Pass in Review: Lord of the Rings Monopoly

 It must be more than half-a-century since I last played Monopoly.  And this was back when there was only one version.  The game debuted in 1935, and has spawned a slew of variant editions, starting in the late 20th Century.

One of my grandsons recently received a Boba Fett Edition for his birthday.  

Our respective grandkids are now advancing beyond the Candyland/Chutes & Ladders level of games.  So when I expressed interest about joining in the gameplay, my wife took this as a cue to buy me a Lord of the Rings Edition for my birthday.

The game comes in a hefty cardboard box, with cover art that evokes images of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings (LotR) movies.  The gameboard is matted and sturdy.  The money tokens are small, cardboard coins that come in 1 & 5 denominations, known as M .  It took me a while to discover just what an M  is.  It stands for "Monopole," which it seems has been the case for years.

Funny, I always thought it was "dollars."

Anyway, back to the gameboard.

Starting in the middle, there are a series of circles that track the progress of bearing The One Ring to Mount Doom from whence it was forged.  

The fringes of the game board is a colorful arrangement of locations using images from the LotR films, that players move their tokens around on.

 But beware, the Eye of Sauron, depicted on the two black 1d6s that players use to determine how far they go.  If a Ring Bearer rolls the Eye of Sauron, he must drop the ring where his playing piece landed.  Otherwise, the symbol is a regular "1."

The Ring Tracker Token advances up the slopes of Mount Doom every turn a player possesses The Ring.  

If a player loses The Ring, or gives it away, he has to pay the amount shown in the circle, and the Ring Tracker Token slides back to the bottom. 

The player currently bearing The Ring will be immune from paying rent, going to jail , or pay the fine if he lands on the Gollum or Ringwraith squares.  However he will be affected by Quest Cards, like every other player.  Quest cards often demand additional actions from the player who drew it.

Otherwise, the game is played like the original Monopoly; buy/selling properties, etc. 

The game can be won by the traditional means of bankrupting your opponents, or if the Ring of Power is destroyed.  The game ends immediately when The Ring is destroyed, and the player with the most money and assets wins.

Here's a look at the storage tray and rulebook:

A close-up of the storage tray containing the player tokens, buildings, currency and Quest Cards:

Instead of Houses and Hotels, players build Outposts (brown), or fortresses (white):

There are 9 player tokens, each representing a member of the Fellowship of the Ring.  From left to right: Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, Frodo, Samwise, Merry and Pippin.  However, the game is for a maximum of 6 players.

Here's a close-up of Frodo bearing The Ring, and Samwise:

What I found odd was the game using the traditional names and images for the corner squares--

--Go,

--Go To Jail,

--Free Parking,

--and In Jail/Just Visiting.

I mean, there's free parking's available at the Black Gates of Mordor?  Who knew?

Now I must admit, I'm an immersion gamer, and found the lack of LotR-appropriate images to be a bit jarring.

So I set out to remedy this.

Using my Comic Life program and PowerPoint, I made alternate corner spaces from images I found online.  (Since the game already utilizes movie images, and I'm not selling this as a product, I should be okay with copyright issues).

Anyway, legalities aside, here are my corner spaces--

--Imprisoned (The Secret Passage), replacing In Jail/Just Visiting,

--Captured! replacing Go To Jail,

--The Gifts of Galadriel, replacing Go, where players collect 2  M , and 

--Hiding From The Enemy, replacing Free Parking.

On a lark, I added one final touch.

I thought the cardboard coins were a bit wimpy looking.  And fake game money is expensive.

Fortunately, I came across a company that made coins for half the price of their competitors.  (I'm sorry, I can't remember who they are).

So I bought two packages each consisting of about 10, gold, silver and copper coins.  They come in 3 denominations, 1, 5, and 10, marked in Roman Numerals I, V, and X, respectively.

I look forward to playing this game.  When I do, I'll be sure to write an After Action Review (AAR).

Na-Den Pedim Ad

(Elvish for:  Until we speak again).

Pass in Review: Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) for Warhammer 40K

(Image from:  Deltavan 1 Military Humor)

I spent the first four years of my active duty US Air Force career as an electronic warfare technician.  My job was to maintain the electronic countermeasures (ECM) equipment on B-52s.  After a few years of removing and replacing black boxes, I realized I wasn't enthused about being a fix-it man.  

I'm still not--even when it comes to painting miniatures.

I wanted to cross-train into a more combat-orientated career field.

And boy, did I get my wish.

I ended up becoming a member of the US Air Force's Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) group.

So I spent the remaining 16 years of my military service working with US Army headquarters and combat units helping to coordinate and direct Close Air Support (CAS) and Forward Air Control during exercises and actual deployments.

TACPs aren't just skilled at calling-in air strikes.  They're knowledgeable about an array of joint fire support, such as; US Army Forward Observers who perform with artillery fire, and Naval Gunfire Officers with ship-to-shore fire support.  (The US Marines have a similar group called ANGLICOs--Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company).

We're a tight-knit group and still keep in touch through social media.

Fast forward to a few years ago, and my son-in-law got me interested in Warhammer 4,000 (WH40K).

I delved into the game by purchasing earlier editions of the core rulebook and the codices.  I developed an affinity towards the Astra Militarum, and raised company-sized element of my own regiment, the 187th Dragoon Regiment (Composite).

(I still have an entire troop/company to do a blog post on.  But due to health reasons I haven't been able to conduct a large photo shoot yet).

A couple years ago, I asked my friend Peter to paint a command squad for me, but reconfigure it as a TACP.  He finished them early last year, and I've finally gotten around to posting my homage to TACPs past & present.

Somewhere on the Sector Fronteris... 

...an unusually configured Chimera rumbles into a ruined outpost.

Side Note:

I bought this model pre-painted and assembled.  It's been so long, that I can't remember who I got it from.  

TACPs support every type of Army combat unit.  For those assigned to armored, mechanized infantry, or armored cavalry units, they often have their own Armored Personnel Carrier (APC), or "track" as we liked to call them. 

I thought this particular Chimera, with it's risque nose art  would be the most suitable in my collection for my TACP.

Now back to the opening scene...

A 5-man team of an Astra Militarum TACP disembark. 

As the Chimera moves off to perform a perimeter security check, (and for readers to get a better view of the figures), the TACPs establish an observation point (OP). 

Now for a more detailed look at my WH4K version of a TACP, here's a side-view profile:

Peter did a remarkable job on the figures and especially with the TACP flag.

Now here's a look at the individual figures, and their functions within the TACP. (Note:  "TACP" can also refer to an individual as well as a team). 

The Air and Artillery Support Officer (a combination of Master of Ordnance and Officer of the Fleet):

The vox caster:

The Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC):  

A JTAC is an enlisted member performing the same functions as Air and Artillery Support Officer.  This will allow the team to split up if necessary in order to service two targets, and also provides back-up when if either become a casualty. 

The Target Designator/Heavy Weapons Specialist:

I have this figure armed with a plasma gun to be used at designating targets, by illuminating them with plasma fire, and to provide heavy weapon support to the TACP. 

The TACP Standard Bearer:

TACPs, and every other combat unit here in the Second Millennium, don't wave standards around in the heat of battle.  

But the figure and flag are too cool to pass up.

Pass-in-Review: Reaper Bones Fantasy Miniatures

 

Some years ago, I bought the Learn to Paint Kit: Core Skills, by Reaper Miniatures, during a “fly-by” at one of our annual Enfilade!  (This year’s convention was cancelled due to the Coronavirus Pademic). 

Well, I finally got the kit’s three plastic fantasy figures painted—but it wasn’t by my hand, or with the kit’s paints.

I had the three figures, along with several other Reaper Miniature figures, painted by my friend Peter.

Here’s the results:

1. Orc Fighter, front view...

...back view:

2. Animated Skeleton Archer, front view...

...back view:

3. Paladin in Plate Armor, front view...

...back view:

While Peter painted the figures, I added a couple minor modifications.  

Since the figures are lightweight plastic, I superglued the bases to washers, heavy stands or even pennies to give them better stability and balance.  Then I painted and flocked the entire composite base of each figure.

The cave entrance backdrop is from a picture I downloaded and printed, but I can’t remember where I got it from.

The cave floor is actually the reverse side of the WH 40K Kill Team Starter Kit’s game board.

Next up will be another short post about my American Old West figures.

So stay tuned partner. 

Pass in Review: Shell Splashes and Explosions for Cruel Seas

(Image:  Sinking of the Robin Moor)

 I'm not sadistic, but but when it comes to wargaming, I like seeing clear indications that a vessel's been hit and damaged.

The Starter and Fleet Sets for Cruel Seas all come with plastic, blue plume markers.

These are fine for indicating shots fired by machine guns or light cannons.

But if you want to show hits and near-misses from larger caliber weapons, larger explosion and plume markers can be used.

For medium-size guns, there's the standard-size water plumes that come in two shapes (10 in a pack).  

Once again, my “Kobayashi Maru” will be used as target practice.

For large caliber guns, torpedo hits, or depth charge explosions, there's the large water plumes (2 in a pack).

I painted all the shell splashes with the remnants of some Craft Smart acrylic paint, specifically, a mixture of Dark Blue, Pool Blue and Aqua, followed by an overall coating of White.

But these Warlord Games products aren't the only hit indicators in my arsenal.

I’ve been a fan of pre-painted, cardboard terrain for years, and one of my favorite producers of such products is Paper Terrain.

A few years ago, I bought a package of blast markers for my land-based miniatures games.  Shortly after starting my spending spree on Cruel Seas, I bought another pack more appropriate for naval battles.  I glued the bases to pennies, or washers, then painted and flocked them either white or grey to indicate near misses or direct hits.

Here’s the Kobayashi Maru receiving a small near miss...

...and a direct hit.

Now the vessel’s subjected to a medium-size near miss...

...and a direct hit.

Finally, the Kobayashi Maru takes a large near miss...

...and a direct hit.

I don’t think even Captain Kirk and his time-traveling crew can save the ship from this one.

Speaking of ship crews, I haven’t mounted any of the crew figures on to any of my ships.  I want to keep my options open, so I’ll be looking for tiny washers I can mount the crews figures, and optional weapons onto.  This way I can move them around on-deck, or add and remove them as needed.

Here’s what I painted-up so far:

I’m not sure when my next post will be, because it’s back to the paint desk for me...