Sunday, June 14, 2015

The Sunday Miscellanea - Cthulhu Dice, Crucial Roll, & d20 Balance

A recent article on BoingBoing reveals "Cthulhu Dice – Curse your opponents before you lose all your marbles and go insane" here.  "The Cthulhu Mythos is turned into a game of dice in Steve Jackson's Cthulhu Dice."


Also, on the Timothy Fanno YouTube channel, he shares "What to do on a crucial D20 roll."  Video is a bit choppy but a funny concept.  Watch and learn!



Finally, a recently viral video from the Daniel Fisher YouTube channel, he shows us "How to check the balance of your D20."  A close examination of what makes dice tick.  Insightful!



Essentially, a clearinghouse for topics on MFWARS.com
not covered elsewhere or wanting a particular focus.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Systems Saturday - Railways of the World: The Card Game (2010)

We've played quite a few games of Railways of the World series locally and have long been planning to try out Railways of the World: The Card Game (2010) but it only recently made it to the table.  We were both impressed and in love with this game right from the start.  It has a lot of similarities to the board game but some innovations that increase the speed and flexibility of the game concept.  It also seems to find a way to make gameplay even more balance over the beginning and middle of the game leaving it to the individual player to set up a final scoring that can clinch the victory.


The description from Board Game Geek is as follows:
Railways of the World The Card Game is a fast paced card game adaptation of the popular Railways of the World board game series. In Railways of the World The Card Game players use track cards and city cards to build a series of railroad routes and deliver goods! 
As the game progresses, players work to connect more cities, upgrade their engines for larger carrying capacity and deliver goods through a network of routes across the table.
Railways of the World The Card Game provides two versions of rules: one the whole family can play, which is also a great way to introduce them to Railways of the World, and one for more experienced fans of the Railways of the World series.

A couple of us be broke this game out on one day, checked out the rules, and planned a game for later in the week, then we played it twice.  We had the expansion available to us (and the game, thanks to Tom), but stuck with the basic games for both times through.  Although I don't think it significantly upset play, we did have one rules regarding the drawing of wild cards / engines a bit messed up, but all played with that same misconception and it didn't affect play.  We'll correct that on future playings.  Part of the enjoyment of the game comes from being in the running right up to the end.  It's not that the game forces the balance but rather than multiple approaches keep players from getting boxed out of scoring and building their rail lines, plus the scoring differences from the board game ensure that isolation doesn't allow for runaways.  We will definitely play this one again and I don't think gameplay takes more than an hour, so several games of it can be had each time.  This should also more quickly facilitate our rules and strategy mastery.


A look under the hood of various Games, Rules and Systems.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Friday, June 12, 2015

Tabletopper Friday - Istanbul, Office Love Letter, & Boxing Catan

Over on thedomesticgeekblog.com, Brittany Belling has one of her excellent reviews of Istanbul (2014), a game I have played and enjoyed a great deal.  See Brittany's review here and check my own review out here.


Also, on Andy's Odds and Ends, he shows off a reskin of Love Letter (2012) in the vein of The Office television show here.


Finally, on eBay from kimpek77, "Settlers of Catan Custom Storage Box. Fit all your Catan in 1 box. High quality" here.  Maybe a little pricey but it certainly does look high quality.

Mostly about card games and board games,
unless they have a decidedly wargamey feel.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Nostalgia Thursday - Deities & Old Ones

Over on io9.com, they recently ran an article recounted "The 13 Strangest Deities in Dungeons & Dragons" here.


Also, over on the CMG Corner of the CMG Blog Triad, a post for day  "Favorite Deity" on Day 6 of The D&D Thirty-Day Challenge! took a look at The Toeffrun Creation Myth here.


Finally, on yog-sothoth.com, a recent podcast heralded the "The Great Old Ones Return," a Sandy Petersen Interview which tells of the return to Chaosium of Sandy Petersen and Greg Stafford.  Learn more 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!

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Wargaming Wednesday - Three Battle Reports

These get progressively longer but if you're an old hand at viewing battle reports you probably have a system whereby you skip when you realize there is a lag, lull, or other bit that could have been edited.  Anyway, the first of the reports is from the Miniwargamer Jay YouTube channel titled "Jay Knight Batrep Episode 45 Post Game."  Enjoy!



Also, check out this video from the miniwargaming YouTube channel titled "Lizardmen vs Wood Elves Warhammer Fantasy Battle Report - Old World Wars Ep 71."  Neat!



Finally, a video from the GamersOnGames YouTube channel titled "Episode 308 : Warmachine Hordes Legion of Everblight vs Khador 50pt PhillyGamesCon2015."  Long but interesting!



A closer examination of board and miniatures Wargaming.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Terrain Tuesday - Neurathen Rock Castle, Lola Simon's Sceneries, & Pre-World War I NY Apts

There's a wikimedia.org page showing "Neurathen Rock Castle as in the Middle Ages scale model" here that's worth a quick look.


Also, check out the Lola Simon's Sceneries website for some beautiful scaled work here.


Finally, on mentalfloss.com, they feature "10 Elaborate Floor Plans from Pre-World War I New York City Apartments" here.


For purposes here, the term Terrain is used broadly
to cover 3D and 2D maps, foam, felt, and such.
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!

Monday, June 8, 2015

Minis & Modeling Monday - Tony DiTerlizzi Teams with Dark Sword Miniatures

From Dark Sword Miniatures with Tony DiTerlizzi . . . three teasers leading up to today . . .

"I am very excited to announce our next premium pewter miniature range based on the wonderful and whimsical artwork of Tony DiTerlizzi. This is something that Tony, myself, Tom Meier and Dave Summers have been working on since late 2014. Should be a really fun pewter miniature line for painters, gamers, collectors and everyone in between. Tony is an old school miniature enthusiast like myself so this has been a lot of fun indeed. We hope folks like the range as much as we do. So spread the word as this is coming soon!"


"Our second Teaser picture for the upcoming Tony DiTerlizzi Masterworks Miniature range project from Dark Sword Miniatures launching on Kickstarter Monday June 8th. Spread the word!"


"And the final teaser image before we go live with the Tony DiTerlizzi Masterworks Kickstarter project on Monday June 8th around 5pm CST. This will be a premium pewter miniature range like our other four projects we have run and delivered backer rewards ahead of schedule on. The studio model below was painted by Jessica Rich and sculpted by Tom Meier."

The Dark Sword Miniatures Kickstarter profile is here.


A look at prepping and painting Miniatures,
crafting buildings and paper Models,
and other non-terrain stuff for the tabletop..
Please Like, Share, Plus, Tweet, Follow, and Comment!