Category Archives: new arrivals

new arrivals

Arctic Scavengers Joins Pile of Shame

new arrivals, tabletop

According to recent news reports scientists are predicting that in the 2030's the planet earth will enter into a new mini ice age. Which means that things are going to get pretty tough for us survivors after the zombie apocalypse hits.

I've been preparing for the impending zombie apocalypse by playing the likes of Zombicide and Run,Fight or Die! on the tabletop. Naturally Plants vs Zombies, Project Zomboid, Left 4 Dead, Dead Rising and Resident Evil (whatever you would class the zombie like infected as) have trained me on the consoles and PC over the years along with numerous zombie movies since the eighties video nasty boom.

I have Dead of Winter sitting in my tabletop pile of shame which also should (and will) be part of this training regime. The nice thing about this game is the hidden role/traitor element which will help encourage me to be suspicious of everyone. This part of the game is also great for preparing for the workplace.

But after reading that article and having survived the last ice age to hit Wisbech and the fens (photos taken above by my dad at the time – late seventies iirc). I thought I need to up my training regime to improve my skills for this situation.

So when Arctic Scavengers came up for sale at a good price on that Facebook selling group, how could I resist?

Arctic Scavengers is a two to five player deck building game set in the year 2097 when the world has been plunged into another ice age. You build your tribe, search for scarce resources, attack other tribes (the other players), perfect training I think you will agree.

Ok I liked the sound of the theme, Shut Up and Sit Down had sung it's praises, as had The Dice Tower. And I love deck building games. My most played game is a deck builder after all. This game is ticking a lot of boxes for me.

So a new bargain addition to my pile of shame has been added, and another game to dream about getting to the table.

 

Gaming Day

game night, love letter, netrunner, new arrivals

We had an induction event at work today for students starting in September. I had been put down to “entertain” a group of them for a couple of hours in the morning.

Recently it has come to light that I have a little bit of a Love Letter addiction and own eight copies of the game in various editions.

My plan was simple, I would utilise my Love Letter problem and hold a little Love Letter tournament with the students.

This was this first time the students had played the game. Plus for this group the first time that they had played a game that would not be considered “mainstream”. Sadly none of the group play tabletops, and most would say their last experience was playing the likes of Monopoly or Frustration.

The way I organised the tournament was that the winners from each table would be playing against each other in the next round. And then mix the other tables up based on how many tokens each remaining player had scored that round. To have consistent scoring between the versions we used the Batman Love Letter scoring, which meant that the guard card or equivalent when played and the player guesses correctly they get a token. Which is in addition to a token for winning the round.

This proved a great way of getting the students to mix, because this was the first time they had met.

Next time I run a Love Letter tournament (which will most likely be September) I’m hoping to get some prizes in place for the students to win. The only reason there wasn’t anything this time is because I had very little notice that I would be doing this today, let alone time to think about how I would fill the time slot.

The students had a good time playing the game. Which is the important thing.

At the end of the session I ended up showing one group an example of a “modern” boardgame by taking my copy of Run Fight or Die! out (I just happened to have a copy in my bag!) and quickly setting it up and explaining how the game is played.

What do I look for in a game to use with me students?

It has to be quick to teach, ideally in five to ten minutes. Lessons are one hour twenty (a two hour session like today is a rarity), so playtime for the game should be under an hour. Ideally the game should support four to six players, and not be expensive to buy (funnily enough I don’t have a budget for this sort of thing).

So what games do I currently use with the students:

  • Love Letter
  • Resistance
  • Fluxx
  • Munchkin
  • Zombie Dice

 

And here is a list of games I’m looking to try/introduce:

  • Coup
  • Sushi Go!
  • One Night Resistance (or I think it’s changed to Rebellion)
  • Age of War

Tuesday Night Netrunner

Well I was at the Kings Head at 7pm. Sadly a grand total of zero people turned up. I hung around for forty odd minutes. But I must have looked pretty sad nursing my orange and lemonade (with ice) while reading the rules to Hive. Then again I was the only customer there.

I will get this off the ground. So here is looking to next Tuesday and hopefully a bigger turnout.

New Arrivals

Well after last night and my complaint with Amazon where I cancelled the order and got a refund, that Imperial Settlers was delivered today was rather surprising. I wasn’t expecting that at all, especially when the Royal Mail told the Amazon support person the earliest they could attempt to redeliver was Wednesday! So my logic went I’ll cancel the order, get refund, reorder the game. While I’m doing that Amazon tell the Royal Mail to return the package. And life and the universe are at peace with one another once more.

The day had gone as planned, the manager from the local Royal Mail didn’t call me as promised. Royal Mail customer support is so shitty. I’m too drained to follow this up. Apparently Royal Mail managers finish at 2pm so I can’t even pop round after work to catch them.

I wonder why the Royal Mail is losing business to competition?

Finally Boss Monster 2 arrived, this is the kickstarter Collectors Editon that I went for which is made up of the limited edition game and a special lunchbox to store the cards of the game, plus stretch goals. I’ll get the special lunchbox later in the year. So excited about that. If you are remotely interested you can get the full list of the rewards I’ll be getting here on the this page.

The second hand copy of Hive Pocket is in good condition, I’m looking forward to learning this game. It’s potentially a game for trips.

Finally Nations the Dice Game also arrived. I really want to get this and Roll for the Galaxy to the table very very soon.

 

 

 

 

Confessions of an UK Games Expo Noob

dice masters, krosmaster arena, netrunner, new arrivals, tabletop

The UK Games Expo took place at the NEC the last three days. I think it's safe to say that this is the UK's largest board gaming related event. With it getting bigger next year! (More on that later).

So the thing I think most people will want to know is what did I get at the show.

As the photo above shows I have finally caved and got Krosmaster Arena. What swung it was it was being sold at a very good price, saving about £15 on it, plus it came with two promo characters. I also found a copy of Get Bit! Which was on Tabletop a while back, and looked a fun filler game. Now Sushi Go! Was bought after having a demo game at one of the stands. It was really good fun, quick to learn, and not that expensive.

At LAST! I was able to get a Machi Koro playmat. It's a lovely mat in my opinion.

Naturally I got some Netrunner stuff. Luckily the new data pack Chrome City had just come out, and was available. Plus I picked up a couple of old data packs I didn't have. Plus as the photo below shows an awesome beautiful looking official playmat.

I managed to get a copy of Roll For The Galaxy along with three Wolf Dice bags.

Then finally today I also picked up a spare set of dice for Krosmaster Arena, another two characters and a second map for the game.

While waiting with Zoe and the boys for Todd to have his lunch break from playing in the Netrunner nationals I got talking to one of the X-Wing competitors who was on a break. He made an interesting statement that he had looked at getting into Netrunner but was put off by the “high” cost of entry to be competitive at a competition level. His argument was that in the two or so years that Netrunner has been out with the expansions it is now too costly to buy them all.

I disagreed with him over this, pointing out that X-Wing at the level he was playing at could also be looked at that way, having to buy ships that you may never play with just for a card, and the game he had once played Magic The Gathering was astronomical to get into at a competition level. I also pointed out at least with Netrunner you could either just buy the cards you needed or the data packs with them in, which would of been one solution. Thinking about it, you could probably buy everything for Netrunner for the cost of one or two of the more rare Magic cards (I know some of the cards go for two or three hundred pounds each, maybe even more).

However it got me thinking. You don't need to buy all the data packs in one go. I'm not, I'm buying a couple a month, targeting specific packs if I need a particular card.

But then I'm not looking at the moment at playing at competition level. I know this is what some people like about playing some of these games the competitive competition side. But for me the first and foremost side is that I'm having a good time playing the game. I want to be good at playing the game. But if I don't get to a competition level then it won't kill the game for me.

Saw the guy today and found out how well he did in the tournament. He did well finishing 36th, just in the top third, and if I remember correctly he said yesterday he was flying two IG-88 ships.

Dicemasters

On Friday I took part in the D&D Dicemasters tournament. There was only four of us in this, the majority of players were taking part in the DC/Marvel tournament.

At the start there was some confusion about the format of the competition, on the Facebook page for the show the format was declared as rainbow draft, while the organiser was going to have it as a constructed match. I'd only bought my basic action cards along for this because that was all that was needed for a rainbow draft game.

The organiser settled on the rainbow draft format, which gave each player twelve packs each to open. So after the passing round of cards you end up with twenty four cards and dice to choose a team of eight from.

The organiser was generous in that we were given a playmat plus a Pheonix Force promo card. PLUS to make up for the confusion over format we got an alternate artwork Beast Mutate #666 card plus an alternate artwork Harley Quinn card.

To cut a long story short I came fourth or last depending on the spin I want to put on this. I could of come joint second! How? Well my last game was against Scott, and after a mega, and I mean mega long first game which I won I was drained. Scott took the second game, which was a lot quicker. But I was exhausted by now. So I conceded the last game giving Scott the win. That put Scott into second place with two wins. If, and it's a big if I had gone on and won the third game that would of given three of us out of the four players with one win and making it a three way draw for second place.

I have to say it took me a while to work out how best to play my team and what the possible win conditions were. A more skilful player would of got to that point a lot lot quicker.

But still I got ten boosters for the D&D set as a prize. So for the ten pound entry fee, a playmat, twenty two boosters, three promo cards, not a bad return on the investment.

Plus this was my first time playing rainbow draft which was a great experience, and an afternoon playing Dicemasters.

I was down for taking part in the constructed nationals for Dicemasters but I hadn't really had time to look round and there were a couple of things I wanted to get before the show closed, and I was enjoying my time with Zoe, Todd and their two boys Ethan and Tristan.

Final Thoughts

I had a great time at the expo. I bumped into people I knew from my local FLGS, and a friend or two. Plus I met up with Zoe, Todd and the boys.

It was very hectic. On Saturday the main open play area was taken over by the Netrunner and X-Wing nationals which meant there was a severe shortage of space to play games.

The expo could of done with more space. Which I know from the expo guide they will have next year.

The expo staff were really polite and helpful.

Lots of cosplay especially Dr Who related, the two daleks were great fun, and a few Star Wars related ones, the Stormtroopers were very popular.

I think the half hour lunch that the Netrunner nationals and also the X-Wing were allowed was rediculous. The queues were ridiculously long for food, over fourty minute waits to be served. Unless you had the foresight to bring a packed lunch there was no chance of players getting something to eat, let alone have time to eat it.

There were no previews that I saw. With Origins on next week in the US I think they are being saved up for that. So why weren't we allowed to have previews? I'm talking of stuff like the new Imperial Assault expansions, or cards from the Age of Ultron Dicemasters, or games that will be out a month later at GenCon (another US show). Do we not warrant the same treatment as the US games buying public? Is this a drawback of timing? Would we have gotten some if the show was between Origins and GenCon? It does kind of make me feel we in the UK are not treated the same as our American brethren. Oh wait we aren't.

I was hoping to get a copy of the new artwork Resistance but the only copies I saw were the original/current artwork.

It was great to get a game of Netrunner with Todd, managed to answer one burning question I had about the game, and getting some advice on my deck. Naturally I lost. There will be a better write up of the deck in another post.

Overall a great first time experience at the show. Definitely going next year.

 

Little bits and pieces

new arrivals, tabletop
Ok my liking of Love Letter is becoming more of an obsession! Officially this is my fifth version of the game. This version of the game is the Kanai Factory Limited Edition.
This uses the art work from the original Japanese release of the game.
I actually like this art work a lot. I can see how the art may not be everyone's cup of tea. But I do like the cartoony look, along with the pastel colours. Another thing I like about this version is that there are also two promo cards that allow you to change the gender of the princess, ie use a prince and also an alt art version of the princess.

Epic Spell Wars

After watching the season Tabletop episode where they play this game I had a look for it. Strangely enough it was not to be found anywhere, or if you could it was the usually Amazon stupid amount from a third party. However I believe this scarcity was there before the Tabletop episode aired.
But then again it could be due to Tabletop and that people snapped it up when they saw it on the list of games to be played in season 3 that was released before season three started airing. It's what I did with Marvel Legendary. I had been undecided about buying the game over the Summer. I'd watched reviews, and game play videos. Knew I was going to buy it, and had placed it high on my to buy list. But hadn't got to that point that I was going to buy it. Then in September Wil Wheaton put up the list of games for season three of Tabletop. I knew then that as soon as that episode aired I'd want to buy it, and the Tabletop phenomenon of games getting hard to buy after being on the show, would just upset and frustrate me as it would be sold out. So I went and bought it there and then (not regretted it once) before supply dried up.
From the art work, to the title of the game, this game has a look and feel of eighties rock bands, or Jack Black and Tennacious D. I'm really looking forward to playing this one with my friends, with big hair eighties pomp rock blasting in the background.
Look Wil Wheaton is a geek God ok. How could I not pick up the Wil Wheaton promo card for Five Tribes? It had to be done. I just need to track down the other promos from this years International Tabletop Day that I want. Well the Ms Day Dead of Winter promo would be nice for starters.
What is it about promos that I like? Well they aren't necessary to enjoy a game, so not needed. However for me I like them because it's like personalising the game. Ok technically there will be other people out there with the same promo in their game. But it makes the game feel to me like it is mine.
It may if the people have played the game before and not seen the promo add a small bit of variety to the game, a “oh I've not seen that before” moment.
What I don't like about promos is when companies only hand them out at certain events, or limit them to kickstarter only. I side with Tom Vassel here and that I don't mind a time window of exclusivity, however they should be made available to everyone to get easily after that period has expired. White Wizard games I think have (hopefully) got the approach spot on. Next year they will be releasing a 2014/2015 promos card expansion that will be all the promos from the kickstarter, OP events etc from those two years. I'll be buying this to get the only promo I'm missing the Star Market.
Making these promos easily accessible to fans of the game (it's community) shows that the publisher cares about the games fans and doesn't want to see them fleeced having to pay heavily inflated prices on eBay to get the promo that a lot of the time was FREE!
Sadly this is not the case with a lot of the publishers.
The Ticket to Ride 1910 expansion has been on my list for a long time. Finally I've crumbled and bought it.
The Game of the Year expansions for VivaJava the coffee game the dice game also arrived. There are a couple of mats that are purely decorative as the Lord of the Beans one (as shown above) illustrates. The thing is with kickstarter this expansion came with some dice called Angry Dice. This is a separate mini game Dice Hate Me sell, however they are also used in the Angry Dice expansion that adds an aggro element to the game. However this expansion doesn't come with these dice and therefore you have to buy the dice separately. Like most things these aren't available in the UK, and I've tried looking very hard using my extensive Google ninja skills. Ordering the dice from the Dice Hate Me store sees a whopping $60 shipping fee for a $15 order ($5 for Angry Dice and $10 for a card version of a Brewing game they do), madness. I've actually had to resort to asking a big favour from a friend in the US if he could order the game for me. Even then they charged him $15 for shipping.
 

 

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.

 

New Arrival Hanabi

new arrivals

Long ago I swore I wouldn't use Facebook, I'm a Twitter person. But with me getting into Dicemasters I started using Facebook more and more. What drew me in was the Dicemasters community. Where I have made some good friends, met and played online people from all over the world.

Since then I joined one or two other fan based communities for games I enjoy playing. One of the groups I joined was a UK boardgame and rpg trading and selling group.

I keep my eye on this group because it's possible to get a bargain. Other times the person selling wants too much and with postage I'd be better off buying the game new on Amazon with free next day delivery (I have Amazon Prime) because the difference in price is soo little. A lot of the time I'm too late to the party and stuff has sold before I even see it.

But last weekend I was online and looking at Facebook at the right time. I'd been hearing good things about Hanabi. It was on my radar, but not high up on my to buy list. Well we know my current addictions. However opportunity presented me with a bargain. Hanabi for a fiver and a quid postage. BARGAIN.

I was going to save about a fiver from the Amazon new price – cool!
Anyway the game arrived today. I was shocked I was expecting a bigger box. This is a nice small package, easily carry around able. So something you could easily pull out down the pub! The game is in excellent condition as the photos show. I'm really happy with this purchase and looking forward to playing the game.

 

Another Present From Past Darren

dice masters, new arrivals
Past Darren sure is a kind and thoughtful person, and knows Future Darren really well. Past Darren thought that Future Darren might just like the new Dungeons and Dragons Dicemasters set, which should also be coming with a promo card for the game too. Wow was Past Darren right. How did he know Future Darren loves Dicemasters, and would definitely love the latest release of the game?

So Future Darren opened up his present from Past Darren that had arrived today. There inside well padded was the new starter set, but no promo card. Maybe it was inside the starter set? I know it was nieve to think that it would be, but still I opened up the starter hoping to find it inside. Sadly the hope was ill placed. There was no promo inside the starter.

With my disappointment still fresh I decided to contact Wayland Games about it. Well it seemed right to let them know how sad I was inside that there was no promo card, especially since I had pre-ordered the starter from them.

So for your reading delight I've included my email to Wayland Games. I'm not expecting a favourable response to this email. But I do feel better after writing it and sending it.

“I received my order today, which I had pre-ordered with you. One of the reasons I pre-ordered the Dicemasters D&D starter was to get the free promo card that was also being given out with it. I was very disappointed that the promo card was not included with my order.

It's a shame as tonight my post about receiving the starter will be mainly about my disappointment of no promo card now, instead of excitement and wanting to challenge other players via Google hangouts. I hope my fellow dicemasters players in the UK have been luckier than me. I'm sure when they read my tale of woe there will be those that will gloat and say I should of gone elsewhere. I can't wait to read those responses on Reddit and facebook. Maybe one will take pity on me and have a spare that they can let me have for an extortionate amount money.

As I'm pressing the send payment button in PayPal to pay for a card I should of received for free as part of my order I will try and think of you in a less than favourable light and not be too bitter. But I fear that I may fail at that as I look at the virtual digits flow from my bank account to the bank account of another.

I would say thank you for the prompt service in dispatching my order to me. But my disappointment stops me from showing such gratitude.

Darren Christie”

 

 

TGOC Minifig Project Part 2

lego minifigs, new arrivals

Technically this is also a new arrivals post. But it ties in with the new minifig project also.

What we basically have here are parts to be used in one costume minifig of Lord Elpus (the top hat), while the other bits are to be used in a minifig caricature of a well known (well in the outdoors world) personality. It probably won't be a very flattering caricature. But I can handle the heat.

I've also heard that minifigs.me have also posted today my order with them from two weeks or so ago. A few of those parts ordered are for this project. So the order should be here in a day or two. I'm sure many of you will find that this news excites me a very sad thing indeed, and a sign that I need to get out more.

 

New Minifigs New Minifigs

lego minifigs, new arrivals

New figures. I got the unicorn costume one at the weekend. I do like this one a lot, like the hotdog costume one it's very whimsical. They are such fun figures you can't help but smile when you look at them. It's a side of Lego I like seeing.

The other figure I got today. It's a female oriental warrior. Another figure I like. It's nice to see a woman being portrayed in a strong way. When I got the genie figure I wasn't too happy with that and it's facial expression. It seemed a bit sexist. Not a great portrayal.

Looking forward to the pizza delivery guy arriving, and hopefully my minifigs.me order.