These Tombs Aren't Going to Raid Themselves

"I hate tombs." - Lara Croft

There certainly have been a lot of bad Tomb Raider games over the years. I only really enjoyed the very first one as it was so unique and ground breaking for its time in storytelling, game play and graphics. Most of the games since have gotten lost in Lara's sexuality and/or felt more like Lara 'James Bond' Croft instead of a female Indiana Jones.

The latest edition, simply titled "Tomb Raider," goes back to the roots, actually before the roots. This is Lara on her first adventure, before she is a bad ass. She's ship wrecked on a "Lost" or "Arrow" style island full of ancient mysteries with supernatural events and bizarre human cults. The premise isn't new, but that doesn't matter. The game is just fun and is something that both fans of the original and those new to Lara's exploits should seriously consider playing.

Why? Follow me after the break...

How Tall Do You Need to be to Ride Dragons?

How tall do you need to be to ride the dragons of Skyrim?

Now that my daughters, my nephew, and all of their friends are hitting the big age 10 mark, I’m getting a lot of questions about video games. “My son really wants Halo for Christmas, but it’s rated M is it too gory for him?”

These are genuinely concerned parents who are not gamers and sadly don’t know their Skyrim from their Gears of War.  They’re not necessarily opposed to their kid playing a game with a weapon,  they just don’t know why I’d let my kids play Halo at age 10 but perhaps not Gears of War or Mass Effect despite the fact that all three games are rated “M for mature”.

Armed with the knowledge that all parents are different, all kids are different, and that parents know what their kids can and can’t handle, I struggled with a way to explain it to them.  Then it hit me... MOVIES!  

A 20 minute video on how to paint a model in 10 minutes

Folks were asking me for a video of how I 'quickly' paint up a model for Dust.  So here's my experimental first video...please be gentle!

A Euro and Ameritrash Game Walk into a Dungeon

Lords of Waterdeep Box Cover

There are few hobby board games that you can buy, pop open, punch out the bits, read the rules, and play a 5 player game with all new players in under 2 hours. Even more impressive if all the new players are focusing on strategy from turn one because the rules and graphic design are so clean.

Of these games, even fewer have BEAUTIFUL components, wooden bits, linen boards & cards, and fantastic artwork. Fewer still have a near perfectly organized rule book with slick quick reference on the back. And EVEN less games actually have a box insert that holds all the bits for transport, but also keeps them organized and convenient for play.

If you'd asked me to make a list of games that had all of the above in them, my list would be very, VERY short. In fact the only game I own in this category is Small World by Days of Wonder.

Now I have a second: Lords of Waterdeep.

Game at my Pad

(Originally posted 4/21/11, Updated 11/3/11)

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of requests for gaming recommendations on iOS devices, specifically board games and lately the focus has shifted from the iPhone to the iPad.


While love my iPhone I’m not the biggest iPad evangelist on the planet.  I received mine as a gift, and I’m still on a quest for the ultimate killer app that will turn my iPad from a neat techno-bauble into an indispensable tool.


That said, the iPad does make a great gaming aid, entertainment device, and my search for the practical side has not totally been without success.  So without further ado, here are some of my favorite apps:

D-5 - You Dropped My Battleship's Shields!

Yes really, Hasbro!

I've been looking forward to a new board game from Hasbro for some time now.  Growing up I played games with great components such as Chopper Strike and Carrier Strike.  The idea of a new space combat game from the designer of Heroscape along with the pictures of the ships made Battleship Galaxies a must buy for me.

So picked it up on Saturday and drooled all over it, then posted a bunch of pictures on the D6G feed:

 http://twitpic.com/tag/battleshipgalaxies

Then my wife and I played Sunday night... what a fun game.    Here are my quick thoughts...

The Mean Streets of LA

My wife and I have always enjoyed detective, cop, and murder mystery shows.  From old classics like Columbo, Murder She Wrote, and Hercule Poirot to more recent fair such as In Plain Sight, Psych, and Castle.  So when a game like LA Noire gets announced, it goes to my must buy list.

What's it like?  It's not like any other video game that's been published in the last 10 years, perhaps 20.  Let me explain...

Back, Dak, and Hack

One of the many attractions of miniature war gaming is the ability to design your own army.   Sure lots of people play elves, but YOUR elf army features your favorite models, and a special combination of artillery, infantry, and cavalry that makes it your own.  Gamers who have played in a system for years have mastered just what they need for battle and enjoy coming up with new, innovative combinations that have never been seen before yet are still effective on the table top.

But what do you do when you are new to a game system, or indeed the miniature war gaming hobby as a whole?  How does one approach the daunting task of designing your first list in a system you’ve never played?

Over the years I’ve come up with a relatively simple philosophy that has served me well as I hop from one game to another.  In my experience a force needs three basic things: Back, Dak, and Hack.

Gaming with Daddy's Little Girl

Recently the school sent home a CRAZY Reuters article on how bad video games were for kids.

What's worse is that in the flyer, they only printed the first half of the article.  If you look it up, the second half of the article points out that nothing is proven.

What complete nonsense.  (My wife was really frustrated and rips the article to shreds here: link)

However, this REAL study, which was recently conducted by Brigham Young, shows that there are significant positive effects from fathers who play video games with their daughters.

While the study only focused on vid-games, I'd be willing to bet money that board games and other father-daughter activities would produce similar results.  It's common sense really: what kids want most from their parents is time and attention, share your passion with your kids, and they'll turn out better for it.

Here's an easy to digest version of the story, with links to the full study if you want the details:

http://kotaku.com/5748687/playing-video-games-with-dad-builds-better-daughters

Now if you'll excuse me I need to race home and get in a game of "Doritos Crash Course" with the girls before bed time.

Paint Your Wagon (or Tank or Boat)

For hobby gamers paint is a tool of the trade. The kind of paint you choose is usually based on personal preference, often founded in the first paint range you are exposed to. Over time you may discover that you like different ranges for different reasons. I thought I’d share my quick thoughts on the major paint brands often used by miniature war gamers.

I use all three major brands regularly: Games workshop (GW), Privateer Press Paints (P3), and Vallejo. For example my Dystopian Wars Blazing Suns frigates feature Vallejo paint for the green hull, GW paints for the brass bits, and P3 for the wooden decking, windows, and logo.

Here's what I’ve found:

Dial D for Dystopian

Note the little tabs on the fighter bases

Dystopian Wars is the new hotness from Spartan Games and it has taken our local gaming group by storm.  Even our resident historical gaming group has been sucked in.  In fact, we like the game so much we dedicated a huge chunk of the D6G episode 70 to discussing this unique miniature war game.

However, there is a fiddly bit to the game.  You must track the fuel for each tiny aircraft token in the game, and most players will have at least 10, probably 16 of these little resin flight bases winging around the board.  While the book recommends using micro dice, is was inspired to try and engineer a more aesthetically pleasing and less fiddly solution.  Although it is a little time consuming, with the right tools it's really not that hard.

Want to make your own?   Here's how...

Games for 10 to 11 Year Olds

One of the most common questions I get asked by D6G listeners is “what games would you recommend for kids age X?”   We get it so often that we produced an episode featuring 'Games of All Ages,’ but we were thinking mostly of younger kids, perhaps 5-8 year olds.

Recently I received an e-mail from a primary school teacher (Hi Tom!) who wants to start an after school game club for children ages 10-11.  What a great way to introduce kids to board games and expose them to what is available beyond  Monopoly and Clue!

As I crafted my response to Tom I realized that others share the same question, either because they too are considering starting a group or they simply are looking for good gift/game ideas for the children in their lives.  So why not post a list on my blog and share it with others?

I tried to come up with a list which has a good variety of themes, styles, and mechanics.   I really can’t imagine a 10 year old girl or boy not enjoying at least one of the games on this list.  And since school is involved I tried to sneak in some educational value where possible.

Of course all games teach the basics of following instructions, human interaction, and sportsmanship, so I didn’t worry about education too much.

So here’s the list. It’s not comprehensive by any means, just the games that came to me as I thought about it.  And although the idea is games that would appeal to 10-11 year olds I think these would make great ‘gateway games’ for any age….

[In no particular order]

Military Abstraction In Civilization

Civilization Unit Cards

So I picked up the new Civilization board game from FFG this week.  Popped it open, smelled the new box smell, tweeted a bunch of pictures, and organized its contents in preparation for my first play this weekend.

Then I dove into the rule book.  I like what I see so far, but I've discovered a layer of military abstraction that people may or may not like. I think it's very interesting, but it will be hard to judge until actually played.

There are two elements to your military power: Armies and Units.

Armies are the little plastic flag pieces which move around the board.  These represent where you can project military might.

Ode to the Graphic Designer

Ode to the Graphic Designer

by Russ Wakelin

When making a game, many take part

From design, to publishing, to the cover art.

But I write these words to tell you the story

Of one of the many who won’t receive much glory.

It is the Graphic Designer of whom I speak

And for a smooth game ‘tis they that you should seek.

Though most tend to think that their only real duty

Is to ensure that a game is a great thing beauty.

But graphic design is so much more

Than helping a game look fine in a store.

The wise and wizened gamers know

‘tis these graphic guardians that ensure the flow

Of fast and intuitive games that let you see

A story unfold via rules transparency.

They accomplish this feat with visual cues and styles

Such as arrows, icons, tokens and dials.

Like Frontiers of Aliens with lines that connect

The planet to space zones which help you select.

And who could tell if the humans ever got far

If there were no dials on that great Battlestar?

Would not Camelot’s shadows be a much darker test

If the board lacked hints of what’s needed per quest?

So the next time you flip through your favorite rulebook

Pause on the credits page; give it a look.

Take note of the names on the fifth or sixth line

Following those simple words: Graphic Design

Because without their skill it would be quite alarming

As all of our games would look like the one about farming.

This thing called Kinect

Well, it required playing "the Birthday card" but not only did I score the new RB3 stuff last week but I was able to convince my Wife that I needed Kinect and a game or two for it this week...

She picked it up for me yesterday, and we got it all set up. We played for about 3 hours last night, then I played again with the kids this morning for another half hour before work. You definitely get a little bit of a work out if you are not a very active person, and I've got sore and stiff muscles today to show for it.

The Tech

Set up was easy, although you're gonna need a good sized room. You NEED to be 6-10 feet away from the sensor, esp if you want to play two players. If your living room is small... forget it.

Assuming you have the space, set up is simple, You plug it in, run a calibration thing for the room (takes about 10 min) and you are ready to go. The crazy thing is... how quickly it works.

Xbox Kinect User Interface (UI)

To be honest, the thing I was most excited about with Kinect wasn't the games, but the voice and gesture control of X-box media. This works well and doesn't require flailing, however it is much more limited than I had hoped. Let's break it down...

Keytar of Rock

Just played more of Rock Band 3 with the new keyboard/keytar.

It really is ingenious how Harmonix ramps difficulty up from 'normal' mode easy through hard and 'pro' mode easy through hard.  It is very easy to get started in normal mode, it's just one hand on five keys, very simple. And very easy to play standing up like a keytar.  Pro mode requires both hands and you'll want it on your lap or on a table.

Like the drums, getting started in simple but will take a long time to master.  And you definitely feel like your playing a piano and doing ok once chords kick in and octave shifts start happening at higher difficulties.   You might even think you're getting quite good until you run into a great pianist's music like Elton John!!

Suddenly you feel like you just got taken to school.  Which is really what makes music games like Rock band so exceptional. You learn to appreciate all the elements that go into making a great song, and which bands have stronger musicians on which instruments.

Put some cowboys in my sandbox please...

I've always respected and admired the technical achievements and fun of the GTA series, but the theme always kinda bothered me.  I never really could get into being a gangster or crime lord.  It's one of the reasons I enjoyed Crackdown more than GTA IV, despite GTA IV being a deeper more beautifully crafted game.

Red Dead Redemption takes the great technology and open game-play concepts of GTA and places them in a setting that is much more appealing.  While I'm sure it will be possible to be a 'bad guy' in the old west, it brings to life a genre that has been ill served to date by video games.  To finally have a western themed game that has all the polish, attention, and budget of a GTA title is very exciting for me, and probably one of the reasons the game was so highly anticipated by many.