"Sticks to Snakes!"

I'm definitely not a Halo guy, so after the boys blew me up a dozen times in a multiplayer scenario, we decided to switch over to Chronicles of Mystara for some cooperative Xbox action. The first game in Chronicles is called Tower of Doom, and it involves heroes battling against a lich called Deimos. There's probably more to the story, but Matthew clicked through all the dialogue, so we were a bit fuzzy on what was going on. Nevertheless, our stalwart party -- with Matthew as the cleric, Nathaniel as the fighter, and me as the spell-slinging elf -- hacked and slashed our way through hordes of kobolds, skeletons, gnolls, and other classic D&D monsters. (Shout-out to the owlbears, yo!) It took us a couple of hours, but we defeated the lich and saved...whatever we were supposed to save!

The hands-down most entertaining aspect of this game, however, is the cleric spell Sticks to Snakes. When Matthew would cast that spell, his character would call out "sticks to snakes!" in a very authoritative voice as he tossed some brown rectangles onto the ground (remember that this arcade game first came out in '93, so the graphics aren't that great!). The sticks then animated into snakes that zipped around and attacked the party's enemies. Matthew would often burn through a full day's allotment of Sticks to Snakes spells in a single battle, giving us legions of slithering allies. I'm not sure how effective they were (especially against flying foes like the lich), but it was definitely hilarious to watch! 

Russian Revenge

It was a lazy, rainy Sunday afternoon, so we decided to start World War III. In the alternate-'80s setting of Tanks: The Modern Age, Nathaniel took command of an American M1A1 Abrams, while I led a pair of Soviet T-64s. As we rumbled into a quiet village in West Germany, my attempt to flank the Abrams resulted in the quick, merciless obliteration of my first T-64. Figuring the game would soon be lost (the Abrams is far superior to the T-64), I just plowed ahead with my remaining tank and chased Nathaniel out of the village and into the forest. Along the way, I was lucky enough to score a critical hit that injured his crew, which helped to even the odds a bit. Our tanks traded devasting shots as I charged toward his position. Here's a photo of the final turn, when my resolute Russians destroyed the Abrams and avenged their comrades.

Nathaniel was none too pleased to lose after what had seemed like such a certain victory. I'm sure tomorrow will bring a rematch!

Chronicles of Mystara

Remember those awesome D&D arcade games from the '90s? Neither do I, because they never made it to Horseheads, New York. I learned about them years later, after coin-gobbling arcade games had gone the way of Blockbuster Video. At long last, I have the opportunity to scratch that itch, thanks to our Xbox. Last night I downloaded Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, which contains both arcade games from that series -- Tower of Doom (1993) and Shadow Over Mystara (1996). As old-timey side-scrolling games go, they're not half bad! I think the boys will enjoy joining me for some multiplayer action.

Tank-You Gift

I got some very good news at work the other day, so to thank the boys for their patience these past several weeks as I've been busy and distracted, I let them each pick out a gift. Nathaniel opted for Tanks: The Modern Age. Can't wait to give it a try! 

Captain Cheapo

I was chatting with a Games Workshop store dude recently and talking about the randomized packs of Space Marine Heroes. I mentioned that we were lucky enough to get a captain in one of the boxes that I gave to the boys as stocking stuffers. I asked him about the rarity of that figure, and he said that captains make up only one out of 36 boxes. Moreover, given the roughly $8 price of each figure from the Space Marine Heroes line, that's the cheapest captain Games Workshop has ever released!

New Year, New Games!

We've had tons of fun over winter break trying out new games like Forbidden Sky and logging lots of time on the Xbox. One of the top experiences has been Betrayal at House on the Hill, which provides a memorable story with each and every game session. Betrayal has thematic elements that make it similar to Mansions of Madness, but it's far simpler and faster to set up and play. In our first game of Betrayal, Nathaniel played a plucky twelve-year-old boy who ended up alone in a house full of zombies. Unable to overcome them in physical combat, he had to rely on an eerie music box to lure the undead into rooms where he could trap them. After each play-through, I'm eager to try it again to see what new stories we'll discover -- that's the hallmark of a great game!