Yep it’s that time of year again. I love that my birthday sits smack damn in the middle of two days that celebrate great franchises that I enjoy a lot.
Naturally I plan to watch something Star Wars related today. Which will definitely include watching the latest addition to the Star Wars universe The Bad Batch. Which I believe is a spin off from the Clone Wars animated series.
I also believe the first episode released today is an extra long episode. Which then gets the second episode released on Friday, and is about 20-25 minutes in duration. And like all other Disney+ series will see new episodes drop on Fridays after that.
I might then rewatch both seasons of The Mandalorian. I love that series. Great stories, great characters, and it feels like Star Wars while introducing new characters.
Some of the images I shared on social media to celebrate the day.
Sadly there will be no Star Wars themed board gaming. Well we know why.
Will be interesting to see what announcements are made, especially on the board and video gaming fronts.
Today Funko dropped what the next set will be in this light character driven team skirmish game. Like many who have seen this news I am pretty excited about it. Marvel is coming to Funkoverse!
After a couple of releases that didn’t excite me (Disney Alice in Wonderland, Space Jam 2 and A Nightmare Before Christmas) Funko are once more back on track for me.
In the 4 character pack we are getting Captain America, Iron Man, Black Panther and Black Widow. With Thanos getting his own single character expansion.
Marvel Funkoverse 4 character pack (images taken from Amazon page)
New game modes Scrimmage and Siege are being introduced in the 4 character pack. Whilst the Thanos character pack introduces Ultimate Mode that lets you play Thanos against three other characters! The Thanos pack also adds a new Infinity War scenario where you race to gather all six Infinity Stones. It also every other map in the Funkoverse!
Some pretty interesting and exciting additions to the Funkoverse game. However until the rulebooks are put online details on these new game modes and map changing scenario are none existent.
However I do like that Funko are expanding the game and how it’s played with certain new expansions. If I remember correctly the AGoT expansion bought four player matches to the game.
Marvel Funkoverse Thanos Character Pack (images taken from Amazon page)
I’m particularly excited to have games of DC vs Marvel, or DC and Marvel team ups. But that’s the ol’ comic book geek in me coming out.
The Marvel Funkoverse according to the US Amazon pages hits 1st July, and they are taking preorders now. It’s currently not listed on the UK Amazon store.
Yep it’s a thing. I only found out about it a couple of weeks ago while researching stuff for a future post. Fox started it about 4 years ago apparently. So later today when the States wake up we should see some cool Alien franchise product announcements being made.
In the meantime there are some Alien themed photos I’ve pushed out on social media to amuse you, plus this post.
Just over a month ago I finally caved and got my hands on the Alien RPG Start Set.
Inside the Starter Set is basically everything a group of friends need to play the Alien RPG cinematic scenario inside the box, plus the sold separately Destroyer of Worlds cinematic scenario. And yes some of the contents can be used when using the core rulebook and your own scenarios or campaign.
Contents of the Starter Kit
So what do you get inside the box?
A 104 page rulebook
The Chariot of the Gods cinematic scenario
5 pre-generated characters
A double sided map
84 game markers
56 cards
10 base dice
10 stress dice
It should be pointed out that since the release of this Starter Kit, the only place you can get the game markers, Chariot of the Gods scenario, map and cards for the scenario is in this kit. They used to be sold separately.
But taking all this into account the Starter Kit does provide good value. The two sets of dice alone account for a large chunk of the kits cost. Before the kits release the individual parts came to more than the cost of this kit.
Naturally the rule book at 104 pages is a tad shorter than the 392 page core rulebook. Which is understandable this is geared at getting players playing a cinematic game of the Alien RPG as quick as possible. It doesn’t need the campaign or character creation rules.
For those wondering what a cinematic scenario is, this is basically what the Alien RPG calls a one-shot. It’s a single stand alone scenario that can be played in typically one to three sessions. In the Alien RPG these cinematic scenarios mirror the sort of story arcs that you get in the Alien movies. The game play is usually high stakes, fast and brutal (read high body count).
Naturally this cut down rule book doesn’t need the short introductory cinematic adventure from the core rulebook, or the creature stats (these are provided in the scenario).
I know some have criticised the lack of character creation within these slimmed down rules. But the D&D starter kit also didn’t allow you to create characters either. This is about playing a game of Alien RPG as fast and easy as possible. I don’t see it as an issue not being able to create characters. However I do agree with the comments I’ve seen about including a couple more cinematic scenarios. They could be short one act missions similar to the one in the core rulebook.
The cards provided include 10 initiative cards (although playing cards could be used for this), 12 equipment cards, 10 character/npc cards, and 24 agenda cards. Obviously the initiative and equipment cards can be used in other scenarios. But these are a handy inclusion.
I’d have liked to have seen the pre-generated characters printed on card stock to make them a bit more durable to wear and tear.
Overall if you want to play the Alien RPG this Starter Kit is a good place to start.
Last night there was another virtual game night for Fenland Gamers.
Sadly it was just Jonathan and myself that were able to virtually meet up to play games. So mirroring one or two of the real life meet ups of yester year.
At Jonathan’s suggestion we played a game of Wingspan. It’s not as if I’m going to say no. We both love the game. So I started a three player game with an AI player taking the third spot.
I should screen shot my opening cards and discuss my decisions about what to keep, etc. I’ll do that for the next game. In the meantime all I can remember about this games starting cards is that I had a bonus card that synergised with the final rounds end of round bonus. That I had two cards in hand that not only counted (if played) towards my bonus card (and by implication the final round bonus) but also allowed the setting up of a tuck engine on the grasslands.
The Wingspan scores and final board state for me
I think I only took the initial draw cards wetland action once, and that was my first action if I remember correctly to grab a bird needed for the engine. After that all my card draw was coming from doing an egg run.
During play I had guessed Jonathan was struggling. He was taking a lot of draw cards actions. Jonathan was hunting for something. Later during the game my suspicions were confirmed when Jonathan posted a message on Discord (and I’m paraphrasing here) that the cards in this game indeed hated him and were conspiring against him.
The final scores did surprise me. Especially Jonathan’s. His claim that this was his worst scoring game ever, was probably right. I don’t remember him doing so poorly.
But that’s the nature of the beast. You see it in every game. Sometimes the stars don’t a line, and everything seems to be working against you. In these situations I think it helps to be the optimist and write the game off as one of those things that just happen, and next time will be different. It’s not fun as it’s happening, and can be frustrating. But you have to play to the last turn on the last round. Things might turn around.
It’s like the game of Epic the Card Game I had last week (lucky for the world the app doesn’t allow you to replay the whole game to record it). Early on in the game I went down to 2 health. Whilst my opponent was gaining life also. It wasn’t looking good.
Life savers!
But drawing into the two cards above I was able to stabilise by removing big threats from attacking, and basically neutralise tokens. This bought me enough time to draw into hopefully solutions to whatever the current threat on the board was.
There has even been games of Star Realms like this. I’ve been on one authority with my opponent in the 60s, and still hung in there and won! That game might actually also be on YouTube. There have been numerous games of MtG like this. Plus just as many that didn’t pan out.
When there is a turn around like the above they become epic gaming moments that you retell time and time again. The boardgaming version of “this one time in band camp…”
I’m digressing from the fact I crushed Jonathan, and had to settle for the fact the only banter was by sharing the above screen shots showing the emphatic victory on social media.
Afterwards we agreed to start up another game of chess via discord. This time it’s Jonathan’s turn to be white.
21 or more days after starting our 4 player game of Wingspan we have finally finished playing today!
Yes that is a long time to take to play a game of Wingspan.
However considering we were all basically only taking one turn a day (I think there was a day when we got to play a second turn). Taking over 21 days to play the game was to be expected.
I’ve mentioned in the past this game was going to take a lot longer than our regular games where we play in real time (with or without discord) so that one of our friends could participate.
So how did the game end? I won comfortably. Which was a bit of a relief after all the round one hype of me playing a raven.
Final scores and my end board state
After you get and play the raven early there is the pressure that you are going to run away with the game. However without cards that combo well with it, it’s not a big advantage.
In this game I got some that worked ok with it. I did have to set up a card draw engine and round 2 was basically me drawing cards looking for cards to work with the raven. So I had a massive number of cards in hand to use through the remaining rounds.
How did I think it went playing a game that went on for so long? It was ok. Not something I’d want to do regularly. The long delay between turns was frustrating. But the fact it allowed a friend who otherwise would not be able to play to join in counts for a lot.
Right now to organise the next virtual game night.
Just under a week ago the Project Infinite Hole Kickstarter for the Paranoia RPG dropped through my letterbox.
It was a very pleasant surprise as I was not expecting it so soon after fulfillment had started. It was the very next day. At I best I thought it’d be about a week before I’d receive it. But that quick! Mind blown.
However after opening up the package and checking the contents, I spotted one issue. I had two Thriftylist decks and was missing the Disaster deck. A quick email exchange with Mongoose Publishing and a “replacement” Disaster deck was going to be put in the post (it turned up this morning).
Contents of the Green level pledge
Basically this Paranoia Kickstarter goes into depth on the R&D department. Introducing new equipment, NPC’s, locations and ways to combine items.
Obviously there are new missions, with four iirc making up a campaign! Yep a Paranoia campaign. Apparently this is a first.
As we ease into meeting up in real life I’m hoping I can get enough interest to run one or two Paranoia sessions once they can be safely done. I’m also hoping I can get one or two of the other RPGs to the table too.
And we’re back. This post is going to be all over the place (when aren’t they?) But we are starting off with a look at the progress I’m making with the Alien miniatures to use with Last Days (and the RPG).
I have 13 aliens assembled which includes the Queen. Which means I have 12 more left to do. However I decided to paint the assembled ones before putting the remaining ones together.
That meant I needed to decide how I was going to paint them. So it was off to the internet to look for some painting tutorials. Luckily with the older now out of print AvP game and the new Alien game there are one or two posts and videos about painting the aliens. And you guessed it they all had different colour schemes! Which means choose the finished look you like the most and follow that. And that’s what I did.
Here is the tutorial I decided to follow.
So far I have primed the figures with a black primer. Then dry brushed the models with Runefang Steel (which I just realised is the wrong paint! It should have been Leadbelcher! But I actually like the way it’s turned out.) Finally after the dry brushing I applied a wash of Nuln Oil. Now I just have to wait for that all to dry now before proceeding with more dry brushing. But that’s tomorrow’s job.
Painting progress of the Alien miniatures
You’ll also see above that I have some more supplies in to start painting the Big Bang Theory figures with. The important one was the orange brown for Raj. The others were just getting more in off paints I already had.
Not board game related but I do talk video games from time to time on here. And let’s face it I have been playing them since the dawn of the entertainment media that it is.
A couple of years back the Royal Mail issued commemorative stamps celebrating the rich history and achievements of the British video game industry.
Back then I didn’t have the resources to get a set of the stamps. But I did now. So when I saw that I could still buy them whilst pre-ordering the upcoming commemorative stamps celebrating British sci-fi. Well I snapped them up.
Royal Mail commemorative stamps celebrating the British video game industry.
I’m not a stamp collector. But these like the Asterix stamps that I have are just pretty cool to own.
The stamps bring back some find memories of simpler, more care free times. There was a sense of pioneering, pushing boundaries with the games back then.
The only drawback I see with these stamps is that Llamasoft and Jeff Minter are not represented. I love Llamasoft games. They have a unique feel, almost purity to them. Minter has been a gaming hero of mine since the early 80’s. He’s a coding god in my eyes.
Alice is Missing arrives
Finally I’ve been able to get a physical copy of the silent RPG Alice is Missing (I have a digital copy).
I just now need to organise a game or two using the discord server I have access to. Oh and learn how to assign roles, etc in discord. But that’s an apathy thing to overcome.
It’s been a couple of days since I last graced this blog with my shallow thoughts and poorly formed opinions. But isn’t that just the way things are during this global event?
Although gaming has not been taking place in meat space, we did have another virtual game night last Wednesday. And our four player game of Wingspan has reached just over the mid point of round three! But that is all hardly worth writing about (unless I get really desperate for something to say, and that includes a massive misplay by Jonathan in our game of Love Letter).
I did dig out the Zombicide figures for the Big Bang Theory characters and primed them ready for painting.
The Raj figure presented me with a problem painting that I hadn’t come across before. That problem being skin tone. Luckily Duncan was able to point me to some great resources online, such as this CMoN post and this one. I now have a Vallejo Orange Brown on its way.
Looking back at the post where I spec’d them out as a Last Days squad to use I felt a bit embarrassed by what I did. So I will be revisiting this squad and “fixing” it.
I did spend some time this morning cutting and gluing some of the Alien miniatures that Gale Force Nine sell and that have ended up in my possession. The plan is to try and do some of these each day. Or every other day. Or the mood takes me! Look apathy is a real thing ok?
At the moment I have 20 more warrior aliens left to put together. Plus the Heroes of Hadley’s Hope which is 13 figures. And at some point hopefully in the near future the assets and hazards model pack will also drop through the letter box, and that also gets added to the model building queue.
Now you can see why I came up with the above plan to tackle the number of models that need building.
After all that building I then have to paint them! Although I think I might be able to get away with not painting the aliens!! Plus finish off the outstanding bits I need to do rules wise.
All this to add Aliens to Last Days and to use if I get to run the RPG. But I think it’s going to be worth it. Last Days has the potential to be the best Alien based game going!
[said in the voice of The Rock] Finally! Genesys gets a new source book!
Announced yesterday by FFG and Edge Studios on pages 4 and 5 of the Twilight Codex issue 2 that they released was the news that the next source book for the Genesys RPG system will be a TI4 setting.
Pages 4 and 5 from Twilight Codex issue 2
The Twilight Codex is a web-based publication (basically a pdf you can download) that highlights rules updates and showcases new content for Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition and its Prophecy of Kings expansion.
So it’s the natural place for FFG and Edge Studios (who are now the guardians of the RPGs that belonged to FFG) to announce a sourcebook set in the Twilight Imperium Universe.
We can get a hint of things to come by looking at Chapter 6: Space Opera of the core rulebook. This chapter looks at the setting Space Opera and uses Twilight Imperium as its example. I am looking for psionics to be expanded much in the same way netrunning rules were in Shadow of the Beanstalk.
Hopefully we will also get adversary cards to go along with source book.
I would say this announcement has been long over due by Edge Studios. Whose silence over upcoming Genesys related stuff has been infuriating and given the impression that the system may be deceased.
The new Genesys setting was not the only announcement within the pages of the Codex. There were also details of two novels set in the Twilight Imperium universe.
Twilight Codex page with book details.
It would appear that FFG are giving Twilight Imperium the Android treatment. It’s a shame Android isn’t getting some more love. But I’ll take the Twilight Imperium stuff gladly.
