A Visit to the Gaming Goat in Oak Park

Rejoice, gamers! A new shop has opened up in Oak Park, a suburb just west of Chicago. It is The Gaming Goat, part of a group of game stores that already operate in a few other Chicago suburbs.

I went out to their grand opening yesterday to scope out the scene. I'm particularly excited for the Goat because I work a mere four (4!!) blocks away from the shop in Oak Park. For the last year I've been making a pretty epic trek to the Dice Dojo to play Magic, so it would be just fantastic to have a shop that supports Magic located nearby. I live just a short 15-minute drive from this Goat location, so it's a win-win all around for me.

I can report that the Goat is deeeeep into Magic, both selling and buying. They've got plans to support draft, Standard and EDH/Commander (my format of choice).

But you didn't come here to read about Magic! Let's get to the action! The other reason for my visit was to scope out the minis gaming potential at the Goat. As you can see in the background of these photos, the store is planning to support Warmachine in a big way. Staff mentioned that they were stocking the entire line of both Warmachine and Hordes. That's a big investment, so it makes sense that they'll be looking to attract a regular group of players for these games each week.

They had a Privateer Press Ganger running Warmachine demos at their grand opening event.

The Goat also seems keen on Heroclix, a game I played many years ago but don't currently play (except for once or twice a year, as a beer-and-pretzels game, with my high school buddies).

And there's a decent stock of popular board games on their shelves, as well as a small area with opened games that you can pull off the shelf and play. Game space is divided among three distinct areas. The first, located near the big windows overlooking Ridgeland Avenue in Oak Park, has one table and seems ideal for "premier" games that might attract passers-by. Another area is just past the main retail room and has room for 4-6 tables.

Quick sidenote: One of the highlights of the day for me was a visit by Jim Pavelec, a fantasy illustrator who has done work for a bunch of Magic cards! I picked up a few artist proofs (preview cards provided to Jim before a Magic card is sent to the printer) which are super cool and very collectible. Here he is working on a sketch.

The third and perhaps most exciting gaming area is located in the basement. Yes, I said basement! Every gamer probably has memories of gaming in someone's basement. Now you can recreate those memories at the Goat! First, light a torch and venture down these steps....

Then you'll find yourself in the Temple of Elemental Evil -- er, I mean, the basement. When I visited the basement was clean, but fairly spartan...just a bunch of tables, chairs and some overhead lighting. Get some posters on those walls, gents! Here's a peek at the main room -- BEFORE it filled up with gamers.

I didn't see a whole lot of available terrain for wargaming, so I'm betting game groups will need to bring their own terrain and table coverings, at least initially. And while the Privateer Press games don't hold a ton of appeal for CSW members (except Josh, the newest Cygnar recruit), I got the distinct feeling that we'd have a warm welcome if we wanted to play some of our non-commercial, PDF-rules-only games.

When I left Saturday afternoon, after hanging out, gaming and shopping for a couple hours, the basement had filled up with gamers of all varieties. One group had a game of EDH going...another group was puzzling through a board game...and another group of younger kids were having a fun-filled game of multiplayer Magic. Overall it seems like the Goat seemed poised to attract a diverse group of clientele: younger kids from Oak Park's neighborhoods (did I mention there is a middle school located one block away?), casual gamers who might dabble in board games like Settlers of Catan, and adult gamers (like me) who appreciate a clean, friendly game store setting to shop and play.

It was great to meet co-franchisers Ross and Charlie. They have a nice location and seem very dedicated to gaming in general. By the time I left, they knew me by name -- that's the sign of a superb game shop! And Jeff, the company owner, also plans to play an active role in developing the gaming community in Oak Park. Jeff's done great things out in Elgin and Schaumburg, so I'm looking forward to watching the Oak Park Goat grow and prosper.

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Post-apocalyptic campaign finale

Last week we played through the finale of our post-apocalyptic campaign. As you might recall, we were using the still-under-development "This is Not a Test" ruleset from World's End Publishing. I wanted to make it a special event, so I organized a four-player scenario.

In the center of the table, the brave defenders gather in an abandoned factory to make their last stand against the marauding hordes. Pat's tribe of technology-worshipping primitives had come to an alliance of sorts with Josh's Preservationists.

Advancing from either side of the battlefield came Jon's raiders and Tim's mutants, bent on ruling the ruins of the old world and acquiring the artifacts that the defenders have accumulated. The objectives for each side were fairly straightforward.

• The defenders needed to keep the attackers out of the warehouse and away from the two relics, each represented by a crate on a cart.
• The attackers needed to gain access to the factory and steal the relics, killing as many defenders as possible. 

Those inside the factory were given improved defenses, and there were only two official points of entry into the factory -- no climbing up wall or through windows. Defenders were also allowed to secretly booby-trap two pieces of terrain each. The attackers were each given another 100 or so points to their force. To keep things interesting, I gave each player a secret objective. Completing their secret objective would boost their chances of winning. Here are the secret objectives for each faction.

• Thieving buggers that they are, the raiders wanted to acquire both relics for themselves. 
• The mutants have reached grown tired of enduring constant discrimination and scorn. They have decided to wipe the earth clean of their oppressors and are trying to have the highest kill count even if that means turning on the raiders once the building is breached. 
• The Preservationists are normally helpful, but can't allow the tribals to share the knowledge contained in the artifacts with Raiders or Mutants. They aim have the highest kill count even if that means turning on the tribals if the building is breached. 
• The tribals are a bit skittish of everyone. Their secondary objective is to save their own skins by getting at least half their number off the board edge if the factory is breached. To aid in this, they were allowed to enter the sewers underneath the factory and reappear across the board near a decrepit power station. 

Here's the initial setup. The Mutants are on the left and a couple of raiders are visible in the lower right.

It very quickly became apparent that this game would be focused on shooting...

The Raiders began taking casualties fast and were slow to activate, perhaps not expecting such a barrage of fire from the old factory.

The Preservationists also took hits, but their brain-in-a-jar medic quickly began returning the wounded to action.

The Mutants advanced toward the factory under a hail of mostly ineffective fire.

A few of the raiders neared the factory, while some took up firing positions in a derelict mining structure.

As the forces drew nearer, the Tribals got concerned and began taking to the sewers.

The first of the raiders breached the factory but were incinerated by a Preservationist flamethrower. A tribal was "accidentally" caught in the crossfire, and the defenders' fragile alliance began to deteriorate.

At the other side of the factory, the mutants also breached the defenses and entered the factory.

Surprisingly, the Preservationists' treachery did not cause the tribals to flee. Those who had just exited the sewers at the power station turned back to help their fellows, attempting to blast their way through the mutants at the building's entrance. One mutant chupacabra went down, but the sudden flurry of action attracted the attention of a grazing Brahmin-deux.

Brahmin-deux tolerate gunfire and other loud animals, but not the invading their sacred personal space. The two-headed cow monster promptly attacked, but was driven back by the furious tribal firepower. The assault on the factory proved too much for the raiders. Having taken serious losses, they broke off their attack. Even the corrupted minds of the mutants realized that the Preservationists' positions were too entrenched to defeat. The tribals returned to their retreat, and the battle was over.

The clear winner was Josh the Preservationist player, who ended the game with the factory secure, the artifacts still inside and the highest kill count. The raiders were too battered to contest, and the tribals hadn't yet managed their retreat. We wrapped up the game at 5 turns. Had we continued, the tribals may have been able to get half their warband off the table, and maybe the mutants (whose strongest units were still outside the factory) would have been able to tear into the Preservationists, but we'll never know....

Final Thoughts & Observations
All in all it seemed to be a good game. I do wish I'd put just a bit more terrain out, started the attackers a bit closer to the factory and not increased the defense bonus that the factory gave the attackers. Firepower really seemed to rule the day in this game -- melee combat was entirely nonexistent. And the increased numbers of the attackers didn't quite give them the edge I thought it would. On the other hand, I was really pleased with the way the secret objectives functioned. Secret objectives will definitely feature in future games of all types.

"This is Not a Test" has served us well as a post-apocalyptic gaming system, and the campaign mechanics made it possible for our warbands to advance, sometimes in surprising ways. Many thanks to author Joey McGuire of World's End Publishing who allowed us to play game even though it was still under development. At last report, the final version (edited by CSW's own Patrick) is nearing layout and completion.

Hope you all enjoyed our campaign. We're going to take a few weeks to play some other games before launching into our summer fantasy campaign, which is going to have more than a few surprises of it's own. Stay tuned!

-- Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Weekend Project: 50-cent Skeletons from Little Wars

Among the backpack full of miniatures I dragged home from Little Wars was this batch of metal skeletons. They're old Ral Partha sculpts, and I plucked them out of a big box of random lead. The pricetag: 50 cents a pop. Since they were so cheap, I decided to see how quickly I could paint these guys up.

The weather was nice here in Chicago last weekend, so in between bouts of landscaping and weeding I was able to get these guys primed, painted and based. I used a tan-colored primer, drybrushed GW Bleached Bone, then picked out a few details like spears, bows and quivers. I used Minwax Polyshades Tudor to dip the entire figure, which provided instant shading and protection. Finally, I hit the skeletons with the lightest drybrush of white to pick up a few details.

The total actual time spent laboring on these guys was about 90 minutes over the course of three days...the biggest chore was waiting for the various paints and varnishes to dry! Here's the finished product.

Not bad for a total investment of $3.50!

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Epic Photo Dump from Little Wars 2013

Little Wars took place the last weekend in April, and as in years past, the Chicago Skirmish Wargames crew was on hand to run a game. This year we elevated our ambitions a little bit by running Mech Attack, the fast-play sci-fi mech skirmish game, in 28mm. Mech Attack was written for much smaller scales, but we were feeling adventurous.

Karl put together a BattleTech-inspired scenario that saw two attackers -- each equipped with infantry, mechs and vehicles -- assaulting an urban area to seize the objectives.

Here are some timeline shots of us setting up the table. Our playing area measured about 7x6 feet.

And here's a shot of the game in progress. We had a full roster of players, including two father-and-son teams. And hats off to the kind gentleman who registered for our game and then willingly gave up his spot so that one of those father-and-son teams could have a seat a the table. We were very impressed by his chivalry.

The buildings were made from plastic stackable crates, and the roads were roofing shingles with yellow lines painted down the middle. The mechs were a variety of models from several manufacturers -- you can learn more about them in this post from Karl.

As the game unfolded, the various CSW guys who were running the game (Karl, Tim, Pat, Mike and Josh) quickly found that the players were picking up the game quite well and didn't need much in the way of guidance after the second turn. Consequently we began darting out to visit the various vendor booths and flea markets -- and no one managed to put together a coherent game report!

Suffice it to say that the defenders won, but just barely, by driving the attacking infantry out of the objectives. Indeed, the game was teetering on the brink until the very last turn, which is the sign of a good game in my opinion. One of the attacking players earned the "Best General" award for accruing the most victory points, primarily by being absolutely deadly on the battlefield. We were lucky that resident CSW photographer Josh brought out all his fancy hardware to capture the action as the players fought for each block. Check out the action as viewed through Josh's lens...

As you can see, it was a fun, visually awesome game full of tactics, firepower and luck. We agreed that Mech Attack in 28mm is quite a spectacle, and it wasn't that difficult to pull off on the tabletop. If you're in the Chicagoland area this summer, we'd like to host a redux of this scenario at Games Plus.

We had a great time at Little Wars and, predictably, we scored some great bargains from the flea market. Doubtless we'll have a post in the not-too-distant future about the various treasures we came away with!

As always, leave a comment if you have any questions about the game or any of the models you see in the photos. Big thanks once again to Josh for documenting the game so well -- more pics from the game are available on his website!

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

CSW Unveils a New Gaming Table

I recently (finally) finished my new gaming surface! It consists of four 4-foot by 2-foot panels that can be assembled in a whole bunch of configurations: two 4x4, 4x6, or 4x8. Each panel is a sheet of three-quarter-inch plywood with a nice facing.

We mounted strong magnets on the panels to hold them together in any configuration. I have two big sheets of tie-dyed fleece to spread over them. The fabric pattern is surprisingly lifelike and does a great job simulating terrain. And it's cheap! So far I have green and brown.

The panels can rest on any existing surface to make a great gaming table. These pictures show them in a 4x8 setup on a 6-foot folding table. I Also have a 3-foot square table that would work for a 4x4 table, as well as my 7-foot dining room table.

Here is a shot with the brown fabric and some random bits of terrain from my terrain box.

It's a relatively easy project, that gives you a flat, level, stable surface to play on, and the panels store easily under a bed or in a closet between games. I can't wait to use it for our next game night!

-- Josh, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

A Rank of Dwarves for $4.50

I took a brief break from the club's post-apocalyptic campaign, and the preparations for Little Wars, to paint up a rank of EM4's plastic fantasy dwarves. These figures, along with their plastic Orcs, were from the original "Fantasy Warriors" game. Each faction features three poses with different weapons. I purchased 10 of each sculpt -- crossbow, greataxe and spear -- for the bargain price of about 35 cents each!

They measure 21mm from foot to eyeline. This is about how they look in the grey plastic. They come attached to a square base approximately 25mm across.

 

The plug on the back can be easily covered up by a shield -- EM4 sells a bag of 50 shields for $2 -- but I forgot to buy these. Oh well, I ended up removing the plugs and the bases, which which was the most time-consuming step.

Note: the axe-wielding dwarves had a small void in the back under the left armpit that I had to fill with green stuff. Not a huge deal, just FYI if you're concerned.

The bases I used are 20mm square bases from Proxie Models. They are really affordable at 48 for $4.50.
They are tiny bit thinner than a standard slotted base and have a nice lip which very neatly contains flock, sandm ballast or foliage.

I've never painted a rank of fantasy figs before, so I wanted to see how quickly I could finish them. Here's the speedy process I followed.

• Remove plug and integral plastic base
• Glue to 20mm base -- I used Plastruct Plastic Weld
• Spray with cheap hardware store silver spray paint
• Block in basic colors
• Apply ballast to base -- the lipped bases made it really easy to squirt in some water-thin super glue. Then I dropped on a couple small pebbles, sprinkled sand on top and allow to dry.
• Paint and drybrush the base
• Brush-dip with Minwax Polyshades Tudor
• Apply Krylon Matte spray sealer

A little later I applied some squares cut from magnetic sheets to the bottom of the bases. Here's how it turned out. The light washed out some of the beard shading, but you get the idea. It's a quick, easy way to paint up some tabletop-quality dwarves.

No sign of the plug on the back.

Here's the full rank, all 10 of 'em.

And here's a before-and-after shot.

I'm very happy with the way they turned out. I'm not sure what I'll do with them yet, though some of them will probably show up in our games of Song of Blades and Heroes. Interestingly, these were not the only dwarves made in this style. There's a whole range of metal dwarves like these, and they are still being produced by Mirliton.  Though they do have a bit of an old-school look since they're all the same pose, these dwarves could make great filler for bulking out larger units in your games. The style is fairly generic, and they are not too dissimilar in size and features to Games Workshop's dwarves.

Here's a comparison picture from this blog post. The first and third are GW dwarves. The second figure is a Mirliton Fantasy Warriors metal dwarf, and the last is the EM4 plastic Fantasy Warriors dwarf.

Suffice to say I think these were more than worth the 35 cents each I paid for them. I'm not a fan of the integral bases, but the Proxie bases class them up a bit. If I someday build a larger fantasy army, I'll likely paint up more of these.

-- Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

The Mechs of Mech Attack!

Here's a brief look at the mech models that we used in our Mech Attack game at Little Wars last weekend. They're from a variety of model lines (and even a few toy makers). The infantry figure in the pictures is a 28mm Junkers Legionnaire, included for scale purposes. Some of the perspectives in the photos make the figure look a bit smaller and the mechs a bit bigger, so I've included measurements of all the Mechs from bottom of foot to tallest point (not including antennae).

Here are the Mechs that fought on the side of the defenders.

From left:

• AT-43 UNA pre-painted mech, 3.5 inches or 90mm tall
• 2x Robotech/Macross Valkyrie mechs, converted with toy gun parts, 7.25 inches or 170mm tall
• Custom mech built by Tim from WW2 German vehicle, toy robot legs and other parts, 5 inches or 130mm tall

Here are the Mechs that fought the side of the attackers.

From left:

• 1/72 scale diecast BattleTech Legionnaire toy, original paint job, 6.75 inches or 160mm tall
• Robogear (ExoSquad reissue) Destroid toy, repainted and converted, 6 inches or 150mm tall
• Gasaraki 1/35 scale model, converted, 5 inches or 130mm tall

Here are some more individual pictures of the various mechs.

 

 

 

Look for another appearance from these guys in the after-action report from our Little Wars game!

-- Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member