Review: Travel Battles- Perry Miniatures

Now that I have a restricted gaming space, it seemed like a good time to take a closer look at this title from Perry Miniatures.  This might be the "Ultimate" Kitchen Table Game.  The entire Hook to this game is that it is a full-sized wargame that can be played in a confined space.  In this case, the authors claim the game was to be played on a train ride, written in the 90's!  It was a homebrew mini board and miniature armies.  They have a picture of the original proto-type in the back of the rules pamphlet.  

The box is about the size of a laptop case, and comes with the terrain board in two plates, a red vs blue army of identical 8mm minis, bases, and a few pieces of terrain to help finalize forests and built -up areas.  There is a short rules pamphlet, just a few pages really.  There are four dice; two red and two blue d6s.  Finally, the box comes with foam as you are expected to use this box to carry the game around to travel with.  It even has a helpful little plastic handle!      

I watched a video on this one and that is what encouraged me to pick it up.  I would give you the link, but it has been lost to my terrible memory.   I recall seeing this game when it first came out, but it slipped out of my mind until now.  I was not interested in something like this at that time, but eventually the right time came.  

So gather your Brigades, heft your big furry hat, and mount up on your horse because it is time to march forth into the smoke and get into this box.....   

Things That I Liked

The rules are literally 6 small-pages long.  However, they still manage to put a lot of variety into the unit types!  There is an artillery unit, Heavy Cavalry, Light Cavalry, Infantry, Guards Infantry, and Commanders.  There is small but significant differences in these unit types.

Each army is made up of a matching force.  However, how you organize it is up to you.  Each player has 3 Brigade Commanders.  Each of them controls a Brigade, but the composition of that Brigade is mostly up to you!  You can make them small or large, you can mix your units how you wish.  There are some examples in the rules.  This allows the players some Strategic choices prior to the battle that will impact the tactical elements of the game.  

The boards are rather clever too.  There are two plates of equal size with pre-formed terrain on them.  In addition, they are divided into grids.  As part of deployment, each player takes out one of the two plates.  They then roll a d6 to determine which side of the plate faces them.  The plates are designed to fit together no matter which sides touch.  This gives a surprising amount of variation and replayability.  

Artillery is the only unit that can fire.  It has a range of 6 grid spaces, however the number of Grid spaces away is what you need to hit the target.  You can also fire over intervening units if it is placed on a higher hill.  Nice.  

All fighting is done between units that are in adjacent grid spaces, even diagonally.  There is also organic support methods in the rules as well.  However, in a fight each player rolls one or two attack dice and the defender rolls a dice.  There are also other special rules that may impact this.  However, it is pretty simple.  If the results are the same, draw.  If one wins by 1 the other unit is pushed back 1 and turned around.  If the winner is by 2, the unit is pushed back to the back of the table and turned around, it is routing.  If the winner is by 3 the unit is simply removed as destroyed.  Turned around units can not move or fight until they are turned back in the appropriate phase of the game.  

Things I Do Not Like

The pamphlet has a few lines about how to paint up the terrain and forces.  Nothing elaborate.  However, I wish I had read them earlier!  Apparently, they claim you do not need to undercoat them before painting!  D'oh.... too late.  I undercoated them with Grey Seer spray.

Deployment alternates by brigade.  The game is IGOUGO.  You roll Initiative and the winner gets to move all his units, fire with his cannon, fight, and rally any units.  Then the second player does the same.  I would have preferred some alternating Brigade activations by phase.... but this game is so quick that it may work fine with IGOUGO.      

Like most Horse and Musket games, there are a lot of If This Than That rules.  This is normal, because such fighting was very paper-rock-scissor focused.  Therefore, these rules are what allow for Tactical Gameplay.  Things like infantry in Square get an additional dice when fighting cavalry, but suffer +1 to damage rolls if hit by artillery.  If you play a lot of this period it makes sense.  However, if you don't you will want to keep the rules pamphlet handy, thankfully it is only 6 pages with a how-to assembly guide and painting guide included!  

Meh and Other Uncertainties

This is a Horse and Musket game, so follows some of the Tropes associate with those types of games.  Cavalry move fast, infantry is slow and steady, cannons shoot far.  Of note, only the artillery has any ranged attacks, with the rest only fighting when they come into contact.  The winner of the game is the one that can eliminate two out of the three brigades you start with.  If you have played Horse and Musket before, such rules are par for the course.  

Units can move forward, backward, straight, sideways, or even diagonally.  Roads give bonuses if you start and end your move on them.  All units in a Brigade have to be touching grids in order to move. Only one unit per grid space, except infantry that can double up, which has advantages and disadvantages.  Infantry can even form square by placing them horizontally.   

Deployment is by Brigade.  Each unit is 1 grid square, and the Brigade must all be touching another Brigade member, and each Brigade must touch their commander somehow.  Commanders can not fight, and units that are not connected to their Brigade can not move.  Brigades are placed up to two gird spaces onto the board, automatically this creates a layered attack and reserves for a game.  If you deploy poorly, you will not be able to reinforce your attacks and defenses.        

Final Thoughts

I love a nice, simple ruleset.  Much of the "crunch" of the rules has to be abstracted but this covers the 4Ms easily.  Even better it also captures the feel of the period the game is trying to capture.  The rules are pretty simple but have some depth to them for tactical gameplay.  I see them as the bare minimum needed to play a game of this type in this period.  I see no reason why someone could not play this game "scaled up" to 28mm minis on a full-sized table if they wanted to.   

The real innovation here is the terrain plates and the grids and how these are used to create replayability.  When you combine the identical armies with build-your-own Brigades it adds even further options.  I look forward to playing this "on-the-road" with my wife.  She is not familiar with the tropes or styles of this type of game, so I am wondering how quickly she will pick it up.  

Lastly, I have undercoated all the pieces and hope to have it painted up and assembled very soon.  

Until next time!  

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Wargame Design: Play it Again, Sam- Replayability

 

As I was taking a look back at my blog content, I noticed that I frequently talk about "Replayability" in my reviews and design posts.  One small issue, is that I never talk about what Replayability even is.  First off, I am pretty sure it is not even a real word!  However, that's part of being an "expert" on stuff.  You get to just make words up.  I have some fancy certificates and book-learnin' that say I can in the corporate world, so why not wargame design too?  

Well, I guess we better start with what this made-up word means.  I don't think it will be hard to figure out, I mean it is in the word itself.  Replayability is simply the ability to replay the game and still have fun with it.  Like, it's in the made-up name!  Simple.  

The definition is the easy part.  Now comes the hard part.  How do you give a game replayability? 

Deployment

An easy way to make a game Replayable is to change up how forces Deploy for a game.  You see, deployment is often an overlooked choice made early in a game, that sets up the flow of the rest of the game.  Therefore, to change the game experience you create options for the players to deploy differently.  This can be done via scenario, or even a "randomization" of the deployment zone.  

Scenarios and Objectives

Changing the scenario and objectives also change the focus of the game play.  You could have the exact same board and deployment, but changing the Objectives of the game will change the game.  If in the first go-around you are trying to cross the river in the center, that will lead to different tactics than having to capture as many terrain points as possible.  You can also add on primary and secondary objectives to allow for more variety in what is happening.  

Force Selection

Offering players a wide variety of units to choose from creates replayability.  These options allow players a chance to put different combinations of units into action, and see what works best in different combinations.  Perhaps cavalry is great for moving ahead and scouting, but infantry is better at holding objectives.  Players will want to find the right "mix" of units to achieve their goals and adhere to their preferred playstyle.  Changing unit options give reasons to play again.  Plus, players love an excuse to buy and sometimes even paint new miniatures!  

Complications

Many games offer a random selection of "complications" that can impact a game.  A complication is something that makes achieving the objectives harder.  They are a form of "Friction" that a player will need to deal with.  Sometimes, these complications are specific to a scenario, but many games allow for a random Complication mechanic via a chart, cards, etc. 

Terrain Placement

Nothing changes the flow of a game like terrain and its placement.  A game without terrain is probably not a game, so therefore it is a great tool for replayability.  A river or wood in the center changes the dynamic and tactics open for a player.  Therefore, the mechanisms for populating the board with terrain are critical tools for replayability.  

Randomization Tools

The rules themselves may have tools to create a randomization of outcomes.  With a variety of outcomes, there is a reason for players to play more than one game.  Often, randomization is created via Dice.  However, there are other methods such as charts, cards, spinners, death clocks, etc.  The more options that can occur, the more reason there is to "Play to find out".    

Game Length

Adding rules or methods to change the length of the game can be a great way to add replayability.  A variable length of game changes the player's calculations for what victory means.  Changing these calculations will make a game Replayable as each game could be fought or played differently.  A game that is short requires a focus on moving to engage, while a longer game allows for more bait-and-counter game play. 

Campaigns

The ability to chain games together in a campaign is a major driver of people replaying a game as more than just a one-off experience.  Campaign mechanics give structure and reason for players to keep going.  These are essential tools for replayability.   

Why Use These Tools

The whole point of all these tricks and tools to generate Replayability is to keep people playing your game.  These tools force players to re-think their tactics on the table as the conditions of the game are changed.  A game won or lost by attrition, changes how a commander engages versus one that is won or lost by holding an objective.  Both situations require a different way to play.  If there is only ever one "win condition" and one set- of game realities than your game will quickly be solved.  A player will soon realize how to win every time.    

The changes (or even the potential for certain changes to be in place) also force players to re-think their strategic, or off-table decision making as well.  If you have to consider that a game may change what it takes to win, you need to make off-table decisions to allow you to manage the risks.  For example, if you have missions that range from moving across the board to holding the line, a player will need to select units that could play a role in both scenarios.  The strategic choices are implemented.  

How to Use These Tools

The easiest way to use these tools is to create a "Pre-game" section of the rules.  This section basically instructs you on how to set-up a game.  Often, this takes place AFTER players have chosen their units to play the game, but not always.  This section usually has these elements: 

1. Randomly determine scenario
2. Randomly determine deployment zones
3. Randomly place terrain
4. Randomly determine complications
5. Randomize Game Length

Depending on genre, each of these options could have between 3-18 options per randomization.  That means you will have a minimum of 15 different game states right out of the gate, and the more options in each category the more Replayability you have.  This is before you even add in a Campaign. 

Final Thoughts

Replayability is a key component for game designers to think about when designing their games.  Many games are great as a "one-and-done" experience.  However, you want players to want to play your game more than once.  This becomes a selling feature if the game allows for a lifetime of games.  For example, if your game has at least 15 different game states in it, the average wargamer plays a game a month, then your base game has 1 years worth of game play!  That is good value for money! 

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On The Painting Desk: The Frozen Horror is Finished!

 

After my last update about painting the Frozen Horror expansion, I did not have much left to paint up.  I had painted up the baddies, painted up the doors, and then finished off the Mercs.  That did not leave much left to paint except the big monster himself.  Therefore, no need to delay the inevitable, so let's get into the details shall we?  

You can see him on the right there.  He was all undercoated up the standard way.  I am assuming that you know the drill about how I undercoat by now.  I will spare you the details.    

Those with good eyes will also see a couple of minis from the Jungles of Delthrak in that batch of minis too.  Those with good eyes and good memories will recall that I painted the Man-Bear-Pig thing with the Mercs.  This time, I will be painting up the Raptor while I waited for the Frozen Horror to dry.  

The first thing I did was mix up some of the bluish undercoat I use for ice.  Therefore, I put in one drop of Voidshield Blue, one of Holy White, and two drops of Medium.  I then painted all the ice I could find on him.  That was mostly on his armor, axe, and a bit on his body.  For his body fur, I used watered down Sand Golem as an undercoat.  That would give him a dirty fur look under the white.  Then, I gave it a blast of Holy White.  

This guy's palette was pretty limited.  I mostly used Holy White, Runic Grey, Pallid Bone, Blood Red Hardened Leather, and a bit of Crusader Skin.  Those were all Speedpaints.  Pallid Bone was for his horns and fingernails.  Holy White was for his armor trim fur.  The bulk of any metal was that Runic Grey.  Browns were for straps and the like.  For some of the rivets and detail on his armor I used Enchanted Silver and Hoplite Gold from the Metallic Speedpaint set.  I used Magic Blue for his eyes and runes on his axe too.

Unlike most of the models, I wanted to darken him up a lot, so I gave him a Strong Wash.  The base of this one is black, instead of brown.  This gives nice dark lining, and I wanted and needed that with such a mono-chrome color palette going into the end stages.  

Oh look, his little lizard buddy is getting some attention to.  I used Malignant Green on his head, arms, and calves.  The rest of his main body was Magic Blue.  His eventual tail and feathers were Fire-Giant orange.  Tongue was Blood Red and claws were Pallid Bone.  Just like the Frozen Horror!  

Anyway, back to the big guy!  With him all base-coated and washed, it was time to make him look like a Frozen Horror.  I did this with a nice liberal drybrush of Cheap Acrylic white from a Big Box Retailer.  I used a fun dry-brushing brush that I got from the same store in a cheap set of paint brushes and it works great for a lot less money.  This dry brush included his head, arms, legs, feet, hands, and the fur-trim on his armor.  I also dry-brushed the "ice" patches on him as well.  

I then completed his base the same way I do all the Heroquest bases.  I used Runic Grey on the stone work and a Privateer Press Matte Black to trim it.  Here he is looking all cold, snowy, and frozen-like...

Of course, it took a while for the Frozen Horror to dry before I could Dry-Brush him, so I worked on the Raptor a bit too.  He got Grim Black eyes, and a Green Ink wash wherever he was Blue and Green.  The Fiery-Orange got a regular Light Tone wash.  

For some added fun, I also white dry-brushed the "feathers" on the Raptor, and once that dried I painted them with Zealot Yellow.  You can not really see it too much on the finished product, but I could not find my Daemonic Yellow.  I think that would have turned out much, much brighter in the final view.  He also got the usual basing.  

Here is the Frozen Horror and his little buddy from a different boxed expansion.....

So, now I can show off the fully painted Frozen Horror Expansion with everything painted for it.  That is a pretty decent chunk of models that I took out of my pile of potential.  To finish them all off, they got a nice protective spray coat too.         

What's that you say, you also want to see the two Jungles of Delthrak minis I painted up with this group?  Okay, okay...... since you have been good little readers...... Here you go.....

So, now my WIP Box that I started my journeys with is done.  It is time to change it up.  If you thought I was going to paint the Jungles of Delthrak expansion next..... I have some bad news for you.  I am going to be painting up Prophecy of Telor and Spirt Queen's Torment next.

Until Next Time!  Another Heroquest Expansion down!  

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Heroquest: Wizards of Morcar- Hasbro/Avalon Hill

 

I did not think I was going to get my hands on this one.  It was supposed to be released in March of 2026, but due to some SNAFU many places got it and sold it out around Christmas of 2025.  That was three months early!  Therefore, when I started looking for it after finishing painting up Mage in the Mirror I could not find it!  I was concerned this was going to be a Rogue Heir situation, and it would never see the light of day again!  However, I managed to track it down at a smaller Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS)-style hobby store that happened to have a website.  I ordered it quick and it came within a couple of days, so I had it in my hands by the end of April 2026.  As a bonus, I also helped out someone's FLGS!       

Everyone says this is a re-release of an old Heroquest expansion from the OG version.  I believe them, but I never saw it.  I had never seen Against the Ogre Horde, Frozen Horror, or Mage in the Mirror either though.  I had only seen Kellar's Keep and Return of the Witchlord with my own eyes.  I am pretty sure I owned the OG Witchlord expansion.  However, despite being a re-release of the old version this time Avalon Hill made some updates by adding more quests to the quest book, and a few other tweaks.  Therefore, unlike some of the other expansions this one has new content in it.  

With this purchase, I have all the Heroquest sets except for the Rogue Heir and the Crypt of Perpetual Darkness.  I have a feeling that the Rogue Heir will never be available again, and I am not sure how much I need Crypt of Perpetual Darkness for one really "hawt" black dragon mini.  I am sure my magpie nature will compel me to get it one day.  However, for now I think I have all the heroes, quests, and monsters I could shake a stick at.  I am honestly wondering what they will be coming out with next!  

So, with that rambling pre-amble out of the way, are you ready to jump into a review of this expansion?  Okay, grab your broadsword, prepare Fires of Wrath, and Zargon open the door so we can get started! 

Things I Liked

Of course, I always like getting a lot of fun miniatures in my Heroquest expansions.  It is a big draw for me obviously.  Most of my fantasy collection now is thanks to Heroquest boxes.  I have so many now, that I keep joking I am going to be able to play BattleMasters!  Here we get a bunch of Mercs that act as friends and foes during the Quest.  These would make great units of soldiers in Battlemasters <wink>.   

Hasbro did not hold back on the named characters in this one and I am here for it!  We get a specialty Minotaur, the long-awaited Sir Ragnar, a bunch of enemy wizards, and some of their spell effects!  Sure, each wizard maybe for a handful of Quests but they are worth it.  They will see the table more than the Frozen Horror will!  Of course, there are also some new monsters too, and you have to love the Mimics... this time playing the part of a Dread Shifter.  We also get the female Wizard variant so all the main Heroes have a M/F version now.... except the Dwarf!  I really hope the next expansion is Dwarf focused.  Finally, you get the two big Golems too.  Good value in miniature pieces alone.  

They massively expand on the Wizard spell lists, and the spells of your foes too.  There are a lot of spells in this box.  Combined with the Elf spells and the OG spells and your spell-casting Heroes now have a lot of options.  Perhaps in the future, they will make a Scroll-making expansion similar to the Alchemy deck?  Maybe allow some Heroes to dabble in Dread magic but at some sort of corrupting cost.  I mean, a lot of these spells are begging to see more table time than the villains alone can give them!          

This expansion has my new favorite Treasure card..... Nothing.  They only give us one, but I really think they need to add about a dozen!  This should be the most common outcome of searching.  

Things I Did Not Like

The Quest books is.... stitched together.  It is not as cohesive as the other expansions.  They marked the OG Quests, so you can play those if you are just trying to recreate that OG experience.  However, I think if they would have stuck just with those it would have been a pretty thin expansion.  The extra Quests help bulk it out, even if they are a bit of a .... stretch.... sometimes and do not fit perfectly.  I mean Sir Ragnar is all over the place in the narrative.  

When I play, I hope the evil wizards last long enough for them to use some of the fun spells in their decks.  In my games so far, the bad guys die pretty fast.  They do not always get to use their fun toys and special tricks! 

Meh and Other Uncertainties

They added a "going to town" aspect.  I was wondering how long until they did something like this?  I mean, it was a part of many expansive Dungeon-crawler games like Shadows of Brimstone.  It gives another way for your Heroes to buff up between missions and earn extra abilities.  At this stage, Heroes might be pretty buff after doing their initial Quest, an expansion or two, and now this one.  They might not have much else to spend money on or things to do.  This gives them another avenue to expand.  Like most Heroquest expansions there are always questions about how much you can use this in other parts of the game since each one is designed to build off of the Core game and not necessarily cross-over with other Expansions.  This leaves good ideas kind of scattered across the expansions and left for Zargon's and their groups to figure out how to use as a cohesive whole.    

Final Thoughts   

I am super-glad I got a hold of this one.  The miniatures are worth the price of admission alone.  Getting some new rules and Quests is just a bonus.  I look forward to painting these all up.  Tons of new cards too.  A good value for the money and on par with some of the other large expansions for the game.  

If your group likes to use spell-caster and magic than this is a must buy.  If they are more Meat-head than Magic, then you can pass on it even though the "going to town" aspect is pretty useful for all.  This one really bulks out player and Zargon magic tricks!  That can be useful for your own homebrew Quests as well.     

Even if you do not play Heroquest this can be a really useful box for bulking out your Fantasy RPG miniature needs.  Spell effects, Mimics, Golems, and lots of NPCs/PC sculpts in those wizards and mercs.  More than enough models for a Frostgrave crew, Restless Swords game, or similar Fantasy skirmish gaming.       

Until next time! 

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On the Painting Desk: Return to the Frozen Horror!

The large box expansions for Heroquest definitely do not skimp on the miniatures.  I probably have enough miniatures now to play full-fledged wargames with them.  I know I can use them for skirmish wargaming.  I have plenty of Orcs, Undead, Ogres, Wolves, furniture, and other odds and ends.  These sets are also really useful for Fantasy RPGs too.  The downside of such large box sets full of goodies is that it takes me a while to paint them all up!  That brings us to today's post!  Look at that transition, what a professional!  

I got started on Frozen Horror and worked on the monsters and doors.  That left me to tackle the Mercenaries and the Big Bad himself.  The last batch took me about a weekend to complete.  This weekend I got started on the mercenaries that you can hire to help you get through the Quest.  It is not for the faint of heart.  

Before starting, I wished I had Wizards of Morcar because that also came with a bunch of mercs.  I wanted to get them all batch painted up together.  I am pretty good at batch painting, it makes sure they all fit in together, and would take out a big chunk of my Pile of Potential.  Too bad I have not been able to find Wizards of Morcar.  Hasbro/Avalon Hill sort of botched the release with their distributors and it came out before Christmas when it was not supposed to release until March.  Now, everyone seems sold out of it.  I really hope that Hasbro decides to re-release it, because I do not want another Rogue Heir type situation.  However, I get the sinking feeling that I may never see Wizards of Morcar available again.  Oh well.  I guess that gives me time to get the rest of my Heroquest expansions painted up and spend my money on other games. 

Anyway, I did my usual undercoating and the like.  What, you don't know what my method is yet?  Oh, their maybe some folks new to the blog?  Okay, I undercoated them with GW Grey Seer, gave them a dark Grey cheap acyrlic wash, and then drybrush them with cheap acrylic white.  This method really helps the SpeedPaints shine. 

  ^^^ That should give you an idea of what they look like when they are ready for paint.  

The keen eyed among you might notice a couple of Mercs from Jungle of Delthrak.  Yup, I am painting up the Man-Bear-Pig with this batch.  I will save the Dino for a palette cleanser when I work on the Frozen Horror himself. 

So, I got set to paint with my Mobile Painting Station.  In a surprise to no one, I am mostly using Armypainter Speedpaints, some regular Armypainter paints, cheap Acyrlic paints from a Bog Box Retailer, and the new SpeedPaint Markers.  I painted all the skin tones first using Barbarian Flesh, Monster Brown, Fair Maiden, and Tanned Flesh to give me a variety of skin tones.   

 It you know about how I batch-paint, I typically start with the boots and paint upwards from there. For boots, I used a combination of Hardend Leather, Sand Golem, and Crusader Skin.  I then went up to the pants and start painting lowest layer first so skin --> boots/shoes --> pants ---> shirts ---> Outerwear ---> armor ---> belts and straps ---> weapons and gear ---> and I save the fun of picking hair colors for last.  

I used a wide variety of colors for the clothing including Highlord Blue, Slaughter Red, Zealot Yellow, Orc Skin green, Fire Giant Orange, and some dark Purple color.  You know, all the classics.  I wanted each Mercs to look like an individual and be distinctive on the table.  These guys are not part of a military unit afterall.  This variety slowed me down a bit.  

I tried to stick to three main colors for metals.  First I have good luck with Graveyard Grey and Runic Grey for a non-Metal Metal look.  From there I also mixed in the occasional, Zealot Yellow,  Broadsword Silver or Hoplite Gold.   Those last two are from the metallic Speedpaint set. Since most of the metal in my Heroquest is not a true metallic I stuck with the non-metallics mostly.    

The Man-Bear-Pig I painted with a thinned Sand Golem, then a thinned Holy White.  From there I drybrushed Skeleton Bone from the non-speedpaint range.  I painted his claws Pallid Bone, eyes Blood Red, and his teeth cheap acrylic white.  I also painted the pads on his paws with Grim Black.  

For hair colors, I stayed pretty conservative today.  These are not main characters, they are mooks!  I don't want them to hog the spotlight!  I mostly used Dark Wood, Sand Golem, Grim Black, Graveyard Grey, and one got Zealot yellow and another got Fire Giant Orange.  See if you can find them in the group photo! 

That left them with all their basecoats on.  They were looking pretty.  I gave them all an Armypainter Light Tone wash to fill in any gaps.  Once that was dry, I did any touch-ups or finishing touches.  For example, the Man-Bear-Pig I drybrushed some white on his chest.  Others I highlighted to bring the colors back up where they needed it.  

From there, I painted their bases Runic Grey and gave them the traditional Black Trim.  Once it warms up a bit more, I will spray them down with a protective coat.  Here is where the Mercs ended up.....

Boom!  In one day I had painted a dozen+ guys.  All that was left of this expansion was the Frozen Horror.  However, I decided to leave him for another weekend effort.  A dozen miniatures in a day is a respectable days work!  That means I have painted over 50+ Heroquest models this year.  

Sounds impressive but I still have to paint: 

- The Frozen Horror Himself

- Jungles of Delthrak

- Prophecy of Telor

- Spirit Queen's Torment

- G.I. Joe Heroscape 

Man, that is a lot of stuff to paint.  A bit daunting as I need to build and paint some Late Rome stuff for Osprey now too.   However, if I see Wizards of Morcar I am not waiting.  

Until next time! 

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Wargame Design: Kitchen Table Games

In recent years, the idea of "Kitchen Table Games" have seen a surge in popularity.  What is a Kitchen Table Game you ask?  Well, it is a game that can be played on a smaller playing surface.  Notably a kitchen table that is about three-feet long and two-feet across.  Of course, this is a change from traditional wargames as they typically use 6x4 foot tables or larger. In today's world, getting access to such large tables can be problematic.  The rise of these smaller table games is a natural reaction to these problems.            

In my current "Mobile" situation the idea of Kitchen Table Games is much more appealing to me.  I no longer have access to my 8-foot by 4-foot table.  I have made a few smaller table games in my days, but I typically only go 3-feet by 3-feet as the smallest.  The realm of smaller board games is a new realm for me.  

Thinking about "Kitchen Table Games" leads me to speculate about a few ways to approach the "problem" of scaling down a game.  Many games have all ready tackled these ideas:

Odin's Ravens

1. Reduce the Size  

In this scenario, I mean reducing the actual size of the miniatures that you are using.  I.e. if you are playing a model-vs-model skirmish game instead of using 28mm models, you use 10mm models instead.  You keep the relative relationship of range to movement the same, just different, smaller, measurements.  

2. Reduce the Scale

Here, I am talking about reducing the scale of the battle.  I.e. instead of focusing on unit-vs-unit in the conflict you focus on model-vs-model.  Instead of warbands of 10-12 models, your reduce the scope down to 4 or fewer.  

For example, the game Doom 1490 has a tight focus on only a handful of models for a full game.  

3, Bathtub It

This is an old practice in wargaming where you modify the ground, unit, or even time scale to fit the scenarios. This can include telescoping, rubber banding, time-warping or other tricks to distort the size of the battlespace relative to reality in various ways.  

For example, the Portable Wargame makes use of this technique.  

4. Set Spaces

A technique where all games take place in the same general space.  This is typically some sort of arena like a gladiator game or sports game.  The arena can always be the same general size.  

For example, Heroquest always uses the same board for a variety of adventure types. 

An example of a set-size

5. Abstracting 

In this situation, you intentionally misrepresent the connection between factors on the table.  Such as the minimizing or changing the relationship between movement, range, and speed.  As you modify these relationships you can adjust the size of the table with such tricks.  

For example, Kill Team makes use of this technique to allow games in the Warhammer 40K universe in a small play area.

 

6. Scale of the Game fits the Reality

The final trick I can think about is to find a reality that fits the scale of the game.  This means choose a situation to play-out that only requires a small space.  Think of situation such as the gunfight at the OK Corral, a single samurai duel, or something similar in scope.  

For example, Blood on the Sands is a game of gladiator combat between 1-on-1 combatants.

The Games: Blood and Spectacles

7. Zoom In

Just zoom in real close to the action.  Maybe a huge battle is going on but the game is only interested in a small, close-up piece of the action.

For example. arguably this is how Warhammer 40K: 2nd Edition handles things.   

8.  Ready for the Close-up

Similar to the Zoom In, except all the action is intentionally up-close and tight.  The game has a very tight and focused view on just the action that it needs to see.  Everything is up close and personal, almost cinematic in focus.  

For example, a game like Warriors of Athena uses this trick to keep the play area small.   

Kill Team

Final Thoughts

This is just a general primer on tricks or tips that Wargame Designers can use to create some compelling or interesting Kitchen Table Games.  This can include a tight focus on realism or a much more cinematic approach.  This can include various tools to play with related to how you use The Designer's Triangle.  The key is deciding how you want to make your game fit the space limitations of a Kitchen Table and commit to the bit.  

Until next time! 

Become a Patron and get access to all the cool stuff, a peak behind the curtain of Blood and Spectacles, and early-access to playtest games!  

Blood and Spectacles Patreon! 

You can follow Blood and Spectacles Facebook page or Instagram for more fun! 

Check out the latest publications and contact me at our Blood and Spectacles website

Or purchase all out games at the Blood and Spectacles Publishing Wargames Vault Page!            

RPG Review: Scum and Villainy- Evil Hat Productions/Off Guard Games

 

It's no secret that I like to play narrative focused and cinematic games.  I have a preference for rules-lite.  Those are some of my biases that I want you to know about going into this RPG review.  Why would I tell you this?  Well, if you look at the cover you can see it is a Forged in the Dark role-playing game.  It is no accident that I am going to be interested in this game.  

Of course, I cut my teeth on the old West End Games Star Wars 2nd Edition.  I grew-up playing that as my sci-fi game of choice.  I should probably do a review on it some day even though it is not new.  I have also played Starfinder for straight Sci-fi games.  For a stretch, I have also played Palladium's Robotech system as well.  Finally, I have also played Green Ronin's The Expanse role-playing game.  I guess I am telling you all this to show my Bonafide's when it comes to sci-fi role-playing games.  I am not a rookie when it comes to this style of game. 

As an added bonus this a game that is about heists.  That makes sense, considering the source of this system is Blades in the Dark, which is a heist game.  I also have experience with heist games.  This is  mainly via Shadowrun.  However, I also have some experience with Noir games such as Hard City.  Therefore, I am familiar with this "less than savory characters" style games too.  In many ways, this one reminds me of the TV show Firefly.    

Therefore, you now know some of my bias going into this games.  You also know some of my history with RPGs of this type.  So, let's dig into this one shall we?  Time to fuel up, load the cargo, and get ready to blast through the blockade.  Does this game have what it takes to keep on flying?      

Things I Like

This game uses a Playbook system.  I tend to like those as it fills core "niche" with appropriate stuff.  However, they are typically choice one of these options which allows for a quick start.  The niche is often "fictionally appropriate" for the style of game being played.  This is a Star Wars/Firefly genre Space Opera.  Therefore, the core "playbooks" are: Mechanics, Muscles, Mystics, Pilots, Scoundrels, Speakers, and Stitches.  I think you can imagine which of your favorite characters fit in where.  

In addition to playbooks, there are a few "crew types" that help create an archetype for the stories you will be telling in a campaign.  These archetype ships set the tone of the table and adventures to come.  It is different being smugglers than bounty hunters than freedom fighters.  You might dabble in all of these, but ultimately the main draw is the archetype of the ship and crew.  

Dice mechanics are simple.  There is a small list of attributes from 0-4 dice.  These represent a dice pool that you roll for tests.  A highest dice as a 6 is a full success, 4-5 is a partial success, and 1-3 is a bad outcome.  No dice, then roll two and pick the lowest with no chance to crit.  Simple.  I like simple dice mechanics. 

The game discusses scene types with "On The Job", "Downtime", and "Free Play".  It gets into more details about types of Jobs and the Engagement roll to help speed up planning.  Therefore, players and GMs have an idea of what to expect from each part of the game.  

You can get extra dice for a roll, but there are always a complication.  They call it a Devil's Bargain!  These can be used to shake things up and raise the stakes.  I can see a certain type of player never taking these, and another always taking them when offered. 

Things I Do Not Like

I rarely talk about lay-out of games, but I am not a fan of how this game is laid-out in the book.  It is not easy to use.  When I was making my character, I had a hard time finding key details.  I was surprised since this is a Playbook driven game yet simple things like "attributes" are buried in the character section without a clear heading name.  Just, not great editing and design.  I know, a bit petty but it made making a character a bit of a frustration. 

There was 12 Attributes, which I think is probably 4 too many.  Again, a bit nit-picky but there you go.  Often times your Playbook will give you a bonus in an Attribute.  There are only 7 Playbooks, so that is probably how many Attributes the game should have as well.  The intention is to give you an idea about how the PCs will approach a given scene, where sneaking across a hangar is played out mechanically different from sprinting across the same hangar.  However, I think a layer of abstraction would work fine here to cover both situations.      

Then there are three resistance rolls that are used in different situations.  Again, I think it is one too many.  Resistance rolls always succeed, but you take stress.  Stress is bad. Instead of damage, you take Stress when called upon to resist.  If your Stress reaches max, you start taking Trauma conditions.  These are more like Role-play notes with names like Paranoid and Cold.  Trauma conditions are permanent, but when you have 4 Trauma you are out of the game.  It looks like you start with 12 trauma, and can choose to take 2 to Push Your Luck.  I think this is too much Stress to start and not enough impact from Trauma.  Instead, if you play Trauma well you get XP bonus.  Play it bad and..... nothing really.     

Meh and Other Uncertainties

Clocks. It wouldn't be a Forged in the Dark system without clocks.  Clocks are a pretty handy and cool idea.  The GM determines how many times you can essentially pass or fail before consequences start to spiral.  Bad Outcomes and Partial successes can cause opposing clocks to move, and success and Crits can have good clocks move.  Pretty neat way to raise the tension, especially since you will want to make these clocks public.  So, why do I put them here?  Ultimately, I think you will have too many clocks going at a time, even in fairly mundane circumstance.  

I.e. a simple smash and grab would have a clock for the PCs to "Get into the Hide-out" and then "Get the loot", and "Escape Clean".  Various actions would help them or hinder, but on the other side you might have the opponents with "Detect Intruders", "Clean-out the Loot", and "Turn-the-Tables"  However, at the same time each PC may also have their own clocks running for various personal reason.  They can stack up fast and a tool to help make tracking and abstraction easier suddenly is not easy.  Doing a clock is easy and cool, but running 12 clocks can be tricky.    

In addition to the dice any individual has, you can boost dice by taking stress, taking a Devil's Bargain, Assists from others, and there are also shared Crew resources.  There are a lot of ways to boost your dice pool, with varying forms of consequences.  It means you can easily manage risk, with only a few options to make interesting complications.      

Ultimately, I think the game just uses too much jargon for things that do not need it.  The lay-out is all ready strained, so the amount of game specific Jargon just takes me out of the rules.  I am sure a great GM can make this all disappear; but a great GM can make any game great!  What about a mediocre or average GM?  I am not sure it can be done here, and I think the jargon and terms will get in the way of the narrative your table is telling.  

Final Thoughts

I really wanted to love these rules.  I had heard a lot of great things about them.  However, I am not sure they are for everyone.  I actually like them less than a standard Powered by the Apocalypse game.  They are slightly more complicated with nothing new to show for it.  The big idea is the Clocks compared to PbtA and I am not sure they deliver an enhanced experience that can not be captured with less book-keeping.   

Plus, I think the lay-out and jargon make this game easier to play than to read.  As a new player to a campaign, I did not find it easy or intuitive to grasp.  I also had a hard time finding what I was looking for in the book.  It was too abstract and too detailed at the same time for my tastes and in the wrong areas.    

That said, I am glad I have read it and played it.  There are really good ideas here, I just am not satisfied with how it all goes together.  I can see others who would absolutely adore this game, and I won't turn down future games.  However, it is also not my favorite either.      

Become a Patron and get access to all the cool stuff, a peak behind the curtain of Blood and Spectacles, and early-access to playtest games!  

Blood and Spectacles Patreon! 

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Check out the latest publications and contact me at our Blood and Spectacles Website

Or purchase all out games at the Blood and Spectacles Publishing Wargames Vault Page!