Heroquesting... a Saga

Over the last three days I have been penning the exploits of a band of adventurers who have dared to fight the 14 Quests in the box set of Heroquest.  BGG link HERE if you want to know more about game.

So far 6 of the Quests have been completed.

Quest 1

Quest 2

Quest 3

Quest 4

Quest 5

Quest 6

It is actually an exhaustive process to put this all together, the record keeping etc etc.  In the end I hope people just take the time to read the preamble and conclusion stories, I think they are what makes it over the dry and uninteresting (unless you lived the actual excitement of the game) statistics.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, hope you enjoyed it.

Till next time.

The Hon. John

The Game Tally for 2017

The year is almost over and it’s time to again look at my game record for the year.

I obtained Board Game Stats App in late June and have been religiously recording my games.  Since June I have played 101 games over 47 game titles with 15 people.  According to the App I have spent approximately 51 hours enjoying myself.  If I had this App at the beginning of the year my records would show more.

When I look at my game club The Blind Pig I find I’ve played 47 games over 31 game titles with 13 people.  I spent approximately 24 hours gaming at the club over the 9 club days.

I could include the games which I played solo (noted further down) but these really don’t count when I look at social interaction.

Club Games

Game Title	Games Played	Number of People
BANG! The Dice Game *	3	6
Tortuga 1667	3	8
Gods’ Gambit	3	6
Kingdomino *	3	6
Star Realms *	2	2
Clank! A Deck-Building Adventure *	2	6
Downsize	2	6
Viticulture	2	8
Machi Koro: Bright Lights	2	6
Barenpark *	2	4
Lovecraft Letter *	2	6
Captain Sonar *	2	8
Valley of the Kings: Afterlife *	1	4
Awesome Kingdom: The Tower of Hateskull *	1	4
Nightfall	1	5
Epic Card Game	1	2
Stormweavers	1	3
Steampunk Rally	1	7
Talisman 4th Ed *	1	6
Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia	1	6
The Red Dragon Inn	1	6
A Feast for Odin *	1	4
Abandon Planet	1	7
Thief’s Market	1	5
Hanamakoji *	1	2
Yamatai	1	4
Between Two Cities	1	7
Roll for the Galaxy	1	5
Godforsaken Scavengers	1	4
51st State	1	4
Unfair *	1	5

The titles marked with an asterisk (*) are games I have in my collection (13 of the 31 ~ 42% approximately).

One of the things I enjoy most about a games club is the ability to try before you buy games.  I am a collector, according to Board Game Geek my collection is 407/410 in number (trying to work out the 3 difference).  A number of people ask me why I hang on to so many games or buy games that people I play with already have.  As I’ve posted in a previous article, the people I game with now are not the people I gamed with 37 plus years ago.  In those early days I played games which I regret not having bought at the time, of course I regret even more the games I gave away, but I’m someone who’s known for their generosity and I don’t begrudge it.  So my philosophy is, if I like a game, buy it, store it, play it whatever is needed: at least you own that game and don’t have to rely on others.

Home Games

Game Title	Games Played	Number of People
Massive Darkness	8	2
Chainsaw Warrior *	6	1
Elder Sign *	6	1
Thunderstone Advanced *	5	1
Conquest of Planet Earth	5	2
A Feast for Odin *	4	1
Space Hulk: Death Angel *	3	1
Xenoshyft: Dreadmire	2	2
Runebound 2nd Edition	2	2
The Fury of the Norsemen *	2	1
Star Realms	1	2
Outlive	1	2
Draconis Invasion	1	2
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective *	1	1
Bommerz over Da Sulpha River *	1	1

For my home games I tallied 48 games across 15 game titles, those marked with an asterisk (*) are Solo mode games I played.  Twenty-one days and approximately 24 hours of play time.

So the year is about to wrap up, the club goes on hiatus until February, allowing the club owner to have a well deserved holiday.  As the internet PR man I will continue to post articles and such on the clubs site to keep people aware that the club is still alive and well.  It is concerning when one of the South East Queensland game clubs (Queensland Northern Knights) is tendering an item at their AGM to wrap up operations due to lack of members.  That now leaves only LXG, BIG (though not too sure) and the Blind Pig still operating as independent clubs unlike those that are ensconced in game stores.  I may have missed someone, but to my knowledge LXG, QNK and the Pig are the only clubs that I see regular reporting from.

I hope my health allows me to see the New Year in, but I’m having a hard time at present and I’m unsure what my future will be.

Till next time.

The Hon. John

Last session before the new.

It's the little things that make and break you.

Thank You.

Monsters! Monsters!

Welcome to the other side (of Tunnels and Trolls), where you get to role play the not "good guys".

My copy has seen better days, but considering that my copy is a second printing dated 1979 I'm blessed it has lasted as long as it has, especially with the spiral binding.

I've been doing a bit of a bender these days and going back to the roots of my gaming.  My old board games are still good, though finding people who are not immediately derisive of them is proving problematic.  It would appear that people will only play what's "hot" and recent, apparently anything that is five years or older in date is "so unfashionable" and contains "game mechanics" that have been supplanted by more modern developments.  Phooey I say.

I loved Ken St. Andre's introduction where he refers to Tunnels & Trolls (hereafter T&T) as "the poor man's alternative to the expensive Other Role-Play Game".  I think we can all guess which one that would be...

So this RPG uses similar mechanics to T&T's, though the rules indicate you do not need to own the other to play this system.  T&T does though "contain detailed tables of weapons, high-level magic, provisions,etc".

There are 52 Monsters listed in M!M! and I've been able to source reasonable models to represent them.  I really do no regret my generosity with a trade many years ago for some Star Wars figures... really wish I still had the vast horde of plastic crack to throw around the table.  Sigh, nothing I can do about it now though, thankfully I kept the "one of" for my collection.  

As the game reflects it's all about the Monsters coming to a village, city or whatever scenario the GM has come up with.  Today it would be like Descent or another other of the Dungeon Crawl games.  I'm still in the process of reacquainting myself with the rules, the turn sequence goes like this:

1. Movement/Action

2. Wandering Enemies

3. Combat

4. Recovery

So yes it's very much in the mould of a classic Dungeon Crawl.  The game mechanics operate on the simple die six, with multiples of the die being cast and the pips added up and compared to an opponent to determine the outcome.  Simple, luck driven mechanics.  Nothing wrong with it.  Role-play games are first meant to be an exploration of the imagination, with some excitement of combat thrown in.  

Names of spells are hilarious and I'm sure some people might take exception to some the titles, such as Yassa Massa for an enslavement spell.  Other titles are silly, but explain simply the spells, "Oh Go Away" for fear, "Hidey Hole" for invisibility and "Rock-a-bye" for sleep.  

I can recall some discussions with a friend at MUDDA (Melbourne University Dungeons and Dragons Association - I think) over the merits of T&T compared to D&D - we agreed to disagree.  Yes it may seem frivolous to some, but once you peer past the veneer you can see an acceptable system which can bring many hours of enjoyment.  I know from experience that my gaming group in the early 80's enjoyed this system, and played it just as we played so many of the other competitors to D&D.

So my goal, for what it's worth, is to reacquaint myself with the rules, rustle up a campaign and let loose the Monsters! of war.

Till next time.

The Hon. John

Blind Pig Games Club 2nd December

Today was the last Pig for the year, it always makes me sad.  Nothing until February next year in the way of interaction or games, for a person that is a sufferer of all manner of ills, this is never good.

Played two new games today, Scavenger and 51st State.

Here is the LINK to BGG if you want more information.

However in a nutshell (from BGG)...

Godforsaken Scavengers is a survival adventure where players take the role of few desperate survivors in a dark and deadly insect world. Together* they strive to cross several unique areas to save themselves at all costs.

Every turn, players choose a scavenge pile to reveal cards from. They may press their luck and reveal as many cards as they like. But among all the great actions and opportunities a peril can be revealed, discarding all the revealed cards and inflicting an affliction. At the end of the turn, players either burn cards to feed themselves or they starve.

Through the course of the game, players will gain afflictions from many horrifying encounters that not only threatens their lives but also cause various unpleasant effects. On the other hand, great portion of the bad luck is mitigated by smart use of cards and player interaction.

* The game features several scenarios that adjust the rules and differ in the amount of cooperation between the players from pure co-op to more individual playstyle to a competitive race mode. The game also focuses on creating unique player stories using its evocative lore on every card.

Pat brought this one along, another of his kickstarter purchases which I personally am always interested in seeing.  I believe that the consensus was that a few more games had to be played to develop a feel for the game.  I liked it, it can be played solo which I was happy to see.

The second new game was 51st State.

Here is the LINK to BGG for those who want more information.

However in a nutshell (from BGG)...

The world you know no longer exists. There is no government. No army. No civilization. The United States have collapsed. And now, thirty years after the war started, new powers finally try to take control over the ruined country, try to establish a new order, try to control others and create a new country, a new State: the 51st State.

51st State is a card game in which players control one of the four powers (mutants, traders, New Yorkers and Appalachians) and try to build their very own new country. Players put new locations into the game, they hire leaders, and send people to work in buildings to gain resources and new skills.

Every card in 51st State can be put into play in three different ways. You can invade a location to gain many resources once, or you can sign a contract with this location to gain one resource every turn, or you can attach the location to your State so you can use its skill. One card, three possibilities. Lots of decisions and choices that matter.

Jason sat this game out as he chaperoned as rules teacher.  Not an easy game to teach the rules to, however once we started to play and picked up on some of our mistakes it proved itself to be an entertaining game.  Certainly one I'll add to my collection in time.

The other two games I played were Unfair and Kingdomino, both enjoyable games.

The club was well attended today as it was advertised as a Buy Swap Sell event, and it attracted more than the usual number of attendees.

Sellers setting up...

BPLaser wares on display.

BPLaser wares on display

BPLaser wares on display

Early birds...

Other games were in play: Warhammer 40K, EPIC 40K, and Aristeia. 

Certainly Aristeia appeals to a number of players.  LINK here for more details.

So this is my last post for the Blind Pig for 2017.  Hopefully I'll be there for 2018.

Till next time.

The Hon. John