The Secret World - Day 1

Good Saturday all!

As I write this I am waiting for a train to take me to my first demo day!

It's scary :s

The other day I promised a friend of mine that I would produce a rough report on the soon to be officially released game: The Secret World (TSW).

Last night was the first night of Head Start. For those who don't know, it's when the live servers are opened early for those who Pre ordered the game.

So all I can give you are the impressions from my experiences across the betas and from 1900-2300 last night. But regardless, some experience is better than no experience.

First off, I would like to thank Funcom for what feels like one of the smoothest launches I've experienced. I had no problems logging on, and zero server disconnects. My lag was minimal despite high player activity.

Now I know this is not launch and instead head start, but it is my belief that because of the preorder bonuses such as beta access, most players who want to play the game will have preordered, therefore on live day I don't foresee the experience being very different.

Ok, now I'm going to break this game down into different categories, these will be randomly selected and purely based on what enters my head.

Graphics: this game is pretty! The use of blurring and lenseflare creates some truly picturesque shots!

There are a few issues with the player models, like i personally think the female arms are a little too thin, but that could've my personal oppinion.

Character Creation:
This is great! In no time at all I was able to mix and mash the head options to create a character's face that I was actually happy with - please note this never happens to me in game, I always end up settling.

The clothing options are a little uninspired, but that's fine by me, they're starting clothes, and they feel like it - normal inoffensive clothing options.

Gameplay:
Ok, this is the meat and potatoe of games, and so far TSW doesn't disappoint. The controls feel responsive and as I run around the world, I feel like my character is actually in it, which in many recent games (especially Rift) I have not had and it's limited my fun.

They have also slightly jiggled things around a little, the HUD now has a slider for size (this does not effect the chat box) and I have found this incredibly helpful in reading the mission boxes.

In short, after I reconfigured the controls to play how I like them (still using the same controls from CoH) I felt like I was back in a familiar world that while it looked different, it was friendly and welcoming.

The mystery:
The whole point of TSW is that there is a world alongside ours. That if you get lost in the streets of London you can find yourself in a back alley labyrinth connected with rooftop walkways and the unseen population of the city scampering in the shadows.

That the recent attacks in Florida are not drug related, but the beginnings of a zombie outbreak, and that the security camera that keeps moving is not on a set pan program, but is actually following your every move.

As those who came before me and left their footprints in the sand have already said: "Believe Everything: Trust Noone".

And let me tell you, even the opening game cinematic has you questioning your loyalties. You know what your seeing is not a dream, but who do you listen to?

Big things are coming to this game, the question is not: Is it worth the purchase? (it is) but Can they keep this level of standard and quality up for the years to come?

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

One Long Day of Anxiety

Good Friday everyone!

I trust you will bear with me, I'm running late for work and just ran to catch a train... I never run, the exertion beyond clicking my mouse finger or moving a model on a board is just too much for my fragile GORD heart to take.

Anyway, the next couple of days are big. And when I say big I mean Apocolyptic-Dead Rising From Their Graves-Rivers Running Red-Gingers Coming Into The Sun-Miracle type big!

Oh yes, for tonight (5PM BST) we see the head start launch of The Secret World (TSW)!

This is a game I first read about years before I established my Secret Lab in New Fairbank, well before my expedition to Welwyn Garden City (which at the time was just called Welwyn City, it was only through the proper use of Project Genesis that me and my team of lab coated Gnomes were able to add the Garden part). Indeed instead me and my faithful Lab Assistant, already trying indirectly to create life, were living in Finsbury Park, North Nodnol!

It seems that Funcom have finally deemed the game ready for launch, and I can't wait! - well I can, I have to, what I mean is that I don't want to wait!

If you are one of the 10,000 believed Pre order customers (I think that was the figure released) you can join us of the RP realm Faery! Oh yeah! Now that name is bad ass!

But wait! There's more!

Oh yes! For those who've been keeping track, tomorrow is my first official demo day at Leisure Games!

I will be looking to arrive around 11.30 to give me 30 mind set up time in order to be ready at 12.00.

So if your around North London, come on down!

Anywho, that's it from me today. I'll be back tomorrow morning as I promised a friend a TSW write up of my first night (even if he isn't coming to my demo day -grumble-mumble-bumble -

Take care all!

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

There comes a time...

... Where every man must admit to his limitations.

In this case it is my own limitations when it comes to organising events for the Dead Heat campaign.

I've spent the last two weeks trying my best, but my own club has little to no interest/availability until after August.

This is largely due to the release of 40k 6th Ed and the number of 40k events they ate committing to as a result.

My hopes were to run 1 tourney day in July, the Inter London day in August and a League for the 2 months.

As it stands I'm going to have to recruit new players on Saturday just to find a large enough team for the August inter London day and not let the other clubs down.

It sucks as it means despite trying my damnedest I've been struck out from assisting with Dead Heat, but oh we'll, time to take it on the cheek and use this time to build the interest in the area so I'm not in the same position this time next year.

And so again, I reach out to my readers, if you can make it this Saturday, please do! My carry bag arrived yesterday, so I'll be there with my Gremlins, Nightmare Lady J, Perdita, Dreamer and Lilith.
- Maybe you already know how to play Malifaux but would be interested in giving one of the above crews a go because you've never played with them before? If so come on down!

I'll be using my Cardstock terrain which after testing on Sunday takes to public transport well and can be easily set up as below:



I'm still going to host my Flavour Tournament, but it looks like it will be in September now.

More info as it becomes available.

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

A team of 4, a team of 4, my left nut for a team of 4!

Good Monday all!

As I write this my Malifaux bag should be running it's way to the house in order to be picked up by my lovely wife.

Yesterday I played my first game with Lilith who will be one of my main demo crews, and I must say I am very impressed with her.

The game was against Nicodem, and one of my schemes was kidnap (I love kidnap!) out of the three targets I had to chose I went for a canine remains and a punk zombie, both of whom were standing next to each other at the same time I had Lilith and a Mature Neph stood hidden behind an Illusionary Forrest.




With a quick transposition between the hound and the Mature, Lilith was then able to quickly dispatch the hound with 2 hits from her greatsword. This was followed by the Mature Neph who thanks to Brood Mother was able to activate straight after who then dispatched the Punk Zombie!

Now that was a fun activation!

Sadly however things were not all rosey. The opponent I was really hoping would be willing to come to the Saturday 04/08/12 MaliDay in Clapham, but he was a no go. For a team of 4, I currently have 1 (plus me as a reserve).

I'm going to be recruiting next Saturday at my demo day, but please, if any of you think you can make it and would like to join our team, I'll be forever grateful!

We have also decided on a date for the Titan's MaliTourney!

It's currently scheduled for 26th August! That's the last day of the Dead Heat Campaign! With hope, it being the last day might get people interested outside the club. Some last minute campaign points for their faction.

I'm afraid that's it currently, very little more to report. I trust you have all had a nice relaxing weekend, and I'll be sure to keep you updated.

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

The [Dead] Heat of the Moment

Ok, please forgive me here, I wrote a great blog post just now, it was witty, thought provoking and intelligent. It also raised the IQ of everyone who read it by 6 and had a Stamina buff of +80.

But then my phone decided to randomly close my app and not auto save the blog. So I'm afraid you'll never get to read that masterpiece.

I think historians would look back and say "that blog post was the moment that changed the world. That was the catalyst that altered our perception. The Wild Stallions used Air Guitar to fix the Ozone layer, and Dr Loxley used his writing to bring about a new world order.

But anyway, instead you get this summery:

-Inter Club Meet & Greet booked for 04/08/12: See this link for details

- Will be playing game as Lilith this Sunday as practice for demos.

- Henching outfit arrives. Doesn't fit and will be making do. <- too fat!

- Will, your doing great with your models, keep it up and don't worry about asking for painting advice.

- Thanks to Dave and Tim for Flavour Point ideas, will be using them.

- Club tourney just a week before inter club day, may need to move it forward. Will discuss on Sunday.

- Seven Days...

Thank you and good night!

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

Brood Mother

Good Wednesday,

Well yesterday was interesting, I rushed home from work because my Moo's day care was telling us she was in a bad state and not reacting well to her meds, by the time me and the wife got there, she was fine! Happily playing with her toys as if nothing had happened!

But I'm glad it happened. I knew when I had the call that she'd be fine, but I was seriously worried all the same.

I knew it was just a stage of parenthood I had to go through, I needed the 'your child is seriously unwell' call, so I could get through it and see that as my rational mind was telling me, she'd be fine.

In other news, we're beginning to finalise the tournament info. The inter club tournament is starting to take form, but the Titan tournament is still dragging it's heels.

Last but not least, yesterday I painted up my Nephilim:


I'm very happy with how they came out with a thematic colour scheme and muted over all effect.

I also like how Lilith the Brood Mother is a complete opposite to Perdita Ortega in both modelling style but also in how I have painted them.

It should make for some striking demos.

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

Demos, Leagues and Tournaments

Good Tuesday everyone!

First things first, I spoke with Leisure Games on Saturday and they are very eager to get the ball rolling, to the extent they have even put it up on their website for 30th June.

This is amazing! I was genuinely expecting them to have higher demands going forward but so far their concerns seem less about me taking up floor space, and more concerns of me sitting around with nothing to do (I really hope that doesn't happen).

Next up, let's talk leagues. It's something that I've never really arranged before, and after reading a few guide/suggestions, I'm really eager to give it a go. Just need to convert the info I have to make it relevant.

You see I've been reading up on Achievement Leagues, where you get points for playing games as per usual, but extra points if it's a fully painted crew, that sort of thing.

I just need to get the locals to sign on to it.

Ok Tournaments.

There's currently talk of two. The first is a friendly Malifaux day at the Titan's club with prizes for interesting activity, currently this is scheduled for 29th July. However I am still looking for activity award ideas, please if you can think of anything, let me know. Otherwise it'll have to be 1st place etc and I want to avoid that.

There is also talk of an inter club tournament, one which pits club teams against club teams. This is still in its infancy for ideas but it should be fun.

I'll keep you all posted with how this planning goes.

I've also been busy the past few days painting up my Ortega family, and I think Perdita may be one of my best painted yet:



I have also started work on my Nephilim, I am hoping to have these done by the weekend.

Oh and those of you who have me on Facebook/Twitter should have already seen this, but on Saturday I played a game vs my sparring partner, and had a great laugh Levi vs Dreamer.

Here is the moment when Killjoy popped up, killed The Dreamer and released my Nightmare bomb:


I know I've been saying this a lot, but I love this shot, the 2x Nightmares attacking Killjoy, the little Daydream waddling away from the carnage, the lighting in the alleyway behind and how crisp and clear the Cardstock terrain came out! I love it!

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

The Adventures of Geek Dad: A Return to Madness

Good Monday all!

Well I do have some henchmen info for you all, but I'm going to save that for tomorrow. So keep your eyes peeled and your palms sweaty (or whatever).

Instead today I'm going to talk about sick kids.

Unfortunately my little moo has been sick for some time. The doc says it's nothing serious, just a cold, but it is sticking around.

It started about two weeks ago with a runny nose and sneezes, last weekend it was joined with conjunctivitis, which was hastily investigated by the doc and we were given a nasty gel to put in her eye.

Over the weekend however, as the conjunctivitis began to vacate her body, she developed a fever and a cough.

We don't think it's anything to worry about but we're keeping an eye on her, and making sure she has her regular doses of calpol.

Thankfully this morning, rather than burning up like she was last night, she just feels warm, she didn't really have a problem sleeping through the night and I am sure she had a very thorough feed when she woke up earlier (she was only starting to stir when I was leaving for work).

What was very, upsetting, was her screaming the past few nights. Her patience has really gone down and her hunger demands have shot up. This makes sense as she's unwell, but my god does she have a sense of lungs on her.

You see, with the moo we've been very lucky. She hardly ever cries and is usually a very happy child, it is only now that she is sick she is screaming rather than her usual pathetic sobs of hunger.

In addition, Sunday morning was the first time in about 6 months that she was awake before 0600 asking for a feed. But my god did I feel it. My eyes were spread agitated, my muscles hurt, and the poor baby in my arms was just screaming at the top of her lungs.

But she was fed, changed and then put back into her bed where she went on to sleep until 0800, a perfectly reasonable time.

The thing is, I can't imagine how someone could do that every night. I know parents who had to do night feeds every single night for the first 6 months. Yes there is a chance that Moo could start demanding that too, but she's slowly developing a taste for solids, and it's only a matter of time before we ween her off her 11pm feed and have her sleep right through (with hope), the chances of her reverting to new born behaviour is very slim.

And so to everyone, mother or father, who has had to go through this, my best wishes go out to you. It's not fun, but it needs to be done.

- and let me tell you, the possibility of having a child who would be like that is all the more reasons I don't want another child!

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

A [Geek] By Any Other Name - Part 2

Good Thursday everyone!

If you remember in April I wrote an article which covered the Internet phenomena called Nerd Rage.

Today I'd like to tackle another aspect of Geek/Nerd/Dork culture. It's something I am now calling:

Dawkwardness

So this week my wife started her new role where she met some people who would fall under the Geek/Nerd/Dork umbrella - let's call them Gords (Geek, dOrk, neRD).

Now don't get me wrong, my wife is very Gord friendly. She married me, plays WoW and is painting up a Malifaux crew after all! And so it was very interesting to hear how this group of Gords reacted when she tried to engage them in conversation.

I won't go into the specifics, but instead describe a situation that happened to me:

It was at my club's last Malifaux tournament. We had a number of guys turn up from other clubs, and when I arrived I saw a group of them standing outside the venue having a chat, making jokes and laughing.

As a friendly, responsible 'home playing' Gord I decided to say hi and introduce myself. So I waited for the joke they were telling to pass and said hi.

Now don't get me wrong, I met some fantastic dudes there that day, but I'll always remember the reaction I was given at this point.

It wasn't rude, it wasn't 'stand off' it was... Defensive.

Imagine a group of Gazelles feeding while a predator stalks them.

They're happy chewing their grass and talking to their fellow Gazelles when all of a sudden they hear a twig snap. They don't run away, but they stop eating, their ears pop up, and each one becomes alert trying to spot the danger while prepping to bolt.

This is what happened to me. When confronted by someone who was not part of their immediate group I was seen as a harbinger of threat. Not a threat itself, but a sign of potential to come.

All of this aimed at a guy who's short by most men's standards, plump around the waist and with a beard. Or as I like to describe it, squat, fat and furry.

So hearing of something similar being experienced I thought back to other experiences that I've either observed or been involved in.

It seems to be standard in Gord culture that whenever we are confronted with either something new or different we try to establish if this is a threat, and I have now come to call this period of time, when the Gord group as a whole looks on the new person/change with wide eyes and a look reminiscent of a deer in headlights as Dawkwardness.

Say it with me: Dawkwardness.

So I suppose the first question should be, why do Gords act Dawkwardly towards new people and change?

Well let's look back through Gord history, what is the one thing that has united all of us at some point? What has encouraged Geeks, Dorks and Nerds to socialise together and share hobbies?

It's persecution. Call it what you like, bullying, discrimination, picking on the weak kid, it's all the same and nearly all of have experienced it at some point.

Of course you don't have to be a Gord to have been bullied, of course not, but I think it's human nature to want to protect yourself when confronted with something different.

Let's say I'm at work however, working in the Finance team for a branch of the police - not allowed to say here which branch I'm afraid.

So someone new turns up, we all assess the situation, all in an instant we make a hundred assessments.

We take in the new person, we call on our Visio-spacial sketch pad to relay back to our schema bank and decide if this person is a potential threat - of course in today's world where every boy is Chucky and every girl Carry, everyone is a threat.

We also assess the current group were in. How safe do you feel with them? Do you think they would have your back in a fight or would they throw you under the bus?

Let's go back to my work example. I'm surrounded by my team, I know that if a bad dude turns up, they don't have my back. But if I was with the police officer dudes, that's a different matter. They're trained for this sort of thing, I know that push comes to shove they have my back. In the latter situation, I'm calm and collected around change and new people, because I know I'm reliably safe.

Let's apply this chain of thought to a group of Gords. Each one who spent years at school being bullied. They meet someone new, they asses the situation and think 'shit... I'm surrounded by a bunch of people as useless as I am'.

It is this moment of realisation which causes the dawkward reaction.

And so please, I'd you've ever been on the receiving end of a Dawkward-bomb, please don't get offended. It is not a reflection on you, but instead on us.

It makes you wonder, in the natural world where animals group together for protection... Just why would someone who can not protect themselves group with others who also can't protect themselves?

The answer is simple. It's not protection, you can't put 5 pussies together and have us turn into a transformer and kick ass.

No it's sacrifice.

It's like the joke goes:

How do you outrun a bear? You don't, you just outrun the slowest person.

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

Plans & Portents

Good Wednesday all!

Wow three posts in as many days! I have not done this in a e while.

So we left off yesterday with the news that I've been made a henchman (thank you to everyone for the grats, and also thank you to everyone indirectly for either encouraging me to apply or for supporting me before, currently and in the time to come).

To (poorly) paraphrase a term heard in almost every Apprentice episode; I've got a fire in my belly and I'm hungry to see how far we can roll with this.

Well before we move on, I'd like to say, so far (1 day) being a henchman seems awesomesauce! I was finding myself lagging with my commitments and determination, something you all probably saw with the quantity of blog posts.

Plus there were less editorials and a lot more 'general life updates' and frankly who wants to read that? :p (yes I am aware of the irony considering this post).

But this has given me a fire in the right place to get things moving! Only time will tell if that fire will fuel my motivation, or burn it to the ground (that sounds so Emo!)

Anywho, yesterday I was lucky to get in contact with the henchmen for Cross Gaming Club and Clapham. Together we are looking at the possibilities of inter club games/tournies/leagues. Currently this is something that we are very Very interested in, and I'll update you in how it goes.

I have also semi finalised details for my demo day at Leisure Games:


These are the flyers I'll be handing to the shop and seeing if he is happy to give them to customers as added publicity. It's simple and to the point - and if you think you could do better, please do - literally, I'm not 100% happy with this, and if someone wants to make these better, please do!

I also come to you this morning with breaking news: Dead Heat: Malifaux World Wide Campaign

This is what we have all been waiting for folks! It's Campaign (beta) rules for Malifaux! And utilising henchmen such as me and those near you, we can roll this out on a global level!

If your interested in taking part in the first global Malifaux campaign, read the link above and check out the rules. This can be tied into leagues, friendlys, anything really. If you and your best buddy has a game and you use the campaign rules? That counts! Just be sure to let a henchman know so the results can be passed along to the campaign organiser.

I'm going to finish off with three more announcements:

First off is Avatar Dreamer:



This is a model which I would say could go either way. I think the photo is not all that flattering, but keep in mind you are got getting the full scale of it. We're looking at a 50mm base here, and that's an actual bed the Dreamer is riding on. I think a sideways photoshot would be the seller for this piece (and if anyone can get me one, I'll love you forever).

Next up is something I've been waiting a very long time for, The Weaver Widdow:


This is a model I love! She's large and a great combination of the sinister, hidden behind a sweet facade; everything The Dreamer and Neverborn in general tend to embody. I may need to modify her a little, maybe give the front of the frock a parting with spider legs spilling out, just to make her even more horrific.

Last but not least we have the Vintage Fate Decks:


Now just look at these, the discolouring, the resemblance to 'actual' playing cards. I see these as very popular and I'll be certainly getting a deck myself as soon as my LGS gets them in!

And that's it for today! Thanks if you lasted all the way to the end, your a real trooper!

I'll be returning soon with more craze and wacky-tacky to keep you all updated, but for now, take care and stay safe.

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

Of Mice and [Hench]Men

Good Tuesday all!

Well last night I had the great news! I am now an official Wyrd Henchman (on probation).

I am currently speaking with Leisure Games about my first demo session, but I am looking for it to be Saturday 23rd June.

Once I have this confirmed, naturally you will be the first to know and I hope some of you can make it, say hi, maybe take part in a demo (or give me some hints on how to demo better) and more importantly have some fun.

In the spirit of fun, I'll be debuting my 'Steampunk Cowboy' look at this event, however I may still be awaiting my waistcoat as it appears to be coming from Thailand. Regardless, here's a sneaky peak:


That's my trusty hat, had it for about 6 years and it's always done well by me - of course the goggles are a new accessory.

One thing though, I'll be looking to print off some A3 flyers to give to the store in advance to advertise the demo day, something they can show to customers to increase awareness - any ideas on what I should call the event, and subsequent demo events? I'm just unsure if using Malifaux Demonstration as a title will work all that great.
- what about 'What is Malifaux?' written in the official font, with a quick blurb beneath advertising the demo day?

Anyway, thanks for your time and I'll be sure to keep you all updated!

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

Weekend Catchup: Assumption on Henchmanship

Good Monday all!

So I'm back to working full time for a while, no more days leave and no more bank holidays for a while.

It's a damn shame but in all honesty there's not much I can do about it, so might as well just soldier through it.

It's also pointing down with rain and it's currently before what I would call a sensible time to be awake.

All in all it's a pretty rubbish day.

The weekend wasn't quite do bad however. Yes I have still to hear back about my henchman application (at this point I am assuming I didn't get it, but as with a job interview I'd like to know the specifics as to why not, so I can work on those aspects and apply again in a few months.

But some good news! My goggles have arrived:


Now I just need to wait for my waistcoat to arrive and I'm all set:


(ignore the brown version)

Even without the Henchmanship I'm still going to go ahead with the demos down at Leisure Games it's something I'm quite excited about and I think it should be really fun.

On top of this yesterday I won an eBay auction for the Ortega Family. Very good price considering 4/5 of them are completely unpainted and in good condition (£13+P&P).

One thing I'm looking to do is run Family vs Kin games. Considering the Kin are designed as Gremlin versions of the Family, I really want to see how they play out.

Well that's it from me, take care all - and if you missed it, Aliens: Special Edition was on tv last night. I freaking love that film!

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

Upcoming Wyrd Info: A Doctor's Second Oppinion

Good day all!

By now I'm sure you're all aware of the Gamer's Lounge Podcast with Eric J of Wyrd: http://gamerslounge.coda.net/2012/06/07/gamers-lounge-episode-54-eric-j/ and it would be irresponsible of me not to wade in with my own thoughts of these announcements.

It would also be irresponsible of me to use no structure or frame while discussing this and just comment on what comes to mind, but I wouldn't be Doctor Loxley if I was entirely responsible!

So let's start at the first thing that enters my head:

Malifaux book 1.5
This is a reprinting of Book 1, only including updated stats for the book 1 models and the recent errata.

From my situation, I already own the manual and so I only want the main books for the fluff. Because Book 1 has been out of print for a while now I've never been able to pick up a copy, and it seemed pointless getting 2 or 3 when I don't have 1.

So for me this is a wonderful thing!

Next up: New Faction
So it's been announced that book 4 will be all about the new faction the Ten Thunders, as seen with the already existing models: The Ten Thunder Brothers for the Outcasts.

I'm unsure how this will work. Malifaux is an already well balanced game compared to some, and the introduction of a whole new faction (with what appears to me to be quite a limited theme - perhaps it should have been made into an Outcast Master, similar to Gremlins) I think this could throw things off.

Then we have the announcement of the new edition of Puppet Wars!

Now this is something I'm quite excited about. Because of the use of plastic sculpts they will be able to fill the new edition box with pretty much everything you need straight away and charge less for it.

Again for me this is good. I don't see Puppet Wars in the same vein as Malifaux. Yes it uses minis, but then so did HeroQuest. With this in mind I really don't have a problem with plastic minis.

But this leads us onto another thing. It was discussed that moving forward if they wanted to do another model similar to Nightmare Chompy, they would probably do so out of plastic. Again in this respect I don't really have a problem. I've never been a fan of NLCB's sculpt, and while I love the size of it, I find the actual quality of detail to be lacking, in addition it's recent retail price of $100.00 is crazy in my eyes. We're talking ~£70.00 for a single model! I can buy a whole crew for that price!

But I do have a possible problem if the cheaper alternative of plastic was rolled out as standard for their models.

I believe that in a game like Warhammer where you need entire squads of the same mini, the plastic option is the cheaper sensible choice, but for a game like Malifaux where having model duplicates is actually quite rare, then you might as well go the metal route, to a point of course (see above about Nightmare Chompy).

Of course there were further details about Terra Clix, and I'm sure they'll prove to be useful, but there was also mention of bumping up the type of Fate Decks available. Among them was mentioned a plastic deck, I'm unsure exactly what was meant by this, I'm imagining a deck the size of a coke can, with each card being the thickness of a GW bulkhead. If they meant Plastic laminate, well I thought they already had this?!?

So what do you think? Ten Thunders? Will that be any good? As someone without the core books I know very little about them, other than the Brother models don't appeal to me.

Book1.5? Good idea? Should they have just released a fluff book instead? Considering the rules and cards are available online.

Plastic Puppet Wars? Will the lower price tag finally encourage you to pick it up? Or will the plastic models feel wrong alongside the metal ones if you already own it?

And plastic models in general? Could it be the turning point for Wyrd? Could next year they be announcing 'Wyrd Finecast'?

And on that harrowing note I bid you all good night and good weekend.

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

The Adventures of Geek Dad: Demos & Demographics

Good Thursday all!

Well I love to say it but tomorrow is Friday! Sure thanks to the Jubilee weekend I'm only in the office for three days but right now it feels like much longer.

You see last week my daughter had her first induction to nursery in order for my wife to start her new job as a trainer.

It is my belief that while at her induction the Mini Moo picked up a virus and since has been very sniffly. To make it worse I now feel like death. But not sick enough to stay home from work.

Anywho, as before it seems that everything is constantly changing, and it's hard to think back to only 7 months ago when she was born and acted so differently.

Where as before when she was newborn she would sleep for most of the day and when she was awake she would just want to feed with no apparent personality.

Now how things have changed. She plays, she laughs, giggles and babbles. Why last night during her bath, for the first time ever she played the game 'splash' and she loved it!

Of course with these changes has come a change in parenting. Where as before I felt that we always had to be in the same room as her, now we leave her in her own room for hours on end while she sleeps from 6pm onwards. Yes we have a baby monitor to ensure she's not awake, but that's so small an intrusion.

Well, as I mentioned previously, with this added free time, I've taken it onto myself to apply for Henchmanship with Wyrd. I'm still awaiting a response with this, but on the back of the application I decided it would be best to see if I could organise something with my Local Games Store or LGS.

In my case it's Leisure Games in North London. It might be quite a distance from me, but strangely enough is the closest and easiest available to me.

So I sent them an email asking if they would be interested in me running some demos there in the future, and last night I finally got a reply! And thank Cthulhu! They are interested!

The funny thing about this store is it's space. Whenever I've been there they have always had a good number of tables available, tables that would be perfect for playing games, but for some reason these tables have never been in use while I've been there.

So I've passed the ball back to them, asked what they would need from me in order to move forward with this and we'll see how it goes.

Of course I was sure to pass this information onto Wyrd. I hope they keep this in mind when assessing my application.

And with that we come to a question: what would you all say makes a good demo crew? Currently my match ups are Lady J vs Ophelia, just because these are the available 'simple to play' crews I have. But budgets permitting I would be willing to try buy other crews.


- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

Squigfest 2012: How it went

Good Monday all!

To those of us in the UK, it's a bank holiday today and Tomorrow, and I hope you all have fun plans.

As you may remember, Saturday was Squigfest 2012. A day long event full of friendly games of Malifaux. Or so it was supposed to be...

The day kick started at around 10am when the guests started arriving. The plan was to host one large game where every player only used 12SS worth of minions, no masters, no spells, abilities or triggers. This would allow 2/4 of the players to get to grips with how the duel system worked.

Then we would break for a BBQ along with two other friends who were visiting for a catch up.

Following this we would split into 2 groups of 2, 1 'experienced' player vs 1 novice and essentially run 2 demos. The winners would then play each other for a chance to win The Golden Squig 2012!




As a memento every player was given a Squigfest 2012 Malifaux Reference card, courtesy of the cards designed by Ratty:




What actually happen was very different. A lot more chaotic and possibly a lot more fun.

For starters one of the players couldn't make it due to being ill, so the mass demo was only 3 of us. This game however took a lot longer than anticipated,

On top of this we had continuous showers until around 1630 when we hurried outside and had our planned BBQ.

Following this we decided to have another game, just the three of us using 12SS again only this time with rules and a shared Treasure hunt strat.

We has altered the rules on the shared treasure hunt to make it that you get 1VP if you end a turn holding the treasure, then whoever had the most VPs would win!

We were going to have another 4th player from the non-playing guests, but sadly they had to leave too early to play.

The game consisted of me with Dreamer/Chompy, 1 Day Dream and 2 Stitched. The remaining as SS. Player 2 used Seamus, a Bell and a Punk Zombie. Player 3 used Lady J, 2 hounds and a Death Marshal, as with me, the rest as SS.

In turn one The Dreamer turning into Chompy was able to grab the treasure before being pushed back by the Day Dream (which caused the treasure to drop). Lady J went on to kill the Day Dream which turned into a Stitched. The Stitched unburied right next to the Treasure and picked it up.

After a few more uneventful moves, Turn 1 was over giving me 1 VP.

Turn 2 commenced with the Stitched being Lured by a Belle and in doing so dropped the Treasure.

A Hound then ran forward and grabbed the treasure and my Stitched was made Insignificant by Seamus.

This left me in a bit of a bad situation, Chompy and The Dreamer was a little rubbish with Treasure movement due to buying and pushing, so I unburied the last Stitched who Gambled against a Hound he lost enough to ensure that he got reactivate allowing me another 2 life gambles. This time he was able to win and downed the Hound.

Turn 2 ended, and no points were awarded due to the remaining Hound being insignificant.

Sadly at this point the game was called due to time, which left me as the only VP holder!

All in all it was an extremely fun day and we're looking forward to a follow up.

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley

Becoming an 'Artist'

Good Friday all,

Over the past few weeks my wife and I have been watching a reality game show about a bunch of artists who are competing against each other to win 'something' (I'm afraid I don't think I've ever heard them say what they are competing for... I think they may be doing so, just for the sake of it).

Anyway, the other week they had a challenge to create a piece that complimented a bit of work done by a child.

Clearly a lot of these artists decided to go down the introverted, self obsessed "I'm an artist" direction, but I remember this one guy, even though the judges said he was the worst there, he said that he disagreed.

You see he had not made the work to compliment the child's work, instead he had done his work for the child. He said that the child loved it and in his eyes that made him a winner.

Well this got me thinking about my own 'art' that I create. Who do I create it for? Why do I create it?

The answers were simple. I create for myself. Not always because I necessarily want the end result, but because I want to know if I can.

This leads onto the next question: If my target audience is myself, then am I happy with my results? Am I a winner in my own eyes?

These are questions I'm not sure if I can answer in a straight forward manner. You see a lot of my models I am very unhappy with, I look at the paint job, the model workings and I feel ashamed of the model. I would go back and redo them, but I know I can't (currently) do any better.

Other times, I love the end result. My Executioner with his burlap sack covered head, Chompy with his fire-circle base and my day dreams for their pastel coloured skin.

I think the thing with me, I want to see how far I can push myself in different areas, to see if I can reach my limits.

This means that in with creations like Chapel Hill, where the end result excels over my expectations, I love it! But in comparison, Coppelius who I think looks shockingly awful, he's a disappointment to me.

In short: I love to push my style and ability to their limits. But there is nothing more demoralising than when you reach those limits.

- Your friendly neighbourhood Doctor Loxley