The Sunday Miscellanea - The Collector's Trove Auctions from the Roslofs, Sutherland, Arneson, and Ernie Gygax

There's a big auction currently in progress at The Collector's Trove with items finishing up today through Tuesday.  I see lots of art by Darlene and many curiosities dating back to the early 80s.  A few of those items featured include miniatures, TSR stationary and business cards, author's copies of many works, a third printing of (O)D&D,  a 1981 Larry Elmore Christmas card, a poster-sized piece of Erol Otus Art with 20 TSR Staff Autographs from 1981, and even a monogrammed d6 with Dave Arneson's initials.  See more here.

The Sunday Miscellanea on MFWARS.com 

Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics on MFWARS.com

not covered elsewhere or wanting a particular focus.

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Systems Saturday - Le Havre (2008)

After playing another game of Le Havre (2008) yesterday, I did a quick look through my website and couldn't find an instance where I wrote up anything about the game before.  I had been sure I had done so but apparently not.  Anyway, it's time to fix that.

Wendy,Tom, and I broke out Tom's copy of the game on a Friday afternoon at Culver's in Lake Geneva, WI, all having played the game before, though Tom had the most experience and Wendy only having played a couple of time.  None of us had played since last August, perhaps because there are many great games available these days.  Even those of us who get to multiple gamedays of conventions each month and manage a couple/few additional gaming sessions a week  can still go months without playing a favorite.  And make no mistake, I consider Le Havre a favorite.

The description from Board Game Geek is as follows:

In Le Havre, a player’s turn consists of two parts: First, distribute newly supplied goods onto the offer spaces; then take an action. As an action, players may choose either to take all goods of one type from an offer space or to use one of the available buildings. Building actions allow players to upgrade goods, sell them or use them to build their own buildings and ships. Buildings are both an investment opportunity and a revenue stream, as players must pay an entry fee to use buildings that they do not own. Ships, on the other hand, are primarily used to provide the food that is needed to feed the workers.

After every seven turns, the round ends: players’ cattle and grain may multiply through a Harvest, and players must feed their workers. After a fixed number of rounds, each player may carry out one final action, and then the game ends. Players add the value of their buildings and ships to their cash reserves. The player who has amassed the largest fortune is the winner.

Though one of us got boxed out a bit and fell behind, the other two wound up in a game that was won by a mere five points (165 / 160).  The two higher scores were achieved using quite different strategies.  One player skipped the chance to build wooden ships, focusing on cornering the iron market early and taking advantage of the Wainwright when it came up to secure an excellent revenue stream.  The other player diversified in ship building and cornered the fish market and related buildings but also snatched up the Luxury Liner toward the end of the game, a move that probably led to the five-point victory.  The two strategies likely kept opponents in check indirectly but neither would be considered directly aggressive.  One of the beautiful things about Le Havre is that it can be played with an eye toward competition but can also be played more subtly.

Systems Saturday on MFWARS.com 

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

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Tabletopper Friday - Trains (2012) on GameNight! Plus Catan Junior (2012) on TableTop with Wil Wheaton

Over on the Board Game Geek YouTube channel, the gang gets together to learn Trains (2012).  Enjoy.

Also, on the Geek & Sundry YouTube channel, Emily Anderson, Brett Baligad, and Adam Chernick join Wil Wheaton on TableTop to play Catan Junior (2012).  Enjoy.

Tabletopper Friday on MFWARS.com 

Mostly about card games and board games,
unless they have a decidedly wargamey feel.

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Nostalgia Thursday - Zork Grand Inquisitor Display

Over on the Museum of Computer Adventure Game History, they have some photos of their Zork Grand Inquisitor display here.

Nostalgia Thursday on MFWARS.com 

Focusing on the roots of current tabletop gaming
with an eye toward the last century and before.

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Wargaming Wednesday - Hammer Wars

Over on onepagerules.wordpress.com, you can check out "Hammer Wars" which is described as " a small-scale miniatures wargame inspired by RTS video games. In an alternate universe where battleships from the 41st millennium have crashed on the warhammer world, get ready to fight where fantasy meets sci-fi."  See more here.

Wargaming Wednesday on MFWARS.com 

A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.

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Terrain Tuesday - DF Woodland Caverns, Castle Moats, & Acrylic Spray Paint Review

Over on the Dwarven Forge forums, there are some pics of someone's caverns set done up in woodland colors here.

lso, on the Storm the Castle YouTube channel, there is a new video which is part seven in the castle building series and focuses on making the moat.  Enjoy.

Finally, on the Terranscapes YouTube channel, there is a review of acrylic spray paints to examine what, if any, damage they do to foam.  Enjoy.

Terrain Tuesday on MFWARS.com 

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

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Minis & Modeling Monday - GW's Smaug

It might be fun to introduce Tolkien's Smaug to your tabletop gaming by way of the Games Workshop miniature here.

Minis & Modeling Monday on MFWARS.com 

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

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