A busy week!

Last Tuesday was our last club night of March. Dan brought out Strange Aeons for us to play. Originally set for 4 players, we only had 3, so the Cultists got to eventually run both of the "bad" forces.

Threshold has discovered a cultist enclave set up in a rural part of Canada. As such they have requested the assistance of the RCMP to apprehend the 'human traffickers'

I played the RCMP force which has 4 constables & a Sergeant. We wet up a cordon while we awaited the arrival of the Threshold Agents.

However the cultists dispensed with normal procedure by firing upon the RCMP members. The constables were slightly taken aback by the strange stunted members of the oddly dressed farmfolk.

Threshold arrives & the assault on the coven begins in earnest.

2 of the Stunted ones waving cleavers approach the cordon.

Constable Green drops one.

Alas not very long after, things had turned nasty for the forces of Good. The Sgt, his revolver jammed was reduced to fisticuffs with Tcho  Tcho's who rushed him. The remainder of his men taken down.

Eventually he was also slain & the Cultists continued the sale of their human cattle to the Tcho Tcho's....along with some bonus meat.

Thanks for Dan bringing this out.

Then Thursday saw me depart for the Rocky Mountain Retreat. 4 days of gaming with other like minded folks.

We decided prior to have our annual Eldritch Horror game on the Thursday Night.

I must say this is one of the hi-lights of the event. There is a group of us that are all 'into' the game, enjoying the flavor text, as well as the 'conditions' we all find ourselves suffering. 

Brent gave his blessing in passing. (He was unable to make it, so one of the guys made a huge cut-out of him!) In fact he made a lot of appearances throughout the weekend.

We went with totally random characters & even with much reduced stats, managed to win the game!

 
 Another thing I enjoy with this gathering is an opportunity to learn some new games. I am not the biggest 'boardgamer' more enjoying the miniature side of things.


However Torbin introduced me to the game Imperial Settlers!

I was really taken by the comic-like artwork on the cards. The game had each player take a race (we played Barbarians, Romans & Egyptians). Each race has a specific deck of cards & there is a large common deck.

The various cards consist of 1 of 3 types. Production, Action & Feature. Depending on their type, will determine where they can be placed. The game plays fairly quickly with only 5 rounds. This allows the game to remain fresh & replayable, as you will never get to use all the cards.

Below is the final display I had as the Egyptians. I wonder if my winning added to my wanting to get this game?


 Then I got into a game called Epic Zombies.

I got the Mall Cop as my character.

You have a health & a bullet meeple across the top. If they ever share the same location, you die!
 

The area is laid out & there are 3 missions we must complete to win. In the centre there is a base where our barricades hold back the horde...that will come.

As you clear areas you can of course find better gear. I found a Machete.

Which there is a miniature of that clips onto your character! You can have 1 ranged & 1 melee weapon.

The next shot shows the group getting geared up...YEP! There is a Chainsaw!

As games run various lengths, there is often a space where some folks are waiting for the next game, so I brought out Guilds of Cadwallon as a short game that could take a good number of people.

I was then off to play Pony Wars with Bruce & Rob...wait is that Brent showing how impressed he was with the table?

The scenario was somewhat the same as before, get out with the army to collect the various settlers & other folks & get them to the fort before they were overrun by hostiles.

We only had the 2 of us playing, as Bruce moderated. Below is my 'Troop A' Cavalry unit.

One of the things you need to determine is the random 'ability' your leader has. I rolled Shortsighted, which meant my troops would never fire at long range.

One of the cards that came up early was 'Clam Bake' which had all the settlers load up & make for the church to celebrate.

My Cavalry made it in time to persuade one of the settler groups to be escorted back to the fort. Just in time as a group of hostiles was fast approaching.

After getting them to safety it was back out to seek more folks in need. I ran into 2 groups of hostiles.

Meanwhile on the far side of the board, both a Buffalo herd & a Wagon Train were moving across the board on the ridge.

The War Wagon makes its appearance. It smashed through all the hostiles it met on the way to the mines to collect the gold, sending them packing.

The game is scored depending on which units you've saved & penalties for all those that didn't. Also you get points for some of the other events that occur. However as I expect to see more of this game, I don't want to give all the fun away. Suffice it to say, we didn't score in the positive values.

Saturday morning was the Command & Colours Big Battle. We had 3 players a side to refight the Battle of Bagradas - 253 BC.

The Romans got stomped & before we knew it, the game was over......not even a chance for any more photos!

I then got some of the fellows into a game of Big Trouble in Little China. The photo below is as we entered Lo Pan's lair..& then quickly lost the game!

However everyone who played really enjoyed the game & we can expect to see it make an appearance again next year! I may make a point of trying to get these guys painted up!

Darren then brought out Auztraila to play. This is one of the games I got into the Kickstarter for, but hadn't had a chance to play yet.

The first photo is the player board. The game is all about Time management. Where every action reduces your time. As time ticks by we soon get to where the Great Old Ones begin to awaken & begin wreaking havoc.
 

You can buy various forces to attack the Old Ones, each being affected differently by the various unit types. As well your forces can only travel so far from the rail lines, so if your going to be effective at waking them up & taking them down, you need to get well established rail routes.

Thanks Darren for the opportunity to finally play this.

So another retreat ended with the drive home in time for The Walking Dead & Into the Badlands..as well as to catch up on some much needed sleep in my own bed! Thanks to all those who attended & made it another great event!

Oh, as an aside, I did stop in at the local game store on the way home just to see if they had Imperial Settlers. Imagine my happiness when I not only found the game & several of the expansions...but they were all on sale! Oh Happy Day!