A Chicken in my Letterbox!

Back in January I advertised on BoardGameGeek looking for a chicken token for my original 1992 edition of the Loopin' Louie game.

A chicken in the mail!

Thanks to Alex Vandertol (BGG user mirrordude) of Grandville, Michigan, USA for sending me a chicken token which arrived in the mail today. I can now play with four players! 30 Geek Gold well spent. Thanks again Alex!

Trip to Townsville

I had to fly up to Townsville on Thursday morning for work. Townsville is 1,112 kilometers (691 miles) from Brisbane and the flight normally takes around one and a half hours. I thought I'd share some photos of my journey.

Dawn breaks as I wait to board my plane

This was a great opportunity to meet with people in my organisation that I'd only ever spoken to over the phone. It turned out to be quite a busy day on Thursday with meetings scheduled for most of the day.

Our Townsville office is located in the heart of the city. That afternoon, after checking into my hotel, I went for walk to the beach which is literally only minutes from the central business district.

A marina with Jupiter's Casino in the distance

I walked along The Strand which is a seaside foreshore of Townsville. In one of the many parks I spotted these magnificent Banyan trees. Roots grow downwards from the branches to support their weight. The branches then grow quite long and create magical sylvan grottoes. What you can see in the photo below is a number of thick roots which have grown down from the branches above.

Banyan trees

It's quite amazing to see such beauty only minutes from the city.

A view from The Strand

Just offshore from Townsville is Magnetic Island. This mountainous island is a holiday destination and has several resorts.

Magnetic Island in the distance

The next morning, Friday, I awoke to a wonderful view of Castle Hill from my hotel. This magnificent 292 meter granite monolith (just 8 meters short of being classified as a mountain) looms over Townsville and can be seen from almost every point.

Castle Hill

It was another busy day at work on Friday with more meetings. That afternoon I caught a flight back to Brisbane. I was tired from the meetings and the travelling but happy to be home with my family again.

Gaming With Grandma - 92

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my daughter Maddie and my Mum (AKA Grandma).

Our first game was a 3-player game of The aMAZEing Labyrinth. I was green, Maddie was red and Grandma was yellow. This game has been a great success for our family as a game that can be enjoyed by both adults and kids. We allow Maddie to look at her top two cards at any time while Grandma and myself are only allowed to look at our top card.

The ever-shifting maze of The aMAZEing Labyrinth.

Final scores were me, Wayne 8, Grandma 7 and Maddie 5.

Maddie then left so Grandma and I looked for a 2-player game. I chose Metro. This is a game of building the Paris Metro rail system in the early 1900's. It's a tile laying game and the object is to score points for completed routes. Double points are scored if you can link one of your stations on the board edge to the stations in the middle. I was blue and Grandma was yellow.

Did someone drop a bowl of spaghetti on the board?

This was only our second play of this game. We'd previously played it with three players but I found that I really enjoyed it as a 2-player game. Grandma led for most of the game but I made a comeback towards the end to claim the win 126 to 100.

Orcs Ready For Action

On Friday morning I finally finished off a batch of Orcs for the Song of Blades and Heroes skirmish game. I'd been working on these miniatures for the last month, grabbing an hour here and an hour there around my busy home and work schedule. All photos can be clicked on for a larger version.

Orc Champion and Orc Warchief

These two figures are from Eureka Miniature's 18mm Fantasy range. They are the two available poses for their Orc Chief (code 300ORC04). Please note that I have converted the figure on the right by adding the weapon to his upraised fist.

I think I'll use them for the following (left to right):

Orc Champion
Points cost: 76
Quality 3+
Combat 4
Special abilities: Savage, Hero

Orc Warchief
Points cost: 100
Quality 3+
Combat 4
Special abilities: Leader, Tough

Orc warriors

These eight figures are from Eureka Miniature's 18mm Fantasy range. They are the four available poses for their Orc with Sword (code 300ORC03).

They'll be used as the following:

Orc Warrior
Points cost: 23
Quality 4+
Combat 3
Special abilities: None

Orc archers

These four figures are from Eureka Miniature's 18mm Fantasy range. They are the four available poses for their Orc Archer (code 300ORC01).

They'll be used as the following:

Orc Archer
Points cost: 29
Quality 4+
Combat 3
Special abilities: Shooter (Medium)

Goblin wolf riders

These figures are from Chariot Miniature's 15mm Fantasy range. I understand that they are three of the four available poses for their Wolf Riders (code GOB03).

They'll be used as the following:

Goblin Wolf Rider
Points cost: 47
Quality 4+
Combat 3
Special abilities: Mounted, Long Move

Giant wolf (AKA Warg)

The last miniature is a large wolf I'm going to use as a Lord of the Rings-style Warg. Unfortunately I'm not certain of the manufacturer for this figure. Anyone know?

It will be used as the following:

Giant Wolf
Points cost: 50
Quality: 3+
Combat: 3
Special abilities: Animal, Big, Long Move

The Battle for Moscow 1941

I went over to Friendless' house on Tuesday evening for some gaming. Our first game was Memoir '44 playing with the Eastern Front expansion. We played The Gates of Moscow scenario. Friendless played the Soviets and I played the Germans.

The Battle for Moscow - 18 October 1941

Historical Background:
In October, the German High Command launched the final offensive of 1941 - Operation Typhoon. The initial German success on the Eastern Front had put them deep into the Soviet Union on all fronts, but the advance slowed before they could reach the key cities of Mother Russia. The Soviets used their large population to continuously produce more military forces. Although poorly equipped and inexpertly led, the Soviet soldiers were deployed in a last desperate line of defense to keep the German army from reaching Moscow.

Mozhaisk, the last major town on the direct road to Moscow was captured but the German advanced stalled. The exhausted army had no additional reserves for the final push on into Moscow.

The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn, and you are in command. The rest is history.

Briefing:
Axis Player: Take 5 Command cards
You move first.

Russian Player: Take 5 Command cards.

Conditions of Victory:
7 Medals
An Axis unit that captures the East bridge or the town of Mozhaisk counts as one Victory Medal. Place an Objective Medal on each hex. As long as the Axis unit remains on the Bridge or Town hex, it continues to count toward the Axis victory. If the unit moves off or is eliminated, it no longer counts.

Special Rules:
Blitz Rules are in effect (see p.4).

Russian Command rules are in effect (p.3).

My main problem as the Germans was that all my forces were grouped together on my edge of the board. In Memoir '44 a unit suffers a hit for every retreat move it cannot make. This made my force very vulnerable in the opening stages of the battle.

I had mainly Right Flank cards so pushed forward there. Unfortunately, the terrain was against me as I had to push through forests which really hampered my movement. Friendless played Air Power for his first move, hitting four of my units in the Centre. He rolled well and reduced two of my Armoured units down to one tank each as well as reducing an Artillery unit to one piece and reducing an Infantry unit by half. This effectively blunted any German threat in the centre.

Although I pushed the Soviets out of Bryansk on my Right Flank, that's pretty much where my attack stalled. I then decided to transfer my schwerpunkt to my Left Flank. My Armoured units were able to take the high ground and push back the Soviets in this sector. One tank unit even made it behind the enemy lines and was able to destroy a Soviet Artillery unit on the Soviet rear board edge.

The final placement at the end of the battle. Viewed from the German side.

However, my push only made it so far before I suffered at the hands of a valiant Soviet counterattack.

It was to be an historical result to the battle with Friendless winning the game with 7 medals for the Soviets versus my 4 medals for the Germans.

After that we had time for a quick game of Dominion. We played with the 'First Game' deck. Friendless did give me some tactical advice - the Villages were key to winning he said.

Dominion

And Friendless was right. At one point he pulled off an awe-inspiring run of cards, using his entire deck on one turn. Friendless went on to win 31 - 28.

Gaming With Grandma - 91

It was just my mother (AKA Grandma) and myself in attendance for our Saturday morning gaming session.

We played the one game of Red November and as there would only be two of us we decided to play with two gnomes each. I played orange and light green and mum played purple and yellow.


Strangely enough, three of our four gnomes started in room 4 whilst the fourth gnome started in room 1. We decided to send yellow down the end of the sub to the Captain's room to raid his stash of grog. The plan was that yellow would then pass out the bottles of grog to the rest of the gnomes. Grog is valuable as it is only one of two ways to enter a room on fire (the other being the fire extinguisher).

We tackled the problems fairly well, concentrating on putting out fires and focusing on fixing some timed events which came fairly early in the game. We didn't worry too much about blocked doors initially but they were to become a problem later in the game.

The sub just seconds from a nuclear meltdown.

We actually got through the deck once (which we failed to do in our first game last week). It was the second time through the deck which gave us real trouble. We pulled a couple of timed events fairly early, which combined with the blocked doors really gave us a hard time. It got to a point when we were only 10 minutes from rescue with the heat track on 8 when I pulled the card which causes the heat to increase by 2. I moved the cube up to 10 on the track - Nuclear meltdown! Wow, so close, yet so far. Still, we had a blast and there's always next week.

Conflict of Heroes - Firefight 1: The Partisans

I went over to Friendless' house on Tuesday evening for some two-player gaming. The main game of the evening was a learning game of Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear! - Russia 1941-1942. This is a fast-paced tactical WWII game designed by Uwe Eickert and published by Academy Games.

We played Fire Fight #1 - The Partisans. I played the Germans and Friendless played the Soviets. The objective of the scenario was to take and hold the crossroads. A victory point would go to whoever held the crossroads at the end of each round. A further victory point would be given for each enemy unit eliminated.

The situation at the crossroads towards the end of the game (now in German control)

There were three Soviet units (a rifle unit, an sub-machine gun unit, and a medium machine gun unit (MMG)) defending the crossroads in cover of the woods. I, as the Germans, had two rifle units and two light machine gun units (LMG). I sent one LMG into a small wood to take on the opposing Soviet MMG. As my team were setting up the LMG they came under fire from the Soviet MMG and took a hit. Rather than pull them back I decided to fire. My fire was ineffectual and my LMG soon came under more withering fire from the Soviet MMG and was destroyed. Not a good start.

Meanwhile, my two rifle sqauds and remaining LMG team were moving through the woods overlooking the crossroads. As this was happening, Soviet reinforcements started coming on the far map edge. I was soon able to commence firing at the Soviets defending the crossroads. I scored a lucky hit on the Soviet SMG squad which caused it to go beserk and reduced its range to 1.

The Soviets have all been eliminated by superior German firepower

The tide of the battle turned when a single reinforcement unit of German Pioneers came in on the Soviet side of the board. This was an elite unit which had a fairly high firepower. I moved it into close combat with a defending Soviet rifle squad and eliminated it. The Pioneer unit then moved through some woods to attack the Soviet MMG.

Meanwhile, my squads had taken the crossroads and were pushing the Soviets back into the woods. There were some more deadly firefights, some daring close assaults and then the game was over. Victory to the Germans! Final score was me on 8 and Friendless on 3.

I really enjoyed the back and forth play of this game. I feel the Germans may have the advantage in this scenario so want to swap sides and play again using the Soviets against Friendless.

We had just enough time before I had to leave to play a quick game. Friendless pulled out Palago. Palago is an abstract connection game designed by Brisbane-born Cameron Browne. We played using a new Bakelite version published by Tantrix Games.

In Palago players place tiles to try and form closed groups of their colour. The players share a common pool of hexagonal arch tiles. Each tile contains a yellow arch and a blue arch, and my be oriented in three ways such that the corner colours are the same for each rotation. The game is won by the player who forms a surrounded island of their own colour containing at least one arch.

We played two games. Friendless was yellow and I was blue. In our first game (to 20 tiles) Friendless defeated me when he laid the 12th tile.

First game - yellow wins!

In our second we decided to play to 40 tiles. Apparently a new player will win a moral victory if he can deny the more experienced player the win by the time the 20th tile is laid. I was able to achieve the moral victory in our second game. We decided to continue playing and Friendless eventually defeated me when he laid the 38th tile.

Our second game - Yellow wins again!

Gaming With Grandma - 90

My mum (AKA Grandma), my elder daughter (AKA Maddie) and myself (AKA Wayne), played one of my recent game purchases this morning.

Red November is a cooperative game designed by Bruno Faidutti and Jef Gontier and was published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2008. Players are gnomish submariners on board an experimental submarine (the Red November) which has gone haywire. The gnomes must work together as fires break out, leaks develop and critical systems start to fail.

I'd prepared for the game by downloading a game FAQ from BGG a couple of weeks ago. For our first game I had to teach the girls as well as having to refer to the rule book many times. The game took us about 2 hours in total. I'm sure next game will come in at under an hour now that we are familiar with the game mechanisms.

The doomed Red November

Maddie chose the purple gnome, Grandma yellow and myself dark green. At first we were able to keep the fires and blocked hatches under control. As we progressed, more fires and leaks added to our distress. Maddie's gnome accumulated many items but unfortunately lost all but one when Maddie pulled the Stumbled! event. My gnome was able to save the sub from a nuclear meltdown by first drinking a bottle of grog, then putting out a fire and then fixing the reactor. Unfortunately my gnome must have been a tea-totaller because he failed the faint check after the single bottle. He was happily unconscious for what remained of the game.

Grandma's gnome was able to save the sub from being crushed by the extreme pressure but then found that a nuclear missile was going to explode in 10 minutes. The only gnome in a position to fix this timed event was Maddie's gnome. Unfortunately, her gnome didn't have any grog or fire extinguishers to enter the missile room which had a fire blazing away. Her only hope was to enter the equipment room and hope to pick up one of the necessary items. Unfortunately, on the previous turn, Grandma had place a blocked hatch counter on the door Maddie's gnome needed to enter. The gnome only had three minutes to end up on the same minute as the timed event which would allow him another turn to fix it before he passed it and it blew up.

Maddie needed to roll a 3 or under on a 10-sided die. She rolled a 1! We all cheered and high-fived. That put her gnome on the same minute as the missile explosion. Then we realised that Maddie's gnome would have to use actions to search for equipment and would have to end the turn before being able to move again to the missile room to perform the fixing action. Ah well.

With 23 minutes remaining before rescue the missile exploded, totally vapourising the Red November and the brave gnomes aboard her.

We all agreed that although we lost, this was a very fun game. There is a constant tension, some tough decisions which need to be made, as well as the ongoing excitement of the luck of the die and cards. We're looking forward to playing it again.

Memoir '44 Operation Overlord Unboxing

I thought I'd do a quick video of my unboxing of the Operation Overlord expansion for the Memoir '44 board game. Enjoy!

Memoir '44 Mediterranean Theater Unboxing

I thought I'd do a quick video of my unboxing of the Mediterranean Theater expansion for the Memoir '44 board game. Enjoy!

The Battle of Telamon 225BC - Part 2

I went over to Friendless' house on Tuesday evening for some more Commands & Colors: Ancients gaming.

We had previously played the Battle of Telamon 225BC from C&C Ancients: Expansion Pack #2: Rome and the Barbarians where I had commanded the Gauls to an 8 to 5 banner victory over the Romans. This was going to be a rematch where I would play the Romans and Friendless would play the Gauls. I helped Friendless set up the board when I arrived and so the battle commenced.


The Battle of Telamon (225BC)

Historical Background (From the scenario booklet)

Aenorestes and Concolitanus retreated northwards, pursued by Aemilius Papus with about 30,000 troops. It looked like the Gauls would escape with their booty. Then fortune smiled on Rome. The consul Atilius Regulus was returning from suppressing a rebellion in Sardinia with his army of 25,000 men. He landed at Pisae and was moving south along the same coastal road that the Gauls had chosen for their retreat. Upon learning from his scouts that a Gallic army was approaching, Regulus ordered his legions into fighting order while he advanced at full speed with his cavalry and light infantry to occupy a key hill before the enemy arrived. The Gauls at once sent their own cavalry, chariots, and some light-armed troops to dispute the possession of the hill. When Papus arrived from the south, he also sent his cavalry to the hill, and advanced with his legions. At first the battle was confined to the hill and both armies watched the fighting unfold. Regulus fell, but the Roman cavalry, after a stubborn struggle, gained the hill. Meanwhile, Aenorestes and Concolitanus formed two battle lines back-to-back as the Roman infantry converged on the Gauls from north and south. There was a dreadful din as the whole Gallic army shouted war cries and the Roman light infantry hurled javelins. The Gallic host rushed wildly on their enemy in a rage, but the Roman maniples held their ground. Finally, the Roman cavalry charged down the hill and the Gallic infantry were cut to pieces.

The stage is set. The battle lines are drawn and you are in command. The rest is history.

War Council

Gallic Army
• Leaders: Kings Aneroestes and Concolitanus
• 5 Command Cards

Roman Army
• Leaders: Atilius Regulus and Aemilius Papus
• 6 Command Cards
• Move First

Victory
8 Banners

Special Rules

• Hill control was crucial to this battle. At the end of each player turn, check for hill control.
  a. If one side has more units occupying hill hexes than the other side, that player gains two Victory Banners. That player keeps the two Victory Banners until:
  1) The other player has more units on hill hexes at the end of a player turn (current player with the two hill Victory Banners loses them; the other player gains two Hill Victory Banners), or
  2) Both players have the same number of units occupying hill hexes, or no units occupying hill hexes (current player with the two hill Victory Banners loses them; the other player does not receive them)
  b. Hill hexes must be occupied to count toward control. If a unit leaves a hill hex vacant for any reason, that hex does not count toward control.
  c. It is possible for control to shift several times during a battle, having a major effect on each side’s Victory Banner totals each time control shifts.
• The River on the left of the battlefield is the sea and is impassable.
• Important Note: Each army must retreat and/or evade toward its side of the battlefield. The Gallic Army and Regulus’ Roman army have the potential to block each other’s retreat/evade routes.
• Barbarian Chariot rules are in effect.
• Optional set-up. The Roman Army was still organized along pre-Marian guidelines. If the Roman player desires, he may use the gray Roman blocks from the basic game when placing his units.

Image from ccancients.net
Click for a larger image.

Game 2: I commanded the Romans (red blocks), while Friendless commanded the Gauls (green blocks). This proved to be a very interesting scenario from our last play, due mainly to the fact that the Gauls were surrounded both to the south and north and also that control of the hills contributed to the victory conditions.

I had studied the map and troop dispositions prior to the game. My first priority as the Romans was to gain control of the hills on my right flank. I commenced the battle by playing a Mounted Charge card, sending Regulus and two Medium Cavalry units from the north to attack and block the retreat of Concolitanus and his Medium Cavalry. From the south I sent forward the Roman leader and his two Medium Cavalry to attack Concolitanus' Medium Cavalry and Barbarian Light Chariots. My attacks destroyed Concolitanus' Medium Cavalry unit but the Gallic general was able to survive the attack and evade alone over the hills towards his side of the board. I also wiped out one unit of Barbarian Light Chariots and sent another retreating back to the edge of the board with only a single block remaining. Banner check – Ozvortex 2, Friendless 0.

Friendless then played an Order Medium Troops card. He attacked my troops in the south on my left and centre with a wild charge of four Warrior units and one Medium Cavalry unit. His attacks were lethal and a Roman Light Infantry unit and Medium Cavalry unit fell under the onslaught. Banner check – Ozvortex 2, Friendless 2.

I responded with a Double Time card. My second priority was to advance my southern force to put pressure on the Gauls to retreat towards my waiting northern troops. I sent forward two units of Auxilia, a unit of Medium Infantry and a unit of Heavy Infantry commanded by Papus. I was able to position one of my Auxilia units behind a Warrior unit to prevent its retreat. In my second turn two Gallic Warrior units were decimated. Banner check – Ozvortex 4, Friendless 2.

Friendless then goes on the attack in the centre. He plays Inspired Centre Leadership. He attacks with an Auxilia unit, the Gallic chieftain Aneroestes commanding a Warrior unit, a Medium Cavalry unit and a Light Infantry unit. Aneroestes attack is overwhelming and he eradicates a unit of Roman Medium Infantry. He momentum advances and conducts a bonus attack on Papus and his Heavy Infantry. The Roman infantry survive the attack and battle back inflicting enough damage to destroy Aneroestes' Warriors. The Gallic Medium Cavalry, seeing Papus' weakened Heavy Infantry, then charge and overrun them. Banner check – Ozvortex 5, Friendless 4.

Things are looking a little dire for my Roman troops. I have an unattached leader and a couple of damaged units within striking distance from the Gauls. I have to do something this turn to put myself in a position to claim 8 victory banners. I know that I only have to send a single unit onto the hills to receive the bonus 2 victory banners. That would take effect at the end of my turn leaving me at 7 victory banners - 1 short of victory. To win the game on this turn I would have to destroy one unit of Gauls and take the hills.

I look at my available cards. Out of six cards only one can achieve what I want to achieve. I play Order Two Units Right. I send forward Regulus and his Medium Cavalry to attack a lone block of Gallic Barbarian Light Chariots on the board edge. My second order goes to another Roman Medium Cavalry unit which enters a hill hex.

Regulus and his Medium Cavalry attack and destroy the Barbarian Light Chariot. I then momentum advance Regulus to attack the Gallic chieftain Concolitanus who was sitting alone in a hex. He falls to a Roman blade. I claim two victory banners for killing the two enemy units. My turn ends and as I am in sole control of the hills the hill victory banners are awarded to me, sending me over the required number of victory banners to win the game. Banner check – Ozvortex 8, Friendless 4.

Victory is mine!

This was a much shorter playing of this scenario than our last game. This game only went for 5 turns which took about 50 minutes. Our last game took 18 turns and went for over twice as long. I'd achieved victory after playing nine cards in the first game but it only took three cards in the rematch. Overall a very satisfying win and I was pleased that my battle plan had worked as intended.

The placement of forces at the end of the battle. Viewed from the Roman side.

When Friendless and I next meet he will teach me how to play Conflict of Heroes.

We had enough time for a second game. Friendless brought out Africa, a Reiner Knizia-designed game of exploration in, you guessed it, Africa!

This was a light strategy game using some interesting scoring mechanisms. I really enjoyed it and hope to play it again. Final scores were me 88 and Friendless 84.

The Africa board at the end of the game.

Nexus Ops Unboxing

I thought I'd do a quick video of my unboxing of the Nexus Ops board game. Enjoy!

Last Minute Orc Conversion

My orc warband was sitting there ready to be undercoated and something that had bothered me earlier kept eating at me. The orc I'd chosen to be the leader of the warband just wasn't as leader-like as I'd wanted. I mean just look at him. His sword is dragging in the dirt and he's got one fist raised in the air like he's shouting "Go get 'em, boys! I'll just stay here while you deal with the enemy." Pretty uninspiring.

Before...

Luckily, I'd kept some weapons from other figures I'd converted in the past. I found a suitably nasty looking axe and then drilled out the orc's raised fist. It was then just a simple matter of gluing the weapon in the hole.

After!

With that vicious blade in his upraised arm he looks much more defiant and commanding. Now that's a leader I would be proud to have command my orc warband!

Orcs Ready to Paint

It took me about two hours to select the orc figures for my warband, remove any flash or mould lines, wash the miniatures, do some minor weapon conversions and then glue them to Popsicle sticks ready for painting.


I used to mount the figures on a single Popsicle stick but found it hard to hold while painting. I now glue five Popsicle sticks together and mount the figures on these. I find that the thicker base is a much more stable platform and it is easier to grasp and manipulate.

I use a small dab of PVA glue (AKA white glue or wood glue) to glue the figures. This type of glue dries clear and has a very slight flex when hard. When I've finished painting it's a simple matter of just sliding a blade under the base of the miniature and giving a slight twist. The miniature just pops straight off.

OK, these bad boys are now ready to receive an undercoat.

Orcs for Song of Blades and Heroes

My next painting project is to do some orcs for the Song of Blades and Heroes skirmish game. I'm doing these in 15mm for three reasons; 1) 15mm are cheaper than 25/28mm figures, 2) a smaller play area is required, and 3) I already have lots of unpainted 15mm figures.

I'm going to paint up a larger warband than the recommended 300 points. The reason for this is simply to give a bit more choice in selection when choosing members of a warband.

These are the figures I've selected:


These two figures are from Eureka Miniature's 18mm Fantasy range. They are the two available poses for their Orc Chief (code 300ORC04).

I think I'll use them for the following (left to right):

Orc Warchief
Points cost: 100
Quality 3+
Combat 4
Special abilities: Leader, Tough

Orc Champion
Points cost: 76
Quality 3+
Combat 4
Special abilities: Savage, Hero



These eight figures are from Eureka Miniature's 18mm Fantasy range. They are the four available poses for their Orc with Sword (code 300ORC03).

Click on the photo for a larger image. See those bits of irregular metal hanging off the ends of the swords? That's called flash and is a leftover from the casting process. Flash will have to be removed with either a craft knife or miniature file.

They'll be used as the following:

Orc Warrior
Points cost: 23
Quality 4+
Combat 3
Special abilities: None



These four figures are from Eureka Miniature's 18mm Fantasy range. They are the four available poses for their Orc Archer (code 300ORC01).

They'll be used as the following:

Orc Archer
Points cost: 29
Quality 4+
Combat 3
Special abilities: Shooter (Medium)



These figures are from Chariot Miniature's 15mm Fantasy range. I understand that they are three of the four available poses for their Wolf Riders (code GOB03).

They'll be used as the following:

Goblin Wolf Rider
Points cost: 47
Quality 4+
Combat 3
Special abilities: Mounted, Long Move

I wasn't happy with the weapons in two of the goblins' hands. The figure on the left holds a spear which I felt was too long. I decided to cut it off, trim down the size, drill out the hand and glue it back as a shorter spear/javelin. The goblin on the far right had an axe which I felt was too long and held too low on the shaft. I cut it off, drilled out the hand and glued it back in. Here are the results.



The last miniature is a large wolf I'm going to use as a Lord of the Rings-style Warg. Unfortunately I'm not certain of the manufacturer for this figure.



It will be used as the following:

Giant Wolf
Points cost: 50
Quality: 3+
Combat: 3
Special abilities: Animal, Big, Long Move

Miniatures Identified

Thanks to the folks over at The Miniatures Page I am now able to identify the figures used in my Evil Human warband. They are from the miniatures range for the Demonworld game by the now defunct Hobby Products.

Red November Unboxing Video

I thought I'd do a quick video of my unboxing of the Red November board game. Enjoy!

Some New Games Arrive!

A package arrived for me in the mail today (I love when this happens). You see, in an effort to stimulate the global economy I've recently purchased some new board games (yeah, yeah, I know, I'll use any excuse to buy games).

A box full of goodies for me

Military Simulations recently had an overstock sale. I was able to get some discounted games that I'd wanted for a while (as well as one that I bought simply because it was good value).

In the box were a couple of expansions for one of my favourite games - Memoir '44. The first was a recent expansion from Days of Wonder for Memoir '44 which was the Mediterranean Theater. The Mediterranean Theater expansion covers WWII scenarios in North Africa and introduces figures for the British Army. The second expansion was Operation Overlord which allows the game to be played with up to 8 players. I already have two copies of the base game but this expansion has two decks of specially designed cards for Overlord play, a set of 8 dice and 178 tokens, not to mention an updated Overlord rules booklet.

The goodies

Another game I got was Red November. This is a cooperative game by Bruno Faidutti and Jef Gontier that I've had on my radar ever since I first read about it last year on Boardgame News. It sounds like a really fun game of a style that I would enjoy. Players play as Russian gnomes trapped at the bottom of the ocean in a submarine. They have exactly 60 minutes before they're rescued but in that time have to contend with fires, leaks, failing critical systems and the dreaded Kraken. Although it states 2-8 players on the box, I'm aware it can be played solo by just playing a team of gnomes yourself.

The last game was one I didn't really have any desire to buy previously, but bought simply because it was such good value at only AU$20. Nexus Ops has quite good reviews on Boardgamegeek and as it is a cool sci-fi wargame that plays 2-4 players I thought it was worth adding to my collection.

So there you go. I'm currently basking in that 'I have new games' feeling of happiness.

Painted Evil Human Warband

You may remember a post of mine last month where I showed some pictures of some 15mm miniatures I'd selected as my first Song of Blades and Heroes warband. Well, the good news is that I've finished painting and basing them. Unfortunately, I don't know what company produced these miniatures or what range they are from.

Human Leader

Human Leader x 1
Points cost: 60
Quality 3+
Combat 3
Special abilities: Leader

This figure is of a bare-headed, armoured man holding a large two-handed sword. The most striking feature is a boars head covering his right arm and shoulder. It appears to be some sort of combination shield/armour/livery. He looks particularly evil.

Human Warriors

Human Warriors x 6
Points cost: 30 each
Quality: 3+
Combat: 3
Special abilities: None

These armoured humans are all advancing holding two-handed swords. They have fully enclosed helms and plate mail armour. They are zealous and willing to die for their leader.

Ogre Warrior

Ogre Warrior x 1
Points cost: 50
Quality: 4+
Combat: 4
Special abilities: Big, Long Move

This ogre is wearing an animal skin and wielding a large tree limb with a huge metal spike through the end of it. I'm assuming this ogre has either somehow been enslaved or ensorcelled by the human leader, or is perhaps voluntarily working with him because he gets to eat any of the vanquished foes of this warband.

The Warband

Total Warband cost: 290 points

I think it would be fun to at least give the leader and the ogre names. I'd also like to write up a little bit of a back story for this warband and give it a name as well. This will add a little bit of roleplaying spice to future games.

Now to start working on my next warband.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Well, sometimes I wish I were.

Occasionally I'll see contrails in the sky, as I did this morning as I was walking to the station to catch a train to work. Up high, a large jet winging its way to faraway places, full of happy travellers on vacation.

A contrail high above me

The sight of these contrails trigger distant memories of past overseas travels. The excitement of catching a plane to exotic destinations wells up inside me. The sights, sounds and tastes of foreign countries dance in my head.

I am brought back to earth as I fumble for change for my train ticket. Another day at work beckons.

Silent Running

I've recently seen Silent Running, a 1972 sci-fi drama starring Bruce Dern as Freeman Lowell, a futuristic park ranger minding Earth's last forests, sealed in gigantic domes aboard an equally gigantic freighter in space.

One thing of note in the movie are the drones, small robots with almost human-like behaviours. This movie pre-dates Star Wars by five years and I wouldn't be at all surprised if George Lucas was inspired by these drones when creating the Star Wars droids, especially R2-D2.


For a movie that is now 37 years old, the ecological message really strikes a chord with the current concern over the global climate. I also see hints of this movie's message in more recent films such as E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial and Wall-E.

I won't go into the plot in great detail, except to say that Lowell must decide how far he is willing to go to protect the last forests of Earth on board the deep space freighter.

I first saw this film as a kid and it left me feeling kind of sad. Watching it again as an adult I'm again left with a haunting feeling of sadness at the conclusion. I am, however, impressed with how the special effects haven't dated as much as I thought they would have.

Interestingly, in an example of life imitating art, a couple of years ago the Svalbard Global Seed Vault was established in an underground cavern on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen as a secure seedbank to preserve a wide variety of plant seeds from locations worldwide.

Gaming With Grandma - 89

Another Saturday morning gaming session with my mother (AKA Grandma) and 7 year old daughter (AKA Maddie).

Our first game of the morning was Cartagena. Maddie set up the board and I went first. I was green, Grandma was yellow and Maddie was red. Grandma won with 6 pirates in the boat, I came 2nd with 2 (on tie break) and Maddie came 3rd with 2.

Cartagena

Maddie chose our second game of the morning. Jenga is a fun dexterity game that we play occasionally. We managed to get the tower up to level 24 before Grandma sent it crashing to the ground. As I was the last player to successfully place a piece, I won.

Grandma gently eases out a Jenga block

Maddie chose our next game, For Sale. Maddie usually does quite well at this game. However, today I was the one who best managed the bidding to my gain. Final scores were me, Wayne 1st with $76K, Grandma 2nd on $67K (on tie break) and Maddie 3rd also on $67K.

For Sale

Our final game of the morning, Pick Picknic, was also chosen by Maddie. This is a great little game which children can play quite well with adults. I won with 67 points, Maddie came 2nd with 54 and Grandma came 3rd with 27 points.

Pick Picknic

Gaming With Grandma - 88

My Mum dropped over on Saturday morning for a cup of tea and a chat. We also had the opportunity for a quick game together.

Our game of choice this morning was a 2-player game of San Juan, a game we'd not played since July 2008. I had a fairly poor draw for my initial hand, receiving no production buildings except for the requisite Indigo Plant. Mum was able to get a Coffee Roaster down straight away and soon built a Carpenter which gave her the ability to build violet buildings and take a card from the draw pile when she did so. She concentrated on building cheap violet buildings and before I knew it she had ended the game with her twelfth. A last-minute building of a Guild hall secured the victory for her. She won 26 to 22.

My final play area

Gaming at GWAN - 3

Wednesday evening found me at GWAN (Gamers Without A Name), a game group hosted by Kevin (BGG user cyberkev63) at his house. Also in attendance were two others I had gamed with before, John (BGG user Friendless) and Justin (BGG user jwalduck).

Our first game of the evening was A Game of Games. My understanding is that this was a game designed for the Gathering of Friends 2008 by Ted Cheatham and Mike Perry. The Gathering of Friends is an annual invitation-only gaming event hosted by Alan Moon. The event started about 20 years ago, and continues to this day. I think Kevin went along last year and that's where he picked up this game.

A Game of Games

The game is played by two pairs of players. Each pair attempts to be the first to guess the name of a board game. On a turn, a player from each of the two teams looks at the name of the board game. They then take it in turns to say a one-word clue to their team mate who attempts to guess the game. A correct guess is worth two points. The winning guesser of that round then attempts to deny the opposing team the opportunity of scoring a point each for the year the game was released and the name of the designer. The other team's guesser then has the opportunity to score the points for any remaining unguessed year or designer for that particular game.

The teams were Kevin & Justin vs John & Wayne (me).

Round 1: Game - Cheops - Kevin and I were giving the clues to Justin and John. Kevin went first.
Clues: Sticks, Egypt, Eat, Pharoah, Chinese, Pyramid
Correct guess: John

Round 2: Game - Detroit/Cleveland Grand Prix - Justin and John were giving the clues to Kevin and I. Justin went first.
Clues: Michigan
Correct guess: Kevin (although he guessed Cleveland Grand Prix we gave it to him)

Round 3: Game - Caesar and Cleopatra - Kevin and I were giving clues to Justin and John. Kevin went first.
Clues: Senators, Richard Burton (aargh! I stuffed up by giving a two-word clue), Egypt, Rome, Julius, Asp, Conjunction
Correct guess: Justin

Round 4: Game - Cartel - Justin and John were giving the clues to Kevin and I. John went first.
Clues: Oligopoly, Merchant, Opec, Automobile, Duopoly, Speak, Oil
Correct guess: Wayne

Round 5: Game - Careers - Kevin and Wayne were giving the clues to Justin and John. Kevin went first.
Clues: Jobs, Work
Correct guess: John

Round 6: Game - The Downfall of Pompeii - Justin and John were giving the clues to Kevin and I. Justin went first.
Clues: Volcano, Vesuvius
Correct guess: Wayne

Round 7: Game - Civilization - Kevin and Wayne were giving the clues to Justin and John. Wayne went first.
Clues: History, long
Correct guess: Justin

Round 8: Game - Princes of Florence - Justin and John were giving the clues to Kevin and I. John went first.
Clues: Michaelangelo, jesters
Correct guess: Kevin

Round 9: Game - Nautilus - Kevin and Wayne were giving the clues to Justin and John. Kevin went first.
Clues: Nemo, submarine, name, shell
Correct guess: John

Final scores were John and Wayne winning with 10 points and Kevin and Justin coming 2nd with 8 points.

I quite enjoyed this esoteric guessing game.


Our second game of the evening was Glory to Rome. We'd all played at least once before (this was my second game) so we didn't have to waste too much time going over the rules.

This was my first full game of Glory to Rome and I found it to be fairly enjoyable. Not a game I'd go out and buy though as I find San Juan scratches the itch of this type of game and is much quicker.

My final play area

Final scores were John with the win on 17, Kevin 2nd on 12 (tiebreak), Justin 3rd on 12 and myself 4th on 9.