Miniature KITT

Here we have the iconic Knight Industries Two Thousand, colloquially known as KITT. It's rendered here as a 28mm scale model for the 7TV metaskirmish game, painted by yours truly. 
 

The Priest and the Pitchfork Zombie

Priest
Torch
Pitchfork
Zombie moans
A clash of two species
Faith at a fever pitch, forks up
A scent of ascension dissipates forever
Blood, fire, and steel clash in dissonance; a shower of sparks, a spray of ichor; ARGH!

Last Night on Earth Zombies

I've painted some of the zombies that came with Last Night on Earth, a pretty good zombies vs humans board game. The playing pieces aren't that detailed, but adding some paint still leaves them looking better than they did as plain grey plastic. 
 

Fury of Dracula Playing Pieces

These Fury of Dracula pieces are about half the size of the 28 to 32 mm figures I usually paint, so the details aren't terribly fine. Still, I think these look okay for what they are, and better than plain grey plastic. 
 

Men vs. Zombies!!!

Over the holiday break I painted the shotgun guys from the Zombies!!! board game. They're even smaller than 28mm scale, and these pieces are not finely detailed; I'd call them tokens rather than miniatures. The paint jobs are simplistic, but I think they look at least a little better than they did when they were just monochromatic plastic. 
 

Western Legends

Today Sean came over for a couple of games of Western Legends, a board game where you take on the role of an Old West figure of legend and perform deeds of deviltry or derring-do to become the greatest legend of the era. We played two games: Sean ran away with a massive victory in the first by finishing off his escapades with some rather intense carousing, and he won the second by a comfortable margin by arresting my character (Jesse James), mining tons of gold, and finishing off with some more revelry. 

This was the first game played in the library space I've been converting for some years now. There's finally space for a small gaming table, what's left of my physical books, and most of my Lego and gaming material. Perhaps I'll finish this project in time for retirement. 

We also screened two cult films: The Visitor, a truly off-the-wall quasi-religious science fiction spectacle from Italy starring John Huston, Glenn Ford, Lance Henriksen, and Shelley Winters; and Impulse, In which William Shatner chews the scenery as never before in a 1970s serial killer spectacle. 

A good day! 

Drifters and Prospectors

Here are a pair of drifters and a pair of prospectors for the board game Shadows of Brimstone. I used speed paints for these, and I'm pretty happy with the results; the details look fine and the colours are vibrant. 
 

New Californians

Months ago, I painted these miniatures for the Fallout: New California board game expansion. To my eyes, the Mr. Handy robot and the person in power armour turned out okay, while the rest are middling at best. I think my painting skills have improved since I tackled this motley crew. 

G&G IV.V Day One: Circvs Maximvs

Were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic, I`d be over at Mike`s place for Gaming & Guinness XV right now. Instead, we`re meeting virtually for G&G IV.V, racing chariots in Tabletop Simulator. 

The Fall of Seafall

Tonight, after  two  three years to the month of playing, Scott, Sean, Mike, and I completed SeaFall, a so-called "Legacy" game with a board, pieces, characters, and rule set that evolve as you play.  In SeaFall, players take on the role of a provincial leader who competes with other leaders to explore the sea and unlock its secrets and treasures. Players earn points for building colonies, upgrading ships, finding treasures and secrets, trading goods, and accomplishing tasks. Player choices alter the way the map looks and plays, as well as their own characters and ships, and there are several important strategic and tactical decisions to make every turn, and, more widely, over the course of the long arc of the total number of games that it takes to finish the game. 

The game has a number of strengths and weaknesses. Exploring the sea and its islands and uncovering its secrets for uncertain rewards is fun, and provides a sense of progress and accomplishment. You get to customize your ships, colonies, islands, and advisors with names of your own choosing, often to humorous effect. Each game ends with a set of rewards commensurate with the number of points you earn, and those who finish last need not fear, because there's a balance mechanic that gives you a leg up on other players the next time you play. 

On the other hand, it's very hard to switch your overall strategy midway through the campaign, so once you focus on a particular playstyle, you're incentivized to stick with it or fall further and further behind your rivals. We also suspected early on that Scott was going to run away with the win, and that certainly proved to be the case. Congratulations, Scott, Emperor of the Provinces! 

All in all, I'd say it was a rewarding experience, but having completed the game, I can't say I'm tempted to return to it for the post-conclusion play options. Our heroes have earned their rest. 

The Door into Rescue

Steve spent some time painting the doors and walls of our Arena: The Contest game. They look great! He and Jeff and I navigated these spooky corridors last night, defeating a fearsome vampire and his sultry minions, rescuing some blood-drained captives along the way. Harrowing! 

Face to Face with Dread Cthulhu

98,000 Calories

On Saturday, a half-dozen friends assembled at Steve's for some board gaming. During the evening, several of my buddies used mobile apps to record the beers they were drinking, in much the same way as I use Letterboxd to record the films I've watched.

"Someone should make an app like that for Coke," I said.

"They'll never do it," Jeff replied. "People would stop drinking it."

I knew exactly what Jeff meant; if people realized how much soda they were drinking, they'd become more aware of the extent of their habit. So I quickly calculated the health impact of the Coke I drink, estimating two cans a day at 140 calories a can. My eyes bulged when I saw that amounted to a staggering 98,000 calories a year, which Pete and Mike helpfully translated into about 25 pounds of extra weight a year. Holy Moley! No wonder I've fattened up over the years.

Arena Night

Lego Advent Calendar Haiku 2019 Day 16

The game of kings rests

Betwixt mundane and unreal

The pieces whisper

Arena: The Contest

Many months ago, Steve, Jeff, and I kickstarted Arena: The Contest, a tactical fantasy battle boardgame with roleplaying elements. A couple of weeks ago our game finally arrived, and we unboxed a truly prodigious amount of gaming materials, including at least two dozen 28mm scale miniatures, several large miniatures including a big dragon and a REALLY BIG dragon, and a bunch of indoor terrain for extra immersion. Unboxing all the swag was a lot of fun, but as with all games, the most important question is: is it fun? 

It's a blast. The three of us played the introductory module, a player vs. environment encounter that saw our four heroes (I played two characters, since the scenario called for four good guys to balance the number of enemies) make their way through a lava-filled citadel to battle a number of monstrous thugs. I'm happy to report that the game is easy to learn but admirably complex, with many tactical choices available to players. The game art is gorgeous, hero characters have interesting combinations of abilities, and the maps are immersive and challenging (at least so far). I look forward to trying some player vs. player matches and the main campaign, which introduces roleplaying elements. 

May the Cube Be with You

The Looping Nightmare

I awoke at 3 am this morning with my heart pounding. I was enjoying a run-of-the-mill nightmare about fending off a horde of vampires when I realized I was re-entering a recurring death trap. 

Imagine a series of long hallways, dimly lit, each ending in a dead end that requires puzzle-solving to open a trap door to access the next hallway. In this particular iteration of the dream, Pete, Totty and I, along with Brad Pitt, my former colleague Lorinda from ATCO, and a young woman I've never met before, were gathered in hallway one. 

"Oh man, this again," I say to Pete. "Do you remember anything from last time?" 

As we speak, I realize that I, in fact, remember how to unlock the first two traps. Bond-like, I use some fishing line to release a catch on the first secret door, which slides aside to reveal a bookcase. I tug on one book on the second-highest shelf, and the bookshelf slides aside. We all cram, single file, down a narrow, pitch-black corridor, the bookshelf slamming shut behind us. I feel a metal pole jutting out of the wall, and I realize I don't remember how we bypassed this trap last time. 

"Does anyone remember how to do the pole..?" 

Mike steps up to handle it, everyone shuffling back and forth to make room, while Pete and I continue our conversation. 

"How many times have we done this?" I ask. 

"I'm not sure," Pete says. "You look around 50 now, and this all started back in university." 

"What's the farthest we've gotten?" 

"My memory isn't perfect, but I feel like Ticheler made it through nine or ten traps before he was dissolved in acid." 

I wince. "I'm sure he's looking forward to giving that one a try again." 

"Maybe we'll get that far this time," Pete shrugs. Mike has successfully managed the pole trick, and a door slides open to reveal a casual gaming lounge furnished with low couches and short tables, each with a board game on it - but no game matches any seen in the real world. 

The young woman I don't know approaches me. She's terrified. "I don't remember which games are harmless distractions and which can kill you if you make the wrong move." 

"I'm sorry...I don't remember either. At least none of these are mandatory." 

She nods, but she slides into one of the low couches anyway and starts playing a game that uses straws and coloured marbles. I suddenly remember that some of the marbles are coated in deadly contact poison, but my throat seizes up and I can't warn her. 

"This is the lowest-rated game on board game geek," Pete notes, and when I awaken I have a strong urge to look it up. 

She stays behind while Pete, Totty, and I join the large crowd gathering at the lounge's exit. As we push through the doors, we leave behind the near-blackness of the lounge and plunge into a brightly-lit series of institutional staircases. Hundreds of people are lined up, and we shuffle along. We know that once we make it down the staircases, we enter the deadliest part of the death maze. 

"Over and over again until we escape," I mutter. "It's the afterlife. Is it hell? Maybe Steve can tell us." 

"I don't think Steve's actually been through this yet," Mike says. 

"Lucky Steve." 

"Rob was compiling a video with all our clearest memories of how to get through the first few traps," Pete notes. 

"That's stuck in the real world, though," I reply. "Doesn't help us here." 

Mike takes a left turn down a staircase no one else is using, and Pete and I follow. We go down two flights, and to our surprise, we reach a large parking garage on the ground floor. The exit is open. 

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mike says, arms outstretched. We dash into the open air. I pump my fists in delight. 

"YES! Has anything ever been this REAL?" I shout. "FUCK YOU, YOU BASTARDS!" I scream at the sky, jumping up and down. 

My joy is short-lived, though, because I wake up, and I realize the escape was not, in fact, real. It's 3 am and I wish I could just stay up. Because going back means another iteration, another opportunity to die horribly. I made it out this time, but it's the first time in hundreds of tries that doesn't end in blistering agony of one form or another. 

NOTE: I shared this dream with some friends, and Colin sent a chill down my spine by writing back: "The lowest-ranked game on board game geek is something called 'Passages and Purgatory.'" He really got me, then admitted he made it up. That prompted Mike to do the math...but that's Mike's story to tell. 

Primitive As Can Be

Last Friday, Mike, Pete, and I sat down for their first (my second) game of Robinson Crusoe, a cooperative game in which castaways struggle to survive on an island after a shipwreck. 

This game is incredibly challenging - it's a matter of choosing the right actions at the right time in the hopes of having enough food and shelter to survive - and it takes some investment of time to set up. But the theme is fantastic, and I really enjoy the dynamic gameplay. We survived eight of twelve rounds before succumbing to the weather, having focused too much on gathering wood for a woodpile and not enough time building a sturdy shelter to protect us from the weather, the main antagonist. 

Will play again. Smarter next time, I hope. 

Zombie Panorama

Here are some zombies I painted ages ago. Unfortunately, they're useless, as I haven't finished the rest of the zombies needed for Last Night on Earth. But I'll get to it one day!