The Log: 50 Points of Efficiency

As well as playing the game well and, a fair amount of luck, a big part of victory in Heroclix like a lot of other collectible games involves choosing and fielding a "good" force.

But what makes a "good" force?

My initial thoughts on this where a flashback to my Magic: The Gathering days where if you stocked your deck with more Rare cards than your opponent you were distinctly more likely to win. On closer inspection though, I'm pretty sure that's not really the case with Heroclix.

This doesn't mean that you don't get a bit more bang for your buck with say a Rare clix model than you do from a Common one but, with models also being graded by their "experience" and, having all this tied up with a points cost, it seems far less important to only field Rare or Limited Edition models.

To put it another way, Rarity is no guarantee of quality and, the theory that I am currently working with is that the better forces are the ones that make the best use of the rules. We're not talking about loopholes here but the bare bones of the mechanics. Making use of factors such high defense scores boosted by Team Abilities and Abilities that make you virtually impossible and such.

Looking over the rules it is even possible to determine the most "efficient" point costing of a clix, which given the title of this post shouldn't surprise you when I say it's 50.

But why 50 points?

Well no matter the size of your fielded force you can take actions (excluding free actions)equal to the point cost divided by 100, with your basic actions being move and attack. Try to act with the same models two turns in a row though and they take damage (although some abilities can get around this) and, won't be able to do anything for the next turn.. Well, other than sit there waiting to get shot to pieces that is.

However, if you field 50 points models you can get around this completely. On one turn half of your models can act as the other half clear their action tokens as a freebie, who are then ready to act next turn, as this lot clear theirs.

Acting fully every turn seems like a great way to go from a newcomers point of view but, I do see that finding a handful of 50 point models you want to field might be a problem. I don't believe it's impossible though.. Just a challenge.

First Look: Dungeon! (2012)

One of the releases that I have been most hotly awaiting this year since first learning of it is Dungeon!

Originally a TSR classic I have to admit that I was a little concerned when I heard that Wizards would be re-releasing it. As much as I wanted this game to be passed on to the next generation, I didn't want it to become something it wasn't and, considering the party involved, I had dreaded the possibility that they may just gut the mechanics and try to run everything off of a D20.

So, last night when I finally managed to download the new rulebook you can imagine my relief to find the game virtually untouched from the original, apart from a few cosmetic changes.

Wizards have now done away with the original classes and instead replaced them with their own archetypes. So now instead of playing as an Elf, you play as a Halfling Rogue. Your goal of 10,000 GP is still the same. All they did was change the name.

Apart from changing the names of the heroes, I also notice that the names of a lot of the monsters seem to have changed too. Bringing them more into line with the Dungeons and Dragons universe. Which I think is a bit of a shame but inevitable. I won't judge yet though. Not until I can actually sit down with a copy and see just how deep these changes run.

What I will cast judgment on however is the new art that they've commissioned for this release. It's horrible!

Not in the sense that the artists lack talent, as they obviously exude it but, to depict the "Silver Cup" as being akin to an old tin mug, when the original depicted it as a jewel encrusted chalice really serves to sell the product short in my opinion. It also seems to show a lack of product knowledge.

Dungeon! is a game of delving dark and dangerous depths in a world of high fantasy, so treasure should leave you feeling "Whooooo!" and not "Ah".

For example when Fantasy Flight re-released Dungeonquest, they didn't fill the box with mediocrity. Every treasure in the dragons hoard (well except the lode stones) was a wondrous and vibrant depiction of something that made the journey worthwhile. Not a bland piece of stock loot to toss in the pack with the rest.

So, I may have some misgivings based on what I've seen so far but not enough to put me off picking up a copy, even though I already own an original copy. At the price of $19.99 it's frankly a steal and, there's no way I am going to pass it up.

More Light Strategy: Numerix

After my recent post on Super 3 by MB Games I felt the urge to break out and post up another great light strategy I picked up at the UK Games Expo a couple of years back, Numerix by Tied to a Kite (who are coincidently a great bunch of guys).

No need to write up the rules for this one though as they are freely available from the designers website, along with a printable board.

Definitely worth checking out. It's free at any rate, so what have you got to lose?

Alchemy Bytes #15: Headless Hollow

One of the biggest problems with being a modern day gamer is the sheer volume of games that are available and, subsequently the sheer volume of games that most of us end up owning.

How is that a problem?

Well, with so many games on your shelf, how can you be expected to remember the rules to every last one of them? You can't really. Especially with how complex some modern releases are (not that old Avalon Hill was anything like simple!)

So when you want to break out that game that you've not played for a few months one of the first things that you have to do is sit down and have a flick through that rule book.

Which has to be in all honesty one of my pet peaves.

There is a solution at hand however. I had seen it suggested before that the thing to do was to create quick cheat sheets to include with your game that would remind you of all the key rules and, get you up and running straight out of the box. In fact a lot of newer games do include similar reference sheets that do just that. So it was an idea well received by many of the major publishers.

But what about your older games or, the newer ones that haven't followed this pattern? Do you really have to sit there and type up your own reference sheets?

Not if you can find it over at the Headless Hollow you don't. Whilst they may not have every game ever printed covered, they do have a fine range of cheat sheets and rules summaries for you to download, currently supporting (and listed here as there was no way in hell that they'd all fit into the limited space given for labels by Blogger):

#0-9

7 Wonders

A

Advanced Space Crusade, The Adventurers, Age of Conan: The Strategy Boardgame, Agricola, Android, Arcana, Archeology: The Card Game, Arena Maximus, Arkham Horror, AT 43, Ave Caesar.

B

Babel, Battle Ball, Battlecars, Battle for Armageddon, Battl Khaos, Battlelore, Battle Masters, Battleship Galaxies, Battles of Westros, Battlestar Galactica, Beowulf: The Movie Boardgame, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Black Beard, Blood Bowl, Blood Bowl: Team Manager, Blue Moon, Blue Moon City, Britannia, Broadsides and Boarding Parties, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

C

City of Thieves, Call of Cthulhu: The Collectible Card Game, Call of the Cthulhu: The Card Game, Camelot, Catan: The Card Game, Cave Troll, Chaos in the Old World, Chaos Marauders, Citadels, Civilization: The Board Game, Claustrophobia, Cleopatra and the Society of Architects, Cold War: CIA vs KGB, Colossal Arena, Colloseum, Commands and Colors: Ancients, Condottiere, Conquest of Nerath, Conquest of Planet Earth, Conquest of the Empire, Cosmic Encounter, Curse of the Mummys Tomb, Cutthroat Caverns, Cyclades.

D

Dark World, Descent: Journeys in the Dark 1st Edition, Descent: Road to Legend, Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2nd Edition, Doom: The Board Game, Doom of the Eldar, Dracula, Drakon, Dreadfleet, Dream Blade, Duel in the Dark, Dungeons and Dragons: The Fantasy Adventure Boardgame, Dungeons and Dragons: Castle Ravenloft Boardgame, Dungeonquest, Dungeon Twister, Dust Tactics.

E

Earth Reborn, Endeavor, The End of the Triumvirate, Warhammer: Epic 40,000, Escape from Atlantis, Escape from Colditz.

F

Fire and Axe, Formula D, Fortune and Glory, The Fury of Dracula.

G

Galactic Emperor, The Game of Thrones: The Board Game, The Game of Thrones: The Card Game, Gears of War, Ghost Stories, Gloom, Guillotine.

H

Hammer of the Scots, Hannibal, Hellas, HeroQuest, Heroes Incorporated, Heroscape, Horus Heresy, Hour of Glory, Hybrid.

I

Iliad, Il Principe, Incan Gold, Incursion, Invasion from Outer Space, Isla Dorada.

J

Jamaica, Jambo, Judge Dredd.

K

L

Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game, The Legend of Robin Hood, Letter of Marque, The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings: Card Game, The Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation, Lords of Waterdeep, Lost Cities.

M

Maharaja, Mall of Horror, Man O' War, Mansions of Madness, Mare Nostrum, Marvel Heroes, Memoir '44, Merchants and Marauders, Mesopotamia, Middle-Earth Quest, Minotaur Lords, Monsters Menace America, Monsterpocalypse: Collectible Miniatures Game, Mordheim, Mutant Chronicles, Mutant Chronicles: Siege of the Citadel, Mystery of the Abbey.

N

Necromunda, Neuroshima Hex, Nexus Ops, Ninjato.

O

Odin's Ravens, Okko.

P

Pandemic, Pirate's Cove, Prophecy, Puerto Rico.

Q

R

Rattus, Red November, Rex, Road Kill Rally, Rogue Trooper, Rune Age, Runebound, Runebound: Sands of Al-Kalim, Runewars, Rush N Crush.

S

Saboteur, San Juan, Scarab Lords, Shadows Over Camelot, Shazamm, Silk Road, Small World, Space Crusade, Space Hulk, Space Hulk: Death Angel, Star Craft: The Board Game, Star Wars: The Queens Gambit, Summoner Wars.

T

Tales of the Arabian Nights, Talisman, Tannhauser, Thebes, Thunder Road, Ticket to Ride, Tide of Iron, A Touch of Evil, Traders of Carthage.

U

V

W

Warhammer: Fantasy Roleplay, Warhammer: Invasion, Warhammer Quest, Warlock: The game of Dueling Wizards, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, War of the Ring, Warrior Knights, Wings of War, Witch of Salem, Wiz-War, World of Warcraft: The Adventure Game, Wreckage.

X

Y

Z

  Zanziar, Zombies!!!, Zombie Plague.

Week Of The Troll: Quickstart Freebie

In what probably would have made more sense being the first post in the "Week Of The Troll", lets take a look at yet another excellent Tunnels and Trolls freebie.

For those of you familiar with quickstart rule sets, you will know that they only tend to give you the bare minimum. Pre-generated player characters, a short scenario and, the rules to run it. Whilst this is great for introducing new players, you can often feel pigeon holed in your choices and, you'll almost certainly need to look up some rule that they neglected to include. Just great huh?

So is this post just offering more of the same?

Not in the week of the troll!

Check this beauty out.

That's right. The Tunnels and Trolls quickstart comes with several playable kindreds, a host of weapons, 11 out of the 20 spell levels listed, armor is covered, as is combat and, how to do everything else and more besides.

Not bad for a freebie, right?

Dungeonquest: The Legions of Hopefuls

One of my favorite games of all time would have to be Dungeonquest. With one of the most popular threads that seems to surround it on most forums being that of new heroes.

I believe that this is largely in part to the expectations of the fans upon a game set in the fantasy world of Terinoth. Again, arguably my favorite fantasy setting. Following in the footsteps of such miniature-rich games such as Descent, Runewars and, Runebound to only find a small handful of player characters in the box was sure to be a disappointment to most fans. True, these miniatures could be used in the other titles but that was hardly a solution (fair compensation granted but, no solution).

So what was a fan to do... Simple! I Frankenstiened together my own solution.

The Legions of Hopefuls is a small homebrew expansion knocked together in minutes for Dungeonquest 3rd Edition that allows you to play as one of the many nameless heroes that has dared to plunder the walls of Dragonfire Castle.

Unlike many approaches to character creation this method is completely random but, surprisingly balanced and has been designed with the dice variant for combat in mind.

To create a new character simply take 6D6 and roll them. Assign one dice to each attribute (Strength, Agility, Armor, and, Luck) and add 3 to it's value. Combine the last two dice results and add 8 to give you your Health value and, your character's good to go. Being nameless these heroes have no special rules attached to them but, I may develop this further in the future (should any return before nightfall).

Like Dungeonquest? Get 10% off of its RRP here when you mention this blog!

Dominion: Winning your first game.

A bit about Dominion 

Amongst all the card draft games on the market, i think it's safe to say that the popularity of Dominion is second to none.

Well designed, beautifully executed and, with a wide range of ways to play it manages to offer both the depth that experienced gamers often desire without excluding newcomers to the scene.

Chances are though that if you're reading this you're no stranger to the game but, you may be having one or two problems bringing home your first win. That's okay though. By the end of this post you'll be on the fast track to victory, no matter the card set nor the scenario.

What makes a good card?

Whilst luck and timing play their parts in Dominion, most games will be won by building a superior deck (unsurprisingly). But what makes a good card? This will vary slightly from game-to-game but generally there are a few golden rules that won't steer you far wrong.

1: Card draw.

Any card that allows you to draw more cards is generally going to be a good thing. Firstly this will give you a greater chance of pulling the coinage out of your deck, thus giving you more freedom over the cards that you can purchase. Card drawing also has the secondary effect of pulling victory cards into your hand.. Which means you won't be drawing them next turn. This becomes particularly important towards the end of a game when drawing a handful of victory cards may leave you unable to do a lot on your turn.

2: Extra actions.

What's better than playing one card that allows you to draw more cards on your turn? Playing two or three of them!

Extra actions are effectively extra turns and, there is nothing to stop you chaining enough of these together to cycle through your entire deck every turn if you've got the cards. The Village in the "First Game" setup is a prime example of this effect, replacing itself by allowing you to draw another card whilst allowing you to take two further actions, one of which could be another Village.

3: Multi-buy.

Last of the golden rules is that any card that gives you an extra buy is generally a good thing (provided that you don't use those buys to fill your deck with junk).  A common problem that arises when playing Dominion (at least from personal experience) is that of generating 7 coinage on a turn when a Province costs 8.

An extra buy however will let you pick up an Estate and a Duchy for 7, only falling one short of a Province in victory points. It's probably not a good idea to do this too often however as you'll soon find that picking up all of those extra Estate's will begin to clog up your deck.

Turning the golden rules into a strategy.

Following the golden rules above will help you weigh up the value of a card with relative ease but, for those that have been playing for a while, i've probably not really told you anything that you didn't already know.

Well all being well that'll change in the next few sentences when i introduce the concept with which i approach all games, the buy list.

Coming from a background in CCG's deck construction is virtually second nature, with one of the lessons that i learned early on being that a fancy card here or there rarely does the trick. A good deck needs to be consistent and focus on whatever it has been designed to do.

Now whilst the obvious goal in Dominion is to accumulate the most victory points by the end of play, the strategy you employ to get there can be as varied as the cards at your disposal. The good thing is though that no matter the strategy, you can always use a buy list!

So what is a buy list?

All cards in play have a cost and a buy list allows you plan your whole game out from the word go.

The first thing to do is to take the time to sit down, read each card and, then decide how you will play your game. For each value (say all the cards that cost 3 coinage), choose the card that best suits your strategy, whatever it may be.

If you need the extra coinage, it may be a piece of silver, if you need the extra actions and some card draw, it may be the Village. At any rate and however you'll play, choose one card in each value. This is your buy list and, it really is that simple.

Stick to this strategy (and indeed your strategy) and you won't go far wrong. Once you manage you've claimed your first few Province's you may want to switch your "5 buy" to Duchy's but, only if you're opponent has pulled a couple of Province's themselves. This is probably the only judgment call you'll have to make and, once you get that one down you'll be winning games left, right and, center.

Like Dominion? Get 10% off RRP here if you mention this blog!