12/14/13

Spearpoint 1943, Kickstarter Preview and Interview with Designer Byron Collins

Byron Collins has launched a new Kickstarter campaign for the Spearpoint 1943 system, and is closing fast on his funding. He took a few minutes out of his busy days pimping this excellent card-driven WWII game to, well, to continue pimping it, but with GrogHeads!

Brant Guillory, 14 December 2013

Give us 3 words to describe Spearpoint 1943 as a game system.

Quick, Fun, Deep

OK, now give us the short paragraph – what’s special about the way Spearpoint 1943 plays, and where are wargamers likely to fit this into their staple of wargames?

Spearpoint 1943 is an expandable card game at its core (non-collectible). It’s highly portable with its small box and small footprint of play. It’s quick, deep, and keeps players interested because as you play, the game really tells a story. For players who want even more depth than just playing with cards, they can optionally expand it with the Village and Defensive Line Map Expansion that got a 2013 Origins Award Nomination for Best Historical Boardgame. The Map Expansion adds terrain boards that set up differently each game- it really changes the game and takes it even deeper- offering new challenges to Spearpoint players. It’s a very scalable system. Spearpoint fits nicely into a gamer’s library who seeks a great fast filler that’s easy to teach (even to teenage sons/daughters), yet scratches that tactical itch without drowning players in minutia. It’s also been called an excellent ‘filler’ game between larger wargames.

What was the genesis behind Spearpoint 1943 and what were some of the design challenges you experienced along the way?

Spearpoint 1943 came about at WBC one year. I was trying to demonstrate my very first design, which was much more complex (Frontline General: Italian Campaign Introduction). I didn’t have time to show such a complex game, so focused on demonstrating just one element of it- combat. From there, Spearpoint was born. After honing the game to be a standalone card game, the combat system became even better and more fun. Breaking it out of my first game made me realize that everything else I had done with that original design wasn’t quite as fun as just focusing on the combat. The original Spearpoint 1943 is my best-selling game, was my first game in distribution, and remains popular- hence the expansions and new standalone game- Spearpoint 1943 Eastern Front. Continue reading →

12/12/13

Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm AAR Part 3

Author: Jim Zabek

When we left off at the end of Turn 4 (and Part 2 for those of you keeping track) the Soviets were just beginning to show up in force. I decided to take a chance and drop some saturation fire on a suspected stack of Soviet units and the results were satisfying, if not spectacular. There were some sharp exchanges between my units and the lead Soviet units but I know that in this scenario we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg. As Turn 5 unfolds the action is about to get even hotter…

Turn 5 – 25 minutes elapsed

Once again the action gets crazy. All kinds of shooting opens up around the center and the south. My feisty recce team spots some mechanized units moving north and takes them under fire, then scoots away.

My recce units fire on some Soviets advancing to the north.

What’s important to note now is that so far the Soviets have barely fired back. They’ve done zero damage to me so far. But that’s about to change. Their artillery will be arriving soon and we’re going to see things get messy.

Flashpoint-Campaigns-A-Test-Of-Wills-AAR-JZ-Nov-8-041 — My M1s light up advancing Soviets.

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12/11/13

Avadon 2: The Corruption – PC Game Review

Author: Avery Abernethy

Avadon 2: The Corruption is the latest RPG from Spiderweb Software. You are a “Hand of Avadon” which translates to trouble-shooter, ambassador, and brute squad for Redbeard, the leader of the Pact. Avadon 2 is a turn-based party of characters role playing game (RPG) with a top-down perspective. The setting is mostly swords and sorcery. This review is based on many weeks of play and I have completed 90% of the game.

In Avadon 2 you select a primary character at the beginning of the game who is accompanied by two other characters. The primary character must be present during all missions. The main player can add up to two additional characters to the adventuring party. All three party members are 100% under the control of the player. The two accompanying characters can be selected based on the mission you are trying to accomplish. Every character levels up and gains experience points at the exact same rate if the go on a mission or not. This game feature removes the worry about getting each member of the group enough battle experience to be useful. The character classes are roughly equal to fighter, ninja, wizard, shaman (mix of priest & wizard), and a tinker. Only the ninja, wizard, or tinker can disarm traps or unlock doors and chests.

Avadon 2 Review-Picking a character — Picking a character.

Tinkers are quite unique to the fantasy setting. The tinker is a relatively good fighter with both melee and missile weapons. But the primary usefulness of the Tinker is their ability to erect “turrents” which can launch missile attacks, area of effect attacks, operate as snares, operate as blessings/curses or which heal friendly party members. The turrents act as immobile missile units, immobile healing/cursing priests, or immobile area of effect wizards. They can be damaged, but are quite hardy. Better yet turrents are 100% resistant to mind attacks which are challenging to defend against for most character classes. I’ve never encountered a “tinker” type of character in an RPG. When employed properly they are very powerful and enable the use of tactical strategies during battle that are unique to the game.

Avadon 2 Review-Battle with Turrent — Battle with a turrent.

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12/10/13

Tuesday Screenshot – Horus Heresy Unboxing

The Horus Heresy, mine at last. Long have I craved to defend Holy Terra from the traitorous Horus and now, with my faithful companion, Brother Librarian Boudreaux, we shall turn back history and defeat Horus, saving the Empire and driving the forces of Chaos back into the Void where they belong.

Share your own unboxing photos here >>

12/9/13

Grogheads Buying Guide – Holiday 2013

Grogheads Buying Guide – Holiday 2013

Authors: Brant Guillory and Jim Zabek

The holiday shopping season is upon us. Once again we, or our loved ones, will be faced with attempting to find something for at least one person who either has everything, or is so eclectic that they’re difficult to buy for. What to do? At Grogheads we have a tradition of suggesting a few things that you may not have seen at the mall. Conversely, if your loved ones are struggling to find you something and you are a regular at Grogheads, you’re probably not too interested in most of the things at the mall. Game stores can be intimidating to those not used to frequenting them. So we’ve done some recon on your behalf. We hope you’ll find at least a few things that will save time or be something for that someone who isn’t easy to buy for.

Boardgames

Hardcore boardgamers can be notoriously difficult to shop for. Unless you game with them you’re probably at a loss as to where to start. Here are some great games which, if they don’t have them, they probably should.

Dan Verssen Games Thunderbolt Apache Leader

Thunderbolt Apache Leader was designed from the ground up to be a solo game. A solid wargame about close air support on the modern battlefield, it is perfect for a boardgamer to break when other gamers can’t make it through the snow. Multiple scenarios and campaigns make this highly replayable, and there are even some miniatures that can be purchased to further up the immersion.

Counter Cutters

Some folks like neat, clean lines on their boardgame counters. If they’ve been using nail clippers to get cleaner counters maybe it’s time to get them something actually built for the job. Here are some counter clippers, both large and small sizes, to help expedite their quest for order.

First Strike ‘62

Perfect for the Cold Warrior, First Strike ’62 simulates the Cold War going hot with wings of bombers flying over the poles to deliver their payloads. Here is where the strategic might of the air forces come into their own. ICBMs and bombers will cross the sky in a race to see who might “win” the unthinkable struggle of nuclear war.

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