A Lot Has Been Going On (or) Yes. I Actually Played Malifaux

With my work now becoming increasingly busy and stressful,  I have found myself going out of my way to find time for hobbying. It really is a good way to blow off steam, particularly if you aren't interested in drinking (more) regularly. And dig this...I've actually been playing! In fact, over the last few weeks I have painted multiple models, played at least half a dozen games of Puppet Wars and two games of Malifaux against three different people.

I've actually played some games recently. The picture is from a game I played over the weekend with WaywardSun13. His blog, The Way of the Brush showcases a lot of his very nice models. We played Shared Line in the Sand, Viktorias vs Seamus.

With only a handful of games under my belt, I have to grasp the concept of playing to the objective. So far, I just do a lot of making up stuff as I go and thinking about winning the game later.

It was nice to see the Viks run against me though. I had originally chosen them as the crew I wanted to start playing with, but after the first couple of games, I moved on to (several) other crews. For the time being, I have settled on Seamus as there are few other Resurrectionist players in the group and rather like the crazy man. Of course, that means I've painted the Viks for....well....not for nothing....

By the way, if you are reading this blog and happen to be in Northern Indiana, check out the local Malifaux group.

Puppet Wars

Being part of the Puppet Wars playtest, I have had a little while to think about the news for Puppet Wars that's coming out as we get nearer to GenCon. I haven't decided what I think of it yet. Obviously, I feel like a bit of a tool for biting on so hard and collecting at least 2 of every puppet, but I really do like this game and I think it really is something people will enjoy.

As part of the playtesting, I have been playing Puppet Wars a lot, usually against my wife. But even PW got some play time with the local group the other night. So that means, in the last week, I have played 2 games of Malifaux and about 3 or four games of PW, with three different people. Maybe I'm finally coming out of my shell?

To celebrate my Memorial Day long weekend and the completion of my workspace, I managed to finish 7 more puppets. Better than that though, I also managed to get all of the others based and varnished. I must admit, I've always been lazy about varnishing, but no longer. While I am still playing around with different brands and shines of varnish, I decided to do the puppets simply with Vallejo paint on Matte Varnish. It worked very well, and I am starting to rethink the spray on idea. After all, I'm a Skirmish gamer....why not do them each individually....(ugh...)

I'll have more pictures of the new puppets soon. In the meantime, boring pictures of what I'm working on now. More Bases! I almost have enough to complete all of the puppets now, so once I finish painting a puppet, I can varnish it and mount it to its finished base all in one evening and actually stand a chance finishing the project.

I also took steps to get my PW counters looking a bit more professional. I was not a fan of the thin card used for the tokens, but mounting them on a 30mm base does the trick....well almost... The problem with mounting them on a base is that they are difficult to pick up.

The Solution? I glued them together! This may make them a bit big, but it is a far better alternative. At least this will prevent the tokens from being damaged during gameplay or by some other nefarious devices (my Puppet Wars box literally melted out of existence when confronted by a spilled Milk Bottle).