April Games

 I actually played GAMES in April! 

Well... not until the second half of April (after my projects and final exam were finished!)... and it wasn't a LOT of games... and there were no miniature games... or war-games... but there were still games!? So that's something! 

Saturday, 18 April 2026 

MORGAN actually suggested doing something Saturday evening - which was surprising in itself, as they usually want little to do with us! I can't remember the last time they played a game with us - let alone the last time THEY SUGGESTED playing a game!!

We played a pretty quick game of Carcassonne - with just the base game... Despite Amanda and I splitting a 50-point megalopolis, Morgan ended only a few points behind! I just snuck ahead of Amanda at the end of the game by ruthlessly cutting her out of the farming... 

After wards we played a few games of Retro Loonacy. I won the first game. Morgan suggested we play two more - best two out of three...? It's like they didn't even CONSIDER that Amanda could possibly have won a game... As it turned out Morgan won the second and I won the third. While Amanda very often DOMINATES at a lot of other board games... Loonacy is not one of them. 

Afterwards we all watched a couple episodes of Resident Alien! 

Friday, 24 April 2026

Initially we'd planned to have friends over on Friday to play Wingspan - which we have not played in ages.... Amanda had played it a couple times last year with some of her friends... but I have not played it since June of 2024!? (Despite that, I did finally pick up the latest Americas expansion for Amanda's birthday earlier this month! It is still one of our MOST PLAYED GAMES ever!) 

But there was a late-season snow storm on Friday (THE THIRD ONE in as many weeks!?) so that got cancelled... but since Amanda had slated that time in as "play board game time" I convinced her to give Sagrada a try... 

I picked up Sagrada a while back. It was on sale... I realized later it was probably on sale because there is a slightly newer version out now... but I think it MOSLTY plays the same...? Earlier in the week I'd watched a how to play video. 

While she was eating supper, I tried a couple of quick solo games - the solo play version is very quick and easy enough to play, but difficult to win! I totally didn't read how to determine the target score for the first game so wasn't even remotely close... 49/109

The second game I scored lower... but was closer to the target score... 44/73

After Amanda had finished supper and ran some of the pizza I made over to Morgan who was house-sitting for a friend a few blocks away and busy studying for their final exam for English the following morning... we sat down to try out a game. 

We got part was through the second round and realized Amanda had been doing placement all wrong... (Started in the wrong place... didn't place the next few panes adjacent to already placed panes...) So we called them "practice rounds" and started over again... 

So much fun was had utterly destroying me the first time, Amanda decided we needed to play a second game... which she also won... 

Amanda suggested we bring it on our little vacation together the following week... though I wasn't entirely sure WHEN she was hoping to play as the "vacation" was her going on a work conference and me tagging along for fun... and, looking at the itinerary, I'm pretty sure she was supposed to be doing stuff from 7am-8 to10pm, depending on the day. The spa that the conference was held at seemed an odd choice, considering the very full itinerary, I'm not sure when the participants were supposed to make use of the spa facilities... maybe they figured most of the participants would be men and they'd be  bringing their wives and the wives would want to make use of the spa facilities...? I wasn't entirely sure what **I** was supposed to do for the four days...!?

And again... that was it... 

Maybe next month I'll get out the toys and play with them! Seriously, it's gotten to the point where I'm thinking about solo games again! 

October Games

Wow... So the entirety of Q3 was a bit of a bust... and... Q4 did not get off to a great start either... I didn't play any games at all for the first two weeks of the month... then... 

Monday, 14 October 2024

On the holiday Monday of the Thanksgiving weekend (in Canada!) Orion stopped by to have a "practice game" for the upcoming Path to Glory campaign to try out our respective forces and figure out the full Age of Sigmar rules - which ARE somewhat different from the Spearhead rules, which we've been playing with for the last few months! 

Orion's Soulblight Gravelords just hammered on my Hedonites of Slaanesh! 

There is a brief game report here:

Age of Sigmar - Path to Glory Practice

Sunday, 20 October 2024

A week later, Keiran and I went over to Shannon and Kevin's place to play some games with them and Kevin's son. 

First we played some Carcassonne. 

it was a VERY close game... 

Then everyone else played NMBR9... (because it only plays four and I don't LOVE the game) so I flipped the cards for them. 

Keiran just LOVED the game and utterly DESTROYED everyone else... I think they had 121 points at the end... next highest score was 81...? 

Next we played a few rounds of Tinderblox. A quick little game where you flip a card and try and add blocks to the existing pile in the orientation shown on the card, using the very slippery, odd angled tweezers!?

As soon as you drop something, knock something over, or something you just placed falls over, you are out of the game. 

Keiran, surprisingly, was less good at this one!? I would have thought with all the sewing and other crafty things they do, and the accompanying precise motor skills, they would have rocked this one as well... alas, they were out on the first round for BOTH games.  

The first game the stack got CrAzY high!?

Shannon won one of the games.

I won the other (miniature painting, yo!) 

Finally we played Pirate Fluxx. I'd not played Pirate Fluxx before, but plenty of other Fluxx games, and they're all pretty much the same. It's been a while since I've played any. Sometimes it's a REALLY FAST GAME! Other times it just goes on and onnnnn.... for-EVAR... this was closer to the latter! 

Still it was good to get out and play same board games again!!!

Wednesday, 30 October 2024

After a two and a half month hiatus... I sat down with Amanda and Finnegan to work towards finishing up Warhammer Quest: Shadow over Hammerhal. 

Finnegan played the Cogsmith, Golnir Coalbeard, which he'd originally been playing, and Arvios Sunhelm - Lord-Castellant of the Hammers of Sigmar. Amanda played Vizrin Kyre - Black Ark Fleetmaster (as usual) and took on Alnaryn, the Aelven Loremaster. The four heroes blasted through "The Vile Dungeon" filled with some dank, nasty Putrid Blightkings and a Rotbringer Sorcerer! 

You can read the full report of the evening's adventures here:

Warhammer Quest: Shadows Over Hammerhal - Session Five - The Vile Dungeon

And... that was IT?! 

Once again... not a LOT of games going on... I didn't even get around to trying out Devilry Afoot - or playing a second game of Five Men in Normandy!? (I had thought of trying a quick solo game this evening... but I was just too tired...) 

This was all kind of starting to get me down until yesterday when we played Warhammer Quest. It was SO MUCH FUN! I just LOVE that format of play and both Amanda and Finnegan seem pretty committed to finish this off - and then continue on with MORE of the Warhammer Quest games! I'll need to get painting the rest of the stuff for Silver Tower and/or Cursed City - as we could very well be moving on to one of those in the next few weeks!!

Feeling a bit more positive about next month - with the renewed interest in Warhammer Quest and the new edition of Warhammer Underworlds just a few weeks off and the kick off of the Path to Glory league.. Also Brent has arranged to stop by tomorrow and try out Lost Patrol. 

Things are looking up! 

What did YOU get up to playing over the last month!? 

July Games

Monday, 1 July 2024 (Canada Day!)

We started the month by heading over to Shannon's to play some board games with her and Kevin. 

First we played Betrayal at the House on the Hill. I've seen this game played (on Wil Wheaton's Tabletop? Maybe?) and we've played Betrayal at Baldur's Gate (a D&D themed reskin of the game that Finnegan has), but I've never played the original. 

I played Jenny LeClerc... 

And... This is how the Haunt happened on my second turn... 

We did not get far. 

The Betrayer was determined to be Shannon's Character; Professor Longfellow

Shannon left to read her rules and we were left to read our rules and figure out how to defeat the professor and win... I STILL have no idea what we were actually supposed to do... Shannon won very quickly... 

Afterwards we played Carcasonne. 

I like Carcassonne. We were only playing with the base set and four people so it seemed like it went very fast and was quite low scoring. 

Afterwards we played Dixit. Dixit is okay if you're playing with the right people. These were the right people. I had a lot of fun playing it. Other times... less so... 

We played a game called NMBR9... then Kevin had to go out. 

So Amanda, Shannon and I played again. 

Strangely, we all did way WORSE on our second game... but I did less worse tha Amanda and Shannon and won that one! 

That wrapped up a VERY BUSY WEEK of playing games (and other stuff!) if you recall from June, we'd played multiple games of Warhammer Underworlds EVERY DAY, ALL WEEK in preparation for the Rivals Tournament on Sunday, 30 June 2024!? (Also Keiran graduated from high school on the Monday kicking off that week... and... other stuff happened?!)

Friday, 5 July 2024

I rode all the way out to the Warhammer Store Friday afternoon, hoping to get in a game or two of Warhammer Underworlds... and no one showed up... 

So I got roped into playing a game of the new Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Spearhead against Dray... I played with the store's Stormcast Spearhead force and beat down some Ghouls of the Flesh-Eaters Court pretty hard... 

You can read the game report here:

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Spearhead - First Game!

Sunday, 7 July 2024

Sunday Nic and Orion were back to play more Warhammer Underworlds! 

In the first game I played with Thundrik's Profiteers with Rimelocked Relics (the combo I'd planned to bring to the tournament, but didn't). Amanda played Lady Harrow's Mournflight. Orion Played the Crimson Court and Nic played the Skinnerkin, both with Nemesis decks. 

For our second game we all played with Rivals Decks. I played the Dread Pageannt. Amanda played the Thricefold Discord. Orion played the Headsman's Curse. Nic played Da Kunnin Krew. We all had one BIG figher (a fighter with 5+ wounds!) 

I haven't made a game report for this game... I took a bunch of pictures... but just didn't get to it. The following week was brutally hot AND I was totally distracted by all the PDFs of the new Age of Sigmar rules and battle profiles and warscrolls being released?! 

It was so hot, I didn't even ride out to the Warhammer Store on Friday... I can survive riding in the heat... it's the prospect of standing around trying to play games while SOAKED in sweat that did not appeal to me! 

Tuesday, 16 July 2024

The following Tuesday, we finally started our Warhammer Quest: Shadows Over Hammerhal campagin! John and Maygan joined Finnegan and Amanda as they delved into the catacombs under the Cinderfall District of Hammerhal Aqsha. 

There is a bit of a report and more pics here:

Warhammer Quest: Shadows Over Hammerhal - Session One!

I missed the Skirmish Night at the Warhammer Store, as well as the Spearhead League kick off, because the temperatures soared into the +30s (°C) for a good chunk of the week... AND the air quality was terrible - for a few days, Environment Canada was just reporting it as 10+... once it gets beyond 10, there's just no point in keeping track, because it's just BAD!!

I had been super looking forward to Carrying on with the Warhammer Campaign the following Tuesday... but John and Maygan had to bail... 

Wednesday, 24 July 2024

Wednesday, Orion had an evening free and really wanted to try out Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Spearhead - and I had just finished the last of the Hedonites of Slaanesh Spearhead force and was looking for a game too! 

Orion's Soulblight Gravelords just DESTROYED my Hedonites... You can read all about it in the Game Report:

Spearhead: Hedonites of Slaanesh versus Soulblight Gravelords

Sunday, 28 July 2024 

Back to playing Warhammer Quest!

We moved our game to Sundays, because it's kind of the only day that worked for Maygan and John... but unfortunately Finnegan now plays D&D on Sundays, so he's had to drop out of the campaign!? Nevertheless... we forged ahead!

A brief report of the action can be found here:

Warhammer Quest: Shadows Over Hammerhal - Session Two!

Not as much gaming this month... 

People have been busy.... 

It's been HOT (and smokey!).... 

August isn't looking like it's going to be much better!?

What did everyone else get up to this month!? 

September Games

As alluded to in August Games, Amanda and I were on vacation at the end of August... well... *I* was on vacation... SHE had a conference to go to for half of the trip. The trip extended into September... 

Saturday, 2 September 2023

On the final Saturday of our trip I was thrilled to be able to meet up with my old friend Christian. We have known each other since...1988...? 35 years!? Yeah. He is currently posted to CFB Borden and was able to hope on a GO train in the wee hours at Barrie and rolled into Toronto just after 9am. Amanda and I walked to meet him at Union Station, then we made a meandering journey to Snakes and Lattes on College (with a brief stop at Meeplemart!) 

I DID NOT BUY ANYTHING AT MEEPLEMART!!! (I wainted until I got home and just mail-ordered it to save having to haul it back in luggage! Quite the little store!)

At Snakes and Lattes, we ordered some food and thought wed blast through a quick game of Splendor while we waited...

Alas, the food arrived before we finished... 

I had a veggie murger that was... Okay... Christian really enjoyed his burger and Amanda said the salad she has was AMAZING!? 

After eating we played Terraforming Mars. It was weird playing it without Prelude! Didn't end up with as much greenery on the board as when it's just Amanda and me playing.  

My playing area at the end of the game. I had the Mining Guild and did very well with it. Amanda played Tharsis Republic and Christian played Phoblog... It was a VERY close game, I think there was a 4 point difference between first and last place!

Amanda ditched us to go meet with a friend of hers that had also come into town for the weekend, so Christian and I played a few more LIGHTER games (as Terraforming Mars had tired my brain out!). We started with Azul. 

After that we played Carcassonne. Again, just playing with the base game, which I am not really used to. The tiles were VERY worn from use! 

Afterwards we wandered about, checked out the Beguiling (I bought too many books). Met up with Amanda and got some supper. Then made our way back to Union Station for Christian to catch his train back to Barrie. 

Wow... Such a great day of gaming and catching up with one of my absolute favourite human beings that I don't get to see nearly enough! I hope we can get another online role-playing game going again in the fall!!

Saturday, 16 September 2023

Met up with Chris, Christian and Woody online to make characters for the new Blade Runner Roleplaying game. 

Chris and Chrisitian are both playing human Blade Runners who have been partners for some time. Woody is playing one of the new Nexus-9 Replicant Blade Runners and has been assigned to work with the two veterans. The original two are not entirely certain they like the idea of a replicant working with them.

Unfortunately, because... LIFE... we won't get to play until sometime in October!?

And... that was it... 

I'd really hoped we'd get in a game of Crows with Keiran... Alass... 

I do hope we'll get back to playing more games once the renovation is DONE and everything is moved back into place (or into it's NEW place)... More on that in Game Plan 2023 - Q4, which I'll probably be posting tomorrow...? 

December Games

In December, we played GAMES!!!

It gets cold out. we're less inclined to go out... so... 

Also I severly strained my hamstring at the end of November so there were a few weeks I didn't even leave the house... 

Saturday, 3 December 2022

Saturday afternoon we played a game of Carcassonne, while Finnegan was out at work and Keiran was at an all-day dress rehearsal for the musical they were in the following week. 

Sunday, 4 December 2022

Sunday afternoon, Amanda wanted to try Stone Age as a two-player game. So we did. It was okay. Amanda soared ahead of my in points DURING the game, but I went whizzing past in the end-game scoring. It was still pretty close when all was counted up, though. 

Tuesday, 6 December 2022

Tuesday evening Finnegan was recording upstairs after work, so Amanda and I hid in the basement for a bit and played another game of Stone Age. I think the game ended up playing faster (and was a bit lower scoring) because we had a clearer idea of what we were trying to do and do it faster than the other... and that brought the game to a conclusion quicker, but with fewer points scored all around.  Amanda won this one. 

Wednesday, 7 December 2022

Wednesday evening we played Terraforming Mars. Mostly because I'd given up on the idea of getting any sort of challenge finished. Amanda had suggested Stone Age again, but I felt like playing something different. I like Stone Age... but not enough to play it three times in a row. 

Mars after 14 generations of Terraforming. 

I was playing Helion with Ecology Experts and Early Settlement. Amanda played Valley Trust with Biofuels, Aquifer Turbines, and Galilean Mining - she took Generalist and Tychoon milestones and Celebrity, Desert Settler, and Benefactor Awards. I got the Ecologist Milestone... 

Amanda won, obviously... 

Sunday, 11 December 2022

Stone Age. Again. 

Amanda won. 

By LOTS! 

Saturday, 17 December 2022

ON Sunday we were supposed to be playing another session of Finnegan's RPG - the first session of the new Dresden Files Accelerated RPG campaign he was going to run for me and my friends Neil and Jasper. As we got closer to the day, I checked in with Finnegan to see if he was ready and still interested to run the game - from the get-go I realized this was a bit of an imposition on him, being busy with his first year of University, running his two weekly D&D games, his part-time job an the library AND his side-passion-projects... and he admitted it was starting to cause him some stress having to come up with and investigative, mystery-solving campaign... 

So talking to the guys, we decided maybe I could take over and GM a game... though there was little chance I'd have anything ready by Sunday... so I suggested we try out Hellboy: The Boardgame. Everyone seemed keen on that, so it became a plan. 

Unfortunately it's been over two and a half YEARS since I last played, and, though it isn't a terribly complicated game, I thought maybe I should try playing through one of the scenarios to remind myself how to play. I can TOTALLY be played as a solo game, and I would have done so, but Amanda graciously volunteered to try playing through a game with me the night before. 

We just played the easy introductory scenario... It's kind of a cake-walk - designed to learn the important basic rules. Everytime I've run it the players win... 

It did NOT go well for us... Yikes. teh Boss monster - the Giant Frog Monster appeared and just kicked our asses. I was playing Abe Sapien... this is him about to be knocked out... 

Amanda was playing Johann Kraus... Here is Kraus, surrounded by Frog Monsters, a GIANT FROG MONSTER bearing down on him, and the room is ON FIRE.. this is where we called it. The writing was on the wall (which was on fire...)

It occurred to me afterwards, I think this might be the first time we played it WITHOUT Hellboy! 

Sunday, 18 December 2022

The next day Jasper and Neil came by and Finnegan, though he just didn't have time to PREPARE a role-playing adventure, figured he did have enough time to play the boardgame with us. He may even join the game that I run for Neil and Jasper. He only has to show up and role-play one afternoon a month, seems doable. 

Neil played Hellboy, Jasper played Johann Kraus and Finnegan played Abe Sapien. I kind of just ran the show and pushed around the frog monsters. 

They had a MUCH easier time of it... 

Especially with Finnegan making attack rolls like this, when Abe was shooting the Giant Frog Monster!? BLAM!! (because they'd acquired two insight tokens, the Giant Frog monsters Resilience was reduced from 4 to 2, I think...? or maybe the insight tokens are what upgraded the dice...? I don't remember... so this dealt NINE - or 7? - damage... the poor creature only HAD 20 wounds.. Abe shot him twice and then Hellboy PUNCHED him and... that was about it...). 

Fun times. Looking forward to trying running a role-playing game for these guys next month. 

Saturday, 31 December 2022

Amanda AND Keiran said they's play a game, and Keiran suggested Splendor.

I totally crushed it - ending the game with 17, Amanda took a final turn and got to 15... Keiran suggested we play again. I was very lucky... I couldn't POSSIBLY have that kind of luck again!? 

Ummm... apparently lightening DOES strike twice!? I won this game with EIGHTEEN points?! Amanda didn't even make it to 15. Keiran scored higher in the second game so they were pleased enough... They really like the game, but have only even won it on two occasions! 

Aaaaaaand... that's it... 

We played next to NO GAMES over the holidaze (compared to previous years!)... Which was kind of a major bummer... for the last decade and a half, that's kind of what we DID over the Holidaze between Xmas and New Year - pay lots and LOTS of games... I had really thought those last two weeks might be filled with gaming!? 

Part of the problem was Amanda got roped into cat sitting for almost three weeks!? Initially, there was an understanding that Keiran would help out... but then didn't... and then this last week we had CrAzY amounts of SNOW!? Which made it harder to get back and forth to the house and the snow had to be cleared off sidewalks and I couldn't even help out because I've strained my hamstring during the first snowfall in November and it just gets worse every time I try to shovel snow or walk over any kind of uneven ground - like across all the uncleared sidewalks all around our neighbourhood... So Amanda's just been exhausted and the kids are kind of into their own things... so...   

Ah well... maybe next year... 

Still to come this evening - Looking Back at 2022 and maybe Game Plan 2023 - Q1...?