Monday, August 31, 2015

Minis & Modeling Monday - LEDs, Plastic Glue, & Spray Booth

Over on instructables.com, they discuss LEDs for Beginners here.


Also, on Amazon, you can find a very powerful plastic glue if you're not satisfied with what you currently use.  Check out PlasticWeld here.


Finally, on The Wargamers Consortium YouTube channel. there are a couple of videos showing some cheap spray booth options.  Enjoy!




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, August 30, 2015

The Sunday Miscellanea - Roll A Pair, Glue Gun Crafts, & Minas Tirith

Over on teespring.com, it's the final day to order the "Grab Your D20s and A Roll A Pair T-Shirt" here.


Also, on magiamia.blogspot.com, "It's Glue Gun & Plastic Time Again" here.


Finally, on telegraph.co.uk, "Architects crowdfund to build £1.85 billion Minas Tirith in England."  Find out more here.


Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics on MFWARS.com
not covered elsewhere or wanting a particular focus.
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Saturday, August 29, 2015

Systems Saturday - New York 1901 (2015)

Joe broke out a copy of New York 1901 (2015) for us to give a try yesterday.  The rules are simple and he teaches it well, so we picked up the basic game easily and dove right in.  I had a very good time with this one.  Our only regret was making Tom Wham play this instead of a train game on his birthday.


The description on Board Game Geek is as follows:
Relive the dawn of modern New York City, the historic years that made it what it is today. Build bigger and higher skyscrapers on some of Lower Manhattan's most iconic streets. Raise one of four legendary skyscrapers — the Park Row, the Singer, the Metropolitan Life, or the majestic Woolworth — and make one of them the crown jewel of your real estate empire!
In New York 1901, the players are building skyscrapers on a map of New York's Financial District. Players take location cards from a cards' display and then use 2-3 of those location cards to place tetris-shaped building tiles on the board. They first build bronze level buildings. Later in the game those buildings can be replaced by silver level and then gold level buildings.

There are both tile placement and worker placement elements to this game as well as some light puzzle solving during the course of play. It has a nice random endgame Victory Point addition that helps make this game very replayable.  Though there will be times when boxing out your opponent(s) might prove advantageous, most of the game is played within the sphere of you own control, taking what positions and locations suit you best for the strategy you are developing.  I need to play the more advanced version of this game soon, I think.


A look under the hood of various Games, Rules and Systems.
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Friday, August 28, 2015

Tabletopper Friday - Doctor Who Minis, Fallout Monopoly, & Tabletop RPGs vs Video Games

Over on campaign-archive2.com, they herald a Doctor Who Miniatures Game here.


Also, on 9gag.com, someone "Made a Fallout Monopoly board & cards" here.


Finally, on writersdisease.net, they give us the "Top Ten Reasons Tabletop RPGs are Better than Video Games" here.

Mostly about card games and board games,
unless they have a decidedly wargamey feel.
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Thursday, August 27, 2015

Nostalgia Thursday - Intel Monopoly, Chainmail, & AH Revival

Over on mentalfloss.com, discover "How a Brilliant Intelligence Officer Used 'Monopoly' to Free WWII POWs" here.


Also, on Expeditious Advance, Travis Casey discusses "Towards a History of RPG Mechanics - Part One: Chainmail."  Find out his thoughts here.


Finally, on escapistmagazine.com, John Keefer expounds on "8 Avalon Hill Board Games That Deserve New Life" here.


Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.
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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Wargaming Wednesday - Parents' Guide, Free Rules, & FLGS Support

Over on wargamingtradecraft.com, from a couple years back, is an interesting "Parents Guide to Tabletop Miniature Wargaming" here.


Also, on freewargamesrules.wikia.com, you'll find tons of "Free Wargames Rules" here.


Finally, on the tabletopminions YouTube channel, he tackles the question "Should You Support Your Local Game Store?"  Watch!



A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.
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Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Terrain Tuesday - Frostgrave, Drawing, & Augmented Reality

Over on Fencing Frog, Adam shares some of his new acquisitions for terrain he'll use with Frostgrave here.


Also, on Fantastic Maps, there is a nifty GIMP tutorial on "How to Draw a Map" from earlier this year here.


Finally, on the NVIDIA YouTube channel, check out the recent video on "GeForce-Powered Augmented Reality Sandbox."  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, August 24, 2015

Minis & Modeling Monday - Aliens, Friars, & Organizers

Over on bigbadtoystore.com, they herald something arriving in October that ought to have people's tummies rumbling here.


Also, on scenearama.woodlandscenics.com, and although they might come off as a touch tallish for some uses 25mm uses, check out the Friars/Monks, Castle Dwellers, and maybe even the Egyptians here.


Finally, on Johnn Four's YouTube channel, he has a recent video on figure and minis organizers.  Enjoy!



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, August 23, 2015

The Sunday Miscellanea - B-Day Speeder, Inspired Workspaces, & Opera Stages

Over on geektyrant.com, a "Dad Builds Daughter a STAR WARS Speeder Bike Rocker For Her First Birthday" here.


Also, on madetomeasureblinds-uk.com, they share "15 Deeply Inspiring Workspaces" here.


Finally, on toxel.com, check out the "Amazing Opera Stage Designs" here.


Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics on MFWARS.com
not covered elsewhere or wanting a particular focus.
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Saturday, August 22, 2015

Systems Saturday - Poisons, Resting, & Useless Spells

Over on adnddownloads.com, you'll find French and English content on "Poisons and Herbs" here.


Also, on runagame.blogspot.com, advice is given on "The Best Solution to Players Resting Too Often" here.


Finally, on io9.com, they share "20 of the Most Useless Dungeons & Dragons Spells Ever" here.


A look under the hood of various Games, Rules and Systems.
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Friday, August 21, 2015

Tabletopper Friday - Cutthroat, Marmoreal, & Grizzled

Over on leagueofgamemakers.com, a recent article declared "Cutthroat Kingdoms Goes to Gen Con" telling of the journey to the big show here.


Also, on escapistmagazine.com, they wrote and article titled "Ernest Gygax Jr.'s The Marmoreal Tomb Brings "Gygaxian" D&D to Kickstarter" even as this juggernautic Kickstarter campaign was getting its early steam.  Read more here.


Finally, on the Watch It Played YouTube channel, they have uploaded a video on How to Play Grizzled.  Enjoy!


Mostly about card games and board games,
unless they have a decidedly wargamey feel.
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Thursday, August 20, 2015

Nostalgia Thursday - Search for the Emperor's Treasure (1981)

One of the great things about moving to Lake Geneva has been getting the chance to regularly play games with legendary game Designer Tom Wham.  One of the bonuses is getting to play games he has designed or even games that are in development.  Then, sometimes, something happens that seems to top all of that.  Tom gathered a few of the Friday faithful at Culver's for a little boardgaming last week to show off a copy of Search for the Emperor's Treasure (1981) that a fan had sent him.  But it wasn't a copy to sign and return, which happens from time to time, but something rather more special.  A fan who loved the game, since finding it years ago, had wanted to teach it to his kids, to instill a love of gaming in them.  He did so but wanted to make sure they had something more, so he made a copy of the game in a sort of deluxe version but also made a third copy for Tom.


In case you aren't familiar, here is the description of the game from Board Game Geek here:
Originally published in issue #51 (July 1981) of Dragon Magazine. Republished as part of the The Best of Dragon Magazine Games boxed set in 1990.
A tongue-in-cheek version of "classic" Dungeons & Dragons (some even say Mertwig's Maze is a similar treatment of Advanced D&D). As such, players become a warrior, elf, cleric, or magician, then wander around the board collecting treasure and resolving encounters. The Emperor's six magic artifacts are both high-powered magic items and a countdown clock, as when enough have been found, the game ends. (Exactly how many depends on number of players.)
Treasure, encounters and equipment are all randomized with chits in three cups. Characters obtain them by fighting monsters or lucky die rolls on result charts associated with various board locations (e.g., castles, villages, The Wizard's Tower, The Pirate Lair, etc.). Not all encounters are monsters -- some are travelers who will bestow treasure upon completion of quests, others are annoyances, and there's even Imperial Guard patrols looking to confiscate the Emperor's Treasure.
Terrain types are a key strategy feature, as a player whose current location's terrain doesn't match the encounter drawn can bestow it on someone else who does. So a character in rugged forest or mountains can get stuck fighting several monsters in succession during other players' turns.
A surprising amount of flavor is included for a magazine game. There's an assortment of magic spells, ranged and close combat, magical weapons & armor, damsels in distress, evil wizards, a volcanic demon, even a wandering elephant.
The boxed version changes the encounter mix around, adds a deck of treasure clue cards, and expands the character selection with a dwarf and a "hairfoot." Counters are die-cut, but monochrome rather than full color. The nice Darlene Pekul map painting is traded in for a hexmap with generic terrain symbols that Wham suggests you mount to cardboard and cut apart, thus creating a new map each game a la Kings & Things. The cards force characters to move a lot more, and most encounters can no longer be given away, so this edition plays quite differently.

He put together two rules booklets and included some Tom Wham artwork from other sources to fancy it up a bit.  The Darlene map is included both in the original form as as the hex version.  He even made draw bags of Dice (and wounds), Encounters, Weapons, and Treasures.  It's a wonderful set and lovingly handcrafted.  More photos of the game can be found in my Facebook albums here and on my Google Photo albums here.  Quite the tribute!


Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Wargaming Wednesday - Mariners Museum, Magazines, & 6K FB Likes

Over on Lair of the Uber Geek, a recent trip to the Mariners Museum has sparked a pictorial post with photos galore!  See more here.


Also, on wargamingforums.com, the Wargaming Recon podcast, episode #139, focuses on "Magazines for Wargamers" and it might not be what you'd expect.  Listen up here.


Finally, on wargamesillustrated.co.uk, their giveaway states "To celebrate hitting 6,000 Facebook likes, we are giving you the chance to win this huge bunch of gaming goodies!"  Join in the fun here.


A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.
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Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Terrain Tuesday - Craftinomicon, Paper Walls, & Popsicle Sticks

Over on TheDMG.info Store, you cna find issue number one of Craftinomicon here.


Also, on Shaper & Maker, check out the "Dungeon walls!" These you can "Print, cut and glue walls for your rpg's."  Find out more here.


Finally, on prowoodnman YouTube channel, there is a nifty video from a couple years back showing a Time Lapse build of a Popsicle stick house.  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, August 17, 2015

Minis & Modeling Monday - Mid-August Minis Sale

Over on the CMG eBay Store, I've got to clear a little room for some new entries, so I though I'd run a brief sale on the thing I have listed most, miniatures.  I've got all sorts of minis and I'm putting many of them on sale for a very short time just to empty a few fixed-price slots for other items I need to list today.  It's almost eighty fixed-priced items with an extra fifteen percent off the top.  Dig in with both hands and fill up your carts because my prices are often the lowest around (they are when I list them after checking the major sources) and getting a bit more off on a sale is a huge bonus.  Check out all the minis here but below are just a few examples of what is in the store.

I've got some recently listed Old Glory 15mm Starter Armies here.


I've got some of pre-painted Star Wars here and Dungeons & Dragons pre-painted plastic minis here.


I've even got many Reaper here and all sorts more 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, August 16, 2015

The Sunday Miscellanea - Clay Coins, Custom Boxes, & Gaming Gadgets

Over on polymerclayweb.com, they show you how to make Pirate Coins (or any kind of coins, really) out of polymer clay here.


Also on etsy.com, check out the amazing "Custom gaming boxes and dice rollers" from the Kobold Company here.


Finally, on polygon.com, a recent article from Charlie Hall recounts "Great tabletop gaming gadgets from Gen Con 2015" here.


Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics on MFWARS.com
not covered elsewhere or wanting a particular focus.
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Saturday, August 15, 2015

Systems Saturday - Villainous Tips, Turning Undead, & a 5E Improv Primer

Over on Confessions of a Female Dungeon Master, she recently gave "5 Tips to Help the DM Play Adversaries" here.


Also, on Fail Squad Games, Lloyd Metcalf discusses Turning Undead here.


Finally, on Boccob's Blessed Blog, a "5e Improv Cheat Sheet" is presented here.


A look under the hood of various Games, Rules and Systems.
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