All posts by Darren

Twin Shadows

expansions, imperial assault, star wars

I'm wrapping up the coverage of the wave two expansions for Imperial Assault with a look at the first expansion for the game Twin Shadows.

The contents of the box

 

So now you have seen the contents before they have been unpacked. Let's take a more indepth look at what we get for our money.

Tokens

Naturally we get more tokens for the game. These tokens are made up from:
  • ten damage tokens (four fives, six ones)
  • Six device tokens
  • Six strain tokens
  • Five weaken tokens
  • Four ally and villain tokens (just in case you haven't bought the villain and allies packs that also came out at the same time).
  • Eight ID tokens

The game also comes with twelve more map tiles.

Sculpts

In this expansion we get ten new miniatures. Two rebel characters called Saska Teft (below left) and Biv Bodhrik.

There are also four Tusken Raiders.
And four Heavy Stormtroopers.
As usual these sculpts are up to FFG's usual high standards, and begging to be painted. And before you ask I haven't made any progress on the Stormtroopers I painted with primer.

Campaign

For the campaign side of the game Twin Shadows comes with two hero sheets for the rebel characters.
There are nine cards that make up the hero class deck for Saska (below).

Followed by another nine cards making up a hero class deck for Biv.

There are also nine Imperial class cards for use by the Imperial player.
Two supply cards have been included.
You also get five reward cards.
Plus six item cards.
Four side mission cards also come with the expansion.
We also get six agenda cards.

Skirmish

Naturally the game comes with a skirmish map sheet detailing the map to use with the skirmish mission cards.
The two skirmish mission cards that go with the map sheet.

There are eleven deployment cards. However five of them are also found in the Ally and Villian packs that came out at the same time (these are used with the tokens if you don't have them). So I've just included the new deployment cards here.

And as expected there are deployment cards for the two new rebel characters also.

There are four weaken status cards (these are also used in the campaign).

We also get three command cards.

Summary

I like this expansion it adds new content to the base game. The expansion lives up to the FFG reputation for providing beautiful looking high quality games.

As a noob skirmish player I'm not sure I'd be playing with the new rebel characters. But that is mainly because I still think that the rebels are grossly under powered compared to the Empire. However the Heavy Stormtroopers I can see being used. I'm going to have to think about the Tusken Raiders.

Right I now need to play this more, get sleeve for the cards, and push on with my painting.

 

Small box games

tabletop

This morning while I was taking a leisurely start to the day I came across a tweet by Bebo for her new vlog post. In this vlog Bebo talked about taking a small box game with you when visiting friends. Bebo saw this as away to expand the fan base for the hobby.

It may have come to your notice, possibly, that I like playing board games. It may have also come to your attention that I have a board game collection (that is growing). Well I do have the odd small box game in my collection.

Which brings me to the main point of this post. In Bebo's vlog she mentioned one or two of her favourite small box games. So I thought I would follow her lead and mention one or two of the ones that are in my collection.

However I didn't want to just list games in this post. Instead I've used a photo (above), and we all know a picture is worth a thousand words.

In the photo above I think I have a good mix of styles of game. Although it might be a tad biased towards card games. There are definite two player only games (Cypher, Pixel Taxtics and Star Realms), there are definite games that need to be played as a group only (Coup, Resistance, Bang the dice game).

Plus regular readers all know my love affair with Star Realms and Love Letter. So not much time will be spent pushing those games to you.

The great thing about these small box games is that they are not terribly expensive with the majority coming in under twenty pounds. Then there is the advantage that they are small enough to carry around with you, ready for that impromptu gaming session.

There are some great gaming experiences in the small box games above, I'd love to hear which are you favourites.

 

You can watch the vlog here –> Bebo Vlog about small box games

 

War huh!

Fenland Gamers, game night, memoir 44

Memoir '44 has been in my pile of shame for about a year and a half now. I'd originally bought it for Nath and I to play. But best made plans and all that, we haven't got round to playing it.

So I was really pleased when I found out that Jonathan at the Fenland Gamers group not only had Memoir '44 but also had almost everything for the game expansion wise with the exception of the odd map pack.

Last night finally saw me play Memoir '44 for the first time with Jonathan. Luckily for me Jonathan was in need of a refresher on how to play the game due to a long gap between this game and his last play of it.

Game One – Pegasus Bridge, June 6, 1944 I'm the Axis Player

Game one started off with me playing as the Axis power in the game. This was the first scenario in the manual, and sees the Axis player start off with a card disadvantage (two cards) to simulate the forces being taken by surprise.
Jonathan got an early victory point by capturing the bridge on the left flank, and also nearly wiping out the unit that was on the other side of the bridge. But I managed to get that unit out and manovered away from the Allied forces along with the other lone unit on that flank so that they did not become easy victory points for Jonathan.
While that was going on Jonathan sent his Allied forces to engage with my dug in forces on the right that were defending the second bridge and the town next to it.
I was more than happy to let the Allies come at me, it meant I was able to enjoy the benefits of my defences, which in Memoir terms means one less dice to roll for Jonathan.
So I had the victory point from the second bridge and good dice rolls and card draw got me the other three victory points I needed by allowing me to pick off the Allie forces from the safety of my dugouts.
Wow somehow I had won my first game.

Game Two – Pegasus Bridge, June 6, 1944 I'm the Allied Player

Game two and time to swap sides and see what the other side of the map looks like. Boy does it look different.

Having played the Axis first definitely helped me on this game. As did having an awesome card draw. My first card was an advancement order that allowed me to issue an order all my units, plus they could move two hexes and attack, or move three hexes and not attack.

So my first move was swamping the right flank, and rushing to the bridge. The thing with this scenario is that the Axis have two units on the right flank separate from each other. One is in the corner on the opposite side of the river. So overwhelming them quickly would net me two victory points, and a third can be gained taking the bridge.

This part of the plan worked perfectly, one turn I've cut the bridge off, and can pick off the trapped Axis unit. Surprisingly Jonathan's other unit is moved in to engage with the superior force. Which is exactly what I wanted. They were soon picked off also, and the bridge taken. Three victory points on the table, one more needed for the win.

My mass move to the right flank threw off Jonathan whose remaining forces were dug in defending the second bridge in the top left corner of the left flank. I don't think Jonathan had the card draw that enabled him to do much. Although he did start to venture through the barb wire to engage with me.

The second part of my plan after getting the “easy” victory points on the right was to just throw all units at the Axis lines on the left, all I needed was to pick off one unit to get the win.

With Jonathan moving units from behind their defences I soon finished off a unit to get the win.

I seem to remember this being a very short game.

Game Three – Sainte Mere-Eglise, June 6, 1944 I'm the Allied Player

On to scenario two, this time I starting off as the Allies. I remember seeing Tom Vassell doing a live play of this on The Dice Tower channel a while back. Can't remember the actual game but the having to drop four miniatures on the board from about twelve inches up to simulate a parachute drop by the Allies was the only bit I remembered.

My drop got me three additional units in a central position. I thought I'm going to need these units the Axis forces had a tank unit!

Those tanks were my biggest worry in this scenario. Once they were out of the right flank top corner they would be deadly.

I managed to take out the lone Axis unit that had dug in the little village in the middle of the board. By the time I had done that the tanks were close. With poor card draw for Jonathan (I'm assuming that is the case) the tanks failed to attack and do any damage. I had a window of opportunity here. I attacked his tanks with three infantry units, the rolls were with me and I wiped out the tanks.

Then the battle front moved to the left flank with our infantry units engaging each other. Some tit for tat exchanges and I've gained the final two victory points needed to win.

Below courtesy of Jonathan a picture of me (there really aren't enough of these on this blog) in deep thought trying to work out what I'm going to do about the bloomin tanks. Luckily after this photo I played just the right card to allow three infantry units to take out the tanks.

Game Four – Sainte Mere-Eglise, June 6, 1944 I'm the Axis Player

The final game of the evening. I'm now playing as the Axis forces. My luck was bound to run out at some point. My card draw was not going my way. I was just not getting cards that would allow me to issue orders to my left flank and get the tanks and supporting infantry units out.

I even sacrificed my lone unit in the middle to distract Jonathan to try and buy me time to get the cards I needed. But that only delayed the inevitable, Jonathan's forces attacked my right flank picking off units, and despite me trying to make an exit through the woods I was out of the game.

I had started to draw cards for the left flank, but it was too little too late. Before being defeated I did manage to score one victory point to stop it being a total whitewash.

Final thoughts…

Wow. I love this game. And I'm not just saying this because I won! I love the combat and the dice rolling. The command cards to issue orders is brilliant.

Yes bad dice rolls and not drawing the cards you want can be frustrating. But they do nicely simulate orders not getting through or the tide of battle going against you.

For me Memoir '44 is just right. Love the theme, I think with the bits of flavour text that you get with each mission is great. Components are great. This just works on all levels. The nice thing is it's not a heavy wargame. Ok it's a wargame “lite” which suits me perfectly.

I really can't wait to play more games of Memoir '44. Thanks Jonathan for a great evenings gaming and teaching me Memoir.

 

 

Autumn and Winter Hotstuff 2015

hot list

I did one of these style posts for the first time a the start of the Summer if my poor memory hasn't let me down. So I thought I'd give it another go of talking briefly about the new games coming out between now and this side of Christmas that have caught my eye.

  • Another deluxe expansion for Android Netrunner called Data and Destiny hits the stores mid October. This one gives some love to NBN and three new none faction runners. There are lots of spoilers out there for this expansion already because FFG sold some early copies to those lucky enough to get to GenCon. There is also a new data cycle starting also, this one is called The Mumbad Cycle. This cycle brings to life another part of the Android universe the Indian Union.
  • Ashes Rise of the Phoenixborn just made this list because it officially comes out on the 18th I believe, plus I have it already! But still I'm very excited about this game.
  • Epic card game is due out late September/October. By White Wizard this is another of their everything you need to play in a single affordable box. This time we get a fantasy themed game that supports two to four players in a draft based magic type card game. It has been getting some good buzz (lucky really because I backed it on kickstarter, and my copy is on its way), will it be as popular as Star Realms?
  • 7 Wonders Duel, the two player 7 Wonders themed card game.
  • Thunderbirds the boardgame. A co-op game by Matt Leacock based on the popular puppet TV series of the same name. You play as various members of International Rescue trying to foil the schemes of The Hood. Luckily I backed this one on Kickstarter, so I don't have to worry about if I can get a copy.
  • Fury of Dracula. This reprint/update by FFG will fly off the shelves. The previous printing has been going for silly money on the net, so when this was announced the market adjusted a little (downwards), although there was all of a sudden a rush of copies being sold trying to capture the old silly prices. This is a hidden movement game where one player is the count himself while the others are trying to track him down and stop him.
  • Risk Game of Thrones. Two maps based on Westeros, Game of Thrones theme, Risk. The whole product looks stunning. I'm looking forward to getting this.
  • Imperial Assault will be getting another big expansion called Return to Hoth, plus more Villians and Allies packs. It still seems like the Rebels are being under represented.
  • Pandemic Legacy Season 1. Another Matt Leacock game this one co-created with the designer of Risk Legacy. It's Pandemic with a legacy element. Which maybe a too basic description but should give you a good idea about the game. The game takes place over a year, with the board etc changing during and between plays. I'm hoping that the Fenland Gamers will be up for playing this.

Also keep an eye out for AGES coming to Kickstarter, along with Lunarchitecs the space themed version of Glen More also hitting it.

I hope the above have given you some ideas of something to try. I'm definitely excited about getting and playing them.

 

Hot New Arrivals Mid Sept 2015

new arrivals

Finally my pre-orders have arrived. I know most have been out for up to a month. But I decided to group all my pre-orders together into one delivery so I saved on the postage. The final piece of the jigsaw that the rest were waiting on, was the Legendary Encounters Predator game that came out last week.

I'm happy with the little delay in getting my games. As long as I knew they were coming I wasn't in a rush, and it saved me money. Sometimes patience is a virtue!

Other good news it looks like the Coup: Rebellion G54 and One Night Rebellion (was originally Resistance) that I backed on Kickstarter are just about to start shipping.

I'm looking forward to introducing the students to One Night Rebellion. I think they will really enjoy the game.

 

These aren’t the droids you are looking for

expansions, imperial assault

In this post I'm going to look at the contents of the third expansion that makes up the second wave. This time it's the Allie pack R2-D2 and C-3PO. Yep we get two miniatures for our money in this pack.

I have to admit when they announced this as an expansion I was puzzled. Then again I was trying to think just how useful would they be in a skirmish game. I couldn't see them being in many squads. Yeah if I was playing campaign maybe it would be nice to have them instead of the tokens. But still didn't the Rebels need some more options other than these two droids?

So in this expansion we get two sculpts one of R2-D2 and the other of C-3PO, the rule sheet with the skirmish map and campaign side mission, three deployment cards, a side mission card, five command cards, a condition card and two skirmish mission cards.

Let's look a bit more closer at the two sculpts of everyone's two favourite droids. I really do like the sculpts, they are up to the usual FFG high standard.
In this expansion there are two deployment cards for R2. One for skirmish games (left) and one for campaign play (right).

C-3PO only gets the one deployment card.

Here are the two skirmish mission cards.

Here is the side mission card.

Like Boba Fett this expansion comes with a Weakened status card, and these five command cards.

I can see “Hard to Hit” and “Single Purpose” making a command deck. They are nice general cards. I'm not too sure about the specific ones and how useful they would be.

Then finally we have the rule sheet, with the skirmish map, and the unshown campaign mission.

After looking at the expansion I can see a use (just about) for the droids, but would they make a rebel skirmish squad for me? No. I do feel that the rebels are getting the short end of the stick in the expansions. It looks like the Empire and Villiany groups seem to be getting all the love.

As a completionist I had to get this expansion. It's nice to have the extra skirmish map. But I think this is a weak expansion for me and wouldn't have been one I would have made available.

 

BGG Order Arrives

castle panic, new arrivals

So what arrived for me from the Land of the “Free”? Well I made use of the excellent BGG store and got the two promos they had for Castle Panic. While I was there ordering them I finally caved and ordered Deep Sea Adventure.

Deep Sea Adventure is a little Japanese push your luck game based around diving for treasure. I knew it was a small game but when I opened the parcel and saw how small the box was I was a little shocked. It's tiny.

Naturally I'll be looking at Deep Sea Adventure in more depth in another post.

So not a big order but a nice little one adding a little customisation to a game with promos, and a new game to play.

Still in the postal system somewhere…

  • Epic is shipping, my friend Freddy in the U.S. Of A. has already got his copy.
  • Game of Thrones the Boardgame, just over a week ago was posted but no show yet.
  • My pre-order I made has finally all the pieces in and is now on its way. But I'm not going to ruin the surprise.
  • Dead Drop is being played by Americans but who knows where the international copies are.

 

I think Tiny Epic Galaxies is due to ship any day now, so hopefully will arrive by end of the month.

 

Power Up! King of Tokyo Expansion

expansions, new arrivals
As regular readers will know I picked this expansion up last weekend when I visited Nath. It had been delivered there the weekend before but I failed to get it then due to that epic car fail on the Friday.
Power Up! Is the first expansion for King of Tokyo.

Let's have a look at the contents of the box that make up this expansion for King of Tokyo.

Ok first up there is a small rules pamphlet that explains the rule additions that cover this expansion. Plus you then get seven little cardboard tokens that will be used by some of the new evolution cards. Which nicely brings us on to the fact you get fifty six evolution cards (which I will cover in a minute). Then finally you get a new monster called Pandakai, this means you get a new cardboard figure and stand for Pandakai, plus a monster board.

The main addition this expansion adds to King of Tokyo is the evolution cards. Each monster within the game has a unique deck of cards that can be acquired and used through out the game. These evolution cards give a monster either a temporary power or a permanent one. They remain secret during play until the player decides to use the card.

This looks like a great addition to the base game, and I can't wait to start playing with it. Plus I believe the first expansion for King of New York is also a Power Up! Expansion. And this has made me even more excited for that too.

 

Painting Stormtroopers Part 1

imperial assault, painting

So finally I've got round to start painting some of my miniatures that come with my games. I'm starting off if you hadn't guessed by the posts title with the Stormtroopers that come with Imperial Assault and also Kayn Somos Trooper Commander the just released Villians expansion.

These posts will be documenting my first efforts in painting miniatures, something I've never done before. Capturing my successes and my many failures. Hopefully you will enjoy watching the trainwreck happen.

Today I've done the easiest part of the whole thing, and the quickest part also. What am I doing? I'm applying the primer coat to the miniatures.

For this stage I'm using Elmer's Tack, and Citadel Corax While model paint. In total I will be priming nine Stormtroopers and Samos, so a total of ten miniatures.

Before applying the primer using the Elmer's Tack I attached the miniatures to some cardboard. In my case it's some old Amazon packaging. This allows me to hold the figures and turn them around as I spray on the primer.

Next I went out side and sprayed the primer coat onto the models, turning them so that I covered them from all angles. While applying the primer coat I was trying to make sure that I wasn't applying it too thickly, so that I didn't cover up any detail on the miniatures.

Finally I left them to dry ready for stage two – applying a base coat. Naturally during this stage I made sure that the dark destroyer of plastic miniature figures Loki was safely relocated round my Nans.

Lo lo as I also call him, may look all cute and innocent. But I must remind you of the damage and expense he has inflicted to three of my Zombicide figures.

Right now I need to go “research” what base coat colours to use.

This series of posts are dedicated to my great friend, mentor and Scottish version of me! Duncan. Who I know will continue to nag me to get these done, and offer advice and tips.