A detailed account of my various commission/hobby projects.
Board Games – I love a good board game, add in a bunch of minis and it’s even better. Dark Rituals: Malleus Maleficarum was a Kickstarter game that funded in 2019. The amazing models and creeoy theme lead to the game funding in less than 50 min. The look and feel of the game reminds me a bit of Hell Dorado and Kingdom Death.
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Board Games – Monumental is a weird mix of miniatures. Samurai, Centurions, Egyptians and Einstein all in the same game?
This is a 4X game, Explore, Expand, Exploit and Exterminate. So the odd mix of heroes, troops, explorers etc. makes more sense (Kind of). In the non-deluxe version you get a bunch of different sized disks to represent your forces, those are replaced with different sized miniature in the deluxe version with colored disks to denote the player colors.
Board Games – Rise of the Necromancers bills itself as an area control game with character development. The game sounds pretty fun even though the “miniatures” are less than outstanding. Not to come off as harsh, for their purpose the minis work just fine and look like cool little tombstones with zombie hands and the Necromancer’s look wizardly enough.
The expansion Dawn of the Demons makes some pretty huge strides in mini quality. These large scale monsters are more in line with what most people think of when a game is billed as having miniatures. That’s not to say these are amazing miniatures by any stretch but they’re functional.
Since the detail on these isn’t amazing I used a pre-shading and contrast paint method to quickly paint up the 70+ miniatures. Player color is really important for these pieces and the game didn’t include the colored disks to denote player color, so that meant I needed to work the color into each batch of miniatures. I think my solution works and makes it easy to see which piece belongs to each player.
Marvel Crisis Protocol – A few years back skirmish games were popping up all over the place and I fell into chasing each new game hoping to find a replacement for my main game of Warhammer 40,000. Back then 40K was in a weird place and I just wasn’t enjoying it. Which seemed to be the case for many gamers as skirmish games were taking off with Malifaux, MERCS, Helldorado, Relic Knights Guildball, Deadzone, Batman The Miniatures game and a bunch of others snagging huge chunks of disenfranchised players. Of course Games Workshop course corrected with new editions of their core games and bringing back old favorites like Necromunda and Warhammer Quest, which seemed to the downfall of many of those start up skirmish games. I’ve noticed that skirmish games are coming back for a variety of reasons.
The most notable reason for the rise in skirmish games is the pandemic. Right now it’s not really safe to spend several hours in close contact with someone else in a cramped game store. In some states like Michigan it’s not even a viable option because most stores have their gaming areas closed off. Of course basement gaming is an option but there again spending hours in an enclosed space, even masked up increases your risk of possible exposure. Which means for many players getting a game of 40K isn’t happening.
In my group we were able to play variations of Necromunda over video conference for a while. With a skirmish game it works to a degree but it’d not ideal. So over the last year my primary gaming group consists of my wife and sons. The challenge there 40K, Necromunda and Killteam have to much information having to cross reference multiple books and investing a significant amount of time on the lore before you can really enjoy the games. (Because lets be honest, people love the 40K universe for the depth of story and modeling opportunities not the quality of gameplay).
So that’s a long way to go to get to the point. In order to enjoy a miniatures game with my young sons and wife I needed to find something that was already something they liked, that has concise consolidated rules that they don’t need to study ahead of time and is playable in under an hour or two. Which lead me to Marvel Crisis Protocol.
I had painted a few of the models for a client and knew that the game was pretty solid so I felt pretty safe in investing in it. Worst case scenario I’d have some nice minis to display from one of the family’s favorite universes. After receiving the core set for Christmas I had what I needed to get started. Of course other projects required my attention first but once I got to it I was hooked.
Atomic Mass has created a unique game that has all the flavor of the Marvel Universe as well as pretty balanced gameplay with all the rules you need to know printed on the cards or a quick reference sheet. (yea the full rulebook is online and way more extensive for competitive play but you don’t need to reference it much for fun games).
I have a few modern terrain board I had put together for Batman and MERCS so revisiting those projects to actually finish something is an exciting proposition. After a few games with my older son he’s caught on quick and really enjoys the game. I think this will be the gateway to other mini games or could possibly become my go to game. It plays quick and is tons of fun.
Board Games – When I think of Barbarian Hordes rampaging across the land worker placement isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. However in Tabula Games’ Barbarians: The Invasion they make it work.
Read MoreBoard Games – Some games just look amazing, when the art and minis match up with great graphic design you get a really great looking game. Vindication is one of those games. Thrown overboard and left for dead you awaken on a ruined island where you must forge a new fate.
Read MoreBoard Games – Space Battle games can range the from super complicated affairs like Twilight Imperium and Battlefleet Gothic to fairly simple like X-wing. Mothership is billed as being closer to the latter. Getting right into the heart of the battle is it’s primary selling point.
Read MoreBoard Games – I’ve previously painted up the expansions for this game so it was a nice surprise to see the core set make it’s way onto my painting table. As with the expansions I needed to keep the paint scheme super simple with the same colors as the molded plastic bits.
To make this work I started with a metallic silver base and then applied the appropriate contrast paint. The result is a nice hot rod metallic color that feels a bit nicer than the solid color plastic.
Board Games – Zombicide Black Plague has had a ridiculous amount of expansions, not only new gameplay mechanics, board and minis but also many “Special Guest” Boxes which bring in a guest artist to do a character design for the game.
Each box adds a few characters that could be enemies or heroes depending on the box. The designs range from pretty unique to pretty generic but if you’re a completist you’ll need to track these down.
Board Games – When I was a kid Post Apocalyptic always meant desert wastes and fighting over water/food/fuel after a nuclear war. Over time that scenario seems to have changed Water World had the ice caps melt, other films have had it be a plague zombie or more traditional and for a period of time the disaster of choice was a new Ice Age. Last Aurora follows along with the frozen wasteland theme caused by nuclear winter.
From the manufacturer:
“The radioactive dust of the Last War has frozen the northern countries. In the ice desert, the few survivors live in an icy hell as the resources of the "old world" are now exhausted, and travel to the south is too long and dangerous. But a radio message is rekindling hope: The last icebreaker ship, the Aurora, is cruising along the coast, looking for survivors. The winter is coming, and in a few days, those who cannot get on board will be doomed by the ice. It will be a race against time to arrive at the ship or surrender to despair: there's still the light of hope on the horizon, a light to grab before it's too late...
Last Aurora is a post-apocalyptic game for 1-4 players set in a frozen, desolate land. Each player has to manage their crew to gather resources, recruit survivors, improve their vehicle, and fight their enemies as they race to reach the ship before it's too late!”
Having a unique look to your miniatures is always a bonus for a game, sometimes you stumble upon a new look that creates a trend and other times your unique look makes you stand out from the crowd. The gas-masked little soldiers for this game are pretty unique looking and the other tokens do a good job representing what they are.
Board Games – Successful Kickstarter games can go bonkers with stretch goals. A great example of this is Dwellings of Eldervale, I mean seriously sound effect bases that have little to no value for gameplay but do push the “blinged out deluxe version” envelope. Apparently there are multiple versions of this game available with out all the extras that play exactly the same, which means if you didn’t back this you’ll likely be paying a premium if you want to track down the special version.
Anyway everything I’ve read and watch about this game is very positive. Not only are the super premium components great but the game also has a well developed story and solid mechanics.
Each of these minis can be represented with a cardboard standee in the basic version of the game but the miniatures are pretty solid and do come “pre-painted” in a weird color wash. It was easy enough to prime over that and paint these up to look pretty slick.
Board Games – Some of the games I’m asked to paint have very few models. Sometimes I wonder if they were just added to the game to say, “We have Minis!” Not that I’m complaining but in some instance it seems like having a meeople or other counter would be a most cost effective option rather than having models tooled and cast.
Anyway Stygian Society is a Kickstarter-Funded board game that bills itself as a diceless dungeon crawler. The concept looks fun and the minis while super tiny are pretty detailed.
Board Games – I previously painted all the expansions for Blood Rage. This time around I completed the core set. Since its release in 2015 this game has held a really high rating on Board Game Geek and has won numerous awards.
Here’s a summary from the manufacturer:
“In Blood Rage, each player controls their own Viking clan’s warriors, leader, and ship. Ragnarök has come, and it’s the end of the world! It’s the Vikings’ last chance to go down in a blaze of glory and secure their place in Valhalla at Odin’s side! For a Viking there are many pathways to glory. You can invade and pillage the land for its rewards, crush your opponents in epic battles, fulfill quests, increase your clan's stats, or even die gloriously either in battle or from Ragnarök, the ultimate inescapable doom.
Most player strategies are guided by the cards drafted at the beginning of each of the three game rounds (or Ages). These “Gods’ Gifts” grant you numerous boons for your clan including: increased Viking strength and devious battle strategies, upgrades to your clan, or even the aid of legendary creatures from Norse mythology. They may also include various quests, from dominating specific provinces, to having lots of your Vikings sent to Valhalla. Most of these cards are aligned with one of the Norse gods, hinting at the kind of strategy they support. For example, Thor gives more glory for victory in battle, Heimdall grants you foresight and surprises, Tyr strengthens you in battle, while the trickster Loki actually rewards you for losing battles, or punishes the winner.
Players must choose their strategies carefully during the draft phase, but also be ready to adapt and react to their opponents’ strategies as the action phase unfolds. Battles are decided not only by the strength of the figures involved, but also by cards played in secret. By observing your opponent’s actions and allegiances to specific gods, you may predict what card they are likely to play, and plan accordingly. Winning battles is not always the best course of action, as the right card can get you even more rewards by being crushed. The only losing strategy in Blood Rage is to shy away from battle and a glorious death!”
To paint these guys I started with a Khaki base and heavy Earthshade wash. Once that base dried I went in with various browns and earth tones from the Contrast Range. With the pre-shading I did with the wash the contrast paints do a good job adding color on natural furs and straps like these models have.
Board Games – Last year I painted up the majority of the models for Arcadia Quest and the various expansions. This batch of models should be the last of what CMON has released so far.
Overall I’m really happy with how the models have turned out painting Chibi style minis is fun and a nice break from the serious grim dark stuff I typically paint.
Board Games – Many people were sad when the Alien vs. Predator game was canceled when Disney acquired Fox. While it’s a bummer that game went away having another company pick up the license is a very good thing.
AvP was a pretty overly complicated game that missed that sweet spot where fans of the series intersect with fans of boardgames. They tried to rectify that with the one-piece sculpts of the second edition but still had the issue with the average person doesn’t want to invest the time it takes to learn, build paint and play a tabletop miniatures game.
Another Glorious Day in the Corp mixes really nice screen-accurate miniatures with a simpler system that most people could pick-up and play fairly quickly. The hard plastic minis are color coded by faction as assembly is really simple with some plastic cement and clippers.
Board Games – Lucky Duck Games created a board game version of the popular Kingdom Rush tower defense mobile game. The first game was so successful that they have another campaign going on right now for an expansion.
Read MoreBoard Games – I’ve painted up a few of the expansions for Star Trek Ascendency. The technique I’me using is a contrast paint over a silver base. This is a pretty quick way to make the ships look a little better than the plain plastic.
Board Games – Incursion was a great game, the only real issue with the first edition was how expensive it was to get the metal miniatures and the challenges of storing them. I was lucky enough to pick up the core box of the first edition ages ago and finally got my metal set of minis painted when the pandemic began. Its funny that I painted the second edition almost a year later.
Read MoreBoard Games – Cyclades is a pretty cool board game with a ton of not so great miniatures. I painted the core game up earlier this year and recently had a chance to paint up the first three expansions for the game. Luckily the quality of the miniatures got “better” with each release.
Hades, TItans and Monuments all add new challenges to the game as well as providing options for adding another player.
Board Games – Fuji Koro has a unique aesthetic that plays up the blocky look that made my kids ask is this a Mine Craft game? The concept seems pretty cool, collect and craft items before the volcano erupts or the Dragons kill you.
The miniatures were fun to paint, the unique look of them played into a more cartoony look than I typically paint and they had enough texture that I could experiment with contrast paint for some unique metallic effects on the dragons.
