Judge Dredd Campaign #1.3 - Warehouse Raid

Out in the waste area of Megacity One the Fatties Gang had set up warehouse for overly sweet snacks. The Judges weren't having any of it!

[Editorial note: this write up was many (many) months after the tabletop action occured and is thus a bit vague, but it would be a shame not to document it in some capacity]

The First Of Many...

...Or at least a few. A Battleground British Tommy, my first test 15mm WWII Allied figure.

[Judge Dredd] Home in Time for Tea

 

Halo*Star was over for our second game of Judge Dredd. We decided to try and consolidate the game in our failing memories, but making use of the Big Meg and Armoury cards this time. The narrative for the scenario?  The gangers from David Dickinson Block had been out and about, but now it was time to get back to the block before Celebrity Bargain Hunt started on the Holo-units. Unfortunately for them their earlier activities had drawn the attention of The Judges, and they had plans to intercept.

[Judge Dredd] Entering the Big Meg

Small corner of MC-1. A work in progress

My Brother, Halo*Star, had suggested doing some occasional gaming to get him out of the house and to get me some game time. As he'd gifted me a load of excellently painted JD figures (which I should really showcase in a post as there were more than the Judges already shown) it seemed obviously to start playing some Judge Dredd.

Galleys and Galleons

 One of my aims this year was to finally get a game of "Galleys and Galleons" (published by Ganesha Games) played with my flotilla of Wizkids "Pirates..." ships.

Chariot Fun

Just a quicky.

And they're off!

This week I had the pleasure of helping MacSver continue playtesting the upcoming "Faustus Furious" chariot racing ruleset from Ganesha Games. With a 3 player game going on (controlling 2 chariots each of different types) great fun was had.

A Heavy Chariot forces it's way down the inside.

MacSver has already painted a lot of different chariots up to represent Heavy rigs, agile one and archer carrying setups. As you can see from the pictures he has also started on a custom demo table which will look fabtastic when finished.

Coming up to the final bend, but a mob of spectators
have run on. They must think it's all over...

I believe that the final editing and tweaking is being done. The rules are great fun with much crashing, spinning and careering going on the keep the races unpredictable.

Definitely one to look out for when they become available.

(more playtest details on MacSver's Blog)

Chariot Racing - practice laps

A quick couple of pictures to assure you that I've not given up this whole blogging lark!

Last week I was helping MacSver playtest Bread & Circuses Chariot Racing to be released by Irregular Wars. As it is play test time for the rules I won't\can't go into specifics, but the race had some furious action with riders attacking\whipping each other, spin out, mobs of spectators running onto the track and desperate catch-up actions. Looks like it will be great fun when released and I'm looking forward to a game or two more.

Details on the Chariots here on MacSver's blog.

WWI Wings Of Glory

Last night MacSver hosted a demo game of the World War One version of Wings Of Glory for me. First game was played with the basic rules before adding in the damage standard rules and altitude change rules for a second game.

My Fokker Dr1 tries to shake off MacSver's Sopwith Camel

For those not familiar it is a dogfight game, with immediate similarities to X-Wing.

Moves are secretly predeclared, but unlike X-Wing they are preset 3 at a time. I had wondered how this would compare to the X-Wing single pre-order system, but the movement distances are slower so the movement still works well and means that there is a chance that engagement can break off briefly.

Another nice rule is that, aside from some special "critical" effects, the amount of damage sustained by a plane is unknown to the opponent. Damage is not a dice roll up picked up from a deck of damage cards. It is possible to pick up a card with zero damage - signifying a hit but the bullet passing through the fuselage with no real effect I suppose.

My battered Fokker, full of holes and with an injured pilot
managed to get behind the British plane and make a few telling shots.

Critical damage can range from stuck rudders to injured pilots and damaged engines. All these have the effect of limiting your options for manoeuvres and action. With the planes (certainly at the rule level we played at) only having movement and firing along a front arc, you really get into the groove of the twisting and turning to get a shot in, being mindful that if your opponent gets a shot in at the same time in a head-to-head position you may well come off worse - which happened to me a couple of times! As ever, things become tense and tactical toward the end as the mystery damage cards stack up and then push to get in a shot without being shot yourself becomes all the more crucial.

We had missed out some of the standard rules ass so as not to overload my poor brain, and there are advanced level rules to add if required. It is a very enjoyable game, and recommended.

Rules, Rules Everywhere...

Like so many other happy gamers I received my Frostgrave nickstarter the other week. rulebook and miniatures look lovely but more importantly the ruleset not only looks like it will be simple to play but the different magic schools which are so core to the game will give a great variety in playing styles, which is just as I'd hoped when I'd taken the plunge. But there are starting to be quite a few blog articles scattered round the web about these so I won't go on.

Also creeping in under a dusk tide was the release of Ganesha Games new naval ruleset "Galleys and Galleons". I've been waiting fo rthis set for a good while now to apply to my collection of Wizkids Pirates ships.

The classic Ganesha 3 dice risk\reward activation system is still in place here with a few tweaks. The ships also have that familiar Quality, Combat & special rule makeup from other titles. There is a nice mechanic of using other coloured dice in the 3 dice pool to show damage to the ship without the need for any book-keeping. Movement is automatic (& free) with actions only being able to tweaks heading or speed from the base movement speed, which is defined by the heading of the ship in relation to the wind direction at that moment.

As with other titles, there is a basic roster section for your ships (and sea monsters should you wish), and a campaign section.

At the moment my hobby time is very limited so no testing has been done, but I will need to get a couple of ships out for identification, get my landlubber head round some of the terminology (mostly ship\rigging types) and have a trial run through soon as these rules look like a winner.

Quick Victoria

Time in to front of the mighty blog-a-thon is still running at a premium so I'm just going to fire up some pictures of a test game of "In Her Majesty's Name" I played with MacSver last week with out a proper write up. I apologise.

We were testing out our Companies for an upcoming campaign. Myself with my "Victoria's Palace" Company and MacSver with his Lord Curr Company. It was the "Catch a Pigeon" scenario from the main rulebook, except with a wayward automaton instead of a feathered messenger. the Pea Soup Fog rules (variable sight distance) were also in play.

Lord Curr and His Incorrigibles get ready for the search.

Warmachine - The Final Door is Slams Shut.

It's been about a year since my last game of Warmachine, so MacSver and I dusted off the models for a game. The forces were Khador (MacSver) against Cygnar (myself).  We lined up:.

Khador:

• Kommander Sorscha Kratikoff
• Juggernaut - Heavy Warjack
• Destroyer - Heavy Warjack
• Assault Kommandos
• Widowmakers
• Man-O-War Shocktroopers

Cygnar: 

• Commander Adept Nemo
• Ironclad Heavy Warjack
• Lancer Light 'jack
• Firefly Light 'jack
• Journeyman Warcaster
• Charger Light 'jack (bound to Jr)
• Black 13th Gun Mages
• 2 x Stormcallers

It was to be a straight battle across the Crystal Fields.

Not Bored with a Board

Rainy Saturday's should be just right for hitting the gaming club, but with household chores in the morning (like taking the owner of the furry face above to the Vet) made that a non starter. So stuck in for the afternoon with it still raining should be signal for hobby shed action, but the table is covered in desirable goods released for the latest Hobby Shed sale [hint, hint :-) ] so another dead end.

Time to break out a board game. In this case the Dungeons and Dragons boardgame. I even managed to rope in the ArabianQueen for a rare game - it must have been rainy! We played the second adventure, although the first one was hardly fresh in our minds! But by half way through we all had the rules and mechanics mostly understood and it all went swimmingly. Nice way to spend part of the day together (even if it does seem to require Arabiansquire exclaiming "Hack and Slash" every few minutes).

Introducing A New Convert?

Arabiansquire had a friend over for a "sleep-over" on Friday, returning on the Saturday. With the weather in-climate, and looking to drag the two boys away from the video games console I decided that a morning at our local wargaming club was a good idea. But with the friend's lack of tabletop gaming experience, what to play?

Simplicity, and fun were key (especially considering the lack of sleep the two lads had between them, so Monster Island (by Firefly Games) was pulled out. An introductory game with the 3 of us was played, with the new arrival winning in the end as his Godzilla slugged it out with Arabiansquire's giant spider.

Godzilla is entangled in the Spider's steel web

There was time for a second game with different monsters that the two lads played themselves (the game simplicity and Arabiansquire's experience making that possible).

The end result? Quote: "I would like to try wargaming again".

Simple fun game with friend was key, but I think that the setting also helped with the introduction. We have room to play games here at Arabiantowers, but the club environment adds to what would just be playing a game at home. Other club members coming up to see the game and introduce themselves and a variety of other games being played adds interest one a quick wander. It also helps that there is quite a young membership so it didn't seem like a Dad's club.

As a note to those interested, Firefly games have permanently put their Monster Island downloads are reduced to $1.99 US for core books and $0.99 US for supplements. As you can see from the pictures any toy figures can be used to play with, which can be an advantage.

On into 2012

This would be a hobby blog without a look back at the previous year or a look forward to the coming year, so here we are to see my part of the unwritten moral contract...

In previous years I've either set out a list of projects to complete or, heaven help me, used definite statements such as "this will be done by June" which still never saw completion!

"Paint us, paint us..."

This year the watch word is, again some would say, frugal. Last years accounting process was quite interesting for me. It's funny how that even with an overall mind to spend less you still end up spending more than expected. This year I aim to do much less speculative spending. Purse strings are tight for many at the
moment, so I'm looking to really look at using what I have first and shoot at projects I've already spent on. It also means trying to maintain some discipline of when I purchase items. I'm finding myself looking at paints for my British and German WWII figures at the moment. But I must, under my new guidelines, hold off hitting that "confirm" button until I'm actually ready to start painting them. The hope is that if I get the relevant/missing pieces just as I need them there will be some enthusiasm riding into the project and not a "getting round to it" type of mentality. Last years average monthly spend was around £35. I hope to lower that this year, especially as I have less to sell from my hobby shed clearance scheme this year although there are still a few items lurking that can hopefully bolster the coffers.

This approach does also lead to only planning shorter term, which considering my previous track records should be more practical. Or at least feeling less like fraud.

Rpging in the New Year

I've a couple of things already on the workbench. First in the priority list is a hobbit figure for my RPG gaming which should start in a couple of weeks. One of my RPG buddies is starting up the new "The One Ring: Adventures over the Edge of the Wild" game and I decided that what the Dwarf Slayers and Elven Academics needed was heavy smoking Hobbit. So now I need to paint one up. I also need to be finishing off a pool of beastmen for a figure pool on the proposed second "Songs of Blades and Heroes" campaign.

These are to be done first before moving onto the next painting project. This should be a start into Urban War as nearly a quarter of last years spend was on this, but, whilst it's high on the list I'll see nearer the time. We'll see how those Airfix soldiers are calling at the time...

Frugal Accounting - Year End

Well that's the year over for my accounting. Let the lies and accussations begin to fly.
But first the hard, indesputable facts:

• Total Spend: 417.08 (average monthly spend 34.76)
• Total Income: 411.37
• Net Total Spend: 5.71

Two things stand out here. One is that my net spend over the year is under £6 ( under $9 for those across the pond). if I'd pulled my finger out and done a bit more selling I could have been in the black, but never mind. Still got to be happy with that. Another figure is that I spent over £400 pounds over the year. To be honest this is quite shocking, as I thought I'd been keeping quite a tight lid on my spend, but it just goes to show how it all mounts up, especially with a couple of bigger projects/spends dotted throughout the year. On looking through the accounts the main drains were:

• Cryx: 99.49
• Urban War: 97.91
• 40k: 36.45
• 28mm Fantasy: 44.73

And to think that back in January I'd announced that most of the spending had already been done on Warmachine! This does probably mirror where most the hobby activities have been focused this year, mind you, so I shouldn't be surprised. The obvious exception is Urban War, but that is one really for developing in 2012 (a subject for a later post).

Similarly the number of figures bought this year was unexpectedly high:

• 28mm Bought: 161, Painted:87 
• 10mm Bought: 37, Painted 19

But I have managed to painted more than half the number I bought this year. In some cases the completed models were even some of the models that were purchased the same year - turnaround bonus! It is by far the highest number I've painted over 12 months so I'm a very happy bunny.

But enough of the number crunching lets move onto the nostalgic highlights of the year.

Progress in January's plans were discussed and plans ammended in July at the six month point. Most of my plans for the second half of the year didn't really happen. I've not finished my Space Marines (mostly because I already had enough for my games) and my Doctor Who never took off at all. My Cryx, whilst not played too much are just about finished. My final 3 (another final 3 from before) are at the detail and basing stage, so a good evening should see them good. I'm desperate to get these done before the end of December to draw a line under this force.I did finish off a Future warband for Chain Reaction, and added and started new fantasy models, so on the way there.

Finally getting my ratmen through the "Songs of Blades..." campaign was great. Fun and rewarding. A new map based campaign (laboriously worked out by MacSver) should be in the offing next year. I had great success with the pod racing as well. It's numerous games were played with a variety of players and without exception everyone enjoyed themselves. When I've managed to get a game Arabiansquire this year we've been enjoying using TwoHour Wargames Chain Reaction or 5150 rules with Space Marines & Necrons or generic squads. It had been an ambition since the start of 2010 to use THW rulesets more, so I'm happy that we're managing it now. We could have donw with a few more games, but when times are busy there isn't always time to dedicate 2 or 3 hours in a day to one game. Hopefully there wil be more gaming time next year.

Urban War Skirmish

Well last Saturday saw the charity wargame event that was Skirmish. Not so much a show, more of lots of organised games/tournaments with a few demo games thrown in. I couldn't enter any of the organised events (tournaments aren't really my bag anyway) but Arabiansquire and I went down to support the charity (Erskine, caring for war veterans) and see if we could pick up a game of something new or different. One of the tables was being held by Urban Mammoth demo-ing their newly released 2nd Edition of Urban War. I've seen Urban Mammoth at quite alot of shows up here in Scotland over the years but never played. They had disappeared for a while, so it was nice to see them back. So nice in fact that we had a game to see how it went. Very well as it turned out. The game using a couple of starter boxes was simple, quick and fun. I lost as usual but we both enjoyed the game.

So much so that I blew all the cash in my beleagered wallet on a couple of starter sets. I picked (with help, of course) Viridian and Vasa. I like the pseudo russian look of the Vasa (which will hopefully keep me away from Warmachine Khador temptation) and the "generic" marine look of the Viridian. The models are also not tied into the game so much that I won't be able to use them for other games, which is also a big attraction and good value for money. I also picked these as they should be relatively unfiddely and quick to paint. As I'm still trying to finish my Warmachine Cryx this was also an attraction.

The starter sets come with a mixed force of 7 or 8 models, stat cards, quick start rules, reference sheet and a couple of dice. The rulebook (which was also on show) is a lovely full colour A5 affair with loads of pictures and all the stats for the forces, which will be quite usefull for those with version 1 stats. I didn't have enough cash on me to pay the reasonable £10 for the book at the show, but it is available via the website at the same price, but I bought the more frugal pdf to print out for just over a fiver (6 Euros). With a host of scenarios downloaded from the website aswell, I'll have to get the figures glued and get going...

Arabian Squires, Knights and Bishops

Arabiansquire has recently discovered Chess (via a class mate and a chess set in a holiday cottage we were in a couple of weeks ago). I'm not going to get into the whole "chess isn't a wargame, it's an abstract boardgame" arguement because, quite frankly I don't care! Most of the time board games don't make it into this blog (with one or two exceptions) but this time it's comes with a bit more geek attatched. Once home his interest finally gave me reason to break out my Star Wars Saga edition chess set I was given one year "A long time ago in a another house far, far away...." if I may paraphrase for a second.

Whilst a bit confusng at times (the chess symbols are on the figure bases) it does bring a bit more "cool" of sorts to keep interests up...

The forces of Good.

The Dark Side of the board

Monster Magnet...Basing

After last nights round of my "Songs of ..." campaign and being inspired by Frugal Dave's post this week, I finally dug out the magnetic tape to base my skaven. I've had this sitting around for a few years now, waiting to be used.

 I'll probably continue to use the tape for my 20mm square bases, as it is the cheapest method - despite having to measure and cut the tape and try and flatten out the curl of the storage method, but for the round bases I have I think I'll follow Dave's lead and purchase some die-cut ones from Hasslefree miniatures.

Obligatory gravity defying shot

What really remains to be seen is how these "new" bases are stored in the hobby shed. I've some steel paper and box files ready to go, but steel paper is hardly cheap, and when combined with the price of even a cheap multipack box file the expense starts to mount. Perhaps it would be better value getting some metal drawers. I'll have to investigate.

What does everyone else do?

The Dreaded Six Month Review

Gosh, hasn't it been quiet around here lately. "It's that time of year again" as the saying goes. Obviously its always that time of year for something. In my case it's Summer time (or at least what optimistically passes as Summer in Scotland) which means less hobby time, more garden tending time, more away days at the weekend (less hobby time), etc. So apologies for the lack of updates but here it is- the mid-term review.

 

We'll be quick here and move straight to the numbers:

• Cash Out: £243.46
• Cash In: 349.42

 That's an average monthly spend of £40.58 which, if I'm honest is a bit disappointing, as I was looking for less than that. Just over £100 pounds of that was on the main painting/gaming focus for the first half (Warmachine and Space Marines) I suppose i shouldn't feel too bad. Also the spends on these two games/areas are just about finished, so a line can be drawn under that. On the plus side all my costs have been covered in sales from the hobby shed, with a bit extra (at the moment). This obviously helps me justify the other purchases of the year that haven't had any attention lavished on them (yet).

 

Which makes me look at the bought/painted stats:

 

• 28mm: Bought: 95 Painted: 53
• 10mm: Bought: 37 Painted: 22

 

Converse to the cash spend I'm actually quite pleased at the number of figures I've finished so far. It helps that 40k ones are all pretty quick to paint, but that's fine. I am am suprised at the numer in the bought column as I wouldn't have thought it added up to that much - funnily enought it does though. Just goes to show how your perceptions and real facts often differ (especially in accrued lead).

  

2 days into the year I set out my stall with numerous plans (or dreams) for the coming year. Looking over this mighty document I can see that I've failed (or at least faltered in most of these). My Gladiator campaign lasted a few months until a new set of rules derailed me. My Songs Of Blades campaign still shows no sign of starting, I've not played with my 10mm dungeon (although I have been painting it), my 2 Sci-fi scenery projects haven't been touched, and I've painted zero modern era figures for my zombie gaming. And you can you add in the fact that the number of roleplaying sessions played can be counted on the fingers of Bugs Bunny's hand!

 

Bug's reads up on his gaming tactics

So the year's been a complete washout then? Well, no. If we look at the gallery page we can see a clue to something that has sneeked in - Space Marines (and Necrons) and using them toboot! Sci-fi gaming has hit the Hobby Shed with a vengence the last few months. It started with Arabiansquire's birthday present of some Space Marines of his own to paint, and he's been keen to play them ever since. Previous favourite fantasy gaming hasn't had a proper look in at all. To add to the Sci-fi feel of the year there have been quite a few Pod Racing Sessions over the last couple of months as well. Warmachine has also dominated the painting mat as I try to finish off my Cryx Army. Nearly there now though. I may actually get to play with them once it's done, as the local league play has somewhat stalled.

 

This seamlessly leads me into the next six months. I'm going to shelve (or box) my grand WWII plans. This fuse was ignited by Halo*Star, but he's not over so frequently just now and he still hasn't picked up any figures that I will leave it for later - I've a few other pots boiling at the moment anyway. I hope to replace it with something I go WOW! for - Doctor Who. This also has great playing potential, as the wee lad is Dr Who mad; in theory I need less figures (and I already own a few); being a time travelling adventurer I should be able to use many of my other figures; it's new and shiny (which lets be honest is why we all start!) But like all best laid plans we'll have to wait and see! I would also like to see a few more warbands (fantasy and Sci-fi) painted before the year's end, especially as I've bought a couple this year and it would be nice to see some more "bought and painted" figures rather than the usual "discovered and painted" variety!

Two Hour Wargames markers

As Arabiansquire and I play more Two Hour Wargame games (especially 5150 and All Things Zombie) its become more and more apparent that we need some sort marker system for figures. We're working with the combined memory capacities of a 9 year old and a weary Dad (who feels closer to dottage with every day), so something physical was required.

I've made up some cheap (free) markers for download. If you set your pdf reader to print 2 document pages per sheet of paper you can fold over the sheet, glue it, cut it and you have a set of double sided counters.



Click the thumb to download the THWmarkers pdf

 I've probably missed some common ones, but if thats the case I'm sure you will let me know.