May Check-in

Hi,

Seems like the blog has taken a back seat since coming out to the east coast.  I'm still not sure if this is a product of burnout, winter blahs, the loss of a regular mini-gaming outlet or what.  That said, there's still some geek about.

The Cub and I have been playing various things on a fairly regular basis, especially 40k and Magic.  He got some stuff for both for his birthday, and we had the trial run of his Ironclad dreadnaught the other day - it came in on a drop-pod, gutted a unit of orks, and then went down before the mighty charge of the Warboss and a pack of tank-bustas ;)



He also picked up the Millennium Falcon for X-Wing, via a local shop, Strange Adventures, who ordered it in for us a while back.  The inaugural game with it (vs. Slave 1) started out well for the Cub, but the wiley Boba Fett came back to win a squeaker.



The Beloved got wind of a local geek convention, which we hit up as a family a few weeks back.  Lots of mini-games, cosplay, comics, etc., in evidence.  Pretty much everybody had a blast.  Puddin' was rather impressed by the balloon people in Frozen costume, who presented her with an Elsa balloon girl, and Cub pretty much blew one guy's mind when he immediately identified the guy's costume as a Deathwatch marine.



I've been getting out Wednesday nights since classes ended, playing commander at the local card shop, Games People Play, but I have to admit, the historical itch is there.  While I definitely went through something of a doldrum, I've started paying attention to historical blogs again, and have been thinking about picking up a brush.  The absence of a regular game seems inhibiting though.  Ive been thinking about digging out my Spartans, or maybe the Russian AB figs that've been moldering in the drawers of shame for the last several years.  Something . . . .

FMB

Catching up

Hello!

We seem to have gotten past the hump of moving in.  Lots of scattered boxes etc. still about, but all the necessary day-to-day stuff is unpacked, furniture is set up, and we're getting back into something of a routine.  Sanity, bit-by-bit, is being restored.



With all the disruption, geek continues to be somewhat interrupted, but I've manged to get my little hobby corner set up, and my painted stuff is back in it's usual home, along with a few "on deck" projects.







In terms of gaming, the Cub and I (with a little dice-throwing assistance from the Puddin') managed to get in a couple of X-Wing games, including one crazy game where the little monkey out-manoevred me twice, getting into the blind spot of my Firespray.  Hairball antics included this mess:



We tried out the new ships picked up just prior to leaving TO, and I've been impressed by all three.  The HWK adds some nice support to the Rebs, as does the cheaper option of the Z95, and the Firespray is just fun.

We've also scouted out some the the geek shops in the area, including a comic store downtown that carries some X-Wing ( Strange Adventures ), and the local GW, and found customer service at both to be excellent.  The GW, in particular, was impressive, with both manager and staff showing enormous patience with the kids and their questions.  I'm used to a store environment that's a little more  . . . agressive, not to mention awkward, but these guys went a long way towards making me think GW's a place I might want to take the kids and share my hobby.  Cub's shown a little interest, and we may get down for a casual trial game on a weekend, and see how it goes.

Between the positive vibes of the visit, and the recent release of the Ork codex, I even cracked open some of the boys, and did some modelling.



They won't be a primary painting focus, I think, but I enjoy the ork models enough that they'll make a nice break from whatever historical stuff I have on the go, and GW's "painted" policy is lax enough that I might even get in a game.

The plan is to take the kids down to the Citadel this weekend, so hopefully I'll get a post out of that, and we'll see what can be done about getting a few figures painted.  Work's keeping me busy though, so progress, while incremental, is likely to be slow.  So far, we're really enjoying Halifax, and taking the time to explore the city and get to know the place a little better.

FMB

You will go to the Degobah system . . .

Well, maybe not that far (Happy Star Wars day!).  It's looking like blog updates here will be somewhat intermittent for the foreseeable future.  Life's been unusually hectic, related partly to end of term shenanigans, but mostly do to the end of a contract I've been working for the last several years.

Some M&T action.  Brave French marines drive off the British interlopers.

While I've been renewed annually for some time, for a variety of reasons, I've come to the end of the renewable period, and am looking for a new position.  One way or another, we're going to be going through some changes around here, and time and energy have been at a premium.

And then fail to win the scenario, because apparently, I can't count.

It hasn't helped that my motivation to paint has been pretty much zero since Christmas.  I've had the same batch of M&T figures on my painting desk for several months now, and while I pick away at them once in a while, I've just not been feeling it.  Don't know if it's the general uncertainty, winter doldrums, or what.

Been playing lots of X-Wing lately.  Not a good day for the Y-Wing.

Oddly, my motivation to blog has been off for a while as well.  This is rather unusual, as I started the damn thing years ago in another period of even greater uncertainty.  Maybe hoping for some good news before I started posting again?

Hairball!

I've had several interviews, through none have panned out so far.  Part of the frustration of the whole situation is the cycle of application, waiting, getting the interview, getting my hopes up despite my best efforts, and then being disappointed.  Most of these jobs have implied a move, and it's far to easy to start imagining what life would be like in a new town.

Lately, I've been running Rebels with some frequency.  Steeper learning curve, but still fun.

Of course, one consequence of a move would mean no longer being able to play with the THMG on Wednesdays, which is something of a downer.  While most of the places I've looked at have some kind of gaming community, they're generally dominated by Magic or GW.  While I've played and enjoyed those games, I've been somewhat spoiled in the last few years by a fantastic historical community, and I'm going to miss it.

Speaking of the THMG, I'd be remiss if I didn't plug the convention the club has planned for this summer, Hold the Line.  We've got solid participation games, including a recap of ChrisB's gorgeous Ronin game, and an X-Wing Death Star run, good support from a number of companies, and a charity auction for the Wounded Warrior fund.  If you're planning on being in Toronto this summer (or fancy a visit regardless), do consider attending, as it's going to be fantastic.

X-Wings, run in pairs, using wingman tactics.  Good times.

So there you have it.  Life's a little up in the air right now, and the net effect is that blogging's kind of dropped off the radar a bit.  I've not given up on the blog or anything, but I suspect until things settle down a bit, posts are going to be infrequent.  Hang in there, and no doubt we'll be back up and running soon.  Ish.

FMB

A long time ago . . .

Actually, it was last night.  Got in a big, multiplayer game of X-Wing last night at the Dueling Grounds, my first proper game with the full rules. I picked up the bits for this game a little while back, and have been toying with the basic game with the Beloved and the Cub, but last night we broke out the full rules and had at it.

My flight, the Interceptor in the middle.  

For those of you unfamiliar, the game is by Fantasy Flight, and it's pedigree goes back to the Wings of War game.  The core mechanics have been cleaned up, streamlined, and supplemented by an additional layer of choices (you select from a range of actions) that adds some real tactical depth to the game.  Plus, as one of the club guys pointed out, Star Wars.

The approaching Rebel scum.

One of our newer members, Stephen71, brought down a metric crap-tonne of gear, and we divvied it up into roughly 50 point increments.  In total, around 150 points of Brave Imperials (led by the redoubtable hero Darth Vader) faced off against about the same points of Rebel Scum (with that whiny squirt Luke Skywalker along for the ride).  Guess on which side I was playing?

A different angle.  The third Rebel flight, a mixed X/Y wing, was a fair bit behind.

The core mechanics are pretty simple.  For each of your ships, you dial in a manoeuvre on a selector placed face down (more zippy ships like TIE Fighters or A-Wings have more, and better, options than, say, a clunky ship like a Y-Wing).  In ascending order of pilot skill, manoeuvres are revealed and executed (via a template), and then barring something preventing you, an action is selected.  Different ships have different action options, but generally they benefit attack, defence, a combination, or offer supplemental manoeuvres.

The joys of secret movement.  X-wings cross over in a bid to support the B-wings, but . . .

Firing is then resolved in descending order of pilot skill.  In other words, more experienced pilots get to select their action after other ships commit to theirs, and have the opportunity to shoot before their less experienced opponents.  Elegant, and a nice way to distinguish between skill classes.  There are also a range of unique pilots with additional special abilities (Vader, for example, can take 2 actions).

 . . . end up in my gun sights as a result.

Shooting resolves through a contested dice roll, with both attack and defence dice potentially modified by selected actions and context.  Damage is resolved via a card mechanic.  Generic damage is indicated by a face-down card, criticals by a face-up card with additional effects.

Only one X-wing gets through the gauntlet.  Everyone wanted a piece of Luke.

In the game we played last night, the Imperials managed to break up a fairly loose Rebel deployment into even smaller pieces, and then use our superior numbers and manoeuvreability against them.

I proceed to head off the trailing Rebel wing.

TIE fighter variants tend to be relatively fragile compared to Rebel ships, but have mobility options that allow them to rapidly capitalize on even slight miscalculations by their opponents.  I was piloting a flight of 2 regular TIEs and a TIE interceptor, and did my best to use my speed and manoeuvrability to engage selectively and focus fire on single targets.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Imperials break up the leading Rebel formation.

Over the course of the game, I helped shoot down Luke, shot down Biggs, and put the boots in on a Y-Wing as well.  One of the other players, the G-man, brought a selection of Star Wars sound effects to the table, and much TIE-fighter screeching and laser blasting was enjoyed.

Another angle.

Bottom right, Lord Vader swoops in behind an X-wing.

In the end, we were able to engage the Rebels piecemeal, and thin them out before they could coordinate and do it to us.

Furball in the backfield.  The Y-wing fired it's Ion cannon at my interceptor, stalling it's movement.

The other TIEs compensated by splashing the X-wing escort.

The Rebels were also using, I think, a couple ships that likely had a steeper learning curve, such as the B-Wing (a bit lumbering, heavy shields), and Y-Wing (slow, heavy hull), that have a role, but I think probably take some practice to get the most of them.

I loop around for another pass, while the Y-wing scrambles to assist the other Rebels.

The TIE fighters move more quickly.

The miniatures that come with the game are actually pretty nice.  I've never been much of a fan of pre-paints, but the sculpts are excellent, with good detail, and the painting is more than adequate for table-top gaming.  They evidently take repainting well, so there's that option for those so inclined.

Like herding sheep.  Filthy, Rebel, sheep.

Imperials close in.

So far, I've picked up the core set, Vader's advanced TIE fighter, and a second X-wing, enough for 50-60 points a side with options.  I will be picking up more.  The game is easy to get into, but has enough depth in play (and in list design) to hold attention.

Remaining X-wing and Y-wing are down, just the B-wing left.

It's about to get messy ;)

FMB