Saturday, February 28, 2015

Systems Saturday - Dragon Lairds (2007)

Some days of my life are just way too much fun.  Such was yesterday afternoon when I got the chance to play a game of Dragon Lairds (2007) with the two designers, Tom Wham and Jim Ward.  It's a humorously illustrated fantasy card game that features Hand Management and Set Collection mechanics.  There is a playing mat / board that comes with the game to help guide folks through the turns, the card availability, and the victory point accumulation.  The illustrations on the cards are so well integrated with the spirit of the game and actions of the cards, that it is a huge pleasure to play.


The description of the game on Board Game Geek is as follows:
In this cousin of Saint Petersburg, each player represents a monarch dragon clan, and attempts to assert herself as the Dragon Monarch by game end, by securing the most Royals (victory points). In order to facilitate this process, players will use their Geld (money) to hire Dragon Lairds (aristocrats) and buy Resources (buildings) and Commoners (peasants). You can use precious Royals (your victory points) to acquire Dragon Havocs, which empower you to do anything from getting extra cash, to stealing things from your opponents. The Havocs tend to be one-shot little guys, however, and are always discarded to the bottom of the discard deck, as far out of reach as possible from those cards that pilfer the discard pile.
At the end of each round, you accumulate the Geld and Royals that your acquisitions generate for your clan. At the end of the game, you additionally receive any Finale Royals on cards as end-game victory points.
From the Margaret Weis web site: 
Deep in the heart of an island continent, many years ago, was a long forgotten land of ancient Saureans… Dragons of all sizes and shapes, who had, through the generations tamed the foolish races of men, dwarves, and elves that lived among them. Over the centuries, they refined their techniques and now were trying to gain control over all the surrounding dragon countries. There could be only one Dragon Monarch, but who would it be?
At the start of the game, each player is given a dragon clan and chooses to play either the king or queen of that clan. The object is for your clan to score the most points in Royals by the end of the game and thus become the ruling Dragon Monarch.
The game is widely available but if you happen to be in town, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy (or two!) at Lake Geneva Games 918 S Wells St, Lake Geneva, WI 53147.  You could even give them a call and they'd probably ship one out to you, if that is more convenient, at (262) 885-1515.  If you happen to be coming to Gary Con, check with Tom and Jim and I am sure they can find a copy for you on-site that they will be glad to autograph for you as well.


This is a game where you benefit from knowing your intended end game but aren't locked into it.  Given the size of the deck and the need to go with the flow based on the cards available.  It behooves any player to control the trophy, known as the Saurian Cup, for at least a portion of the game.  If it can be acquired and held in the last turn, if can be very beneficial.  Above all, keep a close eye on the cards being collected by the other players and be sure to find ways to counter them, if you can, or at least limit the damage they can do to you.  You might not be a target but being prepared and expecting you will be can go a long way to staying in the hunt for victory.


A look under the hood of various Games, Rules and Systems.
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Friday, February 27, 2015

Tabletopper Friday - BGG @ Spielwarenmesse 2015

Over on the Board Game Geek YouTube channel, a bunch of videos are being uploaded from their trip to Spielwarenmesse 2015 in Germany.


Thus far, more than a few have caught my attention but below are three in particular I will be hoping to play someday.  First, Discoveries (2015) gives another take on the Lewis and Clark expedition.  Enjoy.



Also, Steam Ship Company (2015) looks like a nifty economic game.



Finally, The Magnates: A Game of Power (2014) came out first in Poland after a crowdfunding effort and now will be translated and produced for English speakers as well.


Mostly about card games and board games,
unless they have a decidedly wargamey feel.
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Thursday, February 26, 2015

Nostalgia Thursday - Avalon Hill, Third Reich, & Rail Baron

This week, I opted to include some links of short retrospectives of Avalon Hill and two of their more popular wargames / boardgames.  The first is from thebiggamehunter.com and includes some early history of the company and its founder, Charles S. Roberts, here.


Also, on Grognardia in 2011, James Maliszewski took a retrospective look at "Rise and Decline of the Third Reich."  This game which came out in 1974 proved to be one of the more challenging games I owned and played in my late teens.  Read the Grognardian account here.


Finally, over on the gamecabinet.com website, an article by Stuart Dagger looks at "Rail Baron & US Rails: A Retrospective, A Variant & A Review" here.


Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.
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Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Wargaming Wednesday - A Tabletop Gamer's Diary


There is a wonderful Wordpress blog wherein a certain gamer, who shall remain nameless (cause I couldn't find it), posts bits and bobs about his tabletop gaming escapades and includes some pictures to help illustrate his tales.  There is some RPG and design stuff but today I am particularly focusing on the wargaming goodness like his recent report on his ongoing Mighty Empires campaign.  See more on "A Tabletop Gamer's Diary" here.




A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.
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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Terrain Tuesday - Horizon Creation 3D, Stonecutters Guild, & Turf Blend

Over on their Facebook page, Horizon Creation 3D has a little contest going to promote awareness of their wares.  Check out the Share and Like posting they have here.


Also, on their tumblr page, The Stonecutters Guild has a whole lot of terrain builds and they are showing photos here.


Finally, on the Wargamers Shut Up & Jam Gaiden YouTube channel, there is a video showing "How to create a turf blend!" Enjoy.



For purposes here, the term Terrain is used broadly
to cover 3D and 2D maps, foam, felt, and such.
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Monday, February 23, 2015

Minis & Modeling Monday - Scales, Flight Bases, & Most Useful Minis

Over on theminiaturespage.com, they have an incredibly useful guide on miniature scales here.


Also, Litko has Personalized Flight Bases available here.


Finally, on the DM David blog, he looks at "The 11 Most Useful Types of Miniatures" here.


A look at prepping and painting Miniatures,
crafting buildings and paper Models,
and other non-terrain stuff for the tabletop..
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Sunday, February 22, 2015

The Sunday Miscellanea - Dead of Winter Organizer, Pirate Ship Play House, & Roleplayers' Retreat

Check out The Broken Token if you're looking for a Dead of Winter box organizer or any number of other cool things here.


In case you needed one, someone on Craig's List is selling a "Pirate Ship Play House" here.


Finally, if you live in the UK or just want to take a trip there, have a look at Eden Retreat, a roleplayers' retreat in some beautiful country here.


Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics on MFWARS.com
not covered elsewhere or wanting a particular focus.
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Saturday, February 21, 2015

Systems Saturday - Perkins's Orcs, Shea's 5E, & Schick's Mystara

Pulling together a few blog posts that have been circulating this year on various aspects of running Fantasy RPG systems, the first I am sharing is from Tribality's J.M. Perkins, an article titled "System Agnostic: Grokking Orcs" here.


Also, over on Sly Flourish, Mike Shea discusses "D&D 5e Numbers to Keep In Your Head" here.


Finally, on the Adventures in Gaming v2 blog, James Mishler shares some of the answers he received from Lawrence Schick regarding the Original Known World here.


A look under the hood of various Games, Rules and Systems.
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Friday, February 20, 2015

Tabletopper Friday - Boardgame Contest, RPG Cliches, & Dead of Winter on TableTop

Over on the Gygax Magazine website, they recently announced they are running a boardgame design contest here.


Also, on Tribality, they school us on "5 Avoidable Roleplaying Cliches" here.


Finally, on the Geek and Sundry YouTube channel, Wil Wheaton is joined by Dodger Leigh, Grant Imahara, and Ashley Johnson to play Dead of Winter on TableTop.  Enjoy!


Mostly about card games and board games,
unless they have a decidedly wargamey feel.
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Thursday, February 19, 2015

Nostalgia Thursday - Historic Games, Ancient Games, & the Mystery of Go

Over on historicgames.com, they have a lot of information on games played throughout history.  Check out MacGregor Historic Games here.


Also, on ancientgames.com, they focus on more standard Ancient Games.  Learn more here.


Finally, about a year ago, Wired.com checked out "The Mystery of Go, the Ancient Game That Computers Still Can’t Win" here.


Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Wargaming Wednesday - Grognard.com, Wargames Illustrated, & the Wargaming Addict

If you want to keep abreast of some of the latest in tabletop wargaming news, keep an eye on Grognard,com here.


If that website isn't enough, there are still some fine magazines to pick up and one of the best is Wargames Illustrated.  Learn more about it here.


Finally, the enthusiasm for wargames is infectious on the Wargaming Addict website.  Bookmark this one here.


A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Terrain Tuesday - Foam Faux Wood, 3D Printed Statue, & Spray Cans

Three videos from YouTube terrain pros this week with the first being from Mini Terrain Domain, a tutorial on "Foam Faux Wood--texture and painting techniques for miniature wood terrain."  Enjoy.



Also, Wargaming Miniature Showcase shows us a "3D printed statue for wargaming terrain."  Nifty.



Finally, from Secret Weapon Miniatures comes a "Two Minute Tutorial [on] Spray Cans."  Informative.



For purposes here, the term Terrain is used broadly
to cover 3D and 2D maps, foam, felt, and such.
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Monday, February 16, 2015

Minis & Modeling Monday - Ironwind Metals, Perry Miniatures, & Sleepy Hollow Mini

Located in Woodlawn, OH, Ironwind Metals is a solid Sci-Fi and Fantasy miniatures provider that I have used a number of times in the past and often see at Midwest conventions.  Check them out here.


Also, while I'm plugging some good minis providers, "Perry Miniatures is run by well known 28mm sculptors Alan & Michael Perry. They are former sculptors of Foundry and Games Workshop."  See more of their stuff here.


Finally, not last episode but the one before, on Sleepy Hollow, one of the characters was holding a miniature and I grabbed a screenshot.  Can you identify it?  Looks like a 54mm or 60mm figures, perhaps a female, though there is only a view of its back.  Maybe Thunderbolt?


A look at prepping and painting Miniatures,
crafting buildings and paper Models,
and other non-terrain stuff for the tabletop..
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Sunday, February 15, 2015

The Sunday Miscellanea - Character Dice, LED Dice, & Healing Potion Dice

Over on rpgshop.com, you can find some nifty Specialty Character Dice in the form of a d10 here.


Also, technabob.com shows us how a "Critical Hit LED Dice Set Flashes When You Roll the Big Number" here.


Finally, over on Kickstarter, a "DICE!! Cure / Heal Dice!! for RPGs" project by Andy "Cosmo-Joe" Watkins has a week and a half to go if you want to get in on the funding here.


Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics on MFWARS.com
not covered elsewhere or wanting a particular focus.
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Saturday, February 14, 2015

Systems Saturday - Viticulture (2013)

Gamer-friend Wendy got, through Amazon, a game that was expanded by Kickstarter last year.  From a couple years ago, Viticulture (2013) was released by a Kickstarter then the expansion Tuscany: Expand the World of Viticulture (2014) followed.  We only played the base game, and it is beautiful.  It's a fun game with a complexity that escalates as the game progresses.


From the description on Board Game Geek:
In Viticulture, the players find themselves in the roles of people in rustic, pre-modern Tuscany who have inherited meager vineyards. They have a few plots of land, an old crushpad, a tiny cellar, and three workers. They each have a dream of being the first to call their winery a true success.
The players are in the position of determining how they want to allocate their workers throughout the year. Every season is different on a vineyard, so the workers have different tasks they can take care of in the summer and winter. There's competition over those tasks, and often the first worker to get to the job has an advantage over subsequent workers.
Fortunately for the players, people love to visit wineries, and it just so happens that many of those visitors are willing to help out around the vineyard when they visit as long as you assign a worker to take care of them. Their visits (in the form of cards) are brief but can be very helpful.
Using those workers and visitors, players can expand their vineyards by building structures and planting vines (vine cards) and filling wine orders (wine order cards), players work towards the goal of running the most successful winery in Tuscany.

Some of the stretch goals and add-ons from the Kickstarter were pretty nifty, particularly the coins.  The white glass used to keep track of the grapes and wine are simple and effective.  There are a variety of meeples used for the workers, buildings, and tools that can be bought to assist the players to win.  Another cool thing about the Kickstarter is that the personalities depicted on the cards are apparently supporters from the fundraising, along with a credit for them at the bottom of their particular cards.  The Amazon deluxe pack has the coins, glass markers, and the like.


It was a tight game and I'd need to play it again to get a real handle on strategy but some things to consider are getting extra workers early, making sure to get a trellis and irrigation, as well as making sure to find a way to pick up a few victory points in the early going so that you don't get boxed out on the order-filling in the end game.

A look under the hood of various Games, Rules and Systems.
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Friday, February 13, 2015

Tabletopper Friday - Kids RPGs, Helios, & DMs' Roundtable

Over on Quibly, Matt Thrower details his "TOP Six Games to introduce your kids to role-playing" here.


Also, last week on GameNight!, they checked out Helios.  Enjoy.



Finally, Wizards of the Coast had an online panel of in-house DMs answer DMing questions from outside DMs who wanted to know more . . . about DMing.  Enjoy.


Mostly about card games and board games,
unless they have a decidedly wargamey feel.
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Thursday, February 12, 2015

Nostalgia Thursday - Old School Gaming, Modules, & Russell Gammage

Over on the Blog Site For Historian, Author and Novelist Blaine L. Pardoe, in case you haven't read it yet, he writes of "Old School Gaming" here.


Also, on tribality.com, Michael Long discusses his "Top 14 Old School D&D Modules" here.


Finally, on deartonyblair.blogspot.co.uk, a recent article looks at "The Works of Russell Gammage - Rose Miniatures" here.


Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!