Great News from Wargames Foundry

I've always been a massive fan of the wonderfully characterful fantasy figures that Foundry produces. They also make some damn fine historical minis as well, across a variety of periods.

But the biggest problem with UK-based Foundry has always been their ridiculously high prices and scarce availability in the United States.

Not being able to find what I really want at US shows, I've visited their website to peruse their collections. But buying these figures directly from their website has stopped me dead in my tracks. The prices were just too steep for my pockets.

But not anymore.


Foundry has made, at least in my humble opinion, a brilliant move of late. They've reduced the prices on their miniatures to much more affordable levels and have completely eliminated the enormous expense of shipping models overseas to the USA. Shipping is now really affordable. Hooray!

Yes, there are still some pricey figures to be sure, but there are also some excellent deals as well. The 16 figure War Orc regiment pictured above is now only $42.57. These are gorgeous, chunky, metal models. At less than $3 per figure, I think they're a terrific buy. 

So do yourself a favor and check out the NEW Foundry. They're trying hard to get back in the game by adjusting their prices, bringing back old popular ranges, and offering more options for buying their minis (more single packs, regiments, big collections). Massive kudos to them.  

An Explosion of Fantasy Battle Games

Some interesting news from the world of minis recently caught my attention. I'm a huge fan of fantasy miniature gaming. In fact, I've been developing my own set of card/chip driven fantasy battle and campaign rules for a few years now, which I'm continuing to play-test as we speak. Recently, 3 different sets of fantasy mass-battle rules have been announced, each of which looks pretty cool.

The first game, and the one that has me the most excited, is the new Kings of War fantasy battle game by Mantic and designed by Alessio Cavatore. Longtime miniatures gamers will know Alessio from his involvement in the development of GW's Warhammer Fantasy Battle rules.

For those who haven't heard of Mantic, they produce some truly excellent plastic miniatures sets at affordable prices. And their work is improving with each release. I bought a set of fantastic looking Orc axe-men a few months back (have yet to put them together) and really like the unique, characterful look of their Dwarves. Some of the upcoming figures look utterly irresistable (the Goblins are awesome!).

Fresh off their enormously successful Kickstarter campaign, in which they raised an astounding $354, 997, Mantic is set to release their new game in July 2012. It's supposedly chock full of gorgeous  eye candy and I'm curious in seeing the rules Alessio created.

I contributed $100 to their Kickstarter campaign, and I'm simply amazed at the quality of the rewards they offered contributors. Hats off to Ronnie Renton and company for supercharging their business! Ronnie seems like a genuinely nice chap and true gamer. You want to see people like that succeed, and it's good for the rest of our beloved hobby. Mantic is starting to become a real competitor to GW in the marketplace, thanks to their combination of high-quality, affordable miniatures and a much friendlier customer-centric approach to business. Much success guys!

In other news, the second edition of Pride of Lions has been published. These fantasy mass-battle rules were written by John "Doc" McBride and are produced by Splintered Light Miniatures, makers of the best 15mm fantasy minis on the market today (in my humble opinion).

I never played the 1st edition of the game, so I cannot speak knowledgeably about the game mechanics. But I have seen the game played at HMGS East conventions. It struck me as a bit of a cross between 15mm Hordes of the Things and Mighty Armies, but not having actually played this game, I cannot say if that's truly a fair comparison.

The 2nd edition weighs in at a whopping 122 pages, and I think the cover artwork on this is terrific. Well done guys!

The guys at Splintered Light are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet in the hobby, so I wish them all the best with their new game. Although 15mm is not my scale of choice (I'm a 28mm minis devotee), I'm very tempted to buy a copy of these rules to support David and Doc and see what good ideas they contain.

You can buy Pride of Lions from Splintered Light or get a PDF from their publishing partner Ganesha Games.

Lastly, we come to the announcement of an upcoming fantasy battle game from Foundry entitled God of Battles.

This is another mass-battle game which promises to be easy to learn and quick to play. According to the marketing blurb, "If you have played tabletop battle games before, you will find some new ideas and a few unusual concepts in this one." Let's see if Foundry puts their money where their mouth is.

Foundry makes some really great metal minis (their War Orcs and Renaissance Ogres are brilliant), but their prices are quite steep; almost prohibitively so for USA gamers. Plus, the availability of their non-historical ranges is virtually non-existent here in the States. I've purchased packs of Foundry minis (dark-age vikings, hoplites, and medieval knights) from Age of Glory at HMGS East shows, and they're great minis. But I can never find any fantasy figures at the shows which is extremely disappointing, and I haven't found a US stockist of those ranges.

Recently, there's been word that Foundry is going to undergo some business changes, with an eye on making their figures more affordable to overseas (non-UK) customers. I hope this proves true. I also hope they find a USA stockist of their fantasy stuff. In this current world of miniatures gaming, where there is a such a wealth of excellent choices (from metals to plastics), Foundry needs to give me a compelling reason to buy their stuff.

Peace!            
 

Medieval Wargaming Inspiration

Found some very cool pictures of a medieval skirmish battle from issue number 104 of Vae Victis, the french wargames magazine.

Check these pictures out, they're very inspirational.

6 Board Games Worth Your Time

Are you a video gamer, card player, or casual family gamer who has never really delved all that deeply into the realm of board games? If so, this blog post is for you.

Last week, I found a very interesting and informative article on KOTAKU by Quintin Smith, one of the guys who talks about board games for the Shut Up & Sit Down show.

In the article, Quintin discusses 6 Board Games that Video Gamers Should Play. He makes some excellent points and I must say that he made me very eager to try out the games he mentioned. I only own one of them (Cyclades, which I haven't played yet); and that's amazing coming from someone who owns in excess of 200 games.

Convention Season is upon us

Summer is right around the corner, and that means game convention season is almost here in all it's geeky glory.

As a central Pennsylvania gamer, here are a few conventions that are on my radar:

ORIGINS = May 30 - June 3 at Greater Columbus Convention Center (Columbus, Ohio).
One of the largest tabletop gaming conventions in the USA. A heavy emphasis on board games and card games (with an absolutely superb Board Game Room), but with a solid dose of miniatures as well. Definitely worth a visit if you've never had the "big con" experience. Over 300 exhibitor booths makes this a shopping mecca for gamers.

NJ Con = June 8 - June 9 at New Jersey Convention & Expo Center (Edison, New Jersey).
With Historicon moving outside of relatively close driving range for me (45-90 mins), this small miniatures convention has caught my attention and might be worth a visit this summer. I love the fact that it includes both historical and fantasy/sci-fi gaming, and has a handful of terrific vendors slated to attend (including The Warstore, Eureka Miniatures, Miniature Building Authority, On Military Matters, and Age of Glory).

Historicon = July 19 - July 22 at Fredericksburg Expo & Conference Center (Fredericksburg, Virginia).
I'm really bummed that summer's biggest miniature wargaming convention has moved away from the Lancaster/Philly area down south to Virginia. Instead of day-tripping to the con, now I must decide if I want to make a weekend vacation of it, with associated hotel costs for me and my buddies. This is definitely a great con, with the best Vendor Hall and Flea Market for miniatures gaming enthusiasts anywhere. And Fredericksburg is a great little town to visit, especially if you're a Civil War buff (very nice battlefield to visit, fun Ghost Tours, quaint little town to explore on foot or by taking the trolley). So I'm still debating this one!      

It's Stanley Cup Time -- time to play Slapshot

Ah yes, fond childhood memories come creeping back with this one. Of what am I speaking you ask? Slapshot, that simple yet surprisingly addictive hockey-themed card game.

Originally an Avalon Hill title from the early 1980's, this Tom Dalgliesh designed card game was recently re-published in an updated edition by Columbia Games.

If you're looking for a brain-burning strategy game, Slapshot definitely isn't it. But if you enjoy a fast, light-hearted beer & pretzels game with similarities to "War" and cartoon artwork of players with tongue-in-cheek names like Puck Rogers, Antoni Zamboni, Ice Capone, and Slash Gordon, then Slapshot will light your red lamp.  

With the Stanley Cup playoffs in full-tilt mode, why not break out the Molson or Labbatt's, talk a little smack, and try out this great little game. 

Ravage - French Wargame Magazine now available in USA

Some exciting news to share...

Previously only available to French speaking wargamers, the colorful tabletop gaming magazine RAVAGE is now available in the USA in a new English language edition. Ooh la la!

Ravage is an independent wargaming and table top games magazine that covers fantasy and science fiction games. It's available from CoolMiniOrNot for $6.99 per issue.

The contents of each issue focuses on game previews & reviews, convention coverage, and painting how-to tips.

Being a fantasy gamer and fan of dead-tree reading materials that I can absorb while sitting comfortably on my couch, this is definitely something I want to check out.


   

The Banner Saga -- Viking roleplaying / adventure

A new video game called THE BANNER SAGA is being developed by the guys at Stoic (Austin, TX) and it looks pretty darn sweet. It's got 3 days to go on its Kickstarter campaign, and will be fully funded since user contributions have completely blown past the desired $100,000 funding goal. Contributions total in excess of $550,000 as of this writing. What's the game about? Here's the overview from the Kickstarter site:

The Banner Saga is a role-playing game merged with turn-based strategy, wrapped into an adventure mini-series about vikings.

Travel through stunning landscapes straight out of an animated film. Battle painstakingly hand-animated foes in strategic, turn-based combat harkening back to the classic "Tactics" days of gaming. Make decisions with consequences in conversations with people you'll truly care about.

And throughout the whole thing record the history of your people on your banner where it will be remembered, because soon there might not be anything left.

The Banner Saga is a mature game aimed at gamers who appreciate art, story and strategy. 

Check out the Kickstarter page here, which includes a cool video by the designers.

2012 Blood Bowl Tournament to Benefit Childhood Cancer

Just wanted to share something interesting that I recently came across while browsing the web.

On May 19, 2012, The Adventurer's Guild (a terrific hobby game store in Harrisburg, PA), is running a Blood Bowl tournament that benefits the central Pennsylvania Four Diamonds Fund. The fund helps children with cancer.

The tournament will be held at the Masonic Lodge on 350 North Harrisburg Street, Oberlin, PA. Entry fee to play in the tourney is $25.

For more information and pictures from previous years events, check out the AGGBL.

It's pretty neat to see a tournament that not only provides plenty of fun for its players, but supports a great cause at the same time.

Pictures from Cold Wars 2012

Just wanted to share some digital pictures of several great looking games that I observed this weekend at Cold Wars 2012 (in Lancaster, Pennsylvania). Enjoy...

The first batch are from what I believe was a Weird War I or II game whose table was chock-full of interesting terrain and machines ... Some neat bi-planes, a windmill, mobile German cannon, towers, a graveyard, and assorted soldiers positioned in rocky hills and hiding in cover...

There was a cool Napoleonic era game where the cloud of musket fire (represented by swabs of cotton) contained flashing yellow LED lights, which neatly simulated the effects of muzzle flashes.

American Civil War Gnomes riding ponies through the desert in a Gnome Wars skirmish. I gotta say, I love the ACW gnomie cavalry. I'm not sure if the Island Native Gnomes they used for this game were scratch built or an upcoming release from Brigade, but they were really cool-looking, face-painted headhunters.

An eye-catching city scape for some urban fighting. I'm a big fan of buildings on the tabletop, so these piqued my interest.

Some ACW action in the cornfields. This picture doesn't really do the table any justice.