The Call of Cthulhu Kickstarter Games

I am on the look out for at least one Kickstarter project to fund this year and have been keeping my eyes and ears open for would be games. Having just completed some reading of H.P. Lofecraft, including his The Call of Cthulhu, the following posts on these two crowd funded games caught my eye.

Unspeakable Words Call of Cthulhu Delux Edition!

Unspeakable Words is a card game for 2 to 8 players. It is a game were players earn points based on the number of angles in the letters in their words. There are Cthulhu pawns, cards, a 20DS, rules, and a bag to carry your madness around with you, just in case the mood strikes for another game.

This project still has 24 more days to reach its goal,(as of 1/27/15) but has already reached its goal of $12000. That means more stretch goals will be coming your way if you fund this project with a minimum of a $35 pledge

Rise of Cthulhu

“Rise of Cthulhu is a strategic card game of influence and horror for 2 players”. Rise of Cthulhu includes 74 cards with some very neat art, 1 token, rule-book, and it all comes in a nice looking box. This project will be open for another 21 more days, but has already met its goal of $7000, that means more stretch goals for someone with a pledge of $50 or more.

Monsters Mentioned in The Shadow Over Innsmouth, by H.P. Lovecraft

"The patterns all hinted of remote secrets and unimaginable abysses in time and space, and the monotonously aquatic nature of the reliefs became almost sinister. Among these reliefs were fabulous monsters of abhorrent grotesqueness and malignity-half ichthyic and half bacchanalian in suggestion."

3 Photo-Etched HO Scale Details

These goodies were recently found in an unopened box of model railroad miscellanea. All are waiting to be assembled, detailed and set out on my model train layout. I find working with brass quite rewarding.

They say that a scene is in its details. Here are three photo etched details that I acquired for my HO gauge model train layout:

Builders in Scale

These lobster traps are etched in brass and will take a few minutes to bend into shape. There are eight in a package and include eight lobsters.

Detail Associates

Detail Associates manufactures dozens of HO gauge detail parts, mostly for detailing HO train engines, but I did find this set of tools to be used in some scenes,

Gold Medal Models

The last image is of four shopping carts. These are from Gold Medal Models and are etched in aluminum. These will be great left in front of a grocery store or how about an old woman pushing one down the street with all her worldly belongings.

The Works of William Hope Hodgson

I am off on another tangent and so much for my original winters reading list. Most of what I had selected to read during this period was not to my liking. I recently downloaded several of H.P. Lovercraft’s short stories and novelettes on to my Android device and have already read through the list. Not being finished with this genre (horror) I started to look for works from other authors and recently came across the work of William H. Hodgson.

I have downloaded the following titles:

1. The Boats of the Glen-Carrig
2. The House on the Borderland
3. The Ghost Pirates
4. The Night Land

The first three are part of trilogy in which I am just starting the first part of this series, The Boats of the Glen-Carrig.

Hodgson’s body of work is quite impressive. He has written across multiple genres, including horror, science fiction, and stories of the sea and adventure.

So far the first of Hodgson’s trilogy has been good reading and have confronted some type of monstrous creature that visits during the night and an island where the soles of men are encompassed into trees. More to following on this nautical adventured horror story.

Low Cost or No Cost Print and Play Board Games that Look Interesting and Fun to Play

                         

Type	Title and URL	Price	Description
Fantasy
	Battle of Ayrene's Woods	free	A little fantasy game from TCS games
Historical	3 Famous Battles Set	2.00	“A set of 3 introductory war-games of famous battles. “Separate PDF’s with maps, rules, and counters for the battles of Waterloo 1815, Senlac: the Battle of Hastings 1066, and Lee at Gettysburg.
	ACW Solitaire	5.00	“In ACW Solitaire, the player plays the Union forces in the American Civil War of 1861-65. The aim is to defeat a simulated confederate opponent using a combination of strategies. Units include named Generals, Armies, Forts, River Gunboats, Naval Fleets and different Indian Tribes.”
	American War of Independence: Battle Pack 4	5.00	Each of the nine battles included separate maps, rules and counters. Each battle is designed to be played in about an hour.
	Barbarossa Solitaire	3.00	“A solitaire game simulating the struggle between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front 1941-45. The player takes control of the Nazi forces against a simulated Soviet opponent. Over time, the players forces gradually weaken and Soviet attacks increase - can you do better than history?”
	Edgehill	free	Introductory game on the first battle of the English Civil War. Easy to understand rules and can be played in an hour or less. There are 113 counters to cut out.
	French and Indian War Battle Collection	5.00	The 12 battles of the French and Indian War includes 12 maps sized from 8.5 by 11 inches and smaller, 17 pages of rules, and 54 counters. These games are for 2 players.
	Gazala	2.00	Gazala is a simplified 2 person simulation of the 1942 battle in the deserts of Libya and includes 3 Page Rules, 50 counters, and 1 8.5 x 11" Map.
	Struggle for Wake Island	2.00	A two player game. “Struggle for Wake Island incorporates both the air and sea components of the battle while remaining a low complexity game.”
	Terror War Solitaire	free	Can you beat the terrorists and terrorist states?
	The Vietnam War	3.00	Is a two player game. “The Vietnam War board game lets players assume control of the North Vietnamese Army and the US led South Vietnam faction. Both players must compete for military domination of Vietnam.”
	Vinegar Hill: Castle Hill district, New South Wales Colony (Australia),March 5, 1804	2.00	Two player game. “While there was trouble with convicts on several occasions in Australia’s early history, Vinegar Hill was the only one serious enough to class as a rebellion. Fortune did not favor the Irish rebels, with communication failures stopping the spread of news or the end result could have been very bloody indeed.”

Quotes from The Call of Cthulhu by Howard Philips Lovecraft

"Loathsome waits and dreams in the deep, and decay spreads over the tottering cities of man.”

Quotes from The Call of Cthulhu by Howard Philips Lovecraft

"Cthulhu had a cuttlefish head, dragon body, scaly wings." (Description of the actual Cthulhu creature as described by a horrified antagonist of the story.)

Quotes from The Call of Cthulhu by Howard Philips Lovecraft

Description of a statue that the cult of Cthulhu worshipped and sacrificed.

“The statue represented a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of fillers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long narrow wings behind.”

Quotes from The Call of Cthulhu by Howard Philips Lovecraft

The quote is from Howard Philips Lovecraft’s, short story, The Call of Cthulhu. The Call of Cthulhu has a modern cult following, not like the cult described within this short story, but at lass, a cult just the same.

“We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.”

More quotes and links on this topic will follow.

Prison Escapes Mentioned in the Count of Monte Cristo

“Since my imprisonment,” said Abbe Faria, “I have thought over all the most celebrated cases of escape on record. They rarely have been successful. Those that have been crowned with full success have been long meditated upon, and carefully arranged.”

These are two of the three persons and escapes the good Abbe mentioned. I couldn’t find any reference to the third:

1. François deVendôme, Duke of Beaufort
2. Jean HenriLatude
3. Abbe Dubuquoi, For I'Eveque

Blog Maintenance-Backstage

Some of you might have noticed that I have changed the name of Links page; it sits to the right of Home, it was changed from Links to Backstage. I haven’t got around to it yet, but this page is going to be repurposed.

I haven’t seen any activity on a few of the blogs under my Blog List for a while. I don’t want to remove them completely from my blog and have decided to add them to what I am calling the Backstage.

There are so many blogs that start out wonderfully and run for a few months or even a few years and then are neglected. The information they provide is often outstanding and at the least interesting, so I want to keep them alive on this site by offering links to this bygone content, just not on my home page.

Here is a list of those that will get the first cut:

RPG Free List

Sofie's Paint Blog

Steampunk Miniatures Review

Steel on Sand Blog

MeepleSpeak

Extraordinary Gentlemen’s Journal

The Works of H.P. Lovecraft I Recently Downloaded

I recently ran across the work of H. P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft is an author of numerous science fiction and horror stories. However this genre (horror) is new to me, I am enjoying it.

I just recently completed “The Shunned House”, a short story, which tells of a house that suffers from acute paranormal activity. An Uncle and his nephew camp out in house to ascertain where the activity originates and try to rid the house of the paranormal activity.

 Bolstered by my first reading from Lovecraft I added the following titles to my reading list:

• The Shunned House
• The Call of Cthulhu
• The Curse of Yig
• The Outsider
• The Shadow over Innsmouth
• The Shadow Out of Time

How to Create Great Fantasy Maps (Even if you cannot draw)

How to Create Great Fantasy Maps (Even if you cannot draw), by Mark Wightman is a beautiful little booklet that takes the reader step by step through the process of creating  fantasy maps. The author uses simple cartographic symbols and techniques to draw mountains, hills, rivers, forests, and marshes.

The author explains and illustrates the process for each element and then displays the results. It really is quite simple, really! Your first attempt at map making may not be of the quality you prefer; however using these techniques and giving yourself a little practice, you will be creating realistic fantasy maps for yourself.

What’s New for 2015-Resolution #6

1. Back at least one KickStarter project. I will be looking to sponsor one new game this year.

2. Go through my labels to find topics I might want to expound on, delete labels and or posts that have become stagnate.

 a. Some topics I would like to give more "air-time" to:

  i. Dungeon crawl

  ii. Monsters

  iii. Reaper familiars

  iv. Evil toys

3. Games, game rules, and miniatures

4. Scenery and Scenic Pieces

5. Spend more time on forums

6. Learn more about the art of painting miniatures

This is my last resolution to comment on.  As a fellow blogger has commented-on how to learn how to paint, “the best way to become a better painter is to paint ! "or " the more you paint, the better you become" . His comment is so true, and although my painting is still not as good as I like and although I have seen some improvement, I believe that watching and learning techniques from others will help me improve my technique. I will make posts on sites that include some good tutorial, and provide some good pointers and techniques.

What’s New for 2015-Resolution #5

1. Back at least one KickStarter project. I will be looking to sponsor one new game this year.

2. Go through my labels to find topics I might want to expound on, delete labels and or posts that have become stagnate.

 a. Some topics I would like to give more "air-time" to:

  i. Dungeon crawl

  ii. Monsters

  iii. Reaper familiars

  iv. Evil toys

3. Games, game rules, and miniatures

4. Scenery and Scenic Pieces

5. Spend more time on forums and my peers blogs

6. Learn more about the art of painting miniatures

I am a member of several forums, but rarely do I read the posts or comment on the posts of others. When I was frequenting these forums my posts to my blog at that time were more varied and rich. Some of the posts of my peers deserve to be trumpeted abroad while the information they provide will make me a more educated blogger.

What’s New for 2015-Resolution #4

1. Back at least one KickStarter project. I will be looking to sponsor one new game this year.

2. Go through my labels to find topics I might want to expound on, delete labels and or posts that have become stagnate.

 a. Some topics I would like to give more "air-time" to:

  i. Dungeon crawl

  ii. Monsters

  iii. Reaper familiars

  iv. Evil toys

3. Games, game rules, and miniatures

4. Scenery and Scenic Pieces

5. Spend more time on forums

6. Learn more about the art of painting miniatures

One of my resolutions for 2015, which I never got to, was to create a diorama. I would like to give this idea another go. I do have elements for two dioramas and would like to obtain some additional scenic pieces to be used in these and other scenes. I also would like to feature the outstanding work of my peers throughout the year. 

Abbe Faria

Abbe Faria was Abbe that Edmond Dante had the opportunity to meet while in prison. They met quite accidently. The Abbe had been digging an escape tunnel. It was through a miscalculation of his that he ended up in Dante’s cell. This chance meeting saved Dante’s life and gave both prisoners hope.

This is an exchange between Abbe Faria and Edmond:

“I will freely confess that my historical labors have been my greatest solace and relief. While retracing the past, I forget the present; and traversing at will the path of history I cease to remember that I am myself a prisoner.”

Abbe Faria, The Count of Monte Cristo

What’s New for 2015-Resolution #3

1. Back at least one KickStarter project. I will be looking to sponsor one new game this year.

2. Go through my labels to find topics I might want to expound on, delete labels and or posts that have become stagnate.

 a. Some topics I would like to give more "air-time" to:

  i. Dungeon crawl

  ii. Monsters

  iii. Reaper familiars

  iv. Evil toys

3. Games, game rules, and miniatures

4. Scenery and Scenic Pieces

5. Spend more time on forums

6. Learn more about the art of painting miniatures

Outside of my Kickstarter sponsorship I would like to obtain a few new games this year. I will be looking for games that can be played with two or more players. In addition I want to acquire some solo-games. I have made a few posts on this topic last year and as I find time to play these games, hope to make a few more posts this year.

I would like also like to obtain game rules for the miniatures I already have. In as far as miniatures, those miniatures I purchase this year are being purchased with the idea of putting them to use in some game, thus I will be looking for appropriate game-rules for these miniatures.

What’s New for 2015-Resolution #2

1. Back at least one KickStarter project. I will be looking to sponsor one new game this year.

2. Go through my labels to find topics I might want to expound on, delete labels and or posts that have become stagnate.

 a. Some topics I would like to give more "air-time" to:

  i. Dungeon crawl

  ii. Monsters

  iii. Reaper familiars

  iv. Evil toys

3. Games, game rules, and miniatures

4. Scenery and Scenic Pieces

5. Spend more time on forums

6. Learn more about the art of painting miniatures

This effort will ongoing throughout the year. If I have a post with a label that hasn’t been used for some time and I have no intention of doing so any time soon, the label gets deleted.

I have also decided not to use book titles as labels, except when the title might see some future made to it. See the Redwall label for instance of a title that got some use, while Defiance at Sea hasn’t got any “air-time” (I might leave this one because of my original plans to feature some of the battles mentioned in this book) .

The labels that will receive more “air-time” are those topics and miniatures I have an interest in at this time. Miniatures relative to these topics will be ordered over the next few months.

What’s New for 2015-Resolution #1

1. Back at least one KickStarter project. I will be looking to sponsor one new game this year.
2. Go through my labels to find topics I might want to expound on, delete labels and or posts that have become stagnate.
 a. Some topics I would like to give more "air-time" to:
   i. Dungeon crawl
  ii. Monsters
  iii. Reaper familiars
  iv. Evil toys
3. Games, game rules, and miniatures
4. Scenery and Scenic Pieces
5. Spend more time on forums
6. Learn more about the art of painting miniatures

Kickstarter, a crowd source site features many fine games from would be publishers. Games cost money to develop and Kickstarter is one source that allows publishers to the get the funding they need to see their projects come to fruition.

I am interested in sponsoring one project this year. I am looking for a game that includes some highly detailed miniatures, as such as those that accompany Mice and Mystics or those included in Super Dungeon Explore. I am not just looking miniatures, but also a good playing game for two + players.

Projects for January

I didn’t get as much accomplished as I had wanted last month. I should have factored in “real” life. I am going start to include documentation on my undone and completed projects. So often my undone and completed projects get lost in the shuffle and either get put off or don’t get reported on.

New Projects

1. Reaper 25mm aquatic fish aberration; this is one of the four miniatures that come with Reapers Aquatic Familiars II.
2. Bombshell Miniature’s 20mm Pumpkin Buddy
3. Miniatures from Ristuls’ Halloween Basing Kit

Old Projects

At different levels of completion these are projects that sit languishing on my workbench. These uncompleted projects, usually one or two, are being added to the present list in hopes that they see some action.

Completed Projects

Hoping to keep myself motivated I will keep a running list of my completed projects here. I haven't set any numerical goals, but it should be interesting to see just how many projects I can complete this year.

Ristuls Market Halloween Basing Kit

The Ristuls Market Halloween Basing Kit includes ten resin Halloween themed miniatures. Although metal castings usually have crisper detail than those cast resin, for these that will be used in some scene featuring a metal figure or two I am quite satisfied with their level of detail.

Bombshell Miniatures Order #2

Here is a list from my second order from Bombshell Miniatures. These miniatures are from their "SideKicks" collection. I purchased last month. Starting from the back left and going clockwise from back to front:

• Shrapnel, 17mm
• Pumpkin Pal, 20mm
• 2 Raptors, 12mm
• Eye Slug, 23mm
• Squidman, 11mm

More information about these minis will follow.

What’s New for 2015

Happy New Year!

I wanted to take this time to thank all the thousands who have visited this blog last year and I especially want to thank those who left comments.

This is my first post for the New Year, oh boy! I usually have something in mind for the New Year, but rarely do a stick to my plans.  Looking back of over last year's goals I noticed that I only achieved one of my three of my recorded goals. However, I will endeavor to see my plans for this year come to fruition this year. Here we go:

1. Back at least one KickStarter project. I will be looking to sponsor one new game this year.
2. Go through my labels to find topics I might want to expound on, delete labels and or posts that have become stagnate. 
a. Some topics I would like to give more "air-time" to:
i. Dungeon crawl
ii. Monsters
iii. Reaper familiars
iv. Evil toys
3. Games, game rules, and miniatures
4. Scenery and Scenic Pieces
5. Spend more time on forums 
6. Learn more about the art of painting miniatures

I will be making additional posts to expound on these individual goals. In addition, I will be revisiting these goals at the end of the second quarter of this year to assess my progress.