GAMING NEWS: "October MWS Meeting AAR" (5 December 2007)

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TOP: Wargaming is it SHOULD be...
Good friends having a good time together.

Hi All,

October's MWSS (Miniatures Wargaming Society of Sacramento - usually just called MWS) meeting was a good one: great attendance (16 guests! + more visitors!), several games, and, best of all...

Lots of good company, royal socializing, and outstanding camaraderie!

And the attendance was:
- Chris
- George G.
- Hal
- Joe B.
- Joe R.
- Keith E.
- The Keith (Keith S.)
- Maksim-Smelchak (me!)

TOP: Watch out for the Gorn!
Ornery Space Dinos that they are!

- Mark C.
- Mike O'Brien
- Mikos
- Richard M.
- Terry
- Vynnie
- Mystery Guest #1
- Mystery guest #2
- Lots of passersby who came in to see the action!

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TOP: "Spiney Norman" is everyone's favorite, evil SUPER-MUTANT!
Some speculate that he was once just an angry, little prairie dog...
...before the Fall.

1. “Junkworld Episode III – Glittering Treasure in Norman’s Backyard”
HOST: Mark Carper
RULE SET: Savage Worlds (Customized by an “Act of Mark”)
GENRE: Post-Apocalyptic Sci-fi
SCALE: 28mm

PLAYERS:
- Joe B. as: “Grizzly Pete Gang”
- Joe R. as: “The Zombie Master”
- Keith E. as: “Spiney Norman”
- Maksim-Smelchak as: “Sven Glikker & The Sai Wing Gang”
- Mark C. as: “Gamemaster One”
- Mike O'Brien as: “The Unhygienic Ratmen”
- Richard M. as: “Plughead Murphy’s Gang”

SYNOPSIS:
- Rumors that great treasure have been spotted in the zombie-contaminated zone are reported as an adventurer stumble into the bar, tells his tale, and conveniently dies. Half a dozen gangs or so gather their members, bundle into transport, and set out for “The Zone,” a contaminated area jokingly called “The Zombie Preserve (TZP).” TZP is an awful place with high rad counts, leftover bio-contaminants, preserved old Twinkie stashes, wandering gangs of mutated rat men, the “Moby Dick” of mutants, a giant intelligent mutated MONSTER known only as “Spiney Norman,” …and, most importantly, vast amounts of TREASURE! (Or so they say…)

More photos of this game can be found here:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_10-20-2007/28mm-Junktown-Ep-3_10-20-07-/

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TOP: Noone likes those "Goodie Two-Shoes" in the Federation!

2. “Pirates of the Asteroid-al Penzance”
HOST: Vynnie of RIF
RULE SET: Federation Commander
GENRE: Star Fleet Battles (Star Trek spin-off)
SCALE: Starship Scale

PLAYERS:
- Chris as: “The Pirates”
- George G. as: “The Freighter & Escort”
- Mikos as: “The Gorn – Pirates?”
- Vynnie as: “The Gamemaster”

SYNOPSIS:
- Starbase 4571-Q #3a reports strange pirate activity. As the Federation sends a transport to re-supply the base, a fantastic space-bourne melee breaks out that is still leaving Intelligence men wondering what happened.

More photos of this game can be found here:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_10-20-2007/Starship-Fed-Cmdr_10-20-07-/

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TOP: It was a WWII "Motor-rama" in the Des(s)ert!

3. “Sour Kraut – Bitter Limey Des(s)ert!”
HOST: Keith The Man
RULE SET: Blitzkrieg Commander
GENRE: WWII – North Africa
SCALE: 20mm (HO RR scale)

PLAYERS:
- Hal as: “The Sour Germans”
- The Keith as: “The Sour Brits”

SYNOPSIS:
- North African WWII Brits & Germans meet in the desert near El Alamein for a rumble in an evaluation of the Blitzkrieg Commander (BC) rule set. BC evaluated well!

More photos of this game can be found here:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_10-20-2007/20mm-WWII-Africa_10-20-07-/

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Some more photos of the session can be found here:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_10-20-2007/

Have a great Wednesday!

And Happy Chanukkah to my Jewish readers!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image.

MINI WARGAMING: "Necrovores: A Blast from the Past!" (17 October 2007)

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TOP: Cyborg Trucker's (CT) "Necrovores" shamble across a bridge.

Hi All,

Robots have been one of the staples of science fiction since "scientific romances" came into vogue around the early 1900's. And one of the earliest themes to be explored has been the relationship between man and robot, and particularly the theme of what happens when man and robot are mixed. In the early days of science fiction, these man-robot mixes were still called robots, but sometime in the 1960s, the term "cyborg" came into usage after two scientists, Manfred Clynes and Nathan Kline, used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. And the term has stuck ever since, becoming a part of several science fiction genres, and most notably, the cyberpunk novel.

Here are a few of the better know appearances of cyborgs in popular culture:
- Terminator movies
- The Borg from Star Trek
- The Cylons from Battlestar Galactica
- The Necrons from GW40k
- a variety of cyberware enhanced humans from the Cyberpunk sci-fi genre
- Darth Vader from Star Wars
- etc.

A link about the history of cyborgs here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg

A link about the cyberpunk sci-fi genre here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk

TOP: CT's Necrovores wander an urban wasteland.

Now, one of my favorite fellow gamers is Cyborg Trucker (CT) USA! And the reason I wrote this post is to congratulate him on his article recently published on The Miniatures Page (TMP). Mazel Tov and congratulations, CT! CT has been putting out some of the most imaginative content on the web for some time, from goofy brains encased in robot walkers, to creepy mutated things, to Gamma Marauders turtle-bots, and much, much more. The guy's imagination must be brewing with fun sci-fi themes all day, and I imagine being a truck driver, that's a good thing to have in the back of your head when you're hauling cross-country. CT is also a great guy to chat with over the 'Net, a very enthusiastic person always happy to share ideas.

Mazel Tov, Cyborg Trucker!

A link to Cyborg Trucker's TMP work bench article here:
http://theminiaturespage.com/workbench/595567/

A link to Cyborg Trucker's blog here:
http://cyborgtrucker.blogspot.com/

A link Cyborg Trucker's Photobucket album of miniatures images here:
http://s165.photobucket.com/albums/u48/CyborgTrucker/

And Bill from TMP writes this about the Necrovore figures from CT's article:

Bill: The Necrovore figures were produced by Ral Partha as part of the Space Knights license from Steve Jackson Games. The license has since expired, and the figures are no longer available.

TOP: A Necrovore with an "energy sword."

TOP: Necrovore troops armed with energy weapons of arcane design.

Have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

HUMOUR: If a Little Ego is Healthy, Then...

.I wish I was as popular with blue-skinned girls as James Tiberius Kirk was on TV...

Hi Everyone,

Normally when I look for parodies of motivational posters, I look to none other than Javelin-98, my good buddy, but this is one of those rare cases where a cool mock-u-motivational poster came from someone other than him! I wish I could say who it came from, but I received it as one of those mass E-mailing jokes that never seem to credit the origin of the Nile, so to speak, so... I can't credit whoever came up with this masterpiece, but if you know who the author is, please write me so I can properly credit them.

However, I can still refer you to Jav-98's awesome gaming-themed mock-u-motivational posters here:
http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j20/javelin98/

And I always think of this operative phrase when trying to judge the awesomeness of those like Captain Kirk:

"If a little ego is healthy, then a BIG ego must be REALLY healthy!"

Have a great Wednesday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
UPDATE: The poster came from this site:
http://echosphere.net/star_trek_insp/star_trek_insp.html

Notes regarding photos / pictures: These are not all my images. I am using various images from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

WEIRD NEWS: The Revenge of Darth Pug!

.Some sick fiend appears to have recast Star Wars... with pugs!

Hi Everyone,

What a great weekend I had! Gaming out the wazoo!

"You can't go wrong with Star Wars, Halloween, and pugs... can you?"

Saturday was the MWSS (Miniatures Wargaming Society of Sacramento) meeting during which we had plenty of great games! If you're interested in playing some miniatures games or boardgames with a bunch of nice folks, please check out the link I have for the MWS AKA MWSS groups on my right sidebar.

The following were played:
1. 15mm Fantasy Skirmish game using the Savage Worlds ruleset
2. 1/1200 Civil War Ironclads (ships) battle using a homebrew ruleset
3. 15mm American War for Independence battle using the Sons of Liberty ruleset
4. Ingenious board game

I took lots of photos, which I hope to share soon along with a better write-up of the games played.

"Uh Bill, please cue the Imperial March..."

And Sunday was Kevin E.'s birthday, a local gaming nut! We work at a number of local gaming conventions together and he's well known for being a strong supporter of the Boardgame Meet-up Group. If you're interested in playing some boardgames with a bunch of nice folks, please check out the link I have for Boardgame Meet-up Group on my right sidebar. The birthday party was fun! We played tons of game and socialized to our heart's galore. One of the guests brought a huge "chocolate fountain," something I'd never seen before. It was basically a chocolate fondue pot that allowed melted chocolate to flow through a water fountain device in which you could dip fruit pieces, cookies, or other goodies. Pretty cool. The BBQ was nice as well!

Happy birthday again, Kevin!

The Chocolate Fountain - watch out!

And I also got to pass on a monkey figure I found for my friend Mike's son. We both think that he'll like it. Conor has been working on a Godzilla collection like me and needed a good Kong.

The Fiendish Giralon, a D&D Miniatures collectible figure.

And, of course, the theme of this post is "Dogs & Star Wars."

"Luke, I am your father..."

I simply had NO idea!

Have a great Monday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.

Despite the Star Wars theme, I couldn't pass on this one:

"Uh, Captain, there's been a horrible accident with the transporters..."

"Scotty may never be the same..."

Notes regarding photos / pictures: These are not all my images. I am using various images from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

HUMOUR: Kirk, Nils & WHAT!@$%&*!?

. Kirk must love "improvised weaponry."

Hi Everyone,

My buddy Nils rocks! He sends out alot of E-mails, but somehow he always manages to send funny ones. He sent this one out earlier with the title:

For The Sci fi Geeks Among Us!

Kirk is holding a “stalactite” that he ripped off the ceiling of the cave. I wonder how many times they had to shoot this one to keep everybody from cracking up???

Enjoy the chuckles!

By the way, stalactites are the ones that grow from the ceiling down and stalagmites the ones that grow from the floor up.

Check out the entries here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalactite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalagmite

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
And that is definitely the weapon he should have used to take on the Gorn, not that silly homemade blackpowder contraption... could have really given the Gorn a piece of his mind with that "object."

Notes regarding photos / pictures: These are not all my images. I am using various images from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

FUN VIDEOS: Nerdfest Part-2 "Star Trek vs. Star Wars"

Star Trek vs. Star Wars


Hi Guys,

I enjoyed this one. Classic...

Check out these two links as well...

One article by one of my favorite sci-fi authors, David Brin, popular for the Uplift series:
http://briefurl.com/Despots-Populists

And another site that absolutely cracks me up:
http://www.stardestroyer.net/Empire/

Have a great Thursday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

FUN VIDEOS: Nerdfest Part-1 "Altered Eternity: Star Wars vs. Star Trek"

Altered Eternity: Star Wars vs. Star Trek


Hi Guys,

I've been experimenting with adding videos to the ol' blog. Here's my first go at it...

I enjoyed this clip... Hope you do too...

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

HUMOUR: New SFB Motivational Posters (sic.)...

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Hi Everyone,

I thought I should quickly make a small post about my friend, Andreas Udby's AKA Javelin-98's web site... He's a great guy, very generous with his time, generous with sharing his many fan-created game aids and always ready to brandish his wicked sense of humour!

The above poster is only one of many that he desihned on a lark... snarky spoofs of "motivatial posters" made for gamers. You can find a larger version of the poster here (...as well as the rest of the series):

http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j20/javelin98/

Just in case you were wondering, the poster features an image of an ACTUAL Star Fleet Battles (SFB) game record sheet... just a wee bit complex, you might say...

And despite the complication inherent to the game, SFB can be fun. I've shared many a game of SFB with good friends over the years and most recently with Vynnie & Gang, whose awesome web site can be found here:

http://www.recon-in-force.com/index.html

Andreas's web site, which is chocked full of gaming goodness, can be found here:

http://home.comcast.net/~kudby/

Enjoy! Have a great day!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

GAMING NEWS: Ground Combat?

Hi Guys,

I've been looking at various Star Trek sites trying to figure out how ground combat is fought in the Star Trek universe.

http://www.well.com/~sjroby/lcars/fasa.html

http://www.angelfire.com/trek/stcsdc/FASA.html

http://www.pen-paper.net/rpgdb.p....erid=42

http://www.star-fleet.com/

http://www.ufphq.com/mc_handbook.htm

http://www.bravofleet.com/bravofleet/database/weapons_security.html

*** Does anyone know how ground combat is fought in the Star Trek universe? ***

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.