Saturday, February 10, 2024

Figure Painting Total - January 2024

 I got some more Dust figures.  The Gorillas and Zombies are already painted but I will probably touch them up.  I’m good for Zombies now, but still need to pick up a Gorilla Support squad.  I also pick up some SSU troops.  I am mainly getting the walkers for the Soviets but want a few troops.  I still need another walker, as well as a helicopter.

I assembled a bunch of the Don’t Look Back figures.  We had some really nice weather but I did not get them primed before it turned.

 

Bought

Dust Tactics – Axis – Gorillas – 3

Dust Tactics – Axis – Zombie – 5

Dust Tactics – SSU – Red Army Command squad – 5

Dust Tactics – SSU – Rifle Squad – 5

 

 

Painted

 

 

 

Jan total – 18 figures bought, 0 figures painted

Running total 2024 – figures bought 18, figures painted 0

 

Saturday, January 27, 2024

My top 10 games of 2023


 

I have put together my top 10 games for 2023.  Note that these are games that I have played for the first time in 2023, not necessarily games that were released in 2023.  With all the games that I already have, I got another x games plus expansions last year.  Some were gifts, some were purchased at the thrift stores, and some were new.

 

The new games were: Chosen Men, Don’t Look Back – second edition, Gelatinous, Marvel Splendor*, Marvel Villainous: Twisted Ambition, Marvel Villainous: We Are Venom, Scooby Doo: Betrayal at Mystery Mansion, Silver Bayonet, Spectre, Star Wars Villainous: Scum and Villainy, Unmatched – Brains and Brawn, Unmatched – For King and Country, Unmatched – Teen Spirit, Unmatched Adventures: Tales to Amaze, Warhammer 40,000 – tenth edition - Leviathan.

 

The ones I picked up not new were:

 

 

A lot of these did not hit the table this year.  Some games from previous years were finally played.

 

Games that I played for the first time that did not make my list were:

10 – Boggle Jr – a very simple version of the regular game for young kids. 

 

9 – Stay Alive – I had seen this one as a child but had never played it.  You have to move sliders and try to drop your opponents’ balls while keeping your balls from falling into the holes.  It does play pretty well. 

 

8 – Draftosaurus – is a quick drafting game using dinosaur shaped meeples instead of cards.  You draw 6 dinos from a bag and place them on your own board to score depending on the areas and number of dinos in them.

 

7 – Trash Pandas – a quick card game for up to 4 players where you play as a raccoon digging through trash cans for leftovers.  It combines set collecting with push-your-luck.

 

6 – Cover Your Assets – a card game for 4-6 players where you try to make sets of assets cards but your topmost pile can always be stolen.

 

5 – Gelatinous – is basically a gamer version of LCR.  There is no decision making or strategy involved, you just roll your dice, move them depending on what you rolled, and then continue until someone wins.  The green sparkly dice are very pretty though.

 

4 – Pokemon Jr Adventure Game – a very simple RPG for young kids, with a very preprogrammed path.  It would have been much better enjoyed if we had been able to get to this ten years ago, but was still fun.

 

3 – Munchkin – The Nightmare Before Christmas – it is our first Munchkin game played.  It is a dungeon crawl kind of game with a heavy take-that element.  It was a bit slow to start but picked up as we got the hang of it.  I don’tknow if it is different from the regular Munchkin but the rest of us were at level 9 when someone won.

 

2 – Dust Tactics Revised Core – I was finally able to play the introductory scenario.  The rules seem pretty basic once we got the hang of it.  I was glad to finally play this as I keep buying forces for it.  It seems like there will be enough depth to satisfy that miniatures battle need.

 

1 – Blitz Bowl – I also got to play this with someone who had only played Blood Bowl online.  The players and rules are somewhat similar to Blood Bowl but a lot more simplified.  It took me a few turns to get used to the differences but then it really played quickly.

 

Saturday, January 20, 2024

Books Read - September to December 2023

 Sept

No Phule Like an Old Phule by Robert Asprin and Peter J Heck

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

 

Oct

Halloween II by Jack Martin

Halloween III by Jack Martin

The Field Guide to Tiki Decorating volume  one by Trader Brandon with Tiki Tony and Typhoon Tommy

 

Nov

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

Memoirs of a Winnipeg Cab Drver by E Eddy Proulx

Boldly Go by William Shatner with Joshua Brandon

 

Dec

Chosen Men: Military Skirmish Combat Games in the Napoleonic Wars by Mark Latham

Frostgrave: The Wizards’ Conclave by Joseph A. McCullough

So You Want To Be a Wizard by Diane Duane

The Silver Bayonet by Joseph A McCullough

The Silver Bayonet – The Carpathian: Castle Fier by Joseph A McCullough

Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane

 

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Figure Painting Total - December 2023

 I ended up losing momentum partly into this year when I cleaned up my basement set up.  While it was time to clean it up, not having the paints out to add a quick step really dampened my enthusiasm for painting.

My big order from Black Site Studios came in with the new figures from the updated set.  With the special relaunch order, I ended up getting a bunch of extras above the new heroes and killers.  I also got The Goonies for Christmas.  I wasn’t sure about the Unmatched Adventures, but we picked that up as well. 

I was finally able to play Dust Tactics, and Blitz Ball.  We’ll see if this translates into added interest in painting again for the new year.

 

 

Bought

The Goonies: Never Say Die – 8

The Goonies: Under the Goondocks – 4

Unmatched Adventures – Tales to Amaze – 6

DLB: Bloody Depths – 3

DLB: The Faculty – 1

DLB: The Heroes – 8

DLB: The Killer – 2

DLB: The Quorum – 1

DLB – Pack Killer – Possessed Patients – 3

DLB – Pat – 1

DLB – Super Mutant De’Graw – 1

DLB – The Heroes – alternate prom sculpts – 8

DLB – The Judge of Hanging Rock – 1

DLB – Tokens – 8

 

 

Painted

 

 

 

Dec total – 55 figures bought, 0 figures painted

Running total 2023 – figures bought 213, figures painted 26

Saturday, December 23, 2023

Figure Painting Total - November 2023

Even thought I had missed out on the Dust Starter, I was able to get an Operation Cerberus for a not-outrageous price.  This is the last of the classic expansion boxed that I needed.  

I had two weeks off but, instead of painting, I spent the time recovering from Covid.  Being fully boosted, it was more of an annoyance than a life-threatening event.

Bought

Dust Tactics – Operation Cerberus – 2

 

 

Painted

 

 

 

Nov total – 2 figures bought, 0 figures painted

Running total 2023 – figures bought 158, figures painted 26

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Figure Painting Total - October 2023

  

I was hoping to get some figures painted while on holidays, but I got sick and did not get anything done.

I was finally able to get some mechs for the SSU faction of Dust Tactics.  I had a chance at the original starter for Dust Tactics at a good price but was too slow.

 

Bought

DCU – Cyborg Superman & Mongul – 2

Dust 1947 – Axis Grenadier X – 1

Dust 1947 – SSU Natalya/Nadya/Natasha – 2

 

 

Painted

 

 

 

Oct total – 5 figures bought, 0 figures painted

Running total 2023 – figures bought 156, figures painted 26

 

Sunday, October 15, 2023

Collecting Intellivision - road to 55

 


Collection for older game systems is a bit of an odd hobby.  Unlike the 677 games for the NES, the Intellivision only had 125 Games release for it before 2000.  There have been some new releases by the homebrew community since then, starting with 4-TRIS – a Tetris clone which came out in 2001.  This can make collecting the entire set a bit tricky.

Because of the history, collecting the entire set is a matter of deciding what you consider a complete set.  Mattel Electronics released 55 games for the system, plus another 6 for the ECS (Entertainment Computer System) keyboard expansion.  There were another 41 games released by 1983 other companies like Activision (7), Atarisoft (3), Coleco (8), Imagic (14), Interphase Technology (2), Parker Brothers (6), and Sega (1). 

Dextell Ltd released 2 games in 1986.  And INTV released another 21 games between 1985 and 1989.  They also released some older games by other companies in INTV packaging.

This gives you a bit of a choice to what you want for a ‘complete’ collection.  You can collect the original 19 games – as noted by the number on top of the boxes.  You can collect the entire 55 Mattel Electronics games.  You can collect some, or all, of the games by other companies.  You can skip the ECS games or even the INTV games, which allows a smaller collection.  Or you can go for the entire 125 – or even 124 since the Super Spiker! Game is really hard to collect. 

 

Personally, I’m interested in getting the remaining 9 I need for the original 19.  I would also get Boxing to complete the games from 1981.  Depending on what lots I get which have other games, I would probably get the 6 I need to complete the 1982 set as well.

At that point I would have 10 remaining from the 1983 set.  Three of these are on the Flashback system, but I still might try to get them to complete the official 55.  If I am able to complete that, I might try to get the Atarisoft, Coleco, and Parker Brothers games.

I might get a few of the Imagic ones, as well as the rest of the Activision games, again depending on what I had gotten in lots to that point.  I have Pitfall! Already, and would only be interested in Happy Trails from Activision, and Microsurgeon and Beauty & The Beast from Imagic. 

I would only chase down the one Sega game, Congo Bongo, if I could get it for a reasonable price.  Being a solitary game from that company, it is easy to skip.  The same is true for the two games from Dextell.  Being that they were from 1986, it is easy to cut the collection off at 1983.     

For the non-Mattel games, you also have to decide on if you want to collect just the cartridges, or if you are trying to get the games with the boxes, rules, and overlays.  Unlike for Atari or Coleco, where the boxes were not as important and the games were simpler, because of needing a place to keep the instructions and overlays, most people who had Intellivision games kept the original boxes.  However, some games did not come with overlays originally.