A Few Acres of Snow

Bruce dropped by last night and brought out A Few Acres of Snow. We've played before and the British have never won (which runs contrary to lots of chatter on BGG) so I gave them a whirl.

My thought was to build as fast as possible to bring the game to conclusion before the French could expand into the Great Lakes too much. I also wanted as few cards in my hand so bought only enough infantry to take Port Royal (and deter my very imperialist minded opponent!).

This strategy worked, to a point. His Indian raids made the game quite a lot closer than I thought it would be when we eventually counted points. Obviously some military work in Nova Scotia will be required.

We then played again and I did some attacking in the east to grab Halifax and Port Royal. The cards meant it took longer for me to build to the right point and the french won on points. A very interested set of games. I wonder if some military adventurers might be necessary. I also wonder if the governor card might be moire useful than I thought.

Up next: I have some 28mm Romano-Brits being based. I am also building some more 15mm Polish cavalry and the rest of the Romano-Brit warband has been primed.

15mm Polish Cavalry

I took on a small commission this summer (36 mounted 17th-century Polish cavalry) and have finished the first half of it. These 15mm figures are a set of Pancerni Cavalry with spears for the game Fire & Sword.

Overall, nice models. A bit thinner sculpting than other brands but I think they would fit in with most manufacturers. A fair bit of detail that I'm not sure I really did justice.

Mark asked me to paint these 18 figures as two distinct units: one in uniform colours (red spears) and one in a mix of colours suggesting a force cobbled together from various places. The units have lovely self-adhesive flags but I have left these off so Mark and his son could choose which they wanted with each unit.

I think I learned a lot about these figures painting the first batch and I look forward to the Cossacks I have to do next. The manufacturer appears to be going the route of Battefront and others with fully contained units in each blister (or box, in this case).

Up next: I have two games arranged for the next few days and I have some 28mm Arthurians underway. Then back to more 15mm Polish cavalry.

Mission Fun and Games' new digs

I swung out to St Albert today to check out the new retail location of Mission Fun and Games. Mission has relocated to north end of St Albert, on the west side of St Albert Trail.

The new building is a former restaurant and is highly visible from the road. There is lots of free parking (both in the lot and on the road in behind it). They are just finishing the external painting and it looks great.

Inside, the public space is laid out in an L shape, with the long arm of the L running north-south and the  short arm running east-west. At the east end of the short arm is an octagonal (I think) space where gaming will occur. This is still under construction, but John said stuff is already being played there. Lots of windows here so good lighting.

The long arm of the L is the retail space and it is wonderfully open and roomy. It is also well lit with lots of displace space. In behind (to the right of the photo above) is the www.boardgames.ca warehouse and shipping space. They are still unpacking some stuff but are open and basically ready to go. The remainder of the interior work will take about another 6 months or so.

Overall, a big improvement and a good move for Mission. Much more visibility, a better space and a big boost for gaming in the Edmonton area.

FS painted 28mm Lord of the Rings HoTT army

SOLD!

I have for sale a painted 28mm Lord of the Rings "good" army for Hordes of the Things. This army comprises 18 bases worth 47 AP. There are also enough units here you could play an "all elf" army. 

All units have a 60mm frontage and come from a smoke- and pet-free home. All figures are GW metals or plastics (with one exception noted below).

First up we have Gandalf the White. I would play him as a 4AP Magician and, perhaps, as the General element. Alternately, you could use the Strider figure below (with Samwise lurking behind) as a 4AP hero General.

I have also included a second 4AP hero in the form of Legolas if you wanted a smaller army with heavy punch.

The bulk of the army comprises elves. There are four bases of 2AP shooters. I mixed up the colours to make the relatively few poses look more varied and dynamic.

There are also three bases of 2AP elven blades.

To add some extra punch, I put together two bases of 2AP dwarven blades.

Note that one of the bases includes an armoured hobbit to fill out the ranks.

I also did two bases of hobbits. I would play these as 1 AP lurker elements but they might also suffice as 2AP warband bases.

The only non-GW model is this small metal catapult, staffed by three hobbits as a 3AP artillery piece.

There is one mounted base, either a 2AP rider or knight stand. 

There are also a couple of elven heros if you wanted to play an all-elf army. This includes a mounted Glorfindel (a 4AP hero or a 2AP rider). 

There is also a 4AP hero in the form of a dismounted Glorfindel with guard.

Finally there is a stronghold. These are GW ruins with a Boromor figure. 

I'd like $200 OBO for this army. That is a bit higher than I've asked in the past, but the GW figures were more expensive. I will cover shipping to Canada or the US. All units will be bubble wrapped individually for protection.  Offers to bob.barnetson@shaw.ca .

Hott Lord of the RIngs Mounted

I finished off the mounted units for my Lord of the Rings 28mm "Good" Hordes of the Things army today. There are two bases.

The first one is a two-figure base that I'd use as riders. Mostly I was looking to use the few mounted figures I got in an auction lot.

Gimli and Legolas turned out quite nicely.

Not sure who this elf is but this could be either a hero or a rider unit. The sculpting is quite dramatic.

Up next: Some 15mm cavalry are underway (built, primed, horses painted). I also need to spend some time cleaning the hobby room to see what else needs attention. I've been hankering to do a warband for Songs of Arthur and Merlin.

HoTT LotR camp

The glue finally dried on this camp for the 28mm Lord of the Rings army that I'm about to finish.

These plastic ruins are from the Hilltop set and painted up quite nicely with a wash. I'm not sure where plastic Boromor is from--I painted him quite awhile a go and he has been waiting for a proper basing.

The rest is just sand, glue, putty, rocks and flock.

Up next: The last two mounted elements from this army are being based today. I've also started painting some 15mm cavalry for a commission.

July 17 EWG Club Night

We had 10 guys out at the club last night, with three games running. Dave, Andy and Chen began with a card game and then moved onto playing Command and Color Napoleonics.

Bruce hosted Scott, Chris, Terry and Mark in a game of Maurice. This game was set on the subcontinent and saw the British withstand multiple attacks by the locals.

Stu and played a couple of games of HoTT. He brought out a freshly painted easterling LotR army and I pulled out some Star Wars Imperials.

Game one went to Stu. I had things well in hand, then ensorcelled my general, then rolled seven ones for pips in eight turns. Stu just picked me apart at his leisure.

Game two saw me put down a river and then rush to get across it. I suppose I could have defended the bank but that would have been pretty boring. The resulting furball eventually went my way, but there was a fair bit of luck involved at the end!

My imperial army needs a few more units that can hit hard. Maybe a couple of blades or a hero in lieu of one of the riders and two of the shooters? I must finish my camp as well.

Up next: I have some more LotR drying and I have started on some 15mm Polish cavalry.