Tabletop Randomness

[Blackhawk]

Tell her you love it so much that you can't stand the thought of damaging it with cheeto dust. Then pull off the legs and hang it as wall art!

[MonkeyFinger]

Do what to what? Oh... a table. <breathes a sigh of relief>

[Anonymous Bosch]

I have a dilemma.

Work has begun in earnest on my gaming room in the basement, which involves way more work than it should. But anyway. My plans are for all new shelving, curtains, lighting, paint, floor, etc. Going to put in a flat screen TV and my own Xbox (take that, kids!). Make it my room. I've picked out the shelves, and I've been eyeing tables...I want to get a round table for board gaming, that can be expanded via a leaf to make room for minis games. Like the Bjursta round table from Ikea.

Well, when I was out at summer camp last week, my wife hit up a thrift shop, and found a hexagonal table for me for $5. Not exactly what I was looking for. Because it's hex vs round, there's less real estate for games on the table, and when the leaf is in, it's a bit shorter than the other tables I've been looking at.

Normally, not a huge deal. $5? I just tell her it's not exactly what I wanted, and we leave it in the alley for the scavengers.

But the rub. There's always a rub, isn't there? My eldest daughter gave the table a custom paint job. She painted it black, with gold trim, and a gold "ampersand dragon" logo from D&D fame. It's an OK paint job, she did a pretty good job on it, but once again, not really what I was looking for. So now, I really can't throw it out because of all of the extra work she did on it.

I'm a horrible person, aren't I? I should be really grateful for what my family did for me, but my brain keeps thinking about what I originally wanted.

Donate the hexagonal table to your church for OctoCon usage, and let your daughter know that you've elevated it to a position of greater gaming prominence.

[Blackhawk]

Try being honest with her. Tell her that the hex table is just the wrong shape and size, but that you really like her work. Then tell her you're getting a new table and ask if she'd do that one, too. You get the right table, and she gets to feel great. Oh, and you don't end up feeling guilty for manipulating your kids.

Or you could 'accidentally' spill your evening glass of acid on it.

[MonkeyFinger]

Was very much amused when, in the most recent episode of Orphan Black, the scenes from their Rabbit Hole Comics lair showed them playing Gloomhaven.

[Smoove_B]

Games Workshop is being sued for $62.5 million:

Game store owner, and legal counsel David Moore has filed a criminal complaint in the US Federal Court of Southern Florida alleging six criminal violations of US law and is seeking $62.5 million in equitable relief from Games Workshop.

Moore alleges violations of the U.S. Law and RICO under 18 & 15 U.S. CODE, including but not limited to Fraud, Price Fixing, Tortious Interference, Breach of Contract, Unjust Enrichment, Restraint of Trade, Conspiracy and Antitrust Violations.

As someone that is just now dipping my toe into the insanity that is Games Workshop (forgive me, I have fallen), I am quite puzzled by the company. The one that has me really confused is my recent eBay order for the Dark Imperium starter set (retails for $160, I think). I saw it on eBay from a reputable vendor for $94 shipped. I ordered it and two days later a box with a Game Workshop return address (I forget which state) arrived at my house. The shipping manifest inside also suggested it came directly from Games Workshop.

And yet if I try to order it direct from them on their website? $160, plus shipping. Prime vendor on Amazon? $136. Random seller on eBay? $94. The day after I ordered it it was down to $90 shipped and I can only assume this person was trying to undercut lower vendors on eBay. Three days later, it was back up to $94.

Something is definitely up.

[LordMortis]

I'm not sure how he can expect $63 Million but GW has always been shitty to their vendors (and by extension the customers who work their distribution model) I don't know if they break any laws or not but I know back in the 80s, the collection of SE Michigan gaming stores got together and informed GW they would collectively quit carrying GW products if GW opened a GW store in SE Michigan. I think it took until the early 90s but GW did open a store and the threats from the stores were hollow. Of course, by then Internet was budding with sales and Magic The Gathering was sole arbiter of which store would survive until the Internet would totally redefine the FLGS model.

[Blackhawk]

Games Workshop is being sued for $62.5 million:

Game store owner, and legal counsel David Moore has filed a criminal complaint in the US Federal Court of Southern Florida alleging six criminal violations of US law and is seeking $62.5 million in equitable relief from Games Workshop.

Moore alleges violations of the U.S. Law and RICO under 18 & 15 U.S. CODE, including but not limited to Fraud, Price Fixing, Tortious Interference, Breach of Contract, Unjust Enrichment, Restraint of Trade, Conspiracy and Antitrust Violations.

As someone that is just now dipping my toe into the insanity that is Games Workshop (forgive me, I have fallen), I am quite puzzled by the company. The one that has me really confused is my recent eBay order for the Dark Imperium starter set (retails for $160, I think). I saw it on eBay from a reputable vendor for $94 shipped. I ordered it and two days later a box with a Game Workshop return address (I forget which state) arrived at my house. The shipping manifest inside also suggested it came directly from Games Workshop.

And yet if I try to order it direct from them on their website? $160, plus shipping. Prime vendor on Amazon? $136. Random seller on eBay? $94. The day after I ordered it it was down to $90 shipped and I can only assume this person was trying to undercut lower vendors on eBay. Three days later, it was back up to $94.

Something is definitely up.

Keep in mind that GW recently changed their restrictions to be more friendly to consumers. What you're seeing now is the improved version.

There is a reason that a significant of the tabletop gamers I've met have a de-facto boycott on them going back years (myself included.) They're just not worth doing business with, and their product is no longer the one and only 'hot thing' that it used to be as a result. I enjoy their settings. I don't have any interest in doing business with a company who charges twice what their competitors do, essentially threaten to bankrupt retailers who refuse their demands, and lock down the internet so as to be as unfriendly as possible to anyone looking for a more reasonable price.

Oh, and in a more candid moment a few years ago, they basically said, "If you think our prices are too high, then you aren't our audience anyway." Fuck 'em.

[Smoove_B]

I don't even really care about the games, but I've come to terms with the fact that I really, really like the Warhammer 40K universe - at least as I've seen it through playing Death Angel (card game) and the various Warhammer 40K RTS games. I will also say that that quality of the model sprues are leaps and bounds ahead of anything else I've seen in what is admittedly a very short time as a wargamer. I don't have an interest in army building or playing 50+ unit battles. I'm more of a skirmish guy, but I'm going to try building and painting what I now have. The painting has also always intimidated me but I feel much more confident in my abilities. I'm really trying to embrace the whole of miniature war gaming (not just the playing) and figured what the hell.

So yeah, I don't have a history with them (as a board/war) gamer -- other than what I've heard and always wondering why their stuff was so damn expensive. I've paid more money for lower quality miniatures but I still think they're waaay overpriced.

If nothing else, it'll sure be interesting to watch.

[Zarathud]

What annoys me is that Fantasy Flight has moved towards the GW model. High cost, high expansion.

[Blackhawk]

What annoys me is that Fantasy Flight has moved towards the GW model. High cost, high expansion.

And strict limitations on online sales to drive consumers to physical stores - even if such stores don't exist for many consumers.

[AWS260]

My son just had his first day of Board Game Camp and came home asking if we could buy King of Tokyo.

[Carpet_pissr]

I could never get any of my gang interested in that one. We played a few times and when I sometimes go to pull it out, I get a chorus of "nooooo!"

I kinda liked it. Not my favorite but certainly not boo worthy imo.

[Anonymous Bosch]

I could never get any of my gang interested in that one. We played a few times and when I sometimes go to pull it out, I get a chorus of "nooooo!"

I kinda liked it. Not my favorite but certainly not boo worthy imo.

YMMV, but when playing King of Tokyo, it helps to ham things up and get into character during play (e.g. "PUNY EARTHLINGS ARE NO MATCH FOR THE MIGHTY ALIENOID!" etc).

[AWS260]

My son just had his first day of Board Game Camp and came home asking if we could buy King of Tokyo.

Board game camp is getting expensive. We bought King of Tokyo, and now he's asking for Tokaido. Thank god the other game they've played is Machi Koro, which we already have.

[Smoove_B]

Take a survey to help WotC get some information about your feelings on Dungeons and Dragons.

We’d like to check in with you about your Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) play and involvement in D&D-related activities. Please take a few minutes to complete our survey.

[hentzau]

Uncovered while digging out my gaming room. Anyone recognize it?

[Isgrimnur]

A Google search tells me.

[MonkeyFinger]

Just based on Chiba and Asano and some old brain cells... no searching... Neuromancer?

[hentzau]

Just based on Chiba and Asano and some old brain cells... no searching... Neuromancer?

Yep. Found all of my notes for the game while cleaning out my game room. Using them I could probably walk through the game again pretty easily.

In the same pad of paper were a bunch of notes for another game that took me a while to identify, but I finally recognized it as Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen.

Also threw out a binder that had tabs for all of the cities in the original Ultima games. No notes, but the tabs were all there.

[MonkeyFinger]

Just based on Chiba and Asano and some old brain cells... no searching... Neuromancer?

Yep. Found all of my notes for the game while cleaning out my game room. Using them I could probably walk through the game again pretty easily.

In the same pad of paper were a bunch of notes for another game that took me a while to identify, but I finally recognized it as Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen.

Also threw out a binder that had tabs for all of the cities in the original Ultima games. No notes, but the tabs were all there.

Very cool. I actually still have my IIGS version of the game and an actual IIGS system that might even still work... but not sure if I want to jump down that particular rabbit hole.

[Blackhawk]

My monthly RPG session just got cancelled because someone had already put other plans into place before committing to our session. This is the second time in a row - and this is a monthly session. My patience with people (in general) is getting short. Too many of my hobbies require other human beings that are reliable. Too much of my 'hobby time' goes toward projects and activities that never happen. The problem is, if I drop the group, my hobby essentially gets turned off. This is too small of a town to find people easily.


Sorry, just tired of putting in effort and getting screwed because other people don't have the sense to check their calendars before making commitments.

[Anonymous Bosch]

My monthly RPG session just got cancelled because someone had already put other plans into place before committing to our session. This is the second time in a row - and this is a monthly session. My patience with people (in general) is getting short. Too many of my hobbies require other human beings that are reliable. Too much of my 'hobby time' goes toward projects and activities that never happen. The problem is, if I drop the group, my hobby essentially gets turned off. This is too small of a town to find people easily.


Sorry, just tired of putting in effort and getting screwed because other people don't have the sense to check their calendars before making commitments.

Have you tried MeetUo.com? If you don’t live in a town with a FLGS, you might have better luck checking there.

Failing that, there's always the option of hosting your own regular game night event in your locale. Obviously that requires more time and commitment on your part, but if you’re already making similar efforts to no avail, why not go the extra step? You could probably contact your local public library, and if they aren’t already hosting an event, offer to host it there and further publicise it on MeetUp.com. Even if you do live in a small town, chances are you'd likely be able to drum up a fair amount of dedicated interest (particularly if your town lacks a FLGS).

[Blackhawk]

I have. Nothing within 50 miles save for one movie group.

[Anonymous Bosch]

I have. Nothing within 50 miles save for one movie group.

That's a shame.

Still. as challenging as it may seem, that's all the more reason to consider organising a local tabletop/RPG meetup yourself. If you were to discuss it with a librarian at your local branch, I suspect they'd be glad to help, and allow you to regularly host free game events there. A service like MeetUp.com also makes it a good deal easier to accurately determine the level of dedicated interest by setting your event(s) as RSVP "Yes" only, so you only hear back from those willing to commit to attending. Given how limited your local options for tabletop gaming seem, it's certainly worthy of further consideration.

[hentzau]

No chance to just play without the missing player? I know it's more of a pain, but I'll always do that over cancelling a session...

[Blackhawk]

Not this time. I have six players. Two warned in advance that they'd be completely unavailable during the fall. In fact, we got six specifically so that we'd have some wiggle room if people couldn't make it - adult responsibilities and all. With this cancellation, though, we're down to 3/6.

And to be clear, I don't mind when people can't make it. I mind when I got confirmations from the entire group, second confirmation, then put in effort to refresh and prep the session, and only then did one person think to check to see if, maybe, they were actually free that day. Busy people is adult life. Irresponsible, inconsiderate people are a different issue.

[Blackhawk]

Well, I just officially stepped down from GMing. Either someone else will do it, or we'll switch to board game days, or the group will kerpoof. It just wasn't working trying to GM with the inconsistency brought on by everyone's schedules combined with the lack of maturity and respect in dealing with that demonstrated by a couple of people.

What usually happens is this. I grab a game, and I am full of ideas and enthusiasm. I am driven to create something from that, and then we play. We get done and I'm still full of drive. I write down ideas, I brainstorm, I plan props, miniatures, the whole shebang. I can't wait! And then we don't play. It is the build up without the release. So I keep what I have ready off to the side, and when we finally do play, it has been so long that I have to re-learn the rules and campaign from scratch. This process repeats. I build momentum, and it fizzles, then I have to wait and start from scratch again, even within the same campaign. It doesn't take too long before it leaves me burned out on whatever genre or story we're playing and suddenly the next game feels like a stressful chore. At that point, I either phone it in, or talk us into changing games in an attempt to get my enthusiasm back. That's not fair to anyone, and it is exhausting for me.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Well, I just officially stepped down from GMing. Either someone else will do it, or we'll switch to board game days, or the group will kerpoof. It just wasn't working trying to GM with the inconsistency brought on by everyone's schedules combined with the lack of maturity and respect in dealing with that demonstrated by a couple of people.

What usually happens is this. I grab a game, and I am full of ideas and enthusiasm. I am driven to create something from that, and then we play. We get done and I'm still full of drive. I write down ideas, I brainstorm, I plan props, miniatures, the whole shebang. I can't wait! And then we don't play. It is the build up without the release. So I keep what I have ready off to the side, and when we finally do play, it has been so long that I have to re-learn the rules and campaign from scratch. This process repeats. I build momentum, and it fizzles, then I have to wait and start from scratch again, even within the same campaign. It doesn't take too long before it leaves me burned out on whatever genre or story we're playing and suddenly the next game feels like a stressful chore. At that point, I either phone it in, or talk us into changing games in an attempt to get my enthusiasm back. That's not fair to anyone, and it is exhausting for me.

That's a shame, though from the sounds of it, you made the right choice.

FWIW, Fiasco might be a better fit for you and your group, as it's a GM-less storytelling RPG for 3 – 5 players. It's basically designed to be played as a one-shot game in just a few hours, with six-sided dice and no preparation. So it could be a fun way to scratch the same itch, only without the hassle and frustration on your part. You can see a good example of how it plays in the Season 1 Tabletop playthrough.

[Blackhawk]

I actually played a game of Fiasco a while back at a con. It was fantastic.

[The Meal]

feels like a stressful chore

You're doing the right thing. The issue is that 90%+ of the effort for putting the game together is on you, and there's no skin in the game for others to flake out on you.

We host folks over to our house about once a month (this is the 11th year of doing so). Fortunately we're in an urban enough of an area to curate the invite list based on reliability. Our group events (poker night) see a group of 12-18 folks, and I'm constantly recruiting to maintain that number. The email invite goes out to about 45 folks. Our group of do-not-ever-miss-unless-in-a-hospital-or-out-of-the-country list is about four folks. And this is for an activity which does not require the same folks to commit for all events.

We tend to lose folks to: diminished enthusiasm, parenthood, and moving out of the area. In any given 12 month period we'll see about 12-15 new players to our game, 50% of which do not return after the first time. About a third of the remaining new players are what I consider regulars (come at least 50% of the time). Fortunately our activity allows for a recruitment ponzi scheme incentivizing others to help fill our ranks (new players or folks hosting a new player gain a small advantage). We also try to build activities to encourage folks to come back (a separate end-of-season poker night that the regulars buy into during their regular attendance). And since we are working on our 11th year of history, I'm now promoting some of the previous results as historically interesting.

The biggest advantage we have, however, is that we're not the only folks who host poker games in the area, and we can try-before-we-buy (so to speak) at other games to figure out who may be good fits in our game. In the last year I sort of hit the motherlode with another game of like-minded folks who seem to be really good fits in our game. I fear our recent successful influx of new players is only a temporary upward tick (though I'm always prone to worrying about such things — "always be recruiting" is a natural consequence from how my brain works).

My heart goes out to you. But if the pleasure is not worth the pain, the solution is to stop.

[Blackhawk]

feels like a stressful chore

You're doing the right thing. The issue is that 90%+ of the effort for putting the game together is on you, and there's no skin in the game for others to flake out on you.

And that's just it. For the right group, I don't mind putting in the 90%, but I do expect the others to put in their 2% each.

If I ask a simple question on the group Facebook page that we used to coordinate (like "What is your home town?" or "In two or three sentences, what was your character planning on doing before all this started?"), I don't think it is unreasonable to expect an answer within a week. Especially when I'm writing the content based on their answers and can't proceed without them. Instead, I get one guy who gives me a novel the next day, three who give me respectable answers, one that gives it to me at midnight just before the game, and one that never answers, despite repeated reminders.

And I don't mind if people can't make it, but when two are known to be out of town for a couple of months, and another waits - literally - until three days before the game an checks his calendar to make sure the day he agreed to was actually clear (it wasn't, resulting in too few people to play), that's shitty and results in me putting in hours leading up to the game that I didn't need to put in. He had his calendar when we set the date weeks in advance.

[Blackhawk]

Oh, and a couple of my other players have tried to GM over the years to give me a chance to actually play. In the current group, I've been a player in five campaigns. The longest one lasted two sessions. The rest were shorter. It became clear that either I GMed, or we didn't play.

I finally chose that latter.

[hentzau]

Looks like there's a Gaming Goat store opening up two blocks off of my daily commute route. This could be really bad.

[hepcat]

Where at? You know I love my Gaming Goat.

[coopasonic]

I thought we agreed you weren't going to talk about that in public anymore?

[hepcat]

Since he started taking those pilates classes, it's a whole new ballgame!

[hentzau]

On Harlem just south of Milwaukee by a couple of blocks. Probably closer to Harlem and Touhy.

[hepcat]

Sweet!

[hentzau]

Looks like there's a Gaming Goat store opening up two blocks off of my daily commute route. This could be really bad.

Yep. It's going to be bad. Stopped in today, checked the place out, found Star Trek Ascendency for $50. Sold!