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It's been a rough few weeks. The snuffles I caught on the plane ride back from my vacation turned into a full blown sinus infection, and knocked me flat for the better part of my second week back. Just as I was starting to bounce back, all hell broke loose at work, causing one of those pin-wheeling, ball-of-fire plane wreck weeks that kept me at the office for 19 hours straight last Thursday. It's all better now, but I missed another Warmachine night down at my FLGS, making it almost three weeks since I've gotten a game in. My hands are starting to get a slight tremble. I think it is the onset of withdrawal.

My mind is a little scattered, so lots of random updates tonight.

First off, go over and check out my friend Jen's blog at Ghettokore Studios. She just got back from TempleCon, where she was rolling like a gamer rockstar and rubbing elbows with the Warmachine Elite. She posted some great pics, and it sounds like she had a wonderful time. Hopefully I can get the full scoop from her one of these days. My jealousy is absolute.

Next, in a fit of mild fever-induced self-pity, I picked up a game called BattleLore last week. It's not exactly big news, as it has been out for a couple of years, but I've always had a strong interest in the game. It's my first "big box" board game, and I'm really impressed by the production values. There is almost an overwhelming amount of goodies in the box when you open it up - Over 200 plastic miniatures, bunches of little banners (stickers already applied!), a sturdy game board, a nicely printed players guide and adventure guide, various decks of cards needs in the games, and bunches of terrian tiles and counters.

I haven't managed to get a game in yet, but reading through the players guide the mechanics look pretty straight-forward. The commands you are able to issue each turn are dictated by your hand of 'command cards.' The battlefield is broken into three distinct sections - left, center and right, and the command cards control what you can move and where it can be moved. Combat is handled through special dice, and it's a pretty straightforward system. The minatures themselves look good. Although not wargame quality, the look nice enough massed up on the gameboard.


Back to Warmachine... I finally got back to painting, and I'm most of the way complete with a Stormclad, who I'm hoping will shore up my unit of Stormblades who just seem unwilling to earn their points. Hopefully I can get him wrapped up this week and can post some pictures in the next few days. I also picked up a couple of Horgenhold Forge Guard to try out a color scheme idea for my dwarven army. It's a dirty little secret, but I've always had me a bit of a dwarf fetish, and I'm slowly pulling together a dwarven merc army - not so much because I fancy the mechanics of them, but just because I likes 'em.

On the same trip, I picked up a wet palette on a whim, and I'm surprised how much I'm liking it. It seems to be helping a ton with my blends, as I'm able to pre-blended a spectrum on the pallette, and keep it wet long enough to get the work done.

Hopefully, my work won't go off the rails again tomorrow night and I can make it down to the FLGS and get a game in. We have a 750 point tourney coming up this weekend, but I'm not sure I want to play... I've only gotten a couple games in the last month, and nothing in the last three weeks, so I'm feeling pretty rusty.

Labels: miniatures, wargaming, Warmachine