MotU Madness

The boys got the core set for Masters of the Universe: Battleground for Christmas, and we finally made the time to try it out this afternoon. For a game based on a kids' show that features fast, crazy action, Battleground plays about as fast as Ram Man trying to solve calculus equations. There's a lot of tactical depth, however, and the game reminds me a lot of Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team. 

In today's smackdown, Matthew played as the good guys (He-Man, Man-at-Arms, and Stratos), while Nathaniel had the baddies (Skeletor, Mer-Man, and my all-time favorite MotU villain, Trapjaw). He-Man claimed an objective token in the first round to give the heroes an early lead, but Mer-Man and Skeletor focused fire on the big guy and brought him down shockingly quickly. That's right, folks -- He-Man was the first character to get knocked out! Trapjaw and Stratos had also fallen by the fourth and final round, leaving just Skeletor, Mer-Man, and Man-at-Arms on the battlefield. Matthew had a chance to win the game by knocking out Mer-Man, but the slippery villain somehow dodged the attack. As such, the game ended in a draw. 

I'm sure Battleground plays a lot faster once you master all the rules and options, but it felt painfully slow and fiddly. Nathaniel really liked it, so I'm sure we'll give it another whirl with other characters -- I mean, we've gotta see what Orko can do, right?!

Which Universe Is This?

Did I somehow stumble into a weird alternate dimension? Because in the universe in which I currently find myself, celebrated sci-fi author H. G. Wells basically invented the modern wargaming hobby with the publication of the Little Wars game system in 1913. Among the game's fans was beloved actor Peter Cushing, who owned thousands of soldier minis and spent hours staging elaborate wargames. 

"Set Condition 1 throughout the ship! Launch the alert fighters!"

Recently the four of us finished watching all ten seasons of Friends, and it sparked a conversation about acclaimed television programs that either had a pitch-perfect ending (like Friends) or a complete dumpster fire (like Seinfeld). Of course, one man's trash is another man's treasure -- defending the final episode of Game of Thrones is absolutely a hill I'll die on! -- but in this conversation, Amy and I both agreed that our favorite final episode is from the modern Battlestar Galactica. The boys weren't familiar with BSG, so I provided a little context and then, before I knew it, I was ordering the complete series on Blu-ray. 

It's been a pleasure to revisit this top-notch program, and as soon as I saw the boys starting to design Vipers and Raiders in their 3D-modeling software, I figured it was time to check out the BSG gaming scene. I recalled a semi-cooperative game in which players try to figure out who among them are secretly Cylons (Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game), but I lamented that there was never any sort of miniatures-based game along the lines of Star Wars X-Wing. That would've been super cool! So I ran a quick search to see if I could track down a copy of the aforementioned board game, when I suddenly realized that, yes, Virginia, there is a Battlestar Galactica miniatures game! And it looks frakkin' awesome! Battlestar Galactica: Starship Battles seems to have come and gone without my notice and is no longer being manufactured. Fortunately, there are still plenty of copies of the core set and the various ship expansions floating around. Can't wait to check it out!

Dungeons Pop

In my never-ending search for RPG and wargaming terrain, I love the idea of using 3D terrain, but there are a lot of complicating factors -- cost, storage space, time and effort for painting, etc. -- that make it tough to implement 3D on a large scale. To date, I haven't found a great solution that addresses all of those considerations...until, maybe, now? There's a new Kickstarter called Dungeons Pop, and it offers full-color 3D terrain at an affordable price and requiring very little storage space. How do they pull it off? Well, it's basically like a pop-up book! I'm backing this project not only to get the products shown on the page, but in the hope that the creators eventually branch out into other genres, like sci-fi and modern urban settings. Keep an eye on these folks!

Uh Oh

Okay...okay...don't panic, duder. Just because you discovered this doesn't mean you have to buy anything...

Our Latest Rabbit Hole

After exhaustive research by their top engineer (Matthew) and with the backing of a wealthy investor (Nathaniel), my kids have purchased a 3D printer. Now they'll be able to print miniatures (with an assist from Hero Forge) for minions, troopers, civilians, and other background characters in our roleplaying games, as well as 3D terrain for our wargames. I'll be sure to share photos of their creations once we receive the printer and get it up and running!

BattleTech Beginnings

I may be on a business trip this week, but that doesn't stop me from poking my head into game stores! I discovered that the new BattleTech Beginner Box is only twenty bucks!

I've never played any of the BattleTech family of games, but at this price, why not give it a shot? I look forward to painting these 'Mechs when I get home!

Wargamin'

Sometimes Nathaniel disappears for a while and I'll find him upstairs in our game room, deeply engrossed in wargame strategy. He'll set up a game mat with X-Wing, Tanks, or, most often, Warhammer 40,000, and then play both sides of the battle. He'll test out different tactics, or how certain units play against other units, and he files all that information away in the seemingly limitless databanks of his seven-year-old brain. I need to hurry up and build my Drukhari army for 40k, because there's nothing I can do with the Death Guard that he hasn't already anticipated...

City Builder System

Dwarven Forge is back with a new Kickstarter project -- this one is a modular system for building cities for RPGs and wargames. Looks awesome, but it's super expensive. Click here and commence drooling!

Warlord Games

I just discovered Warlord Games. They've got some cool historical miniatures and terrain. Now they're going to do the minis for a Judge Dredd miniatures game.

New GW Store

I headed over the mountains on Saturday for the grand opening of the new Games Workshop store in Sacramento. This is the third GW store I've visited (the others were in Toronto and in Thousand Oaks, California), and I've found that they're all basically the same -- lots of tantalizing products (tantalizing until you see the price tags, at least. Sixty bucks for the starter paint set?!) and friendly but pushy staff. Still, it was fun to hang out and watch all the games in progress. If I hadn't been there with two rambunctious little boys, I would have stayed longer and asked more questions. I'll make it a point to do a solo visit to the Thousand Oaks store the next time I'm in town. And perhaps if they open a store in the Reno area (not bloody likely, but one never knows) I'll become a frequent patron -- for the free painting lessons if nothing else. Oh yeah, I'd have to buy that sixty dollar paint set first...

Dark Vengeance Overview

I've read a few blog posts that discuss the upcoming Warhammer 40k starter set, but this one is the most complete overview I've seen, and it has lots of great images...

Dark Vengeance

I have yet to succumb to the siren song of Warhammer 40,000, but I must admit that my resolve is weakening...especially now that the new 6th Edition starter set is almost here. It's called Dark Vengeance, and it looks freakin' awesome. Gentlemen, lash me to the mast!

Coming Soon: Dungeon Command

Over the past couple of years, Wizards has released a number of D&D-themed board games, such as Castle Ravenloft (and the very similar Wrath of Ashardalon and Legend of Drizzt), Conquest of Nerath, and Lords of Waterdeep. Next on the docket is Dungeon Command, a skirmish game in which each player selects a themed war-band (undead, drow, etc.) of miniatures to duke it out on a battlefield made of Dungeon Tiles. One interesting feature of the game is that it does not use dice; instead, players use a deck of cards to issue orders to their units. The first two war-band sets ("Sting of Lolth" and "Heart of Cormyr" -- evidently it's set in the Forgotten Realms!) are scheduled to be released on July 17.