Rocky Mtn Retreat & a couple of recent things

I was happy to attend my first 'big' gaming event since the start of the pandemic. Although big may have been overstating it as we were looking at 25 attendees, down greatly from our usual much larger gathering.

Whilst mainly focussed on boardgames, Bruce & I often have miniatures on the mind & he is always happy to bring some multi-player offerings to the table. This year was no different.

 A couple days prior to my departure, Brent gave me a call, to discuss what was needed terrain-wise for him to run Rangers of Shadow Deep. I admit when I first saw him list this as one of his offerings I was gobsmacked...& elated. So first up are the images of the 3 scenarios we played as part of the campaign we hope to see extend during our future retreats.

The Village (where the Rangers & their companions begin). Our players were Brent (the Host), Jordan, Bruce & myself.

 

From the way Bruce is reacting on the right, someone must have just rolled badly....again!

With the constant arrival of enemies, we got our butts handed to us & almost everyone was suffering from Disease heading to the next scenario.

 The Infected Trees - This game saw DJ sit in to replace Jordan who was involved in another game.

 For this round we decided to stick together to allow us better control & hopefully do better in supporting one another in combat.

The spiders began to swarm us, but we were able to hold our own. We found a survivor within one of the cocoons.

 Another husk revealed a dead fella. No luck there...

We did make it to the infected trees & burned them.

The Bridge Guards 

 Having dealt with the spiders we moved on & discovered a bridge...with a whole lot of bad news guarding it.

After some hairy fighting we managed to win the day!

 This was followed up on Friday night with Bruce & I playing his 55 Days at Peking Game. This game is much better with multiple players taking on the roles of the garrisons of the various legations. This was in 15mm

The German Legation Forces

 The Japanese Legation Force

 

The US Legation Forces

 

The Russian Legation Forces 

 The British Legation Forces

The arrival of various Chinese Boxer forces is random & card driven. However something occured & resulted exactly as the last time I played this....The German unit on the wall is faced with Boxers charging down the wall towards them.

 

The rolled snake eyes for their morale.....it was unbelievable that this occured precisely the same way as the other game & we were having to scramble to replace that unit. 

 At the other end, the US unit repelled the Boxers that arrived.

 A Chinese Imperial unit managed to get down inside & were  engaged with the other German force.

 

 With other units arriving, & events unfolding. Below is a Chinese Cannon engaging the Japanese.

Eventually a fire started at one of the interior sites, forcing the defenders to fall back. However the fire also limited where the Chinese forces could advance into. 

Bruce had also run a game of Congo, which sadly I was indisposed & was unable to join in on. One of the challenges of the weekend is that games that you want to join, occur at the same times others your involved in are already in play.

As to other games I played & enjoyed...Several games of The Adventurers Temple of Chac & The Pyramid of Horus (2 of the ones I brought), Unfathomable (lots of fun!), Eldritch Horror (yes we succumbed), Abomination (only played for a couple hours on the Sunday Morning before Brunch). 

All in all a great time with a good bunch of gamers. I look forward to our next gathering! 

As for other things I've managed on the hobby side. First up is the stone bridge sold by Warlord Games

 

This 6 piece plastic bridge is simple to build & looks great. It can also be used for many era's from Fantasy, Middle Ages, to Modern. We needed it for the 3rd scenario of the Rangers of Shadow Deep, so this worked out great!

 Since returning home, I've begun looking at how to better manage my terrain shelving. Starting with these plastic train tracks (I believe from a Christmas Train Set)

I painted these black tracks using pretty much all craft paints (perfect for projects like this), the only exception being the Wyldwood Contrast paint from GW.

Having completed my test piece, I will now be figuring out just how many I need of the ones I have & can then put the remaining in my swapmeet box. Again these will certainly see use in many era's!

 I am looking forward to the next Model Train Swap meet so I can fill out a few more rail cars, needing both a modern engine & some 1920's cars. I have the Western train from a western figure batch I purchased some years ago from Bob.

Thanks for visiting!

 

When Darkness Comes - Characters Part 3 (which also completes them!)

With the clock ticking & now having lost an hour with Daylight Savings, the preparations are in full swing for the gaming retreat! After getting a call from Brent in regards to getting the terrain needed for his running Rangers of Shadow Deep, I have been busy prepping the final pieces of that too.

However I did complete the last figures today too!.

Here we have Brian & Robert

 

again, these are metal figures, which are just 'normal' people, with nothing overtly obvious as to their equipment or skills.

 

Now the boxes are getting packed & the excitement builds! 

When Darkness Comes - Characters part 2

I've finished up the second set of 2 figures for When Darkness Comes.

 Here we have Kirk & Valerie

 

Again these are metal miniatures representing the prebuilt characters to use in the game. Kirk is likely the best equipped of the figures.

 

I admit, I am not a fan of the square metal bases. The paint gets rubbed off the sharp corners & edges too easily, I see I will be needing to do some touchups as they get used.

Next up are the last 2 of the core box figures, which will likely be my next post....but then odd things happen! 

When Darkness Comes

As I am getting ready for a gaming retreat, I thought to myself, this would be a great opportunity to hopefully play some games that have languished on my shelves for years...still unpunched & unplayed.

One of these 'off the shelf' games is When Darkness Comes.

 

Many will recall that Twilight Creations was actually the first to develop a zombie horde game where tiles were placed & the survivors moved about gathering supplies & health until the helipad was revealed & escape was possible...but I am moving away from today's post.

Part of this game were the 6 metal 28mm figures that I am now currently painting to have ready.

Today we have Steve & Sharon

 

These characters are generic 'people', not special forces or anytbing similar, just your average Joe.

 

Though not a fan of the square bases, these fit well on the tiles provided that represent the environment the game is played in. 

 

I will be sure to grab some photos of the game in progress at the retreat