GenCon: Live Full-Sized Gnomes!

It's Gen Con Weekend!

Umm... woo?

No I haven't quit my job, sold my worldly possessions, and joined the throngs of unwashed masses in Indianapolis.   I'm just following it on social media and, outside of the throngs of people waiting outside  the dealer hall it's seems hectic, but a little ho-hum.  Plenty of new third and fourth-tier product getting release, but nothing that's "GenCon huge." 

I've been sent one photo from my friend Droz:

Over-sized and giant versions of games are all the rage (and set up in prominent picture-taking locations).  Here's the full-sized Oh Gnome You Didn't! game.

(Kickstarter) Halfling Adventurers

Stonehaven Miniatures has recently launched their most recent Kickstarter, Halfling Adventures. 

I last mentioned Stonehaven with their Gnomish Adventurers Boxed Set that managed to raise $147,000 and had over 30 stretch goals reached, over 20 of them more minis to the core package.  Check out their webstore for what was produced.  The KS was definitely a bargain compared to retail!

This time a $25 pledged netted you five figures, and the two stretch goals have added a paladin and the all important 25mm Second Breakfast.

I do much prefer this concept art to their previous endeavors, and out of their six previous Kickstarters, all but one has successfully funded (the other was cancelled) and it looks like all miniatures have been delivered on-time.

If I want a unique halfling army for Age of Sigmar (snicker) this might be the way of doing it. 

Battletech? What Sorcery is This???

GenCon is descending on us like street urchins on a band of adventurers fresh from the dungeon.  I won't update every little announcement I find newsworthy, but this is left without comment, save one.

 

It's for the PC... or is it???

Gygax Day and the Heroes of Heislod

Monday was Gygax Day, more specifically, Gary Gygax's Birthday.  It is expected that everyone around the land play some D&D and post some ridiculous memes on social media.  This year the memes seemed sparse and the played games even sparser, so I decided to print out a copy of Heroes of Heislod and give the girls a little role-playing before bed.

The scenario is meant to introduce children as young as six into D&D.    No major stats, save a to hit bonus.  All damage does a static one or two points of damage, except if you roll a nat 20, then it's 1d6.  

Let's say this, when the scenario says for five to six players, it's not lying.  I barely tweaked the scenario and filed off a few edges, but it was touch and go up until they encountered the dragon.

Evelyn and Neener close in on the dragon

For Maja, who's six and has already ventured into the goblin caves of the 5e Starter Set, this was a bit too simplistic.  For Millie at four, we need to work on numbers more, but it's sequel will do nicely.  

Desert Island Games

I'm in a podcast rut.  Without grabbing episodes from more than six months ago, I'm caught up with all my regular podcasts, and I've caught up with all the old CoC Actual Plays that interest me. 

This leaves me with some third rate shows to fill in my final days of "busy work" at the office before I get the okay to begin my annual training programs.

One of the podcasts brought up Desert Island Gaming:  You (and enough players) are stranded on a desert island forever.  If you could bring ten board games to fill in the time till the end of infinity, what would they be? 

I'll throw in some caveats:  3-5 of my fellow castaways are available from our shores of surviving to play, and the games must be either card or board-based.  No pure miniatures wargames or role-playing games and the need for a third player eliminates the Space Hulks and such from the conversation.

10 - The Campaign for North Africa -  Because we would have plenty of time to play it!  Of course, one bad typhoon and our chits are all in the ocean.

9 - Diplomacy  -  Things are going to devolve into the Lord of Flies eventually, so we might as well kick this off right!
8 - Ticket to Ride
7 - Fluxx.
6 - Zombie Dice, or any other dice-based game.  For a quick respite from the brutal reality of tropical living, we just need a few minutes, some dice, and a hard surface. 
5- Battletech - we have figures and boards from the introductory set.  and if we need more mechs I guess we can have Wilson carve a few out of coconuts
4 - Sports Illustrated Football - This one just appeared in my head out of thirty years of nothingness.  I owned this as a kid and the rules were simple and fun, even if I remember only having four teams.   And since by my own rules I can't include Dice Baseball (no cards, no board), this shall be my sports game of choice.

3- TWERPS -  Here's my true exception.  Most games require a hex or square grid, so this is my RPG selection.  I guess we could use a current edition of D&D for the same reasons.
2 -Settlers of Catan
1- Apples to Apples

This Weekend was a Good Weekend...

In a world of wives working, kids flying off the handle, foster puppies pooping, and the general chaos of middle age, I shall eviscerate Ice Cube's classic line.   I've had better weekends for sure, but this one was alright.

On the homefront, the foster puppy countdown is now days, not weeks (finally!), and not a moment too soon.  At ten weeks, they have developed courage to test beyond the borders of our front yard.   Collars and leashes are finally required.  The cute puppy phase is gone and the "hellish mini-beasts of chaos" has my dog-loving wife exasperated.

Saturday was a crazed morning of small projects at the mother-in-law's house, stopped only by trips back and forth for Maja's Summer play practice.  By the time my wife got home from work, it was a quick take out order (mmm....wings) and Movies at the Park to see this small independent film called Frozen.   It was cute, but I doubt it will go anywhere.  *Note to self:  must figure out era of dress for the Arendelle Military.  It's pretty sharp.

Saturday was also the last day of the Reaper Bones III Kickstarter (do I really need to link this another time?  If you've live under a rock for THREE of these campaigns, just go back and ignore the real world.

My "current" total at the end of the campaign was a measly $39:

• $1 Buy-in
• $10 Fantasy Mouslings
• $10 Frost Giants
• $15 "Bonehenge"
• $2   Mr and Mrs Bones
• $1   Sofie (I haven't owned a Reaper mascot since '99 and this one appears well-dressed and surrounded by books).

What I failed to realize was that once the KS pays Reaper and they get production set up, we will be able to add to our pledges in 6-8 months when everything needs to be finalized with the Project/Pledge Manager.  This means that sometime between Christmas and tax return time, I may be able to add a few more Mouslings, Space Mouslings, Frost Giants, or even some of the Mythos related stuff.  To be honest, I may just wait into 2017 to pick up more Viking mouslings, or perhaps just blisters of Deep Ones.  

Sunday was a little less crazy, and although we didn't get around to playing Savage Showdown, I did get to teach Maja Zombies!   My copies and expansions have be scattered throughout the old house, but as I opened a box this past week, I found all the zombies (and expansion female zombies) and chits in one box, and the rules and tiles in one of the expansion boxes.  Now the cards  are missing, but with a first grader, we'll hold off on that a little bit.    Maja loved the city-building portion of the game, and despite a few brave charges towards the helicopter, we gave up after we each had four deaths.   Drawing three dead end pieces on the first three draws didn't help our funneling to our deaths either.  

Finally, I also initiated Operation:  Slop and Go.  The workbench is completely cleaned off and I'm almost finished sanding it down.  Two coats of paint this week and a new set of shelves, and I'll be ready to reorganize everything, find spots (and boxes) for all my terrain, return to mini painting in earnest.

Here's where I need some help from the whole intra-web thingy community.  I need a small shelving system for my paints.

Here's what I had before I cleaned up:

The paints sit upon an upside down scrap booking tote that I used right side up to store paint before my supply exploded.  It's probably 8" x 12" x 2"  and has worked well, except I need more organization.  I'd love to have two tiers of shelves on the bench, one perhaps 6" deep by 1" high and running at least a foot is not two,  the second would be 3" deep by 1" high and sit atop the first.    This way I could still keep my old reliables (white, black, fleshtones) in easy access in front of the first shelf and not take up any more space, while providing a spot to store sand, stone, and other flocking material.  If I can find something affordable, I'd like to run it the length of the bench and use it to set up the painting queue as well.    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I'll leave with a new Lesson of Maja:  "Chinese people have to believe in  Jesus.  Pandas love Jesus!"

Apathy of the New Releases (Aug '15)

GenCon 2015 is but a few days away, and what finally shows up in this month's Game Trade Magaine?  All the late publishers scrambling to get product to Indianopolis, and forgetting to submit something to the distributor network.    Mark this day on your calendar, for I have found THREE items that will be pre-ordered through my FLGS. 

My Want List
REAPER
2015 CONVENTION MOUSLING   RPR 01558 ...............................................................  $12.99
I'll take a shot and see if it truly is available through the FLGS, otherwise, it's off to eBay and comparable prices

Steve Jackson Games
Munchkin Treasure Hunt SJG 1521 .................................................................................... $29.95
Finally out of it's exclusive deal with Toys 'R Us, this kid version of Munchkin should be hours of fun back at the home front.

WizKids
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles FAST FORCES WZK 72059..............................................  $16.99
The girls love their turtles, and if I break down to buy a clix game this might as well be it.


My Money-is-no-Object List
Cubicle 7
Victoriana RPG: Invasion from Mars ................................................................................. $24.99


My Imaginary Game Store List (aka, The Pegleg Gnome)
Alderac Entertainment Group
Love Letter: Adventure Time .............................................................................................. $10.99
Legends of the Five Rings CCG:  Evil Portants Boosters

The Army Painter
Magic Superglue Activator Dispenser  ................................................................................ $5.99ea
Warpaints:  Quickshade Ink Set II ......................................................................................  $22.50
While I just started using the Army Painter Inks, and I'm not impressed, this is a great deal for someone who enjoys using them.

Bezier Games
Favor of the Pharaoh ............................................................................................................  $59.95
This is one game that if the budget allowed for it, I would stock it on a whim.  With the glut of sixty dollar games out there, the only reason it caught my eye was my daughter's crazed love for ancient Egypt.

Catalyst Game Labs
SHADOWRUN CROSSFIRE DBG: CHARACTER EXPANSION PACK  .................. $24.99
There's a Shadowrun Deck Building Game?    I'm not a fan of these, especially with a million expansions, since I rarely see them move from the shelf. 
SHADOWRUN RPG: UNDERSHADOWS PAPERBACK ........................................... $12.95

Chaosium
Call of Cthulhu RPG 7th Edition Keeper's Rulebook  ..................................................... $54.95
Call of Cthulhu RPG 7th Edition Investigator's Handbook .............................................. $44.95
Call of Cthulhu Keeper Screen ......................................................................................... $29.95
I've tried to be more of an indifferent Eric than a negative Nancy about 7th Edition, but I'll call it here:  7th Edition will be the final nail in the coffin for Chaosium.  They designed an Investigator Rulebook  so people didn't need all the mythos creatures/spells/etc, and charge FORTY-FIVE BUCKS????  Worse yet, it's only ten bucks less than the Keeper's book that has most of the rules in it?    If I were a store, I'd avoid this trainwreck, especially since your smart customers would have (a) Kickstartered this or (b) will snag it up on Amazon.   And I don't care if you enclosed solid gold in it, a Keeper Screen for THIRTY BUCKS is ridiculous.  I love Chaosium, I love CoC, but this much financial output by the stores and players for what every 7th Edition Actual Play has presented as a few mechanical adjustment (Stats x5 is like the change from low AC good to high AC good in D&D 3rd Edition) or a slew of OPTIONAL rules is garbage.  Horror on the Orient Express is a glorious massively overdone boxed set that you will get hours of use out of for $120.00... and almost killed the company.  This might be worse.

Cheapass Games
Lord of the Fries Superdeluxe Edition ............................................................................ $25.00
Lord of the Fries Restaurant Expansion ......................................................................... $10.00 each
Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and Irish Pub
Pairs:  Goddesses of Cusine ............................................................................................ $10.00
Pairs:  Lord of the Fries Deck ......................................................................................... $10.00

Cryptozoic Entertainment
Ghostbusters: The Board Game ...................................................................................... $85.00
The miserly gamer in me cringes at the eighty-five bucks, but it will appeal to those who think the new movie is destroying their childhood (I can deal with (not seeing) the new movie, but those uniforms remind me of a prison roadside detail, or a towtruck operator.)

Cubicle 7
Doctor Who RPG:  Adventures Anthology, Volume 1 .................................................. $34.99

Diamond Comics Distributors
Lots of plushies, action figures, t-shirts, and statues this month.   The one thing that caught my eye, depending on price?
MY LITTLE PONY 4 PIECE 10 OUNCE GLASS SET ...............................................  PI
After discussions with my FLGS, My Little Pony products have infiltrated all demographics.  An affordable set could fly off the shelves (or out of the display case) consistently.

Fantasy Flight Games
The entire release schedule for FFG focuses on Limited Card Games (see comment above about Deck Building Games.  My concerns apply here as well.)  To add insult to injury all of the decks associated with the Star Wars RPG (which normally are $14.95) are listed under "PI - Please Inquire" which means the wholesale discount is usually much worse.   Not the best way to coerce a store into stocking your product, when the majority of these products collect dust after a short lifespan.

FASA
Earthdawn 4th Editon Players Guide ............................................................................ $44.99

Frog God Games
Pathfinder RPG:  Cyclopean Deeps V2 .........................................................................$34.99
Pathfinder RPG:  Field of Blood ................................................................................... $34.99
Pathfinder RPG:  The Lost Lands - Cults of the Sundered Kingdoms ......................... $54.99
Pathfinder RPG:  The Lost Lands - Perils of the Borderland Provinces ...................... $34.99
Pathfinder RPG:  The Lost Lands - The Blight ............................................................ $99.99
Pathfinder RPG:  The Lost Lands - The Northlands Saga Complete ........................... $99.99
Looks like a third party publisher is getting ready for GenCon and forgot to list this with the distributors, given the July 2015 release date.  Even compared to Paizo's prodigious publishing schedule, this is a lot of cash to dole out for one copy each at a store. 

Games Workshop
I've ranted enough on game companies' decisions, but it's GW.  When your overpriced "How to Paint Ultramarines book is less than half the price of a standard five figure boxed set (Space Marine Assault Squad), you have a problem.  Still, everyone at my FLGS who plays 40k can't wait till they blow their entire minimum wage paycheck on a  two more boxes of ten figures total, so the system works.

Goodman Games
Dungeon Crawl Classics:  Lankhmar- Patrons of Lankhmar ........................................ $9.99
FIFTH EDITION FANTASY: #5 INTO THE DRAGONS MAW .............................. $9.99

Hasbro
Magic the Gathering:  Arena of the Planeswalkers Board Game ................................. PI
Only two concerns:  (1) What is MSRP versus wholesale and (2) How deep is this getting distributed into the chain and box stores?

IDW Games
Godfather: An Offer You Can't Refuse Game ............................................................... $24.99
It might be a flaming pile of dung, but a game about The Godfather for $25 should move a copy or two.

Iron Wind Metals
CATAPHRACT CTF-0X  IWM 20-5120................................... .............................. $14.75
LU WEI BING LN-4B (TRO 3145) IWM 20-5121.................... .............................. $15.95
QUASIMODO QSM-3D(TRO 3145) IWN 20-5124................... .............................. $12.95
TENSHI TN-10-O (TRO 3145) IWM 20-5122........................... ............................... $16.95
WENDIGO PRIME (TRO 3145)  IWM 20-5123........................ ............................... $12.75

Kobold Press
Pathfinder RPG:  Halls of the Mountain King ............................................................ $24.99
Single product, cheap price, nice artwork.  Much better option for an experimental order than Frog God's options.

Mayfair Games
Booty ............................................................................................................................ $34.99
Star Trek:  Five Year Mission ...................................................................................... $34.99

Osprey Publishing
Black Ops ..................................................................................................................... $17.95
Finland at War .............................................................................................................. $34.95

Paizo Publishing
PATHFINDER ADVENTURE CG: CITY OF LOCUSTS ADVENTURE DECK ...  $19.99
PATHFINDER ADVENTURE CG: DRUID CLASS DECK   ...................................  $19.99
PATHFINDER AP: HELL’S REBELS PART 3 - DANCE OF THE DAMNED ......  $24.99
PATHFINDER CAMPAIGN SETTING: DISTANT SHORES GAZETTEER   ........ $22.99
PATHFINDER FLIP-MAT CLASSICS:CITY STREETS ........................................... $13.99
PATHFINDER FLIP-MAT: BIGGER BASIC ............................................................. $19.99
PATHFINDER FLIP-MAT CLASSICS: PRISON ....................................................... $13.99
PATHFINDER FLIP-MAT CLASSICS: FOREST .....................................................  $13.99
PATHFINDER FLIP-MAT CLASSICS: SHIP ...........................................................  $13.99
PATHFINDER FLIP-MAT CLASSICS: SWAMP ...................................................... $13.99
PATHFINDER FLIP-MAT CLASSICS: TAVERN .................................................... $13.99
PATHFINDER FLIP-MAT CLASSICS: WOODLANDS ........................................... $13.99
PATHFINDER FLIP-MAT CLASSICS: VILLAGE SQUARE .................................. $13.99
PATHFINDER MAP PACK: SLUM QUARTER ALLEYS ......................................  $14.99
PATHFINDER THE HOUSE ON HOOK STREET ...................................................  $24.99
PATHFINDER PLAYER  COMPANION: BLACK MARKETS ...............................  $14.99

Palladium Books
Rifter #72 ........................................................................................................................ $13.95

Pokemon USA
Pokemon TCG XY Ancient Origins

Reaper
Outside of the ReaperCon Mousling actually getting solicited, the rest of the figures are simply a reminder of why they're on their third Bones Kickstarter.  Nice figures, but almost Games Workshop priciness to this cheap fella.

Steve Jackson Games
Munchkin Holiday Surprise 2015 ............................................................................. $19.95
Munchkin Imaginary Frenemies Blister Pack ........................................................... $ 3.95
Munchkin Stocking Stuffers ...................................................................................... $ 4.95
Munchkin Undead Blister Pack ................................................................................. $ 5.95
Munchkin Marked for Death Blister Pack ................................................................. $ 5.95
Munchkin Steampunk Kill-o-Meter ........................................................................... $ 6.95
Munchkin Steampunk Deluxe .................................................................................... $29.95

Studio 2 Publishing
Deadlands Reloaded Stone and a Hard Place ............................................................. $29.99
Deadlands Reloaded Stone and a Hard Place Map ..................................................... $14.99
Lankhmar City of Thieves ........................................................................................... $24.99
Lankhmar:  Poster Map ............................................................................................... $14.99

Troll Lord Games
Amazing Adventures RPG:  Core Rules HC .............................................................. $29.99
Amazing Adventures RPG:  Companion HC ............................................................. $27.99
Amazing Adventures RPG: Manual of Monsters HC ................................................ $19.99
Amazing Adventures RPG: Rise of the Red God ....................................................... $ 8.99
Castles and  Crusades Nine World Saga III:  Crises in Alfheim .................................$ 7.99
Castles and Crusades Lost City of Gaxmoor HC ........................................................$19.99
Castles and Crusades Elemental Spellbook ................................................................ $ 9.99
Castles and Crusades Players Guide to Aihrde HC .................................................... $19.99
Amazing Adventures looks to cover the Pulp/Sci-Fi that I've begun to appreciate again.  It's based off of the C&C system, so there should be some d20-esque familiarity.  Finally, a thirty dollar entry point for the main rulebook is a wise move and made me look for more info.   Not enough for my money-is-no-object list, but we'll see if that changes.


Wizkids
Star Trek Attack Wing:  Wave 21 Expansion ............................................................ $14.99 each
Bajoran Lightship, Dreadnought, Robinson
Star Trek Attack Wing: Wave 22 Expansion ............................................................ $14.99 each
Federation USS Valiant, Kumari, Romulan RIS PI
Pathfinder Battles:  Rusty Dragon Inn Booster Brick (8) .......................................... $49.99
Amazing Spider-Man and TMNT Dice Masters
TMNT Heroclix (Dice and Token Pack, Fast Forces, Gravity Feed Display).

Space Mousling Assault Group?

As of me typing this, we're scant hours away from the completion of the Reaper Bones III Kickstarter

Lots of dragons, some great expansions, and enough add-ons that just about everyone can find something to fit their miniatures sensibilities.

Things picked up over the last 24 hours, because they've already met their "ultimate" goal of $2.25 million, which unlocked the Tiamat-esque model (it sure ain't mini!) for a $60 add-on.   But let's not forget the stretch goal at $2.15 million:  SPAAAACE MOOOOUUUUSSSSLINGS!!!!

There's part of me that wants them, but there's another part of me that's happy with my measly $36 pledge for stuff that historically, I won't see until Christmas 2016.    The few things that have intrigued me I've been able to justify the delayed gratification as a reason not to select them.

This does mean they should be coming out with Space Mouslings in blister or boxed format, so I shall be patient and pick them up (hopefully) in 2017.

Mining Gnomes and... the Chupacabra?

The painting queue continues to crumble.  I'm halfway through the next Gnome Swiss unit, this time Miner Gnomes (and one Pickaxe laborer) for my 3rd Engineering Company (EC)

 

The 1st EC is simply phenomenally efficient at building any military related structure.  The 2nd EC has perfected sniffing out mines and unexploded ordinance.   This leaves the 3rd with little to do but twiddle their thumbs, so the military loans them out to the Ministry of the Interior, where they repair roads and bridges, hence their bright uniforms.

Here the 3rd EC has just begun clearing a suspicious rock slide across a major rural artery.   But wait, what's that peering off from the hill?

Hi-Hooooooooo!

 

It's the Chupacabra!!!!

The Chupacabra is from Brigade Games' Caribbean Empires line.  I picked up at three at Cold Wars, since it is my daughters' favorite monster.  Two more attempts at different paint styles, although I would need to find a yeti or bigfoot to paint and paint it up in the style of the Scooby Doo version they love the most.

Next up:  Another ten of so Swiss Engineers, three Battlemechs, and those infernal Mordheim figs I keep mentioning before I turn to OPERATION: BIG PROJECT!

(Kickstarter) Haunted Tree Stump and Zombie Gnome

It's been quiet on the Kickstarter front this week.  Despite De Horrore Cosmico arriving yesterday and the Reaper Bones III hitting stretch goals on a daily basis, nothing has caught my eye even remotely. 

Then I noticed the Haunted Tree Stump campaign and clicked it on a whim.

For a miniature wargamer, that stump isn't some small throw-away piece of resin, it's 7-inches worth of... well... the KS just says it's sculpted, doesn't say anything about what it will be cast in.  And at $35 (plus $15 S&H!) it better be a cheaper version of titanium.

What really caught my eye was an extra option for a previously successful campaign, an eight inch tall zombie gnome!

 

For $50 (plus $16 S&H) I think I'll stick to the Brigade Games Znombies.

 

Munchkin Oz!

In a bit of a surprise this week, Munchkin OZ will be released this August as a retailer exclusive with Target. 

That would be the Munchkin Mascot, Spkye, and not a 2nd Amendment loving version of the wizard

And here I thought OGRE was the next Steve Jackson Games product I'd teach the kids (Technically I did  that way back before Zombie Dice with the a certain princess game.)

Historicon 2015: Tales from the Gnome Front

Gaming with the Gnomies on-the-scene reporter Kermit the... err, I mean Mike Lung has returned from Historicon unscathed and with plenty of Gnome Wars pictures!

Most of the Gnome Wars games held a prominent spot on the Miniatures Building Authority "Castle" table again this year  although not the normal arrangement I was accustomed to.

In Mike's own words:

...the set up was the same for all. Attached are pics of that game. Basically, the German held castle was under siege by a huge force. Some of the attackers were immediately outside of the castle and others had to funnel through the town to make their assault. However, the defenders had one nasty thing in their favor, a hoard of zombies and skeletons formed a buffer between them castle walls and the attackers!  

Also, there was a band of evil Urinitius cultist operating in the area planning to summon even more undead. At the end of the 3^rd battle, the castle did eventually fall to the attackers. But only after lots and lots of gnomish carnage. The attached pics are from the 2^nd battle. 

The German Defenders

The German Defenders

The view from the parapets...

The full-length table view

Culitists doing a strange ritual!

The Znombies are summoned!!!

The end of the first episode of "The Walking Gnome"

Steven Stanton, Jim Stanton's son, was the offical game master for these games, giving his old man a

nice semi-retirement (he is getting a bit old and feeble).  He won the Young Guns trophy for best kid friendly game!   Kudos Steven! 

There were two additional Gnome Wars games over the weekend, both with new game masters, Erin Crouch and Robert Clarke.   Erin’s game was on Saturday morning in a beautiful Middle Eastern town (non-MBA), with lots of house-to-house fighting,  but I was unable to get pictures.  Any pictures of that would be greatly appreciated.

On Sunday afternoon, at the same time as Steven's Gnome Wars  finale, young Robert Clarke, held a gnome game in his nicely done pumpkin patch. There were 6 gnome factions, each had to gather pumpkins while fighting off znombies, pumpkin headed zombies, vicious giant pumpkins that shot seeds like a machine gun and the other gnome factions! There were a lot of squished gnomes and over turned trucks from crazy gnomish driving. Lots of carnage overall. Finally, it was down to a father (Bruce with Germans) and son (Cedric with Leprechauns) who had to turn on each other to see who would be the pumpkin king. The son eventually won. But I think everyone had fun. Nice to see two new gnomish game masters at this con.



The Pumpkin Patch.... of DOOM?

Mr Clarke, the GM, next to the winner, Cedric.

 I'm particularly happy to see such a young game master taking the game by the reigns and running with it.  Sure, he'll be doing micro-armor or the new craze 12mm Napoleonics in twenty years, but you need get your GM licks in somewhere.  If you can run a successful game at Historicon, you're pretty much good against all comers. 

I'm also impressed by the different interpretations each new GM brings to the world of gnomes.  Don't get me wrong, a Stanton/Stout Gnomes production of Gnome Wars is a tour de force.  The Cold Wars mega-games may be large, loud, and chaotic, but they usually cover a historical event and we (the Stout Gnomes) try to educate the players on the history of the actual battles, without the Leprechauns, Cheese Throwers, and occasional undead. 

Mike skipped the other two "official" Gnome Wars games to play something called "historical" gaming  (probably won't catch on... sounds weird) with the Great Northern War

...and in one of the always popular soccer games.  The Man U goalie rolled snake eyes on an easy save in the last seconds of the game with Man City, allowing the ball to dribble into the goal.  The game ended in an insufferable 2-2 tie.

Jim Stanton and Bill Goodrick, Gnome Afficianados Extraordinaire!

 Thanks again Mike for all the pics. 

Best Historicon 2015 Pics from Other Blogs

Another July, another Historicon missed.  After suffering through late night Saturday traffic on I-95 between Washington and Fredericksburg on our return trip to Florida, coupled with a flurry of domestic reasons not to go, I skipped Historicon yet again. 

But that doesn't mean I can't make some keyboard commander comments. 

I could do a pro/con review of the reviews but it's the same list of complaints and praise I've heard at every HMGS I've actually attended since 1997.    Okay, no one found mold at the FCC and if someone ate the hall pig at the con this year and had stomach issues, they were hallucinating  (but not off the truck exhaust in the dealer area) but most of the issues have been mentioned ad nausem. 

My intrepid Gaming with the Gnomies on-the-scene reporter Mike Lung has sent me reports and pictures since the con moved to Virginia.  This year he was a bit more focused on the dealer hall, the flea market, the gnome games, and a Great Northern game, so he only managed to send me gnome pics. 

To offset this, I've pooled together the best pics from Historicon posted on other blogs (if it's good enough for those clickbait sites, it's good enough for me!).  Unlike the clickbait sites, everything is linked and documented to ensure the appropriate blog gets credit (and hopefully lots of hits).

The blogs have been slow to add AARs, so that means either many bloggers didn't attend, or they're needing an extra day or three to recover from the weekend.    I may add additional pics and links as they seem fit.

Thursday - Empire of the Dead - http://xinslair.blogspot.com

Thursday - Empire of the Dead - http://xinslair.blogspot.com

Friday - http://rabuck.blogspot.com/

 

Friday - Gnome Pirates!!!!  - http://rabuck.blogspot.com/

 

Friday - Znombies!!!  -  http://rabuck.blogspot.com/

 

The Sound of Music - The Wargame!  - http://rabuck.blogspot.com/

The Sound of Music - The Wargame! sounded dreadful, but coming from the folks who did Les Mis and Spamalot!, the results are fun, zany, and simply breathtaking?   Did this count as a WW2 game?  Inter-War?  Or was it the dreaded "Non-Historical?"
 

Attack on the Kashmiri Gate - http://rabuck.blogspot.com

I'm never in the typical demographic guys, but the pics like the Kashmiri Gate one above get me excited about games much more than another full-board pic of someone's 10mm Napoleonic/WW2/ACW table taken from 20 foot away. 
 

The HAWKS Armies for Kids Giveaway - http://bucksurdu.com/blog/

THIS is THE picture of the con.  The HAWKS Armies for Kids Giveaway is a great program that needs more support.  We are all still welcome to sit around a table full of oversized, graying gentlemen and debate epaulets colors on uniforms and tread sizes on vehicles, but making this a family experience that's fun and educational is what I prefer all the HMGS cons to be, nationwide.   I read one of the AARs from a member on TMP who had "Grandpa Time" with his grandkids the entire weekend, and despite straying off in to non-historical land, the whole group had a blast.  I got a little "End of Field-of-Dreams-y" after reading it, but that is the type of response I want from my kids and hopefully grandkids one day.  (My eldest, Maja, is only 6, so I have a loooong time to wait.  She won't make her official HMGS debut for another year or three.)

Battlegroup Kursk -  http://ipaintsworkbench.blogspot.com

Again, guys, this Battlegroup Kursk picture makes me interested in playing the game. and I'm not interested in WW2. 
 



The Sound of Music - The Wargame! in pre-con production - http://bogdanwaz.blogspot.com

 The posts from O My Ruritania! (above) are sporadic, but boy are they worth the wait. 

Update (7/27/2015) 

Spanish Peninsular - http://operationwargaming.blogspot.com

I just went on a mini-rant on TMP about how non-historical games are usually eye-popping and that Naps/ACW/WW2 all look the same from 15 feet.   If this was the first Napoleonic game I ever witnessed many moons ago, I would have dove in head first and never looked back.

 

 

Age of Sigmar

I'm by no means a fan of Games Workshop.  Sure Necromunda and Mordheim were fun games, and I follow the basic mechanics of the game system of 40k and Warhammer Fantasy Battles (WFB), but between twenty years of ever changing store policies, price increases, and edition changes and the current price fluctuations between metal, finecast, and regular plastic minis I see at my FLGS, I'm largely unimpressed.   Fortunately for GW, I'm a tiny minority demographic, as players within there sweet spot drop paycheck after paycheck on units.

I had noticed some tiny signs on the GW racks promoting the "Age of Sigmar" and assumed it was going to be a new boxed set/expansion to reinvigorate WFB.  It's done something, alright, I just don't know if it collectively swings good or bad.

I would have completely ignored the hubub had I not caught a vlog covering some Youtube video of some spastic GW fan going off on the new rules in a manner best described as "full retard" and then burning his armies.  Don't bother searching for it, unless you haven't heard the same GW rants on mechanics and pricing over the last twenty years.  It was an uninspired, profanity laced tirade that had me pity the Warmachine players he was going to deal with on a full-time basis now.

In my uneducated synopsis of this whole change, they stripped down the rules to almost a grade school level to allow a better entry point for new players for a declining game, and allowed people with existing models a chance to still use theirs.

Here's a solid review of the new system in general.  I will add that I've seen a number of historical wargamers play around with the free pdf of the basic rules that GW provided and found the game simple and enjoyable.  Not enough to justify $110+ for the Age of Sigmar Boxed Set, but enough to dust off their GW models of yore and have fun playing with them for an afternoon. 

Fluff and mechanics aside, I can't get past the simply horrible models in the boxed set....

 

Spikes and horns and gilded cod pieces.  It's like Space Marines went to the Ren Faire.    Somebody likes it, but it sure isn't me... (Update:  And it's not this guy either..)

Beware the Walki... I found Zombies!!!

It was a long weekend on the homefront.  My Friday started off strong, with a morning of house construction.  I'm responsible for the all the inbound mail our department receives, particularly from the various marketing campaigns we mail out.  The morning drop-off was the junk mail, specifically ten return envelopes, each stuffed with a piece of plywood! 

People love to use the Business Reply Mail envelopes to send back their unwanted stuff.  We normally get the envelopes filled with junk mail, religious tracts, and even random family pictures.  This is the third or fourth time we've gotten wood in the mail, but never ten pieces of it!

I built a handy dandy little house with the pieces, and someone added a special note after I left for the day.

At lunch, the eldest was sent home from daycare with a possible case of lice.  After leaving work early to pick her up, it was a fun afternoon of hair scrubbing and combing, and either scalding all the bedclothes or spraying down anything she may have been in contact with... for one lone little bug and zero eggs. Thank goodness, daycare must have caught it the instant it landed on her.  She passed inspection Monday morning, so all of that was worth it. 

Historicon was this past weekend, and I'm very happy I didn't go.  My wife had an eleven hour day on Friday, so her picking up my daughter would have been disastrous, professionally and financially.  Initial non-gnome reports have come back as a solid con with the same old people complaining about the same old stuff.  Our very own Mike Lung should be sending me pics from the con sometimes this week and I'll post them up as soon as possible.  I'm also in the midst of compiling a post of the "best of" Historicon pics from other blogs. 

One thing I don't comprehend is the number of people complimenting the game set-ups specifically certain ones I couldn't differentiate from the others.  Having dealt with a number of "mundanes" with no concept of history, the only difference to them between a Ancients game and a Medieval game is the color of the game mat, and the only way to different many games from 7YW through WW2 is to look for the tri-corner hats, Confederate battle flags, or an armor column tearing down the road.  From a strolling distance, they all largely look the same, hence the attraction of the untrained eye to the MBA tables, the German runway game, Victorina Sci-Fi, or gnomes.

Saturday was another trip to Knoebels for another birthday party.  Once we got past the "Lost Tribes of Israel" phase of the party, where the group crawls around the park, trying to find a ride "everyone" needs to go on, it was an enjoyable, if hot, day.  

The girls with Dexter the Raccon, not the serial killer.

I also got back down the Kriget Rum and struggled through the painting queue.   Most of the work focused on the next Swiss Unit, the 3rd Engineers.  Although I did finish two or three of these guys previously, the whole unit of twenty is getting redone with a different uniform scheme (the hats were painted a variety of ways and we're shifting from Citron Green to a Pineapple color for the shirts). 

Sunday was a slow day, as the sun beat down on the house.  I finally got the air conditioner installed in the family room, and we hunkered down in there until the sun started to fall and we scoured the downstairs, matched a million pairs of women's shoes, and desperately looked for Historicon pics on my phone. 

The long weekend for the girls of amusement parks, heat, and bugs made the Sunday night bedtime a chore, and  I decided to turn in once the children's thrashing stopped.  No more painting, but I did uncover my copy of Zombies!!! out of the garage!   The main boxed set was full of zombies and one of the expansions housed the tiles, dice, and chits.  Over the last few years, I could always find one box, but never the other, but luck was good to me Sunday.  Perhaps we can play it this weekend. 

Speaking of playing, my wife works the next two weekends, so it's time to try and organize something, which I'm calling Histor-can't and Homestoricon for the three or four people invited.    The second weekend might be better, as we finally say adios to the puppies at the end of July!    Part of me will miss them:  the part that enjoyed cleaning up their messes and keeping me from my family.  That part of me is mentally deranged.  Even my wife, dog rescuer #1, is done with fostering animals for the rest of the year. 

Gnome Weapons Caches Discovered

I know that in Gnome Wars, Santa Claus is a world-class arms manufacturer and dealer, but perhaps I should tweak the effectiveness of Gnome guerilla campaigns,

From the Telegraph (Full article here.)

Two men have been jailed after police discovered a collection of lethal weapons, including a machine gun, buried beneath a paving slab and hidden by garden gnomes.

True, the machine gun was just a Mac-10, but imagine what other arms caches are hidden in gardens across the world?

My First Swiss Unit is Finally Complete!

A horrible week for painting.  Too many activities, children that refused to sleep, and the relative ease of jumping on the laptop and knocking out a few of the #RPGaDay posts ground painting production to a halt.

One BierNurse, one Pickaxe, and the fabled 3rd Training Company of the Swiss Army is finally complete. I only bought this unit in, what, 2009?   Let's hope that I have some space time for some relaxation (and painting) next week.

Still in the queue:  Mordheim figs (gah!), BattleMech, the Chupacabra, and ANOTHER Swiss unit to refurb/paint.

Reaper Gets a Big Freakin' Gun

With nine days left, the Reaper Bones III Kickstarter has hit a cool $1.2 million.  The $100 pledge nets you 130 figures (including the weapons, but not including 70 plastic bases).  Many of the pledges are complaining in the comments for "something big."

This might not be what they meant, but this has my draw dropping:

From the update:  "And at $1,310,000 something with a little more bang, produced in Bones (with hard and soft Bonesium components) under license from Victoria Miniatures, we’re proud to be able to offer the M22bfg 'Sledgehammer' Heavy Howitzer, sculpted by Victoria Lamb and Jake Schneider! The Sledgehammer can be yours for only $30 added to your current pledge!" 

Remember, you only need the $1 initial pledge level to add the $30 (US Shipping included).  After the discussion about the finances with the wife last night, methinks I need to throw some stuff on eBay. 

It's going to be a wild and crazy last week of the campaign.  I can only hope that I'm strong enough to keep my $36 pledge level ($1 + $10 mouslings + $10 frost giants + $15 Bonehenge"

Also have to reminding myself:  Prospective delivery is at least 14 months away.

The Mike Lung Gallery #34 - The Wild Ride

Today is the first day of Historicon in Fredericksburg, Virginia.    Alas, I am not attending again for family and scheduling (but after driving through Fredericksburg on our return trip from Disney in May, I would rather drive the Cross-Bronx Expressway on the wrong side of the median than go through that again.)

However, our ever vigilant correspondent Mike Lung will be at the Fredericksburg Convention Center, playing games, snapping photos, and giving us a play-by-play early next week.

Apparently my family gaming has helped inspire to finish things way out of my league.  Mike's working on a set of gnome racing rules based off of the 200mph rules, but a few significant changes gearing it towards brass era automobiles.  For starters, he's added rules for hand cranked starters, but most importantly, he's converted it to 1/43 scale cars and has made it AWESOME.

The race track is corkboard and silicone caulk and fits the classic racers perfectly.

If you see Mike and his son at the con, give him a big hearty hello.... and whatever you do, don't ask about the Frigonians.

And someone remind Stanton that he supposedly has a super-secret surprise for me.  I just hope it's not a flaming box of poop.... again.