Podcasts for Gamers: Meeples and Miniatures

I've listened to Neil Shuck's "Meeples and Miniatures" sporadically for years.  The early years were pretty rough, but this year I realized Neil has really hit his stride. He's enthusiastic, thorough and fair and his inclusion of guests have really made this my "go to" gaming podcast.  My favorites are the "View from the Veranda" episodes with Henry Hyde (of Battlegames Magazine). Henry's cheerfulness and enthusiasm for wargaming is infectious.  I also really enjoyed the pair of painting podcasts he did with Steve Archbold and the shows with Richard Clarke of "Too Fat Lardies".  Good stuff, and with close to 100 episodes out there's a wealth of material to listen too if you haven't been there from the beginning.

Historicon 2012, Photos and Review

Our final day at Historicon would need to be cut short for the drive home, but we were signed up for a pair of games, and I had a ton of items I wanted to pick up from the vendors. Some photos from our final day and my review of the con after the jump.

Fireball Forward

I was pretty pooped by Saturday morning but joined some friends of mine for a Fireball Forward demo game.  We really enjoyed the tank battle from the previous day and wanted to give the infantry game a try just to make sure there was no "weirdness" in the squad vs. squad rules to put us off on picking up the rules.

Fireball Forward Americans.  Easy Co. didn't advance much farther than their starting area in our game. Doh!

The battle was a bit of a slaughter, with the American paratroopers suffering from poor luck and perhaps some poor strategy and losing the game on turn 3 of a 6 turn game. Still, the rules seemed intuitive, the painting clinic had convinced my buddy's wife she could handle painting an army, and the WWII fun we'd had convinced my friend to start a German 15mm scale force... as long as his wife painted it.

Success! I've been wanting to start Eastern Front gaming, but anticipated having to paint both sides. We headed to the vendor area and I spent the next few hours picking up Germans, Russians, rules and terrain. The vendor area seemed to have fewer vendors this year, but stil more than enough and I wound up dropping more money this year than in any past convention.

SAGA

Non-combatants caught between opposing forces squeal as the thundering cavalry approaches

After lunch, we reconvened for a four-on-four SAGA match.  I'd heard good things about the rules, but hadn't had a chance to try them. I picked the Normans, but facing a group of fairly timid Anglo-Danes, didn't have much of a chance to see them in action.

I did find that the cavalry was a little more fragile and the archers a little more effective than I had originally thought. Seeing the rules in action also helped me figure out what sort of figures to pick up initially, but with the day winding down I didn't have time to head back and pick up any Normans. I'll have to hit up Architects of War later this year for that.

Finale

On the way out we caught a glimpse of a 28mm Eastern Front Crossfire table being set up. It looked awesome, and with Crossfire being our first wargame, pulling away to head home was a tough decision. Hoping to play the GM's game next year.

How was Historicon? AWESOME.  I've seen a lot of kvetching on TMP - "the hall was too loud", "the cement floor hurt my feet", "the food was yucky". I experienced all of those same issues, but they failed to put a damper on my time at the convention. The games were great: fun GMs, incredible tables, and good natured players. I got to try a lot of games, none of which I knew the rules for, got inspired by the great modeling work, and completely leave the "real world' behind. Also, my wife and son had a terrific time as well. There's lots to do in the Fredericksburg area, the convention hall itself as well as its location was much nicer either Valley Forge or Lancaster, and the free painting clinics were fantastic for my son and our wives.  The hotel next door was also very nice, with friendly staff and good amenities.

Even before our last day at the con, my entire group was planning to attend next year and hoping to rope in another family we're friends with. A+ HMGS!

Historicon 2012, Friday

We are having a BLAST at Historicon.  I cam with a friend of mine, both of our wives and my son. All of us are having a tremendous time - we're already planning to attend next year. Some of the games I've played in have been the closest, epic gaming I've ever done. Some pics and thoughts after the jump.

Fireball Forward

My buddy and I got our start in wargaming with WW2 using Crossfire.  We really enjoyed it, but thought the rules needed a little tweaking. I also wanted a little more out of the tank rules, but after waiting for years to see some sort of update, we've given up and are looking for a new WW2 rules set. There are tons of Fireball Forward demo games being run, so we decided to give it a shot.  Wanting to see how the tank rules perform we picked a North Africa scenario: 17 panzers racing to break through a thin line held by a meager 9 British Cruisers acting as a rear guard.

As one of the British players I spent the entire game on the edge of my sear.  My crummy Cruisers were no match for the Panzer IIIs and IVs bearing down on us, and the light Panzer IIs were a dangerously close to swinging around our flanks. The tank rules were simple bu just detailed enough to give each tank type its own character.  There were little extra rules that added some chrome - variable range on tank guns based on the attack roll, the chance of running out of ammo or getting a gun jam, considerations for moving.

The scenario we played was perfectly tuned. It was a tense battle throughout, but with some VERY lucky die rolls the British were able to knock out a number of panzers before scooting their remaining three tanks off the board edge, their mission complete.

No kidding, this was one of the best games I've ever played. We instantly became huge fans of Fireball Forward, and are hoping to get into another game before the con is over.

More War Games at Historicon

I played other games (including a demo of Bolt Action which was available at the con) and took snaps of a number of others.

Fanticide (?), a fantasy skirmish run by Architects of War that incorporates fantasy terrain features.

Hail Caesar.

Disappointed I couldn't get a chance to command those elephants!

Sharpe Practice

Sharpe Practice.

Command and Colors Samurai

Dungeon Conquest - Tribute to Dave Arneson

The last game we played of the day was going to be a fun little dungeon crawl my pal Mike was looking forward to.  I like to concentrate on historical games at Historicon, but I play everything and really love the old school Dungeons and Dragons rules.  I was happy to try out a fun little beer and pretzels game to finish off the day.

Three teams of four players each selected a character and began in opposite wings of a large cavern dungeon.  Our goal was to make our way through the cavern, collecting three "key crystals" which would teleport us to the final chamber where we would need to claim two ruby gems from the eyes of a demonic statue, all the while being attacked by nefarious dungeon denizens.

Our party.  My wizard is on the right :)

We begin to make our way into the caverns.

The cavern complex. The final chamber awaits us in the upper right of the photo.

Our party made our way through the cavern, slaying monsters, destroying their crystal pylons and collecting our stones. As we got deeper into the dungeon, we started skirmishing with the other teams who were also in pursuit of the jeweled eyes, and in no mood to see us snatch them away.  Luckily, our team got our keys first and teleported to the final chamber with another team in hot pursuit.

Two teams face off in the final chamber

Blue wizard blocks the door against 8 enemy players. 

The final chamber became the site of the most epic fantasy battle I've ever played.  Our two teams were locked in combat with each other, while the dungeon denizens raised a wall of fire to keep us at bay to summon more monsters to the final chamber.

Our team managed to slay the bulk of the other team in the chamber, which only resulted in both teams joining forces to stop us! Our meager band of four now had to contend with 8 other players, plus the enemy monsters run by 4 GMs. Yikes!

We had to pull every trick in the book out to survive. Our fighter made a suicide charge to delay the enemy teams! The wizard held another critical doorway by himself (yes, the wizard acted as a meat shield). The cleric suddenly saw an opening to dash to the demonic statue to pry out one of the two eyes we needed! As our team members fell under the onslaught fo the enemy teams and lizardmen guardians our final character, a paladin was only steps away from victory. With a tricky gambit involving a Ring of the Ram and voluntarily failed save, the paladin found himself pushed directly to the statue to pry out the final stone and claiming victory. It was nuts!

Our cleric prying one of the eyes from the statue,

Our paladin pries the last gem out, flanked by a silenced lich, a horde of enemies just out of frame.

Ok, maybe you had to be there. But that game required more brain power and effort than I've applied to a game in, maybe, ever.  Great game, great GMs, great players, truly one of the best gaming experiences I've had. So yes, I'm sure there are some purists who'd turn up their nose at a dungeon crawl at Historicon, but I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.

WHOO! LOVE HISTORICON!

Historicon 2012, Thursday

With my family in tow, I arrived at Historicon on Thursday to find the games I'd signed up for canceled. Despite that disappointment, I managed to have a great time. Pics from my first day at the convention after the jump.

Cog Wars

Despite my canceled games I managed to get into Cog Wars, a dark ages naval game and one of the games I'd scoped months ago when the PEL was released that I wanted to try.

Flames of War

A friend of mine played a Pacific landing Flames of War game, his first exposure to the rules.

There were a ton of great looking games. I managed to snap a few pics.

Gnome Wars

Big Battle Cry

Crimea by Wargames Illustrated

Various

Chariot races

Indiana Jones. When I stopped by he was attempting to escape a
horde of Nazis by swinging from that gantry with his whip. 

Middle East. Awesome helicopters hovering over the battlefield.

My pics do not do these games justice.  The scope and detail really can't be captured in my quick drive by shots.  Historicon is really something you need to experience in person. Having a lot of fun and looking forward to Day Two!