The Golden Age of Gaming

Yeah so I also used in my HoP Idol article... so sue me!

I wrote an article a fair few months ago now for the HoP Idol contest, sprouting off about how I think this is currently a Golden Age of Gaming, or words to that effect! Obviously there was a word limit associated with that particular article, and I don't think I fully explored the themes I'd developed while writing the piece. To put it bluntly I could waffle for Britain at the Olympics and not break into a sweat, me and word limits don't get along. I first started to feel that wargaming was going through a bit of a Renaissance period mid to late 2009. But, as we all sit here, probably half soaked from drinking a little bit too much, gazing longingly into 2012 full of expectant joy, I don't think wargaming has ever looked better or healthier. So as long as the Mayans got it horribly wrong we're all good, right? So sitting here as I do, Moscow Mule in hand, yeah I know I've started early, I thought I'd return to that original article and discuss why I think it is a Golden Age of Gaming, and hopefully I'll convince you all of that fact too.

Simpler times...

As by now you'll all know I'm like some 'hedonistic-game-junkie-faction-whore-hyperactive-big-kid'... I'm trying to get that into the DSM IV as an actual mental disorder by the way... and failing. It's a condition I tell you! What this basically means is that I play a lot of games, I mean a hell of a lot of games! Or to be more precise I collect a lot of games and curse the fact that I live on a planet that only has 24 hours in a day. Stupid earth! I can't help myself, I see a new game and I want to play it to find out what it's like. Hell maybe even start collecting stuff for it if it's any good. Thing is in the past I found that an awful lot of different games either had rubbish miniatures, crappy rules or both. Yeah things weren't always as rosey in the world of wargaming as they are now. And while there were other games that I played outside of Games Workshops products and their clawing monopoly, I'd be lying if I said Games Workshop games weren't the mainstay of my hobbying. Now though the fact is that as I type, there are more and more games cropping up all the time. All with really good rule sets and some fabulous miniature ranges. It's getting harder and harder for me to say that these games aren't worthy, and more and more hobbyists are coming to similar conclusions as I am... and it's great!!!

Infity December Releases

So yeah I'm a couple of days late with this stuff, but I don't feel so bad as I've given all of my readers a sneaky peak, as it were, at the  Sarissa Precision System ∞ stuff. So it's not like you've gone without now is it? No, besides the Infinity servers didn't go into meltdown this time, which makes a nice change and I'm sure you've all been able to see them by now. So this isn't going to be a show and tell, more a show and what do I think of the miniatures and are they a valid option on the battlefield? So here goes...

Posthumans   

Well I may as well start with the controversial Posthumans. Why are they controversial? God only knows is my answer! But, it seems some people don't like the look of them and have decided they're rubbish. Part of the issue seems to be that they're all female and aren't necessarily the most combat ready looking bunch of miniatures you've ever seen. Plus some of the poses don't float everyone's boat, in particular the Proxy Mk2, or sniper. Well here's my take on them, the Proxy Mk1's look pretty much spot on to the artwork and I quite like the fact that they don't necessarily look like hardened warriors. I mean why should they? These are just hosts, that quite frankly are inhabited by consciousnesses that don't have any fear of death. So why not look all cutesy while eviscerating people? The Proxy Mk 2 is a totally different kettle of fish though. Here you actually have a fully locked and loaded combat robot that looks bad ass. So why is she sitting all provocatively on a piece of terrain? And that's the real problem with this pose for me, I hate miniatures that 'carry' terrain around with them. The Proxy Mk3 has been criticised as well for the way she looks. People don't seem to like the face and the helmet in particular. But if you go take a look at Angel Giraldez blog you'll see some different angles of the mini and it makes more sense. I guess though ultimately some people just don't like the futuristic girl band look! But what about in game play terms? Simply put, if you're an Aleph player you'll want these no question. Mine are already on order. Yes they are that good.

Review: System ∞ - Warehouse (Sarissa Precision)

Well I really like the range as a whole, and this is my favourite piece

When I first opened my box of free swag I was instantly drawn to this piece of scenery. It's shear size just drew me to it. You see one of the many problems facing you when you first start playing Infinity will be scenery. Most of you will start out using 40k type terrain, but you soon realise that it just doesn't offer enough cover. You need solid blocks of terrain, so you soon move onto big boxes. Then you realise that you've just cut off most of the tabletop and what you need is big solid boxes with interiors. I have to be honest and say that what is currently on the market is great to look at and does its job relatively well. However, none of it covers enough of the board for the price... but this? This warehouse does just that.

Product description

It is a huge feck off warehouse made of laser cut and etched HDF. Its shear bulk means it also gives off the maximum glorious burnt wood smell... full of win. Any way it is constructed of 23 parts and is simplicity itself to construct. There is a base off of which, you build the rest of the kit. There are two end plates one with two garage doors, the other with a single garage door, a doorway and some sort of high level access hatch. There is also a middle support structure that is placed between the two end plates. The 4 wall sections then attache onto the end plates and the middle support structure. Next goes the roof on top of which, goes 4 hand rails. There are also two roof access ladders that come with this kit that comprise of 5 parts each. It stands at roughly 4.5" high, is 8.5" wide and is 11.5" in length.

Review: System ∞ - Silo (Sarissa Precision)

A snipers wet dream. No not the unpainted Guija, the silo!!!

As always the public health warning goes out to you all letting you know that I was gifted this for free by the lovely chaps at Sarissa Precision.Don't ask me what we'll store in silo's in the future, because I just don't know. However, what watching copious amounts of dodgy sci-fi TV programs has taught me is that in the future there will indeed be silo's. Probably lots of them, storing chemical weapons or Soylant Green!

Product description

A bit like the Shipping Containers I reviewed earlier on today, Silo's are something many gamers like to have on their sci-fi themed boards. Like all the other Sarissa Precision scenery this is a laser cut and etched kit. The Silo kit comes with 20 pieces. Comprising of 2 end plates, one blank and one with a hole for a hatch. This is the same hatch construction found on the various Habitation Pods, and comes in 4 parts. There are 8 side walls, one with an etched hatch door, which has a further piece to be glued onto the surface around it and another comes with cut out pin holes for attaching the silo ladders when the silo is deployed on its side. There is also the 'long ladder' for when it is standing up, which comes in 3 parts, 2 side rails and 1 ladder section. There is also a 3 part floor stand for when it is lying on it's side. When lying down its length is 7.5", its width and 2.5" and its height 3.25". When standing up its height is obviously 7.5" and its width and length is 2.5, or thereabouts.

Review: System ∞ - Shipping Containers (Sarissa Precision)

Shipping container and unpainted Guija for size comparison!

I guess when I asked Steve months ago now if they could do a shipping container, that they'd already been considering it. I mean lets face it, everyone knows how useful shipping containers are in games right? They're a great way to fill out a board and block LoS... besides the AT-43 Shipping Containers are now worth more than their weight in platinum!!! As with the other pieces from the System ∞ range I've reviewed Sarissa Precision were kind enough to make this an early Christmas present.

Product description

This could arguably be the most anticipated product launch of the year. Seriously forget Nintendo's weird looking Wii U, I'm not even bothered by Ridley Scott's new film Prometheus and genuinely I'm no longer excited about playing Uncharted on the move with the PS Vita. Nope, I've now got access to a cheap cool looking futuristic shipping container for my games of Infinity! Ahem... yeah, that makes me an über geek. As always it's a laser cut and etched HDF. It has 10 components. 4 long sides, 2 end plates and 4 external supports. The vital statistics are as follows, it's 7" long, 3" wide and 3" high, these are rough measurements.

Review: System ∞ - Habitation Pod Family (Sarissa Precision)

The Habitation Pod Family - with obligatory Guija!

So this is the last of the three reviews I'll be doing today. The previous two for the 'Habitation Pod Explorer' and the 'Habitation Pod Settler' pretty much say all I want to say about the overall range. By now I think you all are probably more than aware of how much I like this stuff. As before I'm looking at this primarily as a good solid piece of Infinity terrain and yep Sarissa Precision gave me this for free as well, so as always again just take that into consideration when reading this review, I personally don't think it has affected my judgement of this as a product but you might feel differently.

Product description

As before this is a precision laser cut and etched piece of HDF scenery. Again as with the other Pods the etched pattern looks like metal panelling. Its the biggest of the Pod system so far and standing at 4" high like the other two Pods. It retain the settler Pods 'length' of 8.5" while adding a bit more girth... sorry width! At 8.5" wide it doubles precisely the width of the other two Pods in the range. There are some 25 pieces to the Family Pod. There are the 6 obligatory side walls that all the Pods have. The 2 end plates come with 2 large windows that can be popped out, as well as the doors found on the other Pods. A floor piece and a roof piece and 2 support beams for underneath the pod. You get 2 very long hand rails and 4 long hand rails for the roof. There is also the same roof hatch that comes with the other Pods and as before is in 4 parts.

Review: System ∞ - Habitation Pod Settler (Sarissa Precision)

Hey look it's that unpainted Guija again! Oh yeah and the Settler Pod.

Right I guess I better just get on with this one hadn't I? As before I'm primarily reviewing this as a piece of Infinity terrain and also as before this was free from Sarissa Precission. So you decided whether that has influenced me as a reviewer or not!

Product description

As with the previous smaller 'Habitation Pod Explorer' this is a precision, laser cut piece of HDF scenery perfect for futuristic skirmish games. The surface has the same sort of metal paneling look etched into it that the previous Pod did as well. And again if you're a fan of the distinctive odour of burnt wood, this product won't disappoint you! As for the constructions vital stats? Like the Explorer Pod the Settler Pod stands at roughly 4" high and is exactly the same width, 4.25". Where the Settler differs from the Explorer is in its length, and as any true honest women will tell you, length is important! It's 8.5" long, which is a full 3.5" longer than the Explorer Pod. The kit comes in 25 pieces. There are 6 side wall sections to generate that hex tube shape. Two end plates with a door, the same as those found on the Explorer Pod. A floor piece and a roof piece. 2 support beams for underneath the pod for raising it off of the floor and attaching the Pod either to it's supplied base or onto the roof of another Pod. You get 4 long hand rails and 2 short hand rails for the roof. Finally there is also the roof hatch, which as before comes in 4 pieces. Just a side note the Pod doesn't come with the access ladders shown in the first picture at the top of the page, although they can be brought separately.

Review: System ∞ - Habitation Pod Explorer (Sarissa Precision)

My trusty unpainted Guija standing next to the Pod for comparison

Right I've got a bloody lot of stuff to get through in the next few days with these reviews. Firstly I'm going to apologise to those of you who don't play Infinity right off of the bat, I'm reviewing these very much with games of Infinity in my mind. Sure much of what I say will be directly applicable to other futuristic skirmish games, just maybe not all. I might stick some plastic skull all over them and do a 40k article though... or maybe not! So yep Sarissa Precision sent me a feck load of stuff to review, and I want to say thanks to them for doing so because it was totally awesome of them, and it is appreciated. Yep all this stuff was free, so as always I'll put my hands up and let you guys judge whether I'm being fair or not...

Product description

Its a compact HDF piece of scenery designed for use with 28mm sci-fi skirmish games. Sure you could put your Napoleonics or Teutonic Knights next to them... but if you do, expect to get worried glances from concerned friends. All the pieces are laser cut and therefore fit wonderfully well together, look totally spiffing and comes replete with burned wood smell. Various details are etched into the surface with lasers too. It comes in roughly 21 parts, there are 6 side wall sections giving the building its hex shape, 2 end plates with doors, a roof and a floor (handy), 2 suspension supports that attach the Pod either to its base provided or onto the roof of another pod. There are also 4 hand rails to go on top of the roof and a roof hatch made out of 4 individual pieces. So what are it's vital statistics? These are the rough figures, but height = 4", length = 5", width = 4.25". There are also two push out doors and windows on the kit, these can be left in or removed as you see fit.

Interview: Steve Cummings Sarissa Precision

Yes that's the Warehouse. Yes that's a Guija TAG. Yes it's that big!!!

Right yesterday I blew your socks off with a World Exclusive (let me have my moment of glory) and today I'm bringing you all a brief interview with one of the guys behind Sarissa Precision, Steve Cummings. Hopefully you'll find it illuminating and hopefully you might also get to see some more concept pics of the stuff I teased you about yesterday. Reviews following shortly.

Frontline Gamer: I think the first question many people will want an answer too is when will this stuff be available to buy? Will it all be available at the same time or will some of it be staggered over a period of time?

Steve Cummings: It will be available on January 2nd, most of the range will be available right away. There are some ideas that we haven’t done anything with yet or are still testing. We will do some variations of some items as well. The range will expand, but I think there is enough choice to keep people happy for quite some time.

Yep this is the 'small' Pod, and yes that's still a Guija!

FG: That's cool, so there's more yet to come. The second most important question I guess will be how much is this stuff going to cost

SC: We think it’s very well priced as a guide, the 3 Standard Pod variants will be priced as follows -

Habitation Pod Explorer will be £12.00
Habitation Pod Settler £16.00
Habitation Pod Family £20.00

Accessories and upgrades £2.50 - £10.00

All the extras which make the range what it is will be available in a pick’n’mix style. This is so you can create the table you want and don’t have to buy things you don’t need. We’ll also have some special offers and bundle deals as well up on the web store.

World Exclusive: Sarissa Precision 'System ∞'

These are early mock up, the finished article has slightly different detailing

You know what? Sitting on a world exclusive isn't very easy you know. Especially when it's something a little bit exciting. Sure, so I'm not about to break the news on a new race in 40k, or tell you the 8th race in Warpath. Neither am I about to show you the profiles of the 0-12 forces in Infinity. But, hey I'm only a little blog and any world exclusive is a big deal for me alright! It's also my first so yeah... I'm milking it baby! No, what I'm about to show you is the latest efforts of those lovely chaps at Sarissa Precision. You know the people behind all that Old West scenery I've reviewed and used for my games of Malifaux of late. I'm a fully signed up fan of their Old West scenery and indeed laser cut HDF scenery in general. I really do think it's the future of scenery as it's strong, versatile and affordable what's not to love?

Easy access for internal gunfights

So imagine my delight when a fair few months back now I got an email off of Steve at Sarissa Precision asking me if I'd look over some new concepts for them. Stuff with a more futuristic 'slant'. I was only too happy to oblige and feedback my comments. This back and forth has gone on past a fair few emails and months now, and all the time I had to keep my big gob shut about how cool their stuff was. Not able to say a thing on pain of death, and trust me as somebody who just loves talking hobby and letting others know about cool stuff, it has very nearly killed me. I've been bouncing off of walls with anticipation, because I'm genuinely interested to see what other gamers think of it, and what you think of it. However, I can now break the silence and let you see what I've been looking at for quite a while now, and that is a really cool fully modular set of futuristic HDF terrain, suitable for many types of future war skirmish games, such as Infinity.

Keeping things classy: Battlefront Miniatures

Now I'm sure an awful lot of you will have seen this video already. I was going to interrupt Macavity and Frontline Cat week to put an article up on this, but I thought I'd hold off until boxing day as I'm not doing much of anything and it means I put off doing the washing up for another hour or two. However, I think it does deserve a serious piece of analysis I guess and also some coverage. Why? Well because it's genuinely a really nice gesture from Battlefront Miniatures to their loyal customers, to offer the 3rd edition Flames of War rulebook free of charge. Yep you read that right, and you heard them right in that video. They are giving away a free version of the rules if you already have a second edition rulebook. Now they've done this before, but to be brutally honest they weren't giving that many out the first time they did it, this time around that's a very different story.

Why can't I get passed the mental block that these guys existed?

The Christmas Sermon: Give the gift of gaming

I so love Deadpool, he's just so badass!!!

I'm not going to keep you all long today because I know today is all about getting lots of free swag and being a glutton. So I wouldn't want to get in the way of this seasonal avarice now would? So a good friend of mine wanted me to do my Christmas sermon on Ho Ho HoMachine. I must admit I was sorely tempted, I mean the tabloid journalist in me felt the article title was just too damn good to miss out on. However, today I want to talk about something more inclusive and about the hobby as a whole. Right now as you sit at home, surrounded by people that you love, cherish and respect... and maybe some family members too, ask yourself these questions:

1. How many of the gathered throng assembled before you are into wargaming or board gaming?
2. How miserable and unfulfilled would your life be without wargaming or board gaming?
3. So don't you owe it to your fellow human to introduce them to this glorious hobby and bring the joy of gaming into their lives?

Macavity Ponders: Wargames

Whats so gud bout sky faeries enyway? Worship kats instead!

I have noticed that you hughmans like to fight a lot over really silly things. You tend to fight over oil and stuff like whether there is a sky faery amd if so, which sky faery it is. Now don't get meh wrong, I is sure it is importulant to ascertain whether there is a sky faery, but surely if there is a sky faery it doesn't realy matter what kind of sky faery it is surely? You hughmans confuzzle us kats, yers you do, but what is really weird is that you likes to bring your petty skwabulls with you when you plays your games!

Fishes are importulant, amd tasty

Why? Seriously what is teh point? Aren't your lives carp enough as it is? Do you have to make your fun hobby time all miserable aswell? Fur starters why don't eny of your wargames have you fighting over enythink importulant? Like fishes or getting teh bestest spot in front of teh fire place? Why do you always have to fight over tihs objektiv or taht objekyiv? Amd just why teh hell are you all so fasciunated by Spam?!?! Have eny of you ever eaten Spam? Or is that all you eat? If so have eny of you ever eaten enything gud? Spam tastes horrible, eyuew!

Frontline Cat, now with added English!

Macavity is distraught

Frontline Cat is having a new recipe. It'll still have the same great lolzcatz flavour but will now have added juicy meaty chunks of English!!!

Well I tried having a bit of fun with the lolzcatz speech and letting Macavity do so articles, but it seems some of our non-native English speakers are having a bit of a hard time understanding the cats. Some of our native speaking English buddies too seem to have problems, which truth be told as a dyslexic I can fully understand. So the next articles will have added English with little bits of lolcatz speech, I'll also go back and edit the previous articles to make them slightly more 'comprehensible'. Macavity is distraught that his Sweedish, German, Polish, French and Spanish friends couldn't understand how awesome his opinions are and has decided to let me translate his words into English... after he went and sulked for a couple of hours. Peace out!

Articles now with added English:

Macavity Ponders: Battlefoam
Clash of the Dungeon Crawlers Quarter-finals
Clash of the Dungeon Crawlers Semi-Finals
Clash of the Dungeon Crawlers Grand Final

Macavity ponders: Battlefoam

Right there is this bloke in Americat whu makes all these really awesome bags amd stuff fur teh masters miniatures. I mean they is gud as kat beds but we kats think he can do better! What is teh point in putting miniatures in bags enyway? You only takes them out again! Tis ver strange behaviour if you ask meh. Why doesn't this Rowmeeyo fella just make teh Battlefoam kat bed instead? It would sells far better than teh stoopid miniatures bags he sells now!

Tis obvious that teh foam is designed fur kats, it keeps us warm amd comfurtable. It would keep us safe to amd you wouldn't wont your kats to get damaged now would you? Who would keep your lap warm then? Now I know you Hughmans aren't ver gud artists (unless it is teh piss variety) like us kats are. Your puny eyes can't focus properly and sees stoof properly. Tis not your fault you is rubbish really. So I haz done some wicked awesome pictures fur teh Rowmeeyo fella to copy amd makes us kats some propa Battulefoam so we don't have to put up with teh inferior bags enymoar! Take a look:

Greytest deesign eva: Paytent Macavity

So what do you think? Pretty awesome right? You could stack them to, you know to make a proper kat palace! I bet my master would buy meh at least one fur Kristmus. Email meh Rowmeeyo amd we can discuss contracts. Paws owet meow!

Clash of the Dungeon Crawlers - Grand Final

The saki and sushi were already there apparently... hmmm

Well I think I is finally got rid of teh master, amd am totally in control of teh blog now, yay! Bout time too, as you must all have been getting bored of him constantly going on amd on bout stuffs that ain't impawtant. I will do you some real blogs soon about propurr stuffs, impawtant stuffs you really want to know about. But first we is got to finish teh dujeon crallers articles. So I is better be getting on with it I reckon!

Last time out we kats did decide that teh final should be between Dead Rising amd teh Legend of Drizzt. Yers, ver gud games both of them. So we is now got to decide which one is teh winner of teh betest, most awesomely approves fur teh kats dunjeon crawlers. Tis ver serimouse business, amd I is so not drunk on saki... hic... amd am totally taken it serimousely... ooooh... moues... I is so ver hungry. I wander if we has eny sushi left over...

Teh Grrrwand fynell

Dunjeon amd Drguns: Legeond ov Drysst Vs Derwarfs Kengs Huld: Deyed Rysun

Macavity looks smug as his plan comes together... little does he know...

Clash of the Dungeon Crawlers - Semi Finals

Princess Dinah Bear of Dihnberia inspects the semi-finalists

Well I guess the quarter finals didn't go as badly as I first thought they would. Although I'm still concerned the bloody cats won't let me in the front room. Just who the hell is in charge around here any way (Macavity: 'I thought that was clear, tis us kats innit'), I'm really not sure anymore. However, what I am sure of is that the cats, despite being... erm... unorthodox in their cogitations, ruminations and deliberations, did actually manage to choose the right games to go forward into the semi-finals. Whether that validates the cats methods of discrimination is a totally different matter... oh well, I suppose I'm just going to have to let this particular piece of insanity run its course. The draw for the semi finals is as follows:

Dungeons & Dragons Legend of Drizzt Vs Claustrophobia

Dwarf Kings Hold: Dead Rising Vs Super Dungeon Explore

Excuse meh! It is meh job to introduce teh article thank you ver much! Unbelievable behaviour, you is so ver rude. Eneeway after teh quarter-finals we made some pritty gud choices I thought. We now demands respect! Bloody hughman it is our blog now, I is teh chaircat. On to teh deliburraysheons:

Clash of the Dungeon Crawlers - Quarter-Finals

They're back and more opinionated than ever!!!

OK so now I might be starting to regret that I agreed to let the cats do this. I mean they've locked themselves in the front lounge now for over a day with my bloody games, and only allowed their personal servants in to tend to their needs. Plus they allowed the Ministry's official photographer in to record their deliberations. If I'm honest I'm worried poppy will have turned all the boxes into one giant cat bed and Tybalt will have chewed all the game components to bits. This really wasn't a good idea, anyway here's Macavity...

Hello there meh hughman worshipers! Tiz I Macavity greatest Kat in teh world amd ruler of teh Ministry of Kats. I has been given teh responsibility of introducing teh article... because I is teh ver cleverest kat of teh lot. So teh blog is now going to be so much betterer than normal when tis written by teh master. He is gud, but he is no kat to be fair to him. Prepare fur teh bestest articles you has ever seen, they is teh awesome! here is teh first draw:

Dungeons & Dragons: Legend of Drizzt Vs Dwarf Kings Hold: Green Menace

Claustrophobia Vs Dungeons & Dragons: Castle Ravenloft

Descent: Journeys in the Dark Vs Super Dungeon Explore

Dwarf Kings Hold: Dead Rising Vs Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of Ashardalon

amd nowe ontu teh deliburraysheons:

Clash of the Dungeon Crawlers - By Cats

Poppy tests the strength of the various boxes... 'yers ver gud'

The Chaircat of the Ministry of Cat Approval contacted me earlier today via email. This has been followed up by a few telephone conversations regarding my ever burgeoning collection of Dungeon Crawlers. Macavity feels that the Ministry should try to work out for you all just which Dungeon Crawler is best. I thought this sounded like a great idea, and was about to suggest a format when Macavity cut me short. He and the other cats had a PowerPoint presentation to show me, and my attendance was requested. I have to say I was mightily impressed with the work and detail they'd put into their proposal, so much so I've decided to let them run with the idea. It's a simple one and I'll leave you in the capable hands of Macavity to explain it.

Helo meh hughman fryends I haz ver impurrtant infmazion wiv reegards tu teh articule on teh dunjeon crallers. Teh eyedea is a simpull wun. Wii taykes a lissed ov teh gaymes and poots tehm in a hatte and tehn wii piks tehm at randumb lyke yu du in teh sporwt cup thingies yu hughmans lyke. Wii Katz tehn rayte tehm agaynst eetch ovva tu fynd a winna outa tehm. Tehn du it alle agayn entill tehir iz ownlee wun leyft!!!

Handing control over to the Ministry of Cats

Macca in early negotiations

Against my better judgement I will be handing over editorial control of this blog to the Ministry of Cats later this evening. I have been really busy with the build up to Christmas and have been unable to produce or work on many articles to keep you all entertained and occupied while reading your smart phones when you should be out get the last bits of Christmas shopping. So the Chaircat of the Ministry of Cats came to me with a proposal. He told me he and his fellow cats had been working on a number of articles that he thought my readers might appreciate. He wasn't exactly insulting about the content of my blog... but... he wasn't polite either.

Sunday sermon: Beware the Fun Sponges!

Look out they're everywhere!!! Well maybe not everywhere...

So last weeks Sunday sermon was full of fire and brimstone as requested, and it turns out it was fairly successful. Apparently as I said in that article 'we all have a deep rooted need to be terrified by tales of eternal damnation, hell and with no hope of restitution'. So am I going to do the fire and brimstone thing again? No, not really, it's not my style to be all angsty, true I can get angry from time to time. Even self righteous. It's just not the norm. What I am going to talk about today in my third Sunday Sermon are what I call fun sponges, we will all know some in the hobby. If you've never met a fun sponge and aren't sure what I'm on about I've got a rather shocking revelation for you, you are most likely a fun sponge! Sorry to drop it on you like that but it's true. You see there are so many fun sponges out there that statistically speaking you're unlikely to have avoided them all, and if you haven't spotted them it's because your own behaviour is most likely that of a fun sponge... or you're just one lucky son of a bitch!

Am I becoming 'the' critic?

Homer Simpson became 'THE' critic. Have I?

After posting my third review of the week yesterday, and not being overly gushing yet again and perhaps being critical of a product, I got to thinking about whether reviewing things was changing how I perceive products. If that wasn't enough to get me thinking I also received email off of somebody. Not a very pleasant one if I'm honest! I kind of expect to get the odd death threat and people disagreeing with me, after all it's the Internet. So the question arises... am I becoming 'THE' critic? You know, the one person that has nothing good to say about anything? You see I don't think I'm a massively negative person in real life, and despite 2011 being one long never ending stream of shit heaped upon a mountain of misery and suffering... I think I've remained fairly upbeat and positive in the main. True my balls are sore from life kicking me there so often, but honestly I like it a little bit rough!

I guess I'm a bit concerned that of late maybe I've come across as negative. I think I've been honest and fair in my deliberations, but I guess it's possible that I've become a little bit harsh. So I'm just putting this out there really and asking for some honest feedback, from you guys who read my blog. Because I've had some people say I was over the top with Dreadfleet, massively unfair on Super Dungeon Explore and just plain mean to Descent: Journeys in the Dark. There have also been people who have accused me of being a little bit harsh on the first two Dungeons & Dragons games. I fully accept I'm a bit blunt in my assessments, but if I'm coming across all bitter and twisted then I'm doing something horribly wrong with my articles, because that's not me. It's certainly not where my hobby is at right now either. So come on, be honest with me, have I become a jaded wizened grumpy old gamer who just wants to be mean and nasty? Peace out!

Review: Battlefoam Malifaux Bag

My little red handbag... look I'm comfortable with my sexuality. Now where are my stilettos?

Well After my last review of a Battlefoam product proved so successful in giving people a heads up of what to expect from their product I thought I'd continue in that vein and review all the Battlefoam products I've managed to lay my hands on. So next up is my Malifaux bag, or as my other half calls it my 'little red handbag'. Yeah I'm not too sure I should have gone for red now either. However, I like my little red handbag (bugger she's got me at it now), it looks different from the black Battlefoam bags I own and will undoubtedly own in the future. Don't get me wrong I prefer the black to the green in the main, I mean black was good enough for Johnny Cash right? But, I'd like a bit more colour because I'm so past my goth phase. I am however going to be honest and say that my Malifaux bag has not seen anywhere near as much action my Warmachine bag and neither has it been chucked down stairs, sat on or driven over by old ladies who are far too blind to be allowed to drive. So with that out of the way lets get on with it shall we?

Product description

Well I went for the Red bag as you can see from the pictures. Sure the Black one would have been less conspicuous, and there was no way I was going for the brown bag... far too dull! Yeah OK so I have to suffer the indignity of having my manhood questioned by she who must be obeyed referring to it as my handbag, but the red brings out the blue in my eyes. The Malifaux bag is a hell of a lot smaller than the Warmachine, PACK 720 and even my Infinity Apha bag I own. But, that's a good thing really for a game like Malifaux where you don't need all that many figures. As always because I'm boring and all that I went for the straight forward option of the standard loadout, which gave me a 2.5" pick and pluck foam tray (which I normally hate)but actually ended up being my most used tray for Malifaux, there's also a 1.5" tray with 32 decent sized cut outs that aren't too bad a size for most Malifaux miniatures on their scenic bases and finally there's the 1" tray with 44 normalish sized cut outs that aren't as great for dynamically posed Malifaux miniatures or those on scenic bases. The bag comes with no topper foam either. He's Romeo's video for the bag, I had to include it simply because he had a fecking vuvuzela in it, is it just me or did they ruin the World Cup for you as well?

Review: Super Dungeon Explore

So much promise, by and large left unfulfilled

Well this will be an interesting product to review. I think it's fair to say I was left a little bit 'deflated' after my unboxing of the game. Hey, I'm open to criticism and I went back through the article and tried to see if what I'd said was in any way a tad too harsh as some people had suggested to me. My considered answer after all this time? No, I was bang on with what I said. I still think it was a daft oversight not to include instructions on assembling their overly fiddly miniatures, and while I'm glad they've produced some, it's not in the box is it? Secondly it doesn't say anywhere on the outside of the product that it requires assembly. I'm not bothered that I need to assemble these miniatures, as I'm a wargamer and used to such things, but as a product on the shelf it should tell people what it is, and what to expect. The box it comes in is a shit quality corrugated card board affair, that does damage far too easily and thus makes storing the contents of the box difficult. And the playing cards? They're still the worst quality playing cards I've come across. So I'm sticking by what I said, so to those of you who have emailed me and told me to edit my unboxing article and be more upbeat... kindly go forth and multiply. They're my opinions and I'll not change them for all the barracking in the world! But what do I think of it as a game now I've played it?

Box contents pre-assembly

Product Description

Yep it is yet another board game in a box. Get over it already! You get 9 hero miniatures, 5 minion spawning points, 5 treasure chests, 2 boo-booty treasure chests, 22 Kobold minion miniatures, 6 Drake denizen miniatures, 2 Kobold Ogres and 1 Dragon miniature. They're the undeniable stars of the product. There are 5 double sided dungeon tiles that measure in at roughly 12" by 12". There is also a game tracking card which tracks various game effects and also measures 12" by 12" in size, meaning the maximum gaming space it takes up is 3' by 2'. There's a myriad of colourful game tokens and a nicely produced full colour rulebook. There are also 16 custom dice, 8 blue (weakest dice) 6 red dice (middling) and 2 green dice (most powerful). Finally there are about 60 playing cards representing Loot, treasure, Adventurers, Minions, status effect etc.

Review: Claustrophobia

Demons vs Christian zealots? Poppy will have some of that!!!

Well it's a game that many readers of my blog and personal friends have suggested I should get for review. It's been described as a 'dungeon skirmish game' also as a 'sort of dungeon crawler' and a 'wargame on a board' by various people I know and respect, who are normally far more eloquent. I can see elements of all three statements in the game if I'm honest, although for me it certainly has felt more like a skirmish board game. Claustrophobia is produced by Asmodee, the company originally behind the Hell Dorado wargame, and this game too is set in the very dark Hell Dorado universe. So I was very keen to get on and play the game.

Product Description

It is a board game in a box, what can I say? I'm addicted. Given the price of the game, and the fact that the miniatures are pre-painted I think there's a fair amount of stuff in the box. There are 36 floor tiles, single sided but seriously 36 is more than enough and they're a decent size too. There are about 50 or so card tokens, 17 pre-painted miniatures, 5 reference cards for the human faction (the Westerners), 5 plastic stands for those reference cards, and 13 dice split between 1D10 and 12D6. There are also 25 plastic damage tokens that you stick into the player reference cards to denote wounds. Finally we get a rulebook, a vitally important component to any game!

Sunday Sermon: WAAC vs FAAC

Who the feck brought the tank to the pillow fight?!?!?

Or just shut the f@$% up as I tend to utter when I see such titles! So after my first Sunday Sermon I had an email off of a concerned gamer saying that my first Sermon wasn't full of enough fire or brimstone. Apparently on the Sabbath we all have a deep rooted need to be terrified by tales of eternal damnation, fire, torment and hell, with no hope of restitution. Unless of course you repent your wicked ways! So am I going to do the fire and brimstone thing? Yes! Look I've well and truly had it with this bloody hobby's need to split everything into two camps. Pro or anti Games Workshop, Privateer Press vs Games Workshop, you know the binary arguments we tend to get when simpletons are given a computer and access to the Internet. Or my particular Bête Noire, the blisteringly annoying need of some people to split all wargamers into two distinct camps, WAAC or FAAC. There is not much in life that can be split into such stupidly simplistic binary arguments, even less so where human behaviour or attitude is concerned. It's not helpful or even insightful in any way shape or form, and it makes people sound dumb.

Seriously Bob why do you keep inviting that WAAC ass hat to your pillow fights?

For those of you who are gloriously oblivious to this lazy and totally false method of classification I shall explain the terminology for you, and sorry for introducing you to it. WAAC stands for Win At All Costs, meanwhile FAAC stands for Fluff At All Costs. Yeah it already sounds stupid right? I mean those two statements represent such extremes within the hobby that it's highly unlikely that any of us fit into such narrow categories. So people should stop trying to shoehorn us all into these two camps. Normally I'd let such silly and childish discussions pass me by and actually get on with enjoying the hobby I love so much. However, of late I've been accused of being both a WAAC gamer and a FAAC gamer, actually in the same discussion. The two idiots then proceeded to have an argument about which one I was. Apart from the fact that not both statements can be true, and that both sound like some made up shady intergovernmental agency. Also not to mention that they are totally lame descriptors of who I am as a gamer, it really annoys me that gamers feel the need to break everyone down into two bland groups.

Is the Imperium a Metaphor for Games Workshop? The riposte!

It's a well known symbol, and one that stands for stability above all else

Well a little over a month ago I poured out some thoughts that I had bottled up in my brain, and maybe a few emotions I'd stored up in my heart. I poured them into this article here, and I hoped it would spark a bit of debate amongst bloggers and hobbyists alike. Not nerd rage or the normal play ground arguments we're used to seeing on an awful lot of message boards out there, where insults and ignorance win the day. No, I had hoped I'd get responses from like minded gamers, who care about our hobby, and yes care about Games Workshop. I wanted people to stop and think about things properly, rather than just leap into the pro or anti camps as so often happens with any attempts to discuss Games Workshop. In my first article I really did wear my heart on my sleeve, I was honest about how I felt. I wanted others to respond in a similarly passionate way and convince me of some of the counter arguments.

It didn't happen quite like that, or at all. In some respects the article was a success. I know from the responses I've had to the article and also private emails I've received that the article itself did get many people thinking about Games Workshop properly, rather than just blindly falling into the pro or anti camps we so often get. It was a success on the old hits counter too, if you can measure success in such ways. What I didn't expect though, if I'm honest was that the over whelming amount of responses I got to the article were people agreeing with me in the main or totally. My attempt to create a bit of passionate discussion, or debate without resorting to name calling, mud slinging and nerd rage failed. To be honest it spectacularly failed and as such I view the article as a bit of a personal failiure. Hell in the end I'd have taken a bit of nerd rage if it had sparked a bit of debate. So I've been pondering that article for a little while now.

Yeah so they're cannon fodder, but they're devoted cannon fodder!

You see, I deliberately chose the Imperium as a metaphor because I thought it was such a vast concept with the 40k background that it could in fact be twisted quite easily to whatever purpose you wished, when describing Games Workshop. I still believe the broad brush strokes I made in that article, when viewed from certain angles or perspectives ring true today, but I was deliberately one-sided in my commentary because that's normally the way you spark debate, even if I do more readily associated with those views I passionately expressed. It's certainly true of academia and other fields I have worked in, but not it seems wargaming. Perhaps the article was too long, perhaps people thought it so badly written that it neither deserved or indeed needed a well written riposte! Or maybe the contrary is true, perhaps people thought what I had written was so comprehensive and potentially intimidating that no one dared take it on...

Why is HoMachine becoming so popular?

Not quite as well known as some logo's, but still...

Note: I know the convention is to call Warmachine and Hordes WarmaHordes but I’m trying to shift that to the far funnier HoMachine, so that’s what I’ll always refer to it as!!!

Right I think its pretty clear that both Warmachine and Hordes are experiencing quite a bit of a surge in popularity, especially when Privateer Press put out statements like this:

• Privateer Press we can't cope!!!

Any company that has to take a pause to catch their collective breath to try and catch up with demand, is clearly experiencing some serious demand for their product. And there have been other similar statements since. So why now and will the popularity continue?

Most of you will recognise this logo, and that's down to hard work and effective arketing

In my local gaming circle I think it is quite fair to say the Warmachine MKI wasn’t the most popular of games, not because it wasn't very good (it was good fun) but because we just didn't play it, and part of the reason was almost certainly down to the MKI monicker. Let me explain before you think I'm bonkers. Here in the UK it's pretty difficult to have a discussion about wargaming without bringing in Games Workshop into it, in fact perversely a fair few people refer to none Games Workshop games as ‘alternative wargaming’ it is almost like Games Workshop wargaming IS wargaming!!! I might have mentioned before how this riles me. For those of you not living in the UK that might seem odd, but for those of you living in pretty much any town in the UK you will have a Games Workshop store that pretty much has an iron grip monopoly on our hobby, although that is sliding and slipping a bit.

Sunday Sermon: Doing things the Privateer Press way, Wrath and Domination

       

            

No that isn't the Emperor talking to the Primarchs!

So you're probably all thinking why the hell has Frontline Gamer gone all religious on us right? What's with this 'sermon' stuff and preaching? Well you see I'm a researcher at heart, what people sometimes refer to as a stats geek. I've studiously watched over the last 6 months, yeah that's right this blog is now 6 months old, the viewing behaviour of people who read this blog. I thought I'd seen trends, only to find out that they weren't statistically significant, I'm still recording data as I believe the problem was one of insufficient data, the bane of every researcher! However, there is one undeniable trend... Sundays are my worst days for page views and comments. Seriously an average of 0.1 comment every Sunday, that's hurts me deeply! Plus my page hits plummet pretty sharply on the 7th day. Now I'm sure it's just Sunday. Perhaps you're all in church, or stuffing yourselves with roast dinner, or perhaps I don't post regularly on Sundays, or what I have posted is rubbish.

Great to drive on, but it gets lonely

So lets call this the start of a concerted effort on my part to produce some decent content for you all to read on a Sunday, obviously you'll be able to read these articles whenever. I just want to know for myself whether or not it is Sunday's that make you all lethargic and reticent to comment, or whether it has been my piss poor articles. So you're going to get a 'Sunday Sermon' for a few months, where I chat about something in the hobby that either bugs me, or really excites me, to see if it's the 'Sunday effect' or me being shyte. The first topic I've chosen is the Privateer Press way of doing things. What started me thinking about this particular topic? Well it was a comment left in my 'Does Malifaux need to take a pause for the cause?' article, the comment was written by Lauby, yes he of the House of Paincakes fame. He specifically drew a parallel between what we're seeing in Malifaux right now with the rulebook expansions, and MKI Warmachine and Hordes. I happen to agree with him, the similarities are unnervingly similar actually.

Review: Battlefoam Infinity Bag (Alpha)

Yes it has been 'Approved by Cats'

Well as you can see from the picture at the top of the page, this is yet another Battlefoam product that has received a coveted 'Approved by Cats' award. Ironic when I think back to the fact that I was originally reluctant to spend my money on Battlefoams, what I thought were expensive products. It was other peoples products that finally convinced me to give Battlefoam a go as theirs kept failing me. So two 'Approved by Cats' awards from my original reticence, it was a close run thing though on this bag, for a number of reasons that I'll let the cats explain for themselves later on. However, the crux of the matter is that this bag protects those delicate Infinity miniatures beautifully, and primarily that is all that matters surely? It's also a good size for the game and can carry all my gubbins as well.

Tybalt inspects the stitching

Product description

This is a bag filled with foam. If you've seen a Battlefoam bag before then you'll know to expect a nice quality canvass skin to the bag, with a hard plastic shell underneath that tough skin to provide a good level of protection. The bag comes with 3 foam trays in total. You get a 1.5" tray that will carry 41 or so standard Infinity troopers. The second tray is a 2" thick tray and will carry a further 14 standard sized troopers, 12 larger HI type troopers, 5 small remotes and 4 large remotes. The final tray is a 3"of pick and pluck foam, perfect for TAGs and other weirdly shaped mini's. Personally I'd have preferred a half and half 3" foam tray, with some different shaped cut outs and some pick and pluck, but it's a good configuration all round. Any who here's the ever chirpy Romeo waxing lyrical about his product, it gives you a good idea though of what the bag looks like: