Bargains .....

Had my eyes tested and when for a wander around the shops and came across this!

I strikes me as a mad world if I can buy a game for £3 - less than a pint of ale in the local. Now I have no idea if this game is any good (might just be a more complicated version of top trumps), but it plays with 2-5 players, lasts 30mins - but for the price has to be worth a punt.

They also had a Starfighter game - but that was £10 a bit too pricey for me!

Hopefully will try this in the next few days.

Morts

Risk Legacy - the 15 game epic is over.

We gathered to play the final 2 games of Risk - Legacy. Were Steedo or DK going to challenge Snake-eyes for the board? Could late entrant Sylon get his name on the board?

These questions would be answered in one epic gaming evening!

We picked the factions and set up the board and seating arrangements - the first game started briskly with everyone expanding quickly trying to get cards to increase troop numbers. Key highlights were DK's muties being knocked out and Sylon trying to steal Snakes-eyes' nickname! Managing to lose 2 attacks where the defender had already rolled a 1. The Aliens did benefit from a couple of event cards which added 10 troops (in total) and a "beam down" to a city next to DK's capital. 

Tragic result of this game was that Steedo, DK, Sylon and myself managed to attack each other again allowing Snake-eyes Aliens win - I have to admit to a "Fog of War" incident here in that in a rush to capture a capital I failed to notice that I had done enough to claim a mission and a victory point. Then Snake-eyes started his final turn and as it progressed I realised my omission - we then had a discussion on if I could claim the card, but this would obviously have an impact on Snake-eyes strategy for the turn. In the end it seemed fairest the play the "Chess" rule in that I'd finish my turn without claiming the mission, so I couldn't claim it. I do think that the best way to play games is to make players responsible for ensuring that they have completed all there moves, actions etc and if they miss something - tough (if it is their first game or a learning game then there is flexiablity on this), part of the challenge of playing games is dealing with the problems other players and yourself pose.  

Anyway the upshot was Snake-eyes won the penultimate game and the board!

So we moved quickly onto the final game with 4 of us playing for pride! This was again a fairly quick game, with Sylon rolling some awful dice - 3 ones in an attack, followed by another 3 ones in the next! The chance of getting 6 ones is 1 in 46656!

The game highlights - well not for me were having my capital and 7 troop garrison wiped off the board due to a event, Steedo destroying his own capital to stop others getting the victory point. The fact I managed to get a few victory points and almost thought I could bookend the board victory list by getting the first and last wins! But kudos has to go to Sylon who with some poor dice already mentioned and being reduced to 2 territories and 2 troops managed to turn the game around with a spectacular come back and win! Everyone's name on the board!

So about 3 years, a fair few hours playing time, quality banter and it's all over - good fun. 

What is next on the horizon for our campaign game? 

Morts

SAGA - Finally to the table!

Well after many years DK and I finally got SAGA to the table - first edition mind you ... 2nd edition has just come out in the last couple of months. 

Anyhow DK and I set up a 4 point force each - DK with Vikings, 2 units of warriors and a 8 figure unit of Heathguard. I was using Anglo-Saxons, 2 units of warriors and 2 units of Heathguard. 

The initial table was with 4 terrain items. 

I had first move and moved my forces up to either side of the woods - DK pushed one of his warrior units and his Warlord up to my Heathguard - in combat the Heathguard are pretty lethal against warriors ! So with some cunning moves DK's Warlord was surrounded and despatched by my warriors! A quick win for me! So another game!

We kept the same organisation and forces - this time DK started ... Much more cautiously, pushing up his Heathguard.... To counter I moved my Heathguard units together... In an attempt to get his Heathguard in a pincer .... 

Unfortunately this cunning plan didn't quite come off - I lost both my Heathguard units - DK's Heathguard were reduced to 1 figure. I then sent out my warriors to try a pincer on one of DK's warrior units - which I did manage but at the cost of "significant damage" to my units. Allowing his other unit to maul one of my units. We also discovered at this time that figures need to be within very short range to count it a melee - something that we had missed/ignored in all the previous combats. Then he sent in his Warlord against mine ..... The final picture shows the result, win to the Vikings and  DK. 

SAGA was a tie for the evening. We found SAGA a challenging and a frustrating game with the SAGA dice not rolling for you as you want - also placing of the dice on the battle boards causes plenty of frustration as you realise that you put the dice in the wrong place for the units you have, or in my case you roll 5 dice getting the the same result - none of which I could use on my warriors. (A 1 in 7776). 

We need to get SAGA to the table again - but we need to do that with so many games.  

Morts

The lead, plastic and resin mountain....

During the move from the small bedroom to the office (games room) down stairs has made me have a look at the lead, plastic and resin mountain ... Well possibly small mole hill....

Above most of the fantasy stuff - I did find a few Greeks and bits and bobs just after I took this photo!

The OOP Rackham and Starship Trooper stuff - still in the cupboard upstairs....

And I haven't included the 15mm 18th Century stuff (although there isn't that much ... Really). 

I do need to get rid of some of the figures .....

I did manage to sell a few old rules and books which I didn't need anymore... Which was nice. 

The only things I would like to get now are a couple of Demi-gods from the Wargods range by Croc games ... But they still haven't released them. 

Still lots to do!

Morts

Been a busy week .... But not a Lost Weekend!

As the title says a busy week at work, but I managed to get to see Lloyd Cole with Fish!

A really good acoustic set with some good one liners - I would say a better gig than the one in the principality 18 months ago.

Picked up a CD which I queued up to get signed - cool or what! Should to got him to write to Morts on it! Nevermind.

Not much happening on the game front - Steedo has supplied some figures for Rogue Stars - and sorted then into groups. 

Clockwise - Cultists, Psionics, Cyborgs and Pirates. 

Mercenaries, Star Cops, Merchants and Miners. 

Might do some adjustments to the groups - use some as civilians for getting in the way and as "objectives". Also the groups should be between 4 and 6 figures. 

Need to get some character sheets done so we can get gangs to the table fast. Some more scenery would be good. 

Morts

Iron Curtain and Rogue Stars

Well due to being snowed in for a couple of days - the move of the gaming stuff to the study (games room) was completed (apart from the actual sorting out of stuff properly... Some things were just shoved of shelves and the table needs a rub down and paint, but that will have to wait until dryer weather so it can be done outside!). 

So I decided to do a little christening/trial run for the room and Steedo braved the elements to play a few games of Iron Curtain and Rogue Stars. 

Iron Curtain

This was the first play of this 2 player game, based on the Cold War. It is an area control game which you place cards and follow the actions on the card or gain influence (cubes). The cards are either flagged US or USSR and are continent based - but it's more subtle than that as the if you are the US player, USSR player (and vice versa) gets to play the action on the card before you can get the influence - so then your card placement involves minimising the benefits to your opponent.

The game is scored by moving a counter along a track until it reaches either the Soviet or US end - the game end when the counter reaches one end. Movement along this track can be from actions on cards or scored when a continent is completed or in the final scoring phase (which we only did in the final game). 

Pictures with early placements at the top - bottom left the Soviets (Steedo) winnings the Cold War - bottle right the first hands for the last game (I was the USSR and all 5 cards in my hand were US, Steedo had 4 Soviet cards!). 

Our games played fast, with Steedo winning the first as the USSR, me winning the second with a crushing US victory, before a tight (until the final scoring phase) last game win for the US (Steedo). 

This is a really good little game - thanks to DK for getting it!

To get my revenge we moved on to Rogue Stars. We have played this before (sometime last year - enjoyed it but found the damage rules a little odd, mainly due to us not playing them correctly as we found out this game). 

We used the same squads as we did in original the play through (mainly because they were already pointed out) - Steedo taking the Starship Troopers (militia) and myself with the Star Wars Bounty Hunters crew. Steedo took the tactical doctrine allowing 5 rerolls of missed ranged attacks and I took hard to kill - my squad could shake off 3 wounds. 

We made up a quick rescue/kidnap a downed pilot scenario - and went for it! Quickly discovering that reading the rules before a game would massively speed up play!

A few moves to get into position - after my leader face planted trying to run across difficult ground. Steedo got a critical hit on my marksman - we managed to do this combat incorrectly, as we put my marksman Out Of Action (OOA) - meaning that I had to take a morale check, and my Wookie ran away. 

Things were not looking good only 3 characters left versus Steedo's 5. But opening fire (and playing the rules properly I managed to PIN one of Steedo's troopers and put OOA his leader. This meant that he had to take morale checks, which he helpfully failed - no one ran away but he was accumulating PIN markers. Now PIN markers are a right pain if you get them as they are difficult to get rid of (a 20 on a morale check is needed), but each one is a deduction on shooting and a plus for you opponent when trying to take the initiative....

Top - Steedo's initial advance (my Wookie is still on the table -just). Bottom left - Steedo's leader down and him collecting PINNED markers - so without the red stress markers I had a +4 to steel the initiative (with the Stress markers it was +8 in that picture). Bottom right - my gunslinger putting Steedo's final trooper OOA after he had collected 11 or so PINNED markers from hits and failed morale checks. 

So a win to me!

I did enjoy the game - it plays small and with the understanding of the ranged combat rules with the addition of PINs a game where your squad can degrade quickly - Steedo felt that this could be a problem, but roll higher dice. We probably need a house rule on the number of PINs a character can take. Need to make mini character cards to keep markers off the table. 

There is an element of Role Playing with this game in home you can develop you squad. The Starship Troopers make excellent grunts/minions for an anonymous Corporation or Government. 

Anyway Steedo has borrowed the book to see he can make up a Squad from his Star Wars collection. 

Morts