One day I will also put on another pirate figures game... an extra incentive is this new governor's daughter figure which could provide some good rescue/capture scenarios:
Sunday, 10 January 2016
They don't like it up 'em!
Encouraged by Stuart's recent enthusiastic recollection of the Dad's Army game I put on in November 2014, I finally finished painting my new figures. Last time we played with my Foundry models which were bought around 15 years ago. I sold them on eBay and got a set of the Bolt Action figures instead.
Importantly, this set includes Private Walker (criminally omitted from the Foundry set) and the extra bonus is that as well as all the characters in their Home Guard uniforms:
...they also come in their civilian dress:
The set also includes Reverend Timothy Farthing, Verger Maurice Yeatman and of course ARP Warden William Hodges:
So in rank order, we have Captain George Mainwaring:
Sergeant Arthur Wilson:
Lance-Corporal Jack Jones:
Private Charles Godfrey:
Private James Frazer:
Private Joe Walker:
and of course Private Frank Pike:
Even Hodges is available in his greengrocer's coat:
I'm painting a few more accessories and then I shall put on another Dad's Army game.
Importantly, this set includes Private Walker (criminally omitted from the Foundry set) and the extra bonus is that as well as all the characters in their Home Guard uniforms:
...they also come in their civilian dress:
The set also includes Reverend Timothy Farthing, Verger Maurice Yeatman and of course ARP Warden William Hodges:
So in rank order, we have Captain George Mainwaring:
Sergeant Arthur Wilson:
Lance-Corporal Jack Jones:
Private Charles Godfrey:
Private James Frazer:
Private Joe Walker:
and of course Private Frank Pike:
Even Hodges is available in his greengrocer's coat:
I'm painting a few more accessories and then I shall put on another Dad's Army game.
Five Tribes - 7 January 2016
First play of Adrian's Xmas present - Five Tribes - a very nicely produced Days of Wonder game which is ranked 35th on the Boardgamegeek list. Simple and novel game mechanisms, lots of choice, and not too long to play. The four of us employed different strategies - Adrian, James and Andy all specialising to some extent. David's extremely balanced approach to seeking to score from all the 8 scoring possibilities led to a commanding win: David 163, James 146, Adrian 127 and Andy 86. I'm sure that this one will get played again.
Saturday, 26 December 2015
Nissen with an 'e'
One of the items I bought back at Colours in September was a flat pack Nissen hut. I completed it in October but forgot to to write it up.
The kit is a mixture of MDF and cardboard. There were a couple of things that didn't line up perfectly but it was easy enough to put together.
Once painted, the cardboard roof gave a reasonable indication of a Nissen hut but I didn't think it looked good enough for our Dad's Army game.
So I bought some corrugated plastic and created some sheets.
These were then fitted over the roof...
...and then painted up in grey. I added a door knob, a War Office sign for the door, and a chimney at the back for a stove/heater. I'm very pleased with the result. Much more realistic. I just need to crack on paint my "new and improved" Dad's Army figures so we can have another game!
The kit is a mixture of MDF and cardboard. There were a couple of things that didn't line up perfectly but it was easy enough to put together.
Once painted, the cardboard roof gave a reasonable indication of a Nissen hut but I didn't think it looked good enough for our Dad's Army game.
So I bought some corrugated plastic and created some sheets.
These were then fitted over the roof...
...and then painted up in grey. I added a door knob, a War Office sign for the door, and a chimney at the back for a stove/heater. I'm very pleased with the result. Much more realistic. I just need to crack on paint my "new and improved" Dad's Army figures so we can have another game!
Thursday, 17 December 2015
Alea Iacta Est & Ra - 16 December 2015
A classic double act this evening with firm favourites Alea Iacta Est and Ra. A solid cluster of scores for the dice game but James pulled ahead with valuable Senate and Fortuna Cards. Final scores: James 51, David 38, Adrian 36 and Andy 35.
Ra provided the usual laughs and groans, and the unusual situation of both Adrian and David scoring 4 civilisations in the first round. Final scores: Adrian 51, David 45, Andy 39 and James 29 (20 more than last time we played, so I was happy!).
Ra provided the usual laughs and groans, and the unusual situation of both Adrian and David scoring 4 civilisations in the first round. Final scores: Adrian 51, David 45, Andy 39 and James 29 (20 more than last time we played, so I was happy!).
Java - 25 November 2015
James dusted off Java from the loft as we hadn't played it for years.
It's only on the blog once (from 2009) and that write-up also records we hadn't played it for years... but we seemed to enjoy it that time.
This time our optimisation routines seemed to run an awful lot slower than they did in the previous decade. James struggled to score as each time he started a city, the other players built it up and collected all the available points. The lakes seemed to get built in odd places that restricted the development of other cities. All rather frustrating really. But as Andy concluded, it wasn't three hours wasted because at least we now know we don't want to ever play it again!
Final scores: David 101, Stuart 82, James 76 and Andy 73.
It's only on the blog once (from 2009) and that write-up also records we hadn't played it for years... but we seemed to enjoy it that time.
This time our optimisation routines seemed to run an awful lot slower than they did in the previous decade. James struggled to score as each time he started a city, the other players built it up and collected all the available points. The lakes seemed to get built in odd places that restricted the development of other cities. All rather frustrating really. But as Andy concluded, it wasn't three hours wasted because at least we now know we don't want to ever play it again!
Final scores: David 101, Stuart 82, James 76 and Andy 73.
Wednesday, 2 December 2015
St Petersburg - 2nd December 2015
A quick return to St Petersburg at David's, but this time we added Stuart to the mix. James, Andy and David had played a few times recently, but the Stuart wildcard completely changed the direction of the game. The cards ran out incredibly quickly, meaning that the usual steady economy building and big payoffs for collecting people didn't have time to emerge. Instead an early move by Stuart risking financial ruin to get some high scoring cards early paid off.
Final Score: Stuart 46, James 32, Andy 31, David 31. (Very low scores)
Given the speedy resolution, we had an immediate rematch. This went more in line with traditional games, although the fourth player does change the gameplay a lot.
Final Score: James 86, David 85, Stuart 80, Andy 49
Lesson: When you think you are getting better at playing a game, make sure you aren't just optimising your play against the same opponents.
Final Score: Stuart 46, James 32, Andy 31, David 31. (Very low scores)
Given the speedy resolution, we had an immediate rematch. This went more in line with traditional games, although the fourth player does change the gameplay a lot.
Final Score: James 86, David 85, Stuart 80, Andy 49
Lesson: When you think you are getting better at playing a game, make sure you aren't just optimising your play against the same opponents.
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