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Get Your Zombie On With These Great Zombie Board Games Until The Walking Dead Comes Back

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Dec 042015

It is the long winter of our discontent – or at least our impatience – while we wait for the TV show The Walking Dead to return from its winter break. What’s a fan of the not quite dead to do? Allow me to suggest Zombie board games! We’re at a point in tabletop gaming that might be described as a golden age and for fans of the zombie genre that means you have lots of choices from very light and quick to play dice games to board games that feel like they’re right out of the pages of your favorite zombie comics, books or TV shows. I’ve put together a short list of some of my favorite zombified board games for you to check out and I hope you’ll find something here that you’ll be able to use to make the time in between episodes of The Walking Dead go a little faster and have fun while you’re waiting.

Zombie Dice

Zombie Dice – You’re a zombie, eat brains, press your luck, don’t get blasted!

The simplest of Zombie games, Zombie Dice is most definitely a beer and pretzels game that even comes in a tube about the size of a beer can. There isn’t a lot of strategy here, you’re just rolling dice, looking to chow down on as many brains as you can before getting blasted. It’s a press your luck dice roller that is great as a warm up game or time filler between other larger games. Sometimes I break this out for people to keep busy while I’m setting up another game. Due to the fact that it’s so small you can throw it in your bag or back pack and break it out almost anywhere to help pass some time. It’s also really inexpensive at around $8 on Amazon. 2-5 players, about 15-20 minutes for your average play time.

Get your copy of Zombie Dice here!

Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter – survive the zombies, the weather and treachery from other bands of survivors

Dead of Winter is a semi-cooperative game where players who are survivors of a zombie apocalypse will fight off zombies while dealing with other problems like trying to avoid getting bitten, the weather, and other players putting in the double cross. Each player gets their own group of survivors and there are loads of different and fun to play characters. It’s semi-cooperative due to the fact that while everyone is working on a common goal, each player also has their own secret objective which can have several different consequences for the other players. This means you have games where everyone, someone, or no one can win which keeps the game interesting and very dynamic. Dead of Winter is for 2-5 players and typically takes about 90 minutes to play. $44 on Amazon

Get your copy of Dead of Winter here!

City of Horror

In City of Horror you’ll need your persuasion and negotiation skills to outlast the other survivors

City of Horror is unique for a Zombie game because it isn’t really about fighting the zombies. It’s a game that’s about negotiation, diplomacy and ultimately, betrayal. In a city overrun by the walking dead players try to survive in a variety of buildings until they can be rescued. Each player controls a small band of survivors and must strive to keep everyone alive through the zombie filled night. The catch is that there’s only so much space in the building which means some survivors will have to be thrown to the ravenous horde of zombies outside. The mechanism for this is voting by the remaining survivors which means there will be lots of pleading, haggling and double crosses as players try desperately to get their survivors rescued. Definitely a different sort of Zombie game. 3-6 players. 90 minute play time. $25 on Amazon.

Get your copy of City of Horror here!

Last Night on Earth

It’s the Last Night on Earth, can your survivors outlast the zombies?

Last Night on Earth is probably the granddaddy of zombie board games. This game has awesome production values that include photos of the characters in full costumes and make up and with props. It even comes with an audio soundtrack. It’s one I’ve had in my collection for awhile that still comes out semi-regularly. Last Night on Earth is another semi-cooperative zombie game but in this game some of the players control the survivors while others control the zombies. That makes it different from most other zombie board games where the zombies are typically mindless and follow pre-programmed behaviors. Naturally, since they’re controlled by players the zombies are a lot smarter and more of a challenge than what you’re used to seeing. Last Night on Earth has been around for awhile so there’s lots of expansions available for it as well. 2-6 players. 90 minute play time. About $40 on Amazon

Get your copy of Last Night on Earth Here!

Zombicide

Zombicide is you go to post apocalyptic zombie survival board game

Zombicide was one of the early board game successes on Kickstarter that probably lead to the explosion of crowd funded board games we’re currently enjoying. This is a very thematic, action packed fully cooperative post apocalyptic zombie survival game. There’s no diplomacy or negotiation or hidden agendas, it’s just all out carnage as players battle zombies and try to survive. Players must work together to accomplish the mission objectives or they all lose. Each player takes on the role of a survivor and survivors are all based on familiar tropes or well known pop culture icons. As the players battle the zombies, they gain new skills and become better at defeating them while Zombicide’s clever spawning mechanic means that the zombies also get tougher and appear in ever increasing hordes. There are mechanics that take in to account how much noise players make in determinng how the zombies behave, as well as lots of loot for players to find and use in their quest to defeat the zombies. If you’re looking for a zombie board game that really simulates what it’s like to battle zombies in the land of The Walking Dead, this is the one. This game is intense and to be honest it’s pretty challenging for the players to win. The game is mission based so there’s tons of replay-ability with just the main game. Additionally there is loads of flavorful add on content that includes different types of zombies, new survivors. new locations like Prison Outbreak, Toxic City Mall and Rue Morgue.

Lots of extra missions, rule books and other free stuff can also be downloaded directly from the Guillotine Games Zombicide website. This is hands down the favorite zombie game of the various play groups and Meetups I participate in. Most people I’ve introduced Zombicide to are hooked about ½ way through their first play through. 1-6 players. Playtime varies based on mission but it can be anything from 30 minutes to 3 hours. About $60 on Amazon.

Get your copy of Zombicide here!

Check out all of the Zombide expansions and add-ons here

Visit the Guillotine Games website for free Zombicide downloadable content

Braaaaaainsssss!

There you have it, some of my favorite zombie flavored board games. While it’s not an exhaustive list of zombie board games, any or all of these should fulfill your zombie yearnings while you wait for the return of The Walking Dead. I have all of these games and they’re all great fun but if you’re only going to get one big zombie board game then I’d definitely recommend you pick up a copy of Zombicide. You can thank me later when you’re gritting your teeth and trying to desperately survive your own tabletop zombie apocalypse.

Holiday Gift Guide For Your Favorite Miniatures Hobbyist

Geek Gifts, Hobby Tradecraft, Tabletop Gaming Comments Off

Dec 022015

We’ve made it through Thanksgiving week (in the US) and this, more than anything is the signal that we’ve officially started the holiday season. Since many of us will be thinking about what to get the hobbyist in our life (or maybe you need some ideas for your own Xmas wish list), I thought it would be a good time to run down a few items that would make excellent Christmas gifts for your favorite hobbyist. This post focuses on tools and hobbying accessories instead of actual games and miniatures. The first section is a selection of smaller items that would be perfect as stocking stuffers. The second section are physically larger gifts that you’ll probably end up putting under the tree. There are items at a variety of price points from under $20 to around the $100 range. In some cases I’ve also mentioned an item or two that pairs nicely with the main item in terms of utility.

Winsor Newton Series 7 Brushes & The Masters Brush Cleaner

The Winsor Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable paint brushes are an excellent brush for miniatures painters looking to level up

The Winsor Newton Series 7 paint brushes are kind of the holy grail of paint brushes for miniatures painters. These brushes make a great gift for the miniatures painter that’s been painting for awhile and is ready to up their game with better tools. These also are great because, due to the fact that they cost quite a bit more than your standard hobby shop paint brush, a lot of hobbyists are hesitant to get these for themselves because it’s a bit of an investment and can also feel a little intimidating. The good news is that because these brushes are so high quality, you don’t need a ton of them. I recommend the #0 and the #2 Winsor Newton Series 7 paint brushes if you’re looking at getting a couple of these. Those two sizes cover a lot of range in terms of utility and usefulness.

If you’re getting nice brushes like the Winsor Newton Series 7, invest in some brush cleaner as well. The Masters Brush Cleaner is an excellent product for the care and preserving of fine brushes

If you’re looking to add a little something to this then I’d also recommend adding a tub of The Masters Brush Cleaner to them. Proper cleaning and care will make these paint brushes last a long time, even longer than synthetics.

Wet Palette

The Privateer Press P3 Wet Palette, usually under $20 and perfect if you don’t want to build one yourself.

A wet palette is another really useful addition to the miniatures painters toolbox. It helps preserve paint by keeping the paint you’re working from drying out and helps you get to the proper consistency of paint for applying it to miniatures. It’s also really handy for blending and other effects. Privateer Press makes a handy wet palette that’s just right for miniatures painters. Consider adding in an extra pad of wet palette paper for the busy painter.

Porcelain Paint Palettes & Bowls

The Darice Oblong Porcelain Paint Palette is a solid addition to your paint station

Every good miniatures painter knows that you shouldn’t paint directly from the paint pot for several reasons including paints drying out, the potential for accidental paint spills, and getting too much paint on your brush or up in the metal ferrule that holds the bristles in place. For these reasons it’s nice to have a couple of palettes around your painting desk. You can get some super cheap plastic or tin palettes and these are perfectly serviceable. However if you’d like to have something a little nicer and that feels more solid, a ceramic palette or nesting ceramic bowls are a nice upgrade. I personally use this Darice 10 Well Oblong Porcelain Paint Palette and these large porcelain stacking bowls. These things are solid and have some heft to them so they don’t slide around and can’t be accidentally knocked over which keeps the messes down. They are prefect for when I need a larger amount of paint out for a bigger project and they’re also great for oil washes and custom paint mixes. Since they’re porcelain, they don’t stain and are very easy to clean even when you have let paint dry on them.

PaintWater/Not Paint Water Coffee Mugs

Get a set of these handy Paint Water/Not Paint Water coffee mugs to keep yourself from accidentally imbibing your paint water

Most painters keep a mug of water on their paint station for thinning paints and cleaning their brushes when changing colors or types of paint. Some of us drink coffee or adult beverages out of another mug while we’re working. A coffe mug that’s got “Not Paint Water” printed on the side is a fun gift for a painter and it’ll keep them from getting a mouthful of dirty water when they’re “in the zone” and focused on their painting. You can find these on Amazon sometimes but why not check out Etsy, there are several sellers there who make mugs with custom messages on them and it’s always cool to support small businesses doing hand made items.

Iwata Airbrush Cleaning Station

The Iwata Airbrush Cleaning Station is a really useful airbrushing accessory and includes a built in airbrush stand

The Iwata Airbrush Cleaning Station is a handy little thing to have that allows you to empty paint and cleaning fluid from your airbrush into a sealed container. It cuts down on messes and potential spills and actually holds quite a bit of liquid safely until you’re ready to empty it. The Iwata Airbrush Cleaning Station also doubles as an airbrush stand due to the way the handle is engineered.

Elmers X-Acto Knife Set in Zippered Case

This Elmers X-Acto Knife Set has a great variety of blades and handles and comes in a handy and portable zippered case

One thing a miniatures hobbyist always needs is a supply of sharp knives for trimming and cleaning model kits as well as doing customization and kitbashing. This handy Elmers X-Acto Knife set has a variety of handles and blades suitable for different jobs and everything comes in a nice zippered nylon case for storage or for throwing in your bag for emergency repairs on game day.

Cordless Dremel

The Dremel 7700 moto tool is cordless, rechargeable and has plenty of power for typical miniature hobby tasks

The Dremel is a really handy motorized mini tool that can be used for all sorts of jobs like cutting, drilling, polishing and sanding. A rechargeable cordless Dremel is even handier as it’s more compact and can be taken with you in a portable tool kit. Even though it’s powered by a rechargeable battery it’s got enough power for most of the typical miniatures hobbyist and scenery jobs. There are a couple of choices here, the Dremel 7300 Mini Mite which is a smaller desktop version or the more powerful Dremel 7700 moto tool that has a bigger motor and battery. Both are excellent choices for miniature and model building. Throw in a Dremel accessory kit to go along with it and you’ve got a winning combination.

Donegan OptiVISOR and Light

The Donegan OptiiVISOR with replaceable lenses that can be quickly changed for different levels of magnification

The Donegan OptiVISORis a headset with magnifying lenses that’s completely hands free and can be worn over prescription glasses if needed. The lenses can be changed out to increase or decrease the amount of magnification as needed. These are great for working on those models with tiny accessories or for getting the detail right when painting miniatures. These especially useful for those older hobbyists who need a little help seeing the tiniest details on their projects.

The Donegan compatible OptiVISOR LED Light Attachment

Consider adding the OptiVISOR LED light kit which uses LEDs to flood the area you’re working on with bright light.

Airbrushes

The Iwata HP-C Plus Airbrush is a solid, high quality dependable workhorse that will take you a long way

Lots of miniatures hobbyists are making the jump to airbrushing these days. There are tons of choices and options for airbrushes, too many to list here but if you’re interested in learning the basics I have an article on the basics of airbrushes that you can check out here. Two excellent airbrush choices for the beginner are the Iwata HP-C Plus and the Badger Sotar 2020. Both of these are reasonably priced relative to the overall costs of getting into airbrushing and there’s a ton of information and video online about these models for the new airbrush user. Consider adding an airbrush compressor to go with this gift, more information about that below.

Airbrush Compressor

The Master Airbrush Single Piston Airbrush Compressor with Tank as sold on Amazon. All of this for only $89 shipped!

A great item to go along with a new airbrush is a small airbrush compressor. These can be very expensive but you really do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on a fancy compressor. The Master Airbrush TC20-T airbrush compressor is a great little compressor and comes in under $100 delivered from Amazon. These usually include a braided hose which means you have what you need to get started airbrushing. The hose that’s included with these is standardized for Iwata fittings so if you don’t have an Iwata airbrush pick up one of these airbrush adapter kits which covers about 99 percent of airbrushes commonly used.

Airbrush Spray Booth

This portable airbrush spray booth will keep your airbrushing environment clean

The last major piece of the airbrushing puzzle is optional but nice to have if your hobbyist is spraying indoors. This Master Airbrush portable airbrush spray booth has a fan that draws in the overspray and air and filters it keeping any stray paint from getting out of hand and helps with odor control. The kit includes parts to exhaust the filtered air out a nearby window or vent. Strictly optional but this will probably keep everyone else in the house happy and it’s also under $100 delivered if you buy it on Amazon.

Army Painter Mega Hobby Set & Mega Paint Set 2

The Army Painter Mega Hobby Set is great for someone who’s just getting started in the miniatures hobby

This gift idea is really for those that are brand new to the hobby and just getting started. The Army Painter Mega Hobby Set is your one stop shop for the beginning miniatures hobbyist. It’s conveniently packaged all together and has a great assortment of hobby tools like knives, clippers, files and tweezers. It also includes glues, a basic selection of Army Painter brand paints and paint brushes, a can of spray primer and is rounded out with a nice assortment of basing materials to finish off your miniatures like a pro. It even includes a 24 page booklet with lots of information to help you get started and dive right in to the miniatures hobby.

The Army Painter Mega Paint Set 2 is a great addition to the Mega Hobby Set and gives you an additional 42 paints, washes and more/army-painter-mega-paint-set-2

If you’re looking to expand this set, consider the Army Painter Mega Paint Set II which contains an additional 42 paints and includes washes and shades and some additional brushes.

Weathering Pigments from Vallejo & Secret Weapon Miniatures

Weathering Pigment sets from Vallejo and Secret Weapon Miniatures will allow you to add that extra bit of realism to your miniatures and models

This gift idea is for those hobbyists that are looking to add that extra level of realism to their miniatures. Weathering pigments are fine colored powders that are usually used to add color to paint medium. In this format they are literally just the pigment powder, usually in a small jar or tub and are applied with a brush or sponge to add different effects to a model in order to make it look worn and dirty or greasy or even rusty. These can be purchased individually but are also sold in sets of compatible shades around a theme like “Desert Sand and Mud” or “Rust and Oil” etc. I use weathering pigments from both Vallejo and Secret Weapon Miniatures. I like them both but recently have been leaning more towards the Secret Weapon Miniatures brand as I like their color selection and variety better. They also sell pre-selected sets of pigments and for a really nice gift Secret Weapon Miniatures have a set called “The Works” which includes all twenty three of the shades they offer in one complete package at a discount price of about 15% off the regular price if purchased separately. (It’s also a great time to buy Secret Weapon Miniatures products as many of their products are currently on sale at up to 25% off normal prices for their annual Black Friday sale which lasts until December 4^th).

The Wrap Up (See What I Did There?)

The perfect holiday gift for a miniatures hobbyist?

It’s a wrap! These are just a few ideas that I think many miniatures hobbyists would be pretty happy to receive in their stocking or find under the tree on Christmas morning. Whether you’re filling the role of Santa this year or need to give some not so subtle hints to someone about possible gift ideas for yourself this list should help make someone a little extra happy when it comes time to unwrap presents. If you were making a list along this theme what else would you suggest? Please add your ideas in the comment section below!

Eight Tabletop Games That Make Great Holiday Gifts

Board Games, Geek Gifts, News and Info, Tabletop Gaming Comments Off

Nov 202015

We haven’t even made it to Thanksgiving yet and already we’re being bombarded with commercials about Christmas and there are huge holiday themed displays almost everywhere you shop. Since we’re just about to ramp up to level 9000 on the Christmas-O-Meter I thought this would be a good time to share some tabletop game suggestions. The theme for this post will be easy to play tabletop games that are fun and will (mostly) actually fit in a Christmas stocking if you’re looking for a few good stocking stuffers. Most of these games will also be budget friendly, coming in at $20 or less. These games are available at your local game store or on Amazon. I’ve included the Amazon price for each game at the time of this writing.

Love Letter

Love Letter is a fast, fun, easy to learn card game

Love Letter is a card game of risk, deduction and bluffing with just 16 cards. A game takes about 15 minutes to play and players must earn favor points with the princess. The cards represent the princesses suitors and members of the royal court. Each card has a different effect. Players play multiple rounds and the first player to 4 favor points wins the game. This is a great warm up game or filler game when you have a few minutes. Don’t be fooled by the fact that there’s only 16 cards, Love Letter is fun and full of strategy. 2-4 players. Price: $9

Get Bit

Get Bit! Robots! Sharks! Oh my!

You’re a robot! You’re in the water! A giant robot eating shark is chasing you! Get bit is a fun card game that uses bluffing and deduction to determine who…wait for it…gets bit. Players place their robots in a line and then use the cards to determine the line order each round. Last robot in line loses a limb, and you actually get to pull an arm or a leg off of your little robot avatar. The goal is to be at the front of the line at the end of the game when there are only two players left. Get Bit is simple to learn and fun to play. Games take a few minutes and in spite of its simplicity you’ll want to play it over and over. 2-6 players. Price: $16

Forbidden Island

Forbidden Island turns you into a team of Indiana Jones style adventurers

Forbidden Island is a cooperative game where the players are trying to retrieve treasure from ancient ruins on a sinking island. Players must work as a team to collect the treasures and escape the island before it sinks entirely. This is a cooperative game so that means all players are playing against the game and must work together to win. This game has great components and the board is made up of randomly placed tiles so it’s different every time you play. This is a great family game and even young kids can grasp it with the help of adults. (Forbidden Island is the one game on this list that may not actually fit in a Christmas stocking) 2-4 players. Price: $16

Exploding Kittens

Exploding Kittens a game of kitten powered Russian roulette

Exploding Kittens has a great little promo video that explains everything:

Exploding Kittens: A card game for people who like kittens and explosions and laser beams….and sometimes goats. This is a fun little party game that takes about 10 minutes to figure out. Players take turns drawing and playing cards trying to avoid exploding, which knocks you out of the game, while using the cards to manipulate the other players and hopefully exploding them. 2-5 players and you can expand it for up to 9 players by adding a second deck. Price: $20

Machi Koro

In Machi Koro – you’re the Mayor trying to out-Mayor the other local cities

Machi Koro is a neat little game where each player is the mayor of their own city. Players compete to grow their city by building public works, food factories, entertainment and more, while trying to prevent their rival mayors from doing the same. This is a great fast paced game that is easy to learn and plays in about 20 minutes. Dice and cards. 2-4 players. Price: $20

Sushi Go

Sushi Go,, choose wisely and become the Sushi Master!

Sushi Go is a fast playing card game where players try and assemble the best combination of sushi dishes as cards come out. Points are scored over multiple rounds by collecting the most maki rolls or making full sets of sashimi. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins and is declared the Sushi Master. Sushi Go uses drafting, hand management, and collecting strategies. Great artwork and a great game for family game night with kids and adults. 2-5 players. Price: $11

Guillotine

Guillotine is the revolutionary card game where you win by getting ahead

Guillotine is a light hearted game that takes place during the French Revolution. Billed as “the revolutionary card game where you win by getting a head”. Players are guillotine operators who are competing for the best nobles – or at least their heads – over the course of three rounds. If you want to be the best guillotine operator that means you’re going to have to amass the best “trophies”. Guillotine is a card game for 2.5 players that uses hand management and play action cards to manipulate the order of the line so you collect the most valuable nobles. Price: $12

Hey That’s My Fish!

hey that's my fidh, tabletop, board game, game night, family game

Hey That’s My Fish – can your penguins outfish the other penguins before the ice melts?

Hey That’s My Fish is a great little family game that works equally well with adults or children. In Hey That’s My Fish players control hungry penguins on an Antarctic ice floe trying to collect the most fish. Competing players try to block you and the ice floe continuously gets smaller as you play. Players try to win by collecting the most fish by the end of the game. This is a great little game with nice artwork and a lot of tactical depth for a small game. For 2 – 4 players. Price: $15

8 Tabletop Games That Are Easy to Learn and Fun to Play!

This is by no means an exhaustive list but these are some of my favorite small, easy to learn and play tabletop games. These games all make great gifts and they all really will fit in a Christmas stocking with the possible exception of Forbidden Island which is a bit bigger. The best thing is that you can be playing any of them within a few minutes of opening them as they won’t require hours of assembly or rules reading in order to start having fun!

Dwarven Forge City Builder Terrain is Great for Wargamers Too

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Mar 312015

The other day I wrote a bit about Dwarven Forge’s various Kickstarters for their Dwarvenite range of dungeon terrain sets. Something that I didn’t mention at the time was that I think that this current set – the City Builder Terrain System, is really well suited for wargames and skirmish wargames in particular.

What Is the City Builder Terrain System?

dwarven forge city builder terrain system

A sample build of a small city area that would work for a skirmish game set in an urban environment. This uses parts from the Capital City pledge, Imperial Streets set and various smaller add on sets

Without rehashing everything I wrote in my previous post, Dwarven Forge’s City Builder Terrain is a modular, durable, plastic terrain system that allows you to build up urban areas for your tabletop games. Dwarvenite is a heavy duty polymer that’s fairly indestructible and holds its finish well. It’s so durable that some folks just carry around their sets in a tote or duffel bag.

What Can I Make With The City Builder Terrain System?

The City Builder Terrain System sets are fairly complex and give you a wide range of options. They can be purchased in a “dungeon gray” unpainted version or completely finished and ready to deploy on to your game table. These can range from just a small building or two that are designed as more of a movement obstacle for mass battles all the way up to a massive city with a wide range of multi level buildings constructed of different materials and fortification levels. There are even sets available that allow you to construct the sewer system and all of this can be used in conjunction to create some complex battlefields.

Dwarven Forge City Building System Sewers

This battle starts in the buildings and on the surrounding streets, entering into a canal and ultimately descending into the sewers making this a complex and fun battlefield. This set up uses a mix of the new Dwarven Forge City Building sets along with Game Tiles and Caverns water tile sets, demonstrating how all of the various Dwarvenite sets are fully compatible.

This is especially useful for smaller skirmish level games like Malifaux, or Mordheim. The hotly anticipated new edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battles has also been widely rumored to be or have an additional set of rules making it into a skirmish game

While the Dwarven Forge City Builder Terrain System is themed around a medieval period I think it’s fairly flexible and could be used for a wide variety of settings. You could simulate a rural or old city area in Bolt Action. It’s suitable for many historical games as well. It’s probably also great for some of the Steampunk themed skirmish games that are becoming more popular.

Check out this amazing multilevel build using pieces from the City Buildings, Battlements, City Streets and Sewers sets:

In addition to creating some complex exterior areas, the City Builder Terrain System can be used to create areas with fully finished interiors complete with stairways, line of sight obstacles, walls, doors, windows, balconies and more. There are also ruins add on packs to simulate blighted areas or damaged buildings. You could use the ruined pieces to modify buildings as your game progresses and things get damaged, dynamically changing the layout of obstacles and line of sight on the fly as a result of battle damage.

Pieces can also be combined with parts from previous sets to create water barriers or massive stone walls. The only limit is your imagination.

Dwarven Forge City Builder Terrain System for Skirmish Wargames? Yes please!

As a long time wargamer I really like the versatility of these sets. Typically wargamers tend to build or buy a few static building models and then use the same ones over and over. With the Dwarven Forge City sets you have a large selection of modular pieces that you can use to assemble something unique for your battlefield every time you play. Another benefit is that many static models, especially for medieval/fantasy architecture either don’t have interiors at all or are very limited due to the way they are manufactured. The Dwarvenite pieces give you the option to have fully realized interiors to your buildings. With the addition of accessories from other companies you can even place furniture and other items much like scatter terrain on the insides of your buildings.

Sample tavern interior and surrounding streets

This coupled with the huge range of accessories available from Dwarven Forge and the fact that unlike pre-made buildings which can be finicky and at times a bit fragile, the Dwarvenite parts are nearly indestructible and will probably last you a lifetime. I think these facts all add up to a great value for wargamers and even more so for skirmish gamers.

The Dwarven Forge City Builder Terrain System Kickstarter is in its final few days so head on over and take a look at what’s on offer. For more general information about Dwarven Forge and their products check out my other article here.

Thoughts on the Dwarven Forge City Builder Terrain System Kickstarter

Geek News, News and Info, RPG, Tabletop Gaming 1 Response »

Mar 302015

As you may or may not know, Dwarven Forge, makers of 3D dungeon themed modular gaming terrain recently launched their third Kickstarter for an entirely new City Building Terrain System set. This Kickstarter runs until 6:00 PM PDT on Thursday April 2nd. Here’s a look at the Kickstarter promo video where Dwarven Forge creator Stefan Pokorny lays out some background and an overview of the system:

A Little Dwarven Forge Background

If you’re unfamiliar with Dwarven Forge, it’s a small company that’s been making high quality, hand crafted and hand painted resin dungeon terrain for almost twenty years. They feature a fairly large variety of terrain sets that range from a “basic” field stone stonework motif to some very specialized and unique sets that offer a much more finished look with themes like ”Den of Evil”, “Realm of the Ancients” and “Catacombs”. The owner, Stefan Pokorny is a classically trained artist who has worked in a variety of mediums. He’s also a longtime fan of Fantasy Role Playing Games and this is where his artist background has intersected with his love of fantasy and games like Dungeons & Dragons resulting in the creation of Dwarven Forge.

Dwarven Forge resin sets modular dungeon terrain

An example of a resin Dwarven Forge layout with a variety of sets

Dwarven Forge sets are a large leap above everything else that’s currently on the market and are clearly a labor of love. The result is amazingly detailed yet highly flexible system that allows you to create almost any type of dungeon environment that you can imagine. Sets are highly sought after by fans of dungeon terrain and collecting Dwarven Forge sets is frequently referred to as “the addiction” by those in the know. The fact that these are produced in relatively small batches and hand painted also means they are pricey and sometimes out of stock for significant periods of time.

Detail shot of a Dwarven Forge handcrafted and painted resin Catacombs set

About three years ago, the powers that be at Dwarven Forge decided to explore the idea of producing sets in a different material that would be more durable and easier to manufacture in large quantities, allowing them to be made available to a wider audience at a much less budget busting price. After some research they settled on a plastic polymer that is similar to what hockey pucks are made from and decided to call it “Dwarvenite”.

The base pledge of the original Dwarven Forge Games Tiles Kickstarter (painted option) included an assortment of just four different pieces. The genius of this was that these four basic pieces allowed you to create all sorts of rooms, then stretch goals added variety and many options.

Dwarvenite is almost indestructible. There are videos of the Dwarven Forge staff dropping pieces from the roof of a building and actually driving over a piece with a truck. The results of these tests are that the Dwarvenite material is virtually undamaged. This means that your investment in Dwarvenite will likely be something that will last you a lifetime and can be passed on to your kids or other gaming family. As the pieces can be manufactured in steel molds with standard injection molding processes instead of having to be hand poured in resin they are much less costly to manufacture and these savings are passed on to consumers. The lowered manufacturing costs also mean that they can offer Dwarvenite sets in both unpainted and painted versions.

Because Dwarven Forge was pretty much a two man operation they decided to go to Kickstarter to generate interest and try to fund their new product called “Dungeon Tiles”. Following the “base sets pledge plus stretch goals” business model they ended up with a resoundingly successful Kickstarter that allowed them to produce the new line and add many new types of pieces and accessories to the line. At the end of their Kickstarter they had raised close to two million dollars in funding. In keeping with their reputation for being a quality company with great customer service, they managed to deliver Kickstarter rewards to their backers on time and at a quality level that exceeded backer expectations.

The Dwarven Forge Caverns base set followed a similar strategy as the first Kickstarter

A year later they repeated this success with a Dwarvenite Caverns Kickstarter that featured sets designed to model natural stone caverns complete with stalagmites and other features you’d find while exploring caves. Once again they ran an exciting Kickstarter campaign and delivered their products to backers on time and with outstanding quality. In the video below you can see how by the time the Caverns Kickstarter finished you could create some fantastic cavern layouts:

What is the Dwarven Forge City Builder System

While the first two sets of Dwarvenite all focused on the underground portion of tabletop adventuring, this new set is designed to complement those sets and bring your adventuring into urban areas. The City Builder System is just that, a collection of Dwarvenite pieces that allow you build anything from a small cottage on up to a massive city complete with taverns, inns, fortified guardhouses and just about anything you can imagine (depending of course on how much of this stuff you purchase). The sets allow you to construct complete buildings with roofs and/or completely usable multistory interiors where you can play out your encounters in 3D with miniatures – and if you’re wondering, while this system does include optional battlements pieces it is not expressly designed to construct actual castles and keeps. Stefan Pokorny has indicated that he intends to run another Kickstarter in the future that will center on a castle building system. As is standard for Dwarven Forge Dwarvenite sets, all of the items on offer come either painted or unpainted versions.

A quick overview of the City Builder System in action using resin prototypes:

The one (sort of) negative aspect of this Kickstarter is the sheer variety of sets on offer. While it’s a well thought out project in terms of how it really will allow you create some fantastic urban layouts, this means that by necessity it requires a lot of different parts to accomplish that goal. Base pledges this time offer a complex variety of pieces that allow you to make buildings. There are add on sets for streets and sidewalks, as well as sets for sewers and buildings that are more fortified than typical residential or public gathering places. There are even sets that are ruined pieces that would allow you to create heavily damaged architecture. Add in the fact that he’s offering two distinct styles of buildings (stone and Tudor) and just the base pledges have to be complex to accomplish this.

Another look at (some pretty fantastic) possibilies using a lot of the different add on packs from this Kickstarter:

This means that trying to pick up some of everything during the Kickstarter is going to be cost prohibitive for most backers, not due to the pricing of individual sets which is fairly reasonable, but due to the sheer volume of variety and options. At the time of this writing the average pledge per backer is around $690 according to Kicktraq. Most Kickstarter participants probably have a budget that’s well below the level required to get some of everything on offer during the campaign. Having to stay within that budget will likely mean that most backers have some tough decisions to make about what they want to focus on during the Kickstarter My opinion on this is that unless you’re not interested in the city building aspect of this project then the best value is going to be to maximize your spending on the base building pledges as you’ll only receive free stretch goals with those pledges. You may also want to add in some extra floor packs because of all of the free wall piece stretch goals.

The other thing to keep in mind is that everything else should be available in add on packs from the Dwarven Forge online store once Kickstarter fulfillment is complete. (In past projects sometimes the mix of pieces is changed for retail and but as a general rule DF does not typically offer many “Kickstarter Exclusive” items). Scheduled delivery for this project is January 2016. While some may disagree, I think it’s a good long term strategy for Dwarven Forge to actually offer more options during the Kickstarter than most people can afford to buy all at once. They’re leveraging the power of crowd funding to greatly expand their product line at the beginning of the year. In effect designing and manufacturing an entire years worth of releases in one go which likely creates some significant cost breaks at the manufacturing stage. This should result in continued post KS business for Dwarven Forge as people buy additional sets or options that they weren’t able to squeeze into their pledge during the Kickstarter.

A fortified keep using a combination of City Builder System parts and Game Tiles from previous sets:

Dwarven Forge – My Own Experience & Recommendations

I’ve been using Dwarven Forge products off and on for awhile now. I have some of the resin sets like Catacombs and Realm of the Ancients and I participated in both previous Kickstarters (although I was late to the first one and piggybacked on a friends pledge at the literally last minute). I really like all of the sets I have used to be honest. The sets are different enough to allow you to create a wide range of environments and the Dwarvenite sets match up well with the resin sets. As mentioned above, the Dwarvenite sets are practically indestructible and I don’t have to worry about them getting damaged when kids are around or the cat knocks a piece off of the table. I purchased the Dungeon Tiles sets unpainted and have gradually painted them myself but I chose to purchase the Caverns sets painted for the second Kickstarter. For this third go round I plan to focus on the City sets probably unpainted in order to maximize the number of pieces I’ll end up with. I’ll be picking up add on sets when they go into general release after the Kickstarter fulfillment has been completed.

When asked about Dwarven Forge and Dwarvenite sets in particular I always recommend them as a buy due to the variety, durability and how nice they look on your tabletop. If you’re looking to spice up your role playing games (and dungeon crawl board games!) with great visuals that can really add to the immersion then I highly recommend you visit www.dwavenforge.com and pick some up! Based on my previous experiences I’m confident that The City Building System will meet or exceed Dwarven Forge’s usual high standards and I think that participating in the Kickstarter is a great way to get started with Dwarvenite!

Don’t forget that the City Builder System Kickstarter runs until 6:00 PM PDT on Thursday April 2nd.

Jump to the Dwarven Forge City Builder System Kickstarter here

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