So where did that evening go?

Playing Star Realms with Shaun is the answer... What an awesome fun game in real life. I had been playing a lot on the app but it is so quick that one misses a lot of the subtleties and interaction. It is even better in real life.

Four games in we figured we were doing the 'draw cards' action on the cards from the wrong pile - which I blame my 4-0 losing streak on... Honest. After that I managed to make it 2-1 in my favour  - but all were very close games indeed.

I can see this keeping us going as a filler for quite a while! We still have 3 expansions to plough through :)

Watch this space...

Star Realms... Damn you Wil Wheaton

Well I echo the words of our favourite Big Bang character, Wil Wheaton has cost me far too much money on games over the last few years. And here he goes again, a simple passing tweet about how good Star Realms coupled with the ease of one click Amazon Prime after playing the online version for a bit and I have a table full of cards!

Oh no - goes out the call from my loving, caring readers - don't buy another card game! But do not worry folks this one is different. Not a LCG or CCG really; it all comes in the box (and maybe a few expansions).

Never had a 'deck building game' and must admit it is more fun than I imagined. The phrase 'deck building' alludes to the fact that both players start with the same 'hand' and play with the same total deck. One then has to draw and get rid of cards to build up one's personal deck that one has to draw from. Then to throw something into mix in Star Realms you have to destroy your opponent by reducing their 'authority' rather than the normal building up of points.

Not even going to try and describe the game play but here is a screen shot from the online version:

Why do I think it will become a stable part of my gaming? Time - games take about 20 mins it says (online its more like 8-10). Cost - it's cheap and I have all I need for 2-4 players. Fun - it is GREAT but simple fun with the normal caveat of it being subtle and deep.

So there we are - another game in the bag, or should that be box?

Great art work is a big bonus

Zephyr Corp - preseason trip to Wayland spaceport

Holo Cast Whispers (HCW) sent its roving reporter with the Zephyr Corp team ship as a couple of their teams headed out to Wayland Space Port for a couple of preseason warm ups. Probably chosen to see how they would fair against human only teams (Wayland, being a space sport that deals mainly with 'purist nation' planets, has mainly human teams on its Tier One/Two rosters) the games were probably going to be well contested affairs.

First up was one of the reasons HCW sent a reporter - BEER MONEY's Number 7 was due for his first outing for a long, long time. His form was being monitored by all the Tier One teams coming into the new season - surely he was getting 'too old' to keep pulling out his stellar performances (which unless you are a BM supporter makes you hate him with a vengeance).

Well, he was on the pitch for the entire 14 rushes and did make an impact being a fundamental part of most of Beer Money's strikes.

However, it was generally agreed by all the HCW crew that he was not up to his normal self and was to blame for a couple of missed strike chances in what turned out to be a very close game. The Warrior Dolphins were just ahead for most of the game and managed to sneak out a very close win as they closed Beer Money down in the last few rushes. Probably one of the surprises of the pre season this newly promoted team look like they may make an impression in the coming season.

Number 7 makes a rare mistake...

Game two of the evening saw Zephyr's KUSA involved in one of the more thrilling matches we have seen for a long time. From the opening rush 3 pointer from the Kusa the game was end to end as both teams traded strikes. The main tactical problem for both teams was clearing the 4 point lane.

Both sides made mistakes on big plays and the game was tied coming into the final 3 rushes. The Kusa's throwing game was impressive and their striker was gutted as he missed a rush 13 four pointer. This left the game open for their opponents - but pressure got to their young striker and a fumbled pick up (which would have left him with an easy 1 pointer to win) ended the game. Being a preseason their was no sudden death and the fans were left thrilled - our reporter thought a draw was the most fitting result. Kusa, once they have learnt to use their phase ability better are going to be another tough team - we haven't seen such a solid speedy team for a long time.

All in all DB fans it looks like the upcoming season is going to be AWESOME.

Pre season (super) friendly...

Welcome to Holo Cast Whispers sport fans. Tonight we concentrate on the pre-season friendly that was put on in the Earth-terrus city of London last night. Played in one of the local Tier 3 stadiums at Pondurs End it was a long awaited treat for the locals of this mainly 'worker class' citizens. However, the choice of teams seemed odd for the area whose home team is the brutal Brimsdown Bruisers human team: a team to whom it seems the ball is a distraction to the real game of putting people out the game!

Zephyr Corp sent along their new team KUSA, primarily it seems to gain experience before the season starts next week. Against them House of Blade sent their new Transdoshan team... So two teams who were going to struggle on the brute force side of the game but hopefully give the crowds some thrills.

Ref Dredd was in charge but hardly needed!

While our reporter Dickie J was pretty sure the crowd didn't appreciate the subtleties of the game it did, he feels, throw up some interesting thoughts going into the new season. Is the game going to shift subtly away from pure violence being the mainstay of many of the Tier One teams? Both teams on show last night showed how hard they are going to be to beat. The monks ability to persuade people to move (psychologists are working on the theory it is a genetic triggered response to seeing the 'Word' spreading monks - sentients of all sorts want to 'get away' from them) certainly makes the brute force blocking the strike areas a little mute. If the monks ever leave their 'reading groups' long enough to learn how to throw the league may be in trouble. How they will fair against a team willing to close and take them out will remain to be seen. In this game they managed to eek out a deserved win in what was an end to end very close game.

Kusa showed their phasing ability is going to be as strong in a different way, again blocking them out will be mute, hitting them is near to impossible as all players are very fast and adept at avoidance. They can almost steal the ball at will - it's hard to keep away from a player who can pop up behind with speed. Their throwing game seemed solid but one thing was evident - it will be hard for them to open up the 4point strike lane as they are pretty bad at slamming. This was shown well when one monk kept their players chatting about the 'WORD' for a few rushes... It must be said however that when he was persuaded to move (apparently the opposing striker had lured him with the promise of a conversion) the Kusa striker failed on an easy throw, which probably would have won them the game.

"Now let me tell you about your path to salvation..."

So while the crowd went home slightly bemused by what they had seen the real DB fans knew that this was a glimpse of what was to come this season...

Zephyr Corp trial new teams...

Holo-cast Whispers ... First for your Dreadball news and rumours.

The official relaxing of the rules to allow Tier 3 species and teams to move up to Tier one Leagues this season has seen the major corporations scrambling to sign players, teams and coaches before the season starts again. Boot camps are happening across the leagues with players being tested out in friendly (or so they say) games which could make or break their careers.

Zephyr Corp are looking at expanding their roster by at least two Tier One teams and we have heard that the coaches have been tasked with making them competitive from the outset... Or they will not be coaching for long!

While the newest introductions to the 'Z-Boys' are being kept closely under wraps Holo-cast Whispers never want to let you fans down and we have reliable inside information (and a few leaked pictures from closed door friendlies) that the teams will be revealed soon and are:

Kekeo Nai'a 'Warrior Dolphins' are a Sphyrian team and, like any Sphyr team, are a force to be reckoned with. After surviving the near total destruction of their water world (Accutek Corporation had, allegedly by a AI glitch, assigned Sphyr for large scale weapon testing which evaporated 80% of the oceans) it would seem obvious that the Sphyr were going to be somewhat cranky - and now they seem to have found an outlet for that crank, and an opportunity to hit the Evil Corporations where it hurts them the most!

Our image captured by a spi-drone inside the closed door friendly with a uniformless Tsudochan team show the dolphins out on the field. Their playing style is reported to be a Hit and Run game made popular by a variety of human based teams in Tier One - nothing fancy but best not to get the mad and/or let them have too much of the ball. 

Secondly it has been widely reported the Z-Boys are also getting a Ada-Lorana team which appears to be called simply - KUSA. We believe this is a reference to an ancient Earth secret society of silent assassins from an area later known as the Neo-Tokyo conglomerate. Aptly named perhaps as the team seem to have the ability to disappear and appear at will - we have heard that DIGBY will make the players wear sensors that do not allow them to 'phase' with the ball and any slam made while in 'phase' will be highly illegal.  While we have yet to get Zephyr to confirm the reports we did manage to acquire a holo image (legally obtained whatever Z-Corp say) that is to be used on their new season merchandise which appears to clearly show the KUSA in action.

So there we have it DB fans... Watch this space for more news as we get it. 

Back to the Future... Dreadball rises phoenix like from the sidelines

Dreadball played a huge part in my gaming life for a while (first Mantic Bowl 'world' Champ non the less - although many thought I was taking the piss slightly using an all Jaa Jaar Binks figure Judwaan team) but fell by the way side for various reasons related to Mantic's support of the game, kickstarter woes and general angst over the playtesting of new teams.

But after trying the alternatives (Kaos Ball and Guild Ball etc) I have been drawn back into the seedy world of Dreadball. This new found enthusiasm has seen the purchase of two of the later season teams.

Firstly the Ada Lorana 'Glembek Ghosts' - with their phase ability they just look fun to play, time will tell I suppose.

Secondly the Sphyr team with their sea connection seemed a no brainer.

Basically they are a human team with the tail ability and we know the humans are the 'average stat' side which means they still are very competitive.

Both teams will get an outing soon hopefully.

So gaming wise I seem to be settled with board and card games at the moment:
X-wing - with wave 8 arriving tomorrow
Netrunner
A Game of Thrones - for the time being at least although not as excited about it as I used to be
Ninja All Stars - good fun game with all the kickstarter goodies arriving soon
Dreadball

There we have it.

Four chiba ninja clans go crazy...

So, Tuesday night at the local friendly games club was pencilled in for Charlie and I to try out some proper designer clans and a mission with guards 'and stuff'. At the last moment Shado and Robbie wanted in on the fun so it was cleared to try a four player game. Now, Shad and Rob had never played, or really seen, the game before which meant it was always going to be an uphill battle - I'd learnt by personal experience that this game speeds up phenomenally the more you get used to it and therefore I wasn't expecting a speedy game.

 Also I am not sure the game is ideally suited to an all out fisty cuffs skirmish (and we decided to play BRAWL as it was the easiest to 'do' - go and hit people) and is even more enjoyable with the 'sneaky' ninja type missions. But getting people playing was the aim of the evening.

I had the Kitsune clan - mainly because one of my favourite manga/anime series has to be Inu Yasha and this clan definitely pays homage to the story/legend.

Lessons learnt - have to have more of a play with them, Kitsune are not the best out and out brawlers but look like they will be awesome in stealth games. Oni (the large based characters) are not over powerful, which had been a worry.

All in the all the game excelled again - although as suspected we didn't quite to get to finish the whole game. I think 2 player games with the campaign system will be the way to go to be honest - and I can't wait :)