Monopolis first session (MillCon Day 2)

The second day of MillenniumCon, I ran two games (afternoon and evening) of Monopolis, my Ogre scenario using the boardgame rules, miniatures, and 3D terrain on a huge hex map. We got there at 9 a.m., not realizing that the game my brother wanted to play had started at 8. So we wandered around the dealer room (where I scored big; more on that in a later post) and looked at other games that morning, grabbed an early lunch, and started setting up before the 1:30 events started.

The first game, all eight slots had been claimed in online preregistration, but after cancellations and substitutes, we ended up with seven players--and that was fine. This time around, I decided to get all my cybertanks on the board, with around eight for the attackers and five for the defenders, plus conventional armor. I also included the mobile laser, the ekranoplan, and other nonstandard units.

The attackers' Doppelsoldner and defenders' Ogre Mark VI went after each other in a clash of titans in the plains to the east of the city, and the ekranoplan didn't get its troops very far. There was plenty of back-and-forth at the other end of the battlefield as well, including some aquatic action between GEVs and armored boats.

Then the cruise missiles started flying. I'd given the defenders plenty of lasers (and the attackers their own portable energy weapon) for this reason, but eventually one got through, detonating above the main highway into the city, and levelling the terrain for kilometers around. 

I was prepared for this, as rereading the previous Monopolis batrep had reminded me to place the rubble markers first when setting up, then put town and forest on top, to make applying the effects of the nuke quicker and easier and not break the flow of the game. And the players on both sides enjoyed seening the fruits of this nuclear destruction.

This came in handy when the second cruise missile detonated just up the road, taking out the bridge and some of downtown Monopolis across the river--along with some unfortunate nearby conventional units.

By then, it was just about time to end the game. While the attackers made some incursions into the city, the defenders still held Monopolis. It was a good time, and thanks to Steve Jackson Games, I even had some prize support to hand out when we were done.

Between events, I had a chance to wander around some more. Here's a shot of the Circus Maximus setup--a 28mm scale adoption of that classic boardgame. This event is a fan favorite and always fills up within minutes of preregistration starting.

So it was a good afternoon on day two, with my evening Monopolis game still to come. Stay tuned!

Mag Con report

A couple of weeks ago I took my brother and my niece to Mag Con, a gaming convention that serves as a fundraiser for one of the schools in New Caney. My brother was anxious to introduce his daughter to gaming, and I knew just the event to draw her in: Circus Maximus!

There were four of us old guys playing, along with my niece. Of course my brother and I tried to kill each other in this game, and the other two veteran gamers did the same.

But while we were all intent on knocking each other out of the race, the girl kept her eyes on the prize and ended up coming in first place in her first game at her first convention.

I knew another game she would like: Steve Jackson's Munchkin. They were demoing the Marvel version of the game, so it had some superheroes that she was familiar with, and the gameplay was simple for her and my brother to pick up. There were a total of six players, and while we all tried to stab each other in the back, my niece again won the game.

Some other games I saw but didn't play included this Lego whaling scenario, which I had seen at Millenniumcon. It looks like fun, and I will have to try it this fall if it's on the MillCon schedule.

There was also a Walking Dead game, but no one was playing when I shot this photo. Looks good, anyway. By this time, we had to go, but not before my brother--who went into the game thinking he would hate it--bought a copy of Munchkin. He and my niece had a good time, and I hope this means we have a new gamer.

As a bonus, the next morning my brother and I played a quick game of Ogre: Objective 218, an Ogre-themed card game. A nice way to wind down a weekend of gaming.

Reluctantly crouched at the starting line ...

Last week a few of us from Lone Star Historical Miniatures got in a game of Circus Maximus. While originally a board game, this is one of those sets of rules that lends itself easily to minis play. There were just three of us, so we each took a pair of chariots for a two-lap race.

This game's not just about speed and driving skill--when passing someone, you can choose to ram their chariot or use your whip against the other team. Bumping another competitor can damage one or both chariots, and causes the target to fall back.

Of course, if you take damage there is a chance you'll wreck. During this race, each of my chariots received a little damage; to avoid flipping over, I just needed to avoid rolling snake eyes. So of course I rolled a two. Both times. One other driver crashed as well. The overturned chariots remained on the track as obstacles, while the horses kept galloping around the hippodrome.

This player-vs.-player aspect is fun, as you can improve your position in the race, or just screw over your opponent for fun.

We played on a large board, using 15mm minis. Below are three drivers in the time out area, after flipping their chariots and letting go of their horse teams (you can let the horses drag you across the finish line, but that's not advisable unless you're very close to the end of the race).

In the end, Joe, who had lost one of his chariots, finished first with his remaining racer. Circus Maximus is a fun game, especially on a large board. It's even better when you have a large number of competitors, like I've seen at Millenniumcon.

What other board games look good with minis?

Some photos from Millennium Con (Friday)

Just some quick pics from my Millennium Con experience on Friday Night.  While the majority of the games were historical in nature, such as the one pictured here, there was also plenty of sci-fi gaming.

I ran my 5150: Star Navy scenario (more details on that later).  I had enough ships for eight players, but ended up with only three.  Here's the setup:

There was also a nifty Death Star trench run game for the X-Wing miniatures game.  I didn't get a chance to play in it, but I took a few pics:

There was also that annual crowd-pleaser, Circus Maximus, which was as popular as ever.

More pics and a more substantive con report at a later date, hopefully.

Circus Maximus at Millcon

Some more photos from Millenniumcon (why yes, I am milking these):  The oversized setup for the chariot-racing game Circus Maximus.  Yes, those are 28mm scale chariots on the board.

This game is always a big hit at conventions.  There's a lot of action on the board, and interaction between players as they try to take out their opponents' chariots.  It seems to draw a lot of kids, too.

Circus Maximus was originally a boardgame, but you can see it's easy to scale up so you can pack a lot of players and spectators around the table.  Once again, I missed out on this because of my schedule, but I could hear the players having fun.