Post A Game of Thrones Boardgame and Sentinel Tactics Miniatures

So we played the Boardgame A Game of Thrones and it went, well not so good!

The game rules and turn flow were pretty easy to pick up and the game played pretty smoothly but it was definitely a learning game as far as strategy goes. I played House Baratheon situated in the middle on the east coast and without some alliances I think the houses in the middle will have a hard time winning meanwhile Stark in the North was pretty much left alone to spread out. Next time I think alliances will have to be made in the south and Stark will need to be checked early on. We shall see!

Both these pics are near the end of the game. I am the yellow pieces near the bottom of the picture. After a brief expansion I am being pushed back.

And finally not much left of Baratheon. Stark has expanded all through the north for the win.

I also finished painting up my Sentinel Tactics miniatures and for boardgame pieces I think they turned out pretty good.

The good guys.

Citizens(the bad guys!)

Baron Blade, bad guy.

The rest of the evil Citizens.

Omitron-V

Next up is the Star Wars Edge of the Empire session on the weekend.

RPG's and Some Miniature Painting

I have been putting my hobby time into getting some painting done as well as some roleplaying though no miniature games on since last blog.

We had a character making session for Vampire the Masquerade (20th Anniversary Edition). Shawn is once again being the GM while most of the other players I have never played with before other than my wife Michelle and this is her first game she has played in quite a few years other than the odd session I ran with her and my son.

I ran another session of Star Wars Edge of the Empire continuing the Beyond the Rim adventure from FFG. The players should be finished in 2 to 3 sessions and then we will see what comes next!

I also ran another session of Dragon Age and will be running another one soon. I have decided to increase the experience awards so the characters can level up a little quicker allowing me to tell a story in a reasonable amount of time considering how often we play which is only about once a month. I am going to start to weave in a larger story arc with this adventure and now I have Set 3 so I can tell a full story, if it lasts that long.

I have primed some figures for Muskets & Tomahawks to start to bring my British force up to 400 points from 200.

The other painting I have been doing lately is painting up the figures for Sentinel Tactics. We played this game for my birthday gathering and I think the look will be improved with painted figures for the next time we play.

Tonight Tristan and I are off to play a 6 player game of FFG's A Game of Thrones Boardgame. This is the first time any of us have played so it should be lots of fun.

Muskets & Tomahawks...Finally.

Having painted up some figures to try out the rules"Muskets & Tomahawks" some time ago I haven't had the opportunity to get the figures to the table. That changed when I recently got a game in against Eric. 

So having scheduled the game I quickly did a basing session because until I had some sort of gaming deadline it was hard to get motivated to get that done. So with the bases done the day before the game I headed to Eric's to fight out a French & Indian War scenario.

The based forces ready to go. Eric had painted up some French so it turned out all he needed was one of my Native units for the battle.

 

The board set up and initial setup. The Wolf figures represent hidden units while the stone walls mark the edge of the playing surface.

The British Regulars marching down the road flanked by two hidden units, one Rangers and the other Natives.

The French.

As the game progressed the Regular units faced off against each other with the help of my Rangers on the left flank while on the right my Natives tried to tie up two other French units, one native and one Canadian Militia.

The French allied Natives close in while my Rangers maneuver to block them.

The overall picture of the battle at this point with the Canadian Militia in retreat on the right.

I was a little pressed for time so I forget to take more pictures as the battle progressed but the game finished with only a few of my Rangers left alive from my entire force, having secured the right flank of my British Regulars while all that remained of the French force were a few of their Regular infantry. The game was a draw though Eric pulled out a marginal win by accomplishing a side mission for his officer while I did not fulfill mine. His officer was an old campaigner whose mission was just to survive and my officer had lost the faith of his men and thus had to singlehandedly kill 3 enemy figures, he managed 2 before getting cut down!

The game was quick to learn and quick to play while also being fun. The card activation mechanic seemed to give a good feel for the capabilities of the different styles of units represented such as the Native and regular soldiers while keeping the game flowing well and throwing in the unpredictability of which unit would be activated next.

We will probably get in another game of this fairly soon and I will try to get pictures of the full game.

Starting a New Year of Gaming

It's been quite awhile since my last post. 

I managed to get a fair chunk of the house renovations done which cut into some of the free time. Now I did squeeze in a nice amount of games though not much modelling and not much time to blog so to catch up I am just going to post some pictures that I remembered to take of some of the games.

Malifaux versus my son.

Game 2

Vikings finished, need basing still.

My birthday present!

Robotech Kickstarter finally arrived!

My birthday gathering.

Temple run with Pierre and my youngest.

Sentinel Tactics, friends and food! (Rob T and Pierre in the frame)

Eric, Julian and Ian play Incursion.

X-Wing, team Pierre and me as the Empire came out on top versus Tristan, Chet and Shawn. Julian observes.

Fortune and Glory till the wee hours.

Julian, Chet, Ian and Tristan nearing the end. Eric has bowed out by now.

Next day, more Sentinel Tactics. Chet and Tristan as the evil overlord.

Malifaux versus Shawn.

A Game of 40k. My Orks.

Hal Con 2014 demos.

X-Wing.

Malifaux 

More X-Wing.

Just a regular game of Formula D.

Zombiecide.

Progress

I wasn't getting much hobby or gaming stuff done between work and the ongoing kitchen renovation with a washing machine break down thrown in there for good measures.

But in the last week I did get in some catch up gaming and painting in. Tristan and I played a game of Dust Tactics. This is the first game I have played in awhile and the first with the new rules. The game plays almost as quick as the previous edition. You do have to throw a lot more dice for combat resolution and there seems to be more incentive to use reactive fire.

I also started running a new Star Wars Edge of the Empire game. The first session was played using the Beyond the Rim adventure with new players and new characters. I think they had fun and quickly moved through the first few encounters. The next session is planned in a few weeks.

I also painted some miniatures finishing off the Woodland Indians for the French. My friend Eric picked up some regular French soldiers and is going to paint up a unit allowing us to get in a 200pt battle soon. The fact that Eric is painting up the last unit required gave me the incentive to finish them off. I will work on my other figures for Muskets and Tomahawks after we have had a few games.

I also received a replacement track section from Warlord Games for my Churchill tank that I had purchased awhile ago but came with two right track sections and no left side. I put the kit together and I am glad they sent both sides as the new ones where slightly smaller than the original. I assume the new sides must have been made from a resin that shrank more. I had to modify the pegs as well to get the sides to attach properly and in the right location. All assembled and primed it looks fine.

And finally I painted up a unit of Viking warriors for Saga. I will paint up a few more figures before having a basing session for Saga and Muskets and Tomahawks.

Dust Tactics underway. Our first time with version 2 and with a "big toy" on the table.

The Allies getting the advantage. We called it shortly after this.

I was rolling well, the Allied star is what I was looking for.

A Woodland Indian warband allied with the French.

My first Viking warriors ready to join my painted Berserkers.

The Bolt Action Churchill Mk VII together, primed and ready for paint.

Getting Back to Some Painting Projects

The family went on a camping trip to Cape Breton and we visited Fortress Louisburg like we usually do when we are in the area. Though it has been a few years since our last visit. The weather was cloudy with a few showers but overall it was a pleasant visit. The point of this is that when I got home, newly inspired by the visit, I started back into painting my French & Indian War figures from Conquest Miniatures. I finished off the first French unit, a unit of Compagnie de la Marines and started a unit of Woodland Indians which should be finished this week. That leaves one more unit to paint, do the bases and then ready for a fight using Muskets & Tomahawks.

Tristan and I also finished putting together our Saga forces after which we played a 4pt (the size of our forces at present) battle. We played the first scenario which has the players trying to kill each other's warlord. The game was quick and was deadly and was a lot of fun to play. Tristan won on points as our warlords killed each other in the same combat. We did do a couple of things wrong dealing with the special rules for the warlords which we now know and it was an easy game to pick up and play.

Tristan and I also put together a small Planetary Empires map for 40k and are starting a small Imperial vs. Orks campaign. We our using our own campaign rules but keeping it very simple. We are ready to fight our first battle after maneuvering our forces on the map.

I almost forgot that Ian had dropped in on his way to the airport and we played a game of Vikings by Z-Man Games. A fun game that we picked up pretty quick and though Ian won it was a pretty close game.

The role playing games have been on a short hiatus but will be starting up soon. I have to make up a new character for Call of Cthulhu and will be starting up a new Star Wars game with the group I play D&D 3.5 with as well as restarting Dragon Age.

I picked up the new D&D players book and after a quick read I think I will like it much more than the previous edition. I also finally got the new Dust Tactics rules and unit cards which the retailer was having a problem getting in.

Fortress Louisburg.

The main gate.

The boys on a cannon.

I thought this would make a great wargames room!

Playing Vikings with Ian and Michelle, Ian looks impressed with Michelle's next move!

The setup for Saga, one primed hoard vs. another!

The first completed French unit.

The French Officer.

The Woodland Indians in progress.

Another 3 underway.

Getting some paint on my Saga Viking Berserkers. I think these minis will paint up pretty fast.

The new D&D and Dust Tactics books.