Monday, March 30, 2020

Review: 30366 Police Car Polybag

Another new polybag that can be found at Walmart, in a Lego display.

Bag.  I paid $4.97, for a $0.13 Price per Piece.


Instructions.











Minifig.

Parts.  Rims, Large Multi-Axle Plate, Mudguard
Plates, Tires, Bracket, Minifig Steering Wheel, Plates, Studless Slopes, Clip Plate, Mod.
1x4 Tile w/2 Studs, Tiles, Grille Tile,
Cheese Slopes, and Panels.





Build.  Another Battle Buggy.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Above.  (-10)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  No.  (-5)
Score: -5 (B-).  A dollar more expensive and 13 less pieces than the last one I reviewed.

Friday, March 27, 2020

The Road to PAX Unplugged 2020

A month on from the last time I posted about this and the world seems like it has turned upside down.  COVID-19 has cancelled a lot of upcoming conventions, forced people into sheltering at home, and thrown the future into disarray.

Right now I'm assuming that PAX Unplugged 2020 is still going to happen.  Nothing has changed on the website.  The con is 35 weeks away.  I still want to run a tournament for Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack at this con.  I'm going to keep talking about this up until something changes, or the con actually starts.

I know that the world is scary right now and we're all unsure of what the future holds.  Let's stay positive though.  Let's try to make it a goal to make it through to PAX Unplugged 2020 and meet up and share gaming tables together.

I know that Micah, Ed, Joe, Chris, Templeton, Ryan, Vlad, Pete, Erin, and Peter are all down for this.  Also Vitoria from Brazil is trying to make it.  That's four tables of three players each.  That's the same number of games as the last count and it would still be an actual international tournament.

Wouldn't you like to get in on this?  Wouldn't you like to see our community on multiple tables in the Miniatures Area at PAX Unplugged?  Start planning now.  Let's make this happen!  Peter even made a hashtag for it.  #InternationalMobileFrameTournament 

Maybe we could try my Collaborative Terrain idea?

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Review: 30369 Beach Buggy Polybag

Another new polybag that can be found at Walmart, in a Lego display.

Bag.  I paid $4.97, for a $0.11 Price per Piece.



Instructions.









Minifig.

Parts.  Tires, Plates, Minifig Surfboard, Inverted
Slopes W/Cutout, Mudguard Plates, Rims, Inverted
Slope, Brackets, Studless Slopes, Axle Plates, Tiles,
 Minifig Steering Wheel, Grille Tile, Clip Tiles, 1x1 Brackets
(in Caramel!), Round Tiles, and a Lightsaber Blade.





Build.  Beach Blanket Battle Buggy.


The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Above.  (-10)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  No.  (-5)
Score: -5 (B-).  Three more pieces and this would have had a better score.  Otherwise, not too bad.

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Review: 30554 Cinderella's Mini Castle Polybag

Another new polybag that can be found at Walmart, in a Lego display.

Bag.  I paid $4.97, for a $0.12 Price per Piece.


Instructions.









Minidoll.

Parts.  Half Circle Plate, Plates, Very Large Cone, 1x1x3 Brick, Slope, Arch Brick, Inverted Domes, Domes, Round Jumpers, Printed Round Brick, New Pumpkin, Printed Large Jumper, Pentagonal Tile, Plate w/Door Rail, Clip Plates, Minifig Lantern, Bar Bar Holders, Nipples, Flower Round Plates, Flag, Round Brick, Ice Cream Cones, Minifig Teacup, Grille Tile, and Bars w/Stop.



Build.  A 2 Hit piece of Cover with attached Station.


The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Above.  (-10)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  No.  (-5)
Score: -5 (B-).  If you need some fun terrain fast, this is your jam.

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

8th Anniversary

So today is the eighth anniversary of the first post for this blog. This makes 1,308 posts and I still have things to say. I hit my 1,000th post late in May of 2018 and I'm in the chase for 2,000. Woof. That's a lot of talk about a game about Lego mecha. Thanks for listening.

Monday, March 23, 2020

Review: 30574 Cat Polybag

Another new polybag that can be found at Walmart, in a Lego display.


Bag.  I paid $4.97, for a $0.09 Price per Piece.


Instructions.











Parts.  Plates, Printed Round Tiles, Inverted Studless Slopes, Wedge Plates, Ball
Joint Plates, Clip Plates, Quarter Circle Tiles, Axle, Axle Ball Joints, Rounded
Plates, Padlocks, Studless Slopes, Jumper, Macaroni Tubes, and a Bracket.



Build 1.  A simple quad with two
mounting points for Attachments.




Build 2.  Ostrich walker with multiple
points for Attachments.  I may just buy
more sets to build a squad of these.





Build 3.  Crab walker also with
multiple points for Attachments.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  You have your choice of multiple Frame designs with this set.

Friday, March 20, 2020

Review: 30412 Friends Park Picnic Polybag

This is another new polybag that can be found at Walmart in the Lego aisle.

Bag.  I paid $4.97, for a $0.11 Price per Piece.


Instructions.










Minidoll.
Parts.  Round Plates, Tiles, Minifig Bike,
Brick, Plates, Slope, New Headlight
Brick, Leaves, Clip Plates, Bar Plates,
Nipples, Minifig Handbag, Round Brick,
Hot Dog Bun, Twigs, and Hot Dogs, 







Build.  The 1 Hit Cover was easy.  Trying to make something out of the Minifig Bike was a lot more difficult.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Above.  (-10)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  No.  (-5)
Score: -5 (B-).  Four more pieces and this would have had a more favorable score.  It would also had an even better score if Lego hadn't decided to increase the price of polybags by a dollar.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Review: 30342 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO Polybag

Another new polybag that can be found at Walmart.  And isn't that a mouthful of a name?

Bag.  I paid $4.97, for a $0.07 Price per Piece.


Instructions and stickers.











Parts.  Plates, Axle Plates, Studless Slopes, Tires, Rims,
Tiles, Handle Studs, Clip Tile, Jumpers, Lightsaber
Blades, Mod. Slope w/Cutout, Brackets, Clip Plate,
Mod. Tiles w/2 Studs, Wedge Plates, and a Panel.


Build.  IO Frigate and HVA.


The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  An interesting selection of parts.

Monday, March 16, 2020

Post Game Interview 5

For our seventh game of the year, I broke out the questionnaire again.  As Meara and Marin hadn't been around when I developed this I figured it would be interesting to get their opinions.

1.) Why did you choose the squad composition and size that you brought to today's game?
Marin: Experimenting with mixed HtH and DF, and piling SSRs on one Frame.
PJ Nicht: I was looking to play defense by choice for today's game.
Me: I had a fair amount of success as Primary attacker in the last game so I felt like trying it again.

2.) Did you have a strategy for today's game?
Marin: Not going in.  Strategy evolved in set up.
PJ Nicht: Yes.
Me: Kind of.

2a.) If so, what was it?
Marin:
PJ Nicht: Control a portion of the table, and have all but one mech defending.  The not-defending mech starts off in a place to threaten an opponent's Station and force them to not move forward.
Me: My usual plan of "Hit & Spot", with a dash of Artillery tossed in.

3.) Why did you place your squad on the table the way you did at the start of the game?
Marin: Trying to be able to pincer Meara's defenses while Mantisking took PJ Nicht on. Wanted to try to claim the spare neutral Station then push out from it.
PJ Nicht: I was looking to take up as much space and then pull back, hoping by the time people got to my Stations, the game would be over.
Me: I was trying to overload a quadrant of PJ Nicht's defensive perimeter.  In hindsight, the lone Frame I placed on the other side of PJ Nicht's perimeter prevented them from slipping out the back door and away from my assault.

4.) Did your strategy for today's game change at any point while we were playing?
Marin: Only when it became inconceivable for me to win, ha ha!
PJ Nicht: From the very beginning.
Me: Slightly.

4a.) If so, how?
Marin:
PJ Nicht: Mantisking's placement put him as the biggest threat.  But his Stations were in my perimeter.  So having my melee Frame in a place to stall Mantisking's advancement was not much of an option.  That Frame was also crippled very early on.
Me: I thought I needed more separation between Marin and myself, points-wise, so I attacked him a few times.

5.) After setup, how did you predict the game would go?
Marin: Unsure, had an impressive point deficit and wasn't as secure in my set up as I'd hoped.  If me vs. Meara and Mantisking vs. PJ Nicht kept to their lanes and I had good luck, maybe?
PJ Nicht: I predicted Mantisking would charge in and take my Stations, or try to.  I also thought Meara and Marin wouldn't be much of a threat, just because of distance.
Me: I usually don't think about this too much.  At this point of the game I'm trying to plan out my lanes of attack.

5a.) Who did you think would win?
Marin: Mantisking or Meara.
PJ Nicht: Mantisking.
Me: See my answer above.

6.) Any personal comments you'd like to add?
Marin: Need to make sure to remember, bad rolls really messes with a melee Frame.  Got to get it in close-quarters ASAP, even in set up.
PJ Nicht: I should have been more careful about movement and kept my Frames on my Stations.
Me: I really should have sent my lone Delegator after Marin's open Stations in the second turn instead of using it to pressure PJ Nicht.

The answers I received are under the corresponding questions.  Any mistakes in reporting are mine.  Meara declined to answer, citing aversion to paperwork.

I hope this gives some insight to the strategy and tactics of the Stone Garden 2 game.

Friday, March 13, 2020

Battle Report: Stone Garden 4

After a quick scramble to organize a game at PAX East, we had another quick scramble to organize our group's game for March.  This is what resulted.

PJ_Nichts (4 Frames & 16 Systems) = (7 Points per Asset) * (6 assets) = 42 points.  (mecha)
   Blue Anvil -- 2Rd+d8/1B/1Y/2W + SSR .
   Red Fast Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/1B/1G+d8/2W + SSR (x2).
   Orange Anvil -- 2Rd+d8/1B/1Y/2W.
   Purple Artillerist -- 2Ra+d8/2B/2W.


Meara (5 Frames & 20 Systems) = (5 Points per Asset) * (7 assets) = 35 points.  (Slytherin Scramblers)
   Red Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/2B/1Gd8/2W + SSR.
   Grey Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/2B/1Gd8/2W + SSR.
   Blue Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/2B/1Gd8/2W + SSR.
   White Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/2B/1Gd8/2W.
   Yellow Brawler -- 2Rh+d8/2B/1Gd8/2W.

Me (6 Frames & 24 Systems) = (3 Points per Asset) * (8 assets) = 24 points. (Gorgons)
   Brown Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
   Red Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
   Green Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
   Black Delegator -- 2Ra/1B/2Y/2W.
   White Delegator -- 2Ra/1B/2Y/2W.
   Purple Tank -- 2Rd+d8/2B/2W.

Marin (6 Frames & 24 Systems) = (3 Points per Asset) * (8 assets) = 24 points.
   Red Warrior -- 2Rh/1B/1G+d8/1Y/2W.
   Blue Warrior -- 2Rh/1B/1G+d8/1Y/2W.
   Yellow Warrior -- 2Rh/1B/1G+d8/1Y/2W.
   White Warrior -- 2Rh/1B/1G+d8/1Y/2W.
   Green Anvil -- 2Rd+d8/1B/1Y/2W.
   Purple Hammer -- 2Rd/2B/1Y/2W + SSR (x3).

This is what the table looked like at the start of the game.














Events of Turn 1 (DDC @ 11): PJ Nicht captures my Red station before the game starts.  PJ Nicht's Orange frame hits my Brown frame for 1.  My Brown frame moves around the butte and hits PJ Nicht's Red frame for 4, Station Dance.  PJ Nicht's Red frame hits my Brown frame for 1 in return then retreats to cover their Stations.  My Black frame hits PJ Nicht's Orange frame for 2.  My Red frame hits PJ Nicht's Orange frame for 3 then inched forward.  Marin's White frame moves over to the Neutral station and stabs Meara's Yellow frame for 1.  Marin's Blue frame also stabs Meara's Yellow frame for 1, Station Dance.  Marin's Frames capture the Neutral station.  My Green frame leaps over my Red frame and hits PJ Nicht's Orange frame for 1, destroying it.  Marin's Green frame jumps on top of the other large mesa and hits Meara's White frame for 2, Station Dance.  Meara's White frame uses that boost to close the distance and slashes Marin's Green frame for 1.  My Purple frame turns and hits Marin's Purple frame for 2.  Meara's Red frame scuttles over to the Neutral station and slashes Marin's White frame for 4, Station Dance.  Meara's Grey frame takes a few steps then slashes Marin's Green frame for 6, destroying it.  PJ Nicht's Purple frame hits my Red frame for 2, and my Green frame for 1 as it was acting as Cover.

PJ Nicht: 42 points.
Meara: 35 points.
Marin: 24 points.
Me: 21 points.


Events of Turn 2 (DDC @ 8): Meara's Yellow frame moves back to the neutral station then slashes Marin's Blue frame for 2, it does the Station Dance, and Meara's Yellow frame captures the Neutral station.  Meara's Red frame slashes Marin's Blue frame for 2, Station Dance.  My White frame moves into cover behind the "Old Man in the Mountain" butte and hits PJ Nicht's Red frame for 1.  PJ Nicht's Blue frame targets my Red frame but hits my Green frame for 2.  PJ Nicht's Purple frame hits my Green frame for 2, and it limps away to reclaim my Red station.  My Black frame hits PJ Nicht's Blue frame for 2 then moves off of the mesa.  Meara's White frame scuttles towards Marin's stations and slashes Marin's Red frame for 1.  Marin's Yellow frame stabs Meara's White frame for 3, then captures Meara's White station which was unguarded.  My Purple frame targets Marin's White frame but hits his Blue frame for 2.  My Brown frame moves forward and captures one of PJ Nicht's Stations, then hits their Purple frame for 2.

Meara: 35 points.
PJ Nicht: 28 points.
Me: 27 points.
Marin: 24 points.


Events of Turn 3 (DDC @ 4): PJ Nicht's Purple frame hits my Green frame for 3, destroying it, then shifts to the other side of their Station.  Meara's Grey frame scuttles forward and slashes Marin's Yellow frame for 1.  My Red frame hits PJ Nicht's Blue frame for 3, then moves up beside the Station that I captured from PJ Nicht.  Marin's Blue frame moves around the Neutral station and stabs Meara's Yellow frame for 1.  Marin's Yellow frame moves forward slightly and also hits Meara's Yellow frame for 1.  Marin's White frame stabs Meara's Yellow frame for 1, continuing a trend.  Marin's Red frame stabs Meara's White frame for 2, destroying it, then moves towards Meara's Red station.  My White frame moves into the boulder field then hits Marin's Blue frame for 4, destroying it.  My Purple frame follows my other forces towards PJ Nicht's stations and hits the Cover in front PJ Nicht's Blue frame for 1 -- destroying it -- and the Frame for 2, destroying it too.  Meara's Red frame scuttles around the Neutral station and slashes Marin's White frame for 2.  Meara's Blue frame intercepts Marin's Red frame and slashes it for 4.  The Doomsday Clock is ticked to zero.

Meara: 30 points.
Me: 24 points.
PJ Nicht: 21 points.
Marin: 21 points.








Here are several aftermath pictures.













































Marin's Stations

PJ Nicht's Stations











Thoughts & Observations:
  • This is our third game in fifteen days.
  • We haven't used this table-setting in almost two years.
  • We also used an optional rule that we've used once before.
  • I'm also holding to my resolution to use squads that haven't seen prior table time.
  • Point Attacker was decided by die roll.
  • My friend Narbey has taken some good "Frame's Eye View" pictures in the past so I figiured I would try a few this time around.