SBH-SOLO [Project update #6]

End of November. End of Solo Tabletop Gaming Appreciation Month.
Working with my solitaire plugin (SBH-SOLO) for Song of Blades and Heroes has been great fun, and I almost finished it before deadline, which is today!

All rules are there, but more play-testing is still needed. However, it has reached such status, that I have put it into v1.00. It is downloadable from Google docs here: SBH-SOLO-v1.00.zip

(I don't recommend anyone to try it out yet, I will need to run through it a couple of more times. Some rules are still untested, like the updated formula for calculating the number of activation dice the automated enemy will use. I will upload a new, more "stable", version of SBH-SOLO soon, hopefully within a week.)

This project has been quite exhaustive, so after it has finsihed for real, I will need to relax by doing some miniature painting or similar! But I have had a great time being a part of the tabletop solitaire community for this November, especially by reading all other solitaire player's adventures! Really got inspired by all that reading!

My High Elf deck for Warhammer: Invasion

Have played four games of Warhammer: Invasion, and I must say I love the game!

I was sceptic in a previous post, where I complained about a so-so written rule book, a big errata and an even bigger FAQ. I have changed my mind. The game plays smooth, and we just had to pause a few times for looking up rule clarifications in the rulebook/errata/FAQ. We had a great fun playing, and would even call this game one of the best card/board games I have in my entire collection. It is that fun! And a very nail-biting game!

In the first two plays we used pre-compiled decks, but for the last two plays, we constructed our own decks. I went for a High Elf deck, with some elements of the Empire. My opponent went for a Darks Elfs deck, with quite large mix of Chaos elements. My opponent won the first game, and I the second. It was real fun constructing the deck, even though I just have the core game, plus two expansions (Assault on Ulthuan and The Burning of Derricksburg). Will buy more expansion though.

Below is a presentation of my High Elf deck. It is probably a weak deck since I am a newbie in this game, and don't have many expansions. I will tweak it further, and remove a few cards so I land at 50 cards.


Capital: High Elf
Total deck size: 53 cards
Number of High Elfs cards: 32 (~60%)
Number of Empire cards: 14 (~26%)
Number of Neutral cards: 7 (~14%)

High Elfs Units
Sword Masters of Hoeth (x3)
Shadow Warrior (x3)
Initiate of Saphery (x3)
Lelansi (x3)
Archmage of Saphery
Silver Helm Brigade
Caradryan
Illyriel
High Elf Spearmen (x3)

Empire Units
Nuln Tinkerers
Sigmar's Blessed
Gold Wizard Acolyte (x2)
Reiksguard Knights
Gryphon Legionnaire
Pistoliers
Free Company
Pleasant Milita

High Elfs Supports
Blessing of Isha
Dragon Mage Wakening (x2)
The Glittering Tower

Empire Supports
Battle Standard

Neutral Supports
Alliance (Empire - High Elf)
Contested Fortress
Contested Villiage
Contested Stronghold

High Elf Tactics
"Do You Know Who I am?"
Gift for Life (x2)
High Elf's Disdain (x2)
Greater Heal
Radiant Gaze
Tear of Isha

Empire Tactics
Forced March (x2)
Surrender!

Neutral Tactics
Innovation (x2)
Boar Attack

High Elf Quests
Defend Tor Aendris

Empire Quests
Defend the Border

Backed the "D-Day Dice" Kickstarter project today!

Yep, today I went in as a backer of the Kickstarter project for the upcoming board game D-Day Dice. You'll find the Kickstarter page here. And the BGG entry here. (For all solitaire gamers out there, this is a 1-4 [base game] player game, which is a big advantage.)

D-Day Dice started as a print-and-play game. I wanted to give it a try for a long time, but never took the time to do so. But I was lucky, I didn't have to waste my printer ink and time in assemble the game, because it was picked up by an established publisher (Valley Games) and a Kickstarter project was started to finance the production of the game.

First I was disappointed though, since the international shipping was $50. I have bought a lot of games from North America throughout the years, but never at this shipping rate. Usually shipping is around $35. So, I was actually not going to support the project... until...

...more and more extra stuff was added into the project. Stuff that every backer will receive when the game is shipped in March 2012. Everything from special dice, extra cards etc, and even a nice-looking bag for carrying the game! And even more stuff might be added, depending on new total pledge levels the game reaches. It has already reached the number one most funded board game in the Kickstarter history!

So, go pledge, and more stuff will be included in the total package!

SBH-SOLO [Project update #5]

Just a quick update of my SBH-SOLO project.

Here's the latest version (downloadable zip file from Google Docs): SBH-SOLO-v0.25.zip

Comparing to v0.20, the changes are not radical, but rather many few tweaks here and there, both in the rules and in the MicroAIs. There are still unfinished parts in the rules document.

Still one week remains of the Solo Tabletop Gaming Appreciation Month, and I will use it for play-testing. My hope is to have the first "sharp" version (1.0?) ready by the end of the month.

Figure painting: Four mounted rangers

Have just finished painting and basing four 15mm figures, each representing a human firing a bow from a horse-back. Have not done much figure painting in my life, so I'm pleased with the result.

The figures are Chariot Miniatures, bought from Magister Militum (product number: FHM2).

Obtained roughly 50 figures (all 15mm) from Magister Militum - humans and orcs/goblins. Will paint them and use them primary for Song of Blades and Heroes.

SBH-SOLO [Project update #4]

The SBH-SOLO project is coming along quite nicely!

I have reached a point were I'm satisfied with the bones of the rules document, as well as the supporting documents (e.g. the document containing all the MicroAIs).

SBH-SOLO is now in version 0.20, and is downloadable via this Google docs link: SBH-SOLO-v0.20.zip

What I will do for the rest of the remaining two weeks of the Solo Tabletop Gaming Appreciation Month, is pure play-testing. The rules will probably change a lot when I really start playing, and the MicroAIs will for sure need tweaking.

I have already got some valuable input/suggestions from Aleksandar (http://battreps.blogspot.com/), how to make SBH-SOLO better - thank you! =)

SBH-SOLO [Project update #3]

Hi there!

Time for a short update of my SBH-SOLO project. I have not reached as far as I hoped this week, but still, I have made progress. Here are three (Google docs) links to the latest status of the project:

SBH-SOLO-Rules-v0.1.pdf
sbh-solo-microais-draft.pdf
microais_definitions-draft.pdf

The SBH-SOLO-Rules-v0.1.pdf is the main document, describing the mechanics of SBH-SOLO. It has the near-final layout, but is not finsished, even though a good part of the text is in there. Still need a few days to get all text in there.

The sbh-solo-microais-draft.pdf contains a number of pre-defined MicroAIs. This document is just a draft, so the layout is not set. I have changed the format of the MicroAIs a bit, comparing to my previous blog entry. New keywords, keywords on a higher level, sort of. The MicroAIs are not that detailed anymore, they are a little bit more open-ended.

The microais_definitions-draft.pdf document contains (so far very incomplete) instructions how to read the details of a MicroAI. This information will be transfered to the rules document soon.

Still two and a half week left of November, and I think I'm keeping my time plan fairly well. My goal is to have something playable at the end of November, and the documents (rules, MicroAIs, player aids etc) ready (but as early versions).

Note: I don't encourage, or even recommend, anyone to try SBH-SOLO yet. A lot of vital information is still missing in the above documents, it is still in my head! ;-)  I just wanted to post something, so that you know that the project is ongoing.