Range Finding

 Roleplaying Games  No Responses »
Dec 282013
 

I’ve been playing a fair bit of the Star Wars Edge of the Empire (EotE) RPG lately. No serious campaign this time, but an easy going romp with pre-generated characters and new players, a far cry from the experienced players I ran with in my previous Saga edition campaign. This has been filled with light hearted gamorrean stomping and stormtrooper blasting.

I haven’t played enough EotE yet to feel confident in contrasting it at length against Star Wars Saga Edition, but I do have a feel for the overall flow of the game and can make some broad observations.

If I had one big “thing” to draw a contrast between Saga and EotE it would be the distinction between the mechanics of distance and range. Saga, if one remembers, was influenced by the development of 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons (4E) which was being developed at Wizards of the Coast while Saga was being finalized. In some sense Saga was an early preview of 4E, and therefore very miniature combat oriented. Using one inch grid maps was common and with both published and D20 OGL material very available. In my Saga campaign I used the fine starship maps from Future Armada, for example, where you could detail out the encounters with Line of Sight, range, and all that you would expect from a miniature-centric combat system.

With EotE that comfort of precision is unceremoniously stripped away. Range in this system is loosely defined as short, medium, long etc. and is left to the GM during game play to confirm. Rather than being a measured process based on a granular tracing of squares or distance, movement between ranges is achieved by the mere expenditure of an action by the player character. For example, to move between medium and short range would be one movement action.

This, I must say, takes a bit of getting used to. After so many years of comfort with simply allowing range and movement rules to keep a melee controlled, being awash in uncertainty can be frightening. But from a different perspective, it can also be quite liberating. There is no counting squares, no measuring movement; A quick decision on expending an action to change range is all that is needed. If you think back on all of the sessions over how many years you GM’ed in how many systems, how often did encounters begin at range “short”. Probably most. So why all the need for expansive range and movement rules with all of the time they consume? Why indeed.

I am still getting acclimated to this concept, I have a bit more convincing that needs to be done. And I must admit on more than one occasion the thought of retrofitting a Saga-like range system into EotE has crossed my mind. As of now I’ve managed to hold this compulsion at bay; I really want to see how this system works in different flavors of encounters and the multiplicity of combinations that can only come about during extended game play. For now I am pushing forward with the rules as-is and keeping my straight-edges and rangefinders in the drawer.

A World At War

 Board Games  No Responses »
Sep 152013
 

This week one of my long sought after games finally arrived at my doorstep. A World At War is one of those monster war games that requires loads of time to play and a likeminded opponent to play it with. I am not sure what is rarer these days, the time or the person; and that person would be fellow a grognard. Not exactly someone you will find without a bit of searching.

But even knowing this I put myself on the GMT Games P500 list for a reprint of this 2003 title. That was five years ago.

Yes, I’ve been waiting that long for the number of pre-orders for this behemoth to reach five hundred, which it actually didn’t reach. I think GMT felt everyone had waited long enough and showed great mercy in setting up a print run with almost one hundred fewer orders than the minimum. I don’t know if it was sympathy or not, but regardless of the reason I am thrilled to finally have my copy.

A World At War has a line of progenitors that led to its current incarnation. The game is actually the ultimate revision of the original Rise and Decline of the Third Reich, a European theater World War II simulation published by Avalon Hill in 1974. The original Third Reich was one of my first war games and has always remained one of my favorite gaming memories. In 1992 Avalon Hill released the next stage in the games evolution with Advanced Third Reich, followed in 1995 by a sister game set in the Pacific theater, Empire of the Rising Sun. These releases really extended the game rules into a rules system.

Here we are in 2013, and this second edition of A World At War (or AWAW as its fans call it) contains the most mature version of the system. If you have ever wanted to get your hands on one of the hobbies most enigmatic titles, your chance is now. If you are brave (foolhardy?) enough, you may even experience a life-altering journey and write a manifesto describing your pilgrimage to one of wargaming’s most sacred mountain tops.

I don’t know when I’ll have an opportunity to play. If the space was available I would lay it out and play through some turns solo but alas, I don’t have a good spot where a game of this size and magnitude could lie undisturbed long enough. Well, there’s always the next consimworld!

Snakes & Lattes

 Comic and Game Store  No Responses »
Sep 042013
 

I recently had the opportunity to visit Snakes & Lattes Board Game Cafe in Toronto, Canada. The shop is a pioneer in the concept of a dedicated hobby game cafe that centers around game play while providing excellent food and refreshments to its patrons.

Snakes & Lattes is located on Bloor street in Korea town, I drove there from the Mississauga area and had a very easy time finding the store. If you are coming in to watch friends game or just to hook up with a new group and get in on some gaming yourself, there’s a modest $5 cover charge. If you plan on ordering some food or drinks, or to buy a copy of a new title, the cover charge is waived.

The interior of the shop is warm and welcoming, well organized with the right light to set the mood. To the immediate left is the sales counter which is attached to the small bar and food server. I was happily surprised to see a rather full house; various games were being played, food eaten and drink imbibed. The staff was friendly and helpful, immediately welcoming me and asking if I had been to the store before. After a brief exchange on the workings of the place I was informed that that evening was “designer’s night” at the shop. Designers had brought in their prototypes for play testing and feedback. Was I in for a treat!

I looked around the gaming floor while I waited for the next designer’s game to open up. The cafe has a well stocked board game collection with over twenty-five hundred titles available for use. This collection is always growing and the newer titles are always a hot commodity. I didn’t see any duplicates, so if you have a favorite that you and your group are intent on playing, make sure you get a stake on it or have a second choice in mind.

It wasn’t too long before one of the store employees pointed me over to an open player position for an unreleased game in play testing. I joined in with three other players one of whom was the designer. The game used worker placement and a bidding mechanism to simulate the job market. It was a great opportunity to see how the creative mind of a designer works by the questions he would ask of the players and the feedback he recorded at the end. If you have any opportunity to attend a designer’s night, I highly recommend it, particularly if you are interested in the game development process.

As for my experience with the food at Snakes & Lattes, I had a chicken salad sandwich and garden salad. Both were fresh and tasty. The service was easy and actually made the entire experience better; I placed my order at the bar and the food was brought to the gaming table. We were checked on several times by the staff and could refill our drinks as needed. At the end of the night I cleared up my running tab at the bar, stopped by the store area and picked up a new copy of Augustus to bring back to the states.

I left the shop thinking what a brilliant concept I had just experienced. As a long time gamer I have played at tournaments under bright florescence, at unsavory game stores awash with screaming adolescents, in inconvenient libraries and garages, and a dozen other less than adequate venues. This was truly my first gaming experience set in a location dedicated and designed to make the gamer feel comfortable, valued, and just as you would feel playing at a good friends home. Now, hearing all of the above you might wonder why this type of establishment isn’t more common. Given the growing popularity of board games and the recent resurgence in general hobby gaming activities, I think we will be seeing more of these board game cafe’s spring up. Actually, not to far up the road from me in Orlando, Florida, there is a nascent board game venue just about to sprout. Cloak and Blaster is being established as a gaming pub with an extensive tap, board game library, video gaming lounge, and a comfortable place to get your geek on. It’s scheduled to open its doors in 2014.

If you are anywhere near Toronto and enjoy hobby gaming, you must drop by and spend some time at Snakes & Lattes. I know you will not only be pleased, but most likely delighted; and if you are lucky enough to live nearby, I wager you will make them a regular feature in your gaming lifestyle. If, like me, you only have the opportunity to visit during a business trip or when other travel takes you through Toronto, check out the possibility of a similar venue opening up near you. If you live in a major city you may find that the renaissance in hobby gaming will bring forth its fruits to your hometown, and a board game cafe, tavern, or pub will be opening near you.

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