My wife made me do it!

  It was a sunny day about a year ago and I was minding my own business in the meanest way when the wife came to bug me about something she thought I would like.  She harassed me with details of her love of mythology as a child and was always crawling the crowdfunding pages just for 'ideas'.  I reluctantly followed her to the office and saw what she was excited about and became instantly intrigued.

  You see, I'm a Games Workshop disciple through-and-through.  I even served in the Emprah's armies for a long time and learned many things.  My teeth were cut on Dungeons & Dragons and I still know more about that game (and have more books) than many of the subjects I have degrees in.  If you even deign to mention Star Trek in  my presence, I have to mindfully keep quiet as I can drone on and on about the technical specifications of the Sabre-class frigate to those that didn't even remember that the first Enterprise's captain was named Pike.  My nerd and gamer knowledge runs deep and wide.  So I may not be as open to the kinds of things that my wife likes (she certainly isn't a fan of much of mine, and who could blame her?), yet she got me.  All my skull-faced Chaplain wielding a Holy Avenger on the bridge of the Excelsior expectations were met in one simple Kickstarter.

  While she gleefully gabbed on and on about how much she thought this was awesome, I was absorbed in soaking up all the details from their page.  I needed to know where this game came from and what it was about and what it included and how it was played and who was making it and all of that fun 'due diligence'.  Because when my attention is grabbed, I begin to nerd out...

  It isn't new.  This game is based on a card game that was released years back.  Collection of it and both expansions are available on eBay and Amazon and one my competitive buddies was really into it (and Spartacus) for a while.  But I'm not totally geeked about card games, despite my extensive collection and a rather unbeatable Fire deck in Pokemon.  So this new version had to be different from that for me to get really excited.  And it was.  This Kickstarter included so many beautiful models that I started drooling.  My wife continued to eagerly point out each of the models she really liked and all I could do was drool...

  I fell into it.  We could afford it (which is rare, especially in the GW world) and the models were the right scale to use in D&D (a huge requirement for me).  Before long, she's whipping out the credit card and ordering me to order it.  I didn't put up a fight.  I didn't even really know what was going on as I was still in complete shock that there was this game for which I was easily drawn.  My overly critical and sometimes irrationally stubborn gamer nerd self was almost instantly seduced because of great models and a bubbling-over wife.  We pledged.  It arrived. 

  We haven't yet received everything as we're still missing the so-called 'stretch goals' (that's additional items promoted to entice more people to pledge money to the project) and RPG for it (that's right, this company even produced a role-playing game for it!), but we got the core game and all of the expansions.  Below are the pictures and I can say that it was worth the wait.  The wife's selling pitch was spot on and the year's wait wasn't too long.  In fact, this game seems to be so amazing that supporters who haven't received theirs yet are throwing fits online!  And it's worth that too.  I don't know if the game will ever be available for retail, but I'm happy to have it for sure.  I'm very proud of the wife. 

  We received all that goodness on Wednesday and we've already played six games of it.  The rules are very simple (despite the way some of the backers get confused about some rules) and there are scenarios by the loads to be able to battle.  The boards are of fantastic quality and even the cardboard terrain adds that 'environment' to the game that keeps me in the miniatures world.  I should note that I do also have the plastic tree and column terrain set, but we're focused on the core set right now and the cardboard stuff doesn't suck (I actually think the cardboard trees will work better for my D&D games that the normal models!).

  My wife isn't usually willing to play my games because they're "too complicated".  She'll dabble with role-playing, but she's more crafty than gamer.  But she learned the rules for this game easily and enjoys playing it so much that we've conquered that beginner scenario and already started drafting.  Let's talk about that...

  So my nerd runs so deep that my Lone Star love of football even sees me competing in Fantasy Football every year.  That's right, I can even make the most 'jock' thing an obsession if it's turned into a game, and anything stolen from that is aces to me.  So to have a game where you 'draft' your forces of miniatures to battle just possessed me.  I mean, WOW!  So if I want to play with a different force or prevent my opponent from getting that powerful one, I use my turn to make that selection.  With the risk, of course, of not getting my favorite pieces because my opponent did the same to me!  With all the other coolness of simple rules and beautiful, tangible elements, now the game includes one of my favorite aspects of another obsession?  Oh yes. 

  To get all this (and the rest that's still coming), we spent much monies.  There was definitely some budgetary considerations that were made.  Especially considering that GW was releasing 40k 8th this year and some of my other hobbies were definitely demanding attention as well.  Normally , I'm the one that's spending way too much on these nerdy games, but this time it wasn't me.  It wasn't one of my games that soaked up those dollars this time.  For once I can say that it was the wife.  She was the cause of this expenditure.  She did it!  And I'm so proud...

So many games!

  Hello, patient readers.  It's been a while and I can't promise that I'm going to return to the old days of consistency.  But I figured it was time to dust off this old blog and see if it still works.  You'll notice that I changed the theme and made everything a bit more basic.  I just can't find a background pic that I like, so if any of you have any suggestions, let me know below!

  The last two years haven't been slow.  School and work got in the way of a good time and I had to find that time again.  The great thing is that I had some extra gold pieces from working and that allowed me to keep up the purchasing habit, if not the gaming part of it.  I made a number of store owners pretty happy during that time.

  Even better, the time I did have to play these games saw my son hobby and use two armies and my wife to even get into a game or two.  And we planned ahead- we're currently waiting on a Kickstarter to arrive and have another one for next year.  That's even more gaming in the future!  And with the eternally reluctant family, no less?  The last two years may have been desolate, but it looks like the next two will be rather rich...

  The last time I blogged, I regaled everyone with my love of Games Workshop's current direction and my full support of their revival of specialist-style games.  That was small fish compared to what's happened since then.  The release of the bubble-world Age of Sigmar, followed by the release of Age of the Emperor, er, Dark Imperium were earth-shaking already.   Now we see the release of Shadespire followed by Necromunda, which are apparently torrents of awesome themselves.  And in between we saw the release of some ridiculously cool terrain and objective pieces, which all have drained my wallet.  Luckily, I haven't missed it all and I have even more regaling to do.  But I might get to all that in some other posts.

  I also had to throw some change at Warlord Games for their Test of Honour game- a fantastic skirmish game for a quasi-historical period and setting that we all love but see very little of in general circulation (I've seen many more Space Marines than Samurai on the tabletops, and that might be sad).  Even my wife loves this game so much that we've ordered some terrain for it.  And remember, my wife is the smart one!

  

  We got some Dungeons & Dragons played as well.  Unfortunately, scheduling became a severe issue and that didn't last long.  D&D will always be my first love, but I seem to have lost some of my storyteller's wit and I'm pining for the days where I can play myself.  I am currently wrapping in some family (my brother used to play, so he's my first victim) and trying to build up a group again because Wizards made it too easy for us.  They released the Tomb of Annihilation book, which means that I don't have to think for a while or, and this is my personal hope, someone else in the group wants to DM and I can play!  I love the new edition despite the fact that the company is starting that overwhelming release schedule of books again and I can't wait to learn from Xanathar in the upcoming release.  

  

  Speaking of D&D and the plans there beyond building a group and playing again, the wife bought a set of dry-erase tiles and then okayed a Kickstarter for a bunch of fantasy and dungeon terrain.  With my collection of miniatures, those things point to some awesome dungeoneering opportunities, giving me even more reason to want to play again!!!  I can just imagine those beautiful layouts taking up the dining room table and surrounded by eager players holding gobs of dice and pushing their adventurers around the 3D representation of the scariest dungeon they've ever seen...  And, thanks to my wife and her infinite attempts to appease her grown-up child-husband, those days are coming. 

  We got some X-Wing in, played a bunch of Pokemon (I haven't changed my beat-stick deck yet as it almost never loses, but I still come in second in each of the tournies we've done...  HOW!?!?), remembered some Star Realms and Munchkin, and added some laser beams and goats in the form of Exploding Kittens.  It hasn't been a very fun two years, but there has been fun found whenever I can corral the people.  After all, I can't spend all my time doing homework when I'm not working, right?

  I've been very excited and never disappointed at all that GW is doing and I'm even happier to have a role in bringing another great game company to life through hefty Kickstarters.  But I'll go into detail on all that stuff later (I hope).  Right now, I'm more interested in what you guys have been doing while I was busy.  What games are you excited about, have been playing, or are really curious about?  Have I missed anything that you've enjoyed?  Let me know in the comments below!

Hmmm...

  So we all heard that Games Workshop is bringing back the Specialist Games department.  That's the division that used to be in charge of such oldies as Epic, Blood Bowl, Necromunda, Mordheim, and even BFG and Warmaster snuck their way onto the wall under that label.  Many in the grey-beard community believe that some of these are the best games that GW ever produced.

  I can't really deny that as I really fell into GW with Necromunda.  Although I was painting 40k models (and even the rare elf from Citadel), I wasn't a serious hobbyist until I ripped open that Christmas wrapping to find the Orlocks and Goliaths facing off.  From there, my Ultramarines became a real army (I had given the last one away to someone who knew what they were doing... memories...) and I even donned the Power Armour for a while!  So hearing that GW was making this move definitely didn't hurt my feelings.

  Well played, GW, well played.  I still have a crapton of Necromunda stuff (and my buddy happens to have a bunch as well), Epic stuff (IG and the obligatory chapter of Ultramarines), and BFG (Eldar, SM, IG, and I wish I had a Chaos fleet!).  But then I had a thought- what if this new division is indeed going to release some little games like that (imagine another rehash of 'Space Marine', the first Epic game), but they will take over support and production of the board games that we're coming to know.

  Let me play the 'conspiracy theorist' here- GW makes a bit of a killing from licensing fees, especially from the very success Fantasy Flight Games.  Remember that the quality of the games from them is very good, and sometimes we even wish that GW could produce as well as FF.  But wait!  They can!  Remember the release of Space Hulk back in 2009?  That game actually won some awards for board quality alone- on top of being a staple of GW gamers back to the Stone Ages!  GW definitely has the ability to produce such quality, and they're flexing they're muscles on these games.  

  Betrayal at Calth,  very much like Assassinorum Execution Force, seemed like little more than a money-grab by the evil empire.  Most people ignored the Assassin game because they already had most of those models (who needs 3 Chaos Marines, anyway?!) and nobody trusted GW after the Dreadfleet debacle (although I've heard nothing but good from people that have it).  But I, like a gazillion other people, fell for the money-grab and bought two.  TWO.  And then I opened the box up and realized just how awesome a deal it really was.  

   And then I played it.  I played it with my kids, my wife, and even my buddy from out-of-state, and they all enjoyed it.  In fact, I like it so much that I think it could be the next AOS-style adaptation of a game if GW ever had to kill 40k.  I mean, it wouldn't be too hard to switch to that system and produce fold-out hex-maps the way Wizkidz does for Heroclix...  But that's all craziness taken to its extension.  What is the point is that GW is now firing up the "new" Specialist Games division to produce these one-offs (with a future, mind you) and possibly take back the license from FF or even just 'ride that wave' that FF creates.  How much does it really make sense?  I'm just sayin'...

  Regardless, I'm super happy to hear about the resurrection of 'the old days' a bit and I'm actually impressed enough to blog about a game that I was just trying to 'get a deal' on.  Let me know what y'all think in the comments below (I love reading those even months later!).

And, as always, Happy Gaming!

It's been and gonna be awhile...

  Sorry about the long-term absence.  Apparently, it turns out that I'm not nearly as smart as I used to be and my coursework has been especially humbling.  There was a point in time when the U.S. military was going to pay to make me a rocket scientist and I could recite Shakespeare verbatim.  Today, I can't remember which superhero movie we're up to and I'm having troubles adding anything that isn't an Army List.  I miss writing army lists...

 
  I did have to finally get excited again, as I found the Horus Heresy board game coming out- and it's MY TWO ARMIES!!!  Being a huge fan of the Calth War and all things Guilliman, and being he outcast in the hobby community (the boys scouts and the jehovah's witnesses of the universe), I was a tad bit surprised.  Something like this:

  Remember that I never thought that GW should have done the novels or the adaptation of the game for 30k. I feel like some myths need to remain myths.  But Black Library proved they could do it and FW has gone ape-nuts with the stuff.  If only it weren't so expensive.  If only, let's say, there was a box game that included plastic, cheap models to enter that world.  Yep, my eyes were still wide.

  While the box game is meant to see the models inside painted for both legions, I am having the conundrum of figuring out what I want to do.  After all, the game itself might actually be pretty cool (check out a run-down of the rules at Spikey Bits blog).  In that case, I won't have to choose.  But what happens if I buy two boxes?  Well, I'm thinking that my often-ignored Ultramarines are gonna get some reinforcements...

  But these are all just pipe-dreams right now.  I have two battle companies of Ultramarines currently waiting to be painted (and I even have the spray paint, so I have no excuses) already, plus this is supposed to be the 'Year of the Greenskin' for me.  I've got to stay focused (or just get focused).  And I have so many campaign ideas (anyone remember Black Reach?)...

  However, I'm still trying to complete my schoolwork and not feel dumb, so it may be a while before I get to test my temptations.  Ugh, homework...  But this had me so excited that I had to check in.  What is everyone else thinking?

  And once you get the game yourself- Happy Gaming!