The phantom rule that will make Blackstone Fortress a bit easier
As opposed to Cursed City, Blackstone Fortress doesn’t say what to do with your inspiration points between adventures. That omission is intentional. It is meaningful silence. I wish rules in Blackstone Fortress and Cursed City were more positive. Positive in that you can feel them click, that the rules say to do something, not that they don’t say to do or not do something. It’s easier to read the rules and see what they say, rather than look for what they don’t say. I feel like it’s rules writers being clever and conserving their words, but their unexpected novelty is easily overlooked and can dramatically affect gameplay. In Cursed City, you’re rolling a D12 to get Inspiration Points. In Blackstone Fortress, it’s a D20. We get Inspiration Points soooo rarely! How often are you going to roll a three or less on a D20? Not that much. Another example is…
Modern miniatures and the uncanny valley
I’d like to revisit a topic I talked about a couple weeks ago. Modern Games Workshop models. This is a controversial topic because people are passionate about both old and new. It’s really great that people have found things they genuinely enjoy, and I do not meant to diminish anyone’s interest in anything. This is a longer article than I usual write, so if you want to skip right to the uncanny valley section, it starts in section 3. I’ve been trying to psychoanalyze myself as to what drives my personal preference in miniatures. Opinions and biases are 100% subjective. I am in no way saying something is right or wrong. I’m going to be talking about my own personal preference. I’m sure this won’t ingratiate me with anyone. To break it down, I’d say there are 3 factors driving my preference toward older miniatures. All of those are real…
What makes Blackstone Fortress so fun?
Is it the beautiful hex tiles? Is it the exotic space bazaar narrative? Is it the brilliant miniatures? Is it the intriguing characters? Is it the imaginative gameplay? Is it the vast unknown of the Blackstone itself? Or is it all of the above? I say it’s all of the above. The game has it all. Total package. But with all that going for it, it’s still not for everyone. It’s too boardgamey for hard core gamers It’s too RPGey for casual game players It’s not Warhammerey enough for Warhammer players. But it’s just enough for me, my friends and family. You roll fun dice. Explore exotic locations. Slay interesting monsters. What’s not to like? If I have one criticism, it’s the layer of abstraction laid over trading on Precipice. I think it’s there to avoid “gaming” the trading system. But I find it cumbersome, we leave it out. If…
Cursed City or Blackstone Fortress
A frequent question I see online is: I’m interested in getting into a new game, should I go with Cursed City or Blackstone Fortress The Internet It’s a tough question. They’re both still currently available new, from Games Workshop or your friendly local game store. Cursed City costs a bit more, but dollar-wise it’s not a deal breaker. Also, your preference between fantasy (Cursed City), or sci-fi (Blackstone Fortress) may sway your decision. Both have: Blackstone Fortress was developed first, and came out in 2018. Cursed City came out in 2021 and is a bit more distilled than Blackstone Fortress. They both are a bit light on strategy, though some of the newer expansion heroes for Cursed City make it more interesting. Some of the things that were slimmed down for Cursed City make Blackstone Fortress a bit more intriguing to play. In Blackstone fortress, you’re frequently deciding when to…
Update on Darktide the Miniatures Game
So the price is in for Darktide The Miniatures Game. It’s $110 U.S. This game right here. It costs $110! You get 20 minis and some cardboard for $110. That’s $5.50 per figure. Cursed City is $3.33 per model, and appears to be about 10x the game. Generally speaking, I’m pretty charitable when it comes to Games Workshop. But this is too much. If GW does release a new Warhammer Quest game in the future, I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford it.
New 40k bookshelf game
Quite often I’m the target consumer for small-box games. This time I’m not. I’ll watch the promo video, but the game-play photo looks… Dull? Uninteresting? Something along those lines. I should be more polite and just say it’s not for me; “It’s not for me”. If it had more of the right minis, it might make sense, but it would take two sets to augment the gaps in my Blackstone Fortress minis. Or more interesting boards/terrain. Or, I don’t know… some pizzaz? I suppose I’m just not the target market. If someone was thinking about getting into Kill Team it might be a good intro. Now this isn’t the first time GW has released a ugly looking box-game. Just check out Gorechosen. Oh boy, that thing looks like a game of foursquare or tic-tac-toe in a box. BUT! Apparently it’s a hoot to play and came with some of the…
The best thing I’ve read on the internet all year
This may be an unflattering review of a Warhammer Quest property, but the article and the related discussion are the best thing I’ve read online all year. https://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2019/01/31/blackstone-fortress-has-plenty-of-figures-but-not-much-character/