Monday, May 30, 2016

Battle Report: Twice As Much (Part 3)

This isn't so much a battle report as it is "photojournalism."

Game Start
Cmdr. Rook's photos.  Here's a recount of the game from his perspective. "The four of us went a brutal five rounds, and it was truly anyone's game the whole time. Thanks for having me! Bottle-necking of the narrow table made the push against an "endzone" defender such as myself a chaotic affair, with the three attackers deploying shoulder-to-shoulder, essentially. I felt pressured to feed sacrificial frames forward to slow the advance on my stations, which turned out to only weaken my flank to a sneaky late-game advance. The other players slugged it out pretty evenly, trading stations until a clear winner emerged!"


Round 1
Round 2











Round 3

Round 4












HyperBob's photos.














Narbey's photos.  The last two are from the Last Game of 2015.






































Heres' the Battle Report for Game 1 and the 
Battle Report for Game 2 in case you missed them.

Friday, May 27, 2016

Battle Report: Twice As Much!! (Part 2)

Eight of us got together to game at the Whiz in Westborogh, MA on May 22nd.  This allowed us to play two simultaneous games.  This is the battle report for the second game.

The point totals for the beginning of the game were as follows:
Cmdr. Rook (5 frames & 15 systems) = (7 Points per Asset) * (7 assets) = 49 points.
Hyperbob (5 frames & 19 systems) = (6 Points per Asset) * (7 assets) = 42 points.  (Haldor's Hammer)

Tokala (5 frames & 20 systems) = (6 Points per Asset) * (7 assets) = 42 points.
Tom 
(6 frames & 24 systems) = (3 points per asset) * (8 assets) = 24 points.


Here are the pictures from the start of the game.

Events of Turn 1 (DDC@11): One of Cmdr Rook's Frames is one-shotted by Hyperbob.  Hyperbob captures one of Tom's Stations, then Tom captures it back.

End of Turn 1 pictures.

Cmdr. Rook: 42 points.
Hyperbob: 42 points.
Tokala: 42 points.
Tom: 24 points.





Events of Turn 2 (DDC@6): Tokala captures Hyperbob's one of Stations.  Cmdr. Rook captures another, then Hyperbob captures one back.  Cmdr. Rook loses another Frame.  Tom captures Hyperbob's Station.

End of Turn 2 pictures.

Tokala: 42 points.
Cmdr. Rook: 35 points.
Hyperbob: 30 points.
Tom: 27 points.






Events of Turn 3 (DDC@3): Hyperbob loses his "Thor" frame. Cmdr. Rook captures one of Tom's Stations but loses another Frame. Tom loses a Frame but captures one of Cmdr. Rook's Stations.  And once again I didn't take any pictures of Turn 3.

Tokala: 42 points.
Cmdr. Rook: 28 points.
Hyperbob: 24 points.
Tom: 24 points.

Events of Turn 4 (DDC@2): Tokala loses a Frame.  Cmdr. Rook loses a Frame.  Tokala captures a Station from Tom and Tom captures a Station from Cmdr. Rook.  The Doomsday Clock is ticked down to zero.


End of Turn 4 pictures.

Tokala: 42 points.
Hyperbob: 24 points.
Tom: 24 points.
Cmdr. Rook: 14 points.








Thoughts & Observations:
  • I wasn't a part of this game so I hope I interpreted the notes right.
  • Having that many Frames on that small a table is claustrophobic.
  • Someone copied one of my Frame designs!  There's a Mecha Owlbear on that table!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Battle Report: Twice as Much!! (Part 1)

Eight of us got together to game at the Whiz in Westborogh, MA on May 22nd.  This allowed us to play two simultaneous games.  This is the battle report for the game I was in.  The other battle report will be later in the week.

The point totals for the beginning of the game were as follows:
A Team (3 frames & 11 systems) = (7 Points per Asset) * (5 assets) = 35 points.  (Cyclops)
Me (4 frames & 15 systems) = (4 Points per Asset) * (6 assets) = 24 points.  (Daemons)

Narbey (4 frames & 16 systems) = (3 Points per Asset) * (6 assets) = 18 points. (Skitterers)
Occam's Spork 
(4 frames & 16 systems) = (3 points per asset) * (6 assets) = 18 points.



Here are the pictures from the start of the game.

Events of Turn 1 (DDC@11): Narbey grabs one of Occam's Spork's Stations.  I seize one of Narbey's Stations he left undefended.  One of Occam's Spork's frames moved to the top of a silo and then had it shot out from under it, doing one damage.


End of Turn 1 pictures.

A Team: 35 points.
Me: 24 points.
Narbey: 18 points.
Occam's Spork: 18 points.





Events of Turn 2 (DDC@8): My Purple frame makes a run and seizes one of A Team's Stations.  Narbey's Lime Skitterer engages A Team's Black frame then seizes the other one.

End of Turn 2 pictures.

Me: 28 points.
A Team: 21 points.
Narbey: 21 points.
Occam's Spork: 18 points.





Events of Turn 3 (DDC@6): Narbey seizes one of my Stations.  A Team destroys one of Narbey's frames and takes the Station it was defending.  For some reason I don't have pictures for Turn 3.
Me: 28 points.
A Team: 28 points.
Narbey: 18 points.
Occam's Spork: 15 points.

Events of Turn 4 (DDC@3): My Yellow Daemon makes a run for Occam's Spork Station and misses by one unit on the ruler.  Occam's Spork seizes the Station I had taken from Narbey and left undefended. Occam's Spork destroys my Blue frame and takes the Station it was defending.  A Team destroys my Purple frame and takes back the Station I captured from her.  A Team and Narbey tick down the clock to end the game.

End of Turn 4 pictures.

A Team: 35 points.
Occam's Spork: 21 points.
Narbey: 18 points.
Me: 8 points.





Thoughts & Observations:
  • We actually had enough players for two simultaneous games!
  • I hate thin tables.
  • Occam's Spork might have been able to take the game if he had made a move one turn earlier.
  • But then again his damage rolls were awful so staying turtled might have been a good idea.
  • People seemed to like the new terrain pieces.
  • We actually remembered to play with a normal compliment of Single Shot Rockets, and they got used during the game.
  • A Team had the high body count in this game with two Frame kills to her credit.
  • We used the Elevation and Falling rules.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Sales Alert

Target has some good sales on Lego this week.  15% off on Angry Birds sets, which makes three out of the five sets affordable.  Then there's 20% off all Lego City, Friends, Minecraft and Duplo.  This sale actually makes the 60067 City Police Helicopter Pursuit set affordable, and there are plenty of other deals available.  Good hunting.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Review: 71216 Dimensions Samurai Mech Fun Pack

The Lego Dimensions line debuted late in 2015.  This set is tied for third highest piece count of the first wave of Fun Packs and has some interesting pieces so I've decided to review it.


Box.  MSRP is $14.99 for a $0.25 Price per Piece.



Instructions.











Minifig.

Parts 1.  The base ine the lower right of the picture might make a good base for a flight stand.  Which is probably what I'm going to use it for once I dig out the Frame it'll be attached to.






Parts 2.  There's a fair amount of good parts here.  Ball Joints, Clip Plates, Bar Plates, a Truncated Cone, Slopes, Brackets, and that 3-Way  Ball Joint everyone seems to like.

Build.  Kind of awkward, but it works.


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?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +5 (B+).  Don't be fooled by that decent score, this is not that great a set.

Friday, May 20, 2016

Review: 41559 Mixel Paladum

The second of the Medivals tribe.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99 for a $0.08 Price per Piece.


Instructions.









Parts.  A bunch of Slopes, Clip Plates, and Bar Plates.  A few Hingle Plates, Brackets, Bar Holder Claws, Robot Arms, and Ball Joints.  There's also more of those Tooth  Tiles, and a Minifig Spear rounds it all out.

Build.  A quick tripod and a 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?  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+).  Another perfect score for this round of Mixels.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Review: 41555 Mixel Busto

The first of the MCPD tribe.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99 for a $0.07 Price per Piece.


Instructions.









Parts.  I see some of those new Tooth Tiles in the lower right corner.  Lampholders, Bar Bricks, Robot Arms, Tooth Plates, Grille Tiles, Clip Plates, Bar Plates, Brackets, a Studless Slope, 1x1 Round Trans-color Tiles, are all interesting parts.


Build.  A quick quad reminiscent of my Crab Mecha.  Also a 1 Hit
piece of Cover.

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+).  Not a surprising score.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

A New Blogger?

Over on Tribality.com a guest blogger just wrote a post on getting started in Mobile Frame Zero.  She also joined the Hangar and dove headfirst into the conversation on the MFZ Discord channel.  Serri is talking about doing more posts on this game we all love so I'm looking forward to see what she writes.

Oh, and her husband Onai is the one that designed the frame you see in the article.  Welcome to the community both of you.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Review: 30374 The Lava Slinger Polybag

A new Nexo Knights polybag for review.

Bag.  I purchased this from Target for $3.49, which gives us a $0.09 Price per Piece.

Instructions.







Minifig.  I like using the helmet in Frame builds.


Parts.  A couple of Lampholders, some Levers & Bases, The Catapult Arms that I find intriguing, a 1x2 Corrugated Brick, a few Slopes, a 1x2-1x2 Bracket, a Jumper, and the 21x2 Mod. Plate w/Pin Hole on Top are all interesting pieces.





Build.  An IO Frigate vaguely reminiscent of a Firefly class ship.

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?  No.  (-5)
Score: +10 (A-).  It would need at least ten more pieces to get a better score.

Friday, May 13, 2016

Terrain & Scenery 7

Here's some neat creations to look at since it's Friday and I'm feeling tired and worn out.

W.M.T.V by sjefje de kok.  Kinda small, maybe
about 4P scale, but it has some character.









be 2P scale, but would still make for some great terrain.



Container Truck bt curtydc.  I thought this was by Fredoichi when I
first saw the thumbnail.  I think this would look great on a gaming table.







The Little Plane... by Karf Oohlu.  This is just plane cute.



Lava Explorers Armoured Pickup by Shannon Sproule.
This one is really neat, and it works at multiple scales.