Friday, July 8, 2022

Blitz Bowl Ultimate Edition Leaked Images

Earlier this year, Games Workshop announced "Blitz Bowl: Ultimate Edition".  Leaked images have now been found showing some of the changes to the game, including what looks to be a new stat for blocking!


The leaked photos confirms that 19 teams will be included in the box, which means all but one of the 20 existing teams in Blood Bowl will have rules in this edition.  It appears that the individual player cards have been replaced with team cards which will have all the stats for every player on the team.


In addition to some stat tweaks to a few positions on the Human team (the Blitzer is now Move 7, and the Catchers is Move 8), the inclusion of a brand new stat for every team is getting much attention - what appears to be a block stat (of 1) in shown for both the Humans and Skaven.  This would allow certain players to roll a certain amount of block dice without the need of special text (see for example, the Black Orc).  This also opens up possibilities for even stronger positions or players, such as Ogres.  The fact that now three block dice (of a single color) are included in the game (instead of two block dice for each of the two teams) further supports the expectation that blocking rules have changed.


Further leaked images show a new "Rookies To Watch" card (which will help out inexperienced players) and the two pitches included in this edition.


If past timing is any indication, Blitz Bowl Ultimate Edition will release this fall. The original Blitz Bowl was first available for purchase at Gen Con 2018 (in August) and was later was available for purchase in early September 2018. Blitz Bowl Season 2 had an official release date of Monday, September 21, 2020.

Sunday, May 15, 2022

Conan the Barbarian - 40th Anniversary Showing Movie Review

On May 14, 1982, Conan the Barbarian was released to theaters in North America.  To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the cinematic Arnold classic, Mezmaron's Lair helped host a private showing at the North Bend Theatre yesterday.

To me, this is Arnold’s best movie -- and it is still one of my favorite movies of all time.  Despite limited dialog and dated special effects, the movie still holds up after forty years -- the lack of CGI only adds to the movie's authenticity and grit.  I always underestimate how important and effective Basil Poledouris’s legendary score is to the film.   The pacing is generally good and Jon Milius' social commentary about the 1960s is... amusing.

In the beginning of the film, Conan's father tells a young Conan, "for no one - no one in this world can you trust - not men, not women, not beasts... [points to sword], this you can trust."  Despite this advice, after Conan's final victory, it is his father's broken sword that Conan holds aloft - his triumph (at the Battle of the Mounds) only possible due to his reliance on his companions and the actions of his (deceased) lover.  The best stories and movies provide a character not just with a great challenge and adversary, but embark the character on a journey of growth and evolution.




Friday, April 22, 2022

Tiki, Wood Golem: Reaper's Dark Heaven Legends

I finished painting up a Wood Golem, which I will proxy as a Treeman for my small Warhammer Wood Elves force.  The Tiki, Wood Golem miniature was sculpted by Jason Wiebe and is from Reaper's Dark Heaven Legends line.  I really like the small creature hiding in the hollow in his back.

I painted him in the same manner as the Dryads that I recently painted up.  I also added some pink highlights and flowers to match the rest of the force, including two new painted miniatures that I bought off Ebay (to which I simply added few details - mainly, the pink color scheme).


 

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Tau XV25 Stealth Battlesuits

I recently finished painting up some Tau XV25 Stealth Battlesuits for use in One Page Rules (Grimdark Future: Firefight) and Warhammer 40,000: Fireteam 

I wanted to build a squad of transparent troops to reflect the cloaking technology of the Tau.  I painted the other miniatures (markerlight drone and the a homing beacon) in a mottled pink camouflage pattern (using a small piece of sea sponge) to match the surrounding landscape, complete with pink flower tufts from Shadow's Edge Miniatures.



Saturday, February 5, 2022

Games Workshop Announces "Blitz Bowl: Ultimate Edition"

On it's Warhammer Community page, Games Workshop has announced Blitz Bowl: Ultimate Edition, (along with a number of other games).

According to Games Workshop, Blitz Bowl: Ultimate Edition includes "two new teams are ready to tussle in a tumultuous try-out – six Human players form The Reavers, while six Skaven make up The Scramblers"

On close examination of the picture, it is hard to make out the main changes to the game, other than the inclusion of the Skaven as a team, the color of the plastics, a new format for the cards, a new board option (with fire pits), and pink dice.

Based on prior releases (that were first shown at the New York Toy Fair), we can expect Blitz Bowl: Ultimate Edition (and the other games previewed) to be released this fall.  The first Blitz Bowl was previewed at the New York Toy Fair on March 1, 2018.  It was first available for purchase at Gen Con 2018 (in August of that year).  It later was available for purchase (from Barnes and Noble stores) in early September 2018.  Blitz Bowl Season 2 was announced on February 22, 2020 and had an official release date of Monday, September 21, 2020.

One other thing to take note of is that while in the past these releases were "available in select independent retailers in the USA, Canada and Germany, including Barnes & Noble stores," there is no mention of Barnes & Noble in this year's announcement.  There have been rumors that the games previewed will be released through Games Workshop stores and not be limited to Barnes & Noble (and a limited number of other select retailers) that prevented many from buying them.

Friday, December 31, 2021

Team Yankee - Yugoslavian Aérospatiale Gazelles

My Team Yankee JNA (Yugoslavian) force is now complete after recently painting up two Aérospatiale Gazelle attack helicopters, which will join the T-55s, BTR-60s, and infantry that I have already painted.

Soko was a Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer based in Mostar. The company was responsible for the production of many military aircraft for the Yugoslav Air Force. Originally, twenty-one French-built Aérospatiale Gazelle were bought by Yugoslavia, but after that, the Soko factory started serial production. 

I plan to use the Iraqi rules in Oil War for them....



Sunday, November 21, 2021

Classic Warhammer Fantasy Miniatures: Dryads

I recently again painted a few classic Warhammer Fantasy Battle miniatures, this time the Dryads sculpted by Trish Morrison back in the mid-1990s.  

I won these off of Ebay about a year ago and they had been sitting around primed Army Painter Leather Brown until a week ago.  I picked out some simple details, washed them with Army Painter Dark Tone, and then lightly dry-brushed them.  I aligned the style of their bases to join my pack of Wood Elves by added some pink flowers in an attempt to tie them all together.


Sunday, October 3, 2021

Team Yankee - Yugoslavian Army Infantry

My quest to make a JNA (Yugoslavian) force for Team Yankee is getting closer to completion.  I recently completed painting up the infantry.  I painted them up quickly, using a dark gray-green spray primer and then dipping them using MinWax PolyShade: Tudor after adding some detail.  These will join the T-55s and BTR-60s I have already painted up.

I ended up using Plastic Soldier Company's 15mm Modern Russians, although they are not the best match historically, at 15mm they were close enough for my purposes.  Originally, I was going to use Battlefront's own East German miniatures as those more closely matched the helmet style used in Yugoslavia at the time.  However, I decided to create a larger force and instead painted those up a blue Cobra force from GI Joe.

I plan to use the Iraqi rules in Oil War for this force when finished, and I hope to get them on the table as soon as I add some Gazelle helicopters to round things out.







Sunday, September 26, 2021

15mm Croatian Infantry

Almost a year ago I painted up some 15mm Polish Paratroopers for a custom game we will be playing, (based on both the One Page Rules and NetEpic rulesets).  To add another faction to the mix, I just finished some 15mm Croatian Infantry.

The 369th Croatian Reinforced Infantry Regiment was a unit of the German Wehrmacht that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.  The regiment was raised from volunteers drawn from Croatia and was commonly referred to as the Croatian Legion (Hrvatska Legija). They became 369th (Croatian) Infantry Division (Wehrmacht).  They fought Tito until "desertions worsened particularly after the capitulation of Italy in September 1943".

The miniatures were all extras from my stock and are from a mix of various manufacturers, including Forged In Battle, Peter Pig, and Battlefront.  I worked to paint them up relatively quickly.  I based them on pennies, added sand, then primed them with a dark green color, which I then highlighted with a very grayish green.  After a few details, I dipped them using MinWax PolyShade: Tudor, (which is a little darker than my normal Royal Walnut Satin dip).

Unfortunately, I realized only after sealing them that I think I placed the red and white "checkerboard" patch on the wrong shoulder for each of them... but mistakes happen.  I'm looking forward to getting these on the table.  Next up are some 15mm partisans that will be used to either support the Polish Paratroopers, or act as its own force.



Sunday, September 12, 2021

Flames of War 'Nam - Hot LZ

Due to Covid, it's been almost two years since playing a miniature wargame on the tabletop.  And, it's been almost five years since our last Flames of War Vietnam game, (back from before even the 'Nam book was released).  In 2016, we played the Fair Fight scenario, with Strom playing the Local Forces.  This time, it was my turn to take my (now fully painted) VC Local Forces army into battle for the first time.

We decided on the Hot LZ scenario, with Strom playing his US Air Mobile force.  My 50 point Vietcong force included:

  • Two (maxed-out) Local Forces Infantry Companies (with rifles),
  • One Anti-Air Platoon,
  • Front Artillery Unit (with six guns),
  • A Front Artillery Observer,
  • Six Local Resistance Teams,
  • Three Machine Gun Bunkers, and
  • Five Booby Traps.


For the Hot LZ scenario we each placed one objective, and the winner was the player to capture the opponent's objective.  Strom placed his objective near the road and I placed mine in the village.  Some of the US forces started on the table (defending their objective), while the remaining units would come onto the board as reserves, delivered by helicopters.  The VC forces would enter the game, randomly, using Guerrilla Reserves.

 
 

My first Local Forces Infantry Company entered the table in the dense jungle, and engaged the US forces near their objective.  The forces traded fire, and each side took casualties.  The US forces called in artillery, and the strength of my force was slowly winnowed down over the course of the game.  Later, they would launch a futile assault on the objective. 

 
Meanwhile, my other Local Forces Infantry Company entered the table and secured my objective within the village.  
 



They were attacked by two US helicopters - a Huey and a Loach.  They took a few casualties before finally digging in.  They were later joined by the Anti-Air Platoon, which scored a victory by taking down the Huey with anti-aircraft fire.



The US touched down three transport helicopters, which soon landed a sizable US force outside the village.  It was a short slog into the village, and the VC forces would do their best to delay their movement toward my secured objective.  The village was now also occupied by Local Resistance (villagers), with questionable loyalties....
 
 
 
 

With the villagers observing for the VC artillery, fire rained down on the US forces as they marched toward the village.  We traded artillery fire back and forth, and both forces slowly took casualties.  The Loach avenged the destroyed Huey by eliminating my artillery observer unit, (which had unwisely tried to get a better view at the advancing US forces).



Booby traps delayed the US force's attempted march into the village, and then the VC machine gun bunkers entered the game....  The machine guns further complicated the US's efforts to attack.  My opponent's Navy SEALS would attempt to neutralize one of the bunkers, silently advancing in the jungle flanking around its firing arc.

Finally, my Local Forces Infantry Company which attempted to overtake the US objective after a failed assault finally failed its morale roll, and was destroyed.  It failed its roll to recycle and re-enter the game.


With both forces now well dug in around their own objectives and only limited ability on both sides to formulate any competent attack, the game could have lasted many more turns just trading artillery strikes until one force had the advantage.  But instead, we called it a draw, as dusk fell over the battlefield....

All in all, it was a fun game, and helped us become re-accustomed to the rules.  Unfortunately, we found the 'Nam rulebook to be not very well organized, but we soon had most of the special rules for our forces memorized.  Many of the rules questions we had were addressed in the official "Our Man in Saigon" FAQ document.  Although we will likely play Team Yankee ("World War 3") for our next Flames of War game, we are looking forward to future 'Nam games.

Sunday, August 8, 2021

A Half Price Books Rant

When I visit thrift stores or used books stores, I always check for out of print wargaming miniatures and books.  Over the last few years, I've had occasional good luck at Half Price Books, once finding a copy of 'Ere We Go for under twenty dollars.

However, since that time I've noticed a disturbing trend at HPB - many wargaming books are now tremendously overpriced.  HPB's own "Pricing Policy" states:

The great majority of books and other items we sell in stores are priced at half the current list price or less. Here are some exceptions:

  • Select current releases and other NEW items
  • COLLECTIBLES and out-of-print materials
I understand not all rare or collectable books can be priced at or below list price, but some of their prices are now just absurd.  On Sunday, I stopped by HPBs in Tacoma and found the worst example yet of this - Warhammer: Warriors of Chaos (published in 2013)... for $79.99.


Saturday, July 31, 2021

JeffCon 2021 Recap

We just arrived back from our annual long weekend of gaming at Lake Kachess.  JeffCon was a four or five night event this year, as we extended our long weekend even more due to missing last year's JeffCon due to COVID.

We once again brought a mix of old classics and new games to try out. Here are some of the new (or newish) games our group (of six attendees) played this year:

  • 1812: The Invasion of Canada - Not an 18XX game, but a light wargame by Academy Games that has the British Redcoats, Canadian Militia, and Native Americans fighting the American Regulars and American Militia along the northeast US-Canadian border.  I enjoyed the movement mechanic (using cards).  Like many Academy Games, it uses blocks for forces and custom dice for combat.  We played the two turn introductory scenario, and enjoyed it's straight-forward nature.
  • Dune - This was the first time playing the Gale Force Nine remake of the forty year old classic, (originally released by Avalon Hill back in 1979).  I was concerned that the game mechanics may show their age, but I was mistaken - playing this was one of the highlights of the weekend.  Each player is a faction working to control the planet Arrakis. The game board is split into a number of territories, five of which are strongholds.  The normal winning condition is to control three of the strongholds alone, (or four held by an alliance of two players).  There are faction-specific victory conditions as well.  It is asymmetric, unbalanced, allows for creativity and treachery - and it all works.  In our game, the Bene Gesserit player won using their unique victory condition, which was a surprise to all of us -- especially that player's ally!  Six is the perfect number of players for this game - I wouldn't want to play it with any less.
  • What A Tanker! - We played a 6mm tank battle using the Too Fat Lardies ruleset for the first time with six players - two teams of three tanks.  I finally got to use my 6mm desert scenery.  The dice rolls were fun, random, and many times brutal.
  • Tzolk'in: The Mayan Calendar -  This worker placement game has a unique game mechanic as players place their workers on giant connected gears.  The gears rotate and take the workers to different action spots.  It requires planning ahead and prudent resource management.  This was our second play, but first time playing with five players.
  • Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps - We played this Aliens-themed co‑operative survival board game, which to me seemed like a mix of Space Hulk and Star Wars: Imperial Assault.  We played the introductory scenario where we needed to rescue Newt and escape the board.  The game has a card management component that I was not expecting, but helps provide a sense of pressure and constraint.  Our mission was mostly successful and we learned much strategy for future sessions.
  • Ethnos - This was our second time playing this game, but it was the first time playing with six players.  This fantasy-themed area control and card matching game scales well with the number of players.  I went with the "Halfling strategy" once again, which put me far head in victory points after the first two rounds.  But in the final round, I pressed my luck and ended up not banking any Halfing armies, and lost to a player using the "Orc strategy".  The game rewards flexibility and taking advantage of the opportunities that arise.
  • Pyramid Cards - This now relatively hard-to-find card game was released way back in 1977.  It is a trick-tracking game, with five suites in its 52 card deck, (each deck has 5 suits numbered 2 through 12, along with 2 wild cards). We used two decks and played a modified ruleset where players predicted the number of tricks they would win.
  • Road Kill Rally - This risk-management racing game was a blast to play.  Each player takes one car, modifying and customizing it using accessory cards.  Then the death race is on.  Points are awarded for kills, destruction, and finishing the race in the top three positions.  Points are lost for wiping out.  Card management is a key piece of the game, as your hand of cards is used for measuring the fitness of your car.  I really enjoyed the trade-off between speed and safety on turns.  I enjoyed it more than our games of Gaslands, although it is more constrained and lacks the customization of a miniatures game.