The Hamster Boy prattles on about his hobbies.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Still Tuesday painting.

Habits are important in my hobby. Remembering to bring all of the tools and paints that I might need, or the bitz from the Orc box, etc.. Right now, the most important is to keep pressing on on the assembly and painting on my various armies. YES, I want to play, but I finally want to have a fully painted Orc Fantasy army, 2250 pts. YES, it will continue to grow from there, but after 10 years it is time to knuckle down and finish the job.

The last touches were added to the spear/shield unit AND 2 characters (BSB and one of da Bosses), just need to dust, sealcoat, and then add static grass and they are done. When I find some money I will go get the 1/4 round plastic sticks I need to build a good movement base for them. Ugg, I probably already have it, it's just buried in my storage unit...

The Black Orcs are a different issue. I hate how they rank, and that is dissuading me from finishing the paint job. Again, knuckle down...

Remember, every Tuesday at 2d10 games...

Saturday, November 6, 2010

That sad, predictable post...

...where I apologise for not posting. YES, people get distracted, dead, etc... but I wanted to use this as an exersize in writing discipline, and clearly I have failed.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Amera order arrives!

Following one of the billion terrain and figure links I seem to collect daily, I stumbled onto Amera Plastic Mouldings, a British company that seems to specialize in anything they can vacuuform.


They appeared to have a nice variety of reasonably priced, multi-part terrain pieces, and I couldn't resist ordering a few samples to see how they stood up to my scratch-built stuff.



The winner out of the box (so far) has been the Crater Set (£3.25). These look pretty good with little prep needed to deploy them on the battlefield. I am still going to tinker with them (i like the solid feel of a hardboard base) but they are already well worth the cost.



The structures that caught my eye were the Ruined Chapel (£4.95) and the City Block Ruins (£7.95), both of which I have made in the past from foamcore, pink insulation foam, etc.. with good, but labor-intensive results. As you can see, they are going to require much more prep work than the craters, but the details I can see through the packaging looks promising.


I will take pictures of all the components as I break them out and down so you can see how I assemble and paint everything.

I wanted to mention how cooperative and responsive the people manning their website are; they obviously check in on the weekends, and had a shipping quote and approximate currency exchange to me within 24 hours. I paid for them on 07MAR10, and they arrived today, 20MAR10, not bad for a trip across the ocean. The box was packed well, and everything arrived in good condition. The craters did not have "shelf ready" packaging like the other 2 pieces, but for my purposes, that's fine.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Possible production of Munchkin Card Shoe

I have a friend with a laser cutter, and I have piqued his interest by suggesting there is profit to be made on these shoes. We are still in the very early stages of negotiation and pre-production, but if the materials and labor are reasonable I will be looking for a way to buy thin cardboard boxes, and then attempting to sell these bad boys. Honestly, I am excited. I don't expect them to make me rich, but it would be nice to make a little scratch from a hobby item.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Brief 40K report - Orks vs Deathwing

I finally put figs-to-table and did an 1850 pt Warhammer 40K game on Tuesday night. Waaagh! Rockeeta (Orks) vs a Dark Angel Deathwing army. Scenario: Annihilation. I tend to field large, troop-heavy forces, and this was no exception. With what I had painted and assembled, combined with what I could proxy from my various parts bins, I was able to put about 145 Orks on the table - not too shabby. The Deathwing army, all Terminator Marines with one Land Raider, was maybe 30? models - very small, but relatively powerful. The smaller, elite army has the advantage in this scenario, though, as they have fewer units to destroy, and will never run off the table. I (of course) had lots of larger, flimsier units that could be torn apart like wet tissue paper and tend to get skittish as they shrink.

I haven't played much, and was using an untested list, so a loss was pretty much expected. I am much more focused on creating a balanced tournament list, and understanding how the various parts of my army work right now rather than racking up victories. Having a rudimentary knowledge of the 5th ed. rules, here is a short list of what I learned:

1) Large Ork units are totally worth it. The basic Ork is skilled in melee combat, and is resistant to damage due to its high toughness, but that doesn't begin to tell the story. 30 Orks, even with poor ballistic skill, will hit something. When they shoot, it is just a torrent of lead flying though the air. I assumed they not only wouldn't hit the Terminators (needing a 5 or better to hit), but if they did wouldn't be able to hurt them. Wrong. The Deathwing player still has to make armor rolls every time you wound him, and eventually he will roll a one. Terminators have one wound, just like everyone else, so I was surprised how quickly they fell. Melee was even better, as Furious Charge gave my Orks a better Initiative and Strength, so most Orks were getting 4 attacks at WS4 at ST4 in the first round of combat. if 20 Orks make it to your position you are looking at up to 80 attacks!

2) Mob Rule!'s hidden fee. While keeping da ladz from scooting off the battlefield, Mob Rule! has one little problem: extra casualties. Mob Rule! makes any boyz unit Fearless as long as it has 11 or more models. What I didn't know about fearless is the No Retreat rule: any time a unit will NOT flee due to morale modifiers (fearless, etc.) and LOSES combat, it gains as many wounds as they lose the combat by. These can be saved with additional armor rolls, but most of my Orks don't even wear much armor. Ultimately, this rule could DOUBLE my casualties if I am doing particularly bad in combat. Against normal infantry, or even regular Marines, it wouldn't have been so bad, but against terminators it was like watching waves crashing on the shore. I kill one guy, he kills 5, and then 4 more guys just up and get hurt. Stupid Orks... :)

3) The Deff Rolla is totally worth it. Starp it onto the front of a Battlewagon and get D6 St10 attacks on a unit, and now (thanks to the FAQ team) on an enemy vehicle. All for 20 points! This really goes to emphasize how important it is to specialize how you equip your vehicles. I made 2 Battlewagons, one for close combat (Deffrolla, 4 big shootas and an 18-man Gretchin unit inside) and one for ranged combat (killkannon, kannon, 4 big shootas) I had a looted vehicle out there, too, but only to soak up points. Don't Press Dat! was funny, but put the vehicle in a place i didn't want it to be.

4) Lootas are totally worth it. Great unit. Not skilled, but potentially firing a devastating hail of fire (D3 St7 shots for each model) completely across the table (48") Throw a Mek in there and you can deal with most light armor, too.

5) I need to be able to deal with armored units better. I am leery of the Tank Hunters. They just look... too random for me. We'll see how I feel after a few more games. Power Claw for every Nob would be a good alternative start. Yes, it strikes last, but unless your unit gets wiped it WILL strike, as the Boyz soak up the damage.

Generally, I am happy with my performance. I had some lucky breaks (one teleporting DW unit was lost to the warp, 3 Termies died from an exploding Battlewagon) and rolled pretty well. Ultimately I lost, but only by one "kill point" which is pretty close to a draw. I only left him with 2 termies and the Land Raider (unscathed, I might add,) but he killed/chased off more units than I did. It was a fun game, and I am excited to get to play again.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Munchkin Card Shoe

I love Munchkin, and wanted to protect my new set with plastic card sleeves. Between this, and any future expansions I will add, it makes the cards hard to stack. Solution: I built my own card shoe.


It's just over 6 inches tall, and leans back at a 10 degree angle to keep the cards in the shoe. For those of you not familiar with the game, it has 2 decks of cards, the "Door" deck and the "Treasure" deck, which have to be kept separate.



I made it from 1/4" MDF hardboard, a cheap wood normally used in my terrain construction, and some cabinetry, I guess. It's pretty weak material, you wouldn't want to make anything nice out of it, but it is great for hobby stuff. Another thing I wanted to do was build it with no nails or glue, like many of the dice towers and wood terrain I am seeing pop up across our hobby.


The whole project took a couple hours (mostly drafting out what I was going to do) but the material cost were negligible and I am very happy with the structural stability. Now I need to find someone with a laser cutter who will make and sell these for a profit. All I want is a credit, and uh... some free terrain?

Boyz Mob #1 - Complete

After accumulating quite a pile of random 40K Ork stuff over the years, I decided to take the plunge in 2008 and actually start building an Ork army.

Of course, then I got divorced, moved out of my home, moved in with a friend, moved with my friend and my girlfriend, and finally moved with my girlfriend into my new home. Woof.

Anyway, sometime after my birthday, where my girly bought me a HUGE pile of new Ork stuff, I knuckled down and started putting Exacto to plastic sprue. Now, only 9 months later, the first mob is done.

The bulk of these particular boyz are from the Assault on Black Reach box. They are nice sculpts, easy to clean/build/etc. and I was able to trade for MANY of them. Most new 40K players are Space Marine fans, and I only had to twist a few arms to get enough boys to finish this mob.


The eagle-eyed among you will notice I have them on movement trays in the first picture. These are Lord of the Rings trays from GW, and are nice and reasonably priced. The more savvy 40K players out there are saying, "Aha! where's my pie-plate template??" and, yeah, they are pretty vulnerable to artillery fire. I, however, am here to play Warhammer, not spend all afternoon moving 100+ individual Orks around the battlefield. Template weapons be damned.

I am still calibrating my camera, but I have a few (blurry) close-ups.







I haven't done this in a while, so I need to figure out my camera problems. The lighting is tricky, but I'm working on it.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Making your own hills

This is an article I wrote for Dungeon Crawlers a few years ago, enjoy.


The hill is a critical terrain feature. Not only does it break up the flat, featureless table, it is the building block upon which almost all other terrain skills are derived. Lack of these skills would push some so far as to stack books under a tablecloth. This is unacceptable, and many would be driven to violence if forced to play under such conditions. Much of your future terrain-related angst can be avoided altogether by simply following these directions.

Some general notes on terrain: Everyone wants to play on a gorgeous battlefield, replete with hills, trees, skulls, destroyed buildings, etc.; but there is a fine line between a functional tabletop battlefield and a delicate 28mm diorama unfit for those with fat fingers and a tendency to throw dice. The wise General chooses to build his terrain to the functional side of the house, with an eye on detail that does not hinder play or break easily. Today's lesson swings WAY to the functional side, but you should still be pleased with the overall outcome.Also, for every hobbyist there are different ways of doing things. This is how I make hills, but it is certainly not the only way or even the best way. This lesson was designed with simplicity and a minimal amount of supplies in mind.

More advanced terrain will be covered later in other tutorials.

Tools and supplies:

supplies Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

Tools:

  • hot wire foam cutter
  • retractable disposable knife
  • 2" paintbrush
  • marker (sharpie)
  • spackling sandpaper (looks like a mesh screen)
  • shallow cardboard box

Consumables:

  • 3/4" pink insulation foam (sold in 4X8 sheets, can also be blue)
  • ground foam flock (IE Woodland Scenics)
  • 1 quart medium dark green latex house paint (cheap gloss or matte)

Notes:

If you have never built terrain before, you will need to purchase the above items. Don't get all cheap on me now, the only thing there that will break you is the foam cutter. Woodland Scenics makes a nice plug-in model for about $25, don't bother with the battery powered model. The consumables will last you a long time, as well, unless you are opening a terrain factory or are really sloppy.

makeanoutline Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

Stage 1: Planning

Hills can be of any shape or size, but generally they only have to be big enough to put a unit on top, or smaller. Remember, for mass battles where units have to move in formation (like the Stormvermin above) a hill can be an obstacle or a defensive position. If it is meant to be the latter, everybody needs to be able to be on top. Using your marker, make an outline of the base of the hill. As you will see later, the top will be somewhat narrower than that, so allow room around the edges for the slope.

bigcut2 Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

Stage 2: Cutting

Make all of your gross cuts now with the disposable knife. You don't have to cut too close to the lines, but you need to be close enough for the foam cutter to do its job. The Woodland Scenics cutter has about a 5" cut depth, so leave no more than 2"-3" all around.

trimtomark Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

Pink insulation foam is covered in a thin plastic film to protect it during handling. Peel it off now. Heck, peel it off the whole 4X8 sheet, you wont need it. The foam cutter will slice through the foam very neatly, but not quickly. Be patient and use a steady hand to trim away the excess foam to your outline.

bevelededge Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

Again, with the foam cutter, cut a beveled edge around the entire piece at about a 45 degree angle, using either the "top" or "bottom" edge as a guide . It can be greater if you want a gentler slope, less if you want a sharp drop. We will cover cliffs and other hill related terrain in another article. Don't worry if your cuts aren't perfect, we will correct that in the next phase, but cleaner cuts speed up the process.

donecutting Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

The completely beveled hill.

sandedsmooth Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

Stage 3: Preparation

Using the spackling sandpaper, sand the edges so that they are smooth and flow gently. THIS SHOULD BE DONE OUTSIDE or you will have pink dust all over everything you own. Be careful not to gouge the foam with the paper (it happens) as big gouges will be obvious when you are done. Take the time to sand off the very thin, fragile edge all around the outside of the piece. Do it now, because later it will just break off, ruining your hard work. When you are happy with the shape of your hill, move on to the next stage.

flockbox Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

Stage 4: Painting/Flocking

Using discarded chunks of foam, create a little stand to put your hill on in the box. This will keep you from painting the hill to the bottom of the box.

doesitfit Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

Now is a good time to make sure the entire hill fits in the box (side to side). If it doesn't, get a new box.

paintitgreen Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

Using your paint (it doesn't matter if it is gloss or matte as long as the color is right) liberally paint the entire top surface of the hill. Don't be afraid to slop it on a little, no one will know, but if you use too little you will screw up the next step.

flockedandwet Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

Shake the ground foam directly onto the WET paint. It will stick nicely. Spread it out by shaking the entire box gently. DO NOT BLOW on THE FOAM. It will just blow into your eye, idiot. Be sure you cover the entire hill. You will be able to get any excess foam back out of the box when you are done, so apply liberally.

Stage 5: Completion

Allow the hill(s) to dry completely, about an hour or more depending on what paint you bought, etc.

brushoffloose Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

Brush off the loose flock into the box with your hand or a dry paintbrush. Any foam in the box can now be poured back into your foam container for future use.

final product Idiots Guide to Making Terrain #1: The Basic Hill

That's it - you now have your own hill. These are attractive, fairly durable, and cheap and easy to make. Make about 4 or 5 of them in different sizes, and never have to tuck a book under a tablecloth again. Do not use a spray sealant on the piece as it will dissolve the foam flock. When the piece gets worn out, you can experiment with it and make something different, or just throw it away.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Stargrunt II - Training Wheels

I am enamored with modern / science fiction wargaming. This is odd, as I have been playing Warhammer Fantasy for 10 years now, preceded by 15 years of Dungeons and Dragons. Being an US Army veteran, though, there is just something to be said for platoons of men moving through the battlefield in the heat of combat, bullets and shrapnel whizzing by your head, and getting stuff done. I know I'm romanticizing it a bit, but there it is. That's why I play wargames rather than being a mercenary: when the battle is over I like putting my plastic men back in the box and going home.

Warhammer 40K, by Games Workshop has been my main source of actual sci-fi wargaming. Hard core grognards snicker derisively at this, calling it a 'kid's game' and mocking it's simple rules, over-the-top characters, and high costs for models and rulebooks. Even 40K affectionados recognize that the game's rules have been changed over the years to: 1) appeal to a younger audience, and 2) sell more models. Despite all of this, few question why they play, except that there is simply no other ruleset that has had the market penetration of 40K.



Behold, a challenger: Stargrunt II. Written in 1996 by John Tuffley for Ground Zero Games. This futuristic ruleset lays out a system for combat and army development completely different from GW, emphasizing small unit actions over the (sometimes) ridiculous forces available to the 40K player. For a 14-year-old, this may seem to take some of the fun out of the game, but for someone like me who is more into the tactics of a game rather that how to squeeze in one more uber-element, this is the sort of game I have been looking for. It is also refreshing to see the author encourage you to use any figs you like, rather than having to buy all of the Official GZG Miniatures and Vehicles and Templates and Markers and Terrain, etc., etc., ad nauseum.

Now, the problems:

The rules must have had some success, as they are still around. They just decided over the last few years to simply give the game away rather than publish it again. I am not crying over a free game, but not everyone likes to print their own rulebooks. In fact, some would even see this as proof of the game's failure and avoid it at all costs.

There are no point values. John Tuffley blasts point values as "horribly artificial," and basically, he's right. The flip of this is: you and your opponent need to agree on what fair opposing forces would be. Usually this is dictated by a scenario which is designed beforehand. Will it be 2 completely equal troops, or 2 different sized and armed forces, with victory conditions that each can reasonably attain? Only the Gamemaster knows. Yes, sometimes you may need a 3rd party as a neutral gamemaster to design scenarios, surpise players with booby traps, decide ambiguities, or any combination of the three. While I enjoy the variety of different options available here, this will throw off the structured 40K player, wanting to know how many orks he can get on the field.

Unit Leadership is a HUGE part of this game. In 40K, you might be asked to test to see if the enormous slobbering monster or ravening hordes of Tyranids are freaking out your troops every now and then. In SGII, you check for those sorts of things much more often. Just like in the real military, orders go back and forth, and good leaders are need to control elements as small as a squad. If that leader is somewhat... green... units may spend a lot of time hunkered down trying to get the radio to work rather than assaulting the enemy position. Being shot at? 40K troops grit their teeth and charge into certain death. Stargrunt troops... may decide that the hole they are sitting in is a better option than running across an open battlefield. Fortunately, this goes for both sides, so it is a burden both players will bear.

What can be done to mitigate some of these variances so that you can win over new players to a SGII game? The easiest way to choose troops that have the least number of special rolls and checks that must be performed. Start with small units of Regular or better troops, with no crazy weapon teams. This eliminates many of the initial panic rolls, gives you a better chance to hit something you are shooting at, and gets you used to the mechanics of ranged or close combat. Both sides should have the EXACT same forces. Leadership Values should all be 1 (the best) and troops should have no fatigue (fresh.) Mission Motivation should be medium or high. Things you SHOULDN'T field: vehicles, off-board artillery, power armor, snipers, drones, etc. Just basic troops and leaders.

Scenario 1 (from the book) is good, but to simplify it even further, I wouldn't even deal with hidden units. Just take turns putting units on the table and then slug it out. Fight to the death or or until you feel you understand the die shifts and confidence/panic tests. At the very least, put a token in the center of the table that represents an objective. After 12 turns, whoever has the most troops "controlling" the objective wins (reinforcements arrive.)

If you want to promote this game, prepare to provide all of the figures for demo games. each side could have as few as 16 (4 squads of 4, one being the HQ squad) or as much as 30 (8,8,8, and 6 for the HQ) but I wouldn't field more than that. We're learning rules, not taking over the galaxy. Many companies make great human infantry sci-fi models, but GW's Imperial Guard are a beautiful range of detailed plastic figures. GZG also makes a large range of figs, which aren't horrible sculpts and are reasonably priced. They are metal and therefore difficult to modify, but they have a reasonable number of poses and weapon options. They also are sculpted to conform to the suggested background setting known loosely as the "Tuffleyverse." You are under no circumstances forced to play in their world, it is just a suggestion.

Take my suggestions, run with them and report back. I want to make sure I am not alone here in seeing the value in this great game. After I am more confident in my grasp of the rules I will be doing some battle reports and start to develop my own universe and "tree campaign" of scenarios for all to use.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Regular Gaming

Five Iron Frenzy wrote a song about men's goofy hobbies and pastimes called "Wizard Needs Food, Badly." The song is catchy and important, as it illustrates the need for anyone to continue doing the (basically positive) things that make them who they are. The problem that confronts the mature gamer with a family, mortgage, car payment, etc., is normally 'time to play.' "Oh, I used to play Game X, but I don't have time anymore." As a family man, I fully recognize the responsibility of taking care of your family BEFORE gaming. Billy has to get to soccer, Susie to dance class, wife needs you to fix the car - it can seem suck up every free moment of your time. (I'm not even going to to get into the finances of regular game purchases vs. paying the electric bill. Just pay your damn bills, OK?) What can you do to get more gaming into your active family lifestyle?

1) Game With the Family. OK, I don't expect you to break out some complicated or inappropriate game with wee ones in the house, but there is no greater joy than sharing your love of tabletop gaming with the whole family. This is how many of us were raised: playing Monopoly, Sorry! or Uno with our parents, siblings and cousins. Not only is it an excellent way to bond, these games are simple enough for younger players, while still having a decent level of player interaction and some tactics. A bucket of plastic army men and a few 6-sided dice are a great way to introduce children to mini wargaming without worrying about chipped, lost or broken minis. Risk, the game that many a young grognard cut their teeth on, is great if all the players are old enough to retain the basic rules.

I know that many of you are saying, "This isn't the kind of gaming I wanted to do." It's true, Stratego loses some of its charm after a few games, but that isn't the point: you are raising gamers. Better than that, you are raising well-adjusted gamers, who will be good losers and gracious winners. They might even grow up to use deodorant and/or not be strippers, too. People underestimate how important this early bonding is, and plop their kid in front of the TV all day. They need face time, and you need game time, so use it wisely.

2) Designated Time Off AND Out. Tuesdays and Thursdays you do this, Mondays, you do that, Sunday morning is no good for... See where this is going? Just like our forefathers would go league bowling, or play bridge, or Friday night poker, there is magic in that one day of the week you KNOW you can be available to game. For me, it happens to be Tuesdays. It's the middle of the week so it doesn't lock down my weekends (so we are free to travel or deal with family obligations) and the local game store is open late enough to accommodate my gaming group. It isn't a perfect situation - not all of my old buddies can be there on Tuesdays, and some can only come every other week due to work schedules. The bottom line is: pick a day that works for the majority of your group and stick with it. No one wants to be excluded, but with a large, diverse gaming community, you can't make everyone happy. If you continue to game regularly, eventually the stragglers will be able to adjust their schedules around the Game Night.

The other advantage to a public and regular Game Night is attraction of new players. In my old life, I could invite people willy-nilly to my home for Friday Night gaming and they had run of the place. The disadvantage was that I was inviting strangers into my home after only a cursory vetting. I wasn't hanging out in the game stores, so if I wanted to play with them they were given directions to my garage; everyone hoped they didn't show up with a chainsaw. Some people (especially women) aren't comfortable just showing up at a stranger's house, either.

3) Designated Time Off AND In. It is entirely possible you don't have a local game store or other neutral place to meet. You could then have people come to your home to play. Before turning your house into a gaming mecca, there are considerations other than "stranger danger." Your significant other may not be hip on regular meetings in "their" home. Face it: not all gamers are well behaved, or even bathe properly. Most of us are at the very least "enthusiastic" and loud. If you don't have an understanding spouse, you shouldn't make this a regular thing. No fun will come of this. If you have a room that can be isolated from the rest of the house, all the better. These game nights also led to vast quantities of soda and snacks being drained from my home, most of which I was not reimbursed for. Work this out with your players ahead of time to avoid hurt feelings. If you have children who aren't participating in the game, then they need to be cared for. This could be a great night for the kids to see Grandma, or, if old enough, asked to play quietly in another room. What you don't want to do is have your guests and your children competing for your attention. No fun will come of this, either. The bottom line on this type of gathering is that it may be best to rotate to the different players homes if practical. This takes the burden off one person becoming the permanent host.

4) Game When You Can. Make the most effective use of your downtime. When your child is doing laps at soccer and you are forced into small talk with the other parents, you could be reading a rulebook, or designing a dungeon. Laundry day? Unless you are beating your clothes on a rock in a stream, you have time between loads to paint figs. If you eat lunch at an office job, why not try and find someone to play a Magic: the Gathering with? We spend time a million ways, and everyone has a different opinion on what is a waste. I am dead-set against online MMORPGs, like World of Warcraft. Nothing ate more of my time with less payout. Updating your Facebook all day? Getting into pointless flamewars on 4chan or Fark? Watching ANYTHING on MTV?

All of the above suggestions are for naught if you can't come to some sort of understanding with your family. If they truly love you, they will understand your desire to get back into the hobbies you have enjoyed for so long. If they are unreasonably inflexible, then you may need to assert yourself.. or find a good lawyer.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Superbowl Sunday 2010

Let's be honest with ourselves: we are not sports fans.

I make no bones about this at work. I can ask questions about the various teams, players, strategies, etc... without looking like a moron, but at the same time I always preface my queries by telling them I'm not a fan. I think this is a good strategy, as the "not a fan/explain this" tactic seems to completely erase any thoughts of my freakish non-sports genetics. It's like asking a question to a practicing Catholic about catechism just after telling them you are an atheist. They hear what you said, but interpret it as: "he is interested, and I might be able to convert him to our way of thinking." They happily tell you, in the greatest minutia, how points are scored, players traded, even how the the two guys with the line-of-scrimmage poles got their job. Sometimes they do this with an enthusiasm that makes me long for the 17-year-old stranger telling me about his level 14 Paladin with the +3 Bastard Sword of Tyr's Rage, and his Utterly Holy plate armor.

See what I did there? The sports nut and the Jesus freak and convention geek are all acting the same way. How is this possible? It's simple: we choose our insanity, and then run with it. We all are consumed with the facts and figures of our passions, and wish to share our joy with others. Conversely, people on the outside looking in think they (the nuts) are, well, nuts. Who else would keep boxes of Pokemon cards and 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons books "just in case?" Who would give up every Sunday (and many Wednesdays) to sit in an un-airconditioned church or go door-to-door talking about Jesus? Who stays up to 3AM on a workday to snipe a Brett Favre NY Jets jersey on Ebay?

I have to say, even after telling you all of this I still feel like kind of a minority. Any reasonably-sized town has a few sports bars and/or arenas, and more than its share of Churches, Synagogues, Mosques, Temples, Sacred Circles, etc. Most, however, do NOT have more than one game store. Many of the stores I have drifted in and out of over the years were pretty sad at best, and most have gone out of business in fairly short period of time. There is the issue of crossover passions; many sports fans are also church attendees, and visa versa. Not so with gamers, who can be insular and cliquey in their hobbies. Sports and religious fans tend to be so for life with "team shifting" being a major life-changing event; our passions are somewhat cyclical and trendy. Anyone for a game of Mage Knight? I didn't think so.

Maybe this is why Gaming/Anime Conventions have become so popular. With nowhere else to turn, we drive for hours to a hotel with a large meeting area and a guy selling comics and Bruce Campbell on the stage talking about his latest b-movie. We need to know there is someone else out there who plays Stargrunt II or likes to wear a wizard costume to the medieval fair. We need to know there is someone else who speaks Klingon or has a "fursona.". We NEED to know we aren't alone, even if we kind of are alone most of the time, painting little figurines or designing a dungeon on graph paper.

Today, then, is Superbowl Sunday, the holiest day of the Football fan. 100 million people -one in three Americans - are estimated to watch tonight's game. People who don't even watch football regularly will get caught up in the festivities, much in the same way that most Americans celebrate Christmas even though they only make up 76.0% of the population. I may have issues with the vast sums of money that fuel both events, but you have to admire (to a degree) the single-mindedness it takes to pull off either. Heck, I can't find 3 people to play Bloodbowl on a regular basis, and I live in a community of 593,136.

Football fan, I salute you; above and beyond all other reasons, you prove that that you are not alone.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Boobies

Ugg... It's funny, I was really enjoying blogging on Myspace before I realized what a horrible, horrible, place it was. Sure, people were reading my posts, but the quality of the replies was... lacking.

I hope to use this as my personal diary of game and hobby related stuff. I am constantly barraged by thoughts and inspirations, and if I have to suffer through them, then so do you.