Focused work: Noh Empire Assembled!

Beautiful!

Now that I'm picking up the hobby again, one strategy I've decided to follow is Focus.  Us gamers love to try the latest board game (Star Wars Rebellion or Star Wars Destiny?) or follow the latest Kickstarter (Relic Knights 2.0?), and why not?  It's a hobby!  Just do whatever is interesting!  However, with my collection of unpainted Relic Knights, Super Dungeon Explore, Infinity, Malifaux, not to mention 3d-printed proxies for Star Wars X-wing and Armada I'm working on, I didn't have enough focus to get any one thing done. 

A New Year, A Fresh Start on the hobby, and Relic Knights 2.0

Dynamic models from Relic Knights 1.0

Wow! It's been a while!  Lots has changed since the last time: I graduated, I moved, I got a job, I got married, and more recently I bought a house.  And when you spend all your time remodeling said house, not a whole lot of time is left for hobbies! But all of that is winding down now, and my new goal is to get my mountain of miniatures painted before a kid comes along.  And nothing gets the mojo going like following a Kickstarter: Relic Knights 2nd Edition =D.

Sedition Wars: Upping the Strain

I hate to admit it, but the Strain need all the help they can get. Don't get me wrong, i'm still loving the game, but it needs a bit of tweaking.  With the right mix of Vanguard units, it's pretty tough for the Strain to win, in at least campaign scenario 1 and 2.  Here some modifications i've gathered from the forums which i'm going to try out in the next game:

Sedition Wars: First Impressions

Convinced my roommate to play/try-out Sedition Wars on a weeknight! It was fun! Since then I've played it like 6x (mostly scenario 1) and I am pretty happy with the game.  More after the jump:

Painted Dwarf Fighter hero from SDE

Never toss a dwarf!

Hey folks, here's my first mini from Super Dungeon Explore painted up.  I choose the dwarf since he was my least favorite hero to try a new priming scheme, but now that he's painted, he's my most favorite!  Plus he's plays really well too, a tank immune to knockdown effect, perfect against the dragonlings in the base set!

I'm particularly fond of the beard work and the Non-Metal Metallic i used on the ax/shield.  It's my first time using the NMM technique where you paint the reflection using shades of grey instead of actual metallic paint.    I though it turned out fairly well considering i kept it simple and didn't use a ton of shades (only ~5).  

The priming technique i used this time is gray spray paint primer and then dry-brush white to highlight the details. I think it works better because although i like white primer for bright color, it always seems to take a thicker layer to get an even coat than grey or black.  Grey is a good balance.  The white only picks up on the  edges which gives your color basecoat a natural slight highlight.   Also the extra layers of white builds up where you want the build up (on the edges) so it's better than using a wash which fills in areas and decreases overall detail.  conceptually.  it may not actually make a significant difference.

Anyway, the game is great and we've been playing it a lot so i'll be painting the rest of the heroes up soon!

Uncharted Seas with Pirates PocketModels

Highpoint in the game: see that chinese ship on fire (cruiser) in the middle?  I maneuvered my 3 frigates (triangle sails-below) close for a killing shot, except it "magazine exploded" spectacularly taking out my entire frigate squadron.  Holy crap!   Used a blue plastic party table cloth under my transparent hex grid for a nice ocean effect.

I saw these Pirates PocketModels being sold as a massive discount of 20 pack for $10 at Target, and I thought to myself, what a great deal - what game could i play with it?   =)   Naturally, Uncharted Seas came to mind as a fleet-level naval combat game which needs lots of ships, and i've been meaning to try out the game mechanics as a proxy for applying Firestorm Armada to my Star Wars Starship Battles figures.  Read on for my conversion and review!

WIP: Painted Castle Ravenloft figures

Instead of the usual friday night foray into the depths of Castle Ravenloft with my gaming friends, we decided to have a miniature painting party instead! and painted up some of the heroes and monsters from the game!

Navia Dratp in progress painting

In Progress: All I need to do is the eye detail, and maybe freehand the orange/red tattoos on his shoulder.

Recently I've been working on some Navia Dratp figures I've had primed up for the longest time.  They're part of a Japanese chess/Shogi variant where these special units can be "summoned" to the chessboard. At approximately 54mm scale, the detail on these guys are pretty nice and they're really easy to paint.  I've been using them as my practice into the world of miniature painting.  Plus the set of them were like dirt cheap since the game's been out of print for years now. The game is pretty good, lots of fun with different win conditions, but it suffered from terrible naming and probably bad marketing. And some of the character designs are just plain weird.  These two are among my favorites.  The pose on the Pterodactyl (below) is pretty dynamic too.  My painting technique here is pretty much all dry-brushing.  I haven't really moved up to blending or advanced techniques like that but it's amazing how good you can get something to look with just a simple darker color basecoat and dry-brushing up the lighter shades.  Also, this size 2 Filbert is my newest favorite brush for detailed, controlled dry-brushing. =)

probably add the red tattoos on his head an call it done!

Homebrew Shurro chess set

Shuuro is this sweet new chess alternative game I wanted to try out but given my poor grad student status I couldn't afford the $80 price tag for the 2-player base + 4-player expansion.  Really, the first thought you get when you see this is why don't people just make it themselves?  So I set out to do just that and saved $40, but that's because i scored a sweet ebay deal for 7 chess sets.  W/ithout Ebay, most likely the cheapest you can possibly build this for is ~$50.  Yeah, that's right, you need 7 chess sets for 4 player set, 5 chess sets for 2 players.  Is it worth saving $30 to spend time making it yourself?  Read on and find out!

Getting started in miniature painting

Don't skip the prep work!  I've tried painting without cleaning or priming and it just makes life harder in the end.

So you just got yourself a shiny (or plastic) miniature, now what? You want to try out this "miniature painting" thing without breaking the bank on something you're not sure you'll enjoy? What's the most cost effective way to start while avoiding common beginner pitfalls? I'm here to answer all that plus what tools do you need, brushes sizes, paints, and priming and more so you'll be off to a good start!

DIY Paint Rack

Made myself a paint rack out of foam board + hot glue, very easy, probably took about an hour.  Shelves are 3.5cm deep (size of my largest paint pot (Reaper Pros), and craft paint bottles), and 3cm tall per step.  5 support struts over 20inch length.  3 steps for 4 rows (counting the ground row).  Looks great and it was free!

Fully populated.  most of my metallic paint not here since they aren't used often.

Miniature Painting Resolution!

If you are going to practice a skill every day, set up an environment conducive for the activity.  In my case,  I cleaned up my workbench and put ALL my paints on display, ready to be used.  If i'm going to be painting daily for only an hour, i don't want to waste time looking for paints.   Paint pots at the top group by color, brushes and tools on the right for easy access, and drying model pieces on the left on floral foam stands so i can paint a piece in the center and swap out for the next piece.  Maybe i should make a paint rack.

 

I tell people i paint miniatures but the reality is i haven't painted all that much.  7 "real" miniatures of Navia Dratp to be exact.  After i got started with navia dratp, i got all into it, read a bunch of painting blogs, bought loads paints and quality brushes, then got burnt out with painting repetitive Arcane Legions figures.  Since then, i've amassed a bunch of interesting models, but never got back into actually painting them!    I keep reading miniature painting blogs but it all seems kinda hollow since i don't actually paint.  

I've decided that i really DO want to paint all these miniatures and i do want to get really good at it.  The best way to learn how to do something, is to stop reading about it and to do it.  The only real way to get better at something is to do it every day.  The reason why i cook so well is because i cook pretty much every other day.   Thus, i've resolved to paint 1 hr a day, and to paint my existing collection before buying any more figures!   (but maybe i'll ask for that super sweet Winged Nazgul on Fell Beast model for Christmas  ^__^  ).   

Of course,  i have a slew of other skills i want to improve with the 1 hour/day treatment (like martial arts, music, language) but let's try one resolution at a time. 

Working with Chipboard

Basing with chipboard hex tiles. I ended up spackling the foam hills to cover up the ugly cellular grain.

Ah! Nothing like a game of Mechwarrior to look forward to, to get you making terrain again! I have figured out my terrain-making strategy: before i kept thinking i should design my terrain to fit both 1" square (for Star Wars Minis) and 2" hex (for Mechwarrior) maps and then getting stuck cause the base size and scale is different and whatnot. But it turns out there are a slew of great 1" square grid maps for star wars gaming with lots of features, so it doesn't really need terrain, except for doors because being able to to tell if they are open or not visually helps. Whereas with Mechwarrior, they don't have lots of good 2" hex maps. So it makes sense to just make terrain for them. Here is where chipboard comes in.

Star Wars Miniatures: a mini-review and map resources

Ah! Sorry folks, haven't posted anything for a while now, but been working on several new posts!
-Lady Gaga's Disco stick build
-Arcane Legions
-New cooking recipe, Banana Ice cream!
-miniature gaming
My problem is always wanted to collect more info so i have a more complete post, but maybe that's not the point of blogging, eh? Read on for a mini-review of Star wars Minis, which in my opinion is a great game.

Best Background Music for Tabletop Miniature Gaming

For Arcane Legions: Hans Zimmer, hands down. Que up some Hans Zimmer in GlooveShark, play all, and enjoy a night of thematic music for your epic conflicts! Actually, Hans Zimmer is probably the best background music for any tabletop miniature game, but maybe more for historical/fantasy themes like Warhammer Fantasy.

For Mechwarrior or sci-fi themed games (WH40k), the soundtrack for MechWarrior 2 (old computer game) is excellent. Lots of slow and heavy beat tracks that just exudes a 100-ton walking robot.

For Star Wars Miniatures: John William's Star Wars soundtracks of course!

Board Game Review: Dominion

"DOMINION" he said with a gleam in his eye

Dominion is basically our new favorite game bypassing Settlers of Catan as the most frequently-played. Yes, it's THAT good.

Miniature Gaming: Arcane Legions Review

Tonight, we dine in ARCANE LEGIONS!

Finally played my first game of Arcane Legions the other day! For those of you who don't know, Arcane Legions is a mass-action, tabletop miniature game, focusing on scores of troops in various formations for epic-scale battles! Between spending all my time painting the Roman faction and magnetizing the entire game, i've not actually played the darn game until recently! So here is my review based on the first playtest.

The right way to introduce a game

The Hand of God

I love games. All sorts of games: Board games, collectible cards games (CCGs), and more recently tabletop miniature games, i play them all! But the only problem is you need someone to play with!

So the question is how do i teach a game to someone so that they'll want to play again later?

Rule 1. Simplify the game
What you want to do for the first game is to just focus on the mechanics of the game. You want the newbie to get familiarized with the basics of how the game works. Although alot of the strategy is in the special rules and details, it's hard for a newbie to grasp those strategies even if you straight up tell him because he's trying to learn the basics of the system at the same time. Here are some specific suggestions for different game types:

• CCGs (Magic, Star Wars CCG, World of Warcraft TCG) - Ignore all the game text and just focus on the common card attributes like cost, attack, defense required for basic play. There is a reason why starter decks for Magic mostly include basic creatures with no game text. In a well-developed CCGs there are a ton of bold keywords/special rules and for a first game they should be ignored.
• Tabletop miniature games (Mechwarrior Clix, Star Wars Minis, Warhammer) - A lot of the tactical depth are in special rules for attacking and model/character specific rules. Again, i'd say leave most of those out and just focus on the core aspects of unit movement and attack mechanics. Warhammer is probably the worst game in terms of number of special rules; you have entire books dedicated to faction-specific traits, tons of special characters, and even the rule book says it's easier to ask someone how to play than read the rules.
• Boxed games/board games (Settlers of Catan, Dominion, Carcassone) - generally these are designed to be more accessible for the lay person, and you usually don't need to simplify the game for a new player.

Rule 2: Let them win
This is something more psychological. If you completely blow a newbie away with your outstanding knowledge of tactic and rules in the first game, they'll feel that they never had a chance and they'll not want to play again. FAIL. You can't rub a win in a person's face when they're just learning how to play. Save the victory dance for a worthy opponent! Take the first game casually, keep the mood light, talk about your tactics and plan, and use encouraging suggestions. In fact, let them win the first game! It makes them feel better and they'll want to play again!

Better yet, if you can have two newbies play against each other and you act as the GM (Game Master/moderator) that's probably the best situation. It keeps the skill level fair AND you get one more player for future games!

After the first game
Depending on the complexity of the game, you may still wish to play a few "tutorial" like games before going serious. You can slowly introduce a couple new rules in each game, and if you can mix it into the scenario even better! For example, i made a sequence of 3 Mechwarrior Clix games where I introduced artillery strikes the 2nd game and flying units in the 3rd game. Video game makers do a good job doing this, just think of how the early Starcraft levels were designed.

Conclusion: Maybe you thinking that this is all quite obvious and I would say that you're right! But the take away message from this article is to consider the first game in terms of maximizing fun for your friend, not for you. If he/she has a good time, he will more likely play the game again and hence the game you love gets played more often, which means more fun for everyone in the long run. And remember, it's just a game! Have fun!

Painted Roman Army from Arcane Legions

All the units of the Roman faction from the starter set have been painted! Finally!

Here's the line of thinking that started it all:
-Is there a tabletop miniature wargame with an Asian-themed army? Oooo, Arcane Legions has a Chinese-themed army, called the Han faction! And it's cheap!
-I don't want to mess up painting the Han army, so i'll paint a few Romans units to test out prep, prime, paint, and finishing techniques.
-They look pretty good, i should just finish painting the entire Roman army.

Man, that took forever.  Nothing kills creativity and excitement like monotony, and painting 10 identical units gets boring quick. Maybe if the sculpts were better, like units from games workshop with lots of detail, it would be more interesting to paint an entire army. But that means it would also take much more time to finish. I guess that's why most miniature games are skirmish-level, i.e. usually 5 to 10 units per side duking it out, because it's much easier to get them painted and start playing the game. Arcane Legions is a mass-action level, so 4 or 5 formations of 10 units each is typical.

Hateraid: I hated painting legs. Curved structures can't be painted with one careful brush stroke. You have to turn the figure. And each figure has two legs! and two arms! What a pain!

Loveraid:
-They look great! Much more fun to play with good-looking army.
-Worked out painting techniques like priming and finishing. Settled in on the ones i liked with a few test pieces.
-My brush stroke is much more controlled now. You get better after 40 figures so you paint more efficiently and faster.
-Figured out how paint consistency is related to how much paint is loaded on the brush. To keep thinned paint from pooling in crevices, you have to remove enough paint from the brush so it acts more like dry-brushing and paint will stay on the raised surfaces.

Future:
I'm probably only going to paint detailed, inidividual figures from now on. It keeps thing more interesting for me. I'll paint the Han faction when i'm all out of individual miniatures.

What makes Settlers of Catan a great game?

In our gaming group, Settlers of Catan is by far one of the games we've played the most, making it one of our favorite games. In my musings to understand what makes a great game, i've come up with a theory i'd like to posit here: Settlers of Catan is a great game because it "gives you the illusion of control, but is actually mostly based on chance." Let me explain.

Luck vs Skill

Most games usually involves luck and skill, which I see as a continuous line from all luck to all skill. Skill-based games give you sense of control and satisfaction that comes from the challenge of learning and playing against other skilled opponents. The classic example of an 100% Skill game is Chess. There is no element of chance and the seasoned player will win pretty much all the time. Every move you make has a direct result on the game outcome giving you a great sense of control. On the other end of the Spectrum is CandyLand which is 100% luck. Everything is dependent on the dice roll and you basically have no decision-making capability. A machine which rolled the dice and moved the pieces could play the game for you. The upside is that these games are very fair for new players. Hence, these games are fun because anyone can win (and they tend to be easier to learn the rules). Most games fall somewhere between of all-luck and all-skill, trading off the benefits of one for the other.

What about Settlers of Catan?

The reason we play Settlers so often is because there are many strategic options to explore, giving it great replay value. It is a very active game and there is very little down-time; you are constantly gathering resources and trading even when it's not your turn. At the same time, the game is very fair for new players and it is quite common that new players win the game over seasoned veterans (given the right initial conditions*). This is why we like to play the game at parties because even new players can have fun.

Because of this fact that new players have a good chance of winning over seasoned players, it gives good evidence that the game is actually mostly based on chance. However it doesn't feel like it because you are constantly doing stuff: drawing cards, trading with other players, and building roads and cities. You feel like you are always in control and allowed to pursue your own strategic agenda. Being a game that "gives you the illusion of control, but is actually mostly based on chance," give you the benefits of both Luck and Skill-based games in one, which I think is why Settlers of Catan is a great game.

*The biggest effect on outcome of the game is probably initial placement of settlements, which directly determines your chance of resource gathering from the dice roll. We found in our games that giving new players guidance on placing their initial settlements (on high pip count, 6 and 8's) makes the game fair for them to win. Also, it means they're very active throughout the game, constantly drawing resource cards, and thus they have fun playing, meaning they'll play again.