Yan Lo vs Ramos 30ss - a quick run down

Got to play with Yan Lo again last night, this time in a 30ss match up against Avatar Ramos...
We flipped shared Turf War - a new one on me and one I didn't fancy much with my 6 model crew against a potential horde of arachnids.

Yan Lo, Soul Porter, Izamu, Toshiro, Ashigaru, Ashigaru
Ramos, Avatar, Mobile Tool Kit, Soul Stone Miner, Large Steampunk Arachnid, Large Steampunk Arachnid

Yan Lo vs Sonia 25ss - quick rundown

Yan Lo vs Sonia Criid
25ss - starter box + one blister.


Supply Wagon - not that anyone payed any attention to that ;-)

Yan Lo, Yan Lo, what to do with Yan Lo..

I'm not used to this. I play Lady Justice, she runs forward and hits people.  Yan Lo does not.  Well, he shouldn't anyway.

masters of the path and izamu - model review

Well folks, miracles will never cease, I finally got some hobby time.  OK, this was largely thanks to being sick as a parrot (Norwegian Blue, lovely plumage), but never the less, some hobby time.  Twice, in one day!
So, I've managed to get my Masters of the Path crew (Yan Lo) and Izamu together.  It was a bit of a bitch frankly, but good fun in it's way.

Completed crew

This was my first exposure to Wyrd's plastic figures.  I am used to working with plastic via Games Workshops figures, these are, in many way a different kettle of fish entirely.  There's no denying there's an excellent level of detail on these sculpts, but that means some very small and delicate parts.

melee - area of effect

A friend recently bought me the Yan Lo - Masters of the Path box set.  Not a set I'd been looking at but I'm glad he did, it's fascinating.  As a result I've been looking at minions to expand the set and it will be no surprise to anyone that the first one I'm going to buy, hopefully tonight, will be Izamu, the Armour. A 10ss heavy hitter that's also an Ancestor.

Now I've not spent much time reading up on Yan Lo or Izamu so I'm not hear to talk tack-ticks but I have noticed one thing.  Izamu has a 3" melee range, and he's on a 50mm base (at least I believe it's 50mm).  So what?  An extra inch of melee is nice but not earth shattering right?

malifaux minions - death marshals

4ss minion, not desperately mobile, reasonable ranged ability and a couple of defensive buffs make these fellas useful, but by no means an auto-include.

I've often wondered at the paring of Death Marshals and Lady Justice, in the face of it, it doesn't quite gel for me.

Still, it's nice that they can get Melee expert, but chances are you'll want to keep them at range.  At range they can still benefit from Lady Justices Inspiring Swordplay giving them a +2cb, for a 7cb 2/3/5 12" ranged shot with critical strike.. nice for a 4ss minion.  But don't forget that buff!! I do all the time, it's so annoying.  But, this means in order to get the most out of your DM's you need to throw LJ into the thick of things and have her activate first, or at least before any Marshals each turn.  She needs to be incisive and decisive.  Believe me if you dither about with Lady Justice you wont win many games.

lost love tournament - round up

Right then, my first tournament.  Actually, a lot of peoples first tournament.
Overall it was nice and friendly and a lot of fun, but I did find fitting four games in rather hard work.  I think I'd have liked an earlier start and a bit more space between games, especially at lunch time.  There were 31 players in all, which unfortunately meant someone had to have a bye each round.  It's a pity but there's not much can be done about it.
The tables were set up nicely with a good amount of scenery and a couple of the tables even had a steam train on them which was ace.  I'm not used to playing with so much scenery so it was interesting having to take it into account for a change.
We all got a bag with 4 wooden laser etched markers which was a very nice touch, thank you to whoever provided those.

My blister was a Guardian as I thought Lady J and a Guardian has to be a tough nut for anyone to crack right?  Well, almost as it turns out..

lost loves tournament - the prequel (or getting my excuses in early)

Hello all, if you've read this blog before you may be aware that this Sunday I will be taking part in the Lost Loves tournament at Table Top Nation in Hockley.

This is a 25ss fixed master tournament aimed at beginners as well as more experienced tournament players.  Crew selection is restricted to a box set and one blister (with certain caveats for summoners).

I'm really very excited to be taking part in my first tournament and I'm looking forward to experiencing the tournament scene first hand.  Judging from the friendliness and willingness to help on the forum thread it's going to involve a great bunch of people I'm looking forward to meeting.

lost love tournament - crew selection, not much choice

So, I've finally done it, I've booked myself into the Lost Loves tournament next Sunday. A fine chance to make myself look like an idiot as it's been sooo long since I've played.  In addition I've probably only ever played few more than half a dozen games and most of those didn't get finished.  Still, am stoked to be in the running for the wooden spoon ;-).

Crew selection then.  In the end this has been taken out of my hands.  A requirement for crews to be at least base coated has left me with one option - Lady Justice.  More of my Perdita crew than I realised (basically all of it) would need building as well as base coating and as I already have already indicated everything I'd want (albeit only 3 models) for a Rasputina crew would also need building.  So, I've no idea where my paints are, I don't know where my files and scalpels are.. building and painting are out.  So it's Lady Justice for me.

lost love tournament - crew selection part 1, initial thoughts.

Well, this is new territory for me.  Selecting a crew for a tournament.

This is a fixed master tournament so one size must fit all.  I can select 25 ss from a pool created from a starter box and one extra minion type, i.e. contents of one extra blister or box, so can't take an infinite number of anything  just what comes in a blister, plus a Totem.  It's very much a case of finding something that's going to be OK against as many different opponents as possible, or take a crew more effective against specific crews and hope for the luck of the draw?

Additional rationale..

I need something simple, I'm not a fast player so I want a few pieces, preferably fairly straight forward ones so I don't bog myself and my opponent down with options.  Doppelganger for instance.. probably not a good idea - excuse me, what does he do? And what about that one?.. could take a while.

new year - new challenge

Hello Malifauxers, it's been a while.
Popped back to do a couple of things, firstly, a quick review of last years gaming resolutions & secondly, rather more excitedly, a quick announcement regarding a tournament I'm expecting to enter..

So, last years resolutions, how did I do?
Well, as you might expect, given I've had no gaming since April, not very well..

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

Play more - didn't happen.
Paint more - didn't happen.
Paint an entire crew - didn't happen.
Stick to buying Arcanists - well, I didn't buy anything else :-)
Buy Twisting Fates - Achieved, though I've still got some of it to read.
Paint better - a vague resolution at best, but not achieved due to lack of funding.

So, not a complete failure, but, well it was really wasn't it, after April I've just had no hobby time, no hobby facilities, not played any games.. It's just the way the world has worked.  I could have made time, but at the expense of time spent looking after and with my kids.  It's a no brainer, sorry Malifaux you'll have to wait.

Having said that..

new rule book - initial thoughts.

In amongst a post listing new releases over the next few months for Wyrd, Malifaux and Terraclips was an entry reading Malifaux 1.5 Core Rulebook.

New Malifaux 1.5 book (c) Wyrd Miniatrues

Given the recent errata and clarifications I would expect Malifaux 1.5 to be an amalgamation of the original book (for the fluff), the rules manual with errata and clarifications and all the latest stat cards.

This is good news, once again we'll have a single place to go for the rules.
It's interesting that Wyrd have  called it Malifaux 1.5. Enough of a change to warrant a new number but not a full version number change. i.e. We've moved it on but not changed it completely.

Unfortunately this will be the 3rd time I'd have bought these rules, assuming I do.

And, it's going to be a full sized rule book, not a rules manual sized cheap job.  So full sized price to match.

But it will mean that all you people out there that don't have a copy of the original Malifaux book will be able to get one at last.

So it's a mixed blessing really.  Applaud Wyrd all you like for attempting to standardise it's rule book and iron out inconsistencies and problems, but if I have to buy a new copy of the rules every year I've a feeling I may struggle to stay enthusiastic for much longer, my money spread thin enough as it is.

I wonder if they'll produce a Rules manual format version as well?

New Fate deck (c) Wyrd Miniatures

The other major implication of the release schedule is that there's no 'New' book, no book 4.  Certainly not before September at the earliest.  This will be a disappointment for many, but perhaps it's a good idea that there's a consolidation period, especially with a minor re-boot.  There are still Avatars to release and maybe they'll squeeze a few new figures into Malifaux 1,5?  Had heard rumour of a new faction, no idea if this is true or not, perhaps Malifaux 1.5 is a perfect excuse to introduce one?  However I feel this is unlikely, a new faction would need to be caught up through all 3 books and would unbalance book 1 if it had Avatars and such like in it.

Anyway, that's it for now, here's a link to the original post of Wyrds forums - Release schedule June 2012 - August 2012

p.s. New Fate Deck, in plastic.  See picture above :-)

malifaux in the bath

I'm a big fan of a good long hot bath.  Soaking away the aches and stresses of the day.  And what can be better than soaking in bath, with a glass of wine, a bowl of your favourite snacks (peanuts or Frazzles) and browsing through your favourite gaming books.  But, there's a problem..

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

The Rules manual, is, I find, just right for reading in the bath.  The other Malifaux books are not.  They are too large in format (risk of damp corners) and heavy.  I cannot lie in a bath and comfortably hold them long enough to read anything worthwhile..

This is a pity.  reading the rules manual is a worthwhile exercise, it is however, in some ways, the least interesting book for Malifaux with no fluff and no model details to read through planning your next build or  purchases.

So I'd love it if Wyrd would publish all it's books in both formats.  A wow, that looks awesome, check out the artwork, large format, and a cute, handy, I can read that in the bath format.
Would anyone else like to see Wyrd publish the other books in the small format as well?  I would almost certainly buy both, the large format for the pleasure of the artwork in a larger size, the smaller for convenience.  Perhaps, there should be a delay between publishing the different formats to encourage large book uptake, or maybe the small format should be editions of two books together or even fluff only, I'd buy that.

Still, it was nice to read something Malifaux related in the bath even if it was just reading through the description of each strategy.
I do sometimes read the wyrd forums on my phone, but I get nervous, I might drop it and then where would I be?  Especially as my macbook pro has just coughed it's last and bitten the dust :-(  No phone as well? argh!!

I guess I could read through the cards of figures I've bought, spend some time making sure I know them, or download and print off the pdf's that wyrd have published for the v2 cards, but you will be limited to only some of the models though and it's increasingly the case, I find, that when planning a crew I need to look through all the books.

Anyone else got any bath friendly Malifaux reading tips they could share?  I like a nice bath and reading as I relax is a wonderful thing, but reading rules is less relaxing.  I need something else..

what are the odds?

Before I start, I just want to say I wrote this some time ago.
I've ummed and I've aaahd and I've decided that I will publish it.
But I nearly didn't.
I nearly didn't because Malifaux is a brilliant game with so much more to it than the cards.  Because, stripping out and looking at the cards in this way is perhaps not how I want to view my beautiful game.  But, I have written it, it is part of the game, and as I'm an entirely un-educated statistician it's probably meaningless anyway.

So, read it if you want.  Correct me if it's needed.  But don't get too worked up about it.  Malifaux is so much more than a card game that this is barely worth the effort.

-

Malifaux is a card game.  Well, at least partially, and as such is subject to chance, and these chances are measurable.

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

Do you know what the chances are of you picking up the Red Joker in a hand you draw?
Do you know the chance of getting the red joker on any given flip?
Do you want to know?
Any card player who plays bridge or poker or any other card game with any degree of seriousness will know the odds of key events happening.  Perhaps we should too?
I'm no mathematician or card sharp so anything I say here may be misguided and inaccurate but I do have some thoughts.

Basics - 54 cards 4*13 cards suits + 2 jokers.  Playing with the jokers gives slightly longer odds than standard card games that aren't played with jokers.

Chance of drawing the Red Joker in a 6 card hand?  6 chances from 54 cards = 6/54 or 11.1%  Which means that approximately one in 10 hands drawn will contain the Red joker.  Except that when we draw our hands some cards have already been flipped/ discarded.  Might just be one you discarded from previous hand - 6/53 or 11.3% or 2 6/52 or 11.5% or more, all of which increase the chance of you getting the Red Joker in your hand.
There are other factors too, such as ability to hold more cards in the hand such as minions or masters who add to your hand size.  Arcane Effigy lets you hold an extra card, combine that with a master who holds an extra card (Rasputina i think?) and you have 8 cards in your hand rather than 6.  that's 33% more cards.  but is it 33% more chance of drawing the Red Joker?

Hand Size	Cards	Chance	%
6	54	1/9	11.1
6	53	1/8.83	11.3
6	52	1/8.67	11.5
7	54	1/7.7	12.9
7	53	1/7.57	13.2
7	52	1/7.43	13.5
8	54	1/6.75	14.8
8	53	1/6.63	15.0
8	52	1/6.5	15.4

please excuse the fraction decimal hibrid.

So that's a reasonable increase in chance of picking out that coveted card.  Also, with a larger hand size the odds grow faster as you loose cards to choose from.  So the change over 3 cards (54 - 52) at 6 card hand size is 0.4%, at 8 card hand size it's 0.6%.

Does this make the Arcane Effigy worth taking?  Well, it costs 4SS.  So that's 4 SS to increase your chance of drawing by a couple of %.  What else could you do with those 4SS?  take them as Soul Stones for one.  Each one giving you a better chance than any single card in your hand, of being the red Joker.
If the Red joker hasn't been played, as cards are played from your deck you get an increased chance of drawing the Red.  Two cards flipped, 6 in your hand chance of Red Joker being next is 1 in 46 or just under 2.17%.  2 Flipped 8 in hand it's 1 in 44 or 2.27%.  But, if half the decks been played without it popping up?
6 in hand 23 played 1 in 23 or 4.34%  Still not great is it?  But it is twice what it was before. For any given card in a 6 card hand the chances at the time of drawing your card are between 1/ 52 (assuming 2 cards flipped) 1.9% and 1/46 or 2.17%.  the thing with Souls Stones is though only one or maybe two models in a typical crew can use them.  If the RJ is in your hand anyone has access to it.

Apply that extra card in hand to a requirement for high cards in a specific suit, or even just high cards in any suit and it becomes even more useful.  I think I may well be acquiring an Arcane Effigy to run alongside Rasputina in the hope that the shortened odds will give me an upper hand, a lightly increased chance at least.  Of course, in play these odds may not bear fruit.  We're talking about shortening long odds by only a little, but I reckon it's worth looking at.

The point of this article then, is not to tell you the odds, I've probably got them wrong, but to get you thinking about them.  The card mechanic is core to the game we love and should be given due consideration, go give it some thought and try and calculate the odds that matter to you..  What are the chance of me flipping a certain suit for instance, might be worth knowing that one.
Nor am I claiming that the odds are more important than crew selection, crew knowledge and good tactics because I don't think they are.  But I do think having an idea of them is a worthwhile exercise. If you're hoping for a good flip, at least have some idea what hope you have.

Now I just need some mathematician to shoot me down in flames ;-)

changing tides of malifaux addiction

I am nothing if not fickle and mercurial when it comes to my Malifaux addiction.
How I envy those who can stick to a single faction or even to a long term plan.
Stick to Arcanists was my motto going in to 2012.  how long did that last?
Looks like not long as I now have a Collodi hankering big time.
I have Zoraida sitting there un-loved, un-assembled and most definately un-painted.
Having looked through Twsting Fates Avatar Zoraida is one of the few Avatars  I'd consider that matches my current crop of masters. Avatar Justice, Pandora and Rasputina all being sub-par as far as I can see, although I'm beginning to wonder about aPandora (No, really, I have an idea, though I'm not sure it's one I'd want to play)

Collodi (c) Wyrd Miniatures

And those little dolls and marionettes look so frickin' cool, even Collodi is an excellent figure.
So, here's what I'm thinking of getting

Collodi blister
Marionettes blister
Puppet wars expansion pack three
Primordial magic (maybe)
Coppelius

Coppelius is not really part of this plan, but he's a figure I've wanted to add to my Neverborn collection for a while so I'm using this as an excuse.
As you can see I'm not getting the box set.  Why not?  Well, because I'm going to get a Puppet wars expansion set to use as my Wicked Dolls (my thanks to whoever posted that idea on the Wyrd form).  This way I get 8 wicked dolls that can also be used as the figures they actually represent, although I'll need to make some of them magnetised so they can be transferred to larger bases for that purpose.
Primordial Magic, I'm actually not a fan of this sculpt so I may drop this off the list unless it seems functionally too important to do without.

Overall plan then, with this crew, is fairly standard.  Zoraida does her thing, Collodi sods off and captures objectives etc.. Zoraida manifests and spawns more Wicked Dolls.  A mobile, fast crew with some Obey facility.. nice.  I've already got Stitched & an Insidious Madness to add to the mix as well if I feel the need.

There you go, nothing particularly original about this lot, need to read up and see if I can't spin my own take, but it's a crew I've been hankering after, so unless I stick to my Arcnaist guns and get mech Rider and December Acolyte, I think I've found my next round of purchases.  Shame I can't squeeze Avatar Zoraida in too.

And now, a week after originally drafting this I'm considering a change.. to Nicodem.  had a resur hankering for ages, couldn't pick a master but I recon' with Nicodem I may have found an Avatar I'd like to build and play!  But, would spamming Zombies be fun?  I dunno.. Argh  So then, Seamus, there's a cool Avatar.. No!!! Heeellpp Meeee!!

twisting fates - first impressions

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

Any blog worth it's salt would have reviewed Twisting Fates within days or weeks of it's release, but not here, no, here we like to take our time, get to really know a book and then review it..  Alternatively we're skint and have only just been able to afford it.  So, somewhat late to the ball I've finally picked up a copy of Twisting Fates.
There's little here that'll be news to anyone, but for what it's worth here are my initial thoughts -

Twisting Fates is the 3rd (or 4th if you include the Rules Manual) rule book - or second expansion if you will - from Wyrd Miniatures for their Malifaux game.  The rules from the first two books, along with erata were combined into the Rules manual.

In terms of rules there's little here...  The rules included refer to the main focus of the book and that's Avatars.
Each master has specific conditions under which they may, or must, change from their normal form into their Avatar form.  Once, or as, they convert to Avatar form various things can happen, depending on the Master in question.  Some can make healing flips, most loose effects and Totems.  You replace the masters figure with their Avatar figure, and replace their stat card with the Avatar card.
Once transferred to Avatar form each Master has a new set of powers.

What else is in this book?  Well, there is a handful of minions for each faction.  Some nice looking options, not much game changing here though, a few stronger minions perhaps but mostly fairly balanced.  I've a feeling resurs do better than most here but perhaps I'm wrong, always tricky to tell before you've played with or against.

Nicodem Avatar
(c) Wyrd Miniatures

And most of the book, and it's the thickest book yet, is a tonne of fluff :-)  I love fluff.  I love this book.  I've barely started the fluff to be honest but I've enjoyed what I've read so far and can't wait to read more.

Throughout the book is sprinkled a load of new artwork.  As usual some fabulous, atmospheric, pictures from Wyrd.  They're my favourite part of the fluff and you can't fault them, except perhaps there could be more.

So, any complaints?  Well, I love the look and feel of these books but I do wish they published them in the smaller format too (like the Rules Manual) so I could read them in the bath.  These books are wonderful to hold and look at and read sitting up, but lying in bed or the bath they're just to large and heavy.  If they published them large and small I'd buy both I really would.

Zoraida Avatar
(c) Wyrd Miniatures

So, the Avatars.  So far then I'm not awfully impressed.  The Avatars I want to run are for masters I don't have.  The Avatars for Lady Justice, Pandora and Rasputina are, or seem to me after a few readings, weak. I don't know why you'd spend 2SS to take the option of turning Pandora into an immobile weakling who can't do anything significantly better than when she could move.  I mean even the tentacles don't hit hard, a Slop Haulers bucket does more damage!  And she can not move!  In Malifaux that's crazy, unless she's sat on a target I suppose, but it's not like she's static and tough all of a sudden.  LJ and Rasputina are similar.  My other two masters may be more promising (Zoraida and Perdita) but even then I'm not sure.  So far the stand outs to me have been Seamus and Ramos.  Both look like a laugh and have fabulous figures.  Colette is an interesting one, 3 models, only one is actually her.. a good thing or just 3 chances for your opponent to hit her?  Might be fun but could end up being a weakness.

Also some masters are way easier to manifest than others. Not sure why.

So, I've still plenty to read here, including many of the Avatars, but initial impressions are that
this is then another fabulously beautiful book from Wyrd.  Adding some depth to the game without upsetting the balance too much, but I suspect your usage will depend on your master.

print your own figures

This post is perhaps not Malifaux specific. OK, it' s not at all Malifaux specific, it's generic and applicable to any figure gaming system.

A quick google suggests a 3D printer is currently available for a mere £15,000. Hmm.. OK, that's a lot of money, but, like any technology it'll start to come down. And I was wondering, does this have implications for our hobby?

Why accept the costs of manufacturing, packaging and distributing figures if you can sell the template for people to print their own in their own home?

You the user would browse the wyrd web site, think, hmm.. I like that one, click a button, order it, receive the template there and then and have a figure 5 minutes later.



Mini figure 3d printed. image by Creative Tools

Now I'm no 3d printing expert, I don't know what the limitations of these devises are, but from what I've seen of what can be printed, I think these machines are more than capable of printing these figures, maybe some of them will need to be printed in sections and glued together, but they could still be printed. In fact, as you can see, a quick search and I've found someone that's already done it.

Also, for those that aren't painting fans, colour 3d printers are also available. Perhaps before too long they will be sophisticated enough to print colour well enough that you could buy a colour template and not need to paint the figure afterwards?

There would need to be a method of limiting the number of times you could print a template. GW aren't going to sell you one orc template and watch you print off 200 of the blighters are they?

Not sure if figure prices would be cheaper for the consumer or not, the manufacturer could reduce their prices as they'd have no manufacturing costs, no distribution costs and no packaging costs. However consumers would need raw materials, and the printer of course.

There are of course implications for game stores too. They sell plenty of things beyond figures, but this could make a dent.

But, at the end of the day, maybe this is all just a rambling pipe dream.

These printers are still very expensive, it might cause too much of an upheaval to the industry, and lets face it, it hasn't happened in an area it could have done already.. the books and manuals our games rely on.

What do you think? Let me know.

it lives!

contrary to recent posts, this blog will continue.  It will not die.


(C) Wyrd Miniatures

Happy days, at least for me.
I don't know how long for, but at least for a few months, hopefully indefinitely.

Calculations were done, cogs whirred, gears crunched, in the end it was found we can continue.

Hurrah.

Now all I need to do is lay vinyl flooring, install a shower and tile a bathroom, re-wire and install a new kitchen, build some wardrobes, clear my shed,  unpack my stuff and get painting.. new posts should be arriving soon then huh?

death of a blog

Regular readers will be aware of various personal issues that have impeeded the writing and development of this blog.

Firstly I lost my job and had to concentrate on finding a new one, then we moved home and my gear was packed up. I had hoped, once the move was out of the way that I could pick things up and get posting again.

Unfortunately my new job is not as well payed as my old one, my child will soon need full priced care, and other issues mean that apparantly, my hobby is depriving my family. As such I can no longer continue with it in the manner in which I would like. Consequently I will be ceasing almost all hobby activities, including this blog. This blog will taken off-line in 2 weeks time.

Meanwhile I'd like you to review my train ride to malifaux page and let me know, what you think, I should keep. One master with a crew size of 35 - 40 ss. This will enable me to continue to play against my friends, albeit in a limited way that won't have them guessing much about what I'll be putting on the table. I will also be keeping SnowStorm as it's such an awsome model and I want to finish it off. In two weeks everything else, model wise, goes on ebay. I'd really hoped to make something of this blog but it seems that I cannot do so.

Thanks for reading.

Moving

3 days away now.  3 days from a new home for me and my family.
Needless to say all my Malifaux models, books and scenery are packed away ready to move, all apart from my rules manual and model cards which are all in my rucsac for lunch time reading at work.

How long I wonder, until it's unpacked the other end.
In theory I get a nice large, powered shed all to myself.  Desks, maybe even a game table, shelves & chairs. There should be room for all of it.. We'll see. 

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

Meanwhile I will soon have another small cash injection heading my way, from sale of some GW items.  So, apart from a LONG overdue copy of Twisting Fates I have to decide what else to get. 
Bits to augment what I have?  Some arcanist minions for Rasputina for instance? 
A henchman?  Kaeris is appealing, Lucius or Collodi perhaps?  
A book 2 master?  I have none and they all appeal to some extent..
An Avatar?  I have none, Rasputina's is available?
Or should I make that move to Ressurs I've been thinking about?  Nico, McMourning and Kirai all appeal..

Anyway, it gives me something else to look forward to and think about.

I intend shortly to add a page that lists which figures I have and what state they are in, built painted etc..
Then when I ask what I should spend my money on you'll have an idea what I already have.
It should also serve to shame me into action and get painting.. yeah right ;-)

So, sorry folks, another mindles rambling post, but, fingers crossed, before long I should get some actual hobby time to report on.  Just don't hold your breath.

playing faster

I noticed a tweet the other day that got me wondering about game length.  Why does it take so long to play a game of Malifaux?  Or, does it take that long to play, really?
My games take hours, start at nine, stop at midnight and we may not be finished.  Why is that?
Surely a game with so few figures can't take that long?  We used to get a 1000-1500 point warhammer game done in the same space of time, so why so long?

(c) Wyrd Miniatures

Well, as per usual with this type of question I believe there are a number of factors.

Firstly I don't think everyone takes this long.  At tournaments there's a set time span and many people are perfectly capable of, and used to, playing to shorter time scales.

So, if it is possible to play more quickly, what can we do to speed things up?  Here are some ideas, they may or may not work for you.

Learn the rules.  Rules queries can take an age to sort out, if you know the rules you'll get fewer queries.  You may not eliminate them but you will reduce them.

Learn the rules. Learn the rules for your crew, as well as you know the core rules, better even.  Study the card on every model, if it interacts or changes core rules do your research on how this will affect the normal resolution of that rule.  If there's anything particularly gnarly I'd suggest you let your opponent know prior to starting, there's nothing will de-rail the progress of a game quite like coming up with some nasty rule mid-game that wrecks our opponents game and seems to contradict what he was expecting.

Learn the rules.  If you can, learn the rules for your opponents crew too.  This won't always be possible but regular reading of the rules books should give at least a passing idea of what your opponents crew can do.

Set a time limit on rules queries, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, whatever works for you, if you haven't found it by then, flip for it and resolve it later, you really don't want to spend 10, 15 or even 20 minutes searching for an answer to a question mid-game.  But make a note so you don't forget to look it up later.

Make sure you know the set-up and game turn sequence off by heart.  What happens next? is a massive slower of games.

Make decisions quicker.  I like to take my time with each and every figure, even if it's obvious what to do, but agonising over each decision will sloooww down a game so much.  Be thinking about what to do whilst your opponent moves, when he's done then.. snap, make that decision, make the move, take the shot.  I believe you can train yourself to do this.  Knowing your crew well will help here, make sure you don't miss anything.  If you have to read every crew members card each turn whilst you decide which action you want to take.. you will have a slow game.

Plan ahead.  Think of the game prior to playing.  If you know which crew you want to take have a general plan, an idea of what you want to do with that crew.  Yes, strategies, schemes and an unkown until you play opposing crew may require a change, but a basic idea of what order your crew members need to go in and what they need to do will help making those decisions.

Play more.  Easiest and simplest answer is that the more you play the less any of these issues will be a problem.  Play as often as you can and you will learn the rules, you will know the turn sequence and you will make decisions faster.

To take it back to WarHammer (sorry), the reason those games took less time was we'd been playing for more years than Malifaux has existed, even though it changed every 4 or 5 years it was still pretty much the same game, so after each change there was a period where games took longer, it didn't last long and we'd be back up to speed again.  Read your books & cards more often, play more often, have a game plan and don't get stuck on rules queries and I think you'll soon be playing faster.

Hope this was of some interest or even help.  Do you have any ideas for speeding up games?  If so, please comment below and let me know.