MINI WARGAMING: "RIF & Zombietown Are Back!" (15 January 2008)

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TOP: Bill Johnson, Zombie Abatement Technician IV, Specialist:

“On a Friday night, no less!

Why can’t these things eat people at nine in the morning?

Dammit, I’m claiming overtime for this.”

Hi All,

I'm still in job search mode which explains the low level of posts, but I have some more good news:

Recon In Force (RIF) is Back!

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

My buddy, Vynnie, had some hosting problems but RIF is back and hopefully with its former problems solved.

TOP: A car sits on blocks at the corner of Elm street.

The night is quiet.

Vynnie also has some new material up at RIF, a wargaming source text that he calls:

"Humanity At War: 2100 AD"

Link here:

http://www.recon-in-force.com/Orbit/2100.html

We all gamed together this past weekend, another mob of about twenty guys, at the local MWSS meeting. Vynnie hosted a 28mm Star Grunt "Space Pirates" game, Manny G. hosted a 20mm W.W.II Vitebsk game, and Alex F. hosted a 28mm Samurai game "The 47 Ronin." It was great fun. I took alot of photos, which now means I have two MWSS battle reports to post along with their photos...

How wicked are the lazy like me! I need to find some spare time... What will my Blog readers do? OH, the shame! LOL

Have a great Tuesday!

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: "Blue milk, anyone?"

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Hi All,

I'm still very much overhwhelmed at and away from my job, but I did manage to get a little gaming in with some buds Wednesday evening. Vynnie, Mikos, George and I got together "to shoot the bull" and played a short board game of ZOMBIES!. Mikos just bought a copy and wanted to give it a spin...

And here's a short Star Wars video that I recently enjoyed. I find it exceptionally difficult to NOT root for the Empire at times... Blue milk, anyone?

Have a great Friday!

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).

GAMING NEWS: Photos From June 2007 MWS Meeting Posted.

.There was a "RUMBLE-LIAH" in this Dark Ages village at the June MWS meet!

Hi All,

I've simply been too busy and lazy to get some proper battle reports ready, but I do have the photos uploaded and... that's almost as good, right?

So, I have the following blog posts I'm readying for sometime in the future... no promises though as to when. Real Life TM always seems to intervene just when I get excited to get them done. Here's what I have in the queue:

- AAR from June MWS meet featuring Pig Wars.
- AAR from a 28mm WHFB game with my buddy Nils.
- AAR from a 28mm "Oriental Adventures" game with Vynnie and the guys.
- A 15mm expose of classic Martian Metals / RAFM figures for Traveller.
- A compilation post of "joke names" used in games such as Pvt. Parts & Maj. Weiner.
- The Death Star Mania post.

Pig Wars Norman knights run down an unfortunate village dog...
...contrary to the PETA Emperor's orders.
(Note: No actual miniatures dogs were hurt during the filming of this game)
(Really small note: However, plenty of villagers, pillagers, pigs, & chickens were kacked!)

But, enough of my prattle, here are the photos from the June MWS meet even if I don't have the write-up prepared yet:

General photos including Dick's 28mm Savage-munda "Bad Girls" gang:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_6-16-2007/Necromunda_6-16-2007/

Photos from the 15mm Battle of New Orleans game:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_6-16-2007/BONO_6-16-2007/

Photos from the 28mm Pig Wars game of the battles:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_6-16-2007/

Photos from the 28mm Pig Wars game of the loot:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_6-16-2007/Pig-Wars_Loot/

Photos from the 28mm Pig Wars game of the Dark Ages village:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_6-16-2007/Pig-Wars_Village/

Photos from the 28mm Pig Wars game of the Arab warband:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_6-16-2007/Pig-Wars_Arabs/

Photos from the 28mm Pig Wars game of the Magyar warband:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_6-16-2007/Pig-Wars_Magyars/

Photos from the 28mm Pig Wars game of the Norman warband:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_6-16-2007/Pig-Wars_Normans/

Photos from the 28mm Pig Wars game of the Pict warband:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_6-16-2007/Pig-Wars_Picts/

Photos from the 28mm Pig Wars game of the "Milanese Mafia" Viking warband:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_6-16-2007/Pig-Wars_Vik2-Milanese/

Photos from the 28mm Pig Wars game of the "Norveggi" Viking warband:
http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/Gaming%202007/MWS_6-16-2007/Pig-Wars_Vik-1-Norveggi/

You can't play Pig Wars without the obligatory "Milanese Mafia" Viking warband, right?
These minis are Dick's fine work.

Have a great Thursday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
For the not-yet-informed, AAR = After Action Report.

COOL NEWS: The King & I - Renn Faire 2007 Version!

.The King & I - Renn Faire 2007 Version!

Hi All,

As previously mentioned I attended the local Renaissance Faire this past weekend (23 June 2007), which I found rather unexciting this year... maybe I'm getting old, jaded and cranky?

I summed it up as thus:

- Lots of cleavage in tight bodices...

- Overly fried foods guaranteed to give indigestion...

- Including just about "anything on a stick"...

- As well as hunks of mutton...
Come on? Everyone loves a Henry the 8th impression!

- Lots of folks speaking with fake-o British accents...

- ALL of the fired cast extras from every Highlander movie including the bad ones...

- Some dude looking for meaning in his life by pretending to be a knight and yelling out "Fie, poxy upon him..." or something like that...

- Every woman ever who wanted to wear a furry barbarian costume with a brass brassiere...

- Including a very small number of women who can actually wear tight leather pants, furry bikinis, brass brassieres AND get away with it...

- Did I say lots of cleavage in tight bodices?

- And you pretty much have the Faire summed up.

On the other hand, there's something to be said for lots of cleavage in tight bodices... LOL ;o)

Not ALL women can get away with the "Furry Barbarian Bunny" look...

I ran into all kinds of folks I know... from Kevin E., who can actually make English Country Dance NOT seem completely pansy ...to Doug the Cool Costume Vendor ...to great swathes of the ConQuest gaming conventions staff. There's a definite correlation between gaming RPG nerds and Renn Faire geeks.

For more information about the Fair Oaks Tudor Fayre, please check out this link:

http://www.pirateproductions.com/tudorfayre.htm

Or here:

http://www.renaissance-rose.org/

However, the highlight of the weekend for me (...besides all the cleavage) was seeing THE KING! This fellow had the great character and mighty stones to actually wear an Elvis sic Burger King outfit to the Faire. May he go down in the annals of infamy! I say Elvis sic Burger King because I wasn't quite sure which theme was dominant.

On the Elvis side he had:

- Sideburns...

- Rhinestones and glitz...

- Funky glasses...

- Good "Elvis the Pelvis" poses...

On the Burger King side, he had:

- Fake plastic hair piece...

- Red crown...

- A somewhat commercial-like dialogue...

- A somewhat fast food like odor... (The "fry king?")
(Or maybe he'd had a grease appetizer at the food court?)

(Mmmmm! Congealed potato-flavored grease ...on a stick!)

So to end this post with a thought-provoking question:

*** Which do you think he resembles more? Elvis or the Burger King? ***

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,

Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.

Thanks Marcus for taking the GOOD photo! And a "double thanks" to my buddies, Vynnie, Mikos and Marcus for being such great company!

P.S.S.
A special shout out to my friend and fellow geek, Rivka!

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).

GAMING NEWS: The Red Mikos Inn!

. The Red Mikos Inn.

Welcome, welcome to The Red Mikos Inn, weary traveler,

Come on in and we'll tell you a little tale... Take a load off and meet some of the Inn's other guests:

Some 28mm fantasy figures from the collection of Mikos... or George.

Perhaps we can offer you a fine meal from the Inn's kitchen?

The Inn's kitchen.

Or maybe you'd like to dine in a private cubicle? ...for a small fee... perhaps?

A private dining cubicle within the Inn.

Or maybe you'd like to dine in the common hall?

The common hall in front of a roaring fireplace.

Or perhaps you need a room for the night? Private ones cost extra.

Two private rooms within the inn. Most guests sleep on the floor of the common hall.

Maybe you're just back from a tough battle and need to visit The Apothecary of Mad Markus across the lane:

The Apothecary of Mad Markus!

Who is known to carry all sorts of exotic victuals, herbs, goodes, and even, it's rumored, spell components for the right price:

The first floor shop front of the Apothecary.

Few ever make it to the apothecary's second floor, but just maybe, you might:

Rumours fly that all sort of illicit business is conducted on the second floor...

So, pray tell, traveler, tell us what ye might need.

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I get a great deal of enjoyment from miniatures gaming and although we all admire the eye candy, gaming's really about the friends you game with and I'm blessed to regularly game with such a nice crowd as Vynnie, Mikos, George, and quite a few others. We played a 28mm fantasy game earlier this year in March and Mikos shared this terrain from his collection. George also provided much and Vynnie is always generous to host and make sure we're well stocked with trees, figures and whatever else we need.

I was inspired to write this post after reading this post at TMP:

URL: http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=111778

I'm in the process of scratch building some Medieval town buildings.

Does anyone have pictures of Medieval building interiors?

I'm looking of for taverns, inns, houses, shops, etc. It is for 25mm, but as long as it has enough detail, I'm for it. I've found lots of pictures of exteriors, but interiors are harder to come by. I'd appreciate any feedback.

- Ryan.

So, I hope this post helps you out, Ryan.

The base buildings are Armorcast although there are some Grendel terrain pieces and the details come from many different sources including doll house bits, miniatures bits, model kit bits, and the like. Mikos is a whiz with conversions and is always looking for something to add that extra touch to enhance our miniatures gaming experiences.

-------

Have a great Friday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.
Please check out my new Displaced Miniatures gallery here:
http://www.displacedminiatures.com/Maksim-Smelchak/galleries.html

I have 28mm Pig Wars Arabs up today from this past weekend's MWS gaming club meet. I still haven't quite figured out the DM framework, but it seems good so far and I'll figure it out with time.

WEIRD NEWS: Quirky Star Wars Viewpoints!

.I think we ALL wish we were Han Solo at one time or another...

I wonder... do Wookies get hairballs?

Hi Everyone,

Got a few posts in the works, but thought I'd drop off a few fun graphics (the one above and below) for your perusal:
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Darth Vader - "Truther" Conspiracy Theory Nut: "Need $$$ to build Deathstar!"

And to top that Darth Beggar photo off, check out this amusing "truther perspective" of how the Deathstar was really destroyed:

http://www.websurdity.com/2007/02/28/uncomfortable-questions-was-the-death-star-attack-an-inside-job/

Yeah, right!

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I have a great weekend planned:

SATURDAY:

- Visit a bunch of friends at the MWS meeting and play games.

- Link to MWS Yahoo E-group:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/M_W_S/

- My old buddy Mark should be there who I haven't seen in awhile. Should be lots of fun.

- Mark is hosting a VSF (Victorian Science Fiction) game.

- A link to Mark's photo album (gaming miniatures):

http://s81.photobucket.com/albums/j213/MACarper/
- Nils will also be hosting a zombie game.

- Check out his blog (lots of photos) here:

http://blackcavalierswargaming.blogspot.com/

- Wish my bro-in-law Vince happy birthday!

- Chill out and work out.

SUNDAY:

- Go see the new movie "The 300" with a group of friends on an IMAX screen.
- Official "The 300" web site:

http://300themovie.warnerbros.com/

- The real historical Battle of Thermopylae that inspired the movie:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae

- A Wiki page for the comic book of "The 300":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_%28comic_book%29

- A movie review by Debbie Schlussel of "The 300":

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2007/03/weekend_box_off_43.html

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2007/03/300_not_an_anti.html

- Possibly go pick up a new bed mattress from an old neighbor.
- Chill out and work out. It should be good.

I have mixed feelings about seeing "The 300." On one hand, I love the history of The Battle of Thermopylae, but on the other hand, the previous film "Sin City" was WAY TOO gory for me. Very tasteless, it was. On the other hand, my buddy Vynnie of RIF (Recon In Force) invited me and he should be there with a number of our other friends... and we get to see it on the giant IMAX screen... so, I guess, if nothing else, the company should trump the film if it's really bad.

Vynnie's web site:

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

*** Any good weekend plans yourself? ***

Have a great Friday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

P.S.

Haven't posted a "gratuitous babe" in awhile so here goes:

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).

MINI WARGAMING: The Weekend Wrap Up In Sacto Gaming (22-23 July, 2006)!

Hi Everyone,

This was quite a weekend of gaming, plenty of events.

Vynnie, a local gamer, well known for his generosity and a beautifully designed miniatures web site (link to his site shown below) was among the game hosts this past weekend.

Saturday was full of gaming events...

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Whether from the Sacto Board Gamers at the Arden Dimick Public Library...

http://boardgames.meetup.com/19/about/

You can see several well known gamers in the above photo (photo taken from the Sacto Boardgamers web site) ... among them Phil the "Mighty" and Brian the "Brain."

Kevin Ellingston was able to attend this event and noted the games played here:

http://briefurl.com/Arden_7-22-2006

I have posted a list on BoardGameGeek recapping the games that were played on July 22 at the Arden Dimick Library. Since I did not arrive until 2 p.m., I suspect there may have been a game or two that were played that I did not get a record of. If you attended and played a game that is not on the list, I would appreciate it if you would add it.

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The MWSS Board / Mini Gamers at Fair Oaks Public Library...

The above photo is of Rob "Mako" Kent, a local wargamer with an intense interest in aerial wargames and Don Delis, who hosted a WWII Pacific wargame.

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/M_W_S/

MWSS also had guests from the Bay Area EBAG Club:

The EBAG guys are certainly a little strange, but are always likeable!

Why is it that so many folks with Scooby Doo T-shirts seem to resemble Shaggy?

http://www.warsweb.com/ebag.html

MWSS hosted three mini games this past weekend:

- A western "gunsmoke" game (homebrew rules) designed and hosted by the always charismatic Joe Bianchi.

- A WWII Pacific game (Flames of War rules) featuring Ozzies fighting the Japanese in the deep jungle hosted by the inscrutable Don Delis.

- A DBM game featuring the Gauls vs. the Romans hosted by the ever magnanimous Brad.

I attended this event and took some photos, which can be found here:

http://briefurl.com/MWSS_7-22-2006

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Or the local gamers that Vynnie hosted at his place...

In the above photo, a might Klingon and Orion fleet head off to deal some "hurt" to the do-gooders of the Federation. If nothing else, the Klingons have thick heads of hair, which is more than many Federation captains can lay claim to...

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

I also attended this event and posted some photos here:

http://briefurl.com/Vynnie_7-22-2006

We played the popular Starfleet Battles remake Federation Cammander and had a good time. FC is a big improvement over the rules and tables heavy SFB.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/21371

Of course, as often as not, it's the company that makes the game and not the other way around.

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And Sunday also saw a number of games hosted including some games of ASL (Advanced Squad Leader), a classic war game of much renown.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/243

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And I had a great time everywhere I headed this past weekend!

Thanks to all, whether hosts, players or otherwise!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

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: Have You Had Your "Skank" Today? If Not, Get It For Free!

Hi Everyone,

One of the biggest games in town goes on every year on Halloween at Great Escape Games in Sacramento and that is the Zombie Town games going on a number of year now (I think it's over ten, but I'm not sure). Those of you who made it out to ConQuest Sac got to see one of the Zombie Town games in person and know that Zombie Town is plain B-movie goodness!

And for me, hosting the Zombie Town games every Halloween weekend works as Halloween is my birthday! Huzzah! Playing in a low-key, beer & pretzel game is a great way to celebrate my surviving another year. Here's hoping...

Well, Mike and Marcus, two of THE Zombie Town progenitors have decided in all their generosity to make their rule set available to the public... in proper Skank fashion... for FREE!

Download here:

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

And you can check out photographic reports of the games here:

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

There are at least three documented Zombie Town games and a number of other "Mad Max" type apocalyptic games with photo albums.

Here's how to find Great Ecape Games:

Great Escape Games
1537 Howe Ave
Ste 200
Sacramento, CA 95825-3360
(916) 927-0810

http://sacramento.citysearch.com/profile/1257628/

Great Escape Games is in spitting distance of the Howe About Arden mall, a movie theatre and The State Fairgrounds.

Here's the official Great Escape Games web site:

http://www.greatescapegames.com/

Special thanks to Gary and the Great Escape staff for hosting several gaming tournaments at the ConQuest 2006 game convention!

This site has a list of the local shops that sell games:

http://www.freewebs.com/sacgames/

Don't forget Viking Hobby, one of my all-time favorites!

I'm still in process of editing and cropping the photos I took at ConQuest 2006, but I'll try to upload a Zombie Town ConQuest 2006 photo to this blog post later this evening depending on time constraints.

I did get the photos I took uploaded. They can be found here:

http://s44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/Maksim-Smelchak/ConQuest%20Sac%202006/

(Zombie Town photo from ConQuest Sac 2006 at the top of this post courtesy of Mike Warde.)

Have a great week!

Chag Sameach and Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

MINI WARGAMING: Warlords Of the Wastelands: 2085 (18 March 2006)!

Hi Everyone,

Yesterday, I had a cool opportunity... to hang out with the bunch that hosts the very well-known Zombie Town games held at Great Escape Games every year on Halloween weekend.

We all met at Vynnie's place and the following were present:
- George
- Maksim (me!)
- Marcus
- Mike
- Vynnie

Poor George and I were both pretty exhausted though. George didn't get enough sleep (working too much) and I had done a graveyard shift the evening before with overtime so I had only gotten home that very same morning. Luckily the game didn't begin until around Noon so I took a good nap before heading over to Vynnie's place. George must not have had the same opportunity for a nap because he nodded off several times during the day. Poor guy.

Vynnie has been documenting our games for ages over here at his web site:

PUBLIC DISCLAIMER:
Vynnie is a bit of a Libertarian and doesn't beleive in the concept of "political correctness" so please be warned before you check out his site. He doesn't have any language or thought filters on so, as a result, his web site is most likely banned in neighborhoods of "emminent sensibility" like Berkeley, Davis or San Francisco. Be careful!

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

And specifically here at his "Wastelands and Trailer Parks" page:

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

======

Yesterday, we got together for a post apocalyptic game using Marcus's little-known rule set:

"Warlords Of the Wastelands: 2085"

...and it was a hoot! Yes, I did use the word "hoot!"

Mike had thought out a relatively simple scenario set in the RIFTS world in which a group of Coalition forces would attempt to rescue some scientists who had sent out a distress call earlier. The distress call came through garbled, but we were able to make out the location of the scientific outpost and that part of the distress call resulted from some sort of biological experiment gone horribly wrong. And with such scanty information, we "law men" set out to find us some scientists.

Mike acted as the game's GM / referee and the other four of us ran different detachments of Coalition forces dispatched to the rescue.

Much like all games that Mike and Marcus are involved in, they never take their gaming very seriousy and no matter how well the background is thought out, we always end up with a bad "B movie" plotline anyway! And yesterday was no exception!

I think that Mike had watched "Aliens" one time too many because it quickly became apparent that massed numbers of bugs versus high-tech marines along the lines of "Starship Troopers" was the order of the day.

The four Coalition detachments had barely ambled on to the field in view of the scientific outpost when we were assaulted by wave after wave of bio-bug nasties. Our line initially caved in until we retreated a bit, at which point, we stood our ground and let firepower do our talking. Casualties were heavy, but we left bug guts spread across the fields.

Finally, we hit a pause inbetween what we thought would be the next wave, but it never came. We administered to our wounded, regrouped and began to advance on the scientific outpost again. Marcus had his robot scout advance far ahead of the combat lines and when he entered the villiage, he found the scientists and their rsearch robot (who looked a might bit like Twinkie from Buck Rogers) ambling out of shelter. The robot began to converse with them and received nothing but grief for its efforts. The scientists were acting strangely and that funky research robot kept walking out of edge of the robot scout's photo receptors.

An instant later, the three scientists and the "Twinkie" lashed out at the bot utterly destroying it. We, in the Coalition forces, were confused, but consistent with our mission directives, we had a newly indentified enemy and set out to destroy them, the traitorous research bot and scientists. Our forces used what remained of our artillery and fired a rocket barrage at the scientific outpost. That gave "Twinkie" what for, but...

It also roused the beast.

A gigantic floating biological "brain beast" burst out of the ground and all hell broke loose. Ugly cockroach-like things came bustling out of the ground from every which direction and the skies filled with the buzz of entomological monstrosities. We almost broke from the sheer horror of that ugly horde.

However, the RIFTS Coalition doesn't breed nambie pambies so we figured to die standing our ground and...

We nearly did.

We unleashed everything we had and our troops were slowly but surely falling as we failed to destroy wave after wave of bugs. Suddenly some underappreciated NCO got the bright idea to target the "brain," so we did. And a half hour or so later, the "brain" fell and the waves stopped coming. In fact, the bugs seemed confused and ambled around mindlessly. We mopped up and called it a day.

Hey, the RIFTS Coalition may breed fighters, but we're not known for being the most clever lot! That NCO received a big fat promotion and a huge bonus.

End of story. Amen!

======

If you've never played out a game based on a really bad "B movie," I recommend the experience. It's good-hearted no-brainer fun and is a welcome relief from folks who take themselves way too seriously. And the truth be told, every once in awhile I'm one of those folks so the light-hearted fun is a good reminder to loosen up, stop and smell the roses.

And for those of you interested in playing on some of the beautiful terrain sets featured on Vynnie's web site, check out ConQuest Sac coming very soon to Sacramento on April 7th to 9th, 2006. Mike and Marcus will he hosting a special edition of their Zombie Town game series there. Here's a link for more information:

http://www.conquestsac.com/

Just make sure, you don't things too seriously... LOL

======

We also discussed getting a group together to see one of the latest films from Russia:

"Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor)!"

"Night Watch" is a sort of vampire film along the lines of a long series of American vampire films and has already received some acclaim. Unfortunately, when we checked, "Night Watch" has already left the Greater Sacramento area. I guess we'll have to wait for rentals.

I found a few links about "Night Watch" here:

http://www.nival.com/nightwatch/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403358/

Apparently, "Night Watch" is the creation of a certain "modern yet already classic science-fiction writer Sergey Lukyanenko," whom I have never heard about despite reading Russian science fiction as often as not. I'll have to look him up. There are a few Russian book stores in town and I'll probably only find him there as I'd be greatly surprised if Lukyanenko is available in English translation yet.

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I love this beautiful weather we're having.

Everyone, have a great Sunday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

WARGAMING: The Shield Gaming Conference & Starfleet Battles With Vince!

Hi Guys,

The apartment move is really coming along... most of my belongings are packed and the old aprtment is slowing being moved (scrubbing every surface, filling in holes with putty, repainting any off spots, etc.) although unpacking is nearly as daunting a task as the packing and shlepping itself! Ugh!

However, I am taking a break for most of this weekend and here are the plans:Tonight, my good friend Vince and I are heading down to Lodi (...about an hour or so away) to play Starfleet Battles with our friend Jeff. At least the last game he mentioned that he wanted to play was Starfleet Battles... who knows what we'll actually do when we reach destination. One things for sure though, I'm sure that we'll have a good time!

For those of you who don't recall Vince, he is an inveterate gamer and a great guy with a really varied interest in miniatures.

POLITICAL DISCLAIMER:
Be wary checking out Vince's site as he is decidedly NOT political correct. Warning given...

Here's a link to his web site:

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

And since I know that there are a number of fans of Colonial and VSF games out there, here's a link to the VSF / Colonial section of Vince's site. As a side note, I've played in many of those games...

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

Eat your heart out, Tas and Vanvlak!

Tomorrow on Saturday, my friend Dick and I are heading down to The Shield Gaming Conference for the day. We'll be playing in the DBA tournament and generally having a good time.

Check out this link for more information about The Shield:

http://www.geocities.com/ancientconference2004/

And Sunday, Mark and Kurt as well as Dick have expressed an interest in playing a agme of Star Mogul. We are all three creating our salvage companies / Necromunda gangs and it should be fun!

I am organizing my company / gang around two combat squads and a third salvage team squad supported by some kind of truck for hauling the salvage. Dick had an old 28mm hover truck that I'll probably convert into a wheeled hauling truck for the campaign.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

GAMING NEWS: Fun two weeks culminating in the 10 December 2005 MWS weekend meeting!

Hi Everyone,

I've been blessed the past two weeks or so...

Last Sunday I had a chance to play Assyrian Wars by Udo Grebe with my friend Vince Blackburn AKA Vynnie at another friend's house, Dave Hanifan. George and Jeff also showed up and we all had a good time. The components could have used better color differentiation, but all of us had a good time upon final consideration.

The Board Game Geek link to Assyrian Wars is here:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/8626

Last Tuesday, I found out that one of my favorite local gaming shops "Hobby Monkey" is taking a turn for the worse... less operating hours and several cancelled game tournaments including the immensely popular Formula De tournament, which really irks me because my racer had one of the top standings. The owner wants to close by 9:00pm on weeknights now (...sometimes 8:00pm) which really reduces the amount of time for gaming. Bummer...

I showed up on Tuesday at Hobby Monkey to find the poor Flames of Wars guys from Yuba City walking into an empty shop. We played a Formula De game, which they all liked. I was in first place until my car blew up in an unfortunate accident. Eric-Chern of Epic-Armageddon and Babylon-5 fame came in last place, but he finished unlike THREE of the rest of us! There were seven racers... pretty lethal race.

Yesterday, MWSS (Miniature Wargamers Society of Sacramento), had our monthly games day. Three games were hosted:

- 10mm (N-scale) WWII Eastern Front game with adapted ASL rules...
- 6mm/15mm HOTT Fantasy campaign...
- 15mm War of 1812 with Guns of Liberty rules...

I played in the 6mm/15mm HOTT Fantasy campaign and had a great time. I played two smaller HOTT battles (1 decisive win, 1 moderate loss) and played on the winning side of a Big-Battles-HOTT game which featured six armies (three a side) battling it out. General HOTT Dick Mitchell's "good consortium" (Elf army, human army and my magician's army) carried the day against Ork despot General Carper's hordes (Orc behemoth/archer band, Orc blades band and Orc shaman band).

I tried out an interesting HOTT army of eight spearmen supported by two magicians in the last game. It was fun although my sides didn't do much more than have my magicians toss spells at the enemy (which scared a key enemy behemoth which was forced to flee) and have my spearmen hold part of the line looking tough.

While the games were technically part of the HOTT campaign, we won't officially kick off the campaign until the January meeting so the games were really "practice" ones. I'm already afraid of the really tough Orc armies. Marc Carper really knows his game. And what a beautiful miniatures painter he is!

Photos of his minis and all three of the games can be found in a folder labelled "12-10-2005" at the MWSS E-group here:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/M_W_S/

After yesterday's game, Diana and I were invited to a wine-tasting by our friends Roger and Grace. Roger's my idea of a good guy to taste wine with, a former 82nd Airborne paratrooper with an attitude! He's also one of the world's premier miniatures painters and his work is regularly featured in gaming magazines in the UK and USA. We had a good time even though we weren't behaving according to "wine-tasting decorum!" We both got in trouble with his wife at one point so we mellowed out. She takes "wine tasting" much more seriously than we did... at the time! Although I still insist that a few of the wines we "sampled" wouldn't have been good for lubricating even a Peugot. More like pee-eeuhhh!

We tried three French wines and three Napa Valley wines. I much prefer the Napa Valley wines from California. The French wines almost all had a bad aftertaste and I was happy to toss the rest of them in the "slops" bucket.

After the "wine tasting" there was a "white elephant" gift exchange. It's Murphy's Law that if you're Jewish, you will always end up with a Christmas ornament at a "holiday" (really Christmas) gift exchange. We (Diana and I) ended up with a set of diet books (The South Beach Diet Book and The South Beach Diet Cook Book) along with a... yeah, guess again... a Christmas ornament. I might just make a vow someday to make a version of Frosty with a Yarmulke! Dagnabit!

We gave the Christmas ornament to Grace and were able to swap our "books" for some kind of a "fancy shmancy" lemon liqueur from Italy. It's called "Limoncello" (spelling?). I haven't broken it open yet.

I've decided, all in all, that wine-tasting may not be my thing. The husband host was good and has started his own wine label, but the wife host, was bit shmarmy and her red thong underwear were hanging out in the wind. I wasn't going to say anything though... However at the first glance of her red thong, I vowed to not imbibe generously of the wine... get my drift!

Besides enjoying the company of Roger and Grace, I met someone who was an appreciator of Russian literature so I had a good time. Diana talked Baltimore football with the host and a few other folks.

All in all, the past two weeks or so have been good to me.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

GAMING NEWS: "The Next War" Session Two! (3 July 2005)

Hi Guys,

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On July 3rd, Jon Compton held a big Fourth of July party and asked all of us to get together to play our second session of "The Next War."

We started around 11:30am (although I got there closer to 1:00pm) and finished the Soviet gorund phase of turn one. Next session, we will finish the NATO part of turn one and FINALLY be completely done with turn one!

Part of the reason the game is taking so long is that we are all learning how the rules work.

We finished around 3:30pm and called the session a wrap. We went downstairs (Jon's game roon is upstairs... ) and got on with the Fourth of July party. We all had a good time and there were plenty of burgers, hot dogs and every kind of victual for everyone. We set off some fire works in the evening and went home.

Several of us (Including some British and US citizens) had a long discussion about about social services as well as the nature and future of socialized medicine in the US and abroad.

The next session will be this upcoming Sunday (10 July 2005).

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Next War is truly massive game and here's a link to a review of it:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/8719

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The sides of the game are:

WARSAW PACT:
- Scott
(Soviet Marshal of the Baltic sector)
- Mike AKA Mikos
(Soviet Marshal of the Central & Northern Europe sectors)
- Rich
(Soviet Marshal of the Southern Europe sector)

NATO:
- Jon
(Supreme Commanding General of All NATO forces)
- Vince
(General of US NATO forces)
- Maksim
(General of German, British & Canadian NATO forces)

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SOVIET LAND PHASE of Turn One:

NATO was not able to take their ground phase this turn (not enough time... ) so only the USSR players moved their ground forces. Next gaming session, we will finish the NATO player's ground phase and end turn one.

The USSR ground forces made five major thrusts:

1. Soviet Movement in Southern Europe
- Marshal Rich made some very agressive moves to threaten Italy and Southern Europe.
- Southern Europe is held by a very tenuous defense of weaker Italian troops with some US reinforcement.

2. Soviet Thrust Against Austria
- Marshal Mikos moved several Soviet divisions very agressively in a thrust to make a breakthrough near the Austrian city of Wien in Central Europe.
- So far, the Austrians have held, but the Russian steamroller is persistent.

3. Soviet Movement to Crush the US Bulwark of NATO (Marburg Thrust)
- Marshal Mikos made some very ambitious and aggressive to crush US components of NATO in a thrust towards Marburg, Germany.
- Marshal Mikos very agressively moved his forward supply depots (FSBs) forward as well as support elements (Engineers, air defense cadre, etc.) in a big chain behind his forward combat units.
- He succeeds in making several breakthroughs punching a big hole through NATO lines.
- One of Marshal Mikos' biggest accomplishments is the uteerly brutal, quick and efficient taking of Berlin. NATO forces didn't stand a chance.

4. Northern Diversionary Thrust Towards Hamburg
- Marshal Mikos uses a number of armored and mechanized unit in a thrust towards the German city of Hamburg.
- There are no major victories achieved by Soviet forces, but the losses are likewise not very costly for their key result of keeping NATO forces occupied.
- The actions must be diversionary, but it still ties down NATO troops that are vitally needed elsewhere.

5. Baltic Spearpoint Aimed at Hannover
- The most feared Soviet Marshal, Marshal Scott, known for his intense aggression, pushes his units forward through NATO lines in a relentless push that exhausts his units to the limits of their endurance.
- A combination of mechanized thrusts and helibourne assaults brings Soviet forces to the city outskirts of Hannover.
- Denmark is one of NATO's Achilles Heels with many valuable sea and airports. If Marshal Scott can push this attack then he will remove many of NATO's most valuable staging areas for the war in Northern Europe.
- NATO generals fear Marshal Scott!

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NATO Commentary on Soviet Movement:
- The NATO generals were surprised that the Soviet Forces didn't extend themselves further.
- The NATO generals would have driven every unit to exhaustion tieing down as many NATO units as possible ina n effort to keep NATO units from forming into larger and more dangerous division-size units from the smaller battalions in which NATO left its units.

- All three commanding NATO generals were very surprised at the Marburg thrust. Marshal Mikos left his units sticking out in one huge finger thrust into the NATO apple pie.
- Unfortunately, almost all of the combat elements are concentrated at the tip of the finger with juicy support elements (Engineers, artillery, air defense cadre, etc.) lieing with their flanks exposed.
- With any luck, NATO units can cut this thrust off and decimate Marshal Mikos' units wholesale.

- The rest of NATO forces will take holding actions and concentrate on bringing NATO forces into better defensive salients.

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Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

MINIATURES: DBM With Vince And the Gang!

Hi Everyone,

Here's today's game:

Vince Blackburn wrote:
"We will be playing a fantasy variant of DBM at my place, at noon, on Sunday June 26th. Hope you can join us! If you want to bring figures, we will be using 25mm historical/fantasy genre. Please let me know if you have questions or need directions."

It should be fun and Vince is a classy guy... and a perpetual good sport!

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Here's a link to Vince's gaming site:

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

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I also referred Vince to some DBx E-groups earlier this week:

Hi Vince,
I was thinking about you today and looking forward to gaming with you, Vince.
I looked up the E-groups we mentioned in our last conversation:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/DBF2Dragons/

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/DBA/

Vince is interested in combining a slight fantasy element to the DBx (DBA, DBM, etc.) system. We tried out HOTT awhile back and Vince wasn't too fond of that system.

------

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.