The Whiz Store Roundup


Raven's Avatar
The Whiz Store has been very busy on Twitter and Facebook. They’ve announced so many things we decided it is easier to share them all in a roundup than a bunch of smaller blog posts.

The next “black box” delivery is including Dark Eldar for 40k. The Whiz is looking for skillful painters to help them out by painting up some demo models. The codex, a Raider, some bikers, and a warrior troop are in the box.

The third D&D Heroscape expansion, Moltenclaw’s Invasion, is coming out in November. You can pre-order it at the store.

Groundwerks is making some great bases for Warmachine/Hordes and Wyrd. They have new snow bases in 30mm, 40mm, and 50mm at the store. They are clear inserts molded in the shape of rocks with snow on them. You get to paint the rock faces and drybrush the snow areas white for a great wintery effect.

The rules for Warmachine/Hordes Shattered Grounds have been posted. The new rules are in effect at the store.

You can playtest the new Warmachine/Hordes steamroller rules and find plenty of opponents at the store to help you out.

The board game shelves have been stocked with Dominion: Prosperity, Betrayal on the House on the Hill, and also Arkham Horror.

A great chess set for the beginner is now on the shelves. First Chess includes a vinyl board, triple weighted men, double queens, and a canvas tote. Sounds like a nice package.

They have restocked Ascension after running out due to heavy play and purchasing. If you like deckbuilding games you need to give this a try.

A slew of Flames of War early war products have hit the shelves. Be sure to grab your’s before someone else does. This includes Pak36s, Panzer 38t, and BMW Motorcycles but no Stukas. You can also get some American decals, the GE180 Flammwagen B-2(f) (believe it is the same as the Char B) and the R-35 when it is reprinted in a French blister later this year (the other two are available now).

The Whiz alerted me to Black Library Free eBook Fridays. Be sure to go to Black Library eBooks for more information.

Don’t forget the High Elves Magic tactica for WFB.

Finally, there are two new board games to mention. The first is a new Trivial Pursuit titled Trivial Pursuit: Bet You Know It. Players bet on getting the right answer. It is possible to win without knowing the answers to all the questions as long as you know the people you’re playing with (like Apples to Apples).

The second is Sneaks and Snitches. The Whiz compares it to Ocean’s 11 or Leverage in that this game has you heading up an elite cadre of thieves picking to make your ill-gotten fortune by stealing gold, artifacts, jewelry, or information. It sounds fun.

Flames of War Restructuring and Version 3 Coming Soon


Raven's Avatar
The folks at Battlefront Miniatures, the makers of Flames of War, have been busy lately. Word from a former FoW designer is that Battlefront is now working on version 3 of Flames of War. This is really early news so there are no details about timeline, changes, artwork, new rules, or anything. But it is very exciting to know.

Additionally, I found out that Battlefront has undergone some restructuring. They fired a sculptor, a writer, and a painter. Two of the design team managers moved into the sales department and some of the top management have taken over. I’m not sure how this will impact the day-to-day operations but it surely will.

Battleground Games Plainville Grand Opening October 16, 2010


Raven's Avatar
Battleground Games & Hobbies is proud to announce the Grand Opening of its Plainville location on Saturday, October 16, 2010 starting at 10am. Head to 25 Taunton Street in Plainville for the festivities.

In celebration there will be lots of fun and prizes. Demos of 40k, Fantasy, and Warmachine/Hordes will run all day long. There will be several tables available for open gaming. Demos of such fantastic games like Castle Ravenloft and Dominion (exact games to be determined) will entice board gamers. A scaled down Magic tournament is being held (each participant gets free booster packs).

Read More»

Flames of War: Battle of Berlin @ BG Plainville


Raven's Avatar
Today the historical gaming group from Battleground Games fought the Battle of Berlin using Flames of War rules and miniatures. I photographically documented this epic battle in 140 images. A photo slideshow will be forthcoming.

Many thanks to everyone who participated, to all for allowing me to photograph this splendid game, and to Sam for allowing me to charge my iPad at the store.

Battle of Berlin Mission

Mission Special Rules:

Delayed Reserves, Limited Fortifications, Intense Battle, Preliminary Bombardment, Prepared Positions, Street Fighting, Total Air Superiority

Mapboard:

16’x6′. A 6’x6′ city board (Berlin) flanked on either side by 5’x6′ rural boards. The whole board will be divided into two fronts; East and West.

Deployment:

American, British and Commonwealth forces deploy on the west side of the board up to 3′ in from the short edge.
Russian forces deploy on the east side of the board up to 3′ in from the short edge.
German forces deploy in the center of the board up to 56″ from the centerline. German players must hold at least half of their army in Delayed Reserve. Germans deploy first and in prepared positions.

Army Builds:

1,500 points Late War
Only one Army per front can have Aircraft.
German players deploy their army on one front; they can’t split their army between the two fronts.
Delayed Reserves get deployed within 12″ of the centerline of the mapboard upon their arrival.
Germans have 36 points for fortifications on each front only; no Basic Fortifications.

There are 150 pictures below. Before clicking “continue reading” be sure you are not on a dial-up internet connection. These 150 pictures will be resource intensive to load.
Read More»

Privateer Press Purposefully Understocks Metal Miniatures

Raven's Avatar
I was just made aware that distributors, in particular ACD and Alliance, of Privateer Press products, in particular Warmachine and Hordes, have been unable to supply desired models to game stores. This has lasted almost a month for some area game stores, which prompted curiosity. Why couldn’t the distributors send the product and who is to blame?

It turns out the fault rests at Privateer Press’ feet. They are reluctant to stock their metal miniatures in their warehouse. They are keeping stock levels between 0 and extremely low according to one local business owner. When demand exists for a model PP then uses their molds to cast the figure in sufficient quantities to cover, but not exceed, that demand.
Read More»