Monthly Archives: March 2015

Just in this weekend

lego minifigs, new arrivals, tabletop

New Minifigs

Two new official minifigs from the local Tesco. The alien and a space soldier, both look pretty awesome. I think the only figure I've been disappointed with has been the genie so far.

New Tabletops

So yes I was that impressed Thursday night with the following game. It's a very reasonable price too. A great game for gamers and non gamers, Bouncy plays it with his kids, so great for families.
I played the odd game of Blood Bowl while I was studying down in Brighton. I know the miniature game has been reprinted and I think updated, and popular again. I'd love to get back into it, but I have enough miniature based games at the mo (can you ever have enough?), there is only so many a wallet can support unless you win the lottery. However they spun off a card game from the Blood Bowl IP. The reviews are fairly good, so I thought this was a “cheaper” way to get a Blood Bowl fix without the miniature game cost.

 

TGOC Minifig Project Part 1

lego minifigs

A Little Background

Every May for nigh on 30 years now there has been an organised event that involves walking from the west coast of Scotland to the east coast in a two week period. For the majority of those years the event has been know by its main sponsor The TGO Challenge or TGOC. The TGOC is limited to roughly three hundred participants. Those three hundred souls at the start are spread out unevenly along the west coast of Scotland where they have to sign out at one of the six (? There maybe more I can't rightly remember) sign in points. They then hike and camp their way across Scotland to the east coast and then make their way to the finish sign in point at Montrose and the celebratory meal with their fellow Challengers.

Before I joined the academic world as a lecturer I completed two crossings (2008 & 2009, my 2007 attempt I'll revisit another day in a repost of the dramatic events). However the hero of my 2007 attempt Lord Elpus this year is doing his twelfth crossing, whilst Alan will be completing his twentieth crossing. Think about that twenty crossings! It will for various reasons that are not mine to say their final crossings. They plan to move on to new scenery and more better guaranteed weather. Which also means if invited I will be able to join them on the new adventures (I'll need to sort out my passport) because they won't be tied to that teacher unfriendly window in May.

So in honour of this momentous occasion and to celebrate my two friends I thought I'd make a couple of custom minifigs of Alan and Lord Elpus. But I didn't want to stop there I wanted to make this a bit more special but I will reveal those plans in another post.

The posts for this project will be part memoir/reflection as well as documenting the building process. Mind you I have already been getting bits in over the months, and I think the next post in this series should be a look at what I have already got for this project.

 

Another Gaming Night at TEC

game night, tabletop

Thursday night saw myself, Bouncy, Gavin and Gareth gather at The Entertainment Centre in Wisbech for the second games night there.

While Gareth nipped out to stock up on supplies from a nearby convience store the rest of us had a quick game of Cthulu Dice. Cthulu Dice is another dice game from Steve Jackson Games, home of Munchkin, Zombie Dice and Ogre. Unlike Zombie Dice this uses a single dice (I forget how many sides, more that 6) each with a symbol on representing some sort of forfeit, such as lose a token, gain a token etc. rolling the dice is treated like casting a spell, so you have to declare before rolling who you are casting against. You then roll the dice and act upon the symbol. Each player starts with three tokens which I think and I maybe wrong represent sanity. But basically it’s a last person standing game. I won both games that we squeezed in. It was a fun game, not as much fun as the push your luck Zombie Dice. As long as you don’t mind the theme of the two dice games these are great as quick family games play.

With Gareth back and stocked up on supplies it was time to play the first game of the evening Splendor. Gavin had wanted to play this to see if it was suitable for his kids. I’m glad he had asked to play it. I hadn’t played it before, but it had been getting good reviews, winning awards last year when it came out.



You will have to forgive me if I get this bit about the theme wrong, we skipped the theme to get straight to the game. In Splendor you are I believe a jewel dealer/merchant in The Renaissance. Collecting gems to buy resources, some of which have a point value that you use for scoring. Once a player has reached fifteen points that’s the end of the game. That’s a very basic description of the game. Which doesn’t do the game justice. The games mechanics reminded me a lot of Alhambra.

I didn’t win the game I came second from last, Gareth took the honours of winning. However I did enjoy the game a lot. Hence a copy is due to arrive today. This is another “gateway” game, easily accessible, great fun. I think next time I visit my friends Julie and Martin this game will be in the bag to play with them. I know they will enjoy playing this a lot.

The second game of the evening was one I’d played once before and own, Machi Koro (Julie And Martin enjoyed playing this) . I like Machi Koro a lot, it’s what some would consider a “gateway” game, or a light game. But more importantly it’s a fun game. While playing Machi Koro everytime someone rolled a dice and it came up with a number where others got money, a cheer went up from those receiving money. For a lot of the game I was leading the game having built three of my establishments. However all of a sudden I was losing money and not accruing it to buy the final establishment. Then all of a sudden Gavin had lots of money to buy the final two establishments to win. There was nothing any of us could do to stop him winning. How did this happen? None of us had been tracking his coins, and he managed to sneak under the radar to get the win. What a great game, I had so much fun playing.

Sadly being a work night it was time for me to go home. As I left a final quick round or two Zombie Dice was going to be played.

A great evening of game with great gamers. Looking forward to the next one.

 

 

Spelunking the depths of my sadness

lego minifigs, new arrivals

This post is really about levels of sadness and further evidence of needing a life. So let's start off that descent into the depths of sadness with a Pop! vinyl figure of V for Vendetta. Having started to become one of those “guys” (thanks to Bouncy the geek pusher). Ok, ok maybe my Lego minifig obsession had already pushed me down that path. But hey I'm not letting Bouncy off the guilt trip. These types of figures lie firmly at his feet for the blame. It was only a matter of time before I got this figure. I love the graphic novel, I love the movie, heck as you know I've used the V mask or more correctly Guy Fawkes mask for the face of my hacktivist.

I guess I'm lucky that Bouncy hasn't found out about the new Black Widow model for the Age of Ultron movie or found a Rorschach one from the Watchmen movie. He's just that sort of person, putting temptation in the way of the weak willed like me.
Let's sink a bit deeper into the pit of sadness.

New Lego, New Lego

So first up a minifig kilt! It's the Cameron tartan and has been ordered in for the next project. Which I really should write a post about.
It's Red Nose Day next Friday so I planned on marking it with a Lego minifig photo after seeing I could get a head with a red nose on it. I'm debating what the photo will depict. I'm sure the idea will shape itself intime. I got two “super computers” to use in Android:Netrunner photos for the Corp side. The rest of the stuff in the photo is also being used in the May project. It's a very ambitious project. It's not animation but it kind of reminds me in spirit of the minifig movie my friend George did of me back in 2008.
Finally I got this little computer desk. It's not official but something someone has put together and selling on eBay. It's ok and will meet my needs as a prop to use with the minifigs. I'd of liked it to be a little bit wider/deep.
So there you have it a further glimpse in to the dark dark world of nerdiness that is my life.

 

Epic Space Battle

star realms, tabletop

Biggest Defeat Ever!

Early this morning I suffered my biggest defeat ever in the Star Realms app. It was an epic struggle from my side to hang in there and try and claw my way back into the game. But the cards just didn't favour me. Going back to yesterday's slugfest analogy, Freddy kept pounding me, knocking me to to the floor. And like Rocky I kept trying to get back up on wobbly legs to fight on. As I'm struggling to get back up using the Star Realms equivalent of the ropes the Federation ships that give an authority boost, I knew like Apollo Creed, Freddy was shouting at his screen “stay down”. Unlike the fictional epic boxing match there was no referee to protect me as I fumbled around trying to stay up. Freddy kept on coming with the punches. I held on as best I could hoping the cards would come right and get me back in to the game. But as my authority drained away like a leaking water pipe, Freddy just got stronger and stronger, as if he was some demon feeding off my energy. The Federation ships were just delaying the inevitable, with the way the cards were falling for me, I'd of had a hard time punching my way out of a wet paper bag. Finally Freddy was able to deliver the knock out blow. As the screen shot shows he finished with 85 authority points. That's pretty amazing and a very very comprehensive victory.

But what an amazing game. It was such an emotional roller coaster. And I think one of those gaming experiences you retell for years, “Let me tell you about that one time…” It's just occurred to me this was like my Star Realms version of the Alamo. Against great odds I held out for as long as I could against the superior space forces of Freddy. Clinging on for as long as possible to buy time for others to rally and avenge us.

Remember the space Alamo.

 

Toe to Toe

lego minifigs, netrunner, star realms, tabletop

New Stuff

Another day another data pack filling in the holes in the ice security to protect my servers from those cursed runners! Oh wait the Android:Netrunner world isn't real. What I meant to say is another one of the suggested data packs for those starting out in the game.

You will also notice that the photo has a picture of a minifig in it. The Where's My Pants guy from the Lego Movie arrived. Normally I wouldn't of bothered with this figure but my next project which I will start documenting this week with the initial post requires the lower half of this figure!

I joined the A Star Realms Fan Created Community page on Facebook today. This group has weekly online competitions/league play, and is covered regularly on the Megahaulin podcast. So I introduced myself and said I was up for playing online with folks.

Since that introduction and invite to play games four people have challenged me to games.

I get so much enjoyment playing this game. I don't care about winning or losing, I'm having a blast playing. Mind you winning is nice. I get this sort of enjoyment while playing DiceMasters, well any game really. As long as I'm having an enjoyable experience playing, that is the important thing for me.

I've introduced Freddy to the game and he has become as addicted to it as myself. I lost count how many games we played over the weekend. Being in America Freddy has an advantage over me. He is able to get the Gambit expansion, playmats, and storage box, which aren't available over here in the UK yet. So I'm very jealous of that. Having said that tomorrow the Gambit expansion becomes available within the app. So at least I will be able to play with that expansion, and get used to playing with it. The Gambit expansion in physical form comes with some cards that allow you to play solo games of Star Realms. I'm very interested in seeing how that works. I may do a video of for that once I get the expansion.

Freddy and I have had some very intense games. It is just that sort of game. Sometimes the cards fall for you. The trade row has cards you want to buy. Your hand draws cards that combo up, draw extra cards and force your opponent to discard cards. Your opponent is unable to do any real damage. Everything just goes smoothly. Then there are the games that are like two boxers standing toe to toe just trading blows. They are the really intense games. You take your best shot, they go down. You think they are down for the count. But they get back up and take their shot. They hit you with a belter. Your chin feels like glass, you fall to your knees. That was a hard knock you've just taken. Your head is swimming, but you dig deep, and somehow find the strength to struggle back on to two feet. How much more can this wary body take? Neither of you have much energy left for this fight. You've got to muster one more punch. Hoping you can summon enough from your flagging reserves to finish them off this time. You know you can't survive another punch like you somehow just got back up from.

Those are such great games. The game can go either way depending on how kind the cards are too you. Will you get lucky and draw the cards you need?

I love it. Who cares if you win? With that sort of excitement its kind of irrelevant, you are having a blast, you are on tender hooks with every card drawn.

I love playing Freddy, we have so much fun. But playing a wide variety of people helps to improve your own game. I'm looking forward to seeing what tactics Freddy picks up playing others. And I'm looking forward to seeing other styles of play, and seeing how I compare.

There are weaknesses to my game that I am trying to correct. But sometimes the cards just don't fall for you. When that happens just buckle up, and enjoy the ride.

 

Hotdog

lego minifigs
Instead of sweets when Mum goes shopping I've asked her to get me a minifig instead. Today the blind packet she purchased for me contained a figure I really wanted! I got the hotdog costum. I love it. On the left you have the actual figure, but I couldn't resist putting the hacktivist in it as a disguise (on right).

It really is a fun figure. You can't help smiling when seeing it.

 

Minifig Hipster the Final Post

lego minifigs

So after a little consultation (mainly with the inspiration for this minifig) I have settled on the hat for the figure. Which means I am glad to present in all its glory the hipster minifig.

Below I've broken the figure back down to its parts so you can see what makes the completed figure.

Last night at a local quiz night I presented the finished figure to my friend.

So in the picture below we have the hipster minifig with the inspiration for its creation. I think you will agree I have managed to capture the essence of my friend and being a hipster (something my friend denies being vehemently. Although our response is always “well a hipster would say that wouldn't they”, it's a discussion he can't win ^_^ ) in the figure. The bottom half of the photo also shows another gift for my friend that continues the hipster theme. Yep a hipster dice from Steve Jackson Games. Ok picking up the hipster dice cost me an unplanned £12 buying a used PS1 along with a copy of Command and Conquer Red Alert. But I'm sure I'll write about that another day.

I've really enjoyed creating the hipster minifig. It's been fun finding the right parts, and I got lucky that there was no need to create my own custom parts. But that is something I am looking forward to having to do at some point.
My next minifig project is creating two hiking minifigs to represent two of my friends who will be hiking across Scotland in May on the TGO Challenge. I've already been collecting some bits for this next project. But I will go into more detail about it all in a future post.

 

Some of my favourite cards in Star Realms Part 1

star realms, tabletop

I play a lot of Star Realms especially using the amazing app of the core game (expansions coming later in the year) in both AI mode (the hard AI plays a reasonable game) and online with friends. I think I'm an average player, and need to start playing against a wider pool of players. I'd love to think I'm competitive enough to do a credible showing in any store/regional/national competition. But I don't think I'm expert enough yet to talk tactics. So what I'd like to do is look at some of my favourite cards in the game from the core game.

First up I'll look at three of the Star Faction cards I like (photo above). The Corvette, Survey Ship and Imperial Frigate are great early cards to get. I like them because they are cheap, allow me to draw extra cards, and in the case of the Imperial Frigate reduce the hand of the opposing player for their next turn. Plus when I decide to scrap either the Imperial Frigate and Survey Ship not only do I reduce my deck size (allowing quicker play through of my deck) but I get to once again either force my opponent to discard a card from their hand or draw a card.
In the photo above I have two Machine Cult cards Patrol Mech and Stealth Needle, plus a Blob ship Ram. I'll start with the Blobs Ram. This for me is another early purchase that gives me a bit of fire power to reduce the other players authority (life for non players). Plus if I'm short of credits to buy a ship I can always scrap this card to get three extra coins to buy the ship I want. But I only tend to do this if I'm replacing the Ram with something more powerful. I like the Patrol Mech because it can be either coins or damage I can choose depending which is my greater need at the time of playing the card. Plus it allows me to scrap a card from my hand or discard pile. Scraping cards is an important tactic within the game, because it allows you to get rid of unwanted cards (like the starting cards) and increase the odds of drawing the cards you want, and allow you to get through you deck quicker. I love the Stealth Needle, it's a great mid game card. So I hate it when it appears early. It's power is in the ability to copy another card in your hand. That means all the other cards abilities, faction. So it will kick off any faction abilities of the copied card. Which means it can start off a nice combo with the right cards. It's fairly pointless early on when all you can copy in your hand is the starter cards.
Finally I have three cards from the Trade Federation. Two cheap buys in the form of Cutter and Embassy Yacht and the expensive Command Ship. I like these because they increase your authority when played plus either give you more coins to spend or allow more damage. For its two cost the Cutter has to be my top buy. I hate buying a card and having a Cutter appear which I can't buy. The Command Ship may be expensive but Authority and damage PLUS draw two extra cards with the faction ability to destroy an opposing base. I think it's a bargain at that cost!
Well I hope you have enjoyed this post about my favourite Star Realms cards. I'll do the second part later in the week.

 

Lego Research Institute

lego minifigs
I mentioned in yesterday's post that the Lego Research Institute arrived.

Well as the photo below shows I've now had time to put it all together.

The Research Institute depicts the roles of an Astronomer, Paleontologist and Chemist in three viniettes.
One of the things this set was applauded for was that it used female characters in these roles instead of male ones. I don't want to get into the whole gender equality, portrayal of women, discussion. How can I really discuss it because I don't experience it on a daily basis? All I can do is try and be supportive and not re-enforce the gender steriotypes that do so much damage, that put up an invisible wall that acts as a barrier to dissuade women from entering STEM subjects. A more diverse make up of the STEM subjects can only be a positive thing enabling us to create great and amazing things. Does this set fulfil this?
The instruction booklet with the construction details in has a nice touch at the start of it where it tells you a little bit about each of the roles in the set.

Combine the booklet with the viniettes and I do think this set does create an interesting way to encourage the possibility of doing one of the STEM subjects as a career.

I like this set a lot. The figures and especially the supporting viniettes really do capture the three STEM roles. I love the T-Rex skeleton, it's frickin cool. The viniettes aren't over complicated, but their simplicity gets to the heart of what the role is.

I can see this set being used at schools. But this is a fun set, easy to build, and if you are into Lego really worth getting.