Our first game of Command & Colors: Ancients - we're both getting used to the new rules (to us!) of "evade" and the wise use of leaders... and the ease of battle back! Yikes. (Honestly, I made some dumb flanking attacks that he batted back - and then he made a really wise pursuit on my left flank that took me out of the game.)
Scenario: Akragas
As I reported a couple of weeks ago, Braeden & I have been fighting the mother of all Heroscape battles. Well, this afternoon, the fighting finally ended when Braeden's last Marro Drudge, high atop the castle tower, surrendered to the remains of my once mighty force: some Knights, a couple of Minutemen, and a couple of Omicron Snipers. (It was a good decision on his part - the Minutemen & Snipers both have longer range than the Drudge and could have picked him off.)
BTW, here's how we did a 2 player battle with two HUGE (1400+ point) armies... each one of us used two sets of order markers. You could choose which of your "1" markers (for example) you wanted to use first. The flexibility made for some interesting choices in placing orders - and the extra markers meant that you could move most of your large army if you spread the orders out. I don't know that I'd play this big a scenario very often - but it sure was a lot of fun!
In other Heroscape news, we finally found Wave 7 at one of our local Target stores... so our next project is a Soulborg v. Undead battle, utilizing a number of the new figures. I'll keep y'all posted.
The picture is from Erik Arneson's About Board Games site, which probably has the best Heroscape coverage out there of the "normal" gaming sites. It's a pile of Marro from inside the playtest room at Hasbro!
First, the three albums:
And three bloggers:
Those of you without blogs can participate right here in the comments section.
In my experience, those whose spiritual formation includes “the quiet” are not prone to a solitary life. They tend to be party animals who love screaming lead lines, booming drum and bass, and crowds going wild. [Or wine, cheese, jazz and conversation.] They like being around others. They like recognition. They enjoy Sunday services. They appreciate youth groups. Etc…They just don’t need them. Christ, his mission and their co-conspirators give them everything they need... You may never know their names. They’re OK with that. They’re anonymous.Read the whole thing: Lessons from the Underground: Begin with the M in mind.
Yeah, thanks, Ms. Rozmiarek... all I needed was another solitaire dice game to eat up my "free" (ha!) time. (So far, I'm 1-0.) This is all your fault, Game Ranch Girl!
A new area - Cars Land, which will be themed around Radiator Springs and contain an E-ticket racing ride as well as two other family rides.
A new Little Mermaid ride-through.
A new interactive Walt Disney Story set in the model of the theater that Snow White opened in.
A new end of the night show (a la Fantasmic) called Disney's World of Color.
Like I said, there's lots more... and Collin will probably be 8-9 years old before it's all finished, but that won't stop me from looking forward to it.
All images are copyrighted by Disney.
I have got to clean houseI haven't even had the CD player on this morning... and still this song is running through my head. Not a bad thing, mind you - just weird. Jesus, how do I enjoy the stuff of earth without turning it into "a hundred little gods on a gilded wheel"? How do I finish well when I'm carrying this 3 piece set of matching emotional luggage?gotta make my bed
gotta clear my head
It's gettin' kinda stuffy in here
smells sorta funky too
like monkeys at the zoo;
and I have been a-whorin' after things
cause I wanna get everything right
that's a big fat lie
no amount of green, gold or silver
the perfect body
another hot toddy
work for the Lord
fame and power
power and sex
a seat at the table
at the Belle Meade country club
Here's the rub
Nothin' will ever take the place of the peace of God
Charlie Peacock, "Monkeys At The Zoo" (from his album FULL CIRCLE)
Braeden & I have been talking about a Marro vs. the world "battle royale" since we first picked up the new Heroscape set, Swarm of the Marro... and we finally got to make that a reality this weekend. The pictures you see here are our layout for a massive 1400+ point per army battle between every Marro "hero" & squad we own & a hand-picked army, all from Jandar.
The castle is the objective (more about that in a minute)... you can see the bone dragon & the Marro giant perched on the bridges in front of the castle.
The shelves in the background are my Heroscape shelves, where the figures go when they're not involved in battle. (Yes, these pics are taken in my game room - man, I love having a room where I can set all this stuff up and not worry about it.)
The view to your left is an overhead shot looking into the castle, where the Marro Hive has broken through the floor. There's a 6 level high "cavern beneath the castle with multiple entrances. The Marro want to hold the castle & destroy Jandar's army; Jandar wants to destroy the Marro Hive.
This Marro Striker is high above the battlefield, waiting to reign death down on the invading forces.
Current game situation: Braeden (the Marro) has lost his dragon, his giant & what we call "the spider wizard". I have lost my dragon & am having to use Kelda to keep Sgt. Drake alive. I haven't been able to get a foothold of any kind around the castle yet, though.
I'll update you as the situation changes.
I'll discuss truthiness more at a later date (suffice it to say that while our politics may or may not agree, I think Mr. Colbert has hit the nail on the head about a major issue for the way we view life & our decisions)... but all of this froo-froo about Comedy Central is really just introduction to what feels like another made-up word: missional. Last Friday night at the NewLife Family Dinner, I used this word to set out a vision for the kind of church I believe God means for us to become. And, because it's become kind of a buzz word in church leadership circles, I tried to define it as clearly as I could in "real live people" terms, rather than "look at our hip lingo" terms. My definition is culled from a lot of study... but mainly influenced by Ed Stetzer. I believe, as Ed says, that missional is the adjective form of the noun, missionary. In other words, if a church is missional, it is choosing to do things like missionaries would. The people of the church see themselves as missionaries, called to a particular place & people. When you hear me use the word "missonal" (and you will), I'm not talking about sending money to the Cooperative Program to support missionaries overseas. That's a very good thing, by the way. I'm all for that - but the heartbeat of a missional church is not supporting missionaries, it is being missionaries. So what do missionaries do?It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. But that's not the case anymore. Facts matter not at all. Perception is everything... What is important? What you want to be true, or what is true?...
Truthiness is 'What I say is right, and [nothing] anyone else says could possibly be true.' It's not only that I feel it to be true, but that I feel it to be true. There's not only an emotional quality, but there's a selfish quality.
I also know that some of you who read this blog are quickly offended by the word "missionary" - because some people who claimed Christianity & operated under that title were primarily interested in converting native peoples to their economic way of life & European social structure. That is not what I or my denomination (Southern Baptists) believe or practice. The dream is, overseas as in the U.S., for indigenous churches that teach & live out the gospel in their cultural context. As always, I'd welcome more conversation on this subject.
A version of this article originally appeared in the October 16, 2007 issue of The Grapevine, the newsletter of NewLife Community Church.
Yes, I do like Battlelore... enough that I've managed to purchase all the current expansions.
But I've got NOTHING (I repeat, nothing) on this guy... see his video over at YouTube.
Seen this week at the Big Fresno Fair... with apologies to Richard Borg and R&R Games.
This isn't exactly what I expected... but it works for me. (All except the "martyr" part.)
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You’re St. Justin Martyr! You have a positive and hopeful attitude toward the world. You think that nature, history, and even the pagan philosophers were often guided by God in preparation for the Advent of the Christ. You find “seeds of the Word” in unexpected places. You’re patient and willing to explain the faith to unbelievers. Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers! |
Thanks to Scott's Retrieving the Christian Tradition blog for pointing this out.
Update: I left this one off... which is almost funnier than the two I did put on the original post.
By now, some of you are wondering about what I'll call "The Two S's"...
Two other points, and then I'm done. Well, not really done, as I'm very open to your questions & comments about our choice to homeschool... but you get my drift, right?!
I'm really glad we're having this kind of theological dialogue in the denomination. But... well, check it out for yourself. (A tip of the blogging hat to Ed Stetzer, who pointed this out.)
Here's the moment when I realized that I am possibly one of the dorkiest guys on the planet... Shari & I were watching the latest episode of Chuck last night (thank you, VCR) when this exchange occurred between two characters (recap courtesy of TWOP): Morgan is convinced that Chuck is just a fragile little gelding unprepared for the world. Elie snorts and asks, "Do you know what a gelding is?" Morgan smirks, "Yeah, it's that weird creature from The Dark Crystal." Nice! It is so hard to find a good Dark Crystal reference these days!Not only did I recognize the reference, I knew that the correct word is "gelfling." Some of you are thinking: "It took this for you to wake up & smell the coffee? You mean, the fact that you have an entire room dedicated to board games wasn't a big enough clue?!" I see your point.
Here in the good ol' US of A, it's Columbus Day, which for a number of years has been a great excuse to celebrate the life & accomplishments of a man who didn't actually manage to set foot on any part of American territory (unless you count protectorates). It's worth your time to read the extensive chapter on the mythology that's developed around Christopher Columbus in the excellent book, Lies My Teacher Told Me (by James W. Loewen).
Personally, I think Columbus has become a pawn for a variety of communities - an icon of immigrant pride on one hand and an effigy to burn for those who (rightly) deplore the way Native Americans were treated by those who colonized the Americas on the other. But that's a political discussion for another day.
1992 was the 400th anniversary of Columbus' first voyage... and an occasion for a lot of themed merchandising. Even the German game industry got on board: there were at least two "Columbus" games from Essen 1991.
The first (and better-known) is Wolfgang Kramer's Columbus... and if you want to know more about it, you'll have to follow the link. See, I haven't ever played it. I'm not even sure I've seen a copy of the game.
The second is Marius Meyer's Columbus (yes, the games have the same name), which is the subject of this review.
Historical accuracy is not the primary focus here - unless the Atlantic Ocean is full of reefs & rocky outcroppings, sailors can control the weather for malevolent purposes, and the worst thing that can happen to a ship is that it loses a single mast. Instead, the game is a delightful romp - a game that uses luck management (via the position you leave yourself in & the judicious use of provisions for re-rolls) and "take that" elements to fashion a fast-moving & truly "fluffy" game.
It's simple enough - players begin with their ships in Europe. Each turn, you roll 4 custom dice that generate both movement for your ships & some other special abilities (moving storms, strong winds, taking on provisions, and acquiring action cards). You can use provisions to reroll one or more of the dice.
Ships take damage (loss their main mast) in a variety of ways - running aground, colliding with another ship, being caught by a storm at sea. You can repair your ship by rolling a "sail" - or by using a particular action card.
You'll either be charmed or repulsed by this next bit - when you reach the western section of the mapboard, you use a small telescope to peer at discs to see if you've found inhabited land or not. Once you find this, of course, you must race back across the Atlantic to Europe to announce your discovery.
The game is not, by any stretch of the imagination, rocket science. A few simple tactical hints:
Collin has "fallen" off his bike (aka Scuttlebug) and had an "accident." In the background, Dad & Braeden are taking the training wheels off Braeden's bike - his idea!
Since "Bubba" (Collin's name for Braeden) got air in his tires, we have to put air in Collin's tires as well.
And... this is it for learning to ride. Shari's lucky she got the picture - I only held onto the seat for about 3 seconds before he was up & going on his own!
The pictures say it all... without ever having seen the inside of any comic books, watched any of the myriad animated shows and/or viewed any of the movies, both my sons are ready to be superheroes.
Question 3: Name your least favorite game mechanic(s) excluding roll-and-move.
Question 4: Name the most unique or novel game you own
Question 5: Name a game in print or scheduled for release that you're most eager to own.
Question 6: Name a game not in print or scheduled for release that you are most eager to own.
Question 7: Name a game you own that you believe is underrated by BGG.
Question 8: Name your favorite gaming accessory.
Question 9: Describe Puerto Rico in 5 words or less.
Question 10: Name your favorite game with fewer than 30 ratings.
Journeyman
Bionic Woman
Life
The Closer
When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 1 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT)On the other hand, there is another quality of childhood that we ought to crave... that ability to experience the world with wonder & joy. They aren't afraid to express their delight at a butterfly or their success with a difficult task or the return of a beloved parent. You see glimpses of this in the lives of adults - for me, it's the feeling I get when walking down Disneyland's Main Street toward Sleeping Beauty's Castle... or when we drive through the Wawona Tunnel into Yosemite Valley and you can hear the thundering of the waterfalls as the valley comes sharply into focus. It's the delight I have at watching my two boys play & enjoy & use their imagination... and, every once in a while, it's the way I am overwhelmed by the presence of God in the midst of a worship service.
Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them. " I assure you," He said, "unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child-this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-4 (HCSB)Please don't misunderstand. I'm not suggesting that we chuck our responsibilities & all head down to Washington Colony School to play on the monkey bars & spray "cootie spray" on the opposite sex. But we are in danger (more than we'd like to admit) of viewing the world God created through eyes & hearts deadened by the perceived weight of our burdens. Ask Jesus today to renew a childlike spirit in your heart - a readiness to experience & enjoy all the goodness of His creation & His grace. Ask Him for the ability to drink in the wonder of His love... like a child. This article originally appeared in the September 30, 2007 issue of The Grapevine, the newsletter of NewLife Community Church.
