Season 6 Creighton Cup Finals, Game 4

The cup was in the house! The visiting Victorias needed just one more win to claim the ultimate prize. How did it all go down? Buckle up!

Hobey Baker got the Vics on the board in an otherwise quiet first period, and Dubbie Bowie lit the lamp in the second. These two hardy veterans -- Baker the captain, Bowie the assistant captain -- have been with the Vics since the first day of the first season. They've both elevated their game here in the playoffs. As it turned out, however, the 2-0 lead they handed to their team wasn't quite enough.

In the first minute of the third period, sparkplug winger Ernie Russell scored on a pass from Scotty Davidson. Russell has been a key contributor all season for the Dogs, especially with the litany of injuries they've faced, so it was great to see him notch a huge goal in this critical moment. The Bulldogs dominated the third, and nearly knotted the score when Hutton robbed Roberts with a beautiful glove save.

At the three-minute mark, the Dogs put out their best five-man unit: Bruce Stuart flanked by Gord Roberts and Tommy Dunderdale, with Si Griffis and Frank Patrick on defense. Stuart won a key offensive-zone draw and set up Dunderdale for the tying goal. It was Dunderdale's fourth tally of the postseason, tying Baker for the league lead. The home fans leaped out of their seats at the realization that their team would have a chance to win the game in overtime and force a winner-take-all Game 5.

The Vics did everything in their power to end the game in the opening moments of OT. Over a spectacular sequence, Moran made huge saves on high-danger shots by Bowie, Baker, and Cyclone Taylor. Then, late in the overtime period, rookie Newsy Lalonde broke out with Taylor on a two-on-one. Lalonde flipped the puck to Taylor for the shot. I could just hear the play-by-play announcer's voice in my head as the scene unfolded.

"Taylor...for the cup...he scores!"

It was 3-2 for the Vics in overtime, a 3-1 series win that included three straight victories. With that, the Vics claimed their third Creighton Cup and first since Season 2. Whew! Now Season 6 officially comes to a close!

Season 6 Creighton Cup Finals, Game 3

The Vics took care of business on the road and now looked to grab the lead back on home ice. In keeping with the theme of this year's playoffs, the scoring started early. Dubbie Bowie scored on the Vics' very first shot, and then Hobey Baker scored on the second. Two shots, two goals! Paddy Moran did not break, however, and prevented further damage over the rest of the period. In the meantime, Ernie Russell's slick pass led to an Oliver Seibert goal that got the Bulldogs on the board.

The Dogs sought to tie things up in the second. Their task was made all the more difficult as Baker stymied Gord Roberts on every shift. A Billy McGimsie tally gave the Vics a short-lived 3-1 lead, but the Dogs picked up the pace in the second half of the frame. Rookie blueliner Frank Patrick scored his first career playoff goal to get his team within one. The Dogs tied the game moments later when Tommy Dunderdale scored on the power play. Ernie Russell assisted on both, giving him three helpers for the game. 

Just like that, the game was tied and the Bulldogs could start thinking about their second road victory of the series. Marty Walsh, however, had other plans. Early in the third, he notched his second power-play goal of the postseason to put the Vics back on top, 4-3. The Dogs found themselves unable to generate many quality chances as time slipped away. With just over a minute remaining in regulation, Moran trapped the puck to force a whistle. On the ensuing faceoff, Billy McGimsie and Bruce Stuart got tangled up and the puck floated to Newsy Lalonde. The rookie fired a deft shot that beat Moran and sent legions of Victorias fans into a frenzy. Now it was 5-3, and any chance of a Dogs comeback was now gone.

With a 2-1 series edge, the Vics now travel to the Bulldogs' home with a chance to win their third Creighton Cup if they prevail in Game 4.

Should've Played the Lottery Today

During today's futuristic Shattered Realm adventure, I saw something I hadn't seen in over thirty years of gaming: Eight consecutive rolls of a 20 on a d20! Between attack rolls and saving throws, Matthew (four) and Nathaniel (two) combined for six straight 20s. We then paused the game to see if we could keep the streak going. Matthew rolled a 20 and then another one, and only then did the streak end. Matthew calculated that the odds of that streak were 1 in 25,650,000,000!

Season 6 Creighton Cup Finals, Game 2

Game 2 wasn't literally a must-win for the Vics, but it certainly felt that way. Facing the prospect of an 0-2 deficit in this best-of-five series, the Victorias resolved to play a better all-around game.

It certainly didn't start out that way. Moments into the first period, superstar winger Gord Roberts beat Bowse Hutton to stake the hometown Bulldogs to a 1-0 lead. The Vics answered right back, however, on a goal by captain Hobey Baker. Later in the period, the Vics struck for two more quick goals, as Billy McGimsie and rookie phenom Newsy Lalonde both lit the lamp. Cyclone Taylor had assisted on all three goals, and now found himself tied with Roberts for the league lead in playoff points with five. 

A sleepy second period involved little more than a handful of power plays that all came up empty, so the score remained 3-1 for the Vics as we entered the third period. The Bulldogs, as the home team, had the benefit of the last change, so they switched their matchups to keep offensive titans Gord Roberts and Tommy Dunderdale away from the Vics' tenacious defensive forwards, Hobey Baker and Dubbie Bowie. The move paid off quickly as Oliver Seibert scored on a feed from Tom Hooper, now fully recovered from his Game 1 injury. The Dogs were within one, but Bowie scored moments later to restore the two-goal advantage. Baker scored his second of the night shortly thereafter to put the game out of reach. A penalty to Roberts led to a power-play goal by Walsh. When the clock finally put the Dogs out of their misery, the score was 6-2. 

With the series tied at 1-1, we head back to the Vics' arena for Game 3!

Season 6 Creighton Cup Finals, Game 1

They met in the finals in Season 1, when the Victorias claimed the first-ever Creighton Cup. 

They met in the finals in Season 4, when the Bulldogs exorcised their demons to claim the ultimate prize.

Now they meet again!

The league's best rivalry kicked off its latest chapter as the Victorias and Bulldogs clashed in Game 1 of the Creighton Cup Finals. Both goaltenders made strong saves in the first, with Bowse Hutton stopping Scotty Davidson on a great chance and Paddy Moran stonewalling Marty Walsh and Newsy Lalonde. Amidst all the goaltending heroics, Tom Hooper -- the double-overtime hero from the frantic wild-card game -- departed with an injury, forcing the Dogs to juggle their lines for the second straight game. As a result, they never really got going in the opening frame and found themselves in a one-goal hole when Cyclone Taylor scored in the final minute.

The scoring continued in the second. Si Griffis lit the lamp with a long slapshot to tie the game at one apiece, but Taylor restored the Vics' lead a moment later with his second goal of the evening. The Dogs bounced back again, however, on Davidson's tally. The rest of the middle period featured a parade of penalties and power plays, but neither team could manage to get the go-ahead goal. 

With the score 2-2 in the third, the teams traded shots for the first dozen minutes. Then Tommy Dunderdale slipped one past Hutton give the Bulldogs their first lead of the night. Walsh had a great chance to get the equalizer, but Moran was having none of it. The home team threw everything they had at the veteran netminder but couldn't break through, and when the horn sounded, it was 3-2 in favor of the visiting Bulldogs.

The Vics had lost only one of sixteen regular-season contests, but came up short in Game 1. Now they face the unenviable task of tying up the series on the road. If the Dogs can win Game 2 at home, they'll push the mighty Victorias to the brink.

Season 6 Wild-Card Game

The Bulldogs hosted the Comets tonight in a winner-take-all game for the right to face the top-seeded Victorias in the Creighton Cup series!

Less than two minutes into the game, Tommy Dunderdale took a pass from Bulldogs captain Si Griffis and rifled the puck past Comets netminder Percy LeSueur. The Bulldogs had a goal on their very first shot! Midway through the frame, penalties to Frank McGee and Blair Russell gave the Dogs back-to-back power plays, and Bruce Stuart scored on both occasions. It was 3-0 in favor of the Bulldogs and the Comets were reeling, but they managed to escape the first period without any further damage.

The second period was uneventful until the closing moments. The game's trajectory changed in a heartbeat when star defenseman Mike Grant, a former Playoff MVP winner, whipped the puck to Russell, who found a wide-open George Richardson for an easy score. The Comets' new captain -- Harry Trihey resigned his post a couple of weeks ago -- had given his team a jolt of energy before the break. The Dogs, meanwhile, learned that blueliner Jack Laviolette had sustained an injury late in the period that would keep him out of the rest of the game. Gord Roberts, one of the team's best defensive forwards, shifted back to defense to take Laviolette's place.

It was 3-1 in favor of the Bulldogs as we entered the third. The Comets were down by two and finding themselves in a situation that was eerily similar to when the two teams last met a week ago; in that contest, the Comets had rallied from a two-goal deficit to force a tie. Would history repeat itself? Would the Comets stage another third-period rally? 

They sure did. Early in the period, Grant found Dick Irvin in the slot. Irvin managed to get two quick shots on Paddy Moran before the puck caromed back to defenseman Jack Marshall, who threw it on goal and it somehow found its way through the traffic and past Moran's glove. Now it was 3-2 and the Dogs' fans sat in stunned silence.

Their shock turned to outright dismay mere moments later. Who else but Mike Grant would orchestrate another Comets comeback? Grant to Frank Foyston to Dick Irvin to the back of the net. The score was tied at three, and Grant had assisted on all three tallies.

Overtime.

Tensions were high on the Bulldogs bench, and it spilled over onto the ice. Tommy Dunderdale took a bad penalty, forcing Moran to bail him out with some spectacular saves. Then mild-mannered Oliver Seibert went off the box, but the Dogs killed that penalty too. Even so, the Comets dominated play in the overtime period and the Dogs were lucky to escape.

DOUBLE overtime.

I'm an old-school fan of ties, so we have ties aplenty in regular-season games. I only use OT to settle playoff games. Tonight was the first time in postseason history that a game went to double overtime. 

Once again, it was all Comets from the get-go. Grant had the game on his stick but Moran flat-out robbed him. Moments later, it was Foyston with a chance to end it, but his shot vanished into Moran's glove. At that moment, I had to put down the cards and dice and whip out the calculator. Moran had only a 21.16% chance of making both saves on those two consecutive high-danger shots. Wow! The Dogs got some good puck-luck there.

Enter Tom Hooper. The Dogs' second-line left winger was a team-worst -3 in this game and was looking for his shot at redemption. When Gord Roberts started a rush and flipped the puck to Ernie (no relation to Blair) Russell, Hooper crossed the blueline and headed for the left circle. He one-timed Russell's pass and beat a diving LeSueur to the short side. 

Bulldogs win, 4-3, double OT. After squandering a three-goal lead, the Dogs will be moving on to the  best-of-five Creighton Cup Finals against the Victorias. 

As for the Comets, they've now lost the wild-card game two years in a row, both in overtime. In fact, all three wild-card games in league history (for seasons 4, 5, and 6) have gone to overtime. Ever since I expanded the playoffs to three teams after the Millionaires joined the league as our fifth franchise, the wild card has been an exciting way to determine the first-place team's opponent in the finals. 

Sadly, this was the last wild-card game. Next year, after we add our sixth team, I will expand the playoffs to four teams, with two rounds of best-of-five play. Farwell, wild-card game! You certainly went out on a high note!

Season 6 Wrap-Up

With the regular season now in the books, we turn to the playoffs. First, however, I wanted to reflect on a historic Season 6 and some key notes from each of the franchises.

1. Victorias (10-1-5)

It was a return to form for the venerable Vics, who surged to the top of the standings thanks to the slick playmaking of offensive defenseman Cyclone Taylor (7 G, 21 A), who won his fourth scoring title in six years. The bigger story, perhaps, was the wildly successful rookie season of phenom Newsy Lalonde, the first overall pick of the last player draft; Lalonde finished third in the league in both goals (12) and total points (25). The Vics also received stellar netminding from Bowse Hutton, whose 2.06 goals-against average and .935 save percentage set single-season records. All told, it's hardly surprising that this team had a 13-game unbeaten streak, lost just once all year, and posted a +21 goal differential that was the best ever.

2. Bulldogs (9-5-2)

Though ravaged by injuries, the Bulldogs performed admirably, and their +9 goal differential was second only to the Vics' +21. Gord Roberts absolutely dominated with an 18-goal campaign that tied Frank McGee's single-season goal-scoring record, set way back in Season 2. Rookie blueliner Frank Patrick (5 G, 12 A, +8) had an all-around excellent season, giving the Dogs the true number-one defenseman they've lacked all these years.

3. Comets (6-7-3)

This team somehow made the playoffs despite a -11 goal differential and arguably the worst five-on-five play of any team this year. How did they do it? Their power play clicked at a devastating 32.56%, the second-best single-season percentage in history. The Comets received offensive contributions from up and down the lineup, led by ace forward Frank McGee, who electrified crowds en route to finishing second in the league with 16 goals. On a more bittersweet note, Harry Trihey, no longer skilled enough to be an everyday player, handed over his captaincy to quiet star George Richardson.

4. Millionaires (4-8-4)

Last year's Creighton Cup champions tumbled to fourth place, although on the basis of goal differential (-3), they seem to have suffered from bad luck and probably deserved to finish third. Jimmy Gardner (9 G, 15 A) had an MVP-caliber season, and stars like Barney Stanley and Hugh Lehman performed very well, but the Millies got almost nothing from their supporting cast, and their woeful power play (12.96%) was the worst of all time. Moreover, a couple of late-third-period penalties by hotheaded Billy Gilmour turned two potential ties into losses.

5. Thistles (3-11-2)

Three straight postseason appearances came to a screeching halt as the Thistles dropped from first place into the cellar. Along the way, the Thistles racked up the most losses (11) and worst goal differential (-16) in league history. Dan Bain contended for a scoring title (6 G, 16 A) and Alf Smith's 11 goals placed him fourth overall in that category, but there's not much else that can be said. This team just flat-out stunk it up.

Halgrim Eliminated!

We've continued our Cursed City campaign while the boys were off from school and I was enjoying a brief respite from work over the holidays. Today we hit a milestone by eliminating the mighty skeleton Captain Halgrim, one of the chief lieutenants of the vampire lord Radukar. We had battled Halgrim before on many occasions, but like all of Radukar's inner circle, the captain could not be slain permanently without first destroying the phylacteries that contain his life essence. 

In today's mission, we stormed Halgrim's lair with the intent of smashing those phylacteries. Two squads of skeletons stood in our path. While Nathaniel's sturdy dwarf engaged the skeletons on our left flank,  Matthew's sniper quickly eliminated those on our right, clearing a path for my swift swordsman to circle around to the rear of the lair. Nathaniel destroyed one of the three phylacteries while continuing to draw all the remaining enemies, including Halgrim himself, and withstood a spirited attack from the undead defenders. Meanwhile, I smashed the other two phylacteries and, on my next turn, attacked Halgrim from the rear. Using every last trick on my character sheet, I managed to bring down the skeletal warlord in a single round. 

Next up, we'll be seeking the lair of Gorslav the Gravekeeper, my personal favorite of the Cursed City rogue's gallery. In addition to his mastery over all zombies, he wields a huge shovel, which he can use to attack you or literally bury you alive!

Defense of Vigilus

I've never really been a fan of Risk, as I found games from the Axis & Allies family to be a bit more interesting, but I picked up a copy of the Warhammer 40k version of Risk for Nathaniel for Christmas. The boys had never experienced Risk in any form and found it to be a fast and fun gaming experience; meanwhile, I was pleased to see a few new tactical elements in this version, such as unique abilities for faction commanders and major and minor objectives that confer useful rewards upon completion. 

We recruited Amy for a full family game today, and it took up a good chunk of the afternoon. Nathaniel played as the Ultramarines (big surprise there!), Matthew led the Chaos Space Marines (the orange minis in the image below), I was the Orks (green), and Amy was the Genestealer Cults faction (purple). 

Matthew and Nathaniel each conquered continents early on, giving them significant advantages in reinforcements. I held a continent in the center of the map for a good chunk of time, but ended up taking hits from all directions, while Amy's poor Genestealers were gradually pushed back into the hinterlands. It ended up being a back-and-forth conflict between the boys, with Nathaniel consistently having the upper hand yet unable to deliver the knockout blow. 

Finally, it came down to a battle of two single units, one Ultramarines and one Chaos. If Matthew prevailed, he'd get massive reinforcements on his next turn and would have a great opportunity to push deep into Nathaniel's territory. If Nathaniel prevailed, he'd earn his final objective and win outright. After Matthew dragged out the moment for maximum drama (admittedly, with a great deal of help from me), they made their rolls and Nathaniel vanquished the heretics to win the game.

Above is a photo of the map from the final turn. At the top, you can see Amy pointing to her one remaining unit of Genestealers, who survived the war and may yet live on to infect civilizations elsewhere in the galaxy...

It's a Sanguinala Miracle!

I'm not sure which game I like better, Blackstone Fortress or Cursed City. They use the same basic mechanics, but while Blackstone is so perfectly elegant in its simplicity, the more complex Cursed City offers greater opportunity for long-term character development. They're both awesome in their own ways, and the only downside to either of them is that Games Workshop seemed to have abandoned this line earlier this year. They ended any further Blackstone supplements and then, when Cursed City was released this spring, it was abruptly discontinued. Only a lucky few of us -- thank you, Millennium Games! -- managed to snag a copy of this red-boxed beauty. 

Fast-forward to today: CURSED CITY IS COMING BACK!!! Not only is the core game being re-released in 2022, there will be expansion sets to continue the adventure. Huzzah!

Halfway to History

I've reached the midpoint of Season 6 in my historical hockey league, and it's likely a lot of records will be set and milestones will be reached before the Creighton Cup is awarded. Here are some key developments as we head down the stretch...

• At 5-0-3, the Victorias are solidly in first place, and their eight-game unbeaten streak is two shy of the league record. They're first in goals per game and goals against per game, and second in power-play percentage and penalty-killing percentage. My favorite stat, however, is that the Vics' goal differential of +13 is 14 better than the next-best team; that's right, every other team in the league has a negative goal differential right now. For what it's worth, the Bulldogs and Comets would also reach the postseason if the playoff started today, but it looks very much like the Vics will obliterate the competition en route to their third cup and first since they won back-to-back titles in Seasons 1 and 2.
• A major contributor to the Vics' success is rookie winger Newsy Lalonde (5 G, 9 A, +5). He's tied for second in the league in points (with last year's Forward MVP, Barney Stanley) and just two points behind league leader and teammate Cyclone Taylor. Lalonde has been magnificent, but he's far from a guarantee to win Rookie of the Year, as Comets pivot Dick Irvin (5 G, 7 A, -3) is right on his heels. 
• Two-time Forward MVP Frank McGee is off to a scorching start for the Comets. He shifted from center to left wing this season to accommodate the arrival of rookie center Irvin, and any fears of a learning curve for his new position were clearly unfounded. With ten goals in eight games, he's on pace to break his own single-season record of 18 goals. Along the way, McGee has also passed Cyclone Taylor as the league's all-time leader in goals scored. At this writing, he's sitting on 68 career goals, three ahead of star rover Taylor.

Welcome, Bud!

Another nineteenth-century ballplayer has been elected to the Hall of Fame, so my Strat-O-Matic league will add another player for next season. Welcome, Bud Fowler!

Level Up!

This weekend in Cursed City, our heroes scoured the ruined manor house of my character, Glaurio, in search of loot to fund our resistance movement against the city's vampiric overlord, Radukar the Wolf. (Along the way, we discovered a mysterious and obviously very important tapestry, but I guess that's something that will be explained later!) When we finished the mission, our three main characters all leveled up. It's awesome to have a (non-Gloomhaven) a board game that allows you to play a character who grows and evolves over the course of the campaign, just like a real RPG. 

The only wrinkle is that our shared characters -- we started with one in order to get us to the requisite four-character party, but added another one this weekend -- haven't leveled up yet, so we'll need to undertake more missions over the course of the campaign in order for them to keep pace with the three main heroes. To the boys, however, that's a feature, not a defect, because it gives us more playing time -- it felt like we finished Blackstone Fortress far too quickly!

Into the City We Go!

What better way to spend my birthday than battling hordes of undead with my kids? We started Cursed City this afternoon and played through the first mission. Our initial party consists of (from left to right) the mage Octren (a shared character, since four are needed for a full party), Nathaniel's dwarf Dagnai, my swordfighter Glaurio, and Matthew's sneaky sniper Jelsen.

Ready Or Not, Ulfenkarn, Here We Come!

With a couple of days off coming up, now's the time for us to jump into Cursed City. Sadly, I'm not well prepared; I've painted four of the eight playable heroes -- just barely enough to field a full party -- and I've only skimmed the rulebook. The game mechanics are similar enough to Blackstone Fortress that I think the boys and I should pick it up quickly, but there are a number of small differences that may well cause confusion. Even so, I'm excited to get started after carting this game all the way back to Nevada from Millennium Games. Expect to see regular updates on our progress as we attempt to eradicate the scourge of the undead from the shadowy streets of Ulfenkarn!

Season 6 Is Underway!

The Thistles' Alf Smith beat Bulldogs goaltender Paddy Moran on the very first shot of the first game of the season. It's been non-stop action ever since! Below are some interesting developments from the first quarter of the season.

• The Bulldogs (3-1-0) and Victorias (2-0-2) sit atop the league standings after both missed the playoffs last season. The Dogs have allowed as many goals as they've scored, so they owe a bit of their success to Lady Luck; the Vics, on the other hand, sport a league-best +6 goal differential. 
• The Thistles may be in the cellar (1-3-0), but their top line of Dan Bain (2 G, 6 A), Alf Smith (3 G, 4 A), and Tommy Phillips (2 G, 5 A) has been the hottest in the league. 
• This year's freshman class has taken the league by storm. We might well have two rookies -- the Comets' Dick Irvin and the Vics' Newsy Lalonde -- finish in the league's top ten in scoring. For context, no rookie has ever finished among the top ten point producers.
• The Millionaires (1-2-1), the reigning Creighton Cup champions, are scuffling a bit despite fan-favorite winger Jimmy Gardner's league-leading five goals and last year's Forward MVP, Barney Stanley, creditably defending his trophy. No doubt the Millies would be higher up in the standings if not for the goonery of winger Billy Gilmour, whom the team acquired prior to the start of the season. In both of the Millies' losses to date, Gilmour has taken a boneheaded penalty late in the third period, and in both cases it resulted in a power play goal for the other team. Gilmour has quickly become the team's resident goat, and he'll undoubtedly be left unprotected in the expansion draft coming up after the season ends.

One Giant Headache

The boys and I switched back to D&D after completing Blackstone Fortress, looking to move our Shattered Realm campaign forward prior to taking another hiatus when we begin Cursed City later this month.

When last we left our intrepid Shattered Realm heroes, they had just liberated that eponymous realm from the grip of hostile invaders from the Empire of Letavia. The heroes then worked with the disparate communities of the realm to forge a new, unified country -- hey, it's no longer a shattered realm! -- and Nathaniel's sagacious druid Vabaran was elected as one of the fledgling nation's leaders.

We picked up the storyline a year later (in game time) with the arrival of a Letavian ambassador requesting that the heroes come to their capital city and meet face-to-face with their new queen, the eight-year-old daughter of the king whom the heroes had defeated and captured the previous year. Although suspicious, the heroes journeyed to distant Letavia and negotiated a non-aggression treaty with young Queen Aveta, but they remained steadfast in their refusal to return her imprisoned father because of their concerns about the empire's warlike culture and bloody history. Among other things, they had learned that much of Letavia's wealth came from a civilization of giants whom the Letavians had annhilated centuries earlier. 

Despite lingering doubts about the long-term prospects for peace with imperialistic Letavia, Nathaniel was pleased that he had led these efforts to broker a pact between the two nations. Of course, since I'm the DM and I love a good plot twist, it can't be that easy. 

During a brief coda to the aforementioned adventure, the heroes visited a cloud giant to whom Matthew's rogue Sisen owed a debt for inadvertently damaging her cloudtop palace (it's a long story, and, yes, magic beans were involved). While paying off the debt, the heroes happened to mention that Letavia was now in a weakened state and ruled by a child. This cloud giant, old enough to remember the harm inflicted upon her people by Letavia ages ago, immediately vowed to rally her fellow giants and embark upon a war of revenge against Letavia.

What now? Will the heroes help their former (and possibly future) enemies, even if it means risking the wrath of the giants and putting their own young nation at risk?

Rosters Are Set!

I haven't been able to start Season 6 of my hockey league yet -- blame a lot of Games Workshop-related painting -- but at least now the rosters are finalized. Not sure when I'll get around to dropping the puck, but in the meantime, below are my way-too-early predictions for the regular season standings, along with each team's new faces.

1. Victorias

I'm calling it here, folks: The league's most successful franchise will rise all the way out of the cellar and regain their customary spot at the top of the standings.

Additions: Newsy Lalonde, RW (draft); Harvey Pulford, D (free agent)

2. Thistles

Despite no major changes to their lineup, the league's most balanced team should make the playoffs for a fourth straight season.

Additions: Angus Campbell, LW (draft)

3. Millionaires

The defending champs might suffer a bit of regression, but their high-octane offense is going to make them a lot of fun to watch -- especially with sparkplug winger Billy Gilmour now on the roster.

Additions: Herb Gardiner, D (draft); Billy Gilmour, RW (trade with Comets)

4. Comets

After a surprise postseason appearance, the Comets made a lot of moves, but will it be enough to crack the top three and snag another playoff spot?  

Additions: Dick Irvin, C (draft); Jack Gibson, D (free agent); Rusty Crawford, RW (trade with Millionaires)

5. Bulldogs

Goaltender Paddy Moran needs to rebound from a tough season, because the devastating top line of Gord Roberts, Bruce Stuart, and Tommy Dunderdale can't win games all by themselves. 

Additions: Frank Patrick, D (draft); Ernie Russell, RW (free agent)

The Hidden Vault

It's been a long and harrowing journey, but our intrepid heroes of the 41st millennium at last reached the inner sanctum of the mysterious Blackstone Fortress, a place called the Hidden Vault. Although our luck hasn't always been great -- due to an inauspicious draw from the Legacy deck, for instance, we'd been hounded by the leader of the villains since very early in the campaign -- the Emperor was truly with us when we entered the Vault, because out of four possible enemy groups, only two of them actually spawned. 

We knew that enemy reinforcements would arrive soon enough, so we spent our first turn hustling across the map to take up a defensive position around our objective, an ancient computer terminal that must be accessed three times on three different rounds; at that point, we would earn the right to open the game's sealed envelope and learn what happens next. 

It was incredibly fortunate that we were able to get to the computer and access it on the very first turn of the game. Below is a snapshot of the board at the end of that turn. The long pinkish line represents the deadly beam of a rotating laser turret that destroys anything it hits.

The second round was largely uneventful; we dealt with a handful of foes and waited for more to show up. We then accessed the computer a second time, leaving just one more activation to go.

Next round, we continued to hold our position as negavolt cultists and traitor guardsmen rushed in toward us. We cut down our enemies in droves, and only one lasgun-wielding trooper remained standing when the round came to a close. We accessed the computer for a third and final time, with Nathaniel's character Pious Vorne -- the flamer-wielding acolyte -- pressing the final button.

We were now allowed to open the sealed envelope that was included in the box and has been tantalizing us since we began our journey. Nathaniel, as the biggest 40k fan in our family, was given the honor of tearing into it.

And what was in the envelope? Sorry, no spoilers! I won't reveal anything specific, just that a double-sided card provided the game's concluding narrative as well as our reward for conquering the Hidden Vault.

And what about Pious Vorne, the hero who accessed the computer on the third turn? Well, she was sucked into the...oh, right, spoilers!

Anyway, we all agreed that the game's ending was a bit abrupt and anticlimactic from a narrative standpoint, but we thoroughly enjoyed the game and look forward to jumping into its spiritual successor, Cursed City.

Don't Forget!

It's Free RPG Day!

Free RPG Day 2021

Free RPG Day is coming up this Saturday, October 16!

Season 6 Draft

Season 6 officially gets underway with today's player entry draft. Each franchise selects one historical Hall of Famer to add to their roster, although they're allowed to trade picks for players. The teams select in reverse order of their Season 5 regular-season finish and can make trades to move up or down in that order.

1. Victorias: Newsy Lalonde, C/RW

Lalonde, the most exciting player in this draft class, is a generational talent brimming with offensive potential. It's a match made in heaven for the Vics, who are in dire need of help after scoring a league-worst 2.44 goals per game last year. Lalonde gives them another weapon to support the legendary Cyclone Taylor, who either scored or assisted on an astounding 77% of the Vics' goals in Season 5. 

2. Bulldogs: Frank Patrick, D

The Dogs continued their long tradition of drafting defensemen, and Patrick may be the best one they've ever nabbed. He's a two-way defender in the style of Mike Grant or Hod Stuart, and he should give the Bulldogs what they thought they were getting when Jack Laviolette's strong rookie campaign in Season 4 turned out to be a mirage.

3. Comets: Dick Irvin, C

It's rare for playoff teams to get an impact player in the draft, but this draft is so deep that Irvin fell to the Comets with the #3 pick. In other seasons, the multitalented Irvin might have gone first overall. Irvin profiles as a number-one center, and his arrival should push superstar Frank McGee from center to left wing, where his defensive deficiencies and faceoff ineptitude will no longer hurt his team. I love this pick for the Comets, but they still need to find a way to address their league-worst penalty kill.

4. Millionaires: Herb Gardiner, D

The defending champions scored a league-leading 3.13 goals per game in Season 5, with defensemen Graham Drinkwater and Art Farrell quarterbacking this potent attack. What the Millies really needed was a good stay-at-home defenseman who doesn't take quite as many penalties as Joe Hall, and their wish came true when they picked up the steady, level-headed Gardiner. 

5. Thistles: Angus Campbell, LW

The first-place Thistles get stuck with Campbell, a player they'll likely cut after giving him a two- or three-game tryout. Campbell might find a home with next year's expansion team, but at the moment he profiles as the worst forward in the league.

With these new players in place, the teams can now sign free agents and make further trades. Ultimately, they will trim their rosters down to this season's maximum (12 players, 10 of whom can dress for a game). Once those rosters are set, I'll begin the season!

Cursed City

We made a cross-country drive last week for less-than-great reasons, but one upshot of this journey was that the boys and I got to spend a pleasant hour perusing the amply laden shelves of Millennium Games. We all came away with new goodies, but I'm especially pleased to have landed a copy of the hard-to-find Cursed City, a spiritual successor to Blackstone Fortress (in that it uses the same game engine) but taking place in the setting of Warhammer Age of Sigmar.

I cannot wait to dig into this beast of a box! The boys and I are nearing completion of Blackstone, so it will be awesome to have a similar game to jump into once we're finished.

Hockey Time!

I'm now gearing up for Season 6 of my pre-NHL historical Strat-O-Matic hockey league. Last season, the Millionaires captured their first Creighton Cup title by upsetting the favored Thistles. As for the other teams, the Victorias and Bulldogs both cratered after meeting in the finals the year before, while the Comets surged to a playoff spot despite being in the cellar for most of the season. 

Some key storylines for Season 6:

• Deep draft: This year's draft is the deepest we've ever seen, with three star-to-franchise-level players, one solid regular, and one -- ahem -- organizational player. The Vics own the first pick and will likely select Newsy Lalonde, a dominant offensive force. 
• Wheeling and dealing: Given the strength of the new talent entering the league, it's not out of the question that teams might make big trades to acquire additional picks. I've been mulling scenarios in which the Vics might trade a star like Cyclone Taylor or Bowse Hutton under the right circumstances. Would they, for example, take the third overall pick (most likely to get potential first-line center Dick Irvin) plus star blueliner Mike Grant in exchange for Taylor?
• Expansion looms: We introduced the Millionaires as our first expansion team back in Season 4. The next expansion team (which I haven't named yet) will arrive in Season 7. As such, the existing teams will need to plan for an expansion draft at the end of this season. All teams will lose two players to the new franchise. There are quite a few surplus forwards out there, but capable defensemen will be worth their weight in gold as teams decide which players to protect or expose.
• Desperation time: After falling to the Millies in the finals, the Thistles are now the only team that has not yet won a Creighton Cup. They were a rather dysfunctional franchise over their first couple of seasons, but now have made the playoffs for three years in a row. Can they finally seal the deal, or will rebuilding teams like the Comets and Vics overtake them?

Next up, the player entry draft...and any trades that might accompany it...

Season 6 Awards

Another season in the books! As always, the final step is to award our top performers.

Position Player MVP: Ed Delahanty, Canaries

Although the probabilities on my Strat cards tell me in black and white that Billy Hamilton has the best on-base percentage of all my nineteenth-century players, I say there's no tougher out in this league than Ed Delahanty. This perennial MVP finalist at last claimed the award for himself. In Season 6, Delahanty reached base more often than any other player, led the league in homers, took over the all-time home-run lead, and played error-free ball in left field. The Canaries may have finished in last place, but not because of this guy. Blue Legs first baseman Dan Brouthers and Delahanty's teammate Tommy McCarthy finished second and third, respectively.

Pitcher MVP: Old Hoss Radbourn, Blue Legs

Over the past couple of seasons, Radbourn has emerged as one of the league's top starters. He already owns a Playoff MVP trophy (despite his team losing in the playoffs, no less!) and now he joins the ranks of Pitcher MVP winners. Radbourn went 7-2 with a shutout, leading the league in wins and finishing second in innings pitched. His league-leading 2.42 ERA was a half-run better than the 2.90 ERA posted by runner-up Christy Mathewson of the Resolutes. Haymakers legend Cy Young finished third.

Playoff MVP: John McGraw, Resolutes

The Resolutes' win was a true team effort. Christy Mathewson and John Clarkson delivered dominant pitching performances, and position players like Frank Grant, Pete Hill, and Fred Clarke came through with clutch hits. No single player carried this team, but one demonstrated remarkable consistency over the five-game series. Third baseman John McGraw was an offensive catalyst whose four extra-base hits (a double and three triples) were more than any other player, even Big Dan Brouthers of the Blue Legs.

Season 6 Championship, Game 5

Season 6 is over, and we've crowned a new champion. Resolutes or Blue Legs? Recap below!

It was apparent right from the start that Radbourn and Clarkson both had their best stuff working. Radbourn's only mistake was grooving a pitch that Jake Beckley mashed for a triple in the second. Beckley scored on Frank Grant's sacrifice fly, giving the Resolutes an early 1-0 lead.

After that score, the pitchers settled in for a fearsome duel. Baserunners were few and far between, and the game moved quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was the bottom of the sixth and Pete Hill had just singled. Hill dashed for second, but King Kelly -- healthy once more -- gunned him down with a perfect throw. The Resolutes failed to steal a base in this game after swiping five against Frank Chance in Game 4.

The score remained 1-0, but the Blue Legs had a golden opportunity in the top of the seventh with runners at the corners and only one out. Hughie Jennings, however, bounced the ball weakly toward first, allowing Beckley to field it cleanly. The big first baseman stepped on the bag and threw to second base to execute the rare and exciting 3-6 double play. Clarkson had escaped the jam, and was now six outs away from matching his understudy, Christy Mathewson, who had authored the league's first-ever playoff shutout in the previous contest.

With the pitcher's spot leading off in the eighth, the Blue Legs lifted Radbourn for a pinch hitter. Radbourn had given them seven innings of one-run ball, but Clarkson had been just that much better. After pinch hitter Chance failed to reach base, Billy Hamilton singled and soon was bolting for second. He had absolutely owned Connie Mack all through this series, but Mack threw him out in this absolutely pivotal moment. 

Al Spalding came in to pitch for the Legs and got three quick outs in the bottom of the eighth, setting the stage for a ninth inning that would determine the fate of two franchises. Nap Lajoie, Dan Brouthers, and King Kelly were next in line for the desperate Blue Legs, for whom a 1-0 deficit had never seemed so insurmountable. Lajoie grounded out and then Brouthers flied out to center. No game-winning homer for him tonight. The Blue Legs were down to their final out. Star catcher King Kelly lofted one into right field, and it fell harmlessly into the glove of Elmer Flick.

Game over. The Resolutes are champions!

We didn't get our first playoff shutout until Season 6. Turns out it would only take one more game to get the next one. Baseball is funny that way! On a related note, the key number for this series is 18; since winning Game 3 on Big Dan's walk-off bomb, the league's best offense went 18 straight innings without scoring a run. That, my friends, was a pretty epic collapse. Even so, I have to hand it to the Resolutes, who beat the odds and truly earned this championship.

Eldrith Eliminated

Nathaniel and I have been playing Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance on Xbox on and off for the past five months or so. Today we finally beat the game, defeating the evil undead warlord Eldrith, architect of the titular dark alliance. It may be twenty years old, but the game aged well and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Game 5 Preview

Blue Legs. Resolutes. Game 5.

It all comes down to this. 

Their backs against the wall and staring at elimination, the Resolutes played their most complete game of the year, humiliating the hometown Blue Legs and setting the stage for what may be the biggest ballgame in the history of this league. The Resolutes have home-field advantage for the fifth and final game of the series, and they'll send ace John Clarkson back to the mound, opposed once again by his Blue Legs counterpart, Old Hoss Radbourn.

Some key storylines to watch:

• The King Is Back: Blue Legs catcher King Kelly returns to the lineup, and not a moment too soon. Frank Chance struggled mightily while Kelly was injured, allowing stolen bases on five out of six attempts. 
• Brouthers in Arms: Big boppers Nap Lajoie, Dan Brouthers, and Sam Crawford need to step it up. Brouthers was probably the leading candidate for Playoff MVP prior to the Legs' disastrous Game 4 loss. 
• Where's Clark(e) Kent?: Fred Clarke has a Clark Kent-esque ability to remain unnoticed until he appears to save the day in key moments, like he did in Game 1. The Resolutes will need Clarke to morph into Superman again in Game 5.
• Muggsy's Revenge: Resolutes rookie John McGraw got off to a slow start in his first season in this league. I viewed him as a potential leadoff man, but ultimately moved him down to second, seventh, eighth, and then right back to the bench after he started his career 0-for-19. His play gradually improved over the course of the season, but McGraw has really kicked it up a notch in the playoffs with four extra-base hits, including three triples. A stealth MVP candidate, perhaps?

Who will be the hero? Who will be the goat? I can't wait to find out!

Season 6 Championship, Game 4

With the Resolutes on the road and facing elimination, the second-year franchise turned to rookie pitcher Christy Mathewson to keep their season alive. Mathewson was a hard-luck loser in Game 2, but could he rebound and save his team in a do-or-die Game 4? Read on to find out!

Pud Galvin got two quick outs in the top of the first, but Fred Clarke hit a liner that Sam Crawford misplayed, giving the Resolutes a man on second and an opportunity to score early in the game. They didn't waste it. Clarke scored easily on a single by Jake Beckley.

In the top of the third, Blue Legs fans got a preview of things to come when Pete Hill broke for second. The throw by Frank Chance -- behind the plate because of King Kelly's injury -- was way off the mark. The Resolutes had the green light to run, and ended up stealing five bases over the course of the game. Hill scored moments later on Elmer Flick's single, giving the visitors a 2-0 edge.

The Resolutes continued to nickel-and-dime Galvin in the middle innings. Monte Ward scored on Hill's single in the fifth, and Frank Grant scored on John McGraw's triple in the sixth. It was now 4-0. The Legs, meanwhile, could muster nothing against Mathewson. 

Desperate for baserunners, the Legs pulled Galvin in the bottom of the seventh for a pinch hitter, but to no avail. Vic Willis entered in the top of the eighth to stop the bleeding, but immediately issued free passes to Clarke and Beckley. Grant's triple plated both men, running the score up to 6-0. McGraw's groundout brought Grant home, and a shell-shocked Willis could only stare in disbelief at a scoreboard that read 7-0 for the visiting Resolutes. The Blue Legs' dreams of winning the championship on their home field were quickly disintegrating.

The outcome of the game was not in doubt, but could Mathewson make history with the league's first playoff shutout? A couple of postseasons ago, Galvin took a shutout into the ninth inning but couldn't seal the deal. Now it was Mathewson's turn. Crawford was the first batter, and he went down quickly on strikes. Chance flied out to left for the second out. Now it was up to power-hitting third baseman Jimmy Collins to keep the Legs' hopes alive. The rookie was having none of it. He struck out Collins to notch the first shutout of his career and the first postseason shutout ever. 

The series is tied at two games apiece and going back to the Resolutes' home for the decisive fifth game!

Season 6 Championship, Game 3

Old Hoss Radbourn and John Clarkson toed the rubber in this rematch of our Game 1 starters. Unlike the previous two games of this series, the first inning was quick and scoreless. We did see some action in the second, however, when Resolutes third baseman John McGraw doubled -- his third extra-base hit of the playoffs -- and Clarkson later singled him home. The Legs struck back in their half of the frame; King Kelly singled, stole second, and scored on Sam Crawford's base knock. 

Speed has been such a critical factor in this series, and next it was the Resolutes' turn to score after a single and stolen base. In the fourth, Elmer Flick ran himself into scoring position and came home on a liner by Frank Grant. 

That play gave the Resolutes a 2-1 lead, but it was quickly overshadowed by a potentially series-changing injury. Before the fourth was over, Blue Legs catcher King Kelly would leave the game with an injury. Dr. Dee Twenty's prognosis is that Kelly will miss Game 4 as well. Up to this point, I would have rated Kelly -- a middle-of-the-order bat with great speed -- as the Legs' leading contender for Playoff MVP. Now he'll be on the sidelines with Frank Chance suiting up in the tools of ignorance. Chance is a solid hitter but a poor receiver, and the Legs have no one else on their roster who's rated at the catcher position. Ouch! Resolutes speedsters like McGraw, Grant, Flick, Pete Hill, and Monte Ward are going to run wild with Chance behind the plate. 

The Resolutes added to their lead in the top of the sixth. Connie Mack doubled into the gap and later scored on Hill's single. It was now 3-1 for the visitors, but the potent Blue Legs offense was about to awaken from its game-long slumber.

When the eighth inning came around, I put myself in the cleats of the Resolutes' manager and had a critical decision to make. Would I leave Clarkson in to get three more outs, or pull him out and see if submariner Joe McGinnity could get a two-inning save? I decided to stick with the starter, but my decision quickly backfired when pinch hitter Harry Wright singled to open the frame. Billy Hamilton walked, giving the Legs two on with nobody out. After Wee Willie Keeler went down on strikes, Nap Lajoie smacked an RBI single to make it 3-2. The next batter was Big Dan Brouthers, who tied the game with a sacrifice fly. 

We went into the ninth with the game tied at 3 and the series tied at 1. Al Spalding took over for Radbourn while Clarkson continued to throw for the Resolutes. Both pitchers worked a scoreless ninth. Then, in the bottom of the tenth, Keeler singled with one out and swiped second. Lajoie grounded out, bringing up Brouthers with two outs and the winning run in scoring position. The pitch from Clarkson was a curveball that didn't have quite enough bite. Brouthers launched it to right field and leaped for joy in unison with the Blue Legs fans as the ball sailed into the bleachers for a game-winning home run. 

That, folks, was our first-ever walk-off homer -- or first walk-off hit of any sort -- in a playoff contest, as well as just the second postseason game to go to extra innings. The final score was 5-3 for the Blue Legs, and now with back-to-back wins, this team can secure a Creighton Cup championship with one more victory in either Game 4 or, if necessary, a winner-take-all Game 5.

Season 6 Championship, Game 2

Down by a game in this best-of-five series and starting to feel the urgency, the Blue Legs came out swinging against rookie phenom Christy Mathewson. Billy Hamilton singled and snagged second, later scoring on a sacrifice fly from second baseman and captain Nap Lajoie, who was now back in the lineup after recovering from his injury. Dan Brouthers doubled to keep the inning alive and then scored on a single by King Kelly. 

The Legs handed Pud Galvin a 2-0 lead when the veteran took the mound in the bottom of the first. That lead was quickly cut in half by Resolutes leadoff man Pete Hill, who homered on the first pitch. Galvin got three quick outs after that, and it was a 2-1 Blue Legs lead heading into the second inning.

The next several innings passed quickly as the pitchers mowed down their opposing lineups. In the top of the sixth, Kelly led off with a single and stole second. (Connie Mack's inability to throw out the speedy Blue Legs baserunners has been a recurring theme throughout the series so far.) Kelly scored on a single by Jimmy Collins to give the Legs a two-run cushion.

The visitors threatened again in the top of the eighth. They lifted Galvin for pinch hitter extraordinaire Frank Chance, but failed to score. With their starter out of the game, the Legs turned to closer Vic Willis to give them a two-inning save. He retired the Resolutes in order in the eighth and, despite Fred Clarke's triple making things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, the Legs held on for a 3-1 victory to tie the series at one game apiece. Next up, we travel to the Blue Legs' home for Games 3 and 4.

Season 6 Championship, Game 1

Playoff baseball is back! The top-seeded Resolutes are in the Creighton Cup Series for the first time in their brief history, while the Blue Legs are in the Series for the second year in a row -- but they haven't won a championship since way back in Season 1. 

Game 1 got underway with home-team ace John Clarkson against the Legs' leadoff man, Billy Hamilton. Hamilton managed to work a walk, then promptly stole second. Two batters later, Big Dan Brouthers brought him home with a booming triple. The Legs extended that lead in the second when Hamilton's double scored Hughie Jennings and Harry Wright to make it 3-0 in favor of the visitors. 

Old Hoss Radbourn, meanwhile, cruised through the first three innings. He ran into trouble in the fourth, when third baseman John McGraw tripled with one out. Connie Mack doubled him home to give the Resolutes their first-ever postseason run. Monte Ward singled to put runners at the corners, bringing Clarkson himself to the plate. The game's best-hitting pitcher crushed one deep to the outfield, but had to settle for a sacrifice fly. Pete Hill then grounded out, so after four innings the Blue Legs were ahead by a slim 3-2 margin.

Not for long. In the bottom of the fifth, Orator Jim O'Rourke -- playing first base for the injured Jake Beckley -- led off with a double. Elmer Flick popped out, bringing up Fred Clarke, the Resolutes' most prolific slugger. Clarke belted Radbourn's pitch into the right-field seats, turning a one-run deficit into a one-run lead. It was the first playoff home run for the Resolutes, and it came from the very same man who hit the team's first regular-season homer way back on Opening Day of Season 5. 

Both pitchers buckled down in the late innings and traded zeroes until we reached the top of the ninth, with the Resolutes clinging to a one-run lead. Jennings and Wright went down quickly, bringing up the pitcher's spot. With two outs and no one on base, the Legs turned to pinch hitter Frank Chance. Clarkson, meanwhile, needed just one out to secure a complete-game victory. Chance smashed Clarkson's offering into the right-field corner, legging out a triple to silence the home team's fans. Now the tying run was ninety feet away and Hamilton dug in with the game on his bat. He smoked an opposite-field line drive to left, where Fred Clarke -- he of the earlier home run heroics -- had the opportunity to make a highlight-reel catch to end the game. 

It all came down to a single d20. I made the roll, Clarke made the grab, and Game 1 ended with a 4-3 victory for the Resolutes. Game 2, featuring Christy Mathewson against Pud Galvin, is on tap.

Season 6 Creighton Cup Preview

A Creighton Cup Series without the Haymakers? Here we are in Season 6, and for the first time ever, the league's most storied franchise will not be competing for the title. Instead, we have the first-place Resolutes and the second-place Blue Legs vying for the championship. It's been a fun and interesting season, and I fully expect a great series ahead! Let's see how the teams match up.

Offense

• Blue Legs: This deep, balanced lineup scored at a league-high rate of 4.29 runs per game. Slugging first baseman Dan Brouthers had a great (but injury-marred) season and could be a difference-maker in this series. He's flanked in the batting order by fellow stars Nap Lajoie and King Kelly. 
• Resolutes: At 3.21 runs per game, the Resolutes not only had the worst offense in the league this year, it was among the lowest scoring rates in league history. On a not-unrelated note, the Resolutes hit a league-low four home runs as a team; Brouthers alone had three for the Legs. Fred Clarke is the most likely Resolute to put up big offensive numbers, but I'm also keeping an eye on super-sub Jim O'Rourke, who's been swinging a hot bat this year in limited playing time.
• Advantage: Blue Legs

Defense

• Blue Legs: The Legs have never been known as a great defensive team, but somehow they managed to rank as the second-best on defense after the sure-handed Canaries. Hughie Jennings ranked as the league's top defensive shortstop this season, and catcher King Kelly turned in an uncharacteristically strong performance. 
• Resolutes: Technically, the Resolutes were right behind the Blue Legs as the third-best defensive team, but the gap between the two was significant. Their problems were entirely in the infield, as their three everyday outfielders (Pete Hill, Fred Clarke, and Elmer Flick) all played flawlessly.
• Advantage: Blue Legs

Pitching

• Blue Legs: The team allowed 3.88 runs per game, which is a so-so mark for this league. It would have been a lot worse without Old Hoss Radbourn, who went 7-2 with a league-best 2.42 ERA. Radbourn is a true ace, and he's backed up by a solid #2 in Pud Galvin, himself a former Playoff MVP winner. 
• Resolutes: The 3.08 runs per game that the Resolutes allowed this year is the second-best full-season total in league history. Credit goes to starters John Clarkson and Christy Mathewson, who are both adept at flummoxing opposing batters with the sharp movement on their pitches. Sophomore reliever Clark Griffith and veteran closer Joe McGinnity round out a top-notch staff.
• Advantage: Resolutes

Prediction

Although the Resolutes will be without injured first baseman Jake Beckley for the first game, the Legs will miss out on the offensive and defensive contributions of captain and star second baseman Nap Lajoie. Lajoie's absence in Game 1 will hurt the Legs, but I still consider them heavy favorites in this series. They may have finished in second place, but they had the league's best run differential (+10) and their actual winning percentage (.542) was right in line with their expected winning percentage (.551) based on runs scored and allowed. The Resolutes, on the other hand, sported an eye-catching .625 actual winning percentage, but the expected was only .520. That's more than a hundred points lower! The data suggests that the first-place Resolutes were extremely lucky during the regular season. Maybe their luck will hold, but in this best-of-five series, my money is on the Blue Legs to win, three games to one.

D&D Is for Nerds

So, if you eat NERDS candy, you can upload your proof-of-purchase to their website to get free NERDS-themed D&D adventures. No, gentle reader, this is not a bizarre dream you're having -- it's very, very real. You can check it out here. I don't think I've seen a box of NERDS candy in the past several decades, but I do wonder if the adventures are as gloriously goofy as the Wendy's D&D module from a while back...

But speaking of D&D and candy, this NERDS thing brought back vivid memories of going to KB Toys as a kid -- either at our local Arnot Mall or that legendary hub of commerce, MARKETPLACE MALL in Rochester -- and finding boxes of official D&D candy with actual stat blocks printed on the back. Really, was there a better time to be a D&D-loving kid than the 1980s?!

A New King Is Crowned

The Canaries visited the Haymakers tonight in the final game of the regular season. When Ed Delahanty, the Birds' left fielder, stepped to the plate against Cy Young with one out and nobody on in the top of the first, I had little inkling that history was about to be made. Delahanty promptly crushed Young's offering into the left-fielder bleachers for his league-leading fourth homer of the season. That blast was also the twelfth home run of his career, surpassing teammate George Davis's eleven career homers. The crown has passed from Mike "King" Kelly to Davis to Delahanty, and I wonder how long Delahanty will hold it before the next guy -- Cap Anson? -- takes it.

Defense Matters

I'm cruising toward the end of Season 6 of my nineteenth-century Strat-O-Matic baseball league, and the playoff picture is starting to shape up. The second-year Resolutes have clinched a spot in the Creighton Cup series, and most likely will finish in first place. The Blue Legs and Haymakers are vying for the second spot in the Series, with the Legs maintaining a 1.5-game edge entering tonight's tilt against the cellar-dwelling Canaries. Needing every win to hold the Haymakers at bay, the Legs had a 4-0 advantage entering the eighth. Leading off for the Canaries was infielder George Wright, who hit a sharp liner into right. I made the die roll for Sam Crawford and he couldn't come up with the catch. Wright ended up on second, and a few batters later the Canaries had stormed back to tie the game.  

The Blue Legs were falling apart, but before any further damage occurred, I realized I had made a mistake. The Legs' right fielder isn't Crawford, but Wee Willie Keeler. Crawford is their center fielder. Keeler's defensive rating is higher than Crawford's, and the same d20 roll that resulted in Crawford's error would be a catch for Keeler. There's a big difference between having the bases empty with one out and having a man on second with no outs, so I felt the fairest thing to do would be to rewind the clock, so to speak, to the point where that liner was scorching toward right field. This time, Keeler made the catch easily and the Canaries failed to score. They went down in order in the ninth, as well, giving Legs starter Old Hoss Radbourn a complete-game shutout. One catch certainly made the difference in that game!

Hammer Time!

I'm enjoying some time off and the opportunity to delve further into Blackstone Fortress with the boys. We're working our way through the ancient, labyrinthine space station in the hope of uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Vault. Tonight we squared off against a Chaos Space Marines captain called Obsidius Mallex, our chief rival in the quest for the Vault. 

Here's the moment we lured Mallex away from his flunkies and into a trap-filled choke point, blasted him to smithereens, and claimed his precious Thunder Hammer!

Below is a better view of the current party. I haven't had the time to paint the villains, but I did paint the heroes we're using. Sadly, my best paint job of the lof them was the flamer-wielding adept who wasn't part of this particular mission. 

I estimate we're about halfway through the game. Loving every minute of it!

Into the Fortress!

Between work, school starting back up, ever-present COVID, and California fires that continue to dump smoke into our valley, I think we all needed a bit of a pick-me-up. On a smokey Saturday afternoon, then, the boys and I made our first foray into the Blackstone Fortress of, well, Blackstone Fortress. We followed that up with a return trip on Sunday. 

How did it go? This is the game we wanted Gloomhaven to be. Granted, Blackstone Fortress can't top Gloomhaven's richly unfolding storyline or the players' ability to shape the world around them, but all that cool stuff doesn't matter if the game is lousy. Gloomhaven takes forever to set up and the mechanics are ridiculous, forcing players to abandon smart dungeon-crawler tactics due to the game's oppressive timer.  I've covered all this ground before. In contrast, Blackstone Fortress is rather lighter on story but the gameplay is slick and fun. There's a lot you can do on your own turn, and the generous overwatch rules keep you motivated to pay attention even when it's not your turn. The boys and I all found characters we liked, and so far our experience is that the characters play very differently; Matthew gets his mobile damage dealer, Nathaniel gets his tank, and I get my jack-of-all-trades. It's rare indeed that all three of us enjoy the same board game, so I think we've got a winner on our hands with Blackstone, and I'm pretty sure we'll stick with this game long enough to make it all the way to the hidden vault!

808 Storylines

As I noted a while back, I've been chipping away at my Druid Cycle matrix, a massive spreadsheet that tracks all characters, locations, organizations, etc. The character tab is by far the biggest component. As of this writing, I have 808 named characters for whom I've specified a location, any group affiliations, a 5e stat block, and lots of other relevant information. 

Something was missing, though. I needed their motivations. So, for all 808 characters, I added a new field to specify their objectives. What do these people want? Now every character -- from the lowliest shopkeeper to the most powerful immortal -- has a goal. It's taken me weeks to get to this point, but at last I have hundreds of potential storylines  just waiting to be explored!

Malaise

Work has felt rather more stressful of late, with setbacks that continue to nag me even after I leave the office. Between that stuff and the ongoing complexities of life in COVID times, I haven't had quite the same energy for game stuff. To wit, I've paused my Strat-O-Matic baseball league at the halfway point of Season 6 (the Blue Legs and Resolutes are neck-in-neck in a tight pennant race) and I even gave up on landing a copy of that new Gargoyles board game after my local Target twice indicated it was in stock but then didn't have it when I showed up. I did manage to grab the new Warhammer Age of Sigmar starter set for a bit of building and painting fun on the side, and at some point I'd like to try Blackstone Fortress with the boys. It's out of print now, but I grabbed a copy from an Amazon third-party seller and it seems like it will provide the great co-op gaming experience that we thought we'd get with Gloomhaven. I'm looking forward to some time off around Labor Day and hoping I can learn the rules by then so that the boys and I can jump right in.

FCBD Today!

 Today is Free Comic Book Day! Enjoy safely!

FCBD 2021

Just a quick reminder that Free Comic Book Day is scheduled for this Saturday, August 14.

Gargoyles Awakening

I just found out moments ago that there's a Gargoyles board game coming out today as a Target exclusive. I dearly love everything about the '90s Gargoyles cartoon -- its authentic New York City setting, its amazing voice cast, its deep allusions to literature and mythology -- so I will definitely need to find a way to pick up a copy of this game, pronto!

McCarthy Madness

Many baseball authorities would rank Tommy McCarthy as the worst player in the Hall of Fame. His career totals would be lousy enough for a middle infielder, but for a corner outfielder they're downright atrocious. Not surprisingly, then, McCarthy rode the pine for the first four seasons of my Strat-O-Matic league. He bounced around between a couple of teams, getting in some work here and there as a pinch hitter or late-game defensive replacement. 

Last season, the arrival of our expansion team, the Resolutes, drained the talent pool and turned a lot of benchwarmers into starters. McCarthy found himself the Opening Day third baseman on the Resolutes, but his athleticism and skill as a defensive outfielder did not translate to the hot corner. The Resolutes shipped him out to the Canaries midway through the season as a throw-in to a blockbuster trade headlined by pitcher Rube Waddell and center fielder Pete Hill. 

The upshot was that McCarthy got more playing time on the Canaries, and now, in Season 6, he cracked the lineup as the Birds' everyday right fielder. How's he doing on his new team and in his new role? Well, at about the one-quarter mark of the regular season, he's leading the league in home runs! Of course, it's a statistical fluke -- he had zero home runs coming into this season -- but it's cool to see this bit player get his moment in the sun.

Druid Cycle Matrix

For years -- see this blog post from almost exactly seven years ago! -- I've wanted to create a spreadsheet to track all of my Druid Cycle campaign information, such as the names of people, places, etc. The sheer scope of the project put me off, despite having created similar spreadsheets for my Shattered Realm and Torchlight settings. The truth is that Druid Cycle is bigger than everything else put together, with threads that go as far back as 1991. That's thirty years ago, people!

I've been chipping away at a Druid Cycle spreadsheet for a while, and now I'm pleased to report that I've completed a first draft. As of this writing, there are 742 named characters, 67 groups, and 342 unique locations. What's next? Lots of review, for one thing. The stat blocks are a major issue for this review. Every non-immortal NPC in the character list, no matter how minor, is tied to a stat block from the Monster Manual or another D&D reference book from the current edition of the game. If he's got a name, he's got a stat block. However, I'm not entirely confident that the characters are "ranked" properly. The flat math of Fifth Edition really compresses the power curve between the least- and most-powerful characters (especially compared to the previous-edition-that-shall-not-be-named), but I still need to be able to show meaningful distinctions between the abilities of characters. I'll also need to deal with the game's most prominent characters, for whom generic stat blocks just don't work. I'll probably create full-fledged character sheets for the likes of Cyfrinach and Iskander, but that's a project for another day.

Playoff Heroes & Zeroes

With five seasons in the books for my historical hockey league, there's enough data to start looking at interesting trends. I was curious about which players have tended either to shine or falter in the playoffs, and after reviewing the data, I've found that we have some clear playoff heroes and zeroes. (Note: For the purposes of this post, I'm focusing solely on outliers and ignoring guys whose playoff performances have been consistent with their regular-season performances.)

Heroes

• Frank Rankin: This three-time Creighton Cup champion now ranks second in career playoff goals and points, and he's first in career playoff games played. Although he's had more opportunities to compile playoff stats than any other player, Rankin has definitely turned it up a notch in these high-leverage games; he's posted 0.64 goals per game and 1.14 points per game in playoff action, compared to 0.37 goals per game and 0.87 points per game during the regular season.
• Mike Grant: Small sample size alert! Grant has played only six postseason games, but he's absolutely dominated during those contests, such that he sits third all-time in playoff goals and points. The guy is rocking out at 1.0 goals per game (vs. 0.31 in the regular season) and 2.17 points per game (vs. 1.19 in the regular season). Those numbers are on par with the regular-season and playoff scoring pace of Cyclone Taylor, the league's best player.

Zeroes

• George Richardson: It pains me to write this passage, because Richardson is a quiet star in this league (and, in real life, a war hero who died in battle in World War I). In the playoffs, however, this steady point producer has struggled. Despite 0.47 goals per game and 1.03 points per game in regular-season play, he's produced just 0.13 goals per game and 0.38 points per game in the playoffs.
• Riley Hern: The award for worst playoff performer ever goes to star goalie Riley Hern. He's second all-time in regular-season wins and has put up great stats (.908 save percentage, 2.93 goals-against average), but in the playoffs he really stinks up the joint (.873 save percentage, 3.78 goals-against average). His record of one win against eight losses only adds to the ignominy; in fact, Hern all by himself has racked up 47% of all playoff losses in league history!

Opening Day(s)

Baseball is back! With the Canaries hosting the Resolutes, rookie John McGraw lined out to George Wright to get Season 6 underway. With aces John Clarkson and Tim Keefe toeing the rubber, the game moved at a brisk pace. Keefe wasn't quite as sharp as last year's Pitcher MVP, however, and the Resolutes played with a lead for most of the game. The most dramatic moment came in the top of the sixth, when Fred Clarke homered off of Keefe on Opening Day for the second straight season. The Canaries made it interesting in the eighth and ninth against the Resolutes' new closer, Joe McGinnity, but the veteran managed to hang in there to seal a 4-2 road win.

Opening Day for our other two franchises involved the Blue Legs visiting the Haymakers in a rematch of last year's championship series. Playoff MVP Cy Young clearly didn't have his best stuff, and the Legs jumped all over him. Nap Lajoie's two-run shot was the backbreaker in a 6-1 triumph for the visitors. Old Hoss Radbourn, pitching for the Legs, managed to tie John Clarkson's record 21-inning scoreless streak (set at the beginning of last season), but a Bobby Wallace single prevented him from claiming a new record. I guess that's about the only positive takeaway for the Haymakers from that game.

It doesn't get any easier for the defending champs. Tomorrow, the Haymakers visit the Resolutes, where the legendary Christy Mathewson will make his first career start in this league!

Is It Baseball Time Already?!

I may be slogging through the Soulbound rulebook and working on a massive but top-secret Druid Cycle project, but I made sure to take some time tonight to prep for the upcoming Season 6 of my nineteenth-century Strat-O-Matic baseball league. It seems like forever since these lads took the field, but the new season really snuck up on me.

Last time around, the Haymakers captured their third championship in five years with a Creighton Cup series win over the Blue Legs. However, the balance of power in the league may well shift, as I had one more batch of players to distribute before I have, at last, reached the end of the Hall of Famers who have even the most tenuous ties to premodern ball. In the final player dispersal draft ever, the Canaries landed little-known but phenomenally talented hurler Addie Joss. The the second-year Resolutes, meanwhile, loaded up with stud pitcher Christy Mathewson and leadoff hitter John McGraw; I like the way our newest team is shaping up. I'd love to see them make a run at the playoffs, much like their expansion cousins -- the newly minted league-champion Millionaires -- did in my hockey league. 

Opening Day is tomorrow!

All Is Forgiven...For Now!

Games Workshop guys: "Uh oh, John is really unhappy with the Soulbound RPG Starter Set. We'd better announce some awesome new Age of Sigmar stuff to placate him!"

Damn you! I want that Extremis box!

The Isles Win It All!

On a brighter note, I won the Stanley Cup today with the New York Islanders in NHL '94 -- my first championship in that video game since, well, the actual year 1994. Why the Islanders, you ask? Why not my semi-local Golden Knights, my beloved Rangers, or even the long-suffering Sabres? I've really grown to like the Isles over their last two postseason runs. Maybe next year they'll find a way to get past the increasingly irritating Tampa Bay Lightning and newly-emerging supervillain Nikita Kucherov, who's likely to find a place of (dis)honor -- alongside the likes of Tom Wilson, Alex Ovechkin, and Brad Marchand -- in my pantheon of hockey heels.

TPKs are Not Fun

A starter set for a roleplaying game can have many objectives, but among the most important, surely, is the need to draw players in, excite them, and leave them eager to play more. The Soulbound Starter Set, by contrast, makes me want to stuff its terribly unbalanced introductory adventure into a troggoth's maw. One combat encounter early in the adventure gives players a two-in-three chance of encountering either a spine-worm or multiple bore-beetles. In either case, the party is completely overmatched. Both creatures have attacks bearing the outrageous Rend trait (with attacks at 8D6, so you're looking at a 77% chance per attack for permanent armor damage), and both also have Mettle -- a game mechanic that (among other things) allows a character to make a second attack on their turn. Maybe I'm truly not understanding the math of the game, but I can't see how you can avoid a TPK unless you have a full party of five heroes, all at full strength, and you get really lucky. How is this fun?!

Sigmar, Smite This Starter Set!

I really dig the Soulbound hardcover rulebook, but I'm quickly becoming disappointed by the Starter Set for this Warhammer Age of Sigmar (I still think they need a colon there) tabletop roleplaying game. In a well intentioned but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to teach new players the rules of the game in a piecemeal fashion, the end result is a confusing hodgepodge that leaves me with more questions than answers on every page. The worst part is that there's a showstopper of a problem in the very first combat encounter. 

So, I'm asking myself, do these fyrehunter critters really destroy the characters' armor during the first battle? Like, permanently destroy it? Yes, and yes. Maybe I'm just having flashbacks to the dreaded rust monster from D&D days of yore, but I'm absolutely flabbergasted by the game designers' decision to gank the party right from the get-go. I mean, I get that the setting is intended to be more harsh than a typical D&D campaign, but what do you say to players when you hamstring their characters before they have any idea of what's happening?

LOL grimdark, amirite?!

Here's how it goes down. In that first combat encounter, the party faces no fewer than four fyrehunters. The book indicates that these creatures use their armor-destroying attack on the second round of combat (and the monsters are too tough to one-shot during the first round). Their attack has the Rend trait, and in Soulbound it means that for every unmodified roll of 6 on a D6, the attack permanently reduces the defender's Armor rating by one. The fyrehunters roll 4D6 for that attack, and the odds of rolling at least one 6 on 4D6 is 52%. Most of the pre-generated characters in the Starter Set have an Armor rating of 1 or 2, so even a single 6 is a crippling blow to their defenses. Although the full rulebook provides rules for repairing armor and prices for purchasing new armor, the Starter Set includes none of this information. A character whose armor is destroyed during this first encounter is stuck for the rest of the adventure. If I ever play this system with the boys, you'd better believe I'm houseruling that Rend trait!

Soulbound

So Warhammer Age of Sigmar has a tabletop RPG called Soulbound. I picked up the gorgeously-illustrated core rulebook this week during my long-awaited trip to Ra-cha-cha. Soulbound looks like a lot of fun, and utilizes that oh-so-trendy dice-pool mechanic, along with some additional rules that encourage the party to work together...or else suffer together! I'm not sure the boys and I will find the time to play it, but it should provide some great reading material.

Season 5 Awards

I love handing out the (imaginary) trophies at the end of each season! Let's take a look at our star performers from Season 5!

Scoring Title: Cyclone Taylor, D, Victorias

Taylor paced the league with 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists), notching his second 30-point season; he finished just two points shy of the record he set back in Season 2. A model of consistency, Taylor scored double-digit goals for the fifth straight campaign; no other player has more than three seasons of 10+ goals. As if he needed more black ink in the record book, his 20 assists are a new single-season mark. This year's scoring championship is Taylor's third such title in the league's five-season history.

Runners Up: Barney Stanley, RW, Millionaires; Dan Bain, C, Thistles

Forward MVP: Barney Stanley, RW, Millionaires

Although Taylor passed him in the scoring race, Stanley finished second in the league in points with 26 (13 G, 13 A), and his 13 goals led the league. He also set a single-season record with a +14 rating, a testament to his peerless play at five-on-five hockey.

Runners Up: Dan Bain, C, Thistles; Gord Roberts, LW, Bulldogs

Defenseman MVP: Cyclone Taylor, Victorias

In a great year for D-men, this season saw two blueliners among the league's top five in points and four in the top 15. Hod Stuart had an epic season and appeared to be the frontrunner for much of the year, but the numbers don't lie: Taylor outscored Stuart by six points (30 vs. 24) and beat him solidly in plus/minus (+5 vs. 0). Taylor has now won this award in four of the league's five seasons.

Runners Up: Hod Stuart, Thistles; Graham Drinkwater, Millionaires

Goaltender MVP: Riley Hern, Thistles

Of all the awards this year, this one was the easiest call (especially because playoff performance doesn't factor into the decision). Hern led the league's netminders in wins (9), Goals-Against Average (2.63), and Save Percentage (.914) en route to picking up the second Goaltender MVP of his career. Kudos to Hugh Lehman, however, for taking a big step forward in his sophomore campaign.

Runners Up: Hugh Lehman, Millionaires; Bowse Hutton, Victorias

Rookie of the Year: Duke Keats, C, Millionaires

Two deserving candidates, but only one trophy! Frank Foyston set a rookie record with 15 points (5 G, 10 A), while Duke Keats was right behind him with 14 (6 G, 8 A). Keats had the better plus/minus (-4 vs. -8), although neither man would have cause to brag about those numbers. Where Keats separated himself, however, was in leading the Millies' top-ranked penalty-killing unit and establishing himself as one of the best faceoff men in the league. All things considered, Keats was truly the most valuable rookie.

Runners Up: Frank Foyston, RW, Comets; Jack Walker, LW, Thistles

Playoff MVP: Hugh Lehman, G, Millionaires

This was the most difficult trophy to award, probably because it forced me to acknowledge an earlier mistake. Last season, Paddy Moran of the Bulldogs won this honor, but as I looked again at the numbers, I really think that his teammate Bruce Stuart should have won instead. However, I can't punish Lehman for that oversight, as the Millies' goaltender put in a superlative performance (4-1, 2.60, .920). Goalies have now won this award in three out of five seasons; I guess that's...okay, as they do add more to their team's chances of winning than any other position, but it still seems weird.

Runners Up: Duke Keats, C, Millionaires; Graham Drinkwater, D, Millionaires