LURCH! The Zombie Chess Game - Convention Gaming

Over the last couple of years, I've taken LURCH! The Zombie Chess Game around to a bunch of locations including Gencon Indy and Little Wars, the Midwest HMGS convention, so that I could see how it played with various gamers.  For the most part, I taught the Basic game and then allowed the players at the table to determine if they would add in some Advanced rules and maybe play some of the expanded scenarios.  I've found that the familiarity of the board and simple movement, as well as the attack options, appealed to gamers.  It was quickly learned and enjoyed.  Sometimes, we even had some impromptu tourneys.  Here are some pics from the events.

Classic Wargaming

If you love miniature armies, then go check out the Classic Wargaming blog run by Phil Olley.  His blog motto, Forward to the Past, gave me a chuckle right away when I stumbled across it but the stunning pictures of his armies, and some armies of others, left me breathless.  For those living in the UK, or who don't mind paying a little extra for shipping, it appears he often sells whole armies that he has built and painting, a real treat for those who want a great looking tabletop table army but either don't have the time or don't feel they have the skill to put one together on their own.  He also has a zine called The Classic Wargamer's Journal published since the Summer of 2010.  Here's a couple of the pics he has up at the blog -

NAV-CON 2011

Just wanted to remind folks who might be interested that NAV-CON 2011 is coming up October 8th, this year.  There' a nautical theme to this one day gameday and military personel are especially accomodated.  It takes place at Oak Creek Centennial Church & Community Center (Salvation Army), 8853  S. Howell, Oak Creek, WI 53154.  Follow the link and check out the details to see if it is something you can add to your gaming schedule!

Chainmail Games at GaryCon III Last March

I realized that I hadn't added any pictures specifically of the Chainmail game (a re-imagining pf the The Battle for the Brown Hills) from last March at Gary Con III.  It was great fun and our forces of Chaos defeated the forces of Law, and even dealt with a wandering dragon at the end!

Wargaming Clubs

Over at reinforcementsbypost.com they have compiled a list of wargaming clubs and historical societies that I wanted to share with everyone.  It includes fourteen in New Zealand, twenty-two in Australia, eleven in Canada, four in Asia, seven in Africa, one hundred and three in the USA, seven in Ireland, sixteen in Italy, over one hundred and eighty in the UK, and fifty-three in other parts of Europe!  If you have any interest in playing some wargames, even if you never have before, any one of these groups can be a great conduit toward checing out that aspect of tabletop gaming.

Hordes of the Things - Turn Eleven Report

Well, turn eleven was resolved last Monday and I was in for a capitol battle, in my own homeland!  Fortunately, my opponent's ally messed up his turn order and the army I was to face was significantly under-strength to be taking me on, considering I had the addition of the capitol's militia and a fortress to increase my break point.  Due to this error, my opponent chose to fight another day and retreated from the battle, losing one of four field points in the process.  In another territory under contention, one of my allies and myself had a four to one battle from which the opponent also wisely retreated.

To top it all off, three other territories were taken, two close to home and another previously held and now mine again.  We, my alliance, managed to out maneuver our opponents in about four different locations, three of which were directly in my region.

Next turn is possibly the last.  The campaign is scheduled for at least twelve turns and after the twelfth, a die is cast to see if it continues for one more.  If so, that turn goes forward then another die is cast to see if a fourteenth turn is played, which is the ultimate limit for this campaign.  Our alliance currently sits in fourth place and might take third if our main opponents can be bested in the next turn or two, if we get that far.

Dungeon Master's Mat Set from Gale Force Nine

I've blogged before about the excellent Econo Bases I've picked up through Gale Force Nine.  They recently have released a new pair of products, sold together, that make good accessories for tabletop gaming, for RPGs and wargames (particularly skirmish games).  In their own words -

Gale Force Nine’s Official DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Game Mats are high-quality single-sided vinyl surfaces that are ideal battle grids for staging encounters during your adventures! The mats lie flat for ease of play and are sold in a sturdy polycarbonate tube for easy storage and transport. The mats may be marked with WET-ERASE markers to temporarily alter terrain areas or make other notes about battlefield conditions during play. The Game Mats measure 20” x 30” and are marked with a 1” grid.

The Dungeon Master’s Mat Set contains TWO vinyl game mats to stage your own encounters and adventures. The first mat is a simple 1” grid of stone tiles, the basic dungeon environment. With this mat, a DM can mark walls, doors and other dungeon features using a wet-erase marker. This mat will be the staple battle grid for any indoor encounter. The other mat is a green grass field; ideal for staging outdoor confrontations. Like the other mats, a few quick marks from a wet-erase pen customizes the mat with whatever elements the encounter calls for; add a tree line, forest path or campsite.