Drive Thru Deal

The digital version of the Alien RPG core rulebook is currently available for just $12.49 on Drive Thru RPG. I just bought a copy of this 400-page beauty, and although I have no freakin' clue when I'll be able to read it -- much less play this game -- I'm super excited to be one step closer to a full-fledged Aliens campaign. 

Won't You Play With Me?

Soon, my darling, soon...

The board and components are all set up for the first campaign mission of AVP: The Hunt Begins. No forces have been deployed yet, as you can see, but we at least know who will control each faction: Matthew is taking the Predators, Nathaniel will run the Marines, and I will control the vast hordes of Aliens.

We haven't even played our first game yet, but I've already ordered the expansion set to get more tiles and minis. I expect we'll play this game until we've gone through all the missions and then use the components for the Alien RPG.

"We're on an express elevator to Hell! Goin' down!"

AVP: The Hunt Begins arrived a day of ahead of schedule. It's gorgeous. The map tiles are moody and evocative, and they fit together perfectly to make all sorts of labyrinthine corridors. The images below depict only a fraction of the tiles included in the base set, and they also don't show the doors that stand upright and add a bit of three-dimensionality to the game board. As for the minis, they're beautiful, combat-posed sculpts with awesome terrain elements built right in. The plastic is a bit brittle -- one poor alien had the end of his tail snap off, but I remedied the situation easily with some Citadel glue. Helpfully, the box includes a foam storage area with cutouts for each model; it's a snug fit, however, so there's a risk of breakage any time you're removing minis from the foam. I may want to think differently about long-term storage for these guys.

I haven't had a chance to delve into the rules, cards, or other components yet -- this box is packed! -- but I wanted to share some preliminary photos of the amazing miniatures and tiles.

Butts in Space

A game about hoarding toilet paper? Topical!

"A xenomorph may be involved..."

I introduced Matthew and Nathaniel to Alien and Aliens over the weekend. I've had this series on my mind lately as Alien: The Roleplaying Game has received rave reviews. At some point, perhaps post-quarantine, I'll need to check it out. It might give the boys a fun change of pace from our usual D&D stuff, as the vast majority of our roleplaying action is set in the Shattered Realm world -- and even our sci-fi Shattered Realm campaign is a science-fantasy that's more akin to Starfinder than the gritty Alien franchise.

But given that I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Ameritrash guy, I need minis. I don't see anything on the horizon for the new Alien RPG, but fortunately a defunct board game can get me my plastic fix. Last night I ordered a copy of Alien vs. Predator: The Hunt Begins, which features gorgeous miniatures as well as modular terrain tiles. We can give this game a whirl and then maybe re-purpose the components for the Alien RPG down the road.

Season 3 Awards

Now that Season 3 is in the books, it's time to hand out the awards! Here we go...

Position Player MVP: Cap Anson, Haymakers
In a crowded field, the captain stood out for his remarkable consistency. Anson led his team to a record 13 regular-season wins with stellar on-base skills, clutch game-winning hits during his team's hottest streak, and flawless defense at first base. It was a very close race, however, so I should give honorable mention to strong contenders like Nap Lajoie of the Blue Legs and Ed Delahanty, Hugh Duffy, and Buck Ewing of the Canaries.

Pitcher MVP: Tim Keefe, Canaries
Surprise! When I ran the numbers, I was astonished to find that the best season didn't belong to Old Hoss Radbourn, Cy Young, or Pud Galvin. It belonged to Tim Keefe. Young had the gaudy 5-1 record, Radbourn was the unquestioned ace of a lousy club, and Galvin bounced back to stardom after a rocky Season 2, but at the end of the day, Keefe provided the most value for his team in a season of quiet excellence.

Playoff MVP: Old Hoss Radbourn, Blue Legs
Thinking solely about the championship game, there were a lot of standout players. Deacon White had the big two-run homer -- easily the signature moment of this postseason -- but this iron-gloved slugger also committed two of the Haymakers' three playoff errors in the field. Cy Young, meanwhile, cruised through seven scoreless innings but gave up three runs in the eighth to make the game a lot closer than it should've been. I gave some consideration also to outfielder Joe Kelley, who had a couple base knocks and drove in a couple of runs, and I even looked strongly at the Legs' captain, Nap Lajoie, who had an astonishing four hits in the losing effort.
But which player was truly the most valuable in the postseason? The most impactful performance actually didn't occur in the championship game -- it was Radbourn's absolutely dominant complete-game victory in the play-in. No single player was more valuable to his team's success than Radbourn, who put the lowly Blue Legs on his back and carried them to the championship game. They ended up losing that game, of course, but they would not have gone as far as they did without the Old Hoss. So, for the first time in the short history of this league, the Playoff MVP award goes to a player whose team did not win the championship. I'm convinced it's the best choice.

Season 3 Championship

It's back-to-back titles for the Haymakers! In the process, they've avenged the 18-5 drubbing they suffered at the hands of the Blue Legs midway through the season. Here's the full scoop on the championship game for Season 3 of my nineteenth-century Strat-O-Matic baseball league...

After Radbourn's masterpiece that propelled the Blue Legs into the finals, who would start the biggest game of the season for them? Clarkson, Cummings, or even Nichols? Ultimately, after reviewing three full seasons of play, I found that Cummings (for whatever reason) has the best career numbers against the Haymakers of the team's available pitchers. As such, he got the start -- his first appearance in a playoff game -- against the lordly Denton True "Cy" Young.

A quick and easy first inning belied the difficulty that Cummings would face. In the second, Bid McPhee, Hughie Jennings, and Jesse Burkett (last year's Playoff MVP) all hit run-scoring singles, while Joe Kelley followed them up with an RBI double. By the end of the second, it was 4-0 in favor of the defending champs. John Clarkson took over for Cummings in the third and stopped the bleeding, at least for a time.

The score was unchanged when the Haymakers' third baseman, James "Deacon" White, stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth. (Side note: I've got a soft spot in my heart for White, who was born and raised in Caton, New York, just a few miles from where I grew up. My father and I once drove all over Caton trying to find any sort of plaque or dedication to White, but we came up empty.) White got hold of Clarkson's hanging curve and pulled it to left. At that point, there was only a 20% chance it would clear the fence, but luck was on the ol' Deacon's side and he ended up with a two-run homer. Now the score was 6-0, and an inning later, Joe Kelley singled home another run to make it 7-0.

Things got interesting in the top of the eighth. With Wee Willie Keeler and Nap Lajoie aboard, Dan Brouthers singled to drive in a run. The next batter was King Kelly, who ripped a two-run double to make it 7-3. Young escaped further damage, but he was replaced by closer Amos Rusie for the ninth. Rusie made short work of the Legs, and when a Billy Hamilton pop fly landed lazily in the glove of Sam Thompson, the Haymakers had claimed their second straight championship. (Another side note: Rusie played for the Legs in Season 1 when they won the title, so he's the only player in the league to have been on the championship team all three seasons!)

Season 3 Play-In Game

Despite their 8-12 record and -24 run differential in the regular season, the Blue Legs are going back to the championship game! Here's how it all went down...

With Radbourn against Galvin, we had two elite pitchers at the top of their game. Both men were sharp from the get-go, and the first run to cross the plate came in the top of the third, when Nap Lajoie hit a sacrifice fly to give the Legs a 1-0 lead. The Canaries responded in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single from outfielder Pete Hill. The two hurlers traded zeroes for the next few innings until Blue Legs center fielder Sam Crawford smacked a run-scoring triple in the top of the eighth. 

With the score 2-1 in favor of the visiting Blue Legs, a turning point occurred in the top of the ninth, when the pitcher's spot came up with one out and no one on base. I decided not to pinch hit for Radbourn, as he'd been lights out all game and deserved the opportunity to finish this gem. Besides, as the only reliable pitcher on the Legs' staff this year, I figured this team would have to live or die with its best arm on the mound. Radbourn ended up drawing a walk and making it to third before Galvin shut down the rally and sent the game to the bottom of the ninth.

Now looking for three more outs to send his team to an improbable championship berth, Radbourn settled in for one final frame. The desperate Canaries managed to get runners at the corners with only one out, but Buck Ewing bounced into a game-(and season-)ending double play. 

The Blue Legs now travel to meet the Haymakers and once again will be heavy underdogs. It's not terribly surprising that Radbourn was able to steal a game, but the rest of the Legs' pitchers -- John Clarkson, Kid Nichols, Vic Willis, and Candy Cummings -- have all been varying degrees of awful this season. Based purely on the Strat-O-Matic game stats, Clarkson is the best choice to start the championship game for the Legs. He was last year's Pitching MVP, as well, but this season was the worst hurler in the league. Cummings has had success against the Haymakers in the past, but there are really no good options here. 

Next up: The Season 3 finale!

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Season's End

The last game of the regular season provided no small amount of drama. The Canaries hosted the Blue Legs with both teams sitting at 8-11. The winner would therefore clinch second place and home-field advantage in the play-in game for the right to face the first-place Haymakers in the championship. Hugh Duffy, the first batter of the game, took Nichols deep for his fifth career homer, tying him with George Davis and King Kelly for the most home runs in the three-season history of this league. Nap Lajoie answered with a home run of his own in the second. Canaries starter Tim Keefe, however, immediately settled down and didn't allow another run. The Canaries piled on Nichols, highlighted by an Ed Delahanty homer, and cruised to a 7-1 victory and their third straight season of finishing in second place. The game ended with a bitter note, however, as their captain and starting second baseman, Monte Ward, left the game in the ninth with an injury. He's been ruled out for the play-in game, so the Canaries will shift Delahanty from the outfield to second (spoiler alert: he's not very good at that position, but the Canaries have no one else who can play there) and insert reserve outfielder Pete Hill into the starting lineup. Can the Legs capitalize on the depleted Canaries? To do so, they'll have to get past starter Pud Galvin, who was unbeaten against the Legs during the regular season. Meanwhile, the well rested Haymakers and ace Cy Young await the winner...

Two Chances at Glory

Canaries third baseman George Davis remains tied with King Kelly for the most home runs in league history, and tonight he had two chances to move into sole position of first place. On both occasions, he smacked long fly balls that each had a 40% chance of leaving the park, but he came up empty.

In other news, his teammate Pud Galvin got roughed up by the Haymakers, so Galvin is likely out of the race for Pitching MVP. The field for Positional MVP is still wide open, with several candidates hoping to make a difference over the last couple of games before we head to the playoffs.

One of the few things we know for sure is that the Haymakers are having the most successful regular season in the brief history of this league. With one game remaining, they're 13-6 with a +22 differential. Those 13 wins represent a single-season record, surpassing the 12 they racked up last season.

The Race for Second Place

I've played through 80% of the regular season, with each team now having completed 16 games. The Haymakers are way out in front with a record of 11-5 and a +13 run differential. The Blue Legs and Canaries, meanwhile, will spend the rest of the regular season dueling for second place and thus home-field advantage in the play-in game. The Legs currently have the edge with a 7-9 record, but a run differential of -12. The Canaries, at a woeful 6-10, are clearly the victims of bad luck as their differential is only -1.