07/25/13

Warlock Four-Player AAR – Tuna Round 3

LongBlade: Hmmm.

Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm.

As of Turn 38 our four-player Warlock game suddenly became a three-player game. Bartheart had the misfortune to be crushed by MetalDog. It was tough to watch but these things do happen.

You you may recall, dear reader, Bartheart had sent a request for help to Tuna. Tuna couldn’t figure out how to conduct trade for a turn, and while that delay was costly, probably most costly was a probable distraction between the other two players. Allowing MetalDog free reign to go one-on-one against any other player is likely to only feed MetalDog’s success.

So let us turn our attention to the north and see what has preoccupied Tuna from helping a possible ally in Bartheart.

Turn 34

The Command Tent declares war on Tuna.

turn34b-tendeclareswar

turn34a-tenthitsmehard

Here a picture can tell a thousand words. In this case it probably tells the outcome of the game even though three players still wander the land. On Turn 32 Bartheart lost the city of Unceraculum. It’s now blue, indicating MetalDog has conqured it (in the lower center of the above image).

More interestingly, however, is the fact that The Command Tent and Tuna are going after each other hammer-and-tongs. They should be able to see that MetalDog is crushing Bartheart. Will they call a truce and attempt to gang up against MetalDog? Or will they stay locked in a deathgrip with one another and ignore the threat from their south?

Some good news for Tuna – he’s founded a new city and building an infrastructure to get some higher quality archers.

turn34e-irilbows

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07/24/13

Star Trek Miniatures

These minis are obviously a work-in-progress, but I wanted to share them. A few months back I bought the recently released Mongoose Publishing’s Romulan Fleet Pack for A Call to Arms. The A Call to Arms miniatures are compatible with other Star Trek gaming systems including Federation Commander. Subsequently I received a couple of booster packs for the Federation and the result is I have a nice collection of both sides with which to field a force.

My preferred primer/paint is Tamiya for these as their Fine Primer goes on like skin and looks like the mini had been cast with the color in it instead of sprayed on.

The Federation ships will be white, but the Romulans can have pretty much any color scheme. The Romulans have twelve houses so the choice of color scheme is pretty open. I have chosen to apply a dark blue base coat, over which I intend to layer some lighter colors to give it some depth.

These images should give a nice indication of the quality of models as well as the direction of painting I’m moving towards. All of the Romulan vessels, with the exception of the Klingon pattern ships, have the Romulan War Eagle traced on their undersides, and Mongoose has indicated that in the future they plan on including the eagle etching on the Romulan owned Klingon vessels.

DSCN2992 DSCN2993 DSCN2994 DSCN2995

07/22/13

Sensei [RAW] Mouse – Hardware Review

A review by Andy Mills, 22 July 2012

The Sensei [RAW] Gaming Mouse

Killer Performance at a Modest Price

When I started shopping for a new gaming mouse, the Sensei [RAW] wasn’t a name that immediately came to mind.  I expected to buy an aggressively named, over-engineered input device from a company like Corsair, Logitech, Razer, or ROCCAT.  Being a traditionalist when it comes to mouse design, the Steelseries Sensei [RAW] (which I will abbreviate as the SSR) caught my attention.  The conventional design and very attractive price ($59.99 CDN/USD) convinced me that this was the mouse I was looking for (no Obi-Wan jokes please).  The Sensei [RAW] is the AK-47 of the gaming mouse world.  With understated looks, a minimal number of extra buttons, and durable construction, this mouse will appeal to the frugal fragger and wargamer alike.

sensei1

The unboxed Sensei [RAW]

Who is Steelseries?

Steelseries is a Danish manufacturer that was founded in 2001, and specializes in gaming hardware. Their very first product was a glass mouse pad aimed at the power gaming crowd. According to their web site, the company started out as a two person operation and has since evolved into a multinational presence with offices in Asia, Europe, and North America.  Steelseries places a great deal of emphasis on competitive gaming and is a sponsor of professional e-sporting events. The company also uses input from professional gamers to design and market their products. The Steelseries corporate philosophy is to take a substantial portion of their revenue and put it back into the gaming community to help spur industry growth.

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07/20/13

Interview: Chris Fasulo Sr of Grognard Simulations

Interview by Brant Guillory, 20 July 2013

This week, we are fortunate to have with us Chris Fasulo Sr, of the (relatively) new wargaming company Grognard Simulations.  Grognard Simulations burst onto the scene with their Death Ride series of operational games that garnered a great reputation for its combined arms system.  We managed to chisel a few moments out of his 18-hour days to talk about Grognard Simulations and his wargaming background.

 

Tell us a little bit about your wargaming background? When did you get started and what made you stick with it?
This will be difficult as I have an extensive background in wargaming.  It started when I was but a teenager in the 70’s with my first game being the AH classic of France 1940.  I still have it.  This grew through my high school years and I was solidly convinced by my enjoyment of wargaming that I wanted to be in the Army.  So, after having failed at my first semester at college I made my leap into the service.  I enlisted and spent my active duty time in Hawaii.  I found a small gaming group and built my desire to keep it up.  I exited active duty and as a member of NJ National Guard I sought a commission as an officer.  Having succeeded at becoming a Second Lieutenant as an Armor Officer I had so much fun that my gaming and military life began to be one.

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07/19/13

GARPA 23 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

It‘s that time again, whether you like it or not.  GARPA is back for another Friday of gaming projects funded by you, the fans.

Come watch Lloyd and Dan explore new projects or at least watch them talk to themselves about what, in their minds, constitutes a cool project. Cool is the operative word here since it is presently hotter than a snake’s arse in Arizona in the summertime over most of the known world right now. Remember…cool.

Like what you see or think we missed something, make sure and leave some feedback on the forums, if for nothing else than to boost our egos.

Stay cool!

GARPA-23-July-19-2013-1 I AM ZOMBIEI AM ZOMBIE: Field Manual & RPG by Make-Believe Games

$23,343 pledged of a $30,000 goal funding ending July 31st

I AM ZOMBIE is a very unique take on the zombie genre.  As you can tell from the title you are a zombie, well sort of.  It is better if I let the game designers explain it.

“You are a Toxic, a victim of an age-old disease, the Scourge. The cycles of your life revolve around picking up and getting rid of Odium, a by-product of that which ravages your body. Odium build-up threatens to transform you into a mindless zombie – a Skag – whilst granting physical prowess. You might (sic) half-dead, but if you control your Odium, you can retain your humanity, at least some of time.

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