Playing Some Guild Ball

Once our local Scrum (month long Steamroller) has finished, I kind of got sucked into Guild Ball again.  This is a fairly odd development, partially because I haven't played the game in roughly 7 months.  Back in July of last year I had to stop all miniature gaming to help my wife through the end of the pregnancy and then birth of my youngest daughter, but before that happened I was a bit upset at the way Guild Ball was played because of how imbalanced things were.

Of course when I stopped gaming, Steamforged released an Errata in July that largely fixed a lot of the problems, and while I was raring to get back into Trolls as soon as I could start gaming again, a few things pulled me into playing Guild Ball and I've really been loving the game all over again.  I figure I'll go through what that was, as well as some of the things I really like about the game in general.

Pulling Me Back In

During the same month of our Warmachine Scrum, a Guild Ball Scrum was also being run, with some playing in both games.  This was handled as promotional event that would allow players who played to get a Lucky model. Since my first team was Brewers and my friend Brian has no intention of playing Masons or Brewers, he was kind enough to give me the model.

Lucky is my first PVC model and Steamforged is making all new teams come in very cheap $50 boxes with 6 PVC models that require no assembly, plus some extra terrain.  They also recently changed the Official Play Document to say that you can now use unpainted PVC models in their tournaments. While I'm pretty good at modeling, it's not really my favorite thing to do, so this kind of setup seems great to me, it's also a great value for starting a new guild.

Another old friend of mine, Kevin plays mini games off and on, but he's not a modeler or painter, so this PVC setup is perfect for him.  After talking about it and him watching us play at the local shop  Kevin ended up buying the Kick Off set which has to be one of the best values in miniature gaming at the moment.

Since he was free to come over on Friday's when my wife would get a girls night out, I could strap my youngest to my chest, have my oldest help roll dice, and get some extra games in each week!  I effectively became Kevin's unofficial Pundit, teaching him the game.

Since I already played Brewers and they're considered a lower tier team, myself and others recommended Kevin start with the Kick Off Masons, which is actually quite a strong team. 

Since then I've basically spent the last three weeks playing only Guild Ball with my gaming night out and then again on Friday's while my wife has her girls night out.  I've gotten double the games in for nearly a month now!

I'm actually good friends with Paul who runs the My Life With Dice YouTube Channel and you can see me play my first game of Pin Vice ever, and my first engineers game in 6+ Months:

Please note, I'm extremely rusty here - many mistakes were made.

Since then, I've been playing some Brewers, Engineers, and I've purchased the last few models to flesh out my Union - getting something akin to Guild A.D.D.

Hobby

One of the nicest thing about Guild Ball is the fact that it's a small model count game that has as much intensity as larger miniature games.  Small model counts plus the fact that you're really only ever painting a model once (ie. no units with duplicate models), it's so easy to get a fully painted force.  This has triggered a kind of OCD for me to immediately paint my Guild Ball models within a few days of purchase.

I'm not a good painter by a long shot, but I truly enjoy playing with fully painted forces, and that's hardly ever the case when I play Warmachine (or when I played 40k or Fantasy).  As such, I really like how achievable it is to play fully painted in Guild Ball.

The game is also nice that you are encouraged to build an optional goal post for your teams that can let you flex your hobby muscles if you wanted. I was excited to finally use my old Bugman's model from Warhammer Fantasy, mostly because it enabled me to put a beautiful Dwarf model I love on the table and actually have it be fun (Dwarfs were miserable to play with and against back in Fantasy). He makes a great Brewers goal post.

My Guilds

The game is also sort of dangerous since it's really not expensive to get into a guild at all, and that was back when everything was metal and starters only came with 3 models.  I started with Brewers with a few Union models added slowly over time, then got a very different team in Engineers to play a more goal scoring game, and then it was "only two more models" (Captain and Mascot) to make a fledgling Union team.

Coming back into the game in the last month, I elected to buy the last few models I wanted to flesh out my Union with Grace and Benediction and getting a captain I'm very excited to play in Blackheart.  Since Brewers are more of a Take-Out team, and Engineers a more Goal-Scoring Football team, the prospect of playing an all 2" Melee team lead by Blackheart that can adapt to whichever game plan I want, but easily do 2 Goals - 2 Take Outs to win is very appealing to me.

Brewers

Engineers

Union

As it is, every model I own besides Lucky is metal, and after assembling the new Grace and Benediction models, I really am looking forward to when I can just buy PVC models from here on out.

Gaming Nirvana

Out of all the options I have to play with in Guild Ball at the moment, I'm spoiled for choice and I'm liking the way things are going. Apparently the game still has some balance issues with Thresher and Farmers, and Corsair Fishermen are still a bugbear in the meta - but supposedly an errata is coming soon.  I've not played against either of those things yet though, and I'm not good enough to expect to win against competitive players so I just look forward to playing and learning in the near term.

Plus with my Hooch Hauler finally arriving, and with two local players getting the new God Tear early access/beta set, I've got a LOT of really interesting gaming time coming up in the weeks and months ahead.

I hope to put up some more content for each of the games I'm playing shortly.

Rank Has Its Priveledges

More work has been done on the Greys than it looks and I've now finished rereading O'Brien's Post Captain for the first time in, well, years, possibly decades.  Hopefully, I'll be done with the Greys on Friday and can get back to French skirmishers. I'm very happy though that I'm sticking with my now usual new toy soldier crossed with old school wargaming look. (Not the Gilder old school style obviously)

At least the British now have a General!

What Is A Canted Sight In PUBG?

Ever tried to use two attachment in one weapon at the same time. "It's impossible" you might be saying. But it's possible now because PUBG has launched a new feature recently called Canted Sight which is a secondary attachment. Read more to know more about it, how to use it, what precautions to take etc.

About it :
 
                 Canted(meaning tilted) Sight is basically a new attachment that allows a player to quickly switch between the 1x Canted Sight and the other scope or attachments used. It is a secondary attachment. For now, it is only available on PUBG PC but PUBG might bring it on other platforms too.

How to use it :
 
                       The Canted Sight is actually the tilting of the gun at an angle. This can be done by pressing ALT+Right Click or one can change this to his own comfortability in the Settings menu.

In which weapons can Canted Sight be used:

        Canted Sight can be used in the following weapons :

Precautions : 

1. Following points about primary sight should be remembered:

         I. If you equip Canted Sight only, your primary attachment will be the Canted  Sight.
           
        II. If you equip Canted Sight before any scope, your primary attachment will be the canted sight.
          
         III. If you Canted Sight after any scope, your primary attachment will be the  Canted Sight.

 2. Attaching the Canted Sight might change the weapon's position and view of angle for the user but there will no changes in the gunplay.

3. It can affect the peeking towards left or right. 

A Tremendous Chop To The Team

That tournament aboard the S.S. Anne went well into the evening and I remained undefeated. Between matches, I wandered the promenade deck sizing up the competition. The entire ship was buzzing about a rising star trainer aboard the ship. He was competing in a higher bracket than mine, so we wouldn't face each other here, but I really wanted to see one of his matches. Unfortunately, we never crossed paths but I would be on the lookout for this trainer named Red. It wasn't terribly surprising when I stumbled into Wolf. I assumed he wouldn't miss a chance to show off for a crowd of Pokémon enthusiasts. I caught sight of him just as he was soundly defeating an opponent in a few decisive seconds after the match had started. I quickly checked to see which bracket he was in because I relished the idea of soundly defeating him in front of spectators. And as luck would have it, the next time I trounced Wolf would be in front of a live audience.
When our numbers were finally called, Wolf was calm and collected as he stood across from me. We both had the confidence of a trainer who hadn't lost a single point yet. We exchanged casual, semi-friendly greetings and then chose our first Pokémon to battle. I opened with Douglas and he opened with his Pidgeotto. It was a predictable move. My tiny, ground-type Pokémon was at a disadvantage, but Douglas needed the training and I was over-confident. I let Douglas intimidate his opponent with fierce growls, but as soon as Pidgeotto landed a small hit, I withdrew Douglas and tossed out my own Pidgeotto, Kiwi.
"We've done this dance before," Wolf said across the arena.
"How did that work out for you?" I said with a sneer. Kiwi began kicking up dust and dirt. It was our traditional opening move, but it was much harder to pull off on a freshly swabbed deck. As Kiwi continued to harass the accuracy of his opponent, he took quite a few hits from Wolf's Pidgeotto. Restorative items were not prohibited in the tournament, so a Super Potion ensured Kiwi would be able to stay in the fight. Wolf looked annoyed, but he made no objection. As his Pidgeotto continued to flounder and land only the luckiest and lightest of attacks on Kiwi, Kiwi was able to swiftly put an end to Wolf's Pidgeotto. The crowd cheered.
Wolf tossed out his Raticate and I withdrew Kiwi and replaced him with Lucky who hadn't seen much action aboard the S.S. Anne. The Raticate was naturally faster and landed some quick attacks on Lucky. When it moved in close, Lucky showered the Raticate with a comforting sleep powder from its wings and it was lulled into a deep sleep. Lucky took a second point from Wolf when he used a psychic assault to knock out the Raticate without ever waking it up. The crowd was slightly less impressed with this boring victory, but Wolf was frowning. That was just as good for my morale as a cheering crowd.

Wolf called out Kadabra next. We were both underwhelmed by Abra's performance in our last match, so I had no doubt that Wolf had been training him into an impressive Kadabra since we last battled. I didn't quite know what to expect from this creature, so I went with my current powerhouse, Rascal Jr. A solid hyper fang instantly downed the Kadabra and all my worries instantly disappeared. The crowd went wild at this turn of events as Kadabra was apparently the star member of Wolf's team today.
I knew what was next and I knew how to handle it. I knew the crowd was more excited by tremendously powerful, fast-paced biting Raticates, but I was here to win. Wolf tossed out a Pokéball that released his Wartortle into the arena. I withdrew Rascal Jr. and brought out Arnold. He took a solid headbutt from the Wartortle, but managed to burst a puff of sleep spores into its face.  Then Arnold proceeded to absorb Wartortle's energy, replenishing its own, until Wartortle was forced to submit.
Wolf actually looked impressed. "Well, I made it this far undefeated. I thought I had a chance this time. I guess you're still one step ahead of me," he said casually. He crossed the arena and extended a hand toward me. I felt a sneer crawl across my face as I took his hand and shook it in front of the cheering crowd. "You're still too serious, man," he laughed, cocking his head at me. "But I guess your seriousness is paying off. Until next time, Fox." Wolf waved one last time to the crowd overhead and then disappeared into the crowd around us.

After my very public victory over Wolf, I felt like I was living in a dream. Since knocking him down a few pegs, I was leading the tournament at our amateur level. It felt incredible. I battled well into the night and maintained my undefeated status. The talk of Red faded away and now there was a buzz around the young out-of-towner named Fox! Basking in these successes, I felt a deeper connection to the world of Pokémon training and competitive battling. The pride I felt I shared with my Pokémon and in return they fought harder for me.

Unfortunately, this euphoria was not going to last the night. My final match aboard the S.S. Anne was against a member of the crew. He was just a few points behind me, meaning he'd only let two of his team faint throughout the day. I knew the risks using Douglas against a sailor, but so far Douglas had grown considerably stronger and faster with our in-and-out techniques to get potshots on our opponents. This time, however, the sailor opened with a Machop. This small fighting-type Pokémon was not the typical water-type that sailors usually carried around. It should have been no problem for Douglas to get in a quick hit and then rest, but Machop was not fooling around. A critical Karate Chop came down on Douglas's head and Douglas was completely done.
As good as I had been feeling all day was instantly shattered. I had only known Douglas for 24-hours but he was going to be my ace in the hole against Lt.Surge tomorrow. I'd been meticulously training him and keeping him going all day and now in the final showdown it was all over, all for nothing. It felt like that critical chop went straight to my heart. Kiwi easily took care of the rest of the sailor's Pokémon - and I went on to win this level of the tournament. I graciously accepted access to the Hidden Machine which taught Arnold how to slice through excessive overgrowth, but inside I was deeply wounded that I had failed yet another Pokémon.

Current Team:
Attacks in Blue are recently learned.



Bill's Storage: Shakespear (Spearow) & Royal (Magikarp)

Old Man Daycare: Charlie (Pidgey)

Recent Playtesting - Sails And Sorcery: Some Details

The last few weeks, my Saturday playtest sessions have been spent playing Michael's game, Sails and Sorcery. It's kind of a mashup of my game Eminent Domain and the area control classic El Grande.

In Sails and Sorcery you are a pirate captain, sailing your ship from island to island, recruiting and deploying pirates, building structures, and summoning monsters in an attempt to make off with the lion's share of treasure when it's found in those areas.

Michael had been working on it for a while, he talked about it on the TMG podcast last year. In October, Mike figured it was time to get my input, so he brought the prototype to town with him for Rincon, we played a few times, and he left it with me to work on.

Role Selection

Because it was based on Eminent Domain, the game had a role selection mechanism (where opponents can follow your role). Michael had noticed an issue with that however, and he had disallowed following in the last round of the game. The issue was that if I make a play -- putting pieces on the board, or moving them around -- it's really easy for other players to undo my play by simply following. Disallowing the follow in the last round didn't fix the issue in the other scoring rounds earlier in the game though.

So one thing I suggested as we played was that maybe it should not be a role selection game at all. In other words, maybe there doesn't need to be following in the game. Role selection (the lead-follow dynamic) is the entirety of the player interaction in Eminent Domain, but in this game there is interaction on the board as players vie for control of different areas by having the most pieces there. With that interaction, the role selection isn't as necessary, so we tried it without.

However, without being able to act on other players turns, we wouldn't be able to get as much accomplished. So in place of following, we just did an additional role each turn (I'm going to continue using the term "role" here to mean "thing you get to boost with other cards," even though the terminology isn't as accurate any more. "Action" simply means playing 1 card for it's effect, no boosting). This seemed to work fine, and so the first few tests I did recently continued to use 1 action and 2 roles per turn, in that order.

One of my playtesters really wanted a more flexible turn order, because frequently you want to do your 2 roles in different locations (you act in the location where your ship is located), and so he wanted to do role/action/role, using the action to move his ship. I was hesitant to try this because Michael and I had said the same thing back in October, and we tried it, and I immediately did not like the results. This was partly because the "action" part of your turn was really resolving your whole ship, which had multiple things you could do.

However, I acquiesced to try it again, but with a simplified ship such that your abilities from your ship we're more static (like role icons), so it was just the card action you would be doing "out of order." We tried it, and it wasn't too bad, but I still didn't like it, maybe because I prefer the organized turn structure.

Then that player had an additional suggestion, to replace the action with another role. Most of the actions are miniature (1-icon) versions of the role anyway, so if we didn't have actions and just did 3 roles, then a bunch of rules overhead drops out, and the turn flexibility increases without feeling too weird or out of order. In addition, we said that taking a card for the role from the stacks (another aspect based on Eminent Domain) was optional. If you did it, then you'd have an additional icon for the turn, and another card in your deck. If you didn't, then you would miss out on that icon, but you could avoid bloating your deck with the card if you wanted. You only have so many cards in your hand, so often times one of your roles will only be for 1-2 icons. In that respect, the role/role/role format isn't really all that different from action/role/role after all.

We tried this new format once, and I was skeptical. I thought it would produce too much AP, or have other issues. However the first play with that format didn't take any longer on the clock than the game we had just finished using the old format. So I'll try it again next time.

Monsters and their cost

Another aspect I've been tinkering with is the monsters in the game. Originally, you could use a build role to build a building, which gave you permanent influence in an area, and unlocked some ability (like the buildings in Crusaders), or summon a monster, which had some cool effect, but was otherwise similar to a building. Michael had envisioned pieces like in Blood Rage - large miniatures with player colored bases that you could snap on to show who had summoned the monster. You needed to know that, because often times the monster counted as influence toward scoring (just like your buildings did).

My opinion was that the monsters and buildings were too similar, so I suggested making them more different from each other. Buildings give you influence and power ups, so I thought monsters should give you some awesome immediate effect, and then stay in play with some global effect for everyone, like it or not. I liked the image of summoning a force of nature and then being unable to control it.

My first draft of the monsters was to make them the high end of the build role. For 2 or 3, you build a building. I tried the monsters costing 5 (and if you were really interested in summoning them, there's a way to get a build icon from one if your buildings). This was too high a cost, by the time we were ready to summon the monsters, the game was over. Michael wants them to see play every game, not just some of them, and not just maybe, and not just at the end. And I agree with him.

I also thought it was weird that the same resource both built you buildings and summoned monsters. So I made 2 changes... First, I separated the roles. You use build roles to place buildings for influence and abilities, and you use summon roles to summon monsters. I set the summon cost of the monsters to be 2 summon icons, plus 1 more for each time that monster has been summoned in the past. This is easily tracked by dropping a token on the monster card after you summon it.

I have iterated through a few versions of each monster, but I am now super happy with this format and the current effects of the monsters. Splitting up the resources was great, and this cost structure is perfect. The monsters all start out cheap, so they get used. Then they get more expensive over time so that in the late game it's hard to afford them if you haven't been summoning all game long.

Buildings

The monster cost structure worked so well, I wanted to try it with the buildings too. The buildings on your player board (your ship) are in 4 rows of 2 columns, and for each row you must build left to right, just like Crusaders. Originally, the buildings in the left column cost 2 build icons, and the buildings in the right column cost 3. Additionally, each area had a certain number of build spaces (usually 2 or 3), and no more than that number of buildings could be built there.

Thinking about the escalating monster cost, I tried eliminating the build limit and old cost structure, and instead tried "buildings cost 2 icons, plus 1 more for each building already in that area. This way, you can build cheaply if you spend time sailing around or get to an area first, but once there are 2 buildings in an area, you will have a hard time building there again if you haven't specialized in it a bit, either by investing in the building that gives you a build icon, or by obtaining a number of build cards into your deck.

This works well because each building also increases the value of the area for the 1st place player during scoring.

The effects you unlock from moving these buildings off of your player board have also changed a bit. Originally, some of them were static effects, such as a role icon, or a hand size increase, and some were additional actions you could do at the beginning of your turn. While it was fun to do an extra action at the beginning of your turn, it often wasn't as useful as you wanted it to be. A free deploy doesn't help if you need to recruit pirates. A free plunder doesn't help if there aren't any opponents where your ship is. This is the kind of frustration that prompted the desire for a more flexible turn structure, but it's also the reason the more flexible turn structure was problematic. The game action happens with the card play, so it made sense to me that the buildings could all be static effects rather than additional free actions. Removing the game action from there made the flexible turn structure a lot more acceptable feeling. I've been tweaking and trying different combinations of unlock abilities, but most of them are the same as they were back in October. I'm trying to make sure there are a variety of strategic paths available in the abilities, but also make sure that you aren't forced to build a certain way (or at all) in order to succeed. Like the technology in EmDo, I expect players will build at least a little each game, and if they concentrate on it, maybe they'll build a lot. I expect most players to end the game having built anywhere between 2 and 6 of the 8 buildings and still be able to be competitive.

There are a bunch of other details I've been working on, but these were some of the biggest (and most recent) changes I've tried. Perhaps I'll post again later about other aspects, such as the scoring round format :)

Superbowl!

What's going on everyone?

Today for the #2019gameaday challenge dear ol' dad and I played a fun little game called Halftime Football during the Superbowl. 

We played usually only during commercials and had our quarters match up with the Superbowls quarters which was pretty entertaining. 

In the end dad ended up winning by slaughtering my generic "away team" 45 - 7!

All in all is was a fun evening and I may have to suggest us doing this every other game during the season or something. 

As always, thank you for reading and don't forget to stop and smell the meeples! :)

-Tim

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