Gaming Update: Notes From Demo Night

Nothing helps cement your understanding of the rules like explaining them to someone else. Not only do you get a fresh set of eyes looking at the mechanics, but as a third party you get to hang back and get a birds' eye view of the game as it unfolds. Here are a few of the things I learned or rediscovered tonight while running Demo games at X Planet.

Malifaux's Card Mechanic Is A Show Stopper

The local store has a lot of Warmachine players, a lot of Magic players and an assortment of Infinity, Flames of War and Games Workshop enthusiasts. There are also a lot of players who hobby in more than one system.  After playing Malifaux nearly exclusively for the last year it was easy to forget how unique the Malifaux rules really are.  The sight of gamers standing over a table covered in terrain and miniatures is familiar, but replace dice with hands of cards and people want to come over and have a look-see.

The card mechanic is instinctive, but with so much depth.  Most anyone I've shown it to has understood it almost immediately, but it is still best described in layers.  The cards replace dice, but with a whole separate dimension brought into it with the suits.  Add in the jokers at the top and bottom of the curve and new players get the sense of the mechanic. By when you explain how the hand works, how cheating works, and finally how Soulstones work, you can see the new players' eyes light up as they grok the full scope of the game. 

Flay Is Better Than I Thought

Flay is a common Neverborn Trigger, found on a large number of their models.  Sure, it lets you cheat when you're on negatives, I already knew that was very good.  I guess I also knew that it would be just as good regardless of how many negatives were in play.  What I wasn't prepared for was seeing a Death Marshal get Flayed by an Illuminated on a tied duel.   That's a triple negative, using the worst of four cards for damage, and the Illuminated didn't care, he just cheated in a Severe and cut the poor Marshal in half. 

Bad Things Happen, Even To Good People

Lady Justice was the central model in the game, taking an early charge opportunity to one-shot an Illuminated (I got to explain to the new players what glorious things happen when you flip that pretty Red Joker on a damage flip).  She finished the turn in a good position to have her pick of targets the following activation.

On turn two Justice won initiative and threw another charge at the second Illuminated, ready to notch up another easy kill.  With a full hand of cards and a Wp of 6 she flipped into the Terror 10 test fearlessly and... Black Joker.  Lady Justice was stuck in the middle of the field all by herself with a full enemy Crew yet to activate.  Predictably, she did not survive much longer.

Thanks for reading.

Malifaux Quality: Be Careful What You Ask For

No, no.  Don't get up.

When I first got into Malifaux a year and a half ago I was amazed by the aesthetic of the miniatures but I was also stunned by the inconsistency of quality.  Some figures were great, with a good balance of design and execution.  Others looked as if they were made in a decade gone by and I was surprised to see that they were only a few years old.  Even Teddy, the first model that drew me to the game, seemed to be have been made with archaic tools as he was menacing to look at from the front, but completely flat when viewed from the side.

I've heard a lot of reasons as to why this was, but they all boil down to the fact that Wyrd has exploded at an amazing pace and as a result some of the models that for other companies might have represented stepping stones were current range for the young company.  That was fine by me, the models were dripping with flavour and I wanted them all (well, almost all).  Each one seemed to whisper a little story, for the first time in a long time I felt that the models were not game pieces as much as characters; fighting was not what the only thing they were for, fighting was just a thing that they did as part of a broader existence.  Still though, there was a great disparity between models like the Witchling Stalkers and Colette's Showgirls and I craved a higher quality of manufacture.

Last year, everything changed.  With the release of the Ten Thunders faction boxes and the introduction of modern Malifaux plastics, Wyrd went back to the drawing board and gave us a tweaked design, incredible computer generated sculpts and blazing levels of detail.  We went from gawky metal Ten Thunder Brothers to dynamic plastic Ten Thunder Torakage.  The news sculpts were of a quality almost unheard of, rivaling Games Workshop for quality and consistency of plastics while surpassing them in terms of casting and intricacy.

This new style has continued into the Malifaux 2e releases, with each of the reconcepted Masters getting the treatment.  Arms are longer, wrists are thinner, and nary is there a place thick enough to work a pin vice.  The new models are over-the-top dynamic, gorgeous and delicate.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

This is hard to say, but Wyrd, I feel like your models may now be too awesome.  I love them, I love owning them, I love painting them, but the thing is, when it comes to miniatures I also love playing with them.  My Guild Riflemen are complicated little statues, but they are more akin to Royal Dalton than Privateer Press when it comes to ruggedness.  Sure, Death Marshals leaping off of flaming coffins look cool on my shelf, but how on Earth am I going to get them to the game store?  You sold me a plastic Beckoner and a metal base insert, but her ankles are thinner than my drill bit.  How am I supposed to even assemble this?

I'm not mad really, if I had to choose between models that stretch me and require work or models that are slap-dash and don't, I know what I'll choose every time.  I guess all I'm saying is that I really can't handle any more delicacy.  Let's draw a line here and call it done, ok?

Broken Justice

Hey Justice, you know that's only half a sword, right?

Lady Justice is the latest casualty of this strange scenario.  Her blade was so thin and so long that I accidentally bent it while I was cutting it from the sprue.  One mishandled drop later and she can no longer properly represent her 2" melee range.  No matter how many times I tried to glue it in place, it just wouldn't hold.

I had a similar situation with Lucas McCabe when one of his arms broke (there was an extra arm in the box thankfully) and again when assembling the Guild Riflemen (one of them just doesn't get a knife now).

So the solution to my Justice dilemma:  I went out and bought a piece of brass that is 1/32" by 1/32" by 6" long and I'm going to have to make her a new sword.  I will cut the existing one off the model and attach the replacement blade to the hilt so I can use her cheek as a second contact point so I can get a better hold.  I want a model I can bring to the table after all, not just a pretty showpiece.  It should work, I'll post the results when I'm done.

The other solution:  I guess I have to grow up and be a little more careful with my toys.

Thanks for reading.

Five Things I Learned at Gen Con 2013

Just got back from a great trip to Indianapolis for our second annual trek to Gen Con.  There was a lot to see and do, more than anyone can reasonably accomplish over a 4 day period, but along the way I learned a few things.

The Con is a Big Deal

I of course know that it's a big deal for the assorted gamers and attendees, but I didn't realize how big a deal it is for the city of Indianapolis.  Every local business got into the spirit of the weekend, with customized menus (TriForce Burger anyone?) and promotions (the Mariott gave custom dice out to the first 75 rooms to check out in the morning).  The convention was front page of a number of papers each day of the event and I've been told that it was a topic of anticipation in the city for about two weeks leading up to the event.

Service is Friendly in Indy

I noticed this last year, so this time out I was deliberately looking for it.  We received excellent service at nearly every opportunity - at the hotel, at the con and at the restaurants.  Even away from the convention centre, at the gas stations elsewhere in the state, people were friendly and nice to be around.

The food was great too!  Best of the bunch were Harry and Izzy's with their prime rib sandwich au jus and California Pizza Kitchen with their Gorgonzola Pear Pizza.

If You're Doing It Right, You Can't Tweet

We were absolutely slammed for things to do!  Between the events we had registered for, the games we demoed, the things we bought and then subsequently played, the people we met, the tournaments, seminars, food and drink we were running from the moment our eyes snapped open in the morning until they snapped shut each night.  I had set out to track my trip with photos and updates, but that fell by the wayside after Day One.

Being Canadian Sucks in the US

Specifically, for any type of internet access.  WiFi connections are notoriously poor within the hall, even at the steep price of $15USD a day.  Adding data roaming to a Canadian smartphone runs about $40 for a 48 hour period for a piddly 50 megs, so that was not a viable option.  Without the roaming plan I was going to be charged a dollar a meg and 75 cents a text.  My best bet was to leave my cell data off and simply hop from router to router, borrowing internet from generous local businesses.  Not a great way to keep up on Twitter (or update the blog).

Also, I drink my coffee with milk, something that is unheard of (and as a result unavailable) in Indiana.

Games are Fun

With very few exceptions, I liked every game I played at the convention.  That doesn't translate directly to endorsements or purchases for everything, but even for the ones I didn't love I could usually find something unique or interesting that got me thinking.  Sadly there were a few games out there with buzz that I didn't get close to (The Duke, Sentinels of the Multiverse, Kings of Artifice), but what I did see there was excellent.

I enjoyed Eldritch Horror, Warhammer Discwars, Showdown, Bushido, Titanium Wars, Pathfinder: Rise of the Runelords, The Red Dragon Inn, Smash Up: Cthulhu, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire and the MERCS dice builder game.  Biggest surprise for me was Warhammer Discwars, scheduled for release before Christmas.  It captured the flavour of a Warhammer battle in a short period of time and married a unique movement mechanic to a handy little bluff mechanic.

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The most important thing from the whole trip though was of course the acquisition of my beloved second edition Malifaux rulebook.  Now that I'm comfortably back to my life I look forward to taking the time to write-up and review the finalized models within.  First up: The Ortega Family.

Thanks for reading.

GenCon 2013: Gaming to Go

This time tomorrow three buddies and I will be hitting the road for GenCon!  For those of you who don't know, GenCon is one of North America's largest and longest running gaming conventions.  It has also become the clock that the gaming industry sets its watches to with many publishers and developers either saving their release dates to coincide with the event or bringing along demos of upcoming goodies to show to the masses.   From their website:

Gen Con Indy is the original, longest-running, best-attended, gaming convention in the world!
For more than 45 years, Gen Con Indy has set the trend in gaming and has broken attendance records. Last year, more than 134,775 turnstile and 41,000 unique attendees experienced Gen Con Indy.
Featuring game industry veterans, award-winning authors and artists, jaw-dropping costumes, thousands of events, a growing Family Fun Pavilion, and the newest games on the market, Gen Con truly is The Best Four Days in Gaming™!
Gen Con is more than just a convention, however. It's a passion, a community, and a unique experience that keeps people coming back for decades. 

Flashback: August 2012

It's 2am on a Wednesday night, I can't sleep.  I have already spent several hours sorting through my Warhammer room (a vestigial name, I hadn't played a game of Warhammer in there in years) and I'm not happy with what I've found.  Games I've never played, list for armies that I'd never fielded and half-finished projects piled on top of half-started ones.  I found myself in a room full of potential gaming with little actual gaming to show for it.

Dissatisfied, I go back upstairs to evaluate.  What's the point of all this stuff?  Am I a gamer, or am I just a game voyeur?  What about real hobbyists, people who actually paint their models, play their games and take pride in their work, what do they do?  I decide to find out.

One hour and a dozen Google searches later, I hammer out a quick message to my friend Cheech before turning in for the night: "Dude, GenCon?".

Present Day: August 2013

A year has gone by since our-last minute, ill-planned four-man journey to Indianapolis.  Last year we had only eight days to get ready for the road trip, and we allotted only a single day to explore the hall.  Our research over the course of the week was less about "what shall we do there?" and more along the lines of "what is GenCon?".  All of the events were booked weeks before I even first hit the website, as well as every hotel within half an hour of the convention hall.  Still, as we stumbled bleary-eyed into our car for the return trip on the Sunday morning, we knew we ha participated in something special.

This year will be different.  We hit the website as soon as it went live and got our badges, we signed up for the events we were looking for and we are planning on being there for three full days, Thursday through Saturday.  We know what we want to see and we've booked it, but we have also set aside a bunch of time to roam around and enjoy the con without the lethargy of an all-night drive on our backs.

If you're going to GenCon, maybe I'll see you there!  Who else is going?  I plan to spend as much spare time as I can in the Achievement League.  I'll be the (only?) guy wearing a Stinkmunk name tag.  I will also be endeavoring to tweet the things that are awesome while I'm down there, although that's a new thing for me and as such is subject to failure.  I can be found at @TheStinkmunk.

Thanks for reading.

On Accountability

I've been painting a long time.

Well, that's not true.  I've been buying models for a long time, piling them in corners and regretting it later.  Dozens of models, hundreds of models, from all different game systems.  I have spent hours and hours pouring over army lists, reading rules and theorizing about how I would play my next game.  I have thought about paint schemes and written fluffy back stories for each army, created my own house rules and army lists and generated dozens of spreadsheets and gaming aides to make me a better player.  In fact, I dare say there are only two things I've neglected in my twenty years of gaming: Painting and Playing.

This is something I intend to change.  For the last year I've been trying to add a little discipline to my hobby.  I'm not buying entire armies at once , instead limiting myself to what I can get finished and I've started tracking my progress with each project.  The funny thing is it's working!  I'm getting things done and piece by piece I'm becoming a better painter.

One project at a time.  The reward of progress is that I get to buy more things, but not until I make progress on the pile of metal I already have.  It's the antithesis of everything I've done up until recently, but it's getting results.

So that brings us to this blog.  My goal here is to use this space to keep myself motivated, to keep painting and to keep playing.  I'm going to share my thoughts on the models as I paint them and on games in general. I'm going to hold myself accountable to this hobby, lest I grow up someday and find myself an old man surrounded by projects unfinished and games unplayed.

Thanks for reading.