice of Cortana. She does all the narration in the video and it is a bit weird to hear "Cortana" talking about Halo.

Copy of the Live Stream with 343 and Major Nelson. One and a half hours with Infinity multiplayer.

Star Wars Saved?

2012-11-01T10:35:00.001-06:00

I put up this post a few days ago about the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney.

Here is an excellent article about why this sale may have saved Star Wars and what George Lucas really thinks about his franchise.

I was going to write something about this myself, but this article does a better job than I could. My interest in the topic is mostly about why the prequels suck and how could Lucas do such a poor job on them. The theory, mentioned in the article and one that I have heard before, is that Lucas had lots of help and advice on the first 3 movies. However, by the time of the prequels he was this movie making God and no one felt they could question him. If you watch the behind the scenes stuff on the prequel DVD's, there is one interview where Lucas is talking about how great the prequels will be. He is talking about Jar-Jar and waxing lyrical about these great ideas which will come to be universally regarded as crap. The camera pans around the room, which is filled with other key people from his team, and the look on their faces says it all. It is obvious they think the ideas are crap but are afraid to say anything.

I am going to have to read The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.