Well, we didn't cover quite as much ground as we wanted to in November this year, but for our first full month of blogging about games i think we're off to a grand old start. Reviewed some interesting ideas and games, and a couple of neat product lines, and we've got more lined up for the december/january timeline.
Let's start this month off by covering something that's going to be near and dear to our hearts, Star Wars. Episode VII releases on December 18th here in the US, and it looks like its going to be a fun ride before Christmas. In honor of the new movie, we here at the blog are going to spend most of the month discussing the myriad of star wars products that the budding new gamer can find to occupy their time with. This means we'll be spending a lot of time staring at very cool, very shiny things from our friends over at fantasy flight games.
So, check the hyperdrive coordinates, load your fresh power pack in your blaster, and let's find some trouble to get into, Shall we?
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Fantasy Gaming Review :Pathfinder
We start our review of the fantasy gaming genre with an absolute juggernaut. Pathfinder Roleplaying, by Paizo, represents a very typical fantasy gaming experience. It offers the expected fantasy heroes (warriors, wizards, clerics, and rogues, to name a few) and splashes in some new ideas (Gunslingers, magi) and even goes as far as to take iconic parts of some heroic ideals and mix them with others.
Set in the fantasy world of Golarion, Pathfinder has a little bit of something for every player type. Explorers have darkened monster infested jungles, the ruins of lost civilizations, and the joy of running into the deepest darkest places below the surface. Builders will find the options for establishing their own businesses and areas of control a refreshing change of pace, and for the monster hunters, there are no less than five tomes full of monsters waiting to tear them limb from limb.
Pathfinder boasts an impressive product line, and the best word i can use to describe the complete system is Options. Pathfinder has a staggering array of options and choices for the player, and as much as that can be a strength, it can also be a weakness. A new player who is making full use of the available product line is overwhelmed by an array of choices. Exacerbating this potential issue is the fact that not all the choices are equal. Some choices are representative of player choices for what they want their character. Others represent the best combat option for a character of that level.
Options drive the Pathfinder Role-playing Game in more ways than one. The Game Master has a very deep bench of published material to work from when setting the game up. With options including the 6 part adventure path campaigns, to individual modules, to all the tools needed to build an adventure form the ground up, Pathfinder has a brick load of options for the all of the players around the table.
My full write up for the overall system is available at http://zardozgames.blogspot.com/p/pathfinder-writeup.html
Next up we'll cover a couple of other interesting fantasy games and then we'll gear up for Star Wars December.
Set in the fantasy world of Golarion, Pathfinder has a little bit of something for every player type. Explorers have darkened monster infested jungles, the ruins of lost civilizations, and the joy of running into the deepest darkest places below the surface. Builders will find the options for establishing their own businesses and areas of control a refreshing change of pace, and for the monster hunters, there are no less than five tomes full of monsters waiting to tear them limb from limb.
Pathfinder boasts an impressive product line, and the best word i can use to describe the complete system is Options. Pathfinder has a staggering array of options and choices for the player, and as much as that can be a strength, it can also be a weakness. A new player who is making full use of the available product line is overwhelmed by an array of choices. Exacerbating this potential issue is the fact that not all the choices are equal. Some choices are representative of player choices for what they want their character. Others represent the best combat option for a character of that level.
Options drive the Pathfinder Role-playing Game in more ways than one. The Game Master has a very deep bench of published material to work from when setting the game up. With options including the 6 part adventure path campaigns, to individual modules, to all the tools needed to build an adventure form the ground up, Pathfinder has a brick load of options for the all of the players around the table.
My full write up for the overall system is available at http://zardozgames.blogspot.com/p/pathfinder-writeup.html
Next up we'll cover a couple of other interesting fantasy games and then we'll gear up for Star Wars December.
Friday, November 13, 2015
Product Review: Wyrmwood
Wyrmwood is a bespoke woodworking shop in Massachusetts that offers a variety of amazing products, including a system bundle that groups three of their products together as a single item of tabletop enjoyment and amusement. We’ll take a look at their options and then move into a breakdown of their products.
Also, they have successfully launched a kickstarter campaign to provide the Hero Vault, which is a very snazzy looking case that you can use to safely transport your character miniature (or dice, or really anything that will fit in the box) from place to place. Keep in mind, the Hero Vault is small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, so it won’t carry an army of minis, but it will carry you in style and safety.
https://wyrmwoodgaming.com/
http://zardozgames.blogspot.com/p/wyrmwood-gaming-write-up.html
For a full read up on Wyrmwood, check out our review above, and Wyrmwood's site to check out their wonderful products
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Product Review: Artisan Dice
Artisan Dice is an artisanal dice manufacturer featuring
products in a variety of stylistic choices and available materials. Operating out a workspace in Mesquite, Texas,
Artisan Dice provides custom made to order dice using modern techniques and a
wide array of choices and options Artisan Dice offers dice in five key
materials, and an astonishing array of potential selections for the discerning
gamer. Keep in mind, these dice are
custom made and have a price range representative of that fact. These
are rough and tumble enough to be used in daily and weekly gaming while
retaining the intrinsic aesthetic appeal that will draw attention from everyone
around the table. Check out or link below for the full article and tell us what you think.
Thanks again for stopping by
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Book Review: Combat Manual Mercenaries
Cover Art
Covering another book for a game I have a deep abiding love for,
we look at the newly released Combat
Manual: Mercenaries book.
This is my first blush of the book, (I've read it once, front to back)
and won't cover technical issues or typos. There are many fine people who
love the Battletech Universe who will look through the book with a fine toothed
comb, and to be honest, I don't edit well, (shocker, I know). This book
honestly answers a bunch of questions that I had about what this product line
was going to look like, and I must admit, I like that look.
First, a brief explanation of what this book is. For those
familiar with other tabletop war games, this is an army book that covers the
mercenary faction for Battletech's Alpha Strike Rules set. For those new
to war gaming, this book contains a brief history of Mercenaries in the
Battletech universe along with four key areas that enable a new player to pick
up the book and be able to put together a unit for that game.
The book opens with a piece of short fiction, which is a tried and
true component of the Battletech line. The rest of the book is focused on
the mercenary faction and details prominent historical facts and units that
appear in the late succession wars and early clan invasion era. This
answered one of my questions about this book, but opens up a couple of others.
I was concerned about how a book of this type would take the
Battletech timeline and how far it would go in covering prominent units and
important facts about those units. This book basically covers the period
of the last two succession wars (3025ish forward) to the early clan invasion
(which ends right around 3052). I am happy with the spread of units
covered during this time period and I appreciate that this ties in very nicely
with the availability of units presented in the Battletech intro box and the
alpha strike lance packs. That answer however leads to a couple of more
questions
First, is there going to be a Mercenaries supplemental that covers
later eras? Because the Battletech universe is dynamic and changes over
time, several of the mercenary units featured in this box are either completely
destroyed or changed in such a way that changes the way they should play on the
tabletop. It also doesn't address mercenary commands created after the
early clan invasion era moving forward.
Second, if this is the case with all of the factions, are there
going to be separate era books for all of the factions moving through time?
I can see the pro and con of that and it opens up an interesting dynamic
for gaming. If there are era specific updates for each faction, will that
make the earlier book irrelevant, (in which case you only need to buy the era
book for the faction you care about) or is it an accessory that requires the
base book to play with (meaning that it serves as an update and details
changes, which refer to the original book). I am curious about the
potentials for the way this works, and I am curious to see how later eras are
addressed.
Moving on to a better description of the book, I have to admit I
was impressed by the Combat
Commands section of the book.
I've been a fan for a very long time and I had units I had to go look up
to see who they were. Many fan favorites are included (I'm looking at you
Grey Death Legion, and you Crescent Hawks) and the Combat Commands section of
the book gives the player an idea of the unit's personality, its rough force
profile (how heavy it is, how big it is, other details that help inform a
player constructing their version of the unit), its special rules and in some
cases special warriors (in custom 'mechs).
Shadow Hawk in Grey Death Legion colors
Of all the sections of the book, I think this one might be the one
that the fans gripe about most. The unit descriptions are perfect for a
new player getting into the game, but long term players may be irritated that
they can't field special characters appropriate to their units. Case in
point, the only special character listed for the entire wolf's dragoons unit is
Natasha Kerensky (Who albeit is amazing). This excludes Jamie Wolf,
Morgan Kell, Grayson Carlyle and a host of other mercenary commanders that
aren't represented with custom profiles.
Now that may seem like a very tiny bone of contention, but I have
a feeling that at some point, a conversation will take place in which one
Battletech Gamer will become enraged because he can't field the Grey Death
Legion Command unit with Carlyle, McCall and the rest of the characters that
they read about in books when they were kids.
The other fan issue that may occur with this section is that not
every mercenary unit that exists in this era is given a full brief. I
understand that the limitations of space mean that not everyone gets into the
book the first time, but I can see it causing irritations among some of the fan
base.
From that section we move into the Rules Addendum. I personally think that the
rules addendum is one of the most interesting sections of the book as it
details the nuts and bolts of actually building a mercenary command for Alpha
Strike. It gives you as a player a couple of new formations that you can
play with, and includes options for purchasing units not on your Mercenary
Availability table and a bunch of options that I think are critical.
Among these is the option to go your own way and generate your own
mercenary command without using any of the Force Briefs. That has always
been one of the things I’ve found most exciting about Battletech, and the rules
are simple enough for the new player while being complicated enough that I can appreciate
the options available.
Guns for Hire lists
a group of mercenary mechwarriors you can hire to fill out your combat command.
I think this section is a little understaffed, but I realize that space
limitations factor into what you can pack into a book of this size (and the
section that follows it is perfect). I am unsure if I like or don't like
the fact that you can only hire a single Gun
for Hire for your force, but
I haven't played with the rules set enough to come to a final conclusion on that
topic.
The final section of the book is something that I was hoping would
be included, but I wasn't sure. Mercenary
Faction Lists includes all of
the available units for the mercenary faction in Battlemechs for both eras
(Late Succession Wars and Early Clan Invasion) and includes armored vehicles,
Infantry, and aerospace unit for the Late Succession Wars Era. These
charts include point cost, unit special abilities and battlefield role, which
helps a player assign individual units to appropriate lance groupings.
Bad Day
My overall impression of this book is that it’s a very good start
on helping to grow Alpha Strike. I am curious to see what changes from
this beta release to the final production version, but I like the direction
that this book takes in creating a coherent force construction system for Alpha
Strike. It's a first step, but it’s a very nice first step. I had
most of my questions answered and in most cases I liked the answers I received.
I would also like to point out that this is the first book i've seen with the new artwork for the traditionally unseen battlemechs. The shadow Hawk shown above in Grey Death Colors, and the Warhammer and the Locust below are all new interpretations of old models, and they look good. My artistic ability is limited, but i like that these models have strong enough similarities to the versions that they are replacing that they feel right. I see the original influences, and i like the modern perspectives for them. All in all, wonderful work.
Locust Warhammer
So those are my thoughts on the new combat manual, and i for one can't want to see what they've got planned for us next
All images used with the permission of Catalyst Game Labs and at their courtesy
(Thanks for letting me share your pictures)
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Organizing your Gaming Life Part 1
Being a gamer can take up as large or as small of a portion of your life as you decide to let it. It occupies a healthy portion of my life because I write about games, game related things, game accessories, and other gamey stuff. Finding the spot for games can be a complicated thing because games take up both time and space.
Time can be a tricky thing for the modern gamer, between work, sleep, family commitments, and a myriad of other things, your time can be a very high priced commodity. Deciding how you choose to spend that time can make all the difference in the level of enjoyment that Games bring to your life. If you have the time and the energy to play a tabletop roleplaying game twice a week with friends, then that's a hefty commitment of your time and energy. If you don't have that much time, but still want to get together and play a board game, that's also an option. The key point is that you have to decide how much time you personally have available, and how much of it you want to spend gaming.
Gaming (in most cases) is a social activity, and you have to find people in your life that you're willing (hopefully, these are people you like to play with) to spend an evening playing games with. You should also keep in mind that they have personal lives of their own and their also allocating their free time to a social activity. Not everyone will dedicate the same amount of time towards games that you have and that's all right. Games fulfill different needs for different people, and sometimes that means you may end up compromising to play a game in the time you have available with the people you have available.
I have two anecdotes for this, one of the involves a specific (Twilight Imperium by those wonderful folks at fantasy flight games) and a general (tabletop war gaming). Both of this will hopefully illustrate the value (and benefits) of time investiture in your gaming lifestyle.
Twilight Imperium is a game that will probably take you the better part of a day to play. The last time i played with friends at college (four players, all of whom were familiar with the game) it took us right at an hour to set up the board. Now that may seem nuts to some of you, and i will agree, i can see where that might be crazy. "An hour to set up the board? Really??" Firstly, you'll have to assemble a space map out of hexagonal tiles (one of the neat things about the game is that it will be different every time) and choose races and a bunch of other things that just take time to get moving.
So you might be thinking at this point since the game is set up now it should play fast, shouldn't it? Well, Twilight Imperium feels a lot like a board game version of Civilization, it's a game where you will start with a very small portion of the map under your control and hope to dominate the entire map by the end of the game. That means it has a lot of parts, and steps, and other little quirks that just eat time. It took us about an hour per full game turn (that means that all four players had completed all of their actions and were ready to move on). We played a nine turn game, so from start to finish, it took us ten hours (and we called the game because the venue we were playing at was ready to close up for the night).
Tabletop War Gaming eats time in its own specific ways.
First, you're going to have to find a game you are interested in playing.
Then you need to find people to play with
Then you're going to need to learn how to play the game (To be fair, most war gamers are interested in finding new people to play with, so you should be able to try the game out a couple of times before you have to spend some money on it).
Then it's time to buy your first couple of things (Probably a starter set, those are tailor made for two people to learn the game)
Then you need to assemble your models (this can be tricky)
Then you need to paint your models
Then you might actually be ready to play your first game with your very own models (This can truly be a wonderful experience, but you should be ready to make mistakes and screw things up, it's the natural way of learning).
The time sink doesn't end there though
You'll probably need to
Build more units to play larger games
find the units you prefer to build your army
Repeat the above steps a couple of dozen times
Find time to paint more models
Play a game once in a while
Some people will look at a war game as a time sink. It's just another way for you to waste your time and not get other things done. Other people will look at it the therapeutic device that keeps them from snapping and killing people. Some people see the canvasses that they can paint in a bajillion different colors. Some people just want to play the game. It's all a matter of deciding how YOU want to spend your time.
Space is a different sort of a problem. A board game takes up a specific amount of space while its being played and a different amount when its packed up in storage. Repeat that thought with every version of a game you can think of (war game, card game, video game etc.) and you may have a crisis of space on your hands, especially if you're the one who hosts game nights.
Storing your games in a method you feel comfortable with (No, i'm not judging the oddly balanced pile of board games hanging off the edge of the table at all) can be hard, and you'll need to find the right balance of games that you feel comfortable with and hopefully stay within your comfort zones. Does this mean you may not own every game in the universe? Probably so, as i don't know how much space that actually takes up.
Some games require little space outside their board set up, and that's great, but other games will require you to bring extra stuff with you. War games with miniatures, trading card games, and role-playing games all require you as a player to bring extra stuff with you, or to have extra stuff on hand. This means that you'll need to allocate more resources to storing that stuff when you aren't using it, and to finding a dedicated place to have it during the game you're going to be playing.
Finding the right balance between time and space is tricky, but i will try and help you find your way around these tricky areas as we move forward.
Thanks for reading, and i'll see you next week
Time can be a tricky thing for the modern gamer, between work, sleep, family commitments, and a myriad of other things, your time can be a very high priced commodity. Deciding how you choose to spend that time can make all the difference in the level of enjoyment that Games bring to your life. If you have the time and the energy to play a tabletop roleplaying game twice a week with friends, then that's a hefty commitment of your time and energy. If you don't have that much time, but still want to get together and play a board game, that's also an option. The key point is that you have to decide how much time you personally have available, and how much of it you want to spend gaming.
Gaming (in most cases) is a social activity, and you have to find people in your life that you're willing (hopefully, these are people you like to play with) to spend an evening playing games with. You should also keep in mind that they have personal lives of their own and their also allocating their free time to a social activity. Not everyone will dedicate the same amount of time towards games that you have and that's all right. Games fulfill different needs for different people, and sometimes that means you may end up compromising to play a game in the time you have available with the people you have available.
I have two anecdotes for this, one of the involves a specific (Twilight Imperium by those wonderful folks at fantasy flight games) and a general (tabletop war gaming). Both of this will hopefully illustrate the value (and benefits) of time investiture in your gaming lifestyle.
Twilight Imperium is a game that will probably take you the better part of a day to play. The last time i played with friends at college (four players, all of whom were familiar with the game) it took us right at an hour to set up the board. Now that may seem nuts to some of you, and i will agree, i can see where that might be crazy. "An hour to set up the board? Really??" Firstly, you'll have to assemble a space map out of hexagonal tiles (one of the neat things about the game is that it will be different every time) and choose races and a bunch of other things that just take time to get moving.
So you might be thinking at this point since the game is set up now it should play fast, shouldn't it? Well, Twilight Imperium feels a lot like a board game version of Civilization, it's a game where you will start with a very small portion of the map under your control and hope to dominate the entire map by the end of the game. That means it has a lot of parts, and steps, and other little quirks that just eat time. It took us about an hour per full game turn (that means that all four players had completed all of their actions and were ready to move on). We played a nine turn game, so from start to finish, it took us ten hours (and we called the game because the venue we were playing at was ready to close up for the night).
Tabletop War Gaming eats time in its own specific ways.
First, you're going to have to find a game you are interested in playing.
Then you need to find people to play with
Then you're going to need to learn how to play the game (To be fair, most war gamers are interested in finding new people to play with, so you should be able to try the game out a couple of times before you have to spend some money on it).
Then it's time to buy your first couple of things (Probably a starter set, those are tailor made for two people to learn the game)
Then you need to assemble your models (this can be tricky)
Then you need to paint your models
Then you might actually be ready to play your first game with your very own models (This can truly be a wonderful experience, but you should be ready to make mistakes and screw things up, it's the natural way of learning).
The time sink doesn't end there though
You'll probably need to
Build more units to play larger games
find the units you prefer to build your army
Repeat the above steps a couple of dozen times
Find time to paint more models
Play a game once in a while
Some people will look at a war game as a time sink. It's just another way for you to waste your time and not get other things done. Other people will look at it the therapeutic device that keeps them from snapping and killing people. Some people see the canvasses that they can paint in a bajillion different colors. Some people just want to play the game. It's all a matter of deciding how YOU want to spend your time.
Space is a different sort of a problem. A board game takes up a specific amount of space while its being played and a different amount when its packed up in storage. Repeat that thought with every version of a game you can think of (war game, card game, video game etc.) and you may have a crisis of space on your hands, especially if you're the one who hosts game nights.
Storing your games in a method you feel comfortable with (No, i'm not judging the oddly balanced pile of board games hanging off the edge of the table at all) can be hard, and you'll need to find the right balance of games that you feel comfortable with and hopefully stay within your comfort zones. Does this mean you may not own every game in the universe? Probably so, as i don't know how much space that actually takes up.
Some games require little space outside their board set up, and that's great, but other games will require you to bring extra stuff with you. War games with miniatures, trading card games, and role-playing games all require you as a player to bring extra stuff with you, or to have extra stuff on hand. This means that you'll need to allocate more resources to storing that stuff when you aren't using it, and to finding a dedicated place to have it during the game you're going to be playing.
Finding the right balance between time and space is tricky, but i will try and help you find your way around these tricky areas as we move forward.
Thanks for reading, and i'll see you next week
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Something New (At least to me)
All right gamer fans, today's post is about a new idea (to me at least), Blind Subscription Services, (BSS). The idea is fairly easy to grasp; You pay a nominal monthly fee, and every month a new package arrives with an assortment of materials drawn from a specific theme. You don't know what's in the box before you open it, which i think is half the fun. It's like a tiny christmas (or other seasonally appropriate gift giving) package that you get at a scheduled interval (some services are monthly, others are bi-monthly). If you like surprises, these can be a wonderful way to experience new ideas and products that you may have never thought about before.
First up, we have a lot of pros.
1. It's a starting place within a fandom. Comic books, games, movies (especially Star Wars) have enormous product lines and it can be very hard to find an easy point of entry and a comfortable price point. You could spend thousands and thousands of dollars chasing the fandom experience, and still not get the experience you're looking for. The BSS model gives you an affordable way to dabble in the universe or products you like without overwhelming the senses.
2. The value is always there. Most services offer between $50 and $60 of value with every box service for a monthly fee around $20, meaning that the value of the materials you are receiving is always in excess of your money spent.
3. The monthly theme is a solid indicator of the products you can expect to find in each box. The companies that are putting these products together aren't just grabbing things off a shelf and sending them. There's a dedicated thought process that works to compile a group of items that are both coherent and interesting.
4. It can be an enormous time and energy saver. If you are a person who works 40 hours a week, takes care of a couple of kids, or has a spouse that all ready has your weekends planned, this can be an excellent way to still get in touch with your hobbies. Despite the lack of time, you can still get graphic novels, or board games, or really cool video game stuff.
5. They deliver all over the place. As a nerd who grew up on a farm, and then moved into a smaller town, i know the pain of trying to find a shop that has serves my particular fandom. These services help alleviate some of that pain by delivering to your door a group of things that fit into your wants and desires.
We do have a couple of cons though
1. These are blind boxes, so you have no idea what you may get. Other than a monthly theme hint, the boxes are a mystery until they arrive at your door. You could get an assortment of graphic novels that have nothing you find interesting (which i like to think of as an opportunity to explore something new) or things related to a game you've never heard of. If you aren't adventurous with your hobby time and dollars, this may not be the best product for you.
2. No substitutions. If you open a box and it has a book, or game, or neat gizmo thing that you all ready have one of, you can't contact the Service provider and request a new replacement. The boxes they ship out are the products they are offering for that period and they do not substitute. If you have a larger collection of materials related to this fandom, you are going to run a higher chance of getting something that you all ready own.
Honestly, i think that this is a neat service idea that fills a couple of needs in the market. If you, as a consumer, are completely new to a fandom, then this gives you an easy, affordable starting point to get in. It lets you relax your brain's need to find a starting point and trust experts that will give you a direction and a place to start from. Best of all, if you didn't like that starting point, all you need to do is wait a month and you can try again from a different place.
I also like the mystery aspect of it. Getting a new box of stuff every month feels like a combination of retail therapy and that joy you feel as a small child opening a gift. You get "What's in the box?!?!?!" mixed with "Oh i love that stuff!!!!"
So I've talked your ear off about what the idea looks like, let's take a look at some actual service providers.
Comic Bento
https://comicbento.com/
Comic Bento is a company that delivers an assortment of graphic novels every month for a nominal fee. Each month has a different theme, (November's theme is Button Mash) with four or five different titles that fall into that theme each month.
Each assortment of graphic novels has a retail value around $60, so it's an excellent value for their monthly fee. They offer three different price points, each representing a different subscription duration.
For $20 a month, you can get the single month service. This is a recurring charge that you'll be billed monthly, and you can cancel at any point.
For $18.34 a month, you can do a three month subscription. This saves you a little bit of cash, and you are enrolled for three months of deliveries.
For $15 a month, you can do a six month subscription. This is the most cost effective option (it will save you $15 over the price of the individual month subscription) and enrolls you for six months of comic bento deliveries.
Note 1: These prices do not include Shipping and Handling
Note 2: Multi-month subscriptions are lump sum billed, so you'll be paying up front for your subscription
I like this service. Comic books are such broad media, it can be overwhelming to find a starting point. Comic Bento reaches across a swath of publishers to find graphic novels that fit within a theme and then provide the reader with a small, bite sized snippet of what's available.
Board Game Bento
Note 1: These prices do not include Shipping and Handling
Note 2: Multi-month subscriptions are lump sum billed, so you'll be paying up front for your subscription
I think this service has some very interesting possibilities. Like comic books, games have a broad pool of interests, and the variation that you can find within each type of game can be staggering. If this service uses an assortment of publishers and suppliers to provide a variety of games, it can be very rewarding to the consumer, even at the higher price point.
Now for something a little less bento ish
Marvel Collector's Corps
http://www.collectorcorps.com/
This is a blind box focused on Marvel Comic's properties and is a partnership between Funko and Marvel. They ship bi-monthly (so you'll get a box every other month) and feature a variety of exclusive Marvel and Funko merchandise.
This will include
A T-Shirt (in your size)
At least one Funko figurine
A Comic book
A variety of other comic related doodads (Always fun to use the word Doodads)
*Contents subject to change)
They offer two plans for purchasing their goods and services
Firstly, they offer a $25 Collector program that is a no commitment, cancel when you want to program like the other single month subscriptions we've seen above.
They also offer a $150 yearly Hero program. This program locks you in for six boxes, plus an annual gift of a mysterious and awesome nature.
I like this service for two key reasons. One, having a new, quality comic licensed T-shirt delivered to me every other month is amazing. Judging by past month boxes, they have a laser-like focus on the comic book theme for that product. Secondly, the exclusivity of it is kind of a neat idea. Unless you are a Collector Corps member, this is stuff you can't get anywhere else. I like the fact that its a bi-monthly service as well, it gives you a break in there to warm up for the next shipment.
Fantasy Crate
https://fantasycrate.com/
This is a blind subscription program for the game Magic: The Gathering. Magic has a devoted following and this product is designed give you sealed product, and other magic related items such as playmats, card sleeves, deck boxes, or dice to name a few.
They offer two packages, the Monthly crate and the Draft crate.
The monthly crate offers 3 sealed booster packs of cards and a variety of magic related items. With a base price of $24.95 a month (plus $6 shipping and handling) and an estimated value between $40 and $50, this looks like an interesting purchase.
The Draft crate offers 6 packs of cards to the monthly crate's 3, but reduces the amount of other goodies. The draft crate offers enough packs to play in a draft environment two different times or to play a single sealed event, assuming the packs are legal for that event type. At a price of $24.95 (with a $5 shipping and handling fee) this is a workable product if you are in an environment that lacks a magic community with a stable source of product.
I like this product because it's another method of dipping your toe into the Magic: The Gathering pool. The merchandise looks workable and i can see it's place in an area that doesn't have a conventional shopping environment for Magic.
If you think i missed anybody or would like to highlight a company, let me know in the comments section below.
Until next time readers
First up, we have a lot of pros.
1. It's a starting place within a fandom. Comic books, games, movies (especially Star Wars) have enormous product lines and it can be very hard to find an easy point of entry and a comfortable price point. You could spend thousands and thousands of dollars chasing the fandom experience, and still not get the experience you're looking for. The BSS model gives you an affordable way to dabble in the universe or products you like without overwhelming the senses.
2. The value is always there. Most services offer between $50 and $60 of value with every box service for a monthly fee around $20, meaning that the value of the materials you are receiving is always in excess of your money spent.
3. The monthly theme is a solid indicator of the products you can expect to find in each box. The companies that are putting these products together aren't just grabbing things off a shelf and sending them. There's a dedicated thought process that works to compile a group of items that are both coherent and interesting.
4. It can be an enormous time and energy saver. If you are a person who works 40 hours a week, takes care of a couple of kids, or has a spouse that all ready has your weekends planned, this can be an excellent way to still get in touch with your hobbies. Despite the lack of time, you can still get graphic novels, or board games, or really cool video game stuff.
5. They deliver all over the place. As a nerd who grew up on a farm, and then moved into a smaller town, i know the pain of trying to find a shop that has serves my particular fandom. These services help alleviate some of that pain by delivering to your door a group of things that fit into your wants and desires.
We do have a couple of cons though
1. These are blind boxes, so you have no idea what you may get. Other than a monthly theme hint, the boxes are a mystery until they arrive at your door. You could get an assortment of graphic novels that have nothing you find interesting (which i like to think of as an opportunity to explore something new) or things related to a game you've never heard of. If you aren't adventurous with your hobby time and dollars, this may not be the best product for you.
2. No substitutions. If you open a box and it has a book, or game, or neat gizmo thing that you all ready have one of, you can't contact the Service provider and request a new replacement. The boxes they ship out are the products they are offering for that period and they do not substitute. If you have a larger collection of materials related to this fandom, you are going to run a higher chance of getting something that you all ready own.
Honestly, i think that this is a neat service idea that fills a couple of needs in the market. If you, as a consumer, are completely new to a fandom, then this gives you an easy, affordable starting point to get in. It lets you relax your brain's need to find a starting point and trust experts that will give you a direction and a place to start from. Best of all, if you didn't like that starting point, all you need to do is wait a month and you can try again from a different place.
I also like the mystery aspect of it. Getting a new box of stuff every month feels like a combination of retail therapy and that joy you feel as a small child opening a gift. You get "What's in the box?!?!?!" mixed with "Oh i love that stuff!!!!"
So I've talked your ear off about what the idea looks like, let's take a look at some actual service providers.
Comic Bento
Image Courtesy of Comic Bento
https://comicbento.com/
Comic Bento is a company that delivers an assortment of graphic novels every month for a nominal fee. Each month has a different theme, (November's theme is Button Mash) with four or five different titles that fall into that theme each month.
Each assortment of graphic novels has a retail value around $60, so it's an excellent value for their monthly fee. They offer three different price points, each representing a different subscription duration.
For $20 a month, you can get the single month service. This is a recurring charge that you'll be billed monthly, and you can cancel at any point.
For $18.34 a month, you can do a three month subscription. This saves you a little bit of cash, and you are enrolled for three months of deliveries.
For $15 a month, you can do a six month subscription. This is the most cost effective option (it will save you $15 over the price of the individual month subscription) and enrolls you for six months of comic bento deliveries.
Note 1: These prices do not include Shipping and Handling
Note 2: Multi-month subscriptions are lump sum billed, so you'll be paying up front for your subscription
I like this service. Comic books are such broad media, it can be overwhelming to find a starting point. Comic Bento reaches across a swath of publishers to find graphic novels that fit within a theme and then provide the reader with a small, bite sized snippet of what's available.
Board Game Bento
Image Courtesy of Board Game Bento
Like it's counterpart, Comic Bento, Board Game Bento is a blind subscription service that focuses on delivering an interesting package of products monthly. The difference is fairly obvious (it's in the name), Board Game Bento delivers a monthly supply of board games. If you're looking to try new games, or have a hankering to play something, but can't for the life of you figure out what it is, Board Game Bento may be a solution to that problem.
The bundle of games has a retail value of approximately $80, and they can contain a variety of products, including board games and the occasional board game expansion. Currently there are only two price points to consider. Keep in mind that the price for the Board Game Bento boxes are higher than the Comic Book Bento boxes, but the products are things that you can use over and over again with friends.
The Single month subscription runs $50 a month, and can be cancelled at any time. Remember each box will contain at a minimum three games (or two games and an expansion), but could contain more.
The Six month subscription runs $45 a month and can be cancelled after the six month run. If you are planning on long term subscription, this is the better deal and will save you $30 over the cost of individual monthly subscriptions.
Note 1: These prices do not include Shipping and Handling
Note 2: Multi-month subscriptions are lump sum billed, so you'll be paying up front for your subscription
I think this service has some very interesting possibilities. Like comic books, games have a broad pool of interests, and the variation that you can find within each type of game can be staggering. If this service uses an assortment of publishers and suppliers to provide a variety of games, it can be very rewarding to the consumer, even at the higher price point.
Now for something a little less bento ish
Marvel Collector's Corps
http://www.collectorcorps.com/
This is a blind box focused on Marvel Comic's properties and is a partnership between Funko and Marvel. They ship bi-monthly (so you'll get a box every other month) and feature a variety of exclusive Marvel and Funko merchandise.
This will include
A T-Shirt (in your size)
At least one Funko figurine
A Comic book
A variety of other comic related doodads (Always fun to use the word Doodads)
*Contents subject to change)
They offer two plans for purchasing their goods and services
Firstly, they offer a $25 Collector program that is a no commitment, cancel when you want to program like the other single month subscriptions we've seen above.
They also offer a $150 yearly Hero program. This program locks you in for six boxes, plus an annual gift of a mysterious and awesome nature.
I like this service for two key reasons. One, having a new, quality comic licensed T-shirt delivered to me every other month is amazing. Judging by past month boxes, they have a laser-like focus on the comic book theme for that product. Secondly, the exclusivity of it is kind of a neat idea. Unless you are a Collector Corps member, this is stuff you can't get anywhere else. I like the fact that its a bi-monthly service as well, it gives you a break in there to warm up for the next shipment.
Fantasy Crate
https://fantasycrate.com/
This is a blind subscription program for the game Magic: The Gathering. Magic has a devoted following and this product is designed give you sealed product, and other magic related items such as playmats, card sleeves, deck boxes, or dice to name a few.
They offer two packages, the Monthly crate and the Draft crate.
The monthly crate offers 3 sealed booster packs of cards and a variety of magic related items. With a base price of $24.95 a month (plus $6 shipping and handling) and an estimated value between $40 and $50, this looks like an interesting purchase.
The Draft crate offers 6 packs of cards to the monthly crate's 3, but reduces the amount of other goodies. The draft crate offers enough packs to play in a draft environment two different times or to play a single sealed event, assuming the packs are legal for that event type. At a price of $24.95 (with a $5 shipping and handling fee) this is a workable product if you are in an environment that lacks a magic community with a stable source of product.
I like this product because it's another method of dipping your toe into the Magic: The Gathering pool. The merchandise looks workable and i can see it's place in an area that doesn't have a conventional shopping environment for Magic.
If you think i missed anybody or would like to highlight a company, let me know in the comments section below.
Until next time readers
Monday, November 2, 2015
Product Review: Elder Wood Academy
All right folks, here's our first official product review for the season, and its a neat one
One
of the most important part of a gamer’s identity is their unique style. From the clothes they wear to the game, to
the color of the dice, to their choice of miniatures, gamers express themselves
in myriad unique ways, and the more different they can be from everyone else,
the better. I recently found a company
that caters to the quirkiest and most individualistic desires of the gamer
culture.
Elder
Wood Boxes is an artisanal shop that caters to the discriminating gamer with
two key products. They offer the Hex
Chest dice box, and the Spell Book gaming box.
The Hex Chest is smaller, with two primary formats and a myriad of
available options. The Spell Book gaming
box takes the customization possibilities of the Hex Chest and ratchets it up
to an 11.
http://zardozgames.blogspot.com/p/elder-wood-academy-write-up.html has the full write up, but the things that i find the most interesting about these two products are the nearly infinite combinations for making a dice chest or a gaming box that is truly unique. You'll have your very own piece of gamer equipment that can have your signature on it. Neat stuff all the way around, and i have some ideas for things that i would like to see the fine folks at Elder Wood Academy try once they get their Kickstarter finished and their orders filled. Stay tuned to see what they come up with.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Classic Battletech, Part 3 (How do i get into this game, there's a lot of stuff)
It's time for another post on Battletech, a game have a great deal of affection for. Battletech as a universe has a lot of potential ways to get involved, and it can be mind boggling to find a starting point. If you've checked out my piece on the Introductory Box further down the page you've read my thoughts on that product and the upsides to getting it as a starting place.
However, that game has gotten a little stale and you've heard about some other things, like building your own units, or using tanks, and infantry in the game. All of this sounds awesome, but what books are those in? How do i build my own units? Why are there so many books? What should i buy next?
Well, there are lots of directions you can go with this, but i'm going to recommend a few suggestions for the next couple of steps you should take when getting into the battletech universe, as well as some supplemental material that might be of interest.
The first product you're going to want to consider investing is Total Warfare
Total Warfare (you can read a more in depth review a little lower, look for the heading Battletech Part 2) contains the basic rules needed to play the game with all of the units you'll commonly encounter in the game. It's a thick book, but you'll find it essential in building from the introductory rules you found in the intro box.
The next product on the things you should consider getting list is TechManual
Like Total Warfare, I've covered this book in greater detail in a different post, but this book contains all of the construction rules for the units that you will regularly encounter in battletech. One of the things that i found very interesting about battletech when i picked it up in the winter of 1988 was that they included the construction rules for battlemechs in the core rules for the game. Being able to build and customize units has been a core of this game from its inception, and i think this book capably covers most situations you will encounter in the construction process.
Between these two books you're looking at the foundation rules for playing the game with your friends. TW has all of the combat rules, and the TechManual has all the construction rules you'd need for the forseeable future.
These two books retail for $39.99 apiece, and are also available in pdf format from Battlecorps.com
The next two products don't provide more rules for the game, but provide something even more important, more combat units! The technical readout series of books span more than a hundred years of in game development, and in some books include units from previous historical eras.
The first book i'll talk about is Technical Readout 3039.
Technical Readout 3039 (TRO3039) contains the most commonly found combat units in battlemechs, combat vehicles, and aerospace fighters that are available in the in-game universe year 3039. From a player's perspective, this book contains the introductory tech level versions of those commonly available units. This will greatly expand the available units you have to play the game using your components from the introductory box set without including more advanced weapons and equipment featured in TW or the TechManual.
The second book in this group is the Technical Readout 3050 Upgrade.
The Technical Readout 3050 Upgrade (TRO 3050u) contains new combat units from a new faction, (the clans) and updates almost all of the original units found in in TRO 3039 with advanced technology. The technology changes can vastly affect how different units interact on the tabletop, and this book holds a wealth of designs to give you even more options to play
Like their core rule cousins, they can be found at battlecorps.com . TRO 3039 retails for $29.99, while its slightly thicker companion TRO 3050u retails at $34.99.
These four books will greatly expand your available options for your battletech games. Your game's complexity level will climb by increasing the depth of the rules set you're playing with, and in terms of the units available. Between these four books, you're going to vastly increase the replay ability of your battletech games.
Accesories and other things that might help
There are three things that i'll add as things that will either improve your game experience, or increase your experience with the setting.
Record Sheets: 3039 Unabridged
While this product isn't absolutely necessary to play, it contains pre-filled record sheets for all of the units presented in TRO 3039. This can speed up your game experience and give you the option to grab a sheet and go, rather than having to spend the time to fill out the sheet manually.
It's available from battlecorps.com and is priced at $9.99
Record Sheets: 3050 Upgrade
Like the other Record Sheets product i mentioned above, this product isn't absolutely necessary to play, it can help you speed up your set up time for the game. It's a handy product to have if you frequently play with units in this era.
It's available from battlecorps.com and is priced at $9.99
The last product i'm going to talk about is a little different from the others. It's not necessary to play the game at all, but you may find that it adds a great deal of information and provides several aids that will help you play games set in a specific time frame.
Era Report: 3052
However, that game has gotten a little stale and you've heard about some other things, like building your own units, or using tanks, and infantry in the game. All of this sounds awesome, but what books are those in? How do i build my own units? Why are there so many books? What should i buy next?
Well, there are lots of directions you can go with this, but i'm going to recommend a few suggestions for the next couple of steps you should take when getting into the battletech universe, as well as some supplemental material that might be of interest.
The first product you're going to want to consider investing is Total Warfare
Total Warfare (you can read a more in depth review a little lower, look for the heading Battletech Part 2) contains the basic rules needed to play the game with all of the units you'll commonly encounter in the game. It's a thick book, but you'll find it essential in building from the introductory rules you found in the intro box.
The next product on the things you should consider getting list is TechManual
Like Total Warfare, I've covered this book in greater detail in a different post, but this book contains all of the construction rules for the units that you will regularly encounter in battletech. One of the things that i found very interesting about battletech when i picked it up in the winter of 1988 was that they included the construction rules for battlemechs in the core rules for the game. Being able to build and customize units has been a core of this game from its inception, and i think this book capably covers most situations you will encounter in the construction process.
Between these two books you're looking at the foundation rules for playing the game with your friends. TW has all of the combat rules, and the TechManual has all the construction rules you'd need for the forseeable future.
These two books retail for $39.99 apiece, and are also available in pdf format from Battlecorps.com
The next two products don't provide more rules for the game, but provide something even more important, more combat units! The technical readout series of books span more than a hundred years of in game development, and in some books include units from previous historical eras.
The first book i'll talk about is Technical Readout 3039.
Technical Readout 3039 (TRO3039) contains the most commonly found combat units in battlemechs, combat vehicles, and aerospace fighters that are available in the in-game universe year 3039. From a player's perspective, this book contains the introductory tech level versions of those commonly available units. This will greatly expand the available units you have to play the game using your components from the introductory box set without including more advanced weapons and equipment featured in TW or the TechManual.
The second book in this group is the Technical Readout 3050 Upgrade.
The Technical Readout 3050 Upgrade (TRO 3050u) contains new combat units from a new faction, (the clans) and updates almost all of the original units found in in TRO 3039 with advanced technology. The technology changes can vastly affect how different units interact on the tabletop, and this book holds a wealth of designs to give you even more options to play
Like their core rule cousins, they can be found at battlecorps.com . TRO 3039 retails for $29.99, while its slightly thicker companion TRO 3050u retails at $34.99.
These four books will greatly expand your available options for your battletech games. Your game's complexity level will climb by increasing the depth of the rules set you're playing with, and in terms of the units available. Between these four books, you're going to vastly increase the replay ability of your battletech games.
Accesories and other things that might help
There are three things that i'll add as things that will either improve your game experience, or increase your experience with the setting.
Record Sheets: 3039 Unabridged
While this product isn't absolutely necessary to play, it contains pre-filled record sheets for all of the units presented in TRO 3039. This can speed up your game experience and give you the option to grab a sheet and go, rather than having to spend the time to fill out the sheet manually.
It's available from battlecorps.com and is priced at $9.99
Record Sheets: 3050 Upgrade
Like the other Record Sheets product i mentioned above, this product isn't absolutely necessary to play, it can help you speed up your set up time for the game. It's a handy product to have if you frequently play with units in this era.
It's available from battlecorps.com and is priced at $9.99
The last product i'm going to talk about is a little different from the others. It's not necessary to play the game at all, but you may find that it adds a great deal of information and provides several aids that will help you play games set in a specific time frame.
Era Report: 3052
This book contains a snapshot of the battletech universe leading up to the year 3052 and covers a lot of in-universe details on the major players, major battles and historical information relevant to Battletech at the time. It contains famous units and personalities from the factions involved and contains resources for the setting from a reader's perspective and a wealth of charts and tables to benefit the player of the tabletop game. It also serves as a bridge in the technology found in the technical readouts i've mentioned above.
It's available from battlecorps.com and is priced at $24.99
So those are the products that i think make a very good starting point in expanding your battletech experience from the introductory box set. I hope you take a look at them and if you like them, pick em up.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Getting Ready for your first role playing game (Things to keep in mind and stuff to prepare for)
So you've taken the tremendous step of finding a role-playing game group to join, and are ready for your first session. What do you bring with you? What do you leave at home? How much is too much?
The venue you're playing at can affect your social and behavioral expectations (it's probably a little easier to show up in costume at a convention than at someone's home), but there are certain essentials that you should probably be packing. The following are my best guesses of things that will help you be prepared for the game, and successfully engage with both the game master and your other players.
1. Your Character
Unless you are making characters at the time of the game, you should have a completed character that is ready to play. Little things that are setting specific can be figured out at the table (where is your character from, are they friends with other adventurers) but you should have the statistics and numbers filled in on your character sheet. The Game master (GM) will probably ask to see your sheet, and be prepared for a quick question and answer session. The GM isn't trying to trip you up, but they are doing quick fact checking to make sure your character is complete and ready to go. If you are making a new character at the session, it would not be an unreasonable expectation for you to have a blank character sheet.
2. Writing Utensil
You are going to be doing a lot of writing through out the course of the game, and you should have something on hand to write with. What you write with is entirely up to you, but i would encourage you to grab something that you can erase. Hit points can change frequently over the course of a game, and you will probably want something that you can erase and replace rather than scratching something out. Your choice of writing implement is up to you, but if you are bringing a pencil that has to be sharpened, either bring a sharpener, or lots of pencils.
3. Dice
Chances are, your first role-playing game will require at least one die to serve as a random number generator, and its possible you will need a bunch of dice. Most players won't mind you borrowing their dice for your first session, but there are exceptions to this rule. Some people are very superstitious about dice ( I personally bought new dice every time i went to a warhammer 40,000 tournament) and a very simple misunderstanding involving you touching another player's dice may cause stress that you didn't want for your first game. I would recommend you get a starter set of dice for whatever game you're playing (the normal 7 die polyhedral set for most games can be handy, since most games use the same dice). Pick a color you like, and go to the dice shop.
4. Scratch Paper
Basically, you'll need something to write notes to yourself on. This can be as easy going as a small post it note pad to as complicated as a leather bound journal. Your mileage may vary, but the primary purpose of having something to write on is to help you keep track of the session. Some characters thrive on notes, others may find them less necessary, but having a resource to write things down on can help you keep your character sheet clear and easy to read.
5. Game Manual
You should have a copy of the player's guide or handbook (alternatives that contain the rules you'll be using for your character are acceptable) for the game you are playing. Having to borrow the book form another play can slow the pace of the game down, and reduce your overall enjoyment. It would also be a very good idea to both make sure you know the rules that pertain specifically to your character, and to be able to find the rules that you use occasionally quickly. You don't have to know every rule in the game, especially at the start of your gaming experience, but you should understand the basics of how characters interact with the world, and how your specific rules work (If you're a spell caster, you should know how to cast your spells, and what they do).
Yeah, i edited this because the number 6 i used to have left a funny taste in my mouth.
Honorable mentions for things that could be helpful, depending on the game you're playing
a.) A miniature
Some game masters find that playing with a map improves the game experience for all, and you're going to need to find a figure to represent your character on the tabletop. There are myriad miniature companies in the world, and i am certain that you will be able to find a figure that truly represents your character on the tabletop map.
If you aren't sure what kind of character you want to play, and aren't so certain about all this gaming stuff, you can find token collections or print and play options from a variety of retailers. If all else fails, you should be able to find some little green army men in either your toy box, or at the store.
b.) A calculator
Some games have a lot of math involved, and if you aren't math friendly (or math tolerant) this can be a problem. A calculator can simplify the math you're expected to calculate, and it keeps the game moving without everyone waiting for someone to do that calculations. Calculation heavy games are a lot simpler if you have something to help you with the math.
Now, i'm sure some of you are aware that your cell phone has a calculator on it, and it works most of the time for that purpose, but cell phones can be a distraction at a gaming table, and you may want to check with your group of players before whipping it out.
The venue you're playing at can affect your social and behavioral expectations (it's probably a little easier to show up in costume at a convention than at someone's home), but there are certain essentials that you should probably be packing. The following are my best guesses of things that will help you be prepared for the game, and successfully engage with both the game master and your other players.
1. Your Character
Unless you are making characters at the time of the game, you should have a completed character that is ready to play. Little things that are setting specific can be figured out at the table (where is your character from, are they friends with other adventurers) but you should have the statistics and numbers filled in on your character sheet. The Game master (GM) will probably ask to see your sheet, and be prepared for a quick question and answer session. The GM isn't trying to trip you up, but they are doing quick fact checking to make sure your character is complete and ready to go. If you are making a new character at the session, it would not be an unreasonable expectation for you to have a blank character sheet.
2. Writing Utensil
You are going to be doing a lot of writing through out the course of the game, and you should have something on hand to write with. What you write with is entirely up to you, but i would encourage you to grab something that you can erase. Hit points can change frequently over the course of a game, and you will probably want something that you can erase and replace rather than scratching something out. Your choice of writing implement is up to you, but if you are bringing a pencil that has to be sharpened, either bring a sharpener, or lots of pencils.
3. Dice
Chances are, your first role-playing game will require at least one die to serve as a random number generator, and its possible you will need a bunch of dice. Most players won't mind you borrowing their dice for your first session, but there are exceptions to this rule. Some people are very superstitious about dice ( I personally bought new dice every time i went to a warhammer 40,000 tournament) and a very simple misunderstanding involving you touching another player's dice may cause stress that you didn't want for your first game. I would recommend you get a starter set of dice for whatever game you're playing (the normal 7 die polyhedral set for most games can be handy, since most games use the same dice). Pick a color you like, and go to the dice shop.
4. Scratch Paper
Basically, you'll need something to write notes to yourself on. This can be as easy going as a small post it note pad to as complicated as a leather bound journal. Your mileage may vary, but the primary purpose of having something to write on is to help you keep track of the session. Some characters thrive on notes, others may find them less necessary, but having a resource to write things down on can help you keep your character sheet clear and easy to read.
5. Game Manual
You should have a copy of the player's guide or handbook (alternatives that contain the rules you'll be using for your character are acceptable) for the game you are playing. Having to borrow the book form another play can slow the pace of the game down, and reduce your overall enjoyment. It would also be a very good idea to both make sure you know the rules that pertain specifically to your character, and to be able to find the rules that you use occasionally quickly. You don't have to know every rule in the game, especially at the start of your gaming experience, but you should understand the basics of how characters interact with the world, and how your specific rules work (If you're a spell caster, you should know how to cast your spells, and what they do).
Yeah, i edited this because the number 6 i used to have left a funny taste in my mouth.
Honorable mentions for things that could be helpful, depending on the game you're playing
a.) A miniature
Some game masters find that playing with a map improves the game experience for all, and you're going to need to find a figure to represent your character on the tabletop. There are myriad miniature companies in the world, and i am certain that you will be able to find a figure that truly represents your character on the tabletop map.
If you aren't sure what kind of character you want to play, and aren't so certain about all this gaming stuff, you can find token collections or print and play options from a variety of retailers. If all else fails, you should be able to find some little green army men in either your toy box, or at the store.
b.) A calculator
Some games have a lot of math involved, and if you aren't math friendly (or math tolerant) this can be a problem. A calculator can simplify the math you're expected to calculate, and it keeps the game moving without everyone waiting for someone to do that calculations. Calculation heavy games are a lot simpler if you have something to help you with the math.
Now, i'm sure some of you are aware that your cell phone has a calculator on it, and it works most of the time for that purpose, but cell phones can be a distraction at a gaming table, and you may want to check with your group of players before whipping it out.
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