King of Tokyo

The big winner this Christmas, game wise, is King of Tokyo. This game first came to my notice when I read a post on GeekDad. My youngest is a big fan of the original King Kong and Godzilla. So I thought this would be a great game for him. And it is.

In King of Tokyo you are a giant monster on the rampage in Japan. Your goal is to either wreck a large portion of Tokyo or destroy the other monsters. You do this by accumulating 20 victory points or reducing the health of the other monsters to zero. This is a dice driven game that uses six special dice to determine how much damage you do to other monsters, how many victory points you gain and how many energy points you get. Energy points allow you to buy cards that give you special monster powers such as Solar Powered which allows you to gain an energy point if you don't have any. There is a small game board which shows Tokyo. A monster is either in Tokyo or not and only one monster can be in Tokyo at a time (except in games with 5 or 6 players.) When in Tokyo you gain extra victory points but the downside is you become the target of all of the other monsters attacks.

All in all this is a fun game. It has a heavy random component with the dice but there is some strategy involved. Mainly, whether to stay in Tokyo or bail. Everyone in my family enjoys playing including my wife who is often reluctant to play board games.

Tsunami Inspiration

Here are two photos of creatures washed up in Japan by the tsunami. They look like something out of a science fiction/horror story. I bet I could work these into a game.

Loot

Yep, if Calvin can call it loot, so can I. I received two game related items this year. I received a hardback copy of Stars Without Number. I also received and expansion to the Small World board game.

Cool.

Merry Christmas

Hope you get everything you desire.

(For more CalvIn and Hobbes fun see here.)

The Homecoming of Count Inchiostro

Hey, if you haven't already, do yourself a favor and check out G-Man's BoL adventures over at Strange Stones. They're like a free Christmas present to yourself.

The latest installment is another Hyborian adventure entitled The Homecoming of Count Inchiostro. Count Inchiostro is a dispossessed Zingaran noble looking to reclaim his heritage. But, of course, he needs the PC's help to do this. Inchiostro has a resemblance to a certain historical literary character of a semi-comical nature. The adventure itself, though, is far from comical. It is rather gritty and has an appropriate ending for this type of adventure.

G-Man has scored again with this adventure.

Brothers Two

Twins Arbelo and Karnelo Shirz were the sons of a prosperous merchant from Parsool. The merchant loved his family dearly and often took the boys and his wife on the sea voyages he made in the pursuit of business. He did this despite the danger of shipwreck and pirates. The odds finally caught up with the merchant when two pirate ships successfully attacked his vessel. The pirates captured the ship and murdered the merchant before the horrified eyes of his family. When splitting up the loot, one pirate captain took the boys as slaves and the other took their young and attractive mother. They never saw her again. Life was rough for the boys but they soon adapted and began to thrive. Over the years the boys learned all the pirates could teach them about seamanship and ship handling. They became excellent seaborne fighters, both with ships and hand weapons. The experience, however, affected each of them differently. Arbelo developed a deep, unquenchable hatred for pirates. Karnelo came to identify with them and grew to love the life. So much so that seven years later, when the opportunity to escape presented itself, Karnelo chose to stay with the pirates. He continued to distinguish himself and within 10 years he had his own ship and crew and earned the nickname “The Scourge of the Sea.” Arbelo made his way back to Parsool and joined the navy. He also quickly rose in rank and by age 22 became the youngest captain in the fleet and was soon known as “The Pirate’s Bane.” The brothers eventually became entangled in a cat-and-mouse game as Arbelo attempted to capture his brother. The stage is set. What will happen? Will filial love save the day or will tragedy consume them?

Arbelo Shirz
“The Pirate’s Bane”

Attributes: Strength 1 Agility 2 Mind 1 Appeal 0
Combat Abilities: Brawl 1 Melee 2 Missile 0 Defense 1
Careers: Merchant 0 Slave 0 Seaman 2 Soldier 2
Boons: Born Sailor, Pirate Killer
Flaws: Missing Eye
Lifeblood 11 Hero Points 5

Karnelo Shirz
“Scourge of the Sea”

Attributes: Strenth 1 Agility 1 Mind 1 Appeal 1
Combat Abilities: Brawl 2 Melee 1 Missle 1 Defense 0
Careers: Merchant 0 Slave 0 Seaman 2 Pirate 2
Boons: Born Sailor
Lifeblood 11 Hero Points 5

Porkins

Seriously, I didn't know this character was named Porkins. That just cracks me up.

(I love the "Porkins is my Co-Pilot" over at What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse... blog.)

Christmas List 2011 Revised

Oh, I thought of a couple of things:

Barbarians of Lemuria - I would love a hard copy.

Stars Without Number - It's time to look at another sf game.

Christmas List 2011

So, my list of greed, er, my Christmas list is short this year. At the moment I can't think of any RPGs I'm really yearning to have. A few board games perhaps, but not RPGs. If I think of something I will add to this post later.