Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team - Session Report

Over the recent break we had a chance to play a small, three-player, fifty-point game of Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team.  There was a Nurgle force, a Chaos Space Marine force, and I played a Necron force.  The Nurgle force was comprised of all Nurgle Marines, the Chaos Space Marines included three Chaos Marines and two cultists (one with a Heavy Stubber who stayed back all game), and the Necrons included just three Immortals.

The game featured a high-elevation objective, which awarded ten points per turn that it was held unchallenged. 

There were a number of avenues to approach the objective, and Nurgle made a mad dash to the objective, while the Necrons and Chaos Marines tried to shoot them from afar (with little effect).

By mid-game, every force had all assembled near the center objective, and the game turned into a massive, multi-team melee.

In the end, the massive melee turned into a boring roll-fest.  The three forces were so strong on defense and so weak on offense that the rolling went on several turns without one casualty.

The Nurgle force eventually dominated close combat (thanks to their extreme durability and plague weapons) and won the game by defeating a few Chaos Marines, thereby reaching fifty points to achieve victory.

Although a fun learning game, we decided that next game we would likely change the objective placement and win conditions.  We also decided that each team would have benefited from bringing a few more special and heavy weapons into the battle.

We look forward to future battles using our Kill Team forces!

Merry Christmas!

Best holiday wishes to you and yours....

Games Workshop's Blitz Bowl - A Review

Over the last few weeks we have been been painting up models for Blitz Bowl, while also getting more than a few plays of it in.  We have all found Blitz Bowl to be a great two-player game - very different from Blood Bowl, but enjoyable in a very unique way.

It is fast to play, provides a ton of strategy and choices, and the game provides additional team cards (apart from the Humans and Orcs) that allow you to use additional teams.  This was a great choice by Games Workshop and makes the game extensible with additional models, providing much more variety in match-ups.

The Challenge Cards are what make the game shine; they provide randomness and enhance the flavor of the game by taking some of the focus off of just scoring touchdowns.

We have models for most of the teams now and it seems that they are all mostly balanced for our style of play.  If we had to pick a weaker team, it would appear to be the Elves.  Although good at passing, they have a really poor armor stat and are not as fast as the Skaven.  This could just be our own experience because we haven't seen a lot of passing in our games.  All of the other teams seem to have useful benefits that make them more or less competitive.

I've only fully painted up one full team so far (my female Dwarfs), but I'm hoping to paint up the Humans soon.  We are also hoping to get a few more games in, (including some four-player games using a custom pitch I created).

If you are interested, there is additional information about the game on the Warhammer Community website, including a Watch It Played video explaining the rules.

Blitz Bowl is available only from Barnes and Noble and is well worth its price of $44.95.

Gaslands - Five Player Saturday Night Live

Over the weekend I hosted a twelve-hour game day at my place.  For our Gaslands game, we played Saturday Night Live (demolition derby) and we each took one of five different vehicles (around 20 cans each):

• Ballbreaker (Truck)
• Dinoblaster (Truck)
• Hell Camino (Car)
• Knightrunner (Performance Car)
• The Buggy (Buggy)

This time we didn't place a turret in the middle of the board like our last game as we wanted to encourage more interaction in the center.

I played Ballbreaker, a truck with front facing ram and two loadouts of grenades.  I took a ton of damage early from Hell Camino, but got my revenge with a Hard turn where I rammed it head-on.  We both took a ton of damage from the ram.  I was destroyed the next turn and exploded, (which worked out well as I was hosting and needed to head out to grab dinner).

While I was gone, Dinoblaster survived to the end to once again be crowned champion....  With two victories in a row now, Juice's experience playing X-Wing must be translating well to Gaslands....

Gaslands - A Very Griswold Saturday Night Live

In our first game of Gaslands, we played Death Race, so this time we decided on playing Saturday Night Live, (which is more a demolition derby style of game).  In the middle of the board, we placed The Griswold as the turret, which seemed appropriate as we started the holiday season....

The game was much more dynamic than our first game, with a ton of maneuvering and different types of attacks being made each turn.  The buggy was the first to be defeated, and soon after my car, Flameblaster, was destroyed by some rockets fired from Juice's truck, Dinoblaster. 

It felt like we finally got down the mechanics of the game this time, and it made the game go much faster.  We are looking forward to trying Gaslands a few more times over the upcoming holidays.

Flames of War: The Great War - French Renault FT-17s

Battlefront released The Great War supplement for Flames of War back in 2014, but I only recently completed painting my two FT-17 tanks for my French "Polish Army in France" army.

The FT-17 was a French light tank with its armament within a fully rotating turret - many consider it the world's first modern tank.

With the upcoming new Great War book getting released in March, I'm hoping to complete the rest of my French "Polish Army in France" army soon....

Team Yankee - Yugoslavian Army T-55s

In the spirit of "Tanksgiving", I wanted to post my recently completed T-55s for Team Yankee.  There are thirty-one of them in number, including a model to act as a command model.  I previously shared my attempts to make a JNA (Yugoslavian) force for Team Yankee (using the rules for the East Germans).

The T-55 tanks are from Plastic Soldier Company.  In general I prefer Battlefront's plastic tank offerings, but back when I purchased these their plastic T-55s were not yet released.  I primed the tanks with Goblin Green from Army Painter, and used Army Painter Dark Tone which greatly muted the bright green.  The tracks were first primed with the green, then hit on the top and bottom with black primer.  This saved me a ton time by not having to hand-paint the tracks (except for weathering).  I then painted on the details before lightly drybrushing on dust and dirt using a light brown color.

I also completed some BTR-60s a few weeks back and now almost have a fairly good-sized force awaiting some infantry, which are in progress....

Gaslands - Quick Introduction Game

We played our first introductory game of Gaslands on Friday and had a blast.  We played a three gate race and the three of us each had a single vehicle costing about 20 cans.  We played on a vinyl mat for Gale Fore Nine's TANKS game that I received as a Black Friday add-on one year, and it seems to have worked well despite being designed for 15mm models.
 
My vehicle, Windburner, did not fare so well.  First I did not shift-up in the first activation.  Then in over-doing it to catch up, it eventually crashed into a building and wiped-out.  In the end, Juice won the race using Flameblaster, barely edging out Roberge's mini-gun-armed buggy. The buggy got a few good shots off, but didn't inflict enough damage before the race ended.

It was a fun introductory game and I'm excited to try it again soon with additional vehicles and players.

"The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month..."

One hundred years ago today, the conflict that would later be known as World War I ended.  The armistice was signed at the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month in the town of Compiègne, France.

The Great War, as it was called as the time, helped define the 20th century, seeing the fall of all the continental European empires, the founding of the Soviet Union, and the spreading of seeds that would become World War II.

World War I left over 9 million combatants and over 7 million civilians dead.

Today on Veterans Day and Armistice Day, we honor our military veterans, thank those who have served our country... and celebrate peace.

Games Workshop Announces "Blackstone Fortress" - 40K Warhammer Quest!

Games Workshop recently announced Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress - a 40K version of Warhammer Quest. The game will come with eight different explorers for players to choose from, including a robot, a Kroot warrior, a Ratling, and an Eldar warrior, (the others appear to be additional members of the Imperium).

Each session of Blackstone Fortress will take two to three hours, and it is played on a hex-based board instead of the squares familiar to the original Warhammer Quest. It will also include D8s, D12s, and D20s in addition to the ubiquitous D6.

I've wanted a 40K version of Warhammer Quest since the mid-1990s (even failing miserably at creating my own version many years ago), so I'm very excited to find out more about the release....

Happy Halloween!

A few years ago, just before Halloween, I led my first 15mm Superhero gaming session.  It was called Rise of the Dead and used a number of zombies from Rebel Miniatures.

Herr Kürbiskopf has completed his dark ritual in an abandoned church near a small village, raising soldiers from the dead to be his minions.  Nick Fury has quickly assembled a small team of new superheroes to confront Herr Kürbiskopf and his undead horde.  The mission: to protect the villagers, stop the zombies, and defeat Herr Kürbiskopf.

The superhero team needed to call in some US Army (NPC) reinforcements, but the village was saved from the zombie horde and Herr Kürbiskopf was defeated!  Along the way, some Galactic A-Holes joined the fight....

Herr Kürbiskopf will return in... "The Dead Rise Again"!

"Painting" 40K Chaos Space Marines (Black Legion) with Sharpie Pens

Three 40K Black Legion models have been my latest experiment in speed painting miniatures using Sharpie pens and a limited number of acrylic paints.  After painting some Space Marines (Ultramarines) with this method, I decided I would try again with some Chaos Space Marines.  The Black Legion worked great with this method as their colors are black and metallic colors.

After priming them black, (with a zenithal overprime of dark grey), I used metallic Sharpies to hit their boltguns and armor.  Then I dipped them using Tudor Mixwax Polyshade.  I used normal acrylics to paint the eyes and the bases, and added some flocked foliage to complete the models.

I think the models turned out well for the level of effort involved, and I may be able to use them in smaller skirmish games, like Kill Team, in the future.

Team Yankee - Yugoslavian Army BTR-60s

I previously shared my attempts to make a JNA (Yugoslavian) force for Team Yankee (using the rules for the East Germans). I recently completed the 15 BTR-60s, including a model to act as a command model.

The BTR-60 transports are from Battlefront Miniatures. I primed them with Goblin Green from Army Painter, but primed the wheels black before gluing them on. Army Painter Dark Tone was used to mute the bright green. I painted on the details before lightly drybrushing on dust and dirt using a light brown color.

A force of BTR-60s in the JNA is ahistorical and I received a ton of information about this from nikolas93ts in a post on The Miniatures Page - his father had served in Yugoslavia and was knowledgeable about the subject:

Only two BTR-60PB were acquired by the JNA (for trial purposes) in 1967, and it was never adopted. A certain number of BTR-60PU was acquired with SA-9 Gaskin system as battery command vehicle.

Another vehicle, TAB-71 (a Romanian-made variant of BTR-60 with the petrol engine) was accepted for service in 1976, but exclusively for military and civil police forces. They were known as very unreliable vehicles for a myriad of reasons (including apparently low mileage per year and lack of purposely trained drivers) and MP vehicles were gradually cascaded down to federal and later republic police forces. While a total of 119 TAB-71 were brought, an operative number (including Soviet-made BTR-60PU) in the late 1980s was only around 60 vehicles. First JNA unit to receive them was the 282nd Military Police Battalion of Federal Secretariat for National Defense, which was also characteristic for having 20 vehicles in total, in the first and second company.  

Other seven MP battalions (in Belgrade, Nish, Skoplje, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Split and Sarajevo) included one TAB-71 company, each with 10 vehicles. There was also 99th Military Company, subordinated to Air Force and Air Defence HQ, with 3 vehicles in a single platoon. The rest went to police and Ministry of Interior forces. Army vehicles were gradually cascaded, and their role was taken by BOV M-86 armoured vehicle from 1986-1987. They were intended for mostly for internal and police tasks, like security, riot control etc.

Quartermaster General: Victory or Death – The Peloponnesian War

This weekend I played Quartermaster General: Victory or Death – The Peloponnesian War with my dad.  We found it to be a great two-player game and a good break from the original version of Quartermaster General (which is themed around World War 2).  This version is themed around the Peloponnesian War, where one side plays Athens and the Delian League - "the Demos", while the other side plays Sparta and Corinth - "the Oligarchs".  Each of the four has different strengths and weaknesses, and each gets a different number of cards and game pieces, which gives each a unique flavor.

Our first game was a learning game and we adjusted to the rules fairly well, being veterans of the original World War 2 version.  Victory or Death is similar to the original version in game mechanics, but allows for a little more variety in strategy.  We also found it a little more forgiving around a bad initial drawing of cards.  The more relaxed restrictions around supply were welcomed and allowed for more expansion without constant fear of losing supply lines to your units.  The addition of bribery tokens as a means to fix a broken supply line also was welcome, while also feeling thematic.

Each side won one of the first two games.  The components were of good quality and I learned more about the Peloponnesian War.  We also became more familiar with the geography of Ancient Greece after just two games.  I highly recommend it as a good, thematic two-player game that explores a time period often overlooked in wargames.

Gaslands - First Four Vehicles Finished

I recently finished up my first four vehicles for the game Gaslands, (from left to right):

• Snakecharmer (rear caltrops)
• Flameblaster (side flamer)
• Windburner (front rockets)
• Tailgator (front exploding ram)

Although we haven't yet played a game, we are all close to painting up our teams.  I'm hopeful that we will be ready to try out the rules (in a 50 can game) within a few weeks.

Gaslands is a tabletop game of post-apocalyptic vehicular mayhem. With fast and cinematic rules, it is designed to be played with toy cars, allowing players to ram, skid and race their way through the wreckage of a burnt-out Earth. Gaslands is published by Osprey Games. Learn more about the game here.

Dark Elf Player Cards for Blitz Bowl in September 2018 White Dwarf

In the September issue of White Dwarf Magazine, Games Workshop has included a free gift - Dark Elf Player Cards for Blitz Bowl:

 

This is a great move by Games Workshop that will both encourage people to buy the Blitz Bowl game (available now at Barnes & Noble) while offering another reason for current owners to expand into another team.

This release also provides hope that Blitz Bowl player cards for Nurgle will show up soon....

Star Wars: Destiny - A Great Card and Dice Game for Two Players

We have all now played Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars: Destiny more than a number of times over the last few weeks. We have played our games using Google Hangouts, which has worked great.

Destiny is a a collectible dice and card game for two players. A game lasts about 20 or 25 minutes, and the game offers risk-mitigation, tough decisions, and nice randomness with the dice rolls. I started with a pair of each of the following to get into the game:

• Two-Player Game (now available at a steep discount at Target, Amazon, and Best Buy)

• Luke Skywalker Starter Set

• Boba Fett Starter Set 

• Rivals Draft Set

I've supplemented the above with a few singles from Cool Stuff Inc., and that has provided more than enough variety to play a number of different decks and employ a few different strategies.  With the Two-Player Game on deep clearance, it is a no-brainer to pick up two copies of it to try the game out.  Two copies provides you with two full decks, with a slight amount of extra cards for deckbuilding.

Admiral Ackbar - Hero of the Rebellion (Star Wars: Rebellion Session Report)

The Rebels has just moved their base from Dantooine to Yavin. Then disaster. Preventing any retreat with their Interdictor, the Rebel Fleet (with two Mon Calamari Cruisers) was entirely destroyed over the planet Ord Mantell.  Then worse, Admiral Ackbar was captured (after that same battle) and held prisoner on Ord Mantell.  Luckily, just before his interrogation started, Han Solo mounted a rescue mission using the Millennium Falcon, preventing the location of the Rebel Base from being revealed....

With the location safe for now, the Imperials launched small scout parties across the galaxy. One such party was led by Tarkin and found the base on Yavin. Tarkin's small band was easily eliminated, but the with just two turns left for the massive Imperial fleet to travel two spaces and attack, the Rebel once again had to move it's base - this time to Hoth.

With having built-up loyalty across the galaxy, the Rebels reduced the game length one last time (those loyalty markers finally did come in handy). On the last turn of the game, the Rebels first action was to attack the only small Imperial fleet that could land on Hoth before game end. The first turn of combat was a disaster, but with Admiral Ackbar's leadership (and re-rolls), the Rebels escaped with a victory. With that victory, the galaxy was made safe for freedom.

So the Rebel base ended up being on Dantooine, then Yavin, then Hoth. Just like the movies.... But in this game Star Wars was the story of Admiral Ackbar - not Luke Skywalker. Admiral Ackbar's recruitment, capture, rescue, and ultimate victory explained the story arc, and also demonstrated the cinematic feel of the game.

Blitz Bowl Contains Cards (But Not Figures) for Five Additional Teams

Blitz Bowl releases on August 24th and with all the videos being released about the game, we now know that the game also includes cards (but not figures) for additional teams (other than Humans and Orcs that come in the box):

• Dward Giants (Dwarfs)
• Elven Union (High Elves)
• Doom Lords (Chaos)
• Skavenblight Scramblers (Skaven)
• The Scarcrag Snivellers (Goblins)

This is a great move by Games Workshop that will encourage players to purchase additional Blood Bowl team sets and makes the game more extensible.

Games Workshop's "Blitz Bowl" Releases at Gen Con 2018 (and at Barnes & Noble on August 24th)

"Blitz Bowl - The Game of Gladatorial Sports Mayhem" is now available for pre-order from Barnes and Noble.  Its price is $44.95 and it releases on August 24th.  On the Warhammer Community website there is additional information about the game, including a Watch It Played video explaining the rules.

Blitz Bowl will also be available for purchase at Gen Con 2018, so I expect to see unboxing videos and further information about the game as early as tomorrow.

JeffCon 2018 Recap

We recently returned from our (six annual) JeffCon up at Lake Kachess.  We once again brought a mix of old classics and new games to try out. Here are some of the games we played this year:

• Five Tribes - Although we had previously played Five Tribes more than half a dozen times, in our game we realized we had missed a critical rule that totally changes how the game is played and approached.  Previously we had played that you could end by placing a meeple in an empty square as a valid action, (which meant you could activate the ability of a meeple without a meeple of a matching color in the square).  The actual rules make the game much more mancala-like and I'm excited to find out how the game will play differently when the game is played as intended.
• Kingdomino - I still find the Spiel des Jahres winner to be fast and fun.  I achieved my highest ever recorded total of 82, accomplished with a twelve space / six crown forest and a five space / two crown desert.  I was very fortunate to fly under the radar and be able to grab every forest crown domino....
• Star Wars: Destiny - We introduced the group to Star Wars: Destiny using a home-brewed co-operative, four-player game.  Roberge and I also played a number of two-player matches against one another.  The overall group was turned-off by the collectible aspect of the game, but we emphasized that the starter sets and common cards provide a fully realized experience, (and we've had no desire to ever buy a booster pack).  I find the game to be quick and enjoyable, and also have had fun constructing my different decks. 
• Stockpile - We played Stockpile once again, this time using the bond, commodity, and tax cards.  This added new aspects to the game that were needed to make it more enjoyable and different, as I think the original game is wearing a little thin after so many repeated plays.
• Werewords - I brought up Werewords and we probably played it a dozen or so times due to its tiny playtime of roughly 5 minutes.  It is a game of Twenty Questions with some Werewolf-like roles and elements thrown in.  Most of the fun is the discussion and accusations after the timer has run out.
• Unlock! The Tonipal's Treasure - We started this Unlock! game late in the evening and most of the group got through about half the mystery before heading to bed.  Juice and I finished it up and were able to complete it without needing more than a few clues, (although there was one clue where we were totally and completely lost).  We completed the final puzzle with just four seconds remaining on the clock, which made for an exciting finish.  I liked the adventure and would like to try out more of the Unlock! games.
• 1889: History of Shikoku Railways - This 18XX game was brought up by Sund and took most of one afternoon and evening, but was well worth the time invested.  Most of the time was spent on learning the rules and getting all six players through the first few turns.  Once everyone was up to speed, the game pace quickened.  I liked all the decisions and choices to be made, along with the stock aspects and route mapping.  I would like to try this (or another 18XX game) now that I'm up to speed on the rules.

Games Workshop Announces "Kill Team"

Today Games Workshop officially announced Kill Team, a skirmish game similar to the recent Shadow War: Armageddon and past iterations of Kill Team.  This new Kill Team game is for two to four players and plays on a tight 22" by 30" board.

Each player leads a squad of warriors, consisting of about five to ten individuals.  The Kill Team box set will contain two factions - a Genestealer Cult and Skitarii (the military forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus).  Games Workshop also announced that additional, smaller Starter Sets for specific factions will be released, as well as new "Killzones" terrain set expansions.  It appears that Games Workshop is taking the Shadespire expansion approach to Kill Team and it will have a number of future releases and support.

There was mention of the Rogue Trader book in today's Kill Team Q&A.  It appears now that Kill Team: Rogue Trader will be a supplement to Kill Team that introduces Rogue Traders into the game, along with some RPG-type elements.