A Few Acres of Snow

I popped out to Bruce's place last night for a second go at A Few Acres of Snow. We'd played last week at the club and I loved the game (despite not really knowing what I was doing) so I was keen for a rematch.

With some sense of a strategy, I started out trying to exploit my temporary military advantage by taking back Halifax from the enterprising British and got stomped pretty badly. So I gave up and instead sought to create some depth in my strength (to stave off an expected attack on Louisburg) and then settle and fur trade my way to victory.

You can see below that the French can expand to the west (right) more quickly than the British can move north. I think this gives the French a nice advantage in points at the end of the game. I also Indian raided the pants off of Bruce, snagging a goodly number of settlement blocks and sending two regiments to be refitted. So, basically, I repeated what I did last game and got kind of lucky.

Bruce did eventually move on Louisburg, hoping to jump from there to Quebec for the win. But I (luckily) managed to defend Louisburg and stall him while pumping up the population of my villages. I managed to win in the end, although I fear Bruce is one game away from a strategic revelation which will beat me senseless on our next encounter.

Overall, a good night of gaming. We both discovered a few opening moves that do not seem to pay off and I think I have the hang of fur trading now. I expect some snooping on BGG will give us both some ideas for our next game. I'd say this game has something to teach about the struggle for the new world and the very asymmetrical strategies and abilities that were at play.

Up next: Some superheroes are on my list. And I continue to paint on the last of this AWI commission. After that, who knows. Maybe some 28mm Romans auxilia?

2nd Pennsylvania

Just a few more 10mm AWI that I have finished up the basing on. These are 10mm Pendraken and are painted as the 2nd Pennsylvania for Monmouth Courthouse.

The uniform is a bit of a guess based on the owner's request. I have the remaining four units (including a buttload of riflemen) on painting sticks with the flesh done so I'm aiming to have this commission finished by the end of the weekend.

Up next: I'm off tonight to play A Few Acres of Snow with Bruce and I have a few 28mm superheroes to be finished.

10mm AWI American Foot

Another unit of 10mm foot are finished. These fellows are the 2nd Massachusetts and are 10mm Pendraken.

I had considerably more trouble with the American foot having weak ankles and incomplete casts. If you look at the snap below, you can see the fellow on the left is missing some of his left leg (our right). I fixed a number of these with glue but looks like I missed this one.

Up next: Another regiment of foot and a game with Bruce. Then perhaps some superheroes.

10mm American dragoons and limbers

Back on this commission and we're into the home stretch. The last four units are on painting sticks and will get primered tomorrow. Meanwhile these fellows are rolling through the basing process.

First up are some American dragoons. The camera went a bit mental so the shots are poor.

I also finished off three British cannon limbers once someone explained to me (in small words) how the horses were positioned relative to the limber. Obvious in retrospect but my mind was stuck on making a side-by-side arrangement work.

Up next: Two line battalions of 10mm AWI, perhaps a game with Bruce and then a few more superheroes before more AWI.

A Very Spidey Christmas

I recently came into a large lot of 28mm superheroes that I am painting up and selling off. Today I have a group of Spiderman friends and foes.

The figures are plastic and 28mm. I have repainted, sealed and based them myself. The bases are metal washer with printed paving stones--you can remove the figures from the base if you'd prefer to attach them to something else. Spidey has a very dynamic pose--one of the better sculpts I've seen.

He's joined by Dare Devil, Elektra and the Scarlet Witch. Pardon the bad colour balance here--my camera freaks out a bit when I shoot all-red figures like these. They are painted a more normal-looking red colour!

Opposing Spidey are six villains. Up first are Sandman, the Vulture and Doctor Octopus.

They are joined by the Hobgoblin, Kingpin and Mysterio.

Here is a close-up of the hobgoblin to show off some of the painting.

I'd like $40 OBO for this lot and that includes shipping in Canada or the US. All figures bubble wrapped individually. These would be a great gift for a fellow gamer or as a way of introducing someone to the hobby. Offers to bob.barnetson@shaw.ca .

Club Night November 15

We had about 10 guys out last night with three games running for our last evening at the Warriors of Time.

Bruce hosted me in a game of A Few Acres of Snow, wherein the British and the French compete with each other to colonize the New World during the 18th century.

This is a card-driven game where you build your hand in an attempt to advance your strategy. The French chose a settlement strategy and eventually figured out how to make the fur trade work for them to help offset the British financial advantage. The British adopted a military strategy (eventually taking Louisburg) but it was too late to stop the French from winning.

Jason ran a game of I Ain't been Shot Mum for Jonathan but I did not get a good picture of that.

Dave hosted Chen and Scott in a game of Blitzkreig Commander, using his new Picoarmour to recreate the great battles of the desert.

Up next: I'm away for a few days and then will have more 10mm AWI to post.

10mm Sci-fi Army 2 for Sale

This is the second of two 10mm sci-fi armies I'd like to part with. The army comprises 22 bases on 40mm frontages. I'd like $50 plus shipping ($15 in Canada or the US) but if you buy both armies, I'll eat the shipping costs. You could use this army with rules like HoTT, FUBAR and other sets. You could also use the figures with 6mm figures.

First up we have the infantry. There are 14 bases in four types (number of stands in parentheses): extra-heavy (2), heavy (2) medium (8) and light (2).

There are two tanks that accompany the infantry.

The real weight of the army in the walkers. Ther first set of three includes two which are flyers (have wings) and one which is armed with a chainsaw.

We also have three heavier walks, with a mixtures of guns and missiles.

Offers to bob.barnetson@shaw.ca. All figures will be individually bubble-wrapped for shipping.