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…
Reading & Watching vs. Painting & Playing
It’s an easy trap to fall into. It’s a lot easier to put on YouTube than it is to sit down at the painting desk. Starting a game is even more involved, especially if you don’t have dedicated space for your hobby. Something I do is make a goal, a note really. I write it down. I don’t share it with anyone, I just keep it as a reminder of something that I want to do. Tha goes for writing too. I’ve been a little lax getting posts up this December. Too many commitments and responsibilities happening. I don’t mind though. We’re a Christmas household and this time of year is fun. Though, it’s definitely easier to burn a few minutes on YouTube than it is to write up a blog post. Sadly, I need to get better about my personal goal to be more productive and less consumptive. It’s…
Give Us a Generous Game
The Ghosts of Games Past come to visit us on this cold December day. I’m writing this in the liminal time between when Darkwater has been announced, but not yet available. To me, Pre-orders are in the future. Youtubers don’t even have reviews out yet. Which seems… a bit odd. I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I want Games Workshop to give us a generous game. A game that is more than just one thing. A system. A lush setting full of mystery, intrigue, and adventure. I want a GM-less RPG that satisfies! So here’s a look at generous games of the past. Space Marine (Epic) Three armies. Terrain. Markers. Counters. Rules. Reference Sheets. So Good. Man O’ War Fleets! Counters! Great art! Cards! Mordheim I’ve never played, but there’s a city in this box! It’s still a super popular system. Necromunda Another one I haven’t played, it’s…
Cursed City could use a Healer
I’m kind of surprised I haven’t heard someone else say this. There’s no player with a straight-up healing ability. Sure, every hero can try to heal on their own, but vitality rolls aren’t a sure thing unless you’re a stalwart. I think our record for most-missed-vitality-rolls-in-a-row is 14. Yup, we’ve had blue or bone dice miss healing rolls 14 times, IN A ROW! Sure, there are healing potions, yes Cleona can remove an affliction. But no one can truly heal your character. I find, due to our atrocious dice rolling, that we rarely can spare the activation nor destiny dice to try to heal. Same goes with searching mysterious objects. We’re normally on the run, on the ropes, and hoping that we can get a solid hit on a monster. We rarely have time to loot and pillage. It would be really great to have a character, like the wizard…
Did Tariffs Kill Games Workshop Bookshelf Games?
This is speculation, but I’m guessing that tariffs and other economic chicanery killed GW bookshelf games this year. 2025 has been slim pickings at B&N. We’ve definitely had more the last few years than this year. Dawn of War: Onslaught came out this year, but that’s it. By my count, at least 14 games 2019-2024. Only one in 2025. So here’s a summary of some of the most interesting boxed (bookshelf) games released by Games Workshop. I’m not even counting “mainline” games like Age of Sigmar, Kill Team, or Underworlds starter sets. Combat Arena In previous years, we had three versions of Combat Arena: Warhammer Quest: Lost Relics This is a bookshelf stand-alone Warhammer Quest game. I haven’t tried it yet, but I hear is a puzzle/optimization type game, rather than a true dungeon crawler. Blitz Bowl We’ve had three editions of Blitz Bowl, plus all the team expansions from…
Something I thought I’d never say
I miss high school. Or maybe, I miss being 20 years old. I just walked two miles home on a beautiful fall night. I miss doing that. It reminds me of all the parties that I walked home from. Fun social randomness. The liminal time between Halloween and real winter. It can still be spooky, but doesn’t have to be. I guess I miss that fleeting time in my life, though it lasted half a decade. I enjoyed it then, and still do, and was reminded of it tonight. It’s fun to walk past everyone’s houses, and get a glimpse of their home life. Orderly, disorderly, quaint, TV, seasonal, isolated, etc. I romanticize homes with enough space and wealth to have “wings”. It’s a very Poe season. I’m here for it.
It’s been too long!
Depending on your perspective, we’re either spoiled, or deprived. I know I’ve written about this before, but here we are again. This is more of a comparison to the release of other GW dungeon crawls. We’ve been spoiled for past ten years. GW released five major dungeon crawls in that time. Though… we had all those games in the first seven years, and none since. The Timeline Note: I’m starting with Heroquest and I’m not counting Space Hulk since there isn’t a roleplay aspect to it. Nor am I counting video games or Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, since I don’t play either. So there! I’m also not counting Warhammer Quest: Lost Relics because it’s not a big box release. I’m counting the card game since it effectively relaunched the WHQ franchise. We’re approaching the time gap between Advanced Heroquest and Warhammer Quest. We’ve already blown past Blackstone Fortress to Cursed City.…
Electronics as Part of the Game
Oh boy, this may be device-ive. I only have experience with the HeroQuest companion app, and I don’t prefer it. I feel like it takes away from the minis and the board. I find that we often shortcut/neglect the physical board. Then we’re playing catchup to the app. I’d much rather look at minis on a board and live in that world than look at essentially a videogame. But that means you need a dedicated Zargon, which not everyone can manage. But, in my opinion, going app-free is a much better experience. Luckily/unfortunately(?) there are no Warhammer Quest apps that compliment the board games. Counterpoint, though I haven’t played the game myself, is Betrayal at House on the Hill. I hear this game (and app) are a TON of fun. I’ve read that the app is good spooky fun and can really freak you out sometimes. I’m intrigued, but also,…
How many 30 year old games still make headlines?
Warhammer Quest 1995: still the champ I started writing this post back in 2024 when I found this article on BoLS: https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2024/01/the-original-1995-warhammer-quest-still-holds-up-great-today.html But then, GW remembered the 30th anniversary and landed WHQ on Warhammer TV. They made a pretty solid post on Warhammer Community: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/hjx3bwqb/celebrate-the-30th-anniversary-of-warhammer-quest-on-warhammer-tv/ It’s great to see WHQ getting some attention all these years later. What I think is great about WHQ95 (besides EVERYTHING) is that it’s just complex enough. It’s just crunchy enough. It’s roleplay-y enough. It’s a fun game that doesn’t go too overboard in any one direction. You’re not drowning in deck-building with dozens of cards. You’re not forgetting overly-complex multi-phase gameplay mechanics. There’s pretty much one way to win; you have to go through those rooms and I hope you roll well! I think some other classic games have more active communities, but WHQ is still thriving. Mordheim, Necromunda, and Man O’ War (just…
Gargoylian Follow-Up
A few weeks ago I wrote about the Gargoylian in Cursed City. Since then, I’m still thinking about gargoylians. Specifically, do I need to acquire more gargoylian models? The first step is, what sets come with these adorably blood-thirsty magical creatures? Quick note: The Cities of Sigmar Army box and Spearhead box both recycle the Cavaliers, so there are no unique gargoylians to be had there. I’ve identified five sets that come with gargoylians, with eleven total models: Freeguild Cavaliers Now, most people will tell you that this set comes with one gargoylian. I believe it comes with two. Look at that weird bird thing! Have you ever seen a bird with a chin?! GARGOYLIAN! Tahlia Vedra Lioness-of-the Parch This is a big hero model but Warhammer.com pictures don’t have a good shot of the gargoylian, so here’s a painted up version over at CAM2D at Tumblr. Freeguild Command Corps…