Player Count 5

The last time I talked about this I didn't say it would be the last but I thought it might be.  There was a recent discussion about ties and the points algorithm that got me thinking about my favorite bugbear again.

One more time, here's the original version for reference.

Original

                                Frames

Players  Stations Skirmish Battle

    2           3         4 to 6 5 to 8

    3           2         3 to 5 4 to 7

    4           2         3 to 4 4 to 6

    5           1         3 to 4 3 to 5

Base Premise: A core concept of Mobile Frame Zero is that there's a Defender, Attacker, and Primary Attacker.

Needed: A way to allow people to pick a different quantity of Frames when they come to the table that allows at least three different levels of choice -- for example 4, 5, or 6.

Revision 2.4

                Frames

Players Stations Skirmish Battle

      2       3  6 to 8 7 to 9

      3       2  5 to 7 6 to 8

      4       2  4 to 6 5 to 7

      5       1  3 to 5   4 to 6

      6       1  3 to 4   3 to 5

As before I'm going with the new level of conflict to add some granularity to the choices available.

New 1.3

        Frames

Players Stations Clash Skirmish Battle

      2       3 5 to 7  6 to 8 7 to 9

      3       2 4 to 6  5 to 7 6 to 8

      4       2 3 to 5  4 to 6 5 to 7

      5       1 3 to 4  3 to 5  4 to 6

      6       1  N/A          3 to 4 3 to 5

N/A = Not Applicable.

I increased the maximum amount of Frames in a Battle to nine and that seems to have given me the room in the progression that I've been looking for all along.  There are only a few places that it gets tight and that's up at the very top.

There's also another way to lay it out that creates some nice separation between Skirmish and Battle.

Even Newer 1.0

        Frames

Players Stations Skirmish Battle

      2       3 5 to 7 7 to 9

      3       2 4 to 6 6 to 8

      4       2 3 to 5 5 to 7

      5       1 3 to 4  4 to 6

      6       1  N/A         3 to 5

N/A = Not Applicable.

Thoughts?

Review: 71760 Ninjago Jay's Thunder Dragon EVO

I've been interested in this set since early this year, I recently found it on Clearance and bought a copy.

Box.  MSRP is $19.99 for a $0.14 Price per Piece.  I paid $13.00 which is $0.09 per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifigs.

Parts 1.  Dragon Head, Dragon Jaw, Round Bricks, Ball Joint

Plates, Curved Wedge Bricks, Round Plates, Plates, Bracket,

Slopes, Corner Slopes, Brick w/2 Pinholes, Bent Plates 2x6x2/3,

Hinge Brick, Brick w/2 Pins, Plates w/2 Clips, and Tooth Tiles.

 

Parts 2.  Tiles w/Studs on Edge, Pentagonal Tiles, Curved Slopes,

Plates, Ball Joint Plates, Slopes w/Cutout, Technic Axle w/Pinholder, 

Technic Pin w/Pinholder, Barrel Hinge, and Technic Axle/Pin.

Parts 3.  Wings, Double Curved Slopes w/Studs, Round Tile, Printed Tile,

Plates, Ball Joint Plates, Bar Plate, Technic Knob, Clip Plate, Brick w/2 Pins,

Exo-Force Arm, Tiles, Triple Slope, Bar w/Stop, Lightning Bolts, Technic

Axle/Pins, Axle/Ball Joint, Brick w/2 Pinholes, and Bricks w/Studs on Side.

Build.  Two (tall-ish) Frames (2Rh/1B/1Gd8/1Y) 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?  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+). It's a good set hampered by the price.  If you can find it marked down it's definitely worth it.

Terrain Workshop: Trees 3

At the same time I was writing my last Terrain Workshop post about trees, I was formulating another idea based on a part that is a little younger than the Cylinder part that was the core of my last idea.

So this is composed of four Quarter Cylinder 3x3x5 w/2 Arch Tops, two Half Round Plate 3x6 w/1x2 Cutout for the trunk, with four Plant Leaves 6x5, and two Double Curved Slope 4x1x2/3 for the top (I originally went with two Curved Slope 2x2x2/3 but I switched due to color issues and also the Double Curved Slopes will help connect the two sides of this build.).  In 6P scale this tree is 15' thick and 18' tall.  It will take 2 Hits to destroy.  Unlike the tree in the previous post, this one requires a plate for a base.  In terms of colors, I went with Dark Tan for the Half Round Plates because that part doesn't exist in Reddish Brown yet.  Six trees in these colors would be $24.24, or $4.04 per tree, from Bricklink.

If we want to make them taller we should remove the Double Curved Slopes.  We also have to remove the Plant Leaves and place them on the arch sections otherwise the connection between the upper and lower sections is really weak.  We should also add in a 2x2 Plate on the other arch sections to -- once again -- secure the two halves of this build.  This will also keep the parts count the same.  Then we duplicate the first level.  This gives us a 4 Hit, 34' tall tree.  Any Frame on top of this version would count as Elevated.  Six sections in these colors would be $23.04, or $3.84 per tree, from Bricklink.

Orrrrr, you could swap out that section for four Round Corner Brick 2x2 Macaroni w/Stud Notch & Reinforced Underside, two Half Cylinder 2x4x4, then top it off with a 4x4 Round Plate, four Plant Leaves 6x5, and a 2x2 Round Tile.  This would give us a 4 Hit, 34' tall tree.  Any Frame on top of this version would also count as Elevated.

Mixing together this design with the previous two versions should make for a decent looking forest on a battlefield.

Terrain Workshop: Trees 2

Back in March of last year I posted a Terrain Workshop that dealt with trees.  I've had another idea along those lines but this is something a little more "old growth" than the previous versions.

So this is composed of a 4x4 Round Brick, four Quarter Cylinder 2x2x5 w/1x1 Cutout, and a 4x4 Round Plate for the trunk, with four Plant Leaves 6x5, and two Curved Slope 2x2x2/3 for the top (I originally went with two Double Curved Slope 4x1x2/3 but it turns out I don't have as many of those as I thought.).  In 6P scale this tree is 10' thick and 21' tall.  It will take 2 Hits to destroy and anything that stands on top of it counts as being Elevated.  In terms of colors, I went with Black for the base 4x4 Round Brick because I don't have any in Reddish Brown.  I went with Dark Brown for the 4x4 Round Plate because that part doesn't exist in Reddish Brown yet.  I went with basic Green for the Leaves and Curved Slopes.  To build a minimum of six of this design -- in the colors mentioned -- would cost $12.24 or $2.04 per tree through Bricklink.

If we want to make them taller we should remove the Double Curved Slopes and replace them with 1x2 Rounded Plates, this will allow us to keep building upwards and keep the parts count the same.  For the start of the second section, instead of a 4x4 Round Brick, I'm going with another 4x4 Round Plate, the rest is the same as the previous section.  This gives us a 4 Hit, 40' tall tree.  To add a minimum of six of this section  -- in the colors mentioned --would cost $11.64 or $1.94 per tree through Bricklink.

A handful of these and some of the older style trees should make for good looking section of woods on a battlefield.

So the older style tree on the left is 25 feet tall and 2.5 feet thick in 6P scale.  The older style tree on the right is 22 feet tall and 2.5 feet thick in 6P scale.  Neither one counts the base for height.

If you want to beef it up a little without adding any height, you can add four Round Plant Plate 1x1 w/3 Leaves in Green and two 1x2 Plates in Reddish Brown and this will add 1 Hit.  This would cost $1.56 for six trees, or $0.26 per tree through Bricklink.

Hopefully this helps people with building better trees for their gaming tables.

Mecha Design & Tactical Doctrine 7

It's been over ten years since I've done one of these.  A discussion last week on the Discord convinced me to give it another try.  There's been plenty of experimentation in the community since my last post like this and, also, I finally came up with names for some of the loadouts our group has been using in the games we've played.

Fast Stalker -- This design has two Artillery systems and two Movement systems.  (2Ra+d8/2G/2W)  Similar to the Stalker it adds a second Movement system to ensure you can move the way you want to.  (They comprised 40% of Occam's Spork's squad in this game.)

Armored Swarmer -- This design has one Melee system, two Defensive systems, and one Spotting system along with the Sprint die for having no Ranged weapons. (2Rh/2B/1Gd8/1Y/2W)  Stack a group of them up on the Defender's Perimeter, give some of them Single Shot Rockets so they can fire at range, and maybe add in a Recon by Fire to add a little long range support, then let them loose on your opponents.  (That describes Tom's Squad in this game.)

Fast Brawler -- This design has two Melee systems, one Defensive system, and one Movement system along with the Sprint die for having no Ranged weapons.   (2Rh+d8/1B/1G+d8/2W)  This Brawler variant sacrifices defense for a more consistent movement rate.  (There are a handful in this game and others.)

Warrior -- This design has one Melee system, one Defensive system, one Movement system and one Spotting system along with the Sprint die for having no Ranged weapons.  (2Rh/1B/1G+d8/1Y/2W)  It's the melee version of the Soldier and was named by JoeMoose on the Discord.  This is a tried and tested build.  (This game featured the largest use of them.)

All of the previous loadouts have seen use in at least one game that I know of, the following one has not.

Ambusher --  This design has one Artillery system, one Melee system, and two Defensive systems.   (2Ra/2Rh/2B/2W)  I based this loadout on a build I did for the January 2021 MMMIG.  I'm not sure it's going to work or why exactly I chose that name.

Anatomy of a Playtest 2

A year and a half has passed since the last time I tried to playtest my "Dinosaur Planet" ruleset.  Rook was kind enough to help me get working on this once again.  It gave me the chance to break out the new cloth table covering I mentioned back in this post.  In case people are wondering, I'm using the Demo Rules because: A) the two times I've tried this we've only had to players and B) it's an easy way to control for variables.

Me (2 Frames & 8 Systems) = (5 Points per Asset) * (2 assets) = 10 points.  (Hoplites)
   Lime Hoplite Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W.
   Yellow Hoplite Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W.

Rook (2 Frames & 8 Systems) = (5 Points per Asset) * (2 assets) = 10 points.  
   White Pug -- 2Rd/2Rh/1G/1Y/2W.
   Blue Pug Warrior -- 2Rh/1B/1G+d8/1Y/2W.

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

Events of Round 1 (DDC@5): One of the Dilophosauruses hits my Lime frame with a Spit attack for 1.  My Yellow frame moves towards the center of the battlefield from one Small Triple Tree to another and hits Rook's White frame for 2 which had moved from a Small Triple Tree to a Large Triple Tree.

Rook: 10 points.

Me: 10 points.

Events of Round 2 (DDC@3): Rook's White frame moves out from behind the Large Triple Tree to capture the Station.  Rook's Blue frame slashes a Dilophosaurus for 1 then runs for the Station.  The Dilophosaurus spits back for 1, Station Dance.  My Yellow frame hits the Stygimoloch for 2, killing it, as it was acting as cover for Rook's Blue frame which also gets hit for 2.

Rook:

 15 points.

Me: 10 points.

Events of Round 3 (DDC@1): My Lime frame closes with the Station and punches Rook's White frame for 1.  Rook's White frame slashes back for 2.  Rook's Blue frame leaps over the scrum at the Station and hits my Yellow frame with a flying slash for 4.  My Yellow frame angles off to the corpse of the Stygimoloch and hits Rook's White frame for 2 which is not enough to destroy it.  The Doomsday Clock is ticked to zero.

Rook: 15 points.

Me: 10 points.

Here are more final turn pictures.

Thoughts & Observations:

• We didn't use Single Shot Rockets.
• I tried the dinosaurs moving at the start of the round, before everyone else, instead of last.
• I also tried out my new direction system which worked pretty well.
• Having six dinosaurs on the board made things more interesting than the first time I tried this.
• Thinking of them as plot complications in an action adventure movie works pretty well too.
• At this point dinosaurs are essentially moving, and sometimes combative, terrain.
• I think the next step is figuring out who exactly they react to in the Combat Initiative stack.
• While it may look like my Lime frame teleported across the table in the First Round, the "Start" pictures were actually taken after the game was over and we were resetting the board.  I just forgot which sides my Frames started on.
• We played another game after this using a Tyrannosaurus Rex and some Velociraptors but I didn't keep any game notes on that.
• Flickr page.

Terrain Workshop: Medium Sized Building

I was at my local Lego store the other week and they had Light Bley 1x10 Bricks on the Pick-A-Brick Wall.  Seeing this led to them rattling around my head for the next few days until an idea formed.  If you lay four of those bricks out in a square pattern with one end overlapping the other so the whole thing forms an 11 Stud by 11 Stud square, you can alternate this square in overlapping sections to make a shell of a building.  Three layers would be composed of twelve pieces which is 2 Hits.  If you put a Large Jumper at each corner the stud on top of the Jumper has enough offset that you can put an even numbered Plate on the top to make a roof.  The one in the picture below is a 16x16 Plate from Make-It Blocks.  It's a little big but that gives plenty of room for Frames to stand on the top of it and fight.  Just sayin'.  :-)  If you hide a smaller plate under the 16x16 that gives you a nice round six pieces which makes another Hit.

So if you're using 6P scale -- like I normally do -- the resulting building is 25.5 feet on a side and 11 feet tall.  (The overlapping roof is 40 feet on a side.)  The building will take 3 Hits to destroy.  It will still be Cover if the roof is blasted off but not past the second Hit.  It's a very Brutalist design as it has no doors or windows but it does take up a decent amount of space, is easy to build, is fairly cheap, and is also easy to expand.  Yes, there is a gap between the top of the wall and the roof created by the Large Jumpers but you can't see it from above and it'll disappear once the building takes the first Hit of Damage.

Doing some quick checking; a 16x16 Plate -- in Light Bley -- is $2.00 on Bricklink, a 1x10 Brick is $0.29 per, and a Large Jumper is $0.01 per.  That's a total of $5.52 per building.

And if you change the 16x16 Plate for two 6x12 Plates you'll have a nice even six pieces for that initial Hit -- which pleases my OCD tendencies -- it reduces the overhang to something less comical, and -- at $0.44 per -- it reduces the overall price of the building to $4.40 each.  It also changes the the 6P scale length to 30 feet on a side for the roof.  As a trade-off the center of the roof is a little weaker than the single plate version.  I changed the color of the roof Plates so the difference would be easier to see.

Orrrrrrr, you could change the roof to four 6x6 Plates -- $0.13 per -- then add another level of 1x10 Bricks.  Which would change the parts count to twenty-four and the Hits to 4.  That would change the price to $5.20 per building, making it cheaper and taller than the initial design.  And the 6P scale height would change to 14 feet.  Again, as a trade-off the center of the roof is weaker than the single plate version.  The roof plates are held on by a single stud so they will pop right off if you try to pick it up that way.  I changed the color of the roof Plates and the extra Bricks so the difference would be easier to see.

Oh, and if you add another twelve 1x10 Bricks to the original design, along with adding 2 Hits, anything standing on top of the roof is considered Elevated -- if you feel like using that rule it's on pages 134 and 135.  The overhang of the original 16x16 Plate roof should also allow use of the Roof Rule -- page 135.  In 6P scale the building would be 20 feet tall.

Size Comparison.

All three "sizes".

I hope this gives people a quick solution for constructing buildings for their battlefields.

Review: Make-It Blocks City Construction 6

I bought these after the changeover to $1.25 by Dollar Tree, I think.  People have said some of the sets from this line are copies of Lego sets.  I bought the entire release because I think we have some good terrain selections.

Box.  MSRP is $1.25 for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Plates, Tiles, Tiles w/Studs on Ends, Container, Container Door, Bar

w/Stop, Rounded Brick, Grille Tile, Clip Plates, Bar Plates, Round Plate, 

Round Brick, Translucent Round Brick, Taps, Travis Brick, and Dishes.

Build.  A Frame (2Rd) or (1Y) 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?  No.  (-5)

Score: +10 (A-).  Not bad, but not great either.  Only the third MIB set with either Taps or Travis Bricks.

Review: Make-It Blocks City Construction 5

I bought these after the changeover to $1.25 by Dollar Tree, I think.  People have said some of the sets from this line are copies of Lego sets.  I bought the entire release because I think we have some good terrain selections.

Box.  MSRP is $1.25 for a $0.03 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Door Frames, Bricks, Window Glass, Plates, Tiles, Bricks w/Studs

on Side, Minifig Scooter Body, Corner Plate, Tires, Minifig Scooter

Kickstand, Rims, Hose, Clip Plate, Technic Pin, Round Translucent

Tile, Minifig Handlebars, Brick w/Pinhole, Headlight Bricks, and Tap.

Build.  1 Hit piece of Cover and 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?  No.  (-5)

Score: +10 (A-).  This is a terrain pack for sure.  It's only the second time I've seen a Tap in a MIB set and the first time I've seen a Hose.

Review: Make-It Blocks City Construction 4

I bought these after the changeover to $1.25 by Dollar Tree, I think.  People have said some of the sets from this line are copies of Lego sets.  I bought the entire release because I think we have some good terrain selections.

Box.  MSRP is $1.25 for a $0.03 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Plates, Wedge Plate, Crate, Motorcycle Cowl, Motorcycle Body, Wheels,

Round Jumper, Tiles, Antenna, Headlight Bricks, New Headlight Brick, Round

Bricks, Transparent Cheese Slope, Round Plates, and Transparent Round Plates.

Build.  Station and 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?  No.  (-5)

Score: +10 (A-).  There's not really much here, but this set could be a relatively cheap source of the Motorcycle Cowl piece used in this build.  In fact I'm already experimenting with it in a different build.  I'm gonna have fun with those Wheels too.

Review: Make-It Blocks Dinosaur 6

These sets finally arrived in one of my local Dollar Tree stores after a wait of roughly two months.  This is the second largest of the sets and I was intrigued by the Lavender color choice so I saved this for last.

Box.  MSRP is $1.25 for a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Bar Plate, Cheese Slopes, Padlock,

Clip Plate, Clip Tile, Bracket, Translucent

Cheese Slope, Inkwells, Clip Bar

Holders, Barb, and Travis Bricks.

Build.

Color Comparison.  Here's the main reason

I wanted this set.  That's Lego, Make-It

Blocks, and Mega Bloks pieces side by side.

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-).  Oh, I'm going to have so much fun with these parts!