Painting Again!

 With both kids suggesting they'd like to play some 40K/Kill Team this summer, I am painting again! 

Starting with some T'au - hoping to get a Kill Team or two ready and finish building it up to a Patrol Detachment. 

Keiran already has loads of Harlequins... 

I have no shortage of Kill Teams available. 

The plan is to run a little narrative campaign for their respective Kill Teams - Me, being like a Game Master in a role-playing game, will come up with scenarios and opponents. Somehow I'll have to weave it together that the two of them are after some similar goals and keep bumping into each other, from time to time. Maybe even have a few games of 40K where they end up on the same side fighting a greater opponent - each of them fielding a Patrol Detachment in an Incursion Level game...?

We shall see... 

Game Plan 2022 - 5x/10x Game Challenges

 I was thinking a little more about what games I might like to play in the coming months and try to solidify that into a challenge (or two... or three...?) 

Looking at the games I've played so far this year... 

• Wingspan x11
• Terraforming Mars x9
• Five Tribes x7
• Azul x6
• Warhammer Underworlds: Direchasm x6
• Carcassonne x5
• Quebec 1759 x5
• Splendor x3
• Andean Abyss x2
• Wizard Kings x2
• Wrath & Glory x2
• Bananagrams x1
• For Sale x1
• Marrying Mr. Darcy x1
• The Silver Bayonet x1

So, give that, and some of the games I'd like to focus on, I thought I'd come up with a 10x10 Challenge list to try and help maintain that focus. Some were obvious (as I'd already played ten, or very nearly...). Others, less so... and might get swapped out at some point.

2022 (PROVISIONAL) 10x10 Game Challenge List 

1. Wingspan 
2. Terraforming Mars 
3. Five Tribes 
4. Azul 
5. Warhammer Underworlds: Direchasm 
6. Warhammer Underworlds: Harrowdeep
7. Carcassonne 
8. Kill Team
9. GMT Games
10. Role-Playing Game? Or Columbia Block Games?

Wingspan is DONE, don't have to play any more... though I'm sure we probably will

Just need to play one more game of Terraforming Mars and that one is done too. Five Tribes only needs three. So neither of these will even feature in the Q3 or Q4 5x5 Challenges, as I'm sure we can just pick those up along the way. 

I've already played 6 games of Warhammer Underworlds (set in the Beastgrave - which I log as Direchasm on BGG because it was the set I started with...). My plan is, over the summer, run a narrative sort of campaign for Amanda with Warhammer Underworlds... 

The idea is the campaign will follow the exploits of Amanda's favoured warband: Morgwaeth's Blade-Coven. I'll throw different warbands at them each week and try to weave some sort of narrative between the clashes. The plan is to play five more games set in Beastgrave/Direchasm over the next month while I get a few of the Harrowdeep/Nethermaze warbands finished up. Then we'll switch settings - Morgweath will have found a way... well.. if not home, at least a way OUT of Beastgrave and closer to home (as Harrowdeep is actually located just off the coast of Hag-Nar - Morgweath's home temple from which she and her blade-coven were dispatched to the Beastgrave!). 

I like Carcassonne. Amanda is ambivalent. She'll play. We've played five games already, so I thought I could add that to the Q4 5x5 Challenge and we could knock those out in the winter. 

The kids and I are planning to play a little Kill Team campaign this summer. Initially it was just going to be me and Finnegan, and I was planning something similar to what I'm doing with Amanda with Warhammer Underworlds - run a little narrative campaign that focuses on the story of HIS Kill Team (probably the fancy new T'au Pathfinders from Kill Team: Chalnath!) and I'd come up with a series of scenarios for him to play through facing different opponents. 

I only just found out today that Keiran was DEPLY HURT that I didn't ask THEM to join us!? I only hadn't because the last time we spoke of whole 40K thing, they said in no uncertain terms then NEVER liked and of 40K - regular 40K or Kill Team or any of the role-playing games. They said they TRIED to get interested in it because everyone else was interested... but they just couldn't.... So I respected that and didn't even try to persuade them to play ever since... I mean, they've shown NO INTEREST in ANY games for over a year!? 

I guess Finnegan somehow got them watching If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device and they've had a bit of a change of heart... 

(I guess I'm going to have to watch it now, too...) 

Rather than trying to play any of the GMT games TEN times, I thought I'd make it a broad category that could include COIN games (Andean Abyss, On a Distant Plain, Fire in the Lake), Labyrinth, Twilight Struggle, Paths of Glory, etc... It might be two games five times each (as I DO like the idea of playing a game a few times to really get to know it!) or three games 3-4 times each... but it probably WON'T be either on game ten times or ten different games, once...

The Columbia Block Games, like GMT, is more of a category of games. These include Quebec 1759, Wizard Kings, Hammer of the Scots. I've played Quebec 1759 five times already. I've played Wizard kings twice, but probably won't bother trying it again... I COULD just play Hammer of the Scots three times and call it DONE, but I think I'll try and add it to one of the Quarterly 5x5 Challenges... 

I'm still holding out that I MIGHT get a role-playing game of SOME sort going on again in the fall... 

So here is what the Q3 and Q4 5x5 Challenges might look like:

Q3 5x5 Challenge

1. Warhammer Underworlds: Direchasm (4 more) 
2. Warhammer Underworlds: HarrowDeep
3. GMT Games
4. Kill Team
5. Hammer of the Scots

Q4 5x5 Challenge

1. Warhammer Underworlds: Harrowdeep
2. Carcassonne 
3. Role-Playing Game? Or something else?
4. Kill Team
5. GMT Games

Should keep me busy! 

AND hopefully get me motivated to start PLAYING again... 

I HAD really hoped I'd get in some games of Song of Blades and Heroes and a few of the Osprey Wargame Series this year. Maybe I'll try to set up a few one-off games over the next six months and try to focus on those next year! 

Game Plan 2022 - Q3

Looking back at the Game Plan 2022 - Q2, one should note, I did post it on April Fools day... How did it go...? 

5x5 (Quarterly) Challenge

I hadn't laid out what might be in the Q2 5x5 Challenge, but guessed it might include Five Tribes, Wingspan and Terraforming Mars... and had HOPED I might get going with Kill Team again... 

Here's what we actually got to playing:

Games Q2

• Quebec 1759 x5
• Warhammer Underworlds x5
• Wingspan x4
• Andean Abyss x2
• Terraforming Mars x2
• Wizard Kings x2
• Splendor x1

So... TWO games played five times... a third made it to four... Yikes.

Maybe Next Quarter...

OTHER GAMES 

I had some plans involving other games... Getting back to some kind of miniature games - probably skirmish, preferably a campaign... Kill Team... Warhammer Underworlds... Warhammer Quest - both Blackstone Fortress and Cursed City... Necromunda...

I guess I DID get back to playing Warhammer Underworlds. 

Also had some plans involving getting games that were just shy of the five or dime lists on BGG some plays or playing some games that I hadn't played before. I DID play Quebec 1759 and Wizard Kings... but none of the Five and Dime list stuff. 

PAINTING (and purchasing?) 

Wow... I had a WHOLE LOT of very optimistic plans about painting a BUNCH of stuff for 40K and Kill Team and.... NONE of THAT happened!?

I DID completely clear off the paintings table - in an attempt to create some order... and then... I painted ONE Warhammer Underworlds Warband!? NO Eldar... NO Harlequins.... NO 40K Chaos stuff... NONE of the other Kill Teams... 

Purchasing...? 

I did buy Nethermaze - the second box set for Warhammer Underworlds: Harrowdeep. And the Restless Undead - another warband expansion for the same. the releases for this season of Warhammer Underworlds have been relatively limited TWO boxes in one year, plus two other warbands... a couple of extra decks. I've actually picked up ALL of it!? haven't painted ANY of it though... so, unless I do a LOT of painting and playing over the summer, I think I might be done with buying any more Warhammer Underworlds... 

I did NOT buy the new  Necromunda Ash Wastes box! It looked SUPER COOL! But I just couldn't do it... so much other Necromunda stuff to paint, so little stuff actually being painted. 

Even harder was resisting the urger to buy into the new edition of Horus Heresy - there are a bunch of local dudes that bought in and they'd have been fun to play with... and SO MUCH STUFF in that box and it's all Marines, so they could have pretty much been sprayed and washed and pick out a few details and done! But I just couldn't justify that to myself either... considering how little I'd painted in the last few months... 

There was also a local guy doing a clearance of his collection of board games that had a bunch I was interested in - Newer edition of Pax Renaissance, three COIN games (Andean Abyss, Pendragon, Colonial Twilight) and a different version of Leader 1 (not that I've played the one I HAVE!?). I snoozed and I losed, though. Brent bought the copy of Andean Abyss, someone else snapped up Pax Renaissance and the other two COIN games and... bah... just couldn't be bothered with the other (even though it's out of print and he only wanted $15 for it... maybe I should see if it's still listed...?) 

So...

GAME PLAN 2022 - Q3

GAMES

Quarterly 5x5 Challenge

Despite my failure to complete last Quarter's challenge, I'm still going to try for one this Quarter. What's likely to be on that list...? I don't know... 

Warhammer Underworlds - Amanda and I DID get playing again after a six month hiatus. I have a feeling we can keep that ball rolling. I'd like to get at least a few of the Harrowdeep warbands painted so we can start playing there. I could go so far as to suggest Underworlds might be TWO of the 5x5 slots - five games of Direchasm and five games of Harrowdeep? 

Wingspan...? Seems the game Amanda keeps inviting other people over to play. No one's gotten sick of it yet. 

Five Tribes...? despite not playing it ONCE in Q2, it's been one that's been suggested a few times. 

Kill Team or 40K? Finnegan is DONE High School FOREVER and has suggested he'd like to play a small campaign of Kill Team or 40K - or a campaign that uses a mix of the two.. 

Might get in some more COIN games with Brent - can we play FIVE games of Andean Abyss...?! Maybe I could include COIN games in the Annual 10x10 - as an open category 10x Assorted COIN games...? 

I also have Hammer of the Scots i'd talked about playing with Brent.

Terraforming Mars...? 

I keep hoping to get a regular role-playing game going again. I feel like I HOUNDED the Saturday night guys about trying to get something going over the last three months (and I HATE having to HOUND people about playing games - especially role-playing games)... but half the time I posted something, no one even responded and we never got in a SINGLE session. Maybe I just need to give up on that lot and find some local people to start playing in-person games with...? 

I don't know.... 

I've been thinking a lot about other games and miniatures as well... Song of Blades and Heroes, all of the Dan Mersey games, or Neil Thomas, etc. that I'd LOVE to get back to playing... The GW games always seem so much easier to get on the table and find opponents for, tho... 

MINIATURES

Painting

Honestly, give how much I got done last quarter, I can't imagine getting much done at all... 

I need to set aside some time to work on painting stuff - just a little bit every day or ever other day or a longer session once or twice a week. 

What I will get done will depend on what, if anything, we get playing. If Warhammer Underworlds does get going, I'll probably work on a new warband or two for that. If Finnegan and I do get playing 40K and/or Kill Team, I'll probably paint a few things needed for the next scenario or things either of us want to add to a team... 

Purchases 

Given how little I've been painting, I think it will be hard to justify ANY further miniature purchases... 

There have been some hints at an upcoming Kill Team box... WE'll find out this Sunday, but it loos like it might be shipboard actions?! or, like, Kill Team: Space Hulk. Damn, THAT's going to be tempting... There's no way I could possibly convince myself (let alone Amanda) that I should get that, considering I haven't finished ANY of the Kill Teams from the last THREE boxes I bought!?!?!

The Hellboy RPG also looks really interesting... is it even out yet, though? Seems like that Kickstarter has gone on for-EVER!? On the kickstarter page is said all rewards should have been mailed out in May, but I have yet to see my FLGS announce anything about it arriving!?

June Games

 Wow... a bit late... Had some computer problems the last week or so which were a HUGE headache and I just don't have it in me to get into all that... 

Also didn't really get around to playing much this past month... but I guess it was better than APRIL!? 

Wednesday, 8 June 2022

Brent came over again and we had another couple tries at Quebec 1759. I marked up the blank dummy counter/blocks as leaders/detachments and we played using the 2nd edition rules. I think it played way better.  

I played the French for the first game

Brent's British seized the Plains of Abraham on the 16th turn (the LAST turn) I only had three regiments along with three of the little detachments and Montcalm. All of the Militia had left. The Quebec militia left because of territory being captured, and Wolfe burning their farms and stuff. the Montreal Militia was gone because the British had captured Cape Rouge for a bit choking off their supplies... All of those opposing blocks were 4CV regiments.  

We switched sides and I played the British. I took the North Shore approach. This was our big battle at St. Charles. The French took a good hammering and fled across the river into Quebec. The British followed them there the following turn and a second, smaller battle was fought on the Plains of Abraham and the French, vastly outnumbered were all but utterly destroyed. 

That was on turn nine. 

I had to survive 7 turns of harrassing raids and skirmishes from the Ottawa and assorted Militias. Above is all that remained to hold Quebec at the end of the game. I think it actually ended on Turn 15 because I had TOTALLY wiped out all the opposing French - Just 23CV holding down the fort - if it had dropped below 20 I would have lost the game. 

both games were very close, but ultimately British victories. I think in the future, if playing the French I need MORE forces at St. Charles and Levis and not worry too much about holding Montmorency or Beachamps. 

Afterwards we tried out Wizard Kings - also a block game from Columbia Games. There are similarities... but also some considerable differences. 

I played the Elves (green) and Brent played the Orks (Orange).

We played about five (out of ten) turns. It was TOUGH - though a lot of the troubles we had may have been because of our map choices and orientation. The picture above was Turn Four where the Orcs and Elves met in a big battle. We both tooks some lumps, but the Orcs ultimately retreated.

On the fifth turn, I sent a task force of two wizards (that can "fly") and some mermaids across the wather and captured a fairly lightly held city and at that point Brent threw in the towel as he figured there was no way he'd be able to recover from those losses?! 

It was an interesting game. I might like to try it again. it's too bad I have the original edition. the current edition comes with seven different armies - instead of just two that are in the box I have... I'm not sure I'm going to play it enough to warrant buying the new edition... It would certainly give a lot more options for replayability... All the components (blocks and maps) can be used with either edition. the new edition comes with maps #13-16 (I have maps #1-4)... 

I don't know... I guess I should play this a few more times and see if I figure it's something I'd play more... 

Monday 13 June 2022

I think Amanda was supposed to go for a walk with her friend Val today, but it ended up raining so Amanda suggested a game of Wingspan instead. 

My Birb Sanctuary at the end of it. 

Wednesday, 15 June 2022

While Finnegan was out at work and Keiran at their new dance class, Amanda and I sat down to play a quick game of Warhammer Underworlds

It was nice to get back to playing this. Amanda and I last played in NOVEMBER of last year!? 

I tried out the relatively recently painted Magore's Fiends

They were pretty nasty. 

In the end I think it was a pretty close game... The fiends won 11-8...? 

But that was me just using their deck straight out of the box. With some deck editing they could be REALLY NASTY! I think I lost one dude and Amanda had lost four of her team - but did well scoring cards, especially early in the game.

Thursday, 16 June 2022

Thursday Morning Brent cam around to play games..

We started off with another game of Wizard Kings. 

This time I played the Orcs and we tried to set up a map that woudn't be so plainly advantageous to one side or the other... sort of... The elves still had a massive amount of woods in their lands (as they should, really). 

It was a pretty one-sided affair. We didn't even play it to the end of the game, about halfway through it was clear there was no hope for the Orcs... 

I had actually been thinking MAYBE I might look for some of the expansions or the new edition - perhaps with more options and maps it could be good. It seems like it has POTENTIAL - and Quebec 1759 was pretty interesting when we finally figured it out. I'm not sure I want to invest that kind of money just to see if maybe it might get good - expecially when I have SO MANY GAMES that i know ARE good, that I just don't seem to find the time to PLAY!? 

Since the first game went so very quickly, we played a game of Terraforming Mars. 

Tim played Mining Guild with Mohole Extraction and Supplier took Ecologist and Specialist Milestones

Brent played Credicor with Society Support and Biosphere Support - took Generalist Milestone and Desert Settler and Celebrity award.

It was a SUPER close game!!! I eked out a victory at 116 - 112!?!?

Sunday, 26 June 2022

Sunday, Amanda and I were back at Warhammer Underworlds again - hoping to make this a regular thing. We'd actually planned to play TWO games this evening... but ended up running out of time and just played the one. 

I played Ironskull's Boyz

Amanda was playing Morgweath's Blade-Coven.

Amanda took one look at the Boyz and decided she was not going to be winning this one... 

And then the SLAUGHTER began... 

It wasn't the Witch Aelves getting slaughtered, tho... 

I did take out a few of the Witch Aelves... but just couldn't score ANY cards. Amanda scored ALL THE CARDS and won SEVENTEEN to five... 

Wednesday, 29 June 2022

Over to Brent's this time to try out Andean Abyss - one of the GMT COIN games. I LOVE the idea of the COIN games... I just have NO IDEA how to actually PLAY them... 

I played FARC and Brent played the Government and the Cartels and AUC were run by bots. 

This first game went REALLY QUICKLY - with me getting a couple lucky cards early in the game that put me in a winning position and Brent scrambling to stop me. I really fell bass-ackwards into this win. It was all luck of the card draw - no masterful strategic moved. 

Because Brent only lives a few blocks from where Keiran is now taking nearly three hours of dance classes on Wednesdays through the summer, I thought I'd head back and try blast through a second game! 

This one was NOT so quick as the first and we did not get to finish it.. 

I think this is were things were when we had to stop...? 

This time around I was playing FARC and the Cartels and Brent played the Government and the AUC. It was a LOT harder... 

Thursday, 30 June 2022 

Thursday Amanda and I played one more quick game of Warhammer Underworlds - just so I could have one more game that I got five plays in. 

Mrogweath's Blade-Coven faced Morgok's Krushas... And this time it was the Orruks turn to lay the smack down! 

We actually played with different decks this time. There is a new format of play - Rivals - where you play with either the deck that comes with your warband (i.e. ONLY cards specific to that warband - no generic cards) OR one of the pre-made Rivals Decks. I have a few of these decks; Illusory Might and Silent Menace. The decks contain 10 Upgrades, 10 Ploys, and 12 Objectives, and are supposed to be playable decks... I actually have TWO of the Illusory Might decks so we each played with the exact same deck... it seemed to work for me a bit better. Or, I was able to figure out how to make the cards work together than Amanda...? I don't know. I don't think she's excited about trying that again any time soon. Maybe I should distribute the cards into binders to use in making custom decks... 

And that wraps up 2022Q2... I my 2022 Q2 Plan, I hadn't laid out what might be in the Q2 5x5 Challenge, but guessed it might include Five Tribes, Wingspan and Terraforming Mars... and had HOPED I might get going with Kill Team again... 

Here's what we actually got to playing:

Games Q2

• Quebec 1759 x5
• Warhammer Underworlds x5
• Wingspan x4
• Andean Abyss x2
• Terraforming Mars x2
• Wizard Kings x2
• Splendor x1

So... TWO games played five times... a third made it to four... Yikes.

More on that in the Q3 Plan (which I guess I had best get started on...).