Thrilla in Geek Cave-anilla: A Summoner Wars Brief Bat Rep

Me: Vanguards;
Maximan: Tundra Orcs.

It wasn't supposed to end this way, I did everything right. I had walls in the right places, creating choke points, I had the Kalon-Sera combo working, I had my Archangel out summoned by 2 Summoning Surges. The only thing I didn't do right and Maximan did was go on the offensive fast enough. I thought I could hold out long enough to devastate his forces then move my healed units on Grognack. But, first Rukar then Blagog relentlessly pursuing Sera and her protectors wore down my defending units, then bad die rolls by the Archangel and Sera at the end to put a finish to Blagog went horribly wrong. Misses! With four dice, misses! Then Blagog finished off Sera, winning Maximan his second game in a row.

Crazy. I love this game. 

SurfMonkey Gets Stalked from the Shadows and Ambushed from a Vine Wall

At our monthly game night, SurfMonkey was not quite at the top of his game. Maybe it was the sinus infection he had been battling for weeks, maybe it was something in the air of my basement that didn't agree with him, but the poor sod could not roll dice to save the lives of his units or himself. It truly was one of the worst cases of "The Dice Hate Me" syndrome I have ever seen.

In the first game I returned to an oldie but a goodie, the Cave Goblins reinforced with Beast Riders.  I really like what their mobility brings to Sneeks. SurfMonkey was playing the Shadow Elves. Tempted by Selundar's buff special ability, he moved him into melee early. I made him pay for that error. He backed off, but Blarf and Sneeks eventually cornered and slew him. 

In the second game, I played the Benders vs. SurfMonkey piloting the Swamp Orcs. It was an intense game until, at one point, he moved his Summoner into a vulnerable position. I made him pay. Even he admitted that it was a huge tactical mistake. He evaded my forces for a while, but in the end, the Benders moved on his position and brought him down. Despite the fact we missed a few Vine Wall placements and messed up the Vine Wall rules a few times, I found the Vine Walls were a welcome addition to the tactical space of the board for both the Swamp Orcs and the Benders. 

Better luck next month, SurfMonkey!

Until next time, play more Summoner Wars!

Friends and Fumes and Games at Tiny House...

This past weekend, 6 friends gathered together for a convocation of games, food, and flatulence! Yes. It was yet another Guys' Weekend! Gather 'round and hear a tale of great deeds and even greater games. 

The Dramatis Pretentious:

StormBringer: Host and least flatulent of us all.

magehammer: Yours truly and Games Master extraordinaire!

IMStuds: The Organizer 

Beowulf: Trickster and tormentor of IMStuds.

Mage: Rocket Scientist and expulsion specialist.

Ga'oin Shaftshooter: The young vagabond world traveler, student of StormBringer.

After all arrived and Chipotle had been consumed, we sat down to the game table, and another epic game of Nuclear Risk ensued. 

The game was chock full of earth-shattering and astounding turns of events. Some highlights included poor Ga'oin going out after only making a single die roll. See the pics below for a visual history of said events.

My trying to nuke something and actually accomplishing my goal by taking about half of all Beowulf's forces by blowing up Kamchatka!

The most significant event of all, though, was, of course, us allowing IMStuds to finally win a game of Risk before he moves to Southern climes. You are most welcome and happy birthday. 

You will never win again.

The victor?

After Risk, we played a quick game of one of the newest additions to my game collection: Martian Dice. 

Despite my barely comprehensible rules explanation, we managed to play a game. StormBringer won as he does a lot in games dealing with dice. 

The next day after a tasty brunch at Panera, we endeavored to play a multiplayer game of Fear and Faith. The scenario I designed can be found here . I was especially excited because it was the first time I got to take my new Wounded City battle mat from Zuzzy miniatures for a spin. Those mats are amazing!

Though the game took a bit longer than I would have liked and a bit of down time between turns that resulted in a lot of ADD-style behavior, the story of the game played out in a tense and exciting fashion. 

Many of the team members on both sides succumbed to the roaming zombies and became zombies themselves. Beowulf managed to escape with the medical supplies and military-grade weapons found in the wreckage of the helicopter. After which he promptly blew himself and some zombies up with a grenade. So goes life during the zombie apocalypse...

 The battlefield is set...

 Bring on the zombies...

 The teams turn on each other to grab the precious supplies from the downed helicopter...

Beowulf grabs the cases and makes his way off the field of battle, semi-victorious...

In the afternoon, we turned to the gaming climax of the weekend, Summoner Wars. My current favorite game was a big hit with the guys. Over a dozen games were played by all. I was psyched to give the Master Set an extensive workout and try some new factions, and this weekend was a perfect opportunity to do so. The Benders are now my favorite faction. What an incredible game! 

We capped off the weekend with two more relaxing games of Martian Dice.

Miscellany: 

During the Fear and Faith game, IMStuds began a script to the movie he wanted to film this weekend. I became the script doctor and was relieved by Ga'oin. The film never did get filmed, but that's what next year will be for, though, sadly, IMStuds may have to phone in his performance...literally. 

Sunday morning we participated in our annual Bob Evans meal of celebration as we all parted ways, happy to be heading home, but already thinking of next year.

Conclusion:

Overall, another awesome Guys Weekend in the books. Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. StormBringer for their hospitality. On behalf of all your guests, we would like to apologize for the stench. 

Until next year, good gamers, play Summoner Wars as much as you can and roll a d6!