neuroshima hex

another board game that wasn't originally on my list for 30 games in 30 days.  xenite from "little green monsters" introduced this one to me. 

based on the polish role playing game neuroshima, in neuroshima hex, you control one of several factions battling for survival in the post-apocalyptic ruins of north america.  in the simple one-on-one battle games, the action takes place within the black outlined area in the middle of the board.   

between your specialist actions and your troops' abilities, the middle board area is just big enough for a battle or two in the space of an hour.  here is the board at the start of the game: 

xenite (who is playing the moloch, a vicious machine intelligence that specializes in armor and ranged combat) has placed his hq on the board edge and i've place mine smack dab in the middle.  the reason for this is that my troops (the mutated borgos) are more deadly in close combat and my hq can improve their speed in melee, which is the reason for this deployment only a few turns later. 

 

as you can see the number of forces on the board wax and wane as infrequent combat begins taking it's toll on our troops.  

for most of the game, xenite controlled a good portion of the board and kept my forces contained with his shooting.  if not for one of my troops allowing me to negate the power of his hq, xenite would have completely wiped me from the board.

but some clever deployment and sacrifice on my part in the late game meant that the battle was a draw, and my borgos would live to fight another day. 

take that you moloch bastards! 

even though our battle took place in just a small part of the board, the game designers actually encourage you to create your own scenarios to take advantage of the rest of the board, and with the variety of images beneath each hex, you're only limited by your imagination as to what sort of scenario you could create!

i liked neuroshima hex quite a bit, and i don't think i'd pass up an opportunity to play.  

box image of neuroshima hex is property of portal games, all other image property of little mens

dominion

yeah, so what?  they can't all be super catchy titles.  jeez.

at the risk of sounding like a shill for rio grande games, today is yet another one of their games:  dominion.

a heck of a fun little deck building game, dominion has spawned several expansions, but the basic game is one that i would recommend to any gamer looking for a game that is both tactical and strategic yet quick to play.

the basic concept is that you are a motivated noble looking build the local area into your new kingdom (or dominion, if you will).  this is accomplished by building a deck of cards (that represents the entirety of your kingdom).  within this kingdom/deck are duchys, provinces, markets, villages, libraries, blacksmiths, and throne rooms, gold, silver, copper coins, et al.

this is all done by playing an action, buying a new card, and finally, cleaning up/discarding any cards in your hand and drawing new ones from your deck.   simple as:  a-b-c. 

The cards are broken down into treasure cards, kingdom cards, and victory cards.  the treasure cards are how you purchase other treasure, as well as kingdom cards (which have benefits all their own), and victory cards (which only give you vp at the end of the game).

to win dominion, you have to balance the acquisition of currency against the construction of helpful kingdom cards, and the purchase of victory cards.  too many of any one type will reduce how effectively you can build.

dominion is one of those games that pretty much everyone that has ever played it, is willing and happy to play it again.  and since a single game can be played in about 30 minutes (45 if there are new players), several games can be played in a get together.

in our first game, i was the winner, but during the second game where we substituted the militia cards with the witch and added in curses and gardens, jacob was the winner.  just look at him.  it's obvious.  he's a witch!

thanks to jeff, jacob, and adam for helping out with 30 games in 30 days, yet again!  and congrats to jacob on winning dominion!

next up is the game that kicked puerto rico out of boardgamegeek's #1 spot:  agricola.  this one will be played at chicagoland games (wednesday night is their board game night).  hope to see you there!

my cryx at adepticon 2011

jumped out to lombard this weekend for adepticon 2011.  got to see lots of old familiar faces from the gw days and reminisce.  keep an eye out here for some ideas for adepticon 2012!

had a chance to set my cryx models up on one of privateer press' sweet tables and take some pics (thanks felix!).  here they are in all their undead steampunk glory!

cryx 'jacks under the control of the war witch deneghra

deneghra, a reaper helljack, and some bile thralls

a cryx necrosurgeon and one of her stitch thralls supporting a unit of mechanithralls

 bile thralls shambling forward to spew their caustic spray on the enemy.

 

bonejacks ranging in front of advancing helljacks.  black iron and burning necrotite death comes for the enemy!

 the necrosurgeon looks on, ready to remake any of the destroyed mechanithralls.

mechanithralls pouring from a defensible position, their steam-powered fists ready to crush limbs and rend 'jacks!

dark and deadly bane thralls advance up the flank.

i'd say "just like a rat"...

 ...only the ship's not sinking.

i am, however, jumping ship.  i've been a little bored with the stuff i've been working on for games workshop for a while now.  that doesn't mean that i won't pick it back up later, but right now i've got to do something new.

so i've decided to build a force for privateer press' warmachine.

even though bad guy (insert air quotes) armies don't usually appeal to me, i picked up the new plastic cryx battlegroup,

one of the new plastic helljacks,

and the rulebook. 

i've already got the battlegroup painted and ready to play.  and i'm going to make a vow with this game:

"i do solemnly affirm that i will not purchase more warmachine products until i have what i currently own fully painted and have played at least 5 games."

here are pics of my cryx battlegroup thus far:

the battlegroup cleaned and assembled:

here is the warwitch deneghra and a couple of deathripper bonejacks:

here are the reaper and slayer helljacks.  i did a bit of extra work to the brass "hood" around the head to give each a bit of a different appearance:

the funny thing is that i was able to pump these out pretty quickly, but it's not like the paint scheme is too difficult.

keep an eye out here for future warmachine updates!

shock troopers mount up!

for those of you who have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of these guys:

your wait is almost over.  wargames factory has announced that their new shock trooper models are in the process of being boxed up over this weekend and will be shipped on monday to fulfill their preorders.

additionally, the previously unreleased armored and unarmored saxons are shipping immediately!

now you can have those viking and saxon raids you've been dreaming about!


all images property of wargames factory