Westeros - Battlelore

Hey all. Like Tifany, I too have been absent from the scene. Just wanted to let you know that today I played the Westeros/Battlelore game. I really liked it! I have only played one game so far, but it went very well. The game belongs to my friend Jerry - whom some of you met when we played TI3 at my house.

I thought it was a much cleaned up Battlelore system. Where BL uses the Left-Center-Right system, Westeros relies more on field commanders that fight alongside the troops. If you are unlucky enough to lose a commander, your ability to command your army is greatly diminished. I also liked the the victory conditions were dependent on capturing and holding certain objectives rather than just destroy enemy units. What was cool was that different things could affect the moral of the army - including the losses taken in battle.

I was a little disappointed in that the figures kept falling out of their stands. They did not seem as sturdy as my BL figures.

The game itself was very Battlelore Like. I would say that the games are at least 70% similar - Of course based on my one play. Not sure if I will get it myself, but I am sure tempted. My son and I like to play BL and I think this would be a worthy addition to our gaming experience.

Maybe I will keep BattleLore after all...

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/432879

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.

BattleLore Lovers Unite!

Insanity Update

A while back I posted that I am paining my BattleLore minis. Chris reminded me that it's time for an update. You can see some results here. Far left are the raw minis. Middle are primed in white. Right are the completed figures.

I've painted all the green units, both archers and infantry, and I've started on the blue infantry. That's 8 units of archers, 4 green infantry, and 3 blue infantry units done.

I seem to be gaining some speed and experience, and I sort of know what I'm doing now. I have most of the colors I need, though I may need to upgrade my brush selection .

A lot of folks, including the DoW site, suggest priming in black. The idea is that you can let a little black show in strategic spots to really make details pop. Also, the black can be used to simulate shadows.

I tried this approach, but I didn't like the results. The figures came out looking dark and heavy. When I switched to white primer, the figures came out brighter and more in keeping w/ my view of BL. If I were painting War of the Ring minis, black would be a great choice due to the darker theme. The whimsical world of BL, however, seems to call for happier minis.

I have been focusing on speed over quality for several reasons. First, these minis are part of an army. They aren't meant to be viewed individually at close range. They are meant to be viewed as a large group from a distance. Second, I want to play this game again, and the sooner the better. I need to get these buggers done! Finally, being a beginner, subtle shading and washes are a little out of reach for now. Maybe at the end of this I'll do an intricate job on the monsters.

Here is a close-up so that you can see some of the details. At this scale you can see some of the flaws on this figure, especially the sloppy line on the helmet. I also got a little lazy and didn't bother to paint the back of the shields.

My figures are way better than the raw minis, but they don't hold a candle to some stuff on BGG where the folks have shaded each and every figure. Maybe someday...

Anyway, I'm making progress, and I hope to be done in another few months.

BL, new gamer

I got together today with a guy from work to play BattleLore. He recently moved to San Antonio, and I think he's a potential new member. He's an engineer, making him a great candidate, but he said he hasn't played a lot of board games in the past.

I got BattleLore all set-up before he arrived. When he arrived I explained the rules, then we played a battle. I picked the simplest scenario that includes Lore since I think Lore adds a lot. With all the little special rules, BattleLore can be a bit overwhelming at first, but by the end William was getting things figured out. It was a great game, with some good maneuvering on both sides. I won a close victory.

It was a good learning game, and William is well on his way to becoming a tough opponent.

I'm going to continue working to recruit William, and I think he may become a regular. Time will tell

Painting Minis

I've been thinking about paining my BattleLore minis for a few months now. I've been so busy and distracted, however, that I haven't been able to move on it.

My time is opening up slightly now, however, and so that excuse is fading.

Now I'm confronting the enormity of the task. It's quite daunting, probably more than I want to try to tackle.

But the other day I found a link to Wonder Wash. This might be just the thing to get the base set done quickly. It's available in various colors, so I could wash the green units, blue units, and red units. It would add some color to the board while improving the details a lot, and it would still be fairly quick and easy.

Once the base set is done, I could acquire and paint expansion sets slowly.

Anyone had any experience with painting minis? Anyone? Steve?

Thoughts?

Battlelore Specialist Unit Publishing Errors

For those interested in the new Battlelore specialist units, Days of Wonder has acknowledged two publishing mistakes:

http://blog.battlelore.com/2007/07/30/two-new-adventures-and-embarrassing-mistakes/en/

And mine just shipped--too late for me to cancel and wait for the reprints!