Author: Chris S.

Posted on

Skirmish Game: BMG

I went and bought a game that I didn’t think I would:

Bonus item: Alfred Pennyworth

I held off getting this game mostly because of the cost of the damn miniatures, but that was based on the mistaken idea of just how many miniatures I would need to buy in order to play.

I stopped by the original Game Kastle in Santa Clara this afternoon, and asked the staff what exactly I need to start playing, besides the rulebook.

“A crew, or two if you don’t know anyone else who plays.”

One of the guys then showed me the Suicide Squad starter box, which included 2 crews and the rulebook, but I wasn’t interested in the theme of that set.

And then he said something that set me at ease.

“Batman is a ‘crew’ by himself.”

AHA!  I *wouldn’t* need to buy that many minis at all!  No need to spend a small fortune on an army of Batmen!

They didn’t have a Penguin or Joker set that I liked, so I ended up picking up one of my other favorite Batman villains and his crew:

Riddle me this, Bitches!

The guy told me that any single Batman figure could stand up to this crew.  They had plenty to choose from, ranging Frank Miller’s Dark Knight to the Animated Series to the ones in Arkham City and Arkham Night video games.  He showed me a set that had both Batman AND Robin, which would be a good pairing, but I was sold on getting my favorite live-action Batman of all time:

THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S ADAM WEST, Y’ALL! #Batusi

As with the 7TV game, I went and ordered a few more figures for this game as well, including a Robin from Arkham Knight, Gordon and SWAT team from The Dark Knight Rises, and a Joker w/crew from the comics.

If anything, this game is going to look interesting on the tabletop.

Also, they are coming out with a full DC Universe Miniatures game, starting with the CW versions of Arrow and Flash (rulebook available), but I think I just want to keep this to street level play, with Mutants and Masterminds filling in for full super heroic gaming.

Though the Classic Superman and Wonder Woman figures looked cool, in addition to the ‘DC Trinity’ set based on how the characters looked in Batman v. Superman.

Posted on

Skirmish Game: 7TV

About a year ago I came across a company that was making 28mm Doctor Who miniatures, including the 12th Doctor, for some game that at the time I was not interested in.  I never did place an order for those figures.

About a week or so ago I found the company’s website again, but all the Doctor Who minis had been removed due to Warlord Games getting the official BBC licence to make a Doctor Who game and miniatures.

The more I looked into the original game and miniatures, the more I realized that this could be an interesting game to play.  So I ordered a basic set and 2 sets of starter miniature ‘casts’.

Behold, 7TV 2nd Edition!

From the website:

What is 7TV?
7TV is our tabletop miniatures game of high-octane spy-fi action set in the worlds of 1960s and 70s cult TV shows. Spies, minions, masterminds, ghosts, aliens, officialdom, hitmen, coppers and metal killers are all waiting for you. Relive some of 7TV Studio’s great lost shows or create your own and reach new audiences! 7TV is back in 2015 with an all new 2nd edition, so grab your shooting script and lets go!

The basic rules allow you to put together a cast of between 3 and 24 (or more!) models and fight other casts in abandoned warehouses, secret volcano lairs, forbidding jungles and underwater bases – in fact anywhere you like! Use your star qualities, special effects and gadgets to get your mission accomplished before the countdown ends and the episode is over. The core rules are generic, so if you’ve seen it on screen or had a dream about your perfect lineup, you can put your cast together quicker than ever before.

The game comes with cards and tokens, and something called a MacGuffin, which, as the name suggests, is an object that a whole scenario can revolve around.

The nice thing about this game is that it can probably accommodate a lot of generic miniatures that I’ve collected over the years.

The miniatures:

Continue reading “Skirmish Game: 7TV”

Posted on

The 50s

The tall dude in the green jacket turns 50 today.

We used to joke that Michael Parker was a reverse leprechaun, having been born a day before St. Patrick’s Day.

We met on the first day of 6th grade at the now-defunct Luther Burbank Middle School in the Excelsior District of San Francisco.  It was just one of those weird moments when two people meet and just start hanging out, being friends.

He, along with Jeff Segal and myself, hung out so much that we called ourselves the Awesome Trio, as middle schoolers are apt to do, nicknaming themselves.

We got split up in high school, with Mike going to McAteer and me going to Lowell, and occasionally we’d bump into each other around the city.  Once I saw him at the fire station where he was working, across the street from another friend’s house.

Truth be told, I haven’t talked to him in years, though we remain friends on Facebook.

Happy Birthday, Mike!  Thanks for your friendship during our formative years, and throughout our lifetimes.

Posted on

Solitaire Wargaming Organization

I overwhelmed myself with the number of new wargames that came in over the past couple of weeks, and I’m excited to play them all.

That said, I’m going to have to pull back a bit and try not to dive into all the games at once.

I’m going to attempt to learn and play them in this order:

  1. Phantom Leader
  2. Carrier Strike Force
  3. Hornet Leader
  4. Warfighter
  5. Gato Leader
  6. Philippines Ablaze
  7. Corsair Leader

The second and the last two are print-and-play games, which I may take the time to cut and assemble the counters and other playing pieces, while learning the other games.

During this time I may also go back to some old standbys like B-17, B-29, Ambush! and maybe try to finally learn Patton’s Best.

Wish me luck.

Posted on

Warfighter

Yet another game, using an Amazon gift certificate (thanks, Howard) that I didn’t realize I got for my birthday.  Stupid spam filter.

There’s a few expansions for this game, so I picked up a couple:

I get to play the SAS.

Posted on

… So Little Time

Hornet Leader and Gato Leader came in today.

I have yet to play a scenario in Phantom Leader.

And I downloaded the 5 additional scenarios for Hornet Leader from the DVG.com site.

Posted on

Bandwagoners and ‘True’ Fans

As short a time as I’ve been calling myself a bandwagon Warriors fan, I laugh at the reaction of so-called ‘true’ fans after the recent run of Warriors games.  Panic, the sky is falling, etc.

I saw the same thing happen to Giants ‘fans’ after they failed to make the playoffs in 2011/2013/2015, and especially when they lost in the 2016 postseason.

Teams go through slumps and other adversity.  As a ‘true’ sports fan, I’ve known this for years.  There is no pattern.  There is no ‘even years for the Giants’ thing.  That was a coincidence.

The Warriors may be imploding because of the loss of Kevin Durant.  Or not.  How about we wait until the playoffs start before writing them off, huh?

Bottom line is that fans who come to a team ONLY when they start winning don’t know how to deal with slumps and losing streaks.  They only know the team when they are successful.  And sadly their coping mechanism is trying to throw criticism wherever they can, whether it’s the coach or players or even management.

Long suffering Giants and Warriors (and 49ers) fans can cope better, having tasted success, and are happy that their team has won during that ‘long suffering’ phase.  I for one was satisfied with the Giants 2010 World Series Championship.  2012 and 2014 were gravy and/or icing.  A lot of my long time Warriors fan family and friends were happy with the 2015 Championship, though disappointed with the 2016 Finals result.

There’s nothing wrong with that disappointment, nor am I saying that the teams shouldn’t strive for the big prize.  What I’m saying is that you should not expect championships and the accolades to be handed to a team on a plate, before the playoffs or the season even begins.  Cheer your team on, through thick or thin.  And cherish the moments when they do win big.