My Future as a Gamer

So I've seem the future, and it's expensive.

As a History Major, I can reasonably say that war simulations have always been a particular fancy of mine. They come in all shapes and sizes, but the chance to match wits with another commander and do battle always has great appeal to me. Especially when it is a simulation of historical events. Especially when it involves World War I.

WWI has always been very interesting to me, and in my humble opinion there are not enough attempts to capture it in modern media, especially not when compared with the absolute glut of World War II boardgames, tabletop games, video games, movies, and who knows what else. So then, to find a game like Home Before The Leaves Fall is a Godsend. It's everything I want out of a game trying to simulate the entire Western Front at once, and I cannot express how badly I want to own it and play it. It gives me a brief glimpse into a future when I have the kind of disposable income to actually spring for a $250 board game and then the time to spend a Saturday (or series of Saturdays) fighting over France.

Which brings me to the next part of this: in this glimpse into the future, I also own a house (or at least live in one), and have room to put an Emissary Gaming table in the dining room. I would love so much to have that be a part of my life, and as I think about it I realize that it's not just that. The Geek Chic style has always appealed to me, and some day I'd like to have a house all decked out with it. Tables that conceal boardgames, clocks that are just patterns of lights, cupboards with his and hers coffee mugs (at least as far as the battle lines are drawn between me and Jackie), and even nerdtastic shower curtains are all part of the dream, even if it takes me a lifetime to accomplish it.

So maybe some day I'll get the financial freedom to actually buy a house and begin populating it with things that are awesome. Until then, I suppose I can just drool with envy at a dining room table that becomes a gameboard.

Great News Everybody!

Man, SoCal Smackdown was so awesome. I played in every single Warmachine tournament they had, and am only now starting to recover. It was a hell of a weekend, and I'm so freakin' stoked about the fun I had and the new friends I met.

I also discovered a new game at SoCal Smackdown (much to Jackie's chagrin), called Rezolution. It's a pretty cool little Sci-Fi cyberpunk miniatures game, about on the scale of Malifaux in terms of models on the table. I really liked the minis, and in talking with the creator of it he gave me a rulebook for it and a couple freebies. Well, after that I was pretty much forced to buy a box set.

I've already painted 2.5 of the 6 miniatures that came with it, and I'm really blown away by it. Not only do I think I've done an excellent job painting them, but they're just really cool little models. I got some CSO Peacekeepers, and am in the process of painting them up into little cyberpunk commandos, something of a cross between the colonial marines from Aliens and the Clone Commandos from the Clone Wars cartoon (the Genndy Tartakovsky one) and Republic Commando.

This would all mostly just be for fun, since no one plays the game that I know of, but the rules actually lend itself well to an idea I've been throwing around - a campaign-driven, miniatures based RPG-ish game played one scenario at a time. I talked with Patrick from Brookhurst and he said he's into it, and we'll probably get a couple others in on it too. It'll probably play out similar to a tabletop version of SWAT Aftermath or Alien Swarm, and if so that's exactly what I'm looking for - badass dudes in armor with guns, working as a team against an NPC foe, all with a slight narrative bent and a very cinematic feel.

If I can accomplish this, it'll be spectacular.