All posts by Darren

What does…? A response to A Double Double ‘n Dice

dice masters, Dicemasters

It seems at the moment my only Dice Masters posts are “responses” to the excellent Dice Masters podcast A Double Double ‘n Dice, hosted by Kim and Jocelyn.

Ok we know by now the reason why I’m not getting Dice Masters or any other lcg/ccg to the table. But for those that have worse memories than myself I’ll remind you. The venue where we play games currently isn’t open on a Tuesday. I believe they will be once again as we get nearer to the Summer. However unless a new venue can be found we are unable to play at the moment.

But less of my gaming woes and back on to topic.

In the latest episode Kim and Jocelyn ask…

Before we get onto my thoughts on what was discussed, take this opportunity to hear Kim and Jocelyn discuss this subject first by playing the embedded YouTube video below.

Welcome back.

The discussion started off with mulling over the release schedule of product and what the “perfect” frequency of new sets would be each year.

Eventually Kim and Jocelyn hit on three sets a year. Which was the number I initially thought of when they started discussing the subject.

For me three sets a year, which is basically every four months, gives folks time to buy, collect, and play with the new set before starting all over again.

It also doesn’t flood the market, stretch store finances, or milk us players.

One thing WotC used to do. But they have stopped any pretence now and are just out to squeeze as much money as they can out of players. They release way too much product, you barely get chance to play with it before the next thing is out. And the end result is there are some really poor sets released that don’t sell. Which hurts the LGS who get left with product that isn’t selling.

And I want Wizkids to learn from the WotC mistakes.

The three sets a year should allow Wizkids enough development time to release a higher quality product that players will want to.

I would add along side three sets a year I’d love to see some supporting products like the original style two player starter sets, or a preconstructed team that would be competitive in a LGS game night. Something new players could buy and get a good start to playing the game with.

I’m going to skip over the competitive play of worlds and nationals. I’d never make it to worlds (would need a passport first). A UK/EU nationals held at UKGE each year would be cool. I’d go to that.

It’s the OP kit discussion that I went…

You can’t have exclusive cards with new abilities that can only be gotten by winning a tournament of some kind.

We all know that there are some unscrupulous store owners out there (mainly in the US I think) that would sell on the OP kit or the exclusive card on eBay for silly money.

But more importantly if the card turns out to be a Master Mould or Gobby level card only a very small handful of players will have it. They will have an unfair advantage.

If I buy a booster/draft pack I have as much chance as the next person in pulling something good.

This suggestion puts the card in the hands of a minority, and makes it accessibility or chances of getting it very restricted. What if your FLGS doesn’t run Dice Masters events? You’re screwed.

Wizkids could ban the card. But that then makes it worthless as a prize.

Easiest solution don’t do it in the first place. Make prizes stuff like playmats, or as also suggested alt art cards, or even mini booster packs of three cards, possibly with alt art of cards from the last three sets, for example.

Don’t give participation prizes to everybody!

Nooooooooo! I was going all Luke again.

You pay your event entry fee. You need something back apart from just playing the game. Stores can’t not charge. They have to pay for the OP kit, and any additional prize support. They need to cover the expense of the kit.

But at the same time not everyone is going to win a prize. So a participation prize is a necessity.

These store events are about building the game and its community.

Participation prizes are a key part of that.

Come to our event, take part and get a cool card for doing so. It’s a great selling point.

I think Wizkids could even learn from FFG and Star Wars Unlimited here and borrow their OP format. I like the encouragement of the casual side where even just turning up talking about the game, trading cards, building decks will get you a participation prize!

The rest of the discussion I totally agree with.

I did get another brief mention in the mail bag section of the show. And now know Kim will never read these posts of mine.

Still a great episode that as you can see obviously sparked some thoughts.

Just checking in

Game day, life, the universe, and everything, still alive

I’m in survival mode at moment.

Just trying to make it to the next day.

Drained. Tired.

Work gets like that sometimes.

Especially when you are given a shift pattern that is nine days without a break.

The upside is I get three days off at the end of it. Which will allow me to get along to a Friday club night.

What has made this time more difficult is getting the car repaired last Friday. Meaning an early start after a late finish. Plus squeezing in a prearranged gaming session the next day before work.

So you can see why I say I’m knackered and just surviving.

On the upside I got to play some games this month. I’ve just not written about them.

Diego and I are building up to play BattleTech Alpha Strike. Now with the full Alpha Strike rules in my possession we can use the full games hex maps on Diego’s table. This means for the other starter box sets they are even better value, as I can use more of the contents. We just need some hex maps now! Which Diego is ordering.

I’m going to leave it there for now. I’m tired.

Back to the hills – new kit

#backtothehills, hiking/backpacking/camping, outdoors

Ok second time writing this post, because the Jetpack app that I use to write my posts decided instead of publishing my words it’d just throw them away into the ether and lose 40 minutes of work!

With my planned return to the wilds of the UK after such a long hiatus from them. I’m using this time to reassess my “philosophy” or approach to the outdoors.

Part of this reassessment has involved my thinking on kit. And naturally new bits have been arriving. How I’ve missed this.

So this post is a catch up on some of the stuff that has dropped through my letter box recently. It’s not all of it. But I’m sure I’ll talk about the stuff not mentioned in other posts.

First up is the SOTO Thermolite cook set. Unusual for me this is not titanium, it aluminium! I know a major shock. It’s not like I needed a new cook set. But I did like the look of this when I saw it on a YouTube video. I like it comes with a pot cozy. It is a 750ml handless pot that comes with a small pot gripper that I might also use with other pots. It’s definitely smaller than the Trangia pot gripper I have. The lid is multi use and can be used to drink from the pot, and strain liquids. I like this set a lot.

Next is the 18cm diameter iBasingo Titanium Non-Stick Frying Pan. Can you believe I didn’t have a specific frying pan in all the pots etc I have? You could get the Trangia. You could buy/add the Trangia Multi Disc for 27 Series Cookers to this. That is 18cm diameter as well. Something I might do in the future. I believe this frying pan has a capacity of about 900ml. It should be able to fit the small tortilla wraps UK supermarkets sell. And looks ideal for one person. To go along with this I got a Tala Silicone Mini Spatula so I don’t ruin the non-stick surface. It’s about 6 or 7 inches long, light. Perfect for my needs.

SOTO Thermolite
iBasingo Titanium Non-Stick Frying Pan & Tala Silicone Mini Spatula
Vargo Alcohol Fuel Bottles
Goshawk OP-100
Pure Clear Collapsible Filter Water Bottle

Ok did I need another stove? Technically the answer would be no. But this Goshawk OP-100 looks pretty cool. It’s a bit of an alternative to the Trangia as far as I see it. It has this swirling flame (yes I’ll be doing a video) that looks cool. It comes with a sealing cap. So fuel can be left in it. It did come with a handy little stuff sack.

I got two Vargo Alcohol Fuel Bottles. They are expensive for what they are. Pretty sure paying for the Vargo name. But I do like the fuel measurement marks on the bottles.

Finally in this post is the Pure Clear Collapsible Filter Water Bottle. I have water filters that are over a decade old. I’m not sure how effective they would be now. So I decided to play it safe and get a new one. A bit of research and taking into account budget and planned usage ended up on the Pure Clear.

I have a shit load to do before I get back into the hills later this year. Kit to test in over night trips. Yes I have one or two over nights planned, along with day hikes.

In another post I’ll talk about the food/ingredient bits I’ve got in. But I’ll be testing recipes and sharing them on here.

Star Wars Unlimited two-player starter set experience

ccg/tcg, game night, lcg/ccg/tcg game night, star wars, Star Wars Unlimited

In my previous post I gave my impressions of the two-player starter set from FFG for Star Wars Unlimited.

So continuing on from that post I’m going to share my thoughts on playing Star Wars Unlimited using the two starter decks included in the starter set.

Both Diego and myself have played other competitive collectible and living card games such as Magic the Gathering, Android Netrunner (not sure if Diego has played this) and Vampire the Masquerade Rivals.

Obviously for this starter set to be playable by two-players as its name suggests, it has to come with two preconstructed decks that can be played straight out of the box. You’ll find the deck lists for both decks at the end of the post.

Every deck built for Star Wars Unlimited has to have a leader and base. They determine the cards you can play in your deck. You can play out of faction cards but there is an extra cost in doing so.

In this two-player starter the two leaders you get are Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

I love that the art for both is from the duel between them on Cloud City at the end of Empire.

I’ve not looked at all the cards in the decks. But there is one that ties in with this called “I am your father”.

Even the way the card works (above) is so thematic. Love it.

Luke’s base is the Aministrator’s Tower, and Vader’s is the Commander Center. Both 30 health, and add a third faction symbol.

Luke’s Base
Vader’s Base
The two bases

Obviously the game shares mechanics common to all ccgs. Such as exhausting cards (tapping in mtg), units coming in exhausted (summoning sickness), spending resources to play cards. You get the idea.

So coming from a ccg background it was very easy to pick up the game.

I did like that you draw two cards at the end of the round, and may play a card from hand face down to be used as a resource.

This for me this is a major difference to other games I’ve played. It also introduces a hard decision because once a card has been played face down as a resource there is no getting it back. Which card becomes a resource? Which do you hold on to? If you don’t play a resource it delays when your leader can come out, it limits what cards can be played. It has such big implications. Especially early on.

I also like the back and forth of actions. And the gamble of passing. On your turn you can pass, waiting to see what your opponent does. However if your opponent seizes the initiative, or passes also. That’s it the round has ended. Even if you wanted to do more! That’s the gamble.

Diego and I played a game with each deck.

The decks seem fairly evenly matched. Our first game was pretty close.

Although our second game was more one sided. But that was more down to the draw of cards. You get games like that. You just have to put the game behind you, and move on to the next one.

I liked playing Star Wars Unlimited with these decks. They were fun to play. Great decks to play casually with a friend over the kitchen table.

I’ll definitely buy the next sets two-player starter set. Hopefully they too will be as balanced.

Finally here are the two deck lists for the decks.

Deck list for both decks

It should be noted there are some cards in this starter set that are only available in the starter set, or in the op kit promo kits.

First impressions of the two-player starter set for Star Wars Unlimited

ccg/tcg, first look, game night, lcg/ccg/tcg game night, star wars, Star Wars Unlimited

Last night I got to play the two-player starter set for Star Wars Unlimited with Diego.

I have some mixed thoughts about the whole experience.

Let me just say up front I really like the game.

However I do have some issues with the quality of this product.

First up is the flimsy very thin card tokens included for tracking damage, first player, etc. That’s my issue they are so flimsy. I hate them. If you intend to get into the game you will want to upgrade these as a priority. Maybe that’s what the aim was. To “encourage” you to buy the GameGenic acrylic tokens. That’s if you can find anywhere that has them.

I was also very disappointed with the quality of the cards themselves. They too are very thin. You will be sleeving the cards. You have to. These are boarding on unusable. This means that opening boosters will be a bitter sweet experience. On one hand I’ll be excited about opening the packs, and the cards I pull. On the other repulsed by the poor quality of the card stock used.

The two folded paper playmats were as expected quality wise. I like they have the play areas on them. Plus act as a player aid with setup, what you can do on a turn, end of a round summary, plus keyword summary. All very handy for learning the game, and teaching it.

The quick start/learn to play booklet is nice and does the job well. We hardly had to refer to it.

The two cardboard deck boxes a nice touch that don’t need assembling. They are large enough to hold the cards sleeved.

Overall I think value wise this is a great starter set. However quality wise of the cards and tokens it feels cheap and that FFG are cutting corners to cut costs and maximise profit.

In another post I’ll talk more about the play experience of Star Wars Unlimited using this two-player starter set.

The Road to UKGE 2024 #4

UKGE

Didn’t think I’d be writing another UKGE post so soon. I thought my next post would be nearer the time going over what I’m looking forward to at the expo itself.

But here I am.

As you know I’ve set myself the goal of returning to the hills this year. I pulled the trigger on a TREKOLOGY Ultra Lightweight Compact Portable Chair. And although I won’t be lugging the it into the middle of nowhere. Its main use is for campsites.

What helped make the decision easier was the light bulb moment of I can take it to the expo with me.

Now hear me out.

One thing at the expo that is in very much short supply is a place to sit down and have a moments rest. You often end up finding a spot and sitting on the floor.

But what if I had my own chair?

No more sitting on the floor.

I’ve also decided what I’m going to do about my evening meals, and eating during the day.

Breakfast is taken care of. That’s part of my Travelodge booking.

I’m going to make use of my backpacking skills and equipment and take my food with me.

Along with the camping chair above I also have some Ziplock Aluminium Foil Bag, Resealable Food Bags on the way.

These will allow me to prep before hand, bag the food, and reheat it as a boil in the bag.

What stove I’ll take will be decided at the time depending on how I feel.

Then all I need to do is find a quiet spot, maybe even on the benches in front of the small lake at the NEC, and enjoy my home cooked meal.

Why I jumped down another rabbit hole willingly!

ccg/tcg, star wars, Star Wars Unlimited

I think I need to justify to myself why I jumped willingly into the Star Wars Unlimited rabbit hole.

There was an “interesting” approach to playing Star Wars Unlimited in the latest Rolling Dice Taking Names (RDTN) podcast (episode 317). A group of boardgame content creators are playing the game (online I assume with webcams). They are started off with one of the starter decks, playing them first. Then once a week opening 3 boosters and modifying the starter deck with the cards gained.

Now I like the idea however 3 packs a week sounds expensive. That’s £15 a week! I think with interested parties at Fenland Gamers it could be slightly modified to say 3 packs every couple of weeks or once a month.

It was this that kinda sold the idea of getting the game. I thought I could do this super casually with Nathan.

Then when my car was being repaired to get it through its MOT I walked into Lynn town centre.

Something I hadn’t done for over a decade.

After popping into CEX and picking up the original two seasons of Twin Peaks on dvd for a silly low price. I happened to wander past the Waterstones window. in that window they were promoting Star Wars Unlimited and that they had prerelease kits.

That tempted me big time.

But when I looked inside I couldn’t see any prerelease kits on display. So I asked the young lady behind the counter. Who kindly checked out back and found their last one.

So I got the two-player starter and prerelease kit. With the intent to play them with Nathan.

I let Nathan know I’d bought it. He’s checked the game out at his local game store and thinks it looks pretty good. So he’s excited to play it when I next visit.

The two boxes both currently remain unopened. But the two-player starter might get opened soon to play with others and learn the game.

In the meantime between buying the above and writing this post a booster box containing 24 boosters may have been purchased and sitting unopened on a shelf.

I have suggested to the Fenland Gamers ccg/lcg/tcg players the above RDTN format. I have one taker since posting on the clubs discord server this morning. I added the idea of a league for it. Give everyone in the league two weeks or even a month to get their game played and report the result. That should give folks enough time to organise and play the game taking into account life and such.

Despite having a booster box I’m treating Star Wars Unlimited as a casual game for me. I’m not even sure what local game store support the game has. I think the RDTN format hits a happy sweet spot of being competitive but limiting the amount spent, and stopping those with deeper pockets buying the best cards. A casual competitive format?!

So there you have it I blame RDTN for luring me down this rabbit hole.

Mechtastic

Battletech, Battletech Alpha Strike

The BattleTech Alpha Strike Starter Box has just landed in my grubby mitts.

So why have I chose BattleTech Alpha Strike as my first miniatures game to get into?

The first reason is the cost of entry. Compared to other miniature games out there such as the 800lb gorilla Warhammer 40k, is the relatively low cost to get into it. The starter sets are amazingly affordable being around the £50 mark. The beginners set is £26. Then picking up lances (what BattleTech calls teams/warbands) is also relatively cheap too. The majority I’ve seen on Amazon are in the £26-£35 range. These lances are not just for the core rules but also have cards to allow them to be used with the Alpha Strike rules.

Alpha Strike is a streamlined version of the “classic” BattleTech rule set. This will be the main way that I play the game. But everything I have or get will be compatible with the core more advanced rules. Plus the BattleTech rules hardly change. So I can if I have the time step up to the classic rules without having to buy new models. Either use the rules from a starter set or buy the £36 core rule book. That’s a big saving. And I don’t have to worry about a new edition of the rules coming along and making all my models redundant. The core rules are apparently literally unchanged from its release in the 80’s! There might be additional rules. But the early rules are still present. That gives you a bit more faith in investing in the game.

I’ve never played BattleTech. But mechs duking it out does appeal to me. It has that Pacific Rim vibe. Or going back to my younger years Starfleet, or just about Power Rangers when we got to the final boss battle for the episode. It even gives me a Transformers vibe to some extent. And obviously some anime I watched in the late eighties such as Patlabor, and Ghost in the Shell comes to mind.

Another major deciding factor is none of this having to construct your minis. No cutting parts off sprews and gluing. Ok you are meant to paint you models. But I’m not going to be entering competitions and will eventually get round to painting them.

This means BattleTech passes my board game test. You can buy a starter set (or lance) in a shop, open it up, and be playing/learning the game in under 20 minutes. None of this having to spend hours constructing minis be for you can even start playing. This for me removes such a big barrier to entry and helps noobs like me get into the game.

I just need to get it to the table now. Which will mean finding some-one to play with.

stoves and some recipe plans

hiking/backpacking/camping, outdoors

Obviously a lot of my outdoor kit is now well over a decade old.

After a little hunting around where all my outdoor gear is stored. I eventually found my Bushbuddy wood burning stove.

Naturally I had to fire it up, which I did yesterday.

The Bushbuddy is a rather cool stove. It’s double walled, and creates this secondary combustion that makes it really efficient. I’m not sure about the lack of soot though from the flame. As my old pot I used with it will show otherwise.

Another cool feature of the Bushbuddy design is it has a heat shield in the base stopping it from scorching the ground. Very important when you practice leave no trace.

I have two new meth stoves! Yeah just what I needed (having 30 odd already). The first arrival was a Trangia burner (which I may of mentioned already). Which I can’t believe I never had. The second being a Goshawk Swirling Flame OP-100. That has a sealing cap. Which means like the Trangia it can still have fuel left in it after us.

In my setup or planned setup. I see the Trangia or Goshawk as back up stoves to a wood burning stove such as the Bushbuddy or Kelly Kettle.

I’ve also been thinking about food/menus for trips.

Obviously this thinking has involved looking at one or two YouTube videos. Some have been specific hiking channels, others bushcraft related. But it does get me how impractical some of these are on their suggestions. Cooking a full English fry up, or a beef stew and dumplings on a Trangia (2 hour cook time!)

My plan is to try and use my jazz style of cooking in the outdoors.

So using templates/formulas/ratios create food that cooks in under 30 minutes. In combo with once again making my own dehydrated meals.

I think one thing that is ideal for hiking is over night oats. The only tweak to my current recipe is to add powdered milk so that all you add is water and leave.

I’m not going to carry raw meat out to the middle of nowhere. My thinking is to go the vegan route and use dried soya mince (it does make a good spagbol) and slightly larger soya chunks.

It should be more than possible to make a really nice chili, curry, stew, and spagbol using dried ingredients from scratch that cook in less than the 30 mins time limit I want to aim for.

Now to develop those recipes!