Category Archives: elder sign

elder sign

Expanding the collection Weekending 2Apr16

elder sign, expansions, marvel legendary, new arrivals

I don't know why it took me so long to get this expansion in for Legendary. Especially considering it has Captain Britain in it. My main problem now is storage, and I want to sleeve the cards. There must be over two thousand cards to sleeve now, yep that's a lot. I'd love to use the official sleeves with the cool Legendary logo on them. But that would cost an arm and a leg, and probably a major organ. The official sleeves are so expensive in the UK. So clear penny sleeves are my preferred option, I just need to find the ones that are correct size and fit snugly. The other problem is the official card dividers. I've run out and they are not that easy to get in the UK. That seems a common problem, and theme with the industry.

Now I'm just waiting for the Captain America 75th Anniversary expansion to come out. Can you guess what that is all about? Then finally and I'm not holding my breathe for these, despite Upper Deck saying they will release them, the 3D Legendary cards that came out as promos in the 3D card packs (sold in the US) last year. I so want Howard the Duck, but not enough to pay eBay scalper prices.
The new expansion for Elder Sign Omens of Ice arrived. Its origins seemed a little unusual to me, where the app version of the game is influencing the original physical game. I'm not sure I've seen this before. This expansion is based/inspired by an expansion in the app. Plus the Atlanteans expansion for Imperial Settlers arrived. This adds a new fifth race to the game, plus more cards for the existing races.
It's funny really with a mini expansion, plus this one, there are more deck building options in this game than there is squad building in Arena of the Planeswalkers, where that is a main focus of the game!
I also received the final delayed (was originally targeted for Christmas) expansions for the Thunderbirds boardgame that came as part of my Kickstarter pledge.
In the box was a nice card holder, the three expansions (no expansion boxes), plus the role playing game! Yep there is a set of light rules and cards for setting up a scenario that uses the game board and pieces. Which I think is cool, and offers more game play.
So having just got the following awesome playmat for Star Realms, my very good friend and the Scottish version of me as he is known as, Duncan stumbled upon the fact that Gameslore now have in two Star Realms playmats plus two Epic playmats. Mental note must get the Epic ones for Nath.
The Colony Wars expansion/stand alone game for Star Realms also arrived. Every card is sleeved and shuffled in to make one MASSIVE deck to play with. This gives me enough starting cards to have four people play at once without proxying cards now.
 

I can't see how much more Star Realms can be expanded, and once the year ones promos come out (sooner than later I hope) surely that must be it for Star Realms. Which would explain why they announced Hero Realms the fantasy themed version of Star Realms. On a side note it's basically what Cool Mini Or Not did with Zombicide, couldn't take the modern theme any further after the third season, so reboot with a different theme. Oh which was fantasy also!!!

14Mar16 Esdevium Gifts

elder sign, expansions, Munchkin, netrunner, news

Slightly delayed due to my playing games last night (more on that in the next post) I bring you my highlights of our weekly gifts that the Asmodee Borg Collective member Esdevium deem fit to shower on us.

The biggest one for me this coming week is the second data pack in the Mumbad Cycle of the Android Netrunner universe, Business First.

Munchkin is like the marmite of the hobby gaming world. You either love it or hate it. I fall on the love it side of things. So for some the next item will have their flesh crawling, while for others they will be excited.

Fluxx the card game that is like playing a game on quicksand. The rules are constantly changing, as is how to win. This randomness can be a turn off for some. I love it. My go to version of the game is Star Fluxx the scifi themed one. Although big tip here for those that have a python fan in the family, get them the Monty Python version of the game. Anyway I'm excited about this next version coming out. I love Firefly (although I don't have any of the boardgames based on it). So this has put a big smile on my face, and an instant addition to my wishlist.

Want to build a really really cool tree house? Well want no longer, build away in Best Treehouse Ever. And nice to see this Kickstarter hit the shops.

Elder Sign a Cthluhu co-op dice game set it the same FFG gothic universe as Arkham Horror, and Eldritch Horror sees its third expansion released next week, Omens of Ice.

There are also a X-Wing wave released next week, some Pokemon cards, and Force of Will bits released if they float your boat.

And that's next week goodies coming out to part you from your hard earned pennies.

 

Coming Next Week 15/2/16

elder sign, imperial assault, news

So in my limited sphere of interests this comings weeks new releases hitting the shelves of your FLGS there is very little to get my attention.

However we will be seeing two more additions to Imperial Assault in the form of an Ally pack and a Villian pack.

I really must catch up with my looks at the ones I haven't covered that were released late last year. Let alone finish panting my Stormtroopers!

Machi Koro is a restock next week. If you are into the Pokemon CCG or Heroclix then you may find there is a little more out next week of interest than I found.

 

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.

 

A Night At The Museum

elder sign

And I’m not talking about that popular but awful film with Ben Stiller. Nope I’m talking about one of the battles in the war against the forces of darkness that is going on around us. Subconsciously we know it’s going on, but it happens in the shadows, the dark places we avoid.

From an early age we are trained to ignore the truth that we see. The monster under the bed or in the cupboard, that spooky looking house down the road with the grumpy old man who hates kids living in it, all dismissed as figments of a child’s active imagination. “Don’t be silly, there is nothing there, see?”, “oh Mr Trumpton he’s had a hard time and been so lonely since his wife died last Summer”. Despite these dismissive reassurances that it’s nothing they leave a night light on for you, or warn you not to hassle that grumpy neighbour. Better to be safe than sorry.

Oh we suspect something is going on. We catch glimpses from time to time. Something or some-one caught moving in our peripheral vision. We turn to look but whatever it was is gone. The shadow world hidden from us once more.

The war will never end, it has been going on for millennia and will continue for millennia. Battles will be won and lost by an ever changing cast on both sides.

Today we will get a sneak peak behind the curtain and witness one of those battles between good and evil.

The Fens has a rich history of local “myths” of giants, dragons and fairies. Is it any wonder that the battle we will witness is going to happen in the heart of the Capital of the Fens, Wisbech?

In the heart of Wisbech sandwiched between its castle and St Peters Church the highest point in the town is an almost nondescript entrance (although some may argue otherwise) to a building that is home to an Iron Age treasure the Wisbech Scabbard and the story of the fens. That unobtrusive entrance with its treasures and stories is the Wisbech Museum. It is here at this focal point of mystical energy that the battle between good and evil will be occurring.

In the shadows out side the market towns museum stood Mandy Thompson a researcher of the paranormal, and along side her Monterey Jack an archeologist who beared a remarkable resemblance to a famous fictional character but in no way infringed on that intellectual property.
Mandy and Monterey had been in many a museum stopping evil from breaking through into our realm. There had been more of them in this fight but the victories had been bought at a great price.
They stood in the entrance of the museum. Mandy and Jack were impressed it was certainly bigger on the inside than the outside.
Was this why they were always having these battles in museums? Just what was it that attracted these monsters from hell?
Mandy’s research had led her to believe they were looking at a rather messy battle ahead of them with Azathoth. An ancient being that if he awoke would mean the instant destruction of the world as we knew it.

“Mandy as much as I enjoy our little adventures saving mankind, I really do need to answer the call of nature before we start getting our hands messy.”

“If you have to go, you have to go. The public lavatory is over there. Just be quick.”

When Monterey entered the generic public lavatory the bloody mirror kind of gave it away that he wasn’t going to be able to go about his “business” quietly. That and the fact that a witch and a cultist were already in the public lavatory (that sounds like the start of a crap joke) waiting to ambush anyone that came into the toilet.

Monterey really did need to go, which made the ensuing fight particularly more painful for him. But he managed to subdue the cultist and witch without destroying the urinal.
After completing what he had originally intended to do in the public lavatory Monterey returned back to the museum entrance.
“You took your time, what kept you?” enquired Mandy.

“There was a little party in there that I gate crashed.”

“Well while you were having fun in the bathroom I checked out the Storage closet over there.”

“Anything interesting?”

“Nah just a gate to another Other World” replied Mandy.

TO BE CONTINUED

PLEASE NOTE: photos of Wisbech Museum taken from the Wisbech museum website. If you get a chance it’s always worth a visit to the Wisbech Museum along with Peckover House. Ideally The Castle should also be open to the public but our council prefer to keep it to themselves and on the rare occasion let us in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Elder Rant

elder sign

Warner Brothers and DC the other day released a photo of Jared Leto as the Joker for The Suicide Squad movie that they are making. All I'm going to say is I hate them, despise them, and hope they contract a nasty disease. To distract fanboys from the attrocity that has been committed they tried using subtle references to previous Joker iterations like The Killing Joke etc. But it fails it doesn't cover up that all they have done is make a Marrilyn Manson clone with green hair.

I know that after Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight the bar was raised incredibly high for whoever followed him by playing that role. However DC and WB have screwed up massively and ruined the character for me now.

The Joker is one of my favourite comic book characters, if not my number one. It is criminal what they have done.

With decisions like this is it no wonder Marvel are kicking DC butt at the cinema. How can they get it right on the small screen and then screw up on the big screen so often?

DC it's not rocket science fire the incompetent fools who are working with the WB side and hire me to correct this screw up before it's too late.

Time to Fight Lovecraftian Horrors and Save The Planet

I finally managed to track down a copy of what was turning out to be a very elusive game to get Elder Sign. Sometimes Google just isn't good enough, everything I found online was out of stock or if on Amazon a stupid price.

Then last weekend I decided just to vent on the UK Buyers and Sellers page on Facebook about why was it so hard to buy a copy of the game. Then fate struck, a new retailer MeepleCity saw my mini rant and messaged me that they had a copy of the game. I was quickly on their site and ordering the game. Not only was it at a reasonable price but also if I accepted the longer delivery time free delivery.

So now with the delivery arriving today I am the proud owner of the game Elder Sign from Fantasy Flight.

Elder Sign has a similar mechanic to Roll For It and Age of War behind it. Which for me is one I like. Rolling dice, completing a target such as getting three of a kind, maybe a press your luck element.

The idea that you can introduce a none gamer to the mechanic with Roll For It, then introduce them to Age of War that adds a little bit more to the mechanic, then play Elder Sign that takes that mechanic and adds so much more to it, I like that a lot.

There are two expansions to this game out there in the wild. Unseen Forces ups the difficulty and adds blessings and curses plus more investigators and ancient ones I believe. Whilst Gates of Arkham takes the battle out of the museum and onto the streets of Arkham.

I've embedded the episode of Tabletop where they play Elder Sign so you can see what all the fuss is.