Support Your Friendly Local Gaming Store

OK, I'll keep this simple.

SUPPORT YOUR FRIENDLY LOCAL GAME STORE for Magic!

This Saturday is the Prerelease for a new Magic the Gathering set, Innistrad. I personally think it looks great and I know that while not everyone is a fan on the new 2 sided transform mechanic cards, I give WotC credit for trying new rules and ideas to keep the game fresh! However, that is not the point of this post...

If you do not buy your Magic cards and play in your local game store for these types of events, then you are hurting both yourself and the Magic community has a whole! Why you ask? I'll give you a few simple reasons.

First, your local game store gives you a place to PLAY! You can't play on-line with that great new box of Innistrad you just got off the web at a few bucks cheaper than your local store, can you! Yet, here is your friendly local game store (FLGS) giving you table space to hang out for FNM and many other times during the week. That table space could be replaced with a pool table or a new product line of model train accessories that would make your FLGS money.  Buy your Magic at your FLGS to help your FLGS provide PLAY SPACE FOR YOU!

Second, who is there for you when you need help with your deck or when you wanted to learn how to play in the first place? Yeah, you might have learned from your friends or family but when you really needed unbiased advice on your bud's really annoying mill deck or how do I beat Red Deck Wins, I bet your FLGS was there to help. I'll even bet the guys and gals at the FLGS didn't even charge you to ask those rules questions or help you adjust the mana ratio of your new deck. Go find that service for free on-line! Buying your Magic and playing in FLGS store events helps to keep that resource alive for YOUR FUTURE NEEDS!

Third, your FLGS helps find you new people to play with. Tired of beating your kid brother for the 347th time? Come in for FNM and see if your "unbeatable merfolk" deck does so well against a former state champ. Hey, maybe you get to draft with a Pro Tour player or win one game against the guy who won GP Providence this year. Chances are, these other players won't be dropping by your kitchen table to play with you. Looking to trade an extra Stoneforge Mystic or 4? Well, these guys are more likely to need them than your mom. You might even make some new friends - ones that like playing the same game you play! In short, you get to be PART OF A COMMUNITY!

Last, and this may not mean much to some of you but buying and supporting your FLGS is good for your wallet. The money you spend locally goes back into making your town a better place to live. Maybe you want a job at your FLGS. Maybe your friend already works there. Maybe you like the hot chick who works there (Yeah, they do work at FLGSs and I have pics to prove it!). It would be a real shame if your FLGS closed because johnny internet was $5 cheaper for a box of Innistrad (Bet you forgot to add shipping) and now you have to wait for it to be delivered instead of cracking those minty fresh packs at midnight on release day! In other words, keeping your FLGS strong HELPS YOUR LIFE!

So, when it comes time to buy your Magic, stop and think about the secondary benefit to you and your friends, family and neighbors and SUPPORT YOUR FRIENDLY LOCAL GAME STORE otherwise, you might be home on a Friday Night playing Magic with, I mean by, yourself!

Good Luck with Innistrad!

Dave

PS. Yes, I own a FLGS and may have a biased view BUT, I can prove each of my points objectively so I would love to hear from you folks out there.

PPS. Support Your Local FLGS is a nod to two great James Garner movies done in the 70s, Support Your Local Gunfighter and Support Your Local Sheriff. If you are unfamiliar with these flicks or James Garner, I am sure Netflix can help you out.

New 52 - Week 3 - Reviews from Kathy!

Kathy from The Gamer's Gambit in NJ has also been reviewing The New 52. Check out what she thinks!

Batman: A good beginning, even if the origin story is glossed over. This comic dives into who is Batman? Who is Bruce Wayne? What is Gotham City and is there hope for it? 3.5 out of 5.  

Birds of Prey: Just as the Birds of Prey begin someone wants them—and a nosy reporter— out of the picture. Will this mysterious group succeed? An exciting beginning that could have used a little more story that seems to have taken a different turn with the new creative team. 3 out of 5.

Blue Beetle: The origin of the scarab, and why the earth should fear it. A villainous group wants the scarab, but will they be able to get it? Although this comic, sadly, confirms that Ted Kord was never a Blue Beetle, it’s a good story and a solid beginning. Sadly, 3 out of 5. I’m hoping issue two is better.

Captain Atom: Beginning with a crisis about his powers is an interesting start; a way to get around the origin story while still explaining who he is. Even so, it’s kind of meh. 2.5 out of 5.

Catwoman: From reading this, we know that Catwoman loves trouble. Jewelry, cats, money, Batman, sure, she loves those things as well, but they all lead back to the same: trouble. After her apartment gets blown up, she needs a way to get cash fast. Meaning, she needs something to steal. 3 out of 5.

Green Lantern Corps: Thousands of light years away, Green Lanterns are getting massacred! On earth, Guy Gardener and John Stewart try to balance their heroic and civilian lives, until duty calls. 3 out of 5.

Legion of Superheroes: Oh look! Introduction bubbles! So now we know who all these people are… but I’m still confused as to who the people in Legion Lost are. But it’s much less confusing than Legion Lost, and is even enjoyable at times. I just wish they reversed the release order of this with Legion Lost. 2 out of 5.

Nightwing: Dick Grayson is back to being Nightwing, beating up criminals in his own way rather than as Batman. He’s used to seeing the worst in Gotham, but how will he handle the circus coming to town? To everyone else, it’s just an ordinary circus. To him, it’s a bitter-sweet memory: place where he grew up and performed, and the place where his parents died. 4 out of 5.

Wonder Woman and Red Hood: I put both of these together because I’m confused. Wonder Woman dives right into acts of evil, but I don’t recognize the guy who looks like he’s made entirely out of black rocks. Nor do I recognize the girl that’s being chased after or why she knows Diana/Wonder Woman. And Red Hood? It… seems like DC’s answer to Deadpool, but it doesn’t have the same feeling. I know who Red Hood is because I’m a Batman fan, but what is he doing with those two. Why is Starfire on the run? Why is she so quick to have sex? It has just as little explanation as Wonder Woman. What is going on in both of these?  Both 1 out of 5.

What do I recommend so far?

Frankenstein: Agent of Shade- Don’t let the cover or the goofy title fool you. It’s good. Good characters, good story, I can’t wait for issue two. My favorite, if only because I want it to succeed so much! The Bat family? They’ll do fine. Green Lantern? No problem. I’m most worried this will fail due to a lack of star power despite being better than the rest of the 52’s.

Batgirl: This comic has, sadly, gotten a lot of negative feedback due to Barbara Gordon no longer being Oracle. It’s a touchy subject, but it’s been handled well. It’s emotional and realistic, and it’s nice to see that even superheroes have trouble with fear. I’m reading this to see Barbara Gordon adjust to her new role.

Batwoman: The art may be better than the story, but I’m a sucker for mysteries and the supernatural. For all of the “world’s greatest detective” praise that Batman gets, this one seems to have much more mystery to it than the main Batman titles.

New 52 - Week 3

Another week of comic-y goodness from DC, as The New 52 rolls on. We've still got most of the books in stock from the first 3 weeks (including Justice League and Action Comics).

Let's get into it:

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Catwoman #1: I'm a huge fan of Judd Winick's independent work (Barry Ween, Pedro and Me), but most of his DC work has felt flat. This, however, was a wild sexy ride. If you've been reading the internet, you already know about the... encounter, at the end of the book. This was far more fun than I thought it'd be, to be honest. Then again, I'm biased, Dick Grayson isn't the only one who has a thing for redheads.

(That comment will make far more sense if you read a couple of this week's books... but I'm not telling which.)

Supergirl #1: Supergirl lands to earth, falls through Kansas, burrows through the planet to Russia, gets into a fight and... that's pretty much it. Waitwhat? This book read a little too fast for me. Not enough content, but the art was nice.

DC Universe Presents Deadman #1: Ehhh... i dunno. The art was okay, the writing was okay, the ending was a little abrupt, but I wish they'd stayed more in line with the Brightest Day continuity (as hinted in Hawk & Dove), rather than re-do his origin. Overall, a good #1, but nothing special.

Red Hood & The Outlaws #1: Holy moly, a comic featuring Jason Todd that makes him actually likeable? Scott Lobdell is 2 for 2 on his DCU books so far. The art was good, Starfire was a bit, um, provocative, but this was a solid start.

Blue Beetle #1: Jaime Reyes returns, again, as the Blue Beetle. I really liked the introduction, tying the Scarab in with the Lantern Corps. This was a little light-hearted, compared to the rest of the DCU, it felt more like the early issues of Ultimate Spider-man, which is exactly the tone they should be going for.

Wonder Woman #1: Yeah, okay, now this is a WW book I can get behind. One of the better WW stories I've read in years, frankly. They're dipping their feet into the Greek mythology behind the character, while creating a new villain and adding a new supporting character. Great read.

Legion of Super-heroes #1. le sigh. Okay, I've got to say, the art on this was GORGEOUS. Great detail, lush backgrounds, just incredible stuff. Francis Portella, you created a fan. But the story... man, this would've been a good Legion of Super-heroes #7, but this was NOT a good #1. It felt like a continuation of the previous run, and had characters all over the place; I had no idea who was who, doing what and where. Good comic, bad #1. Really loved the art, though.

Captain Atom #1: Couldn't get through it, the art was too murky. Will try again next week.

Nightwing #1: Hey, another solid book! Great to see Dick back as Nightwing, although it went a wee bit too heavy on the origin story for my liking. This was one of my favorites from the week.

Birds of Prey #1: Not certain what to say about this one. It felt the same as the Deadman book, it didn't do much for me, either way. Black Canary is putting together a new team. The art was serviceable, the writing the same. I don't know, this just didn't jump out at me one way or the other.

Batman #1: But this was AWESOME.Great #1, great Batman story. Capullo's art was pitch-perfect, and the writing was fantastic. this is all I want from a Batman book. Great, great stuff.

Next week: I, Vampire! Superman! Justice League Dark! Voodoo!

Eclipse Phase RPG

Eclipse Phase Role Playing Game

I've started to run a group of players through Eclipse Phase.  Part of this was to try and play a new game, new setting, and a new rules mechanic.  I've had a chance to run the core book and to gather a group of experienced and novice players to really get a good feel of the game.  I'm hoping to cover some about the game, a little about the rules, and more about how the players took to the system, both players who are experienced and new to role playing games.

The Game:

 Eclipse Phase is produced by Posthuman Studios and has been published by both Posthuman and with Catalyst Games. The game was designed as a paper and pencil role playing game.  The game is a science fiction based game which is heavily influenced by horror and conspiracy. 

The Setting:

In the not so distant future humanity has been transformed into a Transhuman state.  There are more then humans though. Animals have been uplifted to a much higher intelligence level.You can be an uplifted Dolphin, Gorilla, or even a parrot.  In the future the TITANs, Seed AI, have been infected with a virus and turned on Transhumanity. Most of Earth is now inhospitable to live on, so Transhumanity has moved to the stars, or more planets.

The Rules:

The game only involves the use of 2 dice, both of which are D10s.  Most of the time you are rolling as a D100, but some times a single D10 is needed.  There are also a much high amount of "Role" playing instead of "Roll" playing. The game allows for a tremendous amount of interaction between the players and the Game Master.

The Players:

GM: Sean "Striderlotr" Banks
1. Dave Steltenkamp
2. Stan Tyler
3. Sara Tyler
4. Stasi "Dengirl" King
5. Brittani "dndprincessaria" MacFadden
6. Amanda Cowen

As we get a few more games under our belts, we will post some comments about how the game actually plays out especially with combat and skill challenges.  Check back to see what everyone thought of the game!
 
Sean "Striderlotr" Banks

Ninja Legend of the Scorpion Clan Review

Another new game that I had a chance to play was Ninja-Legend of the Scorpion Clan. It is an intriguing game of an almost spy vs. spy nature, and is made by the same people who created Legend of the 5 Rings. The object of the game is for the Ninja and her accomplice, the Traitor to complete their 2 secret missions while the Guards attempt to stop them.  It truly is a very strategic multiplayer game, and a good way to spend an hour or so.  Thank you to all the hard workers at the AEG booth at Gen Con, who made sure that their retailers would have a chance to try out their new games before release!

This game is different than anything I have ever personally played, and the reasons for that are numerous. First of all, Ninja is probably one of the few games that plays well as not only a 2 or 4 player, but equally well (if not better!) as a 3 player.  Secondly, the fact that each player is responsible for their own actions but can still confer with other "allied" members is something not often seen in boardgames these days. Finally, the idea of each player requiring an individual (included) map to mark locations of either enemies or objectives is a very distinct feature, which I feel AEG has most definitely hit the spot on. But perhaps I should show you instead...

OPENING THE BOX

When you first open Ninja's box, the first items you see are the board and the 4 maps.  Underneath those is the 16-page rulebook, and finally the 27 miniatures, 4 decks, 6 mission objective cards, and 4 player privacy screens.  All of this is stored in a standard plastic box, although the outer cardboard box is sturdier than other comparable games. When you open the board for the first time, you'll see it is a tile-like foldout board, similar to Memoir '44 or Battle Cry.  Along the side is a descending group of 20 circles, which shows the turns of the game.  Underneath that is the Turn Order box, a handy reference for what each turn consists of.  Last is the 4 Alert Levels, which go from None to High.  You'll also notice that while the board is a beautifully rendered "blueprint" of a noble castle and gardens, there are faint blue and yellow dividing lines crossing its surface.

These are important for the maps which each player needs to fully enjoy the game.  Each player, whether Guard, Ninja or Traitor has a paper map on which to draw (about 25 map sheets per pad).  These are used to figure out where objectives are hidden, where the secret tunnel is, and which areas still need to be searched. Of course, it would not do to have a Guard see what the Traitor has marked off, even (ahem) accidentally...so the player screens are a must as well!
The plastic miniatures are also fairly well-crafted and are different colors for easy referencing, especially as the colors match up with the player screens. 

There are 20 tan and brown guards (10 with spears, 10 with swords), 1 red Traitor, 1 black Ninja and 3 yellow Drunk Guards.  There are also 2 silver Lanterns, 1 for placing on the current Turn Circle and current Alert Level.  

NOTE: Whereas the Guard cards have a tan Lion symbol on them and use corresponding tan/brown miniatures, the deck colors for the Traitor and Ninja are altered.  Thus, the Traitor miniature is red but uses the black Scorpion deck, and the Ninja miniature is black but uses the red Scorpion deck.  I don't know if this was intentional, but thought it should be pointed out!

PLAYING THE GAME
Now that everything has been explained, let's discuss game play.  As noted before, this can be a 2, 3 or 4 player game.  If it is 2 player, 1 person controls the Guards and 1 person controls the Traitor and Ninja. For 3 player, 1 person controls the Guards, and the Traitor and Ninja are split. The Guards are split as well, if you play with 4 people. 

First, set up your board and draw your cards.  Ninja takes 8 of the 12 cards available, Traitor takes 7 of the 10, and Guards take 24 of the 36 for their hands.  However, the remaining 12 Guard cards are kept out as a Draw deck.  No cards are to be shared with enemy players, and each deck has cards that are specific to the character using them.  For example, only Guards can play Listen cards, only the Traitor can use Potent Sake cards, and only the Ninja can play Shuriken cards.

Then, 8 individual Guards are posted as sentries, while the remaining Guards are grouped into patrols of 2.  Due to the wording of the cards, it is very advantageous to mix patrols (aka have 1 sword Guard and 1 spear Guard  per patrol).  The Traitor and Ninja miniatures are NOT placed on the board, and won't be for most of the game, but keep them nearby for when the Guards do find them. 

The Guard player takes her map and marks off the locations of 8 sleeping guards as well as 2 Traps, 2 Hidden Sentries, and the locations of the 6 Mission Goals (A thru F) that the Traitor and Ninja will be trying to find. They must ALWAYS be placed in their own zone. The Ninja and Traitor mark off their starting positions according to the rules, as well as the entrance and exit of the Secret Tunnel.  Place 1 Lantern on the lowest Alert Level, and 1 on the first Turn Circle. Now you are completely set up!

The game gets more complicated as it progresses, and players attempt to stay 1 step ahead of each other, but the Turn Orders always remain the same;

1. Alert Phase- Guard player draws cards corresponding to the current level of alert. The alert level then drops by 1, and the Guard plays any of the drawn cards she wants.

2. Guards Card Phase- Guard player uses cards for special effects.

3. Guards Patrol Phase- All patrols that are able to be moved or changed are moved.

4. Intruders Phase- The Ninja and Traitor make their secret moves, play whichever cards they can, and searches for their Mission Goals.

Although there are many different cards to be played, strategies to use and decisions to make every time the game is played, the Phases must be completed in order.  You cannot move onto the next Phase until the previous one is finished, no matter what.  So, even though your friend is going to spring a Trap on your Ninja or Kenjutsu your Guard, at least you'll know they have to wait their turn...

And there you have it, another wonderful game by our friends at AEG!  Ninja-Legend of the Scorpion Clan is a great game for more experienced players.  On a gamer learning scale (1=extremely new to gaming, 10=gaming professional) I would rate Ninja as a solid 7.  While not the most difficult of boardgames to learn, it does have several nuances that make it an inappropriate "first" for those who are new to board or card games. 

Like most of the games I review, we do have a copy of Ninja in our game library, so if you're in the Poughkeepsie area stop by and play!

Stasi "Dengirl" King