LGS on the Road - Everything Games

By: Dozer

This post is very late. I was here in January and it took me a long time to write this up because of things going on with me.

I've always believed that our hobby needs the Local Game Shops (LGS) to keep our games healthy. We need to support the LGS to keep our games on the shelf. We need our games on the shelf to keep the games alive.

Canada has a healthy relationship with their game shop and I want to post about my experience about the many shops that dot Canada.

This year I am travelling all across Canada  for my day job. When I stop at a new city, I will be visiting and playing at as many LGS as I can. 

When Yasha picked me up from downtown Victoria on Vancouver Island I was excited to see the place that allowed him to keep playing Infinity and giving him a sense of community since he moved to British Columbia. I was tired and I didn't have my minis but I was looking forward to catching a game if folks were able to lend me an army.

Everything Games is that local neighbourhood styled game shop. Small but packed with games and places to play with a great feeling the moment you walk in. You're welcomed with a smile by one of the two owners Rob and Kahzen while they plug away. Once you're in a for a few minutes and have taken some time to look at what they have, they will put down whatever card set they are organizing or finish with the customer at the counter and ask if they can help. It's very relaxed and when the games start up that does not change.

The father and son team of Rob and Kahzen have made a place easy to search for wares and even more so made it easy for folks to stop by, play a few games, and resupply. They start from the gamers point of view as they are both gamers themselves. Rob was playing a game of 40k with one of the locals while Kahzen was going through sales packing them up for shipping.

Games being played everywhere from D&D in the back to 40k, Firestorm, and Infinity.

The night I was there I saw a small group of gamers playing Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition in the corner. Up front three tables were set up, one for Firestorm Armada, one for Infinity, and one that Rob was playing Warhammer 40k on.

I spoke with the crew playing games and they were all friendly. Yasha was having game of Infinity while I scouted out the shop. I was able to borrow a force but there was only three Infinity players and Yasha had arranged this match before I had landed in town. So while waiting for a possible player to show up late I puttered in the shop.

I was really happy that I was able to talk to Rob and Kahzen. We chatted about Magic, 40k, and the current trends in their areas. After Yasha finished his game I chatted up the folks who we playing Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition, more specifically the recent Castle Ravenloft adventure module. The group was new and enjoyed playing there because no one in their group could host the game comfortably. This was their second campaign and I was really impressed with the minis, maps, and various props the team was using the make their game unique and more enjoyable.

When the shop started to close up, with a few purchases Yasha drove me back in Victoria and dropped me off at the hotel.

Great shop, great community, great place to show up and play games.

- Check this place out.

Dozer

Adepticon News - Tunguska

By: Dozer

Edit: New images replaced my original ones.

So it dropped go here if you haven't seen the video. I just start putting down posts and Corvus Belli does this to me.

Adepticon information has been released! We are going to see a few new minis but for me there is only one thing I have been waiting since Campaign: Paradiso, the Tunguska Jurisdictional Command sectorial army list.

Now we've been hit with a slew of new minis over the years since N3 that has been leading to this news. The most famous of the Tunguska units, the Interventor was redone to the new N3 standard. The box had two Interventors and two Fast Pandas. After that we got the Operation: Ice Storm that included the new Grenzer. Since then we got some updated Spektrs before last August when the new Kriza Borac was released with Beyond: Ice Storm and the update to the Szalamandra was seen.

I knew once the Securitate was updated it would be a new starter box and the release of my long awaited final sectorial to the Nomad nation.

So what did we find out and how did it compare to my guesses I made a few months back?

What I guessed would be in the box/army pack/army list

1. three (prob two) new Securitate
2. a new sculpt for the Grenzer
3. two new units for the sectorial
4. a second Kriza Borac
5. a new remote for Tunguska
6. an inject of Merc units similar to the Qapu Kalqi sectorial for Haqqislam

First off I was on the money with the Securitate. Full points! Looks like only two new sculpts for starter box but probably because of the large based Kriza Borac.

Secondly a new sculpt for the Grenzer in the box was off - way off but Carlos did mention that he is going to get a Fireteam. He also mentioned it's been wait to long since we saw a new Grenzer sculpt so that means it will have new weapon profile. It's not in the box but it will be coming down range so half score?

Next up we have exactly two new units - so far I'm winning this game. We get a second hacker unit with the Heckler hopefully a cheap alternative to the Interventor who will take up a Assault Hacking role in the sectorial or maybe we get a defensive hacker finally!

We also get the Hollowmen that we alluded to in the video to the folks at the Rumble on Route 66. Carlos explains that they will be "brains in jars" - think the Major from Ghost in the Shell, Alita in Battle Angel Alita, and even Cain from RoboCop 2. Now I'm not sure if these will count as a new REM (Remote) unit because that would also knock off guess number 5.

Next we were told of the new Kriza Borac so full point for me. 3.5 of 4 not bad for me so far. I expect the SWC box will fill it out and be used more often. 

A new remote is up in the air and yet to be finalised. Depending on how CB categorizes them I could be right. They could go the way of the Kamakuri Project and count as HI (Heavy Infantry) instead of REM (Remotes). No points but the score can't adjust once we know more. 

My last guess is for when we get info on the army listing and after Rumble. With the way NA2 was bumped it seems like Tunguska may not lean into the Mercs as I had predicted. Probable fail but we'll wait until more info comes down range. 

All of this is due in June as well. 

Oh yeah there is also a slew of JSA releases in the same months. 

- Cheers

Dozer

Confessions des disparus

By: Dozer

This has been a long time coming. This post has been drafted in my head everyday that I remember that I was trying to support a community of gamers with a tiny blog somewhere on the internet.

Being on the road as much as I have been has not been hard but it's not been easy. My relationship with my wife, my family, and my friends have adjusted well. Folks know when I'm in town and they try and help me take advantage of being home for a week before I leave again for the road. The time that I get to play games with those people I care about are one offs. No Campaigns, no weekly game with my mates, no regular work on my minis or terrain.

I also can't blame work and ignore the positives from all this travel. Where my hobbies have been a boon. Being able to play Magic the Gathering and Infinity across Canada is an opportunity that I would not have had if not for my job situation. I've played other board and card games with strangers and the familiar. I've met tons of other gamers across Canada and the shops they spend their money and time at. I've been very lucky but I've not felt lucky. It's hard to get excited for the next set from Wizards of the Coast or the next new surprise from Corvus Beli when I can't share that with those I love the most. I love my family and friends and I'm not afraid of the word but that same feeling has made certain aspects of my hobbies feel disconnected.

It got worse when I finally had the chance to be home for 6 days before heading off to Rumble on Route 66. Ontos and Burns were coming down with me and I was excited to rest, work on some minis, and head out but this time for fun. Instead my back blew out on me. I was unable to walk straight or stand for longer than 15 minutes the Saturday morning before Rumble. I was told to take a week off and see a chiropractor who helped a lot but I was still in pain. I got some drugs and I even thought about not going because I may not be able to suffer through the long trip from Ottawa to Albuquerque via Montreal and Denver.  I was a mess, no new painted minis. Physically unable to stand let along bend over a table for hours on end. I was burnt out and broken.

Pro tip: Don't break your back - ever. You may fail your niggling injury role eventually in a critical moment. Older edition sorry I'm dating myself, instead it just makes it easier to get hurt in the game now. I'm way behind on my Blood Bowl...

Lucky for me my wife is awesome and she pushed me to rest, ignore everything else and go anyways. I accepted my fate and prepped a list with all my painted minis. They were adjustments from my GENCON lists and I was pretty happy with the results. I was going to Rumble with a fully painted army. As Rumble loomed closer and my back started showing signs of being more kind to me folks started to reach out. Dan and Joy invited me to their place for a BBQ, but my flight was coming in too late so I couldn't go. As Rumble got closer I started feeling more and more connected with folks with my community.

Rumble was fantastic - I'll have another post about it later this week showing off everything that happened. It also recharged my hobby batteries in every aspect. When I got home all I wanted to do was paint and get ready for GENCON, Capital Conflict, and setting up the new gaming space in my new house come May. I came home happy. I needed a vacation but I also needed to feel connected to my hobby and the community around it.

Folks I've been away. So has everyone else. After christmas quite both Ontos, Molotov, and Forgotten Virtue have been on the road at one time of another before March. We've all had a hard time making time for everything let alone our hobbies and even submitting the to the blog.

The winter is over it's not time to get back to it with the promise of a new spring.

- Sorry for being away so long

Dozer

Rumble on Route 66

First off I'm typing this up on my old IPad2.

I've been away spent six out of seven weeks on the road doing odd hours.

I've got lots to post but I just havn't had time to draft and edit a post. This blog is important but there are more important things which will win out.

So I'm back at Rumble on Route 66. Ontos and Burns are with me and its going great.

There will be more but right now we're on vacation and having a blast enjoying a great gaming community. 

More to follow.

Dozer