Another Demo Game

This past weekend I packed the DW models for my Japanese fleet into a carrying case and prepared to set out to the Game Vault to run a demo game.  While I was printing out the latest rule updates from Spartan, I returned to find Sabine tha cat had found a new place to nap on a foam tray.

Demo Games Day

My friend Shades organized a demo games day at a local game store and I ran Uncharted Seas while Ruckdog ran Dystopian Wars, representing Spartan Games among a half dozen "alternative" tabletop games (read: no GW, PP, or Flames of War).  We saw a good turnout and intend to do another event along the same lines again in the near future.

Coastal Raid

And now for something else entirely.

I haven't played many games this past month, busy with preparations for the tournament and then, feeling a little tired of all things DW, turned to painting some Uncharted Seas ships and putting together components to try playing a game of Spanish Fury Sail!

Lacking any guide for running a DW tournament, I spent some time looking into how Warmachine events are organized, etc.  And it got me interested in actually trying out a game of what, at first glance, appears to be the skirmish land conflict equivalent of DW.  So, my Usual Opponent and I split the cost of a battle box, I dug out some figures I had painted last year but never put on the table, and we tried a quick game with 15 points on each side.

We used Khador figures as Protectorate proxies using Vladimir for Kreoss and a squad of Mechanics to represent Cinerators (I'm sure this is an action which would brand both of us heretics, but we didn't even have his figures assembled), and I loaned a Manhunter solo to my Usual Opponent to give him the single point he needed to form a 15-point force.  I explained that the Manhunter had gone rogue and was working as something of a mercenary; maybe he had been captured and brainwashed?

DW Game Accessories

I spent all of my painting time these past two weeks working on ship models for Uncharted Seas, but I have been playing Dystopian Wars and putting together some new components for my fleet.  I prefer the size of the US counters, so I scaled down the player's aid tokens from the PDF available on the Spartan website:  http://www.spartangames.co.uk/resources/downloads

The six main critical hit effects fit nicely on some old dice I had, creating some Critical Hit Effect Cubes which are large enough to read but not so large they obscure the model.

I also printed out a new set of stat cards, created by a fan and posted on the Spartan Games forum HERE. 

The Glorious 6th of November

Dystopian Wars VA Autumn Event 2011

We had more than a dozen players for our DWVA Autumn Event which included three rounds of a Dystopian Wars tournament with 10 registered players and a 3-way exposition game of Uncharted Seas.

Here are the full rankings for the DW tournament:

1. Andy - Prussians

2. Kyle - CoA
3. Steve - CoA
4. Brian - CoA

5. Dave - KoB

6. John - Prussians

7. Trevor - KoB (with French leanings)

8. Greg - FSA

9. Nate - KoB

And, last but definitely not least, and only a mere 2 points behind Nate....

10. Jack - Empire of the Burning Sun

The first three placed players won store credit, and Andy also took the Best Painted Fleet prize. 

The runner-up for best painted fleet was our winner at the Uncharted Seas event last year, Mike with his incredible Orc ships.

DW Sunday at End Game Center

Last week my usual opponent and I took a drive down south to meet some new DW players and check out a game store I visited when I first moved to the area three years ago.  We played a game of DW and talked about the game with other players.  The big DWVA Autumn Event 2011 is only a week away now, and Kyle wanted to play a practice game with his 800 point fleet.

Kyle's Covenant fleet moves into position; with 800 points he included both a battleship and a flagship; I included, for the Blazing Sun, an unpainted Kraken as a proxy for the Mechanical Squid, along with the battleship Ontake.

Battle of Castle Rock Island

A mist forms above the cold, still waters of the Sorylian Sea around Ratrap Island.  Ships take shape in the mist, black smoke belching from their stacks, the hiss of steam from engines, as two Dwarven fleets approach Castle Rock on the island renowned for the presense of a sinister mage.

Our first proper game of Uncharted Seas in more than a month, we started by setting out the sea mat and islands to play Dreadfleet, but we decided to break out the reliable old fleets instead.  800 points in each fleet, no composition rules and no special objectives.  I placed my Shroud Mages along the southern edge of the space, a pair of frigates to the north scouting for a battleship, then a pair of heavy cruisers, the flagship Lightbringer, a squadron of Adept Destroyers, and, somewhere, a Ripper Submersible lurked beneath the becalmed waters.  And barely three feet away, suddenly appearing as the fog lifts slightly, and just within long range, was Admiral Redhammer's fleet of Iron Dwarves with battleship, flagship, heavy cruisers, destroyers, and their Cursed Bellows Skyships.

Start of Turn 1:  Iron Dwarves to the North and Shroud Mages to the South.  Note the coffee mug from the Blogger's favorite used bookstore just beyond the southwest corner of the board; not for any good reason, I was just very pleased to be sipping hot coffee from my Powell's mug while playing my usual opponent my favorite tabletop naval game on a new sea mat during a comfortable Sunday afternoon.  No harm in recognizing the pleasure of having the time (and cash) to enjoy this hobby.