Hero that clicks?

I do, in fact, play other games.  I love my 40k (obviously), but I didn't start there and I won't stop there.  But I'm going to talk about a game I got into recently.  You may remember that I run a little game club (about a dozen members) at the local comic shop.  I may have mentioned that I'm into comic books (in fact the reason I went there anyway).  You may also be aware that I have a 7 year-old boy to entertain.  Enter, Heroclix.

I have a buddy who 'donated' a massive amount of common characters and villians to get me started, and he even gave me FOUR different versions of Superman.  I am a bit of a Superman-fan.  If you want to check out my poorly-maintained comic blog-site, go here:  

http://jayspages-agemmanjw.blogspot.com/

(I promise to start actually updating it, once I have the time...)

In any case, I've spent FAR more money than I wanted to so far on this game, and will probably spend FAR more.  But this game comes with some serious advantages.  

1. The models come pre-done.  There's no need for assembly, painting, option-building, anything.  You literally rip open the pack or box and dump the figure out.  READY.  TO.  PLAY.
2. The play-space is small.  A simple 2x3 area for the map, two d6s, the models and cards themselves, and some counters to represent actions taken is all you need!  You can play on a large coffee-table, the dining room table, or even a small amount of floor-space.  There's not even enough materials to take up much more, so it stays small.
3. The rules are terribly easy.  Once you learn what all the special rules mean, it's just a matter of looking at the base of the figures to figure out what they do.  And if you have problems memorizing that, there's a printout that gives all the rules by color free from the website.  The mechanics of the game are like this:  When it's your turn, each model may take a single action (move, shoot, punch).  When they do, mark them with a counter, and move to the next model, repeating until all models are done.  If a model doesn't act, 'clear' away any action counters.  A model is limited on how many times they can act, but it's usually every other turn.  To complete an attack action, roll 2d6 and add result to stat (attack), then compare to target's stat (defense).  Equal or higher, cause damage equal to damage stat.  When moving, use movement stat.  All four of these stats go down as you receive damage, done by simply 'clicking' the dial on the base a number of times equal to damage received.  Done.  There, I just taught you the rules.  :-)

If you're into comic books or love simple, collectible games, or even have a younger child (10 or so) that you could distract this way, look into this game.  Here's the website:

http://heroclix.com

Otherwise, just enjoy the reading and thanks for letting me rant about something other than 40k.  

Start of the game-

My boy had an 'Avengers' team, consisting of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk, all adding up to almost 500 points (Thor alone is 200 points!).  He was deployed atop a raised platform that only Thor and Iron Man could fly off of.  Hulk and Cap didn't let the ladders get into the way for long...

I had a 'Pimpin' Superman team consisting of Superman (203 points), his girlfriend Wonder Woman, and his hot cousin Supergirl (also 200 points), adding up to nearly 500 myself.  I can fly, so my deployment didn't matter.  I freakin' Kryponian, baby!!!

Superman and crew immediately fly to the platform in the center of the battlefield (Green Lantern area) and stared menacingly at the Marvel heroes.  Thor answered by flying straight at Supergirl, and Iron Man followed by taking a 'flying shot' at Supergirl.  First blood was drawn.

Supergirl wasn't bothered at all and used her 'supersonic speed' to smash into Cap, putting some hurting on.  Hulk ran backwards and tried to smash Supergirl, but to no avail.  There was to be fight on the Avenger's side!  Wonder Woman charged right into Thor and showed the god that a goddess was just as powerful.  Iron Man chose to blast Superman, but the icon simply stepped out of the way.

Thor finally finished off Wonder Woman with his mighty hammer, calling down lightning and thunder and just smashing her from reality.  It was sad, as the first casualty of the day had made it real.  Superman, now angry, saw that his team was outnumbered two to one...  What was he to do?

The game itself

The battle was fierce.  The Hulk punched Supergirl in the back of the head, but it only made her angrier and she took it out on Captain America.  The shielded hero saw his indestructible shield destroyed by an angry teenage girl with a cape and was lost to swift Kryptonian anger.  Iron man realized that this match was still far from over.  Superman charged straight into Iron man in the alley and punched him hard, sending the armored leader smashing into the ground.  Thor charged at Superman soon after, but it wasn't enough.  The most powerful man on Earth was upset...
Supergirl tried to punch the Hulk, but he was just impossible to hurt and she soon wore down.  The Hulk, not being as vulnerable to exhaustion, simply crushed her petite body into the concrete, burying her and scanning for more people to beat up.  He turned around just in time to see Superman smashing Iron Man's armor open and tossing a broken Tony Stark to the ground.  Sure enough, the Hulk leapt to join the fight as Thor charged the man-with-the-cape.  Unfortunately, Odin was not watching and Thor was powerless as Supes grabbed him and pounded his face while shielding him from a hindered-Hulk.  It was a short time before even Thor fell to Superman's fury...

When the smoke cleared from the battle of god-on-superhuman, the Hulk glared impatiently at Superman.  Superman casually floated in the air, his eyes burning with barely-kept energy and mercilessly at the green monster.  This was a battle of strength on strength.  The Hulk charged in and swung mightily at Superman, only to find his fist bounce off the tight chest.  Summoning even more anger from that, the Hulk unleashed with a two-fisted smash and crushed Superman into concrete floor.  No sooner had the Hulk picked up his fists than Superman launched a flying-uppercut and knocked Hulk into the ceiling.  The two were evenly matched, it seemed...

Hulk and Superman traded punches over and over, but Hulk was wearing out while Superman seemed to becoming even more invulnerable!  Finally, the Hulk ran out of energy and stood panting, sure that the bleeding Supes would take this moment as well.  But the green monster miscalculated and Superman picked him up and body slammed him with immense force.  It was too much and even the Hulk couldn't stay conscious.  Superman, beated and bloodied, was victorious.   

 And there ya go!  I beat a 7 year-old based on dice.  Yay, me!  I am a gaming god!  Oh, wait, I'm not?  Oh, well then fine!  It was still fun.  I'm NOT saying run out and buy this stuff (it's a collectible game, which means random buys and 'common' quality).  But I AM saying that a game is a game, and this isn't too bad for something really casual.

Hopefully I'll get some other games up here someday...  Happy Gaming!