Indian Raid in Frontier Ohio at Drums at the Rapids 2016 Convention

Both of my frontier Indian raid scenarios were full -- including this shot of the Saturday morning session

I took my multiplayer Song of Drums and Tomahawks event up to Drums at the Rapids, a convention held at historic, Fort Meigs, Perrysburg, OH. I have been attending the convention for more than a decade, and it is an excellent local con put on by HMGS Great Lakes. The focus is historical miniatures, though there are always cool-looking fantasy and science-fiction games, too. I cooked up a new set of linked scenarios. This one would feature Indians vs. frontier settlers, as opposed to the more varied scenario groups I've run in the past.

An overview of the "Farmhouse Raid" scenario in the opening stages of Friday night's battle (you can see the women and children beginning to run away from the side that the Indians are entering from)

The first scenario begins with the people of a frontier farmstead community spotting a plume of smoke rising off in the distance. They know that it usually means a raid across the frontier by hostile tribes, so hurriedly debate whether to "fort up" in their cabins, or head to the local blockhouse. Before they can decide, a man runs up and says an Indian warparty is right behind him. The frontiersmen and six women and children deploy in the middle of a collection of four log buildings in the center of the board. The Indians can deploy anywhere on the table, as long as they don't deploy within 1 Long distance (close musket range) of a frontiersman or family member.

On both days, the Indian player decided to have his raiders enter through one of the cornfields

I really liked how this table looked, once it was all set up. This was also the table where I had made my scratch-built, snake rail fences. I used them to create three fields at corners of the boards. Inside the fields were the JTT corn rows (which I now know I need to make more of...!), along with the 3 Sisters native American crop pieces, and some random bits of vegetation to fill them up. In both the Friday night and Saturday morning sessions, the Indian player chose to enter using the cover of the fields.

Close up the menfolk of the farmstead community mustered to defend their families (and one brave goat, willing to take his place in the line alongside his owners...ha, ha)

The two runnings of this scenario had vastly different outcomes, though. Friday night, the frontiersman player chose to take advantage of the fact the Indian warparty came in on one board edge to shuttle the women and children off the opposite edge. If a family member ends the game with no Indians within a Long distance, it is victory points. The menfolk fought a delaying action against the Indian raiders, slowly giving ground and surrendering their homesteads to them. When some settlers began to flee from morale checks, they decided to withdraw to prevent further losses. The result was more homesteads up in flames, and Indians in possession of scalps and loot.

The fighting was at close range and brutal. Here Indians and settlers struggle for control of the center of the farmstead

Saturday morning saw a much more aggressive frontiersman player. She put the women and children inside the cabins and had the menfolk launch an assault on the Indian raiders. Losses piled up on each side, but the Indians broke first. Before long, the settlers were victorious and had chased the raiders off of their hard-won land.

A patrol of rangers investigates the plume of smoke in "They Died in the Smoke"

The middle scenario on the 9'x3' table layout was where that original plume of smoke was originating from. Here, the family spotted the Indians at the last moment and fled into their house, bolting the door. At each window, a musket poked through and fired when any Indians ventured out into the cleared area surrounding the cabin. Fire arrows were shot onto the roof of the cabin, and soon the home was ablaze. Smoke filled the cabin and poured out the windows. However, the family refused to come out and die under the tomahawks of the raiders. Suddenly, the one of the braves spotted a ranger patrol hurrying to the spot to determine the source of the fire.

Indian raiders wait in vain for a family of settlers to come out of their burning cabin

For this scenario, I constructed a special "burning cabin." I used one of the Darice Premium Wood Model log cabin sets that are available at Hobby Lobby for only $3.99. I modified this one by sawing through some of the dowels to have actual openings for windows. I used a corrugated pattern balsa wood sheet for the roof, which I also cut holes into to represent areas disintegrating in the flames. I placed two electric LED votive candles inside the cabin to light up the smoke with their flickering yellowish light. Acrylic "batting" (pillow stuffing) was cut and placed in the windows and protruding out from the roof. I am only moderately pleased with the results. Of course, I was hurrying to get it done in time for the convention, so I intend to go back and tweak it some.

The Indians begin the scenario deployed in the woods in an arc around the cabin

Once again, I had two vastly different outcomes in this scenario. The Indians begin deployed in a woods in an arc around the burning cabin. The rangers enter through the corner of the board where a pathway runs through the forest. I was particularly surprised by the Indian player's choice to deploy part of his force very close to the ranger entry point. Since about 1/3 of them would be scattered far away around the clearning, I felt this could go very bad for him as he faced the full force of the rangers. One of the things I like about Song of Drums and Tomahawks is that player decisions have a major impact and drive the game. How many times have we sat down for a miniatures game to find the only decision we could make was to move forward and roll dice? These rules definitely are NOT that, and the player is constantly called upon to make tactical decisions that impact the game in a major way.

A family hurries to the local blockouse, women and children aboard wagons, while the men scour the woods alongside, searching for ambushing Indian raiders in "Wagon Train Through Peril"

As it was, the aggressive Indian player was rewarded for his decisions when the ranger advance proved tentative and was halted by poor die rolls. The battle was very one-sided, and the rescuing rangers were quickly whittled down by Indian musket fire. The survivors bravely attempted to maneuver around to reach the cabin, but soon the last remaining ones were driven from the field. The previous night, the opposite was true for much of the battle. It was the Indian player who was hampered by his poor die rolls, and could not collect his forces together to oppose a much more aggressive ranger advance. In fact, the Indian force, though causing casualties among the Rangers, soon was fleeing backwards due to morale checks. However, here is where the tide shifted. The core of remaining Indians fought back aggressively. Soon, they had whittled the rangers down to where they were fleeing backwards in morale checks. It proved to be a nail-biter of a game, with the Indians very narrowly triumphing.

Waiting for the family, in the trees is a line of Indian raiders. When they see the wagon, they close in.

The third scenario was a variant on one I have run for several years. Having seen the plumes of smoke, a family is hurrying for safety towards a local blockhouse. In this version, there are a substantial number of men escorting the wagon. The blockhouse, on the other hand, is only weakly guarded and can send no rescuing force. The family must fight through any Indians they encounter on the way on their own. A couple special scenario mechanics enable the wagons to move on their own, as long as family members are there to drive them. Also, if any Indians enter the clearing surrounding the blockhouse, they can be shot at (one per turn) by the defenders. They will not waste powder on shots in the woods, as they don't know how long the siege will last.

The male family members trade shots with the ambushing Indians, trying desperately to drive them off so their family can reach the blockhouse

Both nights provided a tense, gripping game. The one on Saturday morning was particularly tense, though. It swung back and forth, with the settlers having the upper hand one moment, and the Indians the other. On Friday night, the wagons came close to making it through to the blockhouse, but did not. However, on Saturday morning, they actually made it all the way to the clearing before losses piled up enough to cause morale checks. One interesting feature of my side-by-side scenarios is that players can reinforce neighboring battles if they have driven the enemy from the field in their own. With the rangers being chased off relatively early in the Saturday morning game, a fresh force of Indians was able to appear on the edge of this field.

At the sight of one too many of their menfolk slain, the women and children abandon the wagons and flee on foot towards the safety of the blockhouse

The family proved stalwart, though. They had broken the morale of the ambushing Indians and driven most of them from their path. Three menfolk of the family bravely stood and barred the advance of a new warparty of seven Indians, who had been drawn by the sound of the gunfire. In particular, one man whom the Indians called "Yellow Hair" slew many warriors before finally succumbing to a musket ball. Equally heroic, the leader of the ambushing Indians ran forward and grabbed the reins of the lead horse. Two family members attacked him, but he slew one, which broke the morale of the family. Most of the women and children leaped off of the wagons and sprinted for the blockhouse. A few of the men also bolted for safety, while others remained to fight off the Indians.

Indians triumphant! One day saw an Indian victory, and the other a Settler one, but good games all around!

Just when you'd think the battle could show no more twists, the family members killed enough from the warparty to have them check morale, too. They proved eager for battle, though, and only one warrior fled the vicinity. Meanwhile, the women and children were streaming closer to the blockhouse. The Indians closed in, and only about half of them made it before they were caught. It was a relatively long game of Song of Drums and Tomahawks -- prolonged, of course, by the arrival of 7 fresh warriors from the neighboring battlefield. It was certainly one of the most gripping I'd watched (or played). Everyone who'd played in the games enjoyed them, though, so it was another successful pair of convention events. My next games will likely be at Historicon (I need to sign up for them ASAP). I will also be running games at the local Ohio History Center as part of their Ohio's March Through Time event.

Lead Painters League: round 7 through 9

What? A victory in an odd-numbered round?? And even more, an above .500 winning percentage for Lead Painters League 10???

Yes, a fortunate series of events (my apologies to Lemony Snickets) led to me ending Round 9 with a 5-4 record. I had back-to-back victories in rounds 8 and 9. Perhaps this is a sign of the Swiss Chess format settling into matchups with approximate skill level opponents. Perhaps I just got lucky. Either way, I'll take it!

Round 7: Hunters of the Forest

 I honestly thought I had a pretty good chance winning this round. I really like these Flint & Feather miniatures, sculpted by Bob Murch from Pulp Miniatures. The poses are dynamic. I especially like the guy on with the wolf headdress. That is just a cool figure all around. I thought the warpaint turned out well, and the photo was bright, colorful, and atmospheric. The best-laid plans, though, are always subject to contact with the "enemy."

In this case, my opponent had a wonderful entry. His yellows on his Chinese temple dogs were outstanding. I fully admit my weaknesses. My number one weakness as a painter is that my skills at shading and blending are very pedestrian. I am a block painter at heart. I do an occasional watered down acrylic paint wash, I regularly dry brush, and do a finishing black or brown wash to bring out the shadows. One day, maybe, I'll learn to use inks and do a better job of blending. However, for now, when I am matched up against someone whose entry shows off their superior skills in that aspect of miniature painting, I freely admit mine is worse. My hunters lost soundly, 369-94. To see my opponent's excellent entry, check out the matchup page.

Round 8: To the Blockhouse!

 

 I have to admit, I was pleased how this entry came out. I was a bit worried in that miniatures were from Blue Moon (Old Glory), and their castings are not highly regarded in Europe -- where many of the members of the Lead Adventure Forum are from. However, the poses were unusual, and the Acheson Creations blockhouse a nice piece of terrain, and the stream of refugees heading towards it atmospheric. So, I felt fairly confident. I was a little surprised when I saw my opponent's entry and that mine was losing to it. I feel I am honest and admit it when I'm outclassed. I didn't feel this was the case with this pairing. As the round progressed, though, my frontiersmen rallied and took the lead. It was a near thing, though, and I probably kept checking the score in this race more than any other this competition.

I enjoyed painting the Blue Moon figures. It is interesting, as I came very close to choosing Blue Moon Indians over Conquest Miniatures way back when I was getting into this period. Blue Moon is very affordable. However, the fact that Conquest were reasonably priced, and the fact their poses were so darned nice, sold me on them. So, this was an interesting "What if?" batch to paint up. I failed to mention, though, that the center figure with the coonskin cap is actually Reaper Miniatures' Davey Crocket figure. The rest are all Blue Moon, and I have about six more to paint up from the Ohio Frontiersmen box. The castings are better quality than the standard-issue Old Glory bags of 48 (or whatever huge amount they sell them in, now). However, they are a step beneath the Conquest and other manufacturers I tend to paint up, nowadays. The guy at the far left of the line has a serious mar on his face where the two halves of the mold must have not lined up perfectly (which is why he is turned away from the camera).

In the end, these guys were good enough to win a close race, 258-212. To see my opponent, click on the matchup page.

Round 9: Gorilla Slavers

 

 Okay. I will say it. I was tired of painting Indians. There! You happy? I also figured the voters were suffering from warpaint fatigue, so I dug through my figure box and found something that I would be excited to paint. The gorilla infantry are from Sergeant Major Miniatures' Science-Fiction (we can't call it "Planet of the Apes") line. I honestly don't know who makes the mounted gorilla general. It was given to me half-painted by a very generous HMGS Great Lakes member who knew I had a soft spot for the period. I reprimed it, and all the painting is my own, of course.

Honestly, this line of apes is not as finely-cast as Eureka's (we can't call it Planet of the Apes, either) figures. However, a couple years ago, I'd picked up these six figures because...well, Planet of the Apes figs don't grow on trees! They're relatively rare, and I have always been interested in doing some post-Apocalyptic gaming using them. I actually did use my Eureka 28mm apes in my friend Dave Zecchini's campaign he ran using Mutants and Death Ray Guns rules. It was a blast, and I look back on those games fondly.

So, I Googled a lot of images of gorilla infantry and found this purple color being fairly common in the movie still photographs. I did this as one of my acrylic washes, the primary color being the old Ral Partha excellent "Tongue Purple." I think the uniforms turned out great. The leather armor was a nice dry brush of dark brown and medium brown. And the gorilla faces turned out bettrer than I expected. I admit I am not that talented at taking black and giving it definition and shading with gray dry brushing. The mounted general is an awesome figure, but I almost messed it up with too many layers of color on top of a half-painted miniature. Honestly, that is why he is slightly in the background. I think a close-up reveals some mistakes. I love the dappled gray horse, though, and the uniform with its black, steel, and gun metal colors.

The voters must have agreed, as I won this one by a more comfortable margin of 337-115.  Shocker of shockers, I was above .500 at 5-4!!!

Prototype: Snake Rail fencing

My prototype for frontier "Snake Rail" fencing

I have been kicking around the idea of doing some "snake rail" (sometimes called split rail) fencing for French & Indian War games featuring raids on European settlements. I looked at a number of pictures online and also on the Lead Adventure Form. I kept waiting for inspiration to strike, though, for how to solve a few key construction and design issues.

Early on, I was certain I wanted to do these a separate fence sections -- not as a complete, connected field. My closets are already bursting with 28mm terrain (the board games were already exiled from the gaming closet in my office to the living room closet). So, I need something that will take up less space in my terrain boxes. The big problem is what to do with the end of each section. I didn't want them "hanging" in air..

The "real McCoy"...a handy feature of snake rail fencing is it does not require posts

I noticed in one picture that the end of a section had the rails just laying, stacked up, on the ground. I figured that might not look so bad, so decided to give it a whirl. I'd also decided to use small bases at the intersections of the rails -- not a complete rectangular base. The zig-zag pattern of snake rail fencing would mean lots of useless base space.

So, I assembled the material and constructed the above prototype. Feel free to email me with comments and suggestions. I am "purt-darned pleezed" with how it turned out. Unless somebody comes up with an amazing suggestion, I am going to go into full assembly mode this week.

Thanks for any comments, suggestions, and ideas...!

Beaver Wars in Ohio playtest: Turn 6

 My Erie tribe had a "bonus battle" this turn. After initially confirming they could attend on our arranged date at the pizzeria, three players had something come up. Two of them obligingly matched up against each other in the strategic phase, and were able to schedule a makeup game. The third I fought with my Erie on another date, as well, despite also fighting a battle on the regularly scheduled meeting at the pizzeria against a different opponent. I reasoned that since I did not fight a battle due to the odd number of players last turn, that no one would mind if I made that up with an extra one this turn. In fact, my players have been incredibly flexible during this playtest. If two players can't make it, the others leave their tribes alone so that they can match up against each other. It would be a disadvantage to fight fewer battles over the course of the campaign, although the rules will have mechanisms to make that fair.

Rival Shawnee and Susquehannock warparties close beneath the trees of the Eastern Woodlands of Ohio

The first and second place tribes continued to roll, both winning major victories this turn. The Neutrals were the tribe I fought on our Saturday morning at the pizzeria. The battle was going well, at first. I was using my warriors with the Marksmen trait and our matchlocks to good effect. The turning point came, though, in one of those cinematic moments that seem to occur so often in games of Song of Drums and Tomahawks. One of the Neutral warriors dashed forwards towards my warriors to collect a scalp. One of my matchlock men fired at him and knocked him down. Another of my warriors rushed forwards to dispatch him with a "Powerful Attack" (using two actions in one attack, which makes the opponent -1 to its die roll). Despite having a +4 to +1 advantage, Keith won the die roll and knocked my Erie brave down! It was still my turn, so I had another warrior rush forward. Once again, I had a +4 to +1 roll on opposed six-sided dice. Another loss. A third warrior ganged up on the heroic Neutral warrior and also could not finish him off. I had just lost three straight six-sided dice rolls with an advantage of +3 to my rolls! I don't even want to calculate the odds of that occurring. The heroic warrior popped up on Keith's next turn and finish off an attacker. Soon, all three of my attackers lay dead at the mighty warrior's feet.

Susquehannock hunters race to rescue one of their brothers who has been captured by the Shawnee

Just as you would expect, my warband was demoralized after this display of ferocity. We had gone from being ahead on enemy casualties to faltering fast. Keith ended up winning 15-3 in scenario victory points -- another major victory for his tribe, and yet another defeat for mine.

A raiding party from the Neutrals tribe is surprised and strung out by an unexpected ambush by Erie hunters

Other battles raging at the pizzeria included a bloody clash across a creek between the Seneca and Kickapoo. The Kickapoo continued their run of success, winning their last three engagements. They notched a major victory, 12-6. The Miami tribe finally recorded their first win of the campaign. They fought against the Honniasont "All Youth" force. Bruce, our newest player, has been trying out new tactics. This one saw one veteran chieftain leading a force of 16 Youths. The Miami were outnumbered, and despaired of being able to kill enough of their enemy to force a morale check (where Youths are at a disadvantage). It took more than two hours -- which is actually a long game for thees size battles -- but eventually the persistent Honniasont fell below 50% losses. Within a turn, all their troops had fled the field. The exhausted Miami howled in triumph, victorious 19-10.

Warriors from the Neutrals tribe fearlessly close with my Erie warparty

One of the rescheduled battles pitted the Susquehannock against the Shawnee. Joe, who has not lost a battle yet, has a completely different strategy than Keith -- whose Neutrals are in first place. Joe uses his upgrade points to make his warriors Marksman, and tries to gun down his opponents at range. Keith's Neutrals have settled in on the opposite strategy -- upgrading his warriors to Strong so that they are +1 in melee. Doubtless, the two will clash again before the end of the campaign. However, in this battle, Joe managed to win more of the melees against the Susquehannock. The battle was fairly even, with each player taking out one of the opponents on each of their bounds for several turns in a row. On one disastrous bound, though, Steve's Susquehannocks engaged in three melees -- all of them at an advantage. Two of his three braves fell to adverse die rolls, though. After that point, the Shawnee began to steadily grind their opponents down until they began to take morale checks and withdraw from the field.

This hero of the Neutral tribe would fight off all three of my Erie warriors who surrounded him -- even when he'd been knocked to the ground!

My "bonus battle" saw my Erie warriors ambushing the scout leading a Mohawk raid on one of our villages. Dave's troops were strung out and relatively vulnerable, according to the scenario deployment. I concentrated on the forward end of his column, but my activation rolls failed me and he was able to regroup without any losses. In fact, his warriors shot and killed two of my Youths who had unwisely advanced to the forefront of my force. The Mohawk strategy in the Beaver Wars campaign has been to use Hunt cards as opposed to War cards. In six turns, he has played only Hunt cards. The effect is that he leads the tribes in the number of Beaver pelts obtained over the course of the campaign. This translates directly into the number of figures you can upgrade from Bow to Matchlock. With this turn, Dave reached the point where all nine figures in his force (he took a Chieftain and all Warriors, no Youths) carry a Matchlock. This is a major advantage, and one he made good use of in our game. I was able to kill three of his Mohawk and force a tight battle, but once things began to collapse, my Warriors and Youths were falling left and right. The end result was yet another Major Defeat for the Erie.

Tribe	Place	Victory Points
Neutrals	1st	26 points
Shawnee	2nd	23 points
Mohawk	3rd	22.5 points
Kickapoo	4th	17.5 points
Seneca	5th	13 points
Miami	6th	11 points
Susqehannock	7th	10 points
Erie	8th	9 points
Honniasont	9th	3 points

Our top two stay in the same place, but the Mohawk make a jump into 3rd place

It is a source of amusement for my friends that I wrote the rules, but have a long history of struggling to win games with them. I point to the fact that my dice rolling is notoriously bad. Witness the three consecutive losses with a +4 to +1 advantage against Keith. In fact, my first attack against one of Dave's Mohawk that I had knocked down -- another +4 to +1 roll -- saw me come up short again! I joke that I'm not supposed to win my own campaign playtest, so having a tribe at the bottom of the standings doesn't bother me. Plus, you could always say I am just being a gracious game master, and letting my players win the laurels of victory. However, I know the truth is I DO try to win. It is just those little incidents in the game that inevitable turn the tide of battle against me.

Tribe	Prestige Points (PPs)
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	16 (5 MajV, 1 MinD)
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	15 (3 MajV, 3 MinV)
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	10 (3 MajV, 1 MinD)
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	10 (3 MajV, 1 MinD)
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	9 (1 MajV, 3 MinV)
Erie (Mike Demana)	5 (1 MajV, 2 MinD)
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	5 (2 MinV, 1 MinD)
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	4 (1 MajV, 1 MinD)
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	1 (1 MinD)

 
Still, everyone continues to have fun with the Beaver Wars playtest. The scenarios continue to provide new and interesting challenges to the players. I scrupulously ask players for feedback on every scenario, and we are making tweaks to each as we agree are needed. I'm particularly happy that no major changes in the campaign rules have been required. This second "reboot" of the campaign rules seems to working like a charm. I will probably try to have a post-game session soon, though, and if no changes appear to be needed, begin putting the rules into the publication process.

Tribe	Scenario Victory Points (SVPs)
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	97
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	86
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	61
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	60
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	59
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	55
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	45
Erie (Mike Demana)	38
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	15

Tribe	Beaver Pelts
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	41
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	33
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	32
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	29
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	25
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	22
Erie (Mike Demana)	22
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	20
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	19

Lots of board gaming lately

Here we are, looking very confused (witness Mike's expression) as Ptom explains Steampunk Rally to us

Our Sunday evening game crew has been playing a lot of board games, lately. I think everybody is in a lull phase on having a miniatures game ready to host, so we've been falling back on board games. Last Sunday, we were at Ptom's house and he pulled out a new purchase. There were seven of us in attendance, and that tends to limit what games we can play.

So, we decided to give Ptom's "Steampunk Rally" a try. Wow, what a complex game. Ptom read us the rules, and we were all confused at several points. Several times I quipped, "So, tell me again why we're not playing Seven Wonders right now?" Seven Wonders is my favorite multiplayer boardgame right now, but Steve said he dislikes it and had nixed it. Of course, he brought Munchkin...which to my thinking, is about as limited a game as you can play. Who draws the lucky cards? Who does everybody pick on? Whoopie...! So, I nixed that one in reply...ha, ha!

Anyway, back to Steampunk Rally. Players take on the role of famous inventors or scientists -- Tesla, Marconi, Einstein, Edison, and several others were in our game. They are constructing a steampunkish contraption from the cards they draw to race around a rocky track that tends to tear apart your machine. There are three different types of energy -- steam, electricity, and heat. Your contraption will probably specialize in one of them, but need all types eventually. There are a number of strange mechanics in the game. You place colored dice on your machine to represent you powering up your machine, but then you have to pay to take them off -- "venting" them -- before you can re-power it.

There is certainly a lot of variety, and we felt a lot more confident about the game after playing several rounds. However, not my favorite new game of the ones we've played.

The previous Sunday we had also been at Ptom's. We tried another recent purchase of his -- the inaptly named "Five Tribes," which seems to be quite popular. As often is the case with Eurogames, there is a "veneer" of history or setting thrown over game mechanics. This one seemed to have the thinnest of veneers. Tribes is a terrible English word for what in the game are five different castes or guilds that you try to utilize to earn the most victory points. They even call their pieces "meeples" at one point -- the generic gamer's term for the little wooden playing pieces that appear in most Eurogames. They couldn't think of another term that fit their Middle Eastern / South Asia motif and setting?

All complaining about the veneer aside, this is an excellent game. There are so many paths to victory, so many strategies to utilize to win, that every game could be different. We played it twice and had two completely different strategies win the game. In the first game, Joel won by focusing on controlling tiles for victory points, while in the second game Ptom won ("Ptom's Winning!") by using the commodities. I look forward to playing this one again.

Finally, the previous week we got to try out a new purchase of mine. I had picked up a copy of Splendor at Barnes & Noble because they were having a sale to benefit my school's library. I run a weekly board game club at the school, and the kids were complaining I was bringing the same games over and over again. Earlier, I had posted on the Facebook page of the  Columbus Area Boardgaming Society (CABS), asking what game would be good for middle schoolers. Four or five of my 30 responses were for this game.

In Splendor, you are a gem merchant, picking up five different types of gems (or gold -- which is like a wild card). You use these gems to purchase cards, which give you a permanent bonus of one gem of a certain color. There are three tiers of cards, each costing progressively more gems. Some of the cards provide victory points, most of the lower tier ones do not. If you collect enough "bonus cards" you may acquire a noble as a customer, which provides you with more victory points.

Between the one time we played it at Joel's two Sundays ago, and the twice I've played it at the school board game club, I've yet to win this game. It is fun, fast, and a clever design. The kids loved it and picked it up quickly. So, it was a worthwhile purchase, and definitely a game I enjoy playing and look forward to trying again (and getting that elusive victory!).

Three weeks of Sundays, and three new board games!

Midway Point in the Lead Painters League: 3-3

There have been few pictures on this site of my newly-painted figures, lately. The reason for that is I have decided to once again enter the Lead Painters League. This competition on the Lead Adventure Forum website matches work by painters head-to-head each week. This year, there are 34 participants, and the competition level is very high, in my opinion. After six weeks of the league, I am a solid 3-3.

One new things this year is that matchups are done on a Swiss Chess format. It has had a humorous (for me) result that led me to calling myself the League's Whack-a-Mole. Much like the old arcade game, I am smacked on the noggin, and trounced severely in contests. However, that means I sink towards the bottom of the standings and get matched up against more equal competition. After each loss, I've been fortunate to win my next round. This rises me up in the standings, only to be -- you guessed it -- swatted back down in the next!

One reason I haven't been posting regular updates on what I'm working on is that you receive bonus points in the competition if they are "new" -- with no pictures having appeared of them before on the internet. So, as the Lead Painters League draws near, I tend to draw a veil over what I'm working on and not post updates with pictures of the figs. However, once their round is over, we're free to publicize our figs as normal.

So, without further ado, here are my first six rounds of the Lead Painters League!

Round 1 (Theme round - "Seated/Laying Poses"): Passing the Peace Pipe

These figures are 25mm Old Glory, and are actually from their Plains Indians collection. However, the styles of dress are still similar in many respects to they were in the Eastern Woodlands period. My favorite figures are the two with the wolf headdresses. As always for Lead Painters League entries, I go a bit further in my detail work. The beadwork on the center figure and the detail on the blankets came out pretty nice, I feel. These figs will be good for village raid scenarios, whether as objectives or simply eye candy. I lost this round 275-83.

Round 2: Painted for War

These are probably my favorite miniatures that I have painted for the competition, so far. They are from Bob Murch's "Flint & Feather" line of early Woodland Indians. I picked up 3 packs of them as Christmas presents this year (thank, Mom and Dad!). These are the first batch I painted up. I chose them because they have the wooden slat armor that some early Woodland Indians used. It is an option for players in my current campaign playtest of the Beaver Wars in Ohio. This is a supplement for my French & Indian War rules, Song of Drums and Tomahawks. Check out the warpaint on these guys! I am particularly proud of the three in the middle. It is interesting how my painting of warpaint on Woodland Indians is evolving. Before, I was very conservative on warpaint -- shooting for more of an occasional decoration to give the effect of a painted group. Now, I'm more willing to take risks and cover more and more of the figure with warpaint. Also note the extra detail in the leggings. Much as I love my Conquest Miniatures Indians (the manufacturer of most of my Indians), I have to admit Bob Murch's figs are simply gorgeous! I won this round 435-16.

Round 3: Hunting L'Anglais

 I had the double misfortune in round three of not only facing one of the league's more accomplished painters, but also in that they also chose to paint 28mm Indians. Sometimes I can luck out and win a matchup because my colorful Woodland Indians are a brighter, more eye-catching entry than a perhaps better-painted, but duller colored, opponent. No such chance here! This batch is a mix. The two French Coureurs de Bois (woods runners) are from my staple Conquest Miniatures line. The three Indians are "Skraelings" from Footsore Miniatures. I really like the Skraeling figures and have painted up a number of them already. In fact, having eight of them completed (but not photographed yet) was the tipping point for me entering the competition again this year. I painted up these two French to make 10, which constitutes two entries (minimum five figures). I really like how the French came out. These two are a good example of what I do when painting miniatures that are supposed to have a fairly uniform look. Coureurs de Bois tended to have red caps and white shirts. I used a tan color for the basecoat of one and a light gray for the other. Drybrushing them white makes them look similar but different. I used two different shades of red for the hats, too. Despite all this work, though, I was thoroughly crushed this round, 474-18.

Round 4: Guard the Canoes

So, a pattern was developing that would hold true for at least the first six rounds. I lose on odd numbered rounds, and win on even-numbered ones. The Whack-a-Mole effect. I get thoroughly beaten and then drop down far enough to be matched up against someone more at my skill level in the subsequent round. Were these figures better than the previous, "Hunting L'Anglais" entry? I don't think so. In fact, when you take into the account the Frenchmen, I like that entry better. To be fair, my favorite in this round is the guy in the center with the blue leggings. The color combination of red and blue stands out, and I really like his warpaint and tattoos. These five figures are more from Footsore Miniatures "Skraeling" line. The three with warclubs are my own modification. The figures come with spears, which were kind of out of fashion by the time of the French & Indian War period that I most of my games cover. They are simply a paperclip with a bead on it, covered in blue tack and glue. This was by far my closest match of the competition, so far. I barely squeaked out a win -- 254-231. My opponent was a very good painter -- one that, I generally consider superior. To check out his entry and make your own call, click here.

Round 5 (Theme Round, "High Middle Ages"): Fearsome Friars

This is the first matchup where I thought I should have won when I ended up losing. No criticism of my opponent's entry, but I was thinking my friars would pull this one out. These are Old Glory 25mm Monks. I know that Old Glory figures are not highly thought of among the Europeans that make up the bulk of the members of the Lead Adventure Forum. So, I pulled out all the stops to jazz them up. I painted them a base tan color, then applied a series of medium brown washes to give a better shading effect. I then applied a very light tan dry brush to set off the highlights that had been covered by the wash. It was actually very refreshing to paint these figures. No warpaint, no tattoos, no packs and pouches and sundry festooned all over the figures! It was fun to get out my scratch-built monastery with beehive huts to stage the photo. Alas, even the setting (and chickens and goats) could not help the doomed friars pull out this match. I lost 295-112.

Round 6: Sisters Tending 3 Sisters

 This was my least favorite of my six entries, so far. I almost went back and re-photographed it prior to the deadline for the round. However, I decided that they looked good enough and stayed with my original submission. These are more villagers from Old Glory's 25mm Plains Indians collection. However, I decided I liked the stark, black and red pattern on the central Indian woman. And I also felt the detail on the dresses of the two Indian girls was good. The faces I wasn't overly pleased with, but Old Glory does not always give you the best sculpts to work with! The "Three Sisters" corn pieces are my own scratch-built creation. For more information on how I did them, check out my entry on Three Sisters elsewhere on the blog. As I type this, I am way ahead in this matchup. Once again, are these figures better than the ones I've lost with? No, it is simply a more favorable matchup. I am winning this one 377-37 right now with just a few hours to go in voting.

So, that sums up the first half of the league (there will be 11 instead of the normal 10 rounds). My record sits at a solid 3-3. Considering the level of the competition, I am quite happy with how things are progressing...!