Festive silence

I've done plenty of reading and gaming this festive season, but haven't had the time to write it all down,.and I won't for.another week.

But you can look forward to reports on the Hobbit, History of the World, Mutiny, Great Dalmuti and a great game about financial institutions!

See you in 2013!

Learning Dux Britanniarum the hard way

I guess I didn´t take the best approach to my first battle of Dux Britanniarum. Although I flicked through several parts of the rules, I hadn´t memorised them too well. Also the night before I didn´t sleep before 4 am and maybe could have left a few beers.

But anyway... I was there! And as I unloaded my troops, Dick and I went through creating my characters (yes, I pre rolled a group, but I didn't have the stats handy yesterday). This resulted in my leader Olwin being very average, and with no remarkable traits. My young noble Stig was an excellent horseman (might come in useful someday) while the other, Klapmund, was a local Briton. Stocky, but athletic.

We then selected the scenario and our points of entry. My raid was aimed at a village at the other side of the table, with Dick's forces entering the table halfway between me and the village. This meant that even if I managed to get past him to the village, I would have to get back through him on the way back. I decided to worry about getting back later.

My archers covering my troops against Dick's fully deployed battle line

So Klapmund with two groups of duguth (warriors) managed to race to the village past Dick's troops, while my other troops covered for them and then retreated back to the village facing of his deployed shield wall, There didn't seem to be a point in rushing at him in his strongest formation, while my troops were divided.

When Dick's milites (regulars) were forced to break up the shield wall to follow me up, I had Stig charge them with a group of gedridht, my elite warriors. This was fairly even against superior forces, but I decided to send in the other group as well to turn the balance in my favour. The milites fell back with some losses and a lot of shock, while I had only lost one man. But I had also lost Stig, who in his youthful zeal had tried to hard to gain his warrior's glory.

Stig leading his gedridht against the milites

Even as my gedridht fell back past the village, my warriors were unsuccessful in looting. And because Dick's elite comanipulares showed up, I couldn't try all the huts. At this point I decided to try to make it around Dick's troops while they were divided. I also hoped to gain a bit more speed.

This didn't work. Although I beat off a charge of Dick's numeri (levies), my gedridht lost heavily. And Dick could bring together his comanipulares and milites in shield wall under his own command. This allowed him to break up the shield wall, move and then enter shield wall again. In this way he could still catch me.

My gedridth exacting fearful retribution from the numeri

Although he received a bloody nose in that last fight, he broke up the last effective forces and my troops returned home scattered and I lost almost half of them in this raid. It will take me two months to build up my force again.

Dick´s losses were as heavy as mine (a monument to the skill and courage of my men, or the luck of the dice), so his victory didn't gain him much, except a bit of loot. Luckily for him, he didn't lose many elite troops nor levies, because these are most valuable.

A few lessons: defense is really difficult in these rules. Many combat cards are only useful in your own turn.

I also didn't have a good feeling for the effect of the combat cards before the game, so I didn't work as hard as Dick to prune my hand for the best combinations. That's something I need to study as well

But the battlefield is the better place to learn how to fight, so I'll just be grateful for the lessons I was taught and trust in better results next time.

Positive reviews have greater influence on ratings

This research concludes that early positive online reviews tend to have more power over your judgement than later negative reviews. Thanks to Nick for pointing me towards it

Conversely, later positive reviews negate earlier negative reviews. So there is a bias among people looking for online reviews for positive ones (confirmation bias?).

This message has already been taken in by advertisers, who know that it is more important to vote early and get their positive reviews in.

It ties in with the cult of the new and amateur online reviewing in hobby games, to create a good deal of hype.

The cult of the new refers to the tendency to keep publishing new games at breakneck speed at the expense of supporting and playing older games. I know this tendency from first hand, because I love to learn new games and see if I can 'get' them. But once you feel you've mastered the game, interest drops.

Amateur online reviews are not unique to games, but are making an ever increasing mark on internet consumption. While amateur reviewers have their advantages, they tend to be less critical of games and less thorough in their reviews on the actual merits of the game as opposed to rules run through and description of components.

In combination, we see a large number of games pass with lots of fuzz caused but not much staying power. Last year´s hits, can we name them?

Special delivery, coincidence and basing

Yesterday evening I was informed my new washing machine would be delivered today. Luckily I could skip today at work, so close to christmas.

This also allowed me to do a small chore I'd been putting off, but which really needs done: putting the magnetic tape on the bases of my Saxons. Tomorrow is their first day in battle! They'll be bled in a Dux Britanniarum battle facing Dick's Romano-British.

You see? Excellent fit!

Started yesterday evening late, to cut up the tape into 19mm squares or rectangles and cutting off the corners. Today's been gluing, with the odd mistake rectified (it does matter which side of the magnetic tape is on the bottom).


But the happy coincidence doesn't end there. So last week I'd ordered these magnetic tape circles to put under the round bases. Because that's a pain to cut yourself. You know what? They arrived just past lunch as well! Got it finished before the guys came to deliver the new washing machine.

I've got my basic army plus some archers ready now, the glue needing a bit of time to dry.

Very happy boy. This is the stuff I hate about modelling, so the less time it takes, the better!

Memorial at the Chemin des Dames

For several years I visited the Champagne-Ardennes in France with a bunch of friends for a weekend in summer. We'd travel to nearby sights, and occassionally some battlefield trips. These are pictures of a trip to a French war cemetary and memorial at Cerny-en-Laonnois on the Chemin des Dames battlefields near Laon in 2007. The places on the plaques still resound: Craonne, Hurtebise, Cerny...

The chapel

The  Chemin de Dames offensive in the spring of 1917 was so mismanaged my French commander in chief, Nivelles, that mutinees broke out. Nivelles was replaced by Petain, who then proceeded to rebuild the army.

The cemetary outside

Between the Lonely Mountain and Bree - Middle Earth Quest

Nice tight game of Middle Earth Quest on Saturday, getting us all in the mood for the Hobbit (movie).

Middle Earth Quest is set in the world of Tolkien, between the events described in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these 65 years the three main wizards of Middle Earth, Sauron, Saruman and Gandalf try to cobble together a set of clues concerning the legendary Ring of Isildur, which holds power over other rings in the possession of Sauron.

All three understand the significance of gaining hold of the ring, but lack vital information. Gandalf knows where it is, but not what it is, while Sauron knows what it is, but not where. Saruman has got hints about both.

In MEQ, this is reduced to a struggle between a group of heroes, friendly to Gandalf and Sauron. While Saurn builds up his power and searches for the Ring, the heroes try to provide Gandalf with clues and thwart Sauron's attempts to cast his shadow over Middle Earth.

The game is made by Sauron. The heroes react. Sauron can choose from three strategies, or combine them: finding out what and where the Ring is, corrupt the Free People or increase his imperium by violent means. All these efforts result in quest for the heroes to resolve.

Rob, typecast as Sauron, slowly but surely managed to establish his dominance over  Mordor and its neighbourhood, despite a speedy start for the heroes. Eleanor (Jur) and Eometh (Paul) quickly resolved their basic quests, with Argalad catching up.

Eometh finishes off the Mouth of Sauron. But loses precious time,
which Sauron uses to good effect

Rob chose the (red) conquest strategy and supported it by employing his minions (first the Black Serpent and the Mouth of Sauron, later also the Ringwraiths) aggressively. In this way he protected his quest very well.

Eleanor´s character sheet, with her unspent life points/combat cards on the left,
cards played for movement on top. Cards taken for damage are place on the right

However, this led to the heroes realising before the end of the game that they wouldn´t be able to win directly, and switched to denying Sauron the possibility of a direct win.

It was very convenient that Eleanor (Jur) had acquired a horse early in the game, as she sped from Rohan, through Rivendel where she concocted a dastardly plan with Argalad (Gerard) to slay Gothmog, onto Gundabad.

Although she was weakened by the conditions there, which were not exactly in line with health and safety regulations, she still managed to put a crossbowbolt between Gothmog´s shoulder blades. He hadn´t recovered from this nasty surprise by the time Argalad showed up and finished the job. Just in time, because it denied Rob the steps on the quest track to dispute dominance as well as his secret mission for the direct win.

Eleanor takes on Gothmog in Gundabad, while Argalad prepares the killing blow

This caused the game to end in a direct confrontation of the Ringwraiths and our brave companion Eometh (Paul). Eometh showed that his inexperience was no obstacle, as he proceeded to cut them to pieces. And so Good prevailed.

Strangely enough I haven´t played this game very often, yet. I love the setting, it works well, results in a tight contest. Somehow the rules kept me back. I will try to play it again soon, so I have the rules fresh in my mind.

Had I played it more, I would venture a more review like post, but right now I'll just stick to celebrating the balanced design, the tough choices for all players and the clever combat system incorporating fatigue/rest, training, wounds/healing, movement  and varied tactical options. Designer Corey Konieczka really pulled off a biggy here. Fantasy Flight's high standard graphic design is also apparent.

The amount of rules is probably as much as Mage Knight, but somehow this game works better for me.

As said, I always saw the War of the Ring, and especially the period leading up to it, as a three-way conflict with Saruman as the dodgy one (in hindsight). These guys are essentially equals (called maiar by Tolkien), the three most powerful beings in Middle Earth and effectively demi-gods, even more ancient than the elves. I know it's unlikely to ever be made, but that conflict would be my grail game. This comes close in scope, however.

The Hobbit is on the programme for next Monday, after we have our Christmas Offensive. There´s going to be seven of us, so the range of games available is limited. My offerings will be: Junta, Struggle of Empires, Civilization (AH) and Arkham Horror. What do you guys think?

Am I A Proper Wargamer? Feedback

Looking back on the Am I A Proper Wargamer posts, I must say that mostly, it gave me a lot of fun. The 6 score questions and some were entertaining and sometimes thought provoking and I had a good time digging up relics from the past, like my Franco-Prussians and samurai ruleset.

And suddenly that question hits you...

Apart from providing good fun, praise should go to Phil for giving a pretty good alround description of wargamers. Most of his question were answered in the positive by the respondents. It was not complete, perhaps, but that was never the point. As said, the list generated quite some discussion, both in the form of expansions and counterlists and even a sermon. Phil has even added another addition to his list recently.

Frontline Gamer, in a Sunday Sermon, picked up on the level of elitism that comes with the word 'proper' and which excludes a broad range of phenomenons that are just as wargamy as anything in Phil's list. Why exclude the large tribe of Games Workshop customers and others that play non-historical? In the end Phil and FG agreed that the latter was over-analysing his original post, and FG made it clear that he used it more as a coat hook to hang his argument on.

I agree that in some cases the hobbyist ethic is a obstacle to popularising wargames. FG notes that part of his wargamer values is to paint your own troops. Likewise, in our club, there is the informal ´rubber mallet´ rule that you should play with painted miniatures. In my case and those of others I know, painting and modelling has been a major hurdle to enter miniature games.

Prepainted miniatures could be the way of the future because people like minis, but can´t find the time or feel their skills are below those of the kids in Bangladesh or wherever that do these paint jobs. Maybe AT-43 wasn't the right thing at the right time, but Heroclix and similar games have done well. Look at Fantasy Flight's X-Wing now.

Of course I was very happy to see my posts on Phil's list picked up and to get so much response from a variety of people. That was good exposure for my blog but also an influx of discussion and fresh ideas. Because even though a blogger likes to have an audience, it´s much more fun when they actively engage rather than just read my stuff without comment. I can´t be right that much of the time, you know...

PS for those of you that might be worried, the ´rubbet mallet´ rule has never been enforced

Welsh starter army for SAGA and Dux Britanniarum

Also in the mail this week: a Gripping Beast starter army. Thanks Arvid!

Usable both for SAGA and  as British opponent for my Saxons in Dux Britanniarum. In that case it will need a few additions, but that's okay. No hurry.

Potential candidate for army painter treatment as well.

Racing through euroland with Hansa Teutonica

Played two games of Hansa Teutonica (or Hanzesteden, as it´s called here) on Wednesday. It's not a bad game, it's well designed. But it is sorely lacking in ideas.

Can you see the difference between this and the Thurn & Taxis board?

The board looks like that of Thurn und Taxis. Not just because it's the same area, but also in design and artwork.

It has the worn out current euro mechanisms and accompanying strategic decisions: economise on your actions or score slowly and steady. Little direct confrontation and no surprises.

If you already own a euro game made in the last 10 years, this one will not offer much more. Which doesn't mean it's not fun to play once in a while.

Prometheus Redeemed in the afterlife?

In June I had this epic rant about Prometheus, Ridley Scott's overpowering Alien prequel. It is a visual and audio spectacle which could keep you glued to your seat by the sheer force speed, light and noise if not for and endless stream of glaring glitches.

Even this Engineer had lost the script

I was exasperated at the inconsistencies, flaws and stupidities in the movie. More so because it is a.spectacular movie in sight and sound, and it poses the interesting questions about the origin of the aliens.

This is by the way very similar to the way aliens have been introduced in Jim Wallman's scifi Universe. Genesplice 9, anyone?

It ripped me up so much I dug in to several theories available online to make sense of it all. This gave some satisfaction, but now finally there is proof, damning proof if you ask me, that everything was there to make this a brilliant movie,.fully consistent and believable. Scott just chose not to make it so.

Comicbookgirl brings together two elements of new knowledge in three youtube videos. They last about 45 minutes in total but are well worth the watch. Start with the first:

First of all, there's a bunch of deleted scenes on the new Blu Ray edition that would have explained a lot about the characters' actions. Much of this is so elemental, you have to question Scott's ability as a director for leaving it out.

Second, the original screenplay has been leaked, and it's very different from the later version. The first version was written by Jon Spaihts, the latter by Damon Lindelof. As Comicbookgirl says, there is a lot to say for the changes in the later script, because they make it a lot more interesting, but the original had more character depth and consistent storytelling. But that would have probably been a bit dull.

At least having the original screenplay around helps understanding the final version.

A different Fifield than we have come to know (and love). A clue to the goo!

For a second I felt this was exactly what Scott had wanted: to release the information necessary to understand the movie bit by bit to maintain the interest (among hardened fans of course, most people will not have bothered with the discontinuities and inconsistencies in the first place). This kind of worked with David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, which I went to see twice in two days because I felt the clues were all there and I just needed to pay attention better. Maybe the same was intended for Inland Empire, but that was just so far off I gave up halfway.

So if you still care for Prometheus go and see these videos by Comicbookgirl