The Honeymoon Period

Forums, by nature, are seemingly pessimistic cesspools of down-the-drain diatribes. I mean, why go through the rigor of typing out something positive? Way too much work. But, the feedback from the Heroclix community at the moment is overwhelmingly supportive and positive. The message boards are aflutter with butterflies. I'm in complete agreement. Tis' better to have clix back in one form or another than to have lost clix altogether. So, the new acquisitor of clix is blessed in my book. They're allowed to make many a mistake in the coming months. Just today, there was a pushback for the release date of the new Heroclix set. Even though the set will posssibly be delayed by two weeks, not one poster deemed this earth-shattering, the-sky-is-falling news.

But, I wonder how long this honeymoon will last? The positive person I am, I hope it goes on for as long as possible. The new company can shift partial blame for only the next couple of sets. They can also be forgiven for hitting the wall running during the learning curve. Hit happens. When Neca starts producing their own sets, creating their own sculpts (and as an action figure company first and foremost, they won't be easily forgiven if they produce a poor sculpt), and organizing events entirely within their own framework, the peanut crowd won't be so forgiving. It is the way of the internet. Fortunately for Neca, this has an easy fix: don't make any mistakes.

Oh, and make me a Spidey-themed set with Stegron the Dinosaur Man!

Organized Play

The moldy/musty smelling, poorly lit and ventilated, concrete floored, spider-infested man-cave is a popular hangout for all things Gamer. I'm lucky, though I have a basement, most of my toys remain upstairs. Partially because my wife plays, but mostly, I'm afraid of spiders (of course, I tell everyone that I'm just afraid of the basement flooding, thus ruining said gaming pieces). I'm not really afraid of spiders. Don't tell anyone, okay?

Actually, I'm even luckier than that. Once or twice a week, I get to play in a moldy/must smelling, poorly lit and ventilated, concrete floored, spider infested comic book store! For the last year, I have played many a game where organized play wasn't really an issue. We just kinda show up, and bust out our dice. But, with Heroclix coming back, and a bag of goodies as prizes, it makes me wonder what people think of the Organized Play structure.

These games don't play themselves. Without getting other like minded folks out of their stale pizza smelling man-caves from whence they were previously watching Season two of Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles on Blue-ray and playing Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, these games would die. Personally, I love what Neca just did for Heroclix approved play: for a small cost, venue owners can purchase a prize support pack, and then the venue has control over events and prize distribution. Smart. And I didn't even think that there would be any support.

How do you think Organized Play should be structured? Does it matter to you, so long as you get to build your 100pts of a WaS Russian minelayer fleet and watch as it is vaporized? Should events be left up to each venue to run, or by the company which makes the game? Should events be formal, cost something, and in turn, have a really *swell* prize, like a limited edition piece? Speak!

To Cheese or not to Cheese

What type of gamer are you? Don't take the easy way out. Answer honestly.

Do your teams come with cheese?
Do you play mixed units regardless of Nationality or License?
Are your teams min/maxed out?
If so, what is your definition of fun? Is it the obliteration of your opponents and the bragging rights of winning that championship?
Or
Do you purposely play underpowered pieces?
Is your team always themey, but lacking in some crucial aspect?
If so, how stringent of a personalized rule-set do you make yourself follow? If historical, is it not only nation-specific but year and campaign true too? If comic booky, does there have to be a corresponding comic-book cover to match your teambuild?

My hypothesis is that 'Fun' for the powergamer comes in pulverization, while 'Fun' for the thematic player comes from the team building itself.

Discuss.

It's Official! Heroclix Sold!

Today, Sept. 14th, is a great day to start a blog about all things miniature gaming. Why? Miniature games rock. All the time. But in particular, today is the day that NECA FINALLY officially announced the resurrection of one of my favorite miniature games: Heroclix. Not only that, but Neca seems to have bought most of the former Wizkids line, including the name. It's entirely possible (but speculation) to see the resurrection of other WK games including Horrorclix, Pirates Pocketmodels, and maybe even Mage Knight! And, because Neca is savvy at license negotiations, it is also possible, but entirely speculative, that these games could benefit from diverse licenses. Only the future holds the possibilities.

This blog is for all miniature game enthusiasts like myself. No game will be off limits, although the emphasis will be on the plastic prepainted kind. Table-top gamers and Warhammer style games can be brought up in comments, but I probably will still clear of actually writing about them. Games like Space Hulk, Talisman and the original AH Axis and Allies are also up for discussion.

There are so many great player created websites out there. This blog is not meant to step on any toes in regard to those great resources. If possible, I will even post links to relevant sites. Feel free to do so in your comments, so long as they are relevant.

Personally, I play: Heroclix, Horrorclix, Crimson Skies, SW: Pocketmodels, Axis and Allies Dry and Wet, Monsterpocalypse and many, many boardgames. What do you play?