My gamespace. Game space. Games pace?
After a couple years of weekly hobby-blogging, I’m down to only four remaining ideas from the original brainstorming session. This is one of them. “Gamespace” like headspace, only gamey-er In my head, I’m still really into this stuff. I’m currently reading Callis & Toll. It’s OK so far, not bad, not amazing. It’s no Road of Skulls, but also far better than City of the Damned. I’d like to finish reading the 4th edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle rulebook, and the 10th edition 40k rulebook. I had a good reading stretch there when I was home sick and couldn’t do anything else in January, but the busyness has picked back up again. No clue why, but trying an army style game has some amount of appeal now, when it never has in the past. “Game Space” where the magic happens That saying isn’t just for MTV Cribs anymore! What’s MTV you…
Why everything and everyone are absolutely right and totally fine
Sometimes it’s hard to not sound like a grumpy old person. “Games used to be different back in my day”. OK, sure grandma/pa, sure they were. And they were. And it was fine. But they’re different now and that’s OK too. Older games were frequently tougher. Your characters died frequently. Maybe that was a hangover from back when people had to have a dozen children just so they could have one or two make it to the ripe old age of 30 before succumbing to old age. OK, so in-game perma-death is less frequent. What’s the big deal? What? Now the minis are too detailed? They’re spindle and breakable too? That’s a hill I might take my last stand on… But, the good news is that old minis are still largely available on the secondhand market, as well as old games. And, if you’re so inclined, there are some (not…
Why I think Warhammer Quest (1995) is one of the best games ever made
So much. The traveling, the settlement adventures, the heroes, the skills, the leveling up. There’s just so much! But I think the ability to have a Game Master-less experience that rivals a true RPG is what makes WHQ really shine. Warhammer Quest was intimidating Maps don’t have to be pre-generated to be interesting. Set up the boss fight somewhere near the end and you’re all set. It’s an added bonus that the objective room might not necessarily be the last card in the deck. It keeps you guessing, especially when you have multiple T-junctions. I think WHQ really holds up because the game can be what you want it to be: Plus, the system is big enough that you can play as big or small a game as you want, and you’re still playing WHQ. As much as it pains me to say it; my first love (HeroQuest) doesn’t have…
My Favorite Minis
All miniatures are pretty great, but some are greater than others. I really can’t start talking about my favorite minis without starting where it all began… Britains The classic toy soldiers are absolutely where my love for these little people started. A local specialty toy retailer stocked Britains and my brother and I spent lifetimes drooling over the catalogs and peering through the display cabinet glass. Debating about which figure to get. Cowboys? Soldiers? Knights? Space aliens???? Sadly, Britains have been gone for a while. But I still have most if not all of them. I’m pretty sure some mounted knights were lost to the ravages of childhood play. As much as that pains me a bit, that’s what they were designed to do. To be loved and potentially lost. These were the days that I pined for “Indian in the Cupboard” to be a true story. Playmobil The next…
Warhammer 40,000
A few weeks ago I wrote about something strange happening (being interested in perhaps playing Warhammer Fantasy Battle). It happened again. One of my offspring has developed a real and growing interest in acquiring and playing a 40k army. I have not discouraged this. It’s made me reconsider all the 40k minis I’ve had since my own childhood. So I fired up a list at https://www.newrecruit.eu Turns out I have a roughly 1,000 point Space Marine army. Painted. 😳 Including unpainted minis, it’s approximately 1,800+ points counting everything that forms up into a proper unit. That’s just the ‘Marines. I was really surprised. Shocked even that I’m sitting on a whole army. Though I have ABSOLUTELY no idea how these forces would turn out in a game. I’ve never read the Quick Start Guide, much less the full rules, despite being an original paperback Rogue Trader co-owner. I was always…
Sci-fi or Fantasy – Follow-up
GW continues to blur the lines between far-future and fantastical-past. I recently wrote about how Games Workshop mixes technology and mysticism liberally in both their fantasy and science-fiction settings. They’re at it again with their AdeptiCon announcements. Question: What GW setting features footsoldiers with machine guns and flamethrowers? If you said Warhammer 40k, you’re right! If you said Age of Sigmar, you’re also right! For more machine guns, also see the Cogfort. This ridiculous monstrosity is actually kind of awesome. I expect this to become one of those legendary sets that people will still talk about for years to come. But, it’s bristelling with machine guns (and flamethrowers) too. Which is cool I suppose, but kinda blows up the fantasy illusion in my head. Am I being a curmudgeon here, or is this genre-bending fusion just what these games need? Why is it that I find the anacronistic Wizard with…
Sci-Fi or Fantasy?
They’re both fantastical non-reality settings where magic may or may not be real (but probably is). For a long time I was a bigger sci-fi fan than fantasy, though I never viewed them as mutually exclusive. And I’m sure there was a time that I didn’t really think of them being separate things. I’m pretty sure my perception of these things was a fiction/non-fiction viewpoint. With modern Games Workshop games, the line has really blurred. A picture of a GW game table could really go either way. It takes closer examination to make a sci-fi/fantasy determination. <– Here’s a typical scene There’s power armor, blasters, monsters, mysticism, and an otherworldly landscape. To the uninitiated, this sure could look like sci-fi. But no! It’s fantasy! …with blasters and power armor… So, I’d say that what Games Workshop is doing now very much blends sci-fi with fantasy. That’s probably smart considering how…
What is time? And why there isn’t enough of it
I’m not entirely sure I think about time the same as the typical person. There never seems to be enough time. Not enough time to get projects tone, Things take longer than expected. Rushing from one thing to another. Suddenly finding time on your hands, but not being able to do the thing you’ve been meaning to do. Or, have some time, but not enough to dig into a bigger project. Transitions from one activity to the next. That can really chew up time too. Why does it go by too fast when you’re having fun, but is painful torture when you’re in agony? Should we all be miserable to make our perceived lives longer? I’m asking these questions as someone who wants to play more games, paint more minis and have more fun, but is just kinda busy. Sure, yes, I’ve been waylaid with a pretty nasty cold the…
Are miniatures toys?
Legally speaking; no. It says so right on the box: “Not Children’s Products“. Then why are they so fun? Back when I started this blog in earnest (March 2024) I wrote down a bunch of topics I wanted to hit. They are all saved as draft posts. This is one of those original conversation topics. You need tools, time, acumen, patience, light, space, and a whole mess of other things to make those models happen at the most basic level. It is very timely because just the other day I ran across a reddit thread about how a Warhammer player’s parent gave their “toys” to a toddler to “play” with. “Trigger-bait” or not, LOTS of people were triggered with similar experiences and trauma from long, long ago. Whole armies thrown in the trash, broken models, painted, or re-painted models, and all manner of destruction. It was awful. And it’s such…
Gifts Given, Gifts Received
“Christmastime Is Here” – Charlie Brown ‘Tis the season of gift giving. You don’t have to celebrate Christmas to give presents in December. There were a few game-centric things happening in my orbit this past week. I’m over the moon to receive Warhammer Quest: Darkwater as a present. I’ve read the book and assembled the first four heroes and the Mire Kelpies. Ready to kick things off! Other game type things that were given/received were Heroquest First Light, a Gnome Blitz Bowl team with Treeman, and a complete (beginner) paint setup. Oh, did I forget to mention… NURGLINGS!!!! Pretty fun stuff. I just splurged a small amount on a ghoul judge. Surprisingly affordable compared to lots of single model sets. Maybe this faction doesn’t sell all that great and GW tries to pump them up into Warhammer Quest (Both Cursed City and now Darkwater) . This is in anticipation of…