Tag Archives: Mantic

Rules and more Rules

So many rules, so little time.booksFrom top to bottom:

  • SAGA – The base rules plus all the expansions in the folder that came with expansion #4. I play this a lot recently.  I have a six point Anglo-Dane warband.
  • Dreadball Season 2
  • Dreadball  – Base rules.  I love Dreadball.  I play the base game only so far.  I have a season 2 team, unpainted.  It will get painted soon.  Dreadball is a ton of fun.
  • Monster Hunter International – The RPG based on the novels.  I GM a campaign.  Lots of fun.  Humans with guns fight monsters – werewolves, zombies, etc…
  • Star Wars Edge Of Empire –  RPG. I do not currently play.  It seems like a fun game.  Unique dice mechanic.
  • Eclipse Phase –  RPG. I am a player in a campaign.  Great game, and the most high quality rulebook here.  Very unique sci-fi setting. The printed book is well worth it’s price, however, the rules are also available for free.  Creative Commons rules!
  • Chain Of Command – Just released (Fall 2013) WWII platoon level rules from Too Fat Lardies.  I’ve not played them yet, but they seem really nice.
  • Gruntz – 15mm Sci-Fi rules.  A great introductory set of rules, and you can add complexity later.  I’ve played them a few times.  Fun.
  • Tomorrows War – Another 15mm Sci-Fi ruleset.  Well reviewed, but overly complex and, frankly, the book is hard to read.  Black text on a busy background.
  • Traveller – I have so many great memories of playing Traveller as a kid in the ’80s.  Sci-Fi RPG.
  • Traveller 5  – Not the “final” Traveller I’d hoped for.  Overly complex.

So, that’s my physical rules collection.  In digital, I’ve got a bunch more, but the only digital rules that are not also here in physical form that I play / want to play are:

  • Quadrant 13 – Company level 15mm Sci-Fi rules.  Seems like a great game.  I’d love to play some day.
  • Full Thrust: Cross Dimensions – Super fun space fleet combat game.  I’ve got two full fleets of minis painted up for this game.  Quick, deadly, tactical space combat.  Free rules, too.

Got in 3 Games Of Dreadball

I played Dreadball at At Ease Games last weekend.  I got in 3 games in 3.5 hours, one of which was a game that I spent teaching Dreadball to a new player.

I’ve played Dreadball several times now, and it’s a really, really good game.  Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Also, I’ve been to At Ease Games several times now, and it’s a really friendly game store.  It’s a bit out of the way for me, but hey, you go where the games are.

dwarves-humans The Humans (tan) vs the Dwarves.  Notice 3 of my Humans are injured.

 

orx-humansHumans vs the Orx/Goblins.  Notice the 3 injured humans.  Kind of a trend.

Dreadball Battle Foam Review

I love Dreadball.  I’m almost done painting both teams, just the 4 human strikers left unpainted.  The box insert that come with the game has places for everything, including the minis, but it lets them move around and bump into each other.  To remedy this, Battle Foam sells a kit that is specifically for Dreadball, and fits in the game box.

The imaginatively titled Dreadball Foam Kit For Game Box is $37.99 and comes with 2 foam trays. Only one of the trays will fit in the box at a time.  I’m not quite sure why it comes with two.  Just one tray will fit 4 teams, cards, dice, tokens, balls, and the ref.  What do I do with the other tray?

That said, the foam is very nice.  The bottom is a dense, stiff foam, and the top part is a softer foam.  It fits in the box well, and has a space for the game cards.  There are many different sized spaces, so you can fit everything into an appropriate space, including the dice, tokens, etc.

The foam is just slightly too tall, however.  Once the board is placed on top, there’s not quite enough room for the rulebook, or the roster pad.

dreadball_battle_foam_in_box

Here’s the foam tray in the game box.

 

dreadball_battle_foam_rulebook_no_fit

This is how much the rulebook sticks out when the game board is placed on top of the foam tray.  It’s not too bad.  Once the lid is on, it’s hard to tell.  However, there is no room at all for the roster pad.

 

One last, minor complaint: it takes a while for your order to show up.  I ordered directly from Battle Foam on June 5th, and my order arrived June 19th.  To be fair, they do warn you about that on their website.

Pros:

  • Fits in the box
  • Has a spot for the cards, and other spaces will hold dice, etc.
  • Can fit 4 full teams
  • Sturdy construction
  • I feel my minis are safe

Cons:

  • Why 2 trays?  I’d prefer just the one tray and a cheaper price
  • A bit too tall, the rulebook sticks out a little.
  • No space for the roster pad

Overall, I’m happy with it.  I suppose I can use the 2nd tray later this year when my Deadzone gear arrives.  More importantly, the minis I spent hours painting are protected, and everything (except the roster pad) still fits in the box, more or less, with a lot less rattling around.