Feel free to join our growing open OSR @ LGG Facebook group here.
News of Conventions and Gamedays as well as pictures
from those I have attended and games I have played.
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Showing posts with label Lake Geneva. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lake Geneva. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
Events & Play Wednesday - Second Sunday - The OSR @ LGG
We started a new Old School Gaming group at Lake Geneva Games. This new effort is kicking off Sunday, November 10th from Noon to 10 PM. If you're local, or not local but planning a trip to the area, perhaps try to make it on Second Sunday!
Feel free to join our growing open OSR @ LGG Facebook group here.
Feel free to join our growing open OSR @ LGG Facebook group here.
Monday, September 2, 2019
September 2nd is Ernie Gygax Day!
For September 2nd, I am wishing everyone a happy and game-filled Ernie Gygax Day!
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Events & Play Wednesday - Lords of Waterdeep
Brad, Tom, and I broke out the store copy of Lords of Waterdeep by WotC for a fast-passed game on Tuesday. This is a game we return to time and time again with little difficulty jumping right in and keeping it moving. There was very little intrigue this time around and it became a race from an early point in the game. Three players don't tend to compete much for resource spaces and out Lords weren't too much at odds with one another. Check it out on Board Game Geek here.
News of Conventions and Gamedays as well as pictures
from those I have attended and games I have played.
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Sunday, May 26, 2019
Deep in the Grind in Grymvald
There was some concern from the players that they had been under-leveled to delve into Marak Tor and some even felt that the Deaddrop Goblin complex presented a low chance for survival. I can't argue with that and every group, and player, can have their own opinion about the difficulty level of any adventure or campaign. There have been a fair number of deaths. And I'm not a kid gloves kind of game master anymore than I am an iron fist in velvet glove type. I allow players to make choices and tell them the consequences. I don't allow trial balloons (i.e. "IF I do [this], what will happen?") but I make sure to answer exploratory questions regarding details that can help inform choices. There's no such thing as a true sandbox, as I've stated in the past, since there is no infinite sandbox, but I like to think that on the sliding scale between railroad and sandbox my own campaigns are pretty far over to the latter. So, what's the point?
Well, after listening to my players concerns about what they seemingly believed to be a high rate of new character generation, shall we say, I decided to give them a location where they could simply throw themselves in for a few weeks or month and grind up some monsters into a fine EXP powder, along with the requisite coinage and magic items for treasure. But please recall in my last campaign report I wrote, "This newly discovered ruin, while not directly tied to the Dragon's Teeth, seemed like something the group should be better equipped to tackle without too great a risk to life and limb, something the group had begun to learn was worth consideration. Early losses in the numbers of the group had been slowing down their overall progress and they felt a more incremental approach to adventuring might be prudent. There were only a handful of founding group members (and a number of players had worked through several characters). They understood that what they would find at this new ruin would be an underground goblins' lair and rats' nest, and so it has proved thus far."
So a couple of weeks of exploring this new ruin found them dealing mostly with goblins on the first level but also with a few other creatures, animalistic in nature. There were a couple of hobgoblins but these were a cake walk. They also had to deal with a small crypt section which, while it presented some serious difficulties, was eventually overcome through clever game play and force of arms. Then they started feeling their oats and delved deeper, working their way around the second level, clearing out more goblins, hobgoblins, some fire beetles, and a bit more, only to eventually run up against one of the surliest, veteran goblins ever. This fella was in no mood to charge in with a nasty goblin knife, opting instead to throw a flask of oil during a surprise round . . . then won initiative and tossed a couple more. Needless to say, the group which had been doing so well grinding out encounters and had, indeed, found some success in leveling along the way, were burnt in half with six party members severely crispified, three to zero or below, one even so far under you'd have thought Thanos snapped him out of the game. It was devastating. But the party regrouped, cut off a continued assault by the goblin vet, gathered up their fallen, and retreated from the complex, then proceeded with great speed to the one place they thought they could get enough healing to make a difference.
In the kingdom's capitol, they hooked up with a temple they'd previously utilized and traded off a major magic item to secure a Raise Dead spell, to bring back the one party member who was beyond the pale. They even had enough value from the item to bank two additional Raise Dead spells for future instances, should they be required. The rest of the party needed some time in civilization to recover from dropping below zero but the healing of them was within the means of the party. It was a tough set back but there were no permanent party member deaths, so it should be chalked up as a semi-success. The group has reached a point where death is an obstacle but not insurmountable. The grind has afforded them the option of pressing their luck without the risks being impossible to take.
Their set backs seemed to fuel the group's resolve and they remounted an assault. This time they approached by a less deadly route, opting to travel some distance through civilized lands and come at the complex from across a river, saving themselves from many wandering monster checks. Always a plus. They dove in, having previously mapped a good deal of the first and second levels, and utilized their wand of enemy detection to triangulate the whereabouts of potential threats then eradicate them with surgical precision. While they were unable to locate the surly, fire-wielding goblin vet, nor the goblin shaman from the Deaddrop caves who had eluded them (and who they were sure had traveled to this location), they cleared out many goblins and hobgoblins, as well as other creatures quite successfully. They also garnered a good sum of coins and gems, as well as some useful items.
Sadly for the group, you can only fight so many goblins before you experience what Portwert the Moneychanger calls a diminished rate of return. At some point, the going is going to get tougher, and the rough-and-tumblers are either going to have to get going or get gone back to civilization to lay down their arms. Adventuring is not a pretty business. New challenges await the group as they are poised to explore the third level of the complex. They are aware it is a more extensive crypt and that the undead are going to abound in great numbers. They've seen what can happen to large parties of adventurers who get spread out and don't watch their six, nor their three, nor their nine. They know they can't get the dead raised if no one is left to transport the bodies to the raisers. While they might be less worried about a single death, or even two, they now have to be concerned about the risk of a Total Party Kill. Not that I am rooting against them, of course, but sometimes the dice aren't in anyone's control. And a sandbox is no sandbox if it doesn't let the dice fall where they may . . .
Well, after listening to my players concerns about what they seemingly believed to be a high rate of new character generation, shall we say, I decided to give them a location where they could simply throw themselves in for a few weeks or month and grind up some monsters into a fine EXP powder, along with the requisite coinage and magic items for treasure. But please recall in my last campaign report I wrote, "This newly discovered ruin, while not directly tied to the Dragon's Teeth, seemed like something the group should be better equipped to tackle without too great a risk to life and limb, something the group had begun to learn was worth consideration. Early losses in the numbers of the group had been slowing down their overall progress and they felt a more incremental approach to adventuring might be prudent. There were only a handful of founding group members (and a number of players had worked through several characters). They understood that what they would find at this new ruin would be an underground goblins' lair and rats' nest, and so it has proved thus far."
A bit shorthanded but not daunted!
So a couple of weeks of exploring this new ruin found them dealing mostly with goblins on the first level but also with a few other creatures, animalistic in nature. There were a couple of hobgoblins but these were a cake walk. They also had to deal with a small crypt section which, while it presented some serious difficulties, was eventually overcome through clever game play and force of arms. Then they started feeling their oats and delved deeper, working their way around the second level, clearing out more goblins, hobgoblins, some fire beetles, and a bit more, only to eventually run up against one of the surliest, veteran goblins ever. This fella was in no mood to charge in with a nasty goblin knife, opting instead to throw a flask of oil during a surprise round . . . then won initiative and tossed a couple more. Needless to say, the group which had been doing so well grinding out encounters and had, indeed, found some success in leveling along the way, were burnt in half with six party members severely crispified, three to zero or below, one even so far under you'd have thought Thanos snapped him out of the game. It was devastating. But the party regrouped, cut off a continued assault by the goblin vet, gathered up their fallen, and retreated from the complex, then proceeded with great speed to the one place they thought they could get enough healing to make a difference.
In the kingdom's capitol, they hooked up with a temple they'd previously utilized and traded off a major magic item to secure a Raise Dead spell, to bring back the one party member who was beyond the pale. They even had enough value from the item to bank two additional Raise Dead spells for future instances, should they be required. The rest of the party needed some time in civilization to recover from dropping below zero but the healing of them was within the means of the party. It was a tough set back but there were no permanent party member deaths, so it should be chalked up as a semi-success. The group has reached a point where death is an obstacle but not insurmountable. The grind has afforded them the option of pressing their luck without the risks being impossible to take.
Photo by "Scott Michael"
Their set backs seemed to fuel the group's resolve and they remounted an assault. This time they approached by a less deadly route, opting to travel some distance through civilized lands and come at the complex from across a river, saving themselves from many wandering monster checks. Always a plus. They dove in, having previously mapped a good deal of the first and second levels, and utilized their wand of enemy detection to triangulate the whereabouts of potential threats then eradicate them with surgical precision. While they were unable to locate the surly, fire-wielding goblin vet, nor the goblin shaman from the Deaddrop caves who had eluded them (and who they were sure had traveled to this location), they cleared out many goblins and hobgoblins, as well as other creatures quite successfully. They also garnered a good sum of coins and gems, as well as some useful items.
Sadly for the group, you can only fight so many goblins before you experience what Portwert the Moneychanger calls a diminished rate of return. At some point, the going is going to get tougher, and the rough-and-tumblers are either going to have to get going or get gone back to civilization to lay down their arms. Adventuring is not a pretty business. New challenges await the group as they are poised to explore the third level of the complex. They are aware it is a more extensive crypt and that the undead are going to abound in great numbers. They've seen what can happen to large parties of adventurers who get spread out and don't watch their six, nor their three, nor their nine. They know they can't get the dead raised if no one is left to transport the bodies to the raisers. While they might be less worried about a single death, or even two, they now have to be concerned about the risk of a Total Party Kill. Not that I am rooting against them, of course, but sometimes the dice aren't in anyone's control. And a sandbox is no sandbox if it doesn't let the dice fall where they may . . .
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Crusaders, Vikings, and Birds
Knocked off a few boardgames in the last couple of weeks, though I have been less than diligent in my camera duties, let alone blogging about them. The store hours at Lake Geneva Games have expanded, we've hired and are training two additional staffers (so far), and a new MtG set dropped. Dare I say I have had a fairly full plate lately. Nevertheless, after months of trying to arrange a game of Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done (2018) the LG lunchtime gamers managed to get it to the table. I was thoroughly trounced due to a disjointed strategy that garnered a steady stream of victory points during play but left me wanting for end-game points.
Fire & Axe: A Viking Saga (2004) has been around a while but was recently acquired and three of us put it to the test last week. We played incorrectly but in such a way that we all, more or less, equally benefited from the error. Essentially we were all taking additional actions each turn which, surprisingly, slowed down play rather than speeding it up. We even removed the cards they suggest you set aside in games for beginners.
Wingspan (2019) is something Mark M. just got hold of, a slightly dented box copy which he lucked into getting, considering this game is seemingly hard to track down for less than double it's MSRP. We had to truncate our game due to time considerations but got through about 80% of a full game and none of us had played before, so we all needed to learn it. Rodney's How to Play video on it helped me out tremendously, as he always does.
I found all three of these games enjoyable and will play any of them again, if given the opportunity. I think Crusaders can be played much faster than we did but we'll see. Fire & Axe might need a closer look next time as I am not really sure how much playing it correctly will change the game. I think the additional cards will make it a lot more competitive. Wingspan works just fine as is but feels a bit like a race with little interaction between players, except when an action allows all players to benefit. There's a bit of blocking other players when choosing dice but it didn't seem too egregious. We'll see!
Fire & Axe: A Viking Saga (2004) has been around a while but was recently acquired and three of us put it to the test last week. We played incorrectly but in such a way that we all, more or less, equally benefited from the error. Essentially we were all taking additional actions each turn which, surprisingly, slowed down play rather than speeding it up. We even removed the cards they suggest you set aside in games for beginners.
Wingspan (2019) is something Mark M. just got hold of, a slightly dented box copy which he lucked into getting, considering this game is seemingly hard to track down for less than double it's MSRP. We had to truncate our game due to time considerations but got through about 80% of a full game and none of us had played before, so we all needed to learn it. Rodney's How to Play video on it helped me out tremendously, as he always does.
I found all three of these games enjoyable and will play any of them again, if given the opportunity. I think Crusaders can be played much faster than we did but we'll see. Fire & Axe might need a closer look next time as I am not really sure how much playing it correctly will change the game. I think the additional cards will make it a lot more competitive. Wingspan works just fine as is but feels a bit like a race with little interaction between players, except when an action allows all players to benefit. There's a bit of blocking other players when choosing dice but it didn't seem too egregious. We'll see!
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Busy with the Boardgaming
It was a busy first half of the week with some boardgaming and some AD&D (posting on the latter soon). It's been a while since I played Kingsburg so I got it down off the demo shelf to show it to Jesse when we had a little time on Monday evening to check it out. It was the base game and very close at the end, just a few points between us.
Tuesday saw some visiting gamers in town with Dave Conant and Jim Ward joining Tom and Ernie, as well as Brad and myself, for a few afternoon games including San Juan (using two copies of the game to increase the player count).
We also played a Tom Wham classic, made manifest through the Game Crafters as guided by Dave, called Felithian Finance, a Sci-Fi stock market game.
And we finished up with Architects of the West Kingdom, a worker placement game I've mentioned on this blog not long ago.
A good week for gaming, indeed.
Tuesday saw some visiting gamers in town with Dave Conant and Jim Ward joining Tom and Ernie, as well as Brad and myself, for a few afternoon games including San Juan (using two copies of the game to increase the player count).
We also played a Tom Wham classic, made manifest through the Game Crafters as guided by Dave, called Felithian Finance, a Sci-Fi stock market game.
And we finished up with Architects of the West Kingdom, a worker placement game I've mentioned on this blog not long ago.
A good week for gaming, indeed.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Architects of the West Kingdom (2018)
One of the downsides of working in a game store is playing a lot of nifty games that we just can't keep in stock! One of the more recent culprits is Architects of the West Kingdom (2018) by Garphill Games, Angry Lion Games, Banana Games, Ediciones Primigenio, Fever Games, Meeple BR Jogos, PixieGames, Reflexshop, Renegade Game Studios, and Schwerkraft-Verlag (all according to Board Game Geek). It's a strategy game for one to five players that involves Card Drafting, Set Collection, Variable Player Powers, and Worker Placement. It has a lot of interaction and ways to disrupt the games of others even as you advance your own. It's a colorful board with a lot going on but it is not difficult to keep track of anything and the iconography helps a lot in that regard. A few of the building cards might do with a bit more explanation but we think we have figured them out. I've played five or six times now, counting a double header today with four then three players, and I daresay I will play this more in the future. Good stuff!
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Yokohama, Skull, and Love Letter Premium
It was a good week for the LGG lunchtime gaming bunch. After Gary Con, we took another week off due to some scheduling conflicts and health issues but we were back it at early this week with a game of Yokohama. I hadn't played this in a while and failed to do much more than trigger the end game and snag the Dutch ambassador chit while Tom and Brad built solid engines. Disaster!
Late in the week, we managed to get four of the regulars together and were joined by Neil. We started off with a couple of games of Skull then on to a game Love Letter Premium. Good times!
In fact, we played two games of Love Letter Premium because Mark got to four tokens in four rounds with only Brad snagging a token in answer, a decidedly quick game!
Still haven't shaved!
Late in the week, we managed to get four of the regulars together and were joined by Neil. We started off with a couple of games of Skull then on to a game Love Letter Premium. Good times!
Neil in the house!
In fact, we played two games of Love Letter Premium because Mark got to four tokens in four rounds with only Brad snagging a token in answer, a decidedly quick game!
Yup, I shaved.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Throwback Thursday - Gygax & The Grand Old Game
Over on theoldpinkeye.com.br, Dante SS gives "A Tribute to Gygax" here.
Also, on visitlakegeneva.com, they share "A Grand Tale – The History of Grand Geneva Resort & Spa" here.
Finally, on Jon Peterson's YouTube channel early this month, he treated us to a long lost pilot for a D&D Radio Show. Enjoy!
Also, on visitlakegeneva.com, they share "A Grand Tale – The History of Grand Geneva Resort & Spa" here.
Finally, on Jon Peterson's YouTube channel early this month, he treated us to a long lost pilot for a D&D Radio Show. Enjoy!
A look back at early tabletop hobby gaming
or gaming-adjacent topics of the past.
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