2014 review and 2015 preview

Ah, the end of another year... And I am glad to see it come. This year has been one of drama and problems and was just not good. But, I'm not here to talk about my drama, I'm here to walk about games!

Kickstarter:

This year was a bad Kickstarter year for me. I thought I was going to be moving this past summer, so I didn't invest in several good games that came up because I didn't want to have to deal with changing my address at the last minute and I didn't want to have things shipped to my mother's address.

That said, I've got one Kickstarter I've been waiting on for over a year now and it's leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

That said, I've funded a few projects, as shown from the brief posts about them.

Wargaming:

With the drama between Pano and myself, followed by the closing of his game store, I haven't done any wargaming in a long, long while. I haven't painted anything, only primed three minis, and have tons of half-finished projects laying around. But, let's start on the games.

SpineSpur:

Oh, SpineSpur. How I have missed you so! I haven't played since the last battle report in January. I love playing this game but it's so hard to get games in. Since no one seems to play it, but you can't just show up at a store with a force and play, like Warmachine, Infinity, or Warhammer. No, for me, I have to get in touch with the two people I've taught how to play and figure out the when/where/how of getting a game together. Not fun. But, I'm going to work on changing that. 2015 shall be the Year of SpineSpur! I'll be working on recruiting new players, be finishing out my queue of minis, and starting a new series of articles: The Streets of SpineSpur! More coming on that soon.

Road Kill:

Not that long ago, I wrote up a 'Let's Review' of this game. Now, I'll be doing a series of articles repairing and expanding the game. Hopefully, I'll be able to sucker a friend in to playing a game or two with me. I'll also be painting models for this game and posting them up here.

Warhammer 40,000:

I know what you're thinking. Why am I writing about Warhammer after saying I'm done with it? Well, Jay and I have discussed playing some Zone Mortalis games. Since I already own a ton of minis for the game, there's not much I need to update to play. I have the most recent Chaos Space Marine codex (I bought it from Remi when we were still friends) and I just acquired the new Imperial Guard codex. All I need to do is buy a copy of Dark Vengeance, which I'll be doing on eBay, and I'll be ready to roll. I'm not buy any new minis (except what I'll get from the DV set), I'm just going to play with what I have already.

Also, my issue with Warhammer has more to do with GW's business decisions than the game itself. The game is fun, but it just happens to be owned by some real jerks.

Malifaux:

One of these days, I'm going to finish up these minis and actually play this game. That day, however, may be very far off...

Card Games:

Not much going on here. With the WoW TCG now dead, I don't play a single 'active' card game. While that might seem sad to some of you, it does save me quite a bit of money. And while the WoW game is dead, I've picked up quite a few lots on eBay for dirt cheap. Which is about the only good thing to come out of the cancellation. I wouldn't mind picking up a new card game, but I am yet to see one that appeals to me in the slightest.

RPGs:

Due to the collapse of my gaming group last year, I haven't done any gaming in so long. Since I'm not playing RPGs, I'm not really buying them or paying too much attention to them. Lately, I've just been buying things I missed the first time around. 

 

Articles:

As I'm sure you may have noticed, I've been adding some articles to this blog. My goal has been to expand the scope of this thing and I figured this was the easiest way to do it. As anyone who has looked over the early entries has noticed, this blog was formed to talk about Warhammer 40k. Since the other contributors have left and I'm (mostly) out of the 40k game, I've been trying to generate content here.

Blast from the past:

This is one of my favorite articles to write. I have so many old RPGs laying around that never got any love. It's nice to dig them out, look them over, and just talk about was (or never was). If you look over the list of games page at the top of the blog, you'll see that I have a lot of ground to cover before this series comes to a close. For right now, I'm trying to put out one of these a month. This series will also include settings for old systems as well. If you have a game you'd like to see written about, leave a comment and I'll add it to the list. Right now, Hunter: the Reckoning, Teenagers From Outer Space, and Big Eyes, Small Mouth are being worked one. Stay tuned for those.

Gone But Not Forgotten:

This is new series for me and it will probably be on of the shortest ones, as I don't play a lot of collectible games anymore. For right now, there's only two more games for me to review: Doomtown (which will be rolled in a larger series of articles about the Deadlands settings) and the Axis & Allies minis game. I might buy some starter sets of older games, provided they're cheap and unique. If you have suggestions, feel free to let me know.

Let's Review:

This is a fun one for me. I don't have a huge list of things for this one. Yet. As I get things from Kickstarter, I'll be adding them to this series. It's also a chance to talk about games I love that you can still buy and are still supported. This should be a long-running series, if random in updates.

How-To:

I had originally intended to do more How-To articles from the beginning of the blog, as well as getting the other founding members involved in writing some, but no one wanted to. So, since I live in the 90's and don't have a smartphone nor a digital camera, trying to do How-To things without pictures proved to be too much of a drag to do. However, I would like to share more things I've discovered, so I'll be doing some of these this upcoming year. I hope.

Others:

I have a few other articles planned for this year. I've mentioned a few already but there might be others coming as well.

In addition to all this, I'll be posting battle reports, painted minis, and everything else. Stay tuned!

Who likes giant robots?

Because, chicks dig giant robots!

Okay, maybe not. But, I have yet another find on Kickstarter. This one is another Mecha RPG. If you're interested, give it a look. I'm okay with $10 for a PDF copy.

Battle Century G.

There's less than two days left, so if you're interested, better get in now.

A find on Kickstarter

Hello there, boys and girls! Did you miss me? I wish I had been around more, but life (mostly drama, bullshit, and laziness) got in the way. But, I'm back! And I come bearing gifts from Kickstarter.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/33195679/wwii-assault-tactical-skirmish-combat

Jay (who you may remember from my SpineSpur battle reports) emailed me this link earlier this week. I took a look and threw down $40. Why? Because unlike most WWII games, this one is a skirmish one. And I've found I like those better than most other things.

Now, why should you back this project? Well, I'm not one for nitpicking rules. I'll play anything and houserule stuff if I have to, so don't ask me about that. That said, Jay is that kind of guy and he seems impressed from what he's mentioned. I like the scale and the size. It looks fun. And, for $10, that should be worth it for you guys.

What army am I picking up? Why, the Russians, of course. Don't ask me why, but I have a thing for those crazy Soviet bastards. Plus, in WWII, they did a hell of a lot of damage. At the end of the war they had a standing army of five million. Kind of reminds me of the Imperial Guard... Hmm...

So, take a look. If it's something you think you might like, spend $10 to give a game (and a new guy) a chance.

Febuary Update.

Okay kids, let's have an update post. I would rather be writing about another game of Spinespur, but the weather out here is plain terrible and one of the people I play with is having some issues right now and couldn't make it in. Such is life.

No, I don't know this woman, but I like the look on her face.

Let's start with Kickstarter, shall we? Got a few updates here. I received my stuff from the Spinespur KS and I'm happy as a clam... Except for the screw up with the Gladiator mini. I guess the arm got stuck in the mold so he's missing his left arm. Not a big deal as most folks are willing to sculpt their own. Comfy Chair Games says they'll send you a replacement body if you order something from their online store. I've heard of other companies doing this and it's not very cool, but there's one difference with Spinespur: We got, what, two extra models? Personally, I'd have rather have gotten those extra models and have an excuse to order some more minis from CCG. Because the funds went to make more stuff for the backers, I find the 'order something and I'll replace it' method used here to be more acceptable that I would if I got something from a KS and didn't get anything extra from the funds. Yes, CCG should have set aside some money for Murphy's Law, but this was the first successful KS. I cut folks a few breaks because nobody gets it right the first time. And at least you can actually get a replacement.

I also got my Tears of a Machine PDFs but haven't really looked over them yet. Nor have I received by CRC card... Which I need to message them about. Crap. I just haven't had time to look over the rules yet, but from the glances I've taken, it looks like a quality product. I'll try to get a game of it together at some point in the future, but things are far too busy right now.

Deck of Legends is massively delayed, which doesn't make me happy. I thought the deadline was a little optimistic. Oh well. I'll enjoy it when it comes in, I guess.

I haven't backed anything else lately, but I'm currently keeping an eye on the following: Kombat Kittens (because who doesn't like cats?), Pulp Heroes (because I need another minis game, right?) and T5: Tile City, which I'm on the fence about backing. Great looking product, but I'm not willing to plunk down that much cash quite yet. We'll see what happens when the deadline gets closer.

As for gaming, I'm once again in a dry spell. I got in that game of Spinespur and am making plans to keep playing once a month, but as the second time has been a complete failure, I have a bad feeling about the future of playing anything.

However, I am back on the priming/painting/assembling horse. I've gotten three minis primed in the past few days, got another one's head glued back on and am pinning some more so I can get them on the bases. Here's my plan of attack for the next few weeks:

Group 1: Bludgeoning Thugs (x2 currently primed), Molotov Thugs (x2, one primed, one glued back together). -also working on Ivanetta, on the side-
Group 2: Torrent, Twister, Inferno, Sand Woman (Currently pinned and waiting to be mounted on the bases I'm making)
Group 3: Chainsaw Thugs (x2, partly assembled) Big Bat and Bellsaw (neither of which have been touched yet.)

My plan is to finish priming Group 1, then get Group 2 based. Once I start priming Group 2, I'll start putting together Group 3 while painting Group 1. Once Group 1 is finished, I'll start painting Group 2, while priming Group 3 and putting Group 4 together (yes, there's more groups coming). Once I complete Group 2, I'm also going to shoot out an order to Reaper. There's a few models I've had my eye on for years, but I've been forcing myself to wait until I finish something. Hopefully, working on the groups will allow me keep focused and on track.
In addition to these groups, I'm also going to be working on four Bones minis and one Chaos Space Marine on the side, so to speak. I'm going to be a busy guy for a long, long while...

If I get the chance, I plan on posting something about my thoughts on GW and their craziness. Not a rant but just my thinking on their actions.

Keep gaming, you crazy people!

I forgot to mention that there's been a few changes on the Project List page. I sorted the Spinespur stuff by agenda and you might see a new agenda with no model in it. I just did an order somewhere and tossed in a few Spinespur minis I 'needed.' I already added them to my painting queue list. 

How the time does fly...

I can't believe I haven't written since September. Mostly busy with 'real life' stuff added with the collapse of my gaming group made it hard for me to find not only the time but also topics to write about. Let's go over some of the things I usually talk about, shall we?

Wargaming:

Not much going on here, due to lack of time to play. Spinespur is on the shelf until I finish up the last of my queue (which I had hoped to have done before the new stuff arrived...) plus I wanted to make some more terrain to use for the game.
As for Warhammer, I find myself just not motivated to play. Don't get me wrong, I like the game and have fun playing, but I just don't want to play. And when I don't want to play, I don't want to paint. I'll keep chugging along, however, and try to at least finish my Chaos Space Marines before too long. Once I get those guys finished, then it's on to the Imperial Guard... Oh, god, why did I buy so many minis and not paint them? Why, god, why?
Moving on to Malifaux, I've been putting my forces on hold while I waited for the 2e update as well as my Happy Seppuku base stamps (which I will discuss in a little bit here). Now that my stamp has arrived, I hope to get them standing and buy the new book so I can finally get a game in. I'm hearing some really good things about the game so I am very much looking forward to it.

Kickstarter:

Now it's time for a run down of the various Kickstarters I'm waiting on and have received rewards from -

SpineSpur:
Merv just sent out the Street Chum mini-game, so be sure to check your updates. I got mine and my computer refuses to figure out exactly what kind of file it is. I'll try a few more things before I send an email, but if you have any advice, let me know. As for the rest of the rewards, the minis, Merv has said they'll be a little late. That's fine. He's communicating the issues as they happen (books misprinted, screw up in the drafting program, etc) so I was expecting a delay of some kind. I can't hold the mistakes and just general bad luck of others on him. I'm looking forward to my minis and playing some bigger games.

Cyberpunk playing cards:
I got these a while back and they're pretty good. Good art, good quality cards and on-time rewards. These guys know what they're doing. I'm glad I backed the project and look forward for finding an excuse to use them. My only complaint, and it is a small one, is the box doesn't look like it'll take much abuse before it starts to fall apart. Like I said, small complaint.

Base stamps:
Well, again, these guys delivered on time, which is a point for them. I'm not so sure about the base stamp, however. I got the Old World: Flagstone stamp and I'm not 100% impressed. A friend pointed out that things got a bit rushed and they weren't able to spend as much time working on the stamps before they shipped them. The problem with my stamp is some flash and a large crack on the side of the stamp where the letter "R" should be. I can go over the stamp myself and clean up the flash, but the crack worries me about the longevity of the stamp. If I had bought this from them without a Kickstarter, I'd politely ask for a replacement. But since it was Kickstarter, I'm willing to cut them some slack. I'll write up some more about the stamp when I get a chance to work with it.

Tears of a Machine RPG:
Looking forward to getting my PDF and my little card thing. The scheduled release of the product for us backers is this month, but with the holidays going on, I'm guessing it's going to miss it. So long as the creator keeps communicating (which he does okay at), that'll be alright. Once it does it, I think I'm going to try a new semi-regular article trying to be 'journalistic' about RPGs. Something that goes in to the art, the content of the game, the mechanics and just trying to be fair about the thing. After I do that, I'm so going to run a game of it! This will also be a test for future backing of RPGs as I've never done it before this one.

Deck of Legends:
Well, this one has missed delivery date, and I'm not sure what's going on. I've been so busy (and had a problem with my email account), so I could have some gaps in updates. I do know that there have been a few changes with the art as well as a massively delayed stretch goal (which was something from another person, not the creator). But, since the art is fantastic, I'm willing to quietly wait a few extra weeks for a quality product.

Other articles and etc -

I haven't done another Past From The Past because I can't decide if I want to do Teenagers From Outer Space or Cyberpunk 2020. I'll be putting up another poll for you to vote on.

In other news, we found out a while ago that the World of Warcraft TCG went under because of Blizzard. I think it's a damn shame and shame on Blizzard for pulling the plug. I never played WoW but I do have fond memories of the RTS games, as well as knowing several people that got into the card game because of the MMORPG, or went back to it after playing the card game. I don't know what prompted the end of the project, but I wonder about it. I don't know if Blizzard didn't think they were making enough money off of the game (possible) or if they thought that Cryptozoic wasn't able to focus enough of their line as they wanted (again, possible). Either way, I'm bummed and haven't really played since I got the news. Because this is just what I needed: another dead card game to take up room in my place.

As some of you may have noticed, I commented that I had backed the Bones II Kickstarter but never wrote about it. Well, thanks to 'real life' I had to cancel my pledge and deal with some stuff. I could have kept it at $1 and then upped it later, but I didn't want to tempt myself to blow all my money on little plastic men, especially when there are several hundred others that need paint and bases and primer and... Well, you get the point. I'll gladly buy more Bones from Reaper when they get released in addition to the metals I already want. If there's a Bones III, I'll look in to backing that one, too.

There you go, folks. Let me know what you think and for those of you choosing to celebrate the holidays a merry 'Bah Humbug' to you all!

Edit: I'm also thinking about putting out some setting ideas for games up here. If you're interested in those, please leave a comment. I may or may not include rules, that will depend on the legality of doing so.

Backed Kickstarters

As I agreed, I'm going to write this entry about my backed kickstarter projects. I'm going to go through my projects from oldest to newest, ignoring the one I backed out of. Without further adieu:

1. Reaper Bones
Total investment: $151
Status: Funded, rewards received
This was my very first involvement in Kickstarter and, wow... This project was one of those things that only comes around once in a lifetime. A ton of cheap, plastic minis for gaming at an amazing low price. I freely admit I was refreshing the page for this Kickstarter every day it was going.

2. Evil Spares None
Total investment: $25
Status:Funded, reward received
I got in on this project because it was made by a guy on the SomethingAwful forums and it sounded fun. As of yet, I haven't played it, but mostly because I haven't had a chance yet. This project did have a few issues with getting released; not only did a printer drop the ball on the project, but Hurricane Sandy showed up and buried the maker of this game in mountain of snow. I wasn't impressed with the packaging I received (a cheap box that was a tad too small and having to put the stickers on all of pieces), but I would contribute again in a heartbeat.

3. Dominion of the Gods
Total investment: $10
Status: Failed
So far, this is the only failed project I have contributed to. I only put down some cash because the game is being made by Comfy Chair Games, who also make SpineSpur. I put down the $10 for a special badge on their forums so I could help out, and won't get a ton of minis I wouldn't know what to do with. As of yet, there has been no further information posted about the game, but CCG did say the project was going forward at a much slower pace.

4. Seattle Doomsday Map
Total investment: $15
Status: Funded, reward received
I saw this project and knew I was going to back it. I'm not from Seattle, but I've been there a few times and though seeing the city in ruins would be cool. I haven't put the poster up yet, but as soon as I get a new apartment, I'm buying a nice frame and putting that sucker up on the wall. When the project concluded, the artist asked what cities people wanted to see destroyed. I asked for Portland and Tacoma...

5. SpineSpur
Total investment: $65
Status: Funded, no rewards received (expected November 2013)
Of course I backed this project. I originally backed for $110, for the hard-bound rulebook plus All The New Stuff, but my funds were short, so I had to drop the book. But, I did what I could to get others interested in the project, not only with my posts here (from which I made no money nor did CCG promise anything for doing them), but by posting the project around the internet. I'm excited to get the minis and hope that when the second book of SpineSpur is getting ready to print, CCG does another Kickstarter.

6. Albino Dragon's Synthesis Cyberpunk Playing Cards
Total investment: $15
Status: Funded, no rewards received (expected September 2013)
I love all things cyberpunk and I buy random decks of playing cards (thanks, Deadlands for that habit). The art looked nice and I could get them for a low price.

7. Happy Seppuku Base Texture Stamps Retooling and Expansion
Total investment: $12
Status: Funded, no rewards received (expected November 2013)
I wish I had more money when this project was being funded. I like the idea of these things and I could have used these when I was working on my SpineSpur stuff. Since I haven't done anything with my Malifaux stuff yet, this is what I plan on using for those bases. I'm still waiting for my backer survey, but the guys behind this project have excellent communication. They've also said they're going to deliver on time, and unless something major happens, I don't see any reason to doubt them.

8. Tears of a machine
Total investment: $20
Status: Funded, no rewards received (expected December 2013)
I'm a huge fan of all things Neon Genesis Evangelion, and an RPG based on the concepts in that show was enough for me to plunk down $20. I could have gotten them for $15, but I spent the extra five bucks for a limited edition ID card thing. Because it sounded cool. I don't know if I'll ever play the game, as I like to have real books in my hands when gaming, but time will tell on this one.

9. Deck of Legends
Total investment: $15 (for now)
Status: In Progress
I want you to look this project up, right now. Since many of you are lazy, let me link you to it. Like what you see? I know I did. Now, put down some money! The artist doing this project has been posting on SomethingAwful, and the art, my god, the art! Depending on my funds, I pick up a few decks. There's also talk of getting a deck with the Malifaux suit symbols on it, which I would back so hard.

There you have it. I don't back a lot of projects, but the ones I do back I back because I think it's a good project. As of yet, I haven't been burned, but I know it's only a matter of time.