Plastic Pirates

Prioritizing

2012-01-26T12:03:00.000-05:00

The next step in accomplishing my 2012 resolutions - prioritizing!

Prioritizing my gaming "to-do" list is, for me, an important part of being more organized, and thus getting more gaming stuff done, in 2012. I've broken it down by priority and gaming system to give it some structure. I know, for many of you this will seem way too obsessive-compulsive. But I need to try it this way for it to work, for me. I keep a spreadsheet on Google docs. Here's a screenshot:

The priority level for each task, with the exception of the highest priority, are more suggestions to myself, based on what I want to do next at this moment. They are subject to change as I move from game to game during the year, or as I get bored (which will happen) and want to try a new challenge. The highest priority I am leaving for things that are non-negotiable, for example organizing my workspace, or things that I want to do regularly around my other activities, such as painting figures with the kids.

The status field for each project is to motivate me to get them to the 100% complete level. By the end of the year, I'd like to see nearly every entry here (or at least a good chunk of them), at 100%.

My hope is that this system keeps me focused on a project long enough to get it done before I move on. At the same time, I think having the whole list available will enable me to look forward to what I might want to do next... Of course, I will share my progress (or lack thereof) on the blog.

'Til next time!

Lord of the Desert!

2012-01-21T17:28:00.001-05:00

My son (10 y.o.) invented a new game - Lord of the Desert! We played today after lunch.

We used mummies and dwarfs from Lego .

The dwarfs (me) began by advancing against their implacable undead foes - the mummies (my son)!

But the mummies struck first, killing a brave dwarf warrior...

The dwarfs retaliated, clearing a path for their leader to escape...

A dwarf victory was all but assured...

But in the end, the dwarfs fall one by one to the last mummy warrior (thanks to my usual miserable dice-rolling luck!), leaving their lord to fight on alone! Who will win?

A tie! The dwarf couldn't risk losing in combat, and the mummy didn't want to risk dying in a dwarf trap. So they both danced around their side of the board until a draw was declared. They will live to fight again!

It's a fun game, kind of a cross between chess and Stratego with a die-rolling mechanic added. Fairly basic - three kinds of troops: leaders, bodyguards and warriors. Leaders are not that good in combat (roll a d4 but can re-roll), bodyguards are better (roll a d6, but can die in place of losing your leader), and warriors are the best fighters (roll a d6+1 in combat) but have no special abilities.

I can't wait to see what else my son comes up with!

'Til next time!

My 2012 Resolution - Organizing

2012-01-21T15:10:00.000-05:00

A second part of my New Year's resolution involves organization. As you can see, my work area is well, sort of a mess! (OK, not "sort of," it IS a mess!)

One of my main tasks is to go through and clean out the clutter. I want to have my work area cleared off so that I can actually paint or model when I want to.

The first, but most painful, step towards that goal is to simply to go through what I have and decide what needs to be kept and what can be gotten rid of. Once that decision is made, I need to figure out a way to store what I am keeping that allows me to find it when needed, and have a place to put it away when I am done. I want to get rid of the clutter that magically accumulates on every single flat surface of my gaming area.

To that end I have already taken some small steps:

Paint Station - I see a lot of buzz on the net about painting stations to keep your painting supplies organized and neat. I like the idea, but I didn't want to shell out the bucks for someone else's product. So I took some scrap wood and board I had lying around the basement, made some measurements, and slapped together my own painting station. It is 24 inches wide by 18 inches deep.

It has a section for Vallejo type paints and brushes and tools, as well as spots for water pots. There's a central workspace in which I put an old cutting mat, and two other sections for paint pots that don't fit in the holes, as well as clippers and other tools. I will also add a wet palette, based on PaintPig's excellent tutorial.

My hope is that this will serve two main purposes. First, I want to keep my most-used painting supplies handy so that when I have time to paint I do not waste it trying to find what I need. Second, the fact that it is portable (I put felt pads on the bottom so it will not scratch the coffee or dinner table) means that I don't have to go to the basement to paint. I can paint in the family room, for example, while my kids watch a movie and my wife reads.

Larger game table - A while back I built a small 3' x 3' gaming table, which is great for skirmish games. I built it with a shelf, and wings to hold rules, cards, figures, and a place to roll dice. I like it so much, that I am building myself a larger version, with a 4' x 6' gaming area, and a 1' wing on the short side. This one also has a shelf on the bottom that can be used to store games, figures and stuff that I use frequently. The shelves on the two tables will allow me to better organize and clear out my gaming area in the basement, and have better access to what I own.

Auctions and trades - I have started to box the items that I no longer want to keep. I am trying to catalog them as I box them, with the ultimate goal being to trade them off or sell them. I will advertise them locally first, on the Giga-Bites bitz trading forum. If nobody is interested there, then I guess I will list them on ebay or Bartertown. My plan is to use some of the money from the sale of my excess gaming stuff to fund the expansion of the games I will continue to play. We'll see how that plan goes...

'Til next time!

Simplifying - Part 1

2012-01-13T07:37:00.002-05:00

My first resolution, to post at least twice per month on this blog, is already off to a good start as this is my fourth post this month (fifth if you count my New Year's Eve post on resolutions)... the key will be to keep it up.

But now, onto resolution Number Two...

As posted earlier, one of the steps I need to take in order to make the most of my gaming is to simplify - concentrate more time on fewer games! I have been giving a lot of thought to the games I am interested in and I've come to the conclusion that there are just way too many. (I am sure I am the only gamer ever to have this problem...) So I did something I am not very good at: I gave up!

I surrendered and admitted to myself the reality that my time, talents and treasure have limits - and my gaming desires do not. So I need to discipline myself and concentrate on the games that appeal to me the most.

There is a reason I titled this post "Simplifying - Part 1." This will be an ongoing process, and changes in focus are inevitable. There will be updates as I refine and change my list. I know myself well enough to know that my interests are varied. Simplifying is meant to be a way to be able to enjoy more gaming, not a strait-jacket that will restrict me from anything not on my list. But since adding anything to my gaming repertoire will necessarily take time and money away from something else, I want to be sure I am adding games that will add value to my gaming. It does me no good to devote myself to a ton of great new rules if I never get to actually play them.

The games or companies that I will initially concentrate on (or re-concentrate in most cases), and why:
Song of Blades and Heroes (Ganesha Games) - This is a terrific set of fantasy skirmish rules, and Andrea has translated the basic mechanics into a host of other genres and historical periods. The beauty of SoBH is that, like Force on Force, it is not dependent on any one manufacturer's figures - they'll all work, and you can mix and match to your heart's desire. In fact, one of our favorite ways to play SoBH involves using Lego minifigures for the warbands. Stay tuned for several upcoming posts on Lego and gaming.
     In particular, I plan to concentrate on creating Lego and 28mm warbands and terrain for basic fantasy battles (dwarves, elves, humans, undead, etc.). I also want to model some small Napoleonic units to use with Song of Drums and Shakos. Skirmish-level games are about all I have the patience for when it comes to Napoleonics - painting 500+ figures to field an army is not my cup of tea. And, I will work on modern-day and/or post-apocalyptic warbands and zombie hordes to use with Fear and Faith and Flying Lead. Andrea has many additional settings and genres under development right now, all using the same elegant mechanics, and I am looking forward to seeing them as they become available.

Dystopian Wars (Spartan Games) - this is a beautiful game, and has very elegant mechanics in my opinion. It is not overly complicated, which means that I can play with the kids. The miniatures for Dystopian Wars are beautiful! I am very much looking forward to getting some painted and on the table, as I already have a good start on an FSA fleet for myself and a Blazing Sun fleet for my son. And, as Spartan Games has shown with month after month of new releases, the game is expanding and they are continually adding new models to it.
     I also love the new look of the models Spartan is re-releasing for Uncharted Seas. From what I understand, the mechanics of the two games are similar, so sliding into Uncharted Seas should not require learning a totally new set of rules. But that is for the future - first I will concentrate on painting up the models I have for Dystopian Wars, and getting in enough games to feel comfortable with the rules.

Flames of War (Battlefront Miniatures) - I've long been a student of World War II and its engagements, and the few times I have played FoW I have really enjoyed it. I think the scale is perfect for WWII gaming that includes armored forces as well as infantry. I already have the Second Edition rules (yes, I know they just announced Third Edition!) and many of the supplements, and I have a ton of models that need painting. I may need to add some small units here and there as I build my force, but for the most part I don't think I'll have to sink a ton of (more) money into this game right away (sorry Battlefront!).

Force on Force (Ambush Alley Games) - This is the latest ruleset I've bought, and I am very eager to try it out with some real games to see how it all goes together. My goal is to try this with 20mm figures. I don't have any yet, but I have started putting together a typical Middle Eastern-style building to see how the scale compares to 28mm and see how much actual terrain I'll need to fill a gaming table.

Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game (Games Workshop) - As a long-time fan of the Tolkien books, as well as the movies, this is a must for me. Especially as Peter Jackson is releasing the Hobbit films in December 2012 and 2013, which I hope will spur new releases and expansions for this game. I already have most of the rulebooks I need, and a ton of models to get me started painting, so I can get stuck in without a huge investment of additional gaming capital. Since Games Workshop prices are generally quite high, this is a very important point.
     The LotR gaming system has been exported to pirates (Legends of the High Seas) and cowboys (Legends of the Wild West), so once again, I can play several themes by learning one basic system. Besides, as you can tell from the title of my blog, I have a thing for pirates, and modeling ships is one of my favorite things to do. I've got LotHS and all the LotOW books, as well as bunches of models to paint up already in addition to some ships that just need painting and detailing to be complete.

That should be more than enough miniature wargaming goodness to keep me busy in 2012 (and beyond). Just before Christmas I picked up the Pathfinder Beginner Box, so I'm also planning to do some more role-playing gaming with the kids. I'm also hoping to play more board games ranging from Survive! Escape from Atlantis, to Lego Heroica, to the Dungeons and Dragons games Legend of Drizzt and Wrath of Ashardalon (we don't yet own Castle Ravenloft).

As you can see from the list, I tend to prefer systems rather than games - learning lots of different rules can be time-consuming, complicated and confusing. I like learning a system once, then apply the basics of that system to different themes and genres. Also, I tend towards skirmish level games, rather than army games. While I love the visual appeal of having hundreds of minis on the table, the reality is that at this stage of my gaming life that is just not feasible.

What games do I own that didn't make the cut? (Please keep in mind that none of the statements below are intended as a knock against any of the games mentioned. They are purely my opinions in relation to my particular gaming situation. And since my opinions and my situation are subject to change, I may revisit any or all of them in the future.)

Warhammer and Warhammer 40K - first of all, I think Games Workshop prices are too high. The overall consensus of the reviews I have read for their new Finecast line of resin models has been negative. Also, I find that their world is too dark for my current tastes. This may be because my views have changed, or because their fluff has changed, or because now I am more interested in games I can share with my kids. But I do know that I am no longer comfortable with a lot of the backstory to their games.
     I have a ton of Warhammer and Warhammer 40k rulebooks (going back to the original Rogue Trader) which I will likely sell off or trade. I will likely hang on to many of the models, since I can use them with several other game systems.

Malifaux (Wyrd) - This is a tough one, but it boils down to the fact that I do not want to invest the time to master a new gaming system, coupled with the fact that the world of Malifaux is very dark as well. First the system - the use of cards rather than dice is a fantastic innovation, and I like it a lot. But in addition, every model has special abilities and triggers that play off of other models. At this stage of my gaming life, I don't have the desire or time to invest in learning all of the possible combinations and maximizing them to my advantage. Second - as I mentioned above when talking about Games Workshop, the world in which Malifaux is set is quite dark, and while that is not necessarily bad in and of itself (a zombie-pocalypse is dark too, and can be quite fun to game), it is too much for my kids and me. All of the characters cater to their dark, evil side in some way, with some being outright serial killers.
     However, I do love the look of the models, in particular the Guild guardsmen and some of the Outcast figures, and I plan on using them in other gaming systems rather than as their intended Malifaux characters.

Now that I have begun the process of simplifying my gaming, I can turn to the next step - organizing!

Lucas' Egyptian Undead Horde for SoBH

2012-01-10T18:23:00.000-05:00

My son, with the intent of kicking my butt in Song of Blades and Heroes, has slowly but surely been collecting an unstoppable horde of Lego undead Egyptian mummies (Tomb Kings minifigures, basically). They are from the Pharaoh's Quest theme of Lego sets. Like me, he puts as much importance on the background story for an army as he does on the composition - fluff rules!

So, without further ado, I present:

The Undead Legions of Amset-Ra!

(Lucas used Ray Forsythe's awesome SoBH warband builder to create his characters, and he wrote the descriptions himself.)

Pharaoh Amset-Ra is the cruelest, most powerful mummy of them all. With his animated jackal statues, he will stop at nothing to rule the world of the living.

Amset-Ra - 120 points
Quality: 2+
Combat: 3
Special rules: Evil, Leader, Magic-User, Undead, Unique

Jackal Guardian - 39 points
Quality: 4+
Combat: 4
Special rules: Artificial, Evil, Stealth

Amset-Ra's armies are led by his general, Ramses. His impressive scorpion statue, his swarms of scorpions, and his incredibly loyal mummy underlings are a force to be reckoned with. Though not the brightest mummy in the graveyard, Ramses will stop at nothing to impress the Pharaoh by murdering scores of his enemies.

Ramses - 103 points
Quality: 2+
Combat: 4
Special rules: Evil, Hero, Savage, Undead, Unique

Scorpion Horde Mummy - 27 points
Quality: 4+
Combat: 3
Special rules: Evil, Undead

Stone Scorpion - 136 points
Quality: 3+
Combat: 5
Special rules: Artificial, Huge, Long Move, Slow, Terror, Tough

Golden Scorpion Swarm - 12 points
Quality: 4+
Combat: 1
Special rules: Animal, Clinging, Poison, Short Move, Swarm

Scorpion Swarm - 5 points
Quality: 4+
Combat: 0
Special rules: Animal, Clinging, Poison, Short Move, Swarm

Lord Hotep the snake charmer is feared amongst the citizens of Egypt. With two deadly minions, he wreaks havoc among the living. Rumor has it that he has recently awoken a fearsome cobra statue.

Hotep - 90 points
Quality: 2+
Combat: 3
Special rules: Evil, Hero, Poison, Undead, Unique

Serpent Guard Mummy - 27 points
Quality: 4+
Combat: 3
Special rules: Evil, Undead

Heqet is the aerial master of the pharaoh's mummy warriors. Highly intelligent, he devises many techniques and strategies. No mortal man has ever seen him and lived to tell the almost indubitably gruesome and horrific tale.

Heqet - 96 points
Quality: 3+
Combat: 4
Special rules: Evil, Flying, Hero, Undead, Unique

Flying Mummy - 42 points
Quality: 4+
Combat: 3
Special rules: Evil, Flying, Undead

Fresh from the grave, the Pharaoh animated them and now they are his slaves. The lowest of the low, the mummies of the Osiris Horde take comfort in messily and violently killing anything that comes their way. When set upon their prey, they never give up until it is no longer living.

Osiris Horde Mummy - 12 points
Quality: 4+
Combat: 2
Special rules: Evil, Slow, Undead

Secondary Egyptian citizens turned undead, no one ever bothered to mummify them. But do not sell them short, for any reason. They are quick to shoot, and when they do, they almost never miss.

Skeletal Archer - 26 points
Quality: 4+
Combat: 2
Special rules: Evil, Shooter: Medium, Undead

Riding ahead before the initial force, these heartless horrors are harbingers of imminent doom. Their main task is to bring down the opponent's defenses, if not the opponent himself...

Scarab Rider - 59 points
Quality: 4+
Combat: 4
Special rules: Evil, Long Move, Mounted, Undead

My dwarves have issued, and Lucas' mummies have accepted, a challenge to combat! I'll try and get the battle report posted soon.

'Til next time.

A Lego dungeon crawl!

2012-01-05T19:26:00.000-05:00

My 10-year-old son Lucas is a certified Lego-maniac (wonder where he gets it from?) and was very excited to see the latest additions to Lego's line of games based on their building toys.

The four games, along with a special Lego case to hold the components.

Among the recent offerings is a set of four games (available individually) under the Heroica name. They are: Draida Bay, Waldurk Forest, Caverns of Nathuz and Castle Fortaan. They can be played as stand-alone games, but the nice thing is that they can also be combined into one large game.

My son has combined all four sets into a giant custom dungeon!

The games come with different heroes that you can play (there are a total of six different ones) in their quest to free the land of Heroica from the evil monsters. The theme is pretty standard fantasy role-playing fare, and anyone familiar with Dungeons & Dragons will recognize the different classes of heroes (wizard, barbarian, druid, ranger, knight and rogue).

The heroes prepare to enter the dungeon.

The throne room of the evil Goblin King awaits them at the end!

The game components themselves are Lego pieces that can be assembled into several configurations to form the game board. The characters are represented by "microfigs," that are smaller than the usual Lego minifigs. In my opinion, that was a mistake, as the figures can really only be used as game pieces. They lack the size and articulation that make Lego minifigs so awesome.

All the figures from the four games.

As far as game play itself, well, that is where my son and I have differing opinions. I felt it was entirely too dependent on luck, with the roll of the dice determining everything from movement to combat. And the combat itself is very simplified. My son liked it, though he too admits there is a "tiny bit" too much luck.

There is a small amount of strategy involved, as characters have the opportunity to take different paths to the goal, or to gain weapons and equipment along the way, but a bad (or good) run of dice rolls can determine the outcome of the whole game.

I think the idea of a Lego dungeon crawl is terrific, and the ability to combine the games into one larger adventure is sweet. I think that using these components, it would not be terribly difficult to cobble together some nice rules to make the game more strategic and less random. I am certain there are already Lego fans doing that very thing. And, these games with their simpler rules can serve as an introduction to gaming for younger players.

My son says it is an excellent game, despite the luck factor. And after first buying the Caverns of Nathuz he has put his money where his mouth is and gotten the rest as well, either with his own money or as presents (the last one came as a Christmas gift). I think it says something when a kid wants to spend his allowance on a game. So, from that standpoint, the game is a success for Lego.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate Heroica a 4 on gameplay, but a 7 on components. My son gives it an 8. After playing it a couple of times, I was honestly pretty bored. But the game has a ton of great Lego dungeon components, and I can see us coming up with our own homebrew dungeon rules to make it much more playable.

Now, what I'd really LOVE to see is for Lego to release the characters and monsters from Heroica as full minifigures - that would be enough to get me to spend my allowance too!

Imagine these guys as full-blown minifigs!

'Til next time!

Song of Bricks and Minifigs

2012-01-04T19:21:00.001-05:00

I've already written about Ganesha Games' Song of Blades and Heroes, and what a terrific set of all-purpose skirmish games rules Andrea has put together. In addition there are now versions for modern combat, horror, science fiction, Arthurian mythos, swashbuckling and piracy, and more are coming out every month.

Since the game is designed to be used with any and all miniature lines and scales, there really is no limit to what figures you can use. Since my painting and modelling time is somewhat limited, one of the ways I play SoBH is with Lego minifigures.

I've been a Lego fan for a long time, and the variety, quality and just plain "coolness" factor of their figures has been increasing year after year. Minifigures are totally customizable. Want to give your fighter an axe instead of a sword? Go right ahead. Don't like his expression? Change his head! The possibilities are endless. The one downside is that after Lego retires a theme or a set, the prices can skyrocket on the secondary market. My suggestion is if you see a set with cool figures, buy it. You won't regret it.

Recently, Lego began releasing sets of individually bagged minifigures, priced at $3 each. They are currently about to release series 6. These come in a polybag, and you don't know which of the 12 in the series you are getting... unless you get to be an expert at feeling for particular components through the bag. My kids and I are now experts at identifying what makes each figure unique, and feeling for it. Lizardman - feel for the tail. Cavewoman - the club. Dwarf - short legs and winged helmet. We can go through a bin of these guys in record time and pick out exactly what we want.

I've gone ahead and created a couple of SoBH warbands, using some of Lego's recent releases and the stats in the Ganesha books. I have plans for many more, and I will share them here as I get them done.

For now, we have Lizardmen, Elves and Dwarves.

First up: the Lizardmen, evil minions of the Dark Elves. I envision these guys as supporting Dark Elf warbands, while at the same time being able to field a small band of raiders on their own.

We start with the grunts - they're armed with clubs and shields, as well as some missile troops with javelins and shields.

Lizardman Warrior (w/hand weapon & shield) - 52 points
Quality: 3+
Combat: 4
Special: Amphibious, Tailslap

Lizardman Skirmisher (w/javelins & shield) - 46 points
Quality: 3+
Combat:3
Special: Amphibious, Shooter: Short, Tailslap

We've also got a guy who can act as leader (if the raiding party is on its own) or as a champion if they are part of a larger Dark Elf force. They're both personalities, and they cost the same. The only difference is one has the leader ability and one has the tough ability.

Lizardman Leader (w/hand weapon & shield) - 82 points
Quality: 3+
Combat: 4
Special: Amphibious, Leader, Tailslap

Lizardman Champion (w/hand weapon & shield) - 82 points
Quality: 3+
Combat: 4
Special: Amphibious, Tailslap, Tough

With either a leader or a champion, the full warband of six models comes in at 330 points, with 25% personality points.

Next we have some Elves. These figures came out in series 3, and my regret is that I was not able to find more of them. Initially, Walmart was the only place we found them. With each succeeding series, they've been in more and more stores, and new we can get them at the grocery store, the drugstore, Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, and more...

Elf Warrior (w/spear & shield) - 38 points
Quality 2+
Combat 3

Elf Archer (w/longbow & dagger) - 55 points
Quality 2+
Combat 3
Special: Shooter: Long

Elf Mage (dagger) - 63 points
Quality: 2+
Combat: 2
Special rules: Magic-user

Elf King: (sword and shield, chainmail) - 100 points
Quality: 2+
Combat: 5
Special rules: Leader

The Elf King is a customized minifigure my son made for me. Thanks Lucas!

Elf Swordmaster (twin duelling swords) - 88 points
Quality: 2+
Combat: 5
Special: Combat Master

I am still working on getting the components to put together a full warband of Elves.

This brings us to my personal favorites - the Dwarves! I was lucky enough to get a bunch of the earlier, and now discontinued, Lego Dwarves at a decent price, plus the last batch of minifigures, Series 5, had a Dwarf character, and I was able to get a lot of those as well.

Dwarf Warrior (w/hand weapon & shield) - 34 points
Quality: 3+
Combat: 4
Special: Short Move

Dwarf Lord (w/two-handed weapon) - 88 points
Quality: 2+
Combat: 4
Special: Fearless, Leader, Short Move

Dwarf Elite Warrior w/two-handed weapon)- 50 points
Quality: 2+
Combat: 4
Special: Short Move, Steadfast

Dwarf Gunsmith (w/two handguns) - 40 points
Quality: 3+
Combat: 3
Special: Sharpshooter, Shooter: Medium, Short Move

Dwarf ThunderGunner (w/blunderbuss) - 41 points
Quality: 4+
Combat: 3
Special: Blast,Short Move

Dwarf Berserker (w/hand axes) - 48 points
Quality: 3+
Combat: 4
Special: Berserk, Fearless, Short Move

I am still working on equipping some with crossbows (I'll name them Quarrellers because I love the pun!), as well as a bear-drawn chariot for my noble.

My son has put together quite a force of undead Egyptian mummies, including flying mummies, scarab-riding mummies and more. I will dedicate a whole post to his army in the near future!

As for me, I will be working on adding more variety to my current warbands, as well as putting together my Dark Elves. I am especially eager to see if I can use some of the raptors from the new Lego Dinosaurs theme to make lizard-mounted Dark Elf cavalry!

'Til next time!

2012 Gaming Resolutions

2011-12-31T09:15:00.000-05:00

OK, so with the start of a new year comes the opportunity for a fresh start. As so many people do at this time of year, I am going to make some resolutions, and do my best to stick to them throughout the year. But, rather than being about diet, finances, etc., my resolutions are related to gaming.

First, I resolve to post at least twice per month on this blog. My posts to date have been erratic, to say the least. Mostly this is due to the fact that between family commitments and work I have a hard time finding opportunities to write. So my new strategy will be more frequent, though perhaps shorter, posts.

The second resolution is based on one simple fact in my gaming life: I am spread way too thin. Too many interests and too little actual time, money and resources available for gaming. Coupled with my lack of organization and short attention span it leads to a gazillion or so unfinished projects and very little actually completed.

I'd describe myself as a "hummingbird" when it comes to gaming... I flit over to the newest shiny ruleset or figures, and hover there for a while until another grabs my attention. I don't stick around long enough to really finish anything before another, newer "hotness" leads me away. Sometimes, I flit back to an earlier game, especially if they release new figures or rules, before heading off to another. This leads to a work area covered with half-finished models that need to be cleared away in order to start another piece that will end up only partly completed.

So what's the solution? Simplify, organize and prioritize.

Simplify - take a good, hard, realistic look at the gaming systems, models, etc., that I have and decide which ones to keep and which ones to get rid of. My hobby desires are larger than my schedule and my wallet, so something needs to give. And since the chances of my wallet expanding enough to be able to accommodate my gaming desires are pretty thin, I need to cut back on the number of games I am into.

Organize - making a concerted effort to keep my workspace organized will make it easier for me to actually accomplish something during the limited time I have for hobby activities. I want to be able to jump right in as soon as I am able, rather than spending most of my free time moving stuff around and preparing for painting or modeling. I may only get 15 or 30 minutes here and there to work on my hobbies, rather than a block of several hours, so I need to be able to maximize that time.

Prioritize - this is related to simplifying. Once I narrow down the games I will play, I need to decide what the next project will be. When the list is made, I'll have to discipline myself to work on a particular project, and finish it! Unless there is a very compelling reason, I want to actually complete a project before moving on to the next. I think that keeping a log of what I am working on and my progress, and sharing that on this blog, will help me with that.

My third resolution is to actually play games! I spend my hobby time painting and modelling, and find that I actually do not get the models to the table nearly as often as I'd like. So I am going to play a real game of something at least twice per month. Sometimes that might be Song of Blades and Heroes using Lego minifigures, or a Dystopian Wars battle, or a game of Legend of Drizzt. It may be just with the kids, or at the hobby shop. But it will happen more often in 2012 than it did in 2011!

I hope that 2012 brings each and every one of you peace, prosperity and blessings. Happy New Year!

Force on Force and Enduring Freedom: First Impressions

2011-08-01T18:29:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I received Ambush Alley’s Force on Force modern wargaming rules published by Osprey. Now that I’ve had an opportunity to go through them, I thought I’d post my first impressions. First and foremost, in terms of production values, the rulebook is of the highest quality! It is a beautiful full-color hardback book. The book is filled throughout with images and drawings. The Osprey illustrations are magnificent, as always, as are the excellent pictures of real troops in action as well as of miniatures and terrain. The close-up shots of figures “in action” are clear and crisp, and make me envious of the painter's skill. (There's a post on the Ambush Alley forums here that links to WIP pictures of the Elheim USMC figures - they are gorgeous!)

My one big complaint is the copy editing. I am used to better from Osprey. The book contains several typos throughout, including two glaring ones. There is a typo on the back cover, and the Campaign Guide section is listed as "Campagin" at the top of every page from 144 to 159. I am used to better editing from the Osprey folks. I am not sure of the cause, but it feels as if the volume was rushed to print. This is admittedly a very nit-picky complaint of an otherwise beautiful book.

As far as the game rules themselves, I’ll have to play a few games to make better sense of them. I am a “learn by doing” type, so I want to play through some turns and mechanics before reaching a conclusion. However, at first glance, the rules look comprehensive, yet not to the point where you will get bogged down in detail. The abstractions make sense without over-simplifying.

As a follow-up to my FoF purchase, I got the Enduring Freedom scenario book. I have to say, this is a great book! The historical summary alone is worth the price of admission in my opinion. One issue, which is also present in FoF, is the use of too many military acronyms, not all of which are included in the glossary. I get that modern military lingo is chock full of acronyms, but I am a gamer that does not have that background, and had to turn to the Internet to decipher some of them.

But that is a minor point - overall the book is great. The scenarios are interesting, not just as exercises in tactics, but as historical records. The fact that each scenario is accompanied by a small blurb detailing the historical outcome is very helpful and educational. Not only do I want to be able to re-create the engagements detailed in the book, but I want to know “what really happened,” and this book takes care of that.

Also, the book solidified my decision to go with 20mm figures. The USMC Elhiem figures look great, and I will definitely be placing an order as soon as the finance committee approves the expenditure! In addition, I will be picking up some vehicles from S&S Models as well as looking into picking up some Dragon models of various Humvees.

And, I joined Ambush Alley’s SOG program. The list of benefits (a discount at several figure and terrain manufacturers, getting several exclusive scenario packs, etc.) was impressive, but mostly I want to continue to support this fantastic gaming company. The Ambush Alley team have done a terrific job with the development of these rules, and they deserve our support in order to keep them hard at work churning out more fabulous supplements! Based on Force on Force and Enduring Freedom, I will be picking up all the supplements including the first one, Road to Baghdad: Iraq 2003. Even if I never play those specific scenarios, the books are worthy of being a part of every wargamer or military enthusiast's collection.

There was one interesting development regarding the Enduring Freedom scenarios. I asked my 10-year-old son what he thought about playing through some of the missions. He said he did not want to play a game based on a conflict that is currently taking place. He said it would not feel right to him to play a game simulating the deaths of U.S. troops while those troops were really dying every day. To me, from a purely intellectual point of view, wargaming helps me to more deeply appreciate the job the Coalition forces are doing, the risks they are taking, and the constraints under which they are operating. It makes me more grateful for their willingness to serve and sacrifice, and helps me understand, albeit in a very small way, their current situation. Having said that, I understand and respect my son’s position, and did not press him on it. There are plenty of other wargaming opportunities with past or fictional conflicts for us to take advantage of.

My daughter, who is 13, said she'd give the game a try, as along as she can play the U.S. forces. So I may still have one partner in crime...

I have not seen FoF being played in the local game shops (and I must say that I am a bit disappointed to only have a couple to choose from - it’s the one big disadvantage to living so far from civilization!), so initially my games will be strictly home-grown affairs. Once I get at least two decent opposing forces ready and feel confident with the mechanics of the game, I may head out to see if I can find opponents...

'Til next time.

Force on Force!

2011-07-13T19:51:00.000-04:00

Yikes! It's been a while since I posted. Real life and work have conspired to keep me busy and away from gaming from far too long.

Today I received from Amazon the Force on Force modern combat rules from Ambush Alley and Osprey. I heard about the rules on Neil Shuck's excellent Meeples & Miniatures podcast. He interviewed the Ambush Alley guys in episode 73.

The best part is I got them for free!* (OK, technically not free. I took our change jar to the Coinstar machine at the supermarket, and got a voucher for Amazon, which I used to buy the rules. When you use the change to get a gift card they do not charge you the normally exorbitant fee. Since I didn't have to pay "out of pocket" it feels free. The change was just sitting around taking up space anyway!) And, it came the day before my birthday!

So now to read the book, and see how the rules go together. I'll have to get some modern combat miniatures, but maybe I can use some birthday money for that. The biggest decision I'll have to make is whether to go with 28mm, which is the scale I use for all my other wargaming (with the exception of Flames of War and Dystopian Wars), or try scaling down a bit. There are some really nice figures out there in 20mm and 15mm. And they have the advantage of being cheaper and requiring less table space to play a game. The 20mm figures are 1/72 scale, which opens up a whole world of not too expensive vehicle model kits as well. Hmmm, decisions, decisons...

'Til next time.

Learning Dystopian Wars

2011-02-01T17:27:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we made it to Giga-Bites to meet with David Boeren, who graciously agreed to show us the Dystopian Wars ropes.

I've got the rulebook, and have read it, but it is always good to have someone who knows what they are doing around for the first few games. It is one thing to read a mechanic, but I find it easier to see it in action. I learn better by doing than by reading.

David and I had exchanged messages on the Spartan Games forum, and were able to agree on a Saturday afternoon. I brought Iya and Lucas with me, as they were both interested in finally getting a game in. Lucas has been excited about this since the first time he saw a Samurai rocket trooper in the book. Iya is a bit more reserved, but is always game to try something new.

We got there right on time, and David was finishing up a game of Warmachine. While he did that, the kids were able to get something to eat. One of the very cool things about gaming at Giga-Bites is the food! It is always great, and not having to worry about where to feed the kids when they are gaming with me is priceless.

We soon got out a flat, blue board to represent the sea, tossed some islands on it, and got down to learning the game. Since Lucas is planning on collecting an Empire of the Blazing Sun fleet, and I am going to go with the Federated States of America, we decided to use those models for our game. That's another advantage of having David show us the game - he has four fully painted fleets! As usual, my children decided to team up against me, with Iya and Lucas playing the Blazing Sun fleet and me taking the FSA. Each of the opposing fleets had a battleship, three cruisers, six frigates, five tiny flyer fighters and five tiny flyer bombers.

David started off by doing a quick rundown of the rules for the kids. He was extremely patient, and explained the turn sequence, movement and basic firing. As mentioned, I was familiar with the rules from reading them, but it makes a world of difference to actually put them into action.

The kids ponder the rules.

The Blazing Sun fleet was deployed in a very geometric, symmetrical pattern. Oh, and when my son finished his Gatorade the empty bottle was placed in the corner as additional terrain - some sort of steampunk nuclear reactor cooling tower!

Lucas places the cooling tower.

Initially the Blazing Sun frigates came up and were able to sink one of my frigates using rockets. It helps, and David can corroborate this, that my kids rolled exceptionally well all day, being able to score multiple hits over and over again. In the meantime, my fortune was running true to form, and I was unable to inflict damage even when rolling ten or so dice at a a time...

The battle developed slowly, with the frigates exchanging fire, each side suffering some casualties, but nothing major.

The kids moved their cruisers up, and turned them to face my ships with their powerful broadsides. They were able to cause a fire on the shield generator on my battleship, but the damage was not too bad, at least not yet.

The kids plan their next move.

Blazing Sun cruisers turn to fire their broadsides!

Meanwhile, Blazing Sun aircraft came in to mop up the last remaining small FSA ship. My bombers also went in, and were jumped by enemy fighters. While they disrupted my attack, it was costly, as my fighters swooped in to protect the bombers, wiping out the Imperial fighters in the ensuing dogfight. At this point, all my frigates were gone, and I had managed to destroy three opposing frigates.

Frigates engage.

The FSA frigate "screen" is reduced to one ship!

David offers advice to the kids.

With the FSA cruisers having such strong main turrets, I steamed straight into the teeth of the enemy line, managing to sink one of my Blazing Sun conterparts. Meanwhile, the battleships exchanged some shots, but were unable to do more than scratch each other's paint.

FSA cruisers steam into the attack!

How do I sink the FSA battleship?

Since it was a learning game, the game play was a bit slow, and we decided to make the third turn our last since we had to get going. Now the Blazing Sun fleet unleashed its full fury on my cruisers, managing to sink one. In return, I think I was able to send one more Imperial frigate beneath the waves. After another round of ineffectual firing from our big ships, the turn ended.

FSA cruisers take a pounding. The center ship is mortally wounded!

The battleships square off.

Final tally: I sank four Blazing Sun frigates and a cruiser, and destroyed all the enemy fighters, and a pair of bombers. The kids managed to completely wipe out both my squadrons of frigates (six ships) and a cruiser, and shot down a pair of fighters. The battleships each took some damage, although mine was burning as well. All in all, although close, we agreed that the victory went to the kids. Without screening frigates, my cruisers were very exposed, and the best option for my wounded battleship was to slink off for repairs.

Final fleet positions.

So, what did we think of the game?

I loved it! I cannot wait to get my own fleet for this game. It was a ton of fun, and although it was not simple it was very streamlined. The basic mechanic of "exploding" dice is terrific. (i.e., if you roll a six it counts as two hits and you can roll again. Theoretically, if you continue to roll sixes you can do unlimited damage.) And it is consistent - it is used for shooting attacks, torpedo attacks, rocket attacks, boarding attacks, bombing attacks, air combat, etc. Once you have it down, the rest of the game falls into place beautifully.

David used small colored cubes to indicate damage, crew losses, and fuel status for the flyers. I liked it, but it was a bit clunky to move four or five cubes, for example, each time you moved a tiny flyer base. I think there are other options out there for recording fuel consumption that I think will work better for me. Whether that will be using small dice, flight stands or dials attached to the tokens themselves, I am not sure yet.

What I am sure of, is that I am hooked on this game! I am already looking at when I can free up some time on a Saturday to get together with David again. In the meantime I will work on assembling a fleet of my own. Speaking of David, I cannot thank him enough. As I mentioned he was gracious and patient, and very encouraging with the kids. He'd seen some of Lucas' drawings on the Spartan games forum, and made sure to compliment him. Lucas was very excited to meet someone who had seen his pictures online.

As for the kids... Iya thought the rules were a little complex, but thought it was interesting that you had such a variety of offensive options from which to choose, and that you could use multiple weapons to attack on each activation. Lucas liked it quite a bit. He says the only downside is that they didn't get to sink my battleship, although the highlight of the game for him was wiping out my frigate squadrons! He thinks the game's complexity is "just right" - not too difficult too learn, but not too easy either. His favorite thing in the game are the Samurai rocket troopers. (Which is why he did not miss an opportunity to attempt to board my ships, even when his assault troops were seriously outnumbered! Both assaults proved to be suicidal, as all the attacking and defending troops were wiped out each time.)

And, Lucas was inspired to draw another scene - this one depicting a dogfight between Prussian and FSA planes:

Prussian and FSA flyers dogfighting

So the verdict is in, and this game is a winner! Apart from it being a terrific miniatures game, the richness and depth of the background that Neil and the Spartan Games crew have managed to cram into just the first rulebook is astounding! So, thanks to Spartan Games and David, my family now has a new obsession - steampunk naval combat!

'Til next time.

Another Pirate Game at Dave's!

2011-01-19T21:11:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Jan. 8, my son Lucas and I headed over to Dave's for a session of pirate gaming. Dace had cooked up another interesting and flavorful scenario.

This time, the marauding band of pirates wake from their alcohol-induced slumber in a tavern deep in the British town, far from their boats, and have the unenviable task of hauling their ill-gotten gains back to their ships before being stopped by arriving British reinforcements or bribed local militia deciding to go loyal again!

The game was played on Dave's huge gaming table, filled as usual with tons of awesome terrain. The one difference is that he was in the middle of playing a Napoleonic battle on the same table! So he covered the blocks of Napoleonic troops with cotton batting, and we played that those were banks of smoke rising from buildings that the pirates had torched during their pillagin' and lootin'.

The pirates began the game in a tavern, groggy from too much rum and ale. They could choose to use wagons to carry loot overland, or canoes to go down the river.

At the other end of the river, their ships await - ready to sail off as soon as the loot is loaded.

Oh oh! The first hurdle - one of the militia officers stops the pirates, and demand that they go back to the cemetery behind the tavern to collect that treasure. They'd need all of it to bribe the militiamen, so they decide to go back.

Meanwhile, closer to shore, the arriving British troops assault some of the turncoat militia in a small fort.

After that they advance on the main fortifications, defended by the bulk of the militia.

The pirates, meanwhile, begin their journey, deciding to hedge their bets by taking both the wagons and the canoes.

The militiamen took up positions in a cornfield and tried to hold off the advancing Brits.

After taking the small fort, the main British column continues their advance on the castle. The first unit to try the advance was shattered by the defenders fire, but succeeding waves of disciplined troops were able to take the walls.

The game was quite interesting, and took place on two completely separate fronts. On the one hand, the main pirate party was making good time down the river. The wagons went in a different direction as those pirates joined some militia trying to break through the British lines.

The canoes of the pirates arrive at the last obstacle, and will have to transfer the treasure from the boats to the mules for the last leg of the journey. They are accompanied by the militia officer, who decided to throw his lot in with the pirates rather than face British justice for accepting bribes.

At that moment, a British frigate decided to go a'piratin'.

At that point we ran out of time, with the pirates on one side of the table close to reaching their objective, while the other group found themselves in a stalemate against stronger and more disciplined British troops.

All in all, it was a great game, and Lucas and I had lots of fun. This was his first effort at a game of this type and scale. I think he did great, although I could tell he was getting a bit bored towards the end. By that time, though, we'd been playing for four hours, so I can't blame him. For being nine years old he was awesome!

I have a couple of observations - the biggest one being that the board was a bit too large for a small-scale game. It took too many turns for the pirates to come to grips with the militia on the one side, and make their way down the river on the other. Also, we're caught in a sort of middle ground between a full-blown large scale game, and a skirmish game. I think we're using too many figures for a quick and dirty pirate game. But not enough to justify using large-scale horse-and-musket rules. Some things to think about before the next gaming session...

'Til next time.

Malifaux Gaming Table and more pictures by Lucas

2011-01-03T19:30:00.000-05:00

Sunday was sunny, and I was able to go outside and complete my Malifaux gaming table! So, in the first week of January I have already knocked one item off my 2011 to do list. Woohoo!

Malifaux Gaming Table

The table does stand a bit tall, as I neglected to take into account the height of the caster wheels when I built it. Having the wheels on it is key, since it allows me to just wheel it to whichever part of the basement I need it as I continue the larger project of organizing the entire basement. It works fine for adults, and since I come from a model railroading background I love the low-level point of view, where terrain actually does block your line of sight, but it is a tad high for the kids. I'll have to get a couple of barstools for them to sit on when we play.

The playing area is 3'x3', perfect for Malifaux and other skirmish games. It is set up so I can set a 3'x3' board in the top frame, or two 3'x1.5' sections (which is what is in there now) if I want to make modular gaming boards. I put a shelf on the bottom part so I can use that area for storage of bins containing unused terrain or other stuff (you can never have too many places to stash stuff!).

Left side "wing"

Right side "wing"

Removable terrain board

Another view of removable terrain board

I put a pair of "wings" on the table, because I think it is always a good idea to have a place for rules, figures, drinks, snacks, etc., away from the gaming area. On the left is a flat tabletop for books and food and even drinks. One advantage of having it set below the level of the gameboard is that if someone accidentally spills a drink, it won't ruin the terrain and figures. I am thinking about adding dedicated drink holders to the sides to minimize the chances of that happening. On the right, that tabletop is divided into three sections. The sections have a base of foamcore covered with felt to minimize the rattle of rolling dice. Each player can get one section for playing cards, rolling dice, etc, while the center section is used for casualty figures that have been removed from play. Or each player can keep their figures and reserves in a section and roll dice in the center. It all depends on the game.

With some Malifaux and Mordheim terrain

It seems as if the table will be quite practical, and it looks pretty good. The woodworkers among you may have noticed that it is a little over-engineered, and is probably a bit sturdier than it needs to be, but that is how I like to build things. I think I could probably climb on top if it and it would hold up just fine.

Overall I am very pleased with how the table turned out. Another purpose for it was a "proof-of-concept" or test run for a larger 4'x6' or 5'x7' table that I am planning on building later this year, and I learned a lot while putting it together. For example, work from plans! For this table, I had an idea of what I wanted to do, and started sawing, drilling and assembling from a picture in my head. It turned out okay, but I could have saved some effort by planning ahead.

Also, the entire table, except for the MDF board I used on the wings, came from scrap and salvage lumber. The frame for the tabletop came from a prior attempt at a 4'x4' gaming table. The lumber for the structure of the table came from the dumpster next door. They are building a new house on the lot beside ours, and they toss all their lumber scraps away - hooray for me. Several leftover pieces of 2"x4" and 2"x6" later - voila! A gaming table.

Now to finish my Guild Outpost and painting some crews so I can play some Malifaux! (This will include painting up some Gremlins for my son to play, as he has chosen an Ophelia crew and been picking up the figures one at a time with his allowance and getting them as gifts. He has almost the complete Ophelia crew and is looking forward to completing it soon. And I've already been commissioned to build him a Gremlin bayou swamp table for them to play on! Yet more for my to-do list...)

On the Dystopian Wars front, I posted Lucas' drawing on the Spartan Games forum and it was so well received, he decided to do several more:

Blazing Sun vs FSA

Covenant of Antarctica vs FSA

Covenant of Antarctica vs Prussian Empire

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

'Til next time!

Dystopian Wars picture

2011-01-01T21:42:00.000-05:00

First of all - Happy New Year! I hope you all have a healthy and happy 2011.

I am looking forward to doing more gaming, modeling and painting in 2011. My goal is to get some fleets completed for Dystopian Wars (more on that below), as well as get at least two crews fully painted for Malifaux. I am working on a 3'x3' Malifaux gaming table which would have been completed today except for the rain. (I do my woodworking outside since my basement is rather cluttered...) In addition, I'd like to finish a larger 4'x6' or 5'x7' table as well. Which of course will require organizing the basement in order to make room for it... I am already behind and it's only day 1 of 2011!

So, as mentioned previously, one of my goals is to have some fleets for Dystopian Wars. I've been reading and re-reading the rules while deciding on which fleets to get. While initially leaning towards the Prussians because of their amazing sky fortress dirigible, I have now decided on the Federated States of America as my main fleet, with the Empire of the Blazing Sun as my second.

Why? Well the double-decker Saratoga fleet carrier for the FSA is an incredible model, and seeing pictures of it actually painted up made me fall in love with it. My son has decided he likes the look of the Blazing Sun models. I am eagerly trying to recruit him into the game, and the thought of a Pacific island-hopping campaign between these two forces is very appealing to me, so that is the direction in which we are heading.

I just need to sort some of my unpainted lead pile and decide what I can sell/trade in order to get into DW. We're on a tight budget, so in order to get into something new I need to get rid of something else. But the plan is to get that done as soon as possible, because I can see this game becoming a family favorite very quickly.

Anyway, while he was reading the book my son asks me what faction I will be playing and why. We talked about, and that is when we determined that the FSA and Blazing Sun would be our two fleets of choice.

The next day he gave me a drawing (inspired by the illustrations in the rulebook) of rocket-powered Samurai troopers assaulting an FSA carrier - it is his way of "talking trash" before we even get into the game! I especially like the kamikaze Samurai plowing straight down. I have it up in my hobby area, and it provides my inspiration to get my stuff in order so I can get into this game as soon as possible!

'Til next time!

Dystopian Wars, and updates

2010-12-27T20:07:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a while since my last post, and I thought "What better time to update than right after Christmas?" So, what did I get this year on Jesus' birthday?

First, God gave us a wonderful white Christmas, with about four inches of snow falling on Christmas Day. Not enough to make live miserable like they are getting in the Northeast, but enough to make everything look like a postcard and for the kids to be able to sled in the backyard! Thanks God!

My kids got me a Nerf gun (the Deploy) and a bandolier with extra clips and ammo, to take our Nerf wars up a notch. I had been quite outgunned before that, as my daughter has the Nerf fully-automatic machine-gun while my son has several Nerf rifles, while I was limited to a single six-shot Nerf revolver. But now I was able to give as good as I got as the foam dart gunbattles got downright ugly! Of course, my advantage was short-lived as my parents got my son true nightvision goggles for Christmas! So now my favorite tactic (Death from the Dark tm) is rendered ineffective! Arrrggghhh! (Though I have to admit the goggles are incredible – nightvision technology made into a toy! We tried them out at my parent’s house, and from about 50 to 60 feet away you could clearly see someone hiding behind a tree in pitch darkness.)

And lastly, for Christmas this year I broke two of my gaming vows:

1. I asked for a new set of rules before completing an army for my last set of rules (Malifaux).

2. I asked for a new set of rules that had just come out, rather than wait for the next edition to be released and all the mistakes to be fixed.

You’re probably wondering what set of rules would be so tempting that I’d break not one, but two of my gaming guidelines. Dystopian Wars by Spartan Games!

I’ve been curious about Spartan Games since they came out with their Uncharted Seas fantasy naval combat game. I’d read and listened to several reviews of the game, and I was intrigued, but not enough to dive in and get the rules and a fleet or two. Spartan followed up with Firestorm Armada, a space combat game. I thought the models looked cool, but I was not even tempted as I am not a fan of spaceship battles. But seeing pictures of the ships for Dystopian Wars grabbed my attention very quickly.

Victorian-era sci-fi a la Jules Verne? Giant aircraft-carrying dirigibles unleashing death from above against twin paddle-wheeled behemoths on the ocean’s surface? Gargantuan walkers with Japanese temples on top crashing through the jungle to scatter smaller tanks and vehicles? These were more than enough to get me interested, and a review of the game on The D6 Generation podcast (Episode 70) was enough to push me over the edge. So I asked for, and got, the rules for Christmas from my awesome wife! Dave at Giga-bites Café got in an order just before Christmas and was kind enough to hold a copy for me that I was able to pick up on Christmas Eve.

I have not yet played a game (I am now in that wonderful stage of picking out my army, where everything is possible and I am not yet locked into any decision), but here’s my first impressions on the book. First off, the production value is extremely high. It is a perfect-bound soft cover rulebook in full color. The front and back covers are great, showing scenes of huge tanks, ships and aircraft battling. Inside, almost every page contains some sort of illustration to flesh out the background, or an example of play or a photo of a beautifully painted model.

The background section immediately sucks you into the alternate world in which Dystopian Wars takes place. The year is 1870 and the great empires of the world are at war, facing off with enormous war machines on land, at sea and in the skies. History in that world has several significant changes from ours, aside from the discovery of a new element that has enabled the construction of giant airships and weapons of tremendous destructive capacity. For one, the South has won the Civil War, resulting in the Federated States of America (FSA). In the east, Japan has emerged as the Empire of the Blazing Sun, while they Empire of Britannia holds colonies around the world. The Prussian Empire holds central Europe in its steel grasp, and prepares to face the Russia. Each of these powers has its own style of war machine, loosely based on historical fact. The Germans use massive dirigible aircraft carriers to ferry their attack planes into battle. The Japanese have sleek warships capable of firing waves of destructive torpedoes. And the FSA ships are reminiscent of the Civil War ironclads, with massive armored paddle wheels for propulsion.

The rules themselves are well-written and seem quite clear on the basic points, which I suspect comes from the fact they are, in essence, the third iteration of the same basic ruleset (following Uncharted Seas and Firestorm Armada). Once I get the chance to put together and army and take it to battle I’ll have a better idea of how the rules fit together as a whole and how the game plays. At the moment I am leaning towards the Prussians – that dirigible carrier is THE flagship model of the line, and is an instant centerpiece for a terrific-looking force. I usually try to collect two forces for my games (so that there is one for me and one for my kids if they choose to play), but here is where I am stuck between two options – the FSA and the Empire of the Blazing Sun. Both have great-looking models, and both have their strengths in the game, so I am quite torn. Stay tuned for updates on that front.

As far as other updates, my Malifaux jail has been languishing, with all work halted as I dealt with holiday preparations. Between making sure everything got done for Thanksgiving and then Christmas, and it being busier than normal at work, I am still stuck on painting the jail. I have been able to get some gaming-related tasks completed though. My son has decided to field a Gremlin crew, and I did get Rami LaCroix painted up for him. I'll post some pictures next time as soon as I get him based. I began the process of painting a Cult of December crew, but that is still in very early stages. And I did build a 3'x3' gaming table for Malifaux which just needs some finishing touches to be complete.

The Reading Table:

I finally finished Cavalryman of the Lost Cause: A Biography of J. E. B. Stuart. A very good book that explains in detail the causes and effects of Stuart's disastrous "disappearance" just prior to the Battle of Gettysburg. It is a balanced look at Stuart, describing his strengths as well as his weaknesses, and most of all showing how much more difficult it was to wage war in a time of uncertain communications. A bit dry at times, but a very enjoyable read.

After that I read Munson's biography, Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain, which went very quickly. This was a very interesting book for me to read. Growing up in New York, Munson was my hero. He was and is my favorite ballplayer of all time. But I was a kid, and much of the drama and tension of the clubhouse and in his relationships with George Steinbrenner and Reggie Jackson did not register at the time. All I cared about was watching him get another game-winning hit! So finally reading the whole story, and learning more about Munson the man, in addition to Munson the player, was very enjoyable.

Following that, I polished off Robert Leckie's Helmet for My Pillow, his account of being Marine in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. I've read many, many books about the European Theatre, but not nearly as many about the Pacific. Leckie's story is both unique and common - his experiences mirror those of countless young men of that time, yet his views on it and how they impacted him are his alone. For me, this book took a little getting used to, as Leckie's writing is a little more flowery and descriptive than I am used to in a military account. But it is definitely worth the effort, and I was very moved to read of the sacrifices that Leckie and his comrades made for our country.

Next up: Easy Company Soldier by Sgt. Don Malarkey, made famous by Band of Brothers. And before you start thinking the name of my blog is totally misleading, after that I have a pirate novel lined up: The Blackbirder by James Nelson. It is the second book in the Brethren of the Coast trilogy, after The Guardship. It's been a while since I read the first one, so I may have to go back and re-read it before I start The Blackbirder.

That's it for now - hopefully next time I'll have more pictures of current and completed projects to share (especially if I ever get my Malifaux jail completed!).

'Til next time.

Malifaux Terrain - Update

2010-11-13T09:29:00.000-05:00

Well, the siding on my Guild Outpost is completed. All that is left now is the roof, the front porch, and the open area on top of the cell that will from a sort of balcony. Oh, and painting it and finishing the base. Hopefully by this time next week I'll have images of the completed building to share.

View of the interior, without the second floor in place.

View of the interior, with the removable second floor in place. My next building(s) will either have just one story or not be open - having to worry about interiors is a huge pain!

'Til next time.

Malifaux Guild Outpost - Update

2010-11-09T14:08:00.000-05:00

I was able to get in a few good hours of work yesterday on the Guild outpost I am working on for Malifaux.

One of the difficulties I am having is that since I want to be able to take the fighting indoors, it needs to have removable floors and roof. Next time, I think the fighting will stay in the streets since that makes the overall design and construction so much simpler.

The majority of the structure, besides the foundation and jail cell, will be modelled to look like wooden construction. I am making the shell out of foamcore and then gluing wooden coffee stirrers on as siding.

Here's the front view of the building. At this point, I've added a wooden floor to the interior, as well as begun the process of "framing" the exterior with wood.

In this three-quarter view, you can see the supports inside the building on which I'll place the second floor, while still allowing it to be removed for game play.

Here's a side view. eventually the jail cell will have a balcony/roof that can be accessed from the second floor of the building. It'll provide a nice place for snipers to get some elevation.

I've stained the floor using an alcohol ink I found at Michael's craft store. It came out a very nice shade of brown, with the exception of a couple of spots along the seam where glue got onto the wood. Solutions would be to either stain the wood first, or to be more careful with the application of the glue. Oh well, I think the stains add a little character. I can always say the Guild Guards got a little "enthusiastic" with their interrogation of a suspect, and had to use bleach to clean up the mess.

The last image for today shows the process of using the wooden coffee stirrers, cut to size, for siding. It is rather tedious, but I hope the end result makes it worth the effort.

'Til next time.

Bars for the Malifaux jail

2010-10-28T12:15:00.000-04:00

A crazy couple of weeks have meant little progress on the Malifaux jail building. But I did get the bars completed - they just need to be painted up to look appropriately rusty...

I used styrene to make the frame, and styrene rod for the bars. They're clear since they are what I use to add lightsabers to my Star Wars minis conversions.

I will be making the basic shape of the building from foamcore - hopefully by this weekend - and covering it with wood to make it look "westernish."

'Til next time!

Pirate Game at Dave's

2010-10-26T15:18:00.000-04:00

Several weeks ago I began corresponding with Dave Cooper, who contacted me in response to a post on a Pirate gaming forum. It turns out he lives very close to my home (about 30 minutes away), but between family, work, school, church commitments and such, it seemed we were never able to get our schedules to match. Eventually, after several false starts, we were finally able to get together for a game.

Here are the pictures from the game at Dave's house last Saturday. It was great fun, even though I am not sure who, if anyone, won the game!

The basic premise was a couple of pirate crews raiding a town, where Dave and I each controlled one pirate crew, and the militia opposing each other's crew. The rules were a blend of Legends of the High Seas and some other sets that Dave had lying around, and when in doubt we just made stuff up!

Henry's ship and crew (the box counted as below decks)

Dave's ship and crew

The unsuspecting town, behind a curtain of sea mist.

The pirate ships approach...

Brave militiamen row like mad to warn the town garrison!

Dave's pirates begin to disembark

The rest of Dave's crew disembark from his smaller ship.

Henry's ship approaches defenders hidden in the mist.

It's the governor's private yacht!

Board her ye scurvy sea dogs!

Meanwhile, Dave's brigands continue to move inland...

... and capture a cannon! Which they proceed to (ineffectually) fire at Henry's crew

Another band of Dave's pirates approach a building, eager for loot.

While Henry's buccaneers realize there's a cannon in their faces!

Nothing to worry about - the yacht and cannon have been subdued.

And the men are off after loot (in this case conveniently loaded on pack mules).

On the other side of town, the militia is quick to respond to the threat of Dave's pirates and prepare to open fire...

... only to be charged in the rear by yet another band of brigands!

Bring them back to the boats lads!

The loot is safely stowed on the captured yacht.

Meanwhile, some of the town militia troops manage to capture Dave's smaller ship as it drifted...

And this was the scene after the final turn.

All in all, the game was very enjoyable, and it was a pleasure to finally meet Dave after several weeks of overly full schedules and too much "real life." I am very much looking forward to doing this again! Thanks Dave!

'Til next time!

Malifaux - Guild Outpost/Jail

2010-10-19T09:59:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, several weeks ago I wandered into Giga-Bites Cafe. Besides discovering a great gaming shop, I became interested in a game called Malifaux.

I had long admired the style of the figures, but I knew nothing at all about the game. Well, I went back to Giga-Bites on a subsequent Saturday, and managed to watch a couple of games of Malifaux in action. I was totally unfamiliar with the rules, and the fact that it is a card-driven game rather than based on rolling dice meant that I did not understand much of the mechanics. However, one of the guys who was at the shop works for Wyrd, and hooked me up with a copy of the rules (thanks Drew!).

Now that I have read them through (twice) I understand some of what is meant by "cheating" and "triggers." I am eager to get a crew together and find some time to head back to Giga-Bites and get a game in to make sure I actually do have an idea as to how the game mechanics work. At first glance, they are very elegant, and seem to reflect a more "cinematic" approach to gaming, rather than a more "realistic" one. Players can replace cards they draw with higher-valued ones from their hand to change the outcome of combats and spell-casting and such. But, you can also run out of luck and get stuck with a bad result. The only part I am still not 100% sure of is the "trigger" mechanic, by which some actions/events result in other actions automatically. I am sure that a game or two will help me make better sense of it.

But in the meantime, I am inspired to create some terrain for the game. I love the background mixture of Victorian horror, steampunk and spaghetti western! It is very evocative and you can go in so many different directions. There is room for pretty much anything you can think up. Besides, it's been a while since I built anything terrain-wise and I have the itch!

I checked out some of the posts on the Malifaux forums that pertain to terrain, and I was blown away by two in particular. First, Kaine is creating magnificent scenery for Malifaux. His terrain boards (complete 3x3 setups of various types of terrain) are amazing, and in my opinion they very much have the "feel" of Malifaux. My favorite is his ruined Miners & Steamfitters Union pumping station, although his sewer boards are a close second. The other terrain that is very inspiring to me is being created by the keeper and yazza. Their contract-town 27 is shaping up to be awesome. Their use of blocks from Hirst Arts and wood in their structures looks great, and it is a look I hope to copy, err, "borrow," for mine. Thanks to all of them for the inspiration.

My first building will be a medium-sized outpost/jail for the Guild faction. I sketched some ideas, before settling on a mixture of wood and stone construction. The jail cell will be stone, while the rest of the structure will be wood, and definitely in a western style, with a false front and porch.

I happened to have a bunch of blocks I cast a while back using one of Hirst Arts castle molds, so began by laying out the foundation for the building and attached jail to get a measurement for the building's footprint. I found a scrap piece of fiberboard that was almost exactly the right size for the base of the building, and began gluing down the bricks for the foundation. You can see the jail cell (on the left) has a stone floor, while the rest of the office will be a wooden floor over a stone foundation.

After that, I continued to build up the walls for the cell, including some small windows. I made sure to glue everything down securely and left it to dry.

My next step will be to begin the next phase of construction by framing out the wooden structure. I'll also build up the wall of bars that will complete the cells.

'Til next time.

Odds & Ends

2010-10-08T13:10:00.000-04:00

First up – my favorite Mel Gibson character ever, as envisioned by Reaper minis. He’s from the Chronoscope line, Rex, Dark Future Hero. Since I recently saw “The Book of Eli” I modified him just a bit, adding a big blade to his left hand, a backpack, and a smaller knife on a sheath on his leg.

Second – OK, so this one is a bit outside the box. A while back I picked up several $1 wooden toys at the local Michaels. I thought they might one day come in handy for something, and if not, then the kids would have some fun assembling them. Among the sets I got, were two submarines. My son built his up mostly according to the instructions, but I had other plans.

I made a hunter/killer attack sub for my Dwarf pirates. I’m naming it the Hammershark, and it carries a crew of 4 or 5 little guys. I used a 1” drill bit to make the holes in the hull, then added hatch covers, lanterns (it gets dark under the water), and a steam-powered blade to the bow to cut through the hulls of enemy vessels. You cannot see it in these photos as there are Dwarfs in the hatches, but I cut 1” circles of plasticard patterned like diamond steel plate and placed them in the bottom of the holes. The figures, as yet unpainted, are Pirate Scrunts from Ollie’s Armies. They are great figures, and I can’t wait to have the time to finish them off properly.

‘Til next time.

Giga-Bites Cafe

2010-10-02T22:49:00.000-04:00

On Friday, my wife had a doctor's appointment in Marietta. The kids and I dropped her off, and then headed over to check out a gaming store that a friend from church had recommended: Giga-bites Cafe

From what I'd been told, I was expecting a Games Workshop dealer, with a little Flames of War. Well, I did find a terrific shop for GW product as well as Battlefront FoW stuff, but with a twist. The first thing I noticed was the friendly owner, David, coming over to welcome us to the shop. I don't even remember what was on the flat screen TV in the front of the shop in the cafe area, but he made sure to pop in a kid-friendly DVD while I was there with my son and daughter. That goes a long way towards making me feel comfortable in a shop.

The we started talking about games, and not just the big names I've already mentioned. David carries a huge line of figures for Infinity and Malifaux. He also has a selection of miniatures from a couple of Spanish companies (Enigma & Avatars of War) and others. This in addition to a ton of painting and scenery/basing supplies.

On top of the game shop aspect, there are at least six large tables on which gamers can go to town with their favorite minis and rules. The cafe is open until late every night except Sunday, so it is definitely gamer-schedule friendly.

I picked up a couple of boosters for Malifaux (more on that a little later), some bases and ordered a couple of GW Warhammer figures (Citizens of the Empire: Duellists) which I am sure will see some action in Mordheim or some other skirmish game. As we were leaving I realized the kids and I had not had lunch yet, and it hit me - this place serves food too!

My son had a hot dog, while my daughter and I both chose the cheese steak panini. We got a BLT to-go for my wife. I was blown away by how good my sandwich was, and my wife said it was the best BLT she'd ever had, and she is not prone to exaggeration. Heck, the food was so good, I can see us going back just to eat - though you never know what other goodies I might find in there! And on our next visit we will definitely give the smoothies a try.

Overall, for friendly atmosphere, fantastic food and great gobs of gaming goodness, I can say this is now my gaming shop of choice. The only drawback for me is that it is a bit of a hike from my place. But, it is on the way to my parents house - so it is only coincidence that grandma and grandpa will see an increase in visits from their grandkids!

Now back to Malifaux. I was intrigued by the figures - a very interesting and different look, in my opinion. The world of Malifaux appears to be a mix between steampunk, Victorian horror, spaghetti westerns and Cthulhu. Cool, but creepy. I think it may be a bit too dark for my kids. I went to the Wyrd Games site to get some more info. After some digging around I finally found where I could download the Wyrd Chronicles, which seem to be what I was looking for in terms of the background to the Malifaux worlds and the factions.

I think it might work for my children, if we stay away from some of the more horrific factions, although even the law and order types are pretty dark and edgy. For the time being, I will collect the miniatures that appeal to me and use them in whatever game system I am playing at the time - mostly Song of Blades and Heroes. So to that end, the two blisters I picked up were Samael Hopkins, who will see duty as a monster-hunter werewolf-trapper, and the Guild Guard pack which comes with a pair of very nice-looking guardsmen that will be equally at home hunting down Zorro or other bandits in a Western setting, as they would be prowling Mordheim.

So, Friday was a good day - I found a great new place for gaming and good eats, and picked up some cool new figures to paint up. Doesn't get much better than that.

'Til next time.

W&W Longboat Conversions

2010-09-22T18:30:00.000-04:00

I haven't had anything new to post in a bit, so I decided to dig up some pictures of a pair of ships I kitbashed from Pressman's excellent Weapons & Warriors: Pirate Battle game. The set is a treasure trove of toys that with a little work can make excellent wargaming models.

The game comes with a pair of longboats, a pair of small sloops, two towers, and a ton of cannon and pirate figures. In this post I'll concentrate on the work I've done on the longboats.

First up is an image of the longboat as it comes, and beside one on which I've already started work. The first thin I do is decide if I want to keep the sail, or remove it completely. Then I take a Dremel tool and carefully grind away the excess plastic bits from the deck of the boat. In the case of the one pictured, I am removing the sail completey, so the stand for the mast has got to go.

Next begins the process of planking over the plastic with a wooden deck. I fully admit that I am a bit of an obsessive on this, as I use wooden coffee stirrers (available free at many fine coffee shops across the planet), and individually cut them to size and shape. I then superglue them onto the plastic deck below. The photo below shows a before and after on longboat where I've decided to keep the sail.

Here's a series of photos showing the planking process on a boat where the mast stand was removed:

After that all the boats need is a pretty quick and easy paint job. Most consist simply of a brown basecoat, a darker brown wash and a lighter drybrush. On some I get a little more creative.

Here's a pair of shots of a completed longboat with sail beside one in its original condition:

And here are a pair of completed longboats, one with sail and one without:

Lastly, a longboat with some crew, to show the scale. The figures are from Heroscape: the 10th Regiment of Foot from Wave 8. All I did to them was rebase them on 25mm round bases as the original Heroscape bases are oversized.

In the next post, I'll go into how I convert the sloops. They make perfect "small" ships for Legends of the High Seas.

'Til next time.

Gunships and sloops

2010-08-17T18:24:00.001-04:00

During my time of solitude, I managed to paint up a couple of small Flagship Games resin vessels - just the ticket for a band of pirates starting out on a career of pillagin' and plunderin'.

I bought the Flagship Games starter set, which if memory serves came with the rules, a gunship, a sloop, two cannon and two war machines. The gunship and the sloop are quite nice models, perfectly sized for the "small" category in Legend of the High Seas. All they need is a little cleaning, a nice paint job, and some minor work on the masts and they are ready to go. I did not put sails on them yet. I am not sure if I will or not. The sails really do make the models look better, but they do get in the way of gaming. Eventually, I will probably give in and make sails for them, but not for the time being. (BTW, Flagship Games products are currently available from Scale Creep Miniatures.)

The sloop

A closer view

The gunship


A closer view

Here's a comparison shot showing a kitbashed sloop from the Pressman game Weapons & Warriors beside the Flagship Games sloop. Pretty close, and in all honesty, while the W&W sloop can be found pretty inexpensively, it requires quite a bit more work to make it look like a model and not a toy. At least, it does to get it looking the way I want it to. More details on the W&W game and converting the toys to models in a future post.

W&W sloop (left), Flagship Games sloop (right)

'Til next time.

Fire as she bears!

2010-08-13T22:26:00.000-04:00

Today I'll post some pictures of cannon I've modified from the extremely oversized Weapons & Warriors game by Pressman. Actually, the cannon themselves aren't too bad, but the carriages they come on are atrocious for scale figures. All they need is to replace the horrendous oversized carriages with something a bit more in scale, and they actually look pretty good, in my opinion.

W&W cannon on custom carriages (bottom), beside a Flagship Games culverin and an unmodified W&W cannon (top).


Here they are with some figures for comparison.

The only drawback is that they are a little labor intensive, in that I make each carriage by hand from scrap pieces of balsa. If I had more experience, or any experience for that matter, with casting in resin, I'd maybe go that route. It would certainly go quicker making a master carriage, making a mold and casting as many as I need. I have something like 20 plus of the original plastic cannon, so anything I can do to speed up the process would be beneficial.

Hmmm, something new to experiment with that will set back my other projects by weeks...

'Til next time.