All posts by Darren

Good Luck Challengers

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Just a brief post wishing all those that start out on the TGO Challenge tomorrow have a safe crossing. May you have great weather (not always the case when hiking across Scotland), make great memories, and never get lost.

Have a great 20th Crossing Alan I know Lord Elpus aka Phil will keep you on the straight and narrow to the nearest pub ^_^ I'm looking forward to reading your exploits as you journey across the hills.

 

The Dream Ends

star realms
The Seventh Sunday Casual event that kicked off yesterday is the last casual event to try and qualify for the upcoming invitational. For me it was pressure on, I needed to do well to even stand a chance of receiving one of the invites.
In the opening round I had drawn Geki. I had been winning more games than I'd lost over the weekend, so you could argue I was on a streak. After that epic comeback against LukeD I was feeling good. Bring it on I can do this.
Round one and Geki and I are trading jabs.

Blam!

Right hook to the head, I'm spinning around from the impact of the blow. I fall to my knees but I'm not down.
I get back up on my feet.
Ok I'm a game down. It's best of three though. I can come back from this. It was a lucky punch that's all. I'll show them I'm tougher than that.
Round two

Kerpow!

Geki's upper cut connects with my glass chin. I'm flying! I land with a bone crunching jolt on the canvas floor.
My chance of getting an invite to the invitational was flowing away across the canvas. I was out for the count. No coming back from this. Game over. Yet another two nil. That score line echoes around my head like the away fans goading the home supporters at a footy match.
Reality always finds a hard way to let you down. My inability to be consistent in my game play, sees me fluctuate between Level 5 and just making Level 7. It shows in these casual competitions that I have only once made it to the second round. I think it's accurate to say I have not got a single ranking point yet. It's not a good record.
To top it off in that ebb and flow of games I'm playing. It's been more like the tides going out. I do hope this is not another slump, it took a long time to recover from the last one.
Luckily like Rocky I don't know when to stay down. I'm bruised and losing games fast at the moment, but I'll claw my way back.

 

An Epic Comeback

online play, star realms

Luke and I play Star Realms online regularly. I think it's fair to say that we are evenly matched with wins going back and forth. But I have to say that this bank holiday weekend I have had a winning streak against Luke, with back to back wins.

But earlier today it was looking like this mini streak was coming to an end. Luke was sitting comfortably on 60 authority, mine was dropping steadily. Luke hit me and took me down to one authority. When it came to my turn I knew this could be my final go, that next round Luke would deal that finishing blow and get the deserved win.

Then I received the following via Twitter “WTAF!?!” from Luke.

This puzzled me because I was confused what was up? Had he been dealt a hand of Scouts? How many times has that happened, falling short by a single point of getting the win, and getting all scouts next hand? It's happened a few times to me, and usually ends up with me managing to steal defeat from a winning situation.

So I replied in the only way I could I tweeted back “o_O”

Luke quickly replied back “I think you're about to pull off the most ridiculous comeback ever… :/”

I was unconvinced. I thought at best I might have a couple of turns left. Luke would surely hit me hard again to finish me off. But my bases and federation ships started adding authority to my very depleted tally. The killing blow from Luke failed to appear.

After a couple of turns I was starting to believe and tweeted “if by a miracle I do, and it's a loong shot it'll be one for the hall of fame”

Suddenly Luke and I were both in the thirties for our authority.

Could this be happening? Did I really stand a chance of pulling this off?

My bases absorbed Luke's attempt to get back on top, the federation ships once more bout me more time. I don't think I used any thing from my bases except their authority boosting powers.

Finally the situations were reversed I was on seventeen authority and Luke was now sitting on one authority. He also had a base protecting him, meaning I had to scrape together at least five attack to finish the game off and pull off the biggest robbery in the annuals of Star Realms history. Well in the games I've played.

This was the finishing blow.

This was definitely a first for me. Such a come back, against such odds. This feels like it was my Instanbul. At half time in the 2005 final Liverpool were 3-0 down at half time after being totally dominated by A.C. Milan. No one Even contemplated a Liverpool win. How could they? A.C. Milan had won the game, there was no way you come back from 3-0 down.
But they dug deep, Gerrard inspired the team to claw their way back to 3-3 after extra time. It was such an emotional time, edge of the seat stuff. The the penalties, oh that was sooo nerve racking. But Liverpool won 3-2.
This game was definitely my Star Realms version of that match. If you had screen grabbed that sixty to one authority point in the game and asked Star Realms players what happened next I don't think one of them would of guessed this result. I hadn't my expectations as I said were I'd be finished within a couple of turns. I admire Luke's prediction, it was definitely not my view of the end result. But as the game progressed my self believe grew stronger that I would pull it off.
Although at the seventeen to one authority at the end I would of laughed a lot if the situation and then reversed again.
A totally emotionally draining game with Luke, a really incredible game.
wow!

 

May the Fourth Be With You

lego minifigs, star wars

 

Have a great Star Wars day.
Just a word of warning I’ll be updating the post later with more photos celebrating the day. You will be able to see them also on the usual social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) channels too.
FOR THE RECORD my Star Wars movie for the day is the movie Fanboys. I really do like this movie. And is Star Wars themed.

A Sith vs Jedi battle broke out at the pub

The fight continued when they got home…

Finally something unrelated to Star Wars…

This is one for Netrunner fans, this is a take away in Wisbech!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which Love Letter?

love letter, tabletop
With eight editions/versions of the game already out in the wild, and two more on the way, Love Letter has become a bit of a phenomenon in the gaming world. Yet ask most people that aren’t gamers and they won’t have heard of it. AEG have excelled on the marketing front and getting licences to brand the game with. For licensing Love Letter is like the gamers version of Monopoly (not as prolific on the number of themed versions yet) with its licenced versions.
The game is a simple game that can be taught in a couple of minutes. For gamers it acts as a great filler game, for non gamers it acts as a nice little game they can enjoy without being bogged done by complicated rules or lots of set up.
My first copy of the game was the tempest version, the three in the photo above weren’t out then. Just the name, the lovely red velvet material storage bag, was enough to put some macho types off playing it. But if they fought those feelings they soon discovered a really nice little game that they got a lot of enjoyment out of playing. I’m hoping that the friend I’ve lent this version too will also discover that, and also think it’ll make a great game to take on the family holiday.
So which version to buy and play?
They are all basically the same game, however with the newer released games AEG are starting to make small changes to the game that fit in with the theme of that licence.
For me the deciding factor should be which of the themes appeals to you most. Tolkien fan then get The Hobbit tie in, into superheroes then get the Batman one, like Munchkin get Loot Letter. I knew a friend loved Christmas and everything about the holiday season so I bought her the Santa themed edition as a Christmas present. Know some-one getting married there is a wedding themed version!
After you have decided on the theme, you then have to decide whether to buy the boxed version or the clamshell version.
What’s the difference? The clamshell version comes with a very nice little storage/carry case for the game. That matches the theme. The boxed version is a nice solid cardboard box with lovely art work related to the theme. However the drawback is as much as I love the box it’s not very portable compared to the lovely bags. Which fit easily into a pocket. Plus there is also a lot of wasted space in the box. It could be a lot more compact. So you need to decide between a sexy little storage bag and a sexy art work box. Which is your preference? Personally I wish AEG would combine the two so I didn’t have to decide. And it would justify the box size a little better.
I hope that this short post has helped you decide which Love Letter version to get.
Oh the new ones coming out? An Adventure Time themed version, and an Archer themed version. I’m not an Archer fan so can’t see myself getting that, but I like the Adventure Time universe so will get that when it’s available.
A completely unrelated random off shoot – I saw that there have been tournament/organised play events for Love Letter. I do hope AEG release details for this. I think I can work out something but would love to see if I’m close to what they came up with.

 

 

Start of May Arrivals

elder sign, new arrivals, tabletop

This is my fourth version of Love Letter that I own! And the fifth that I have bought (the Christmas themed Letters to Santa as a present to a friend). So get the impression that I like the game?

Currently my original version in a nice little red bag is out on loan to a friend to see if they like the game and suitable for going on holiday with.

At its heart it is still the core Love Letter game with a couple of little twists. I know I know I've complained about the rebranding of Monopoly sets, and Love Letter is getting nearly as bad.

The only draw back about the editions I have for this version, Batman and Loot a Letter is that the versions I've managed to get are not the clam shell packaging with the really nice little storage bags. Maybe at some point I'll get those versions and use these ones just for work for my students to use.

Five Tribes was one of the hot games of 2014. I was undecided about it at the time, so never was one of those that were singing its praises. I also missed the controversy about the slave card. However as usual Will Wheaton and his Tabletop chums played the game recently. Well you know how it goes “that looks interesting and fun”, the next thing you know it's at the top of your wish list on Amazon. Then somehow it migrates from there into the basket and is on its way to you.

Personally after a game has been on Tabletop it's usually very hard to get hold of. This wasn't the case this time I don't know if that was because this episode wasn't very popular, the publisher made sure plenty of stock was in the supply chain having been given a heads up.

I've just checked this copy has the controversial slave card which I thought had been replaced in newer copies. So obviously this one was before that change. However it is possible to buy the replacement cards from the Boardgame Geek Store, which also comes with a single card expansion for the hefty $5 asking price!

I like Elder Sign so these were a must despite the limited times I have played the base game. I love the theme, the quality of components are fantastic, the icing on the cake would be if they did a playmat for this game. There are some great fan created ones out there, but why no official one?

Another game that has been on my wishlist for a longtime. A semi cooperative competitive dice game with a coffee theme. I kinda love coffee so the theme is already something I'd love. I can't wait to play this with friends, especially if we can play it at a coffee shop.

 

What are you doing May the Fourth Day?

imperial assault, star wars, tabletop, X-Wing Miniatures

For those of us in the UK (particularly in EnglandShire – not sure about that funny lot north of the wall) this Monday coming is a Bank Holiday. Yep a loooong weekend for us, we'll an extra day. This year it also happens to fall on the same day as a popular geek celebration day May the Fourth Day, where geeks around this little globe of ours celebrate all things Star Wars.

I love that this most excellent of days coincides with a holiday this year. It allows me to pretend that here in the UK we have made May the Fourth Day a holiday (if only).

So what am I planning to do on Monday to celebrate this most auspicious of occasions?

Well for starters this blog will have a post dedicated to photos of these Lego minifigs I have that are Star Wars related. I do have one or two if you remember. These photos will also be pushed out via Instagram to Twitter and Facebook. Yep I'm going to spam social media.

I'm also going to use this post to invite any of my friends in the Wisbech area to pop round and play a Star Wars related game. I appreciate I may of upset one or two today with my political views and disappointment/annoyance that once more candidates have not canvassed my home (I'll leave the full rant for that Facebook discussion).

I have X-Wing (sadly rarely played), Imperial Assault and a Star Wars themed Risk. I'd love two or three friends round to play Imperial Assault, or at least one friend to play it in skirmish mode. I've not played the game and really want to.

Will this happen, will this invite be accepted?

We will find out on the day.

In the meantime I must make sure iTunes Match has logged my Star Wars OST cd's so that they can be playing in the background, and I may play catch up on Star Wars Rebels and rewatch the original trilogy. Well those two are the backup plan.

Catch you in the next post.

 

Birthday Lego

lego minifigs
So today I ended up buying myself this “reduced” Death Star Gun Crew set from Tesco when I popped in to buy cakes to take into work. It was mainly for the two Imperial Guards the rest is just a cool bonus.
Thanks to Amanda and Paul I also had a couple of Lego Mini packs to open as well today. I got the King and Hotdog ones again. I like both of these, sadly for the King he hits the spare parts store I have. While the Hotdog guy is just too good for the spare parts solution. He deserves a place of honor somewhere. I just need to decide where.

 

All Booked

dice masters, netrunner, star realms, tabletop
So that’s me all booked for the upcoming UK Games Expo. I’m going to be attending all three days, and have accommodation sorted also.
This will be my first time to the event and to a board gaming one. I’ve been to comic cons before (many decades ago), Raspberry Jams and video game related events.
But the firsts don’t stop there. Oh no. I signed up for the Dice Masters Nationals. I’ve never played in a Nationals before. Last year I did play in a Dice Masters OP event organised by my FLGS, and out of eight participants I didn’t come last, it was seventh. So not exactly a good showing, however that was early in my Dice Masters playing. After that I wasn’t able to get to the handful of other OP events they held.
The funny thing is I wasn’t sure I’d throw my hat in for the nationals because it falls on the last day of the expo. Well I’m used to making up the numbers and at least I should get a participation prize.
Now I am lending a couple of Yugioh cards and dice to a friend for his nationals team. So basically now I’ve armed a potential competitor (if we get drafted against each other that is). I should of put in a similar clause to that used in football when a player goes out on loan. Usually the loan agreement says that the player on loan can’t play against the loaning team if they meet up in any of the competitions. Or maybe I should of treated it like a game of Munchkin. Saying I’ll help you for a share of the treasure. And then haggle over how much of the treasure I’d get for my assistance.
In the meantime I have a lot of work to do. I’ve only played one game of Dice Masters since Christmas (although a lot of Star Realms). At that point in time the meta for the game only involved two sets, Avengers vs X-Men and the Uncanny X-Men. Since the start of the year Yugioh, Dungeons and Dragons and in the next couple of weeks DC (although just out in the US of A) have been released. Although I have Yugioh and D&D I’ve not played them (well one game of Yugioh) and I’m not really familiar with the current meta.
So I need to start looking at the cards of the new sets, looking at what has been played in recent national tournaments in the North Americas to see what I could potentially be facing. Let’s face it I expect some people to just be playing a team that others have created and done well with (ie won with). Armed with all this information build my team that I think will win me games and then play the heck out of it.
Which brings me on to Freddy. Freddy has kindly offered to be my Mickey Goldmill/Apollo Creed and help me get back into fighting shape again. Unfortunately I don’t have any chickens to chase and catch, but Loki is slipperier than a chicken especially when he has run off with a tissue or hankerchief.
With all this training going on I think we need…
 
I was hoping while at the expo to meet up with people to play some Star Realms. I do enjoy playing Star Realms using the actual physical cards. And it will be great to be able to do so. To meet this goal I’ve ask on a couple of appropriate FB fanpages if anyone is going and if they want to meet up to play some games of a Star Realms. It does seem odd, well not odd but sad that we aren’t getting like a nationals for Star Realms at the expo. Well you know we are getting nationals for Dice Masters, plus Android: Netrunner, X-Wing, HeroClix etc. There are tournaments for other games also which I’m not sure if they are official or not, but still they are going on. Just a shame nothing has been done for this awesome game. Let’s face it I’m not the only one that thinks it is awesome, it’s winning awards left, right and centre. It seems to be selling really well. So why no tournie?
While there I will hopefully (well very high chance) get to meet the fiancée of Martin and Julie’s daughter Zoe, Todd. Todd is a huge Android: Netrunner player and taking part in its nationals on the Saturday. So on the Saturday I’m hoping to watch a game or two of the nationals, but also pick the brains of Todd on playing and building decks. Zoe and her two kids (sorry guys names are missing from my old head) are also going to be there so hopefully will get to play some board games with them too on the Saturday.
So there you go I’m going to UK Games Expo, hope to see you there.

 

 

 

 

New Micro Experiences Arrive

tabletop
Recently I wrote a post about taking mini/micro games on a family holiday. Well an opportunity arose on the UK and Eire Trading and Selling group to buy the sequel to Eight Minute Empire, Eight Minute Empire Legends. In this update to the game the board is modular, there are special abilities, fantasy creatures. Plus it comes in a smaller box. When I opened it the person who I had bought it from had done something I do with games. For some games to aid setup I put all the components that a player will need in a bag. Then a player just grabs a bag and they are ready to go. No counting out counters, no finding all the bits required. Minimum set up, maximum time playing.

At the end of the post I mentioned the game below This Town Ain't Big Enough For The 2-4 Of Us. I love the minimum packaging, the flat pack, but that all goes in the bin. Once you have punched out the counters it all fits into the provided plastic bag. With this game you have a small portable Carcassonne like experience.
Luckily next week I'm being loaned a sewing machine. Which means I can see if sewing is for me and if I'm able to make a dice bag. If this goes to plan I'll be ordering material to make custom dice bags for my games, like a DC or Joker themed bag, or a Star Wars themed dice bag. How about a nice little storage bag for this new game to replace the plastic bag for this game? Skills, patience willing you bet that's on. I'd like to make a bag for Elder Sign too.