Legends of Anglerre

Ordered Legends of Anglerre yesterday -- a fantasy RPG using the FATE engine.

I really like the FATE engine, and its way of using descriptive Aspects, how the game deals with FATE points and, of course, the FUDGE dice!

I have read some really good reviews of this game (e.g. this one over at rpg.net), so I'm very anxious about it.

DungeonMorph Dice

I stumbled over this post: Last Call: DungeonMorph Dice over at the Risus Monkey blog.

The DungeonMorph Dice is a set of five dice with a unique dungeon design on each side. These can be used to randomly create dungeons, useful in e.g. fantasy RPGs.

The DungeonMorph Dice is funded via a Kickstarter project. I couldn't resist backing up this project! =)  I pledged for the $20 level (a full set of five dice), but might raise to the $40 level (to get two sets; one with dungeon design and one cavern design). The project will end on Sunday May 22 6:00 PM EDT, so I have to make up my mind before that.

First piece of artwork for my Borås 2045 project finished

My project called Borås 2045 is starting to shape up. I have both been writing on the actual story (built up by solo role-playing using Mythic GME and FU RPG), but also produced the first piece of artwork that I will use for the project:



Borås, year of 2045. A soldier of the invading force, using a classic
Kalashnikov (slightly modernized version; mainly the munition). Apparently,
the air is unhealthy.


I used a mix of pencil and water color to produce the picture. And of course, some digital editing using Photoshop Elements in the end.

My hope is to publish the project within a few weeks. Need to finish a few more pieces of artwork and the first posts of the actual story.

Board game Tournament 2011

I'm running a board game mini-tournament with my most frequent gaming buddy. We play various board games throughout the year, and each win is equal to one point.

The one with most points at the end of the year, will be 2011's grand winner! The loser buys a board game (of the loser's choice) to the winner!

So far, after 13 board game "matches", starting from January 2011, up until now, the score is as follows:

Me: 5 points
My opponent: 8 points

Looking fairly okay for me. Still plenty of time to catch up.

We have mostly been playing Smallworld, Race For the Galaxy and Manouvre, but other games will most likely be a part of the competition before end of the year.

Manoeuvre

Played an exciting game of Manoeuvre (from GMT Games) last night. I lost. But the game was really intense, and ended in a fairly even Nightfall Victory in the favour of my gaming buddy (he = 10 points; me = 7 points).

Manoeuvre is a game that I highly recommend. Probably one of the best two-player games I own.

The designer, Jeff Horger, is currently working on an expension, which includes new armies: Japanese, Chinese, Swedish and Indian

Really looking forward to that expansion, especially the Swedish army, since that is my country! =)

And there is even a fantasy adaption of Manoeuvre coming out, called Fury. Work in progress, by the same designer. Have to read more about this game before (pre-)ordering.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars

Pre-ordered The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for my Nintendo 3DS the other day. Will be available in Sweden in middle of June.

When it arrive, it will be my second 3DS game. I'm currently playing the one (3DS specific) game I own, and that is Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars.

While Ghost Recon is not a bad game, I expected more (or something else), since it is developed by the same desinger once developed the original X-Com games, and Ghost Recon was supposed remind on X-Com. And yes, there are similarites; both are turn-based, you command a small team of soldiers, you can equip them (to a limited degree in Ghost Recon) before the missions etc. However, the problem with Ghost Recon, is that it follows a strict story, and each mission looks the same, basically. And there is no research, manufacturing, selling of atrifacts etc at all in Ghost Recon. All that fun, that built the great series of X-Com.

Mythic GME + FU RPG Quick Reference Guide (v1.0)

Have created a Mythic GME + FU RPG Quick Reference Guide (v1.0) that summarizes how I use the Mythic GME to solitaire play the FU RPG.

The guide is downloadade here (pdf):

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BxE4uLoo4hZFOTI5NWQ1ZWUtYzM5YS00ZDNmLWE3MjYtZWE1ZDM2MmEyZTI0&hl=en

I really like how light and easy FU RPG is, and how well it fits the Mythic GME.

Currently, I use them to produce a role-played story (which I mentioned in a previous blogpost: Borås 2045). I'm in the first scene so far, and it is soon to be published. Just need to do a blog banner and some other art before I'm ready to launch it.

Solo Tabletop Gaming Appreciation Month -- should I join or not?

Official logo of the Solo Tabletop
Gaming Appreciation Month.

I'm thinking of commiting myself to the Solo Tabletop Gaming Appreciation Month (initiative by Solo Nexus) which will set off in November 2011.

The idea is that you undertake some kind of solo tabletop related project during this month. Since solo gaming is something I do a lot, this shouldn't be a problem. However, if I join, I want to do something special, not just a regular play-through of a random solitaire game (which I regularly do anyway).

So far, I have come up with these candidates for a potential project:

* Re-learn the solitaire board-/wargame Fields of Fire by GMT Games, using the new version of the rules (second edition). I currently own the first edition, and have spent a numerous number of hours learning the game to a degree that I was able to play through the first couple of WWII missions. However, the (first edition) rulebook was lacking a lot of details, so while playing, I had to do a lot of forum posting/searching, reading FAQs, go through examples etc. That took away much of the fun/tempo of the game -- a game that certainly has a huge potential. Now, a second edition rulebook has been released, and perhaps I should go for it, and give the game a new try.

* DVG (Dan Verssen Games) is a little game company that makes excellent games, especially solitaire boardgames. One is called Field Commander: Napoleon -- the third game in the Field Commander series (the first two are Rommel and Alexander). The game is a solitaire board-/wargame, where you take the role as Napoleon. I have it on pre-order, since it is not available yet. But it has just recently been sent to the printer, and is expected to return in 12 weeks, plus a few weeks for shipping (so it should hit my desk well before November). Playing through a big campaign and write a nice/special/beautiful AAR (After Action Report) could be a perfect project for the Appreciation Month.

* Another DVG title named Phantom Leader is one of my absolute favourite solitaire board games. A Vietnam air war simulator. I'm thinking that I might run through the biggest campaign and write an innovative AAR (don't what it would look like though, just brainstorming).

* Use the Mythic GME together with some standard RPG (e.g. Call of Cthulhu or FU RPG), and run through a solo role-playing adventure. Have to think about this...

* Read the Strands of Fate rulebook (own the softcover version, but haven't read it yet), and make it work with the Mythic GME for the purpose of solo role-playing. Have to figure out a clever way of dealing with FATE Points etc, in a solo environment.

I need to think about these candidates for a few days or weeks. Perhaps I will join the November solo fun! =)