May Games (and stuff) The End

Wrapping up the rest of May...



Not so many games this last week and a bit... and not nearly as many games played as in April...

Still... Not bad for the month. We played:

5x Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress
4x Viticulture Essential Edition (3 with the Tuscany expansion)
3x Terraforming Mars
2x Carcassonne
2x Wrath & Glory
1x 7 Wonders Duel
1x The Castles of Burgundy
1x Power Grid Deluxe: Europe/North America
1x Splendor


Thursday, 21 May 2020 



I spent a good chunk of the day painting with Keira...



I actually finished up this painting I'd started AGES Ago...



Later in the afternoon we went for a ride together.



Originally we'd headed south of town, planning to ride out past Cranbarry Flats... but it was CRAZY. windy, so we circled back to town...



And rode along the river for a bit.



Spotted a bluejay.



Having finished up an Exploration to Blackstone Fortress the day before, Amanda was feeling inspired to have another go...



We had collected up enough Clues to do TWO Stronghold Assaults, so we played the Corridor of Death Stronghold mission...

One more Stronghold to go... then we can take a run at the Hidden Vaults!!


Friday, 22 May 2020 

I didn't get to play any games today... but I did go for a bit of a longer ride...



Maybe it's time I got some new tires... These weren't exactly new when I bought the bike off a friend and I've put over 3500Km on it since then...



I'd originally planned to head out of town to the South and West... but it turns out they've decided to do some major road repair along my usual route!? I wonder if they are FINALLY paving this section of road!?



So I went in the complete opposite direction - up to Chief Mistawasis Bridge at the north end of town.



Clouds. Chemical Plant.



More Clouds



Things starting to turn green!



Looks like an abandoned clutch of eggs on one of the sandbars under the South Bridge.

In the evening I had Finnegan show me the basics of Roll20. I had kind of helped him figure it out two months ago when he moved his D&D games online, but I'd forgotten everything we'd figured out, and he's learned so much since then... I spent the entire evening getting stuff ready for Saturday, knowing he'd be monopolizing the computer all afternoon.


Saturday, 23 May 2020 

I didn't get out anywhere on Saturday... I was busy getting ready for the evening...



Finnegan did play his regular D&D game in the afternoon.



In the evening I ran my first online role-playing game... It was... pretty awesome! I ran Blessings Unheralded - the Wrath & Glory Free RPG Day adventure from a few years back. We just used the pre-made characters to introduce the guys to the game as at least three of them hadn't played before.

What was especially rad about the experience what who I got to play with...

Woody I met... 33 years ago...?! I met him when I was in grade 10 and he'd just taken over the Wizard's Corner in Saskatoon - from the original owners Ken and Kathy. I played my first games of Warhammer (40K and Fantasy) with him and some role-playing games and lots of Blood Bowl. He moved to Calgary over 25 years ago and I mostly lost touch with him - but he came through town last summer and we played a game of 40K Apocalypse.  We'd talked then about getting together to play RPGs again online and... well... finally got around to it!

Christian I also met through the Wizard's Corner a few years later when I was working there for John who took over the store from Woody. I was running a lot of Warhammer games and campaigns and Blood Bowl Leagues. I played SO MANY games with Christian over then next couple years. But, again, we lost touch. I reconnected with him through Facebook about a decade ago - he was back living in Saskatoon at the time and had kids that were about the same age as my kids and we hung out. He played in a tonne of the Savage Worlds games I ran for a few years and been to a lot of my gaming weekends. He moved to Gagetown, New Brunswick - clear across the country - a year or so ago and I haven't seen him since. He was 3 hours ahead of the rest of us!

Chris I met... damn... it must be 15...? or maybe 20 years ago!? He was living in Saskatoon at the time while his then partner was attending the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. I met him through playing Mordhiem at the Dragon's Den. Though it was a miniatures game, Chris came from a background of role-playing and it really showed in his narrative-based miniature scenarios. I knew from the get-go that we were on the same page. He moved back to Edmonton, but has come to visit and play games a few times - or run MARATHONS (with Amanda, not me!)!?

Jonathan I kind of just met recently through his blog - and he came up from Regina to play in the  games I ran at ToonCon this year!

I just don't even have the words to express how fun it was to bring these guys from different parts of the country and different parts of my life to play in a game together.

That map, incidentally, is from GW's Judge Dredd RPG - it was from a boxed set called Slaughter Margin. I never played the game - but the box included SO MANY MAPS that were perfect for science-fi mini gaming - and had piles and piles of cardboard terrain counters. I laid out the encounter locations and took pictures of them from above and uploaded those to Roll20. I used these very same maps to play 40K Rogue Trader with Christian and Woody 30 years ago!?


Sunday, 24 May 2020 



Amanda and Keira finally sat down to do a puzzle they'd started a week or so ago... They've left it out and I was bored one afternoon... and I finished it... and they got annoyed and took it apart... and on Sunday they got it out and did it for themselves.



I went for a long ride, heading west initially.



then I did a long loop heading around the north end of the city.



Eventually I got back to the river and rode back south along the river. It was just over a 60Km loop.

I was tired. So I didn't play a game that evening. Just sat and watched the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot with Amanda and the kids.


Monday, 25 May 2020

In the afternoon, I finally got our garden planted... a bit late, but better late than never, right!?



Amanda actually asked ME if we could play Blackstone Fortress. I think she was getting pretty excited as we were getting so close to the end of the Quest for the Hidden Vault!

You can see way more pics and a full report of the ensuing action elsewhere on this blog:

The Deathmaze - Blackstone Fortress Stronghold Assault


Tuesday - Saturday.... 

Yeah... didn't get up to much...

No rides (other than for groceries) ...

No games....

Like, all week...

It was a rough week... let's leave it at that.

I DID get I a game of Wrath & Glory on Saturday evening. Well, less of a game and more just sorting out backgrounds for the characters and some background for the campaign itself. NEXT Saturday the adventuring begins in earnest!


Sunday, 31 May 2020

I did, finally, get out for a ride again. What a day to go...



The thing to take note of is the wind... it has said it was 50Km/h gusting to 70 when I left.... I rode south-east-ish for two hours... and rode home in an hour!



Heading out of town.



Forest of power lines just south of town.



I tried taking a new route to get to Township Road 350 - heading down Range Road 3053/Clarence Avenue... but despite what the map says... it doesn't really go through...



Lots of Barn Swallows around.



Hawk muting on it's lunch.



So much wind - and dust...



Unlike the previous road I used to try and get to Township Road 350, this one Range Road 3054, actually warned that there was "No Exit"... I had my doubts, and proceeded anyway.



Sure enough, it went straight through to 350...? I guess they put up the sign because it's a Summer Road and not maintained in the winter... or it stops at the Canadian Forces Base instead of continuing south...?







Iv'e been here before... about a month ago... but then mothers day (and PIES!) and Keira's birthday (CAKE!!) happened, in rapid succession and I gained back nearly 5Kg... And that's the story of this last year. A Year ago I was 114Kg, so I'm down 20Kg (Nearly 45lbs) but it's more like I've lost 50Kg... because for every gram I lost, if gained it back again and had to lose that and more to get lower... Ugh... I can't begin to tell you what a struggle it's been and how terrified I am that I'll slip and it'll all come back....



Because Jonathan was recently sharing pictures of his flowering crabapples in bloom - and mentioned his lilacs, I thought I'd share a picture of our own lilacs - which are now just blooming.  It's a huge, wild, out-of-control bush in our front yard, but I love it at this time of year.




After I got home and showered, Amanda and I played another game of Blackstone Fortress. I realized after the last game we needed a few more Clues to take a run at the Hidden Vaults. so, this was just a regular exploration to collect said required clues. We had originally planned to play two games today... but I got out later and, consequently, got home later than I'd expected.... so we'll play that last game tomorrow.

I should have a game report for this one up tomorrow...

(or... maybe later tonight...?)

(which will technically be TOMORROW, in most places...).


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Another Blackstone Fortress Game Report - Looking for Clues.

Then ANOTHER Blackstone Fortress Game Report - The Hidden Vaults!

Then...? I don't know... I can't really think that far ahead!