War @ Sea: HMS Javelin & Z 20 Karl Galster or The Importance of Destroyers

When playing War at Sea it is easy to go for the big battleships with all their guns, they were the backbone of WWI navies, or the aircraft carriers and the plethora of fighters, bombers, dive bombers, and etc, carriers replaced the battleship in WWII and that war showed the world the first battle where the two sides didn’t even see each other face-to-face.

It is also easy to go for the cool silent terror of U-boats and submarines. They terrorized the Atlantic and are now a mainstay of any modern navy with their ICBMs. Back in WWII they were clunky, dirty, and loud but they revolutionized naval warfare and were instrumental in every theater of operations.

Z 20 Karl GalsterIt is the easiest to ignore one of the most important types of ship in the entire game, the destroyer. Destroyers were one of the most numerous vessels in the war and in the game they should be one of the most numerous ships in your fleet. They are low in points, provide decent anti-air capabilities, can usually take out subs, some have torpedoes, and they usually have cool special abilities that can help you in a bind. Read More»

Addendum: The Future of Gaming 2

Earlier I posted a lengthy article about the future of gaming and a new GW store opening in Illinois. In that article I mentioned a delightful blog article with predictions for 2007.

I have come across a more recent posting, May 4th on that blog entitled “Followup: 2007 Game Industry Predictions II.”

In that posting we see that some of the predictions have already come true. The author, Ryan S. Dancey, clearly knows his stuff and if the rest of his predictions come true we’ll have an interesting year of gaming.

I am particularly interested by the Hasbro development with Sony. The idea of using a CCG in that way, coupled with a console gaming system, is intriguing and innovative. If it pays off it will pay off big! Just imagine having your Magic or Yu-Gi-Oh cards come to life on your PS2, Wii, or Xbox. Or, having an expansion to Pokemon’s CCG that benefits the new games for the DS. The game play and the demand would be phenomenal.

Additionally, he has another posting on March 15th named “Followup: 2007 Game Industry Predictions” that deals with White Wolf.

Now that you’ve read my diatribe in Games Workshop New Store & The Future of Gaming plus the posts by Mr. Dancey what do you think? Is Ryan or I accurate in our thoughts? Are we full of crap? What are your predictions and thoughts?

Games Workshop New Store & The Future of Gaming

Like everyone who subscribes to the Webway, GW’s online e-newsletter, I was alerted to the opening of a new store in Oak Park, Illinois. The announcement declared the grand opening wouldn’t occur when GW originally promised. I won’t get into the irony of a GW store grand opening not happening when promised right now.

I also won’t get into my surprise at GW opening a store in Oak Park. I’ve never heard of Oak Park before and I don’t keep abreast of GW’s growth of retail stores. I was, however, amazed on reading that GW is opening another store.

Back in January, the Guardian Unlimited (a newspaper from the U.K.) had a story about GW’s profit warning. In that article it is stated that GW opened 15 new retail stores in the first half (of the fiscal year) and closed 8 of those. This means that Games Workshop is able to only keep less than 50% of new stores open. With odds like this the store in Oak Park has a 1 in 2 chance of closing even before its grand opening, which will be June 21st, and what kind of business model is that for a company?

Read More»

Games Workshop Releases (Blood Angels codex, LoTR, White Dwarf 30th)

Games Workshop has a number of new releases and sneak peeks coming at us. One of the biggest is the latest issue of White Dwarf, which features the first half of the brand NEW Blood Angels Codex.

Blood Angels Codex

The first half of this, sans points cost, appears in US White Dwarf #329 (June 2007) and is enticing. On the light-hearted side are the models, the old ones (no new ones shown) of characters. A friend of mine pointed out that models in articifer armor have their nipples and toes/feet modeled into the armor. But, models in power armor do not. When you first notice this on the masculine models you get an idea of how cold it must be wearing that.

Limited Edition White Dwarf Model

Today was the last day to purchase the limited edition model of the White Dwarf being carried on a shield by Bugman and Gotrek. Make sure you head over to the 30th Anniversary White Dwarf Model page and I’m sure you can buy your’s on eBay but it’ll probably cost more than its original $25.

Read More»

War at Sea League @ Battleground Games

Battleground Games in Abington is the FLGS where I have the pleasure to play War at Sea with a small but friendly crowd.

John, the guy who has been pushing War at Sea from the start, has also been trying to get a league going. I’m the new guy but on the official forums for Battleground I came up with a bunch of suggestions on potential league play that I will share with you. I’d love to get feedback on your thoughts.

Right now we meet each Wednesday and play against each other in casual play without any official or strict standings like in a league or weekly events. It is great to get out and play the game with others and have fun. It could be better to add a little competetive spirit and perhaps some prize support to help others get into the game.

There are two ways a standardized setting for War at Sea can be handled. The first is a league and the second is a weekly event.

Both of these can be implemented with relative ease. They each have their benefits and disadvantages. The weekly event doesn’t tie anyone into a lengthy committment and maintains a spirit of casual play.

The league gives each person more time to try and win thus evening the playing field. It could be a bad night but in a league that’s 1 bad night out of 6 weeks instead of having bad luck at the only day of the event. It also provides a more formal setting for gaming and increases the competitive nature.

Read More»