Friday, April 26, 2024

Have you played...Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy?

 A BIG 4X, in just a few hours...

The Galactic Center Defense System (GCDS) dominates the 
heart of the universe.

...although, for your first game a 'few' might still be 5-6!

First impressions

I'm going to presume that if you are here, you already have some knowledge of what Eclipse is, and perhaps how it plays. If not, turn to the usual sources like boardgamegeek or YouTube for more info! I'm just going to share some thoughts in this post.

After one, four player game (using the symmetrical human factions recommended for starting players), I came away with the following impressions:
  • With experience you could get this down to a 3 - 4 hour game, which is apparently fast for a game of this type (when compared to other games like Twilight Imperium.)
  • The player turn itself is simple - you have a limited number of actions to choose from, and what each does is straightforward.
  • The 'create your own' ships and fleet system of blueprints and upgrades works well, and offers some cool choices.
  • The game comes with storage trays for everything. This makes setup, play, and take down relatively easy (and even fun, as you can pass the trays around in game.)
  • The random draw each turn of new tech, increasing discounts for purchases as you buy, and the variety of tech, make that whole system exciting and integral to your approach.
  • Exploring and uncovering the galaxy is fun (but can be challenging depending on the cards you draw.)
  • Most turns have interesting decisions based on managing your economy and resources, alliances/ enemies. 
  • The feeling of 'down time' between turns is reduced as you have lots to consider and plan with your tech, fleet upgrades and more.
...are there potential issues? Sure.
  • Analysis paralysis can add to every turn for some players (like any game.)
  • If you pull some unlucky sectors/ tiles when you explore you can have a rocky start or be hemmed in. Depending on your approach to life that might be a huge downer, or simply a challenge to be overcome and a new path you need to adjust to.
  • If you like deterministic combat, the die rolls for conflict might frustrate you as you fail to land a hit roll after roll. 
  • If both sides in the combat are having a run of bad luck, the back-and-forth rolling might be frustrating for those in combat and the other players.
In this post I'll pick up on just three of my comments above and explore a bit further:
  1. Storage
  2. Economy
  3. Ship design 

Tray(z)

A feature of E: SDG that gets near universal acclaim (in the reviews I've seen) is the integrated storage system. Designed by Game Trayz, each player receives a 'Species Tray' to accompany their choice of playable race. This stores all the game components that the player needs in one easy-to-use tray...

The species tray for the black faction (bottom center),
showing the resource trackers.

  • Influence disks
  • Influence cubes
  • Species specific miniatures (18)
  • Starting sector hex
  • Turn summary tile
  • Ambassador tiles
  • Colony ship tiles (3)
More importantly, beyond being storage, these trays are an integral part of the game. If they were just a simple storage solution that would still be great for setup and take down, but you also use the trays every turn to track your resources and income. A simple track around the outside of the tray, combined with wheels on the lid from which you remove cubes, reveals these essential numbers to you (and your competitors...)

No less important in terms of convenience and gameplay are the Tech tray and Upgrade tray. The former accommodates the randomly-drawn tech tiles that appear each turn (of which you will have 114 in a bag). The latter holds all 282 (!) tiles that you will use to upgrade your ship blueprints on your species board.

Upgrade tray (top) and tech tray

At the beginning of each turn, you will draw a random assortment of tech tiles from a cloth bag, and then add them to the tech tray, making them available to research. In the draw, you might pick out rare technologies, which are added to the bottom of the tray. The upgrade tray holds every single upgrade tile, so if you decide to do the upgrade action, you can take the tray and choose a tile of the type you have researched.

Economy management

Every action you take on your turn will cost you. This is represented by moving a disk on your player sheet to the action you want to take. When you do so, a new cost is revealed from beneath the disk you moved, and that cost must be paid at the end of the turn. Do more - pay more! It is simple, easy to understand, but thought-provoking. I can do a lot of cool stuff, but should I, and what should I do?

In the image below (right at the beginning of the game), the red player has taken a few actions. They have moved their disks from the bottom right to the left of their player board. This has revealed increasing costs for faction upkeep (the number in the yellow circle). If this round was to end now, he'd have to pay a total of 2, or face bankruptcy.

Red player board, showing disks (bottom)

Starship and fleet design

Every player has access to the same selection of ship types/ hulls (fighter, cruiser, dreadnaught, starbase). 

The fun comes from upgrading the blueprints for each with any combination you like of weapons, power sources, targeting computers, hulls, and more. Your imagination will be limited by keeping within power limits (which you can also upgrade) but sparked by the realities of the dangerous other factions that surround you. 

  • Has your neighbour upgraded his fleet to have thick hulls? How could you arm yourself to deal with that? 
  • Do you create lots of cheap, fast, fighters with low-powered weapons and hope to overpower him with hits? Or create one or two super-powerful dreadnaughts?
  • Do you pursue researching the more lethal military technologies that will give you extra proficiency in combat? Or, keep things simple and save your research for other valuable tech?
  • How fast should you make your ships? Faster ships will strike first, but upgrading their propulsion systems is another tech to research. You could focus instead on armour or weapons...or should you try to strike a balance.
Don't be surprised to see your neighbours looking over at your player board...

White player ship blueprints, with upgrades

This is almost a whole mini-game in itself!

As I hope you can see, there is plenty to dig into. My group was unanimous in agreeing that we would be happy to play again. When we do, we'll give the alien races a spin!
 

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Lands of Galzyr: The best bimble boardgame?

 

Mor the frilled lizard makes his way towards
the small town of Chabahr, and the two quests available there.

A slow walk in spring

I previously shared some early thoughts about Lands of Galzyr, a narrative driven open-world adventure game featuring anthropomorphised characters. I've recently been playing the game more (solo) and stumbled across a term that I think perfectly describes the experience:

bimble (verb)

[intransitive] (British English, informal

to walk or travel without hurrying

  • We spent the morning bimbling around the market.
  • I bimbled into town.

In L.o.G. your character will 'bimble' around the world and experience small stories. Called 'scenes' in the game and the (webapp) storybook, these are often stand alone, but they may also be small chains as part of a quest. These are available for any character to choose and pick up from a 'noticeboard' of random quests next to the board once they visit the town where the quest is located. Over the course of a single game you'll measure your success on how much prestige you gain by completing scenes.

Track your prestige over the course of your adventure.

Does this sound like the kind of experience you want? 

For many boardgamers, the answer is a firm 'no'. 
They want the excitement and motivation of a story driven by a strong and obvious goal, such as discovering (and ultimately fighting) a great evil. In L.o.G the pleasure to be had from the game comes from the world unfolding (and changing over time) before you as you 'bimble around', the characters and situations you encounter, and the ongoing and self-contained nature of the experience. To use another term that is common, it is a very 'cosy' game.

Personally, bimbling around in L.o.G is an experience that makes a nice break from many of the other games that I enjoy. I like the well-written scenes, the generally low stakes (although there are some quests dealing with morality), the quick pace (as a solo player, about an hour), and the simplicity of the mechanisms. Compare this with a game like Hexplore It: Valley of the Dead King, which I also really enjoy! A race against time where the whole focus of the game is levelling up to face a final climactic battle against a deadly foe.

The appventure continues

Yes, L.o.G uses a web app. I think it is handled well and is an essential component of the success of the game (the included sountrack really adds to the experience IMHO). If nothing else, the massive amount of text in the game seems unfeasible to have as a printed book. I also noticed after coming back to the game that the downloadable website had been updated - another benefit. 

For more info about apps in boardgames, Daniel over at the Dungeon Dive on YouTube posted a good comparison of three of his favorites that use apps to great effect:
  • Lands of Galzyr
  • Mansions of Madness 2e
  • Freelancers
Video below and on YouTube. If you are even remotely interested in thoughtful takes on Dungeon crawl and adventure boardgames you should subscribe!

Thanks for reading!

Friday, February 9, 2024

A skittering in the night: Skaven in Warhammer The Old World

The Clan lives on

The Old World has become new. Joining aspiring new generals (welcome!) are former commanders who left after 8th edition (or older). Ranking up with them are players who never stopped and have been carrying the torch with the 9th Age (IX Age Fantasy Battles) or other systems. 

I imagine many former players (like me) reaching deep into their closets, pulling out old biscuit tins or Tupperware boxes, dusting them off, and slowly opening them. What tissue-protected gold (lead?) and other riches lie within?

After taking a look at my painted High Elves, I wanted to see if I could coax my old Skaven into skittering out of the darkness and into the light of day. How many points are they worth? To find out, I turned to 'The Old World Builder' (https://old-world-builder.com) and chucked in the names of my models that are on the official Skaven Legacy PDF from GW. Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to plan out a viable army (which has various limitations on different unit types) but instead wanted to see what I have to play with. Out of interest, I added in a few magic items, champions, musicians, and banner bearers in units etc.

Characters

Grey Seer & Screaming Bell [455 pts]
- Hand weapon
- D3 Warpstone Tokens
- Level 4
- Screaming Bell
- Ruby Ring of Ruin
- Warpstone Armour
- Battle Magic

Grey Seer [205 pts]
- Hand weapon
- D3 Warpstone Tokens
- On foot
- Dispel Scroll
- Battle Magic

Skaven Chieftain [76 pts]
- Additional hand weapon
- Heavy Armor
- Battle Standard Bearer

Plague Priest & Plague Furnace [296 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Plague censer
- Level 2
- Plague Furnace
- Daemonology


Skaven Warlord [93 pts]
- Halberd
- Light armour

Warlock Engineer [111 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Warplock pistol
- Level 2
- D3 Warpstone Tokens (default)
- Battle Magic

Warlock Engineer [111 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Warplock pistol
- Level 2
- D3 Warpstone Tokens (default)
- Battle Magic

Core

40 Clanrats [332 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Thrusting spear
- Light armour
- Shield
- Clawleader
- Standard bearer
- Musician
- 1 Weapon Team (Hand weapons + Warpfire Thrower + Light armour)



40 Clanrats [332 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Thrusting spear
- Light armour
- Shield
- Clawleader
- Standard bearer
- Musician
- 1 Weapon Team (Hand weapons + Warpfire Thrower + Light armour)



40 Clanrats [327 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Thrusting spear
- Light armour
- Shield
- Clawleader
- Standard bearer
- Musician
- 1 Weapon Team (Hand weapons + Poisoned Wind Mortar + Light armour)



20 Stormvermin [220 pts]
- Handweapon
- Halberds
- Heavy Armour
- Fangleader
- Standard bearer
- Musician


3 Rat Swarms [108 pts]
- Claws and fangs (counts as hand weapons)

12 Giant Rats [36 pts]
- Claws and teeth (counts as hand weapons)

Special

10 Gutter Runners [190 pts]
- Two hand weapons
- Sling
- Ambushers
- Poisoned Attacks

10 Gutter Runners [190 pts]
- Two hand weapons
- Sling
- Ambushers
- Poisoned Attacks

3 Warplock Jezzails [57 pts]
- Hand weapons
- warplock jezzails
- Pavise

30 Plague Monks [228 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Plague Deacon
- Standard bearer
- Musician

3 Rat Ogres [149 pts]
- Hand weapons
- Mutated hides (counts as Heavy armour)
- 1 Packmaster (Whip
- 1 per 2 Rat Ogres)
Two 'Old skool' early rat ogre mutants

3 Rat Ogres [149 pts]
- Hand weapons
- Mutated hides (counts as Heavy armour)
- 1 Packmaster (Whip
- 1 per 2 Rat Ogres)
Four r-ogres...

Rare

1 Hell Pit Abomination [210 pts]
- Warpstone claws

1 Doomwheel [145 pts]
- Warlock: Hand weapon / Rats: Claws and fangs (counts as a hand weapon)

1 Plagueclaw Catapult [110 pts]
- Plagueclaw Catapult
- hand weapons
- Light armour

1 Warp Lightning Cannon [110 pts]
- Warp Lightning Cannon
- hand weapons
- Light armour

So, 'How many points are they worth?' 
The answer is 4,349...

...but that is not the whole story.

The departed

A quick scan of the PDF reveals that there are a whole litter of models that didn't make it into WOTC. Those models still look great though and could easily be used in an Old World Skaven army (Snikch as an assassin, Queek as a warlord etc.) For named models, this makes perfect sense, as the game takes place in a completely different era to that in which the 8th Edition took place. For other units, less so, and IMHO to the detriment of the characterful nature of the army...
...no Skaven slaves? (Bah!)
...no Vermin Lord? (Sacrilege!)
...no Doomrocket? (Aggressive squeek and sniffle!)

So, raise your drinking skulls and pour out a Skavenbrew for those units assigned to the scroll of remembrance.

Skaven Vermin Lord
(Alternative non-GW model, counts as Skaven Vermin lord)


Queek Headtaker of Clan Mors

Deathmaster Snikch

Skaven Slaves
(Old clanrats, used as Skaven slaves)

MORE slaves...Goblins, (count as Skaven slaves)

Not having the units above brings a sense of nostalgia, tinged with regret, but it is what it is!

That list in full:
===
Skaven [4349 pts]
Warhammer: The Old World, Skaven
===

++ Characters [1236 pts] ++

Skaven Warlord [93 pts]
- Halberd
- Light armor

Grey Seer [455 pts]
- Hand weapon
- D3 Warpstone Tokens
- Level 4
- Screaming Bell
- Ruby Ring of Ruin
- Warpstone Armour
- Battle Magic

Grey Seer [205 pts]
- Hand weapon
- D3 Warpstone Tokens
- On foot
- Dispel Scroll
- Battle Magic

Skaven Chieftain [76 pts]
- Additional hand weapon
- Heavy Armor
- Battle Standard Bearer

Plague Priest [296 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Plague censer
- Level 2
- Plague Furnace
- Daemonology

Warlock Engineer [111 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Warplock pistol
- Level 2
- D3 Warpstone Tokens (default)
- Battle Magic

++ Core Units [1575 pts] ++

40 Clanrats [332 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Thrusting spear
- Light armor
- Shield
- Clawleader
- Standard bearer
- Musician
- 1 Weapon Team (Hand weapons + Warpfire Thrower + Light armor)

40 Clanrats [332 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Thrusting spear
- Light armor
- Shield
- Clawleader
- Standard bearer
- Musician
- 1 Weapon Team (Hand weapons + Warpfire Thrower + Light armor)

40 Clanrats [327 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Thrusting spear
- Light armor
- Shield
- Clawleader
- Standard bearer
- Musician
- 1 Weapon Team (Hand weapons + Poisoned Wind Mortar + Light armor)

3 Rat Swarms [108 pts]
- Claws and fangs (counts as hand weapons)

12 Giant Rats [36 pts]
- Claws and teeth (counts as hand weapons)

20 Stormvermin [220 pts]
- Handweapon
- Halberds
- Heavy Armor
- Fangleader
- Standard bearer
- Musician

1 Weapon Team [75 pts]
- Hand weapons
- Warpfire Thrower
- Light armor

1 Weapon Team [75 pts]
- Hand weapons
- Warpfire Thrower
- Light armor

1 Weapon Team [70 pts]
- Hand weapons
- Poisoned Wind Mortar
- Light armor

++ Special Units [963 pts] ++

3 Rat Ogres [149 pts]
- Hand weapons
- Mutated hides (counts as Heavy armour)
- 1 Packmaster (Whip
- 1 per 2 Rat Ogres)

3 Rat Ogres [149 pts]
- Hand weapons
- Mutated hides (counts as Heavy armour)
- 1 Packmaster (Whip
- 1 per 2 Rat Ogres)

30 Plague Monks [228 pts]
- Hand weapon
- Plague Deacon
- Standard bearer
- Musician

10 Gutter Runners [190 pts]
- Two hand weapons
- Sling
- Ambushers
- Poisoned Attacks

10 Gutter Runners [190 pts]
- Two hand weapons
- Sling
- Ambushers
- Poisoned Attacks

3 Warplock Jezzails [57 pts]
- Hand weapons
- warplock jezzails
- Pavise

++ Rare Units [575 pts] ++

1 Hell Pit Abomination [210 pts]
- Warpstone claws

1 Doomwheel [145 pts]
- Warlock: Hand weapon / Rats: Claws and fangs (counts as a hand weapon)

1 Warp Lightning Cannon [110 pts]
- Warp Lightning Cannon
- hand weapons
- Light armour

1 Plagueclaw Catapult [110 pts]
- Plagueclaw Catapult
- hand weapons
- Light armour

---
Created with "Old World Builder"

[https://old-world-builder.com]

That's all for now. For the next post, I'm thinking of seeing what unpainted High Elf and Skaven units are still in the closet...

Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Dipping a claw into Warhammer The Old World

Back from the closet..

Warhammer The Old World has landed with a thud on desks around the world (except on mine, as it was sold out before I could get one!). Nevertheless, the excitement prompted me to reach into the darkest corner of my cupboard and see what fantasy forces I could rustle up. I emerged from the darkness with a fistful of High Elves and their war machines.

Without the core rulebook I have no idea how the army composition works, and without the 'Forces of Fantasy' book no idea of army lists either. I still thought it would be fun to line up the units (probably the single most fun you can have with miniatures!) and see what I had. Using Old World Builder (https://old-world-builder.com/) I was able to get a sense of what these old models might become in an Old-World battle, and how many points they might make up. 

The result?

Well over 2,500 points I think - certainly enough to do some damage!

Painted and ready to party:

Lords

Prince [158 pts]
(Lance, Full Plate Armor, Barded Elven Steed)


Lord/ Noble (Althran Stormrider) 
Noble [75 pts]
(Hand weapon, Heavy armour, Shield, On foot)



Heroes

Hero (Selafyn)
Noble [72 pts]
(Hand weapon, Light armour, Shield, On foot)


High Elf Noble (with Battle standard)
Noble [160 pts]
(Hand weapon, Heavy armour, Shield, Battle Standard Bearer, On foot, Battle Banner)



Mages 
x2Mages: [220 pts] (110 x2)
(Hand weapon, Upgrade to Level 2, On foot, High Magic)



Core

Archers x20
  • 10 Elven Archers [115 pts]
(Hand weapons, Longbows, No armour, Sentinel (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)
  • 10 Elven Archers [115 pts]
(Hand weapons, Longbows, No armour, Sentinel (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)



Spearmen x36 Two units as follows:
  • 18 Elven Spearmen [187 pts]
(Hand weapons, Thrusting Spears, Light armour, Shields, Shieldwall, Sentinel (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)
  • 18 Elven Spearmen [187 pts]
(Hand weapons, Thrusting Spears, Light armour, Shields, Shieldwall, Sentinel (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)

Ellyrian Reavers x10

10 Ellyrian Reavers [200 pts]
(Hand weapons, Cavalry Spears, Hooves (counts as a hand weapon), Light armour, Shortbows, Harbinger (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)


Silver Helms x8

8 Silver Helms [210 pts]
(Hand weapons, Lances, Hooves (counts as a hand weapon), Heavy armour, Barding, Shields, High Helm (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)


Rare

Great Eagle x2 [120 pts]
  • Great Eagle [60 pts]
  • Great Eagle [60 pts]


Eagle Claw bolt throwers x2 [160 pts]
  • Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower [80 pts]
  • Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower [80 pts]

Swordmasters of Hoeth x20 [336]
  • 10 Swordmasters [168 pts]
(Sword of Hoeth, Heavy armour, Drilled, Bladelord, Standard bearer, Musician )
  • 10 Swordmasters [168 pts]
(Sword of Hoeth, Heavy armour, Drilled, Bladelord, Standard bearer, Musician )


White Lions x20
20 White Lions [298 pts]
(Chracian Great Blades, Heavy armour, Guardian, Standard bearer, Musician)


The Purple Sons of Xereus

The models above, armed with what I think would be logical equipment (excluding magic items or weapons) would be an army of over 2,500 points on the table.

Here is that list in full.


++ Characters [688 pts] ++
Prince [158 pts]
(Lance, Full Plate Armor, Barded Elven Steed)

Noble [75 pts]
(Hand weapon, Heavy armour, Shield, On foot)

Noble [160 pts]
(Hand weapon, Heavy armour, Shield, Battle Standard Bearer, On foot, Battle Banner)

Mage [110 pts]
(Hand weapon, Upgrade to Level 2, On foot, High Magic)

Mage [110 pts]
(Hand weapon, Upgrade to Level 2, On foot, High Magic)

Noble [75 pts]
(Hand weapon, Heavy armour, Shield, On foot)

++ Core Units [1014 pts] ++
10 Elven Archers [115 pts]
(Hand weapons, Longbows, No armour, Sentinel (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)

10 Elven Archers [115 pts]
(Hand weapons, Longbows, No armour, Sentinel (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)

18 Elven Spearmen [187 pts]
(Hand weapons, Thrusting Spears, Light armour, Shields, Shieldwall, Sentinel (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)

18 Elven Spearmen [187 pts]
(Hand weapons, Thrusting Spears, Light armour, Shields, Shieldwall, Sentinel (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)

10 Ellyrian Reavers [200 pts]
(Hand weapons, Cavalry Spears, Hooves (counts as a hand weapon), Light armour, Shortbows, Harbinger (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)

8 Silver Helms [210 pts]
(Hand weapons, Lances, Hooves (counts as a hand weapon), Heavy armour, Barding, Shields, High Helm (champion), Standard bearer, Musician)

++ Special Units [634 pts] ++
20 White Lions [298 pts]
(Chracian Great Blades, Heavy armour, Guardian, Standard bearer, Musician )

10 Swordmasters [168 pts]
(Sword of Hoeth, Heavy armour, Drilled, Bladelord, Standard bearer, Musician )

10 Swordmasters [168 pts]
(Sword of Hoeth, Heavy armour, Drilled, Bladelord, Standard bearer, Musician )

++ Rare Units [280 pts] ++
Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower [80 pts]

Eagle Claw Bolt Thrower [80 pts]

Great Eagle [60 pts]

Great Eagle [60 pts]

---
Created with "Old World Builder"

[https://old-world-builder.com]

Now I'm thinking I should reach back into the cupboard again and see what else I can find!