Hobby room update!

Alright, it has been about a week and a half, so I figured I'd show my reader an update!

First, I'd like to kind of give some perspective- I took three pictures of the room, from three different places.  Just to show the places, here is a map:

 I took a picture first from the bottom right, then from the left (viewing that wooden bookcase), then from the top right.

Alright- the room!

So anyway- I've made some progress, but still more work to do. 

Addressing my hobby issue.

On the gaming front, things aren't going too bad- I played two-ish games of Star Fleet Battles in the past week (online).  Lost one, and will probably lose the second one, but I'm actually in a pretty good spot there for the moment.  Played in a Star Wars RPG session last night, which was also fun. (A notice of games I play does show up in my Twitter feed, which is on the bottom right of the blog here!)

The hobby side of my life struggles because of this:

That's my spare room.  That's where I keep all of my gaming stuff (there's a closet on the wall to the left that you can't see, that's filled with more stuff).  Obviously- I have a lot of stuff there, but the issue is just organization.  I could work on minis... if I could get to the table, and give myself space to work on them.

I could build decks!  The problem is that I can't easily get to all of those boxes of cards, so I can't really do so easily.

I could play some wargames, and leave them set up!  The problem there, again, is access to the table (off to the left).

Anyway- I have begun focusing on this problem.  I'm trying to spend an hour a day, three or more days a week, trying to organize this room.  Once it's clean, I can do more hobby work, and heck, more gaming.

Posting that picture here hopefully will shame me some.  Shame me into making progress.  Wish me luck!

Consolidating!

Hello.

I've been struggling to keep up with blogging.  I won't say that will change, but I will say that one of the things I've struggled with is now resolved- I've closed down my other blogs!

There's a couple reasons these other blogs have distracted me from blogging in general.  It's hard to explain, so I won't bother.  Suffice to say, having only one place to blog will make it easier for me.  I'm not writing a whole lot of interesting stuff anywhere, so why bother writing for three places, instead of one?

On the gaming front- I have been playing quite regularly- lots of card games, some RPGs, and occasional board games.  On the minis front, it's really kind of died off though.  I've played some Armada and X-Wing this year... but not much else.  But my interest remains- I have been looking at the Mk3 cards and rules a lot, and I'm loving the changes (plus, Trenchers have Tough!?).  I really want to try the current edition of Malifaux.  I'm interested in learning about and trying Guild Ball.  I think that I'll get a chance to do these games this year, and others besides.

Anyway- posts from my other blogs have transferred over.  You'll see me occasionally post about non-minis games here, but I think having this as a general gaming blog will help me post more.  We shall see though....

Look back on 2016 card gaming

Welcome to 2017! I'm only a month or so late.

Last year ended up being rough on my time, and I gamed a lot less than I did the previous year (I flopped cards only 200 times last year, compared to 325 the previous year. Lots of factors contributed, which I've mentioned from time to time- I got married, had a lot of other family drama to deal with, worked on my Master's... all sorts of things. My Thursday gaming group, who I joined to play L5R has not touched the game, or any card games since AEG announced the sale, which effectively cut my gaming days in half.

However, I still love card gaming, and I am definitely excited to see what this year has in store.

So, let's look at what I did play last year:

.hack//enemy - 1 (new!)
24 TCG - 1 (new!)
7th Sea CCG - 1 (new!)
Adventure Time: Card Wars - 1 (new!)
Android: Netrunner - 71
Arkham Horror LCG - 5 (new!)
Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn - 2
City of Heroes CCG - 1
Doomtown: Reloaded - 6
Epic Card Game - 8
Force of Will - 2 (new!)
Game of Thrones 2nd Edition - 9
Hecatomb - 1 (new!)
Legend of the Five Rings - 6 (all arc)
Lord of the Rings LCG - 15
Magic: The Gathering - 45 (3 Standard, 38 Commander, 3 Pauper, 1 Draft Multiplayer)
Marvel VS 2PCG - 2
Pokemon - 3
Star Wars CCG - 1
Star Wars Destiny - 1 (new!)
Star Wars LCG - 6
Star Wars TCG - 1 (new!)
Warhammer 40K: Conquest - 9
WARS TCG - 1
Xena - 1 (new!)

I did manage to add a few new games to the ones I have tried, at least, so I can count that as a success for the year. In addition, no game was so terrible that I would not play it again (although I am only including Xena as a means to introduce my wife to card gaming. That will likely be a cut at some point).

Speaking of, I will repost from last year- here is the list of games I will not play again:

• Powercardz/Spawn Powercardz - I played this quite a bit as a kid. Its mechanics, I recognize now, were terrible. It is too simple, and not really much of a game.
• Hyborian Gates - Was this even a game? I think purchasing this really was just enjoying the great art (and awful cropping). The game itself (yes, I managed to figure out the rules) was just awful.
• Spellfire - I have not played this in a LOOOOONG time, but I have no positive memories of having done so. I believe some of my complaints were actually addressed, but this still was not enjoyable enough to bother trying again.
• Weis Schwarz (new addition to this list for 2016) - Cas and I gave this a shot this past year, but the game was extremely weak. The climax cards add an unpleasant level of variance to the game, and although part of the mechanics are meant to address the Runaway Leader syndrome, it does not do quite enough to make up the gap. If I manage to get enough pieces together to swing for the fence, and I hit a climax card, I am annoyed. If I do not... that's tough to recover from. It was far too simple for us, even without this.
• Gridiron Fantasy Football - The mechanics of this game were not particularly bad, but the game dragged unbearably, and at some point, I would rather just play something else.  

So far, 2017 has been off to a great start. I've already had the opportunity to try a new game (Myths at War, the English translation of Guerra de Mitos), which I absolutely love. Also, I have played a few games of Arkham Horror and Magic, and I expect I will get many chances during the year to sit down and play.

That, as ever, is the goal, of course. With several new games on the horizon (L5R LCG, Twilight of the Gods, the Traveler Card Game), and old games that I have cards, and am preparing to try (Wyvern, Rifts, Magi-Nation), this is going to be an exciting year for me and card gaming.

X-Wing Game, 11/15/16

BK and I played a game of X-Wing yesterday at Games and Stuff. It has been a long while since he and I have played X-Wing, and given our renewed interest in it, it certainly seemed like a good time to change that.

Since it has been a long while since his last game, I decided to play a modified version of a Scum list I had taken against Ben recently, to show off the 'new' faction some.

So basically, my list was:
Guri (StarViper) with Predator, Autothrusters, Virago, and Sensor Jammer.
Palob Godalhi with Calculation, Blaster Turret, Recon Specialist, and Moldy Crow (I flat out stole this ship build from online sometime in the past).
2 Binayre Pirates (1 with Feedback Array- I didn't own a second Feedback Array card).

Palob can get some decent shots at range 1-2 basically all game, as well as screwing with his evade and Focus tokens.  Guri is very hard to kill, and with people's love of big ships, she'll be able to frequently get decent shots off, while hopefully keeping herself alive. The Z-Wings are nice and cheap.

BK took Dash Rendar with the Outrider and a Heavy Laser Cannon and R2-D2, and two generic B-Wings with not upgrades.

We set up, and spent our first turn moving up.  As you can see from below, I had the StarViper lead (it's hard to kill!), with the Moldy Crow off to the side, taking a turn to get a bunch of extra focus tokens.

We trade shots to some effect... I take a bucket of damage on the StarViper (I didn't get to use Autothrusters, and completely forgot about Sensor Jammer until a bit later, oops!).  I manage to remove some shields from the lead B-Wing.

BK turns his B-Wings and Outrider towards each other, potentially to catch the StarViper and Z-95s in the middle of the two, which would've been devastating.  Also, it put distance between his ships and the HWK-90, taking one of my ships out of the fight.

Thankfully, I have the Segnor's Loop to fall back on, getting my StarViper out of danger, and into great position to do some shooting.  The Moldy Crow also turns left, right into a good position, and the Z-95s kind of fly straight up the middle.

I manage to blow up one of the B-Wings, at the cost of the Z-95 with the Feedback Array.  The following turn, I take down another B-Wing, with minimal losses- BK spent these turns trying to take shots at Guri, to no effect (she's tough to kill!).

After killing the second B-Wing, I start having some issues with my piloting... more than once running into my own ships...

This is compounded when the Outrider turns into the combat, and I have another ship to run into.  All three of my remaining ships take turns running into each other AND the Outrider.  Thankfully, BK and I forget about the anti-pursuit lases he put on the Outrider, but those would've triggered a few shots (and eventually do when we remember).

He manages to get through the Moldy Crow's shields and destroy it, and I manage to get the Z-95 behind the Outrider, and the Z-95 in the distance to the front/side of it (to keep the use of the Autothrusters).

On the critical turn, I get both of my ships into good firing position, and take an action on my StarViper... using a Barrel Roll to stay out of Dash's primary fire arc... and barely clip an asteroid.  No problem- "BK, roll a damage die!".  Hit.  StarViper destroyed. Dash then blows up the Z-95 on his activation, ending the game.

Overall, it was a close game.  We both forgot one of our upgrade cards (and they probably washed out- having the StarViper around longer would've been nice, but the extra random damage his lasers would've done overall would have been pretty significant, too).

I really enjoy X-Wing, and I really enjoy playing the Scum- I can't wait until my next game!

My recent gaming, and gaming-related progress

A friend reminded me about my blogs, and remembering how fulfilling I found the whole blogging experience, I am going to try to get better about posting, here, as well as at my other blogs (The Card Flopper, about card games, and Cardboard Warriors, about tabletop wargames). I could give you many of excuses about any lapse, but really, lapses in blogs are so common, why bother?

I have been excited to get back into miniature gaming. It has mostly been the Star Wars games from FFG, for now, but interest in Warmachine and Hordes has grown pretty significantly lately as well.

Here's a game of Star Wars Armada just beginning- I was playing against Dan here, running a Rebel list trying to take advantage of General Rieekan, getting my ships into good position, then shot up, but giving them a parting shot, so to speak. Dan's list focused on the additional firepower from Admiral Ackbar, locking his firing to just his side arcs. Many things went wrong for me this game- my MC80 started so far from his ships that I could not get it engaged at any point in the game. Additionally, I really just need to play more- my skills are awful!

I played two games of X-Wing against Ben, as we have recently rediscovered our love of this game.

In game one, I brought a Rebel list consisting of Corran Horn in an E-Wing, Poe Dameron in a new X-Wing, and a spare A-Wing.  In several games (in the past), I had never managed to achieve victory with my Rebels- I get so caught up in the fact they have shields that I attempt to shove the ships right down the middle of my opponent's squad, and usually I can't take that beating long enough to be victorious.

With this list, I had a lot of maneuverability, and set Poe and Corran up to have abilities to recharge shields.  My hope was that I could take a few quality shots, disengage, up my shields, and then get back into the fight.  The A-Wing was there solely to get in my opponent's way, with the intent of keeping a larger, much pricier ship annoyed.

Ben also took Rebels, and designed his list to synergize his three ships (an E-Wing, a HWK-90, and a B-Wing) for some HEAVY attacks).

First turn, I fly all of my ships forward at near top speed, which results in the A-Wing getting too far forward, and hit hard very early (it lost all its shields, and all but 1 hull). The next turn, it does manage to get in the way of Ben's E-Wing (with very good timing, actually), although I do lose it this turn.

Corran's double shooting did some decent damage to Ben's E-Wing (Etahn), and I make a clean getaway, get my ships turned around, and keep the pressure on.  Ben can't get his ships back into a good enough position to get his combinations to work, and my ability to stay out of his firing arcs ends up being too much for him to handle, causing him to concede.

Game two, I take my Scum and Villainy list, with Boba Fett and IG-2000B, and play against Ben's Imperial list running a heavily loaded Bomber plus two Interceptors (both with Push the Limit).  The Bomber should hit hard, and the Interceptors should be able to stay out of IG-2000B's fire arc, and wear him down (Boba Fett, with the second arc, would be a much more difficult target for the Interceptors to avoid).

We move in to begin the engagement.

Our initial shots are all in my favor- I only hit the Bomber for two damage, but a critical on the shot prevents him from shooting with me dead center on him- look how perfectly he had me set up:

He does get some satisfaction next turn, however, when the Bomber moves first, and deploys its Cluster Bombs on IG-2000B, removing all four of its shields.  With the Segnor's Loop and Boba Fett, however, the TIE Bomber does not get another shot- I destroy it.

Ben attempts to keep his remaining Interceptors safe, but Boba Fett has too many ways to get shots at the Interceptors, and eventually Ben concedes.

This was a great time- I need to keep trying out some new ships, and rediscovering how much I enjoy this game.

On the hobby front, I have begun working to get some Imperial Assault Miniatures painted.  I am going to paint them, and then replace their bases with clear plastic bases, which I think is a very sharp look both on the Imperial Assault tiles and on traditional wargame terrain.  Depending on how this goes, I will likely do the same rebasing for the Mansions of Madness miniatures.

Finally, I recently received the first part of my Kickstarter pledge for the Walking Dead: All out War miniatures game, and that will require some of my attention very shortly :)

My Card Gaming, Week Ending 8/6/16

Games played:

• Adventure Time Card Wars - 1 game.  I grabbed a copy of this for pretty cheap, and figured it would be a fun filler.  After trying it, that's basically exactly what it is.  I think it would be pretty fun, and simple enough to teach to non-gamers.  I'm a ways away from building some new decks for this, however.  Plus, you know, I'd want to play it more.
• Doomtown: Reloaded - 1 game.  Taught the game to someone at the game store.
• Epic Card Game - 5 games.  Improved my two constructed decks some.  They actually make for a decent match against one another- now I just need to try to get more people interested in the game.

New acquisitions:

• Android: Netrunner - Grabbed the Corp World Champ deck.  I will probably buy the other one, but I wanted to see if it was worth it to do so, first.
• Dragonball Z -Two boxes of Vengeance boosters.  I'm finally caught up on major purchases for this game.  Now to just buy random things I need.
• Lord of the Rings LCG - Flame of the West expansion.  Quite some time before I'll do anything with this, but I was glad to buy it.
• Warhammer 40K Conquest - Slash and Burn.  Still haven't opened this, but I think we'll be playing a lot of Conquest next week, so this could easily be something I see a lot of soon.

Won't have time to do a Back Issues on Monday, sadly, but I'll get back to it the following week!