The Explosion Rule

Since the Hangar is now gone -- taking the original posting of this rule with it -- and the rule is still being used, I figured I'd post it here.  We originally used it in this game, and recently used it again in our last game.  I'm thinking about adding it to the "Airfield Ambush" table-setting too.

The idea for this came about because Area Effect rules in Mobile Frame Zero are problematic.  Due to, possibly, dealing with multiple targets getting activated at the same time.  This rule was an attempt to duplicate the effect without the inherent issues.  It works thusly.  You declare a piece of terrain as Explosive.  It doesn't have to be Cover.  Then you decide how much Damage it will take before it explodes.  We usually go with 1 Hit because we like seeing things go "BOOM".  This is the Damage Threshold.  Then you determine how far away in ruler Units things will be effected.  This is the Blast Zone.  When the item in question is hit and destroyed you roll a die to determine how far away in Ruler Units everything is pushed.  We generally use 1d6.  This is the Blast Radius.  And by everything I mean Frames, Stations, and Cover/Terrain.  If a Frame or Station is pushed off the Battlefield in this manner it is Out Of Play and the person controlling it loses those points.

Second use.

First use of the rule.

So simply, Declare item, set Damage Threshold, set Blast Zone, roll Blast Radius, determine effects.  You can see there's a lot of ways to tweak this rule and I look forward to hearing how you use it.

Review: 76277 War Machine Mech Armor

I know I skipped reviewing the Marvel character mecha for 2023 -- I'll go back to them at some point -- to be honest I wasn't too enthused by any of them.  The first one for 2024 seems pretty interesting though.

Box. I paid $14.99 for this which gives a $0.10 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts 1.  Loose in box.

Parts 2.  Curved Slopes w/Studs & Wing End, Technic Plates, Bar Plates, Brackets,

Rounded Plate w/Pinhole, Mod. Brick w/Pinhole and Plate, Inverted Tiles, Round

Large Jumpers, Studless Slopes, Dishes, Double Ball Joint Plate, Round Tile, Transparent Boat Sliders, 2x2 Plate w/Studs on Side, Ball Joint Plates, Lampholders,

Clip Plates, Corner Plates, Corner Tiles w/Notch, Padlocks, Tiles, Large Cheese Slopes,

Slopes w/Cutout, Double Inverted Slopes w/Cutout, and Curved Slopes w/Cutout.

Parts 3.  Cockpit, Cockpit Shell, Bent 2x6x0.6 Plates, Wedge Plates,

Spoiler, Stud Shooters, Stud Shooter Triggers, Ingots, Half Circle

Tiles, Rounded Plates, Stadium Tiles, Transparent Round Tiles,

Cheese Slopes, Round Plates, Bar Ball Joints, and Friction Pins.

Parts 4.  Printed Tile, Tile w/Studs. Wedge Studless Slopes, Exo-Force Arms,

Studless Slopes w/Cutout, Brackets, 2L Bars w/Stop, Clip Plates, Panel, Ball

Joint Plates, and Minifig Hair (Which I forgot to include with the minifig.).

Build.  Two IO Frigates (and plenty of leftover parts).

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  At.  (0) (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: +15 (A).  Tons of useful parts, not a lot of color variation, but a decent price point.  I will probably buy more of these.

Review: 30645 Snowman Polybag

This is one of the remaining polybags from 2023.  I found it in Target, after Christmas, on a sidekick in the Toy section.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.06 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Half Oval Plates, Brackets, Bar w/Stop, Studless Slopes, Triple Curved Wedges, Plates, Bricks w/Studs on Side, Bricks w/Studs on Side & Edges, Flower Round Plates, Inverted Double Slope w/Cutout, Round Tiles, Curved Bricks w/Cutout, Turntable Base, Cheese Slopes, Jumpers, Ingots, Turntable Top, Printed Round Tiles, Bricks, Slopes w/Cutout, Cone, Double Bar Plate, Round Plates, Clip Bar Holders, Rounded Plates, Tiles, Ball Joint Plates, Clip Plate, Large Cheese Slopes, Bar Ball Joints, and Inverted Tile.

Build.  IO Frigate.

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+).  It has a decent price point, decent parts, and decent color selection but I'm just not feeling this one.

Review: 71789 Ninjago Kai & Ras' Car and Bike Battle

It's been over a year since the last "4+" review but, since I'm using the Hard Plastic Wheels as part of another build and since this is the only other set with them in Black -- and this type of set is easy to review -- I figured I'd take a crack at this one.

Box.  MSRP is $19.99, for a $0.20 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifigs.  The sword on the right is neat.  The

Minifig Head might look cool on a Frame.

Parts 1.  Quad Bike Halves, Pins, Wheels, Dragon Head, Helicopter

Blades, Curved Slope w/Studs & Wing End, Pentagonal Tile, Bracket,

Slope, Ball Joint Plates, Clip Plates, Transparent Dishes, Tooth Plates,

Plates, Large Cheese Slope, Steering Wheel, Panels, Slopes w/Cutout,

Brick, Truncated Cone, Flames, and Transparent Apollo Studs. 

Parts 2.  Quad Bike Halves, Rims, Tires, Half Circle Plate, Wedge Plate,

Printed Triple Curved Studless Slope, 2x2x3 Brick, Wedge w/Cutout,

Bricks, Curved Slopes w/Studs & Wing End, Studless Slopes, Jumpers,

Vertical Clip Plates, Brick w/Grooves, Plate, Bar Holders w/Bar,

Lightning Piece, Steering Wheel, Minifig Swords, Pins, Panels, Bracket,

Plate w/Angled Tubes, Bar Tile, 4 Point Crystal, and Cones.

Build.  Battlebikes!  (2Rh+d8/2Y) and (2Rh+d8/2B).  Station and fire markers.

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+).  There are some good parts in here -- I bought it for one specific piece after all -- but I'm not really feeling it beyond that.

Boxes versus Cups

With the switchover to sustainable packaging for the Lego Pick-A-Brick wall, I'm sure a lot of you are wondering how the old and new carrying vessels compare.  I was too.  So let's take a look at both containers.

This is the new Large Box for use with the Pick-A-Brick wall.

This is a comparison of the new Large Box and the old Large Cup.

This is what a Large Box looks like when it's full.

And here's that Box emptied into the Cup.  So now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Review: 30666 Gift Animals Polybag

This is one of the new polybags for 2024.  I found it in Target, in the Seasonal section.

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

Instructions.

Parts.  Plates, 2x2 Plate w/Studs on Side, Studless Slopes, Round Tiles,

Clip Plates, Inverted Studless Slopes, Plates w/Pinhole, Bar Plates, Pill

Tiles, Ingot, Ball Joint Plates, Rock/Claw Plates, Brackets, Padlocks,

Fiction Pins, Printed Round Tiles, Half Pins, and Bricks w/2 Pinholes.

Build.  Frame (2Rh+d8/2Y).

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+).  I like this better than the Kiki's Coconut Attack poly.  More parts and better quantities of individual pieces gives you a better selection to build with.

Review: 30659 Friends Flower Garden Polybag

This is one of the new polybags for 2024.  I found it in Target, in the Seasonal section.

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

Instructions.

Parts.  Quarter Circle Plate, Octagonal Bar Plate, Fences, Candlesticks, Round

Tile, Round Large Jumpers, Studless Slopes, Round Plates, Bricks w/Studs

on Side and Edges, Wedge Plates, Round Plates w/3 Leaves, Butterfly,

Minifig Watering Can, Plates, Inkwells, Clip Plates, and Brick w/Stud on Side.

Build.  Three 1 Hit pieces of Cover and a Frame.
  

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 quite as good as last year's poly but still good for terrain and a Frame.

Review: 30661 Aisha's Welcome Booth Polybag

This is one of the new polybags for 2024. I found it in Walmart, hung up in the Clearance section -- along with another polybag -- even though it's brand new.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.11 Price per Piece.   As you can see I paid $4.00 for a $0.09 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Minifig.

Parts.  Half Oval Plate, Plates, Cartouche Tile, Supports, Clip Bricks, Bricks, Slopes,

Brick w/Stud on Side, Slopes w/Cutout, Ice Cream Cones, Jumper, Studless

Slopes, Tile Rounded Plate, Double Curve Slopes, Round Flower Plates, Printed

 Tiles, Bracket, Pentagonal Wedge, Plant Stems w/Bar, and Minifig Fez.

Build.  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-).  There are some useful pieces, and nice colors, in this set but overall I'm not seeing it as worth it.

War College: Defender Station Placement

I almost titled this "Defending Stations" but that's a completely different topic.  This post is inspired by a question on the MF0 Facebook group.  (BTW, I know it's Facebook but, it's criminal how little traction that question has gotten.)  I realized after answering the question that every post about Station placement that I've made is from the Attacker's point of view.  So let's change that.  I'm going to look at my Station placement from a number of games where I was Defender.  Mainly because I know what I was thinking/planning, and while I might be able to guess what other people might have been thinking I'd rather stick with something I'm at least somewhat sure of.

So the main point behind placing your Stations and Initial Frames on the battlefield as Defender is to deny your opponents space and opportunities.  By doing this hopefully you put them in to conflict as well.  The secondary (tertiary?) point is to give yourself room to maneuver and/or retreat if necessary.

Game 1.  The Red oval is a rough approximation of the Defensive Perimeter.  The Black hexagon is my Station.  The Yellow dots are the two initial Frame placements.  While the oval should really be centered on the Station, I wanted to show how much the placement of my initial Frames pushed back my opponent's Frames.  I chose that end of the battlefield because I felt like it had the better selection of structures that I could use for Cover and enough room for me to retreat into once my opponents started moving forward.  The Frames I chose to set the Perimeter were Artillery units and, if you look at the battle report, the Yellow one was essentially trapped in front of the "wall" created by the pumping tubes.  Luckily no-one capitalized on that.  My secondary Frames bore the brunt of the damage in this game.

Game 2.  The Red oval is a rough approximation of the Defensive Perimeter.  The Black hexagon is my Station.  The Yellow dots are the two initial Frame placements.  I used my Purple and Yellow Watchtower Frames to set the outside edges of the Perimeter.  My squad was set up to try the "Sniping Turtle Formation".  This time I went more towards the corner trying to block out more space for myself.  After setting the perimeter the Watchtower frames collapsed inward to coalesce the formation while dropping Spots.

Game 3.  The White oval is a rough approximation of the Defensive Perimeter.  The Black hexagons are my Stations.  The Yellow dots are the two initial Frame placements.  I used my Green and White Frames to set the outside edges of the Perimeter.  This squad was a sort-of variant on the Sniping Turtle except I had mis-remembered the idea I was copying.  I probably would have been better off placing my Stations further to the left in the photo to cut off the corners of the table on that side.  I also should have retreated and leaned into my Artillery options more.

Game 4.  The Black circle is a rough approximation of the Defensive Perimeter.  The White spot is my Station.  The Black hexagons are the two initial Frame placements.  I couldn't quite cut off the corners but I did secure a Cover dense section of the battlefield.  I also managed to capture two opponent's Stations during the Set-Up Phase.  Two opponents dropped Frames into the open corners but all the other Frames were squashed into the remaining half of the battlefield that I didn't claim. 

Game 5.  The White circle is a rough approximation of the Defensive Perimeter.  The White spots are my Stations.  The White pentagons are the two initial Frame placements.  With Cover being pretty evenly distributed I chose one corner that I felt had a little heavier cover and set up.  The Red and Lime Frames are my initial Frames and they helped to push my opponents to the "North" and "West" edges of the battlefield.  There was a small hole in the "Southeast" corner that Occam's Spork snuck a Frame and Station into.  I honestly should have just collapsed my forces inward and gone after Occam's Spork's other Station, or maybe tried to move to the "Northeast" corner to escape everyone.  But I basically stood and fought which is never really a good idea when you have a smaller force.

Game 6.  The Orange circle is a rough approximation of the Defensive Perimeter.  The Orange spots are my Stations.  The Orange hexagons are the two initial Frame placements.  This gave me two Elevated positions and plenty of really solid Cover.  This also left a fair amount of empty space for my opponents to move through.  While this seems like a good defensive position It may have lulled me into a sense of security.  A better choice might have been to set up in the trees and push my opponents into the open spaces of the buildings and force them into moving through the trees to get to my Stations.

Basically placing your Stations as a Defender boils down to a few steps.  1. Pick the area on the battlefield that you think is easiest to defend.  2. Position your Perimeter to limit your opponent's access.  3. Create as much space for yourself as possible when creating your Perimeter.  What you do after that depends on the squad you brought to the table and the actions of your opponents.  I hope this helps you and good luck in your next game.

Good Sets for Parts 19

It's been over a year since I've done one of these posts, mainly because I wasn't really excited by very many sets last year.  This year's Lego releases have an overall theme of "Space" and according to a designer in an interview I read there's also a "Mecha" theme going on.  So that should lead to a number of cool sets for us to look at.

31145 Red Dragon – $9.99 for 149 pieces.  $0.07 per part.  Bright colors, plenty of Ball Joints, some Padlocks, Hinges, and other useful parts.

31149 Flowers in Watering Can – $29.99 for 420 pieces.  $0.07 per part.  Clear Clip Plates, D Snot Bricks, Octagonal Bar Plates, and Curved Bars just to start.  I'm guessing you could get a few Frames and some Terrain out of this set.

40709 Spring Animal Playground -- $12.99 for 172 pieces. $0.08 per part.  I actually saw this one in the store the other day.  What caught my eye was all the parts for potentially building trees, along with a bunch of Clip Plates, Bar Plates, and other useful bits.

60428 Space Construction Mech – $10.99 for 140 pieces.  $0.08 per part.  Already reviewed.

60400 Go-Karts and Race Drivers – $9.99 for 99 pieces.  $0.10 per part.  Nothing groundbreaking in this set, I just think it has neat colors and would be good as a starter for Intercept Orbit.

60406 Race Car and Car Carrier Truck – $29.99 for 328 pieces  $0.09 per part.  Plenty of Teal along with a handful of interesting parts.  Combine it with 60400 and you should be able to build a decent IO fleet.

42609 Electric Car and Charger – $15.99 for 170 pieces  $0.09 per part.  The previous Friends Electric Car set was excellent and this one looks like it might give that one a run for its money.

76277 War Machine Mech Armor – $14.99 for 154 pieces  $0.10 per part.  Exo-Force Arms, Stud Shooters, Ball Joints, along with something that looks like a mini-Station makes for an interesting set.

71805 Jay’s Mech Battle Pack – $9.99 for 78 pieces  $0.13 per part.  Like other Battle Packs this set is minifig heavy but, it's a new source of those Hexagonal Panels everyone likes so much.

71806 Cole’s Elemental Earth Mech – $19.99 for 235 pieces  $0.09 per part.  A heavyweight looking mech, Black, Orange, some Gold, new Panel parts, and a handful of useful bits too.

71807 Sora’s Elemental Tech Mech – $19.99 for 209 pieces  $0.10 per part.  A little smaller than the prior set and the price point isn't as good but, it has less bulky parts and I like the tree design.

71808 Kai’s Elemental Fire Mech – $29.99 for 322 pieces  $0.09 per part.  Two mechs in one set means plenty of useful parts in multiple colors.

75372 Clone Trooper & Battle Droid Battle Pack – $29.99 for 215 pieces  $0.14 per part.  This falls victim to the "Star Wars Tax" but it's a Frame-in-a-Box with a bunch of Droid Bodies and other useful parts, along with a handful of minifigs you can use for something else or sell off.

These were just some of the sets released on January 1st and there are more to come throughout the year so we can look forward to a greater number of potentially useful sets in 2024.

Review: 30676 Kiki's Coconut Attack Polybag

This is one of the new polybags for 2024.  I found it in Walmart, hung up in the Clearance section -- along with another polybag -- even though it's brand new.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.12 Price per Piece.  As you can see I paid $4.00 for a $0.10 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Dome, Plates, Round Plate, Boat Slider, Panels, Bricks w/Studs

on Corners, Double Clip Plate, Technic Ball, Cone, Studless Slopes, Clip

Plates, Ball Joint Plates, Padlocks, Quarter Circle Tiles, Printed Round

Tiles, Round Tiles, Bar Bar Holder, Clip Bar Holder, Angled Bars w/Stud,

Transparent Round Plates w/Handle, Pneuma-Ts, and Minifig Bird.

Build.  Centaur Frame with scorpion tail.

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-).  Despite being a Frame-in-a-Bag, and being a great parts pack, this polybag falls victim to licensed material pricing.  I get the feeling this one is going to disappear fast so if you want it, it might be a good idea to track one down.

Terrain Workshop: Trees 17

It's been a minute since I've talked about making trees for Mobile Frame Zero, so let's get back to it.  This build calls back to my designs from TW: Trees 6 -- again -- in the use of one particular part.

The first part that started off this build -- figuratively and literally -- is a 2x2 Round Brick 45 Deg. Elbow. This connects to the brick-built base with an Axle Pin w/o Friction Ridges then a 2L Notched Axle connects two 2x2 Round Plates, then a Round Plate w/Pinhole & 4 Bar Arms Up, topped off by a 2x2 Round Tile w/Hole, into which goes an inverted Flower Edge Round Plate (4 Knobs).  Four Round Plates w/Curved Upright Leaf aka "Ferns" are attached to the arms.  This gives us a 2 Hit, 19 feet tall, 20 feet from leaftip to leaftip, 5 feet thick tree in 6P scale.

The updated version, which I made a couple of days after I created the initial version, swaps out the 2x2 Round Tile w/Hole and inverted Flower Edge Round Plate (4 Knobs) for a 2x2 Round Tile w/Open Stud and a 1x1 Round Tile.  I feel like this version gives a little better "pop" of color.  It's also easier to expand from this point than the first version.  This is still a 2 Hit, 19 feet tall, 20 feet from leaftip to leaftip, 5 feet thick tree in 6P scale.

To expand the size of the tree and the amount of damage it can take I pop off the 1x1 Round Tile.  Then I add a 1x1 Round Plate, a Travis Brick, four more Ferns, then put the 1x1 Round Tile back on top of that.  This gives us a 3 Hit, 19 feet tall, 20 feet from leaftip to leaftip, 5 feet thick tree in 6P scale.

I hope I've given people ideas or techniques to use in their terrain builds.  Flickr page.