Monthly Archives: February 2015

Saturday Lego

lego minifigs

On a visit to WH Smiths this morning I crumbled and bought two packets of series 12 and three packets of series 13 minifigs along with my usual monthly magazine purchases.

So what did I pull?

Well as the photo above shows I got the rock star and gamer from series 12. I'm really happy with this, even though I have the gamer already. Usually I put duplicates into my spares tin. But the gamer won't be doing that he'll be going to Nath if he wants him. It's a shame they didn't do a female gamer too. A bit of gender balance would be nice.

From series 13 I got a rather cool warlock/evil wizard figure. An ancient Egyptian soldier/guard, and an old west sheriff complete with Kurt Russell Tombstone bushy moustache. I love this figure. Only the other day while writing the post about the firefighters arriving and Flash Point, I was thinking and trying to resist the urge of getting Cowboys for use with Bang the Dice Game. Then today I pull the sheriff and that resistance is starting to crumble. Although all the Cowboys will have to have those big bushy moustaches like those in the movie Tombstone.

Regular readers or as I like to call them “people with nothing better to do” will know I recently got two books on making customised minifigs. The company that printed these books also print a magazine about Lego too called Blocks. There are one or two adds for it in the books. I never gave it another thought. Then today while in Smiths browsing the magazine shelfs I saw the current issue sitting there hidden in the modelling section.
I'd already browsed an official Lego magazine book about Lego. But that looked just like a light fluffy expensive advert, with the odd nugget of information thrown in. So yeah I'll get it soon! I was already in the frame of mind for picking up something to read on Lego. When I saw Blocks on the shelf, I picked it up, had a flick through, and thought why not? The cover hadn't even registered with me until I got home. Which made it an even bigger win for me.
So now I have a relaxed Saturday afternoon ahead of involving coffee, cake and reading about Lego.

 

The Completed Hacktivist

lego minifigs
So the next instalment of minifig accessories arrived today. As you can see the hoodie torso was one of the items.
I swapped over the torso, and thought what the heck let's see what the hacktivist looks like with the baseball cap. Blow me down it looked really good. So as far as I'm concerned my hacktivist minifig is complete. I really like the way that it's turned out.

I do really like the anonymous head and very tempted to add to the list of future projects a V minifig from the V for Vendetta book/movie.

There is one more minifig accessory instalment to come, but that's coming from France I think. That will enable me to finish of the lecturer minifig and make the backpacker minifig.

I do hope that seeing how easy it is to put together a custom minifig that you will think “I can do that” and create your own custom minifigs. My project was to create ones that represent aspects of myself, stuff that represents me whether it's hobbies or work. I've created custom figures, and used official figures. I think it says a lot about me that I've included Darth Vader and The Joker as aspects of myself. What it says I don't know I'm not that self aware! I'll leave that for those with more insight to decide.

 

DiceMasters Yu-Gi-Uh Initials Cards I Like

dice masters

As the earlier new arrivals post showed I happened to open a gravity feed for the latest set of Dicemasters Yu-Gi-Uh. I've had a couple of looks through the cards I pulled and thought I'd put up the ones that grabbed my attention so far, ones I like the look of.

This Jinzo card seems to be getting some heat (my friend and Dicemasters online rival Scott dislikes this card).

The main problem now in a mixed game, three sets, only eight cards. And this only gets worse through out the year when the other new sets come out, currently four at the moment.

 

Early ideas for hacktivist and lecturer minifigs

lego minifigs

Using the bits that arrived earlier I've knocked together quick ideas for the hacktivist and the lecturer.

The lecturer torso and legs will stay, but at the moment I'm using a spare Thor head, which will be replaced with a head similar to the one I use on the blogger I made. So still bearded but a different expression on the face, not as fierce.

The hacktivist will change, I'll keep the head (of course) and the legs. But the torso will change, I'll use a hoodie torso when it arrives. The courier bag/satchel will also stay, and I'll add a laptop as an accessor. Not sure about the bandana for the hat, will replace that too. I like the beanie hat I use on the blogger also for the hacktivist. Luckily I think I have another one on the way.

So as you can see it's very easy to create a custom minifig (well if there are the bits available). These are a work in progress, notes, exploring ideas before finalising.

 

New Arrivals new arrivals (5/2)

dice masters, ghost stories, lego minifigs, new arrivals

Going to start off this post with some lego stuff and then finish with a game related bit.

First up some minifig bits that will make be parts in making my three planned figures. Plus the little contamination container for the scientists. There are still some more bits to come, more legs torsos, and accessories. But they are coming from a different company. I am really happy with the anonymous head to use for the hacktivist.

I had a little issue getting this next item. Ordered at the same time as the other bits from Amazon, but sent separately via Royal Mail. Didn’t arrive next day ( thanks Amazon for the extra month of Prime membership, pays to complain ). The book still hadn’t arrived yesterday so back on to Amazon who resent the book! Which turned up today.
Finally I found a site (Belgian!) that sells promos for the game Ghost Stories, ok truth be told I wasn’t actively looking for promos for this game I stumbled upon it, as you do. So as part of a small promo splurge this month I ordered the promos they had. The Ma-Cho promo is for an expansion I don’t have (yet) but thought I’d get now while I could. The others add more cards/tiles to the base game. I’ll be looking at these in more indepth at a later date.

So there you have it today’s new arrivals. More still to come, but I’m not going to spoil the surprise as to what they are. Knowing what was released last week I think some of you may be able to make an educated guess to one or two of the items.

UPDATE

Well lunchtime saw another delivery. The Yu-Gi-Uh Dice Masters Gravity Feed arrived. Ninety packs, one hundred and eighty cards and dice. Two rare cards ^__^ So as you can guess I’ve had a funtime opening all those packs.

 

 

More Firefighters

flash point, lego minifigs

Today saw the arrival of some more firefighter lego minifigs.

So white helmets instead of black (which the other firemen had). Just a single axe, not an issue I can pick fire fighting equipment up easily enough from the usual sites I get custom minifig bits from. I like the flames a lot. I'm glad they are there. They look cool, and the fact there is a sum one has given me an idea. These could replace the fire bits in Flash Point. The smaller flame the heat spot, and the bigger flame the actual fire. And I think I've an idea for the smoke,based on the way Lego did smoke on the mountain hut set I have. I think this would/will add a cool 3D element to the games playing area.
Oh wait I can use regular minifig characters to represent the victims being rescued once they have been located in the burning building.
Flash Point: Fire Rescue Lego Edition has a nice ring to it. If they ever bring this out you saw the idea here first.

 

Apps and boardgames some thoughts

tabletop

I'd been thinking about saying something on the matter of Boardgames and apps, I'd wanted to mull my thoughts over on the subject and present a coherent and thoughtful piece on the subject (which would be a first for me). However after watching last nights Board Game Breakfast (episode 62) where one of the segments was “Barry puts his head on the block” talked about this subject and was pro games using apps. But his argument was shallow, concentrated on one point and missed a major flaw. His presentation was meant to be entertaining. Which some may consider it was but in reality it was a poor segment that didn't really address the issue.

Last year started to see one or two major games come out or announced that relied heavily on the use of an app on your iPad or iPhone (Apparently there are lesser tablets and phones on the market but why you would have them I have no idea). The games were the new XCOM Boardgame that has just come out and Golem Arcana (well they are the ones I know about).

This is a trend that I don't think will go away and will become even more popular I think. For me I'm not interested in games that rely so heavily on an app for game play. Ok to be fair owning one, I'd happily play one if some-one else has forked out for the game.

In the said poor piece I mentioned above in the Board Game Breakfast segment, the main point the guy made was about how it would cut down on components, possibly box size, and set up (potentially) and remembering rules/sequence. I'm not sure it would mean that games become cheaper because of the reduced components etc. Apps don't develop themselves, they have development costs. Then once released they have maintenance costs as bugs have to be fixed when they are uncovered by players (although I'd hope they are minor bugs at this point), making sure the app gets updated so it is compatible with new releases of the os. Then you have porting costs as you port the app to new platforms, and then the support of the app on the new platform.

All that is not cheap, even if the game publisher out sources the work to a third party app developer. Which is going to be the case for most publishers because I'm not sure that they have in house software developers. So this development cost has to be covered. How would the publisher cover these costs? By the only way they can by including them in the cost of the game they sell. It won't be on the App Store because that has to be free. Imagine the uproar you pay £40 for the game, get home then find you have to pay for the app that makes the game playable on top! No the cost of the app will be included in the initial purchase.

Now I have seen a comment or two about how some players already have a problem keeping fellow players out of their phones while playing. And they only see this new development as an extension of that, and helps take players out of being immersed in the theme. I can see that argument, but I'd also side with the segment I don't like very much in saying that the app could also help immerse a player more in the game. Whether it's in the use of atmospheric music, sound effects, dramatic readings of story, all can enhance the experience of players while playing. Look at Zombie 15 and its use of an MP3 track to run the game. It completely gets the player immersed and builds tension while playing.

In the video game world there is a retro scene, where middle aged folks like myself like to relive the games they grew up with by either running their original computers/consoles and playing the tapes/disks/cartridges of the game. Or using emulators and images of the games. However this is all made possible because there is a physical version of the game and they stand alone. In recent years games have as standard come with multiplayer options that require a server to connect users up to be able to play the game. The issue we have for preserving these games for future generations is that when these servers are killed off by the publisher/developer that game or the multiplayer portion the game is dead.

Then there is the issue of moving away from physical media to purely digital. Which then gives the problem of archiving games and running them and making them available. This problem only gets amplified with the app stores and mobile gaming.

Now we all know boardgames go out of print. Sometimes they get reprinted other times they stay out of print. What happens with a boardgame that relies on an app to be playable? Will the publisher keep it going indefinitely? I don't think so as it would be uneconomic to do so. It's why the likes of Nintendo etc shutdown servers for their games for old patforms eventually. You can't play multiplayer over the Internet in Mario Kart on a DS now. Let's face it the resources of Nintendo are greater than probably all the boardgame companies added together. And they find it uneconomic to keep such services going. Then I think it not unreasonable to expect at some point in a games lifetime that the app for it is no longer supported. How long we are looking at I don't know. One, two years after the last printing?

This is my major issue with using apps with boardgames where they are so integral to the game. I like the idea of helper apps, where they help keep track of life or stats, even provide virtual dice. However it doesn't matter if these apps get dropped the game is still very much playable.

But imagine ten years from now, you have friends over that you went to college with. You are all reminiscing about the old days, and the boardgame nights you had. You remember the adventures and narrow escapes. Then some-one says “do you remember what a great time we had playing that XCOM boardgame?” You reply “oh do I, I still have it”. You disappear for a minute or two letting your friends entertain themselves down memory lane. You return with the game. Everyone expresses disbelieve that you still have it. Then a voice suggests “let's play it for old times sake”. You crack out the contents of the box, you all gather round the table excited to be playing the game again. Only you can't as the app is no longer available and the game can't be played without it.

That in a nutshell is my problem with the whole boardgame and app trend. As I said near the start of this post I can't see myself spending my hard earned pennies on this type of boardgame. But I'll more than happily play the game if some-one else has got it.

I think the issue is a complicated one, with implications that seem at the moment in the places I hang out on line to be missed. I hope I have been more balanced here on the subject. I'd love to know your thoughts on this.

 

 

Firehouse Baby

flash point, game night, lego minifigs, new arrivals, tabletop

“Get the firehouse

'Cause she sets my soul afire

Get the firehouse

And the flames keep gettin' higher”

KISS – Firehouse

As part of my expanding lego minifig collection four lego minifig firemen arrived. Luckily these can be picked up relatively cheaply on eBay. So why have I got firemen? The photo above kind of gives it away really. It's mainly to use in playing the game Flash Point instead of the little plastic figures that come with the game (the blue figure in the photos is one of them). And also for when I do posts about the game I'll use them for a little photo shoot to illustrate the post.
I'm not claiming using lego minifigs as replacement game counters as my original idea. I had been thinking about it since getting Imperial Assault ( and ruled out because Star Wars minifigs aren't as cheap as firefighters). However over Christmas I did see a post on the UK Imperial Assault Facebook page where some-one had done exactly that and used Star Wars lego minifigs instead of the provided miniatures. It looked pretty cool.
In fact I'm half tempted to use the scientists I have in Pandemic games also. One thing I'll have to do is get a female minifig head or two to convert one or two of the firefighters into female ones. Why? Well it's the right thing to do, plus there are female characters in the game already. So to be true to the game I think some of the player counters should also be female.
I kind of like the idea of using lego minifigs as game counters. For me it adds an additional fun element to the game. It means I can create personalised minifigs that represent the person playing the game. So it can add that personal touch and be used as a cool memento of the evening (although that could get expensive – unless they bring the minifig back with them for subsequent games). Before I start doing this for my gaming evenings I must find a cheaper supply of minifig parts and accessories. eBay and the sites I use online aren't suitable for this as a long term project. Nice thing is if I can source a cheap supply of parts for my own projects, I can use them also with students in induction weeks (I mentioned this idea in a previous post).
Who would of thought I'd find a cross over between lego minifigs and boardgames. It was pretty dam obvious really.

 

Writing about boardgames

tabletop

Even though it's a youngster compared to other forms of entertainment and art, videogames have a rich vein of writings about them. From the superficial to the indepth. Some of my favourite writings are the indepth ones. They look not at if the game is any good, but they look at the impact of a game, the theme, how the author feels while playing them. Great examples of the sort of writing I like is the really indepth writing of Brendan Keogh in his amazing analysis of Spec Ops:The Line in his book Killing is Harmless: A Critical Reading of Spec Ops:The Line , or the e-magazine Five out of Ten. These writings are not reviews, although I do tend to like the more mature reviews of the kind done in Edge and Games TM magazines.

Then there is another branch of writing about videogames where the author breaks down a game and analyses its design. Which is also interesting to read, especially when they look at a classic game I have fond memories of.

Now boardgames have been around a lot longer than videogames, however I would argue that the current “golden age” has been around a lot less longer than videogames. Which brings me to the current crop of writing about boardgames. In my opinion the writing about boardgames is not as mature as the writing about videogames. There is often the lamenting about videogame writing that where are the equivalent writers that compare to popular writers in the film world. But I feel that writing about videogames is getting there. However I haven't really come across this in boardgames, and feel there is still a long way to go.

Maybe I haven't come across the right blogs yet or authors. If you know of any then please let me know in the comments below. I'd love to be proved wrong. But most of the stuff I have seen are just reviews, that follow a particular formula, introduce game, explain rules/game play, comment on components, likes/dislikes. Not too dissimilar to a videogame review. I think the area of boardgame writing is due disrupting and moving on to include the sort of indepth writing I enjoy.

Will you find that sort of writing here? Maybe. I don't feel I'm upto the task. I'm not as wide read, I can't quote philosophers and apply them. Heck I'm not that deep or self aware as has been pointed out to me over the years. I'm just a simple flawed guy. I will try, just don't expect me to be successful. Possibly I'll get there, but hopefully the journey will be entertaining anyway.

In the meantime I hope others see this call to arms and accept the challenge.