What hit me?

Walking out the door to run my first 2013 tournament, fully loaded with 3 bags and a laptop; I wind up flat on my back and in agony from slipping on the 2mm ice sheet covering the path.  Sadly this unplanned activity lands me in A&E (ER for our American readers), where I am poked, x-ray’d and sent home with painkillers.

From what I remember of it, I went full horizontal; coming down hard on my back just between the shoulder blades.  At least that is the area, that is hurting the most this morning.  I have to thank PG Kallas (Tom), for stepping in at the last second to run his first official tournament as a PG.  Hopefully I can return the favour for him one day.  Painting wise, I might be a little slower; but I am stubborn enough to meet my target of painting all my Dystopian Wars for the 9th February.

Not quite……

Been a while since…..ok a very long while since I posted on the blog.  Life has a way of giving you moments of happiness, then kicking your backside real hard.

Essentially after July/August, things went down hill personally and it impacted on my gaming to the point that I lost interest in it completely (nearly left the Gang too).  It’s not perfect even now, but slowly bits and pieces are coming back.  Main news though, is that I will be posting up pics of models I have painted in this period (not many I admit), but also I’ll be covering the formation of Dystopian Wars tournament scene in Scotland.  10th Anniversary of WM this year, the possibility of a SmogCon/Lock and Load style event in the UK, novels….possibly computer games.  So much to do, damn it’s good to be back again.

Wind up or Wind down….

It might seem like a strange title for a blog post, but give me a moment to explain.  This year (to date), as been one hell of a rollercoaster ride for me.  There has been a lot of effort put into building a Scottish presence within the UK WM/H scene, which has only been helped a lot by the recent efforts of some of our more dedicated players.  In particular the players from G3 Glasgow Gamers and several players from Aberdeen.

To give you an example, 4 – 5 of the players from Aberdeen travelled to SmogCon this year.  On the way, their car broke down and they were towed home again.  Normally this would be the end of it, but these guys jumped on a bus; travelled overnight to be at Smogcon.  At the UK Masters, quite a few Scottish players were in attendance; with one player coming within the top 10 best in the UK as others gave a respectable showing.

So it makes me wonder why, I am currently struggling with whether to give up being a PG or not.  I admit that I am sitting here now, mentally wrecked; having just driven back from Hampshire; through M6 rush hour and torrential rains in the Borders.  Nine and half hours, to think about this question; yet I am still no nearer an answer.

I love this game, I love being a PG; but that love is turning sour recently and I hate that.  So do I wind up, put myself forward as coordinator and push hard for a Scottish Team at the ETC/WTC; get the Scottish Open off the ground.  Or do I just it down, not bother with trying to improve the game for everyone in Scotland.  First though, I’m going to get some sleep; night all.

#PP Heap – Pedal to the Metal Mayhem

Well the game isn’t officially out yet, but to help get the game exposure; Privateer Press have allowed the Press Gang to pre-order a set.  This is really exciting as it is for me, the first time of getting something ahead of the general release (in August).  I’ll be doing demo’s of the game, which looks like a lot of fun; at my LGS as well as Claymore next month.

So what is Heap?

It’s a card game for 2 – 4 players, where players attempt to build; bodge and scrap together the ultimate scrap yard vehicle.  With 4 different vehicles to choose between, the race is on to upgrade them from the scrap pile of parts; while fending off your opponents for all the best scrap.

The Vehicles

Doombuggy, Gyrohopper, Scrap Hog and the Bigg Rigg.  Each one has strengths and weaknesses, which can be helped by adding parts from the Heap.

The Parts

From the Heap, each player gets to upgrade (add cards to) their vehicles; to help in their quest to win the Pile Up.  Each card has different abilities and could affect the player or their opponents. However with the game being every player for themselves, watch out for underhanded tactics that could damage your vehicles parts.

Why take my word for it, watch the video to see how this madness plays out.  Look out for demos in your local gaming store in coming weeks.

 

ETC 2012 – The Event

(I will post random pictures from the event, as I took over 140 during the weekend).

There are some things you get to do once in a life time, some you take the chance while it is going.  When the call went out for PG’s at the European Team Championships, I was eager to get my teeth into something big; but daunted by the enormity of the whole prospect.

I want to say this now, that without the backing of my wife; I wouldn’t have gone.  She was fantastic about me doing this, even encouraging me to take this step in the first place.  As it was, it turned out to be the longest, most rewarding and enjoyable WM/H weekend I have had so far.

To give you the scale of this event, there was (in the end) 54 teams; of 4 players each.  That is 216 players all in the same place, playing the same game; at the same time.  GenCon, Lock and Load; I hear you all cry.  Well yes they are bigger with multiple events (Masters, Hardcore, Iron Arena, etc).  ETC’s is the largest single WM/H tournament in the world, to have been part of that is mind blowing in itself.

Held at Maelstrom Games, the venue was ideally suited to this large numbers of players.  With onsite shop, bar and catering; it was an ideal base for players.  Between games players from all over Europe, could socialise and catch up with friends they had made previous years.  Or like me, make new ones; or put faces to names from the PP forum/WH forum.

I’ll finish this post with a big thank you to Tim King, the Event Organiser for Maelstrom Games and all the staff there.  Without them, the weekend would have been chaos (probably was for them); their hard work made it run smoothly.  Would I go back next year?  I’d love too either be a PG at the event, or even take the plunge and enter a team.  Who knows what will happen, I am just glad I was able to be there THIS year.