Showing posts with label board games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label board games. Show all posts

Friday, September 24, 2010

A game? Why yes!

A few game to report since my wildly late last post.

First up I picked up ‘Small World’ and gave it a try a few times.  First game was a five player game at the Shoppe on the day I picked it up.  Solid game, easy mechanics.  The rules make it sound actually harder than it is.  I then played the Eldest twice each of us taking one game and then as a palate cleanser with Steve after some play testing.   The game is pretty fun and Im sure it will be on the rotation for a while as it is fast and fun.

Play testing The conversion continues, just real slow.  Between travel and work and kid stuff (dont ask!) Ive gotten less time than ever, but Steve and I have had two solid sessions and we are looking at one more major change then ship out the next version for the grand editor to review.  If folks are interested in a bit of play test, let me know and Ill hook you up!

Songs of Blades and Heroes Campaign I did get a game in this Thursday and won!  Erics Orcs, that thrashed me last time, took a bit of a beating during a Break Through game.  However his warboss still was able to kill Bobbie Jr. dead  Long live Bobbie the Third!  In the end I left Eric with a few archers as the remainder of Victors Boys exited the board scoring victory points for the win.  Thanks for the Game Eric. 

Civ V was released this week and I did down load it on Wednesday, but only played a bit of the tutorial.  Since I have nothing planned this weekend but helping the Elder move back in to the house Im hoping to get some evening hours to play a few dozen turns

jp

--

I blog, honest


Sunday, September 5, 2010

Saturday Board Games

Saturday Night I went to the Shoppe to play a few board games for a change of pace.  We tried two games, Small World and Factory Manager.

First up was a learning game of Small World.  We had a full five players with two of us being newbies.  It is an interesting game with deceivingly easy mechanics.  In fact, reading the rules made them harder then they needed to be.  Some subtle game play techniques and strategies along with the variable race/special powers seemed to ensure a strong since or re-playability with will be nice.  I think the regular guys would like it as it has a good military theme, if not a bit silly, but fun/quick play style.  The two newbies ended up coming 1st and 2nd with only a 2 point separation.

Next, a bit late, we played a game of Factory Manager.  It had been a long time since Steve and I had played so I was re-learning from the get go.  I made some huge mistakes early, combined with the misplaced board made for a bad results for me.  The gang was good to play with, if a bit too serious at times, but still a fun time. :)  I came in dead last...  by a large margin! :)

Good times,

jp
Better warlord then middle manager

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Factory Manager Unboxing, now with YouTube

Greetings,

So, I guess I am geeking out a bit. I figured out how to use the Window's Movie Maker and it was pretty easy to get the pictures all together with some audio narrative.

So...


Let me know what you think!

jp
And Action!

Edit: I found out how to add both voice and audio, but it appears to have down graded the visuals. More tinkering to follow!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Brrrr....

One of the biggest benefits for being a civil servant is the 'Snow Call' Here I sit, all warm and cozy at home in front of my computer vice being warm and cozy in front of my computer at work. Now, I wish I would have known this before I made the 40+ minute trip to the office so I could go to the gym first only to get the call as I was getting to the gate and having to turn around and drive the 40+ minutes to get back home. Oh well.

Nothing really new on the gaming front. Haven't had the chance to do much since my last FoW game with Paul. The Elder came over to work on some applications and we played four quick games of Giza with me winning the first, her the second, drawing on the third, and her murdering me on the fourth. We then played a quick game of Race for the Galaxy with had me getting a score of 63 points to her 40+. Good game with me building Rebel military plus Imperium bonus cards while she had a lot of the developments that gave you free stuff (cards/vp) for any round.

I broke apart the Grind board game and put together the pieces. It is set up in the basement and I might try a solo round to give the rules a whirl. On Saturday Kyle and I are trying to move the group to a big 'Epic' board game. He has several of the Eagle Games that look pretty cool. The Conquest of the Empire or the Napoleon in Europe could be good ones for a long Saturday night. On Saturday morning four of us are getting together for a four way battle. May even bump it up to 1K all vs. all 20 minute turns for something different and interesting. That would be our own little farewell to MkI event.

More to follow this weekend, in the meantime stay warm and dry!

jp
Waiting to shovel

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Halloween Gaming

Boo!

Steve, Rob and Eric came over for a bit of Halloween gaming last night while I had door duty for the little gobbers coming to the front of Casa Juan. I made a big crockpot of beef stew with beans, carrots, potatoes and The Other Half picked up a nice loaf of asiago cheese bread to go with it.

Steve and Rob made it first about 3ish and we played a game of Shogun. Not the old Milton-Bradley version, but the one that came out a few years ago. It has a unique tower combat system to resolve conflict. Each player in a battle has a number of armies that are represented by cubes. You pick up all the combatants from the table and toss them into the tower that has some plates that make it partially blocked. Which ever force that has more guys come out of the tower wins, but takes extra causalities based on what the looser has come out in the tower as well. Since the cubes may push out some of the armies that were trapped before, you can never be sure how many 'guerrilla' forces are hiding from you in the toss.



Eric showed about the end of Shogun, so we broke Agricola and used the family friendly version for the first round to teach Eric and Rob the basics. That went pretty well with Steve dominating the with 39 some odd points over the rest of us. In the second game we kicked it up a notch and used the full rules with the occupations and minor improvements. This was game was pretty ugly. I got the Sycophant out on turn one which meant that folks had to pay me one food to take one grain, which really slowed down farming until Steve got the grain sack cart out. I ended up with a few large wood pulls and used them to build a five room house with three stables in one turn, then upgraded them to clay. The game ended with Steve having 35, me 36, Eric 19 and Rob 17ish. Good game and I think Eric and Rob enjoyed it as well. Look forward to more in the future.

jp
Mawahahahahaha

Saturday, August 15, 2009

My Sister goes to GenCon...

Pretty rainy day here in the Big O. We were suppose to go participate in a MS Run 5K, but it was down pouring all morning so being the fair weather walkers that we are we swung by, got the t-shirt, and grabbed some breakfast. :)

I played a few games of Race for the Galaxy solo version and did pretty well, far better then my average by taking 3 of 6 games. I've updated the scores since my road trip to Boston and they are in the same file for those that can't get enough math.

While at dinner at the Mediterranean Bistro, my phone rang from my little sister. We were just about to eat, so I let it go to voice mail, figuring I would give her a ring afterwards. I would recommend the Bistro by the way. Very good food, even for my little pouch. My sister said in her voice mail that they were having a good time at GenCon (they being her and my old college buddy Vern/Julian/JC) and that she missed me (ahhh!), and if I wanted JC's unpunched Axis and Allies game before he traded it off. I called back to let her know that I still have my old version of A&A, as well as the Shogun that JC and I purchased together while in college, so he could trade it away as needed. I'm sure I'll talk with her next week to see how the experience went for her, especially since she really isn't a gamer.

I'm going next year to GenCon. I'm making the commitment know so I can start the planning early. It is just the way its going to be! :)

jp
...and I'll I got was a lousy phone call! :)


Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The one where I play a miniature game...

On Tuesday, I went to The Game Shoppe and played a game of Warmachine with Dan because he had the day off. We threw down a 1000 point game that was really fun and swayed back and forth.

Dan played Khador with Irusk and Sorscha as his casters. Going from memory, he had Beast-09, Fenrris, Dragoon, Yuri and two buddies, a unit of Doom Reavers, Widowmakers, Kell Bailock, full unit of Demo Corp, Kuldon Lord w/ Maruder jack, War Dog w/ Sorscha, and the Grey Lords.

I played Mangus the Warlord and Gorten Grundback. Magnus had a bonded Mangler and 2 Renegades, one with a bond, and Gorten had Wroughthammer Rockram. Once again from memory, I also had Dirty Meg w/ a Mule, Thor Stienhammer w/ a Blaster, MacDougle, Alyana and Holt, Piper of Ord, a minimum unit of Steelheads and Hammerfall High Shields, Eiyrss and Kell Bailock.

I had the first turn and risked an obliterator on the perched Widowmakers but it missed horribly and otherwise advanced forward with Eiyrss swinging wide to the right. Dan took the opportunity to ping some Jacks, but no real damage as his forces began to swing around my left. Dan's Manhunter took an opportunity to beat up on the Blaster.

My second turn, I charged the Manhunter with the Steelheads and had Kell come out of the woods to shoot the second Manhunter in the face. That was satisfying. I spent the second obliterator shot at Fenrris, but it missed, only clipping him to knock him down. I moved up all of Magnus' battlegroup and popped 'Kill Box' to trap his Doom Reavers and his Beast09 (with Superiority on it!) and a few others. Meg's Mule shot and missed again, a theme that would repeat often. Gorten's little legs continued to move forward with the rest of the miniatures. Eiyrss continued her sprint down the right side of the board. Dan sent the Koldon Lord and Maurader and Grey Lords to the left to deal with Kell and Eiyrss, killing Eiyrss with the Grey Lords. The trapped Doom Reavers were still able to charge in on the Mangler and the Demo Corp that were not trapped had a boundless charge on one that charged the Wroghthammer and the rest attacked some Steelheads. I lost several (all but one) steelhead and a few Gun Shields to sniper fire.

Turn Three wasn't looking too good at the start, but it worked out well, to bad Dan's turn three was better. I used Gorten's Land Slide feat to move the Doom Reavers and some of the Demo Corp into better positions. With what is left of my Jacks and solos, we dropped a Mule shot on the Demo Corp with no crit. The loan Steelhead took out a damaged Demo due to the Def lost from Landslide. At the end of the turn I had taken the Widowmakers down to one, who passed the test, finished the Demo Corp, but only did one to the Doom Reavers. On Dan's turn, he used the Doom Reavers to clear a path for the Beast-09 which used boundless charge and the Supremacy speed boost to charge Magnus. It did a good job of finishing off Magnus and a few other things. By the end of the turn, Sorscha had moved around the woods and Icy Gazed everything I had left, which wasn't much.

My turn four consisted of a fleeing Holt and having him being chopped down by Doom Reaver. On the bottom of the fourth, Dan used Beast-09 and Sorsha to finally chop Gorton down to size... Even smaller size.

It was a great game, some epic struggles, but a good back into the game. Thanks Dan, tons of fun.

On other news I picked up the Attack! and Attack! Expansion at the Shoppe. Having played once and looking at the rules, I think a few house rules may be in order. First is to lower the Technology cost from 10 start to a 9 start so we can get some of those cool things into effect. Also the Technology stealing action card should allow the original owner to keep the tech... How do you forget to do something? Finally I think we need to look at some of the minor mods to the Democratic player. It just seems really hard/tough to pull off a win with the current constraints.

jp
Beast-09 is poop!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Quantum of Solace

This is turning more into a movie blog then a gaming blog. Must do more gaming! :) Sunday at noon, the Eldest and I went to the show and saw Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond movie. The things I really liked about the show are:
  • The somber and serious mood - Far better then the cheesy camp of old. This 'feels' like what a spy thriller should be.
  • Daniel Craig - The ladies may hate me, but I think that Craig is the top Bond to date. It is, however, close between Connery (Young) and Craig. If you look at Dr. No, that is very close to the style of Bond as Craig is playing him, and is in keeping with Ian Fleming's style. As for the Bond of my youth (73-85), Roger Moore is in the toilet. I'm sorry, but the silliness and camp factor just got turned way too up for my taste. For the record, here is my list...
  1. Daniel Craig
  2. Young Sean Connery
  3. Timothy Dalton
  4. Pierce Brosnan
  5. George Lazenby
  6. Old Sean Connery
  7. David Niven
  8. Roger Moore
  • Action - The old school folks may think it is a bit too much, and at times it was distracting, like the second fight scene... What was that? But it fits in better with this no nonsense Bond.
  • 'M' - Judi Dench just rocks as 'M'. She has the cool and style to pull off being a big stick in a man's world. She plays it as a serious roll, the campy straight man jobs of the past are gone. Keep it you Dame!
What I didn't like:
  • Plot Scenes - Due to the hectic action in the movie, it seems that one or two usable plot scenes might have been left on the cutting room floor. Not enough to ruin the movie, but enough to make me scratch my head from time to time.
  • Death of Rene Mathis - Played by Giancarlo Giannini, Mathis was a great 'side kick' and I thought that his death was a bit cheap here. Maybe one of those plot scenes from above.
  • 'Q' - 'Q' is an iconic piece of Bond. If they could figure a way to include without the campy that developed around him in the first place that would be pleasant to see in the future.
Over all I liked the movie. Not as good as Casino Royale, but still a very good time at the movies, in what I hope will be longer running tradition of the 'new' James Bond.

In gaming news:

The Eldest and I have been playing the snot out of Race for the Galaxy. It is a great game at two players, but I really want to expand out to four or five. I've done a fair amount of solo play vs. the Robot for RftG as well and that has been enjoyable, even if I have lost all but once. The Eldest and I also tried out Formula D, Red Dragon Inn, and Settlers Card Game on a pretty regular basis.

On Thanksgiving Steve came over for a few hours. The Other Half was taking a nap and freaked when the Dog kicked it in gear, but that was ok. The Eldest, Steve and I played a learning hand of RftG and a round of Red Dragon Inn, before we closed up for the night. Big thanks to Steve for making the trip. Maybe next year we will make an actual planned effort to have folks over.

On Black Friday, I picked up Thurn and Taxis and Alhambra for double points. I'm ready for that next 20% discount Mr. DeVille.

I'm running a few events on the 7th for the Bellevue Food Pantry Charity Con down at the Game Shoppe. MonPoc and WM/HD. Should be good times. Then I'll be doing some traveling the next week for work. Hopefully, I'll get the go ahead to play some D&D on the 13th. We shall see!

jp
p, jp

Friday, November 21, 2008

Christmas in November

Good day to you!

So, the Basement Purge of 2008 has been financially rewarding. I've been selling some old game stuff that I will most likely never miss over at eBay. Since I took the cut in pay, the other half has suggested* that I should use these funds for my game purchases in the future. This combined with a 20% off for points at The Game Shoppe, I purchased several board games on Tuesday.

I got the following games:
On Wednesday the Elder was off work, so I finagled a few of the new games. We started with a game of the Settlers Card Game. It was pretty easy to pick up and the mechanics were fun. I enjoyed the building aspect as well as the way they handle trading. Second we tried MP Fluxx. Not the best two player game, but I was really hoping to show her the mechanics. That went OK. Like I said, not the best two player. She was embarrassed to do the ridicules accent or to sing songs. We finished up with a game of RDI. This is fund, mindless game, also better with four players then two, but it was still playable. The setting is post adventure, when the 'characters' are drinking and spending their gold. Kind of silly, but fun.

On Thursday and Friday nights, I fought my way through the solo version of RftG. It is an interesting mix. I haven't beat the solo game yet as it can out earn VP on me pretty quick. I've played about 5 times, and each time I keep finding something new. It is nice to have a good solid solo game as well for those nights.

Other exciting news on the home front...
  • We went down to basic cable. I don't watch TV at all to be honest except for Lost, but I get that on the basic tier. Saves us a bit of money, but...
  • We signed up for NetFlix to fill the void. We still end up ahead over the cable bill by about $15ish a month, but we can choose better shows. The other half picked a few comedies, I got Dexter Season 1 and Gotham Knight. The plan we are on offers two DVD's at a time plus unlimited internet viewing. I would be interested in finding a way to send the streaming to the regular TV. Anyone got any ideas?
  • Privateer Press sort of announces they are shifting to plastic for some larger models. This did light the fire storm of doom. Typical cycle for the PP Boards: Announce --> DOOM! --> Release --> COOL! Given the quality of the GW plastics have achieved, I have little doubt that PP's will be the same. Besides, between the lines looks like that 'Jack boxes will have multiple weapons layouts for the same chassis. So you can use the magnets to make an Iron Clad, Defender, or Storm Clad. That alone is cool.
jp
I like big games and I can not lie...

Monday, November 10, 2008

Monday Night Games...

The Eldest and I played a few games this evening after dinner.

We started out with my original version of RoboRally. I got this game back in California at a game convention at California Poly Tech in San Luis Obispo. It was a game convention called "PolyCon", and I had an opportunity to learn the game from Richard Garfield himself. At the time I had no idea who he was, but it was cool later to find out. Anyways the Eldest and I played for about an 40 mins or so. She had an early lead, but got trapped on one of those circular conveyors and just couldn't get off.

We then played Yali. Yali is an interesting board game that has two players using a see-saw balance beam and ball bearings doing moves like Chinese Checkers. Moving the balls tips the balance one way or an other which dictates who is going next. Move your eight balls to the other end and you win. Mindless and quick, but heck beats a shift kick in the toches. This one came down to one move. It balanced off in my favor so I won.

Finally we played a bit of PS2. I bought a 80's arcade compilation the other day and we spent some time playing 'Toobin'. We then played a bit of Hot Shots 3, video golf. It is one of the only games I can play consistently on the PS2. I'm just not a console person. The Eldest one the golf game by one stroke. I choked when I was trying to cut over a cliff and dropped my ball out of bounds which put me too far behind.

Not a bad night of games!

jp
Keeper of some really odd games...

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Some Games Around the House...

The nice thing about having Ashley at the house, is I have someone that does not mind playing a game or two once in a while.

Since she moved in Saturday night we have played a demo game of Boltz-N-Voltz, a few games of Privateer (Board Game), and two games of Carcassonne.

Wish I could get Phyllis to play then we would have enough for Shadows over Camelot! Oh well, such is life.

Carcassonne was fun, I do like the game as it is pretty easy to pick up and understand. I might have to pick up an expansion to see how it adds to the game.

As reminder, don't forget the Breast Cancer Brawl on the 27th. This includes the Pretty in Pink paint competition if you choose to participate. I'll be in Lincoln on Saturday so I'll be sure to let folks there know... Heck just as many Lincoln guys showed for the Legends event as did locals! :)

jp
Player of Games

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Warmachine Tournament & Shadows over Camelot

Greetings,

I ran a 13 person tournament on Saturday. I had 4 pre-registrations and ten show out of the wood work. Not complaining, Ok, I am complaining, but it would be nice to have been able to plan ahead better. We used the new Steamroller rules at the 750 point level.

Brian A. took the overall with a nasty eVlad list. Shawn took second with Legion and Chris took third with a trollblood list. Sportsman and Painting went to a Lincoln guy visiting, Sam. Hoping Sam will sign on for the Pressgang and carry the flag out east. Adam, poor adam, brought up the anchor again.

Afterwards I headed over to Marks and we played two games of Shadows over Camelot with seven players. The first was with the regular box and the second was with the new expansion. We lost both. Players weren't ganging up on the non solo challenges... We'll get you next time Evil! The expansion adds some nice touches. I like the travel and Merlin, but the new Witches cards are tough.

jp
Nice Thrall and Accuser of the Innocent!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Shadows over Camelot

Picked up this game becuase I liked it when I tried it. The gang wasn't overly happy at first after seeing a bad demo, but they took to it pretty quick.

It is a fun coop game, except for the traitor. Enjoyed the mechanics for evil and the side quests. Looking forward to the expansion... Which I pre-paid for!

jp