Wotan Phase 1 - Thoughts from a new player

By: Forgotten

A little bit about my gaming history. I have played Warmachine and Hordes for several years so the basics of table top gaming is not new to me. I have a pretty good grasp of deploying and movement but the interaction on a players non active turn drew me to Infinity. I have recently played in a beginners Recon tournament where I came in second.

A couple years ago I bought some Nomad models and tried to get into Infinity but for reasons and life most of those models sat unpainted in a box until recently. Life has calmed down for me and I have been able to devote some time to painting and playing games again. I was excited to play in Wotan and try and influence the Infinity narrative in my own small way so when it started I joined the Nomad faction (The only faction I have models for). It was two weeks before I could get my first game. In that time my faction had an HQ team, then had infighting then had a new HQ team, with most of the same members. From a new player point of view this was a little confusing and disappointing as I don't know the players or the history and really had no idea what was going on. Things seem to have gotten better and the focus was back on games, battle reports, and making amusing propaganda.

My first game was against Aleph with my friend Dave (aka Doc). Doc is has a few more games of Infinity under his belt than I do... but not too many. We played the La Forja Military Harbor: Kill Cage. I liked the mission, we were both cautious about the center of the table as neither of us wanted to lose models to drones. In the end Doc's dice failed him as and I was victorious.

La Forja Phase 1
Strike Zone: Wotan

That weekend I wrote up my battle report and added my points to the faction to assist in defending La Forja. It was rated and Xp was gained. I enjoy the fact that their are many ways to gain Xp in this campaign. I am only able to play about once a week so having non-game achievements is a good way to keep me involved and interested. As far as the map went, nothing happened until the Combined Army took Sygtir-1 from Pan-O. There was some intense back and forth before Pan-O secured it again.

Then came the push for the La Forja Control Deck. Aleph and Ariadna both made a push to capture it. I hosted five of my friends on Thursday and everybody played on the Control Deck. I played John (aka Burns) and his Combined Army. I was successful in repelling the alien invaders.

That weekend, the last of Phase 1 the La Forja Control Deck deck had over 100 games logged at it's location. Aleph took it for a brief period but could not hold out against the massive pressure of the Nomad defenses. This is also where the second point of drama took place, a single Aleph player logged eight or nine reports all at the same time with duplicate photos. This caused an uproar and the taking up of torches and pitchforks as an assault on the fairness of the game was made and must be avenged. In the end enough people came forward to say that they played the games to make it seem like an honest mistake but for a time there it looked like cheating.

The result of all the fighting at La Froja.
The Nomads kept the station but they hold only ruins now. 

When it was looking like a player had cheated Beasts of War and Corvus Belli quickly investigated. They were able to reassure the community and ensure that no one was rewarded for unsportsmanlike conduct. This quick reaction to the community helped quiet the angry voices and allow the community to get back to the main purpose of the campaign - having a good time with friends and sharing experiences of the game we all enjoy.

The drama of the global Nomad nation has not dissuaded me but it may have others. I have enjoyed my games with my friends and I will continue to see it through to the end. Maybe if I keep playing long enough I will understand the what happened inside Nomad HQ.

Now Phase 2 has begun I look forward to seeing where the campaign goes and how this impacts the universe. The story and the world is one of the things that really attracted me to the game in the first place and I anticipate more adventures to come.

Excerpts from Wotan - Smoke

Wotan has been a great experience so far. The stories comming out of the battle reports have been brilliant and very interesting. Below is a quick excerpt from the game that Doc and Forgotten had last Thursday at WIN (Weekly Infinity Night)


Excerpts from Wotan - Smoke
By: Doc

**//==Receive transmission: [Unit:002]--[Type:Dasyu]--[Hacker:ver01]
**//==Unit status: T.O. Camoflauged near target objective [02]

*--Begin Transmission monitoring--*
**// Unit:002--Update: Tomcat [Doctor] appearing near target objective [02]
**// Unit:002--Reveal and neutralise "Tomcat"
**// Unit:002--Shots fired
**// Unit:002--Reported: Tomcat [Doctor] Neutralised
**// Unit:002--Enter sentry mode
**// Unit:002--Smoke Detected
**// Unit:002--Smoke Detected
**// Unit:002--Reporting: Enemy detected within smoke
**// Unit:002--exit sentry mode; enter combat mode
**// Unit:002--Smoke Detected
**// Unit:002--Movement Detected
**// Unit:002--Update: known Mercenary [Senor Massacre] detected
**// Unit:002--Smoke Detected
**// Unit:002--Engaged
**// Unit:002--Disabled
**// Unit:002--Requesting medical intervention
**// Unit:002--Requesting medical intervention
**// Unit:002--Requesting medical intervention
**// Unit:002--Requesting medical intervention
*--End Monitoring--*


**//==No medical units near [Unit:002]
**//==General update: situation [critical]

WIN (Weekly Infinity Night)

By: Dozer

Last night a few of the CTG contributors got together at Forgotten's house and played three games of of Infinity in the current global campaign, Strike Zone: Wotan.

Ontos and Burns played while Doc and Forgotten played. It felt good to have the crew back to playing a weekly game. For just under two years I hosted the folks at my place and we played Infinity. The local game stores were not open when we wanted them to be and they lacked the ability or facilities to drink, work on minis, and just chill around while two pairs of players played Infinity.

I called it WIN - Weekly Infinity Night. Originally it was Wednesday but I changed it to weekly. It fit better, more so when the day of the week changed.

It was awesome to watch my friends play games and witness the madness that sometimes becomes those epic unforgettable moments that you'll recount to other players.

After the first set of matches happed, I was able to play Burns for our second planned match. The idea of Wotan is the location you play at determines the scenario. The first game we played at the military harbour location where the Nomads are holding the line. Burns picked Sygtir-1 adn we had a great game.

I missed out the last global event and I'm keen on getting in on this one. There have been some ups and downs but so far I've had a blast playing Strike Zone: Wotan.

I'm having more fun though playing with a regular WIN me and my mates getting in games and helping each other out.

From L-R: Doc, Forgotten, Ontos, and Burns

The posts will be coming in bursts as those who are participating also have to write battle reports.

- Cheers

Dozer

Event Report: Infinity @ Kessel Run

By: Dozer

Location: Kessel Run Games

Game: Infinity
Format: 1 list, 4 rounds, Infinity RECON

Last Saturday, walking into Kessel Run at 10am in the morning was interesting. Two gents from the Royal Tabletop Regiment showed up and took up 2 tables for Warhammer 40k. A Warmachine+Hordes group took up a pair of tables. Lastly a Batman Miniatures monthly event was happening and another 4 tables were going to be lost. Oh there was also the regular scheduled Magic the Gathering Saturday event and some folks coming in to demo and play X-Wing.

Lucky for me Kessel Run had already planned for my event. They offered both of their rental rooms, I only took the larger room. No need for me to take up both rooms and cut out that possible income for the shop. I also claimed the two board game tables on the raised portion of the store. It let me set up the Admin table and a table for the forth pairing.

The last couple of week leading up to the event, we lost 2 players dropping my numbers down to 8. By round 3 Doc was not feeling well and we lost another player to his boss calling him into work. So the final two pairings we were six players.

I know there was less players because of the fear of experience players wrecking the faces of the newer players but we still had a few come out and were happy from the experience. The swag well accepted. Players that were sporting a Velcro spot on their bags put on their patch. The measuring templates and crates were well used through the matches. Each player was allowed to put on the board a single crate before initiative was rolled so everyone's board had some changes to it.

Lastly the coupons, 10% from the BBQ joint next door was well used. Every player snagged some food and it was brilliant as per normal. Meatings does great Texas style BBQ. I have yet to have anything else other than their brisket and smoked beans but I always fail to get anything else.

After the break I have some pics and final standings.