My Latest Order... and other Randomness

Its been a while since I made an actual post to the blog, so I thought instead of hijacking Tiffany's plea for weekend Euro-gaming, I would take the bold step of posting my own fresh material. So... here are some random thoughts.

First, here is what I just ordered from Coolstuffinc.com:

• Age of Conan
• Memoir '44 Campaign Book 1
• End of the Triumvirate
• Formula D: Chicago / Sebring Track

Yeah, I'm too lazy to insert BGG hyperlinks. Age of Conan, now that I've read the rules at FFG, looks to me to be quite a bit of fun, with possibly almost as much thematic table talk as BSG, by Crom!

Speaking of BSG... nah... too many spoilers. My wife keeps teasing me about watching robot smut.

Memoir '44 Campaign book, with ~50 linked scenarios seems to be the holy grail for fans of the game. Now if they'd just add undead to BattleLore and link the two games....

Speaking of which, I saw where a new Nazi Zombie level is about to be released for CoD:WaW. I need to play more of this.

Unfortunately, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix has been a tad delayed on XBL and is getting mediocre reviews from the PC crowd. Bummer!

The place where I work is declaring an in-the-office "fun day" for April 1st and playing board games all day is actively encouraged. I think this must all be a dream... You have to love working for the federal government. Thanks for the tax dollar-supported gaming! I need to go talk to that nerd down the hall with all the painted Mech miniatures in his cube to see what he has cooking.

I've actually finished studying Paths of Glory, and Mark and I are kicking off a PBEM game. If Brian is up for it, I'll even start a second game.

Having resolved to hold off until Fall (or until Diablo III and/or Star Craft 2 are too tough to resist) to upgrade my PC gaming rig, I'm going back to play more Civ IV, Company of Heroes, Medieval Total War 2, and Dawn of War I. All are still good fun. Multiplayer, anyone?

My loyal Angband character snuffed it on Level 34 via nasty, poison-breathing hydra. I made the fatal mistake of getting lazy about buying enough potions, and the unforgiving game taught me yet another cruel lesson. Back to level 1....

Okay, that's probably enough silliness for one post. I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!

Weekend/Monday gaming.

So I have some new games that I would like to play. They are as follows.

Hermagor
Amyitis
The Hanging Gardens
Metropolys
Wasabi

So if anyone was up for Sunday gaming let me know and I can have people over. Otherwise, I will see you all Monday. With some of my new games (tho Sean has Wasabi -- so that one is not totally new)

Friday Wargaming

Jon and Michael are planning on coming over for some work on the Star Wars project and for HoTT. Come on over if you want to see which rule I conveniently get wrong to Jon's disadvantage (I think we've consistently gotten one rule wrong a game that happens to hurt his chances, not that it's stopped him). Other games are possible, so long as they could be played while over the legal limit for intoxication.

There should be gaming this weekend

Since gaming is a fantastic way to celebrate things. :)

SABBL World Series Game 7

The 2008-9 SABBL season came to a close last evening with the playing of the several months rain delayed game 7 of the world series:
Top of the first
With one out Grady Sizemore reached on an error by Carlos Zambrano
Shane Victorino singled advancing Sizemore to third and Victorino then stole second
Frank Thomas singled scoring Sizemore
Dustin Pedroia hit a sac fly scoring Victorino
2-0 Sean
Bottom of the first
Solo home run by Vlad Guerrero
2-1 Sean
Top of the third
Rollins singled and stole second
Sizemore was hit by pitch
Victorino was hit by pitch
Thomas singled scoring Rollins
Pedroia grounded out scoring Sizemore
4-1 Sean
Bottom of the fourth
with one out, Guerrero walks
Posada singles
Ramirez singles scoring Guerrero and advancing Posada to third
Ramirez steals second
Figgins walks loading the bases with one out
starter Jeremy Guthrie is pulled for Hideki Okajima
Matt Diaz pinch hits for Eric Byrnes and pops out to short
Ramon Hernandez pinch hits for Chris Young and grounds out to short
Sean 4-2
Top of the fifth
with one out Frank Thomas walks and reaches second on a wild pitch
with two outs Josh Willingham homers
Sean 6-2
Bottom of the fifth
with two outs Howard walks
Guerrero walks
Posada singles scoring Howard
Ramirez singles scoring Guerrero
Figgins grounds out to end the inning
Sean 6-4
top of the 6th
Melvin Mora hits a solo homerun off of reliever Kevin Gregg
Sean 7-4
Top of the 7th
With Francisco Rodriguez on in relief
Victorino walks; steals second; advances to third on a wild pitch, and scores on a passed ball
Sean 8-4
Bottom of the 7th
Wolfe on in relief
Ortiz doubles
Howard flies out
Guerrero hits a 2 run homer
Posada hits a solo homer
Ramirez grounds out
Figgins doubles
Diaz singles advancing Figgins to third
Johnny Damon singles scoring Figgins
Matsui lines out to end the inning
game tied Sean 8, Scott's Marlin Cubs 8
With Downs in for Scott and Accardo in for Sean both teams go down 1, 2, 3 in the 8th
Top of the 9th
Billy Wagner in relief
with one out Frank Thomas singles
with two outs Josh Willingham hits a 2 run home run
Sean 10-8
Bottom of the 9th
Accardo on for his second inning
with one out Ramirez is hit by the pitch
Figgins hits in to a force play
Diaz singles advancing Ramirez to third
Amezaga is brought in to pinch run for Diaz
nevertheless Sean refuses to hold the runners
after several bluffs Amezaga settles back to a normal lead and does not attempt the steal
Johnny Damon grounds out
Final score Sean 10-Scott's marlin cubs 8
An exciting finish to the season
Dennis I will get your cards back to you the next time we attend the same session; probably the next Monday you come
I personally would love another season of some sort of baseball league this year but unless there are at least 4 other like minded individuals in SABG; I am not sure it will happen.
Victorino walks, steals second; advances to third on a wild pitch by

Duly Noted

Scott, Sean, Jeff (!) and I showed up for a short session which also had two newcomers, Josh and Dennis (or DJ? not sure). But I'm mainly posting to note that the 50% of table has some very nice stuff, including Chinatown, Cuba, Manhattan, Imperial, Container, Winner's Circle, Perikles, Time's Square, Wildlife, Cold War: CIA vs KGB and the like. Probably a dozen potentially decent (or better) games. There are some steals available

Star Wars project

This weekend I bought a Boba Fett to use as an Aerial Hero for my Hordes of the Things Hut army. My eligibility for the Nerd Hall of Fame is now firmly established.

Le Havre and Dominion:Intrigue

So i was taking a break and trying to decide where to order Le Havre from. Since its on "pre-order" for the new printing. :) Thought Hammer has it for sure. Boards and Bits will be getting some, but they arent sure when they will list them. I emailed them to find out about it and this is what I got back.

We will actually have some copies in early March that we are bringing over from Germany. Most likely they will be a bit more expensive that the copies we can get directly from US distributors, but I don't have a price yet, which is why I have not listed it. As soon as I know all of the shipping costs, I will post it.


Or debating if I want to get Cavum instead. And I ran across this little interesting pre order thing on thought hammer.

Dominion: Intrigue. A stand alone expansion that can be combined with the base game.

http://www.thoughthammer.com/dominion-intrigue-p-6309.html

Except its not on BGG or the RGG game webpage. So yeah.

This is what Jay from RGG says - quotes from some thread on BGG

Re: Two expansions officiallly announced - Intrigue and Seaside
Intrigue will have rules for playing with more than 4, which is one reason that it has "all" 500 cards instead of just new Kingdom cards. Thus, it will have the same MSRP as the original ($44.95). Based on where we are in the process, I expect it to be released in May.

Seaside, although not completely finalized, will like add only Kingdom cards (around 25, but the final total is not yet known. I expect the total number of cards to be 300 and I hope to include more blank cards - perhaps 2 complete sets, for those who want to create their own cards to play with. We do not have final pricing for this expansion and will announce that when we know more. Although it is a bit early to be able to announce a release date, I am hoping to release this expansion before the end of the year.

Jay

Monday Night Planning

So, do we have folks ready, willing, and able to attend Monday night? (Would it make any difference if we started to look at Tuesday nights instead?) I should be able to show up at DL for my usual 5:15-5:45 until 8:30 as long as somebody else will definitely be there. Please post and indicate if you will be in attendance.

I've got my weekend planned out...how about you?

I've got three presentations to prepare for work and just found out that the deadline to have them done is much sooner than I was expecting, so no hosting or playing games for me for probably the next two weekends. Just wanted to let you know so you could make plans. See you on the other side, hopefully.

P.S. For those who played Mass Effect, look here--gotta click on the watch in HD link at the bottom right of the video. I tried to embed it but it looks horrible embedded.

Dominion Promo Cards

I am sure it has already been seen.

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/382380

Insanity update

A little over a year ago, I started painting my BL minis. It's been slow going, especially the blue guys. I swear there's a freaking million of them, and I'm still not done...

Anyway, I now have the majority of the humans done, and as you can see it's almost enough to field the first scenario. There's an unpainted blue cavalry unit on the far right hand edge. The blue cavalry have so far escaped the brush, but they're next, then I'll finish those endless blue infantry.



If you look at the larger image (should be click-able), you can see the bases I made for each unit, too. At Steve's suggestion, I glued a steel washer to each figure, and then put a magnetic sheet on each base. At first I cut the bases out of foam core board. Recently, I got out the table saw and cut wooden bases, but I haven't yet gotten around to painting them and cutting the magnetic sheet. Most of the cavalry have the unpainted wooden bases.

The basing has several advantages. First, all the stuff (base+washer+magnet) gives each unit a pleasant heft. Second, I'm able to store the units together, and this dramatically speeds up the set-up process. Third, it makes them a bit easier to move, IMO, since you can grab the base. Fourth, it keeps the figures in "formation" so they look sharp. Finally, the magnetic sheet helps keep them in place inside their Plano-box home, providing a little protection.



Once I get the human army finished, I'm not sure what I'll tackle next. Each expansion is a reasonable chunk, a bit more than a weekend for the smaller expansions at my painting pace. OTOH, I've been mightily impressed with some of the amazing terrain I've seen on-line. I'm considering getting a larger hex mat so that I can make some cool terrain to go w/ the figures.

I've also got my own copy of Hordes of the Things on the way. The BL minis would make a decent looking army, though they might look like hobbits if I ever face off against Steve's 25mm guys. I'll be interested to see the differences between the ways BL and HotT handle different rules situations. I like the attrition from BL (each unit gets worn down slowly), but I like some of the things I'm hearing about in HotT. I might try my hand at Ted's Battle Hordes.

You might notice that I added some marsh terrain to the Agincourt battle. Steve mentioned to me that the ground was hard going for the French, and later research confirmed this. Based on the reading I've done (mostly wikipedia), I'm actually a bit surprised there's not some kind of terrain in the middle, not even in the epic version w/ the 100 years war expansion.

Just STOP already...

So I've been trying to pare down my collection and send a few games on their way to better homes. Already making room for this:

(I see that CB-1 in the lower right hand corner, DOW. I see what you're doing. And I'm still being sucked in anyway...)

But then today I stumble across this...

(I didn't even deshrink the last Arkham expansion. And I don't think I've ever played a game with the full rules from the last big box expansion. But clearly what this game needed was another board.)

Oh, and this...

(No I don't own Talisman 4th ed, but I was thinking about it. Looks like I'd better be willing to jump in with both feet or not jump in at all.)

Where am I going to store these games? And what else am I going to have to get rid of? At least I didn't buy BSG so I don't have to worry about that expansion when it comes out (and you know it will).

SCBG

I have a sudden urge to purchase Starcraft the Board Game. I have been reading the rules online and they seem a little complex, but nothing I can't handle. A matter of fact, complex is good. I'm going to be heading down to DL tonight to check it out, i believe they charge about $80.00 for it. If anybody has played it please give me some feedback and let me know if its worth the money. I have been really impressed playing FFG War of the Ring, it is truly a master piece. And I use to be a huge fan of Star craft the Video game back in the late 90's. And I will be purchasing part 2 later this year (if it ever comes out).

Anyway, ill be down at DL tonight sometime checking out the board games, I was also reading up on Memoir 44 and Arkham Horror. Anybody ever play these? I hear they are great games as well and may be on my shopping list before to long. So if your at DL tonight, I'll be there with my decked out version of WOTR if anybody is up for a challenge. If you see a really tall guy reading the backs of Board games, that's me! My name is Joe! Hope to see you there!

Weekend Trip Report

On Saturday, the band got back together at Michael's and broke new ground. With Michael on vocals, Steve on guitar, Jon on bass, and me on drums, we finally beat Green Grass and High Tides on all Expert. Feeling invulnerable, we injected challenge by switching to the worst possible coupling of players with instruments: Steve on vocals, me on guitar, Michael on bass, and Jon on drums. Jon proved wholly rhythmless, but switching him and Michael hit the difficulty sweet spot.

The highlight of the day came when Michael had his first fail halfway through a song, and it looked like I wasn't far behind. Figuring we were dead, Michael wandered off to the kitchen. But just as I failed, Jon hit a clutch double-save. The unmanned drums gradually failed a second time, but were again brought back by Jon. Nearly two minutes later, Michael rejoined us, and we managed to 4-star the song. "Like I said -- never give up," declared Michael.

Sunday featured LotR Hordes of the Things hosted by Steve, who had generously bought hard-to-find HOTT rulebooks for both Jon and I. Thanks Steve! Though I can't help but envision a thought balloon over his head reading, "The first hit is free."

Last week as Saruman, I made countless errors (using Horde units as a stronghold defense rather than screening troops, charging light cavalry into bows) and lost 36-17. This time as Boromir, I had a better plan. Though the fact that my C-in-C was Boromir should have dampened my optimism.

I put a thick spear block in the middle with eagles and a manticore (non-canon airboat) for flank defense, heavy cavalry plus Aragorn and Gandalf on my left, and a bow/blade block on the right. Jon had spears on my left, hordes + Saruman in the middle, and warband (which have the advantage against Blades) and light cavalry on my right. My plan was to shift right (with Jon's spears too slow to get in the fight) and delay on my right flank while my knights punched through the soft horde center and rolled up Saruman from the side.

And at first everything went fine. My knights sprinted right and reformed in front of the hordes, while the eagles went *way* right and hemmed Jon's light cavalry into my blade block. I lost one bow to a lucky artillery shot, but my knight thrust hit home and wiped out five horde units in one blow.

Then everything went wrong:

1. My knight block got back-to-back PIP (initiative point) rolls of 1 on a d6, rendering them immobile. Rather than punch through the center and roll right, they made camp and had tea. Jon's plodding spear block simply walked left and killed one per turn.
2. My "delay" units on the right lost every combat roll but one, most of them as the favorite. I even lost with d6+3 vs. d6 at one point, which allowed the warband to move up to Elrond (the commander on that flank) and kill him one roll later. Rather than create a delay, the entire command died in two turns.
3. I still managed to get one knight unit, Gandalf, the manticore, and (eventually) Aragorn on Jon's general (Saruman). I had three attacks (at +2, +1 and even) to knock him out and even up the fight. I tied the first two and lost the third. My army fled the field on the next turn, giving Jon the win 36-9.

On the plus side, I learned a lot from the first game, and had a much better plan. But Jon learned a much more important lesson, which is to roll 6's. Another thing I've noticed is that each of his commands have good combined arms -- each has a mixture in which one troop type is always a bad matchup for me. I always like having a mobile, all-cavalry command in miniature wargames to roll around flanks, but in this game, such a homogeneous structure seems to be death.

We finished with some free-for-all Epic Duels. In both games, I did the dirty work of killing Jon, after which Steve finished me for the win. The second had the amusing combination of Vader, Yoda and Mace, in which we all hid in a corner and drew our hands full. Steve and Jon were still playing when I left.

Now that I have my own HOTT rulebook, and lots of 10mm Games Workshop figures to rebase, I'll be working on a more portable version that only takes up 2'x2', should people want to try a quicker, simpler (fewer troop types) game sometime.

Monday Planning

Does anyone want to start at my place at 1pm? If we have a quorum, then it's on. Note that my gate code has changed, and you'll just have to buzz me from the front. RSVP in the comments. If we get a group I don't mind pushing through dinner ... it's not like I have to get up early on Tuesday. OK, I do, but I can go back to sleep.

Happy Valentines Day

....there is still time to recover in case you forgot.

Weekend/Monday gaming

I would like to request that some sort of gaming happen this weekend/Monday. Preferably in the Sunday/Monday (which is a university holiday!!!!!! and I will be taking it this time). Just a few hours, some happy Euro's. That is all I want/ask.

If it were only for a few hours, I might even be able to host, but I probably shouldn't. Really probably shouldn't.

Mk, back to scientific paper reading. 15 done. 40 something to go. :)

monday night gaming

For those of us unable to partake this weekend (or weekends in general for a while); I wonder who is up for Monday night and what games might make an appearance. For my part I expect to be there sometime in my usual 5:15-5:45 time frame and will endeavor to actually bring a few of my usual and thanks to Ben new to me games possibly including 1960, Blood Feud in NY; Acquire, Dune, Kremlin, Win Place and Show. Who else is likely to appear when and bearing what?

HOTT inspiration

Here's some pretty nice armies by a HOTT enthusiast. Some are extremely well painted, while others consist only of D&D plastics. Put 3 24 point basic armies together and that's the size of game that gives the most bang for buck, IMHO.

http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/HOTT/index.html

Since we, as a group, have played Vinci a few times in the past months I wondered if you guys had seen this

It is a vinci reimplementation -- fantasy style.

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40692

Leftover Gaming

If some is good, more is always better, right? Well, along those lines, Michael is still reveling in his newfound freedom and is up for some gaming and Rock Band. Jon didn't get to join us at Brian's house and reportedly wants to make up for it on Sunday as well. Steve and I want to watch the Spurs battle the Celtics at noon, and I'm always a sucker for a little more gaming. Plus I know some of the regulars couldn't make it Saturday--might Sunday be better?

The Spurs game is at noon, so I'll open up about 11:30 for a bit of pregame musical warmups (aka the ubiquitous Rock Band). I'm sure we'll play a game of BSG somewhere along the way (interesting for some, might scare off others, but there it is) as well as something else to wind down the afternoon. So come on over if you have any more of that gaming itch you need to scratch. That's what friends are for.

That, and brigging each other.

P.S. Michael is not always the Cylon.

Some kind of wonderful

Just reminding everyone (since my last post is pretty far down) that I'll be hosting gaming this saturday from 9:30 am on. Please RSVP -- if nobody is showing up (or not until later) then I'll hit the gym in the morning. Those feet don't blister themselves...

Update -- OK, make that 12:30.

Friday wargaming

Jon is coming over around 1PM or so. Anyone else that feels like stopping by just let me know.

Tanga deal

Tanga is offering a refurb Xbox 360 + 20GB HD, wireless controller, and headset for $170... for those who haven't yet taken the 360 plunge.

Texas Glory!

Jose and I finished our first game of Texas Glory online using Vassal. We played the 1836 scenario. Jose led the Texans and I led the Mexicans. Jose quickly grasped the importance of holding the river crossings which serve as choke points. The decisive battle took place at Bastrop where Sam Houston (after narrowly escaping a band of Comanche warriors) held off my army for several turns. The game ended with me holding a line running from Bastrop to Victoria.

This is a game of maneuver and asymmetric forces. The Mexicans have large numbers and excellent command and control. This is balanced by the supply and terrain rules which make it difficult to mass their armies. The Texans have the advantage of being on the defensive. They have to make use of the terrain to bottleneck the Mexican army and launch hit and run attacks. Time is also on their side as all they have to do to win is hold out until the end.

Overall this is a solid game with excellent replay value. There are a set number of turns and low unit density ensures that games will be shorter than 2 hours. The mechanics will be familiar to anyone that has played other Columbia Games. I feel this is one of Columbia’s best games. Ted suggested having a Texas Glory gaming tournament. If we did that, we could invite Dan Mings, the lead developer and an Austin resident.

Something wonderful

Something is coming ... no not him. How about a game. Specifically, a longer, wargamey-er thing. Chris and I were discussing either 7 Ages or Here I Stand (perhaps the tournament scenario) this saturday. Anyone else interested?

Update -- Well, it doesn't look like we've got a quorum for either one. So I'll open the house for general gaming starting at 10am.

Thanks to Chris for hosting

On friday and saturday. I pretty much covered my football rants at my site.

Michael's other raging issue remains -- Did Dennis like Pepsuber?

monday night gaming at DL

Any session reports from Friday or Saturday?

Is anybody else willing to make their Superbowl final score prediction before the game?

I will probably be able to arrive at DL Monday night in the 5:15-5:45 time frame. Who else will be able to attend Monday night?