AAR HAVOC gameday Worcester Massachusetts USA 3/28/15 Mighty Monsters!

AAR HAVOC gameday Worcester Massachusetts USA 3/28/15 Mighty Monsters!

Seven players. I gave them the opportunity as usual to build their own gameboard with two features preplaced by me, the nuclear power plant and the oil refinery.  A brief orientation beforehand, which I am getting better at. Only two or three oh-by-the-ways later in the game, but the players were very understanding.

I did learn later that some kids came by and would of liked to join in, but, I didn't notice them. but were a little intimidated by the crowd around the table. I will have to advertise better next time, or put up a sign saying "Walk Ins, Especially Kids, Are Most Welcome".

I am most proud that I have not paid full price for anything on the table that I can think of, I am trying to show the young folks that you do not need hundreds of dollars to get a toe hold into gaming. I tout Andrea's rulesets as an economical start into the hobby.

Notice my Short measuring stick in the lower left corner. I have several like it for measuring other measurements in Ganesha Games' rulesets.

Today I also uploaded a look at some of the terrain pieces I've built for these games here on my blog.

One tool no one at this table was the god [insert divinity of your choice] die. The god die is a blank six sided die with YES on three faces and NO [or ON, as the players joked] on the other three. A gamer's way of flipping a coin. It was used several times during this game to settle disputed matters.

I used the pirated Savage Worlds initiative system with playing cards. Drawing the Joker gave you your choice of action, a +1 to all rolls, and operation of "The Bat" [see below] for that turn.
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Cautiously, cautiously, monsters make their way into town.



The nuclear power plant only lasted about four turns into the game, as expected. I thought someone would shoot it from a distance. The gallant player shot it point blank after touching it and being blown backwards a couple of times.

The young player muses on the wisdom of blowing up the nuclear power plant.

My debris is cut up packing material. The glow rings add color and flash to the destruction.

So, 4 Arm Tree Man wanted to drop a building as a bridge across the water as a bridge. Use of the god die and the monster's Combat and Quality rolls decided it in his favor.

Mecha Zeta peeks around corner.

My tall skyscraper me its ubiquitous end midway through the game with 4 Arm Tree Man bashing it with an automobile and then his fists. No one seems to like this building, it gets knocked down every game I use it in.

You can't really see Gobira because he is standing in water over his head. Minutes later, yellow monster gets his rear toasted in radioactive breath!

Gobira bears down on yellow Spikey.

Gobira spends a moment to stomp a car!

You can see the The Bat flying low between the buildings. It is a reconnaissance vehicle controlled by the player drawing the Joker during his turn. It was very undergunned, and never got to shoot at anything during this game. It just looked cool.

The dino at the right off the board is the second monster force off the board. I ruled that they had to be dealt out of the initiative for the next turn and then be allowed to reenter at the same place they were forced out the turn after that.

Display your initiative card!

Young man on the left does fist pump for a good roll. It did not save him at the end.

Here are a couple of more pictures, courtesy of my good friend Mike Paine!

There's me with the blue Battle Group Boston South shirt and glasses. I never get a picture of myself,

My million dollar dice tower and a view of "The Bat". My area effect template is on the building on the left.

Carnage around the nuclear power plant.

Gobira leaving the water to radiation blast the yellow spikey guy!

All in all, a great game. I need to query the players more about the Special Rules on their monster sheets, so they understand them completely earlier in the game. I find the gamemaster gets less and less useful as the game gets going and the players catch on to the mechanics of the game. It makes his job a lot easier and fun!

I was scheduled to run A Fistful of Kung Fu in the afternoon, but no players showed up. Sad for me!

Miscellaneous Terrain Pieces

Let me backtrack on some terrain pieces I've made.

1. The crater or foxhole. On CD base with Crayola Model Magic and hot glue buildup and texturing. Primed flat black and acrylic paints. Dullcote.

2. The water tank. On CD base with an upturned yogurt cup. Acrylic paints. Glosscote.

3. The platform. On CD base. A piece of vinyl packing material. Primed black. Rustoleum American Accents Stone Textured Finish. Dullcote.

4. The wire spools. On CD base. Primed black.  Rustoleum American Accents Stone Textured Finish. Spools from Michaels jewelry section. An entanglement trap for AFOKF.

5. The little tower. On CD base. Primed black.  Acrylic paints. Dullcote.

6. The oil refinery for Mighty Monsters. On CD base. Primed black. Plastic tape spools topped with POGS. Primed again with black. Dried coffee grounds applied with diluted Elmer's glue. Dullcote.

7.  The Observatory. On CD base. Primed flat black. Rustoleum American Accents Stone Textured Finish. Toy dug from tub at flea market. Toy primed flat black. Edge with bronze to Steampunk it out. Dullcote.

8. Nuclear power plant. On CD base. clear container from coin toy machine. Tooth paste box. Glue stick container. As Seen On TV Egg making container topped with a POG. Misc white board scraps. Items glued with Dulco cement. Primed flat black. Dried coffee grounds in between applied with diluted Elmer's glue.Acrylic paints. Dullcote.

9. The lumber pile. A springboard for AFOKF. On CD base. Primed flat black. Rustoleum American Accents Stone Textured Finish. Wooden coffee stirrers glued with cement and Elmer's glue. Dullcote.

Cheap terrain. Very satisfied.

AAR Flying Lead

1/26/15. Flying Lead from Ganesha Games. Two games played with my son. I have had this game for a while, but have not played it before. My son was new to it, too.

My team moving forward using cover to best effect.

My son came right over the bridge, Took a big chance there. I mowed a few of them down with Combined Fire.

He had grenades, and I did not. I suffered accordingly.

Second game. I skirted the perimeter hoping to get into position before him.

Went at it hammers and tongs on the river's edge. I was in the open and he was in the buildings.

I was never able to get into a good position. He kept pounding the snot out of me.

I made good use of motivating the troops.

My son took to fighting from cover very well, much to my misfortune.

On their way into the building. Set up on the top floor and sniped and dropped grenades on me.

My sargent snuck into the first floor and set the building on fire. There was some hand to hand as the greenies bugged out.

More shots from above. I couldn't activate for nothin.

These guys just milled about and got shot. Not much help at all.

This is about the end of it. Sarge was able to slink around to the other side of the board. The private to his left kept everyone busy trying without success to kill him. Eventually, someone got a lucky shot.

I really like the Flying Lead ruleset and will probably bring it to the next con, which will probably be Havoc in Worcester Massachusetts in March/April. You can buy the ruleset at Amazon or at Ganesha Games. Use your Google Fu. Support Andrea Sfiligoi and other small press authors. You won't be disappointed.

AAR A Fistful of King Fu

1/25/15. Two Games of A Fistful of Kung Fu with my son at home. It was his first time.

We packed the board with terrain, Not too many straight lines. One protagonist and five mooks each. I took a Martial Arts Master, he took a Drunken Monkey Master.

The Drunken Monkey Master beat the snot out of the the Martial Arts Master. MAM got bounced into almost every piece of terrain he wound up next to.

Second game. I changed to Mr. Green, a Dim Mak Master. My son kept the Drunken Monkey Master.A few of  my mooks took their sweet time getting around the shrine and in a position to help me.

Once again, the Drunken Monkey Master beat the snot out of me, bouncing me off the building and the blade of the bulldozer.

Once Mr. Green went down, my mooks failed the morale roll to varying degrees. They tried to rally, but my son's mooks made short work of them.

All and all, good games, My son played pretty conservatively with his activations. Good use of his mook motivations. My dice just sucked that day.

Give A Fistful of Kung Fu a try! Support small press games like Andrea's, either from Amazon, Ganesha Games, or Osprey Games. You won't be disappointed.